Author's Notes: Standard disclaimers apply. "Doctor Who" is the property of the BBC, and no infringement is intended.

Special thanks as always to Sonic Jules for encouragement and beta assistance.

He never imagined he would miss her snarky comments, but he did. In his wildest dreams—and he'd had a few in his nine hundred-plus years—he'd never have thought he'd crave her brash challenges to half of the words that left his mouth. But he did. He really, truly, honestly did.

The Doctor was restless, puttering around the console, zapping semi-randomly at various bits and bobs. A few zapped back. Occasionally he yelped when a shock was particularly strong, but he didn't complain. At least the ship was communicating with him. That was more than he could say for Donna.

She had been uncharacteristically quiet since their departure from The Library three days ago. The entire experience had left him weary and bemused too, of course, but he'd bounced back after a few hours. He'd expected the same of her. She'd been resilient in the past, snapping back into her robust personality and ready to face the next escapade in no time at all. But it seemed that something was different this time round; something was gnawing at Donna Noble, weighing heavily upon her, and leaving her taciturn and brooding. And the Doctor didn't like it one bit.

There was only one thing for it, really. He needed to give her someone to save. Her innate compassion would surely ignite when faced with the downtrodden. Maybe he'd even feign a bit of disinterest, just enough to spark a hint of indignation in her. That would do the trick. He grinned thinly at his plan and began tapping at one of the keyboards.

"Now, where to go," he muttered, slipping on his spectacles as symbols flashed past his gaze upon the screen.

"Fancy a little trip?" he asked cheerfully.

He'd found Donna in the kitchen, her hands wrapped around a mug of cold tea. She'd been staring off into space and had actually startled at his initial words.

She shook her head and blinked at him. "What're you on about?"

He waited a moment in case she wanted to call him "space man" or "stupid alien git," but she ended the question without such endearments.

"A trip, Donna," he continued, smiling a bit too broadly. "We've been cooped up in here for ages. Well, I say ages; I mean thirty-one hours, nine minutes, and fourteen seconds, Terran standard time. But that's long enough. A body needs fresh air and sunshine, and some sticky pudding never hurts once in a while, either. Ooh, I love sticky toffee pudding! Especially the sort with those crunchy little bits of actual toffee mixed in with a few chocolate shavings. Have you ever had that kind? I know this little sweet shop on Gnigngnnger-2… makes the best sticky toffee pudding in the universe. What d'you say?"

She shrugged. "Don't mind, I suppose."

He had anticipated a little more enthusiasm than that. Didn't everyone love sticky toffee pudding? Apparently not, he presumed, because Donna's gaze had returned to the cloudy liquid in her cup. She exhaled a small sigh.

Not unmoved, the Time Lord's voice softened as he asked, "Is there somewhere else you'd rather go? Would you like to stop off in Chiswick to see your granddad?"

She lifted her head, and he saw a sudden flash of emotion in her eyes. "God, no."

"No?" he repeated, confused by her response.

"That's the last place I want to be." Her tone was shifting from apathetic to vehement in a heartbeat.

Perplexed, he said, "I thought after what happened… that maybe you'd want to be with your family."

She shook her head. "And have to hear all about Nerys and her latest boyfriend—probably fiance by now—and all of my other friends and cousins and their husbands and babies and kids." She swallowed, and he saw the brightness in her eyes.

The Doctor reached for her hand, covering it gently with his. "There's still time for that."

"Is there?" He felt her stiffen, but she didn't pull her hand away. "Wasn't even sure that's what I wanted, after Lance, I mean."

He nodded in understanding. "It wasn't real, Donna. You know that."

"Seemed real enough at the time. The emotions, I mean. Those children—I really loved them, and I can still feel it. I'd never felt anything like that before. And even with Lance, it wasn't the same as with Lee. What I felt for him was so much deeper, so much stronger."

A tear rolled down her cheek. He dabbed at it with the edge of a serviette. "I know it was difficult for you."

