AU Episode One
Season 5 AU
Episode: 1
Title: The Stranger in the Light
Prompt: muses_unleashed 5.A.2
Characters: Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble, Dr. Harold Jones
Rating: PG
You may never understand how the stranger is inspired.
But he isn't always evil and he is not always wrong.
Though you drown in good intensions,
You will never quench the fire.
You'll give in to your desire when the stranger comes along.
[Rose Island, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, United States]
Donna Noble stood on the beach, staring at the vast Atlantic Ocean before her. The water was a color of blue/green that seemed too clear to be real, almost as though it were plucked from a child’s Crayola box. The sky, in contrast, was pale grey, covered over with a thin tarp of tired clouds that might turn into something stronger later. Here it was, late October, and all of the tourists had fled for good, it seemed. Breathing in the crisp, clean, salty air and eyeing the magnificent view in front of her, Donna could only think of one thing.
“It’s bloody freezing out here!” Turning around, she saw her grandfather picking up a stray cigarette butt from the sand. Smoking was prohibited on the island, certainly in the lighthouse, but tourists always tried to sneak one in on the beach, then hide the evidence in the sand, as though it were the great ashtray of humankind. “Tell me again why we agreed to be the caretakers of this place for the winter? I could be in Florida or Hawaii? They didn’t have any rickety old historic lighthouses in Maui?”
“Stop fussing, sweetheart. It’s an adventure.” Wilfred was grinning, as he went over to look into his telescope. Though he never spoke of it to Donna, he kept his promise to the Doctor, searching for him every night among the stars. It had been two years since that awful day that he had brought Donna home, her memories wiped out. It broke Wilfred’s heart, to see her back to the girl she had been before, a girl who cared little about the bigger things and was caught up in gossip, celebrities, trivial matters and men. Silvia had been grand, the first few weeks, but then things settled back into the old patterns, and Donna never did regain any of the confidence and curiosity that had been so wonderful about her before.
“I suppose. Though I don’t know how I’m supposed to meet any eligible men out here on this island.” Rose Island had once been a US military property, with Fort Hamilton on the other side of the 18.5 acre site. The stone barracks remained, and there were some military blokes who rattled around in the facility, though it had been largely abandoned after World War II. Donna had gone over to that side of the island, on the second day they were there, and hoped to find some hunky soldier boys with big weapons, but instead only saw a couple of empty jeeps and one light on in one barrack. The strange thing, though, was that the stones on the old barracks were completely bare of any mold or vines, highly unusual in an abandoned building on the ocean. “All that seems to be around here are sharks.”
“Don’t I know it. It’s like that movie, remember? The one with the poor girl swimming at night and the great white? Terrifying thing, that.” Wilfred took out a handkerchief and rubbed the eyepiece on his scope, frowning. “Can’t imagine being eaten up, right out of the drink, by some giant fish. The ferryboat captain said that they’ve had hundreds of the creatures swimming around the island in the last month, when usually they only get a few. Barmy, that.”
Donna stamped her feet, and hugged her arms around her body to keep warm. The pale moon was only a sliver, up in a patch of clear sky, and few stars could be seen. Coming here had been Wilfred’s idea, of course, when he saw something on the Internet asking for volunteers to take care of the historic Victorian lighthouse for the winter. Donna agreed to come only after she and Silvia couldn’t talk the old man out of his plan. After all, the only way onto or off the island was a ferry, and aside from the Lighthouse and the abandoned barracks, there was nothing else there. Donna had thought she would go mad, but the peace was actually pleasant, and there were a few tourists during the day who popped into the museum with their bored children. The kids played their Gameboys or listened to iPods, while their folks tried to teach them about a past that they couldn’t care less about.
Living there for months was interesting, as they used an outdoor toilet and shower most of the time, and had to carry their trash off the island themselves. Donna would go on the ferry, every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, taking a bag of trash and then go into town to buy the food they needed. It was a bit of roughing it, but she was enjoying it more than she expected.
