Altered and Unchanged
Title: Altered and Unchanged
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Eleven, Donna Noble, Ten (Eleven/Donna and Ten/Donna)
Rating: G
Word count: ~1030
Summary: In which the Doctor is still the same man.
A/N: Written for philstar22's prompt: "Eleven still loves Donna" for the Spring Festival at doctor_donna. Oh, I just realised I don't have any Eleven icons. This needs to be rectified immediately. And I'm not sure if I got Eleven's voice exactly right, as I haven't watched a lot of his episodes yet, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Any concrit on this would be welcome.
The Doctor stands on the threshold of the room, his gaze trained on a sleeping woman on the bed. He remembers the last time he did this, on one of the very worst days of his life, watching a woman he cared about - a woman he loved - slipping away, knowing that she could never be a part of his life again.
But somehow, defying all expectations, here she is. Brilliant and beautiful, with all her memories intact, and most importantly, not even a trace of her brain burning up.
Donna Noble had crashed back into his life in a burst of loudness and fire, and knowing her, he wouldn't have expected anything less. She found him in the midst of preventing an alien invasion, so there hadn't been time for any questions. In a few minutes, she had discovered the misunderstandings that lead to this particular extraterrestrial invasion. And Donna, being Donna, had - for all intents and purposes - shouted the invaders away, and then turned and smiled smugly at him.
"There, that went better than most of your plans usually do, didn't it, Spaceman?" she said. She looked him up and down. "Maybe Spaceboy would suit this you better, but it doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?"
All he can do was gape at her. His previous incarnation would be sputtering madly by now, he was sure. Thankfully, he has a bit more dignity this time around, albeit with a younger face.
Seemingly becoming impatient with him, she tugged his hand and pulled him towards the TARDIS, just as she had done the night after the Adipose incident - oh, so long ago. He tried to ask her how this is possible, how she could remember him and not burn up; because he remembers, oh so vividly, the way she had clutched her head in pain, and he feels his heart constrict even at the memory. She simply smiled at him in a new, mysterious way, and said that he'll find out someday.
Unsatisfied with her answer, he took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her, slowly, from head to toe, to no avail. It seems that she had reverted back to one-hundred percent human, with nothing to indicate what had caused it.
Seeing his frustration, Donna stepped closer to him, until there's only scant inches between them. "I'm fine, Doctor, really. You can scan all you like; it's not going to change anything."
Suddenly, without warning, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I really missed you, Doctor," she said quietly, her voice muffled against his tweed jacket.
Hearing that brought him crashing down to reality. He returned her hug, pulling her closer and revelling in the familiar feeling of Donna in his arms. Of course, it's not completely the same; he was a little shorter now, just slightly, and they fitted a bit differently together. Still, it's Donna, with her warmth enfolding him, and her scent all around him. He buries his head in her hair, feeling like he never wanted to let go. "I missed you too, Donna. So very much."
And he does. He still misses her the way he did when he first lost her. Neither time nor his regeneration had changed that in the slightest, and he's grateful. His regeneration had changed so much, but this, at least, is still the same.
He still loves the way she feels in his arms, he still loves the way she grounds him, and the way she calls him Spaceman. And he still had to consciously stop himself from just leaning in finding out what her lips taste like.
In short, he is still in love with Donna Noble.
He never told her, before. They had both insisted on being friends, right from the start, and even if his feelings had changed, he wasn't sure that hers had. So, out of respect for her wishes, and to keep their friendship intact, he had kept his feelings to himself. Still, he was sure it showed, in many ways. The way he held her hand longer than strictly necessary, the way he always pulled her just a little bit closer when they were hugging. And the way he looked at her, well, that was another story entirely.
After his most recent regeneration, he had found a picture of the two of them, tucked away in the folds of a book in the TARDIS library. The picture felt worn, but the colours were still vibrant. It showed the two of them, standing on the edge of a cliff at Kataa Flo Ko, looking up at the lightning skies of the planet. Donna's head was tipped back, and the brilliant lights illuminated her expression of wonder and awe.
He was wearing the same expression, but the fact was he wasn't looking at the sky at all. He was looking at her, and he remembered thinking how gorgeous she looked in that moment. The Doctor had sighed and slipped the picture back into the book, wondering when in the world he had become so obvious.
He doesn’t regret any of it, though. He can’t regret any of it, because sometimes, in the cold, lonely nights in the TARDIS, the memories of those times were the only things that kept him going.
And now here they are, back in the TARDIS, as if nothing had changed between them. Of course, he knows that that’s not even remotely true, but it’s enough. The fact that she still trusts him, and cares about him, despite everything he’s put her through is a testament to the strength of their friendship.
And sometimes he worries, because he’s sure that one day he’s going to let her down, again, and that will be the day that he loses her for good.
In the dark, a smile stretches across the Doctor’s lips. He hasn’t changed that much, after all. He just continues to make the same mistakes. But this time he doesn’t mind, because falling for Donna Noble is a mistake he would repeat a hundred times over.
