Something New (1/4)
Title: Something New
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: Ten/Donna
Summary: Apologies for putting this up before I've finished putting up the other parts of Unrequited Farce - I promise they're still on the way! My bunny was just nibbling and he wouldn't stop. This comes at the request of katherine_b who was asking about what happens after When I Was Six :) - it picks up some time after that story.
Donna’s eyes opened.
A blurry Doctor swam into view, his face etched with worry.
“Hullo,” mumbled Donna confusedly, blinking. “What happened? We were just in the console room ...”
“You fainted," he cut in, his voice strained.
“Did I really? I feel dizzy.”
“Thought so. I’ve just been running some tests on you.”
Donna blinked again. Her eyes shifted back into focus.
“You carried me all the way to the med bay? Blimey, you’re stronger than you look, you skinny Martian.”
Despite his concern, a wry grin cracked the Doctor's face.
“Er,” he said, “you hadn’t figured that out after what we were doing last night?”
His voice was cheeky, and Donna blushed.
“Fair enough,” she replied, looking for a way to change the subject. “So ... what’s that?” She pointed to the scanner that he was holding.
“Nothing, just a routine test. Part of TARDIS procedure.”
“What test?”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Doctor, you're really scaring me! Why aren't you telling me?”
He eyed her, sucking in his breath. “It’s a … a pregnancy test.”
Donna's heart froze in equal measures of shock and anticipation.
“I didn’t know I could get pregnant. You’re a Time Lord!”
“And you’re a human.” His voice was curt.
“Is it even possible?” she said wonderingly. “Should we have been more careful?”
The Doctor shook his head, looking suddenly tired and pale; like he hadn’t wanted to have this conversation with her, not ever.
“No,” he said finally, taking off his glasses and wiping them, looking down. “It’s not possible. It was never going to be possible.”
Donna felt unsteady. She gripped the sides of the bed, her eyes fixed on the Doctor's bowed form seated beside her.
“I had wondered, sometimes,” she said, her voice trembling. “I mean, I know we’re not the same species and everything ...”
He sucked in his breath again and turned, scooping her up and holding her against him.
“I … I’m so sorry, Donna,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’ve been completely selfish. We really should have talked about it before we got into anything like this. I knew you wanted a baby some day. Is this going to be a problem between us? You know I’d never hold you to anything …”
She snuggled harder into his shoulder, trying to reassure him.
“Doctor, I love you. Baby or no baby. I know I said I wanted a baby one day, but let’s be realistic. I think we both knew it wasn’t going to happen, was it? Not for us. And if I can't have a baby with you, then that's that. I won't be having one.”
She grew quiet for a moment.
“Why were you testing me?” she asked suddenly.
“What?”
“Why were you testing me, then? If you knew we couldn’t have a baby ...” Her eyes grew wide with horror. “You didn’t think that I - I might be - with someone else ...”
“No!” said the Doctor, hastening to reassure her. “No, of course not. Like I said, it's just a stupid standard test. Part of the med bay diagnostic cycle for dizziness. I could have just tested myself instead for this one. That would have been weird, though.”
She chuckled. “Very.”
The scanner beeped. Donna looked at the Doctor, even though she already knew what the answer would be.
“Negative,” he confirmed.
She shrugged, but her face crumpled.
"Oh, my Donna," murmured the Doctor tenderly as they sank back against the bed, his arms surrounding her. She was quiet, thinking; feeling his breath coming and going in whiffles against the back of her neck.
“What about adoption?” she finally got out hesitantly, not daring to turn and meet his eyes. “There must be some poor little baby out there in this great big universe that needs someone to look after it. I mean, I dunno if Time Lords go in for that sort of thing, but it’s pretty nice really, isn’t it?”
The Doctor was silent. He blew out a sigh, and Donna tensed.
“Donna, I don’t know how it's possible, but … I think I just fell in love with you a little bit more.”
She relaxed and savoured the feel of him nuzzling into her neck.
“Could we get an Ood?”
He laughed. “Really?”
“Yeah, I’d love one.”
His arms tightened around her. “I think they’d be happier with the other Ood. Oodles of Ood. But Donna, I meant it when I said you’d be a wonderful mother, and if that means we’ll adopt, then that's what we'll do.”
“Just imagine a rugrat running around the TARDIS, breaking off parts of your ship.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I meant you.”
“Oi!”
She laughed.
“Donna?” he went on.
“Mmm-hmm?” she replied, feeling sleepy.
“What about an Adipose?”
“No!”
His voice was meek. “Just checking.”
They fell back into silence, and before long the only sound in the med bay was that of gentle breathing as sleep overtook them.
* * *
After her talk with the Doctor, and the negative test, Donna didn’t really see any point in telling him that she'd been throwing up in the toilet all morning.
Part 2