Her head jerked up suddenly, back from his touch. "You never even asked their names," she said with a resentful sniff.

"Their names?"

"The children. My children." Her cheeks were flushed with emotion and wet with tears.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I didn't. What were their names?"

Slightly mollified by the kindness of his tone, she responded, "Josh and Ella."

"Those are lovely names."

"They are, aren't they? D'you think that's what I'd really call them?"

"I don't know, Donna."

She swept her hands over her cheeks then drew a deep breath. "Right. So, about this sticky toffee pudding place. Gurgle or Gargle or whatsit."

"Gnigngnnger-2," he corrected benignly.

"Yeah, whatever. But only one bowl for you, space man. Too much sugar makes you as hyper as a six-year-old with a raging case of ADHD." As soon as the words left her mouth, she swallowed back another sob.

"Only one bowl. I promise." He stood and offered her his hand.

With a quiet nod, she took it.

Gnigngnnger-2, as it turned out, was in the same system as Ngengngner-3. In fact, the two celestial bodies were twin planets, each held in orbit by the gravitational pull of the other. They were remarkably similar in geography and climate, and both were at a level of cultural, technological, and industrial development similar to late-20th century Earth. However, Gnigngnnger-2's government was regional, with laws varying widely from one small province to another. A few of the provinces still allowed indentured servitude, and it was to one of these regions that the Doctor intended to take Donna. He knew that the laws were tenuous at best and easily subject to change. It was all in the burgess's hands. He just needed a little nudge, preferably from a strong-willed redhead…

The Doctor was quite sure that he was not dyslexic. He was absolutely certain that he'd programmed the coordinates correctly. Perhaps the ship was suffering from a bit of fatigue and misread the code. Surely the Time Lord's random zaps earlier in the day had nothing to do with it…

Whatever the cause, Ngengngner-3 awaited them when he and Donna stepped from the TARDIS. At first he didn't even realize the mistake, because the two planets were remarkably similar on the surface. Indeed, he was halfway through his second plate of pudding before he grew a bit suspicious of his surroundings. For one thing, there wasn't an indentured servant in sight. He'd been a little too wrapped up in his dessert to notice at first, but eventually it dawned on him that all of the employees appeared content and free. Indeed, the work environment seemed extremely pleasant and warm.

His next clue was the sudden change in ambient temperature, followed shortly by the people's response to it. The easy camaraderie all around him shifted to nervous discussion and an abrupt focus upon the sky.

The Doctor looked up, too. Darkness was rapidly spreading from the east.

"Oh!" he said in sudden realization, resisting the urge to slap his forehead. "It's a roving eclipse! I haven't seen one of these in years—"

"An eclipse?" Donna repeated, setting aside her half-eaten pudding. "Looks like it's creating a bit of a panic."

"Roving eclipses are sudden and can't be predicted with the existing technology here," he explained. "They're not really eclipses at all, at least not in the astronomical sense. And they don't occur on Gnigngnnger-2, only on Ngengngner-3. But that's all right, because you, Donna Noble, will get the chance to witness something fairly rare and relatively unique to this planet."

His rapt gaze was still locked upon the rapidly changing sky. A smile spread across the Time Lord's face.

Donna's elbow poking his ribcage immediately erased the happy grin, replacing it with a quick grimace of pain.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his side. "What'd you do that for?"

"Get your mind out of the sky and back on the ground. Something's going on here."

His eyes swept the large, walled plaza. Tables were emptying swiftly as feet pounded over the pavement. Everyone was leaving, and the mass exodus was becoming disorderly. Quick shoves turned into full-blown pushes, and several people stumbled and fell. Yelling and cursing ensued as men and women fled through several gates.

"Why're they all running away?" Donna asked. "Eclipses aren't dangerous."

"Shouldn't be, and there's nothing inherently harmful about this type, either." He grabbed the arm of a young man who hurried past their table. "Oi! What're you running from?" he asked.

