Chapter Text
“Mum!” Reese thumped her textbook hard against the table. “Do you really think I care about the Queen’s new grandbaby’s bloody hair-colour? Can’t you see I’m trying to study?”
“Oi, you don’t need to shout at me about it,” said Donna, arms crossing to hide how startled she’d been. “You’ve had your nose in those books for hours and it’s only the fourth day of classes, you can’t have that much work yet. I just wanted to chat for a mo, is all. I’ve hardly seen you all week.”
“I know you don’t get it, cos you never went for your A-levels yourself, but I really do have that much work.” After finding her page again, Reese slumped over the textbook on an elbow, her profile hidden behind her long dark curls. The message was clear. Go away.
Donna didn’t move, debating if she should push it. Ever since her father had moved out, a good six months ago now, Reese had been somewhat difficult to live with. Not that Donna’s relationship with her daughter had ever been amazing. A born daddy’s girl, Reese had inherited Shaun’s gorgeous dark complexion, his sense of humour, his brains. Donna didn’t mind. Actually she was glad of it, glad her child had been gifted genetics and abilities superior to her own (even though the man she’d got them from had turned into a twat with an eye for twenty-year-old bimbos).
What Donna did mind, however, was the very Shaun-like disdain toward her Reese had been exhibiting all too frequently lately. “I can see that hint of red in your hair, with the sun coming in on you like that,” she commented lightly. Reese’s spine tensed. “You’ve got a little bit of me in you too, though I know you don’t like it.”
“That’s so passive-aggressive,” muttered Reese from her hair-cave.
“Oi, I was just saying. And you know, it’d be nice if you shared what you’re learning in that psychology class of yours for once, instead of usin’ it to throw fancy insults at your mum.”
A scraping sound, as Reese abruptly shoved her chair back. “I might try to share,” she retorted, standing and stacking her books, “if I thought there was the tiniest chance you’d comprehend it.”
Like an arrow, straight and true, the remark hit Donna square between the eyes, and she winced in actual pain.
Stupid, no-good, nothing. That was her. Her truth. Oh, people might think she was fun at first, and plenty liked her for her money, but anybody who spent enough time around her usually sniffed out her uselessness sooner or later. Her husband saw it, her mother did too, and so did everyone else, save Granddad (dear, daft Granddad). Even so, she’d always so hoped...
Swallowing hard, Donna meandered over to the french doors, staring blankly out at the back garden. How stupid was she, hoping Reese might not discover what she was? When her daughter was smarter than most.
“I’m off, then.”
Donna turned. “Where you going?”
Reese shouldered her bookbag. “Dad’s.”
“Whatever for?”
“Quiet.”
“You can have quiet here, I promise,” said Donna, following her across the tile. “Besides, traffic’s crazy this time of day.”
Reese paused and turned, her full lips pursed, brows pinched skeptically. “It’s never quiet here. I think that telly is on 24-7, either some stupid reality show or celebrity news, and then if you’re not talking at me, I have to hear you on the phone with Gena or Deb or-
“Don’t be rude, Miss!”
“I’m rude- oh my god, that’s so hypocritical. All we do lately is argue, Mum! Maybe it would be best if I went to live with Dad.”
Anger flashed through Donna. “Oh right, like you’ll get anything done there either, you’ll be too busy cleaning up after him and his woman of the week!”
Reese glared. She hated jabs at her dad, especially the true ones. “What I should really do is get my own place.”
“At age fifteen, sure! And you’ll pay for this place how, again?”
“Like you can talk! I’ve never seen you go to a job in my life!”
“Right, cos I had my hands full raising you-“
“No, cos you won the bloody lottery!”
Stung speechless, Donna gaped at her. Reese didn’t notice, too busy stomping off through the wide archway into the foyer. “I don’t want a life like yours, Mum,” she went on, snatching her coat from the hook. “Where everything’s just handed to me; that’s why I’m going to study hard for my A-levels and go to uni. I want to do something that matters.” Without looking back, she grabbed her bag from the floor and flung the front door open. “I’ll be at the library.”
“Sweetheart, wait-“
The door shut. Numb, Donna stood at the full-length side glass, eyes on the back of the grey coat, the tumble of long dark hair, until Reese disappeared from view.
