Doctor Who: The Time Child

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The Doctor ran into the unusually crowded TARDIS, running past Danni who glanced back out of the TARDIS before slamming the door shut and following him. He ran around the group of people gathered by the console, throwing a switch when he reached it.

"And! Off we go!" He shouted, the TARDIS shuddering as it took off, everyone grabbing onto the console for support. Donna squeezed Danni in between her and the Doctor, making sure she had a grasp of the console. Danni shot her a grin in reply, she loved the Doctor-Donna. The new Doctor turned to Sarah Jane who was by his side and grinned at her and she replied with one of her own. Everyone was loving it; just like old times.

"But what about the Earth?" Sarah Jane asked, looking between the identical men, "It's stuck in the wrong part of space!"

"I'm on it." The Doctor promised her, turning to the monitor and turning it on, "Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?" He cried, a picture of Gwen and Ianto appearing on the screen. Danni motioned Rose over, who warily walked up to the pair peering into the screen. Saw the two people stood there, a man and a woman and frowned. That was Gwyneth from Cardiff, one of her first adventures with the Ninth Doctor. What was she doing at Torchwood?

"Loud and clear." Gwen confirmed, "Is Jack there?" The Doctor glanced at Jack, smirking at the man who looked relieved to know his team was safe.

"Can't get rid of him." He told her. He turned to Jack, pointing at the screen, "Jack, what's her name?"

"Gwen Cooper." Jack replied proudly, not really seeing the relevance.

"Tell me, Gwen Cooper," The Doctor asked her, rolling her name off his tongue, "are you from an old Cardiff family?" The woman glanced at her companion then back at the screen.

"Yes. All the way back to the eighteen-hundreds." She explained slowly, confused at what this had to do with Daleks. The Doctor grinned at Rose, who smiled back just as happily considering he'd barely been paying any attention to her. The other Doctor clone had been paying more attention to her, he had grabbed her hand when he'd reached the console just like her Doctor used to do.

"Mm, thought so!Spatial genetic multiplicity..." The motioned between each other, each seeing the resemblance.

"Oh, yeah!" Rose said, highly amused at it.

"Yeah, yeah! It's a funny old world!" He shook his head slightly, snapping him out of the reminiscing, "Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that Rift Manipulator - send all the power to me."

"Doing it now, sir." Ianto responded, disappearing of the screen to set up what the Doctor had asked him to.

"What's that for?" Martha asked from the side, she understood what the Rift Manipulator did, one of the perks of working for UNIT, but she didn't know why he needed it at maximum power.

"We're going to pull the Earth!" Danni exclaimed, the attitude from the Metacrisis making her want to feel useful.

"It's a tow-rope." The Doctor confirmed before looking over the console at Sarah Jane, "Now then, Sarah - what was your son's name?" He asked.

"Luke, he's called Luke." She told him excitedly, "And the computer's called Mr Smith."

"Calling Luke and Mr Smith!" He called into to monitor, no picture appearing but the signal obviously reaching the other side, "Come on, Luke, shake a leg!"

"Is Mum there?" Luke's voice called anxiously.

"Oh, she's fine and dandy." The Doctor told him. Sarah Jane laughed in relief, throwing her head back in joy.

"Yes! Yes!" She cried, her son was fine.

"Now, Mr Smith, I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it round the TARDIS, you got that?" The Doctor commanded, addressing the computer.

"I regret I will need remote access to TARDIS basecode numerals." He frowned, stepping back from the monitor.

"Oh, blimey." He groaned, "That's gonna take a while." Sarah Jane darted around to the computer, slightly disappointed to not see her son but still ecstatic to know he was okay.

"No, no, no. Let me! K-9, out you come!" There was an electronic sound from the other side of the transmission.

"Affirmative, Mistress!" The retro voice of K-9 confirmed. The Doctor laughed in delight.

"Oh, good dog!" He praised, "K-9, give Mr Smith the basecode!"

