The Guardian's Secret (1/?)
Title: The Guardian's Secret (1/?)
Author: Hezikiah
Disclaimer: I own this stuff about as much as I own a carpet bag full of money.
Rating: PG
Characters: Ella (OC), Donna, Shaun, Brian (OC)
Warnings: None.
Summary: Sequel to "Witnessing the Protector," five years on. When the metacrisis in Donna's mind begins to unravel on its own, a desperate Ella finds the Doctor...and winds up giving up more than she bargained for to save her best friend's life.
Author's Note: This one just came from nowhere. There's more artwork, like the original, and it's written in epistolary as well. Enjoy!
August 15, 2016
Donna came over with Holly and Peter for a play date with Bastian this afternoon and to catch up on gossip. I haven't seen her so much lately since I've been promoted to department chair and we've had to hire an au-pair. I miss spending time with Bastian in the afternoons, but the extra money is good and Brian's been able to take off a few extra afternoons from the National Gallery to be with him. It's been a nice trade-off.
Anyway, Donna and I chatted about her difficulties in finding a school that will accommodate Holly's special academic needs. Holly will be five next month and she's a genius. Brian's been teaching her pre-algebra over the summer. Holly sat in the corner of the nursery reading a thick chapter book. I listened to Donna talk while keeping an eye on Peter and Bastian while they played with the blocks. Peter's showing the same intellecutal abilities as his sister, but he's still a two year old. Our sons are the same age and play so well together, but they're fond of biting each other when they get frustrated and don't want to share.
I was distracted from the boys when Donna groaned and pressed her fingers into her temples. “Donna? Are you ok?”
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture at me and shook her head. “Just a headache coming on,” she assured me. “But I should go soon. I have a feeling that this one's going to turn into a migraine. I should have the kiddos home by the time Shaun comes in so he can take care of them.”
I frowned in concern for my best friend. “That's the second migraine you've gotten this week. And what...the tenth or eleventh this month? Have you seen a doctor?”
Donna shook her head again. “It's...I don't know. I don't think there's anything the doctor can do for me.”
“What do you mean? There's been some major advancements in the treatment of migraines...”
“No, I mean...” she trailed off and sighed. “I always have a migraine the day after I have this reoccurring dream.”
“What kind of dream?” I was starting to get really worried about Donna. She told me ages ago that she stopped dreaming after 2009 and she wasn't sure why. I know exactly why she doesn't dream...or at least, I suspect it's a side effect of when the Doctor wiped her memory. Donna Noble doesn't dream and now she was telling me that she was and suffering from migraines because of it.
A faraway look came into Donna's eyes, one that I've gotten to know quite well over the five years that we've been friends and the Doctor entrusted me with Donna's life. “The dream is always the same. I'm wearing a wedding dress and looking out of an open doorway into outer space. There's a brightly glowing purple nebula out there. It's not the same dress I wore at my wedding, though. I'm feeling shocked, dismayed, and I don't understand why I'm there. I'm not supposed to be there. I'm supposed to be at the church getting married. I know there's someone behind me, a man, but every time I try to turn around to look at him, I just...I can't. Something stops me. Then, I wake up.”
I tried not to let my fear show. I knew where that memory was coming from and Donna should NOT have remembered that. I didn't know much about Donna's relationship with Lance, but I did know how she'd met the Doctor. In fact, I'd seen her on that day. The Doctor had taken me back in time to witness their madcap escape from the Racnoss' robot Santas.
“That's...that's an interesting dream,” I managed to say. “Um...what did your dress look like?”
Donna looked at me sideways, seeming surprised that I was asking her about such an unimportant detail. However, I had to know if she was actually dreaming or if she was recalling a memory. “Um...” she faltered. “It's...it's white. Tank style, empire waist but with an A-line silhouette. I know I've got a veil on, but I don't know what it looks like...oh! It's a short veil, maybe mid-back? There are illusion pearls all over the top of the dress.” Her fingers fluttered over her chest and upper torso.