Though she was well aware of her inadequacies, having them thrown in her face by the person she loved most in the world- it cut sharper, wounded deeper. Not that she hadn’t deserved it, in part. Some of the things she’d said to Reese had been positively Sylvia-like.
When Reese had been born, Donna had sworn to be the sort of mother she’d always longed for. Patient, kind, generous with her attention and praise. And mostly, she’d lived up to it, hadn’t she? Perhaps she could have done better in the patience department. Maybe she should have eased up a little on the praise.
And the presents.
“Doesn’t want everything handed to her, she says,” muttered Donna a few minutes later, into a steaming cuppa. “When that’s all she’s ever known.”
Yes, Reese was a bit spoilt, and she was young and immature. All very good reasons not to take her words too personally. Even so, understanding things didn’t bring Donna much comfort… and neither did her cup of tea, nor her favorite overstuffed armchair, now that she thought about it. She felt itchy, unsettled, tired of sitting around her massive, empty house, all alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that had always been far too unkind to be very good company.
“A walk,” she decided, and went for her coat.
********
Playgrounds had always made Donna think of beehives, noisy and swarming with activity, and this one was no different. Pleasantly shaded by mature trees, it was alive with small children and their after-school energy; they climbed and swung and slid, all smiles and happy noise. Feeling a bit nostalgic, Donna wandered to an empty bench and sat. She’d spent a lot of time in playgrounds, when Reese was little. How much simpler things had been back then.
But those delightful days were gone, weren’t they? Her girl would never be little again, ever, and oh, that hurt. In a rather blissful way. In a mood to poke at it further, Donna settled in, and then frowned as she noticed a set of eyes watching her, quite intently, from the nearby swing-set.
Rude, Donna almost said, barely stopping herself in time. Good grief, it was just a little girl. Kids did things like that. When Reese was small, wasn’t she always chastising her for staring at people?
Although usually, they were odd people. Suddenly self-conscious, Donna patted her hair, touched her face, gave her clothes a surreptitious inspection. All fine, far as she could tell. Yet the girl swung and kept on staring, legs kicking, long brown hair flying, her gaze on Donna unwavering. As if Donna were in full clown costume or something, and might start to somersault around any second.
Just as Donna was about to run out of patience, the little girl flung herself from the swing, landing hard but graceful in the wood-chips. “Hello!” she called out cheerfully as she headed straight for Donna, her stride quick and purposeful.
“Well, hello there,” replied Donna, unable to help a smile. What a funny, confident air the little thing had. Clad in a simple blue and pink striped dress with pink leggings underneath, the child couldn’t have been older than seven, but she carried herself as if she were six feet tall. “Do I look like someone you know, sweetie? Because I don’t think we’ve met.”
“No,” agreed the girl, giving Donna an intent, unsettling look-over that made her feel a bit like a specimen. “We haven’t, not yet. I’m Suzy.”
“Pleased to meet you, Suzy,” said Donna, putting out her hand and telling herself to stop being silly. How dumb is she, getting all nervous around a little kid? “I’m Donna.”
Suzy gave her a grin. It was wide and delighted and remarkably beautiful, even with two front teeth only half-grown in. “I know,” she declared, grabbing Donna by the hand and tugging.
Chuckling, Donna obligingly got to her feet. “Oh really? You psychic or something?”
“Yes,” stated Suzy, quite matter-of-factly. “Will you help me find my aunt, please?”
Donna’s smile faded. “Oh no, are you lost?”
“No.” She began to haul Donna out across the grass like an overeager little dog. “But she might be.”
“Wait a mo, sweetheart, we can’t just leave.” Donna paused them, keeping hold of Suzy’s hand. “Isn’t she somewhere around here, at the park?”
Deflating a little, Suzy kicked the toe of one of her small pink Chucks against the ground. “No, she’s at her house. I… I wandered off.”
Donna blew out a breath. “Okay, um. She must live nearby, then?” she said, pointing toward a row of attached houses a short distance away.
“No, not really.”
“How did you get here, Suzy?”
A shrug. Suzy’s gaze met Donna’s, and then shifted away. “It’s complicated.”
“Blimey, you’re an evasive little thing, aren’t you?” huffed Donna. “Alright, do you know your aunt’s mobile number, by chance? Or I suppose could we phone your mummy or daddy?”
A glimmer of fear flashed across the small face, there and gone in an instant. “I’m thirsty. Can we go get a drink of water, please?” Donna hesitated, and Suzy squeezed her hand. “Please?”
