Time and Time again - Part 2
14th Doctor x reader / mentioned 15th x reader
Masterlist
Full version cross-posted on Ao3
The Doctor is struggling after the Bi-regeneration. It only seems logical for you to move on with the next version of him. So why do you stay?
Established relationship
Timelord!wife reader
Mostly jealous 14th! Doctor and angst but balanced out with fluff.
The 25 of December 2023, Christmas day
"Okay, but I have to ask. Why two wedding bands?" Rose leaned over to you, eyes moving between your wedding rings and your face. On your left ring finger was a thin, twisted band adorned with a clear gem. On the right a wider band decorated in fine Gallifreyan symbols.
"It's an old tradition." You chuckled. "Two rings-"
"For two hearts?" She finished for you, smiling softly at the idea of the intricate gesture.
"Yep, exactly." You laughed softly, squeezing her hand under the table. The Doctor sat opposite you, next to Donna and Shaun. The table was set beautifully with Christmas decorations, lights and candles. The new Doctor had been right about the roast, complementing the Noble-Temple household for their magnificent cooking.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Rose marvelled, gasping at Doctor. He blushed softly, suddenly very interested in the bits of carrots on his plate.
"One for each heart? I thought that whole ring to the heart idea is an American thing?" Shaun wondered, looking between you two and the others at the table.
"Well, actually-"The Doctor started, setting his cutlery in an attempt to create a rhetorical pause. You chuckled at his antics. You loved his storytelling. His expressiveness and capturing performance. You leaned back a little, watching the family around you, focusing on him with curious expressions.
"Many human cultural practices are adopted from alien contact." He casually crossed his arms, basking in the attention like a cat in warm sunlight. "Weddings themselves. Imported from the Bisianth. Inquisitive creatures, birdlike, like um-"
He went on with his tale, pretending to think about the proper expression.
"Like ostriches." You offered, leaning your elbow on the table to cover your grin. He loved it even more when you joined in. A team effort at wowing the company.
"Yes! Ostriches! Thank you, love." He laughed.
Rose smirked at you suggestively. She had grown close to you and your partner over the last few weeks. She loved each and every story about your adventures, fascinated by what is out there. She felt connected to you in a way that only the Doctor was. She was so much wiser and grown than her age allowed for.
"And what about them? You were explaining about the rings," Sylvia interjected. She was quick to notice the Doctor drifting off from his original story.
"Hm? Oh well, they bond for life. Ostriches, I mean. And Bisianth-"
He was lost in thought for a moment. Eyebrows furrowed, and gaze focused on the light of one of the candles. He remained silent for another moment. The humans at the table became slightly concerned at his sudden stop and change in demeanour.
He blinked a few times, shaking his head slightly. He seemed to have lost the plot, so you stepped in.
"They bond for life as do timelords. But our culture does so at a deeper level since death is a more, let's say, abstract concept." You explained simply, sipping from your glass and gently smiling at the others.
"And on that note, we'll ask you to excuse us. Someone here is still woozy from their Bi-regeneration and needs to sleep." You explained, finishing your drink and smiling at Donna.
"I thought timelords don't sleep…" Donna explained, looking at you and the Doctor quizzingly.
"I don't need sleep" The Doctor replied with a scoff. "Just a little bit for regeneration sickness, but I'm fine, so-"
He stopped talking when he saw your and Donna's doubtful expressions.
Rose spoke up after a moment of awkward silence, "Looks like that's something you can work on." she joked, getting up to help the others gather the plates and cutlery. You gave a soft laugh, sharing a knowing look until she rounded the corner to the kitchen. You also got up, pushing your chair to the table and walking around to meet the Doctor.
"As I said, Dinner was fantastic. Thank you so much, Donna, all of you." You called a little louder to make sure that all of them heard.
They had taken you in without any questions. You instantly became family and integrated with them as if it had been like this from the beginning. You were happy to have helped them when UNIT came in to fix the Noble-Temple's house after what happened with the Meep. The house had to be cleared and empty for repairs, so the whole family moved in with you. They spend 2 weeks living with you in the Tardis. It was a delight, the fascination they felt, and it finally gave you a chance to organize and relocate the rooms. In the end, you finally had a functioning kitchen, a proper bedroom for you and enough set guestrooms for a full-on family trip. The Doctor also enjoyed the new proper setup, even though he tried not to show it.
"Of course, darling. "Donna smiled, watching happily as you sneaked an arm around the Doctor's waist. His reaction was instantaneous, leaning into you and placing his arm around you, smoothing his thumb over your arm. You were good for him. Always have been. But your relatively stationary position on earth only allowed for a few visits and meetings between you and the Doctor. You had travelled with him every once and again but mainly took care of earth, protecting it when he was gone.
"Now get this one to bed. He's losing focus again, and I'm not going to let him sleep on the couch again. Not after all that complaining last time." She replied, pretending to sound strict and fed up. The Doctor had tried to sit through a binge-watching session with Rose, trying to build that proper Uncle-Niece relationship early on. But even a timelord has no chance against the hyperfocus and messed up sleep schedule of a 15-year-old. So he spent the night sleeping on the couch in an almost impossible position and proceeded to complain about his back for the next week.
"Eh, I'm fine. And I didn't complain." He scoffed, "But I won't fight with this one here." He pecked a kiss on your head, pulling you into his side.
"So, have a good night!" He called into the house, smiling softly at the "thank-you!"' s and "you-too!"' s that came from the kitchen and hallway.
