Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC.

Chapter 1: Falling.

I was born on a planet light-years away from this one. And during my short life I've seen unimaginable wonders and done impossible things.

I thought it would never end.

But then came the Sycorax. Then came mum and me and Donna…

This is how it all ended.

This is the story of how I died.

POV: Jenny

Date: August 28, 2007

I felt myself scream as I fell towards the void. The light that held nothing, as mum put it. A fate that others said was worse than death. I screamed louder when all three of us were pulled in with the Sycorax. I watched in horror as my parents drifted closer to the light. I wasn't afraid so much for myself, but for them. They had to live—they had to be happy. They had worked too hard to make it back to each other. I wasn't about to let the fact that I was in danger stand in their way. I could take care of myself.

So when my mum's anguished eyes found mine and I saw the choice she was forced to make, I gave her a nod to save Dad—save our Doctor. I watched her grab onto him with one hand and reach out to hold the lever tightly in her other one. A small smile graced my lips and I stopped struggling. They would be safe. They would be happy. Nothing else mattered now.

I heard Dad screaming my name as I fell. I closed my eyes against the light that was now blinding me, and sent my goodbyes to my parents. I love you, I'm so sorry.

And then I blacked out.

The first thing I was aware of when I regained consciousness was the fact that the room around me was not as bright as I expected it to be. The next thing I noticed was that I was lying on a small bunk. The soldier in me could tell by the narrow dimensions and scratchy sheets.

I opened my eyes, and groaned against the light.

"And she wakes!" a voice from across the room called to me in a flirtatious tone.

I turned my head to find a man sitting in a small armchair. He was tall and well-built, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a dark blue shirt, grey pants, braces, and topped it all off with a World War II jacket over his entirely ridiculous ensemble.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

He smirked. "I never can get over how much you look like both of them even though you've technically only got your father in you."

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

The strange man hefted himself to his feet and held up a device that looked similar to one on his wrist. "This is called a Vortex Manipulator. It's a form of time travel, but it does a lot of other stuff too. You're gonna need it. It's how I got you out, by the way, and you're welcome for that." He handed me the strange leather strap. "Never ever take it off. You hear me? And take this." He tossed me a dark jacket. "Hide it under the sleeve."

I put on the strap and the coat as instructed. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

He only grinned. "I'm the man who saved your life." he handed me a small envelope. "Coordinates are already set for you. Read that as soon as you get there. There's someone waiting for you. Good luck." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "And be brave, Jenny Tyler. The universe needs you."

"But—" He cut me off by pressing a button on the Vortex Manipulator. I wanted to scream when I felt myself falling again. I was aware enough this time to recognize that I was hurtling through time and space at breakneck speeds. The time winds whipped against my body and tried to tear me apart, and for a moment, I thought they would succeed.

I didn't open my eyes until I was absolutely sure the ground was solid under my feet.

Someone placed a strong hand on my arm. "Hey, you can open your eyes now."

I blinked at the familiar voice, and found Donna Noble smiling at me.

"Donna!" I squealed and threw my arms around her. "I missed you so much."

She held onto me tightly. "I know."

"Who was that man, where am I? What's going on?" I demanded.

Donna pursed her lips. "That was Jack Harkness. You're in his Torchwood hub right now. As for what's going on, well…" She heaved a sigh. "Come with me."

I blinked and felt my hearts flutter nervously. There was something different about Donna. Her whole body looked tired as she led me out of the hub. Her shoulders were hunched and she had an exhausted look in her eyes. She looked like a soldier. I crinkled my brow; Donna wasn't supposed to look like a soldier. What had happened?

I stepped outside and gasped at the sight before me.

It was night, but I doubted it was ever anything else. It didn't look like the sun had touched this world for quite some time. And that's when I noticed why.

High above us in the sky there were no stars, no planets—there was nothing. Nothing but a large, glowing crack that was stretched angrily right across the sky.

"What is that?" I demanded.

Donna let out a tiny, bitter smile. "That is the result of your life, and mine, and Rose's. A tear in the very fabric of time and space. It started during the Sycorax War on Pete's World. The Sycorax were never meant to attack there, and your mum was never meant to cross worlds at the point in time that she did. But that was only the start. The crack got bigger when I wasn't forced to forget traveling the universe." She looked at me with sad eyes. "I was never meant to remember my time with your dad," she said. "And when I did, it only caused this wound in time and space to get bigger."

"I still don't understand how I factor into this."

She sighed heavily. "You were the point that made the wound fester even more." She paused, and chewed on her lip. "Jen, I'm sorry, but you were never supposed to leave with your dad on Messaline. You were supposed to be shot down by General Cobb. When you weren't, the universe couldn't handle the strain."

I paled. "W-what?"

She pulled up my hand that still held the envelope. "Read it, and this will all make sense. I promise." she let out a heavy sigh and gave me another hug. "I'm so sorry darling, but this is up to you now. We're not going to be around for much longer."

My eyes shot to her. "Why not?"

