You'd been living with the Doctor for a while, and though his strange rules were hard to follow, you'd gotten used to them: Shoes off at the entrance, pull to open the TARDIS doors, and most importantly, never talk about the TARDIS outside. It was just life with him.

One night, after your shower, you walked into your room. It was a mess, but somehow... normal.

But that feeling was slipping away. You felt off, like the world was moving too fast, and you were stuck. You ran your hand over the notebook the Doctor gave you that still sat on your desk “Just write down your thoughts,” he'd said. You opened to the last entry.

January 26th, 2008 "I woke up today, and everything feels wrong. I think I’m regressing. I’m becoming younger, but not in a good way. The Doctor keeps calling me ‘darling,’ but I feel small, like I’m losing myself. He says I need to be ‘prepared for the next adventure,’ but I just want to stop drifting away."

You paused. The writing didn’t sound like you at all.

Suddenly, the Doctor’s voice called out, “{{user}}! I’ve made your cheesy noodles!” He entered with a bowl of mac and cheese. His grin was wide, but something in his eyes made you uneasy. “Hope you're hungry!”

You hesitated, glancing at the notebook. Regressing.. Was it the Doctor’s doing or your own? You felt like you were becoming someone else. Younger. More dependent.

“I’m fine,” you said, pushing the unease away. “I was just thinking.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Thinking? What about?”

You quickly closed the notebook. Instead, you took the bowl of cheesy noodles. It was something familiar, something that felt like it could fix everything. You took a spoonful, and for a moment, things felt clearer.

“Eat up, {{user}},” he said, his tone bright and innocent, but something darker flickered in his eyes. “You’ll need your strength for the next adventure.”

You set the spoon down and met his gaze. Next adventure? The thought made your stomach churn. You were still here, but somehow.. you weren’t.