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butterflyStory Title: A Most Noble Undertaking (3/6)
Series Title: part of the Realignment universe
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
butterfly
Summary: Some reunions are just meant to be.
Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Rating: PG-13.
Warning: AU after Doctor Who 3x13 - "Last of the Time Lords".
Part One; Part Two
A Most Noble Undertaking
It was the tenth temp job that she'd taken since the wedding that never happened, and only the fifth where there had seemed to be a genuine alien sort of lead once she'd gotten into position, so Donna was a little bit annoyed when Mr. Young told her that he didn't think they'd need her services any more, even if it might still work with her plans.
Okay, 'a little annoyed' might have been something of an understatement.
Donna tilted her head and looked at the dent her stapler had left in the wall. Mr. Young was staring too, mouth gaping.
“You've left your mouth open. Wouldn't really recommend that in this office. Too many bugs,” Donna said, wondering if the stapler still worked. It would be a shame to waste the money. Mr. Young's mouth snapped shut with a dull smacking sound and his face reddened.
“First, you steal from me,” he said, puffing up his chest. It didn't really succeed in making him look any bigger. “Now? You break my walls and you insult me?”
“Steal?” Donna protested, shaking her hair back and standing up straight. The best defense, after all. “How dare you accuse me of stealing!”
“I saw you on the security feed!” he said. “My files, you were going through them. It's on camera.”
Donna parted her lips, then pressed them back together. The front door buzzer went off. Neither of them moved an inch.
“That's not stealing,” Donna said, finally. “I'm your temporary administrative assistant. I need to look at your files. It's part of the job.”
“Not the files in my private office,” he said, pointing a finger in vaguely the right direction. “There's a reason that I didn't give you a key to that door.”
“It was unlocked,” Donna tried. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Young's son, Emmanuel, sneak down the hallway toward the front door. She wasn't sure if he was checking to see if anyone was there or just making a run for it.
“It locks automatically,” he countered.
“Maybe you left it open,” she said.
“You picked the lock,” he said, waving his arms. “It's on camera!”
“They can do all sorts of things with computers these days,” Donna said. “Are you sure that it isn't faked?”
“Out!” he yelled. Donna opened her mouth and he said again, louder, “Out!”
“Fine, I'll leave,” she said, striding toward the door to the hall. “But I'm not coming back.”
“Good!” he said. “I don't want you in here ever again!”
Donna huffed loudly, picking up her tiny box of belongings and heading down the hallway, swiveling about to shout one last thing. “Well, I wouldn't work here again if this were the last place on EARTH!”
She turned around again, feeling rather satisfied despite the argument. Even if what she'd found didn't turn out to be anything important, it would be another odd occurrence marked off her list. Dead frog place, sorted. If she kept going, eventually she would find him again. Maybe not today, but one day. She'd be ready. Prepared. Absolutely-
And that's when she noticed the man in the entryway.
Her heart stopped working, just for a moment.
There was no mistaking him: still far too tall and skinny, like a normal man who'd been stretched until unattractive; still with hair that stood up a good few inches, bristling like it might come alive and eat innocent bystanders; and still wearing the same brown suit that he'd had on over a year ago, when she'd met him that once.
The Doctor.
It was only the residual anger in her system that kept her from immediately leaping on him with a hug. Instead, she gave him an unsteady wink and swept past him and Emmanuel with her things.
Once out the door, she took a few deep breaths and then started looking for that blue box of his.
It took her at least five minutes to find it down an alley two houses down, right next to a half-torn 'Vote for Saxon' sign. Such a shame, what had happened to that bloke. One day, he was their new Prime Minister, all full of sparkle and shine, and then the next, he was shot down by terrorists pretending to be friendly aliens. The Doctor must be so frustrated that he hadn't been around to stop that. He would have liked Mr. Saxon. Everyone had liked Harry Saxon.
She'd even gone out and voted for him. First time she'd ever gotten around to voting and her man had ended up dead. That was just the way of it, though, in politics.
She leaned up against the door to the TARDIS and checked her watch.
She let out a sigh and glanced up the alley.