“Well, alright, but then we’ve got to phone somebody. I don’t want people thinking you’ve been kidnapped.”
“Oh, but I’ve never been kidnapped,” Suzy said, sounding disappointed. With a little skip she started them off- and straight toward Donna’s house, by funny coincidence. “I know Sarah Jane’s number,” she offered magnanimously. “My aunt. She’s minding me and my little sister today.”
“Oh no, your little sister didn’t wander off with you, did she?”
Suzy’s nose wrinkled scornfully. “No. DJ can’t even walk, and when she gets scared she cries.”
“DJ, really? What a cute name.”
“You think so? My mummy doesn’t like it very much. She says we should call my sister by her real name.”
“Oh, and what’s that, then?”
A glinting, sideways look from those oddly deep dark eyes. “Donna. She was named after you, probably.”
Hiding a smile, Donna nodded solemnly. How precious was that? Maybe this kid was a bit more innocent than she looked.
********
One measly minute. Sixty scant seconds, even fewer blinks and breaths. A brisk walk from lounge to kitchen and back again, a tiny errand to fetch a bottle for a crying baby. Apparently, that’s all the time it takes completely lose track of a tiny Time Lord.
“How are those scans coming along, K-9?” Sarah Jane called over in a hushed voice, as she tirelessly rocked the baby- who had finally dropped off, thank heaven, her lashes fanning out thick and dark against satin cheeks. DJ was a darling, but Sarah Jane had never beheld such a champion sleep-resister. Also, she was quite a lot heavier than she looked.
Sarah Jane’s neck hurt.
“Radius of five miles, Mistress, no human-Time Lord hybrid.” K-9 clunked and whirred, flashing images across the computer monitors in a blur.
“Expand the parameters, please. You might as well double them. Somehow she’s got more than five miles away in the last twenty minutes, so she can’t be on foot.”
“Ex ex ex expanding.”
With a sigh, Sarah Jane dropped her nose to DJ’s soft head and breathed in her sweet baby scent. Five minutes. She’d give herself five more minutes and if they didn’t locate Suzy, she’d give in and phone Rose. She hated to interrupt her, though. Whatever mission UNIT had summoned Rose and the Doctor for, it must be quite important, as they’d dropped in without warning and practically begged her to watch their girls for a bit.
Not that she needed begging. Sarah Jane adored those kids, and fervently wished she could see them more often. In all fairness, the Doctor and Rose (well, probably more Rose) did make an effort to pop in for tea every so often. Suzy even called her Aunt Sarah, which delighted her to no end, and she’d had the privilege of minding her a handful of times over the years. Hard work, certainly, but a joy all the same- as one would expect of a child of the Doctor’s.
Today saw the first time he’d asked Sarah Jane to care for both his children, and she hadn’t even hesitated. Really, she‘d felt herself quite up to the task. DJ was only an infant of six months, and Suzy was a big girl, going on seven. Who would’ve ever thought she’d need to have K-9 put the entire house on lockdown, as she had back when Suzy was still a toddler? Suzy was beyond old enough to know better than to run off.
Was that girl ever going to hear it, once Sarah Jane got her hands on her.
Kissing DJ’s wee forehead, Sarah Jane went and carefully laid her in the portable cot in her bedroom. The baby stirred but didn’t wake, and so Sarah Jane returned to the lounge in relief. At least something was going well. “Anything yet, K-9?”
“Negative.”
Her back pocket buzzed, and Sarah Jane fumbled for her mobile. Unknown number. Most likely it was someone wanting to sell her something. Still, she was desperate enough to answer it. “Hello?”
Her greeting wasn’t returned, though she could a television blaring in the background. “Hello?”
“Aunt Sarah?” ventured a small voice.
Sarah Jane sank, weak-kneed, into a recliner. “Suzy! Where are you?! I’ve been worried sick!”
“I’m sorry.” The apology was thick with sincerity. “I’m…um. I’m in Chiswick, I think?”
“Chiswick?!” Sarah Jane exclaimed. “How on earth did you get so far away?”
*******
Seated high on a barstool, Donna’s mobile at her ear, Suzy lifted her glass of water into the air, squinting up through its bottom- at what, exactly, Donna could not begin to guess. “A nice lady is helping me,” the little girl told her aunt, voice raising over the small fist-fight that had broken out on Jeremy Kyle. “A very nice lady. I can stay with her today. Will you please tell Mummy and Daddy they can fetch me here?”
