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The Tenth Doctor (lonely_god) wrote in silverage,
@ 2011-07-19 11:51:00

Entry tags:

!log, 10th doctor, amy pond, donna noble, galen

Who: The Tenth Doctor + Donna + Open (multiple characters welcome)
When: July 19th, at night
Where: an alley near the Welcome Center
What: The Tenth Doctor expected to walk out of his TARDIS and find the Powell Estate. Instead, he finds himself alone in New York City.
Rating: Teen for angsty/dying Time Lord
Status: Open, in progress

The Doctor stumbled against the console as the TARDIS landed, the gentle jolt that ran through the grating beneath his feet nearly enough to topple him though the old girl had settled with far more finesse than usuaul. He must be getting worse, he though, for her to be so careful with him. By his best estimate, he would lose major organ function within another twenty-four to thirty-six hours. When that happened, he would have to let go and allow the regenerative process to fully take hold. It was either that or die, well and truly die for the first time.

Still, he would grasp at every hour he could get, every moment he could stay as he was. He needed more time, just a little more time. He still had one more person to see. Just one more. He'd landed the TARDIS somewhere familiar, somewhere he hadn't been since shortly after the Battle of Canary Wharf. He was early, he knew, far too early, but he'd wanted to make certain he wouldn't miss her. He'd just pop outside for a quick look to be certain he'd landed in the right place and time, and then he'd find a likely place to wait for a flash of pink and yellow. She loved pink, he knew. Wouldn't have to walk too far, he thought. That was good. He was tired, and it hurt. Oh it hurt so very much, and not just because he was dying. Oh, no. It hurt because of the companion he still had left to see. The companion he had left for last to remove the temptation to linger too long.

He took a deep, shuddering breath as he pushed away from the console and headed for the doors. He'd come for Rose. Rose, whom he could see, but who wouldn't know him. Couldn't, just like Donna. He was already pushing the boundaries by even considering touching her timeline in the first place, but he thought, so long as he went to her before she'd met him, he'd be all right. They'd be all right. It wouldn't hurt, would it? Just one last glimpse of the woman for whom he'd been created? That, in the end, was part of the reason he was so afraid of death this time around. He would have to let go of Rose, finally. He wouldn't be her Doctor anymore. He might not even remember how it had felt to love her.

Absorbed in thoughts of what had been and what couldn't be, the Doctor didn't notice at first that the alley he stumbled down once he'd left the TARDIS wasn't the right alley. Wasn't even in London. He only realized he wasn't where he'd meant to be when he reached the corner and looked out not at the plain, blocky building where Rose had lived the first nineteen years of her life, but on a busy New York City street.

"No," he breathed, shock washing over him. "No. No no no. Oh, no. I don't have time for this."

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-19 06:00 pm UTC (link)

Donna walked home from work, sighing. She and Rose had worked on the robot last night, with little progress- she still had no idea where it came from or why- and she was frustrated. She was tired of looking for answers, she was tired of no one else seeming as concerned, and she was completely sick and tired of looking for that stupid alien Doctor. She still couldn't believe she'd met Rose Tyler, the woman she'd heard so much of, the woman he'd loved and lost. And now she was looking for a flat with Martha before Tom, Martha before she was a soldier, and she'd met that Amy Pond girl who had no idea who she was, and Death's granddaughter, and she just wanted to go home. She wanted her spaceman to some and get her and babble about all the places they'd go, and she was tired of losing him. It was his stupid fault, for trying to teleport her away instead of letting her stay and help him.

She got within a block of her temporary home and- what was that man doing? Some drunk, probably, but it made her nervous, after that robot. She walked closer, nervous. Wait- was it- finally? "Doctor? DOCTOR!" she cried, running to him.

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lonely_god
2011-07-19 06:09 pm UTC (link)

The Doctor whirled about at the sound of his name, both hearts seeming to freeze in his chest as the source registered. That voice. That oh so familiar voice. His eyes widened. It couldn't be. No. No, it couldn't be. Not her. Not now. If she remembered him, her mind would burn.

He pushed away from the wall as though that might give him some momentum and began to hurry back to the TARDIS as best he could. He had to make it inside and send her back into the Vortex before Donna reached him. He had to leave and hope that he would be quick enough that whatever memories had surfaced faded back beneath the defenses he'd engineered for her.

