Author's Note: Congratulations reader! This last chapter is a two-for-one special! It's a songfic and a JE fix it all in one! Can you feel the excitement? So just like in the series, Donna's mind gets wiped and is left to lead a boring and mundane life. The Doctor decides to check up on her one day and makes mind blowing discovery! I had to split it into two acts b/c it was so long. But it raises the suspense! Caution: Contains angst and a depressed alien! The song is "Not Broken" by the Goo Goo Dolls
Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I know the drill! They belong to the BBC.
Chapter 3 Act 1
"No. No, please! I can't go back! Don't make me go back!"
With trembling hands the Doctor closed the gap between him and the women he loved. Tears stung his eyes as he reached forward to do the unthinkable. If he didn't she would die and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if that happened.
Donna felt the cool tips of his finger as they brushed her temples. She continued to protest but nothing was stopping him from taking her memories.
"Oh, Donna Noble. We had the best of times… Goodbye."
It happened so fast. All of the Time Lord's knowledge swirling around her head, then nothing. The Doctor caught her as she fell forwards, unconscious. He knew it would be the last time he would hold her.
The Doctor stood there. Not wanting to let go. If he did then everything they had shared would mean nothing. But he had to get her home before she woke up.
So still clutching Donna's sleeping form, he maneuvered himself over to the controls and punched in the coordinates for Chiswick.
All I waited for
was a chance to make you understand
Tell you these forgotten truths.
You never thought were real
And if the world should turn its back
You know that I'm still here
The Doctor stationed his time ship somewhere within the Vortex and let it there for days.
For hours he would sit sulking in Donna's vacant room. He went over everything that had happened between arriving at Shan Shen and the night he lost the women he loved, looking for a clue as to how to fix this mess.
Why couldn't I see this coming? I should have saved her! There were so many things I needed to tell her.
"What have I done? What did I do to deserve this?" he shouted angrily at the suffocating silence. The Doctor recalled how Donna could yell from anywhere in the TARDIS and be heard and how sometimes when he blocked out all the white noise of the ship he imagined he could still hear her.
The Doctor sat waiting for an answer but none came. Tired of enduring the mocking stillness he left Donna's room and made his way slowly to the kitchen.
He attempted to make a cup of tea, getting so far as putting the kettle on before losing interest. He just wasn't in the mood.
Instead he went to the consol room and plopped down on the jump seat. His dark eyes scanned the room searching for any kind of distraction. It seemed so empty. The TARDIS hummed sorrowfully in the back of the Doctor's mind. Even she missed the boisterous red head.
As he sat there, he allowed sleep to take hold of him. He was on the verge of slumber when the TARDIS planted an idea in his head. Go see her.
"What?" The sensation caught the Doctor off guard and caused him to practically fall off the chair. "What! Go see her? You know I can't do that, she'll die!" The TARDIS responded in his mind.
"No… I suppose she doesn't have to see me… And it would only be to check on her. Make sure she's alright… Ohhh that's brilliant!"
With some of his usual enthusiasm returning, the Time Lord jumped up and ran about piloting in his typical fashion. Even though he couldn't talk to her, seeing Donna might make him feel better, at least for a while.
Morning comes and life moves on
But when it changed
You didn't know where you belonged
I'll still catch you when you fall
Through a past that steals your sleep
And scrawl there words upon your wall
Remind you to believe
They were staring again. They had been doing it a lot lately. They thought they were being sneaky, but Donna always knew. She could feel their eyes watching her. All because she had had another headache this morning.
The headache was caused by the dream Donna had last night. The dreams had started the night after planets supposedly appeared in the sky about two months ago. Her dreams were always the same: there was a tall man in a suite with wild brown hair and deep chocolate colored eyes. Together her and this mysterious man would run hand in hand, run from strange creatures, run from the world. Every time she woke up though she had a slight headache and felt like something was missing. When she told her mum and gramps about the dreams they dismissed them and told her not to dwell on them.
"Take a picture would ya, I hear it lasts longer!" Donna snapped as she sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Sylvia and Wilf were standing at the counter watching her with concern.
Her mother was about to rebuke Donna for being snippy but instead Sylvia quickly changed the subject. "So Donna, have any plans for today?"
Donna decided it was too early to argue and went along with it. "Well I was thinking about running down to the shops this afternoon before I have lunch with some of the girls… If it's alright with you" Donna added sarcastically before she could stop herself.
"That's nice, dear." Her mum replied absently. Sylvia had already busied herself with making another cup of tea.
