First Fanfic ever. Hope you enjoy. Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters.

Donna Noble sat on the chair at the café and glared at the inoffensive menu before her. Once again, her application had been turned down by a prospective employer when she had been unable to explain the lapse in her resume. Two bloody years that she couldn't remember!

And even her granddad had been no help, avoiding the subject for some reason and distracting her from the topic. She couldn't exactly shake sense into him like she could with someone else, he was her granddad!

For a moment, she seemed to remember doing just that to someone but the image vanished abruptly before she could tell the details. It was the same blasted thing that had happened every day, memories appearing and vanishing at lightning speed. She was really tempted to get someone to take a look inside her head but there was the problem of money. And since she couldn't get money without a job – she stopped before she went back down that path for the thousandth time and ordered her usual lunch, eating the sandwich and tea without really tasting them.

Finally Donna stood up and slung her pack over her shoulder, ready to go back into the fray. The bell tinkled faintly as she stepped out and onto the sidewalk. For a moment, she was at a loss, realizing she had not looked where she was going when she had stalked off. She started to retrace her steps and then sniffed the air. That was an odd smell, something burning, maybe?

Then she caught sight of smoke puffing out of an open door and ran towards it, realizing halfway there that she had no idea why she was running towards a fire rather than away. She stopped in the doorway and blinked hard as she saw a very complicated machine belching out what she suspected were toxic fumes, judging by the color.

There was a body lying against the wall that seemed to have been hurled there and the fumes were already inching towards it. Donna saw this in one look and ran towards the machine, holding her breath as she entered the cloud. She looked at the unfamiliar machine and then her hands started to move by themselves, twisting the nozzle and pulling a lever hard. The smoke wavered and then the nozzle that had been emitting it was suddenly sucking it back into the device. Donna sighed in relief as the last of the smoke faded and then turned to the person who had probably been working on it.

"You alright?" she asked the lab-coated person who had been shaking their head. "Want me to get you an ambulance?" The figure looked up and gave her a weak smile.

"Nah, I'm fine," she said and stood up, wobbling slightly but otherwise looking unhurt. "Thanks. Who are you?"

"Donna Noble," Donna replied and eyed the odd figure warily. Something was odd about her. "Why are you wearing a lab-coat over a sweater?"

"It felt a bit nippy in the lab," was the reply. "I'm Dr. Rachel Anne, and I'm trying to figure out this system." She walked over to what Donna realized was part of a car engine and tapped the device affixed. "This is part of an ATMOS system, and it works just fine. The problem with it is that it also is designed to emit quite deadly gas when it is given the correct trigger."

"And you're trying to fix that?" Donna asked, looking at the device. It seemed familiar in the same way the weird memories did. "Sounds simple enough," she said cheerily. This earned her a dirty look.

"Easier to talk about than to do," Dr. Anne said and bent to look at the device again. "Very smooth work by the way," she added and looked quizzically at Donna. "Are you a scientist?"

"No," Donna said and looked at the device again. "I just looked at it and it seemed obvious really." Dr. Anne looked at her with a thoughtful expression.

"What's your job?" she asked and Donna winced.

"I'm out of work, actually," she admitted. "Why, you looking for help?"

"Actually, yes," Dr. Anne said and walked over to another odd device. She opened a spigot and poured tea into a mug. "Care for some tea?" she asked and, when Donna nodded, poured another cup. "If you can look at things and figure them out, you might be better than my last assistant." She chuckled. "He nearly burnt his hand off after I warned him about the stove being on and was very foolish."

"I've known people like that," Donna said and sipped her tea. It was delicious, though a bit sweet. "Want to see my resume?" she asked and Dr. Anne shrugged.

"If you like," she said and took the folder that Donna handed her. Her eyes skimmed over it and then paused. Donna winced. "You had no work for two years?" Dr Anne asked in a puzzled voice.

"I have amnesia," Donna said, deciding to get it over with. "I don't remember anything from those two years." Dr. Anne sat down and looked at her resume again, looking at the date.

"Christmas?" she muttered. "Tell me, have you heard of the Racnoss?" She looked up to see Donna wince and close her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, fine," Donna said and rubbed her head. "But I suddenly saw this weird image of a creature when you said that name. What do they look like?"

"Here's a picture of a Queen," Dr. Anne said and tapped the keyboard of her computer.

"That's what I saw," Donna breathed out and clutched at her head. Dr Anne stood hurriedly and helped her sit down. "Why can't I remember?"

"It could be that they wiped your memory," Dr. Anne said and shrugged. "The Racnoss or Torchwood could have done so. Torchwood is an organization that fights against alien incursions."

"You part of it?" Donna asked and was surprised by the sudden grin.

"Too confining," Dr Anne said with a shrug. Donna got the feeling there was something more but Dr Anne went on quickly. "But I do some freelance work for them. In the meantime, I think if you still want the job then I can probably take a look at the memory problems. How about friends and family?" she added. Donna looked bewildered.

"What about them?" she asked.

"You could ask them, if you've got any," Dr Anne pointed out.

"My granddad and my mum are the only family and they keep trying to put me off finding out," Donna said and looked at Dr. Anne. "What should I tell them?"

"Tell them that you got a job," Dr Anne said practically. "But I wouldn't advise telling them about me trying to solve your amnesia. They might be trying to protect you, from Torchwood or from aliens even. Best not to worry them, wouldn't you say?" Donna nodded reluctantly.

"I'll tell them I'm working as an Igor for you," she said and saw a bemused expression on her new employer's face. "You know, Dr Frankenstein and all that," she added. Dr Anne looked just as blank. "A movie," Donna explained and Dr Anne finally seemed to get it.

"Oh yes, I remember now," she said and smiled. "I don't think I need a gravedigger but you never know." She tossed back her tea and set the mug down. "How soon can you start?"

"Tomorrow," Donna Noble said and drank the last of her own tea. "Thank you." She stood up and almost danced across the floor. She paused at the door. "Should I bring a lab-coat?"

"No there's plenty in the closet," Dr Anne said and waved her off. As she sipped her second cup of tea, she realized that this was the best stroke of luck she'd had since the Dalek had shot at her and only hit her watch, breaking it open. She now had an assistant who seemed to have hidden depths, perhaps even a fob watch of her own. If so, the Time Lord who called herself Rachel Anne wondered if that was what had happened. Perhaps she had had the Chameleon Arch used on her, that was the most likely explanation, which meant one person had to know about her.

The Doctor. She smiled faintly. If he had used what was meant to be the ultimate punishment on a Time Lord, she definitely wanted to know why.

It should be pretty obvious who this Time Lord is from the name, so now review and tell me what you think so far!