Had the Doctor been thinking clearly, he would have realized that Donna shouldn't have been in New York City, and that if she knew him well enough to chase after him, she clearly wasn't in any danger from the metacrisis, or if she had been, it would have been too late for running away to help.

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-19 07:17 pm UTC (link)

Donna stopped short for a moment when he started to run, frowning. Then she picked up speed, cursing her heels. "Doctor! Doctor, wait, stop! Doctor, please!" She continued to shout as she chased him around the corner. Why would he run from her? What had she done, what had happened to him to make him stumble like that? "Doctor, please stop, it's me! It's Donna!" Where was he even going?

She followed him into the alley, hoping not to lose him, after she'd finally found him. Panting, she stopped for a moment, bracing herself against the wall. "Oi! Spaceman! What the hell is your problem?" Donna had a bit of a temper, and that stupid alien kept running from her, and she'd been looking for him for the last month, and she was tired. "You dunce, I've been looking for you everywhere and now you're gonna run from me?" She continued down the alley, walking quickly- she hated these stupid heels, she'd rather be in her trainers but that wouldn't work in 1964.

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lonely_god
2011-07-19 07:56 pm UTC (link)

Luckily, she didn't have to run much farther. The Doctor stumbled again, and this time, when he caught himself against the wall, he barely managed to stay upright. Forget running, forget even walking. It hurt too much. He clenched his teeth and turned, leaning heavily against the brickwork.

"All right already," he managed to grit out. "Blimey. I almost forgot how much you shout." He raised his head to get a good look at her, a proper look, and now that he bothered to stop and really see her, he realized she didn't look quite the same as she had outside of the church. She looked younger, as a matter of fact. Younger and ... entirely aware of who he was. And still standing. Well that wasn't right, was it?

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-19 08:20 pm UTC (link)

She reached him, smacking his arm and then flinging herself at him, embracing him tightly. Realizing he was leaned against the wall with great difficulty, she let him go, looking at him with concern. "What do you mean, forgot?" Was this why he'd run from her, because of something in her future- "When have you come from? Last time I saw you, you tricked me into teleporting away but instead of the TARDIS, I ended up here. I met one of your future companions, but you've got a different face with her. And Martha's here, but not the Martha I met- this one still fancies you, and I met Rose, Doctor. Rose is here, but she doesn't know you yet. Well, she knows you but she doesn't know you you, she knows a different you. And I met a woman from another universe- this place is mad, there are all these people turning up from all these different place and times and none of us know how to get out-" Donna stopped babbling and looked closer at her friend.

"Doctor- are you alright?"

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lonely_god
2011-07-19 08:29 pm UTC (link)

"Ow," was all the Doctor said at first. That slap had hurt, and while he was usually all for hugs, quite fond of them, in fact, he really wasn't in any shape to have the stuffing squeezed out of him, thank you very much. He pushed himself up to stand straight, one hand still braced against the wall for support, and managed a weak smile.

"What's all this about a teleport? When did I ever trick you into teleporting?" he asked, grasping at what little of what Donna had said that he'd actually registered. "I'm sorry, but maybe you could start at the beginning? And slow down a bit? I think I only caught one word in five."

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-19 08:37 pm UTC (link)

"We were in the Library, with that River woman and her team, and the Vastha Nerada, and you tried to teleport me away because I didn't have a suit. But instead of the TARDIS, I ended up here." She frowned. "Slow down? Usually you're ten steps ahead- are you alright?" He didn't look alright. He was barely upright. Oh, but it was good to see him. She beamed. "Anyway, we're all stuck here. People from all sorts of places and times are turning up and none of them can leave. It's bizarre- and all sorts of people are here, Martha and Rose and future you and a woman named Amy who says she travels with future you." She leaned in, concerned, and touched his forehead. "Are you- you're burning up, Doctor, what's happened?"

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lonely_god
2011-07-19 08:44 pm UTC (link)

Gently, he pushed her hand away. "It's nothing. You said ... " His voice shook, and he broke off a moment to draw a deep breath and steady himself. "You said Rose. She's here? You're sure? You're sure it's ... " My Rose, he almost said, but he caught himself. "It's her? It's honestly her?"

Oh, he had heard the rest, and he was fairly certain he understood, though "how" remained a rather pressing question, but none of that was as important as the name Donna had uttered. The Doctor would do anything, anything, if it meant that not only could he have Donna, but Rose as well, and not just see them, but be known by them.