In And Through The Body [ Doctor Who | sequel to A Man With Sins ]

FIVE

Wilfred, the Doctor, and I ended up at a cafe after we'd managed to get away from the large group of people Wilfred had with him in the dockyard. The Doctor and I had both accepted the fact that we'd lost the Master for now, and it was painful. If Wilfred and his group hadn't run into us, we would've been able to catch up with him and take him down. Or at least attempt to. We'd gone past at least fifteen cafes to get to this one, which had me curious, but I let it go as we all took a seat inside. Wilfred was overjoyed to see us, even though he was really interrupting our important business. "Who are you?" I questioned him, placing my hands flat on the table.

The old man looked confused for a second before he spoke. "It's me, Wilfred Mott. Who else would I be?"

"People have waited hundreds of years to find me, and you managed it so quickly. It just doesn't make sense." The Doctor chimed.

Looking between the both of them, it was obvious how confused the Doctor and I were. This man had found us faster than Ood Sigma had. "I guess I'm just lucky."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, I think." My words were strong as they left me. "For some reason the Doctor and I just keep running into you, over and over, as if something is connecting us to you." 

"Well what's so important about me?" Wilfred questioned, sipping a cup of hot tea.

"I don't know. Why you?" The Doctor paused, and that same sadness I had seen earlier returned to him. "I'm going to die, Wilfred."

"Yeah, but I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body."

Shaking my head, I looked at Wilfred with a sad smile. "We can still die. If we're killed before regeneration, then we're dead. Even then, even if we change, it feels like dying. Everything we are dies. Some new person goes sauntering away." My words broke my own heart. Thinking about the Doctor I knew now disappearing was tearing me to shreds on the inside. Wilfred was listening, but something outside the shop window seemed to have his attention. "What're you looking at?" Turning slowly in my chair, my eyes came to land on our red-headed friend.

Outside, Donna and a man were loading items into that same blue car she always drove. My heart dropped to my stomach. If Donna was to remember anything about the Doctor and I, it would burn her alive. What the hell was Wilfred thinking? "I'm sorry, but I had to." He hummed. "Can't you make her better? You're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back?" There was a sadness in Wilfred's eyes as well as he spoke. "Look, just go to her now. Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say hello." 

"If she remembers us, even for a moment, her mind will burn, Wilfred." My voice was stern, "Her mind will burn, and she will die, is that what you want?" My intention wasn't to hurt his feelings, it was to get my point across that I was not willing to risk Donna's life over a few happy memories with the Doctor and I. It wasn't worth her death. 

"Is she happy?" It was obvious by the Doctor's words that he missed having Donna around just as much as I did. I wish there was something I could do to ease his pain. 

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she's so sad, but she can't remember why. What about you two? Have you got anyone?"

Reaching under the table, I took the Doctor's hand into my own. "No, no one, just us." The Doctor muttered, "I thought it was better. But I did some things. It went wrong. I need-" His words dwindled off, and as I looked up at him, I watched tears begin to stain his cheeks. My hearts ached for him. This was his fate, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Memories of when the Doctor and I first met started to flood my mind. It had been him and Rose, and my cup of coffee. I didn't know it then, that he was a Timelord, but that didn't matter. Swallowing thickly, I squeezed the Doctor's hand a few times beneath the table as he used his other one to wipe away his tears.