The night was chilly. Amy had Rory's jacket over her shoulders as she sat in the chair outside in her garden. The moon was shining bright and the stars were twinkling, one by one. Amy took a sip of her warm cup of tea as she stared up into the sky. She was in such a train of thought, it seemed like nothing could break her from it.
"Knock, knock" came a voice from behind her. Amy turned around to see Donna coming through the open backdoor. "My it's another cold night, isn't it?" Donna asked as she crossed her arms tightly.
"Do you want a jacket or something?" Amy asked, as Donna came forward and sat in the chair next to her.
"Nah, I'm fine really," Donna answered all cuddled up in her grey wool sweater.
Amy looked back up into the sky. So many thoughts were going through her mind. She didn't know whether to smile or cry. Donna could sense something was wrong. "So how are things lately?" Donna asked.
Shaken away from her trance, Amy answered, "Oh things are fine."
Donna knew she was lying. Donna had been in her position before and she knew that look. She had given it to her Gramps many times before. All that was hidden away from the rest of the world. No one could understand what she went through and what she had seen. Now though she was here for Amy. She was one person who could relate to her.
Donna just gave Amy a little stare. Amy looked into Donna's green eyes. She saw herself in Donna. They had shared the same past in a way; Gone through time and space with their best friend. The next thing Amy knew was she had tears in her eyes. She tried to compose herself and rubbed her cheek with Rory's sleeve. Donna leaned over and touched her hand.
"I promise you, it gets better. Really it does. Look at me after all," Donna began, "I mean I had the best of times with the Doctor. The absolute best. That was the greatest time of my life, when I was with him. But now I am back to reality. I have settled down and moved on. You can too. You have Rory after all."
Amy gave Donna a little smile, "What was it like though? When you couldn't remember him?"
Donna sat back in her chair, with her head rested against the back. She let out a heavy sigh. She never liked to remember those times of her life; those times where her life seemed empty. It seemed to be not hers. She seemed lost.
"Oh well those times weren't the best," Donna began explaining while looking up at the stars, "I honestly felt lost. I felt like something was always missing and I was always searching for it."
Amy leaned back in her chair too and looked up at the stars. She remembered she felt the same way when she had waited for the Doctor those many years ago. Just a child outside with her luggage all packed and ready to go. She felt lost too.
"But as time went by, little by little, things started to come back to me. It was the little things. The certain shade of blue. Sounds that reminded me later of the TARDIS. Even converse shoes made me pause for a second," Donna said as she smiled and let out a laugh.
"In the end though things started coming back. However, I still don't remember everything. There are still fuzzy patches that haven't been remembered yet," Donna stated.
"But after what the Doctor said to you, aren't you scared for it all to come rushing back?" Amy asked looking over at Donna.
"Oh well, no not really," Donna answered, "I mean yeah, I realize that I'm not supposed to remember anything to be honest. He said that I would burn up inside. Yet, I haven't. I think maybe it's because things have changed now. You said it yourself that the whole timeline of the universe has seemed to shift."
Amy gave a little sigh, "It sure has."
They both looked back up in the sky. They both dreamed of the times they had shared with the Doctor. The times in the TARDIS. The times in the stars. The times of endless running. Of course they missed it all.
But Amy knew a secret that Donna didn't. She knew that the Doctor was no longer alive. He was gone. All of her adventures seemed to have died with him. She felt a pain in her heart. Tears formed in her eyes. Donna noticed again.
"Listen Amy, I promise he left you and Rory to live out your lives together. He would have done that with me if he had the chance to, I think. Sadly though, it ended the way it did," Donna said trying to comfort Amy.
"The Doctor is always with us though. Always in our dreams and our hearts," she continued, as she put her own hand to her heart.
Amy smiled at Donna. In a way Donna felt like a big sister to Amy. They both had the same experiences that not many could even imagine. "Thanks Donna," Amy said as she wiped away her tears.
Donna stood up and said, "Well I'd probably better be off then. Sean is probably having trouble putting the kids to sleep." She gave a little giggle and Amy stood up and they hugged. It was another one of those nights. The two best friends of the Doctor's going down memory lane. It was always so funny to Amy on that they even met. That one chance encounter while in town. It seemed like fate. But Amy knew that time had changed. Even her Doctor was gone now.
Or so she thought.
In a few minutes, Amy would learn of the Doctor's true fate from her own daughter. Her Melody would bring her the news that she had been hoping for so long. Donna was right though. The Doctor had never truly left her. He was a constant factor in her life, just as he was still in Donna's.