Title: Epiphany
Author: eriknannie4evr
Rating: PG
Word Count: 657
Prompt: #5 Tattoo
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Nope.
Summary: TARDIS always knew the right thing to do...
A/N: Summary sucks, but hey, what's new?

The TARDIS had set him down in England, somewhere around her time. He hoped against some sick hope that he would open the door and see her walking his way, perfectly intact, perfectly Donna. She had become a tattoo on his mind, always there when he closed his eyes.

His hearts sank when all he was greeted by was a eerie silence in the morning light. He ambled around the small town. Was it called Hornsea or Withernsea? He couldn't remember. He seemed to be doing that a lot, forgetting.

The sea suddenly appeared before him and he slowly trudged towards the shore. Looking up, he began to name off the stars by rote. He had made it to Cassiopeia before he realized he was not alone. Glancing over, his hearts stopped as he openly stared.

Soft red hair blew in the breeze as a young woman quietly sketched the rising sun. She looked up and tender brown eyes scrutinized the horizon. She quickly went back to her work once the image had been imprinted.

A small beeping startled both of them and she quickly reached over and shut off the alarm. The Doctor knew she would surely see him once she stood up, but he couldn't find the strength to move away.

She was so familiar, like a ghost of a pleasant dream. He instantly thought of Donna with her red hair and smiling eyes. The similarities between the two set his mind to working, her appearance triggering his long unused instinct.

His thoughts were cut short though as he was suddenly face to face with the red headed stranger. She stared at him and he at her. As he moved to let her pass, he lost his balance and would have gone face-first into the sand had it not been for a small but nimble hand darting out to grab his arm.

"Are you alright?"

His heart clenched painfully, even her voice sounded like Donna's. He nodded and rose, dusting imaginary sand off his blazer. She was still staring at him, waiting for him to say something. He quickly stuck his hand out.

"I'm the Doctor."

She took his hand.

"Della."

Who was this doppelganger, this echo of his precious Donna? This girl who could have passed as family, as a child. Children. His whole existence ached with the thought that there would be no little boy or girl to run around the TARDIS, no one with her red hair and bright smile.

No, he would have none of those things now. Not now that his presence could mean her ultimate destruction. Sometimes he damned the metacrisis that saved the universe, damned the conscious in her mind, damned his own foolishness at keeping the hand out in the open. Perhaps it was a little more than sometimes.

"Are you lost?"

He snapped back to reality so fast he thought he could hear his brain shake. She was still there, still staring. Her image burned his hearts now, the parallels between her and his dashed dreams too much to take. He shook his head and turned around to follow the path he came. He left her there, left the lost child of the TARDIS in the sand, her image buried in his mind.

The child of his mind.

Child.

Mind.

The thought swept over him like a fire, bringing his body to a standstill. He had just found a way to reverse the metacrisis. A child.

Their child.

He turned to thank the unknown girl for her inspiration but found the beach empty. In fact, the only sign of activity was his own footsteps in the sand.

As he ran to the TARDIS to set in coordinates to Chiswick, he thought he would have to thank the TARDIS for sending him here. Even if she had broken the rules. But then again he had never thought much of banning contact with the future.