The Burnt Orange Sky

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or anything affiliated with it. I do however own my imagination and its strange little ways :P

Summary: After a time it infects you, the killing…There was a time the doctor looked to that sky and it held every dream. Where are the dreams if the sky is no more? Doctor/Donna Friendship

Rating: K+

SPOILERS:

- The Doctors Daughter

- Probably various snippets from season 3 and 4 episodes.

Authors Notes

- This is the first fic I have written in a long time and the first in the Doctor Who fandom so please excuse me if this is awful…

- The research for this fic was mainly from what I know about the current series and wikipedia. If I have anything wrong please tell me as it would be great to know for future reference :)

Burnt orange sky, the citadel, the majesty of it all. An ultimate race, in ultimate peace…destroyed, in the ultimate war. As a child, 8 years old he looked into the untempered skism, for a moment his eyes were fixed, that gap, that great chasm away from what he knew, who he was... How was that something that could be understood by an 8 year old boy? How was he supposed to see this? Eyes flickered to the great watcher, his teacher who had brought him here, memories of his parentage, of his separation, of this expectation no less fresh on his mind than his last shuddering breath… fear which had been pushed to the corner of his being suddenly flew into his hearts, igniting both with an energy far beyond that he had ever felt…he ran, and ran, and ran. Years passing, the age pushing him higher towards that sky, bigger, stronger, wiser. One of the top of his class, he had graduated the academy not to become some scholar or a great watcher, not even to be a traveler at first…but a soldier.

They told you that you weren't a soldier…they said that as they taught you every species they had known, the knowledge, the power and the legacy of the time lord empire almost downloaded into a brain. He had built his sonic screwdriver at the age of 12 and now he knew how to upgrade it, the inner workings, and the ability of such a device to aid you in any situation. Technology was clay beneath his fingers, the wires, the structure and the power source about as complicated to him as war was to Sontarans. It wasn't something you learnt…it was a way of life.

After the first century, he learnt about black hole and singularity theory. The moment he had seen his beautiful machine, his own TARDIS, his views of time lord life were completely inverted and he remembered what he had seen all those 92 years back. The meaning of life it was, that was what it had meant; go out into that universe, heal it, change it, make it better…

There was just one single problem in this sudden epiphany and this was that the TARDIS was not his, it belonged to Gallifrey and there was no chance that the Time Lord Counsel would allow him a TARDIS at his young age, especially not with his intentions to interfere with the universe. Gallifrey had seen some terrible things and it was after that, that a non interference policy was put in place and kept to as one of the highest laws. He didn't want to be a watcher though, or a teacher, he didn't want to be a "soldier". This time lord wanted to be a traveler, he wanted to be The Doctor.

The Doctor; top of his class, given all the knowledge Gallifrey could give and trained in all technology…not the TARDIS specifically but there was nothing he'd like to do more than learn.

He stole it, that TARDIS. In a warehouse of hundreds, that one had caught his eye, snatching him, binding him to it as his pathway to a legacy of his own, beautiful blue box, suspended, singing its own low hum, calling him. He stole it and through turbulence and sparks, through the calls from officials demanding his return he flew it deep into the stars, the haunting and intense sound of the TARDIS's own cry echoing the first prospects of a thousand different worlds. The sound of his first loneliness…

He had spent his years traveling, sometimes lingering and even building a life for himself. He found he was not the only rogue and traveled twinned with another TARDIS for some time, enough time to love, to make love, to create a daughter. Dark haired, beauty written on her face like poetry - a trait she had from her mother. She shared his willingness for travel and excitement and took to her own path when she was old enough, making a family of her own, and another daughter…

The Doctor had traveled with his granddaughter for some time until like all her family she found her path and followed it. Everything was perfect, his centuries and regenerations adding up but his adventures never dying…