He took in the moment, that easy joy he felt. He was surprised at how happy these small things made him. Dinner with the family, a game of cards, gardening, or simply watching the others with a cuppa in hand. It felt good, a joy that didn't need a grand entrance or having to save a civilization. Just life.
He took your hand and gently led you out towards the terrace, the garden, and into the blue box you called home. He opened the door for you, letting you inside while smiling at you with soft admiration. You thanked him, listening to his soft-soled steps as he followed you inside. You threw your jacket over one of the railings and approached the upper level.
But you paused at the door when you noticed he didn't follow.
"Are you coming?" You leaned onto the upper railing, watching him flip a few switches at the controls and studying one of the screens intensely. It took him a moment to answer, looking up at you. "Yeah, I'll be there in a second. Get settled already."
His focus shifted back towards the controls. He even took out his glasses, all attention on the screen.
You smiled at him and made your way towards the bedroom. You changed into your nightwear, brushed your teeth and settled under the soft duvet. With closed eyes, you focused on the steady hum of the Tardis. It was like breathing, a soft whining that sounded like home to you.
Soft rustling and a gentle tug on the duvet made you open your eyes again. The Doctor slipped under the covers next to you. He laid on his back and immediately lifted his arm to let you rest your head on his chest. He let out a long sigh, lowering his arm as your head came down over his right heart and gently running his fingers over your back and arm. You closed your eyes, letting out a sigh of your own and relaxing as the sound of his heartbeats drew you in. You hummed softly, just enjoying the moment and running your hand over the cotton of his shirt. Your hand consistently over his other heart.
"Why did you stay?" He whispered, almost as if too afraid to ask you out loud. Ever since that kiss with the new version, he had been thinking about it. It only seemed logical for you to keep going and settling in with the new Doctor. Especially since that one seemed to do so much better than he did.
You slowly lifted your head and turned to look at him properly. The lines on his face seemed more prominent in the soft orange light of the Tardis night setting.
"Why wouldn't I stay?" you ask, your hand gently smoothed through his hair. You felt him relax under you. Melt into your touch like candle wax.
He remained silent, eyes closed and quietly enjoying your touch. Then he breathed in deeply, licking his lower lip before focusing on your eyes with a stern look.
"He is better than me. In so many ways." He gently shook his head. "A younger body, the charisma, that smile. Oh, that damned grin. How dare he-"He gritted his teeth, his eyes moving away from you to focus on some random spot in the room. Anywhere, really, he regretted starting the conversation. He knew it was silly, but he needed to know.
"And he seems to be so much better. Lighter…”
"Healed." You interjected. Holding his chin to bring his attention back to you. You knew that you two would have this talk. You always had these types of discussions after he met other versions of himself. Especially the younger ones. Being with 12 had been a real challenge in that sense.
"He is healed. Because he stopped running." You smooth over the lines on his forehead. Caused by so much thinking and worrying.
"He stopped and faced his past. And that hurts, but it's the only way to keep going." You kissed his eyebrow that dared to lower in confusion to your statement.
"He stopped and reflected, spending his time with life's little joys. And over time, it helped him to become better. To lose that baggage." You saw the tears starting to well up in his eyes. He tried to look away again, but you kept your eyes on him.
"It's okay, Doctor. Let it out. You don't have to keep your emotions shut away." You encouraged him softly, feeling your own tears welling. It felt like a relief to feel his tears soak into your shirt. It was a first step.
He sat up slightly, pulling into a tight embrace and burying his face in your neck. You just held him, both of you letting your tears flow.
After a moment, you laugh softly, "See, this is what made you become him." Turning your head to kiss his cheek.
He sniffed softly, "Yeah?" "Yeah. And I'll be here for it. Every step of the way." You gently pushed him back onto the bed, resting on his chest again, both hands placed on his cheeks.
"And when this run ends, I'll be there for the next chapter." You kissed him slowly, feeling his desperation as he kissed you back. His lips moved softly against yours, and he moved his hands to hold your face like you had his.
"Hopefully, with this face, but who knows. Maybe I'll have a new face by then, and you'll have to be clever to find me in the crowd. No, wait-" You stopped to think about the exact workings of time in your situation. "You'll know the new face 'cause you were here before. Oh, I wanted to have you work for it. At least once." You sighed dramatically before going for another kiss.
He chuckled softly. "What are you on about?" the Doctor said, shaking his head softly. "We split. It's me and him from the point of Bi-Regeneration and onwards."
You stared at him momentarily, dumbfounded that he hadn't figured it out. You laughed, sitting up and looking at him with mischief.
"Is that how you think Bi-Regeneration works?" You giggled, watching his confused face.
"Well... Yeah! What else should be happening? It's two time-strands opening. I've got this once, and he's off doing new version things!" His hasty and offended answers made you laugh even harder.
"See, that is why I was at the academy and learned the proper stuff while you just went and stole a Tardis." You calmed down, still giggling but moving back towards him.
"This here is a time loop, silly." You peck a kiss on his nose. "You remain in this form till you regenerate, and then it's back to the rooftop, love." You grinned, watching gleefully as his 'Oh, now I understand' – expression took over his face.
He blinked, thinking for a moment, and you watched him quietly, a knowing smile on your lips.
"That's where he took off to. That's why he was in a hurry to leave!" He grinned triumphantly. He pulled you into a deep kiss, holding you close as he celebrated his achievement. You pushed yourself off him slowly," Now you have got to remember the date, Kensington Park, the 12 of June 2023. Italian Gardens."
"And bring some Ice cream?"
You held his cheek, gently smoothing over his skin.
"You know it, darling."
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