Doctor Who Fanfic - Doppelgangers

[moontsunami]

Hey y'all! I was inspired by LiveJournal member, Rabid1st, and her fan fiction, Disheveled. It is a wonderful Ten/Rose fanfic. This will not be as nearly as great, but hey it was was first try at one. I have never ventured into the realm of fanfiction before, though I have done many rpgs in the same kind of vein, right? Well here we go!

Doppelgangers, Chapter 1
By MoonTsunami
Ten, Rose, and Donna
Rated G right now, might change later...
Spoilers up to S4 Episode, The Unicorn and the Wasp, then AU after that

Quick Summary: They say that everyone on Earth, or even in the Universe has a twin some where out there. Too bad for the Doctor and Donna that they found theirs’. Can Donna save the Doctor from spending the rest of his life in jail, and stranding her on a foreign planet, and how does Rose factor into all of this?



“Twist the blue knobby thingy!” yelled the Doctor to Donna. Donna shot him a scathing look, it was sort of hard for her to do so, she was leaning over the TARDIS console moving a lever slowly with one hand and holding down one large red button with the other. The Doctor was busy himself, pressing a sequence of buttons with one hand while holding the monitor in the other, watching the time vortex. The Doctor just gave her a lopsided smile, trying to lean over the top of her to reach the knob. Donna pushed him off with her shoulder and said, “watch it beanpole! Your getting a little too cozy there!” She tried to push the knob with her elbow.

They had just left Agatha Christie at the Harrogate Hotel, and Donna was still determined to get to the right 80s. She decided she should have a go at trying to get there. This was Donna’s second flying lesson, and it was not going as well as the first. The TARDIS jerked a few times, jostling the two passengers back and forth. They had already missed the 1980s once and the Doctor was trying to not let that happen again. Donna wanted to shop because she said that the 80s were only place to get a “proper” puff sleeve jacket. The Doctor told her she could go anywhere in the Universe and she wanted to the 80s. He could not quite understand it, but he did not want to argue. Plus at the moment he really didn’t have the time to think about it.

“I said get the knob!” the Doctor yelled again, but it was too late. They hit a bump in the vortex and careened off course. The TARDIS shook so violently that Donna fell backwards into the jump seat on deck. The Doctor jumped over to her station and quickly twisted the knob he had been jabbering on about, and quickly pulled down the lever Donna had been manning.

Donna put a hand on her lower back, rubbing away the pain from the abrupt landing on the jump seat. She looked at the Doctor’s face, with the manic smile and eyes, and shook her head. “You are enjoying this too much. “ She said under her breath, shaking her head at him. He looked back at her with his manic grin and said, “where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I think in just got knocked out of me.” She growled, still holding her back. But after she spoke her face broke out into a little smile. “So what happened? “ She said standing back up, and looking over his shoulder at the monitor. His pace was a little less frantic, seeming to gain his bearings on the controls.

“Well we missed the 80s again,” Donna frowned and crossed her arms, “ We ened up on the other end of the Universe. I think we are near the planet Herfres. Human population, very similar to Earth, maybe a couple advances behind you. Maybe they have invented the puff sleeve here too.” He smirked at Donna and that playful light glittered in his eye.



Donna just tightened her mouth and shook her head. “That is not funny.”



“Well want to go land and take a look?” The Doctor asked, even though he had already initiated landing, and the TARDIS shook as it made contact with the surface.

“Why do you even ask questions, when you don’t even wait for an answer?” Donna said, going over to the jump seat and grabbed the two coats that hung on the railing behind it. She folded her own jacket over her arm and threw the Doctor his trench coat. He caught it with his face. Donna smiled wide, and started to stride down the exit ramp. The Doctor pulled the jacket off his head and shrugged it on, following Donna as he did so. He reached into his pocket and made sure that the sonic screwdriver was secure inside the coat. Then he took three, large quick steps and beat Donna to the TARDIS door, and pushed it open, saying “ladies first,” as he laughed at Donna’s puckered face.

“Oi, now you chose to be a gentleman.” She again shook her head, smiled, and walked outside. She looked at the foreign landscape that surrounded her. The sky had a purplish hue to it, the trees that were around them had pear-like fruits on it, but they were a bluish color, and the leaves were more like a pink color. Donna smiled, taking in the new sights, and the Doctor stood behind her, rocking back and forth on his heels. “So want to see if we can go find those puff sleeves?” He said with an air of excitement in his voice. “I think there is a settlement right around here.”