"Master. TARDIS basecode now being transferred." The robot dog did as he was asked, "The process is simple." He left the dog to complete it's task as he gently grabbed Sarah Jane by both arms, manoeuvrings Sarah back to her place.

"Now then, you lot," He pointed a lever out to Sarah Jane, "Sarah - hold that. And Mickey - you hold that. Because, you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place? Rose - that, there." He indicated controls to each of them as he went around the console, "It was designed to have six pilots and I have to do it single handed." Donna moved back from where she was standing, showing Danni was she was to hold to help pilot the TARDIS.

"Oh no, you can't let her fly it." The Metacrisis snapped, everyone pausing to stare at him surprised, "She'll break something and ruin everything." Donna glared at him, tired of his attitude.

"Now you listen to me, Time Boy..." Donna warned, her hands falling to her hips. She was not about to let him keep treating Danni that way, not considering what she saw from the Doctor's memories. Apparently the Metacrisis was willing to ignore everything they've been through together, but she sure as hell wasn't.

"Donna." Danni said calmly, placing a hand on her arm and snapping her out of her anger, "He's right. You really shouldn't let me touch the console. God knows what I'll do. Plus," She grinned and grabbed Donna's hand, placing it on the handle Donna had pointed out, "It's designed for six pilots, and the Doctor-Donna should always fly the TARDIS." Happy with her answer, but still sending a glare at the Metacrisis for good luck, Donna let her go. The Doctor, studying the interactions carefully, moved over to Martha, showing her a plotter on the console.

"Martha - keep that level. But not anymore!" He continued, "Jack - there you go, steady that. Now we can fly this thing," He reached Jackie, freezing in slight horror at the idea of her flying the TARDIS, "No, Jackie. No, no. Not you." He patted her on the shoulder, "Don't touch anything, just... stand back." He left her side, continuing around the console, "Like it's meant to be flown! We've got..." Danni walked over to Jackie, leaning on the railings next to her.

"He's an idiot sometimes, isn't he?" She asked the blonde woman.

"Yes." She replied instantly, causing Danni to laugh.

"We'll just stand here making the place look better." Jackie nodded, liking the idea and leant against the railing next to her.

"Are you all right, darling?" Jackie asked her gently, having seen the way that new Doctor had spoken to her. Danni nodded.

"Oh I'm fine. I'm just really happy to finally meet you." She held her hand out to Jackie, "I'm Danielle Fielding, it's lovely to meet you Mrs Tyler." Jackie laughed, remembering vaguely something Rose said about her living out of order to everyone else. She pulled the girl into a hug, surprising her slightly.

"Oh come 'ere you." Danni laughed in delight, hugging her back. The Doctor smiled at the pair as they started chatting about everyday life, taking his place at the console next to Donna.

"Right, then! Off we go." Donna dramatically pulled a level, the TARDIS juddering slightly but flying smoothly as they pulled the Earth back to it's rightful place. Both Doctor's began walking around the console, watching their friends fly the TARDIS seamlessly. The Doctor stopped by Rose, pointing to a button on the console.

"Rose." She grinned at him, the Doctor returning it happily as she did as what she was told. He was so happy to see her alive and well, he had missed Rose so much. Donna looked over at Jack pumping a lever in and out of the console as she turned a dial quickly.

"That's really good, Jack. I think you're the best." Jack smirked at her and Danni nudged Jackie with a laugh. The Doctors stood next to the pair, smiling at the sight. All these people, everyone who had touched their lives since the Time War all in one place. It really was a marvellous sight.

