Nightmares and Daydreams - Moving On 4/5
Title: Nightmares and Daydreams - Moving On 4/5
Author: katherine_b
Characters: The Doctor (Nine, Ten) and Donna Noble
Spoilers: Everything up to Journey's End.
Summary: The Doctor has found Donna again.
Part IV
“Donna?” The Doctor can't help resting the palm of his hand against her cheek, feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers and stroking his thumb against the last traces of blood on her face. “Can you hear me?”
“Doctor?”
He smiles as she murmurs the word, knowing now that she's definitely remembered it all, but he can't help shrugging a little as he replies.
“Sort of,” he admits somewhat reluctantly, because he knows she's talking about the Doctor in the brown suit and not him.
Her eyelashes flutter for a moment and then they lift. Donna's blue eyes gaze into his for an instant before she studies his features and he can see the disappointment that appears on her face.
“You're not my Doctor,” she says slowly.
“No,” he has to confess, “I'm not.”
“You're an earlier incarnation of him,” she suggests, slowly pulling herself into an upright position, and he places a hand on her shoulder in support as he nods.
“Mmm hmm.”
“Right.”
The response is surprisingly brisk in tone, and then suddenly her hand comes up and slaps him hard across the cheek.
He almost falls backwards, his hand pressed to his injured face and his eyes wide. “What was that for?”
“Okay, now you sound like him.” Donna grins as she pulls herself up into a sitting position. “But that was for what you're going to do to me in your future. Well, probably, unless there are all sorts of parallel world issues at play or something. Oh, don't worry,” she goes on cheerfully, perhaps seeing the hurt in his eyes, “I'm going to do it to him, too, when I see him. Where is he anyway?”
“Probably somewhere in the vortex.” The Doctor warily moves back towards her. “But he'll be back here tomorrow. Do I,” he asks somewhat nervously, “get slapped again if I offer to help you up?”
Donna chuckles. “Try it and see.”
Reassured by her tone, which suddenly sounds all too familiar, he offers her his hand and helps her to her feet, taken aback when she throws her arms around him in a warm hug.
“Thank you.” She pulls back a little and smiles before arching an eyebrow, a cheeky expression on her face. “So do I get my purse back now?”
Grinning, he scoops up the purse that is still lying on the floor and offers it to her, watching as she tucks it into her pocket.
“Right,” she says briskly, “now what?”
“Now,” he takes her hand, “I want to make sure you haven't done yourself any serious injuries as a result of you hitting your head.” He tugs at her fingers. “Come on. TARDIS.”
“Good.” She walks beside him along the narrow path. “And then we can skip forward until this time tomorrow so that I can tell the other Doctor what I think of him.”
“I never thought I'd say this, but I feel sorry for him,” the Doctor says with a grin. “You're a scary woman, Donna Noble.”
“Thank you,” she says proudly as they leave the park and venture into the Powell Estate, however her voice softens as she continues, “Honestly, I don't think you're nearly as bad, but he needs someone to keep him in line sometimes. Someone to tell him when to stop.”
“Something to look forward to,” he says rather sarcastically.
“Well, he's not that bad,” she admits, and he can hear the affection she has for him in her voice.
“I'm glad to hear it,” is all he vouchsafes as they walk along the street that leads to where the TARDIS is parked.
“Sit,” he orders as he holds open the door for her and points at the jumpseat.
Although she does so very promptly, he glances at her in time to see an expression of mock patience on her face and realises that she's winding him up by pretending to obey him so willingly.
“Cheeky sod,” he tells her as he fishes some tools out of the leather pouch that hangs off the TARDIS console.
“Believe it, Spaceman.”
He chuckles as he checks her eyes and runs a series of tests, pleased when nothing shows up and she seems fine.
“Right then,” Donna says briskly as soon as he gives her the all-clear, “let's get going!”
“Hey, my TARDIS,” he complains as he returns to the tools to his kit. “I'm the boss here!”
