Disclaimer: I've been going through my fanfictions and realized that I am really quite terrible at remembering to write a disclaimer. I know, it should be obvious that I do not own Doctor Who or any other fandom for which I am presently writing fanfictions, but it is said that this must be done. So I shall say, in the simplest and least eloquent terms, that I unequivocally, incontrovertibly do not own Doctor Who. I lied about eloquence.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful Elisabeth Sladen, who lost her battle to cancer on April 19, 2010. Without her, we would not have had the experience and pleasure of meeting the brilliant Sarah Jane Smith, nor would children have had the ability to enjoy the action packed, engaging Sarah Jane Adventures. We thank you, Lis, and we will always miss you. Like every star that has ever risen in the sky, you will never be forgotten.

Chapter 13

Of a Bittersweet Persuasion

Donna was still stiff and sore. She was not used to walking so far in one day and even less used to sleeping in a seated position leaning against a rock. The ginger temp paused, watching her companion walk ahead. The Doctor had been unusually quiet. Where normally there was playful, friendly banter, there rested only silence. She couldn't say that she was used to the soundless travel, but it was not uncomfortable and each time she felt like speaking up, she would glance sideways at him and dispel the notion. Something about his demeanor asked her to speak without words.

Looking ahead of her again, Donna watched the Doctor. He'd come to a stop at the top of the hill and was staring at something, though she could not see what it was from where she stood panting. Shaking off her reluctant exhaustion, the former temp brushed her hair from her eyes and hurried up the hill to his side. He glanced sideways at her and raised an eyebrow. The ginger haired woman fixed him with a repudiating expression and then turned her gaze on to what he'd originally focused his attention. Her lips parted as she drew in a quick breath of surprise.

On the other side of the hill were small, but never the less pretty, houses. Donna doubted that these Hut-like creations showed the true size of the homes but the quaint feel it gave the otherwise untamed countryside amazed her. Her impressions of Gallifrey had been, perhaps, stereotypical. A small town consisting of small, but elegant homes had not been what she'd pictured. A flicker of movement caught the corner of her eye and she glanced down to see that the Doctor had extended his hand for her to take. Donna hesitated a moment and then threaded her fingers smoothly through his.

"What do you think?" he spoke for the first time since he'd told her good morning as she woke, "Shall we journey onward?"

Donna felt herself relax at the familiar warmth that came with the sound of her best friend's voice washing over her again. She smiled, "You have to ask?"

"Well then, Allonsy!" the Doctor's mouth slipped into a cheeky, wide grin and he set off at a leisurely walk toward the large group of houses.

Donna followed him keeping right at his side. She might not have needed him to guide her, but his confidence and spirit were extraordinarily reassuring. Her steps fell perfectly in sync with his as they wandered carefully down the hill. After so much time spent together, it was hardly unusual for her walk to match his, just out of habit. Instinctually she knew how he was going to move.

She tried to ignore her mind as they strolled through the knee high grass as though there wasn't a care in the world, but she could still feel the tingle of nagging doubt about the situation. Donna squinted her fiery, grey eyes at the settlement, trying to discern of what her mind was warning. Despite the foreboding churning in the pit of her stomach and then recesses of her expanded Time Lord brain, she continued alongside the Doctor without hesitation.

They entered the road a few minutes later. The soft russet dirt tapered off from the mahogany grass as they stepped on to the road. The former Chiswick temp absorbed her surroundings warily, her suspicion that yet another thing was wrong intensifying. Observing the house to her left, she caught a flicker of movement behind the window. The shining metal and glass hut drew on her taste for elegant, ethereal design. Inside a person stood peering through the glass with a nervous air. Donna watched the man's eyes travel over them but he made no move to come outside. She observed that though the day was unarguably beautiful, no one was outside.

"This is wrong too." She stated.

The Doctor, solemn and blank-faced again, nodded his head. She watch his chocolate eyes narrow as he stepped toward a dark stain on a roughed area of dirt. Donna let his hand go free as he stepped toward it and knelt. His hand went forward and lifted a small amount of the dirt from the ground. He licked the piece of earth, though she wondered if it could really be called that, and furrowed his brow.