Donna looked over her shoulder at him and said, “how do you know that? Your psychic senses tingling?”

“Well no, there’s a path right over there and I can see a few chimney stacks with smoke over the trees.” The Doctor said, pointing over Donna’s shoulder to the small hamlet that was right down the hill from them. Donna frowned at the Doctor while he flashed that hundred watt smile. Donna started to head down the path, with the Doctor right in tow. Donna was taking in all the sights around her while the Doctor took off the coat he had just put on. The Sun was beating down on them, a few times larger than the Earth’s Sun, and thus the temperature on the planet was quite a bit warmer. He folded it over his arm, like Donna had her own. The two trotted down the path, taking a brisk pace. Donna was excited to maybe try some shopping, while the Doctor just was up for anything. They passed a sign on a post, but did not look at it too closely, it had a few faces on it, almost like a wanted poster, but nothing too exciting.

As They reach the edge of the hamlet, Donna eyed a store with elaborate necklaces in the window. She rushed over, pressing her hands to the glass, and looking like a child who just found the candy store. “Can we go here first? I could really use some of this alien jewelry for my wardrobe.” She continued to stare at the elaborately wrought necklaces and waited for an answer. After about ten minutes of ogling the jewels, Donna got impatient. “Hey, can we go or not?” She looked around, but the Doctor’s coat was the only thing she saw.

Donna became frantic, looking everywhere around her, then noticed that there were two men holding an unconscious Doctor in-between them by his elbows. She ran towards the group, yelling for them to stop. The two men looked back at her and shook their heads sadly, like they had just seen someone who they couldn’t save. They were moving fast and Donna ran as fast as she could to catch up with them, but before she could they pulled the Doctor into a large building that was built out of a steel like material, towards the middle of the hamlet. The doors that they pulled him through clanged shut, and made a loud clicking sound, like twenty locks latching at once.

As soon as Donna reached the door , she began to beat on the door, but it was so solid it did not make a sound. She hit on the door, screaming as she did so, trying to get someone to notice her. She was scared, and worried for the Doctor’s safety. A few people walked by her, but all just looked at here sadly, almost like she was a wailing ghost. Donna could not understand. She beat on the door until her hands bleed, and her voice was horse. She tried to stop someone on the street, trying to get some kind of answer for their behavior, but anytime she came close to anyone, they ran as fast as they could away. She seemed like she had the plague, like she was a poltergeist to these people.

Donna had to find a way to save the Doctor, he was her protector, and guide in this world, along with her friend, but the locals seemed unwilling to help, and scared stiff of her. There were no windows on the building, only the door, and a few peeling posters on the wall. Donna noticed something on one of the posters that was on the outside of the building. She shook her head a few times, this could not be right. She got closer to the poster and saw the Doctor’s face staring back at her, and underneath his face, was her own face and a blonde with large pouting lips. The TARDIS circuit was able to translate the words on the poster.

WANTED: Giaccimo Estraya for Murder, three counts. Giaccimo murdered his wife, Sheena Estraya, (The name was under the picture of the woman that looked like Donna), his mistress, Badona Weolf, (this was the name of the woman with the blonde hair), and the child that Badona was carrying. If found he is to be brought to the Judgment Crucible for immediate imprisonment. He will be shackled and housed under the Crucible, until the specters dissolve, and don’t pose a threat to the people. On that occurrence the prisoner will be put to immediate death.

Donna stood back from the poster, staring at it in disbelief. So many questions were running through her head. How did her face and the Doctor’s face get on the poster? What were specters? How could she save the Doctor? She took a few steps back from the building she took to be the Judgment Crucible. She looked around again, and it seemed like the people had dissipated and barricaded themselves in their homes. Donna began to move up the path she had run after the Doctor on. The residents of the homes just shook their heads at her sadly and closed their curtains. It seemed like her body did not want to move. She was so confused, but she seemed like she was drawn back to the TARDIS, like it might hold some answers. On the way back she found the Doctor’s trench coat on the side of the road. She picked it up and clutched it to her chest. The TARDIS had to help, she just knew it.

