Here is the next part to my new series I hope you enjoy reading it and if you have the time please review. Flydye
Title: Silence in Time Part 2
Author: Flydye8
Pairings: Doctor 9th/Donna/Doctor 2.5
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own them I just play with them a bit then give them back to the BBC.
Summary: Donna Noble and John Noble must team up to find the Doctor (9) before the Sphere comes and causes silence to envelope the Earth.
Authors Note: This takes place in the parallel world after "Journeys End" this is also beta'ed by my wonderful friend Rei (aka thenoblethang) Thanks a bunch
John looked around the unfamiliar landscape of large red rocks as the sun started to settle behind the mountains. The rocks seemed to glow brighter and richer in the dimming light. He looked up to the top of the rocks, barely seeing the ridges against the darkening sky, feeling a sense of urgency to be somewhere important but not sure where he was to go.
Moving in and out of the shadows of the mystical rocks he knew he was dreaming. As he continued walking he moved up a small path of one of the bigger rock formations; John committed to memory the surrounding area and the direction he was going just in case he dreamed of the rocks again.
Coming to a flat area about mid way up the rock face he saw a plethora of bats emerging from the many small caves that dotted the rock face into the nightly sky, looking for their nightly meal.
Turning the corner to get his bearings in relation to the ground below, his heart almost stopped at the sight before him. There in the dying light of the sun sat a very familiar feature, one he never thought he would see ever again in his life: the TARDIS.
The police box sat silently, the blue color turning black as the light faded. Walking closer to it, he placed his hand on the wooden exterior. Closing his eyes he listened for the humming that was always associated with a TARDIS. As he listened, the ancient machine hummed a bit more loudly in his mind, welcoming his touch.
To his surprise the doors opened under his hand. Walking slowly inside, the darkness was only broken by a bit of light color coming from the center console. He noted that the green color of the time rotor was a sickly color for any TARDIS and wondered what caused to old girl to be ill.
Seeing a pair of shoes on the other side of the console, he moved slowly till he saw the rest of the body come into view. As he moved closer he saw the face of his previous self-well the Doctor's previous self-and wondered if the man before him spoke in a northern accent as well. On the side of his cheek, there was dried blood emerging from an ugly cut. As John reached to trace the injury, blue eyes opened and focused on him.
"Help me!"
John sat up quickly and found himself safely in his bed. Reaching for the notebook that was always on the side table of the bed, he wrote out everything he could remember from the dream before it started to fade away. After writing, he grabbed the charcoal pencils and sketched out the rock formations and surrounding area from the dream.
Finishing the drawing, John placed it reverently on the bed with his journal and looked outside his window. The pink color from the rising sun entered the room, landing on the sketchbook. Picking it up, he turned to a previous drawing and placed it back into the morning light.
He sat and watched as the redness of the sun colored the picture of Donna, reminding John of how her hair would shine red in the sunlight. He missed Donna desperately, and in his heart he knew that the feelings he had for her were just an echo of the Doctor's feelings. He wondered for a moment if some of those feelings were his as well. He really never had a chance to get to know the fiery redheaded woman and he felt cheated for being denied the chance.
Sighing, he traced her features in the drawing and wondered if her twin was here in this world. Deciding that it was time to look her up, he got up out of bed to prepare for the day so he could get to work early and do just that.
In the bathroom he turned on the shower and stepped into the warm stream of water and started to sing, his voice echoing inside the flat. For the first time since he arrived in this world he felt a bit of hope within his heart.
Donna awoke at the crack of dawn wondering why the hell she was up so early. Most mornings she pressed her snooze button multiple times before rising to greet the day. Turning on the lamp on her side table, she saw the file she was looking at the day before and opened it to the picture of John Noble.
Staring at the picture, she wondered for the millionth time what the story was behind this man. Questions emerged in her head at such a rapid pace that she grabbed her pen and started to jot them down.
After completing her list of questions she looked at them and found most of them were regarding the reasons why he took her last name, and about the woman that was her twin in a different world. Hoping that she would have a chance to ask him all her questions, she got out of bed and went to pick out some clothes to wear for the day.
She would normally wear her black business suit but as she rummaged through her closet, she picked out a nice dress that was an emerald green color, placing it on her bed. She stopped and wondered why she chose the most flattering dress in her wardrobe to wear. The only reason she came up with was because she wanted to make an impression on John Noble and get her noticed by him.
