Just the Beginning
Title: Just the Beginning
Author: it_must_be_so
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: The Doctor(10) and Donna.
Summary: The Doctor and Donna in jail, truths are realized, confessions ensue.
Word Count: 2,156
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, it all belongs to the BBC.
A/N: The last part following Right There and New Territory, sort of necessary to read in order. You wanted a happy ending, well guess what? I aim to please.
Donna leaned her head up against the cool, stone wall of the cell, “Another night behind bars, won’t mum be proud.” She whispered to herself as she watched the Doctor be escorted into the small room, his hands stuffed deeply into his bottomless pockets, “I was just looking at it.” He told the guards once more, it seemed that his excessive curiosity had managed to land them in jail again. Although, she knew that once the judge or whoever listened to the cases of the guilty and charged, they would be able to leave scot-free, after all if it hadn’t been for the Doctor, this planet wouldn’t even be still rotating in the sky.
“You had to pick it up.” Donna teased him lightly, and she smiled as his wide, offended eyes met hers in the dim light.
“I was just looking at it.” He huffed, sighing as she patted the wall next to her, “I was.”
Donna nodded, “Well, it could have been worse, and least we only got a night here, right?”
The Doctor nodded, digging into his breast pocket, fishing out his sonic screwdriver, “Or we could just get out of here now, yes?” He turned back to the door, aiming it at the lock, Donna stood waiting the lock to click, and there was a hot shower with her name on it.
“Alright, ready to leave now.” Donna stood next to him, the sonic whirled and did absolutely nothing, “Failing to perform are we?”
“Oi!” The Doctor glared at her from the corner of his eye, “Don’t knock the sonic please.” He brought it up and wacked it a couple of times against his open palm, “Come on.” He begged his device as he stared at the tip, the light flickering once, twice before trying to door again.
Donna jumped slightly as he let out an aggravated groan, “No use?” She asked, hoping that she would get an answer besides the one she already knew.
“No, it seems to have some sort of anti-sonic thing.” He told her, gesturing his empty hand at the lock, his nose wrinkling in disgust.
“’Anti-sonic thing.’” She repeated, “Is that a technical term?”
“It means that we are officially stuck here, locked in until morning.” He said with a note of finality, stowing away the sonic screwdriver, “It’s probably why those guards didn’t take the sonic away when they searched us, they knew it would be of no use.” He sighed before moving away from the door, shedding his coat from his body before sitting down where Donna had offered him a place and she sat down next to him.
“Like I said, could be worse.”
The Doctor let out a breathy laugh, “Yes, a lot worse.” He stole a small glance at her, “I’m sorry.”
Donna’s eyebrows rose, “Sorry, for what?”
He licked his lips before answering, “For getting us locked up, again.” He ran his hand through his hair, tugging on the ends until they stood straight up, “It seems I’ve been doing that a lot lately, getting us in unnecessary trouble.”
Donna shook her head, “Don’t worry about it, it’s all part of the job, we run from danger and sometimes we get away and sometimes we don’t.” She nudged him lightly, “And sometimes we spend a night in jail, we always make it out in the end.”
“But, what if…”
“The universe if filled with what if’s, let’s not dwell on them, okay?”
He turned to face her fully, even in the dim light, he could see the small flash of gold surrounded by the sea blue of her eyes, he wanted so desperately to kiss her then, to know what it was like to feel her lips pressed against his, to have her arms around him, accepting his embrace with the same amount of love for him that he had for her. And for one moment he felt himself give in, he leaned forward, but he quickly recovered, she didn’t feel the same way, and the last thing he wanted was for him to make her feel uncomfortable, too uncomfortable that when the returned to the TARDIS she asked to be brought back home, to stay, permanently.
“You might as well get some sleep, not going anywhere and I seemed to have burned my last deck of cards on our previous adventure.” He thought back to that rough night in the cave, their heated argument and his realization that he truly did love this woman.
Donna nodded her head, shifting so that her back rested against the stone wall; she gave a lopsided grin when he moved down a bit, setting down his folded coat beside him, offering it to her as a pillow. She rested her head, but she was too restless to sleep, she always was whenever she spent the night in a prison cell. At least he was there; it comforted her to have him with her, not only for the company, but his presence alone made her feel safe.
She looked up at him, he seemed fixated on the door, as if he wanted nothing more for it to open, she smiled gently, thinking back to their time in the cave, their heads cool from their earlier argument and him, unknowingly, telling her about the dance they had shared on Wenfox, recalling how beautiful she looked, and she thought she noticed a hint of something in his voice, and for the life of her she could not make out what it was. At first she thought maybe it could’ve been love, but that was nonsense, she had made it perfectly clear how things were going to go when she started to travel with him. There would be no romance whatsoever, and yet since that night in the cave, she found herself looking at him in a new light. He was there, sitting so close to her, she could see the double pulse throb in his neck. He didn’t love her, did he? No, she had met Rose Tyler, had seen the way they had ran towards each other, they way they had hugged, and the pure and utter jealously that swept through him when his clone and Rose had kissed. She was no match for Rose, the woman who had crossed parallel universe to parallel universe to find him again. Who could compare to that? And yet, the feelings still blossomed within her, beyond her control. There was something there, her heart wanted what it couldn’t have, and he was not hers for the taking.
