Chapter Two, Lost in Suburbia

"There is this thing keeping everyone's lungs and lips locked. It is called fear and it's seeing a great renaissance." ~The Dresden Dolls

"America? What do you mean 'America'?" Donna shouted as she stomped in front of the Doctor. "Doesn't your ship like this place or something? Is that why it decided to—" She cut off as she fought for words. She didn't know what to call what the TARDIS did, and she had a vague feeling the Doctor did too.

Donna was about to open her mouth and continue speaking when she closed her mouth and watched the Doctor. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she observed a peculiar expression on his face. All her arguments faded away as a look of horror crossed the Doctor's face.

"…Doctor….?"

In an instant, the Doctor turned to Donna. "Don't you get it? This is exactly what happened before—with Martha. Do you remember?" he asked in a hurry.

For a moment Donna looked a bit lost. "Do you mean with Jenny?"

"The TARDIS did the exact same thing then as now!" He paused as he took a large step away from Donna to pace as he thought. "But why…? It just doesn't make any sense this time."

"Oh, that's a relief…so glad you, the Doctor, doesn't bloody know what we're doing here!" Donna thought better to add in the bit about the Doctor's jarred hand freaking out.

The Doctor stopped his pacing and glanced back to Donna. He flashed a broad, uncertain smile.

"Isn't it always like that?" he asked before he bolted back inside the TARDIS.

Donna made a disgusted noise before taking a few steps towards the blue police call box. Before she could enter, she screeched and jumped as the Doctor jumped out of the TARDIS with his coat.

" Oi! Where are you going?" Donna called after him as the Doctor strut off.

"Exploring, what are you going to do?"

Donna's eyes narrowed as her frustration reached its limit.

"Is that all you're going to do? Go exploring instead of fixing the TARDIS?"

The Doctor paused in his walk and pivoted back around to face her. "What else is there to do? Besides, you wanted to see America!"

"America yes, but not some hodunk town in the middle of nowhere!" Donna shouted as she gestured to the green park around her. "And that! Look at that!" She pointed to a worn down band shell that was painted orange with purple music notes. "It's falling apart and is up for demolition!"

"Hodunk…? Right! Hodunk! Surely it isn't that bad," the Doctor said with a wide grin. "And technically we're not in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, duh!"

"At least we're in Illinois. You wanted to see Chicago, right?"

Donna was silent for a few moments which made the Doctor laugh slightly.

"C'mon then! Let's see what town we're in."

The Doctor's optimism didn't amuse Donna and she slowly felt herself wanting to strangle him all the more.

"Fabulous…lost in suburbia," she muttered and trudged after the Doctor.

"At least it's not in the middle of a corn field," the Doctor chimed in.

Donna groaned.

Istas looked over as the phone at her side began to ring and vibrate against the cracked leather seat besides her. She smiled at the Caller ID—J-Par—and turned into a parking lot and put the Tank into park. She picked up the phone and flipped it open.

"'Alo, 'alo!" she greeted.

"Istas! It's Jackie!" said the voice.

"What's happenin' girlie?"

"Not much, just wondering what you've been up to. I haven't heard from you in a while. Did you get in touch with Kate?"

"No…she hasn't been online—which is weird. She lives in front of her Red Beast. I guess she's having fun with her rocks."

Jackie laughed. "I was wondering if you and Kate were going to go to Alumni Band this year."

Istas made a face and was glad that her friend couldn't see it. "You know I don't get into that kind of thing. I'll go and watch…but I don't know about Kate, though. She's all the way in Flagstaff. –Why do you want to know so early? It's only…" Istas took a look at her phone. "Err, April 24th.. That's not until September—October-ish."

"Um…Istas…it's September 22nd."

"What? Really?" she exclaimed and muttered a curse.

Jackie laughed. "Phone troubles again?"

"Yeah, just as of a few minutes ago too. I really don't get it. I think it's time for a new phone."

"I'll say! But about Alumni Band. You going?"

"We'll see, Jackie. I've got a lot of work to be doing. I'm just glad it's the weekend!"

"Want to get together and do some stage fighting later? Remember with Kate? We had my mom fooled!"

