Author's Note: Hello again. It has been a tough year with an overall lack of energy brought on by medical issues as well as the general state of the world. I'm happy to be able to be back with these characters though and to be able to continue their story. I was so excited when I heard the news about the 60th with 10 and Donna back together and that finally started the creative juices flowing again. Thank you for sticking through my long silences and I sincerely hope each and every one of you are safe and healthy!

The Doctor, Donna and Jenny stepped out of the young Tardis and were immediately assaulted by a sere wind that had picked up and was scouring the salt field where the ship was sitting.

Donna stumbled when she left the temporal field of the ship, her hand flying to her temple when she felt the waves of energy from the planet nearly overpower her.

"Donna, I really think it best that you stay with Wilf and Alec. You can keep in touch with Jenny and I from inside the ship."

Donna looked up at the Doctor as he spoke, her eyes softening when she felt the terror that was clawing for purchase in his mind. He was trying desperately to let go of enough of his fear to allow Donna the freedom that she needed in order to feel useful, but it didn't mean that he had to like it.

"I'm alright, Doctor. It just surprised me, that's all, after the quiet inside the ship. Give me a few minutes and I'll get used to it again."

Jenny laid a hand on her father's arm, surprised by the tension that she felt in the muscles, before she squeezed tight. "She needs this, Dad, just like I do. We need to help. You don't need to do this alone."

The Doctor looked from Jenny to Donna, his eyes widening slightly when he saw the shift in both their timelines before the temporal winds ripped them away. He took a deep breath and reached up to pat Jenny's hand in response. "You're both right, and it seems like the timelines are set anyway. There's nothing we can do but carry on."

Donna hurried up to the Doctor's other side and slid her fingers into his other hand, squeezing tightly when she felt the soft caress of his mind against hers. He was fighting every preservation instinct that he had but he was determined to see this through and to come back to Alec and Wilf with the Tardis so that they could all be safely carried away from this doomed world.

Jenny began to lead the way back to the town, she chose a path that led them out of the opposite side of the field of salt pillars from where they'd come before she made a wide loop out to a heavily traveled dirt road that led back into the town.

"Like I said before, Dad, I always take a different path into town in case someone got it into their mind to try following me back to the ship. I don't know if she'd be able to stop anyone from just walking in if they saw the exact spot that I disappeared into a salt pillar. With Alec getting sicker, I'd rather not risk it."

The Doctor looked down at his daughter when they came out onto the path and began the long walk back into town. His gaze took in the lines of concern that were etched into her young face even as she was walking boldly back into a place of possible danger. "Why do you believe that anyone would follow you out of town, Jenny? The people barely seemed to notice us other than to see that we were new in town and dressed slightly differently than they were."

Jenny chewed at her lower lip as she thought about the last few towns she had been in before she'd made it to this most recent town. "This planet suffered some great catastrophe, Dad. I don't know what it was but people refuse to even discuss it. If I push too hard, then I find myself very quickly unwelcome in town and in some cases I've had to run from the town ahead of an angry mob."

"Like the old man was talking about?" Donna said, her gaze focused straight ahead while she struggled against getting sucked into the swirls and eddies of temporal energy that were flowing around their little party. She couldn't understand how Jenny wasn't more affected by the waves around them, though the Doctor had once said that she was a Time Lord, yet not. Maybe she just wasn't sensitive enough to feel the temporal energy, or she'd been on this planet for so long that she was just plain used to it.

Jenny nodded when she heard Donna's comment, her gaze drifting down the road to the first line of buildings that had appeared over the horizon. "I think so, Donna. It happened a long time ago apparently. At first, the changes were subtle enough that they weren't aware of them, but over time they couldn't ignore them. Their climate began to shift and the vegetation died out. They had the technology that they were able to adapt fairly well though and now grow much of their food in underground caves where their crops are protected from the sandstorms and frequent winds. What I could gather from a shop keeper in town, their water quickly vanished underground except for a few salty seas and they luckily were able to locate the underground reservoirs. The population though is a fraction the size that it used to be. Those that could afford to escape off world, did and the rest that remained struggled to survive. Ships used to come into the spaceports on a pretty regular schedule but there haven't been any for months now and I've heard whispers that any distress calls that are sent out are met with only static."

