Steady as the Beating Drum

Chapter 3: Girl Talk Near the True North

x

"I'm taking my lunch," chirped Donna pleasantly, popping her head into her boss' office. "Need anything?"

Maisie surveyed her desk and stood. "Yes, definitely. Wait just a tick?" She typed out a quick two sentences before standing upright. She primly smoothed the wrinkles in her posh black skirt and made to grab her jacket and bag. "Done. Okay, lets go."

Sometimes Dr. Smith did that; just dropped everything to share a coffee break.

They went to a cute little café only a few blocks east. It had flower boxes on the fence encircling the terrace and blue shudders on the windows.

"I've been thinking of going back to school," Donna was saying. "Well, not 'back' exactly. Never went to school. But I think it could be good. I'd go at night of course," she assured her boss, "And it wouldn't really lead to anything. Just for fun. I could study something useless like Zoology or Geography. They offer special grants for people my age, so I could go for practically free! That would be a load off what with Shaun and everything. My mum thinks I'm daft. 'What are you gonna do with a degree? Piss away your money on something like that, you're just asking for trouble. What if you have kid?'" Donna mimicked Sylvia's shrill lecture. "She's still holding out hope on that one."

"I think it's great," the doctor assured her. "Zoology could be interesting. You ever think of Astronomy, maybe?"

Donna was thrown for a moment. She felt strange, like she was supposed to know and remember something but wasn't."

"-because of your granddad I mean," continued Maisie.

"Right, right," said Donna, a little breathlessly. She shook her head, dislodging the imaginary cobwebs that clung to her thoughts. "So you think it's a good idea?"

Maisie smiled widely and took Donna's hands between hers. "I think it's fab."

"I'm so sorry. Here I am chatting your ear off and you haven't said a word about how you're doing. How's the boyfriend?" Donna gave her a salacious wink. He'd met Dr. Smith at the office once or twice; very fit.

"No no, I like to listen. He's fine. How are you doing on that front?"

"Ugh," groaned Donna, "Don't remind me. Shaun is being a real piece of work, let me tell you!"

'I will remember you,

Will you remember me?

Don't let your life pass you by,

Weep not for the memories.'

"What?" asked Donna while shaking her head.

"I said 'I'm sorry to hear that.'" Dr. Smith was looking at her with great concern.

"Yeah," she replied with another shake of the head, "got distracted by the music, it's a little loud in here."

The gentle ballad wafted in the air, drifting between the steaming food and the hungry patrons.

"Let's get out of here, yeah?"

X

When they got back to the office Donna was surprised to see a little girl sitting in her chair, spinning in circles and staring at a tablet. "Hallo."

The little girl bobbed her head vaguely in her direction.

"Oh shoot," grumbled Dr. Smith, "This is my boyfriend's niece. I forgot her mum was dropping her here for the day." She walked over and stopped the chair. "Will you behave for Donna? I've got a lot of work to do." The little girl- aged around six or seven –bobbed her head, flipping her blond pigtails.

Dr. Smith immediately spun on her heel and headed towards the door, gesturing for Donna to follow closely, "I am sorry, I really am. I've got some meetings, can I just leave her with you?"

"Sure thing," Donna agreed, much to the doctor's obvious relief. "Go on, I can handle it."

With mutterings of thanks, she did.

Donna suddenly realized that she did not know the kid's name.

"Jane," the child mumbled when asked.

Jane was quite able to entertain herself; there wasn't much Donna needed to do for her. At every question she shrugged or grunted, quite a strange thing for a girl of seven. Donna herself had started babbling at age two and hadn't stopped since.

They sat in awkward silence for the rest of the afternoon. Or at least, it was awkward for Donna.

"How's school goin'?" she tried to ask, only to receive a shrug in exchange for her efforts. "How come you're out today?"

"Hasn't started yet."

"What sort of music do kids listen to now?"

A shrug.

Eventually she stopped trying to connect to the unsettling little girl.

Around six Donna was on the phone with Shaun and his solicitor and had been for the past quarter hour, shouting obscenities at the pair. "If you think you can just keep it all, you've got another thing coming mister! I will make your life bloody miserable! I will tear your tongue out THROUGH YOUR EURETHRA!" thundered Donna. "Don't you hang up on me! DON'T YOU-!" She slammed down the receiver and dropped her face into her hands and groaned loudly. She felt like screaming. Winning the lottery was supposed to take the pressure off wasn't it? It was never supposed to be like this. Well, serves her right for putting it all in his name she supposed...