No sign of him.
She checked her watch again.
What was he doing in there, anyway? Interrogating the entire family? Donna smirked a bit, patting her coat. Young had spent so much effort getting mad that she'd so much as looked at the files that he hadn't noticed that she'd switched them out with blank paper. He'd really thought that she didn't know about the cameras. One little twist of the body and she'd been able to hide what she was really doing. Sure, it would have been better if she hadn't gotten caught at all, but at least this way, she had something to go on.
Hopefully, the Doctor would get out here before Young realized what she'd done. She had the feeling that he wouldn't be too happy.
Donna checked her watch yet again and put her box down on the ground, tired of lugging it around.
Well, wasn't it just like a man to be late?
Donna tried the door of the TARDIS, letting out an annoyed sigh when it stayed firmly shut. First order of business, she'd need to get a key from him so that she could open the bloody door by herself. There wouldn't be any more of this waiting about outside for him.
There'd been something different about him.
She hadn't really realized it, inside, because she'd been so concerned with not ruining either of their covers, but something about him had changed. He'd seemed... younger, almost, which actually managed to make him even less attractive, and she hadn't believed that was possible. Definitely younger, especially around the eyes.
Maybe he'd had surgery.
Did aliens have surgery?
Well, why wouldn't they? Plenty of people ended up looking like aliens after too much surgery, after all, so it might as well go the other way 'round, too. She'd been reading, just the other day, about a woman who'd had so much surgery that her eyelids had ended up inside out. Now that would be even scarier than that red spider-queen had been.
Donna shuddered. She heard footsteps and readied herself to start running, one way or another. The thin man who came down around the corner couldn't be anyone but the Doctor, though.
This time, she didn't quell her initial impulse – she went straight up to him and enveloped him in a warm, tight hug. She could hear him let out a tiny laugh and when she pulled back, he was grinning his head off.
“So, Donna Noble, would you fancy another look inside my ship?” he teased, in that light, almost flirtatious way he had. He wasn't half charming, really. If he were stronger looking, had a bit more... something to him, instead of being the sort of bloke who could blow away in a strong wind, then he might actually manage to be something close to handsome. “You didn't get very long to admire her, last time. You rushed off to Christmas dinner.”
“You could have come with,” Donna said, smiling at him. He looked so much more relaxed, that was it. He looked like someone had taken a great heavy weight off his shoulders. From what she'd remembered of him, that could only mean one thing. “Doctor... did you... did you find her again?”
He lit up. There really wasn't any other way to describe it – the corners of his eyes crinkled with happiness and his mouth tugged up at the corners and he just looked like he was about to share the greatest, best secret in the world.
“She found me,” he said, quietly, almost solemnly. “Isn't that brilliant?”
“Is she waiting in the ship?” Donna asked, only barely resisting the urge to rap at the door. “Am I about to meet her?”
“No, but... we should probably go in,” the Doctor said, thoughtfully. “Do you hear that?”
Donna shook her head at first, only hearing the two of them breathing and shifting about and generally existing, but then she did hear something. It sounded a bit like shouting, a little off in the distance. The Doctor continued to look stupidly delighted.
“Well, what are you waiting for, you great lackwit?” Donna asked, poking him in the shoulder. She was the one who'd put her life on the life in there and he was smiling away like an idiot! “Unlock the door before they get here.”
“I'm doing it!” he protested, rubbing a bit at where her finger had been. He pulled out a key from his pockets and opened the door for both of them – Donna picked up her box, rushed in, and yanked him in after her, shutting the door with a clunk.
“That lock'll hold?” Donna asked, giving it a suspicious glance.
“Against one small businessman? I think she'll be able to handle the pressure,” the Doctor said. Well, in that case, it was time to discuss more important things.
“All right, then, talk. Why isn't Rose here in the TARDIS?”
“She's with a friend.”
“What, you've got her back and she already wants to leave?” Donna asked. “That's not a good sign.”
“She didn't- she's recovering,” he said, in a tone of great offense. And what was she supposed to think? It's not as though she could read minds.
“What happened?” Donna asked, more softly.
