Doctor Who - 01 - Past Future Continuous

10. Torchwood in Chiswick

The huge black SUV looked strangely out of place on a narrow Chiswick's street. Clung close to the high kerbstone, squeezed in between a skip and several green rubbish bins, it resembled a hailstorm cloud in a clear blue sky. The neighbours scrutinized it from behind their front rooms' curtains, but the kids openly swarmed around the car, gaping through the windows at countless electronic gadgets cluttering the interior of the Torchwood's vehicle.

Ianto took a cup of tea from Sylvia's hands and turned towards the window.

"Milk and two sugars?" Donna's mother made sure.

"Erm... Yes, thanks." Ianto did not take sugar with his tea, but the woman looked so distracted and scared, he did not have a heart to say no. He took a swig of treacly tea. "Lovely, perfect, thank you."

The door slammed somewhere in the house. Both Sylvia and Ianto started, the later spilling some tea onto the shiny flooring. Gwen ran across the corridor, followed by Jack, striding quickly with Donna in his arms. Martha walked last, hurriedly closing her doctor's bag. Sylvia gasped, pressing both hands to her mouth.

"Wha... What have you done?! What have you done, you...?!"

"We're taking her to Torchwood," Jack said.

"But... but what...?"

"Mrs Noble," Jack stopped for a moment; Donna's head resting on his shoulder, her limp arm swinging slightly. "We have tohurry."

"This... Doctor." Sylvia infused the last word with all her mistrust and loathing. "He said she couldn't remember... He assured us it wouldn't happen. He promised..."

"I know," Jack gave her a compassionate, if slightly vexed look. "The Doctor's a genius, Mrs Noble, he's a wonderful... a... wonderful... being, but even the Doctor makes mistakes. So if we want to save Donna, we better hurry."

"But... what can you do?"

Jack's silence lasted a little too long. Behind his back, Martha bit her lips and lowered her head.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way." Jack Harkness squeezed through the narrow doorway and marched towards the SUV, scaring away the kids surrounding it.

"Why is he not responding?" shouted Sylvia. "We've tried to call, a million times; that mobile should always work, he promised. Why can't we ask the Doctor?"

Jack lowered Donna gently onto the SUV's backseat. Martha, pushing her way through the door, opened her mouth to answer, but Jack turned towards Sylvia and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Because nobody knows where he is," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, Mrs Noble."

Wilfred stepped out onto the porch, shouldering an almost empty backpack. He was pale, his hair dishevelled, black circles under his eyes.

"I'm going with you," he announced.

"Wilf..." Jack paused for a second. "Wilf, it's not a good..."

"Are you worried about your secrets?" The old man clenched his teeth, trying to hold back tears. "Tough! I'm worried about my little girl. I won't leave her alone in that secret base of yours!"

Martha grabbed Jack – beginning of protest on his mouth – by the elbow, and shook him slightly.

"Leave it," she whispered.

"Hmmm..." Jack pushed his hands into trousers' pockets, inhaled deeply, then reached for Wilf's backpack. "We can use all the help... I suppose."

"I..." started Sylvia but Jack quickly swivelled towards the SUV.

"Yes, goodbye, Mrs Noble. We'll stay in touch."

Sylvia was standing on the threshold long after the black car had disappeared at the end of the street. She knew she was attracting neighbours attention, but she could not care less. She had convinced herself that Donna was nothing but an endless trouble, but still she loved her more than anybody in the world. She loved Donna, and she would give anything to find out that some other woman had saved the Earth and all Universes; she would give anything to make Donna a plain, useless, silly girl, screaming at the world that never listened.