I held back the panic. That's exactly what Donna had worn on her wedding day to Lance. “Sounds pretty. Space you say?”
She smiled in memory and a happy shadow flitted across her face. “Space.” She paused, then shook her head and snorted, tossing her ginger hair in derision. “Imagine me in space! What kind of a wedding is that, I ask you? A wedding ceremony aboard the International Space Station? Maybe the bloke behind me is a spaceman and I'm about to marry him!”
I laughed along with her. “Sure. A match made in heaven!”
Donna giggled and then winced, pressing her fingers to her forehead. I touched her shoulder. “Go and lay down in the spare bedroom. I'll take care of the kids until Shaun comes home.”
“Really? Oh, you're a peach. I owe you a cheesecake.”
“With strawberries,” I added, grinning. Donna and I don't pay each other for babysitting. It started back the first time I'd offered to watch Holly. I hadn't expected to be paid for it and Shaun and Donna became awful flustered when they'd returned and realized they were out of cash. There was an awkward moment that involved much flailing of hands and talking over each other as I insisted I didn't want any money and they pressed that they owed me something. They departed with the baby and Donna came back five minutes later with an enormous strawberry cheesecake that she'd won at a charity auction. When Bastian had born and we'd left him with Donna and Shaun, I brought them a strawberry cheesecake as a thank-you.
Donna got up and left and, as I watched our children play, I thought about that man standing behind her in that dream. If Donna only knew who he was, but she can never know.
What I think Donna's dream probably looks like from her “spaceman's” point of view.
August 17, 2016
It's the middle of the night and I can't sleep.
Frantic knocking on the door woke me and Brian up in the middle of the night. I threw on my robe and pounded down the stairs, seeing the shadow of Shaun in the glass of the front door. I also saw the flashing red and blue lights of an ambulance outside and Shaun flew inside the house as soon as I'd opened the door. I barely had time to step aside. He was also in his bathrobe and held a sleeping Peter in his arms. Holly clung to his robe, her small eyes round and frightened.
“Donna's passed out and I called an ambulance. Can I leave the kids with you while I go with to her to A&E?”
“Of course!” I answered as Brian came up behind me and took Peter from Shaun. I held out my arms to Holly.
“Go to Auntie Ella, sweetheart,” Shaun coaxed. Holly hesitated and then let go of her dad and latched herself on tight to my leg. I rubbed her back, trying to reassure her as Shaun kissed her goodbye and dashed off. Brian shut the door and Holly burst into tears. Genius child or not, she's still a little girl.
I picked her up and we carried the children upstairs to the nursery where Bastian was sound asleep. While Brian set up our portable cot for Peter, I tucked Holly into the spare bed. “What's wrong with mummy?” she whimpered as I pulled the blanket up and handed her one of Bastian's spare bunny rabbits to cuddle. “Daddy says she had another migraine and then she fell over and wouldn't regain consciousness.”
Holly
“I don't know, pumpkin, but the doctor will find out. They'll take good care of your mummy and then they'll make her all better.” I stayed with Holly until she fell asleep. Brian had gone back to bed, but I wasn't tired. Worry and anxiety gnawed at me and I shut myself in my office to pace in front of the window that overlooks the street. The ambulance had already left. My eyes looked across the dim street to the park and I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
Something is very, very wrong with Donna and I suspect the metacrisis is starting to unravel. I have no clue what's triggered it, but I know it's not my doing. My drawings and journal entries of my encounters with him are locked away. Perhaps it was something her family said to her, but it doesn't really matter now. What matters is that Donna is remembering and I think it's killing her. Her mind is slowly starting to burn. There's nothing the doctors can do for her. I need the Doctor!
The problem is that I didn't know how to find him. He never left me instructions on how to contact him if I needed to and he could be anywhere in time and space. I know he occasionally checks up on us, but I haven't seen him in two years and it's usually in the spring. I guess this will have to wait for the morning. I should try to get some sleep if I'm going to try to figure out how to find that elusive Time Lord.