“She got hurt,” he said, firmly, and it reminded her of that day they'd met, when he'd stared at Rose's shirt in her hand and got the most terrible and fierce look on his face. “She's getting better. There's nothing more to say.”
That was a brick wall if ever she'd heard one. She'd just have to stick around and wait for him to open up again, it seemed.
“What about you?” He gave her a hard glance and she shifted nervously under his gaze. “How are you feeling? Have you been accepting any drinks from strange men recently?”
“What?” Donna asked, trying to decipher why the hell he cared and what business it was of his, anyway. He pulled out that sonic-y device of his... sonic screwdriver, that's what he'd called it... and started scanning her, like he'd done before, at Christmas.
“The reason that I was at that office was because I was picking up on some very peculiar radiation and it bore a resemblance to Huon particles,” the Doctor said. Donna shivered.
“You think someone's poisoning me again?” she asked. “Why would they do that?”
“Apparently, they wouldn't,” the Doctor said, meeting her eyes. “You're clean, Donna. You're in no danger... and that means that you weren't what was drawing me to that place. There's something else going on there.”
“Dead frogs,” Donna offered. He blinked a couple of times, his mouth falling ever-so-slightly open. “I went over there because I was reading up on some reports and I found out that all these frogs - more than should even be around - were turning up in a five-mile circle around that place, dead. That office is at the centermost spot.”
“They must be particularly vulnerable to the radiation,” the Doctor said, almost absently. He didn't seem to be talking to her anymore, was mostly just thinking aloud. “Which means... what does that mean? Frogs... what is it about frogs?”
He hurried over to one of his consoles and started playing around with the controls, muttering to himself as he twisted and pulled and studied what the monitor said. Donna parked herself by the railing, putting the box down on the nearby seat, and watched him – even just standing in one place, he was a constant flurry of motion, especially his mouth, which never really stopped.
“Someone is trying to recreate regeneration, but for humans,” he said, slowing down slightly. “Cell replacement and renewal... 'Renova', of course! It means 'renewal'. They aren't even trying to hide it. Why not? It's not a surprise that they're trying to stave off death... that's a common enough human obsession... but their technique is far more advanced than anyone here should be capable of... so, who is helping them? And why? Donna,” and he was looking at her now, the intensity of his focus almost frightening. “Why are you here?”
“I told you, dead frogs,” she said.
“But why were you researching and reading reports?” he asked. “I thought you were planning on exploring and walking in the dust and... oh, striking out on other great endeavors.”
“I did that,” she said. “For a while. And I found out that it wasn't what I was expecting. There were all sorts of rules and all this nonsense about staying with the group and, even when I left the group... I couldn't speak the language. And everyone who spoke English... they only ever said the things that I wasn't allowed to do. Not like you. So... I decided to look for you. To accept your offer.”
“My offer,” he said, tilting his head slightly and his forehead wrinkling up slightly. Then, his expression cleared. “You want to come with me?”
“I did,” Donna said. “But I understand if... if you've changed your mind.”
“Why would I do that?” he asked, leaning back against the console.
“Rose is back,” she said. “You might not want the extra company.”
“Oh, no,” he said. “Of course, I still want you to come. Rose will love you. She's very good with people.” He said that last bit in a very serious, confiding tone. “There are so many places that I could show you. So many planets that you would adore. Say that you'll come, won't you?”
“Yes, I'd love to,” Donna said, deep joy welling up inside. She reached forward again and grabbed at the Doctor's arm and they shared another long, tight hug. Then she cleared her throat and pulled away. “But first we've got to deal with this 'Renova' thing, yeah?”
“Oh, it should be easy enough,” the Doctor said. “I just need to find out what sort of alien is feeding them their information, stop it, and then take you over to meet Rose. Then I'm thinking about a nice trip to the past for your first go. How do you feel about Rome?”
“That it's probably much more interesting in person than in dusty old books,” Donna said. “Do you really think that it's going to be that simple? Finding out what's behind all this?”
“I told Rose that I'd be back in two days at the most,” he said blithely. “I don't plan on letting her down.”
