He couldn't help but watching Emily's first footstep with withheld breath. After his exhale he took notice of a few things. In the sunlight he could see the red tones in her hair that were mellowed in the lesser light. In the light of those two suns he could see that her eyes were slightly more green than blue. He didn't need the sunlight, or even to look at her to know that those eyes were taking in details around her. Absorbing things that he should see, but will somehow miss them all.

He can't help the tears that prick his eyes, but he is so very good at blinking them back. He doesn't ask yet, doesn't want it to be real. Or maybe he does, he can't decide. It would only be a final conformation, the few words that would erase the tiny sliver that she might not be related to his best friend. To the woman he had once dared to love, but never told her.

They started forward, River and Emily talking like friends, but he couldn't find any words. He kept his eyes scanning, unsure why they were here. He wouldn't have chosen to come here, had never in fact come here on his own accord. He knew that whatever was coming would find him, it always did.

The planet was called Light, a planet with a psychic race, but it went beyond that. There was a chemical in the air, blown all over the planet by winds, that if you were exposed to it in the right doses you were able to open your mind to the ability of prophecy. Or so the stories go, the Doctor didn't care to investigate. As long as they didn't cause trouble, and they usually kept to themselves, he didn't care to spend time with them.

For a planet with such a hopeful name, their prophecies typically contained only darkness. He wasn't fond of hearing his future, for obvious reasons, but also because it had never led to anything but hearts ache. Every prophecy has led to something being stolen, something stolen because it was always something he wouldn't have been willing to give. Love, friendship, everything he held dear.

An older woman stepped out from an alley way, leaning heavily on a wooden cane. When she looked up her eyes were glowing purple, and he moved to stand in front of Emily and River. The same chemical that gave you sight, also made you a little off.

The woman took a side step, almost completely without the cane, but stopped when Emily was in sight.

She spoke in a harsh tone, looking at Emily, but talking to the Doctor.

"You brought her! You brought her! The child, the only child of the woman who saved the universe. Her mothers name is written across your hearts Time Lord, her life tied to you, just as this one's is."

This wasn't a prophecy but it still caused the Doctor's hearts to skip a beat. She didn't even have to say Donnas name to make him feel the familiar ache in his chest. He looked back at Emily, who looked a lot like her mother, but there was something more.

He felt memories fighting to awaken…is it possible he knew more than he realized? Had he erased memories pertaining to Emily and Donna? Or maybe put them in a time lock…that sounded like something the last him might have done.

"She will be tried, she will be challenged, and some will be lost."

"Leave her alone," the Doctor stepped in the way again, River joining him to form a wall between the words and Emily. As if that would stop them from coming true. Some would be lost? She hadn't said Emily, but he could see it there. He could see the end of the path, but he had no idea what the journey might entail.

DW

Emily watched the Doctor and River talk to the woman in hushed tones that were meant to exclude her. A bit annoying, that.

She decided to give them space to talk about her like she wasn't there, and wandered up the road, unnoticed by either of them. The Doctor had told her the planet was safe, but not to wander too far away. The temptation was there to explore, but she would listen. She had always been good at listening.

Glancing back she saw the Doctor making hand gestures, and she shook her head. She knew that they were talking about her, but she didn't understand why. She didn't understand what was so important about her. She was just one human, with no dad, and a mother who lived a quiet life. Nothing special there.

She looked both ways, decided to cross the street, she had gone a ways, but could still see the Doctor and River in the distance. She stepped out, walking slowly, nothing coming for as far as she could see.

She heard it before she saw it, coming out of thin air, was a old fashioned carriage, horses at a dead run. She was right in its path, and she didn't think she had time to move. She felt a sharp tackle and then she could feel the air as the carriage raced by, turning her head to watch it disappear again.

She was pulled up, gently but quickly, and pulled into an alley way. She thought she heard the Doctor shout, but she couldn't be sure, her ears were ringing.

"Are you okay?" The man who had saved her asked. His brown eyes were full of concern; his hair was brown as well sticking up in odd directions. He wore a suit, blue tie, and a long brown coat. "Are you okay?" He repeated it again, reaching out to gently cup her cheeks.

He peered into her eyes, and felt the back of her head, before she could find a way to make her mouth work again. "Yes, I'm okay. Thank you. Are you okay?"

"Always," he responded, quickly, but it seemed like the word brought him sadness.

He was watching her carefully, but wasn't speaking. She heard the Doctor yelling for her, and she saw the man turn his head. She heard a soft whisper that sounded a lot like 'too early' and he reached for her one more time.

He cupped her cheek, and smiled a dazzling smile. "You are so much like your mother," he whispered. He leaned forward, kissing her cheek, which she was surprised she let him. He dropped his hand, turning away, "I'll be seeing you, Emily. Soon."

She watched him go, and then walked back to the road. The Doctor was there in a moment, looking her over just as the man had. She hadn't even gotten his name.

"Are you okay?"

He was looking into her eyes, and she looked right back. They were green now, but they were the same. She didn't' understand it, and she didn't ask as he continued to look her over. How could there be another man with those eyes? Was there another Doctor?