"I know it but I can't place it," he held out his fingers, "Right on the tip of my tongue. What do you think?"

Donna glanced with an unamused expression at him and then reached over to pull the sonic screwdriver from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"Hey!"

"I'm not licking it. You might be inside my head, but I still have a bit of a perspective on normality,"

She knelt next to the stain on the rusty dirt and adjusted the settings on the sonic. Concentrating on the spot, she bit the inside of her lip and aimed the sonic at the ground. She flickered her eyes to the Doctor's converse for a moment, watching them shift impatiently on the soil road. The companion listened to the buzz of the sonic as it analyzed the substance on the ground. Then she lifted it to her eyes. Donna's expression darkened, saddening with the results. She stood and held out the screwdriver for the Doctor to take. The ginger woman could see his surprise at her sudden change of mood. His hand reached hesitantly for the device as though he wasn't quite certain he wanted to know the results.

The former temp licked her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. The Doctor's expression changed again, but she was not surprised that what had awoken sadness in her, drove him into anger. She could interpret his visage thought to anyone else his new expression was inscrutable.

"Blood," he stated tonelessly. The Doctor's hand fell to his side, the sonic almost slipping from his grasp. Donna watched his grip on the instrument change along with the tension of her friend's jaw, "Blood from a young girl."

Donna could say nothing. Tears had budded in her eyes and she unknowingly let them slide over her cheeks. Unbidden, her mind had flown back to the Citadel when the words were spoken aloud. What if it had been Catherine? Her mind betrayed her now, as images of her daughter, beaten, tattered or even dead flew through her mind. She bit her lip and took a deep breath, raising one of her arms to flick away the tears from first her right and then her left eye. Attempting to refocus herself, she reached out and touched her companion's shoulder, gripping the fabric of his suit jacket under lightly folded fingers.

The Doctor turned to look at her, his teeth clenched together in unspoken fury. To her, it seemed he was about to speak but instead he slipped the sonic back inside his pocket and slid his hands into his pockets. Donna watched him exhale deeply a couple times and then he spoke.

"This is so very wrong."He stated, his words enraged, "In the Gallifrey I knew, children never died." The Doctor looked away from her, his gaze darting from house to house, "let alone was killed." He returned to himself, his attention drawn from the huts to a rock on the ground which he nudged disconsolately with the toe of his shoe.

Donna looked around her, glancing from house to house as well. Her gaze was caring, and calculating. Her anger boiled just under the surface but she managed to channel it into a constructive activity. Each of the homes was unique and as she looked at them, different aspects about the character of each individual inside them. Her years as a temp had enhanced her ability to read people and with her Time Lord mind now intact and functional, she was able to take her knowledge of the "human" psyche and apply it to the appearance of each home. Her eyes focused on the third hut on the left from the spot where they stood.

"It's that one there," she touched the Doctor's arm lightly to draw his attention and then shook her head in the direction of the house. Her eyes, still filled with pain, took in his as well and she wondered briefly if he had thought the same thing when he saw the analysis of the blood.

The Doctor appeared deep in thought for a moment and then his expression broke, "Well done, Donna." He praised but without his usual enthusiasm or vigor.

Donna let him take the lead, heading for the house after sweeping a hand across her forehead to brush the a few strands of hair out of her eyes. She was hot and for the first time she realized that the day was perfectly clear with the sun shining down on them brightly. The earth woman halted beside the Doctor and waited as he pressed his hand to a Bio Scanner beside the door. Donna made a mental note about how abundant bio scanners seemed to be on Gallifrey, almost as though they functioned as door bells for the higher society. There was a beep from inside the hut and seconds later the shimmering metal door opened.

A woman stood in the doorway and from the moment Donna met her, she could tell she was a Time Lord. The neural transmissions leaving her mind were too strong to be human and a bit weaker than that of the other Time Lords she'd met so she must have been one of the outcasts that lived on the edge of society. The expression on her face, one of absolute hopelessness, was familiar to her. For the first time in nearly a decade, she remembered the children she'd had while in the library's hard-drive. If there was a child that had been lost, it had belonged to this woman.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Donna" the Doctor greeted, "I was wondering if we could come in."

