Cheating Time
Title: Cheating Time
Series: Doctor Who
Summary: The real Donna has died, but luckily, Time Lords have a way of cheating death. Spoilers for Journey's End, The Water of Mars
Pairing: None, really
Rating: PG
There you are! It's so good to see you again, I had to hunt all over -
Oh, right, sorry. That's why I'm here, actually. It's kind of a long story. Maybe we should get some tea first? Or coffee? What about milkshakes, I quite like milkshakes.
No, I'm not a pervert, I'm the Doctor! Look, I promise, I just want to tell you some things.
Sure, I don't care, I'll buy you whatever coffee you want. Let's see, we'll have one banana shake, and one, um...
Right. Wait, how many pounds is that? Really? For just coffee?
Yes, I know, I said whatever you like. C'mon, let's get settled. This might take a while. Our story begins a long time ago -such a long time ago - in a galaxy far, far away - Wait, why are you leaving?
Oh, come on! Can't I have a little fun? I'm not making fun of you, I promise. It's just Star Wars. I like Star Wars. I've always wanted to say that. Anyways, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a planet called Gallifrey. It was magnificent, Donna, I really wish you could have seen it. And on this planet were a race of people called the Gallifreyans. They looked like normal people, mostly, but they had two hearts, and other various biological differences you'd have to ask Martha or someone about. They weren't called Time Lords, not yet, until one day somebody discovered the secret to moving through time and space at their personal whim. The problem with that is, time travel tends to bugger up the simple things, like, oh, evolution and industrial revolutions, because you can just skip ahead to the right point to get it. And that works with people, too.
So, what happens is that, because people keep skipping around their own time lines, their time lines kind of stretch and expand to cover all of time, even if they're just normal mortal women like you. Or like Martha. I mentioned her earlier, didn't I? And she told me something very interesting, that these people were testing her blood, and checking her DNA - part of some nefarious scheme or another, something to do with insects of unusual size, I want to say - and it had changed. She had become something more than human, a time-travelling human. And that very same thing happened to my people, ages ago, before I was even born.
Yes, I do say my people like I'm not human. I'm not. Don't get up and go again, you promised you'd hear me out. Just trust me. Because here's the other interesting thing about my people is that Time Lords have a way of cheating death by changing themselves. Like a phoenix, dying and being reborn. Now, it takes an awful lot of energy to do that, and like most governments try and do with valuable sources of energy, they -
Well, no, they didn't really charge for it -
I guess you could sort of say they taxed it. What I was going to say was regulated it. You got twelve extra lives, and that was it. And then there was a war. A very big war. And then all that was left was me. All alone. Well, mostly alone. Alone now, at any rate. And then I realized something, the other day. That I'm alone now. That there is no government anymore. It's like driving all alone on an empty road and knowing that there are no other cars, that there never will be any other cars, and wanting to get somewhere desperately fast. Who in their right mind would follow the limit?
You see, Donna, once upon a time that you've forgotten, you did something magnificent and mad and stupid and brilliant. You touched something you shouldn't. A hand, just a hand, my hand, yes I know I've got two of them, a hand all charged up with regenerative energy. And part of it went into the hand and turned into a person that was mostly me but partly you, and you, well you were still mostly you, but you were partly me.
But it was too much for you. Your mind couldn't handle it. So I had to make you forget. Donna Noble, the woman who saved the world and can't remember a minute of it. It was so hard, Donna, so, so hard, but I had to. There had to at least be the potential of you. I couldn't let you die altogether.
And then, I'd like to say I realized what I could do, but no. Somebody had to tell me. A very clever woman, someone I thought was dead. But that's not important right now. The thing is, you've changed. The very structure of your DNA has been altered. Just like mine was. And you've been all charged up with regenerative energy. Just like I was.
Don't be afraid. You can tell where this is going, can't you, of course you can, because you're clever, you're very clever. You're a very clever woman, Donna Noble, and you're going to be perfectly safe through all of this, because you already told me it was going to work. Time travel, remember? And it doesn't make sense, not a lick of it, but that's okay. A stable loop, that's alright. It'll all work out when you multiply through.
Now Donna, I know you're scared, I know your brain is telling you that this is wrong, that you shouldn't be doing this, but it's very, very important that you don't listen to it. I need you to remember, Donna Noble. Remember Pompeii, and the Library, and Agatha Cristy, and Martha Jones, and the Ood singing our name to the snow-covered landscape, and the sky full of Daleks. Can you do that for me? Remember?
That's my girl! Donna Noble, I knew you could do it! Okay, just take my hands, just like that, okay, and as for this next bit... You know how you go into the doctor's for a shot or something, and you ask if it's going to hurt, and they tell you everything's going to be okay, and then it really does hurt?