Fandom: Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Eleven, Donna Noble, Ten (Eleven/Donna and Ten/Donna)
Rating: G
Word count: ~1030
Summary: In which the Doctor is still the same man.
A/N: Written for philstar22's prompt: "Eleven still loves Donna" for the Spring Festival at doctor_donna. Oh, I just realised I don't have any Eleven icons. This needs to be rectified immediately. And I'm not sure if I got Eleven's voice exactly right, as I haven't watched a lot of his episodes yet, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. Any concrit on this would be welcome.
The Doctor stands on the threshold of the room, his gaze trained on a sleeping woman on the bed. He remembers the last time he did this, on one of the very worst days of his life, watching a woman he cared about - a woman he loved - slipping away, knowing that she could never be a part of his life again.
But somehow, defying all expectations, here she is. Brilliant and beautiful, with all her memories intact, and most importantly, not even a trace of her brain burning up.
Donna Noble had crashed back into his life in a burst of loudness and fire, and knowing her, he wouldn't have expected anything less. She found him in the midst of preventing an alien invasion, so there hadn't been time for any questions. In a few minutes, she had discovered the misunderstandings that lead to this particular extraterrestrial invasion. And Donna, being Donna, had - for all intents and purposes - shouted the invaders away, and then turned and smiled smugly at him.
"There, that went better than most of your plans usually do, didn't it, Spaceman?" she said. She looked him up and down. "Maybe Spaceboy would suit this you better, but it doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?"
All he can do was gape at her. His previous incarnation would be sputtering madly by now, he was sure. Thankfully, he has a bit more dignity this time around, albeit with a younger face.
Seemingly becoming impatient with him, she tugged his hand and pulled him towards the TARDIS, just as she had done the night after the Adipose incident - oh, so long ago. He tried to ask her how this is possible, how she could remember him and not burn up; because he remembers, oh so vividly, the way she had clutched her head in pain, and he feels his heart constrict even at the memory. She simply smiled at him in a new, mysterious way, and said that he'll find out someday.
Unsatisfied with her answer, he took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her, slowly, from head to toe, to no avail. It seems that she had reverted back to one-hundred percent human, with nothing to indicate what had caused it.
Seeing his frustration, Donna stepped closer to him, until there's only scant inches between them. "I'm fine, Doctor, really. You can scan all you like; it's not going to change anything."
Suddenly, without warning, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I really missed you, Doctor," she said quietly, her voice muffled against his tweed jacket.
Hearing that brought him crashing down to reality. He returned her hug, pulling her closer and revelling in the familiar feeling of Donna in his arms. Of course, it's not completely the same; he was a little shorter now, just slightly, and they fitted a bit differently together. Still, it's Donna, with her warmth enfolding him, and her scent all around him. He buries his head in her hair, feeling like he never wanted to let go. "I missed you too, Donna. So very much."
And he does. He still misses her the way he did when he first lost her. Neither time nor his regeneration had changed that in the slightest, and he's grateful. His regeneration had changed so much, but this, at least, is still the same.
He still loves the way she feels in his arms, he still loves the way she grounds him, and the way she calls him Spaceman. And he still had to consciously stop himself from just leaning in finding out what her lips taste like.
In short, he is still in love with Donna Noble.
He never told her, before. They had both insisted on being friends, right from the start, and even if his feelings had changed, he wasn't sure that hers had. So, out of respect for her wishes, and to keep their friendship intact, he had kept his feelings to himself. Still, he was sure it showed, in many ways. The way he held her hand longer than strictly necessary, the way he always pulled her just a little bit closer when they were hugging. And the way he looked at her, well, that was another story entirely.
After his most recent regeneration, he had found a picture of the two of them, tucked away in the folds of a book in the TARDIS library. The picture felt worn, but the colours were still vibrant. It showed the two of them, standing on the edge of a cliff at Kataa Flo Ko, looking up at the lightning skies of the planet. Donna's head was tipped back, and the brilliant lights illuminated her expression of wonder and awe.
He was wearing the same expression, but the fact was he wasn't looking at the sky at all. He was looking at her, and he remembered thinking how gorgeous she looked in that moment. The Doctor had sighed and slipped the picture back into the book, wondering when in the world he had become so obvious.
He doesn’t regret any of it, though. He can’t regret any of it, because sometimes, in the cold, lonely nights in the TARDIS, the memories of those times were the only things that kept him going.
And now here they are, back in the TARDIS, as if nothing had changed between them. Of course, he knows that that’s not even remotely true, but it’s enough. The fact that she still trusts him, and cares about him, despite everything he’s put her through is a testament to the strength of their friendship.
And sometimes he worries, because he’s sure that one day he’s going to let her down, again, and that will be the day that he loses her for good.
In the dark, a smile stretches across the Doctor’s lips. He hasn’t changed that much, after all. He just continues to make the same mistakes. But this time he doesn’t mind, because falling for Donna Noble is a mistake he would repeat a hundred times over.