Just a Little Change, Chapter Twelve
Title: Just a Little Change
Story Summary: A little change to canon quickly becomes a big deal
Chapter Summary/Spoilers: No specific spoilers, as long as you know everything that happens in season 4
Rating: For the story, PG or PG13. This chapter is rated G-ish
Notes: Archive is here. Chapters are also interlinked (aka if you go to the first chapter you can read straight through).
Chapter Twelve
Donna was speechless, and for her that was saying something.
The day after she woke up in her bed with her shoes on (and not even cute shoes, she noticed) Wilf sat her down and said he had something to tell her. She was worried that he was sick or that she'd missed the latest X Factor but could never have prepared herself for what he told her: it wasn't 2007, it was 2009. She'd lost almost two years of her memories.
She was skeptical that they could have had an earthquake -Do we even have fault lines under London? And what's a fault line anyway?- but it made more sense than the 'stolen earth' rubbish the papers were selling, and her gramps would never lie to her. “But Lance, and my wedding. How could I forget all that?” she asked him, and he told her not to worry about it.
Fat bloody chance. How could he really expect her to not want to remember Lance, or her father -she'd been inconsolable for nearly an hour at the news that he'd passed away and she couldn't remember- or any of the trivial things she'd done over the past months? It was her life, didn't he understand that? Frustrated, she called a few mates and they met for drinks, though for some reason she had taken to ordering ginger beer. Her friends told her she wasn't herself, and Donna rolled her eyes.
Two days later she was getting dressed for an interview, and had a bit of a surprise coming when her pants were far too tight and the jacket refused to close around her. She sauntered over to the mirror and realized her waist had gotten rather thick for no apparent reason; the scale told her she'd gained....over 20 pounds? “Absolutely wizard, you cow. Time for a diet.” She felt something tug in her stomach, but ignored it and started looking for another outfit.
Down at breakfast, Sylvia and Wilf had noticed the change as well. “I still don't trust him, Dad. How could he just drop her off back here in her condition with no idea what's going on? If he was her friend he'd have done something for her, not just left her alone.”
“Not alone, sweetheart,” Wilf corrected, “she's got us, and I don't know about you but I'm going to help her through this. I don't think she's quite figured it out yet, but it won't be too long.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes and poured another cup of coffee. “If she was as brilliant as he said, she'd have noticed by now. Really, have you seen her?” It was about at that point that Donna made her way toward the kitchen, standing outside in hopes of hearing gossip of some sort. “She's huge, Dad!” Sylvia continued, oblivious to her daughter's station outside the door. “I don't care what he said about bloody time-” Donna heard Wilf cut her off with a loud shushing noise. “I don't care what he says,” she repeated, “she was only gone a few weeks. There's no way we should be able to tell, but Donna looks like she's been taking those pork pies of yours and just shoving them down her throat. It's not healthy.” Donna decided she'd heard enough, and burst through the door just as Sylvia was saying, “She needs to get checked out sometime soon, or- Donna! Good morning.”
“Yeah, sure, morning, Mum,” Donna muttered, sitting down beside her grandfather. “Morning, Gramps. Could you pass me some toast?” She only took one slice but before she even bit into it she set it on the table, remembering her promise to her mirror. “Mum, do you think I'm fat?” Sylvia dropped her own toast, right into her coffee. Grumbling about the mess, she grabbed a rag and immediately started cleaning up. “Course not, Donna,” she muttered, not meeting Donna's eyes. “Finish your breakfast so you can get to that interview, young lady.”
Wilf looked over to his granddaughter and saw her eyes tear up. “Donna, what is it, sweetheart?” She shrugged and stood up. “Thanks for at least being honest when I'm not in the room,” she muttered bitterly. “I've got to go. Don't want to be late and ruin that too, now do I? See you later, Gramps. I love you.” She nodded sharply at her mother. “Mum.”
She hurried out of the room and Wilf followed her, leaving Sylvia alone in the kitchen. “Oh, bugger, I've done it again,” she whispered, but didn't bother to go after them.
“Donna, come back here,” Wilf ordered, but he didn't know what to say next; this wasn't the sort of thing a man normally had to tell his granddaughter. Best try for the direct approach, he decided. “You're not fat, love. You're pregnant.”
“Yeah, right. Lance is the only bloke who ever, ever, looked at me twice, and he's dead. Trust me, gramps, I'm nothing special and no man's going to go out of his way to sleep with me, so there's no way that I'm-”
Wilf shook his head forcefully, taking her hand and settling it over her belly, looking extremely uncomfortable but determined to prove his point. “Now you listen to me, young lady,” he told her sternly. “I don't want to hear you talking about yourself like that again. You've done so many amazing things, Donna. You-” Donna looked at him strangely as the color drained from his face. “You're my granddaughter, and that's enough for me,” he amended. “You're a marvelous girl.”
Donna started to protest but suddenly her child kicked the inside of her stomach and her face went as pale as his had been. “But that's impossible,” she muttered. “Lance was over a year ago, and....All that time I lost, the stuff that you said I forgot....” He nodded as she caught on to what he was implying. “All right, if I had someone then where is he? Granddad, answer me.” Wilf refused to meet her eyes and she sighed sadly. “He left me, didn't he?”
