"Until next time, Doctor," Clara paused at the door, giving him a mock salute.
"Clara," he began, making his way past the console to lean against the railing, "you sure you're not up for one more trip? Ancient Egypt? Maybe pop over and see Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?"
She smirked suspiciously at him and quirked an eyebrow, "I'm sure. Parent-teacher night coming up and I have papers to grade." She crossed her arms and looked him carefully up and down, "What's going on with you? You're being weird."
He got defensive, "Weird? Me, weird? I'm not being weird. You're being weird. Turning down an adventure to go off and teach a bunch of angst ridden teenagers how to write a short story."
Rolling her eyes she opened the TARDIS doors, "Whatever you say, Doctor. See you later." And with that she was gone.
When the door closed behind her, he took the psychic paper out of his jacket pocket and swallowed hard as he stared at it. It read, "He's looking for you. Help him." He had been getting the same message all week long. Well, he assumed it had been a week Earth time. It's hard to keep track when you're having adventures with Clara and floating around in the Vortex; so he ignored it. What could it mean? Who is he? How could the Doctor help him?
The note made him nervous for some reason and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Sitting down on the steps he ran his thumb over the paper and sighed loudly. He may as well check it out; not as if he had anything else to do anyways with Clara being busy with work. He looked up at the ceiling and spoke to the TARDIS, "Well, let's check it out old girl. You know where we're going?" She blinked a few lights in response and made a humming noise that wouldn't mean much to anyone who wasn't so attached to her. The Doctor recognized it as a happy tone. Odd.
A few twisted dials and pushed buttons later the TARDIS landed with a moan and groan upon its mystery destination. The Doctor secured his sonic screwdriver in his pocket and poked his head out the door to investigate. As he took in his surroundings he wondered why the TARDIS had taken him here. It was a neighborhood. A normal, ordinary, human neighborhood. What was so special about it?
But then it hit him. He wasn't in just any old neighborhood, he was in Chiswick. Panicking he ran back into the TARDIS and looked angrily around the console room. "What are you doing? We can't be here!" he yelled, the TARDIS remained quiet, "You know the consequences if she-" he couldn't bring himself to talk about Donna's mind burning. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Of course the TARDIS knew the consequences. She would never put Donna in danger on purpose so there must be a reason that she had brought them here.
The doors to the TARDIS opened with a harsh flap and the Doctor got the hint. He scurried out before she could nag him further. There seemed to be no one around so he deemed it safe to exit and locked the door behind him. He turned around and patted his ship before leaving her, "Just make sure Donna doesn't see you, alright?" She hummed sadly and he tried not to dwell on her tone. It would just make him feel worse.
He walked the familiar streets of Chiswick and constantly kept an eye out for a flash of ginger hair. He thought he had spotted her and hid behind a bush to block himself from view but it turned out to be a random woman walking her dog. He wasn't even sure why he was hiding to be honest. Yes, he had seen this face before in Pompeii but he doubted Donna would recognize it; after all she interacted with him after the memory wipe as "John Smith" and she hadn't even batted an eye when she looked at him. This made him relax a bit as he continued his journey down the street.
He'd been walking around for a while when something, well someone one, caught his eye. A little old man, carrying a telescope up a hilltop. The sight made his hearts drum quickly. He suddenly thought back to the note on his psychic paper, "He's looking for you. Help him," and it clicked: Wilf was he. Wilfred Mott, the man who he would have been honored to have as his father needed his help and all he could do was stare at him. His urge to flee rose but his feet stayed planted like cement. Besides, he's quite certain his stubborn ship would lock him out until he got all of this sorted out.
He bit the bullet and made his legs move forward to follow Wilf up the hill. Catching up to him he calls out, "Would you like a hand with that?"
Wilf whirled around to face him, "Why, yes. Thanks so much," he said handing him the blanket he had tucked under his arm. The Doctor walked in pace with him the remainder of the way and spread the blanket on the ground when Wilf picked a spot for his telescope.
"Thanks for the help, stranger," he said with a smile, "Wilfred Mott," he offered as he held out his hand.
"Smith, John Smith," the Doctor answered, taking Wilf's hand.
"Had a friend by that name once," Wilf sad sadly, "so do you do this often? Go around helping old men carry things about? Bit old to be a boy scout, mate."
"Something like that, yeah." He nervously rammed his hands in his pockets and went to inspect Wilf's telescope. "This is very nice. Is it new?"
"Oh yes, it was a birthday gift, actually. My granddaughter got it for me."
The Doctor froze at the first mention of Donna. It'd been so long since he had talked about Donna with anyone but his TARDIS. There were times, though they seemed so long ago, when he would spend evenings remembering her with River. How she would comfort him when he let himself grieve the loss of his best friend.
"Are you close with your granddaughter?"
Wilf's grin occupied his entire face, "Thick as thieves we are. Donna's my little general. Always on top of me to get things done. I don't know what I would do without her."
Refusing to look Wilfred in the eyes the Doctor pretended to be looking for something through the telescope. "She sounds…fantastic. Really something."
"Oh she is," Wilfred beamed, "fantastic person, loving wife, amazing mother."
The Doctor couldn't help but shoot up and look at Wilfred, "Donna's a mother?"
