And so it shoud have been; all right. Everything should have been alright. After all it was It was a simple jump into the future for the Doctor. Five minutes, just get the Tardis working right, and he'd be back. It was an even eaier time for Donna; a few hours down the road and three days later she'd be back. Simple enough; Right?
Wrong...
7 Hours before his departure from Amelia Pond for his five minute trip, yet hours after Donna had left her home to party with friends in Cardiff
"Your mum must of read you the riot act." the blonde near Donna spoke up. "You haven't even touched your drink."
"Not really in the mood for it." Donna looked at the glass knowing that wasn't the truth. She was more then in the mood for it; after what her mother had done to her. Sure she knew Sylvia was aware of her situation when it came to Amelia, but to bring it out in front of her Grandfather like that.
"Wow.." the Blonde added with a shrug of her shoulders.
"What? I've already had two of them." Donna paused. "I don't need another one."
"Whoa wait a minute." the brunette across the table; the Missy Donna had been speaking of earlier spoke up with surprise. "Is this Donna, I don't stop drinking till I start puking, Noble I'm hearing. You don't need another drink? No it can't be..."
"What?"
"Donna come on, we all know your motto's the more I drink the less I think." Missy added in a matter of fact tone. "You really think it could be other wise with the men you take home; or don't take home."
"So not only am I a lush now, I'm also a slut."
"What is up with you tonight?" the blonde near Donna took a sip of her drink."You've been wound up since we picked you up..."
"Yeah what's with the buzz kill Donna?" Missy asked with a pout as she too drank from her glass. "It's my birthday, lighten up. Man I think I like you better when your wasted."
"Then maybe you'll like me better gone." Donna stood up and grabbed her purse. "Because right now I'm not in the mood to get drunk, or bring some strange guy home."
"Could have fooled me; I mean that guy you were dancing with earlier." Missy paused. "Can I say one thing... Cock tease."
"You know what Missy, I'll meet you back at the hotel."
"Donna no. I was kidding." Missy stood up, and watched as for the first time, after looking at it, Donna dropped her part of the check onto the table.
"Yeah well I'm not." Donna paused. "And I'm not a cock tease; if that bloke was getting a stiffy simply because I was dancing with him then that's his fault."
"Dancing... Donna you were all but fucking him out there." Missy paused. "All you had to do was hike that skirt of yours up another inch. And besides why leave now, the hotel is two blocks from here. You don't want to walk all that way..."
"Why not? Give me a chance to clear my head, you know think about the real way in which my friends see me." Donna wanted to say more, but all she could do was grab her sweater before walking out of he bar and straight into a big blue box.
"Oi what that hell?" Donna sitting on her bottom rubber her forehead, and stared at the blue box, jumping only a tad when the Doctor popped around it. "What?"
"Oi there, what did you do to my Tardis?" the Doctor, who had yet to introduce himself as the Doctor asked as Donna stood up, His lacking concern for her well being ever so obvious when he walked over to the the side of the blue box and asked. "Did you just kick my Tardis?"
"Did I just kick your Tardis?" Donna repeated what the Doctor asked in her usual annoyed tone, paused then asked... "Did I just kick your.. Your what?"
"My Tardis; see right there. Big blue thing. Says Police Box." the Doctor answered then caressed the Tardis. "Did that mean old lady kick you?"
"Kick it; you daft ass I walked into it." Donna moved closer to the strange man, surprised she wasn't afraid of him when she pointed to the bump on her head. "See, egg. Big red egg on Donna's swelling forehead. And are you caressing that thing?"
"That's all right you, I'll make sure the mean old lady..."
"Oi! Watch your mouth there. Old lady." Donna pushed the Doctor causing him to spin around. "I may be mean, but I'm sure as hell not old... Besides what the hell are you doing parking that thing here? No wait that isn't; you can't park that. And who are you calling old lady dumbo ears."
"Dumbo ears? I rather like my nears ears... Who are you to call me dumbo ears." the Doctor touched both his ears with a hurt expression before going on with "Oh well then, Who are you? And I mean it this time, minus the to call me dumbo ears because well that would also be answered if you were to answer the simple one of.."
"Did you slap me?"
"Yes I did." Donna paused then slapped him one more time. If he hadn't heard her say her name earlier, she wasn't about to repeat it. "And I'll do it again if you don't shut up."
"Fine I'm shutting up." the Doctor mad a key that locked his lips, tossed it away and then pushed his luck with. "My aren't you a but cranky. What crawled up your? Owe you slapped me again."
