Disclaimer: If you really think about it, no one really 'owns' anything, but basically all idea are reused and recycled, by some short of psychic connection that the human race has, i.e. the collective unconscious. So I really don't 'own' Doctor Who. But nobody else does either…
Author's note: This is just a reminder: In Donna's universe its 2008, and in our universe it's 2009. This information might come in handy later on. Oh, and the biography mentioned in this chapter is a real biography…but I haven't read it. The context is based on internet research alone, so don't quote me on what I say about the book. The only thing that is fact about the book is the title.
"That was a close one, eh?" said Rachel, a smile on her face and joy in her grey eyes.
The way the girl acted, reminded Donna of a distant cousin she only met once when she was ten. They were all playing some sort of game, and the girl was hopping up and down because it was her favorite game or something like that. Whatever it was, Donna had instantly deiced that she didn't like the girl, and Rachel was no different.
Despite her feelings about the girl, there was still some part of Donna that forced her to put herself in teenager's shoes. Doctor Who was obviously her favorite show, and no doubt she imagined herself as a companion of the Doctor's at some point or another. This whole situation was probably her dream come true. It was understandable that she would act this way. But no matter how much Donna tried to tell herself that she probably would be acting the same if she was in Rachel's position, she still couldn't get over the fact that all of that shouldn't be happening. Doctor Who shouldn't be a TV show that people like Rachel obsess about. She and the Doctor shouldn't be in this universe. Therefore this whole situation shouldn't be happening. Yet it was and there was no escaping it.
They had ended up in some far off corner on the second floor of the library, in the biography section to be specific. All around them where stories and tales of people long dead, and some not so dead. Donna wondered how many of these people had biographies back in her universe.
"You shouldn't be here," stated the Doctor, talking to the teens.
"Well, correct me if I'm wrong…but you shouldn't be here either. Plus, I had to give you your whistle. Wouldn't want to leave your special whistle in that hands of me, would yah?" began Rachel taking the said item out of her pocket and tossing it to the Doctor. "And don't forget I did save your butt back there with that librarian."
"Yah, and I thank you for that. But I still want you to go," said the Doctor, catching the whistle.
"Why? It's you guys that are setting off the Teravors, not me or Nicholas."
"Yah…see that's the point. Donna and I were at least 20, possibly 30 meters away when it started to attack. Normally, Teravors wouldn't be so agitated by us if we were so far away. Now first I thought this little niggle was because the Teravors in this universe are different from the ones I know," started the Doctor, pacing the floor and occasionally playing with his ear or hair, also sounding (like always) like he was thinking out loud rather than explaining something. "But that didn't make sense, because from what I can tell, the laws of physics are the same in this universe as in mine and the thing with universal signatures are that they are densely concentrated on the thing from a different universe and it radiates out maybe…10 meters at the most. And taking in account that Donna and I were at least 20 meters away, it wouldn't make sense that we set off the Teravor."
"Then what set it off?" questioned Nicholas, getting up from is reclining position against the bookshelves.
"Good question," stated the Doctor turning towards Nicholas. "What would make a Teravor so agitated that it would go on a rampage? They're normally pretty peaceful creatures you know…if you keep them in a stable environment of course…"
With that the Doctor continued to pace the floor, muttering some incomprehensible babble under his breath. That was the Doctor, mind still thinking up answers to bizarre questions in the middle of an unusual possibly dangerous situation. Some things never change no matter what, thought Donna somewhat relieved for the one piece of odd normalcy in the currently uncomfortable circumstances.
While the Doctor continued to think, and Rachel watched him like he was a rare animal in the zoo, and Nicholas started to fall asleep standing up, Donna, boredom and curiosity sinking in, began to look at the biographies around her. There were the usual suspects. All the kings and queens of Great Britain and other countries around the world, and people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Charles Darwin, some bloke name Obama, blah, blah, blah. From what Donna could tell all the famous people that anyone bothered to write a bibliography about was the same as in her universe. It was strangely disappointing. She was expecting to see something that was insanely different, yet it seemed that this universe wasn't as different as her own. Not counting the fact that the Doctor is a subject of a sci-fi TV show, of course.