As if that were the end of it, as if his absolute certainty was the only thing that mattered. For such a bright bloke, he was very good at only seeing what he wanted to see.
“All right, then, where did you want to start?” she asked.
“Hmm? Oh, I'll... investigate,” he said, waving his hand unhelpfully. “In a generally investigative manner.”
“Do you think some of Mr. Young's private files would help?” she asked.
“Oh, I'd wager so,” he said. He looked at her curiously. “Do you think I should go back in there? I'm not sure they'll believe that I need to do another inspection.”
“No need,” she said, quirking an eyebrow. “I don't know if you noticed, but I was getting fired when you showed up. Weren't you wondering about the reason?”
“Oh! Well, I'd just assumed...” he trailed off when he noticed the way she was glaring at him. “What was the reason?”
“He caught me looking at his files,” she said, proudly. She strode over to her box of things and grabbed a handful of papers. “Didn't notice me switching them out for blanks, though.”
The Doctor took one of the folders from her and glanced through it, a smile growing on his face.
“There's mention here of a mysterious Mr. S,” he said. “That'll be our alien. Well done, Donna Noble!”
“Well, I'm the best,” Donna said, fighting back the warmth his words spread through her – pink cheeks looked horrible on redheads, as her mum always told her. “The magnificent Donna Noble, that's me.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, taking another file from the box and flipping through it. Donna lost the battle with her blush, but he wasn't looking, so it was all right. “Never anything but Mr. S. I wonder if... hmm.”
“If what?” Donna asked.
“What's the latest date on those files?” he asked, reaching into the box and scanning through the files inhumanly fast. Then, he answered himself before she could say a word. “Nothing about him after more than a year ago. It looks like they were working his supervision until then and they've been independent since and it would fit with something else he'd started... but why would he be researching ways to make humans live longer? Why would he care? What's the catch?”
“What are you babbling on about?” Donna asked.
“It doesn't matter,” the Doctor said, snapping the file shut. “He's dead now. I think that he put this in place back when he was gaining power and they just never bothered stopping after he died. It'll be a simple clean-up job.”
“That sounds too easy,” Donna said.
“Let's not invite trouble,” he said. She hadn't known him for very long, but that didn't sound too much like the man that she had known. Then again, if Rose had just gotten hurt... maybe he was being a bit less scary and reckless these days. “All I need to do is come up with something that'll neutralize the radiation and render their machines useless. Without the... without Mr. S around to fix things, they'll be lost. Unless you think that one of the Young family is capable of fixing a cyclical cell renewal chamber.”
“Well... if they...” Donna thought about it for a moment. “No. Not really.”
“Hmm. I'd better sneak in a self-replicating breakdown code, just in case,” the Doctor said, thoughtfully. “Sometimes humans can be surprisingly bright.”
“Oi!” Donna protested, smacking him on the shoulder. “None of that!”
“What?” he said. “What'd I do?”
“You need to ask?”
“But... but that was a compliment,” he said.
“You know what else it was? It was condescending and arrogant,” she said. “I may not have the brain of a Time Lord, but that doesn't make it a surprise when I... or any other human!...shows a bit of intelligence.”
“It really wasn't meant as an insult,” he said.
“I don't care,” she said. “It sounded like one. Pay more attention.”
“Yes, ma'am,” he said, backing up a step and pretending to be afraid, but he did look a bit more respectful. It would do. At least for now.
“All right, then,” she said. “Tell me how you're going to take care of all of this in less than a day.”
He grinned at her and then opened his mouth, words spilling out almost faster than she could keep up with them.
Still, she was determined to try.
Continue on to Part Four.
Series Title: part of the Realignment universe
Author:
butterflySummary: Some reunions are just meant to be.
Pairing: Doctor/Rose
Rating: PG-13.
Warning: AU after Doctor Who 3x13 - "Last of the Time Lords".
Part One; Part Two
It was the tenth temp job that she'd taken since the wedding that never happened, and only the fifth where there had seemed to be a genuine alien sort of lead once she'd gotten into position, so Donna was a little bit annoyed when Mr. Young told her that he didn't think they'd need her services any more, even if it might still work with her plans.
