Thank you so much for the support already- I really appreciate it and it's encouraged me to carry on with this little idea o' mine.

Please review, even if it's only just a rating out of 5, so I know how I'm doing so far. Let me know what you think about my characterisation of Ten and Donna, so I can work on it- I know it's not great!

Thank you!

The girl stood there, looking as if she was a bird poised to take flight. She was slight, about eleven or twelve, with unearthly blue eyes and a wisp of black hair almost floating in a short mop around her head. She was wearing a school uniform, but it was too big for her and had the appearance of being worn too much already. The Doctor noticed this all with a detachedness he wasn't used to. It was as if he'd already seen this face hundreds and thousands of times before. He knew every jutting bone and tightly gripping finger. He even felt a ping of irritation as the bag strap of the satchel she was wearing dropped off her shoulder, as if it was his own bag. He narrowed his brow in thought. It was almost as if-

He caught her eye. A million memories cascaded into his head in a burning, broiling turmoil. He almost gasped. It was like his consciousness had been doused in ice-cold water, the shivers not physical, but mental. He not only could see the girl, but feel her as well, every single emotion, thought and sensation she had ever felt freezing his insides. The Doctor had been in minds before- he'd been in some very damaged minds- but none had ever felt like this girl's. It was like someone had pulled a pin on a grenade and they were shuffling it in their hands so they could get a good enough grip to throw it. Constant movement, panic, desperation. It was as if there were hundreds of voices living inside all crying out for attention. He was being told hundreds of things and it felt like his brain was swelling in his skull, swelling, swelling-

He slammed the door shut and the voices fell silent.

In the absence of Persephone Myers' thoughts, his head seemed empty. Sympathy welled inside him and he took a step towards her.

She ran.

Without hesitating, he leapt over her satchel and raced after her. She was far quicker than he expected and she dipped into pathways and alleys almost faster than he could. He needed to get to her, to help her before the grenade exploded. Her skinny form dipped and twisted. The Doctor sped up, his Converse pounding on the floor. He could hear Donna's panting slowly melt away and made a mental note of where she was. He had no intention of losing her.

Without warning, grief gurgled up in his throat and almost made him stop running. It came sometimes, like this, when he was least expecting it. Grief at what he had lost, at what he had done. If he hadn't have been running, he knew that he would have stopped whatever else he had been doing and found somewhere alone. As it was, he couldn't. So, the feeling saturated in his chest as he put on another burst of speed.

He rounded a corner and almost tripped over the girl. She was sitting with her back to the wall of the side of the house next to her, her knees drawn up loosely and her arms resting on her knees. Her eyes looked through him, to the middle distance and they glistened with what the Doctor knew was tears. And in that second, he knew what they were for. Him feeling her thoughts. It must have worked both ways. Now, this human- this child- was feeling all of the guilt and regret of the last of the Time Lords. Guilt forced its way into the grief and he slumped down next to her, realising that she'd mimicked a pose he himself adopted.

Once he didn't feel like this, once he didn't feel as though he could never get up again, he'd wipe her memories. For now- the girl leant into his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world and they comforted one another.

'I'm sorry for what you have lost. I'm sorry for the pain that I have caused you. Please, forgive me.'

Someone was shaking the Doctor's shoulder. He looked up. The sun had almost disappeared from the sky. Donna stood next to him, a mixture of fear and sympathy on her face. He jumped up and looked around. Donna had not said the words that curled around his consciousness. He looked for the girl. Persephone was nowhere to be seen. He groaned and ran his hand through his hair. His forehead throbbed as he touched it. Of course, he though, a wry smile playing on his lips. Psychic head butt.

They crashed open the TARDIS doors and the Doctor bent down to examine his reflection in a shiny knob on the console. He sighed as he caught sight of the livid bruise on his skin. So much for going unnoticed for the next week. He'd have to find out where the medical bay was again, after it disappeared a couple of months back.

'What does that mean for her, then?' asked Donna, almost accusatory, as she approached the Doctor, her arms folded across her chest. The Doctor leant forwards, hiding the conflict on his face.

'It means bad,' he said, quietly. 'It means very bad. I need to find her.' He raced around the console to the scanner and an image of Persephone flashed up, looking directly, curiously, into the camera. 'Yes,' he said, gleefully to his ship. 'Yes. We need to find her.' He flicked half a dozen switches and began to pump a handle. Something clanged to his right and he stuck out a foot, holding the lever steady. He caught Donna's eye and the first traces of a real smile clung to his features as he said, 'Hold on!' He swung the dematerialisation lever home.

Nothing happened. Silence. He pushed the lever back and swung it again. Nothing. The Doctor stood up slowly, taking his foo,t almost embarrassedly, off the console unit. He flicked a switch and it pinged, just as it always did. The Doctor had no idea what that switch did, just that it made an impressive noise. He flicked it again and again it pinged. Everything seemed to be in order.

'What's up?' he asked the central column. A throbbing noise that sounded like a growl floated up from the machinery. He glanced at the scanner. An image of Persephone stood there again, only this time, two fingers sticking up, an expression of mild annoyance on her face. 'Oh.'

'What?' said Donna, coming round to stand beside him. She noticed the scanner and winced. 'Oh.'

'Yep. Doesn't look like they got off to the best start.' He put his hands on the console. 'I'm sorry, old girl. I need to find her.' The menacing noise came again, only louder. He saw Donna flinch out of the corner of his eye and put out his arm to make her step back. When the TARDIS was sulking, there was no telling what she might do. 'Please, she's-' On the other side of the console, something exploded in a shower of sparks, and the Doctor ducked, pulling Donna down with him.

'It doesn't look like it's going to be that easy,' he said, as something else shattered above their heads. 'But I need to find her. I can't let her live like this.'