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The Doctor walked back to the TARDIS with heavy hearts. He hoped she would be alright. He shook his head, of course she would. She was eighteen and would be able to handle everything herself. But, he had never had a companion ask of him such a thing before. Then again, he had never had anyone take on a herd of Daleks with a baseball bat and alone before either. He smirked sadly as he took one last look at the house where he was leaving his young companion to be looked after by what he hoped was a good family.
He entered the TARDIS and put her into the Vortex. He needed to just float for a bit. He did not blame Ace, not many humans – not many anyone – would want to remember an encounter with the Racnoss. It was a hard battle. The Time Lords had no choice in the matter and the Racnoss had to be destroyed. Still the Doctor's hearts ached. It had been wonderful traveling with Ace. She reminded him so much of Susan, only he thought she would last. Not forever, just until she was a bit older...
Once they were hovering quietly in the Vortex, the Doctor rested his hands on the console, "You know, Old Girl, I think it's time for a change." Massive over-haul would've been a better description. And he decided he would travel alone for a bit. Let the ache that Susan and Ace left behind fade a bit. He couldn't go home, not yet.... He couldn't shake it, though. So he and the TARDIS worked together to lock this memory away. Oh he would still remember Ace, but the specifics of her leaving? Where he had left her? No, it would be better and safer for everyone involved if the memory was not there.
<><><><><><><>YEARS LATER<><><><><><><><>
The Doctor thanked Wilfred, but couldn't bare the sight anymore. He turned and walked back to the TARDIS. His mind was still reeling from what he had seen in Donna's head as he wiped her memories of him. He saw himself from years before and how she had seen him back then. He leaned on the console deep in thought. Could it have really been Ace? His Ace? And had he just done to her what he had done years before, only this time without her permission? In that short time when she had his Time Lord mind, did she learn the truth about herself?
Oh, none of that mattered. She would never remember ever again. Or at least not long enough to unlock the memories. But now he knew. Still, it was perhaps for the best, this way he could still keep tabs on his Ace. His Donna, full of fire and fury... His Ace without the explosives. Two companions in one. He almost smiled, almost... as he thought about Donna's words: "Oh the Universe has been waiting for me!" No wonder Donna had been so afraid of him on the out-set. He had to create a new history to plant in Ace's head. And for her own sake, it meant that she would miss out on so much.
He chuckled to himself. He had really screwed Ace up. And yet... just like always, she had found ways to be brilliant even without all of that. And then he was able to smile rightly. No wonder they had gotten along so well. No wonder. So much made sense now....
He smiled and after all this, vowed to not have a companion again in this form. He owed her that much. He owed himself that much.
<><><><><><><>MANY MONTHS LATER<><><><><><><><>
Wilf had brought him to this cafe. Why would WIlf bring him to this particular place for coffee. Then, he pointed out Donna. Oh Wilf! You don't know the pain you cause. You don't understand who she really is. The pain tore through him like the fire during a regeneration. But, he loved her so much. When she was young and he was in an older incarnation, he loved her the way a parent would love a child. Now, that he was younger and she was older... he had learned to love her like a friend. And he couldn't help her.
If he were to help her now, she would remember everything, including her time with him in her younger years. He smirked to himself, she might even remember how to make Nitro-9 and might use is on him if she ever learned the truth. That made a small smile dance across his features. Something that seemed all to rare in these days.
His Donna... his Ace would be fine, he would make sure she was cared for... it was the least he could do for all of them.