~0~0~0~

The original Doctor took over from Donna to complete the final part of the manoeuvre, placing the Earth next to the moon where it belonged. Everyone started cheering, turning and hugging whoever they could grab. Rose hugged the Doctor as Donna hugged the Metacrisis, Jack hugged Martha before turning to Sarah Jane. Danni grabbed Mickey who squeezed her so hard he lifted her off the ground with a squeal. That was nice, he obviously had met her before. She had always wanted to meet Mickey. She motioned over to Jack with his head, the pair laughing as Donna wrenched Sarah-Jane from his arms, shoving the woman to one side as she chucked her arms around the handsome man. Danni squealed again as a similar thing happened to her, she was yanked out of Mickey's grasp into to the Doctor's, who spun her around joyfully. He pulled her in for a tight hug, resting his head next to Danni's.

"She's not going to survive this, is she?" He whispered sadly into her ear. She leant back to see him looking down at her sadly, no one else noticing in their joy at their home being safe. Knowing instantly who he was talking about, she shook her head slowly. He winced then pulled her back in for a hug, clinging onto her tightly in sadness this time, rather than the happiness surrounding them. She rubbed his back soothingly, looking over at Donna who still hadn't let Jack go.

~0~0~0~

The TARDIS materialised outside a children's play area in a grass-covered park. People walked past it, too caught up in their celebrations of safety to notice the huge blue box or the man and two women who stepped out of it. Sarah Jane gazed around in wonder at the normality of the world outside, children playing on parks and mothers gossiping as if nothing ever happened. In the distance church bells rang out their jubilation. She turned to the Doctor and Danni, both with solemn faces as the thought of what was coming next for Donna.

"You know... you act like such a lonely man." Sarah Jane told him, startling the Doctor slightly, "But look at you! You've got the biggest family on Earth!" He smiled at the thought and she held her arms out for him. He pulled her in for a hug. She let him go and turned to Danni, squeezing her tightly.

"It's so good to see you again." She told the red-head honestly.

"It was lovely meeting you, Sarah Jane." Danni replied. Sarah Jane suddenly let go and began backing away from them.

"Gotta go! He's only fourteen! It's a long story. And thank you!" She rambled as she ran off down the path, looking back and waving at them as she did. The Doctor smiled warmly and waved back as Danni jumped up and down waving.

~0~0~0~

As soon as Martha and Jack exited the TARDIS the Doctor grabbed the immortal man's wrist, flipping open his manipulator and used his sonic screwdriver to disable the teleport, despite Jack's protests.

"I TOLD you, no teleport." He scolded the man before turning to Martha, "And Martha, get rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh? Save the world one more time." She nodded with a smile.

"Consider it done." She promised. Danni hugged her tightly, Martha replying with a tight hug of her own.

"We're going to have that tea and scones." Danni told her.

"We do." Martha replied, "We went after 1913. You said that you promised me we'd go, and I asked when. You said not yet." She elaborated at Danni's confused look.

"Sounds like me." Danni admitted and they both laughed. Jack pulled her in for a hug of his own, kissing her on the side of the head before depositing her next to the Doctor once more.

"Visit more often Danni-Girl." He demanded and she laughed.

"You know I would if I could, but I'm too busy following him about." She motioned to the Doctor, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her up against his side. Jack and the Doctor shared a fond look over the two women, then Jack saluted the Doctor. Martha followed suit and after blinking in surprise, he shot them a casual one of his own. They turned and walked away, Jack grabbing Martha's hand.

"You know, I'm not sure about UNIT, these days. Maybe there's something else you could be doing..." They heard Jack comment as they watched the pair walk. Behind them the door opened and Mickey strode out, leaving the TARDIS as the three previous had, shooting them both a wave as he did.

"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed, Mickey stopping in his tracks, "Where are you going?"

"Well, I'm not stupid - I can work out what happens next. And hey, I had a good time in that parallel world but my Gran passed away. Nice and peaceful. Spent her last years living in a mansion. There's nothing there for me, now. Certainly not Rose." He explained with a sad smile.

"What will you do?" The Doctor asked quietly. Mickey took a deep breath and shrugged.

"Anything! Brand new life. Just you watch." Danni pulled him in for a hug before pointing at the retreating figures of Martha and Jack.

