For those that hate change...

TARDIS, orbiting Earth
After Vampires in Venice

The Earth, habitat to the ever-expanding human race, stood strong and proud in the midst of the solar system. The stars surrounding the humble planet burnt brightly in the infinite space, celebrating a victory that had been won in a planet a few million light years away. Of course, sacrifices have been made, lives have been lost, but it had saved a civilization from becoming extinct.

A blue, rectangular, London police box had materialized in orbit of the planet, circling it as its passengers took a breather. They had been involved in this victory, but they weren't as joyous as they should be.

The four of them had just returned from one of the many adventures they had. He was quick to recover from it, moving around the console as he adjusted the controls to keep the TARDIS stablised. She, however, had something bothering her, he knew, and he could guess what, which was usually correct, but he didn't know how to confront her about it. She never talked about it, ever since he changed. He never got to say his goodbye personally. He only remembered to give her his specs, just as he wanted him to.

Noticing the tension building up between them, the couple retreated to their room, or one of the rooms in the 'bigger on the inside' box, leaving the two alone for some privacy.

He bit his lip, thinking of how he could start a conversation. He knew she was thinking about him, the familiar specs in her hands giving it most away. She sat there in the comfy console seat, staring at the pair of black glasses, seeming deep in thought. Usually he would complain that she was in his 'captain's seat', and she would teasingly stand up and salute with a 'yes sir!', but today, he didn't. He had a feeling in his gut telling him that he shouldn't, especially after an adventure like this that reminded her so much of him. He wished he could come back to talk to her, see her be her normal self again, before the change, but that wasn't possible. For an impossible man, he had found an impossible task to fulfill.

His hands brushed against the console as he walked towards her. She avoided glancing at him, or responding to the small alarm which he had accidentally set off when his fingers subconsciously pushed a button. He could sense the tension between the two of them, just as the couple did, and he did not like it, not one bit.

He inhaled deeply, knowing that he had to break the ice. Whatever she hasn't moved on from, he has to help her with it. He has to, to make sure their relationship wouldn't become more distant than it is now. He took a seat beside her, his weight forcing the chair to tilt towards his end slightly. Principle of moments could explain this phenomenon, but he didn't have time to think of that. He had to help her, and he regretted not thinking before speaking.

"Do you still see him?" He asked bluntly, flicking a speck of dust of the console to make the situation seem less awkward. Silence had fallen in the redecorated TARDIS, as if the machine itself was awaiting an answer.

She kept her gaze down, not knowing what to say exactly just yet. She felt her heart beat slightly faster, silently willing for him not to bring up the subject. It was unavoidable, really, after what had happened.

"Do you still see him?" He repeated, louder and more confident this time, knowing that he chose the correct words to use no matter how straightforward he sounded, "In me?"

She didn't respond again. She stayed still, eyes glued to the black pair of specs in her hands. He cleared his throat, perhaps he wasn't that clear, and said in a soothing tone.

"Look (Y/N), I want to help," He placed his hand gently on her back, "Please, just answer me this question."

"Do you still see him in me?"

She looked up at last, her young eyes meeting his. Instantly, instead of the bow tie, moppy hair doctor in front of her, the one she knew now, it was him. The one with the spiked-up hair, brown pinstripe suit and the twinkle in his brown eyes. He smiled warmly at her and chuckled, one of his rough hands reaching out to touch her face. It was him, her doctor. The one she first met and the one she ran together with. She wished she could see him like this forever, she never wanted him to go.

Yet she chose to blink, and the image of the current Doctor now took his place, his eyes filled with curiosity, awaiting her answer.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat a little, returning her gaze to the specs in her hands. Her heart ached as memories of him flooded her mind. All the times where they were running and saving the universe from its end came rushing back to her. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes, but she didn't let them. She kept telling herself that both of them were...are the same man. They have the same memories, same biological nature, except a different face and sometimes personality. The only problem is that he reminded her so much of him. They were far too similar, he even sounded almost like him. No matter how much she tries to move on, she can't, because she was constantly reminded of him.