Istas laughed as she thought back to the time her foster sister dragged her along to meet Jackie for the first time. They had gone over to Jackie's house for the afternoon during high school—mostly to help Kate and Jackie write a story for their band class. She was reluctant to go, but she ended up having a great time. Kate and Jackie had taken an acting class and both loved stage combat. Needless to say that Istas soon learned to love it as well.

"Sure, Jackie! That'd be great. I'm gonna let you go though. You caught me right as I was about to go for a jog."

Jackie made a disgusted noise. "Ew…I hate running! Why do you like it so much?"

"Erm…because it keeps me from pummeling idiotic people's faces in?"

"…Okay! Enjoy!"

Istas laughed again and said her goodbyes to Jackie before she hung up. She leaned back in the driver's seat and closed her eyes with a groan. "Okay, Istas. Concentrate. Breathe, breathe, get out of the car and breathe," she coached herself.

She got out of the raised brown Ford Explorer and stretched out. Her light brown eyes closed as she focused on her breathing and her heartbeat. After a few minutes of poor meditation, she grabbed the car keys from the seat and strapped on her iPod. She scrolled through the countless artists and playlists before settling on "Repo! The Genetic Opera."

As "Zydrate Anatomy" began to blare through her earphones, Istas took off at a decent pace, her feet landing to the beat. As soon as she started her jog, her frustration from her day at school faded and everything seemed to fade away.

"So, Doctor, we're back where we started," Donna said in frustration as they ended up back at the TARDIS—for the fifth time.

The Doctor offered a sheepish grin and spread his hands. "We're just exploring. Why, want to go somewhere?"

"I want to go home! Or at least somewhere away from this town. It's boring and all the shops are closed down."

"What do you expect from a small town. Everything closes down at ungodly hours," said a woman walking by with her dogs. "Just isn't fair…If you want a place to shop, head over to Naperville or even Geneva. Hell, there's Yorktown Mall or even Oakbrook Mall."

Donna looked to the woman and then back to the Doctor with a rather disturbed look to her face.

"Thank you!" the Doctor said and paused. "But we're not shopping and…we're not from here."

"I know. Naperville and Geneva are that way," the woman pointed west, "while the others are north-northeast. Any major road will get you to at least some part of those cities. Have a good one."

"You too," the Doctor called after the woman and turned to Donna.

"Weird, I know," Donna said and shook her head.

"Well…where to, Donna? What do you wish to see here in Suburbia?"

"Chicago."

"Err…not amongst the options.... Well, it could be—well, maybe not…."

"Fix the TARDIS so I can go to Chicago."

"I can't. Something's here that jammed the controls and brought us here. To this very place. I can't explain why, but we need to stay here."

"You don't have another generated anomaly running around do you? Because I really don't want to run into any weird stuff like last time. Oh hey, you're the Doctor! Bizarre things always happen to you!"

The Doctor gave her a flat, stern look.

"Sorry…I really am. But if what happened is the exact same as before—I—oh forget it."

The Doctor put a hand to Donna's shoulder, but remained quiet. He missed Jenny and felt a chill run through his body.

Donna sighed and briefly embraced the Doctor. "C'mon…let's go finish exploring and see what trouble we can get ourselves into."

At her words, the Doctor seemed to perk up a little bit. He followed after Donna, but turned around to look back to the TARDIS.

"You don't think someone's going to take it, do you?" he asked.

"Doctor, after traveling with you, and you landing it in bizarre places, we have not once been asked questions about it. Do you really think that after all this time someone's going to ask about it?" Donna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"…Good point—Hey! Library!"

Donna sighed heavily and followed after the Doctor as he sprinted off towards the public library across the park and adjacent street. "Like a kid in a candy store…" she grumbled. She followed after him and called out for him.

The Doctor spun around and just about bounced in excitement. "Donna! Don't you get it? We can finally figure out what city we're in—"

His sentence was cut off as something hit him at full force. The Doctor lost balance and toppled onto the hard sidewalk. He was completely unaware of the blur of brown, black and blue that crashed a little ways ahead of him.

"Oh God! Are you alright?" Donna shouted as she rushed over to the Doctor.

The Doctor groaned and propped himself up on his elbows and glanced down to the small device that had skidded by his face. He picked it up and examined it. "Fine, fine, but wha—Are you alright?" he asked and sprang to his feet. He ignored the sharp sting of protesting muscles as bruises already began forming.