Okay, 'a little annoyed' might have been something of an understatement.
Donna tilted her head and looked at the dent her stapler had left in the wall. Mr. Young was staring too, mouth gaping.
“You've left your mouth open. Wouldn't really recommend that in this office. Too many bugs,” Donna said, wondering if the stapler still worked. It would be a shame to waste the money. Mr. Young's mouth snapped shut with a dull smacking sound and his face reddened.
“First, you steal from me,” he said, puffing up his chest. It didn't really succeed in making him look any bigger. “Now? You break my walls and you insult me?”
“Steal?” Donna protested, shaking her hair back and standing up straight. The best defense, after all. “How dare you accuse me of stealing!”
“I saw you on the security feed!” he said. “My files, you were going through them. It's on camera.”
Donna parted her lips, then pressed them back together. The front door buzzer went off. Neither of them moved an inch.
“That's not stealing,” Donna said, finally. “I'm your temporary administrative assistant. I need to look at your files. It's part of the job.”
“Not the files in my private office,” he said, pointing a finger in vaguely the right direction. “There's a reason that I didn't give you a key to that door.”
“It was unlocked,” Donna tried. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Young's son, Emmanuel, sneak down the hallway toward the front door. She wasn't sure if he was checking to see if anyone was there or just making a run for it.
“It locks automatically,” he countered.
“Maybe you left it open,” she said.
“You picked the lock,” he said, waving his arms. “It's on camera!”
“They can do all sorts of things with computers these days,” Donna said. “Are you sure that it isn't faked?”
“Out!” he yelled. Donna opened her mouth and he said again, louder, “Out!”
“Fine, I'll leave,” she said, striding toward the door to the hall. “But I'm not coming back.”
“Good!” he said. “I don't want you in here ever again!”
Donna huffed loudly, picking up her tiny box of belongings and heading down the hallway, swiveling about to shout one last thing. “Well, I wouldn't work here again if this were the last place on EARTH!”
She turned around again, feeling rather satisfied despite the argument. Even if what she'd found didn't turn out to be anything important, it would be another odd occurrence marked off her list. Dead frog place, sorted. If she kept going, eventually she would find him again. Maybe not today, but one day. She'd be ready. Prepared. Absolutely-
And that's when she noticed the man in the entryway.
Her heart stopped working, just for a moment.
There was no mistaking him: still far too tall and skinny, like a normal man who'd been stretched until unattractive; still with hair that stood up a good few inches, bristling like it might come alive and eat innocent bystanders; and still wearing the same brown suit that he'd had on over a year ago, when she'd met him that once.
The Doctor.
It was only the residual anger in her system that kept her from immediately leaping on him with a hug. Instead, she gave him an unsteady wink and swept past him and Emmanuel with her things.
Once out the door, she took a few deep breaths and then started looking for that blue box of his.
It took her at least five minutes to find it down an alley two houses down, right next to a half-torn 'Vote for Saxon' sign. Such a shame, what had happened to that bloke. One day, he was their new Prime Minister, all full of sparkle and shine, and then the next, he was shot down by terrorists pretending to be friendly aliens. The Doctor must be so frustrated that he hadn't been around to stop that. He would have liked Mr. Saxon. Everyone had liked Harry Saxon.
She'd even gone out and voted for him. First time she'd ever gotten around to voting and her man had ended up dead. That was just the way of it, though, in politics.
She leaned up against the door to the TARDIS and checked her watch.
She let out a sigh and glanced up the alley.
No sign of him.
She checked her watch again.
What was he doing in there, anyway? Interrogating the entire family? Donna smirked a bit, patting her coat. Young had spent so much effort getting mad that she'd so much as looked at the files that he hadn't noticed that she'd switched them out with blank paper. He'd really thought that she didn't know about the cameras. One little twist of the body and she'd been able to hide what she was really doing. Sure, it would have been better if she hadn't gotten caught at all, but at least this way, she had something to go on.
Hopefully, the Doctor would get out here before Young realized what she'd done. She had the feeling that he wouldn't be too happy.
