Title: What Lies Beneath
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, 50ficlets
Prompt: 44, Unknown
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.

***

Jamie reclined in one of the chairs in front of the large viewscreen in the control room of the Tardis, looking out at the stars. It was incredible just how much was out there; even in his long lifetime, the Doctor hadn't seen all that there was to see.

There was so much in the world they lived in that was unknown; no matter how much they thought they had seen and experienced, there was always something more. Jamie couldn't being a little awed by the knowledge of just how vast the galaxy was.

Now that he was a Time Lord, he himself might be one of those unknown entities. Was there anything about him that still retained the vestiges of humanity, other than the way he looked? Or was he fully Time Lord, more Gallifreyan than even the Doctor?

No, that wasn't possible, he admonished himself. The Doctor was half-human; that part of who he was had been transmitted to Jamie when the Tardis had brought him back. He was sure that he hadn't just absorbed part of who the Doctor was, but all of him.

They were more alike now than they had ever been -- but there was still so much about what he was that they couldn't be sure of, so much that was an unknown quantity. He had no idea just how much of a Time Lord he could be, what might lie beneath his exterior. Not yet.

There was still a great deal of humanity about him; he didn't doubt that for a moment. Though he couldn't help thinking that he was probably much less tolerant of humans than the Doctor was -- probably because he had spent so much time inhabiting a human body.

He didn't dislike humans. Not at all. In fact, he felt more of a kinship with them than with any other species in the universe that he knew of -- even Gallifreyans. And now that he'd achieved his fondest wish and was elevated to the status of Time Lord .....

Jamie shook his head, not wanting to complete the thought that had coalesced into his mind. But a voice in the back of his head said the words for him. Now that he was a Time Lord, there were some things about being human that he missed.

Jamie's dark eyes widened at the realization; he almost gasped aloud. It was hard to believe that of all the things he could possibly miss, being trapped in a human body would be one of them. But yes -- there were some aspects of his humanity that he'd like to have back.

For some reason, he had felt more compassionate, and more in tune with the people around him, than he did now. Maybe that was because he was more Gallifreyan than human since he'd been granted a Time Lord body -- and he wasn't sure that he liked the change.

Of all the things about what he'd become that were an unknown quantity, a question mark in his mind, that was the one looming the largest. Was he more Gallifreyan now? Was the less like the Doctor, and more like a species that he'd never really been a part of?

There was no way to know that, not until he'd been in this body for much longer. He couldn't be expected to suddenly know everything about himself; no one could. He would simply have to discover who he was one day at a time, just as .... just as a human would.

Somehow, that realization was comforting. He hadn't completely thrown off the mantle of humanity by becoming a Time Lord; because of the Doctor's human side, there would always be something of the human race within him. He was actually thankful for that.

It was a relief to know that he wasn't a completely strange figure in the annals of the world, an unknown element that had never existed before. And even if he found that he was, he could at least be glad of the fact that there were some things about him that were familiar.

He was much like the universe, Jamie thought, turning his gaze back to the stars on the viewscreen in front of him. So much about what he'd become was unknown -- but maybe, in the fullness of time, he and The Doctor would discover more about just what he was.

One thing he was certain of -- he was right where he belonged, and he was with the person he loved. With that thought fixed in his mind, Jamie rose from his chair with a smile on his face. He wanted to see the Doctor -- and he knew just what he wanted to do once his lover was in his arms.

***