Title: The Plunge
Prompt: There’s a new doctor in Donna Noble’s life.
Fandom: Donna Noble/Erica Hahn, Doctor Who/Grey’s Anatomy
Requested by:
magicmumuRating: PG
Word Count: 1700
Disclaimer: Not mine. Wish they were. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: This is a little Christmas gift for my favorite homeslice. I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas!
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London at dusk was, in Donna’s opinion, truly breathtaking-when it wasn’t pissing down rain, anyway. That night had been a rare break, the day’s early drizzle fading away to allow the sun to peek out through the clouds and cast its misty light upon the city. The sky was now a vibrant slash of purples and blues, creating a landscape so dazzlingly pretty that Donna was forced to pause for a moment just to take it all in.
Hugging her purple coat closely to her bosom, Donna walked slowly toward the building’s ledge. She sat down upon her perch and peered across all that wide open space before her. This had, somehow, become her sanctuary-a refuge from the overpowering scent of antiseptic and the shrill beep of heart monitors that had colored her world for the past few months. It had been an escape from a world that had been too scary and too intense for too long, but Sylvia was at home now, safe and recuperating, and Donna liked it up here, thank you very much.
She breathed it all in. She was just another gal on a rooftop in London, and she liked it that way.
“You’re not gonna jump, are you? I’m good at saving lives, but even I’m not that good.”
Donna smirked at the phrase she’d heard once or twice before, the sound of the doctor’s voice warming her from the chill. She turned her head. “If I had the mind to jump, I’d have done it months ago.”
The doctor who had interloped on her moment of privacy stepped out of the shadows of the stairwell and into the dusky evening light, her blonde hair blowing across her face. “Good thing I caught you then.” She closed the distance between them, sitting gingerly beside the redhead. “I wondered if I might find you up here.”
Donna watched the other woman tuck her windblown hair behind her ears and clenched her fingers into fists to avoid reaching out to do it herself. “Come on now, Erica-you knew I’d be here, a cocky Yank like you.”
Erica Hahn rolled her eyes heavenward, but her smirk was every bit as cocky as Donna knew it to be. “It wouldn’t have been the first time a beautiful woman’s run off on me.”
The redhead took a breath, looking back out the city. Could she see Chiswick from here? It wasn’t the first time that Erica had made comments like that, comments that were a touch too familiar. It wasn’t that Donna thought Erica was being too forward that put her off; it was the fact that those comments weren’t entirely unwelcome. “I’m not like other girls. Besides, I’m a creature of habit, me. I like my little spot up here.”
“I’d like to point out that this was my spot first, but I’m happy to share.”
“Aren’t you gracious?”
“I’m a gentleman at heart.” From the deep pockets of her white lab coat, Erica produced a small bag. “I’ll even share my chips with you.”
“Oi-those are crisps, doc. If you’re gonna live with the Brits, you’ve gotta speak the lingo.”
Erica laughed, opening the bag. She held it out to Donna, allowing her to snag the first salty treat. It was such a simple gesture, but Donna was touched. She chewed a little too loudly to avoid thinking about it.
“How’s your mom doing?”
“Oh she’s-y’know, my mum. Back to her old self, more or less. You’d never know she had a heart attack three months ago-not that she’d let you forget it, mind you.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second. Your mother was a bit…”
“Of a handful? Mad? Cracked?”
Erica smiled. “I was going to say ‘overbearing,’ actually. Four hours out of surgery and she was asking if I had a brother to set you up with.”
“Blimey…I wish I could blame it on the drugs, but…” Donna shuddered. “Nope. That’s just my mum. Sorry, though. That must’ve been a tad irritating.”
“Disappointing, actually.” The blonde looked out at the darkness descending over London. “Not that I expected your mother to be setting you up with me, but a girl can dream, right?”
There it was again-the feeling in Donna’s stomach that was a bit like the feeling she got at the top of a rollercoaster. Not that she’d be taking any sort of plunge. Nope. Not Donna Noble.
In the time spent awkwardly thinking up a reply to Erica’s suggestive comment, the doctor inspected the ruffled edge of a crisp and set it back in the bag, cradling it in her lap. “Listen, Donna…this isn’t something I do. I don’t flirt with straight women. I’ve barked up that tree one too many times and frankly, I don’t like it. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I really like you. I’d like to get to know you somewhere that isn’t on hospital property. But if you’re not interested, I’d appreciate it if you’d tell me.”