[moontsunami]

Chapter Two

Donna opened the doors to the TARDIS slowly, her hands aching from the severe beating she had put them through. They had stopped bleeding, but it hurt to move them because of the scabs forming. She laid the two coats she had softly on the crook in the TARDIS support beam. She felt a tug at her mind and looked down the hall of the TARDIS that lead to the sleeping quarters and other rooms. Moving around the console, she followed the hall down. A door appeared in front of her. Pushing it open, it revealed the Infirmary. A grim smile appeared on her face, knowing that the TARDIS knew she need doctoring. She moved slowly, cleaning her hands, putting some ointment on, and wrapping one hand, then having trouble wrapping the second, but managing.

Her mind was full of fear and she was scared, not just for her own life, but that of the Doctor. How in the bloody hell was she going to get him out of that prison? There was still that gentle tug at the back of her mind, like the TARDIS was trying to direct her movements. Donna knew that the Doctor had a physic link to the ship, but could it connect in any way to her own brain? The tug led her to the console room again, and Donna looked around confused. What was she supposed to do?

Sitting down in the captain’s chair, Donna stared blankly at controls. She knew she couldn’t navigate the TARDIS into the Crucible, and she didn’t know how to call out for help, or who to call even. The Gallifreyian script spiraled slowly on the monitor in front of Donna’s face. It was the one language the TARDIS didn’t translate for Donna, and she knew if it did, she would be able to save the day. But as she sat, she felt more and more like that useless temp from Chiswick she had been before she had met the Doctor.

As Donna sat, wallowing in her self loathing and revulsion at her utter uselessness, the monitor flashed. The blonde from the wanted poster appeared on the screen. Her mouth moved, as if she was screaming, forming the word “Doctor”. Donna’s face snapped to the screen and she jumped up in front of it. She looked anxiously at the woman, knowing that she was connected to all of this mess. The blonde continued to soundlessly scream for the Doctor. Donna’s wounded hands hovered anxiously over the controls, unsure of what to do. As her hands moved slowly over the controls, the tug in her mind grew over a small blue button and a yellow switch. She moved her hands away from those two, and the tug faded. Moving her hands back over the button and switch, the tug grew. It was like playing a game of “your getting warmer” with the ship. Flipping the switch and pressing the button, a loud voice filled the room.

“DOCTOR! DOCTOR! ARE YOU THERE? ANSWER ME, DOCTOR!”

Donna cover her ears for a moment and spoke her discomfort out loud. “Oi! Watch the decibels sweetheart!”

The screaming suddenly stopped and the woman on the screen looked hopeful. “Is that you Doctor? Am I finally getting through?” Donna realized that the woman heard her. Grabbing the screen, Donna studied the woman’s face, hoping for some sort of help. The blonde’s face puckered into a look of confusion and sadness. “Where is the Doctor? Is he ok? Who are you?” The words tumbled from the girl’s mouth before Donna could get a word in edgewise.
“Whoa. Slow down.” Donna breathed, as the blonde stared at her with consternation. “I need help. I’m Donna, Donna Noble.” Donna wasn’t sure if she should continue, could she trust this woman? The tug in the back of her mind suddenly felt like a sledgehammer rather than a gentle prod. “Ok, Ok.” she breathed under her breath, like she was reassuring the ship. “The Doctor and I were trying to get to the 80s. We ended up on some weird planet and he was captured. The villagers think he murdered me, an unborn baby, and um…” She didn’t know if she should tell this woman she was supposed to be dead.

The blonde’s eyebrows knitted together with frustration. “Well go on.” She seemed to have put her hands on her hips, thrusting her hips to the side with a bit of sassiness.

“Well, he killed me, a baby, and you.” The blonde’s face suddenly fell. It looked as if someone had crushed the heart in her chest.

“What? How can that… I mean um…” She spoke barely above a whisper.

Donna tried to reassure her. “Well he really didn’t do that. I’m still alive. See?” She tried to get the blonde to look at her solid form. “I think it is some kind of mistake. Like doubles or something. I just need to find a way to get the Doctor out of the Crucible, and then we could sort this all out.” She started to wring her hands a little, before she could see a little blood seeping through her gauze.

The blonde started to pace slightly in front of the screen, biting her thumbnail between her teeth. She stopped for a moment and looked at Donna. “I need to be there. Now. I have to help.” She seemed unsure though, like there was more than a computer monitor separating them. “Does he have his screwdriver at least?” She asked Donna with a concerned, loving look on her face. Donna shook her head. It had been dropped with his coat, and now was hanging inside the pocket on the support beam. “Go get it.” The blonde pronounced flatly.

“Now wait a minute, blondie, who do you think you are? Like you even know how to use it.” Donna wanted to help the Doctor, but she wasn’t having some uppity blonde boss her around.