The Doctor looked down at her and he noticed her body jump a little, obviously startled by his sudden attention at her, “What are you thinking about, Donna?” He asked his voice low and his eyes so dark and full with that wonderful curiosity.
She took a hesitant breath before saying, “Why did you leave Rose?”
Whatever he was expecting to hear that was the last thing he could have thought she would have said. His hearts thumped wildly in his chest, not wanting to answer, but knowing that she probably knew anyway, with his mind in hers it was a question with many different answers, but the one that was close to the truth was what he said, “It was for the best.”
She rolled her eyes at him, as he expected she would, “Don’t give me that, I know you loved her, it just doesn’t make any sense why you did what you did. Was it because of your clone? You didn’t want to be around him?”
“Why do you want to know?” He asked forcefully.
Donna huffed, turning her gaze up to the dark ceiling, “You asked me what I was thinking and that was it. Don’t get mad at me.”
“I’m not.” He snapped, “I mean,” His voice much softer than before, “I am not mad, Donna, I just don’t get why that was what you were thinking about, is all.”
She shook her head, sitting up, staring directing at him, “I just want to know, how someone who you love deeply and who loved you back, who risked so much to find her way back to you and in the end you just give her up. I don’t understand how it was for the best.”
The Doctor brought his hand up, against the warnings his head was screaming at him, and he cupped her cheek, not missing the soft gasp she let out as skin touched skin, in all honesty, it was the closest they had ever come, besides her kissing him for the shock factor, that was considered intimate.
“Because, Donna, at that moment I was only caring about one person.” He leaned in letting out an internal sigh of relief that she didn’t move away, “I needed to save you and if Rose had stayed I don’t know if I would have been able to concentrate on doing what had to be done.”
She shook with remembrance of that day, of her pleas being heard but ignored, and that terrifying moment when she felt all of her memories being purged from her mind. She could still recall the feeling of his mind pushing and enclosing her memories as he tried to save her from the effects of the mete-crisis.
“So, you figured she would be happy with you, the you with a single heart and you got rid of your clone, cause he would’ve what? Cramped your style?”
The Doctor closed his eyes at her flippant remark, trying so hard to move away from the painful subject, but instead he answered, “I loved Rose, in a way I still do, but not in the way I had, before, more as a dear friend. He was the part of me that loved her, before I had lost her, whereas I moved on, my hearts’ desire seeking someone new.”
“Oh.” Donna whispered, suddenly regretting even asking her question and the painful pang her in heart satisfied her doubting mind, and she hoped beyond anything that she could work up the courage to kiss him, but she hesitated again and the moment passed. Silence stretched between them and she was aware that he had yet to remove his hand from her cheek, his thumb slowly moving back and forth and she managed to look back into his eyes, they were still dark, but his curiosity was replaced with something she had only seen once, pure, undeniable love.
He loved her, and she knew it.
The Doctor pressed his lips to hers, reveling in the feeling, they were just as soft, if not softer then he imagined them to be. And with the passing moment, he felt her arms move around to grasp around his neck, pulling him deeper into the embrace.
His mind was on fire, or at least it felt that way. The talk of Rose only fueled his desire for the woman in his arms, he had given Rose up for Donna and if given the chance, he would make that decision again and again.
Their lips parted, the need for air outweighed the need to carry on kissing, their eyes met and for a moment he wondered if she was going to tell him that it was a mistake, a horrible play on both their parts and it would be best if they spent the night on opposite ends of the cell, just in case. But, she did not release her arms from him and she even let out a contented sigh when he placed a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose.
“I hope this means, what I think this means.” She said softly almost in disbelief of what was happening, her eyes closed as he continued to place kisses on her nose and cheeks, ever careful of her lips.
“What do you want this to mean, Donna?”
Her eyes opened and with not even the slight bit of wavering she said, “I love you.”
With a slight nod and his hearts almost stopping from sheer surprise he managed to reply with a, “I love you.” He replied instantly knowing in his hearts that he did fully mean those words, pulling her close to him their lips met again, his hearts fluttered as she moaned against his mouth, one of her hands coming down from his neck, her fingers grasped the lapel of his suit, holding him firmly in place.
After many kisses and dozens of ‘I love yous’, both of them sated with the night’s sudden turn of events, he held her in his arms as he felt her breathing become even as sleep overtook her, she loved him, he thought and another smile danced on his face, “Thank you, Donna.” He whispered, tightened his hold on her as he felt the need to sleep as well and before too long he entered his dreams and as always, Donna was there waiting.