“Mmm, yeah,” for a moment he misses the sarcasm, “'course you are.”
And she continues to smile mockingly as he sends the TARDIS into the vortex. He climbs over and around the console just like he always does, but stops and stares as she picks up a mallet and bangs on the core before spinning one of the dials as if she's done it as often as he has.
“My TARDIS,” he reminds her again, becoming impatient, although that aggravation fades as she grins at him.
“Yes, sir,” she says, obviously teasing him as she stiffens to a salute.
“Oh, don't!” Rolling his eyes, he turns his attention back to the TARDIS, but not before seeing the knowing smile on Donna's face.
He can't help being amused at the realisation that she knows exactly what to do to get a reaction from him, and for a moment he wonders how the other version of himself copes. He suspects that that man secretly - or perhaps not so secretly - enjoys the challenge to his dignity. He knows that he would eventually begin enjoying it himself if Donna remained with him for long enough.
They arrive the next moment and the Doctor takes her hand and leads the way out of the TARDIS to find that they're just outside the park gates. The shadows and his own Time Lord knowledge suggests that they're about twenty hours later than their previous visit and Donna confirms it as she glances at her watch.
“About fifteen minutes until the start of my lunch break. Oh,” she adds in pretend horror, “I never called the office to tell them I wouldn't be at work today!” She heaves a mock-sigh. “I'll probably be fired.”
“Maybe you should go travelling instead,” he suggests teasingly. “See new places. Meet new people.”
“Are you offering, Doctor?” she laughs. “What would Rose say?”
“She invited Adam along,” he reminds her.
“Eye candy.” She snorts. “As if you didn't notice!”
“She says she didn't,” he tells her, attempting to sound innocent.
“Yeah, right.” She prods him in the ribs. “Besides, no offence, but I miss my Doctor. And I know you're the same person,” she hurries on before he can interrupt, “but somehow, sometimes... you're not.”
“I know.” He gives her fingers a gentle, understanding squeeze. “Now,” he adds briskly, hearing the longing in her voice and changing the subject to the topic he knows she'd desperate to talk about, “exactly how do you want to punish him?”
Donna glances at her watch. “He's, what, about ten minutes away?”
“Mmm hmm.” He eyes her from head to foot. “And he's going to notice if you're wearing the same clothes as yesterday.”
“Good point, but luckily,” she stops and hands him her bag removing her coat, “this just happens to be reversible.” Turning it inside out, she puts it back on before rotating in front of him. “What do you think?”
“Not bad.” He gives back her bag. “But can I do something?”
Her eyebrows shoot upwards, but she nods. “Of course.”
Stepping closer, he does something he's longed to do ever since he met her and reaches for her hair, loosening the ginger waves from the band holding them up. Running his fingers through the hair, he can remember as it lightly brushed his face when a different Donna Noble was getting him through the difficult time after his regeneration. He resists the urge to take a stronger sniff of her shampoo and merely arranges the loose curls around her face and shoulders.
“Better,” he tells her. “Now you look like it's a different day.”
“Thanks.” She smiles and then reaches up to dot a kiss on his cheek. “Really. Thank you, Doctor. For everything.”
He pulls her into his arms for a hug. “I wish,” he says suddenly, “that I'd had a chance to meet you before. We could have had a lot of fun together.”
“But you have Rose,” she reminds him, “and I have my Doctor - if he still wants me,” she adds cautiously, a note of sadness in her voice.
“Tell you what,” he says, deciding not to mention what the other Doctor told him, believing that Donna deserves to hear it from that man and not him, “if, for some ridiculous reason, he should decide that he doesn't, I think we can probably find room for you in the TARDIS.”
“Thank you.” She pulls away after giving him one final hug. “He's going to be here any minute.”
“Go and get ready,” he says, giving her a little push.
She nods and turns away, finding a place where she can watch the area of grass just as the grinding, moaning noise of the TARDIS engine reaches the Doctor's ears and he knows that Donna's heard it too from the tension he can see in her body.