Donna sighed and casually ran her finger down some random row of books and aimlessly stopping on one. When she looked at the book her finger stopped on, her mouth nearly dropped to the floor. A Life in Time and Space: The Biography of David Tennant. Out of all the books her finger could have landed on, it landed on the biography of the man that played the Doctor. Why her?
Hands acting like they had minds of their own, they plucked the book off the shelf. The head of the Doctor, or rather David Tennant, stared back at her from the cover. For some reason looking at this was worse than staring the front of the Doctor Who Magazine. It was probably because she was used to seeing the Doctor as a distant person that would rather travel to some insane planet then talk about his past, and here was a whole biography about him. Now, granted that it was about the actor that played him, but David Tennant still had the face of the Doctor and that was all Donna really needed to have it freak her out. Stomach becoming nauseas again, Donna's hands turned to the back of the book.
Energetic and charismatic, David Tennant has achieved international acclaim for his riveting portrayal of the Time Lord in cult science-fiction television drama Doctor Who…Aside from his television work, David has also built a reputation as a respected classical actor, holding lead parts in the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of As You Like It, The Comedy of Error, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. This expansive biography traces the events and circumstances that have shaped David's blossoming career and transformed him into both a hugely influential artist and the coolest man on television.
"Of course!" exclaimed the Doctor, making everyone jump and stopping Donna's hands from opening the biography.
She looked up, her stomach queasy and face pale, while her hands hid the book behind her back. For some reason she didn't want the others to know she was letting her curiosity get the better of her, especially after the Doctor so many warning about screwing up the timeline of this universe.
"What? What is it?" eagerly quizzed Rachel.
"Rachel, Nicholas, have either of you seen a Teravor's true form before today?" questioned the Doctor, turning toward the two teenagers.
"No…you Nicholas?" replied Rachel turning towards Nicholas.
Nicholas shook his head, a questioning look on his face. "What does this have to do with anything?'
"It has everything to do with everything. Because I think I figured it out now. The Teravor wasn't set by Donna or me or the TARDIS. It was set off by you two," stated the Doctor pointing at the teenagers.
"Us?" exclaimed Rachel and Nicholas at the same time.
"Yep. Think about it. You both were there at the scene of both the Teravor attacks, and were both easily in range to set it off," said the Doctor.
"But what's so special about us?" questioned Nicholas.
"See, that's the thing I don't…know…Donna," began the Doctor, noticing his companion's unease look and going up to her. "You okay? Is something wrong?"
"Yah, I'm…fine," lied Donna, still hiding the biography behind her back.
"Now, you know I'm not a medical doctor, but…what's that behind your back?" asked the Doctor, trying to see behind her.
"Uh…nothing…," answered Donna, leaning back trying to hide the book from view.
"Donna…Come on…What is it?"
"I said nothing. Now, piss off."
"Oh…fine," said the Doctor, backing off with his hands up in the air in mock defeat.
Donna relaxed and loosened her grip on the biography. Her face was still pale, and her stomach wasn't in the best of moods, but it was fading some. She sighed and watched the Doctor continue to back up and end up leaning against a bookshelf, keeping one eye still on Donna.
"So…so…you don't know why we are setting off the Teravors?" questioned Rachel, trying to get back on the subject they were on.
"What?...Oh, sorry. Yah. No clue. But I'm guessing it has to do something with Donna and I's appearance," replied the Doctor, turning to the teenager.
"Are you sure it's us? I mean the Teravors in this universe might be more sensitive than what you're used to," proposed Nicholas.
"True. I could be wrong…" the Doctor muttered, eyes drifting back to Donna.
Suddenly, he moved, quick as a fox, and reached behind the surprised Donna's back and grabbed the biography out of her hands.