She dreamed of sharks that night, tossing and turning in the iron post bed in her room. It woke her up, and she sat there with a burning headache, which even aspirin and tea couldn’t soothe. When morning came, she was still lying there, awake, wondering why she would feel so rattled by the great whites and the images in her head. After breakfast, Donna put on some jeans and a thick jumper, along with a coat, and set about walking along the shore. Her dark ginger hair kept blowing in her face, blinding her as she watched her feet sink into the sands of the tiny bit of land. Such a small place, but it seemed vast today. Maybe she was just tired, after the restless night, or maybe she was restless, after the tired life that never seemed to really change.
She didn’t see the man standing on the beach, and thus she walked straight into him, nearly knocking both of them into the damp, salty sand. “Oi! I’m sorry, mate, I didn’t see you there.” She grasped onto his arms, and looked up into his eyes. The man was older, yes, but very handsome. Donna decided that she liked the look of this one very much, and tried to smile even as she was stepping on his feet trying to regain her balance.
The stranger didn’t laugh, but he didn’t seem angry. He was tall, with short, closely cropped hair. His eyes were probing, as though he were reading or examining every detail, though his smile was charming, when he finally gave it to her. “Forgive me. I was in the wrong place, I see.” Oh, all right, perhaps a bit snide. But she did trip over him, out in the open space, so Donna figured he was entitled to that bit of snark.
“I thought all of the tourists had left.” She reached up to brush her hair out of her eyes. Even as she said it, she had the sense that he wasn’t a tourist at all. The clothing he wore was not that of the tourists who traipsed over the island.
“I’m afraid I’m not a tourist. I’m working.” His accent was clipped, crisp and his speech quite educated. Indeed, there was an undercurrent of haughty disdain, which instantly had her back up, no matter how good looking he was. “I’m a scientist, over there.” The nod of his head was towards the abandoned military fort, where she could just see the tops of the barracks.
“Military science? Or military intelligence? I always thought that last one was an oxymoron, right? And a proper Englishman, working for the Yanks? Who did you ruffle to get exiled to some empty old stone barrack, mate?” Right, so he was a bit standoffish, and uptight, but he was a handsome sort, and just about the only man on this island, which instantly made him a bit more attractive. Besides, he obviously had education, breeding and a job, which was more than the last lout she dated back at home. Donna had to remind herself now that making dates with men in the unemployment queue was a very bad idea.
“I’m in research.” His eyes seemed to study her closely, though his tone was dismissive. “And you are taking care of the lighthouse?”
“Right. Well, my grandfather is. I’m here to make sure he doesn’t get sick or into trouble.” Donna felt a disquiet in the back of her mind, a nagging sense of something being familiar, even as it was so strange. The burning headache flared enough that she blinked several times. “Did you hear…something?”
The look the man gave her was penetrating, and his smile, such as it was, didn’t reach his eyes. “I hear a lot of things.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just this rattling noise. I think I hear it sometimes, but it’s probably just my marbles trying to get free.” Her fingers pressed to her forehead. Funny, her fingers were cold, but her head felt warm. Blimey, she was probably getting a cold. “Where are my manners? My name’s Donna. Donna Noble.”
At the mention of her name, the man took a step back, looking her up and down with such a stare of curiosity that she felt uncomfortable. The scrutiny was such, it almost felt that the man could see right through her. He took a few steps up, and looked down, into her eyes, down his nose. “So…you’re Donna Noble?” The words were soft, but almost tinged with a sneer that was quickly masked with a half smile. “I was told your name by the commanding officer. They make sure we know who is at the lighthouse, in case of an emergency.”
Something hurt, behind her eyes, and she blinked, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep right last night, and I’ve got a fierce headache. I should get back and have a cuppa.”
Without asking, he reached up to place his fingers on her temples. “Trust me.” That was all he said, and in a few moments, her head felt much better. She looked up at him, and he stared into her eyes, almost as though he could read her thoughts and perhaps even deeper than that. The look on his face was smug, and satisfied, and perhaps a bit triumphant. When he dropped his hands, she took a couple of stumbling steps back. “There, Donna Noble. Is that better?”
“Yes.” Donna felt better, but not right, as though she had cured something with something far worse. “What did you do there? Some kind of hypnosis? If I start clucking like a chicken, I’ll be suing you, mate.”
