“Doctor!”
Fire all around, chaos everywhere, and everything is in a haze, but one thing is perfectly clear: the Doctor is badly hurt.
Zepheera runs toward the Time Lord laying on his back and climbs up his chest to his sternum where she kneels and presses her hands against the ruined fabric of his suit. Where she always feels the steady one-two-three-four of his hearts she feels nothing. Where there is always a rise and fall as his lungs fill automatically with air there is only stillness.
“…No…” she whispers in disbelief. “You can’t be…Come on, you great lug, get up.”
Raising her voice, she begins to rock back and forth. “Don’t do this to me. Regenerate at least, but don’t…”
The Doctor isn’t moving. His eyes stare blankly past Zepheera even as her own well up with tears.
“We have to go home, Doctor,” she says feebly. “Back to the TARDIS. You and me, time and space, right? So…get up.”
Silence. Zepheera shakes more violently
“Please…Look at me! Listen to me, damn you, and DON’T BE–”
Zepheera woke with a jolt. She was still on the Doctor’s chest, but they were in the TARDIS. She had fallen asleep, and he must’ve noticed she was having a nightmare and shook her awake with a finger. One look into the Time Lord’s reassuring half-smile and concerned focus on her, Zepheera relaxed in relief that it had only been a dream. She leaned into his fingers for support, a comfort the Doctor was more than willing to give.
Eventually, Zepheera felt distant enough from the dream that she was able to tell the Doctor. He listened intently until the end when he cracked a goofy grin.
“Aw, you love me,” he teased, gently nudging the borrower on his chest in the ribs.
She shied away from the intrusive touch, shoving at the finger in protest. She almost regretted telling him at all. “I would sell you to Satan for one corn chip,” she groused.
“Met the guy. Dunno if he’d take you up on that offer.”
Zepheera rolled her eyes. “There’s no winning with you.”
Sorry it’s so late, long day. Hope you enjoyed anyway!
Borrowed Time and Space 