The woman in the door hesitated, looking them over as if terribly suspicious but then she nodded and wordlessly stepped aside to allow them through. The Doctor pushed on past, entering the space confidently. His companion could tell he'd already started compartmentalizing his anger. Donna slipped through as well, turning her grey eyes on the Time Lady. The centers of them glowed with a sad light, orange and yellow and she gave the woman a reassuring, soft smile. The woman gazed at her unsurely and then gestured toward a small seating area.

"Please, have a seat," the woman's voice was soft and unsure, very unlike that of any Time Lord or lady that Donna had ever met. Even the maid had possessed a confidence about her that over powered her status. The former temp licked her lips wondering if this is how the woman always was or how she had become after her child's death.

"Oh, thank you," Donna settled onto a well-made, silverwood sofa padded by silk cushions.

The Doctor, as usual, was not sitting. He leaned by a shelf filled with what appeared to be several books. His arms were crossed over his chest, and though he appeared nonchalant, Donna could see the slight furrow of his brown and then tightness of his posture that betrayed his feelings. She glanced at his red converse; they stood out a good deal in the relatively subtle space. Disregarding her companions less than hospitable attitude, she turned to the Time Lady presently hurrying about the place as though it was about to be inspected.

"Would you like anything?" the woman asked, her voice still unchangingly hesitant.

"Oh," Donna glanced at the Doctor. He gave her an almost unnoticeable shake of his head, "No, but thank you." She let out a soft breath, "Really, there's no need to clean on our account. We're perfectly used to a mess." She paused and reached out to the woman stopping her, "Honestly, he's a whirl wind when it comes to cleaning. You'd think a tornado had roughed the room up after he's gone through it." Donna smiled slightly at the woman and was pleased to see that the Time Lady picked up on her attempt at humor. Her smile was returned for a few seconds and then the blond woman's smile slipped away again.

The woman shook her head, "Its nothing to do with you; it," she paused and swallowed heavily. Donna noticed that tears filled up the base of her eyes, "keeps me busy. Keeps my mind off of…the present."

Donna looked back over at the Doctor again, giving him a questioning glance. He looked at her blankly for a moment and then started, stepping away from the wall.

"I couldn't help but notice," he started boldly, as though he knew nothing of what had occurred, "that everyone is inside." The man stepped closer to one of the large windows and studied the view. Now, I don't know about you, but it is an absolutely lovely day outside and no one, not even a child, is outside playing. Do you know what that tells me?"

The ginger woman on the sofa shot him a disapproving glare and then turned to observe the golden-haired Time Lady's reaction. The woman gave a soft gasp, loud enough to barely be audible, and then looked at the Doctor sharply. Her eyes were open, blank and distant the kind of eyes that could stare at you and right through you without ever seeing. Donna had seen them on the Doctor a few times, when he'd thought River was gone forever or when he Jenny had died in his arms, but those eyes, no matter how cold and empty, she'd known she could bring life back into them. This expression was different and gave new meaning to a thousand yard stare. The crystal blue color the Time Lady had been blessed with, at least in this form, were as cold as the polar regions of the coldest planet in the universe and as dark, dead and blank as a black hole. Here was a woman who had given up hope, had given up her will to live entirely.

Donna watched her stare at him without speaking and then turned her eyes on his vaguely aggressive expression. She bit her tongue forcing herself to remain silent. She knew him and knew that his methods worked. Despite how much she wanted to defend the woman and shout at him for his inconsiderate impertinence, she kept her mouth shut and watched the woman shake her head fractionally.

"It tells me that something is wrong." He paused and paced toward the other end of the room, "and not just wrong, very wrong. Crisis wrong. Am I right?" his pressing tone was growing more demanding with each word. His demeanor had not changed either and her eyes spied that his fists were clenched.

The woman nodded soundlessly in affirmation, clearly intimidated by his unceasing attitude. Donna moved toward her a bit, trying to show the broken Time Lady she had support.

"So what happened?" He stopped his pacing and came to stand squarely in front of the woman.

