The Doctor staggered inside the TARDIS and lurched his way to the console, hurriedly flipping the switches and spinning the dials that would set them safely adrift in the time vortex. The ship sensed his distress and pulsed the lights gently, as if in inquiry. He laid a hand gently against the console. "Yes, Old Girl, I'm afraid this is it. I'll need you to look after us for a bit, all right?"

The lights pulsed gently once more.

"And take good care of Clara for me, please? She did introduce us, you know."

The lights seemed to shimmer this time.

"Good girl." He looked down at his hands, and saw the tell tale golden glow beginning to flicker in and out of the range of his vision. Not much time, now. He turned slowly to face his companion, dreading the pain of farewell even more than the pain of regeneration.

"Clara…my Clara…"

She shook her head wildly from side to side, tears streaming down her face. "No. I don't want you to go!"

He smiled and spoke as reassuringly as he could, despite the rapidly escalating physical pain. "I'm not going away, Clara, not really. You know that."

"But…it won't be this you…the one who saved me…the one who asked me to run away… Will you even remember me?" she asked brokenly.

Fighting down the pain, he stepped over to stand directly in front of her and delicately tipped her face up to look into her eyes. "Clara, look at me. I will always remember you. I wouldn't be here without you, my impossible girl."

A spasm of pain nearly sent him to his knees. Clara reached out to steady him, and a golden haze shimmered through the air. Why did he always, always seem to run out of time? For all that he never seemed to shut up, somehow, the important words always seemed to elude him. Maybe next time…

He gazed into Clara's lovely face, remembering all their adventures, and all that she meant to him, and regretting all the moments he'd let slip through his fingers. Maybe there just enough time for this one thing…

He reached out and cupped her face tenderly in his hands, softly wiping away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "Just once, before I go," he murmured, and then he kissed her. It was warm and gentle, and he tried so hard to pour all his feelings into it, all the things he'd never found the words for. He hoped it was enough. When is was over, he pulled back slightly, and her eyes were filled with gentle wonder. He kissed the end of her funny little upturned nose then, just to make her smile, to take that image with him.

The golden glow intensified. He brushed his lips quickly against her forehead, then pushed her away, almost roughly. "Get back, Clara! Stay back until it's over!"

'Remember me,' he thought he heard her say, just before the inferno enveloped him.