Regeneration

He wasn't making any sense, Clara thought as she watched him through her tears, staring off at something that she couldn't see. her heart was pounding in her throat, her head ached worse than a thousand years of memories, and her heart... Oh her heart.

When he froze and leant back against the console, Clara could feel all of time and space narrow down to that single instant, that infinite moment between the here and next. She felt a sense, then, that if she didn't act now, she would never have the chance to say the thing that she wanted to say... Because it was her heart, and the thousands of lives that she had lived that were telling her to do so now.

Jumping forwards, she grabbed his hand, shocking him back in to reality, hopefully staving off the regeneration for several more seconds, or even minutes if she were lucky.

"Don't," she pleaded, her voice cracking, tears streaming down her face now, "Don't change."

The Doctor looked at her, the shock morphing into a face of pure heartbreak. Without a word,he pulled her forward, crushing her against his chest and inhaling her smell, wishing that instead of ash and smoke, it would be her usual shampoo that he could never name. There were so many things that he wanted to do, to say to her, to show her just how special she was to him, but he could feel time running out.

Instead, he held on to her tighter, feeling his own tears sliding down his face as he pressed kiss after kiss to her hair and face, before finally, as if by some draw, he kissed her properly, like he had been wanting too for so long, but was too afraid to.

In that kiss were lifetimes of questions, all answered in that single action, all emotions revealed between them, things that both were to afraid to say shared and exposed. Their tears continued to fall, both of their hearts breaking with that single action, but they also flew, because it felt like at last, at long last, they had come home.

No more words needed to be spoken, no more tears needed to be shed, and as they pulled apart, Clara's eyes fluttering open like the wings of a butterfly, the Doctor smiled."Clara," he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, "My impossible girl."

With that, he gently pushed her away, wiping away a tear that slid down her cheek and looking forelornley at the crumpled bow tie on the floor.

Tracking his line of sight, Clara saw what he was looking at and felt the breath leave her in a rush. Biting her lip to keep from crying again, she bent down to pick it up and smoothed the wrinkles out, her dark eyes looking up in to the face of the man that she loved for what she knew was the last time. "Good bye, Chin Boy," she whispered brokenly, seeing his skin start to glow.

For one last time, the Doctor looked around his TARDIS console room, committing it to memory before his eyes landed on his souffle girl. He smiled one last time at her, feeling his hearts aching at the look of despair in her eyes and it took all of his efforts not to go to her.

He knew that Clara was strong, she wouldn't have jumped in to his time stream if she wasn't, but he also knew that even though he wasn't dying like they had both believed, she would be mourning his loss none the less, at least this incarnation of him.

With one last breath, he gave her wink and squeezed his eyes shut, but not before whispering: "Geronimo."

The End

A/N: this was written in response to how, although sweet and touching, the ending just didn't feel right to me. For me, it felt like Clara was shunted to the side at the end and... They didn't have a proper goodbye. I hope this filled you all with warm-fuzzies to last until Capaldi comes on to our screens properly for season 8. To Matt Smith, no one could wear a bow tie like you. You shall be missed.