Note: This is simply a break from 'The Tenth Hour' and my Valentines Day gift to you all! :")

This story occurs before "Stolen Earth".

DISCLAIMER

This story is in no way associated with the BBC in any way.

I do not own 'Doctor Who' or any of the characters involved in this story.

They respectfully belong to the BBC.

Please enjoy!

In vain, he would always consider himself a proper fisherman solely because he would stop by the pier everyday and practise the usual routine: Choose the bait, add the appropriate hook, cast the line, wait and hook that fish. However, deep inside his conceited self, he only wanted to find an excuse to get out of work and enjoy the Norwegian Sea breeze.

Unfortunately, today seemed to be one of those days where he didn't get any lucky catches. Not even a nip at the bait could be felt, nor any swirl in the water to indicate if there were any fish. He sighed and pulled off his bowler cap to wipe his sweat-beaded forehead. It was approaching the start of summer where the beaches would generally be heaving with throngs of sun tanners to hyper inner-city children. Strangely, none could be seen. He wondered for a moment at this new revelation and remembered it was Valentines Day. How silly of him! Then again, he hasn't had a girlfriend since the invasion of the unexplained metal men seven months ago. His heart ached at the thought and he stifled a silent sob; his breathe hitching. He proceeded to take this opportunity to admire his surroundings instead and move on. Everything has its time…

It was then he noticed something at the corner of his eye - something red lying along the beach. Just as humans are, curiosity took over and he packed his fishing equipment, seeing as there won't be anything to catch. He sauntered towards the source of his interest and arched a brow as he found himself gazing at what was unmistakably a fresh rose intentionally placed on this very spot on the beach.

[5 months later]

The pier was closed due to some maintenance. Fishing rod and bait in hand, he sighed and decided to walk along the beach instead. If there's one thing for sure, no one could say 'yes' to the utterly refreshing Sea breeze like him. He closed his eyes and took a sniff, followed by a hum in approval. However, he came to an abrupt halt as he noticed another red rose placed on the exact same spot on the beach from five months ago. This time, he frowned at this miraculous apparition.

[2 years later]

It was from that point he saw the exact same rose in the same place on the beach two times for two years so far. Specifically, on February 14 and July 8. No matter how early he woke up to visit the beach to fish, he never managed to catch a glimpse of the mysterious rose bearer. It came to a point where he annoyingly accepted the fact that he will be unable to discover the meaning behind it all, so he continued his reoccurring routine of fishing. Nonetheless, it didn't stop him from taking a glance from his accustomed fishing spot at the very spot a rose would extraordinarily appear on these two particular dates. In fact, today was the 8th July.

~DW~

The TARDIS lazily drifted in orbit around the planet Earth. The Doctor sat slumped against the bed, clutching a leather purple jacket. He glared at it for a long while, let out a rather long sigh and preceded to lift the jacket to his nose and smell the familiar scent he'd been unreservedly longing for. He scrunched his eyes as memories of his one and only blonde companion crashed through the doors in his mind. His eyes began to burn - each little detail of her seeping into every nook and cranny of his mind jabbed at his hearts one by one. Eventually, the pain took its toll as the Time Lord's breath hitched and he hiccupped a sob, leaving him in an emotional turmoil.

He didn't notice the ginger woman peer into the bedroom and give him a look of total sympathy. "Oh, Spaceman…" Donna murmured, crossing in on the broken Time Lord. Immediately, he scrubbed his face with his sleeve in an attempt to hide the tears he was longing to shed. She crouched down beside her mate and wrapped him in an embrace, rubbing gentle circles on his back. The Doctor never felt this intimate with her, but it relaxed him a little. "It's today, isn't it?" She asked a little curiously.

The Doctor stared at her wide-eyed and she gave him a wry smile, handing him a yellow post-it note. "I found this on the console. Well, you leave many of these on the console, but they're all in Martian. This one was written in English…" she trailed off. The Doctor took the paper from her and read it again.

Don't forget July 8 2006

"My constant time travelling means my timeline isn't always in the right order. I need constant reminders…" He mumbled rather embarrassingly.

"That's the date you first met me," she reminded him. Donna chuckled at the next thought. "I was gonna get married. Until you showed up."

The Time Lord chuckled at the last part. His face lowered, however, as he spoke very quietly more to himself. "The same day Rose left…" Instantly, his head shot up to try and fight the oncoming tears. "I never got to say that I-" He caught himself and shook his head. "I never got to…" he stuttered but faltered. Instead, he buried his face into the purple jacket.

Donna felt utterly helpless. It was always him that saved her from monsters, Gods, demons and the lot, but when she needed to save the Doctor, all she could do was sit down and drown herself in his sadness whilst rubbing his back in comfort. She scowled and for the first time, she judged herself and concluded her unimportance to the universe.

The Doctor sensed her emotions and immediately turned to her. "Donna, don't you dare think you are unimportant. In 900 years of time and space, I've grown to believe that each and every being in this vast universe has the potential to change everything for the good and sometimes the bad. I believe in you." Donna looked at the Time Lord in awe. She studied him for a moment and smiled in approval when she concluded that he was being genuine.

"So what do we do now?" She asked.

The Doctor took a moment of deep thought. He handed Donna the purple jacket and clambered from the ground to leave the room. He sighed, as if regretting what he was about to declare. "Before we visit Catrigan Nova which is, by the way, the planet with whirlpools made of gold, I'd like to take you somewhere…" His voice couldn't be heard, as he grew further away into the depths of the TARDIS. Donna frowned slightly.

"Where?" She shouted. There was no reply, with the exception of the humming emanating from the Doctor's sentient ship.

The Time Lord came back into the room holding a freshly cut red rose. He took a deep breath and simply said "Dålig Ulv Stranden."

~DW~

The Doctor's frantic activity around the console began to slow down as the central column came to a halt and the hullabaloo of the TARDIS engines calmed down to a soft purr. He looked longingly at Donna and gave her a feeble smile and back down at the rose in his hand. He pointed his head towards the doors. "Should we?"

All Donna could do was nod. She followed the Doctor as he pulled the doors apart to reveal an empty beach. A refreshing sea breeze danced around her face and she closed her eyes to take it all in. The Doctor nervously stepped out and ambled a few paces away from the TARDIS. He stopped after exactly ten paces, as if he'd done this a million times and gently placed the flower upon the sand. "This was the exact place I left her in the other universe," he hesitated. At once, Donna stepped out of the ship to hold the Doctor as he brought his hands to his face to hide his tears. He clenched his fists and rubbed the heels of his palms against his eyes to wipe off the tears. Why couldn't he save her?! He rasped and screwed his eyes shut; preventing the light of reality from getting to him, yet foolishly allowing himself to the darkness eerily eating at his very soul. He could have saved her. So what if the universe collapses?

This time, great drops trickled down his cheeks; the heavy rainclouds in his mind letting loose their turbulent nature.
All Donna could do was watch him deteriorate. She wanted to cry with him, but his sadness was in no way measured up to all of her pains put together. Annoyingly, all she could do was to take him in an embrace and whisper soothing words to calm the weeping Time Lord.
What the Time Lord and his ginger companion didn't notice was a man who witnessed the whole scenario from the fishing pier.

Epilogue

Somewhere in Norway is a man who never fished in Bad Wolf Bay out of respect for a lost one.