"I did not."
"No but you thought about slapping me." the Doctor paused as Donna thought about it then nodded before saying.
"Oh al'right yah got me there; cause I knew what you were gonna say after that and if you did I would have slapped you." relaxing for only a moment before it hit her, and she hit him on the arm this time. "Oi..."
"Oi what?" the doctor paused. "What did I do now?"
"You, you got my guard down." Donna walked passed the Doctor to see the front of the blue box. "I know men like you, prowling bars with your police box thingies looking for a drunk females to take home."
"Prowling around bars with my police box thingy.." The Doctor looked at the Tardis and shrugged. "Yeah right lady, I carry that thing around on my back so I can get drunk women like you into it. Much easier then calling someone for a date. And again, who are you? Oh and stop hitting me."
"Who am I? I already said who I am; you weren't listening" Donna asked then stood her ground. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor who?" Donna paused then cocked her head to the side. "No wait let me guess, your the Love Doctor and that's your operating room."
"Oh you are one full of yourself aren't you." the Doctor huffed then heard the Tardis as he had five minutes earlier with Amelia. "Oh no, not again." I gotta go."
"What you don't want to feel me up first?" Donna asked almost insulted as she followed the Doctor to the front of the blue box. "What I'm not good enough for yah? Boobs to small; to big? Hair not blonde enough?"
"Oh for the love of Pete; psycho lady, fine." the Doctor turned and patted Donna down, not once touching her in any place he felt inappropriate which only annoyed her more. "Okay, you happy now. Man with police box just patted you down; or felt you up which ever you want. I really gotta go."
"Are you coming back?"
"Do you want me to?" the Doctor looked at Donna as if she had ten heads and opened the Tardis door, said... "Never mind don't answer that, bye." and left.
"That's it, no more Chinese Food for me." Donna felt a chill run through her when the Tardis disappeared. Not because the air had chilled any; it was still the same temp it was when she arrive, but now she was alone. It was then that she thought for a moment about calling for a cab, but being broke and only two blocks from the hotel she decided to walk.
It was a mistake Donna regretted the minute she felt a rough hand cover her mouth, then her body being dragged into the ally behind her.
7 hours after departure from Amelia Pond, and five miutes from leaving Donna Noble
"Amelia..." A woman in dressed up for an evening out came running from the back door of her home to where Amelia lay sleeping on her suitcase. "Amelia wake up..."
"Huh?"
"What are you doing out here?"
"Aunt Sharon." Amelia rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Did he come back?"
"Did who come back?" Amelia's aunt Sharon helped her stand up. "Why are you out here? It's freezing. Come inside."
"I can't, he's coming back. He said he would." Amelia looked to where the Tardis had been. "He promised, see he broke your shed. But he said he would be back and I could go with him."
"Amelia Jessica Pond, I don't know what you're going on about but I will not have this." Amelia's Aunt Sharon picked up the suitcase. "No get inside before you catch the death of you."
"But Aunt Sharon, he's the Doctor and he has this funny screwdriver thing." Amelia protested as her Aunt Sharon dragged her back to the house. "He said he'd be back. I have to wait for him. Aunt Sharon please..."
Soon after entering the house, Amelia stopped speaking of the man she was waiting for. At least for that night anyway.
10 Minutes after leaving Donna Noble and far over five minutes in returning to Amelia Pond
"Dumbo ears..." Crossing back and forth across the Tardis, the Doctor was furious. "I do not have Dumbo ears, yes two me's ago may have had them but I have nice ears."
The Doctor stopped and stared at himself in the mirror. He was rather good looking; hair needed to be fixed a bit. Cut maybe, but as far as faces and ears went, his was not that bad.
"And Love Doctor... Who did she think she... and I swear she kicked you." the Doctor continued to speak to himself and the Tarids. "Five minutes; I told Amelia five minutes but..."
"Alright five minutes..." the Doctor made a face, then added as he moved one of those gizmos on the console. "Five minutes... ten minutes... fifteen but no more then a half of an hour. I can not be more then a half hour late."
the Doctor was sure of that. No more then a half of an hour, or maybe a whole. Either way, it would be less then a day. That was firs certain, from the minute he stepped out of the Tardis saying
"Hey crazy Lady you never did tell me your name..." till the reality of Donna's situation came into play and everything around him; except for she and the man attacking her disappeared.