“Oh, don’t worry. No chicken clucking or parlor tricks, I promise. Just a bit of science.” He gestured out to the water, where the fins of three great whites could be seen in the surf. “Did you know, Donna, that the Great White shark has an extra sense? Even humans lack what they have.” The man watched the fins as they circled, smiling. “They have something called the Ampullae of Lorenzini, which gives them the ability to detect the electromagnetic field around all living creatures. They can sense every time a living thing moves, even to the billionth of a volt. It makes them one of the most efficient and successful predators on this planet.” He turned back to her, his arms crossed over his chest. “I simply massaged the feeder vein between your heart and brain, along your temple, and soothed the irritation that triggered your headache.”
“Well, thank you.” She felt she should say more, especially with all that about the sharks and with the expectant look on his face. But she just turned and took a few steps, then looked back at him. “I had better get back. My grandfather will be wondering what trouble I got into.”
“Do you get into trouble a lot, wandering off?” His serious eyes belied his amused smile.
“No. No. I never do anything exciting.” She stepped back a couple more steps, pushing her hair back out of her eyes again. “Well, I’ll see you around.”
“I find that hard to believe. I bet you’ve had all kinds of adventures.” He didn’t try to stop her from leaving, but he didn’t move away. “Yes. I suppose I will be seeing quite a bit of you, Donna.” At her look, he laughed lightly. “It’s a small island.”
Donna turned away, and walked quickly back to the lighthouse, feeling both excited and uncomfortable. When she was out of earshot, the man on the beach pulled out a small short distance radio, which resembled a yellow cell phone. “You’ll never guess who I met on the beach. No. No. I told you that you would never guess, so stop trying. Donna Noble. Yes. The famous Donna Noble is on the island, and the most brilliant part is that he sealed off her memories. That’s right. Door closed. Why?” He watched the retreating figure of the red haired woman as she headed towards the light. “Somehow, she became more than expected. Yes. I’ll explain when I get there.”
When Donna disappeared from his view, the man turned around and walked towards the cold stone bunkers, whistling a military march as he strode towards his destination.
To be continued…
Episode: 1
Title: The Stranger in the Light
Prompt: muses_unleashed 5.A.2
Characters: Wilfred Mott, Donna Noble, Dr. Harold Jones
Rating: PG
You may never understand how the stranger is inspired.
But he isn't always evil and he is not always wrong.
Though you drown in good intensions,
You will never quench the fire.
You'll give in to your desire when the stranger comes along.
[Rose Island, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, United States]
Donna Noble stood on the beach, staring at the vast Atlantic Ocean before her. The water was a color of blue/green that seemed too clear to be real, almost as though it were plucked from a child’s Crayola box. The sky, in contrast, was pale grey, covered over with a thin tarp of tired clouds that might turn into something stronger later. Here it was, late October, and all of the tourists had fled for good, it seemed. Breathing in the crisp, clean, salty air and eyeing the magnificent view in front of her, Donna could only think of one thing.
“It’s bloody freezing out here!” Turning around, she saw her grandfather picking up a stray cigarette butt from the sand. Smoking was prohibited on the island, certainly in the lighthouse, but tourists always tried to sneak one in on the beach, then hide the evidence in the sand, as though it were the great ashtray of humankind. “Tell me again why we agreed to be the caretakers of this place for the winter? I could be in Florida or Hawaii? They didn’t have any rickety old historic lighthouses in Maui?”
“Stop fussing, sweetheart. It’s an adventure.” Wilfred was grinning, as he went over to look into his telescope. Though he never spoke of it to Donna, he kept his promise to the Doctor, searching for him every night among the stars. It had been two years since that awful day that he had brought Donna home, her memories wiped out. It broke Wilfred’s heart, to see her back to the girl she had been before, a girl who cared little about the bigger things and was caught up in gossip, celebrities, trivial matters and men. Silvia had been grand, the first few weeks, but then things settled back into the old patterns, and Donna never did regain any of the confidence and curiosity that had been so wonderful about her before.
