Chapter Two: Anticipation

"Doctor!"

"Martha? What....why are you-" He heard a shriek in the background, then Jack's voice replaced Martha's.

"Not now," Jack barked at his colleague as he took the mobile. "Doctor, I need you at Torchwood." The Doctor rolled his eyes. He had ideas about what Jack needed him for at Torchwood, and he wasn't interested.

"Listen, Jack, I've told you a thousand times that I don't-"

"It's Donna." The Doctor's hearts skipped their respective beats. "Doctor, listen-"

The line suddenly went dead and Jack threw the mobile across the room in frustration, breaking it into pieces. One section of the broken phone skidded under the couch where Donna and Martha were sitting. All right so far except for the initial shock of remembering everything, Donna was shaking slightly as Martha handed her a cup of tea.

"How are you, Donna? Feeling okay?"

Donna shot Martha a glare, then softened her expression as she said, "All right, I suppose. Oh, I'm going to murder that stupid alien when he gets here. He won't be able to see straight for a week after I'm done slapping him." She stood and walked to Jack. "So when's the git coming?"

Jack chuckled, then looked at Donna's face. She seemed perfectly fine. Maybe the Doctor was wrong. Maybe it wouldn't destroy her brain to have a few Time Lord ideas in her head after all.

"So, Martha, how's that fiancé of yours?" Donna sipped her tea and smiled. "You haven't mentioned him since we saw Jenny....okay, I wouldn't remember anyway, but I'm pretty sure you haven't said a peep." Tom was fine, of course, still working out in Africa. Martha and Donna chatted for over an hour, Donna laughing at all the mishaps the Torchwood team had gotten themselves into since the Doctor had wiped her mind.

She returned Gwen's hesitant smile as the young woman walked by and made a joke that Gwen's jumper looked much nicer without Donna Noble brains splattered across it. "Ginger's not a good look for you," she teased, and Gwen looked relieved. But Donna's head was killing her, and she only truly heard half of their stories. When is the Doctor getting here?

--------------------------------

The Doctor was near Klom when Martha and Jack called. It wasn't such a long trip back, but he didn't feel like having an idle chat with Captain Shag-Me while Donna was possibly dying.

What have I done? The simple truth was that it wasn't his fault, that she'd known the danger when she had agreed to go travelling with him, and he had been so careful to tell everyone who could trigger Donna, had done everything in his power to keep her safe. He couldn't possibly have known Gwen wouldn't be told, but the Doctor never saw things that way.

His mind drifted to Rose, though only briefly, and how much she had sacrificed to be with him. She hadn't died though, as others had. She'd been inconvenienced, yes, and it hurt to have her gone, but she'd survived. River hadn't. Neither had Gwyneth, or Ursula Blake, or even the Master, though that certainly wasn't his fault and even he knew it.

And now Donna Noble, the most important woman in the universe whether or not she believed it, was about to be added to the list. He piloted the TARDIS by force of habit and forced his mind to dwell on other things; feeling guilty wouldn't help either of them.

Cardiff. He thought about it for a moment. What was Donna doing in Wales at this time of day? It had to be around 11pm in Cardiff. A sudden thought hit him. Maybe they tried to phone earlier. He didn't make a habit of carrying the mobile around; it was possible that Donna had encountered Gwen that afternoon, even that morning, and they'd just been able to reach him. If that was the case....the Doctor pushed the TARDIS to her limits and tried to ignore the ramifications of it all.

--------------------------------

"Oi, I don't care how handsome you are, you can keep your hands to yourself!" Donna's stern tone was betrayed by a giggle as Jack backed away, hands in the air, muttering, "Yes, ma'am, whatever you say ma'am, please don't slap me ma'am," as he left.

Donna laughed, then aimed to take another drink of her tea when she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She accidentally dropped her cup, smashing it on the floor, and gasped so loudly she was sure Gwen must have heard her, despite the fact that she was now on a different floor.

Martha, being on the same level, obviously heard and immediately turned to face her. "You sure you're all right? You don't have to stand around, you know. Have a seat." Donna shook her head and grinned. "I'm fine. I'm just a clumsy sod is all. Best temp in Chiswick, but I can't seem to keep from spilling drinks everywhere I go," she laughed. Martha gave her a sideways glance, but went back to work anyway.

Doctor, where are you? She made sure no one was looking, then put a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating like mad, and that stupid headache was getting almost unbearable. Still, could be worse. One Christmas she had gotten so drunk she didn't remember a whole week. It wasn't until after she met the Doctor that she'd heard about the Sycorax, blood control, all that business.

Never mind that. She could use a little mind control right about now, specifically the Time Lord bits, the part that was going to make her brain stop functioning, and pretty soon if the headache and dizziness were any indication. Maybe I better sit down after all....

She was beginning to wonder if the Doctor was coming for her at all. She knew he wouldn't abandon her, but he could have been anywhere, and the universe was hardly a small place; for all she knew he was trapped somewhere or had been hurt trying to get back to her. Jack said the line had gone dead, and the Doctor's phone didn't just die, he'd done enough jiggery-pokery (The liar, that's hardly the technical term. The technical term has 17 syllables, dumbo!) to ensure that.

Something had to be very wrong. Please don't leave me. Not again. She missed him terribly, despite being angry that he'd wiped her mind, and she wanted nothing more than to see him again, if only to make sure he was okay without her. Not that I'd tell him that. Her pounding heart jumped into her throat as she heard a familiar comforting sound. The TARDIS.

He's here. It took all her concentration not to black out. "Jack...."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To be continued...