"What about children, Jenny? Have you ever seen any children?"

Jenny frowned as she struggled to remember faces and people that she'd met since coming to this planet. The first few months had been frightening and harried and she had never stayed in one place long before moving on to the next town. She was always moving, always afraid to stay too long in one place before moving on to the next. She stayed just long enough to earn a little bit of money doing odd jobs and enough food and water to carry her through the desert and on into the next town. That is, until she'd arrived at this town and had run into Alec and his injured Tardis. "I've never seen any children that didn't belong to aliens, Dad. The local population always seemed to be middle-aged or older. I'd always thought they just kept their children indoors and protected from the harsh environment of the planet, but I guess now that isn't true."

The Doctor shook his head, shifting his gaze to look out over the vast rolling waves of sand that surrounded the town where he could see a maelstrom of temporal energy swirling endlessly around the planet. "No, it isn't, Jenny. Not if that elder is to be believed. Something happened that seems to have sterilized the indigenous population within the last few generations and they are slowly dying out."

Donna gasped softly when she heard the Doctor's words, her hand flying to cover her mouth when she thought of the death of an entire race. "Isn't there anything you can do to help, Doctor?"

He looked down at her, feeling his hearts turn over at the sorrow that he felt filling her mind. He felt the darkness rising swiftly as he thought about the temporal eddies on the planet and the chaos that seemed to have only intensified with their arrival. It was a struggle to stay above the crushing waves of despair that were determined to drag him under, he knew that he would be of no use to anyone if he let that helplessness overwhelm him.

Once more he felt the weight of his decisions weighing down on him, crushing him as he realized that this planet had most likely been caught up in the cataclysmic shift that had happened when his actions aboard the Master's ship had created an entirely new timeline. It was only a theory but once they were back aboard his Tardis, he would have the ship scan for planetary temporal displacement to see if his theory was correct. If what he feared was true, then he was responsible for the possible extinction of a people and it would be a race to see if he could correct those consequences in time to make a difference.

"I don't know, Donna. I don't know enough yet about what's happened on this planet to see if there's anything I can even do to reverse the genetic damage."

She frowned when she felt the chaos in his mind and knew that he wasn't telling her the entire truth, but that he also wasn't quite ready to face the reality of what might actually be happening on this planet. She sighed softly and gripped his hand tight in support before looking back to the road that was quickly approaching the outskirts of town.

The Doctor let his mind dip briefly into Donna's so that he could feel her perceptions of the energy around them, his hand tightened around hers briefly to the point of pain before loosening once more.

Jenny stopped when he did, her mind struggling to maintain the contact with her father when he wasn't actively helping her keep the link. She cried out softly when she felt a wave of fire race over her body before the Doctor quickly shoved her out of his mind. "What was that?"

"That's how Donna see's time, Jenny and it's overwhelming even for me. I don't want you to be incapacitated by it right now. Maybe later, I'll show you how to properly perceive time." And try to find the untempered schism. The Doctor couldn't filter that thought from Donna fast enough when he heard her gasp in his mind, his gaze flying to hers when he felt her pull back in shock.

It nearly destroyed you, Doctor. She was unable to keep the terror from her thought, her eyes dropping to Jenny's when she realized just how important the young Time Lord was to the both of them and how she didn't want anything more to happen to harm her.

It also made me a full Time Lord, Donna, something that Jenny should have the chance to become if she so wishes. But now's not the time to discuss this.

The silence in his mind was thunderous and he knew that Donna would definitely let him know just how she was feeling when things were settled down and they were alone together. The Doctor only hoped that they would all survive so that he could have that conversation with her. Because now, he was no longer so sure.