The blonde all the sudden had a bemused smile on her face. “Please?” She gave a bit of a smile, her tongue poking out just slightly.

Donna relented and retrieved the device. “Now what?” She held it in her hands gingerly, unsure what to do with it.

“Slowly extend the sonic emitter and point it at the monitor here.” The blonde said, pointing through the monitor to a small port on the side. Donna did as instructed, but she was still holding it like it was going to shatter in her hands like glass. “Hold a little tighter, it won’t break,” the blonde smiled a little more. “Haven’t you ever seen him with the thing? He is worse than a dog with a well-worn bone.” Donna even smiled a little at the remark. “Now press the button four times, that should put it on the right setting.” The TARDIS seemed to hum with agreement with the statement.

Donna carefully did as told, and all of the sudden the image on the screen flickered and disappeared altogether. Quickly grabbling the screen, she looked frantically at it, searching for some sign of the young blonde. She couldn’t believe she just lost the one person who seemed like she could help.

“Hello?!? Hello?!? Are you there?!?” Donna screamed at the blank screen. A slight tap came on her left shoulder. Donna felt like she could jump out of her skin. She twirled quickly around and there stood the blonde with the goofy tongue-in-teeth smile. Donna wore a look of complete shock on her face.

“Did I scare you?” The blonde said with a bit of humor in her voice. “I needed the Doctor to do that for almost a year now, but he has been to spacey to notice.” Her eyes darkened a little, a sadness filling her brown eyes. Donna just stared, confused. The blonde recognized the look. “Oh, I’m Rose Tyler.”

[moontsunami]

Chapter 3


Donna shook her head for a moment with disbelief. Rose Tyler? The Doctor’s Rose? It couldn’t be. He said that she had been trapped; there was no way he could ever see her again. She could tell that he hurt for her every day, but the pain was well hidden behind the façade of his mile a minute attitude. “Rose Tyler? I must of hit my head or something.” Donna spoke under her breath, holding the back of her head with her bandaged hand, searching for a bump or gash.

Rose watched her with a bit of humor. “No, I’m here in the flesh. Torchwood built a sort of dimensional cannon that was able to lock onto the TARDIS in this universe. When the Doctor went to Pete’s World, the TARDIS left a unique residual energy and using that we were able to center the cannon on this exact location. All I needed was the Doctor to access the base code when I connected with the TARDIS and send it through. That’s what you did with the screwdriver. With that I was able to transport into this universe without ripping a whole in both universes and causing them to collapse.” Rose said this all in one breath, like she had been rehearsing the speech for quite a while, though Donna was not supposed to be the recipient of it.

Donna looked at Rose with a bit of glazed over eyes, like someone had just tried to explain the theory of relativity to her. “Um, ok,” was all she was able to say, still holding her head, but this time for the headache forming in the back of her brain. She didn’t really care how Rose got here, though she was happy she had come for the Doctor, but she couldn’t really see him, being in jail and all.

Rose walked over the consol and picked up the sonic screwdriver and tucked it securely in her front jeans pocket. Turning to Donna, she motioned to the exit. “Care to walk and talk?” Donna nodded and the two women exited the TARDIS, walking down the path back to town, while Donna gave Rose a few more details on what had transpired.

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The Doctor slowly opened his swollen eyes. All he could see was a small sliver of light under a locked door in front of him. He went to rub the bridge of his nose, but found his wrists shackled to the wall he was propped up against. As he came a little more self aware, he realized that his neck and ankles were also shackled to the wall. His body was sore all over, like he had been put through the ringer. With his eyes adjusting to the darkness, he noticed he was all alone. His mind raced. What happened? Where was Donna? Was she alright?

Groping in the darkness, the Doctor tried to feel in his pockets for his screwdriver. Empty. It must be in his coat, which was nowhere to be seen. Trapped for the moment. Moving into a more comfortable position, the Doctor took a deep breath. He just had to think, there had to be a way out of this. It was just a terrible misunderstanding.

Sitting in silence for quite a long time, mind racing the entire time, the door suddenly opened. Bright light shone in the Doctor’s eyes, temporarily blinding him. He tried to bring his arm up to shield his eyes, but the shackles prevented him. A woman, tall and shabbily dress, moved forward with a tray carrying a glass of water and what looked like bread. She stared at the Doctor with a look that was mixed with revulsion and pity. Silently she sat the tray down next to the Doctor and knelt.

