(no subject)
Title: Behind Closed Doors
Overall: Ten/Rose, Donna
Rating: PG
Summary: There's one place in the TARDIS that Donna isn't allowed to enter.
Word Count: 1750
Warning: May be the beginning of a longer story if I can find someone to beta my American-isms out of the fic.
There were many rooms inside the TARDIS. Big rooms, small rooms, rooms full of knick-knacks from the Camperi solar system, rooms that housed living quarters and libraries and ship controls.
It was indeed bigger on the inside. Much, much bigger.
Donna was not easily impressed but this ship was amazing. Not that she would ever tell the Doctor that though, she figured his head was big enough without her to inflate it even more.
There was only one room though, right across from the Doctor's own bedroom, which was off-limits. The first time she attempted to open the door to seek out a place to stash away a few of her luggage bags, the Doctor rushed to stand between her and the doorway.
He closed the door, which was barely opened an inch-- too small a space to see for Donna to see what was contained inside-- and began to lead her away rather quickly. “Think I can find a better place for your things, oh and then how about we go see the shores of Pompeii, would you like that?”
She glanced behind them towards the closed door, then lugged her bag along, quite miffed that he wasn't offering to carry it for her. Then again, what kind of service could she expect from an alien-- and a rather rude one at that.
The closed door still intrigued her though, because she hardly knew this man (alien), she'd only been on his ship for a little over an hour now-- for all she knew, Donna had hitched a ride with an ax-wielding looney. Okay, so he had risked his life to save hers on more than one occasion now-- and he was rather dashing-- but really, what did she know about him?
“Is that where you keep your alien probes?”
“What?!” He coughed out. Then, noticing the not-so-serious way her eyebrow was raised, he began to humor her as they walked out into the control room. “Oh, Donna, only Martians have alien probes, and as I've told you many times before--”
“You're not a Martian. I know, I know.” She finished for him, already becoming used to subconsciously completing his sentences. She dropped her bag on the metal floor of the control room, fed up with carrying it herself. “You're not much of a bellhop either, are you?”
He looked down at the luggage, which had fallen directly on his foot (she wasn't quite sure if she had meant to do that or not) and grit his teeth. This living arrangement was going to take some getting used to for the both of them.
A week later and Donna had nearly explored the whole of the ship, in between those brief excursions outside of the ship.. and the running for her life that usually followed after leaving the nice, warm comfy confines of what she was beginning to think of as her new home.
That closed door still bothered her though, she passed it everyday after leaving her own room. She wasn't quite sure why it had her so enthralled; perhaps it was just the fact that the Doctor told her not to do something. Very few people said no to her these days, and those that did could always be badgered into saying yes eventually.
Besides, it was her that was supposed to be keeping the Doctor in check and stopping him from doing daft little things and going too far. He'd as much agreed after they left Pompeii. So, where did he get off telling Donna Nobel that she could or could not do something?
Her hand felt for the strangely decorated door knob, which she quickly turned a half-quarter turn to the right and began to push the door open--
“Donna!” She heard over the intercom that ran through all of the ship's many floors. “Where are you off to? We'll be landing on the Ood-Sphere in exactly.. two point three-four minutes. Well.. give or take a few milliseconds.”
She shook her head in exasperation, the mystery cut short. “Bloody hell.”
Though, truth be told she wasn't too upset. Whatever was behind the door could wait, for now she was off to meet aliens. Honest-to-god aliens.. well, at least more of them, perhaps ones that would make better company and weren't so tetchy about where she left her wet towels.
The song of the Oods still rang in Donna's ears that evening, and now after seeing the sights on a foreign planet and visiting the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, she was now set to explore one other great mystery. She needed to know more about the man she was traveling with and what exactly his secrets were-- luckily he was fixing something bit of gadgetry up in the control room and far too busy to bother with her sneaky little plot.
She felt her hand against the smooth metal of the door and then slid it open. Standing in the middle of the darkened room, Donna waited for the lights to come on once the sensors noted her presence. When the overhead lamps finally blinked on, she found herself standing in a bedroom much like her own.