Much to Wilf's chagrin, Sylvia decided to put in her two cents at this point. “Yes, Donna, he left you. For someone with a job,” she added pointedly. “We've no idea where he's gone to.”
“Sylvia, be a good girl and go clean up from breakfast. You're not helping.” Wilf had never been rude to his daughter, but her words were making Donna even more upset. “Donna, he loved you very much, but he....I don't know, he had to fly off somewhere. Never did make any sense to me.” Donna obviously didn't believe him so he continued. “Sweetheart, it was a few months back, but you wouldn't tell me what happened so I assumed you didn't want to talk about it. Then you had that accident and I was scared you wouldn't come back to me, love. But you did, both of you, and you'll be fine now, you hear me?”
Donna slowly nodded, smiling slightly as she wiped the tears from her face. “So I'm having a baby, yeah?” Wilf gave her a tight hug and whispered in her ear. “You sure are, and you'll be brilliant with the little bugger, no matter what your mum says.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then headed to the door. “You always know how to make me feel better. Love you, you silly old man.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The interview was fantastic, and Donna got the job right away, something about a recommendation from a man she'd once worked with at a telephone company. Her first days at work were fabulous and her boss -a very nice man named Mr. Jones, though he'd insisted she call him Clive- told her that when the baby came she could have as much time off as she needed.
It was only a few days before the girls stopped hanging out with her because she couldn't drink, but she and her grandfather were closer than ever, up on the hill almost every night talking about all sorts of things, from Donna's work to the nice old lady Wilf had met last month at his 'star crazies meeting', as she lovingly called it. She was making enough money to get her own flat, but decided to stay at home for a while longer; she would probably need some help after the baby was born, and she knew her granddad would love to have a little tyke to introduce to the stars. Besides, for some reason she felt most at home when she was looking up at the sky.
There was the occasional comment from her mum's friends about her having an affair with a married man down the street and being too ashamed to admit it, but after a few days of the rumors Sylvia told them off. Donna had never been more proud of her mother in her life, although it wasn't long before Sylvia turned her mouth on her and told her to throw away all the sweets in the house before she started looking like a bloody barn; her relatively small bump had morphed into a full-blown baby belly practically overnight and within a week of being back home none of her clothes fit except a gray sweater she'd found tucked away in her bottom drawer. Despite the snide comments from her mother -and Nerys, who had commented that she had gained just as much weight at six months while carrying twins- she couldn't be happier.
Chapter Thirteen
Story Summary: A little change to canon quickly becomes a big deal
Chapter Summary/Spoilers: No specific spoilers, as long as you know everything that happens in season 4
Rating: For the story, PG or PG13. This chapter is rated G-ish
Notes: Archive is here. Chapters are also interlinked (aka if you go to the first chapter you can read straight through).
Chapter Twelve
Donna was speechless, and for her that was saying something.
The day after she woke up in her bed with her shoes on (and not even cute shoes, she noticed) Wilf sat her down and said he had something to tell her. She was worried that he was sick or that she'd missed the latest X Factor but could never have prepared herself for what he told her: it wasn't 2007, it was 2009. She'd lost almost two years of her memories.
She was skeptical that they could have had an earthquake -Do we even have fault lines under London? And what's a fault line anyway?- but it made more sense than the 'stolen earth' rubbish the papers were selling, and her gramps would never lie to her. “But Lance, and my wedding. How could I forget all that?” she asked him, and he told her not to worry about it.
Fat bloody chance. How could he really expect her to not want to remember Lance, or her father -she'd been inconsolable for nearly an hour at the news that he'd passed away and she couldn't remember- or any of the trivial things she'd done over the past months? It was her life, didn't he understand that? Frustrated, she called a few mates and they met for drinks, though for some reason she had taken to ordering ginger beer. Her friends told her she wasn't herself, and Donna rolled her eyes.
Two days later she was getting dressed for an interview, and had a bit of a surprise coming when her pants were far too tight and the jacket refused to close around her. She sauntered over to the mirror and realized her waist had gotten rather thick for no apparent reason; the scale told her she'd gained....over 20 pounds? “Absolutely wizard, you cow. Time for a diet.” She felt something tug in her stomach, but ignored it and started looking for another outfit.
Down at breakfast, Sylvia and Wilf had noticed the change as well. “I still don't trust him, Dad. How could he just drop her off back here in her condition with no idea what's going on? If he was her friend he'd have done something for her, not just left her alone.”
“Not alone, sweetheart,” Wilf corrected, “she's got us, and I don't know about you but I'm going to help her through this. I don't think she's quite figured it out yet, but it won't be too long.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes and poured another cup of coffee. “If she was as brilliant as he said, she'd have noticed by now. Really, have you seen her?” It was about at that point that Donna made her way toward the kitchen, standing outside in hopes of hearing gossip of some sort. “She's huge, Dad!” Sylvia continued, oblivious to her daughter's station outside the door. “I don't care what he said about bloody time-” Donna heard Wilf cut her off with a loud shushing noise. “I don't care what he says,” she repeated, “she was only gone a few weeks. There's no way we should be able to tell, but Donna looks like she's been taking those pork pies of yours and just shoving them down her throat. It's not healthy.” Donna decided she'd heard enough, and burst through the door just as Sylvia was saying, “She needs to get checked out sometime soon, or- Donna! Good morning.”
