Author's Note: I hated it when Donna lost all her memories of her times with the Doctor. Absolutely hated it. It was so sad, both for the Doctor and for Donna, it almost made me cry. I understand the reason for it, at least, in the series, but it didn't sit right with me at all. So, here's my take on what could happen, ten years in Donna's future. Hope you like it!
All's not forgotten
The doorbell rings.
"Don't worry, I'll get it, you just finish putting away those dishes!"
Donna runs to the door and opens it.
"Well, that's a bit sooner than expected, but-"
She stares into the face of a young man with short, blonde and above all spiky hair. He wears a brown overcoat over a black suit. His dark red tie clashes horribly with his bright orange blouse. And his eyes… Those're the saddest eyes I've ever seen.
"Oh. Sorry, was expecting someone else. Can I, can I help you?"
She doesn't know why, but she's starting to feel uneasy. Her thoughts seem to want to go one way, but at the same time shy away from it. What… What's going on?
"Hello Donna."
"How, how'd you know my name?"
"Oh, that's not important. What's important, is this."
With that he holds out a battered, silver pocketwatch.
"What? A pocketwatch? What've I got to do with that?"
The uneasy feeling at the back of her mind intensifies. What's this, who's that man?
"Before I answer that question, I have one for you. Tell me, Donna Noble: Are you happy with your life?"
The question catches her off guard. Am I happy? Of course I'm happy! I couldn't be happier!
"What kind of question is that, you git? Never been 'appier in my life! Got everything I'd ever want, not that it's any of your business, mind you. Now, if it's all the same, I've better things to do. Oh, and just for your information, my name's not Donna Noble, it's missus Donna Temple."
She starts to close the door, but stops when the man speaks again. This time she can hear a peculiar kind of tenderness in it.
"If that's true, Donna Noble, if you truly are happy, then I'd still like you to take this gift. If you truly are happy, you'll never need to open it. Just keep it, as a reminder of a would-be friend."
He extends his arm a bit more, his dark brown eyes emploring her to take it. Those eyes, those sad, sad eyes… It's like there's a whole world of secrets behind them. Like… Oi, Donna, don't be daft. It's just eyes! Donna looks at the watch and slowly, ever so slowly, her own hand reaches for it, almost of its own accord. When she touches it she's surprised by how warm it feels. Her hand closes around it and lifts it from his.
"Thank you."
He gives her a half-hearted smile and starts to turn around, but pauses and looks at her again.
"Oh, and Donna, please, even if you forget everything I've said, even if you don't believe a word I've spoken, remember this: If you ever feel lonely, if you ever feel like something's missing, if you ever, just for a fleeting moment, feel like you're not as happy as you thought you should be… Open it. Look at it. That's all. That's all I can give you."
He turns his back to her brusquely and walks away. Just before Donna closes the door, he gives her one last look and says three words.
"Goodbye, Donna Noble."
Donna closes the door. She walks inside, staring at the pocketwatch as she goes and feeling a bit fuzzy in the head. Shaun looks up at her when she enters the kitchen.
"Who was that?"
"Oh, oh, nothing, just someone who was lost, I think. That's all."
"I see. Well, I'll go and see if the kids are ready for their grandma and their great-grandpa. See you in a few minutes."
He kisses her on the cheek and leaves. Donna's still feeling spaced out from her experience at the door. Who was that man?
"Yeah, sure, you do that," she says absent-mindedly.
As she leans against the counter, she turns the pocketwatch over and over in her hands. The feeling of unease is dissipating fast and she feels more curious by the second. What did he mean when he said all that?
"If you truly are happy, you'll never need to open it."
What kind of stupid nonsense is that?
"Are you happy?"
Of course I am! What's there to not be happy about?
"Just remember…"
Why should I?
"If you ever feel lonely…"
Why should I? I don't feel lonely, I have my children, I have my husband, I have… I have… Those brown eyes. Sad, brown eyes.
"If you ever feel like something's missing…"
Like what? Aliens on earth? Spacecraft in the sky? You're daft! If that really happened, I would've known about it, now wouldn't I? Wouldn't I?
"If you ever, for just a fleeting moment, feel you're not as happy as you thought you should be…"
But I AM happy! I'm happy! Happy, happy, happy! Happy Donna, that's me!
"Just remember…"
I can't. I can't remember. I can never remember. I must not remember! I'm happy. I'm not… lonely. Tears roll down her cheeks. But she is. Oh yes, she is. Donna never truly understood the feeling, but from a certain day on she started to feel a loneliness she'd never felt before. She felt like she'd lost something and somehow knew she'd never get it back. Something precious. Something amazing. Something… Magnificent.
"Just..."
No.
"Remember…"
No!
"Just…"
No, I…
"Remember."
I, I can't…
"Just remember, Donna Noble."