Shaking her head at her foolishness, she grabbed the dress off the bed and replaced it with her business suit, deciding that she better look more professional for her first meeting with John. Maybe later, after she got to know him a bit better, she would wear the green dress. Looking at her clock she hurried to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.
John walked into Torchwood One before anyone else and went to his computer to look for the Donna Noble of this world. As he pushed the search button, he found many references to her. As he read through the information on the screen he found out that she worked for the Mr. Copperfield foundation. She had received her degree in business management and worked her way up to become one of the most important women within the Copperfield foundation.
Continuing on, John noted that she was very knowledgeable on alien history, as well as alien culture. She turned down a position at Torchwood stating that she didn't approve of Torchwood's interactions with those from different worlds and opted to work for Mr. Copperfield. He looked for more information on Donna's current place of work and found very limited information on it, which surprised John especially since it was such a large business.
So engrossed in his reading he didn't notice people arriving for the work day until Steve addressed him.
"Hey, John, I am sorry that you had to see Rose come onto me yesterday."
Looking up at his co-worker he replied, "That's okay, Steve. I have learned to ignore her antics in the work place."
"I know that, but I just wanted you to know that as charming as she is, she went home alone yesterday afternoon."
Looking at him, John stated, "If you want to be with her, you don't need my approval."
Chuckling Steve replied, "Thanks but I don't need that kind of complication in my life right now. I just wanted to apologize since you probably won't get one from her."
He was about to respond when Pete Tyler called out from his office. "I need you in my office now, John."
Standing up he held out his hand to Steve. "Thank you for your apologies."
Grasping the out stretched hand the other man said, "Anytime, mate. Maybe we can go out for a drink sometime."
"That would be great," John called back as he walked to Pete's office.
Rose Tyler walked into the office and saw John and Steve shaking hands and immediately went to her office, not wanting to speak to either one of the men that rejected her yesterday. She was still a bit miffed at John for turning her down last night, when she offered him what he wanted from her.
As she went to her desk she logged on to a dating web site and scrolled through some potential men, her mind not completely on the information on the screen. Taking a moment to look up from her desk she saw a very familiar person walk by.
Jumping from her chair she rushed out her door and called out, "Donna, wait!"
Hearing her named called Donna turned and saw Rose running up to her, willing her body repress its shudder at seeing the woman, she placed a fake smile on her face. Resolving to be pleasant to the young woman and give her a chance to prove her pre-conceived ideas wrong.
"Where is the Doctor? I knew he would find a way back to me, can I see him? Where is the TARDIS? I am so ready to leave this world," Rose rattled off slightly out of breath.
Knowing only a bit about the Doctor from the other universe Donna responded sympathetically, "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. I am here at the request of Mr. Copperfield, not of the Doctor you know."
"Come on, Donna you can drop the act, no one here cares about who you are, or where you are from just tell me where he is."
"Miss Tyler, I understand that another version of me did travel with the Doctor you know, but I am not her. I have always been a part of this world, now if you can kindly direct me to Pete Tyler's office, I would be most grateful."
"Listen, I don't care how much the Doctor wants to be with you, I am his love and nothing can keep us apart so stop being selfish, and just tell me where he is. I promise you can continue to travel with us, the TARDIS has lots of room; I am sure we can find you a good man to take the place of the Doctor."
Her patience with the young woman wearing thin, Donna replied, "Listen blonde, I am not that Donna Noble and if you cannot accept that then we are finished here and I will find someone else to direct me to Pete Tyler's office."
Steve watched as the interchange took place between the two women, noticing that things were going to get out of hand if he did not interfere he walked up to the red haired woman. "I will show you where his office is."
Looking at the handsome man, Donna sighed. "That would be great, thank you very much."
Not willing to be pushed aside, Rose persisted. "Please, Donna, just tell me where he is."
"I am sorry Miss Tyler, as far as I understand he is where he is supposed to be and you are where you are supposed to be. It was nice meeting you." Turning to the man who came to her rescue she continued, "Please…"
"Steve," he replied.
"Please Steve lead the way." Following him Donna took a glance back at Rose and commented, "She truly believes he will return for her."
"Yes she does," he replied. "She feels that she is only here temporarily, but I have to admit that the faith she has in him is astounding. Here we are, I believe Mr. Tyler is waiting for you."
"Thank you for everything, Steve."
"It was my pleasure, Miss Noble, may our paths cross again soon."
Smiling after him as he left she lifted her hand to knock on the door when it swung open revealing John Noble.
