Absolute agony.

Donna felt herself floating in a sea of fire that rolled over her in never ending waves as she slowly rose towards consciousness.

She tried desperately to remember what had happened before she had blacked out, but she found it difficult to focus on any single thought before another wave of fiery pain would wash over her.

The pain in her head was reminiscent of the injuries she'd sustained when the Tardis had been damaged before, but she couldn't remember the constant brush of fiery sensations against exposed skin. Donna tried to open her eyes but hissed when a blinding white light stabbed straight through the crack in her eyelids right into the back of her brain.

Alright, Donna. Time to think here. Donna definitely had another concussion, though how serious this concussion was would be anybody's guess. She tried to lay perfectly still while she began to catalogue the different sensations that were flooding her mind.

The fiery sensations that washed over her body made her think that she was still somewhere on the surface of Bir Tochter and was not back inside the Tardis' medical bay. Even though her eyes were closed, she still felt the world spinning lazily beneath her in a subtle motion that kept a slight wave of nausea simmering in her stomach.

She could feel the white light burning right above her closed eyes waiting to stab with painful intensity into her head once she tried to open them again. She tried to lift her arm to cover her eyes and that was when she became aware that she was strapped down.

Doctor! Donna reached out to the Doctor, swallowing hard against the lurch of the world around her when her head exploded in agony.

She shuddered when she felt him connect with her, the warmth of his presence was nearly overwhelming to her injured senses but she found she was unable to stop the sob of relief that she could still reach him.

I'm here, Donna. I'm right here though we've been separated. The Doctor's voice was powerful in her mind, and his own relief was a balm that helped her begin to bring focus to the chaos that had been reigning in her mind.

Where am I, Doctor?

I don't know, Donna. Jenny and I are together in some sort of cell and our captors tell me that you've been taken to some sort of facility because of your injuries. Can you see where you are right now?

Donna took a deep breath and tried to open her eyes once more, breathing through the pain as the white light above her resolved into some sort of a medical examination light. She felt a sudden flashback to the Master's control room when she realized that she had been strapped down once again to a table of some sort.

She squeezed her eyes shut to try to overcome the panic that was rising within her, the maddened urge to to struggle against her bonds when it would be completely hopeless.

So far, no one had come to see her so it was obvious that her return to consciousness had gone unnoticed for the time being but that wouldn't continue to be the case if she began to thrash around uncontrollably.

There was a surge of pride from the Doctor when he felt her battle against her panic and not allow it to completely incapacitate her, though he knew just how much the battle must have cost her. She could feel the cold anger simmering just beneath his calm touch, the rage that was fast rising within him when he felt that fear and was powerless to do anything to help her.

She finally caught the faint whisper of motion from somewhere in the room with her though she couldn't make out which direction it was coming from. Doctor, there's someone in here with me.

She felt the jump of his hearts when he realized she wasn't alone and a brief flash of pain as he tried to reach further into her mind so that he could "see" through her eyes.

I need you to look around as best as you can, Donna.

Donna nodded softly or tried to, and that was when she realized her head was also strapped down. I'm completely strapped down, Doctor! I can barely move my head.

Donna shivered at the burst of cold, ruthless anger from him before he very quickly tamped it down. She very clearly heard his thought that his rage would do nothing to help her right now, and the thin veneer of control settled once more over his thoughts.

She knew that the control that he always seemed to exhibit during any crisis was really only a mask that he wore in order to keep those around him calm, while within he was waging his own battle against his innermost demons.

Donna tried to keep her own fear under control because she knew that it was actually feeding the Doctor's anger and she refused to be the cause of his headlong descent into madness. She took another breath, as deep as the straps across her chest would allow and once more tried to look around the room in which she was being held.

Her vision had begun to clear when she blinked her eyes several times, though the throbbing pain in her temple leaped in painful counterpoint to the new sensory input.

Donna wasn't able to move her head much from where it was strapped onto the table, but she was able to make out some sort of medical device to the side of where she was laying. Her heart leaped when she saw tubes running out of the machine and the ends disappearing into some sort of device that was strapped to her arm.

The room looked white and completely sterile, almost like an operating suite back on earth would have looked. She very quickly pushed her mind away from those thoughts, while she looked further around the room.

There were several large banks of computers though they weren't like any computers she'd ever seen before. Lights were blinking in random sequences and an occasional beeping would fill the silence of the room.