The Doctor began to babble immediately. “There must be some mistake here. I’m the Doctor. I’m not really from around here. If you would just be so kind as to let me out of these chains I am sure I could explain everything.”

The woman said nothing and lifted the glass to the Doctor’s mouth. He pressed his lips into a hard line, refusing to drink. She gently tried to force him to drink. The Doctor stood firm. Slowly she moved the glass away from his face. “Please would you drink? We need to keep your health up. Please?” She looked imploringly into his eyes.

“Why must I be healthy? Most captors don’t have great views on their prisoner’s health.” He tried to sound light, and a bit of a smile played on his face. His attendant looked slightly confused.

“You know you must live until the specters disappear.” She searched his face for understanding. It only rumbled with confusion.

“Nope, I don’t have a clue what you are talking about. Enlighten me.” The Doctor tried to give his most endearing look.

Confusion now spread across the woman’s face. She began to realize that he knew nothing that she spoke of, but how could that be? He knew what would happen after his violent crimes, their spirits would not rest until the proper grieving time had passed. That time had to be lived out by their murder. He had to know that.

“Don’t you know that specters would come because of your actions?” she questioned him.

“What actions? Landing on this planet? If I knew that coming to this planet would disrupt some ancient spirits, I wouldn’t have come. I am a traveler, nothing more. I don’t wish any harm on your planet or your people. If you left me go I will get out of here, and leave your planet in peace. I have to get back to my companion, I can‘t leave her alone on a strange planet.” The Doctor held his arms up in a gesture of peace, and resignation.

Shaking her head, she stood. What was he speaking of? Traveling? Strange Planet? Why did he call himself the Doctor? Had Giaccimo lost his mental capacity? “Giaccimo, have your atrocities driven you mad?” She questioned him, and backing up, afraid of his ramblings.

“Giaccimo? No, no, no, I’m the Doctor. I told you there is some big mistake here. I traveled to this planet from space and come in peace. I have committed no atrocities or crimes. That I know of…” He said the last bit a little under his breath.

“Caliusa, get out of there! The specters have been spotted just on the outskirts of town, heading towards the Crucible!” A voice shouted from the light outside the cell. Caliusa gave the Doctor a fleeting look of pity before running out of the room and securing the door behind her.

“Let me out! I am not who you say I am! You don’t know what you are doing!” The Doctor began to yell, struggling against his restraints. He started to bare his teeth in a building rage. This was just not going to work for him anymore.

[moontsunami]

Chapter 4

Rose was staring at the poster with complete shock. There they were, The Doctor, Donna, and herself, looking at her from the poster. Her fingers traced the familiar angles of the Doctor’s face, yet she knew this man on the poster to be a murder. It seemed even their doubles in the universe were drawn to each other. She looked the names on the poster; Badona Weolf was the name of the woman who looked like her. Badona Weolf - Bad Wolf, the same words that followed her and the Doctor throughout the stars, pulling the two together.

Rose looked away from the poster and turned to Donna. Worry was etched on the woman’s face, and the worry spread to Rose’s, but she tried not to show it. They had scanned the door with the sonic screwdriver and found that there were at least twenty deadlock seals. She had just spent three years with Pete’s Torchwood and wasn’t about to sit around on her arse the entire time. Rose had some knowledge of the sonic technology, but not enough to be able to disable and disengage that many locks at once. They had gotten one undone, but as soon as they moved to the next the previous one reengaged. It was an all or nothing effort. The women were stumped at the moment.

People looked at the woman warily, keeping a large distance between them. The women were confused as they turned around to look at the people. Donna had already encountered this when the Doctor had first disappeared within the Crucible, and she still could not understand why people shied away from them. Rose tried to go up to a couple who were walking slightly closer than any of the other villagers. The woman noticed and her partner quickly pushed her behind him. They backed away slowly as Rose moved closer.

“Please, please, no,” the woman pleaded. “We did nothing just let us live. We mean you no harm.”

Rose looked puzzled. “Neither do I. I just want to know, why you are scared to death of me?”

The boyfriend moved to protect his woman better. “Your tricks will not work on us specter! Please just leave us be!” He was frantically moving backwards.

“Oh come now. I don’t want to hurt you. Please I just want to ask you a couple questions!” Rose lunged at the man and grabbed him around the wrist. The woman screamed out in terror and the man was awestruck. He looked as if he would sprout boils from Rose’s very touch. Finally wrenching his arm away from Rose, the woman took his wrist between her hands, expecting the worst.

