Thank you so much for the reviews! It really encouraged me to get this chapter polished up and published quickly.
The TARDIS phone rang as the Doctor prepared to head to Monday to pick up Amy and Rory.
They'd spent the weekend at home. They said they were going to do laundry but when the Doctor informed them he could take them to a cleaners that could have their clothes cleaned within a fraction of a second, they started acting all...Awkward.
Rory shuffled his feet and wouldn't look at the Doctor and Amy kept making noises and looking at him funny.
It took the pair a good half hour to tell him they just weren't comfortable with his suggestion about letting him know by putting up a balloon or anything. That was his warning sign that they were doing things they ought not to in the TARDIS.
One Melody Pond was more than enough for him to handle. He'd quickly dropped them off home, nearly shoving them out of the TARDIS doors.
He stopped and looked over at the phone.
Normally Amy or Rory would be there to screen his calls for him. He much preferred that to having to handle some uncomfortable person or situation. Why did those two have to go and get all those...Urges!
Even so, he was a bit excited at the prospect of a quick adventure before heading to Monday. Who was it this time? A queen? The Prime Minister? River? No, too simple a thing for River to just phone him. Or maybe it was Rory, having forgotten something or another. Had he been late for Monday? No, he was sure he wasn't.
He smiled, convincing himself the phone call had to lead him somewhere exciting and fun.
He reached over and plucked the phone up.
"Hello! Leave a message or in this case don't leave a message because I'm not a recording...But I could be! So on second thought, go ahead and leave a message after all!" He greeted the person cheerfully. No sense in not throwing in the possibility of his voice just being a recording in case he ended up on the phone with someone he'd rather not be.
Wilf hesitated. Who was that young, upbeat sounding person? It didn't sound like the Doctor at all. He must have had a friend along. "Hello. Um. May I speak with the Doctor please? Tell him its Wilfred Mott calling." The man spoke his name with dignity and self respect. Wilf was nothing if not proud of the life he had so far lead.
The Doctor stiffened. He felt a ripple of shivers across the back of his neck. Out of all the infinite possibilities of who might have been calling him, Wilfred Mott was at the bottom five percent, at best.
He swallowed hard. He stood straight up. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared down at it as if the world were dropping out from under his very feet and the only thing keeping him upright was the phone itself.
It took an effort on his part to pull the phone back to his ear. He drew in a shaky breath.
"Wilf? I'm the Doctor." He spoke tersely. "What is it?" He asked, his voice tightening.
That chapter in his life was closed. He knew he couldn't go back. Donna had moved on and forgotten, as well she needed to. He had moved on also. He'd found new friends and new adventures and everyone was moving on with their lives. That was how it was supposed to be.
He hated what he'd had to do to her, but it was a necessary evil. At least he'd made sure she was taken care of. She had enough money to be happy and comfortable, something she always deserved, but never would have gotten on her own. It had been the very least he felt he could do for the woman who was once his best friend in the Universe.
But that was long ago. Those times were over. He never expected to see or hear from her or her family ever again. He'd accepted that and moved on.
This was like a slap in the face. A wake up call he was never supposed to receive.
Why would Wilf be calling him? Their lives were not meant to cross paths again. For Donna's sake, if for nothing else. It was too dangerous.
So that Wilf was contacting him, he knew something had to be very, terribly wrong. All sorts of scenarios ran through his mind. How had Wilf even gotten his number? Was Donna okay? Was Wilf? Obviously something was so horribly wrong that Wilf felt it worth risking Donna's life for. That terrified the Doctor.
He would have leapt through the phone and demanded an immediate answer, were that even possible. Actually, it was possible, but he didn't have the time to utilize the technology it would take to have that happen. It would be quicker just to wait for a response. So why did it feel like Wilfred was taking too long? Why wouldn't he just tell him already? Only a couple of seconds had passed, but those seconds were ticking away lifetimes as far as the Doctor was concerned.
While his emotions were slapping him like violent waves against rocks, his outer demeanor remained calm aside from the way he gripped the phone so excruciatingly tight that it hurt. He didn't care.
"Wilfred?" The Doctor quietly demanded, keeping his emotions in check as best he could, but this only aided in creating a sharp quality to his voice that came across as annoyance.
Wilf didn't think the Doctor sounded like, well, the Doctor. He was confused and worried which kept him hesitating. The Doctor he knew might have been rude, but he would have greeted him warmly. This man sounded as if he wished Wilfred would just go away and never bother him again.
He wavered.
Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe they could handle this on their own. Donna was a strong woman and she said she was fine. She had Shaun and plenty of money for medical doctors' care. But as much as he tried to ignore it, the painful truth was Donna needed help that went beyond mere medical care.
For her sake. He reminded himself. His resolve finalized, he knew he had no other choice. "It's...It's Donna."
Both of the Doctor's hearts thundered within his chest. His mind was already jumping to so many conclusions he could barely keep up with even himself.
He waited, holding his breath to hear what was wrong with Donna.
"It's just..." Had Wilf been in the Doctor's presence, and not an older man, the Doctor would have grabbed him and shook him at this point, demanding an answer.
"She's been having these episodes." Episodes?"She just stands up and walks off, like it's nothing. You try to talk to her and she doesn't hear or see you. She just keeps walking until somebody stops her. Even then she just stands there looking blank, then pops back to her old self again. We've tried everything. She's been to professionals, even a hynotist. I think she might...Need some other sort of help. The alien kind you've got maybe. She says she's fine, she laughs it all off, but...It's wearing on her, Doctor."
He could hear the fear and worry in Wilfred's voice.
If there were a way to physically crush the Doctor without actually killing him, this would do the trick. When someone he cared about was hurting or afraid, it dug right into the very core of who the Doctor was.
"And it's night here and she's gone off again. We can't find her..."
Clutching the phone with one hand while he pulled at the handbrake with the other, the Doctor was already making his decisions. He couldn't ignore this. He could hear the pleading in Wilf's voice. The pain of a grandfather who wanted nothing more than to protect his only grandchild. The Doctor understood that feeling only too well. Amy and Rory could wait. In fact, it was one of the things they did best. He couldn't see bringing them along. Too many things were already troublesome about the situation as it was.
Normally he wouldn't do this. He would have pretended to be a recording. But he respected Wilf and trusted his judgment. There was just no way the man would have contacted him had there been any other way.
"Okay. I see. Something needs to be done about that then." Not another word did he speak to Wilf before hanging up on him.
Wilf frowned as he put the phone down. This Doctor didn't seem to care at all. Was he really the Doctor at all? Was he going to come? It sounded to him like the Doctor didn't care at all about Donna, or any of them. Wilf felt like he'd just disrupted the Doctor's life. He was ashamed of himself now for bothering the Doctor..
Maybe he had made too big a deal out of all this. Maybe it was a mistake, after all. He twisted his hands together nervously. How were they going to help Donna now?
Silently the Doctor begged Donna to be okay. His only solace when it came to her was knowing she was safe and somewhat happy. But she wasn't happy at all. She was in trouble. And she was lost. The Doctor forced down another wave of paralyzing fear before he could be swept up in it. He quickly set in some coordinates.
"I'm coming, Donna." He jaw tightened. Just let any living being be behind what was happening to Donna. Just dare them! They would regret it beyond all imaginings. "Whatever is happening to you, Donna, you're not alone. I'm coming."