Donna couldn't see any further into the room due to her restraints, the frustration mounting when she wasn't able to loosen her bonds no matter how much she shifted.

Thank you, Donna. I think I have an idea of where you're being held right now, and at least it looks like they're treating your injuries for the time being.

What do they want, Doctor?

She felt him hesitate at her question, his mind going unusually still before he replied. I'm not quite sure, Donna. But apparently, they're very interested in your DNA.

My what? It's just human DNA like theirs, nothing special.

It was fascinating how she could actually feel him arguing with himself whether or not to tell her anything more. He could feel that she was just barely holding on to her control by her fingernails and he was loathe to put her under any more stress.

Donna sighed when she felt his hesitation, her mind reaching out to his as best she could before she replied, Just tell me, Doctor. Not knowing is worse.

She could almost imagine his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck while the seconds ticked by as he struggled with himself before he finally came to a decision. Your DNA is a hybrid of Time Lord DNA now, Donna. It's a remnant of the Metacrisis and is one of the reasons why your ability to see temporal fields developed.

Donna went completely still. Her open eyes staring blankly at the wall directly in front of her while she tried to digest what the Doctor had said.

She knew the metacrisis had changed her on a psychic level and that it had also changed her neural chemistry in such a way that she was now a telepath, but she had never considered that those changes had gone deeper into her very DNA. She thought that she was just a slightly more evolved human with some cool abilities, but that ultimately, she was still just a simple human.

Donna? The Doctor sounded concerned, his mind frantic when he felt the complete emptiness in her thoughts. He knew he shouldn't have told her about those changes and really what difference did it make? She was human in every sense that mattered, so she had a little extra strand that had been bonded to her DNA. Big Deal. Lots of species had DNA in different patterns that allowed them to survive in their own environment, it didn't change the amazing person that she was inside. Her ingenuity and her very humanity is what made her so amazing and coupled with the lingering effects of the metacrisis, allowed her to adapt so very quickly to all the changes that she had been subjected to since they had been reunited.

Donna, are you alright?

Yeah, Spaceman. I'm fine. Just peachy. Donna ruthlessly pushed the mindless terror that was rising within her aside, her mind shutting down all extra emotion so she could focus on what the Doctor needed her to do. Later there would be plenty of time to fall to pieces, but not right now.

She could almost feel the Doctor's frown in her mind and knew that he could sense the lie for what it was, but he decided to let it lie and simply tried to hold her frightened thoughts in his for a few moments.

"I'm telling you those records are nearly three hundred and fifty years old! How do you even know that they're accurate?"

Donna jerked when she heard the hiss of what sounded like doors opening and arguing voices entered the room.

"The records spoke of triple stranded DNA just like she has! I'm telling you she's the same species as subject 326!" That voice, obviously female, seemed to hold a fervor in it that Donna couldn't quite place.

"They also spoke of two hearts which this woman clearly doesn't have."

Donna felt the Doctor go very still in her mind when he heard those words. His entire being was suddenly intently focused on the conversation that the two newcomers were having.

She sensed movement just to the edge of her vision and noticed that a man had stepped behind one of the consoles and nodded to someone out of her line of sight. He looked down at the console in front of him and gasped, before his gaze rose sharply in her direction.

"She's awake."

There was more movement in the room, this time much closer to her before she noticed a rather petite female come up beside her. The woman's attempt at a smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and Donna could tell that this woman was the one with more authority between the two.

"I'm glad that you're awake. When you were brought to us with a severe head wound, I was worried that we wouldn't be able to save you."

Donna didn't reply to the woman's comment, she could feel the false concern in the words and knew that this was just the beginning of her questions.

"Now, now. No need to be shy. What are you and your companions doing here?"

Donna was unable to stifle the laugh at the woman's comment even though it elicited another sharp stab of pain through her temple. "Why don't you tell me, since I've been brought someplace against my will? Why don't you let me go so that I can join my companions and then we can have a nice chat."

The woman pursed her lips, her eyes sparkling for a brief moment when Donna mentioned her companions, before she shook her head. "We'll get to them soon enough. I have some questions that I'd like to ask you first though. Just to make sure you're alright after your injury."

Donna scoffed, closing her eyes when she felt the gathering storm clouds in the Doctor's mind, though she couldn't understand what had been said to set him off so spectacularly. She felt the black abyss yawning wide within him though and all his darkest emotions rising swiftly out of his control.