“Now see, I don’t want to hurt you, we just need to talk,” Rose said pointing in-between herself and Donna, who was staring at the entire scene with a mixed face of both shock and fear. The man cradled his wrist with the woman. After a moment of absolutely nothing happening, the couple turned their faces to Rose and Donna.

“But the touch of a specter is supposed to cause immediate suffering, ending with death in minutes,” said the man, shock spreading across his features.

“Now I’ve got to say, Blondie here might not be the prettiest thing in the universe, but she isn’t a plague carrying she-beast.” Donna said, finally speaking up. Rose shot her a disparaging look, but turned back to the couple. Donna shot her a quick, mischievous grin.

Rose moved closer to the couple again. “Look, see? No suffering touch.” She held up her hands, palms facing the couple, in hopes to inspire a little trust. “I’m just Rose Tyler and this is Donna Noble.” She motioned to Donna who stood behind her, and who then gave a little wave with her bandaged hands. “We’re travelers, and we’re with a man called the Doctor. Donna said that he was taken to the Crucible. There has been a mistake though. We are not the same people of your planet. He has been falsely imprisoned.”

A look of revelation started to dawn across the couple’s faces. The strange clothes, accents, mannerisms, they were nothing like their people. There was something a miss with the entire situation. “We are sorry. I am Trager,” spoke the man, “and this is Gevina.” He motioned to the woman. Rubbing his wrist and still a bit cautious of the women, he stood a little taller to speak with them. “The similarities between our wanted, victims and yourselves are astounding. We figured that the specters had altered their appearance in order to trick their tormenter.” As he said this, he motioned to the women’s clothing. “Please forgive us.”

“No, you’re fine. I just beat my hands to ground beef trying to get someone to notice that before, but hey the blonde comes along and you all come around.” Donna sounded a bit miffed, but sarcasm was ripe in her tone.

“We are fine.” Rose said, giving Donna a look. “We just need to help our friend. He is trapped in there,” she pointed to the Crucible, “and we need to get him out.”

Trager and Gevina shook their heads. “You can’t get into the Crucible. It is for our most violent offenders. They must wait out the specters before they can be punished. You might be able to speak to the Chancellor…” Trager trailed off. “Well he won’t want to see you, considering who you look like.”

Gevina now spoke. “Well we could try and speak to him. To show him what you have shown us. He must believe his eyes and then he can set your friend free.” She gave them an encouraging look.

“Well lead the way.” Donna said starting to walk in a random direction. Gevina, Trager, and Rose started to walk in the opposite direction. Looking over her shoulder, Donna quickly changed directions. An angry whisper escaped her lips. “I knew that…”

[moontsunami]

Chapter 5

The Doctor had managed to get the shackles off his wrists; spending that time with Houdini sometimes did pay off, even if he had been a bit of a wanker. Now he was groping around the ground, looking for something to pick the rest of the locks on the shackles. His fingers closed around a small stick. After sticking the stick in his mouth and chewing on it for a minute to make it the right shape, he stuck it into the lock of the shackle around his neck. It took a few minutes. If he would have had a piece of wire or a hair pin, it would have been much easier, but soon he heard a click. Ripping the iron off his neck he began to work on the two on his feet.

Once he was free the Doctor moved to the door and crouched down, with his face against the floor and his ear to the crack in between the floor and the door. He could hear feet scuffling and the low rumble of voices, but nothing clear or definite. Grumbling, he pushed himself off the floor and began feeling up the walls. Sometimes there were secret entrances or other ways to get into a jail cell. It was usually pretty hard for a prisoner to get into one of these, but he was the Doctor after all. Some mere jail cell wasn’t going to keep him back.

After searching around for a while and finding nothing, he moved back to his position on the floor. As he scrunched his ear closer to the crack he didn’t noticed the feet that moved to the door until it was too late. The hard metal door bashed into his head with a bit of a thud. Rolling away from the door, holding his head, the Doctor squinted up at who had just whacked him a good one. Caliusa looked down at him in horror

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! You were supposed to be in chains.” She spoke quickly while trying to help the Doctor to his feet.

“Yeah, I got over that pretty quickly. This bump though, I’m not so sure.” He grabbed onto the woman’s arm as she put it around his slight frame and pulled him horizontal. His other hand was firmly attached to the growing lump on the side of his head. Gaining his bearings he tried to look at the woman, but something caught his eye right behind her shoulder. A familiar sight filled his vision instead. “Donna! Oh, I am so happy to see you. Are you ok?” All those words flowed out of his mouth as he grabbed the woman in a tight bear hug. Her arms wrapped around him, giving him a squeeze.