Everything's going to be okay.
Series: Doctor Who
Summary: The real Donna has died, but luckily, Time Lords have a way of cheating death. Spoilers for Journey's End, The Water of Mars
Pairing: None, really
Rating: PG
There you are! It's so good to see you again, I had to hunt all over -
Oh, right, sorry. That's why I'm here, actually. It's kind of a long story. Maybe we should get some tea first? Or coffee? What about milkshakes, I quite like milkshakes.
No, I'm not a pervert, I'm the Doctor! Look, I promise, I just want to tell you some things.
Sure, I don't care, I'll buy you whatever coffee you want. Let's see, we'll have one banana shake, and one, um...
Right. Wait, how many pounds is that? Really? For just coffee?
Yes, I know, I said whatever you like. C'mon, let's get settled. This might take a while. Our story begins a long time ago -such a long time ago - in a galaxy far, far away - Wait, why are you leaving?
Oh, come on! Can't I have a little fun? I'm not making fun of you, I promise. It's just Star Wars. I like Star Wars. I've always wanted to say that. Anyways, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a planet called Gallifrey. It was magnificent, Donna, I really wish you could have seen it. And on this planet were a race of people called the Gallifreyans. They looked like normal people, mostly, but they had two hearts, and other various biological differences you'd have to ask Martha or someone about. They weren't called Time Lords, not yet, until one day somebody discovered the secret to moving through time and space at their personal whim. The problem with that is, time travel tends to bugger up the simple things, like, oh, evolution and industrial revolutions, because you can just skip ahead to the right point to get it. And that works with people, too.
So, what happens is that, because people keep skipping around their own time lines, their time lines kind of stretch and expand to cover all of time, even if they're just normal mortal women like you. Or like Martha. I mentioned her earlier, didn't I? And she told me something very interesting, that these people were testing her blood, and checking her DNA - part of some nefarious scheme or another, something to do with insects of unusual size, I want to say - and it had changed. She had become something more than human, a time-travelling human. And that very same thing happened to my people, ages ago, before I was even born.
Yes, I do say my people like I'm not human. I'm not. Don't get up and go again, you promised you'd hear me out. Just trust me. Because here's the other interesting thing about my people is that Time Lords have a way of cheating death by changing themselves. Like a phoenix, dying and being reborn. Now, it takes an awful lot of energy to do that, and like most governments try and do with valuable sources of energy, they -
Well, no, they didn't really charge for it -
I guess you could sort of say they taxed it. What I was going to say was regulated it. You got twelve extra lives, and that was it. And then there was a war. A very big war. And then all that was left was me. All alone. Well, mostly alone. Alone now, at any rate. And then I realized something, the other day. That I'm alone now. That there is no government anymore. It's like driving all alone on an empty road and knowing that there are no other cars, that there never will be any other cars, and wanting to get somewhere desperately fast. Who in their right mind would follow the limit?
You see, Donna, once upon a time that you've forgotten, you did something magnificent and mad and stupid and brilliant. You touched something you shouldn't. A hand, just a hand, my hand, yes I know I've got two of them, a hand all charged up with regenerative energy. And part of it went into the hand and turned into a person that was mostly me but partly you, and you, well you were still mostly you, but you were partly me.
But it was too much for you. Your mind couldn't handle it. So I had to make you forget. Donna Noble, the woman who saved the world and can't remember a minute of it. It was so hard, Donna, so, so hard, but I had to. There had to at least be the potential of you. I couldn't let you die altogether.
And then, I'd like to say I realized what I could do, but no. Somebody had to tell me. A very clever woman, someone I thought was dead. But that's not important right now. The thing is, you've changed. The very structure of your DNA has been altered. Just like mine was. And you've been all charged up with regenerative energy. Just like I was.
Don't be afraid. You can tell where this is going, can't you, of course you can, because you're clever, you're very clever. You're a very clever woman, Donna Noble, and you're going to be perfectly safe through all of this, because you already told me it was going to work. Time travel, remember? And it doesn't make sense, not a lick of it, but that's okay. A stable loop, that's alright. It'll all work out when you multiply through.
Now Donna, I know you're scared, I know your brain is telling you that this is wrong, that you shouldn't be doing this, but it's very, very important that you don't listen to it. I need you to remember, Donna Noble. Remember Pompeii, and the Library, and Agatha Cristy, and Martha Jones, and the Ood singing our name to the snow-covered landscape, and the sky full of Daleks. Can you do that for me? Remember?
That's my girl! Donna Noble, I knew you could do it! Okay, just take my hands, just like that, okay, and as for this next bit... You know how you go into the doctor's for a shot or something, and you ask if it's going to hurt, and they tell you everything's going to be okay, and then it really does hurt?
Everything's going to be okay.