There is an old lady on Conner's block that tells the most miraculous stories and even though his parents have warned him to stay away, he slips away from school at lunch to visit.
She always sits in the same spot on her back porch and always smile when he comes to visit her. Conner's mom explained that she shouldn't be able to remember him or what he's told her but whenever she sees him, she smiles so Conner just figures Ma is wrong again. She was wrong calling the old lady dangerous and a mean; Conner doesn't think she's mean, he knows this because she always checks to make sure he isn't hungry or asks if he wants a cookie. He always says he isn't hungry and always takes a cookie.
The old lady likes to smile a lot, even when the wind howls and the sun doesn't peak through the clouds. Those are the days she likes the best and Conner likes them too because that's when she tells him stories. For someone who can't remember anything, she knows an awful lot. She points out large stars, calling them strange names, galaxies that hold so much, galaxies that don't exist. Conner knows because he looks each one of them up when he gets home but he doesn't mind; for the hour she speaks about them, they are real and filled with amazing creatures.
Conner likes when she tells him about something called the Ood, a peaceful people who stand together and fight for a better future. When Conner comes to visit after dinner, slipping through his window and climbing down to the street below, she always scolds him but he doesn't mind because when the stars come out, she tells him about him. She can never remember his name, something that miffs Conner to no end but she remembers his eyes. Ancient eyes, she calls them, Sad eyes.
She tells him of giant wasps with a unicorn, a giant spider that tried to eat her, of a young lady who captured her heart but… she never finishes that one and because of her watery eyes, Conner never asks. He knows that the girl was named Jenny and she loved to run, that she was brave and honest. She saved the old lady and the man with the ancient eyes and Conner thanks her silently as he sits underneath the stars. He especially likes the story about the Sontarans, how fearless but frightened they can be. They were made to be that way, the old lady explains, and while the galaxy is wonderful, not every being has a choice of what they become.
And the ancient man, Conner asks, did he have a choice?
The way she studies the sky, watching the subtly turn of the universe as her eyes swim with memories, makes Conner feel sad. In a way he had a choice, She always replies, but it really was no choice at all.
Every night before he goes home, she acts like she doesn't know the stars anymore, doesn't know the ancient man, doesn't know Conner. She still smiles but she always asks him who he is and why he's out so late. At these times she wont know about the Ood, the Sontarans, or the Wasp with its unicorn. She's just an old lady who tells him to go home, its late and his parents must be furious.
They end every night like this but by the next day the old lady is back to normal, no longer confused about who he is or what the stars are named. He's only known the old lady for a few months but he feels like he's been her friend for years. He knows her stories, every one and loves to talk with her about the endless wonder scattered above them in the universe.
Do you think he's still out there, he asks one afternoon as they watch the sunset, the light turning her silver hair a fiery red.
I know he is. Her blue eyes sparkle as they look high above them, watching the first few stars come out. I just know it.
Conner never had a friend like her before and soon visits her everyday. But one day, after he's slipped past his mother after dinner and walked to her house, he doesn't find her on the back porch in her chair. Rain or shine, snow or sun, she always sits in that one chair on her porch. But instead of her, Conner sees a tall lanky man sitting on the steps.
That's my seat you know. He informs the man as he walks across the yard. You can't have it.
The tall man apologizes and gets to his feet. He's skinny and wears a brown coat and pants. Conner eyes him warily before sitting down in his spot.
What are you doing here, the man asks.
I'm waiting for the old lady, Conner answers, what are you doing here?
I was just visiting. His voice hints that there is more but he reminds Conner of the old lady and how she gets sometimes so he doesn't ask.
Why are you waiting for her, the man leans against the pillar of the porch, idly watching as the sun dips beneath the trees.
There are no stars yet so the old lady isn't too late to come outside, but the house is dark and Conner frowns at it. She never like her house being dark, something about shadows lingering on the ground, a darkness that never quite leaves, always bothered her.
We talk about the stars. Conner explains, shifting towards the back door. He pretends not to notice how the man stiffens beside him, how his eyes suddenly start to blink hard, how he sinks to the ground beside Conner.
