Fic: Reunion
Title: Reunion
Rating: PG.
Characters: Ten, Jenny, Donna.
Spoilers: Major spoilers for "Journey's End" and "The Doctor's Daughter" and very minor (character-related) speculation for Torchwood season three.
Summary: The Doctor fixes something that didn't end quite right. The how doesn't matter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Doctor Who or its characters. If I did, well, let's just say that certain things would have been different. VERY different.
~~~
It isn't until the Doctor is browsing through an open-air market on the Formerly Lost Moon of Poosh-alone, by the way-that he starts to get the slightest inkling that maybe there was a way to save Donna.
But not immediately. It took an almost familiar laugh-he never forgot a laugh-and a flash of golden hair across the market and-no. No. It couldn't be. It was his mind playing tricks on him; it was-
"Dad?"
It was Jenny. The Doctor was speechless.
But only for the briefest of moments, and it all came out in a splutter. She was dead; how did she survive; what was she doing here, halfway across the galaxy and twenty-seven years earlier?
Jenny could only laugh and hug him. And then she asked where Donna and Martha were.
~~~
Hours later, once Jenny had finished telling him about her many, many adventures-conveniently, however, skipping over the part where she had acquired a time ship, and don't think he hadn't noticed-the conversation turned back to Donna.
"If I managed to live, why couldn't she?"
"You have two hearts," the Doctor told her, sadly. "Donna was just a human, with a Time Lord consciousness in her brain."
"She isn't just a human," Jenny corrected him sharply.
"No," he admitted. "No, Donna was-is-" He stopped, cutting himself off. Jenny frowned, but he held up a hand, and she could practically see the wheels turning inside his head, to use a quaint Earth expression she'd picked up a couple of galaxies ago.
"That's it!" he exclaimed quite loudly after several minutes of silence, startling the other patrons of the bustling little Earth-style diner they'd wound up in. "That's it! Jenny, you are brilliant!"
"I am?" she asked, wondering just what exactly she'd said that was quite so brilliant as to generate this response. Then, she shrugged. No matter; the fact was that she was brilliant. "I am."
Her father ignored her, instead grabbing her face, kissing her forehead, and taking off towards the door. Briefly stunned, she could only sit there and touch her forehead. Then she came back to herself-"Hey, wait for me!"-and with a bubbling laugh, she ran after him, tossing a handful of coins onto the table behind her.
~~~
The Doctor bounded out of the TARDIS and across the street almost before Jenny had let go of the console. Excited at the prospect of again seeing Donna, Jenny raced after him. He was knocking insistently at the front door when she got to him-she was happy she hadn't missed anything; he wasn't kidding when he said that adventures took a lot of running. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman who greeted the Doctor with a look of shock and dread.
"What are you doing here? And who's she?"
"Hello, Mrs. Noble! This is Jenny. Mind if we come in?" He brushed past her and stood in the entryway, Jenny silently following. "Is Donna here?"
"Yes, she's in the kitchen, but you said-"
Again, he pushed past Donna's mother, shadowed by Jenny. Donna was indeed in the kitchen, chewing gum and staring intently at her phone, absorbed in her texting.
"Hello, Donna," he said loudly, practically bouncing with barely-contained excitement. Donna looked up.
"Do I know you?" She stared at him, eyes very slightly narrowed. "You look familiar. You were here right after that bloody rubbish with the planets, or whatever they're calling it."
"Right. Actually, Donna, you do know me." He took out his sonic screwdriver, adjusted the settings, and pointed it at her. "My name isn't John Smith; it's the Doctor."
Donna Noble saw the blue light of the sonic screwdriver, opened her mouth to ask what the hell it was, and then stopped dead, letting the phone fall from her hand.
She blinked.
"Doctor? How did I get here?"
~~~
"You did WHAT?"
"It'll take only a couple of moments for your new memories to reintegrate with the old ones. They were temporarily displaced when-"
"My new memories? My NEW memories? The last thing I know, I collapsed in the TARDIS, and now it's SIX MONTHS LATER! And you're telling me I lived another life?"
Jenny winced; that high of a volume most definitely did not spell good things. Donna was in the process of taking another breath, and judging by the color in her face, Jenny could only assume that Donna's next verbal assault would be louder-much louder-than the last. "You-you-you-" She stopped and sat down, deflated. "You turned me back to who I was. Like I hadn't turned left. And you abandoned me."
