Title: No Words Required
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: doctorwho_100
Prompt: 97, Writer's Choice - Words
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 lay back in the Doctor's arms, relaxed and languorous after their lovemaking and feeling as though he didn't want to move. He was still basking in the afterglow; he couldn't remember ever having felt so sated, so utterly satisfied.

"It gets better every time, doesn't it?" he murmured, a smile on his lips. "I can't believe that I made you wait so long before I'd let you make love to me after ...." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head firmly. He didn't want to remember that part of his life.

"It certainly does," the Doctor sighed, leaning back against the pillows and closing his eyes. Jamie raised his head slightly to steal a glance at his lover; he couldn't help smirking at the satisfied look on the Time Lord's features. He was the cause of that satisfaction.

They had made the right decision indeed when the two of them had taken off into time and space, leaving that spoilt, whiny brat to go back to some alternate universe empty-handed. She had been so sure that she would get what she wanted, but she hadn't.

Of course, she had wanted the Doctor, not him. She had been more than willing to start an intergalactic war simply to fasten herself to the Doctor's side, like the leech that she was. But she would have settled for him, simply because he looked like the Time Lord.

Well, she had lost in the end. And she would never be able to break through to this universe again -- the Doctor had seen to that. That sort of troublemaker deserved to be locked away -- and Jamie was glad that he'd seen the last of her.

"I want to say so many things right now," Jamie whispered, his voice dreamy and a little breathless. "But I don't think I can get all of them out. There's so much in my heart that it feels like it's overflowing, Doctor. Id I tried to say anything, the words would come out all wrong."

The Doctor bowed his head to brush a gentle kiss across Jamie's cheek, his breath warm against the other man's skin. "There are no words required, Jamie. Just having you here in my arms is enough. I know how you feel about me, love. About us."

"I don't think I could put how I feel about us into mere words," Jamie said, his brow furrowing. "There aren't words to describe perfection." He thought for a moment, then added, "But I don't believe in perfection, really. When you think things are perfect, they don't stay that way for long."

The Time Lord laughed wryly, shaking his head at Jamie's words. "I can attest to that, love. I've thought that there were times when life was perfect -- and then it's crumbled around me. Of course, I was much younger then. I've learned a lot with the centuries."

Jamie nodded, looking serious. "I've learned those things, too, since I have all of your memories. But I've still got my own way of looking at things, too. It's a little strange -- trying to balance being human with having such a large part of you in my head."

"I know that it isn't easy, having a Time Lord brain in a human body," the Doctor said with a sigh. "I wish that could be different, Jamie. I know how badly you want to not be human, to be a fulll Time Lord. If I could make that wish come true, I would."

"I should know better than to wish for that," Jamie said, his tone wistful. "I know it can't happen -- and I don't want to make you feel badly that you can't bring it about, Doctor. It isn't your fault that I'm human. You did the best you could, under the circumstances."

The Doctor laughed again, the sound rueful. "If I could change things, then I would. But at the time, all I was trying to do was prevent a regeneration. I knew that I still had a reason to live on in this body -- and as it turns out, I have more of a reason than I'd thought."

Jamie nuzzled his cheek against the Time Lord's bare shoulder with a soft smile. "I might have thought at one time that I didn't have much of a reason to even be here," he confessed, sighing and closing his eyes. "But I was wrong about that, wasn't I?"

"You certainly were," the Doctor told him, one hand stroking down Jamie's side. "If you didn't exist, then I would be alone -- and I'd be terribly lonely. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you, Jamie. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Do you really believe that, love?" Jamie whispered, his eyes filling with tears. He knew that the Doctor loved him, beyond anything that he had the right to expect. But to hear that he was the best thing to happen to this man in over nine hundred years was overwhelming.

"Of course I do," the Doctor answered, tightening his arm around Jamie's waist while his other hand continued to stoke down his lover's body. "Without you, I'd be a very lonely man, Jamie. You've filled that space in me that no one else has ever been able to."

Jamie nodded somberly; he knew about that space. It was one of the strongest memories he'd felt of the Doctor's, from the very first. That space had been there in him, as well -- until the Doctor had made the decision to spirit him away into time and space.

Would that empty space in him, that loneliness that could never be quite assuaged, have always been there if the Doctor hadn't made that decision? Jamie was fairly sure that it would; he couldn't imagine any other person but the Time Lord being able to fill it.

That space didn't exist in him any more. It hadn't ever since the Doctor had taken him away from what everyone else had apparently perceived to be his destiny -- to be shackled to someone he didn't want to be with, who only wanted him because of how he looked.

They didn't seem to think it mattered that he would no longer be wanted once he began to age and didn't look exactly like her memories of the Doctor any more. No one seemed to take his feelings into account -- or to think that he even had a choice, or feelings to consider.

The Doctor was the only one who had taken his feelings and what he himself wanted into consideration. And he would never have enough words to thank his lover for that, no matter how many times he searched his heart -- and his considerable vocabulary.

"I wish I had the words to thank you for everything you've done for me," he murmured, knowing that the Doctor would understand why he found it hard to express himself. "If I did, I'd pour them over you until you were covered in words. But I don't think I can say all that's in my heart."

"You don't have to, sweetheart," the Doctor told him, his voice soft and loving. "Loving someone doesn't require words. I know you love me from the way you look at me, from your smile and your touch. Though it is nice to hear the words sometimes."

Jamie laughed softly, tilting his head slightly to look up at his lover. "I'll say those words as often as you want to hear them," he promised, a smile spreading across his face. "Starting right now, if you want me to. I'll say those words so much you get tired of hearing them."

"I could never get tired of hearing you say that you love me," the Doctor told him, brushing his lips against Jamie's hair. "I love hearing that. I should probably say it to you more, too. After all, there's nothing wrong with saying what's in your heart. Or hearts, in my case."

"There are so many feelings in mine that I don't think I could put them all into words," Jamie said softly, sounding thoughtful. "But I can try. I'll put them down on paper. I'll write you a letter, and then I'll say the words every day. At least the most important ones."

"You don't have to say them every day!" the Doctor protested, laughing. "Like I said, Jamie, no words are required. Only say them if you want to. But if you do .... then I'm not going to complain about hearing them. They always put a glow in my hearts."

"Then you'll hear those words every day -- because I want to say them," Jamie whispered, only seconds before the Doctor bowed his head to capture his lips in a gentle kiss. Within moments, the sensations taking over their bodies spoke more loudly than any words ever could.

***