Jenny watched her father while he held Donna's hand tight, his eyes locked with hers though his eyes were not seeing the woman standing directly in front of him. She could just feel the faint current of energy moving between the Doctor and Donna but she wasn't able to feel or hear anything else. The moment was over almost before it began and her father once more reached out to her to bring her gently into their mind link. She took a deep breath, surprised at how alone she had felt even for a few moments when he'd severed their link. She didn't want to be alone anymore, she was still afraid that she was going to wake up and realize that finding Alec, Donna and the Doctor was yet another dream that she'd awakened from and realize she was still all alone in a universe gone mad.

They resumed their walk towards the town, the Doctor was struggling to make sense of what he'd just sensed from Donna. His gaze was on the not so distant buildings as they were nearing the edge of town, "The temporal energy on this planet is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's deeper than simply being on or near a temporal rift. It's almost like the fabric of reality has shattered around the planet…"

Donna hesitated when she saw the crowd of people that seemed to have gathered between the buildings, her steps faltering while she quickly looked around, "Maybe we should try going around the town and coming out the other side, Doctor? That way we can avoid any trouble."

The Doctor looked down at Donna and she was taken aback by the sorrow that she saw in his eyes before the emotion was forcefully pushed aside and a cold, hard look settled into his gaze. "It's already too late, Donna. We've been spotted."

Distant shouts were carrying on the wind as they walked through the first buildings in town and into the middle of a large group of locals who were all shouting at the tops of their lungs.

"Where are the caravans?"

"Why haven't we had any word? They're always on time!"

"When are you going to go looking for them? We need supplies!"

The shouts were directed at a group of men who looked to be some sort of police force and they looked like they were ready for trouble.

Jenny scanned the crowd and nodded in greeting when she spotted Bardjuna in the crowd. The woman shook her head briefly, nodding towards her mate Kedram, who had been one of the people that had spotted them out on the road heading into town.

The Doctor frowned when he followed Jenny's gaze, surprised when he felt the outright hostility in the man's gaze. "Who is that, Jenny?"

"That's Kedram, he's the mate of the butcher in town. He's always been reserved around me but never openly hostile before."

"Well, that appears to have changed."

Donna leaned close to the Doctor, trying to convey to him the growing sense of alarm that she felt now that they were in the middle of the crowd. Doctor, this group is right on the edge of violence. Something has happened since we were in the Tardis and it's driven these people to the brink.

The Doctor grunted softly in reply, his hands clenching for a brief moment before he looked down at her and nodded. We've been in the Tardis for several days, Donna. I'd say whatever problems were brewing before we arrived on this planet are finally starting to boil over.

He felt the slight tremor in his mind as Donna digested the swift passage of time that he casually disclosed, a subtle indication of her shock before she took a deep breath and stood taller at his side. He fought down a proud smile at Donna's instant and ready support no matter the situation, she overcame her uncertainty and once more faced the situation head on.

"They're newcomers! The old one was talking about them before they vanished for days! Where does she even go when she leaves town? I bet they know what's happened to the caravans!"

The Doctor's head jerked up when he heard the angry shout from Kedram; his eyes scanning the crowd, he became all too aware that they had quickly become the center of attention for a very angry crowd.

"Kedram, shush! You don't know that and you're only trying to cause trouble because the authorities don't have any answers for us."

Kedram glared down at his mate, shaking his head as he muttered. "You've always been too welcoming, Bardjuna. We should've been more careful, like the other towns and run the strangers out. All they do is come here and take our food and water and most likely conspire to ambush the caravans so that they don't have to share any supplies with us."

The mutters of the crowd were quickly becoming more hostile as more people started to agree with Kedram, an ugly current of mistrust spreading through the crowd as quick as lightning. The Doctor noticed that many of them were armed with crude weapons that they began to get a tighter grip on whille they worked up their courage. Doctor, we have to get out of here now! This is about to turn into a riot!

The Doctor squeezed Donna's hand for a brief moment before he answered Kedram's accusations. "Yes, we are strangers to your town, but we're just passing through on our way to our home on the other side of the mountains. I'm a scientist though, and if you share your data with me, I might be able to help you find some answers."