A polite cough alerted her to the presence of a fellow adult.

"Oh," she quickly swiped at the frustrated tears in her eyes. "Hullo. You must be Jane's dad."

He was very tall and skinny, with hair that shot up and then swooped to the side in an artful curl. He had the faint shadow of stubble on his jawline and a dimple in his chin. 'Skinny streak of nothing,' Donna found herself thinking.

"Uncle," he corrected. "We've met before, I'm Dr. Smith's bloke." Donna relaxed a little at his joking manner.

"Oh god I am terrible, shouting and swearing in front of a kid."

"Nah."

A beat of quiet, broken only by the vague humming coming from Jane's headphones.

"Joshua Gregory," his handshake was firm and warm. "Creditors?"

"You could call 'im that."

X

'Ugh, Nerys.' Donna positively rolled her eyes at the empty kitchen. 'Shame it's her who has all the good gossip.'

'And he's leaving her!' Nerys was saying over the phone.

"NO!" a sickly pit of guilt settled in her stomach. She suddenly wasn't hungry for the TV dinner, which was being heated in the microwave. "For that redheaded tart?"

'Well it serves them both, they weren't happy. Then again I don't think Sherry has been happy a day in her life!'

"Poor thing," Donna sighed. 'That's unlike me.' Perhaps it was because it was the very similar situation she'd been in for months.

'I say, those pieces of shit deserve each other. Sherry can move on now, maybe actually get a life!'

It occurred to Donna that Nerys was absolutely right. Weird.

'Oh, I'm sorry Donna. I shouldn't have said anything so soon after Shaun dumping you like rubbish on the side of the road.'

"Thanks Nerys," Donna grit through her teeth. 'There it is.' "He did not dump me. It wasn't like we were going steady and he'd ditched me at prom. We were married."

'I don't really see the difference.'

Truthfully, Donna wasn't sure she could anymore either.

The microwave beeped and Donna took her food to the table while Nerys nattered on about their friends' troubles. She tuned her out and briefly perused the page the paper was open to. She opened it up to the September book recommendations. She'd found that the harlequin romance type books were the best for killing her 'episodes' but sometimes the odd existential hipster bullshit worked too.

'A Journal of Impossible Things Vol. 2', by Verity Newman (There was no way that name was real was there?)

Adapted from journals found in her grandmother's attic, Verity Newman weaves a tale of adventure, love and heartache based on the life of a school teacher; John Smith (August 1875— November 1913).

'The Doctor' is a tragic hero; an alien from another world who travels time and space in search of anyone who needs help. He is cursed to seemingly live forever, go on endless adventures and lose every friend he makes along the way-

Donna leapt from the kitchen chair and fell to her knees in front of the bin, hurling into the noxious smelling receptacle. She groaned like something undead, her heart beat wildly between her shoulders and she'd broken out in a cold sweat.

'Donna? Donna!' Nerys trilled through the telephone.

"I've gotta pop off now, ta."

'Donna-!' she cut the line off without remorse.

"I know that story," she whispered to herself through a curtain of hair. She was on all fours now, trying to find purchase on the cold tile, trying to find something to focus on other than that stupid story, about some stupid man who did stupid, terrible things! The bird brained, foolhardy prawn! Always thinking he knows what's best. Alright? Sure, she was alright, if in his stupid Martian language alright meant-

"Donna? Donna, love, are you alright?" Sylvia flew into the room and held Donna's face in her hands. She stared into her eyes with such utter panic that for a moment Donna was honestly flattered. "Donna, what's happened?"

"I-?" What had she been thinking about? Like a dandelion in the wind, whatever it was had flown right out of sight, into nothingness.

A/n: Thanks so much for reading everyone! I'm really enjoying writing this; I don't think I've ever cranked out a story this quickly. It's a shame Donna's day in the sun was so long ago, not much of a fandom left behind now. But I'm sincerely enjoying reading the fics that I can find! If anyone's got recommendations for me that'd be great.

Let me know what you think! (And to take a page out of Lilac Summers book) 'Reviews are like a cozy picnic on the beach. Except instead of a blanket, you're sitting on the Tenth Doctor, and instead of eating fishy smelling sandwiches, you're sucking face.'