Donna turned back to the food that remained on her plate and suddenly lost her appetite. She got up and dumped the remains in the bin and set her dish in the sink. As Donna left the kitchen, Wilf caught her up.
"Don't mind her, sweetheart, she's just worried about you, that's all. Now you go have a good time and have some fun for me." He gave her hand a squeeze.
"Thanks Gramps." Donna could never stay at Wilf since he was usually on her side. She gave him a peck on the cheek before grabbing her coat and heading to town.
The TARDIS materialized in an alley near the shops in central London. The Doctor stepped out and observed his surroundings. He stuck his index finger into his mouth then pulled it out with a loud, wet pop and held it in the air for a few seconds.
"Saturday! I love Saturdays!" Pleased with this discovery, he wandered away from the police box and out into the throng of people. The TARDIS had tracked Donna's residual time energy and showed that she was somewhere in this vicinity. All the Doctor had to do now was follow that lead using his sonic screwdriver.
Donna wasn't hard to track down. The Doctor entered the busy store where Donna was and stepped behind a tall stand that held jewelry and other accessories. Peering between the shelves he was able to keep his sights on the red head.
She was talking, well arguing, with one of the sales assistants over their return policy. He smiled to himself remembering how she had never been afraid to argue with anyone, even aliens! Doesn't look like too much has changed.
The sales person finally gave in and walked away defeated. As Donna made her way over to the exit she stopped by the jewelry stand forcing the Doctor to change his hiding place to stay out of her way. He now watched her from behind a rack of men's ties.
At first glance everything seemed normal, but after several seconds the Doctor noticed that something was wrong. Some object seemed to have caught Donna's attention and she now stood staring into the distance, frozen to the spot. The Doctor was starting to worry. Had something triggered her memory? What was looking at?
While craning his neck to get a better look he managed to knock over the rack of ties. The loud crash brought Donna out of her daze but her attention now turned to the guilty looking bloke in the suite and overcoat across the store. For some reason, she felt compelled to talk to him.
"Sorry! Sorry. I'll get it." The Doctor was too busy mumbling his apology and babbling about paying for any damage to notice Donna striding in his direction.
"Don't I know you?" The Doctor had crouched down to collect the merchandise when her question reached his ears. He froze. Thinking furiously for a way to avoid Donna he decided to stay on the floor and try to ignore her.
"Oi! I'm talking to you mate!" She bent down and lightly hit his shoulder. Drat! Should've known I couldn't just ignore Donna.
"Um… Me? No. I don't think so. Sorry." The Doctor said, hoping she would just give up and leave.
But Donna kept on persisting and went so far as to lean down and help him clean up the mess. "It's Smith, right. John Smith. You were at my house that night. You know my Gramps." The Doctor realized that there was no way of avoiding her now. Why does she have to be so stubborn!
"Oh! Yes! Of course. You're Donna." He and Donna both stood and placed the ties back on the rack. "Nice mess you made. Don't feel bad though. I've done it a few times myself."
"Yes I know." The Doctor replied without thinking. Donna did a double take. "What do you mean 'I know'?"
Oops!
"No, I meant, yes I know it's quite a mess." He quickly covered, luckily she bought it.
"Well, thank you for the help. It was nice to see you again." The Doctor stated politely. He tried to walk away but Donna stepped in front of him, blocking his escape route.
"Um, would you like to join me for lunch?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Donna barely knew this person and she was asking him to lunch! What was wrong with her? It was just that something about him felt familiar.
"Oh, uh, sorry, that was really random. It's was just, I was thinking that we could chat…about that night you were at my house. I thought maybe you might be able to answer some of my questions."
The Doctor noticed the troubled look in Donna's blue eyes, there was something else too – emptiness. He desperately wanted to help her, to reach out and pull her into his arms, but he couldn't. "I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't. I wish I could, but I just can't." His voice was just barely above a whisper.
"Right. You're obviously a busy man. Sorry." Donna tried to no avail to hide her disappointment. "Well, good seeing you again." She held her hand out to him. The Doctor took it, reveling in her touch and before he could stop himself, "Yes. Perhaps some other time."
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by Donna's mobile, saving the Doctor from having to retract his last statement. Donna held up a finger signaling the Doctor to wait. "Yes Nerys." She answered sardonically, drawing out the s in yes. "I'm on my way. No I didn't forget! … I don't how long- soon…. Then order without me!" Donna rolled her eyes and mouthed "got to go". She waved goodbye to the Doctor as she continued her conversation. He watched her leave, knowing it was for the best but wanting her stay, longing to tell her his secret.