Istas winced as she moved to sit up. She grimaced as she caught sight of a smear of blood on the pavement and looked to her elbow. "I'm so sorry! I honestly didn't see you there! Are you okay?" she said at the same time as the Doctor. She took off the bandana she had holding her hair back and put it to her bloody elbow.

"Fine, fine!" the Doctor said in a cheery voice and bent down to lend a hand. "To be honest, I didn't see you either."

Istas smiled and took the Doctor's scraped hand and hauled herself up. She kept her face cast downward as she inspected the rest of herself for injuries. She patted her hips and rear before a horrified look crossed her face. She swore foully and began to search the ground.

"What are you looking for?"

"My iPod! I can't find my iPod! Damn it all to hell! It's not even mine! It's my sister's! Oh, fuck she's going to kill me!"

"Hun, no she's not," Donna said and picked up the fallen music machine. She held it out to Istas and smiled. "It's a bit scratched, but not lost or broken."

Istas looked up and blew the black strands of hair from her face. "You don't realize how you've just saved my ass! Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it," Donna replied and studied the young woman's face. She looked back to the Doctor and frowned.

The Doctor stared at the young woman, completely frozen in his place. His eyes were wide with fear and his breath caught in his throat. "Donna…we need to go. Now!"

Donna and Istas looked to the Doctor oddly.

The Doctor gripped Donna's arm tightly and dragged her off.

"Hey! Wait! I've got a first aid—oh whatever," Istas called out before she gave up. "I'm sorry again! Thanks for the help!"

She frowned and looked down to her ripped pants and shoved the iPod back into her pocket as she limped back to her car.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted as the Doctor slammed the door to the TARDIS and leaned against it. "What has gotten into you? And who was she?"

The Doctor ran his hands over his face and through his already messy hair. His face had blanched of all color as a distant expression occupied his face. He stepped past Donna and went to the control panel and leaned against it. His eyes focused on the controls, but he couldn't see them. They were all a blur. All he could hear was the pounding of his twin hearts and the ragged wheeze of his breathing.

"Doctor…who was she?" Donna insisted, even though she already had a thought.

The Doctor shuddered and slowly stood up straight to look Donna in the eye.

"Doctor."

He looked away for a brief moment before meeting her gaze again. "During the time I had left you for a few years, I had…" he paused and ran his hands through his hair again. "There was this girl named Misae. I rescued her from the Cutthroat Gap Massacre—but I hadn't intended on it initially. I traveled with her all across the universe and a few years ago…" he trailed off.

Donna watched him carefully. "You loved her and spent years with her."

"I lost her, Donna. Just as I have Rose and Martha."

"She isn't lost, Doctor. She was there!"

"No, Donna. You don't understand. I lost her!"the Doctor said, nearly snarling. He turned away from Donna, his hands in his hair.

Donna flinched at his voice. "She left you…." At the Doctor's silence, she understood. The Doctor didn't lose her like he did Rose or Martha. The woman left him without saying goodbye.

"But Doctor, she was right there."

"Donna, that wasn't her." The Doctor kept his back to Donna and stepped a few paces away. He turned back to her and took a deep breath.

"Her name was Misae. She became one of my best friends and I didn't know that—" he choked on his words, "that she had other…feelings…for me. Misae wanted to leave because I never told her I liked her. I never showed her that I cared. I never saw her.

'One night, a few years ago, I noticed that she no longer smiled and was very quite around me. I asked what the matter was and she told me. Donna, she loved me…. She truly loved me, heart and soul."

"Doctor…many people love you," Donna whispered. She looked deep into his tormented eyes and reached out a hand to touch his arm.

The Doctor hesitantly leaned into her touch and was glad that she offered comfort and support. "But there are so many who also hate me and want to kill me. I ask myself over and over again, 'Do I deserve it all?'"

"Doctor, tell me what happened. All of it. I'm sure there was a misunderstanding."

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Brief update: I am now employed as well. Things are still going to be a bit slow, but luckily I managed to write up to chapter 6. Now it'll just be finding the time to upload a chapter. Reviews would be greatly welcomed. I'd like to know your feedback so I can try and improve things in later chapters.