Title: Steal Away
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts
Prompt: 4, Stolen away
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 glanced over at Jamie, a smile on his lips. His lover was sitting on the couch reading a book, apparently absorbed in the story of Marie Antoinette's life. He made a lovely picture to the Time Lord's eyes, sprawled on the couch deep in concentration.

He hadn't been so content in this body since he'd had Jack here with him -- and even that hadn't been as happy an existence as the one he now had. The two of them had fought more than any normal couple should do; their relationship hadn't been an easy one.

It was different with Jamie. It was almost as though the two of them had a personal shorthand that didn't require words; one touch, one glance, was enough for them to tell each other all that was in their hearts and minds, with full understanding.

Of course, that was because Jamie was a part of him in a way that no one else could possibly ever be. No matter how much he might have loved another person, they didn't share his memories; they weren't literally a part of who he was.

It dind't matter that Jamie was human. Yes, he would inevitably age and die, but that was far, far into the future. In the here and now, they had each other, and he'd never felt so at peace with the world. It was a peace he hadn't often managed to find.

None of this would have happened if he hadn't stolen Jamie away from the life that everyone else had been sure that he was meant to lead; at first, he himself had thought that the best thing would be to let Jamie go to that alternate universe, to never see him again.

But the more he'd looked at this man, the more their eyes had met, the more he'd realized that he didn't want to lose Jamie. He'd felt a tug at his hearts and soul that he couldn't deny, no matter how much he'd tried to tell himself that it wasn't right.

It was right. There was no way that feeling this strongly about someone could be wrong; he and Jamie were both adults, and they wanted to be together. What he had done in stealing Jamie away from what others had planned for him had been right for the two of them.

He wouldn't have done it if Jamie hadn't wanted it, of course. If he had said that he wanted to go to this alternate world, that he wanted to be with someone who didn't truly love him, then the Doctor would have let him go, even against his better judgement.

His hearts would have broken, and he would have spent the rest of this life -- and any other subsequent lives -- wondering what might have been, if he and Jamie would have been destined to be together in the long run. But he would have done what the other man requested.

Nothing would ever convince him that the two of them had been wrong to love each other, to steal away together. All right, so it might have seemed sneaky for them to leave in the way they had -- but it was the only thing he'd been able to do at the time.

He didn't want to condemn Jamie to a life that he wouldn't have been happy in -- and who could be happy with a person who only loved them because they looked like someone else? She hadn't wanted Jamie for who he was, but for who she wanted him to be.

In fact, she hadn't loved him at all. She hadn't really even loved him, the Doctor reflected, a wry smile crossing his features. She'd been looking for a father figure, not a lover, thoug she would never have admitted that. She was too immature to know what she wanted.

Anyway, it was all water under the bridge now. He had Jamie, and he wasn't going to let this man go. Even if she somehow managed to come back into this universe and demanded that Jamie go with her, the Doctor wouldn't surrender his lover.

Jamie was where he belonged -- and more importantly, he was where he wanted to be. He would never make the man he loved go to a place he didn't want to be, with a person he didn't love. He would respect Jamie's wishes and let him make his own decision.

Of course, that decision had benefitted him. He might have thought it was the wrong thing to do at first, but after he'd held Jamie in his arms, after they'd made love, he had known in his hearts that this was what he wanted, more than he'd ever wanted anything in all of his lives.

What would he do if Jamie ever changed his mind? A shadow flitted across his face; the thought almost made him shudder. He didn't want to think that Jamie could be that fickle, but the other man was human. Maybe there was a chance his feelings would change.

No. Jamie wasn't like that. He might be human, but he had a Time Lord brain. That kind of fickleness and indecision didn't go along with who he was, even though he was in a human body. His feelings wouldn't change, and he wouldn't want to leave.

If he did decide that he wanted to leave and start a life on Earth, for any reason, the Doctor would let him. But he would keep going back to Earth to be sure that Jamie was all right; he wouldn't simply disappear from this man's life.

There was no way he could bring himself to do that. Jamie was too much a part of him, too much a part of his life, his hearts and soul. He would start his own life on Earth if it came down to that; he couldn't stay there all the time, but he could make it a home base.

Would that really be so bad? he told himself, considering the possibility. Not really; Earth was a place that he'd always been fascinated with. And with his lover being human, it made sense for him to make that planet a sort of base of operations for the two of them.

It wasn't the way he was used to living, of course -- but Jamie had changed a lot of things for him. And maybe it was time to integrate bigger changes into his life. As long as he didn't make the ultimate change and regenerate, then change could be a good thing.

Would Jamie be happy with living on Earth? The Doctor considered that thought, glancing over at his lover again. He wouldn't know unless he asked, and he would do that soon. But he had to decide if it was a good idea before he broached the subject with Jamie.

He wouldn't stay on Earth all the time, of course. He wasn't the sort of person who could live in a static place all the time -- he was a traveler, a wanderer. And he was a Time Lord. For him, staying in one place wasn't the right thing to do.

But to have a place to go back to, a place that he could call home .... that was something he'd wanted ever since the destruction of Gallifrey. It would soothe his soul to know that not only was that place there, but the man he loved was there as well.

Though he wouldn't leave Jamie on Earth when he traveled in space and time. He couldn't. Jamie was too much a part of him to be left behind -- he would steal away with the man he loved every chance he could, and he was sure that Jamie would be only too glad to go with him.

Would that kind of life work for them? he asked himself, taking a deep breath and looking over at Jamie. The only way he would know his lover's feelings on the idea was to ask -- and this was as good a time as any for that discussion to start.

***