Donna checked her watch yet again and put her box down on the ground, tired of lugging it around.
Well, wasn't it just like a man to be late?
Donna tried the door of the TARDIS, letting out an annoyed sigh when it stayed firmly shut. First order of business, she'd need to get a key from him so that she could open the bloody door by herself. There wouldn't be any more of this waiting about outside for him.
There'd been something different about him.
She hadn't really realized it, inside, because she'd been so concerned with not ruining either of their covers, but something about him had changed. He'd seemed... younger, almost, which actually managed to make him even less attractive, and she hadn't believed that was possible. Definitely younger, especially around the eyes.
Maybe he'd had surgery.
Did aliens have surgery?
Well, why wouldn't they? Plenty of people ended up looking like aliens after too much surgery, after all, so it might as well go the other way 'round, too. She'd been reading, just the other day, about a woman who'd had so much surgery that her eyelids had ended up inside out. Now that would be even scarier than that red spider-queen had been.
Donna shuddered. She heard footsteps and readied herself to start running, one way or another. The thin man who came down around the corner couldn't be anyone but the Doctor, though.
This time, she didn't quell her initial impulse – she went straight up to him and enveloped him in a warm, tight hug. She could hear him let out a tiny laugh and when she pulled back, he was grinning his head off.
“So, Donna Noble, would you fancy another look inside my ship?” he teased, in that light, almost flirtatious way he had. He wasn't half charming, really. If he were stronger looking, had a bit more... something to him, instead of being the sort of bloke who could blow away in a strong wind, then he might actually manage to be something close to handsome. “You didn't get very long to admire her, last time. You rushed off to Christmas dinner.”
“You could have come with,” Donna said, smiling at him. He looked so much more relaxed, that was it. He looked like someone had taken a great heavy weight off his shoulders. From what she'd remembered of him, that could only mean one thing. “Doctor... did you... did you find her again?”
He lit up. There really wasn't any other way to describe it – the corners of his eyes crinkled with happiness and his mouth tugged up at the corners and he just looked like he was about to share the greatest, best secret in the world.
“She found me,” he said, quietly, almost solemnly. “Isn't that brilliant?”
“Is she waiting in the ship?” Donna asked, only barely resisting the urge to rap at the door. “Am I about to meet her?”
“No, but... we should probably go in,” the Doctor said, thoughtfully. “Do you hear that?”
Donna shook her head at first, only hearing the two of them breathing and shifting about and generally existing, but then she did hear something. It sounded a bit like shouting, a little off in the distance. The Doctor continued to look stupidly delighted.
“Well, what are you waiting for, you great lackwit?” Donna asked, poking him in the shoulder. She was the one who'd put her life on the life in there and he was smiling away like an idiot! “Unlock the door before they get here.”
“I'm doing it!” he protested, rubbing a bit at where her finger had been. He pulled out a key from his pockets and opened the door for both of them – Donna picked up her box, rushed in, and yanked him in after her, shutting the door with a clunk.
“That lock'll hold?” Donna asked, giving it a suspicious glance.
“Against one small businessman? I think she'll be able to handle the pressure,” the Doctor said. Well, in that case, it was time to discuss more important things.
“All right, then, talk. Why isn't Rose here in the TARDIS?”
“She's with a friend.”
“What, you've got her back and she already wants to leave?” Donna asked. “That's not a good sign.”
“She didn't- she's recovering,” he said, in a tone of great offense. And what was she supposed to think? It's not as though she could read minds.
“What happened?” Donna asked, more softly.
“She got hurt,” he said, firmly, and it reminded her of that day they'd met, when he'd stared at Rose's shirt in her hand and got the most terrible and fierce look on his face. “She's getting better. There's nothing more to say.”
That was a brick wall if ever she'd heard one. She'd just have to stick around and wait for him to open up again, it seemed.
“What about you?” He gave her a hard glance and she shifted nervously under his gaze. “How are you feeling? Have you been accepting any drinks from strange men recently?”
