Take A Walk With Me (One-Shots and More)

Regeneration (Doctor Who/The Pack Crossover) - Part One

This right here is why you should never ever let me watch a major Doctor Who episode then go watch a bunch of Pack videos, then let me go to school the next day.

Part two should be posted tomorrow. It gets mind-bending, and frankly, I'm too tired to get paradoxal.

Also, there's no spoilers here, but if you haven't seen the show, it might be confusing.

····

Yanking on random controls, the Doctor tried to land his ship. The pain that shot through him was almost unbearable, but the TARDIS was more important than physical relief; at the moment, at least.

He felt the blue box come to a stop, and, not even looking as to where he was, he stepped outside to let the regeneration energy take him away.

It had been a stupid idea, but he had gotten lucky. No one had been around to see.

The regeneration lasted no more than five minutes, but it felt as if he was being torn apart. Sure, it was supposed to hurt (he was getting a new body, after all), but never this bad. It was as if a Cyberman had reached into his chest and clenched it's iron fist.

When the regeneration was over, he was slightly loopy, causing him to notice the oddest of things.

"My hair! I can't feel my hair. Am I bald? No-- Wait, I'm American! Why am I American? I thought I set the TARDIS to British, or something of the like. Well, I'm not really American, but I'm not British. Whatever happened to good ole' London? But my hair! My beautiful hair!" He grabbed at it, feeling short, ragged spikes. "Oh, no no no. This isn't right. It's supposed to be longer-- I haven't acted this way since my eleventh regeneration. Well, that wasn't that long ago, but-- I need to stop this!"

His hands fell, fingers brushing down over his ears. Cold metal met his skin. "Earrings?"

The Doctor let his mind wander as he pulled at a checkered hoodie, which was tossed over his shoulders, and examined his sonic screwdriver. His name had changed, and it confused him. The Gallifreyan name remained in the back of his mind, but it was replaced now. His new name didn't hold the sacred meaning.

Pushing it to the back of his mind, the Doctor fished around for his TARDIS key, figuring it had been long enough. His previous ship would be changed into something brand new.

However, as he started to walk back towards the oddly-placed police box, he easily felt faint. It was as if all the energy had been sucked out of him, and it really wasn't enjoyable.

"There's something wrong with me," he mumbled, trying to open his TARDIS. The key wouldn't open the door, and no amount of pulling and yanking would make it budge. "Maybe it's still fixing itself..."

"Doctor?"

Taken by surprise, especially because he had just regenerated, he whirled around, eyes wide. A man stood at the edge of the clearing, dark hazel eyes reflecting his grin. Dark brown, if not black hair, was toussled in almost a neat way. He wasn't "grown-up" enough to be anyone the Doctor knew.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"You regenerated, Doctor, and... So did I, I think. My name isn't Jack Harkness anymore."

The Doctor stared at him, and smiled ever so slowly. "Captain... What's your name now?"

"Preston," the former captain breathed, seriousness flooding the area around him. "Preston Arsement. Doctor, I think... I think that was your last regeneration. You're not... You're not a Timelord anymore."

"What? That's rubbish. Of course I'm a Timelord. That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it?"

"Preston" chuckled at his determination to stay like he used to be: British and proud. His fight with American speech was more than comical. "Come here."

Stiffly, the Doctor walked over to Preston (it was odd to think of him as anything but Captain Jack). The dark-haired boy placed his hand on the Doctor's chest.

A single, steady beat.

"What's your name? Not your Gallifreyan name, but the name that... Speaks to you. It'll be in the front of your mind."

"Mitch Hughes," the Doctor murmured under his breath.

Preston sighed, taking his hand away. "Doctor... You only have one heart."