Again her hands move on their own accord. Her thoughts have gone completely silent. Time seems to stop as she slowly, ever so slowly, opens the watch. Her eyes widen as a soft light pours forth from the small thing she holds in her hand. Oh my god, it's, it's beautiful. A brilliant, golden light washes over her and after ten long years, Donna remembers. She remembers everything.
"So… How'd it go?" Alex inquires while taking off the Doctor's coat and hanging it on the coat rack.
"As well as can be expected, I suppose."
The Doctor walks over to the console, but his steps lack their usual bounce.
"Think she'll open it?"
The compassion in his friend's voice almost makes the Doctor shed the tears he's been trying to hold back.
"I dunno. I just… I don't know. I wish… I had to give her the watch. That's all. I can't go gallivanting around the universe again without at least giving her a chance to finally become whole again, even if she never takes it. I had to. This is… I'm the last me. You witnessed my final regeneration. And if I were to die, to be," he swallowed, "to be gone forever, while knowing I didn't even give her that choice…"
His voice breaks. Alex puts his arm around the Time Lord and gives him a pinch in the shoulder.
"Know it. Know you had to do it."
"It's just… She was my friend, Alex. My mate. We were, we were going to roam the universe together. Forever. Well, her kind of forever at least, but still. She was my mate. And I had to take it away from her. All of it! Everything we did, we said, we saw. I had to. But I never gave up, I kept on searching for a way to fix it, because I… I just wanted her back. I wanted to talk to her again, to at least say a proper goodbye. And now it's too late. It's always been too late. From the moment I left her at her mother's house it was over, but I didn't see it, didn't want to see it. She's happy, Alex. I rang that doorbell and I wanted to open the watch right in front of her, but I couldn't. I couldn't force it on her. So I did what I always do. I gave her a choice. She deserves at least that much. It's just, I just, I wish, I just wish I could-"
"You wish you could do whát, Space Man?"
Donna runs after him, Shaun and kids and mother and grandfather be damned. He's here, he's back, he gave it back and now he's gone, I can't even say hello or goodbye or how stupid I think he is. Oh, that's just so bloody typical of him! She doesn't see him anywhere, but she keeps running nonetheless. Something makes her follow a certain path, take certain turns and above all tells her to keep running! So she runs and looks and turns…
And stops dead in her tracks. Right there, in a back alley, is the TARDIS. Donna can't help but stare at it. It's here, it's really here. It's really him! The TARDIS is still as blue as she remembers it. And still a police box. You lazy sod, you still haven't repaired it! Her eyes fill with tears and she feels like laughing and crying and shouting and jumping up and down all at the same time. Instead she runs to it as fast as she can. It's real, it's… What on earth am I waiting for. Open it! She reaches out and lays her hand on one of the double doors. So familiar. A big smile appears on her face as she cautiously pushes against the door. She pokes her head inside, just in time to overhear the last part of a conversation.
"… And I had to take it away from her. All of it! Everything we did, we said, we saw. I had to. But I never gave up, I kept on searching for a way to fix it, because I… I just wanted her back. I wanted to talk to her again, to at least say a proper goodbye. And now it's too late. It's always been too late. From the moment I left her at her mother's house it was over, but I didn't see it, didn't want to see it. She's happy, Alex. I rang that doorbell and I wanted to open the watch right in front of her, but I couldn't. I couldn't force it on her. So I did what I always do. I gave her a choice. She deserves at least that much. It's just, I just, I wish, I just wish I could-"
Donna steps through the door and says, in her most authoratitive voice:
"You wish you could do whát, Space Man?"
The Doctor's head jerks up. Donna? Donna! It's Donna! She's here, she's here, she's really here! I can't believe it, she's here! Alex steps back as the Doctor stands up and moves around the console so he can see it, to make sure it's not a dream. It's not. She's standing there, red hair and all, her hands in her sides and a big grin on her face.
"Donna?"
"Who'd you expect, bleedin' Santa Claus? Of course it's me! Now come over here, shrimp."
"DONNA!"
They run towards each other and the next thing Donna knows is she's being swept up and swirled around by the Doctor. She in turn hugs him with all her might, hugs him as if she never wants to let go again.
"Oh, I missed you, I missed you, I missed you! Beautiful, amazing, brilliant Donna!"
"Oi, you git, put me down or I'll throw up on that dark suit of yours."
The Doctor stops and puts her down, but isn't ready to let her go yet. He kisses her forehead, strokes her hear, and can't stop beaming at seeing his friend again, with all her memories restored.
"Missed you too, Dumbo. I don't even recognize you. Look at you! All blonde and short-haired and hm," she squeezes his arms, "you look skinny, but I feel a lot more muscle than before. You been working out?"
Oh, there it is again, that dark look. Took him about, what, two minutes? Alex uses the pause to join them and introduce himself.
"Hello, hello! Name's Alex."
He grabs Donna's hand and shakes it.