Donna looked back up at the angry wound in the sky. "Because that thing is eating everything, and it's saved us for last. The very center of this whole mess…you need to get out of here before it can eat you, too. Read the letter and follow what it says." She pressed a couple of buttons on my newly acquired Vortex Manipulator and turned to go back inside.

I spun around on my heel. "But who's it from?"

She glanced back and gave me another small, tired smile. "I wish I knew."

My time senses told me that when I landed I wound up in the middle of London, Earth, 2007. At around 1:30 in the afternoon. I wish I knew an exact date, but I didn't have enough control over my senses to determine that.

I sighed heavily. Part of me wished Dad had taught me more about Time Lords before we were separated. I felt as though I was missing a huge piece of who I was.

A code, a shared history—shared suffering, was what he'd said. Without my dad, I would always just be an echo of that history. And I so desperately wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be more than the soldier from Messaline that just so happened to have two hearts.

I looked around at my surroundings. I'd landed in the middle of a busy street. People hurried past me to get to work and school and wherever else people go. For a moment, I wondered why Donna had sent me here, on a random street in London. I stood blinking under the unusually sunny sky as I tucked the letter away and tried to figure out what to do next.

Suddenly, someone bumped into me hard enough that I was nearly knocked over.

"Oi! Watch it!" I shouted, and turned to find a familiar face staring at me with hopeful eyes that quickly seemed to deflate.

I froze—it was the man who'd saved my life, but he looked…wrong somehow.

He reached out for me, but I flinched away from his touch. "Sorry," he muttered, "I thought you were someone else."

I grabbed onto his shoulder. "It's you."

His eyes narrowed. "Have we met? Sorry, time traveler, nothing happens in the right order."

"Yes! You saved my life with a device like this." I held up my Vortex Manipulator.

His eyes widened. "What?" He pointed to the manipulator. "That's a very sensitive piece of equipment. Where did you get it?"

"You gave it to me."

He cocked his head to the side. "Why would I give it to you?"

I swallowed and bit my lip. How much could I tell him? "I can't tell you yet. Name's Jenny, by the way."

"Jack!" a distinctly Welsh voice called out. "Come one, it's getting away!"

"Go after it then!" Jack called over his shoulder before holding out his hand with a flirty wink. "Captain Jack Harkness, at your service miss. And that was Jenny—?"

"Tyler," I said, and took his hand with a smile. "Jenny Tyler."

Jack's eyes gleamed. "Tyler? As in, daughter of Rose Tyler?"

Now I grew suspicious. "How do you know my mum?"

A wide smile spread across the man's face and he let out a breathy laugh. "I travelled with her and the Doctor for a while. Is she here? How did you get here? This should be impossible!" He scanned around us desperately for any sign of Mum.

My face fell. "No…I don't know where they are. We got separated…it's a long story." I tugged a hand through some loose strands of my hair.

Jack held out a hand. "Maybe I can help. Let me take you back to the hub and you can tell me what happened."

"But what about your friend?" I asked.

He waved a hand dismissively. "She can take care of herself. The rest of the team is with her. They don't need me."

I smiled, but shied away from his hand. He was still bothering me. There was some little instinct in the back of my mind screaming at me to run away from this man. He just felt...wrong. "No offense, but why does it hurt to look at you? It's like you're just...stuck. Like time's stopped around you. How is that possible?"

Jack's eyes darkened as he gave me a slight smirk. "Now that is a long story."

I stared at him warily for a moment before I pulled in a breath and took his hand. "Tell me."

POV: Donna Noble

Date: July 5, 2008

My head hurt, oh God my head did hurt. Most of the time I could ignore the dull ache that had become my constant companion since Rose had come back to this universe on Messaline, however, today it seemed like its sole goal was to torment me to death.

I sighed heavily, and wished for all the worlds that I could take aspirin. This whole remembering two different timelines business was going to kill me. Being a fixed point in time at the center of a massive paradox was a real pain.

I'd had all of this explained to me when she had given me the letter for Jenny.

Now, with that task completed, I needed to find him. Maybe I could stop all of this nonsense before it even got started.

I squeezed my eyes against the new throbbing in my head. This whole time travelling business was all just so complicated and silly. Why couldn't everything simply happen in the right order?

I huffed. "Wibbily-wobbily."

"Timey-wimey," a voice behind me said.

My eyes widened, and I spun around. It was her again. Only this time she looked even more tired than before.

"Why did you come back?" I asked.

She gave me an exhausted smile. "I almost forgot to give you this." she handed me a small faux watch. "Give it to the Doctor next time you see him."

"Who's inside?" I asked nervously. I knew all about the Doctor's adventures with the tacky little things.

"Nobody. Not yet anyway. Tell him to put it into the TARDIS in the room where nothing gets lost." She laughed. "God, when did I become so cryptic? I'm turning into him."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "That's not so bad."

She gave me a funny look, and then kissed my cheek. "Take care, Donna Noble."

I grew confused. Why did it sound like she was saying goodbye?

"But I'll see you again before the end of all of this, won't I?"

She just smiled, and disappeared.