She had to tell him the truth, it was the only way to help her move on. She knows it, he knows it, and she knows she has to do it.

"Yeah," She croaked out softly, her eyes focusing back on him. The image of her Doctor took his place. For a brief second, she sworn she saw him mouth a 'tell him' to her, but she blinked again, and he was gone. As she blinked, a tear managed to escape.

"All the time."

His heart sank a little upon hearing her talk to him truthfully. He placed his hand on hers, thinking of how to comfort her. He blinked once, and to his surprise, the image of her younger self had replaced her. Her eyes sparkled, possessing the exact same enthusiasm as his past self had. Her smile seemed to brighten up the console room a little, but as he blinked again, it was all gone. Her present self was there once again, and realisation dawned on him.

Was that what she meant by 'all the time'? He didn't know she would literally see him, so to find out about this was a real shocker. He cautiously touched her again, as if he was a child who had been forbidden to touch a glass bottle. He blinked, and there she was. The young (Y/N), smiling, carefree, and only worrying about the one thing when he was around: His shoelace. She would often tug on them purposely to tease him, hinting for him to buy new shoes because his were so worn out. He refused, of course, as those were his running shoes, and they had been on marvelous adventures together. She grew fond of them, and they were both so sure that he would never get rid of them.

She didn't expect that day to arrive, but it did. It caught her by surprise, no doubt. He didn't even spare a single thought about his shoes, and replaced them without thinking twice. Heck, he even thought they were sandshoes, and they were so not cool.

Not to her, unfortunately.

He blinked, removing his hand from hers, allowing the image of his current companion to return to sight. Her sniffing became more noticeable now, and he knew she was more upset than ever. It was worse than before, she was approaching her breaking point, and who knows what she'll do when she snaps?

He sat beside her, the engines of the TARDIS being the only thing that could be heard. He fiddled with his thumbs, staring at them. After so much they've been through, so much they've shared with each other, he never bothered to tell her about regeneration, not even bring it up once. He couldn't blame him though, he was him, after all. He could have at least gave her a warning, that he might change someday. Return with a new face, new personality, new style, but still the same man with the same memories. He had no idea how to comfort her anymore. His mind was usually full of ideas, but at this moment, it had nothing. It was blank. It truly was an impossible task for him.

The silence between them grew longer as the ticking of his watch went by. Neither of them spoke, or even looked at each other. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Doctor," she said, her voice noticeably shaking, "Is that all you're going to do?"

He looked up at her, but her head remained down.

"Look, (Y/N), I-"

"You said you wanted to help," She spoke a little louder this time.

He tried to respond in the best way he could, "I...I am, I just-"

"You've been silent for a whole 10 minutes, you would have spoken by now," Her voice grew louder, worrying him. Fear starting to grow within him.

"I-I was trying to think of-"

"You said you were the same man," She said, interrupting him. Tears started to fall from her face.

"He would have said something by now, and it would have helped."

He started to panic, trying to find an excuse to save their relationship, "I'm sorry (Y/N), I-I-"

"Was trying to help?"

He gulped softly and pleaded, "Please, (Y/N), please, if you could just calm down and let me help you."

His hearts starting beating faster by the second as she quietened down. He had just made her snap at him, and that hardly ever happened.

"If you want to help, Doctor," She said softly, causing him to wince when she used his full name. Nonetheless, he tried to push her to understand what she needed.

"Yes, I do, I want to help, (Y/N), tell me what to do."

Her next sentence caused his hearts to stopped momentarily.

"Take me home."

He froze, her words replaying in his head over and over again. He did it. His stupid self caused her to snap, and just like that, she was gone. She had lost hope in him, and she said the words that he never imagined her to.

"What?" He muttered, hoping that he had heard wrongly.

"Take me home, Doctor," She said, her voice firmer than before, "I can't do this anymore."

The message sunk in quicker than a flash of lightning across the sky. His face turned solemn, often when he wanted to hide his emotions. He couldn't pretend she didn't say that, he couldn't pretend he didn't regenerate, he couldn't pretend that life would go back to as it was before. It was this one time that he believed what she said, and he admitted that she was right. She always was.