"Extreme pleasure to finally meet you, Donna Noble. Been hearing loads of good things 'bout you. Can see why. Didn't exaggerate one bit, he did. Now, Doc, how 'bout it? You tell her or shall I?"
Alex' cheeriness makes the Doctor snap out of his brooding mood immediately and Donna can't help but smile at the blue-skinned man's obvious move. Oeh, I like that guy. He's just what the Doctor ordered.
"Tell me what, exactly? About how he regenerated? Know all about that, mind you. So why so glum?"
Alex looks at the Doctor for permission. The Doctor nods.
"Ah, well, y'see, th'is the Doctor's last one. Final regeneration. After that it's game over. Bye-bye. No more Time Lords. 's Why he went to see you, Donna Noble. Y'are Donna Noble, aren't you? Not DoctorDonna? Been wondering 'bout that part of the memory-reversal myself."
This shocks Donna more than she expected. She never gave the whole regeneration-thing much thought, other than it being part of the Doctor's alien-ness. Last… Last regeneration?
"So, what you're saying is that this, this you, this is the last you? The last Doctor? This is why you came to see me?"
The sheer disbelief in Donna's voice makes the Doctor lower his head. He wishes she didn't have to hear it this way. At least that'll get the crying out of the way. The next moment his left cheek burns with the pain of one of Donna's famous right-handed slaps.
"You wanker! You absolute and utter excuse for an alien Dumbo! You came to say goodbye and if I hadn't opened that watch I'd never have seen you again, would I? Well, that's just bloody fine, isn't it? What? Don't look at me like that, git, or you, Martian boy. What'd you expect me to do? Cry my eyes out? Well, then you just don't know me as good as you thought, now, do you? You, you idiot, you thought, you just thought-"
Donna bursts into tears. Before either of the two men can react, she hugs the Doctor and cries on his shoulder.
"Y-you git, y-you absolute, s-stupid, YOU!"
Donna sobs and keeps hugging him. Then she feels his arms around her, one hand stroking her hair.
"Ssshhh," he whispers, "ssshhh, it's alright now, it's alright, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for putting you through this, sssshhh, it's okay…"
"Y-you w-were gonna g-go away without s-saying goodbye, y-you horrid man! Don't you ever d-do s-something like that again!"
Suddenly both of them feel another pair of strong arms around them.
"Can't have you hugging each other without joining in."
Alex' voice sounds much deeper than before and Donna even hears a faint resonance. When she looks at the Doctor's friend she can't help but gasp. He's still blue-skinned, but at least a foot taller than the Time Lord. He also doesn't resemble a human anymore. He looks like a, a, dragon? His bald head is now covered in scales, as is the rest of his body. A large snout hovers over their heads. And… Is that a tail I see behind him? One of his big, yellow eyes winks at her.
The Doctor sees Donna's surprise and laughs.
"Yeah, that's Alex for ya. Trimorph all the way. Biggest hearts in the galaxy and loyal as heck. This is his base form. You've met his Arg'Fol, his Second Form. He still doesn't have a Arg'Thk, a Third Form, but he doesn't mind, do you, you big, scaly lump?"
Alex grins, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth and a red tongue flicks out. Did he just stick out his tongue at me? The trio stands like that for a while, until Donna entangles herself from the group hug. She takes a step back and rubs her eyes. Then she puts her hands in her sides again and cocks her head. Alex 'melts' back into his base form and lets go of the Doctor. The two men look at her expentantly.
"So, we goin' anywhere or what?"
The Doctor's face lights up. Alex gives her another wink. That's a really cheeky one, that is. I can really see why the Doctor likes him.
"Are you, are you serious, Donna?" the Time Lord asks hesitantly.
He's still having trouble believing Donna is standing before him, let alone that she's ready to accompany him again. But then again, that's Donna for ya! That doesn't stop him from asking one last question, though.
"What about your family?"
"You dolt, you have a TIME MACHINE! Just take me back to this point in time and all will be well. Now, we gonna stand here all day or actually do something?"
"Yes, ma'am, of course, ma'am!"
Off the Doctor goes, pushing buttons, pulling levers, turning dials. The humming of the TARDIS sounds almost cheerful. Alex walks over to Donna, folds his arms and leans towards her, all the while keeping his eyes on the bouncing Time Lord.
"Y're a cheeky one, y'are. Like it," he whispers in her ear.
She acknowledges him by nudging his arm.
"He's amazing when he does that, isn't he?" she whispers back.
"Oh yes."
Around them the all-too familiar wheezing, groaning noise rises in volume, but the Doctor's ecstatic voice still rises above it.
"This calls for a celebration!"
With manic vigor he pulls one last lever while giving his two companions a big wink.
"And I know just the place to celebrate! So, how 'bout it then? Come on, say it with me, for old time's sake. One, two, three."
"ALLONS-Y"