What's your name, Conner asks, still staring at the back door.
The man hesitates before saying, I'm the Doctor.
And all at once Conner feels something in his heart splinter. Whenever he asked if she was alright, the old lady would repeat what her Doctors had told her but say she was fine despite it. There would only be one reason why she wasn't here and her Doctor was instead.
She's not coming out, he turns to the lanky man watching the red sun cast shadows across his face, is she?
I'm afraid not. The words are heavy and muffled as the man buries his head in his palms.
But while Conner is sad, he doesn't cry. She's talked about this, he says to the quiet man. She said she wanted to go on one last adventure.
That's why I came. The man whispers back, his shoulders shuddering. We were going to go on one last adventure.
Conner shakes his head. You're her Doctor Mister and besides, she told me she wanted to do this adventure alone. She had done so many things in this universe she was ready to move onto the next. She was ready, he searches for the words, she was ready to have an adventure of her own. She said she wanted to fly through the stars to that other place and have some fun. She was ready Doctor, she was ready to travel again.
The lanky man wipes his eyes and Conner digs in his pocket until he finds his dinner tissue and offers it to the man. After blowing his nose, the man studies Conner as intensely as Conner studies him.
Did you know her well, he asks.
Conner smiles at that. We always told each other stories but her's were always more interesting than mine.
Would you, his voice wavers but the man pushes through, Would you mind telling me the stories?
So Conner tells him everything he can remember. He points at the stars, tracing dozens of paths across the back sky, tells of the wondrous people living in the sky, tells the man how the old lady loved to laugh and how she loved her family.
The man is strange. While he laughs at the stories Conner tells of the stars and is interested in the tales of the ancient man and the old lady, he loves the stories about home. He doesn't tell Conner this but the boys knows by the way his smile seems to ease when he tells them so instead of telling him of the spectacular adventures the old lady had, he tells the lanky man about her.
How she married, how her three children all married and how sometimes her grandchildren play with Conner on the streets in front of the house until their parents call them home. How she loved her husband until the vary end, how she loved the house so much she refused to sell it even though her children told her it was the right thing to do, how she loved Conner and Conner loved her back. But most importantly he tells the man how she saved him, how she taught him to live a life with meaning even when he didn't want to anymore, to fight for what he loved, to grow and be a hero, to be courageous even when he was scared, be gentle when he was strong.
He tells the man all of this, tracing the stars and finally allowing his tears to race down his cheeks along with the lanky man's own.
The night sky gives way to a rosy glow but Conner isn't tired and neither is the man beside him. In the quiet only the morning can be, they listen as the birds wake themselves and sing once more, listen to the slight breeze ringing through the treetops, listen to the sounds of the neighborhood waking up.
I'll miss her. Conner whispers, as though its a secret.
The man gently hugs the younger boy close and Conner grips him back tightly, crying again as the sun rises through the trees.
I miss her too, the man whispers back. But you know what, she's never going to leave us, she'll always be right here. He presses a hand to Conner's heart, and the boy nods, wiping his tears away.
I like to think she's off exploring the stars again. Conner murmurs, watching the last of them wink away as the Earth turns once more. She was always happiest when she could see them.
The man climbs to his feet and Conner follows but instead of going to the street, the man stands in the middle of the yard and inserts a key into thin air.
He turns, studying Conner with heavy eyes before he smiles, Allons-y Conner, he says and just disappears. A sound like a car with its brakes on heaves then fades, heaves then fades until only Conner stands in the quiet morning. The boy shakes his head, for sure that for a single instance he saw a police box, like the ones from that old television show his parents like to watch before turning away.
He never forgets the old lady, nor the man who came calling one last time on his old friend, never forgets the name Donna Noble and never forgets the man with the ancient eyes who stayed the night with him to remember the old lady who loved the stars.
This is my first time writing for the Doctor Who Fandom. Cried a couple of times but hey, I always loved Donna and hated the fate she suffered. I always appreciate reviews and if anyone has a request as to a story they would love to read and be written, you only have to ask me in the reviews. I really hoped you loved this as much as I enjoyed writing it and thank you for reading. Allonsy!