"Her name's Martha Jones." Danni told him, "She'll set you right, Mickey." He nodded then turned to the Doctor, the pair knocking fists.

"See you, boss." He winked at the Doctor then ran off to catch up to the pair.

"Hey, you two!" The Doctor took Danni's hand, turning to look up fondly at the TARDIS before taking her inside. The Metacrisis and Rose were stood to one side talking animatedly about their shared memories while Jackie was stood on her own. Donna was by the console, eyeing the Metacrisis and Rose closely. It didn't matter that she knew, as a metacrisis, this wasn't the Doctor she had been travelling with but her human side didn't like her seeing him so close to Rose and acting so mean to Danni. The original Doctor pulled Danni to Donna, who smiled warmly at the sight of the girl. He pulled the monitor towards himself, typing on it's touch screen.

"There's time for one last trip. Dårlig Ulv Stranden." The new Doctor looked at him almost angrily, thinking the same as him he knew what he was about to do and was fuming that he was going to do it, "Better known as Bad Wolf Bay." The TARDIS landed with a small thud and Jackie exited first, looking around the beach in annoyance.

"Ugh, fat lot of good this is! Back of beyond, bloody Norway! I'm gonna have to phone your father. He's on the nursery run." She explained as everyone else followed her onto the wet sand. Rose looked around, confused and worried as to why he had brought her back. Maybe it was so she could say goodbye to her mum. Jackie turned to the new Doctor who had fallen into step with her, "I was pregnant, do you remember? Had a baby boy!" The new Doctor grinned at her.

"Ah, brilliant! What did you call him?"

"Doctor." She told him proudly. The new Doctor paused in surprise, looking very touched at the thought.

"Really?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"No, you plum. He's called Tony!"

"Hold on, this is the parallel universe, right?" Rose asked, finally so worried she had to speak up. There was no way he'd leave her here again, was there?

"You're back home." He told her and her heart broke. He really was.

"And the walls of the world are closing again... now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimension retroclosure." The new Doctor smiled at her, "See, I really get that stuff now."

"No, but I spent all that time trying to find you, I'm not going back now!" Rose exclaimed, tears in her eyes. The Doctor stepped towards her.

"But you've got to. Because we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him." He looked over at the new Doctor, "He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

"You made me!" The new Doctor snapped angrily.

"Exactly, you were born in battle - full of blood and anger and revenge." The Doctor replied, looking down at Rose, "Remind you of someone? That's me. When we first you made me better. And now you can do the same for him." Rose looked at him, tears falling before looking over at the two ginger woman.

"Is it because of Danni? Is that why you're leaving me here, because of her?" She asked. She had to know, she'd seen his behaviour with her friend since the moment she'd met back up with them again. It was how he used to behave around her, always holding hands and sticking together. But it was so much more as well. The way he'd glared at Davros when he'd tried to separate them, he'd never looked at anyone like that because of her before.

"No, this has nothing to do with Danni." The Doctor told her firmly, "This is where you belong now, Rose."

"But he's not you." She insisted, frustrated. He was lying, she could tell. He'd forgotten her and moved onto Danni, just like she knew he would. She just didn't expect him to do it while there was still a chance of them finally being together.

"He needs you. That's very me." He replied quietly.

"But it's better than that, though." Donna called over, "Don't you see what he's trying to give you?" She looked past them at the new Doctor, "Tell her, go on." Rose turned around, bewildered and heartbroken to face the new Doctor in his old suit, just like she remembered him.

"I look like him and I think like him... same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except, I've only got one heart." He explained.

"Which means?" Rose pressed.

"I'm part Human. Specifically the ageing part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life... Rose Tyler." He spoke her name purposefully, "I could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'll grow- grow old at the same time as me?" She asked and he nodded.

"Together." Rose reached out tentatively, placing a hand on his chest and feeling the one heart beating underneath his clothes. Danni, seeing the uncertainty on her face, walked over and tapped her on the arm, causing her to turn to face her.