Next Part
Author: katherine_b
Characters: The Doctor (Nine, Ten) and Donna Noble
Spoilers: Everything up to Journey's End.
Summary: The Doctor has found Donna again.
Part IV
“Donna?” The Doctor can't help resting the palm of his hand against her cheek, feeling her soft skin beneath his fingers and stroking his thumb against the last traces of blood on her face. “Can you hear me?”
“Doctor?”
He smiles as she murmurs the word, knowing now that she's definitely remembered it all, but he can't help shrugging a little as he replies.
“Sort of,” he admits somewhat reluctantly, because he knows she's talking about the Doctor in the brown suit and not him.
Her eyelashes flutter for a moment and then they lift. Donna's blue eyes gaze into his for an instant before she studies his features and he can see the disappointment that appears on her face.
“You're not my Doctor,” she says slowly.
“No,” he has to confess, “I'm not.”
“You're an earlier incarnation of him,” she suggests, slowly pulling herself into an upright position, and he places a hand on her shoulder in support as he nods.
“Mmm hmm.”
“Right.”
The response is surprisingly brisk in tone, and then suddenly her hand comes up and slaps him hard across the cheek.
He almost falls backwards, his hand pressed to his injured face and his eyes wide. “What was that for?”
“Okay, now you sound like him.” Donna grins as she pulls herself up into a sitting position. “But that was for what you're going to do to me in your future. Well, probably, unless there are all sorts of parallel world issues at play or something. Oh, don't worry,” she goes on cheerfully, perhaps seeing the hurt in his eyes, “I'm going to do it to him, too, when I see him. Where is he anyway?”
“Probably somewhere in the vortex.” The Doctor warily moves back towards her. “But he'll be back here tomorrow. Do I,” he asks somewhat nervously, “get slapped again if I offer to help you up?”
Donna chuckles. “Try it and see.”
Reassured by her tone, which suddenly sounds all too familiar, he offers her his hand and helps her to her feet, taken aback when she throws her arms around him in a warm hug.
“Thank you.” She pulls back a little and smiles before arching an eyebrow, a cheeky expression on her face. “So do I get my purse back now?”
Grinning, he scoops up the purse that is still lying on the floor and offers it to her, watching as she tucks it into her pocket.
“Right,” she says briskly, “now what?”
“Now,” he takes her hand, “I want to make sure you haven't done yourself any serious injuries as a result of you hitting your head.” He tugs at her fingers. “Come on. TARDIS.”
“Good.” She walks beside him along the narrow path. “And then we can skip forward until this time tomorrow so that I can tell the other Doctor what I think of him.”
“I never thought I'd say this, but I feel sorry for him,” the Doctor says with a grin. “You're a scary woman, Donna Noble.”
“Thank you,” she says proudly as they leave the park and venture into the Powell Estate, however her voice softens as she continues, “Honestly, I don't think you're nearly as bad, but he needs someone to keep him in line sometimes. Someone to tell him when to stop.”
“Something to look forward to,” he says rather sarcastically.
“Well, he's not that bad,” she admits, and he can hear the affection she has for him in her voice.
“I'm glad to hear it,” is all he vouchsafes as they walk along the street that leads to where the TARDIS is parked.
“Sit,” he orders as he holds open the door for her and points at the jumpseat.
Although she does so very promptly, he glances at her in time to see an expression of mock patience on her face and realises that she's winding him up by pretending to obey him so willingly.
“Cheeky sod,” he tells her as he fishes some tools out of the leather pouch that hangs off the TARDIS console.
“Believe it, Spaceman.”
He chuckles as he checks her eyes and runs a series of tests, pleased when nothing shows up and she seems fine.
“Right then,” Donna says briskly as soon as he gives her the all-clear, “let's get going!”
“Hey, my TARDIS,” he complains as he returns to the tools to his kit. “I'm the boss here!”
“Mmm, yeah,” for a moment he misses the sarcasm, “'course you are.”