"Yes, I had to. And that turn of phrase is really quite deceptive, you see, I-"
"Well, obviously not, you didn't have to, not if I’m sitting here having this lovely chat with you."
"Jenny helped me figure it out."
Donna softened immediately, turning to Jenny. "Thanks." Jenny smiled. "Now, come here, let me give you a hug." She hugged them both, together and in turn, and then she gave the Doctor a good thwack upside the head.
"Hey!"
"That's for giving up on me."
"I didn't-"
"Oi! What did you think this was? A vacation?"
"Home!"
"Home? Don't think you're rid of me that easily, alien boy!" She linked arms with Jenny. "Where are we off to first?" Donna grinned. The Doctor and Jenny grinned back.
"Why don't we pop over to Torchwood and see how Martha and Mickey are settling in? Maybe save the world a bit-or, you know, Cardiff."
"And Captain Jack?"
The Doctor noticed Donna's somewhat dreamy expression, and his eyes narrowed. "You know he's got a boyfriend."
"No! No. No?"
The Doctor nodded.
"Who's Captain Jack?"
They turned to Jenny in unison. Donna was still shaking her head and muttering to herself about men and buses. "On second thought," he said hurriedly, "let's not. I'm sure Jack would love to meet you-" Donna snorted, and the Doctor pointedly ignored her. "-but he's got new people to settle in, and we don't want to get in the way of that."
"It's been six months! I think they're settled in by now."
"And we've got so many places to see," the Doctor continued as though Donna never interrupted. "How about Zetraxia Prime in the year 2/Dolphin/96?" He handed Jenny a TARDIS key. "Don't break anything; we'll be there in a minute."
"Dads," Donna commented good-naturedly, once Jenny had left, "you're all the same, no matter what species." She grinned, and he rolled his eyes but couldn't resist grinning back at her. "How'd you do it, anyway? How'd you fix me?"
"Well-"
"No wait, don't tell me. Truth is, I don't care! I'm just glad you did." She looked him up and down, as if assessing the toll of the last six months. And then she hit him again.
"I thought you were glad!"
"Well, you still deserved the smack." She glared at him. "Six months, and then Jenny figures it out?" She paused. "By the way, very happy she's alive, if that didn't get through with all the hugging earlier."
"Come here, you." The Doctor pulled her into a hug and held on tightly. "It's good to have you back."
Rating: PG.
Characters: Ten, Jenny, Donna.
Spoilers: Major spoilers for "Journey's End" and "The Doctor's Daughter" and very minor (character-related) speculation for Torchwood season three.
Summary: The Doctor fixes something that didn't end quite right. The how doesn't matter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Doctor Who or its characters. If I did, well, let's just say that certain things would have been different. VERY different.
~~~
It isn't until the Doctor is browsing through an open-air market on the Formerly Lost Moon of Poosh-alone, by the way-that he starts to get the slightest inkling that maybe there was a way to save Donna.
But not immediately. It took an almost familiar laugh-he never forgot a laugh-and a flash of golden hair across the market and-no. No. It couldn't be. It was his mind playing tricks on him; it was-
"Dad?"
It was Jenny. The Doctor was speechless.
But only for the briefest of moments, and it all came out in a splutter. She was dead; how did she survive; what was she doing here, halfway across the galaxy and twenty-seven years earlier?
Jenny could only laugh and hug him. And then she asked where Donna and Martha were.
~~~
Hours later, once Jenny had finished telling him about her many, many adventures-conveniently, however, skipping over the part where she had acquired a time ship, and don't think he hadn't noticed-the conversation turned back to Donna.
"If I managed to live, why couldn't she?"
"You have two hearts," the Doctor told her, sadly. "Donna was just a human, with a Time Lord consciousness in her brain."
"She isn't just a human," Jenny corrected him sharply.
"No," he admitted. "No, Donna was-is-" He stopped, cutting himself off. Jenny frowned, but he held up a hand, and she could practically see the wheels turning inside his head, to use a quaint Earth expression she'd picked up a couple of galaxies ago.
"That's it!" he exclaimed quite loudly after several minutes of silence, startling the other patrons of the bustling little Earth-style diner they'd wound up in. "That's it! Jenny, you are brilliant!"
"I am?" she asked, wondering just what exactly she'd said that was quite so brilliant as to generate this response. Then, she shrugged. No matter; the fact was that she was brilliant. "I am."
Her father ignored her, instead grabbing her face, kissing her forehead, and taking off towards the door. Briefly stunned, she could only sit there and touch her forehead. Then she came back to herself-"Hey, wait for me!"-and with a bubbling laugh, she ran after him, tossing a handful of coins onto the table behind her.