Then the war cry was played. Then burnt orange became blood red…

Donna woke abruptly to the sound of yelling and sobbing and knew in a breath who it was "Doctor" she span her feet around to touch the cold ground and pushed herself up into an instant sprint, she hit the stairs of the TARDIS and only paused for a second at the top to make sure she chose the right path as she didn't wish to end up in the doctor's closet – the amount of clothes that man had could put any woman to shame. A whimper guided her as she turned right and the doctor's own bed chamber was open before her, she had to say that it was certainly a private space, much like a living room mixed from several different times and places, armchair of 60's design, a coat hanger distinstintly from her own time holding his brown jacket and a ridiculously lengthy scarf, a host of machines beyond her recognition ticked and hummed, working away at whatever was their purpose and amongst other things the bed which was rather Victorian looking at a guess. Definitely the oldest of all the things in the room was the Doctor himself who writhed on the bed, hands pulling at his hair and sweat drenching his skin. She froze, uncomfortable at seeing him in such a vulnerable position but also completely lost at what she should do…he wasn't human, how the hell was she supposed to react to alien nightmares? She suppressed an image of some kind of weird reincarnation of "the exorcist", scolding herself for her utter lack of a life beyond television before this and moved swiftly towards him…

He was not alone in his return; a scream out into the universe hit every TARDIS, every time lord, right in the soul. It had been a desperate beg to all those which had broken into freedom "return home, please come and help us, we're dying…" As his precious ship touched the soil of his homeland he did not pause to even consider himself. He opened the doors to all the solidity that he had ever known burning, the orange sky a permanent and deathly red. He was called and his eye's met those of his wife, she was crying, he approached her and embraced her. Maybe if he knew that would be the last time he was to see her he might have held her closer, whispered some words of comfort and caring into her ear, perhaps even kissed her…

Daleks never ceased in their thirst for blood, never retreated. The ground was no longer soil, it was shards of broken dalek amour and ruined bodies of all his people, strong in their resolve but weakened as hearts stopped and the greatest of minds ceased. New death was reported every day, volcano's were forced to erupt and all the natural wonders which had been so harmless before where turned against them by monstrous hybrids of Dalek and Time Lord Technology. The planet was obliterated by streams of lava, its golden fingers reaching greedily towards more ground that could be scorched by its own core. They had been forced back with their machines into the citadel – the only place left standing and the only place that could sustain an environment fit for time lord bodies. Daleks attacked them in swarms, some falling before they could reach their foe, purely because of the intense heat.

Donna grabbed the doctor by the shoulders and shook him; he squirmed away and continued to yell, contained in his own horrible nightmare. Her hand reached out to the table beside his bed where a variety of interesting objects where gathered, including his stethoscope. She rushed to put it on and with great effort checked one of his hearts – it was racing, the beating was rapid like footfalls – like running…

The fighting…the killing…it stretched for years. It consumed both sides in a single purpose, leaving every individual fighting as a mere echo of themselves. Soldiers, every single one of them. In what was the final few days in the company of his people, procedure of a strategy which has been planned over months was finally carried out. The black hole which powered Gallifrey was to be sacrificed in hope of a final victory. It was a plan with many complex numbers and calculations to it but it was set to work, it looked like nothing could go wrong. They were going to combine the black hole with a supernova and as they did this they were going to pull Gallifrey out of phase and into it's own pocket of space/time. It was so clear that it had been surprising it hadn't been considered before…

There was a sudden reprieve, the doctor fell still and lay silently, his body trembled and his hands were balled into fists tight enough to turn his knuckles white. Donna allowed a breath she didn't realize she has been clinging to, to escape her chest.

Within a moment she had caught another as the doctor sat up suddenly, his eyes opened revealing emotion that she had never seen in them before; anger and intense sadness to the point where they cancelled each other out to create pure psychopathy. It scared her beyond words. She tried to escape from him, but he grabbed her and his hand flew to her face… she flinched in preparation for pain and a wave of dizziness but instead his fingers rested on her temples, softly touching skin, a warmth melting into her mind, closing her eyes, taking her away…

The TARDIS was humming softly, the doors were open and a man stood framed, gazing down at a planet, glowing red, crumbling and disappearing into what appeared to be a black hole. The man was built differently to the doctor; he had less hair and was wearing a dark jacket which emphasized the width of his shoulders.

