Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Opinions on River's character would be fantastic, I'm not too familiar with writing her, and I tend to have a bias towards...certain people **grins** I love intelligent feedback!

The Doctor hooked up the TARDIS to the Torchwood computers. Cords streamed out of her front door and wound around the room. He'd decided, as he ran around the screens updating programs and downloading new ones, that he'd run a scan for recent time fluxes while he was at it. He wanted to find the source of River's troubles by the time she got back, so he'd have one less thing to worry about. He flipped several switches on the computer and ran back inside the TARDIS.

Flipping the screen around to face him, he tapped it, zooming on his search. The fluxes weren't hard to find, especially since they were sitting so close to the rift. Two specifically caught his eye, the first from several years back and the other from only a week ago. He punched the keyboard, zeroing in on the second flux.

"What's it mean?" Donna stepped behind him, reading over his shoulder. The circles and pentagon shapes that made up the screen were indecipherable to her. The Doctor had said once that it was his own language, but hadn't offered any more of an explanation. She didn't ask for it, knowing it was hard for him to talk about his planet.
"Well, each time flux represents a crossroads if you will. A choice made that will significantly change the rest of time. The TARDIS can read the flux, pinpoint the source of it and the new timelines that result." he explained.

The radio crackled from its position on the console. The Doctor looked at it sharply, narrowing his eyes. They hadn't heard a word from Jack or the girls for over two hours, and he was getting jumpy. Turning back to the screen he began reading. The information seemed familiar, the shopping centre, the date and time. His eyes widened as he realized what it was describing.

"Where were we when we found Rose?" he asked, his voice thick. Fear gripped him as he anticipated her answer.
"Erm, that shopping centre. The one just a couple blocks from Gramps, remember?" She stepped around him to properly look at him. "What is it? What's happened?"
"The source..." he paused and took a breath. "The source of the flux is Rose." Donna frowned.
"I don't understand." he looked shaken and scared, more scared than she'd seen him in years. He pointed to the screen.
"In the timeline River remembers, Rose and I never met. When we did, it created a brand new timeline, completely rewriting River's past." He swallowed and shut the screen off. "In order for River to fix her timeline, she'd have to stop Rose from finding me." The Doctor let out a ragged breath and turned around to avoid her eyes. Donna's jaw dropped, realisation dawning on her. He rubbed his face in his hands.

"I don't know what to do Donna." he looked back at her. She didn't know how to respond. "How do I tell them?" his voice cracked, hopelessness tearing through him. "How can I let her go again and watch her unravel before my eyes?" leaning heavily on the console, he covered his eyes with his palms. The radio crackled again, this time River's voice becoming distinct among the fuzz.

"Jack, can you hear me? Anyone..." her voice faded in and out of the static. "It's Rose..." the Doctor's face shot up, and he whirled around. "We need backup..." He rushed to the radio but it was engulfed in static.
"10-4, on my way." Jack's voice came through. Donna placed a hand on the Doctor's arm. She knew that look on his face, she had seen it the day they'd met. He was achingly terrified and defeated.
"It's ok. Jack will take care of them." she said, with more calm than she felt. He looked up at her wildly.
"What am I going to do?" he whispered. Donna understood suddenly, staring into his eyes, why he ran and never stopped. She took the radio and led him away from the screen.
"Do what you do best, don't think about it. Not yet." she led him outside the TARDIS and back inside the hub. "Finish up those tests, we've still got a source to find." she sat him gently down. He nodded stiffly, obediently setting his eyes on the screen. She knew his mind was far from his actual project, but at least it would keep him occupied for now.
The radio continued to crackle as she stepped into the kitchen. From what she could understand from snatches of the conversation, Rose was hurt. She left the radio on the table and turned the volume down so he couldn't hear. Sitting down, she buried her hands in her pockets and leaned back closing her eyes.
"Just another day in the life." she commented softly. It had been such a long day, and she knew it was hardly over.