The youth tried to pull himself from the strong grip. "It's not safe," he replied hastily, his eyes darting around.

"What's not safe?" Donna asked.

The young man's free hand swept upward. "This! You need to get inside, out of the open." He twisted free and sprinted away.

The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and made a quick scan of the area. "Atmospheric disturbance. Sudden change in air pressure. Come on, Donna, we'd better follow along. Things may get a little unpleasant in about sixty seconds."

They were at the tail end of the crowd for a few moments, swept along toward the nearest gate. Donna was at his side, but as the throng grew he lost sight of her.

"Donna!" he called as he neared the gate.

Bodies shoved past him, nearly knocking him to the ground more than once. As the crowd thinned, he stood on tiptoe to peer out, intent on finding his companion. In thirty seconds the disturbance would be at its strongest, and he'd prefer to be inside when that happened.

"Donna!" he yelled again.

Suddenly she was huffing toward him, pulling a little boy of three or four by the hand. There was a tear in the fabric above his knee, and blood was smeared over his pants leg. He was sniffling as he stumbled along.

"He was all alone," she explained rapidly, pushing the child toward the Doctor. "Must've got separated from his mum."

The air was growing thick and oppressive as darkness shrouded the plaza almost entirely.

"We need to get inside!" the Doctor shouted, holding out an encouraging hand to the boy. The child tripped, falling hard to the pavement. Immediately he began to wail.

Donna scooped him up into her arms.

"Now, Donna!" he urged.

"Yeah," she panted, "right behind you."

The Doctor's long legs carried him to the safety of the shop. Someone took his arm and pulled him inside just before the door slammed shut.

"Wait!" he cried. "My friend's still out there! There's a child outside, too!" He tried to reach for the doorknob, but strong hands closed around his forearms.

Through the window he saw complete darkness descend. Donna was gripping the child, stumbling toward the shop as her pale, alarmed face disappeared. The door vibrated slightly, and the glass reverberated with a dull rattle.

And then, just as quickly as the darkness swept in, it yielded to daylight once again. The Doctor jerked away from the restraining grips and lunged for the door. He flung it open to find Donna about two meters away, on her hands and knees. The little boy lay beneath her. She must have covered his body with hers.

He rushed out to them. "All right?" he asked.

She was checking the child but looked up at his query. "Yeah, think so. You all right, sweetie?" She ran a hand over the child's rumpled hair.

He looked up at her with teary eyes. "Leg hurts."

She pulled the boy into her lap as the Doctor examined the injury. "That's not so bad," he said gently. "Just a scrape."

And then a couple was rushing toward them, calling for their son. The boy held out his arms as they approached. The woman pulled him from Donna's lap, hugging him tightly as she crooned to him.

"He's all right," Donna reassured the anxious parents.

"He was just gone," the father said, stroking his son's hair. "I had his hand, and then several people passed by, and he… "

"Everything's fine," Donna said calmly.

The man nodded. "Thank you."

His wife glanced up, her gaze penetrating for an instant. "Yes." She offered the older woman a single nod then turned away, carrying her son toward the shop. Her husband followed.

People were emerging from the buildings now, gradually filling the plaza again. The Time Lord helped Donna to her feet as she brushed herself down. Her shirt was askew, and she smoothed it back into place.

"Did you trip?" he asked.

"No, someone pushed me, I think. Must've been one of the last to get into the shop."

"Crowd mentality," he sighed. "Same everywhere."

"So what happened? Almost felt like an earthquake, but it seemed to come from the air. Which doesn't make any sense," she mused. "Eclipses don't do that."

"This kind does. It's a dimensional eclipse. For just a few minutes, two dimensions overlap. Happens only on planets with strong magnetic-chronological-temporal resonance."

"What the hell's that?"

"I'll explain on the way back to the ship."

"We're leaving already?"

"Yep. You think the sticky toffee pudding here is good? Wait'll you taste the one they make on Gnigngnnger-2!"

To be continued...