There were a series of loud guffaws at his response, another man who held a rock in his hand stepped forward and shouted, "Next thing, you're going to tell us why the rains stopped a century ago and why we can't have children anymore!"

The Doctor shook his head but stepped forward with his hands held open wide and to the side in the universal sign of non-aggression, his voice pitched low so it could carry over the crowd, "I don't know if I can answer those questions for you, but I might be able to help you find a solution that you can implement."

Kedram shook off Bardjuna's restraining hand and shouted, "He's lying! We don't need any strangers here meddling in our problems, we can take care of ourselves!"

There was an angry chorus of shouts agreeing with Kedram's words, the crowd was surging towards the strangers and began to lift their crude weapons before the security forces fired several warning shots into the air.

"ENOUGH!" The man in the lead shouted into the sudden stillness that had descended over the crowd. He had three knots of rank under an strange emblem that resembled a flowering tree under two suns. The man's uniform had the highest number of knots on the chest which clearly made him an officer.

"We'll take these people into custody and question them about the missing caravans. There's no need to get violent. Now stand down and go back to your homes!"

"No! If you take them, then we'll never have any answers! The government's been hiding things from us for too long!"

The Doctor reached out and very quickly pushed both Jenny and Donna behind him when he felt the almost electric surge of anger sweep through the crowd. They were working themselves up to attack them and the police force and he only had a few seconds to avert the disaster before it struck. He felt his vision begin to tunnel as his mind descended into its hypervigilant state, the echoes of the temporal eddies were muted to a dull roar as he watched the timelines explode into a million infinite possibilities.

"Let me help you!" The crowd responded with a mindless roar and surged forward.

There was a soft grunt behind him before he felt a blinding flash of pain that caused him to stagger when something crashed into his left leg. The Doctor turned around, trying to control the panic when he felt the emptiness that suddenly engulfed his mind.

It was like he was watching events unfold in slow motion as Donna slowly crumpled to the ground. Her eyes had glazed over and partly rolled back into her head and he could see a deep wound on her left temple that was bleeding profusely. "NO! Donna!"

"DONNA!" Jenny fell to her knees beside Donna, narrowly dodging another missile that was thrown in their direction as the crowd erupted into violence around them. She looked up at her father, taken aback by the look of absolute fury that erupted on his features when his gaze met hers. She hesitated for a brief moment, feeling a contraction in the energy around him so profound that even her untrained senses clearly saw the change in her father.

"Dad, don't! She wouldn't want you to!"

The Doctor shook off Jenny's hand and stood up, his head ducking to the side to avoid another thrown object before he shouted. "Stop! You're only making this worse! Let me help my wife and then let us help you!"

The crowd pushed forward at the Doctor's words, now mindless in their fear and desperate need for answers. The police force began to fire wildly into the crowd, stunning people where they stood so that they were then trampled by their fellows as the anger turned into fear and people tried to flee the budding riot.

The Doctor jerked when he felt a stun blast hit him but he was far too enraged to feel much effect from it. He couldn't believe the stupidity of these people, and their complete disregard for the possibility that he might be able to help.

Jenny stood up next to her father, her gaze locked with the officers who stood there in shock that both she and her father weren't taken down with the stun blasts like the rest of the people in the crowd had been. She raised her hand to try to calm the tension between the two parties but before she could say anything, they fired again. Six stun bursts each hit her and her father dead center in the chest and she felt herself sliding towards unconsciousness. The Doctor caught Jenny despite his legs beginning to feel weak, his movements were infinitely gentle when he eased her on to the ground to lie next to Donna.

The flow of blood had painted Donna's beautiful face in a macabre mask of red, the sight hit the Doctor with a gut punch. His breath caught in his throat while he reached up to try to brush the worst of the blood from her cheek, before he looked up at the lead officer. With his hand touching her, he felt some semblance of peace come over him even though she had vanished from his mind. He could feel the soft puff of air against the back of his hand letting the Doctor know she was simply unconscious though he didn't know how bad she had been injured.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, anything to get them to see reason and stop the madness that was fast spiraling out of control. The officer's fearful gaze met his but before the Doctor could react, the man pulled the trigger and the universe went mercifully black.