“I’m fine. Just some banged up hands. I think I faired better then you though…” She pulled back to examine him, there were bruises around his wrists and neck, his eyes were puffy and slightly purple, and he now had two lumps on his head, one from the door and one from getting knocked out in the first place.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Nothing a good banana split can’t fix.” He beamed at her.

“I’ve got a little surprise for you.” Donna said with an impish grin on her face.

The Doctor screwed his face up in a look of confusion. “What could you surprise me with? I thought I was the master of those kinds of things?”

“Oi, just because you are the alien of this partnership doesn’t mean this human can have a little surprises now and then!” She smacked him on the arm in a playful way. Grabbing his hand, she led him away from the cell door. She stopped in front of the door that led to the next room. “Now cover your eyes.”

“Oh, come now Donna, I-” The Doctor tried to protest, Donna put an end to that.

“Oh just shut up you, and cover your eyes.” She waited with her hand on the door handle until he did so. “No peeking either.”

The Doctor gave her a disapproving scowl, but kept his eyes covered with his hands, and even squeezed his eyes shut for good measure. If Donna went through something to give him a surprise, who was he to argue. Plus after just getting out of jail, he could use some good cheer.

Donna grabbed the Doctor by the front of his jacket and pulled him forwards. He stumbled a bit, but followed. After a moment she stopped, and he ran into her. “Oh, like I said before, watch it beanpole!” She moved so that she stood in front of him. “Ok open your eyes.” He pulled his hands down and looked at Donna.

“Wow, a new room! Great surprise Donna.” She gave him a disapproving look.

“Oh ye of little faith…” She turned to the side, revealing Rose standing behind her.

“Hello Doctor. Long time, no see.” Rose gave him the biggest smile she could muster, her brown eyes glittering.

The Doctor ran at Rose, scooping her up in his arms, lifting her up off the ground. He began to twirl her around, a manic grin appearing on his face, his eyes full of water, happy wrinkles appear at their corners. “Oh my Rose, my beautiful, bright, wonderful Rose.”

Rose gripped him tight around the neck, both with joy and for support so she didn’t fall. “I’m glad to see you missed me!” She buried herself in his shoulder.

Donna smiled at the happiness that emanated from the couple, but they had some things to do before they could go shag like bunnies. “Hey you two, cut it out! I think I might lose my lunch.”

The Doctor skidded to a halt and gently put Rose down, but still keeping his hands on her waist. “Spoil-sport!” He grinned at her, joy emanating from every outlet of his being. Rose beamed up at him.

“We have to help these people out. It’s what we promised to get you out,” Rose said, looking up into his eyes.

“Well, what’s to do? The gang’s all here, nothing can stop us now!” The Doctor squeezed Rose’s waist, and then turned to Donna to give her that winning smile. They could do anything; nothing was going to stop the Doctor!

[moontsunami]

Chapter 6

The Doctor grabbed Rose’s hand, squeezing it tightly in his own. Oh, how he missed that feeling. Donna had just explained how they had secured the Doctor’s release. After meeting with Trager and Gevina, they went to see the Chancellor. After another long incident of having to show and explain how they weren’t really the specters of the deceased, Rose and Donna were able to convince the Chancellor to let the Doctor go. His only stipulation was that, since their group was adept at solving problems and their companion was a doctor, they must try and help set the specters at ease. It would bring peace to their village and closure to the entire matter.

The Doctor wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but he was running full throttle, high on the reunion with Rose. Rose wasn’t complaining either; her face was stuck in a permanent smile. Donna was just happy that the Doctor was happy. It warmed her heart to see him so overjoyed. The Chancellor had given them directions to home of Giaccimo and Sheena Estraya, and the site of the Sheena’s, Badona’s, and the unborn baby’s murder.

Even though they were investigating a murder, the group was unshakably chipper. The Doctor was babbling on and on about his travels with Donna, and a bit of a mention of Martha, while Donna added quips at the appropriate intervals. Rose listened intently, soaking up every word, basking in the ramblings of the Doctor. She gasped, eeked, and laughed along with the stories. They just glowed.