And she continues to smile mockingly as he sends the TARDIS into the vortex. He climbs over and around the console just like he always does, but stops and stares as she picks up a mallet and bangs on the core before spinning one of the dials as if she's done it as often as he has.
“My TARDIS,” he reminds her again, becoming impatient, although that aggravation fades as she grins at him.
“Yes, sir,” she says, obviously teasing him as she stiffens to a salute.
“Oh, don't!” Rolling his eyes, he turns his attention back to the TARDIS, but not before seeing the knowing smile on Donna's face.
He can't help being amused at the realisation that she knows exactly what to do to get a reaction from him, and for a moment he wonders how the other version of himself copes. He suspects that that man secretly - or perhaps not so secretly - enjoys the challenge to his dignity. He knows that he would eventually begin enjoying it himself if Donna remained with him for long enough.
They arrive the next moment and the Doctor takes her hand and leads the way out of the TARDIS to find that they're just outside the park gates. The shadows and his own Time Lord knowledge suggests that they're about twenty hours later than their previous visit and Donna confirms it as she glances at her watch.
“About fifteen minutes until the start of my lunch break. Oh,” she adds in pretend horror, “I never called the office to tell them I wouldn't be at work today!” She heaves a mock-sigh. “I'll probably be fired.”
“Maybe you should go travelling instead,” he suggests teasingly. “See new places. Meet new people.”
“Are you offering, Doctor?” she laughs. “What would Rose say?”
“She invited Adam along,” he reminds her.
“Eye candy.” She snorts. “As if you didn't notice!”
“She says she didn't,” he tells her, attempting to sound innocent.
“Yeah, right.” She prods him in the ribs. “Besides, no offence, but I miss my Doctor. And I know you're the same person,” she hurries on before he can interrupt, “but somehow, sometimes... you're not.”
“I know.” He gives her fingers a gentle, understanding squeeze. “Now,” he adds briskly, hearing the longing in her voice and changing the subject to the topic he knows she'd desperate to talk about, “exactly how do you want to punish him?”
Donna glances at her watch. “He's, what, about ten minutes away?”
“Mmm hmm.” He eyes her from head to foot. “And he's going to notice if you're wearing the same clothes as yesterday.”
“Good point, but luckily,” she stops and hands him her bag removing her coat, “this just happens to be reversible.” Turning it inside out, she puts it back on before rotating in front of him. “What do you think?”
“Not bad.” He gives back her bag. “But can I do something?”
Her eyebrows shoot upwards, but she nods. “Of course.”
Stepping closer, he does something he's longed to do ever since he met her and reaches for her hair, loosening the ginger waves from the band holding them up. Running his fingers through the hair, he can remember as it lightly brushed his face when a different Donna Noble was getting him through the difficult time after his regeneration. He resists the urge to take a stronger sniff of her shampoo and merely arranges the loose curls around her face and shoulders.
“Better,” he tells her. “Now you look like it's a different day.”
“Thanks.” She smiles and then reaches up to dot a kiss on his cheek. “Really. Thank you, Doctor. For everything.”
He pulls her into his arms for a hug. “I wish,” he says suddenly, “that I'd had a chance to meet you before. We could have had a lot of fun together.”
“But you have Rose,” she reminds him, “and I have my Doctor - if he still wants me,” she adds cautiously, a note of sadness in her voice.
“Tell you what,” he says, deciding not to mention what the other Doctor told him, believing that Donna deserves to hear it from that man and not him, “if, for some ridiculous reason, he should decide that he doesn't, I think we can probably find room for you in the TARDIS.”
“Thank you.” She pulls away after giving him one final hug. “He's going to be here any minute.”
“Go and get ready,” he says, giving her a little push.
She nods and turns away, finding a place where she can watch the area of grass just as the grinding, moaning noise of the TARDIS engine reaches the Doctor's ears and he knows that Donna's heard it too from the tension he can see in her body.
Next Part