"And it's better than that." She told her gently, "Because he may have been created using Donna and the Doctor's regeneration energy, but that just means he's seen their memories, he didn't live it. He's an earlier version of the Doctor." She looked up at the new Doctor who was eyeing her distrustfully, "I'm right, aren't I?" He nodded once, conceding her point. She turned back to Rose, "He's the version from the Sycorax, from when his hand was cut off. Which means he hates me." Rose's eyes shone with a slight bit of hope at that statement, "And he hates me because of you. The Doctor, thankfully, got over that, but he hasn't. He hasn't gotten over anything." Rose turned back to face him, seeing the new Doctor smiling lovingly back at her. The TARDIS made a grinding noise and everyone spun to stare at it.

"We've gotta go. This reality's sealing itself off." The original Doctor called over, "Forever." Danni reached up and kissed Rose's cheek, who had begun crying.

"I'm so sorry." Danni whispered before running over to catch up with the Doctor and Donna who had started walking to the TARDIS. The Doctor grabbed Danni's hand and she squeezed back reassuringly as Rose ran after them.

"But it's still not right." The Doctor looked back at her, "Because... the Doctor's... still you."

"And I'm him." The Doctor nodded towards his duplicate, who joined them, one on either side of her.

"All right. Both of you, answer me this." She looked between the two, "When I last stood on this beach on the worst day of my life... what was the last thing you said to me?" She looked up at the original Doctor, urging him to say anything, "Go on, say it."

"I said, 'Rose Tyler'." He replied,

"Yeah, and how was that sentence going to end?" She asked expectantly, eyes wide. He smiled gently down at her and shook his head.

"No." He told her apologetically. She stared at him, a broken look on her face before turning to the new Doctor.

"And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?" The new Doctor placed a hand on her arm, leaning down and whispering the end of the sentence to her, telling her the words that original Doctor wasn't willing to say to her. Rose then pulled him down by the lapels of his suit, placing a kiss on his lips, eyes squeezed shut as she pretended he was the Doctor. The Doctor swallowed and turned way, leading Danni away as the new Doctor returned the kiss. They entered the TARDIS and Donna headed straight to the controls, flying them back to the other universe while Danni stood with the Doctor, hands clasped.

"I thought we could try the planet Felspoon... just 'cos." Donna rambled as she paced around the console, "What a good name, 'Felspoon'. Apparently it's got mountains that sway in the breeze. Mountains that move. Can you imagine?" She twisted a knob purposefully, looking smugly at the solemn pair proudly.

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked her quietly.

"Because it's in your head! And if it's in your head, it's in mine." She replied happily, continuing to pace.

"And how does that feel?" He asked her.

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene! Great bit of universe packed into my brain. You know you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just try and hotbind in the fragment links and superseding the binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary..." She took a deep breath, breaking out of the repetition she found herself in,"I'm fine!" She told the pair brightly, trying to hide the tears that had built up in her eyes. The Doctor straightened next to Danni, watching her sadly.

"Donna..." Danni called gently.

"Nah, never-mind Felspoon." Donna interrupted loudly, "You know who I'd like to meet? Charlie Chaplin. I've heard he's great, Charlie Chaplin. Shall we do that? Shall we go and see Charlie Chaplin?" She picked up the phone off the console, "Shall we? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester, Charlie Brown. No, he's fiction, friction, fiction, fixen, mixen, rixten, brixton..." She gasped and doubled over, the pain becoming a bit too much. The Doctor and Danni slowly walked over to her as she panted, holding her head, "Oh, my God."

"Do you know what's happening?" The Doctor asked her. She straightened slowly, nodding.

"Yeah." She admitted reluctantly.

"There's never been a Human-Time Lord metacrisis before now. And you know why." He continued, voice low.

"Because there can't be." Donna whispered. She took a deep breath, turning away from him and playing with the controls, "I want to stay."