Taken aback, Donna glanced at Suzy as she lowered the volume on the TV (having finally located the remote, tucked halfway under a People magazine on the table). Suzy clunked her water-glass onto the countertop as she listened to her aunt’s reply, her pretty face scrunching into a massive pout. Getting a big fat NO, no doubt.
Donna grinned. What a funny, cute kid. Presumptuous, but cute. “Hey, Suzy?” she called across the kitchen. “Tell your auntie I’ll text her my address.”
Abruptly Suzy straightened, and she did not seem to hear Donna. “Are you certain you want to do that, Aunt Sarah?” she said, her sulk clearing quick as a summer storm. “Because DJ’s just fallen asleep, I think.” A pause. “Yes, but you’ll have to bring her along, which means you’ll need to wake her. And I’ll tell you right now that waking DJ is not a good idea. Really, very, extremely not good.”
It was hard not to be impressed. The kid sure knew how to get what she wanted (though why she wanted to stay with Donna so badly, Donna had no clue). Going by the smirk on Suzy’s lips, the aunt had been stymied. Donna shook her head. Cleverest person to ever walk the earth she was not, however, she knew how to outwit a six-year-old. Unlike some people.
Strolling toward the fridge, she passed by Suzy and smoothly nipped the mobile from the child’s hand. “Hello, Sarah?” she said, trying not to laugh at the child’s look of surprised indignation.
“Yes, hello. This is Sarah Jane Smith.”
A zing of pain flared behind her eyes and Donna winced. “I’m Donna Temple-Noble... well, I’ve recently dropped the Temple, along with my prat of an ex-husband, ha! Anyway, I found your niece at a park near my house -she’s quite the precocious little thing, isn’t she? But if you’ll give me your address, I’ll happily return her to you so you won’t have to wake the baby.”
“Noble?” The woman sounded breathless, like she’d just run a mile. “Did you say you’re Donna Noble?”
“That’s right, do we know each other or something? Your name sounds a bit familiar-“
“Could you put Suzy back on for a minute, please?”
It was a rather brusque cut-off and Donna raised her eyebrows. “Alright, alright, keep your shirt on,” she muttered, going to hand the phone to Suzy. She was still on the barstool, legs swinging, fingers tapping, eyes glued to a news bulletin that had popped up on the wall-mounted telly. A female reporter spoke to the camera, but Donna hardly caught a word before it cut to a shot of black-clad soldiers, camped out on the street and steps that fronted a large brick building. Hostage Situation in West London, the bottom banner read.
Donna’s vision tunneled. That building, those steps, she knew them. Went past them nearly every day, as they were only a few minutes walk from her house. It was their local library, the one on Dukes Avenue, the very place her Reese had run off to, oh god, how long ago was it now? An hour? Two? Donna didn’t know, she couldn’t think. “Where on earth’s my ruddy phone gone?” she gasped, flinging her arms out, turning this way and that as she frantically scanned the room.
“It’s in your hand.” Suzy was watching Donna with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Donna shook her head. Her phone’s screen was lit, the line still open. “I’ve got to go,” she told Sarah Smith, hardly aware of what she was saying. “I’ve got to phone my daughter.”
“Donna? Is something wrong?”
Ending the call, Donna tapped her favorites list with shaking fingers. As she put her mobile back to her ear she held her breath, waiting for Reese’s phone to ring.
Your call cannot be completed as dialed, please check the number-
Cursing under her breath, Donna hung up and tried again, and then a third time, punching the number in manually. It was no use. The call wouldn’t connect.
“I don’t understand,” she moaned, feeling every bit as helpless as Shaun always claimed she was in stressful situations. “Even if her phone’s off, I should still get voicemail-“
The phone buzzed in her hand. Donna’s heart gave one great bound, only to sink when she saw the number on the screen. Sarah again.
“Donna? You didn’t phone me back.“
“There’s hostages,” Donna told her, pacing, one hand in her hair. “I don’t know if they’ve got her! I don’t know what to do!”
“What are you talking about? Got who?”
“My daughter, that’s who!” she shouted, frustrated and panicked and so, so afraid. “My Reese! I annoyed her, it’s my fault she left, and now she might be-“
“Look, Donna!” Suzy called out, pointing at the TV. “My daddy’s there now, he’ll save her for you!”