"Who are you?" Donna questioned, daring to take a step closer.

"I'm no one. Not now." The man's voice cracked and his grip tightened on the frame of the TARDIS door "I could throw myself from here now and no one would know any different…"

Donna gasped as she realized who he must be, but still could not realize why she was there or where there was. She gently pushed the conversation forward.

"Please don't do that, whatever has happened, there is no need to end your own life…"

"They are gone. Everyone dead. My love, my daughter, my entire world is GONE!" he yelled out into the stars, an indifferent universe, untouched by emotion, in its beauty and in its devastation. The universe didn't care. The numbers were calculated so specifically, measured to hit every parameter to perfection… An anomaly. That was all. A single anomaly to bring down an empire…

The man turned and as his eyes fell onto Donna, the form he had been holding melted away and there stood her Doctor, the one she knew with silent tears chasing each other down his cheeks. His voice was steady, quiet and in a way peaceful…or defeated…

"Why does it happen Donna? Why am I always the last one? I don't know how I survived that final battle of the time war when no one else could."

"I don't know Doctor." Donna responded softly "but maybe you were meant to."

"What, so I could loose even more, so that everything close to me could be shattered? A curse of solitude because I didn't die with my people?"

"You aren't alone Doctor-"

"Donna, I have lived for hundreds of years and I could live for even longer. Nothing I have is there forever. I try, I really try not to be selfish because I understand that no human will be able to travel with me for the time that I might want them to but it isn't only that. I found another time lord – the master…now he's gone too…and Jenny…" He grimaced in the remembrance of hopes so harshly dashed.

"Doctor, you do amazing things…"

"I have done some atrocious things, you have even witnessed…"

"You gave the racnos a choice…"

"I watched them die screaming…" He pushed the memory to the back of his mind. What he had done there was because of another loss, because of Rose, and because he had never told her what he felt…If she had seem him that Christmas…she would have hated him.

"You need to let this go Doctor, you need to break free of this place and push it to the back of your mind. Everyone has done something bad in their lives; it is only unfortunate that you have a longer time to make those mistakes in."

The doctor paused and looked back to his lost world. He had cried for them, for his people, the master, for Rose and even for Jenny. His eyes had seen more than most in the entire universe and there was so much of that he didn't regret.

"Donna-" he walked towards her and grasping her arm pulled her to the TARDIS door. "This is Gallifrey, my home world. It was destroyed in the last great time war and I believed I was the only survivor…"

"But you weren't." she paused for a moment before smiling and giving him a quick nudge "Maybe your just making yourself too important! Last of the time lords! How can you even know?"

He looked to her; he saw her grin, a moment of inside joy making its display and broke into a smile himself.

"Do you reckon we can get out of your head now? I have enough problem with my own thoughts to be having yours floating about aswell!"

"Indeed we can Miss Donna Noble!" he enthused. Her humanity was something of great symbolism as far as her race went. She knew what mattered, her life hadn't contained the biggest of excitements as she had claimed herself, but she knew it was the smaller moments that meant something, the smiles, the laughter, the gesture of reaching out to help someone…

When Donna had returned to bed, the Doctor had crept from his and up to the control area. His hands skirted controls and made the occasional adjustments to the lesser systems. Bored with that he sat with his feet up twiddling his thumbs idly and considering whether he would ever want to sleep again…That was when it appeared, small and in the corner of his screen – minute blue text. He jumped up and pulled the screen closer, his eyes widened and his hand made a habitual run through his hair, gripping it at the back as he read the familiar letters:

Y A N A…

I hope you enjoyed the fic :)

Please review.