Someone else was living here, there were belongings and clothes.. female clothes.. and photographs that hung on the wall. When she touched one of them, it came to life and a bouncy blond girl clung to the Doctor, smiling for the camera. There was no sound, but it was certain that the two of them were very fond of each other.
“Donna..”
A voice caught her attention, it wasn't the reprimanding, tetchy one she was expecting; it was much softer, almost pained. She swung around to meet his disapproving gaze and frowned.
He switched gears and tried to play it off lightly, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. “Did you get lost? Your bedroom is right around that corner if you're looking for it.” He pointed out of the room, deftly avoiding the issue. “Right over there, three doors down, right then, off you go.”
“Just how many girls do you have living here?!” Donna was not one to let things go easily; there was definitely something strange going on and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She picked up a pink zip-up. “What exactly is this ship to you.. some kind of bachelor flat where you have nubile, bouncy blonds running around--”
He grabbed the jacket from her in the middle of her tirade, “I-- I'd really rather you didn't destroy her things like th--”
“Where is she?”
“She's not here.”
“Well, somebody's been living in this room, haven't they? Where've you got her stashed? I think if I'm crew on this ship, I should get to know the other crewmates. Or did you not think I was good enough to meet your other mates, spaceman?”
“Donna,” he sat on the edge of the bed, placing the zip-up beside him. He sank into the mattress like the weight of the world rested on his slender shoulders. “It's not like that.”
“Explain it to me then.” She crossed her arms, but relented and pulled out a chair from a nearby desk. Meanwhile, he began the story about a small shop in London, a shop keeper named Rose and their many adventures together. He told her about absorbing the time vortex and her wariness of his regeneration. He spoke of Cybermen and parallel Earths and burning up a sun just to say goodbye.
He seemed relieved to finally be able to put his experience into words and probably more relaxed than Donna had ever seen him before. She'd finally found the missing piece to the mystery, she understood why he was sometimes moody and always seemed afraid to be left behind. She understood him, at least more than she did before.
“Did you love her?” She finally asked.
He paused, resting his head against the headboard of the bed. “Possibly.. no, maybe.. probably.. I--”
“Aw, come on now, what's with men and never being able to say that four letter word. It's not a curse you know.” She waited.
He sighed, closed his eyes and whispered strained words. “Yes. I think-- I think I did.”
“You think?”
“Okay. Fine. I loved her. I loved Rose Tyler! Are you happy?”
“Quite,” she smiled, glad to have finally knocked some sense into that thick noggin of his. That's why she was here on this ship, after all. Someone had to keep after him. She glanced once more around the room, now able to name the presence that still haunted the space between the walls.
He caught her looking around and finally explained. “I'm waiting for her.. to come home..”
“Do you think she ever will?”
He rose from the bed, leaving everything exactly as it was on the last day that she was with him, the last day that had come too soon. He couldn't look at Donna, but he finally answered her right before leaving the room. “No.”
She frowned, setting the desk chair back in its place and ran after the Doctor. The lights flicked out and the door shut behind them, while she rushed down the hallway. “What? You're willing to just let love go like that? Come on, I'm sure you could suss out a way to jump parallel worlds in this ship. If we can jump through space and time.. why not universes?”
“The TARDIS isn't built like that.” He rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “Donna, it can't--”
“Look, do you love this girl or not?” She cocked her head at him. His only response was to glare at her like she was a child, but Donna was having none of that. She continued before he could refuse her plan. “Come on, you're a bona fide genius, right? Or at least you would think so the way you strut about-- now, let's use those smarts to some good use.”
“Donna..”
She wagged her finger in front of him, “I'm not taking no for an answer, Doctor.”
“Oh,” he began to pout, knowing full well that he'd lost this battle to Donna. Then, he lifted his face in a huge grin, happier than Donna had ever seen him before. He grabbed her hand and whisked her down the corridor, “All right! Let's whip this puppy into overdrive and really see what she can do!”