The former temp watched the blond hair running down the woman's back quiver as she sucked in a shaky breath. She sank into a chair and then spoke.

"It was two nights ago. A group of chapter members came to the town." The blonde woman blinked her eyes drawing another breath, "They were searching for something but I could not tell what it was. They approached Trelandour, the Time Lord who lives in the first home as entering from the Citadel. When he didn't give them what they wanted, they took my daughter, Ellindra, and warned that they wanted it by the fifth sunrise."

"Did they say what they wanted?" Donna asked gently, cutting across the Doctor as she saw his mouth open as though to speak. She could tell that his method would have been even worse that his last. Donna took a firm hold of the woman's hand, closing it in her own.

"No. Not to my knowledge. They said they wished for the device that was stolen." she replied, her blue eyes showing the faintest glimmer of hope and gratefulness.

Donna turned her eyes on the Doctor immediately. His expression, though still bearing and underlying fury, was filled with self-aggravation. He lifted a hand to his head and ran it through his hair. His ginger companion felt the Time Lady next to her tighten her grip on her hand and realized that the woman was crying again.

"Oh," the Doctor was looking over his shoulder back in the direction of the citadel, "If that's the case then they're looking for…"

"The TARDIS, yes," Donna finished his sentence for him and then directed all of her attention on the woman sobbing next to her, "It'll be alright. They've only taken her. She might be injured but remember, she's alive." The former temp reassured the woman, "In fact we'll find her," She turned to the Doctor, "Won't we Doctor?"

"Without a doubt," he replied his voice so certain that even the wounded Time Lady on the sofa couldn't have disbelieved him. Then, the Doctor turned to look out the window again, "Well we'd best be off. We've a long walk back and a few more people to talk with."

Donna nodded in agreement, a few more curls slipping from her bun and falling in her face. She stood and felt a slight tug on her hand, having forgotten the woman still held hers. She made to let go but the woman shook her head, pulling her closer. The ginger Earthling hesitated and then bent to let the blond Time Lady whisper in her ear.

"His death was no accident," The time lady stated cryptically.

The breath Donna drew through her lips hissed as it passed between them, "What?" she choked softly.

"Shaun Temple's death was no accident. You've been telling yourself that it was just his time," the woman gripped her hand harder and Donna let out a tiny squeak as she felt the bones of her knuckles grinding together, "but it was not his time." She paused again, "Find the others." She instructed and then became silent.

Donna stepped away from her, the feeling of a knife in her heart had returned. She retreated to the Doctor and felt him grab her hand. He kissed the back of her knuckles and she looked at him sharply, unsure about this kind of contact. The Doctor's expression revealed nothing other than a concern and curiosity, so the former temp let his actions slide into the back of her mind, over ridden by the more pressing matters of the situation.

What did she know about his death? The woman couldn't possibly know anything; Gallifrey hadn't shown up until after her late husband's death. Though, Donna thought, not that long after. The planet must have appeared right after she left. She supposed there could be a connection. But Shaun? His only connection to Gallifrey war his family, herself and her daughter. Otherwise, there was nothing in common. He'd worked in a small, quaint book shop in London, nothing special or unusual about his job at all. Oh how she'd loved to come and visit him after she was done with work though. She'd lean against the counter, the smell of books around her making her nostalgic for something she couldn't remember. Donna pushed the thoughts away as she felt a lump forming in the back of her throat. The present was more important than all of that. She had what was happening here to worry about.

The Doctor pulled her out into the street, bidding the Time Lady farewell and promising to return with her daughter.

a/n- Why is it that I can never finish a chapter the way I had planned? Oh well, it's not as though it bothers me I just for once would like to have less in the chapter than I originally thought I would. Anyway, for my dear fans who have seen the first episode of Series 6…Oh My God can you believe it? It can't happen. It just can't. However I love the way Brits view Americans. It cracks me up. I love the external perspective! Also My clever reason for why Amy leaves the TARDIS is shot now. Oh well, sadly I think that means she shall be leaving on a much more depressing note…

Regardless, Wotcher,

Tabitha