This is a one-shot that I may eventually turn into a full-length story after I complete the other three Doctor Who fanfics I'm working on. (All in One Night, Haunted by Blue Police Boxes, and Angel Weeps No More) I have a lot of ideas for this story… but it may be a very long while before I post anything more on it.
The Doctor watched from a distance as a young woman pulled her hair back from her face. The woman had been digging in the dirt for the last hour, pulling weeds and clipping the browning leaves of well-tended plants.
"Alena," the Doctor whispered.
Despite having never met the young woman, the Doctor knew her name. It had been a growing whisper, an echo in the distance for nearly ten years now. The sound was getting closer, and the Doctor could feel that something was shifting, changing, but not yet fixed.
Alena crawled towards a trellis covered in vines. Even from this distance, the Doctor could see little pink and yellow flowers just beginning to appear.
"Rose," the Doctor breathed out the name in fond memory. Their time together seemed so long ago. As though drawn by that thought, the Doctor looked out over the London skyline. There in the distance was the Eye of London. No, not so long ago… not from this place.
The Doctor's memories of Rose were clear, but there seemed to be a mist drawing near. The thought of something fogging those memories… The Doctor's jaw tightened. Those memories would not be forgotten, even thru the haze.
"Oh, you are lovely," Alena whispered to the tiny flowers, drawing the Doctor's attention once more. The Doctor stood transfixed as Alena ran her hand along one of the tiny rosebuds. Such small hands. The Doctor's hand twitched as though preparing to reach out. Soft. Alena's hand was soft, uncalloused, despite the way she worked in the soil, dirt darkening the small cresses of her hands. The Doctor knew.
The Doctor watched as an easterly breeze blew Alena's blond hair into her face once more. Once again, she pushed the hair from her face. The corner of the Doctor's lip twitched. There was a smudge, just there, along Alena's left cheek. It was then the Doctor noticed it, a dirty rag that had been resting on the brick wall separating the little garden from the hard concrete that made up the rest of the street.
The rag.
A memory began to take shape. The east wind, taking it up in its next breath. It was this moment, this very moment, that would change the course of time. Just a rag. An insignificant dirty rag, blown away by an eastern wind.
Everything seemed to snap into place at that moment. The Doctor ran.
Alena grimaced as she tried to wipe the dirt from her face. She'd even gotten some into her mouth. She reached for her work rag. "Ahhh," she growled as the rag was caught in the wind, falling from the wall of the garden bed, and onto the street. Without thinking she jumped to her feet and hurried forward to stop it. She didn't see the oncoming car. After retrieving her rag, she looked up and froze. Time stood still, and her heartbeat pounded in her head. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Just when she realised what was happening, Alena felt her breath forced from her body as she was knocked backwards onto the hard sidewalk, her head protected by what she was sure was a hand. When she opened her eyes, and just for a moment, she was greeted by warm hazel eyes, blond hair, and… rainbows.
"Thank you." Alena groaned as she tried to smile up at the woman. "I…," Alena began, but her words died in her throat as the woman faded and Alena was blinded by the sun.
The Doctor stepped from behind a tree and watched as passers-by ran to Alena's aid. The Doctor's body tensed, and her hand twitched, longing to assist. It was then she felt a small, soft hand, slide into hers. The Doctor's body relaxed, and a smile curved upon her lips.
"Alena."