A/N: So, thanks to all you diligent readers out there, who put up with my strange ramblings and odd stories. An especially big thanks goes to all those cookie-worthy reviewers. Three big cheers for them! remember, you can still request cookies if you desire it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.....but I own a pen. It helps me write. I like my pen. Watashi no pen ga sukidesu. I like Japanese. Nihongo ga sukidesu. I'm odd. On the subject of Japanese, I have to say....Watashi no roba ga sukidesu. The funny thing is, I don't even own a donkey.
CHAPTER TEN: SHADY DREAMS
The Doctor yawned, and jammed his hands in his trouser pockets. He was walking down a fairly normal street, trying to work out where Jana and Brittany had gone. They had obviously left without him, but he didn't know why, or where they'd got to. He couldn't remember them leaving, which was strange in itself, as he usually had a good memory for details like that. He could remember leaving the TARDIS, but couldn't remember how he'd ended up walking along this street, which he didn't recognize at all.
Beautiful steel and glass skyscrapers rose up all around him, and at first glance they seemed like 38th century buildings, but when he looked again, there was something odd about them he couldn't put his finger on. The Doctor breathed deeply, and noted the fresh clean air. No smog or impurities whatsoever. And yet, he was walking through the middle of a city.
He gave a shrug, and started whistling. The street was empty, of both people and cars. In fact, now that he looked closer, there was actually one other person on the street, walking in his direction. Somehow, they looked familiar to him. It was a lady, with startling orange red hair.
The Doctor stopped whistling and let his mouth drop open in surprise. "Donna?"
The lady seemed to notice him from the first time. "Doctor?" There was no mistaking that voice. He was staring straight at Donna Noble, the temp from Chiswick, who, by all rights, shouldn't even know who he was. Hang on, what was she doing here?
His mouth dropped open further. "What?"
Peering at the glass globe in her hands, Brittany directed Jana to pull their skimmer out of the main flow of traffic. He followed her instructions, guiding the vehicle smoothly out between the last couple of skyscrapers. Now they were flying over a residential suburb, close to, but separated from, the tall modern buildings of the CBD. Three- or four-storey buildings dotted the space available between numerous plots of vegetation. Brittany looked at the tracking globe again. All the golden 'void stuff' was still clumped together, pressing against the side of the globe. It hadn't changed since she and Jana had begun driving. That seemed odd in itself; a Brittany thought that the shade would be moving around, searching for more victims. Like poor Saasha.
Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of Saasha. She hadn't known him that well, but he had been her only real friend at work. He had always seemed so lonely, sitting by himself all day in an office reading through masses of data and sheets upon sheets of printouts. She had taken him a coffee every time he was in the office; he spent most of his time out on site. Saasha had always been the quiet one, unwilling to speak out at meetings or voice his opinions to others. Now, he would never be able to speak or sing or laugh again.
It was all the Doctor's fault. The Doctor and his stupid rift and his stupid shade, and his whole stupid universe. Brittany had just managed to settle into a normal life again, having struggled to return to typical everyday existence after what had happened when she'd first met the Doctor at the Crusader Caves. Then, the Doctor decides to turn up again, and her nice little life is shattered. She had spent all this time looking for the Time Lord, but now, she isn't so sure that she wanted to find him after all.
But, then again, maybe it isn't his fault. He didn't mean for people to be killed. He was trying to prevent any more loss of life. Perhaps that's why he seemed so sad and lonely all the time. With all the suffering he had seen, and had to deal with, Brittany was surprised the Doctor hadn't gone mad.
Although, now she thought about it…
Maybe the madness was a technique to help him deal with his past. Laugh in the face of danger, live life at a high-speed pace and not dwell on what has happened in the past, and what might happen in the future. Live in the now, and try to save as many people as you can today, and not think about what may happen to them tomorrow.
The Doctor had to deal with all this on his own.
No wonder he had such horrible nightmares.
