Chapter Text
It was strange how normal the world looked. Just a few days ago there was a horrible mannequin thing harassing him about old skin in the shadows of his ex's apartment. And now he was walking to the corner store for bread, while everyone went about their day under an overcast sky, as if all was right in the world.
He needed to figure out where he was going to stay. After Orsinov had shown up he just didn't feel safe at Georgie's anymore. He told her he just wanted to protect her, and he did, he would never forgive himself if something happened to her. But really he was just scared. Maybe… maybe he should start staying at the archives. He hated the idea, couldn't stand the thought of being so close to the center of it all, but… well there was a cot and a shower, even if the hot water only lasted three minutes, according to Martin.
The streets of London were bustling with people and cars, so when a white van parked in a delivery zone a few paces in front of him, nothing seemed amiss. Two people, large typical delivery men, got out from either side.
"Scuse us."
It took a moment for Jon to realize he was talking to him.
"Are you Jonathan Sims?" The other asked as he walked around the van to stand behind him.
"Yeah, wh–?"
Then he saw the name on the side of the van and his heart sank. "Oh, sh–" One of them shoved him in the chest, hard, sending him toppling into the second one. Before he could register anything besides the sudden difficulty to breathe he found himself in the back of the van, rough hands holding his arms painfully behind his back.
"Miss Orsinov wants to see you."
"She says she changed her mind."
Hands started rummaging through his pockets pulling out his phone, wallet, pocket watch and that damn lighter.
"No, I– I–" Jon started to say before a look from one of them quickly shut him up.
The first two objects disappeared into the Stranger’s pocket. He regarded the lighter and with a slight chuckle simply put it back into his pocket. "You can go ahead and keep that." His rumbling voice sent a chill of dread down his spine. He turned his attention to the watch. "What do you reckon this is, 'ope?" "I don't know Breeken. Why don't we open it an' see?"
Jon attempted to struggle."It– it's just an old pocket watch, you really–" he was cut off by his own yell of pain, quickly muffled by a hand on his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, pain digging into his shoulders and jaw, pressure steadily building. He could barely breathe, tears clouding his vision as his lungs began to burn.
The world went fuzzy.
This couldn't be it.
Jon’s vision dimmed. His lungs burned. It was all he could feel, all his mind could think about. Was he about to die?
Golden light lit up the dark van, just for a moment. The click of a tiny spring latch, a single fleeting moment.
And everything changed.
The pain eased, and breath came easier, but the world was still so far away.
"What the bloody ‘ell was that?"
Jon didn't answer.
"Not part o’ the job. Just toss it an' let's get a move on."
His hearts pounded in his ears. He was alive once more.
The doors slammed shut and the van sped off, leaving nothing but a broken old pocket watch in its wake.
"Oh hello." The Doctor skipped over to a small readout on the console. Donna was sitting slumped on the jump seat, head tilted and resting on the back of it.
"Oh, look at that! The thing here went ding! It hasn't gone ding in years ."
Donna raised her head to look at him incredulously. "The thing went ding? That's not very sophisticated science talk, spaceman."
"Oi! Not everything can be translated into your simple three dimensional language! You lot haven't even figured out light speed yet!"
Donna scoffed in amusement. "Still goes ding though."
The Doctor wasn't listening, already running around flipping switches, pulling levers and doing other miscellaneous actions that Donna was almost sure were completely random. Sometimes she thought the TARDIS was the one actually doing all the work and the Doctor was just there to run around like a madman. She made a show of sighing and reluctantly pulling herself up to a normal sitting position.
Still, the engines pumped and everything shook violently, so he must be doing something right, even if she had no hope to understand it.
And then the Doctor was rushing past her and snatching up his coat. "Well come on then!"
The Doctor had already stepped out, the doors falling closed behind him. Despite what she pretended, she felt the thrill of adventure push her forward, eager to see what lay behind those wooden doors. She didn't say that too often though, god knows the Doctor needed a good kick in the ego every once in a while.
She stepped out of the TARDIS into a busy London street, filled with people dressed in typical 2010s clothes. Home then. The thrill didn't go away, there was plenty to see right here on earth, you just had to know where to look. And if there's one thing Donna knew about the Doctor, it's that he had a nose for trouble.
And apparently his nose found something interesting on the pavement. The doors clicked behind her. She waited for him to jump up from his crouched position and ramble on about what he found at a million miles per hour.
But instead he slowly straightened, staring intently at something in his hand.
His expression was grave.
"... Doctor?" He looked at her like she was a million miles away.
"It's a biodata module." Donna frowned, waiting for him to go on. He hesitated, looking at the thing in his hand.
Like it could change the course of the universe. "This… This belonged to a Timelord."
And maybe it would.