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Tweak says, "I forgot what I was gunna say"

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
2011-07-22 09:10 pm UTC (link)

"Time Lord- he's 905, he's got two hearts, he travels around in a big blue box that's bigger on the inside, last of his species." Donna wasn't sure what to tell the man- "When he's in a life or death situation he can change his entire body to cheat death, and apparently, he got himself into one of those situations without me, idiot." She was a little bitter, alright, but honestly. What was he thinking?

"His ship here, the TARDIS- Time And Relative Dimension In Space, she goes through time and space, and basically he wanders around getting himself into life or death situations saving the day because he's a dunce with a hero complex and he lost me in 19-bloody-64 and then got his stupid self radiation poisoning." Donna took a deep breath. She couldn't hit him right now, he was busy. But, oh, was she ever going to, once he woke up.

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technogalen
2011-07-22 09:57 pm UTC (link)

"Oh dear." Galen held a hand to his face to muffle his laughter before he could go on. "So I really do have the Last Boy Scout here? How delightful."

He sent a mental inquiry to the medical system. "Radiation levels dropping nicely, that part should be finishes soon. Some damage that we can repair in a bit, and some unusual energy levels, but nothing the ship can't absorb. Can't do healing magic myself, so I had the best possible medical bay installed to compensate."

"You two wives, siblings, mother and daughter, innocent bystanders?"

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-22 10:04 pm UTC (link)

"Oh, no, we're not- we're not together. Never. No, we're just companions. Though she's not technically his companion, she's his later version's. He always has to be so complicated, thinks it makes him look special. No, I travel with him. He needs someone." Donna looked down at the Doctor with a fond smile. "So you can fix him, then?" She looked up at Galen, fixing him with a glare. "He's going to be alright, isn't he? You haven't lied to us?"

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fairytale_pond
2011-07-22 10:17 pm UTC (link)

"He's going to be alright," Amy said quietly, even though the question wasn't directed at her. She looked back at Donna and the stranger-- Galen, he'd called himself. (She had previously been eyeing the interior of his spaceship in considerable awe.)

"What I mean is, he isn't going to die. Not like this." She gestured at the Doctor's prone form as a solemn expression crossed her face.

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-22 10:34 pm UTC (link)

"Time isn't always set in stone, Amy. This wasn't supposed to happen, to any of us. He said so, earlier. That means anything could happen. He might die after all." Donna frowned again, clutching her hands together to keep from reaching out and touching him. What had he been up to, since she saw him last?

"Anyway. I'm Donna Noble, this is Amy Pond, lovely to meet you." She smiled, offering a hand to shake. "Nice ship you've got here- I keep telling this one that he needs to try and look a little more technical but he says he likes his box."

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technogalen
2011-07-22 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Galen nodded. "Although he's a bad patient. Elder race mucking about with the equipment from inside it. I've dealt with elder races before. This ship was designed by one elder race using technology from another."

He bowed slightly at the waist to the two women. "I have many faults. Lying to friends about a sick companion is not one of them. You go into my care with measurable brain activity, you come out a restored being."

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[ooc: started writing this before Galen posted, sorry if it sounds weird now]

fairytale_pond
2011-07-22 11:02 pm UTC (link)

Donna's words echoed in Amy's mind. "He might die after all." She shook her head and took a step away from the Doctor. "No. He can't. I-- I can't watch-- not again." She glared at Galen, irrational and almost angry. "You," she said sternly, "are not letting him die. Do you hear me?"

When he bowed and assured her that the Doctor would live, she felt a little relieved. Man, and to think that this morning she was worried about finding cab fare back from Town Hall. Now she was worried that her best friend was going to die before he ever met her.

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lonely_god
2011-07-22 11:44 pm UTC (link)

Everything his companions were saying registered with the Doctor on a subconscious level, but the vast majority of his attention was on the energies in his body. Time Lords were in general physically superior to humans, and one of their more useful traits was the ability to consciously control certain bodily functions that in most species were involuntary. While Galen's ship was busy drawing off the radiation and effecting repairs to the Doctor's body, he was busy isolating those areas where his own regenerative energy was most needed and making certain they healed properly. He'd already had one bad experience with human medicine attempting to fix him and instead killing him; he wasn't about to let it happen again.

From an outside perspective, the Doctor was wreathed in the soft yellow glow of regenerative energy. As he became stronger, he began to slowly redirect that energy into the ship's own systems. Might as well repay Galen for the use of his medical facilities by giving them a fresh charge. The technique certainly worked in place of his handy spare hand.

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illhaveasalute
2011-07-22 11:49 pm UTC (link)

Donna clenched her jaw, trying not to sigh. She was sympathetic, she really was, but she was busy worrying over her best mate, she didn't have time for someone who hadn't met him yet carrying on. Then she caught what Amy had actually said- "Again? What are you talking about, again? I can't watch him die once, not him. You have no idea what this alien and I have been through, and you don't even know him yet, and I do! No wonder you like River so much, neither of you make a bit of sense." She huffed angrily, regretting her outburst but unable to take it back. She was just sick of this place, and now she finally had her best friend back, what she'd been hoping for since she got here, and he might die.

"Anyway. Sorry. Thank you, Galen. How long do you think this will take?"

