Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for reading and following and the review. Let me know what you think and happy reading!
For a while, Donna sat in the jump seat patiently waiting as the Doctor insisted he could fix the TARDIS and they could be on their way to the beach. Next, she waited in the doorway as she watched the Doctor pop open a panel she hadn't realized existed on the ship's exterior and felt somewhat ridiculous as Cleopatra's slaves talked about her swimsuit. Then she realized it.
She was not going to the beach.
Donna went back to the bedroom and changed into the purple dress she had picked up in Pompeii. It had to be good for most places in the ancient world, right?
"Something is keeping us here! It's like a roadblock onto the Time Vortex-" said the Doctor. He stopped speaking. "You changed clothes."
"Yes," said Donna. "Some of us do that from time to time."
"The swimsuit, though. What happened to it?"
She shook her head. "I'm not walking around in a swimsuit for your benefit."
The Doctor looked disappointed. "No? I mean, no, of course not, that would be just wrong and uh, misogynist by your estimation and-"
"You can stop."
The Doctor nodded.
"Anyway, what roadblock?"
"That's the thing. I don't know. We're going to have to take a look around."
"With the Roman army just outside the palace walls?"
"We'll be fine. There are still some historical events to play out before that happens," said the Doctor.
Donna sighed. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to those."
"Besides, Romans come in, I meet you back in the TARDIS."
"Right," said Donna, "this is a great plan."
"I told you so," said the Doctor, his oblivious grin signalling that he had missed the sarcasm. He bounded out and Donna followed.
The Doctor walked over to Cleopatra's slaves.
"Alright, then, let's meet your queen," said the Doctor.
They followed the slaves through the halls of Cleopatra's palace. The Egyptian servants were still doing their duty and Donna thought they were carrying out a preposterous number of empty bottles and glasses. She got a glance in one room and quickly turned away, usually seeing something like that would require selecting it on a hotel room remote.
"Going all out, aren't they?," asked Donna.
"The fall of Egypt," said the Doctor. "All Roman rule after this for a very long time."
They were eventually led into the throne room. Mark Antony sat drinking. Cleopatra glowed as she smiled smugly at them.
"Doctor," she said, "I knew you would come help us in our hour of need."
"Well," said the Doctor, "that's more of a matter of my being unable to leave."
"You got that, missy?," asked Donna.
Cleopatra looked Donna up and down. "She is dressed in the Roman fashion. We would have her change."
Donna rolled her eyes.
"I like it," said the Doctor.
Cleopatra's body slave spoke up again. "All women in Queen Cleopatra's court must dress in the Egyptian manner."
Donna looked around and the tight white gowns and heavy wigs. "Yeah, Trinny, Susannah, it's just not a good look for me."
"We know," said Cleopatra.
"Awfully full of herself for someone who' just lost her whole country," said Donna.
"We have lost nothing," said Cleopatra. "The Doctor will help us. It was foretold."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Foretold by who?"
Antony spoke up. "Her witch."
Cleopatra grimaced. "You would do well to listen to my soothsayer."
"Soothsayer?," asked the Doctor.
"Why should I listen to her?," asked Mark Antony.
"She predicted your defeat," snapped Cleopatra.
"And who retreated first?," Antony snapped back.
"She say anything else?"
"She says I will die of a snake bite," said Cleopatra.
Donna leaned in. "We should go ask her for lottery numbers."
"Donna..." said the Doctor. He turned back to Cleopatra. "Where is this soothsayer?"
Antony smirked. "Won't see men. Something funny about that."
"Donna's not a man," said the Doctor.
"Oh, you noticed," said Donna.
The Doctor looked Donna up and down. "Oh, yes."
Donna smiled. Cleopatra snapped. A slave stepped forward.
"You will take the Doctor's wife to see the soothsayer."
The slave nodded and began walking away.
"Oh, so we're going now?," asked Donna. She shrugged at the Doctor as she followed. "All right, then, off to see the wizard."
The Doctor smiled and turned back to see Cleopatra and Mark Antony not sharing his enthusiasm. "Tough room."
The slave led Donna down some dark tunnels. They finally arrived at a room with a pool of water in the center. Donna didn't see anyone, she turned around to look at the slave and she was already out the door.
"Hello?," asked Donna. "Anybody home?"
A woman seemed to shimmer in. Donna wasn't quite certain where she had come from. She had on a dark robe and looked older, but not the haggard old woman Antony's comment had made her envisage.
"You have come," she said. "The Most Important Woman in Creation."
Donna looked behind her, then back at the soothsayer. "Sorry? Who are you talking to?"
"You, Donna Noble."
"You know my name?"
The soothsayer did not answer.
Donna furrowed her brow. "And I'm the Most Important Woman in Creation?"
"Yes."