“What?” Donna asked, trying to decipher why the hell he cared and what business it was of his, anyway. He pulled out that sonic-y device of his... sonic screwdriver, that's what he'd called it... and started scanning her, like he'd done before, at Christmas.
“The reason that I was at that office was because I was picking up on some very peculiar radiation and it bore a resemblance to Huon particles,” the Doctor said. Donna shivered.
“You think someone's poisoning me again?” she asked. “Why would they do that?”
“Apparently, they wouldn't,” the Doctor said, meeting her eyes. “You're clean, Donna. You're in no danger... and that means that you weren't what was drawing me to that place. There's something else going on there.”
“Dead frogs,” Donna offered. He blinked a couple of times, his mouth falling ever-so-slightly open. “I went over there because I was reading up on some reports and I found out that all these frogs - more than should even be around - were turning up in a five-mile circle around that place, dead. That office is at the centermost spot.”
“They must be particularly vulnerable to the radiation,” the Doctor said, almost absently. He didn't seem to be talking to her anymore, was mostly just thinking aloud. “Which means... what does that mean? Frogs... what is it about frogs?”
He hurried over to one of his consoles and started playing around with the controls, muttering to himself as he twisted and pulled and studied what the monitor said. Donna parked herself by the railing, putting the box down on the nearby seat, and watched him – even just standing in one place, he was a constant flurry of motion, especially his mouth, which never really stopped.
“Someone is trying to recreate regeneration, but for humans,” he said, slowing down slightly. “Cell replacement and renewal... 'Renova', of course! It means 'renewal'. They aren't even trying to hide it. Why not? It's not a surprise that they're trying to stave off death... that's a common enough human obsession... but their technique is far more advanced than anyone here should be capable of... so, who is helping them? And why? Donna,” and he was looking at her now, the intensity of his focus almost frightening. “Why are you here?”
“I told you, dead frogs,” she said.
“But why were you researching and reading reports?” he asked. “I thought you were planning on exploring and walking in the dust and... oh, striking out on other great endeavors.”
“I did that,” she said. “For a while. And I found out that it wasn't what I was expecting. There were all sorts of rules and all this nonsense about staying with the group and, even when I left the group... I couldn't speak the language. And everyone who spoke English... they only ever said the things that I wasn't allowed to do. Not like you. So... I decided to look for you. To accept your offer.”
“My offer,” he said, tilting his head slightly and his forehead wrinkling up slightly. Then, his expression cleared. “You want to come with me?”
“I did,” Donna said. “But I understand if... if you've changed your mind.”
“Why would I do that?” he asked, leaning back against the console.
“Rose is back,” she said. “You might not want the extra company.”
“Oh, no,” he said. “Of course, I still want you to come. Rose will love you. She's very good with people.” He said that last bit in a very serious, confiding tone. “There are so many places that I could show you. So many planets that you would adore. Say that you'll come, won't you?”
“Yes, I'd love to,” Donna said, deep joy welling up inside. She reached forward again and grabbed at the Doctor's arm and they shared another long, tight hug. Then she cleared her throat and pulled away. “But first we've got to deal with this 'Renova' thing, yeah?”
“Oh, it should be easy enough,” the Doctor said. “I just need to find out what sort of alien is feeding them their information, stop it, and then take you over to meet Rose. Then I'm thinking about a nice trip to the past for your first go. How do you feel about Rome?”
“That it's probably much more interesting in person than in dusty old books,” Donna said. “Do you really think that it's going to be that simple? Finding out what's behind all this?”
“I told Rose that I'd be back in two days at the most,” he said blithely. “I don't plan on letting her down.”
As if that were the end of it, as if his absolute certainty was the only thing that mattered. For such a bright bloke, he was very good at only seeing what he wanted to see.
“All right, then, where did you want to start?” she asked.
“Hmm? Oh, I'll... investigate,” he said, waving his hand unhelpfully. “In a generally investigative manner.”
“Do you think some of Mr. Young's private files would help?” she asked.
“Oh, I'd wager so,” he said. He looked at her curiously. “Do you think I should go back in there? I'm not sure they'll believe that I need to do another inspection.”