"Donna!" the Doctor roared, struggling to reach the fiery-haired temp from Chiswick. The air around him felt so thick, as if it were trying to stop him form reaching his destination. He could see the shade leaping at Donna, knowing he was powerless to stop it, and the feeling broke his hearts. His feet were glued to the pavement, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move, forced to watch in mute horror as he lost the most amazing woman he had ever met once again.
He knew that this couldn't be real, for how could Donna possible be on a 38th century planet? And yet, even though he knew this was just a dream, a thought conjured up in his mind, it seemed so real, the pain of losing Donna still so raw. She was crying out for him, but all he could do was stand there and watch in silence, unable to save her, even in his dreams. She collapsed to the ground, withered and aged and crumpled, and only then was the Doctor released from his invisible prison, falling heavily to his knees. The shade stared straight at him, and gave a hiss that sounded disturbingly like a laugh.
The Doctor woke with a loud gasp, cold sweating drenching his face. He panted heavily, staring around at the interior of the TARDIS in shock. That dream, that nightmare, had been so much more substantial than his other dreams. Ever since he had been forced to wipe Donna's memories, his nights had been haunted by the red-haired child of London. As time went on, he had hoped the visions would fade, but they just grew stronger each day. After he had lost Rose to the parallel world, Martha had been able to help him get over his sadness, but this time, there was no-one.
The TARDIS felt so empty, the soft orange glow only serving to darken his mood even further. "Oh god, I miss Donna," he sighed, stroking his hand along the railing. "But there was nothing else I could do. She would have burned up, and it would have been my fault," he assured himself, worried by the wavering tone to his voice. He silently cursed himself, talking out loud even though there was no one else there to hear him. The TARDIS hummed loudly, as if she was trying to speak to him.
The Doctor slung his coat on over his shoulders and leant on the console. "I know, I know," he cooed softly, running his hands across the glimmering controls. "I have things to take care of right now. I can mope to my heart's content later on." He spun the screen around, and flicked a few switches. A view of the basement outside filled the screen, but Brittany and Jana were nowhere to be seen. They must of taken one of the skimmers and left, because he would have been able to feel it if they were inside the TARDIS.
"They always wander off," he muttered sadly. "Always." A slight grin graced his face. "That's what I love about humans. Curiosity killed the cat and all that." He pulled a lever and the screen returned to its normal display of spinning Gallifreyan symbols. "Right, now I just need to find out where you've got to. CCTV network should help me there."
"What's going on?" Brittany shouted, hanging onto the doorframe for dear life.
"I have no idea!" Jana answered, struggling to keep the bucking skimmer on course. "There must be something wrong with the engines, but all the read-outs say nothing is wrong."
The skimmer lurched to the side, and the glass globe slid out of Brittany's hands. She reached out to catch it, but her fingers only just brushed it. It shattered on the floor with a quiet tinkling sound, releasing the captured golden mist. The smoky gold swirled between her legs for a few seconds, before pressing itself flat against the floor.
Before she could work out the significance of that, the whole vehicle dropped a couple of metres in the air, and to Brittany it felt like she'd just left half her internal organs behind. The skimmer levelled out again and the contents of her stomach settled back into place.
Jana wrenched at the controls, trying to keep the bucking vehicle on course. "We're going to crash," he yelled, punching buttons and spinning knobs frantically.
"Oh really? I hadn't noticed," Brittany growled in reply, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She tightened her grip on the doorframe as the skimmer began to dive.
"I've lost the engines!" Jana pounded the controls desperately, trying not to show his panic. "I don't what happened, but I've lost the engines." Brittany squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for the impact.
A/N: Poor Doctor. I felt really sorry for the Doctor when he lost Donna, because, lets admit it, she was awesome! But, all good things have to come to an end, I guess. So the Doctor is being all haunted and troubled, while Brittany and Jana are involved in a high speed skimmer crash....what will happen next chapter?