-The End-
Overall: Ten/Rose, Donna
Rating: PG
Summary: There's one place in the TARDIS that Donna isn't allowed to enter.
Word Count: 1750
Warning: May be the beginning of a longer story if I can find someone to beta my American-isms out of the fic.
There were many rooms inside the TARDIS. Big rooms, small rooms, rooms full of knick-knacks from the Camperi solar system, rooms that housed living quarters and libraries and ship controls.
It was indeed bigger on the inside. Much, much bigger.
Donna was not easily impressed but this ship was amazing. Not that she would ever tell the Doctor that though, she figured his head was big enough without her to inflate it even more.
There was only one room though, right across from the Doctor's own bedroom, which was off-limits. The first time she attempted to open the door to seek out a place to stash away a few of her luggage bags, the Doctor rushed to stand between her and the doorway.
He closed the door, which was barely opened an inch-- too small a space to see for Donna to see what was contained inside-- and began to lead her away rather quickly. “Think I can find a better place for your things, oh and then how about we go see the shores of Pompeii, would you like that?”
She glanced behind them towards the closed door, then lugged her bag along, quite miffed that he wasn't offering to carry it for her. Then again, what kind of service could she expect from an alien-- and a rather rude one at that.
The closed door still intrigued her though, because she hardly knew this man (alien), she'd only been on his ship for a little over an hour now-- for all she knew, Donna had hitched a ride with an ax-wielding looney. Okay, so he had risked his life to save hers on more than one occasion now-- and he was rather dashing-- but really, what did she know about him?
“Is that where you keep your alien probes?”
“What?!” He coughed out. Then, noticing the not-so-serious way her eyebrow was raised, he began to humor her as they walked out into the control room. “Oh, Donna, only Martians have alien probes, and as I've told you many times before--”
“You're not a Martian. I know, I know.” She finished for him, already becoming used to subconsciously completing his sentences. She dropped her bag on the metal floor of the control room, fed up with carrying it herself. “You're not much of a bellhop either, are you?”
He looked down at the luggage, which had fallen directly on his foot (she wasn't quite sure if she had meant to do that or not) and grit his teeth. This living arrangement was going to take some getting used to for the both of them.
A week later and Donna had nearly explored the whole of the ship, in between those brief excursions outside of the ship.. and the running for her life that usually followed after leaving the nice, warm comfy confines of what she was beginning to think of as her new home.
That closed door still bothered her though, she passed it everyday after leaving her own room. She wasn't quite sure why it had her so enthralled; perhaps it was just the fact that the Doctor told her not to do something. Very few people said no to her these days, and those that did could always be badgered into saying yes eventually.
Besides, it was her that was supposed to be keeping the Doctor in check and stopping him from doing daft little things and going too far. He'd as much agreed after they left Pompeii. So, where did he get off telling Donna Nobel that she could or could not do something?
Her hand felt for the strangely decorated door knob, which she quickly turned a half-quarter turn to the right and began to push the door open--
“Donna!” She heard over the intercom that ran through all of the ship's many floors. “Where are you off to? We'll be landing on the Ood-Sphere in exactly.. two point three-four minutes. Well.. give or take a few milliseconds.”
She shook her head in exasperation, the mystery cut short. “Bloody hell.”
Though, truth be told she wasn't too upset. Whatever was behind the door could wait, for now she was off to meet aliens. Honest-to-god aliens.. well, at least more of them, perhaps ones that would make better company and weren't so tetchy about where she left her wet towels.
The song of the Oods still rang in Donna's ears that evening, and now after seeing the sights on a foreign planet and visiting the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, she was now set to explore one other great mystery. She needed to know more about the man she was traveling with and what exactly his secrets were-- luckily he was fixing something bit of gadgetry up in the control room and far too busy to bother with her sneaky little plot.
She felt her hand against the smooth metal of the door and then slid it open. Standing in the middle of the darkened room, Donna waited for the lights to come on once the sensors noted her presence. When the overhead lamps finally blinked on, she found herself standing in a bedroom much like her own.
