Coming home and home again
â...so I guess thatâs it.â Donna looked down at her list for a final check before returning her gaze to her doppelganger on the screen. âLooks like everything matches up.â
âPretty much,â Donnie replied, looking up from his own list. âQuantum symmetry strikes again.â His gaze softened, and he placed a hand against the screen. âIâm glad youâre okay sis. Thanks for checking in. I was worried.â He blinked, clearing his throat. âI mean, we all were.â
Smiling, Donna returned the gesture. âYou too. Give my love to Leo and everybody.âÂ
âI will,â Donnie said, and even though the communicator only opened an infinitesimal breach in reality to let the signal through, she could feel his affection reverberating through it. It was an affection she returned in kind, and he grinned at her. âGânight, Donna.âÂ
Blowing him a kiss, Donna closed the connection and ticked off another box on her checklist with a sigh of relief. One of the problems with gathering so many extra-dimensional siblings was the stress of having to check up on them after every crisis to make sure they were all still okay. But so far, so good, and there was only one reality left to check. Sheâd left it for last, for it was the only one that she couldnât reach by communicator.Â
With a quiet groan, she pushed away from her desk and walked to the centre of her lab. âThis is so unscientific,â she whispered as she closed her eyes. Clearing her mind of her annoyance, she let out a slow breath, and wanted.
When she opened them again, the desk chair wasnât empty any more. Donnie sat in it, slumped across the desk as he snored quietly, surrounded by a dozen unfinished sketches. With a fond smile, Donna fetched a blanket from the store cupboard and draped it over his shoulders. She couldnât blame him. Sheâd done the same when sheâs arrived home, trying to record every bit of technology she could remember in case she needed it later, lest she forget any of the details. That was one question answered, at least. But she had a bigger one, and when she was certain Donnie wasnât waking up any time soon, she left the room seeking the answer for herself.
As in her own home, it seemed like the others were long asleep, but there was a dim light shining through the screens at the top of the stairs. Holding her breath in anxious hope, Donna silently climbed up to the dojo and peeked around the doorframe.


















