"Do I know you?" The woman said looking at the strange man in front of her.
"It's me, the Doctor." Her face went grim and somber.
"Whoever you are, what ever you think you are doing it's not funny."
"No really it's me. Cross my hearts. Look over there do you see that girl? The blond one? That's Rose. You met her right or did Wilf and Donna tell you about her?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her to his seat where Rose was fast asleep. "You see its Rose Tyler."
"Listen whoever you are I don't know what you're playing at or if you think this is funny but it's not."
"Sylvia listen, I regenerated. Changed my face but look," he took her hands and pressed them against his chest, "still got two hearts. Please, just please tell me how she is?"
She sighed still not convinced that this man was the Doctor but not seeing any harm in telling him how Donna was. "She's good and happy, genuinely happy. Still married and they already adopted two kids too. Look I don't know if I can honestly trust you, but I'm going to my seat now."
"Is she here? Is she on the plane?"
"Yes but she's asleep." He glanced back at Rose who was also ignorant of what was going on around her.
"She can't see Rose. Why are you here?"
"We took the kids to Florida for Disney and all of those things. Better question why are you here?"
"Long story, listen Sylvia can I see her?"
"Will she remember you?"
"Not if I don't tell her who I am, please can I see her?"
"This way," she led him to the back of the airplane on the opposite side from where they had been sitting. Her family was there her husband and her two kids in the row behind her all asleep.
He walked up to her row and kneeled down next to her looking deeply at her face. "She's my best friend you know?" He looked up at her mother.
"You were her best friend Doctor. Now you should go before she wakes up." He stood up slowly still staring at Donna; he leaned over and kissed her on the head.
"Tell her she's fantastic and brilliant for me will you?"
"I will, goodbye Doctor."
"Goodbye." He walked back to his seat sliding down into his chair not realizing that Rose was waking up next to him.
"Are you alright?"
"Donna's here."
"She is! Where is she? I want to go and say hello," before she could stand up he grabbed her arm.
"You can't it'll kill her."
"What did you have a bad parting? That's got nothing to do with me, I can still go and say hello."
"No, Rose I mean it. It will kill her to see you because she'll remember."
"Doctor, what aren't you telling me?" she turned around to face him. "What's wrong with Donna?"
"Donna, she couldn't keep the mind of a time lord or it would kill her. So…I had to take it away and everything that would remind her of it or of me. If she remembers she dies."
"So…she doesn't remember any of it? She doesn't remember all of the fantastic things you showed her? Or how important she is?"
He shook his head looking down at his lap, "no."
"That's horrible."
John scrolled down the holographic list with his screwdriver, sorting it into different categories. One was things that he did with Rose, the other things done with other companions, looking for something that didn't belong.
He took his glasses of and cleaned them on his t-shirt. Putting them on he spotted something. "There!" He clicked on the line of text that read: SONIC DEVICE TRIED TO PASS THROUGH AIRPORT SECURITY 2011 UTAH, AMERICA. The words expanded across the screen along with a picture of the device. "Amelia, does this look familiar?" Amy looked up from the files she was looking at.
"That's the Doctors screwdriver! Is that him!?"
"Um, let me see…" he started to speed read through the article, "man in bowtie with floppy hair, large chin…accompanied by a young blond girl!" His heart started to beat excitedly at the mention of her he started jumping around the room and hugging the four people around him.
"Does it say anything else? Is it any more specific?" River said reading over the article that made John so ecstatic.
"Isn't it specific enough?" Come on we have a year to look through. He grabbed Amelia and Rivers hands and pulled them into the Tardis followed by Rory and Jack. "Now, should we start in America or England? They're probably making their way to London so we should start there. We don't want to overshoot them so let's start with December and make our way back." He threw a lever forward, on the console, causing the entire machine to shake.
He ran to the door grabbing a thin grey jacket that was thrown over one of the corals. "Don't just stand there!" He pushed the doors back and glanced back at the worn out group behind him. "We have some people to find," and he stepped out into a snowy London.
5