Donna felt her throat go dry. This woman, this doctor, had become her friend. Donna liked her. She enjoyed the woman’s dry humor and sarcasm and her impassioned anger at the world. They were a bit alike, come to think of it, which is why Donna reasoned that they’d grown so close. It couldn’t have had anything to do with how blue Erica’s eyes were or her crooked smile or her laugh. Her stomach clenched.
Perhaps she was a tiny bit attracted to the doctor. A miniscule, barely noticeable little bit.
“I don’t flirt with women. Not ever.” Right then. Not what she had been planning to say.
“I hate to break it to you, Donna, but you’ve flirted with me on more than one occasion.”
“What I meant was…this is all a bit…new.” She took a deep breath. “Look, Erica…I’ve buggered it up so many times and I’m…I’m not a catch. You’re a bloody doctor. Why on earth would you be interested in me when you could do so much better?”
There it was-that crooked smirk. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re…amazing, Donna.”
“I’m really not.”
“You really are.” Another surge of wind blew the doctor’s hair in her face. “I don’t know you well enough to know if you genuinely don’t see how great you are, or if you’re being evasive. You didn’t actually answer my question.”
Blimey, Erica was direct. Donna found it refreshing; her last bloke had been a touch too passive aggressive for her, but not Dr. Hahn. Erica was a breath of fresh air. “No, I don’t suppose I did.”
After an uncomfortable pause, Erica made as if to move. “I don’t like these games, Donna.”
Donna grabbed at her hand, not letting the woman get too far. “How’s this for an answer?” Before Donna could change her mind, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to the other woman’s lips.
Donna hadn’t been sure that she’d have the guts to take the plunge, but there she was, falling head over feet. It was maddening and terrifying and wonderful.
Erica’s mouth was soft and pliant, her lips parting to emit a gasp that Donna couldn’t hear over the ferocious pounding of her heart. She was trembling all over, a fact that she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide from Erica.
She didn’t want to hide from her.
Atop the roof of the hospital, Donna felt free. She felt a surge of excitement at the thought of new possibilities awaiting her. She cupped the other woman’s jaw with her frigid fingertips and kissed her more insistently. Their tongues met for the briefest of moments, and then it was gone.
When Erica pulled back, Donna bit her lip. The doctor said nothing; she simply took Donna’s hands in her own. “Just so we’re on the same page-“
“I’m interested,” Donna blurted.
It was nearly too dark to see, but the redhead noticed the relieved glint in the doctor’s eyes. “You’re an interesting woman, Donna Noble.” She gave a reluctant sigh. “I’ve got to get back to work, though I’d much rather stay up here with you.”
“Before you go…”
Erica popped a few more crisps into her mouth. “Hmm?”
“I’m….” Donna took a deep breath, shifting her body to face the doctor’s. “I’mgoingonatripdoyoufancycomingwithme?”
Erica blinked, swallowed the mouthful she had been chewing, and furrowed her brow. “Want to try that again?”
“Oi, don’t make me say it again.”
“I heard something about a fancy trip.”
Donna laughed and the tension in her belly ebbed. “Mum has these cruise tickets, but my gramps doesn’t want her going off on holiday just yet. She, um, she gave ‘em to me, and I wondered if you might like to go with me.”
“Were you going to ask me before or after I told you I liked you?”
“Before. But now…I dunno, might be a bit silly, seeing how we barely know each other. I’d really like you to go with me.”
The doctor considered. “When is it?”
“Next month. A week starting on the 3rd.” Donna held her breath.
“I’ll put in the request for vacation time.” Erica crumpled the empty bag and stuffed it into her lab coat. She leaned in and kissed Donna’s cheek. “I’d better get back.”
“Don’t you wanna know where we’re going?”
Erica laughed. “Quite frankly, Donna Noble, I’d go anywhere with you.”
The redhead’s face burned with heat as Erica retreated, and Donna allowed herself to glimpse what she had been ardently not noticing for three months: the sway of Erica’s hips, the curves of her body beneath the shapeless lab coat, the silky fall of her hair. Erica looked back at her from the stairwell, but Donna couldn’t see the expression on her face. She hoped it was the same expression on her own face-a giddy, hopeful smile.
She looked back out over London, at the twinkle of lights illuminating the city. She’d been cautious and careful with her life. She didn’t have a whole lot to show for it, but she had a suspicion that things were about to change now that the doctor was in her life.
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