“What?” Mobile still at her ear, Donna tried her best to breathe. “Your daddy? He’s a soldier?”
Nose crinkling, Suzy shook her head vigorously. “No, course not. He tells soldiers what to do. See him there, at the top of the steps, by the doors?”
Although the library was now in the background of the news report, it was easy to pick out who Suzy meant, the one man on the scene who was not clad in head-to-toe black. He stuck out, sore thumb-like, in a long violet coat, and was that a bow-tie? The man looked like he should be head of staff at some posh hotel, not the commander of an army.
And yet, his authority was clear as day. As was the respect, and even awe, with which the team of soldiers regarded him.
The tight coil of her stomach relaxed, just a little.
Small, cool fingers threaded with hers, and she met Suzy’s eyes. Something about them still made her shiver, but they were calm, confident, far wiser than they should be. “He’s going to help her,” Suzy repeated, and somehow, Donna believed her.
“Donna. Donna?” A tinny voice came from her phone’s speaker. How long had Sarah been trying to get her attention?
“Meet me at the Chiswick Library,” Donna instructed Sarah without preamble. “On Dukes Ave. I’ve got to find out what’s going on. I’ve got to get my daughter.”
“Donna, no, please, don’t do that. Don’t take Suzy down there. Her father is on scene, he’s a… a special consultant. I’m sure he won’t want his child there. Will you please just wait and I’ll come fetch-“
“Wait?” countered Donna, hackles rising. “Would you stay home and wait, if your child were in danger? Sorry, Sunshine, but I don’t care one whit about you saving face when I’ve got to save my daughter. You’ll come for Suzy at the bloody Chiswick Library, and perhaps next time you won’t lose her.”
Ending the call, she found Suzy watching her, brown eyes full of affectionate awe.
Something about it made Donna’s heart swell, almost as if she were used to having someone gaze at her in such a way, long ago.
Ridiculous. She must really be losing it.
Suzy hopped down from the stool, her hand still in Donna’s. “You think you’re scared, but you’re not,” she declared, her smile wide and sweet. “I’ve heard you’re the bravest woman in the world.”
Donna snorted, shaking her head. “Ha, I wish. But you know what? I don’t think a mother is ever too scared to try and save her daughter.”
“I know,” replied Suzy, nodding. “My mummy is the bravest woman in the universe.” She inclined her head towards the door. “Allons-y?”
“Right-o, kid. Allons-y.”
********
Nothing was going to stop Donna from storming that library, or so she’d thought. In reality though, she could hardly even see it. Not surrounded as it was, by a veritable fortress of chaos- cameras and reporters and news vans and spectators, thickly ringing a sturdy military barricade of fences and soldiers. It was absolutely bonkers.
It was only by wielding a couple of her best-honed skills -stubbornness, and a stout set of lungs- that Donna had managed to grab any attention at all.
“If that high-and-mighty officer bloke doesn’t come back,” she said to Suzy, wryly, “what do you think of me inserting myself into one of those news reports?”
Suzy’s eyes lit up.
“Ms. Noble?” called grim-faced lieutenant Zane from the opposite side of the barricade, startling Donna with his prompt reappearance. When she’d spoken to (well, shouted at) him several minutes ago, he’d done his best to stonewall her. Now his tone was soft, almost deferential.
“Oh no, is my daughter-“
“Reese Temple is fine, ma’am. We are negotiating for her release.”
At once, Donna’s lungs could hold air again; she wanted to go hug the man, and slap him. “Finally, a straight answer. Why couldn’t you have-
The rough scrape of metal dragged against concrete drowned her out, as two soldiers created a small gap in the metal fence. Zane gestured to it. “Come with me, please.”
With a tight nod, Donna obeyed, tugging a very willing Suzy along behind her. The child had hardly said two words since they’d arrived, utterly enthralled with watching soldiers bustle about like orderly ants, weapons at their hips.
It was all rather impressive. Even Donna could see that, upset as she was. A large area around the library had been cordoned off, secured by a tight perimeter, and now, inside of it, the air practically reeked with confidence and power. Sturdy boots stomped, orders were barked, shoulders were squared. Shiny, black jeeps and huge cargo vans gleamed in the sunlight, mighty as the commanders they transported. Donna let the feel of it seep into her bones, let it comfort her. Surely such people could help her daughter.