It all changed when the reached the home. A feeling of dread and foreboding filled the air. The Doctor, very slowly, disengaged his hand from Rose’s. He reached inside his jacket, and pulled his brainy specs from their home in his inner pocket. Reaching for his sonic screwdriver he remembered that it was in his coat. Spinning around to head to the TARDIS for his coat, the Doctor stopped in his tracks when Rose stepped forwards with the screwdriver in her hand. They smiled at each other, but it did not carry the same warmth they did just moments ago. The feeling that something was amiss put everyone on edge. The Doctor began scanning the building and the air around it, while Donna and Rose began to search the perimeter. The women stayed together, not wanting to part. A feeling of intense wrong made them feel like they needed one another.

“Residual bio-spectral energy. High readings of background radiation of quantum origins. Interesting.” The Doctor stuck the end of his screwdriver in his mouth and sucked on it for a moment, thinking. After a second he turned to the window of the building and stuck his face close to the glass. Taking a big whiff of the house, he pondered for a second longer before licking the window. “Aha just as I-” the Doctor couldn’t finish the sentence he was saying out loud because of the blood curdling scream that came from behind the house. Tucking the screwdriver in his pocket the Doctor took off in a dead sprint to the source of the scream.

Rose had her hand over her mouth, and Donna was leaning down, her hands on her knees. She had just thrown up all over a nearby bush. They both looked fine to the Doctor, but following their line of vision he saw what had caused such reactions. A man, who looked an awful lot like the Doctor, only dressed in a tunic and canvas pants, was hanging from a tree. His eyes had slightly expelled from his eye sockets so that the eye stalks were showing behind his brown eyes. The neck had been badly bruised, extending from his collarbone to under his chin, only hidden slightly by the rough rope that was digging into his neck. There was bloody slash marks on his wrists, legs, and chest. The misery and despair he had felt over his murders had led him to this. Giaccimo Estraya had mutilated himself before committing suicide.

The Doctor moved to Rose’s side trying to place an arm around her shoulder. She tensed slightly at his touch. “He looks so much like you…It could be… I mean…I…” Rose couldn’t finish a single thought, her mind and eyes glued to the sight in front of her. She began to shake with shock. They could hear Donna throwing up again to their side. It was a horror to behold.

“Rose, I’m right here. I’m all right. Just look over here at me.” The Doctor tried to use his free hand to turn Rose’s face to him. She slowly closed her eyes and moved her face to follow his hand. “Look. See? I’m right here, fit as a fiddle.” Her mind was still drawn to the other man in the meadow, and her eyes went to follow her mind. “Rose don’t look back, just keep your eyes trained on me. It will be fine.” She nodded, and the Doctor maneuvered her to the side of the house, out of the view of the body. “Just stay here and breathe. Four in, hold for seven, and breath out for eight. It will calm you. Try and clear your mind too.” He squeezed her shoulders for a second before going back for Donna.

Donna was dry heaving now, her stomach empty, but the horrible sight still caused waves of nausea to course through her body. The Doctor came to her side and started to rub her back. Wiping her mouth with the back of her bandaged hand, she looked over at the Doctor. “It is so horrible. The worst thing I have ever seen.” She shivered, and her body began to heave again.

“Breathe Donna! Take a deep breath.” He rubbed her back some more, trying to calm her body. Inhaling deeply, Donna felt the nausea subsiding slightly. “That’s good Donna, that’s good. Just breathe deep. It is going to be alright.” Her chest expanded wide as she filled her lungs. The constant rubbing motion and breaths helped her body relax. “Come with me now. Look at the ground and concentrate on your breathing.” Donna did as instructed, and the Doctor moved her next to Rose. “You both need to breathe. Breathe and look at me. See I’m just fine. Just focus on my face in front of you, no other images.” The women trained their eyes on the Doctor. He held onto one shoulder of each woman. Sending a physic wave through their bodies, they finally began to feel a little more at ease. “See, it’s going to be alright now.” The both nodded.

“I want you both to go back to the village and find the Chancellor you spoke to earlier. Have him send some people to help take care of this. Just stay together, and I will meet you in front of the cabin.” Rose made to say something, but he cut her off. “No arguing, please just do as I say. When you get back, we will all deal with the specters.” He moved forwards and kissed each of them on the forehead, lingering slightly longer on Rose’s. “Go.” The two women took each other’s hands in reassurance and headed back towards the town in silence.

The Doctor turned back towards the body, speaking to it directly. “Time to call some specters.” He took off full tilt towards the TARDIS, going to gather the equipment they would need.