"The Doctor and Amy Pond...and the days that never came. The cracks are closing. But they can't close properly til I'm on the other side. I don't belong here. I think I'll skip the rest of the rewind, I hate repeats. Live well. Love Rory." he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Bye-bye Pond".

He braced himself, ready to completely cease existing. Sure enough, the room surrounding him and the sleeping Amelia Pond faded away...yet to his shock, it was quickly replaced with a new scene...an all-too familiar scene...as he watched a younger version of himself stagger to his TARDIS as an Ood faded from view.

"NO!" screamed the older man as he watched his TARDIS vanish, watched as a tiny, but visible crack was revealed with his ship's departure. "I said I wanted to skip the rewind! Please, I don't want to live through these regenerations!"

But it was too late. The scene was fading, only to be replaced with another, like a half-remembered dream. He saw the shock and utter joy on his face at being alive, saw that instantly disappear as the knocks occurred. His older self watched ashamedly as he raged against fate, his two hearts feeling pity for the man who never stopped running, himself. Was that even possible? He stood, paralyzed, as the door was shut, the body crumpled pathetically to the floor. There was nothing he could do.

Before he knew it, the scene had changed. Donna. His brilliant Donna. He wanted so desperately to say something, anything, to let her know she was there. Yet as he watched, he realized. This was not his Donna. This Donna had forgotten him. He couldn't even whisper words in her ear- the Time Lord in her would instantly recognize him and therefore burn. Soon, he thought with a sigh,Donna would have nothing to remember. Maybe then he would stop feeling guilty...oh, wait. Soon he would stop feeling anything.

Tears welled in his eyes the next time he saw her. His brave Donna, his silly, humany wumany Donna. She would have been such great friends with Pond. He approached the bench she was sitting on, ready to come up with something, anything, until he saw that she was not alone. Donna appeared to be arguing with a blonde haired woman...not just any blonde haired woman...Rose. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at two women that he dearly loved and never expected to see again. He was content just to stare at them.

Too soon, much too soon, Rose got up and walked away. The Doctor was so very tempted to follow Rose, to speak to her, hold her in his arms and never let go, but he knew his place was with Donna. Another Donna that still didn't know him, he deduced. Donna didn't turn left.

As he followed her home, he gathered through conversation that all hell had broken loose in this alternate timeline. The Earth was in a state of panic, reeling from the disasters that he vividly remembered preventing. Wait a minute, he realized. In his mind, this timeline had changed. It was no longer a possible future. It was the future, the future once he ceased to exist. And there was nothing he could do about it.

He knew what he had to do. He had to help Rose convince Donna to die while she still had something to die for. That night, when Donna was about to fall asleep, he whispered into her ear: "Donna, you are so important and so, so brave. Go to her. Save the world".

The last thing he saw before he faded away was Donna's back marching resolutely towards Cardiff.

Finally, he got to see his Donna, a Donna that knew him, that brought him so much joy. His best friend. She was in a robe, lounging poolside. Midnight. Without hesitating, he dialed Donna, a number that he had long since deleted from his phone yet was still perfectly committed to memory.

She picked up second ring. "Hullo, Donna Noble, temp and companion-but-not-in-the-sexual-way speaking!"

"Donna! Hallo!" his voice cracked as he held in tears.

"It's a friend of the Doctor's. Now listen to me carefully, Donna. After we're done talking I want you to alert the authorities here. There's trouble on the Doctor's travel-route, and they need to get a head start over there."

He watched Donna's face instantly fill with panic for him. How much longer can these things squeeze at my hearts before they break?, he wondered.

She interjected with many half-formed protests. "Wha-How do you-How can I trust-How can I get to him?"

"Shhh, Donna", and amazingly, she complied. "Just trust me on this". The tone of his voice visibly calmed her. Could she recognize him?

"Now after you alert the authorities, wait here. He'll come back to you. But when he does...I don't want you to say much, okay? Just be there for him. Comfort him as best you can. He loves you so much. You're his best friend and you mean so much to him. And you always will...he-he told me that".

Donna's face, though full of happiness at his words, contorted with confusion. "Who-who are you?"

He felt himself fading away. Soon Donna would be reunited with her Doctor, and he would be able to enjoy her hilarious company again for a while longer.

"I'm nobody, Donna Noble. I guess you could say I hardly exist at all".

He hung up the phone and faded away.