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The Doctor stood in front of the full length mirror and stared at himself.
He had done this once before, when he was the newly minted Meta-Crisis Doctor, at the Tyler mansion. He had been relieved to see that he had pretty much still looked like his old self. The few differences were minor and one, the glorious ginger highlights in his hair, had been a happy surprise.
Now, years later, he was again staring at his naked self in the full length mirror in their bedroom. Nothing had changed that he could see. Still tall and skinny with a shock of gravity defying, ginger highlighted hair. Facial features were the same, long torso and arms, long fingers and toes, jutting hipbones and hairless manly bits. Still him on the outside yet not the same on the inside.
He peered closely at his face in the mirror, ran his tongue over his top teeth and raised his left brow. Then he found the change, literally staring him in the eyes.
His eyes. Dark brown and sad, so very sad and afraid. He had everything in the universe that he had wanted yet a deep sadness had claimed the mirrors of his soul. He felt lost, slightly out of touch with reality. He had awakened from a nightmare and discovered that he was once again a part human Time Lord hybrid with a finite lifespan.
How do I find normal again? Is it possible? Where do I go from here? Will I lose everyone I love anyway?
Tears began flowing from his eyes as he stared at the image of the man he was. No longer the Meta-Crisis Victorious, just a puny little mortal adrift on a sea of uncertainty. Holding onto a life float named Rose Tyler Smith, his impossible woman and mother of his precious child. Yet how long would she allow him to cling to her, to keep his head up above water? Forever still or until she decided that he really was a monster?
The Doctor reached up and slapped himself on the face, hard. No! He had to get over the old insecurities which had risen their ugliness to cast doubt onto his heart. If she was going to abandon him, she would have done so when he was the Meta-Crisis Time Lord Victorious. She loved him, had sacrificed Bad Wolf to save his bony arse.
With a sob, he sank down to sit on the warm carpeted floor and buried his face in his hands. It was all so much to take in, so much to deal with and he knew the road to healing would be long and bumpy.
A warm, soft hand touched his shoulder and he felt a rush of pure love saturate his damaged soul. Rose sank down onto the floor next to him and pulled his trembling body into her arms. He clutched at onto her like a man drowning. She rested her chin on his shoulder and gave him silent permission to let the emotions flow.
Rose looked into the mirror and saw that he had buried his face into the crook of her neck. His body was shaking as he sobbed and she sent another pulse of love and reassurance to him through their bond.
"Together, my Doctor. Forever." she murmured.
Fin