He stood up, walking robotically around the console, mumbling an 'alright, I'll take you home' to her, adding a short 'if that's what you want'. His eyes were beginning to water as the thought of losing his loyal companion haunted him. He couldn't believe it was happening, he was sending her home.

He set the TARDIS for modern day Earth, flying it through the vortex with a bit of trouble. It was on purpose, hoping that if he delayed, maybe she'll change his mind and stay. The TARDIS jerked to the left sharply, causing her to lose her balance and fall. He was about to catch her, but was a second too late. As the TARDIS landed shakily, he apologized quickly with a soft 'sorry', taking big steps over to help her up. To him, hope was something that he strongly believed him, and he hoped that, even if that hope was as small as a tiny speck of dust, she wouldn't go.

She pushed herself up, ignoring his outstretched hand and brushing off a few grazes she obtained from the 'crash'. He thought he heard her mumble a 'even he can drive better', which broke his heart slightly. She walked firmly towards the doors of the TARDIS, never looking back at all. He stood there, dumbfounded, nothing going through his brain to stop her. That tiny bit of hope he clung onto seemed to have disappeared almost instantly, just like her confidence in him.

He watched her open the doors to find a peaceful (country) waiting for her return. She choked back a sob, determined to remain strong. With a deep breath, she stepped out of the blue box, shutting the doors behind her. The doors closed with a soft click, but it seemed as though she had slammed it in his face, hard.

He refused to admit that she was gone. He stared at the door and waited. He waited for her to come back, to admit that she had missed him, and that they could go traveling again. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. He continued to stand there, the thought of her returning keeping him going.

It wasn't until Amelia Pond finally had enough of his nonsense. She, after getting helplessly lost in the TARDIS for that few hours, found him standing there, as though he had not moved for days. She saw the emptiness in his eyes, and she couldn't stand how he managed to stand for that long. She wasn't jealous of her, really, but it was the thought that he had become such a mess that made Amy slightly mad. She waved her hand in front of his eyes, noticing how he hadn't seemed to notice.

"Doctor?"

No response.

"Doctor!"

He remained silent, eyes glued to the TARDIS doors.

"Doctor," she said sternly, "Look at me."

His response wasn't what she was expecting, but he replied, which was an improvement.

"She's coming back, Amy. (Y/N) just went to get some stuff."

His voice was eerily monotonous, sending chills down her spine.

"How long have you been standing here?"

"5 hours."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened between him and her.

"Doctor," the redhead said as realization dawned on her, "She's not coming back."

He remained in the same position as he did 5 hours ago, "Yes she is, she went to get stuff."

"It's been 5 hours."

"She always takes a while."

She wasn't stupid enough to think that (Y/N) would take that long to come back. The girl was usually ready to go for adventures even before her. Plus, the Doctor lies.

"Doctor," she said in a voice that seemed to be pleading with him, "At least sit down, you've been standing for so long."

"I can't, Amy," he replied with that same creepy voice, as though he was a robot, "I've got to be ready for our adventure. It's gonna be a whopper."

She couldn't take it anymore.

She walked right up, standing face-to-face with him. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in hopes that he would break out of his trance.

Hope was a strong thing, and it did.

"Doctor," she said softly, "she's gone."

It was as though reality had slapped him hard in the face, telling him that it was time to face the truth.

For the first time in 5 hours, that brain of his started working again. It comprehended what happened, and so many emotions rushed through him at once, it was unbearable. He buried his face into her shoulder, letting his emotions take over.

She heard a sob and felt her shoulder getting wet. She heard him mumble the words 'sorry' over and over again, and how he had not lived up to his standard, whatever that meant. Hugging him tighter, she whispered words of comfort into his ear, rubbing his back with smooth circles. For the first time since she boarded the TARDIS, Amy was hearing the Doctor cry.

He let his tears flow freely, because he knew that he messed up. He took her for granted and when the day came, he lost her for good. It was all his fault.

She was gone, and he didn't even get to say goodbye.