“No need,” she said, quirking an eyebrow. “I don't know if you noticed, but I was getting fired when you showed up. Weren't you wondering about the reason?”
“Oh! Well, I'd just assumed...” he trailed off when he noticed the way she was glaring at him. “What was the reason?”
“He caught me looking at his files,” she said, proudly. She strode over to her box of things and grabbed a handful of papers. “Didn't notice me switching them out for blanks, though.”
The Doctor took one of the folders from her and glanced through it, a smile growing on his face.
“There's mention here of a mysterious Mr. S,” he said. “That'll be our alien. Well done, Donna Noble!”
“Well, I'm the best,” Donna said, fighting back the warmth his words spread through her – pink cheeks looked horrible on redheads, as her mum always told her. “The magnificent Donna Noble, that's me.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed, taking another file from the box and flipping through it. Donna lost the battle with her blush, but he wasn't looking, so it was all right. “Never anything but Mr. S. I wonder if... hmm.”
“If what?” Donna asked.
“What's the latest date on those files?” he asked, reaching into the box and scanning through the files inhumanly fast. Then, he answered himself before she could say a word. “Nothing about him after more than a year ago. It looks like they were working his supervision until then and they've been independent since and it would fit with something else he'd started... but why would he be researching ways to make humans live longer? Why would he care? What's the catch?”
“What are you babbling on about?” Donna asked.
“It doesn't matter,” the Doctor said, snapping the file shut. “He's dead now. I think that he put this in place back when he was gaining power and they just never bothered stopping after he died. It'll be a simple clean-up job.”
“That sounds too easy,” Donna said.
“Let's not invite trouble,” he said. She hadn't known him for very long, but that didn't sound too much like the man that she had known. Then again, if Rose had just gotten hurt... maybe he was being a bit less scary and reckless these days. “All I need to do is come up with something that'll neutralize the radiation and render their machines useless. Without the... without Mr. S around to fix things, they'll be lost. Unless you think that one of the Young family is capable of fixing a cyclical cell renewal chamber.”
“Well... if they...” Donna thought about it for a moment. “No. Not really.”
“Hmm. I'd better sneak in a self-replicating breakdown code, just in case,” the Doctor said, thoughtfully. “Sometimes humans can be surprisingly bright.”
“Oi!” Donna protested, smacking him on the shoulder. “None of that!”
“What?” he said. “What'd I do?”
“You need to ask?”
“But... but that was a compliment,” he said.
“You know what else it was? It was condescending and arrogant,” she said. “I may not have the brain of a Time Lord, but that doesn't make it a surprise when I... or any other human!...shows a bit of intelligence.”
“It really wasn't meant as an insult,” he said.
“I don't care,” she said. “It sounded like one. Pay more attention.”
“Yes, ma'am,” he said, backing up a step and pretending to be afraid, but he did look a bit more respectful. It would do. At least for now.
“All right, then,” she said. “Tell me how you're going to take care of all of this in less than a day.”
He grinned at her and then opened his mouth, words spilling out almost faster than she could keep up with them.
Still, she was determined to try.
Continue on to Part Four.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-19 11:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-21 03:35 am (UTC)Donna is so much fun.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-20 01:25 am (UTC)I wish I had something coherent to say, but my love for Donna overpowers everything. She is utterly perfect in this chapter, and so is he! :D
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-21 03:36 am (UTC)Writing Donna was a ton of fun (thinking of ways to describe David Tennant but not making him sound attractive was a very amusing exercise).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-20 11:20 pm (UTC)You are doing a fantastic job with this. I love your characterisations and your plots. And now I have a fic with Rose, Donna and Sarah Jane in it!
Looking forward to the next bit.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-11-21 03:38 am (UTC)I'm so glad that you're enjoying the stories! I originally just wrote "Universal Realignment" and then realized how much fun this universe had the potential to be.
You are doing a fantastic job with this. I love your characterisations and your plots. And now I have a fic with Rose, Donna and Sarah Jane in it!
One of the great benefits of fanfiction is not needing to have actors actually be available.
Looking forward to the next bit.
Again, thank you so much for the feedback!