Donna was still confused. "Are you sure you've got the right Donna Noble? I'm the one from Chiswick."
"The Doctor Donna."
Donna still shook her head. "Been chatting with the Ood?"
"Sit."
Donna looked at the empty ground in front of the pool. She settled on sitting cross-legged on the sand.
"She is returning," said the soothsayer.
"Who?," asked Donna.
"A thorn."
"Right..." said Donna.
"You will have a daughter."
"What?!," asked Donna. "Sorry, lady, who have you been talking to? Getting a bit personal, don't you think?"
She motioned at the pool. "The water tells all."
Donna looked down at the water and stared. Really stared. She saw a little girl with ginger hair, toddling down the corridor of the TARDIS.
Donna shook her head. "What are you doing?"
"The water tells you, not I."
"The water is predicting my future now?"
"She'll be born under a cloud."
Donna narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean a cloud? Like it'll be raining? If it's in London, that's practically a guarantee. Don't need a soothsayer for that."
"The cloud is not of the sky, it is of you."
"What do you mean?"
"The future is uncertain."
"What do you mean?," Donna repeated, growing irritated.
The woman got up and walked away.
"Oi, lady!," Donna called. "I'm talking to you! You can't just talk some rubbish about my daughter being born under a cloud and then walk off! What do you mean?!"
The soothsayer walked away, not responding to Donna's pleas.
Donna made her way back up to the palace proper, feeling as if she was in a daze. She found the Doctor standing in the hallway.
"Donna, what happened down there? It's been hours."
Donna looked out a nearby window. "The sun's still up."
"Yes, it's the next morning. What happened?"
Donna shrugged. "I don't know. I went down there. She said some stuff. What do you mean it's the next morning?"
"I mean, it's the next morning. Cleopatra is already pretending to be dead."
Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, hate to miss that."
The Doctor stared at Donna. "What sort of stuff?"
"What?"
"The soothsayer. What sort of stuff did she say?"
Donna did not quite want to share the specifics on that. It was bad enough when the Doctor was trying to tell her things about herself, worse when some old woman in an Egyptian basement did it. Besides, that "Most Important Woman in Creation" bit was ridiculous. Donna supposed she probably told it to anyone, it would explain some of Cleopatra's attitude. "A lot of nonsense."
"What nonsense?"
"Why are you so concerned?"
"Why won't you tell me?"
"Well, it's not going to help us get of here, is it? Any minute now Mark Antony will be stabbing himself because 'Cleo' pretends she's already dead and the Roman army walks in."
"She lives?," they heard a man ask.
The Doctor's face dropped. He and Donna turned to see Mark Antony behind them. He looked about as well as any man who had just been told his girlfriend was faking her own death.
"That bitch!," said Antony, storming off.
"Oh, my God," said Donna. She turned to the Doctor.
He looked shocked. "You've done it, Donna. You've actually done it. That was a fixed event!"
"Well, apparently not that fixed," said Donna.
"This is not funny, Donna! That was a fixed event! The time line is changing, your planet's history is altering-"
"Well, I'm still here," said Donna. "Isn't that your big warning all the time? Don't alter history so you aren't born? How much could it have changed?!"
The Doctor sighed in exasperation. "Okay, so you've managed to still be born, that could change."
Suddenly, the palace doors burst open. The Doctor and Donna looked up to see a bunch of invading Romans.
"Back to the TARDIS!," the Doctor shouted as he grabbed Donna's hand.
They ran back down into the tombs and the Doctor shoved Donna back into the TARDIS.
"That wasn't meant to happen, was it?," asked Donna. "The Romans don't push in until Cleopatra and Antony are dead, right? That's how it went on telly."
"The time line is in tatters, Donna! Anything could happen!"
"Well, sorry! It's not like I knew he was right behind me! I didn't want to stay anyway!"
They jolted forward as the TARDIS began moving.
"You said it didn't work!," Donna shouted accusingly.
"It doesn't!"
The TARDIS finally stilled. Donna looked at the Doctor.
"Where are we?," asked Donna.
"No idea."
"Oh, good."
They walked out the door of the TARDIS and into...
An Egyptian tomb.
"Oh, good," said Donna. "We're the same bloody place we were before."
The door opened.
"Her Royal Highness, Daughter of Isis, Mistress of Sedge and Bee, Cleopatra of Egypt!"
Cleopatra entered. She smiled coyly, which Donna didn't care for at all. "Doctor. Here at my hour of need. What a valiant man you are."
Donna looked at the Doctor. "Anyone else getting a sense of déjà vu?"
"It's not déjà vu, Donna."
"Oh, good."
"Donna, this is yesterday morning," he said gravely as he looked up from his watch. "We're not just stuck in Egypt, we're stuck on the same day."