“Yeah, sure, morning, Mum,” Donna muttered, sitting down beside her grandfather. “Morning, Gramps. Could you pass me some toast?” She only took one slice but before she even bit into it she set it on the table, remembering her promise to her mirror. “Mum, do you think I'm fat?” Sylvia dropped her own toast, right into her coffee. Grumbling about the mess, she grabbed a rag and immediately started cleaning up. “Course not, Donna,” she muttered, not meeting Donna's eyes. “Finish your breakfast so you can get to that interview, young lady.”
Wilf looked over to his granddaughter and saw her eyes tear up. “Donna, what is it, sweetheart?” She shrugged and stood up. “Thanks for at least being honest when I'm not in the room,” she muttered bitterly. “I've got to go. Don't want to be late and ruin that too, now do I? See you later, Gramps. I love you.” She nodded sharply at her mother. “Mum.”
She hurried out of the room and Wilf followed her, leaving Sylvia alone in the kitchen. “Oh, bugger, I've done it again,” she whispered, but didn't bother to go after them.
“Donna, come back here,” Wilf ordered, but he didn't know what to say next; this wasn't the sort of thing a man normally had to tell his granddaughter. Best try for the direct approach, he decided. “You're not fat, love. You're pregnant.”
“Yeah, right. Lance is the only bloke who ever, ever, looked at me twice, and he's dead. Trust me, gramps, I'm nothing special and no man's going to go out of his way to sleep with me, so there's no way that I'm-”
Wilf shook his head forcefully, taking her hand and settling it over her belly, looking extremely uncomfortable but determined to prove his point. “Now you listen to me, young lady,” he told her sternly. “I don't want to hear you talking about yourself like that again. You've done so many amazing things, Donna. You-” Donna looked at him strangely as the color drained from his face. “You're my granddaughter, and that's enough for me,” he amended. “You're a marvelous girl.”
Donna started to protest but suddenly her child kicked the inside of her stomach and her face went as pale as his had been. “But that's impossible,” she muttered. “Lance was over a year ago, and....All that time I lost, the stuff that you said I forgot....” He nodded as she caught on to what he was implying. “All right, if I had someone then where is he? Granddad, answer me.” Wilf refused to meet her eyes and she sighed sadly. “He left me, didn't he?”
Much to Wilf's chagrin, Sylvia decided to put in her two cents at this point. “Yes, Donna, he left you. For someone with a job,” she added pointedly. “We've no idea where he's gone to.”
“Sylvia, be a good girl and go clean up from breakfast. You're not helping.” Wilf had never been rude to his daughter, but her words were making Donna even more upset. “Donna, he loved you very much, but he....I don't know, he had to fly off somewhere. Never did make any sense to me.” Donna obviously didn't believe him so he continued. “Sweetheart, it was a few months back, but you wouldn't tell me what happened so I assumed you didn't want to talk about it. Then you had that accident and I was scared you wouldn't come back to me, love. But you did, both of you, and you'll be fine now, you hear me?”
Donna slowly nodded, smiling slightly as she wiped the tears from her face. “So I'm having a baby, yeah?” Wilf gave her a tight hug and whispered in her ear. “You sure are, and you'll be brilliant with the little bugger, no matter what your mum says.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek then headed to the door. “You always know how to make me feel better. Love you, you silly old man.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The interview was fantastic, and Donna got the job right away, something about a recommendation from a man she'd once worked with at a telephone company. Her first days at work were fabulous and her boss -a very nice man named Mr. Jones, though he'd insisted she call him Clive- told her that when the baby came she could have as much time off as she needed.
It was only a few days before the girls stopped hanging out with her because she couldn't drink, but she and her grandfather were closer than ever, up on the hill almost every night talking about all sorts of things, from Donna's work to the nice old lady Wilf had met last month at his 'star crazies meeting', as she lovingly called it. She was making enough money to get her own flat, but decided to stay at home for a while longer; she would probably need some help after the baby was born, and she knew her granddad would love to have a little tyke to introduce to the stars. Besides, for some reason she felt most at home when she was looking up at the sky.
There was the occasional comment from her mum's friends about her having an affair with a married man down the street and being too ashamed to admit it, but after a few days of the rumors Sylvia told them off. Donna had never been more proud of her mother in her life, although it wasn't long before Sylvia turned her mouth on her and told her to throw away all the sweets in the house before she started looking like a bloody barn; her relatively small bump had morphed into a full-blown baby belly practically overnight and within a week of being back home none of her clothes fit except a gray sweater she'd found tucked away in her bottom drawer. Despite the snide comments from her mother -and Nerys, who had commented that she had gained just as much weight at six months while carrying twins- she couldn't be happier.
Chapter Thirteen