The Doctor shook himself mentally. He remembered Donna's strange reaction to the items at the jewelry counter and ran over to investigate. As the Time Lord approached the stand he saw that it held an assortment of fob watches.
The Doctor stood there puzzled. What was Donna doing looking at fob watches? He examined several of them before an idea hit him and a wide grin spread across his face.
"Oh! Brilliant! Molto Bene!" The Doctor shouted, startling everyone in the store. "Donna you're a genius!" The Time Lord ran from the shop and back in the direction of his TARDIS.
Donna's Time Lord brain had locked on to the watches because of the Doctor's memories about them being able to hold the essence of a Time Lord. This gave the Doctor a wonderfully crazy idea.
Time won't ever steal my soul
And we're not broken
So please come home
I won't let them break you down
I won't hear the empty sounds
I'm hopelessly pretending
That I know the answer
Angels light the neon fires
That burn so cold
Through your desires
And all you are is all I need to know
With a renewed sense of hope the Doctor burst through the TARDIS doors and bound up the ramp bristling with ideas and energy.
"Fob watch! Why didn't I think of that?" He threw his brown overcoat across its usual coral strut and began his work. Hands flying over switches and levers, the Doctor brought down the Chameleon Arch from its storage place above him. Grinning like a cat, he set to work recalibrating and modifying the machine that, hopefully, would bring Donna back to him.
"If I can adapt the Arch and reverse its effects so that it can incorporate human DNA, then it should be able to extract the Time Lord mind from Donna." The Doctor continued spitting out techno-babble to no one in particular. He just liked to think aloud.
After several hours, he had his first prototype. He ran the machine through a simulation test on the ship's computers. The results were devastating. In its current state the Arch would reduce anyone hooked up to it to a puddle. Not the result he was hoping for. But the Doctor wasn't about to give up. He would keep working until he found the solution. Donna had saved him so many times, now it was his turn to repay the favor.
And if the world has worn you down
I'll be waiting
So please come home
Sitting in front of her vanity, Donna stared absently out the window. Ever since running in to that John Smith bloke, her mind had been preoccupied with him. She kept thinking about the night that he was at her house. The night that she realized that she'd lost her memory.
The other day when they met, he seemed depressed, like he had lost someone. Her mum and Gramps refused to tell her anything about him other than he was just a friend and she needn't worry about him. They were always saying "don't worry" or "put it out of your mind". How was that suppose to help her regain her memories?
Donna wished that she could forget about him, but she couldn't. It was like something kept pulling her thoughts toward this mysterious man. She thought that it might be because Mr. Smith bared a striking resemblance to the man in her dreams which only confirmed her insanity. Still, for a skinny streak of nothing, he's not half bad lookin'.
Oh great! Now she was falling for some guy that she doesn't even know! But for some reason Donna felt as though she did know him, that maybe she did have feelings for him. And that day in the shop, he seemed to know her even if he wouldn't admit it.
"Uh! What is up with these headaches?" Donna reached over to her dresser and grabbed the aspirin bottle. She had been getting a lot of them lately and it was getting annoying. Donna had figured out that they only occurred when she tried to remember which upset her more.
She took a couple of the capsules then lay down on her bed until the pain in her head subsided. She suddenly remembered that she had a memo to finish typing for her boss, so she dragged herself off the bed and over to her computer.
As soon as Donna logged on a message popped up reporting that her memory space was low and the hard drive needing clearing.
Donna checked her recycling bin first and immediately found the problem. Inside the virtual trash can were several folders that Donna had never seen before. They were labeled with odd names like "UFO sightings" or "L.I.N.D.A". She sat mystified, wondering where these had come from and why they were on her computer.
Her first thought was that her granddad had been using her computer while she was out, but that couldn't be right. Gramps is better with technology than mum, but he wouldn't know how to store files.
Scrolling down through the files Donna found one folder labeled with two words: Find Him. Opening the file Donna found hundreds of articles all about some man who called himself the Doctor.
As she scanned through the articles and reports, it was as if someone had opened a flood gate. A torrent of memories, information, and pain hit her all at once.
Wilf and Sylvia were sitting in the living room watching television and debating about dinner when they heard a sharp cry from Donna directly followed by a loud crash.
Ooo a cliffhanger! This way to Act 2-The Finale ===