He did this to Donna and only he can save her.
Author: Hezikiah
Disclaimer: I own this stuff about as much as I own a carpet bag full of money.
Rating: PG
Characters: Ella (OC), Donna, Shaun, Brian (OC)
Warnings: None.
Summary: Sequel to "Witnessing the Protector," five years on. When the metacrisis in Donna's mind begins to unravel on its own, a desperate Ella finds the Doctor...and winds up giving up more than she bargained for to save her best friend's life.
Author's Note: This one just came from nowhere. There's more artwork, like the original, and it's written in epistolary as well. Enjoy!
August 15, 2016
Donna came over with Holly and Peter for a play date with Bastian this afternoon and to catch up on gossip. I haven't seen her so much lately since I've been promoted to department chair and we've had to hire an au-pair. I miss spending time with Bastian in the afternoons, but the extra money is good and Brian's been able to take off a few extra afternoons from the National Gallery to be with him. It's been a nice trade-off.
Anyway, Donna and I chatted about her difficulties in finding a school that will accommodate Holly's special academic needs. Holly will be five next month and she's a genius. Brian's been teaching her pre-algebra over the summer. Holly sat in the corner of the nursery reading a thick chapter book. I listened to Donna talk while keeping an eye on Peter and Bastian while they played with the blocks. Peter's showing the same intellecutal abilities as his sister, but he's still a two year old. Our sons are the same age and play so well together, but they're fond of biting each other when they get frustrated and don't want to share.
I was distracted from the boys when Donna groaned and pressed her fingers into her temples. “Donna? Are you ok?”
She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture at me and shook her head. “Just a headache coming on,” she assured me. “But I should go soon. I have a feeling that this one's going to turn into a migraine. I should have the kiddos home by the time Shaun comes in so he can take care of them.”
I frowned in concern for my best friend. “That's the second migraine you've gotten this week. And what...the tenth or eleventh this month? Have you seen a doctor?”
Donna shook her head again. “It's...I don't know. I don't think there's anything the doctor can do for me.”
“What do you mean? There's been some major advancements in the treatment of migraines...”
“No, I mean...” she trailed off and sighed. “I always have a migraine the day after I have this reoccurring dream.”
“What kind of dream?” I was starting to get really worried about Donna. She told me ages ago that she stopped dreaming after 2009 and she wasn't sure why. I know exactly why she doesn't dream...or at least, I suspect it's a side effect of when the Doctor wiped her memory. Donna Noble doesn't dream and now she was telling me that she was and suffering from migraines because of it.
A faraway look came into Donna's eyes, one that I've gotten to know quite well over the five years that we've been friends and the Doctor entrusted me with Donna's life. “The dream is always the same. I'm wearing a wedding dress and looking out of an open doorway into outer space. There's a brightly glowing purple nebula out there. It's not the same dress I wore at my wedding, though. I'm feeling shocked, dismayed, and I don't understand why I'm there. I'm not supposed to be there. I'm supposed to be at the church getting married. I know there's someone behind me, a man, but every time I try to turn around to look at him, I just...I can't. Something stops me. Then, I wake up.”
I tried not to let my fear show. I knew where that memory was coming from and Donna should NOT have remembered that. I didn't know much about Donna's relationship with Lance, but I did know how she'd met the Doctor. In fact, I'd seen her on that day. The Doctor had taken me back in time to witness their madcap escape from the Racnoss' robot Santas.
“That's...that's an interesting dream,” I managed to say. “Um...what did your dress look like?”
Donna looked at me sideways, seeming surprised that I was asking her about such an unimportant detail. However, I had to know if she was actually dreaming or if she was recalling a memory. “Um...” she faltered. “It's...it's white. Tank style, empire waist but with an A-line silhouette. I know I've got a veil on, but I don't know what it looks like...oh! It's a short veil, maybe mid-back? There are illusion pearls all over the top of the dress.” Her fingers fluttered over her chest and upper torso.