"Look at me." The Doctor asked her, but she kept fiddling with the controls, "Donna, look at me." She turned to face him slowly, fighting the urge to break down and cry.

"I was gonna be with you... forever. " She told them both shakily.

"I know." He replied.

"The rest of my life... travelling... in the TARDIS. The Doctor-Donna." She finished. The Doctor stared back at her silently as she figured out what he was about to do, "No. Oh, my God..." She began stepping back from him, shaking her head as the tears began to fall. He stepped towards her and took her by the shoulders, "I can't go back. Don't make me go back. Doctor... please. Please, don't make me go back." She turned to Danni, "Please, Danni, tell him. Tell him to let me stay."

"I can't." Danni told her sadly, "I'm sorry."

"This can't be it, because you would have told me." Donna insisted, "You wouldn't have let me believe it was for forever." Danni started crying with her.

"How could I tell you this?" She replied. Donna looked back up at the Doctor fearfully.

"Donna. Oh, Donna Noble. I am so, so sorry." He apologised as she trembled underneath his hands, "But we had the best of times. The best." He shot his last smile at her, "Goodbye." He placed his fingers on her temples, closing her eyes as she tried to break away from him.

"No. No, please! Please! No, NO! No!" She begged as he erased her memory, "NO!" She fell unconscious, the Doctor catching her just before she hit the ground, hugging her to him with his eyes closed.

~0~0~0~

Wilfred Motts ran for his front door as someone hammered frantically on it, a skip in his step.

"Oh, that must be her!" He called to his daughter, "Donna?" He opened the door to see Danni stood there, tears running down her face. He looked down to see the Doctor on the floor with Donna, cradling her in his arms.

"Help me." He begged urgently. Wilf nodded and bent down anxiously, helping the Doctor scoop up his granddaughter off the floor.

"Donna? Donna?" With Danni holding the doors open for them they lifted her into her bedroom, lying her on top of her purple duvet to let her sleep. Wilf went downstairs to explain to his daughter that Donna was alive while Danni and the Doctor watched her sleep. Danni walked over to Donna and placed a kiss on her forehead, squeezing her eyes closed as she did.

"Goodbye Donna." She whispered before walking over to the Doctor and grabbing his hand, "We need to go explain to them what's happened."

~0~0~0~

"She took my mind into her own head. But that's a Time Lord consciousness." The Doctor explained to Wilf and Sylvia. He was sat on the sofa in their living room, Danni next to him holding still holding his hand, "All that knowledge - it was killing her." Wilf leant forward in the sofa across from them, distraught.

"But she'll get better, now?" he asked hopefully.

"I had to wipe her mind, completely. Every trace of me, Danni or the TARDIS... everything we did together, anywhere we went... had to go." He told them.

"All those wonderful things she did." Wilf exclaimed mournfully.

"I know. But that version of Donna is dead." He told them quietly, "Because if she remembers, just for a second, she'll burn up. You can never tell her. You can't mention me, or Danni or any of it... for the rest of her life."

"But the whole world's talking about it." Sylvia protested, "We travelled across space!"

"It'll just be a story. One of those Donna Noble stories, where she missed it all again."

"But she was better with you." Wilf sobbed, the thought of his granddaughter falling back into the life she had before she met the Doctor hurting him.

"Don't say that..." Sylvia hissed. He turned to her.

"No, she was." He told her angrily.

"I just want you to know that there are worlds out there, safe in the sky, because of her." He told them, pulling their attention back to the pair on the sofa in front of them, "That there are people living in the light, singing songs of Donna Noble, a thousand million light-years away... they will never forget her. While she can never remember. And for one moment... one shining moment... she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe." He finished, voice hollow in his grief as Danni turned to him, eyes narrowed angrily.

"She was always the most important woman in the universe." She snapped, "Don't you dare say otherwise."

"And he still is. She's my daughter." Sylvia added abruptly. Danni turned back to face the woman.