“I suppose. Though I don’t know how I’m supposed to meet any eligible men out here on this island.” Rose Island had once been a US military property, with Fort Hamilton on the other side of the 18.5 acre site. The stone barracks remained, and there were some military blokes who rattled around in the facility, though it had been largely abandoned after World War II. Donna had gone over to that side of the island, on the second day they were there, and hoped to find some hunky soldier boys with big weapons, but instead only saw a couple of empty jeeps and one light on in one barrack. The strange thing, though, was that the stones on the old barracks were completely bare of any mold or vines, highly unusual in an abandoned building on the ocean. “All that seems to be around here are sharks.”
“Don’t I know it. It’s like that movie, remember? The one with the poor girl swimming at night and the great white? Terrifying thing, that.” Wilfred took out a handkerchief and rubbed the eyepiece on his scope, frowning. “Can’t imagine being eaten up, right out of the drink, by some giant fish. The ferryboat captain said that they’ve had hundreds of the creatures swimming around the island in the last month, when usually they only get a few. Barmy, that.”
Donna stamped her feet, and hugged her arms around her body to keep warm. The pale moon was only a sliver, up in a patch of clear sky, and few stars could be seen. Coming here had been Wilfred’s idea, of course, when he saw something on the Internet asking for volunteers to take care of the historic Victorian lighthouse for the winter. Donna agreed to come only after she and Silvia couldn’t talk the old man out of his plan. After all, the only way onto or off the island was a ferry, and aside from the Lighthouse and the abandoned barracks, there was nothing else there. Donna had thought she would go mad, but the peace was actually pleasant, and there were a few tourists during the day who popped into the museum with their bored children. The kids played their Gameboys or listened to iPods, while their folks tried to teach them about a past that they couldn’t care less about.
Living there for months was interesting, as they used an outdoor toilet and shower most of the time, and had to carry their trash off the island themselves. Donna would go on the ferry, every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, taking a bag of trash and then go into town to buy the food they needed. It was a bit of roughing it, but she was enjoying it more than she expected.
She dreamed of sharks that night, tossing and turning in the iron post bed in her room. It woke her up, and she sat there with a burning headache, which even aspirin and tea couldn’t soothe. When morning came, she was still lying there, awake, wondering why she would feel so rattled by the great whites and the images in her head. After breakfast, Donna put on some jeans and a thick jumper, along with a coat, and set about walking along the shore. Her dark ginger hair kept blowing in her face, blinding her as she watched her feet sink into the sands of the tiny bit of land. Such a small place, but it seemed vast today. Maybe she was just tired, after the restless night, or maybe she was restless, after the tired life that never seemed to really change.
She didn’t see the man standing on the beach, and thus she walked straight into him, nearly knocking both of them into the damp, salty sand. “Oi! I’m sorry, mate, I didn’t see you there.” She grasped onto his arms, and looked up into his eyes. The man was older, yes, but very handsome. Donna decided that she liked the look of this one very much, and tried to smile even as she was stepping on his feet trying to regain her balance.
The stranger didn’t laugh, but he didn’t seem angry. He was tall, with short, closely cropped hair. His eyes were probing, as though he were reading or examining every detail, though his smile was charming, when he finally gave it to her. “Forgive me. I was in the wrong place, I see.” Oh, all right, perhaps a bit snide. But she did trip over him, out in the open space, so Donna figured he was entitled to that bit of snark.
“I thought all of the tourists had left.” She reached up to brush her hair out of her eyes. Even as she said it, she had the sense that he wasn’t a tourist at all. The clothing he wore was not that of the tourists who traipsed over the island.
“I’m afraid I’m not a tourist. I’m working.” His accent was clipped, crisp and his speech quite educated. Indeed, there was an undercurrent of haughty disdain, which instantly had her back up, no matter how good looking he was. “I’m a scientist, over there.” The nod of his head was towards the abandoned military fort, where she could just see the tops of the barracks.
“Military science? Or military intelligence? I always thought that last one was an oxymoron, right? And a proper Englishman, working for the Yanks? Who did you ruffle to get exiled to some empty old stone barrack, mate?” Right, so he was a bit standoffish, and uptight, but he was a handsome sort, and just about the only man on this island, which instantly made him a bit more attractive. Besides, he obviously had education, breeding and a job, which was more than the last lout she dated back at home. Donna had to remind herself now that making dates with men in the unemployment queue was a very bad idea.
