Title: Exact Replica
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 6, 50ficlets
Prompt: 36, Stripped
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 stood in front of the mirror in one of the bathrooms on the Tardis, studying himself intently. All of the changes he'd experienced were apparently inward ones; there was nothing on the outside that looked any different. At least, nothing that he could see.

And other than the fact that he felt dual heartbeats now whenever he pressed his hand against his chest, he could barely tell the difference. His body didn't feel all that different; it still functioned in the normal way that any male body would.

The Doctor had certainly given him an incredibly attractive body, he thought, stepping back from the mirror and regarding his naked body in the glass. He might be a little thin for some tastes, but to him, this body was perfect. Though that could be simply because it was a copy of the Doctor.

It wasn't hard for him to understand why so many of the people who met the Doctor fell in love with him; he was not only the kind of man who had the ability to draw people to him through his personality, but he was also beautiful to look at. That never hurt.

He and the Doctor looked exactly the same when they were stripped of their clothing, down to their bare bodies. There was nothing about either of them that could be differentiated; they had exactly the same body, right down to the mole between their shoulder blades.

But the resemblance continued, even under the surface. Now that he had achieved his wish and become what the Doctor was, there was no differential between them -- except in their ways of thinking. He could never be exactly like that Doctor in that respect.

He would never be exactly like the man he loved. He had already developed his own thoughts, his own feelings, his own way of looking at life. He'd had different experiences than the Doctor had; they could never be a perfect mirror of each other.

When they were stripped down to their bare bodies, they might look alike, but they were two very different men. Jamie wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not; even now that he'd become what he had always wanted to be, he still felt like a pale imitation of the Doctor.

He could never be the man that his lover was. Jamie was absolutely sure of that; he thought that he was a good person, but he knew that he didn't have it within himself to be as utterly selfless as the Doctor was. He simply wasn't that kind of man.

That was one of the reasons why he loved the Doctor so fiercely; he loved the fact that the other man was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of others. Jamie didn't agree with that, but he was proud of his lover for being so noble and self-sacrificing.

But he would never let that happen, Jamie told himself firmly. He would never allow the Doctor to make a sacrifice of himself; if his lover even considered doing something along those lines now that there was another Time Lord in the universe to take his place, Jamie would stop him.

Stripped to his skin, he looked like the Doctor, but Jamie knew that he could never be the Doctor. He could be beside his lover, having his back, watching out for his safety, and helping him as much as he possibly could. But he could never take the other man's place.

Truth be told, he didn't want to be an exactly replica of the Doctor in every possible way. Even though he had wanted to be a Time Lord, he still wanted to be his own person; he might be a physical mirror of the Doctor, but he had no wish to let himself disappear within the other man.

The Doctor wouldn't want that, either. He loved Jamie just as he was, with all of his faults and differences. Jamie had learned to appreciate that while he was human, and he didn't want it to change, even though he himself had changed irrevocably, at least from within.

His love for the Doctor hadn't changed, though -- and it never would. Jamie was absolutely positive of that; no matter how either of them might change inwardly or outwardly, their love for each other would always be the constant in their lives, never fading, always growing stronger with time.

Sighing, Jamie reached for a towel to cover himself, turning away from his reflection. No matter how he had changed, he still loved the Doctor, and always would. And the Doctor loved him. And as far as he was concerned, with that love on their side, then nothing else really mattered.

***