"How long have you been telepathic? Were you born this way?"

Donna blinked stupidly at the woman's question, having expected any other question but that one. She tried to rise above the dark rage that was encompassing the Doctor, tried to stay above it all so that she could better focus on the woman in front of her. But it was impossible to pull herself away from the Doctor as he quite happily leaped into that cauldron of rage and pain.

"I'm sorry, what?" Donna spluttered.

What's wrong, Spaceman? Please talk to me! What's happened? Donna pleaded with the Doctor, desperately needing him to rise above the emotions that were very quickly dragging him under their thrall.

"You heard me. Were you born telepathic or does it have something to do with your triple stranded DNA?"

"Triple stranded what? Blimey, you're off your rocker if you think I'm going to answer another question of yours before you let me see my companions!" Donna pulled hard against the restraints that were holding her down, her own anger rising in frightening counterpoint to the Doctor's emotions. "I'm going to show you what my DNA can do if you don't let me go!"

The woman glanced towards a panel on the side of Donna's bed, a wicked smile curving the corner of her mouth at whatever she saw. "Please, by all means do continue to struggle. Those restraints could hold down a full grown sindermor, you won't be able to break free."

"A full-grown what? That isn't even a word!"

The woman shook her head and leaned down to pick up something from a table that Donna hadn't noticed earlier. She stood back up with a strange metallic device in her hands. It was a dull silvery colour and roughly circular. There were little filaments at regular intervals around the device and each filament ended in several sharpened points.

Donna tried to lean back when she felt the Doctor's gasp in her mind, his thoughts screaming as he desperately tried to reach through their bond in order to shield her from what was obviously about to happen.

"We know you're telepathic and we can tell that you're probably in communication with your companions right now. We can't have that happen, now can we?"

The woman slid the open collar around her neck and pressed a button on the side that caused the filaments to suddenly dance with life against her skin before she felt a stab of pain in multiple locations.

Donna, no! She heard the Doctor's frantic cry before his mind was quite literally ripped from hers and she was knocked out.

The Doctor's eyes had opened only partially when he managed to connect with Donna, the brilliant smile on his lips had let Jenny know that she was finally awake and that he was able to speak with her.

Jenny sat crossed legged by the bench that her dad was sitting on, her attention split between the guards and her father while she watched the new officers make entries in their notes. They didn't even seem to be interested in the prisoners other than to look up at them occasionally before returning to whatever it was that they were doing.

She chewed her lip thoughtfully, trying to think of the best way to bring him back should there be need. He hadn't really given her much information before he had gone in search of Donna, so she was left to try to figure out what best to do. Would a good kick work? Or maybe a slap?

Jenny looked up at her dad, her mind barely able to connect with him when it had traveled so far from his body. Sensing that what he was doing was dangerous, she knew that it would be better for her if she didn't try to follow him to wherever Donna was.

She sighed moodily and lifted her legs to wrap her arms around her raised knees. Resting her chin on them, she tried to think of a way to get them out of their current predicament.

The Doctor had said something about trying to set up a resonance frequency in the seal of the door, but that had been hours ago and so far, nothing had happened that was any closer to helping them escape. The guards were also all armed, while the two of them had nothing. He didn't even have his sonic screwdriver.

She tried hard to rise above the fear that was a constant companion since she'd regained consciousness in their cell, but it was becoming harder to overcome the longer that they remained.

Jenny was ashamed of the fact that she'd had such a spectacular panic attack, but then nothing good ever came out of being locked in a cell. She couldn't understand how her dad could simply let his body drop away in order to find Donna, how he was able to calm his mind so completely so that he could follow the faint trail back to her.

She wanted to learn so much more from both her dad and Alec, but she knew that it was going to be a while before that could happen. She was sick of being half a Time Lord and not a very good one at that.

The Doctor said that he might help her learn to see time and she was bound and determined to learn everything that she could so that he wouldn't have any reason to be ashamed of her.

"Donna, NO!"

Jenny jumped when she heard her dad's shout, his eyes were suddenly wide open and he was reaching out towards the distant wall before they rolled back in his head and he toppled off the bench to fall into Jenny's lap.

"DAD!"

She wasn't even aware of the movement of the guards on the other side of the clear partition when she felt the sudden gulf that opened between her and her father. He wasn't simply unconscious, his mind had completely separated from his body and nothing she could do seemed able to reach him.