Someone else was living here, there were belongings and clothes.. female clothes.. and photographs that hung on the wall. When she touched one of them, it came to life and a bouncy blond girl clung to the Doctor, smiling for the camera. There was no sound, but it was certain that the two of them were very fond of each other.
“Donna..”
A voice caught her attention, it wasn't the reprimanding, tetchy one she was expecting; it was much softer, almost pained. She swung around to meet his disapproving gaze and frowned.
He switched gears and tried to play it off lightly, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. “Did you get lost? Your bedroom is right around that corner if you're looking for it.” He pointed out of the room, deftly avoiding the issue. “Right over there, three doors down, right then, off you go.”
“Just how many girls do you have living here?!” Donna was not one to let things go easily; there was definitely something strange going on and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She picked up a pink zip-up. “What exactly is this ship to you.. some kind of bachelor flat where you have nubile, bouncy blonds running around--”
He grabbed the jacket from her in the middle of her tirade, “I-- I'd really rather you didn't destroy her things like th--”
“Where is she?”
“She's not here.”
“Well, somebody's been living in this room, haven't they? Where've you got her stashed? I think if I'm crew on this ship, I should get to know the other crewmates. Or did you not think I was good enough to meet your other mates, spaceman?”
“Donna,” he sat on the edge of the bed, placing the zip-up beside him. He sank into the mattress like the weight of the world rested on his slender shoulders. “It's not like that.”
“Explain it to me then.” She crossed her arms, but relented and pulled out a chair from a nearby desk. Meanwhile, he began the story about a small shop in London, a shop keeper named Rose and their many adventures together. He told her about absorbing the time vortex and her wariness of his regeneration. He spoke of Cybermen and parallel Earths and burning up a sun just to say goodbye.
He seemed relieved to finally be able to put his experience into words and probably more relaxed than Donna had ever seen him before. She'd finally found the missing piece to the mystery, she understood why he was sometimes moody and always seemed afraid to be left behind. She understood him, at least more than she did before.
“Did you love her?” She finally asked.
He paused, resting his head against the headboard of the bed. “Possibly.. no, maybe.. probably.. I--”
“Aw, come on now, what's with men and never being able to say that four letter word. It's not a curse you know.” She waited.
He sighed, closed his eyes and whispered strained words. “Yes. I think-- I think I did.”
“You think?”
“Okay. Fine. I loved her. I loved Rose Tyler! Are you happy?”
“Quite,” she smiled, glad to have finally knocked some sense into that thick noggin of his. That's why she was here on this ship, after all. Someone had to keep after him. She glanced once more around the room, now able to name the presence that still haunted the space between the walls.
He caught her looking around and finally explained. “I'm waiting for her.. to come home..”
“Do you think she ever will?”
He rose from the bed, leaving everything exactly as it was on the last day that she was with him, the last day that had come too soon. He couldn't look at Donna, but he finally answered her right before leaving the room. “No.”
She frowned, setting the desk chair back in its place and ran after the Doctor. The lights flicked out and the door shut behind them, while she rushed down the hallway. “What? You're willing to just let love go like that? Come on, I'm sure you could suss out a way to jump parallel worlds in this ship. If we can jump through space and time.. why not universes?”
“The TARDIS isn't built like that.” He rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “Donna, it can't--”
“Look, do you love this girl or not?” She cocked her head at him. His only response was to glare at her like she was a child, but Donna was having none of that. She continued before he could refuse her plan. “Come on, you're a bona fide genius, right? Or at least you would think so the way you strut about-- now, let's use those smarts to some good use.”
“Donna..”
She wagged her finger in front of him, “I'm not taking no for an answer, Doctor.”
“Oh,” he began to pout, knowing full well that he'd lost this battle to Donna. Then, he lifted his face in a huge grin, happier than Donna had ever seen him before. He grabbed her hand and whisked her down the corridor, “All right! Let's whip this puppy into overdrive and really see what she can do!”
-The End-