"Donna, NO!"

Alec jerked awake from the fitful slumber that he'd fallen into when Donna, the Doctor and Jenny had set out to return to the Tardis. His gaze darted around the control room while he tried to rise above the feeling of terror that had suddenly filled him.

"What's wrong, son? Did you have a bad dream?"

Alec started when Wilf leaned over him, his hammering hearts started to settle into a calmer rhythm when he realized that he wasn't alone in his Tardis.

"Something's happened to them. I can't feel Donna anymore, she's vanished completely from my mind."

Wilf leaned back with a soft, anguished cry; his gaze lifted up to where the opening in the side of the ship was that led to the outdoors. "Maybe I should go see if I can help them?"

Alec's hand flew to his head when he felt the explosion of pain from the Doctor, a cascade of agony that just as quickly faded when the Doctor vanished as well. He felt his hands begin to shake when he tried to reach out to Jenny but found that she too was silent. "I don't think that's a good idea, Wilf. Whatever happened to her seems to have happened to both the Doctor and Jenny as well and it bloody hurt."

"What do you mean, it hurt? Are they injured? Are they…?" Wilf couldn't complete the sentence though Alec felt the meaning shiver in the air between them. His eyes were open wide and he was suddenly a frightened, old man who was looking to Alec for some stability in a world that was fast going mad.

Alec struggled to pull his mind together while the wave of agony that had nearly incapacitated him left behind an exhaustion that threatened to push him once more into unconsciousness. He forced himself up onto his elbows and assured Wilf, "No, Gramps. I can't feel them anymore but I'm hoping that they're simply unconscious. I don't know what happened but they've obviously run into some trouble and rushing in blindly won't help them anyway."

Wilf was unable to control the panic that was rising, but he nodded when he heard Alec's words. Hopefully they were just unconscious but that didn't mean that they didn't still need their help. "What can we do to help, Alec? We can't just sit here and hope that they get out of whatever mess they're in. I mean that Doctor's brilliant, but if he's been hurt, how can he get them out of trouble?"

Alec smiled; his hand gripping Wilf's tight before he looked up at the control console of the Tardis. A soft groan echoed through the ship and there was a brief flicker of light in the corals right over the shattered control console that suddenly gave Alec an idea.

"I think we can help Wilf, but I'm going to need your help to do it. Both Tardises seem to think that we can repair my ship enough to coax a few more flights out of her. She can then lock on to wherever they're being held and hopefully get them out of there."

Wilf was shaking his head even before Alec had finished, his wild-eyed gaze taking in the alien tech that surrounded them and Wilf knew that he didn't have the faintest clue of where to start to repair the damaged ship. "I don't know, Alec. With all these fancy bits and bobs, I'd more likely damage her even more than be of any help."

Alec closed his eyes for a moment, his hearts clenching when he felt the gentle urging from both his ship and the Doctor's ship that the repairs could be made and then she could finally rest aboard her parent ship. The journey wasn't complete until they were all back together, and the longer they were apart, the more the danger to all of them increased.

He felt a faint echo from the Doctor's Tardis, she couldn't come to them without someone to pilot her. She was still working on overriding her own lock and nearly had it figured out. It had something to do with their timelines needing to synchronize and the events that were unfolding on Bir Tochter reaching their natural conclusion.

"It looks like we have to do this, Gramps. I'd help you more if I could, but I'm too wounded to do more than instruct you on what to do. Can you do this?"

Wilf looked at Alec as he was laying there in obvious pain, but he was already rising above that pain and pushing it aside to do what he needed to do to save his father, mother and sister. "Okay then, tell me where to start."

Alec nodded firmly when he heard Wilf's acceptance of the monumental task at hand, and he instructed his great grandfather to pull open the panel nearest to the control console.

He was unable to stop the almost reflexive reaching in his mind along the now silent bond, trying desperately to get anyone to answer his soundless cries