John looked at the woman poised to knock and felt his breath leave his lungs. Knowing that this was probably the Donna from this world he held back his desire to embrace her and settled for a broad smile. "Donna Noble, welcome to Torchwood, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Shocked at seeing John in front of her she quickly noticed that his picture didn't do him justice. He was incredibly handsome and when he smiled she couldn't help but smile in return as she replied, "Well, I finally get to meet the man that took my name for his own."
Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, he said, "Well you see I needed a last name and I have some history with… and I didn't realize that you were here or I would have asked…"
Rolling her eyes, she said, "Oh just shut it, you do ramble on a bit, don't you. I am honored that you took it and it is nice to meet you. Now if you don't mind, can you move so I can enter?"
Moving to the side he gestured for her to enter, as she walked in Pete addressed her. "It is a pleasure to have a representative from the Mr. Copperfield foundation. Come on in and have a seat. John, I will talk with you later about Rose."
"Actually, can Mr. Noble stay? This visit regards him," Donna quickly stated before John could leave the room.
Intrigued that the reason for her visit was because of him, John sat opposite from her, a little on edge, his instincts telling him to be careful.
Once everyone was settled Donna started, "Mr. Copperfield would like Mr. Noble to be transferred to the foundation. His expertise is needed on a highly sensitive situation."
Pete interrupted, "I am sorry but John is needed here at Torchwood. He is a valued employee and I really can't afford to lose him."
"I understand that, Mr. Tyler, but this is something that comes from the highest levels of national security and you really don't have a choice in the matter," she responded professionally.
John chimed in, "What is this highly sensitive reason for your visit and why does Mr. Copperfield think I would want to be a part of such task?"
Turning to him she continued, "The task is something that Mr. Copperfield wants to talk to you about in person. I am supposed…"
"Oh I get it now." John replied sarcastically, "You are supposed to bring me to him and he thought I would go willingly because of my history with the other Donna Noble."
"I don't understand?" Pete asked.
"They are using my association with my Donna to lure me to the foundation. By sending her they thought that I would be predisposed to trust her." Turning to Donna he continued, his hazel eyes challenging her to be honest, "I have one question for you, why did you agree to come here?"
Meeting his stare she replied with conviction, "I came here because I trust Mr. Copperfield. When he asked me to come, I couldn't resist meeting the person who is half human and half Time Lord. A person whom had taken my last name, when you could have chosen any name you desired. You fascinate me, John Noble, and I am curious about you."
Pleased with her answer he graced her with a large smile, "If you would have said anything else I would not have joined you. I believe you are brilliant in any universe."
Smiling at his compliment, not sure what he was using in comparison, she reached for her briefcase and pulled out the documents needed for John's transfer handing them to Pete for his signature.
Taking the papers from her, he asked, "Can you step out for a moment, Miss Noble, so I can talk to John?"
Standing up she held out her hand in which Pete grabbed and with a shake she stated, "Of course, but please don't take too long. Mr. Copperfield is expecting us soon."
As she exited the office Pete turned toward John. "Are you sure you want to do this, son?"
"Yes, Pete, I do. As we discussed before I think a bit of separation between Rose and I will be good. Maybe then she can focus on other things besides the man that will not return to her. She can move on with her life without seeing a duplicate of the Doctor daily."
Signing the papers he handed them to John. "Now don't be a stranger. Come and visit me and the family once in awhile."
"I will, Pete, and thank you for everything," John responded to the man who helped him so much since his arrival in this world.
Walking out the door he approached Donna as she smiled at him.
"I need to get a few things from my desk. Do we have to leave immediately?"
"Nope, you go ahead and gather your things. Do you need any help?" She inquired.
"No thank you, I think I can manage." Looking over her shoulder at Rose glaring at her, he continued, "Besides with the looks that she is giving you, it might be best if you make a hasty departure. She is going to be mad as hell when I tell her that I am leaving Torchwood."
Glancing over her shoulder Donna waved to the blonde woman smiling sweetly, "Would you like me to tell her off for you?"'
He shook his head at Donna's actions. "You are enjoying taunting her aren't you?"
"Well of course I am, it is not often red heads get one up on blondes," Donna stated causing John to smile even more then he already was. "So I will meet you at the Old World Café in one hour."
Nodding his head he replied, "I will see you there."
Walking away from him Donna headed out the door as Rose moved toward John's desk. Taking a few deep breaths he braced himself for Rose's version of the oncoming storm.