"Then tell her that." She demanded, "Let her know you care, because you sure as hell haven't been doing that so far." Donna burst into the room, startling them both and breaking the moment.

"I was asleep, ON my bed, IN my clothes, like a flippin' kid! What did you let me do that for?!" She exclaimed, glancing briefly at the man and woman on the sofa, feeling a sense of deja vu before shrugging it off, "Don't mind me. Donna." They both stood up, the Doctor holding his hand out.

"John Smith." She shook his hand distractedly while Danni waved weakly at her.

"Danielle."

"Mr and Mrs Smith was just leaving." Sylvia said pointedly, but Donna didn't really care as she flicked through her mobile phone.

"My phone's gone mad! Thirty-two texts, Veena's gone barmy, she's saying planets in the sky - WHAT have I missed now? Nice to meet you." She said to the pair as she left to ring her friend.

"Like I said: I think you should go." Sylvia said coldly, not wanting them to do any further damage to her daughter than they already had. As they stepped into the hallway, Danni turned to the Doctor.

"Go say goodbye to her." She told him gently.

"It doesn't matter, she doesn't remember me."

"It's not for her. Go." She pushed him gently towards the kitchen. He smiled gratefully at her before heading into the room, Danni turning on her heel and heading to the TARDIS, leaving him to have his final moments with Donna alone.

~0~0~0~

The Doctor stood silently by the console, soaking wet from the rain that had begun to fall as he had entered the TARDIS. He watched the rota fall and rise gently, the TARDIS doing her best to keep quiet for the mourning pair. He chucked his jacket onto the console and turned to face Danni, as she sat in the pilot seat, still crying. She hadn't even flinched as he had entered, just stared into space as the tears ran silently down her face. He hated it, his hearts were already breaking for Donna, but seeing her sitting there almost unaware of how much she was crying.

"She's very happy." Danni stated, startling him out of his thoughts, "She gets married, someone gives her a lottery ticket as a wedding present and she wins the jackpot. I guess she has kids, I don't see her without them really. But..." She turned to him, "Sometimes, just doing everyday things Wilf catches her staring into the distance, looking so sad. Because she knows she's forgotten something so important, but she has no idea what and all she knows is that it breaks her heart. Then, she'll smile because she forgets she's forgotten." She looked down at her knees, "And everytime I think of Donna, be it early or late Donna, my heart hurts for them moments she feels sad." She bowed her head, her hands clasping at her hair, "I should have saved her, but I was too much of a bloody coward. I did this to her." The Doctor knelt down in front of her, removing her hands from her hair and making her look at him.

"Was there another way?" he asked her gently. She shrugged, her breath hitching in her throat.

"I don't know, maybe." She admitted, "I only know it this way, you may have come up with something else if I'd told you what was going to happen."

"But what if I hadn't?" He replied gently, "What if this is the only way the universe was going to be saved? Donna wouldn't have thanked you for saving her over the universe." She started sobbing and she chucked her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry." she sobbed, "I'm so, so sorry." He held onto her tightly, "I don't want you to be alone. I've never wanted that." He laughed humourlessly in her ear.

"But I'm not." He replied, turning his head slightly so they could see each other, "I'll always have you, won't I Danni-Girl?" She smiled shakily and nodded.

"I do appear far into your future." She told him and he forced a smile onto his face.

"Then I'll be fine." he told her. She pushed back, looking down at her arm, her heart dropping as she felt that familiar burning, one that barely hurt anymore but still killed her everytime she felt it.

"Oh no. Please." She begged before appearing in her room on the TARDIS. She crawled onto the bed and curled up in the middle of it all alone, sobbing to herself for a moment before wiping her eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath. She stood up and walked over to her mirror, looking at her bright red face and messy hair. She ran her hand through her hair, trying to flatten it down before giving it up as a bad job. She took another deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Afterword, by Amelia Williams..."