Title: Maybe An Angel
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, 50ficlets
Prompt: 35, Angel
Author's Note: Continuation of A Lot To Answer For.
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor, or his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor let himself sink down onto the pillows of the bed he and Jamie shared, looking up at the other man gratefully. "Thank you, Jamie," he murmured, finally letting himself relax. "I feel much better now. Those lashes are almost healed. They'll be gone soon."

"I know that you heal quickly, Doctor, but I know that had to be painful while it was happening -- and after the fact, too," Jamie told him, frowning as he sat down beside the Time Lord. "I've got a lot of memories of things like that happening. I don't know how you've withstood it all."

The Doctor shrugged, wincing as he did so. "I've had a lot of centuries to get used to pain like that, Jamie," he sighed, shaking his head. "You haven't. I hope you never have to feel the kind of pain that I've felt before in the past -- either emotional or physical."

"But pain is a part of the cycle of life," Jamie said softly, not wanting to object to the Doctor's words, but feeling that he had to. "I wouldn't be living if I didn't feel pain, Doctor. It's the flip side of pleasure -- one can't exist without the other. Yin and yang, you know."

"I need you with me to keep reminding me of things like that," the Doctor said softly, reaching out to take Jamie's hand in his own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You're my good angel, Jamie. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"I-I'm sorry that I couldn't do more to help you," Jamie whispered, his guilt pouring out in a sudden rush. "I didn't know where you were, Doctor. The only reason I found you was because I saw the Master going into that building. I wish I could have found you sooner."

"Jamie, you can't feel guilty about that," the Doctor admonished him, squeezing his hand again. "It's a miracle that you found me at all. You must be my angel, to be able to show up like that just when I needed you most. You did all that you could."

"I wonder if I could have found you even if I hadn't seen the Master?" Jamie pondered, his frown deepening. "I think I might have been able to do it, Doctor. I think that something in me would have led me to you, no matter where he was keeping you prisoner."

"I believe that you could have found me, Jamie," the Doctor said softly, his dark gaze not leaving Jamie's face. "There's a connection between us that I could never have with anyone else, because you're a part of me. If you couldn't find me, then no one could have."

Jamie nodded, sighing softly and leaning forward to press a kiss to the Doctor's parted lips. When he drew back, the other man was smiling up at him, his gaze a little misty. Jamie was startled by that; he'd never seen the Doctor look like that before.

"You are my angel, Jamie," the Time Lord whispered, raising his free hand to wipe at his eyes. "I've known that from the first time I looked into your eyes and knew that I didn't want to let you go. I think you were sent to me. Your appearance in my life wasn't random."

"You're my angel, too," Jamie answered, feeling a lump rise into his throat. "From the first moment I saw you, before I knew that I was your mirror image, I knew that I loved you. You were like this bright shining being that I was drawn towards, without knowing why."

"It seems as though we're angels for each other, then," the Doctor said with a smile, sitting up and sliding his arms around Jamie's waist. "I've never really believed in the human concept of guardian angels, but now I believe that I have one right here by my side."

"But I didn't fall to Earth," Jamie reminded him with a soft laugh. "I was .... well, more or less born from you. So does that make me something of an immaculate conception, and only maybe an angel?" He couldn't hold back a chuckle; the very idea struck him as funny.

"I don't know about that," the Doctor said, laughing along with him as he swung his long legs over the side of the bed and sat up beside Jamie. "But I do know that to me, you'll always be an angel. And I'll always be grateful to have you in my life."

"And I'll always be grateful to be here," Jamie replied, leaning towards the Doctor. As their lips met, his arms moved up to wind around the Time Lord's neck, and the two of them fell back against the pillows, all but their need for each other forgotten in the heat of the moment.

***

Next story in series - A Different Kind of Pain.