Geronimo

Chapter Eleven ~ Don't Leave Me {Jemma Pond}

"Doctor," I say as we sprint through the crowd. "DOCTOR!" He stops and pulls me into a corner, up against the wall.

"What's wrong," he says while clutching his hearts, my hand has gone numb from all the pressure he is placing on it. It is clear he is in a great deal of pain, pain to the point of death ... or in his case, regeneration.

"What's going to happen to you?"

"Jemma," he begins. "I've told you, I'm fine, I'm the King of Okay, I just," he stops and places his hands on the wall. "I just have to get back to the TARDIS, back to my other body." I place my hand on his cheek and kiss him sweetly.

"Then," I begin as I take his arm. "Allons-y," he grins as he stumbles off behind me.

As we enter my dorm he collapses on the bed and tosses me a key. I shove it into the lock and it clicks open, I turn to return it to him, but he closes my fingers around it. He looks down at me.

"I have a feeling you'll be needing this," he says. I giggle as I kiss him lightly on the cheek.

"I suppose I will." He lets go of my hand as we step into the TARDIS, and he sprints over to the console. I begin to walk back behind him, but I stop in my tracks as I nearly trip over a body laying face down on the ground.

I crouch down next to it and slowly roll him over. I gasp as I realize who it is.

The Doctor.

My Doctor.

I cautiously reach out, place his arms over his chest, and slide his eyelids closed. I take his hands, they are remarkably cold. I slowly lay down and lay my head across his chest, no heartbeat ... completely empty.

I glance up when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see The Doctor smiling down at me, he holds a crystal vial in his right hand.

"If this doesn't work, just get yourself out. Don't try to save me, the TARDIS won't react well. If you don't escape in time she will either kill you or wipe your memories, and - alive or dead - I can't let either of those happen." With that he drains the potion and collapses, falling into a quickly scattering pile of ash and dust.

I stifle sobs as I anxiously watch The Doctor, I place my hand on his left heart ... still nothing. I let out a scream and begin to pound the ground with my fist. I collapse on top of him as I see my blood begin to stain the TARDIS floor.

I lay there for countless seconds, then minutes, then hours.

What will I do without him?

All that we have been through, how much he showed me, how much I loved him ... I can't be alone.

That's when I realize, maybe it's not all over. He said the TARDIS would implode if he died, destroying everything and everyone in her path. Why has this not happened yet?

Because he's not dead.

He has not abandoned me.

I grin as I push myself up and smash my lips up against his. I giggle as his eyes flutter open and he looks up at me curiously.

"What the HELL were you thinking," I yell as I push myself up so that I am sitting just above his knees.

"What?" He asks. "What happened, I'm fine ... the plastic worked."

"You were dead," I stutter. "You were dead, for three hours." He smiles.

"Maybe I just needed a reminder of what I was living for," I giggle as I fall back on to him and he kisses me softly. We roll over so that we lay facing eachother.

"You waited for me," he whispers as he twirls my hair between his fingers, I notice his hands are shaking. It's clear he hasn't gotten any better at this kind of thing.

"I'll always wait for you." He smiles as he scoots forward and kisses me once again. I have never appreciated or loved him more than I do in this exact moment. He came back for me, and now he knows that I will always come back for him.

We break apart as we are startled by muffled screams coming from outside. The monsters, we had completely forgotten about them. The Doctor grunts as he struggles to stand, I take his arm and help to steady him. He shakes as I walk him over to a chair. He blushes as I sit down next to him.

"Hey," I say as I wipe some stray tears off his face. "It's okay, you're 1,200 years old and only you could survive what you just went through." He smiles and kisses my forehead. He then places his hand on my thigh and pushes himself up.

We stop at the door and he solemnly smiles down at me.

"Geronimo."