"Sure is," Wilf dug around in his trouser pocket to retrieve his wallet. He flipped it open to show the Doctor a photo of a beautiful, blonde, little girl. "After she got married a few years ago, she and her husband tried having kids. Turns out there were some medical issues and it wasn't going to be possible. Broke her heart, it did. But, my little Donna's a fighter so ultimately they decided to adopt."
This made the Doctor smile. Of course Donna would fight. Always a fighter, his Donna.
"They checked into a few different agencies before they found little Jenny."
"I'm sorry but did you say Jenny?" the Doctor squeaked.
"Yeah. Said as soon as she saw little Jenny's name on the front of her file she knew she would be the one. Opened it up and saw her photo and she said that's the moment she became a mother. That was her child."
The Doctor couldn't suppress his pride, "Oh, that's so very Donna."
Wilf cocked his head to the side, "You say that as if you know her."
"What are you looking for out here?" the Doctor avoided, "anything particular?"
Wilf was suspicious now, and to be honest the Doctor didn't know why he was playing games in the first place. "Yeah, something blue," Wilf shot back, challenging him.
Taking his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket he approached Wilf's telescope and began to whiz it around manically. "There, that should let you see a bit farther out. Just don't tell Donna I tweaked with her gift. May make her a bit cross," he cocked his head and scrunch up his face in a knowing way, "things of a blue nature should be easier to spot now."
Wilf's mouth went slightly agape. He opened it and closed it a few times but said nothing. He cautiously took a few steps forward and studied the man in front of him while also trying to put two and two together.
"It's been quite a while, Wilfred Mott," the Doctor started, "I got your message."
Wilf shook his head, "It can't be."
The Doctor matched Wilf's steps forward with his own, "Ask me something only I would know."
Wilf pondered a moment, "What was your wedding gift to Donna?"
"A winning lottery ticket."
"Where did you get it?"
"From Geoff, Donna's father."
A grin broke out on Wilfred's face and he launched himself forward toward the Doctor. The Doctor didn't have the heart to tell him that this regeneration wasn't keen on hugging so he just let Wilf hug him while he patted his back affectionately. This body wasn't without affection entirely.
"I just can't believe it, I didn't think you would come," he cried, "granted I've only been looking for you for about a week and a half now but I was still worried you wouldn't respond."
The Doctor felt guilty and almost told Wilf the truth: that he himself was just as shocked he came. He almost turned around and fled back to his TARDIS to take the coward's way out but he chose not to.
"Why have you been looking for me Wilf? Is there something wrong with Donna?" he asked. Worry ran through him.
"Oh no, Donna's safe."
The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief.
"I've been looking for you because I'm dying."
And the relief was gone.
"Wilf, I don't know what to say. I'm sor-"
Wilf cut him off, "Yes, I know. You're very sorry to hear it."
The Doctor was stunned by Wilf's curtness but said nothing.
"Sorry. I don't mean to be rude Doctor but when you've had a frantic Sylvia Noble flittering around you nonstop for a week and a half then you'd be a bit testy too."
He couldn't argue with that.
"But more importantly you have nothing to be sorry for. Meeting you was one of the highlights of my life."
The Doctor nodded, "I can say the same for you, Wilfred Mott."
"Not only did you show me the stars in that little blue box but you also gave me the greatest gift I could have ever asked for; you made my Donna happy."
"I ruined her life," the Doctor argued.
"You did not. She loved you and you loved her. You were her best friend in the entire universe. Memory block or not there's still a little part of her that knows that you're missing. Sometimes she looks out the window at the sky like she's waiting on you. You'll never be fully gone from her life."
The Doctor began to pace a bit and look up toward the night sky, "She made me better, you know. I don't know how she did it but she kept me on my toes. We never had a dull moment."
Wilfred gave an encouraging smile, "No moment with Donna is dull. She's a firecracker."
The Doctor laughed, "Firecracker is putting it lightly. She's a hell of a slapper and she isn't afraid to remind you of it," he rubbed his cheek as he remembered.
"But behind all that fire is a big heart," Wilf commented, "which is why I'm waiting to tell her I'm sick. I haven't been diagnosed long. I went for my checkup almost two weeks ago because Donna made me and they told me I have cancer. Said they could try some treatments but the likelihood of it doing any good was low. I have about six months...I just want to make them normal as long as I can get away with it."
Wilf sat down on the blanket and patted the space beside him. The Doctor obliged and joined him on the ground. They said nothing for a while and just gazed up at the stars. Every now and again the Doctor would let Wilfred in on a little fun fact about the universe and Wilf, being the astronomy lover he is, ate it up. After an interesting fact about the moon being filled with alien spiders Wilf revealed to the Doctor his true reason for seeking him out.
"I knew that box of yours would bring you back here. Smart as a tack, your ship," he said with a wink, "because I need to ask you a favor…..it's quite a big one, actually."
How could the Doctor refuse? A dying man's wish. And not just any dying man; this was Wilf.
"When I pass, Donna is going to try to be there for everyone. She's going to not let herself grieve and insist that she's fine because she's Donna and that's what she does. But, I need to make sure that there's someone who is going to ask how she is. Someone who will listen and care about what she says."
The Doctor had a feeling he knew where this was going, "What are you asking me, Wilf?"
"I don't care how you do it, Doctor, so long as it's done. But, please, for me, look after her when I'm gone."