“I’m in research.” His eyes seemed to study her closely, though his tone was dismissive. “And you are taking care of the lighthouse?”
“Right. Well, my grandfather is. I’m here to make sure he doesn’t get sick or into trouble.” Donna felt a disquiet in the back of her mind, a nagging sense of something being familiar, even as it was so strange. The burning headache flared enough that she blinked several times. “Did you hear…something?”
The look the man gave her was penetrating, and his smile, such as it was, didn’t reach his eyes. “I hear a lot of things.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just this rattling noise. I think I hear it sometimes, but it’s probably just my marbles trying to get free.” Her fingers pressed to her forehead. Funny, her fingers were cold, but her head felt warm. Blimey, she was probably getting a cold. “Where are my manners? My name’s Donna. Donna Noble.”
At the mention of her name, the man took a step back, looking her up and down with such a stare of curiosity that she felt uncomfortable. The scrutiny was such, it almost felt that the man could see right through her. He took a few steps up, and looked down, into her eyes, down his nose. “So…you’re Donna Noble?” The words were soft, but almost tinged with a sneer that was quickly masked with a half smile. “I was told your name by the commanding officer. They make sure we know who is at the lighthouse, in case of an emergency.”
Something hurt, behind her eyes, and she blinked, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep right last night, and I’ve got a fierce headache. I should get back and have a cuppa.”
Without asking, he reached up to place his fingers on her temples. “Trust me.” That was all he said, and in a few moments, her head felt much better. She looked up at him, and he stared into her eyes, almost as though he could read her thoughts and perhaps even deeper than that. The look on his face was smug, and satisfied, and perhaps a bit triumphant. When he dropped his hands, she took a couple of stumbling steps back. “There, Donna Noble. Is that better?”
“Yes.” Donna felt better, but not right, as though she had cured something with something far worse. “What did you do there? Some kind of hypnosis? If I start clucking like a chicken, I’ll be suing you, mate.”
“Oh, don’t worry. No chicken clucking or parlor tricks, I promise. Just a bit of science.” He gestured out to the water, where the fins of three great whites could be seen in the surf. “Did you know, Donna, that the Great White shark has an extra sense? Even humans lack what they have.” The man watched the fins as they circled, smiling. “They have something called the Ampullae of Lorenzini, which gives them the ability to detect the electromagnetic field around all living creatures. They can sense every time a living thing moves, even to the billionth of a volt. It makes them one of the most efficient and successful predators on this planet.” He turned back to her, his arms crossed over his chest. “I simply massaged the feeder vein between your heart and brain, along your temple, and soothed the irritation that triggered your headache.”
“Well, thank you.” She felt she should say more, especially with all that about the sharks and with the expectant look on his face. But she just turned and took a few steps, then looked back at him. “I had better get back. My grandfather will be wondering what trouble I got into.”
“Do you get into trouble a lot, wandering off?” His serious eyes belied his amused smile.
“No. No. I never do anything exciting.” She stepped back a couple more steps, pushing her hair back out of her eyes again. “Well, I’ll see you around.”
“I find that hard to believe. I bet you’ve had all kinds of adventures.” He didn’t try to stop her from leaving, but he didn’t move away. “Yes. I suppose I will be seeing quite a bit of you, Donna.” At her look, he laughed lightly. “It’s a small island.”
Donna turned away, and walked quickly back to the lighthouse, feeling both excited and uncomfortable. When she was out of earshot, the man on the beach pulled out a small short distance radio, which resembled a yellow cell phone. “You’ll never guess who I met on the beach. No. No. I told you that you would never guess, so stop trying. Donna Noble. Yes. The famous Donna Noble is on the island, and the most brilliant part is that he sealed off her memories. That’s right. Door closed. Why?” He watched the retreating figure of the red haired woman as she headed towards the light. “Somehow, she became more than expected. Yes. I’ll explain when I get there.”
When Donna disappeared from his view, the man turned around and walked towards the cold stone bunkers, whistling a military march as he strode towards his destination.
To be continued…