Chapter One: Believing

"Doctor," Amy whispered in his ear. "Why are we here?"

The Doctor did not answer but continued to observe the crowd of people in the market.

Rory swatted at a fly buzzing around his head.

"Doctor," he said rather loudly and impatiently. "Why are we here?"

The only acknowledgement the Doctor gave was an off-handed hush as his eyes scanned the people below them. It was hot and Amy who was in shorts and a blue tank top was sweating profusely and get antsy about waiting any longer. Her husband gave her an exasperated look. When Amy said nothing, but instead just shrugged, Rory spoke again.

"We have been out here for an hour and a half." He said hotly. "It is hellishly hot here—wherever we are —since you refuse to tell us, and—"

"Doctor!" A feminine voice called from somewhere in the crowd.

Amy and Rory looked at each other and then at the Doctor, who was watching the square more urgently now, his eyes scanning back and forth faster than seemed humanly possible. And then they stopped.

He stepped out of the little bit of shade they had managed to find and started pushing through shoppers. Amy and Rory followed without a word or pretense as he weaved his way through the crowd. His eyes were fixed on one of the people: a violently red haired woman in a light blue dress that hugged her curves nicely. She seemed to be looking for someone.

"Doctor?" she called, but her cry was lost amongst the patrons of the various shops and carts and voices.

Amy caught with the Doctor. "Why don't you go to her?"

"She's not looking for me." he said, his eyes still not straying from the woman just seven feet away from them.

"But she's calling for you?" she looked muddled.

"What, you think there isn't more than one person called Doctor, eh?"

"Well, yes, but she seems to be looking for you and not Dr. Seuss."

"I met him once, lovely man, kept asking if I liked green eggs and ham. Yes I am the Doctor she is looking for."

"Then why don't you go to her?" Amy asked impatiently.

"Because I'm not the one she's looking for."

"But you just said—" Rory panted from behind them.

"Different Doctor, same man." He tipped his a bit as if in consideration. "Same Doctor, different man."

Rory and Amy gave each other looks as they continued after the Doctor. The woman turned left and into a shaded alley way between an apothecary and a shady looking book store. The Doctor and his companions followed hastily.

The alley was empty. Completely empty, besides three tall rubbish bins and what looked like the remains of a small dog, or perhaps, a large rat.

The Doctor gave a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "We lost her. This was our last chance and we lost—"

With what sounded like a battle cry, the red haired woman jumped out from behind the tallest rubbish bin, brandishing what looked like the skeleton of a badly bent umbrella, and began to hit the Doctor with it.

"Teach you—" Smack. Ow! "To follow—" Smack. Ow! "Me around!" Smack. OUCH!

Rory and Amy rushed forward to pull the Doctor out of the mad woman's range. The Doctor rubbed his head, looking at Donna with a hurt face.

"Why would you do that?" he asked angry and confused, wincing as he hit a particularly sore spot.

"Why were you following me?"

She swiped the umbrella at them and the Doctor clumsily fell to the ground at Amy and Rory's feet. He put to hands up in the air in surrender.

"Donna," he said, trying to sound calm. "Please, I need—"

With a look of rage, Donna started throwing bits of rubbish at him from the bins. "How do you know my name?"

"Donna, it's me!" the Doctor hollered, shielding himself with his arm and an old newspaper advertising dodo birds for sale in West Windle. He blocked an apple core. "The Doctor!"

Donna froze, a large boomerang shaped bone in her hand, ready to fire. "What?"

"Donna," the Doctor said slowly as he got to his feet, his eyes watching her cautiously. "Donna, it's me."

Her face softened as she looked him up and down. The Doctor smiled, nodding, and then quickly ducked as the bone caming flying toward him. He heard Rory say ow.

"You think I was going to fall for that?" she asked him, laughing at him. "Not very bright are you?"

"Donna, please, just listen to me for a moment." He said hotly. "I am the future Doctor, not the one you are traveling with right now."

"Well you got work done then. If you are him." she said haughtily.

He sighed. "There's something that the current Doctor and you haven't talked about yet; it's called regeneration. When I get hurt or I am on the verge of dying, my body heals itself, recreating me in the process. All Time Lords could do it."

Donna's face gave a twitch when he had said Time Lords. He smiled; he was getting to her.

"Donna," he asked carefully. "What do I have to do to convince you that I'm me?"

She stood a bit straighter. "How did we first meet?"

"You just appeared on my TARDIS, out of nowhere," he smiled. "In your wedding dress, attitude just shining off of you. You were angry; you were supposed to be getting married. But you never did marry the leech, did you? No I believe he died the same night as the Rachnoss."

Her lips twitched as if she was fighting off a smile. "And then I started traveling with you."

"Yes—no!" he said quickly. "We met again, nearly a year later. Adipose were running amuck in London. We sorted that out then you traveled with me."

Donna was clearly torn now, wanting to believe this strange man with the bow tie. "Umm…what did I do to shock you when you were poisoned?"

The Doctor grinned boyishly. "You kissed me."

Donna looked shocked. She looked to the others, as if just noticing they were there. She gawked at Amy.

"Are you my daughter?"

"No." Amy said firmly. "Just a fellow ginger."

"And Scottish."

"And Scottish." Amy confirmed.

Donna looked back at the Doctor, not unsure—She had never been unsure—but not completely comfortable looking.

"Sorry 'bout the rubbish ammo."

The Doctor smiled. He pointed to Amy and Rory. "These are my current companions: Amy and Rory Pond."

By habit Amy and the Doctor looked at Rory, waiting for him to correct the Doctor. But he just shrugged and the Doctor looked back to Donna.

She looked a little…still. "Current…companions?"

The Doctor didn't say anything.

But Amy stepped forward and shook Donna's hand. "Hullo."

"Hi." Donna kept looking at the Doctor. "I don't suppose you're here just to tell me about the regurgitation thing, are you?"

"Regeneration." The Doctor said. "And no. It's much bigger than that. It's much, much bigger and much more dangerous."

Donna was unfazed. "What's that?"

"I need you to open a door."