~~~
The Doctor bounded out of the TARDIS and across the street almost before Jenny had let go of the console. Excited at the prospect of again seeing Donna, Jenny raced after him. He was knocking insistently at the front door when she got to him-she was happy she hadn't missed anything; he wasn't kidding when he said that adventures took a lot of running. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman who greeted the Doctor with a look of shock and dread.
"What are you doing here? And who's she?"
"Hello, Mrs. Noble! This is Jenny. Mind if we come in?" He brushed past her and stood in the entryway, Jenny silently following. "Is Donna here?"
"Yes, she's in the kitchen, but you said-"
Again, he pushed past Donna's mother, shadowed by Jenny. Donna was indeed in the kitchen, chewing gum and staring intently at her phone, absorbed in her texting.
"Hello, Donna," he said loudly, practically bouncing with barely-contained excitement. Donna looked up.
"Do I know you?" She stared at him, eyes very slightly narrowed. "You look familiar. You were here right after that bloody rubbish with the planets, or whatever they're calling it."
"Right. Actually, Donna, you do know me." He took out his sonic screwdriver, adjusted the settings, and pointed it at her. "My name isn't John Smith; it's the Doctor."
Donna Noble saw the blue light of the sonic screwdriver, opened her mouth to ask what the hell it was, and then stopped dead, letting the phone fall from her hand.
She blinked.
"Doctor? How did I get here?"
~~~
"You did WHAT?"
"It'll take only a couple of moments for your new memories to reintegrate with the old ones. They were temporarily displaced when-"
"My new memories? My NEW memories? The last thing I know, I collapsed in the TARDIS, and now it's SIX MONTHS LATER! And you're telling me I lived another life?"
Jenny winced; that high of a volume most definitely did not spell good things. Donna was in the process of taking another breath, and judging by the color in her face, Jenny could only assume that Donna's next verbal assault would be louder-much louder-than the last. "You-you-you-" She stopped and sat down, deflated. "You turned me back to who I was. Like I hadn't turned left. And you abandoned me."
"Yes, I had to. And that turn of phrase is really quite deceptive, you see, I-"
"Well, obviously not, you didn't have to, not if I’m sitting here having this lovely chat with you."
"Jenny helped me figure it out."
Donna softened immediately, turning to Jenny. "Thanks." Jenny smiled. "Now, come here, let me give you a hug." She hugged them both, together and in turn, and then she gave the Doctor a good thwack upside the head.
"Hey!"
"That's for giving up on me."
"I didn't-"
"Oi! What did you think this was? A vacation?"
"Home!"
"Home? Don't think you're rid of me that easily, alien boy!" She linked arms with Jenny. "Where are we off to first?" Donna grinned. The Doctor and Jenny grinned back.
"Why don't we pop over to Torchwood and see how Martha and Mickey are settling in? Maybe save the world a bit-or, you know, Cardiff."
"And Captain Jack?"
The Doctor noticed Donna's somewhat dreamy expression, and his eyes narrowed. "You know he's got a boyfriend."
"No! No. No?"
The Doctor nodded.
"Who's Captain Jack?"
They turned to Jenny in unison. Donna was still shaking her head and muttering to herself about men and buses. "On second thought," he said hurriedly, "let's not. I'm sure Jack would love to meet you-" Donna snorted, and the Doctor pointedly ignored her. "-but he's got new people to settle in, and we don't want to get in the way of that."
"It's been six months! I think they're settled in by now."
"And we've got so many places to see," the Doctor continued as though Donna never interrupted. "How about Zetraxia Prime in the year 2/Dolphin/96?" He handed Jenny a TARDIS key. "Don't break anything; we'll be there in a minute."
"Dads," Donna commented good-naturedly, once Jenny had left, "you're all the same, no matter what species." She grinned, and he rolled his eyes but couldn't resist grinning back at her. "How'd you do it, anyway? How'd you fix me?"
"Well-"
"No wait, don't tell me. Truth is, I don't care! I'm just glad you did." She looked him up and down, as if assessing the toll of the last six months. And then she hit him again.
"I thought you were glad!"
"Well, you still deserved the smack." She glared at him. "Six months, and then Jenny figures it out?" She paused. "By the way, very happy she's alive, if that didn't get through with all the hugging earlier."
"Come here, you." The Doctor pulled her into a hug and held on tightly. "It's good to have you back."