I held back the panic. That's exactly what Donna had worn on her wedding day to Lance. “Sounds pretty. Space you say?”
She smiled in memory and a happy shadow flitted across her face. “Space.” She paused, then shook her head and snorted, tossing her ginger hair in derision. “Imagine me in space! What kind of a wedding is that, I ask you? A wedding ceremony aboard the International Space Station? Maybe the bloke behind me is a spaceman and I'm about to marry him!”
I laughed along with her. “Sure. A match made in heaven!”
Donna giggled and then winced, pressing her fingers to her forehead. I touched her shoulder. “Go and lay down in the spare bedroom. I'll take care of the kids until Shaun comes home.”
“Really? Oh, you're a peach. I owe you a cheesecake.”
“With strawberries,” I added, grinning. Donna and I don't pay each other for babysitting. It started back the first time I'd offered to watch Holly. I hadn't expected to be paid for it and Shaun and Donna became awful flustered when they'd returned and realized they were out of cash. There was an awkward moment that involved much flailing of hands and talking over each other as I insisted I didn't want any money and they pressed that they owed me something. They departed with the baby and Donna came back five minutes later with an enormous strawberry cheesecake that she'd won at a charity auction. When Bastian had born and we'd left him with Donna and Shaun, I brought them a strawberry cheesecake as a thank-you.
Donna got up and left and, as I watched our children play, I thought about that man standing behind her in that dream. If Donna only knew who he was, but she can never know.
What I think Donna's dream probably looks like from her “spaceman's” point of view.
August 17, 2016
It's the middle of the night and I can't sleep.
Frantic knocking on the door woke me and Brian up in the middle of the night. I threw on my robe and pounded down the stairs, seeing the shadow of Shaun in the glass of the front door. I also saw the flashing red and blue lights of an ambulance outside and Shaun flew inside the house as soon as I'd opened the door. I barely had time to step aside. He was also in his bathrobe and held a sleeping Peter in his arms. Holly clung to his robe, her small eyes round and frightened.
“Donna's passed out and I called an ambulance. Can I leave the kids with you while I go with to her to A&E?”
“Of course!” I answered as Brian came up behind me and took Peter from Shaun. I held out my arms to Holly.
“Go to Auntie Ella, sweetheart,” Shaun coaxed. Holly hesitated and then let go of her dad and latched herself on tight to my leg. I rubbed her back, trying to reassure her as Shaun kissed her goodbye and dashed off. Brian shut the door and Holly burst into tears. Genius child or not, she's still a little girl.
I picked her up and we carried the children upstairs to the nursery where Bastian was sound asleep. While Brian set up our portable cot for Peter, I tucked Holly into the spare bed. “What's wrong with mummy?” she whimpered as I pulled the blanket up and handed her one of Bastian's spare bunny rabbits to cuddle. “Daddy says she had another migraine and then she fell over and wouldn't regain consciousness.”
Holly
“I don't know, pumpkin, but the doctor will find out. They'll take good care of your mummy and then they'll make her all better.” I stayed with Holly until she fell asleep. Brian had gone back to bed, but I wasn't tired. Worry and anxiety gnawed at me and I shut myself in my office to pace in front of the window that overlooks the street. The ambulance had already left. My eyes looked across the dim street to the park and I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
Something is very, very wrong with Donna and I suspect the metacrisis is starting to unravel. I have no clue what's triggered it, but I know it's not my doing. My drawings and journal entries of my encounters with him are locked away. Perhaps it was something her family said to her, but it doesn't really matter now. What matters is that Donna is remembering and I think it's killing her. Her mind is slowly starting to burn. There's nothing the doctors can do for her. I need the Doctor!
The problem is that I didn't know how to find him. He never left me instructions on how to contact him if I needed to and he could be anywhere in time and space. I know he occasionally checks up on us, but I haven't seen him in two years and it's usually in the spring. I guess this will have to wait for the morning. I should try to get some sleep if I'm going to try to figure out how to find that elusive Time Lord.
He did this to Donna and only he can save her.