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	technogalen 2011-07-23 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Galen shrugged. "Judging by the way he's dumping energy into my ship, not long at all. Seems to doing a self-heal of some sort; I haven't brought the regeneration system on line but the scan says he's healing." "Speaking of which, exactly who is he, besides the last of the Time Lords?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

illhaveasalute
2011-07-23 12:48 am UTC (link)

"He's called the Doctor- no proper name." Donna jumped in before Amy could respond. She was well aware she was acting like an idiot, but she couldn't help it. It was easy, meeting Martha the first time, and she expected she wouldn't feel the slightest bit jealous of Rose. But Amy was different- she was new and she had the new Doctor- the one who didn't have anything to do with Donna, who had never even mentioned her name. Donna was scared of what that meant, if the Doctor of the future never even talked about her. She was scared of why they weren't traveling together, and here was someone who should rightfully know about her future who couldn't tell her a single thing.

"He's just- the Doctor." She shrugged, "last of the Time Lords. He fights other, you know, aliens, when he has to- when they're in the wrong. He's a bit like-" she blushed a bit, shaking her head, "well, he's a bit like the defender of Earth, isn't he?" She directed the last bit towards Amy, hoping the girl would accept the olive branch for what it was.

He's healing. Oh, thank God, he's healing. She was in a much better mood now that she was assured of his safety.

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	fairytale_pond 2011-07-23 12:56 am UTC (link)
	Amy was glad that Donna took the lead. It gave her a moment to take a deep breath and calm down. She smiled back at Donna, sharing a moment of understanding with the older woman. "He is. He can turn whole races away with a look. He's ancient and powerful, and he is forever kind. He's m--" She stopped and corrected herself. "He's our best friend." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	illhaveasalute 2011-07-23 01:15 am UTC (link)
	"He's terrifying and dazzling and I trust him with my life. He can't hear us, can he? His head's big enough as it is, don't need to feed it anymore." Donna laughed, dizzy with relief. "He's stubborn and stupid and full of himself and wonderful and too clever for his own good. He's got some stupid hero complex, always showing up to save the world, showing off." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	fairytale_pond 2011-07-23 01:19 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, he does like to show off, doesn't he?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	illhaveasalute 2011-07-23 01:24 am UTC (link)
	"Thinks he's just so clever, he does. It's awful, the way he carries on- the worst is that he's right, he is clever. His ego, I swear sometimes I want to slap him." Donna was beaming again- he never changed much, the Doctor. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lonely_god 2011-07-23 01:24 am UTC (link)
	"A bit, yes," the Doctor abruptly interrupted. His eyes were still closed, but he was smirking and quite obviously feeling better. The glow of regeneration energy had dimmed somewhat, though it had yet to disappear entirely. "Should let the two of you do all the talking from now on. Save me from repeating myself." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	illhaveasalute 2011-07-23 01:30 am UTC (link)
	"Doctor!" Donna shrieked, throwing herself at him. "Don't do that to me!" She hit his arm, then rubbed the same spot tenderly. "I didn't mean a word of it, you know. You're still a dunce to me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lonely_god
2011-07-23 05:07 pm UTC (link)

The Doctor finished siphoning off the last of the regenerative energy and rolled up to a seated position on the gurney. He flashed a smile at Donna. "Sorry. Wasn't really planning on any of this. Bit of a wrench in the works, so to speak. Anyway. As much as I'd love to chat, I've had a really bizarre and quite frankly exhausting last few days, so if it's all the same to you-" Here, he cast a glance at Galen and then Amy. "-I'd like to have a bit of time alone in the TARDIS. Oh, don't worry. I'll drop the two of you off wherver you'd like," he was quick to reassure the two women who'd come with him.

Galen's machines had done as much as the Doctor was content to let them do, and he'd managed to safely avert a complete regeneration, but his body was still in flux. He needed to rest, and he wanted to do so in the privacy of his ship. He wasn't ready to deal with all the rest of it. The displaced timelines, the companion he'd thought he'd lost forward, and a woman who knew the future he'd been running from ever since he heard the words "your song is ending".

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technogalen
2011-07-23 06:12 pm UTC (link)

"There are two guest cabins just down the corridor. I've opened them up if you ladies would care to freshen up." Galen was still smiling at what sounded like a family fight. "Galley and mess across the way. Mostly synthesized rations for now, I'm afraid. Haven't been shopping in a while. Or, I can arrange platforms to take you safely to shore."

He turned to the Doctor. "You are welcome to space in the cargo bay for as long as you want. The local tech level won't be able to see your Tardis here." His brow wrinkled at a thought. "You know, from what I've read on the notice boards, there just may be another one of you running around the city. Problem?"

"At any rate, when you've rested, we can have that little chat about where we're from you mentioned."

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fairytale_pond
2011-07-24 03:54 pm UTC (link)

Amy was hurt by the Doctor's distant attitude towards her, but she understood. He had no idea who she was, and meeting someone from your future could be dangerous. She was reminded of the way her Doctor acted around River at the Byzantium.

When Galen mentioned her Doctor, it was more than she can take. "I think I'll take you up on that cabin," she said quickly, and hurried off without waiting for him to show her where it was. As soon as she'd rounded a corner and was out of sight of the cargo bay, her knees gave out and she slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. The tears flowed from her eyes before she could stop them. She hadn't seen her Doctor in weeks. Not since that day in the library when the Angel had brought him to her. He'd gone off to do... research on how to get them out of here, told her not to worry, then vanished. He left her behind, again. Seeing Donna with this Doctor, and the way he obviously cared about her was just too much.

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