Before long, Zane halted at the rear of the largest vehicle Donna had seen yet, an unmarked silver lorry. Three sharps knocks later and the door at the back swung open, revealing a slim older woman with blonde bobbed hair.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Zane,” she said, gracefully descending the temporary stairs that had been set against the lorry’s bumper. “I’ll take it from here.”
Saluting, he scurried away, and the woman smiled warmly at Donna and Suzy. “Ms Noble, I presume?” she said, a note of that same odd deference in her voice. “I’m Kate Stewart, Chief Scientific Officer of UNIT. So sorry to meet you under such circumstances. I’d like to assure you that the situation is being carefully assessed by our best people, and that no civilians, including your daughter, have been seriously injured. You will be kept in the loop, upon my word.”
Tears filled Donna’s eyes at such unexpected kindness. “Oh, thank you so much. I don’t suppose I could talk to her, could I? I’ve tried phoning myself, but it wouldn’t connect.”
Kate Stewart looked thoughtful. “At the moment, I don’t believe that’s a possibility. I’m sorry.”
“But if she’s alright and you’ve got people in there-“
“We’re communicating with our people via closed-circuit radio. There’s no working phones or computers on site, for reasons that are classified.”
Something about how she said it sent a chill down Donna’s spine. She glanced at Suzy, who was leaned up against her, big-eyed, hanging on every word. Not wanting to be overheard by a six-year-old’s ears, Donna lowered her voice. “It’s not terrorists, is it?”
“No, no, nothing like that, don’t worry. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’m going to have one of my best men escort you and your little one to our command center. It’ll be a far more cheerful place to wait this out, with chairs and tea and-
“I’m not leaving,” Donna cut in loudly. “And don’t go changing the subject. What do those, those criminals want, in a bloody library of all places? What do they need my daughter as hostage for?”
“I’m sorry,” Kate repeated, the steely gleam in her eye at odds with her soft tone. “I can’t tell you that.”
Donna leaned in, ready for battle. “It’s got to be about money, it always is. Why can’t you just give them what they want? It’s not worth risking people’s lives!”
“We are doing our best to not put anyone at risk, and that includes you and your little girl here, Ms Noble. You’ll be much safer elsewhere.”
Suzy’s clear voice floated in. “I’m not Donna’s little girl, silly Kate Stewart. I’m Suzy Tyler.”
The CSO, till now so self-assured and unshakable, paled before Donna’s eyes. “What?”
“Right, about that,” Donna hurried to say, Kate’s shock making her wonder how big a mistake she’d made, bringing Suzy here. “I know she’s the daughter of your special consultant. She told me. We just met a couple hours ago -long story- and I didn’t want to expose her to all this, but I had no choice. Her aunt should be here soon.”
Kate didn’t answer, her full attention fixed on Suzy. “Oh dear, you were just a baby when I last saw you,” she said. “But... what are you doing with Donna? I thought…” She shook herself, crouching to look Suzy square in the eye. “Do your parents know about this?”
Suzy kicked at the asphalt, guilt in the set of her shoulders and the scrunch of her nose.
“Okay,” said Kate to herself, jamming a hand into her hair. “Okay. If you’ll just… both of you, please wait, I need to-“
The trailer’s back door swung open again, and a younger blonde poked her head out. “Kate? I’ve got something that you need to-“
All at once her breath caught, her eyes popped wide, her mouth frozen in the shape of the last word she’d spoken. If Kate had been shocked, well, this poor woman was absolutely horrified.
Only she wasn’t staring at Suzy, but at Donna.
“Oh my god,” she murmured, hand finding her mouth. Her gaze fell to the girl at Donna’s side. “Oh Suzy, what have you done?”
“Mummy, like I been telling you, it’s the TARDIS. She wanted me to-”
“Susan, hush!”
“TARDIS?” echoed Donna, wincing as a burning pressure began to build behind her eyes. She pressed her fingers to her temples, squinting through the pain, as a blue box lit by starlight shimmered into her mind’s eye. How had she forgotten the TARDIS?
A hand clasped her wrist and she pried her eyes open, beholding a very worried face.
How had she forgotten that face?
“Rose?”
Fire crested, a blaze of heat and light and gold. Then she knew only black silence.