Ignite Your Bones 8/8
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, which belongs to the British Broadcasting Corporation
Ignite Your Bones
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Donna stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the colorful natural amphitheaters of Bryce Canyon. The waning daylight cast a red glow over the rocky terrain. She reached around and slipped her hiking pack from her shoulders and placed it next to her feet, pulling the water bottle out of the side pocket. She quietly sipped as she gazed at the natural beauty.
Since her trip to the dying Earth of the thirtieth century, Donna had made a point to travel to some of Earth's most well-known landscapes. She went to the Cliffs of Moher, floated down the Klarälven River, walked with elephants to the Kirisia Hills, and got an eyeful of Machu Picchu during an invigorating running adventure through the Andes. She discovered she needed to reacquaint herself with the good things humanity and her tiny blue planet had to offer.
It also involved thwarting an alien invasion in the Incan ruins using her sonic screwdriver, a handful of toothpicks, and the sole of her left hiking boot. Nefarious alien plots never took a day off, she mused.
She also noticed that every cut, bruise, and scrape healed remarkably fast. Even a sprain healed within a few hours after an unfortunate waterfall incident while she was white water rafting.
All part of being half-alien, she supposed.
Earlier that year she had buried her grandfather Wilfred Mott, one of her dearest friends. The Doctor had told her of his death after and she returned to the council room that evening, so long ago. He was leaning against the council, glasses perched crookedly on his nose, and his face grim. She listened to him silently as he recounted the story in detail, not hiding his moment of selfishness and grief when he thought he would die.
"Bottom line, Donna," the Doctor said, "I was honored by what Wilfred Mott did for me. And I-I hope-" he faltered before he could finish his sentence. Donna thought that perhaps he thought he was being selfish again, asking her for forgiveness when he had already caused so much grief between them.
Donna reached for him and hugged him, let him hold her. She thought she should cry but the tears wouldn't come. After a few minutes of silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts, Donna said quietly, "It's time for me to go, Spaceman," she pulled away, looking up at his face.
He looked at her, sad and uncertain. Donna reached up and laid a hand against his cheek. "Until next time, eh?" she said, smiling softly.
He smiled back, but it was wane, and hardly reached his eyes. "Until then, Earthgirl."
They waved at each other as Donna left the TARDIS. Before the door closed behind her she thought she heard him say "Don't forget me, Donna." But it was so quiet she wasn't sure, and the TARDIS dematerialized before she could think anything of it.
Shaun was waiting patiently for her, sitting with his ankles crossed and his hands folded in his lap when she came in.
Donna did not have to hide what was about to happen. One look at his face as he stood to meet her and Donna knew he was already prepared.
After they talked and she gave him back his ring, he took both of her hands in his and raised them lovingly, carefully brushing her knuckles with his lips, the last physical gesture of love he would be able to give. Again, Donna thought she should cry, because she did love Shaun, just not the way he needed her to. It was terribly hard to leave him. But the tears wouldn't come.
He wanted to leave her the apartment and stay with his brother, but Donna insisted he stay.
"I need to be with my Mother," Donna explained. "Right now we need to be together."
"Right, of course," Shaun said, looking down. He looked up one last time. "I'll miss you, Donna. I hope...I hope we can be friends one day. But I need a chance to...well..."
"I understand," Donna said, smiling at him. "Don't worry about the flat, I'll send someone for my things in good time." Donna turned back towards the door. She hadn't even taken off her coat. Before she opened it she looked back one last time. Shaun smiled at her.
"Goodbye, Shaun," Donna said, "Thank you for taking care of me."
"Goodbye, Donna," he answered. And then she was gone.
Donna drove back to her mother's house in her blue compact car, wondering why she couldn't cry even though her heart was so broken. First she had to leave the Doctor, who loved her after all, then she learned she would never see her beloved grandfather again, and she had to leave a wonderful man like Shaun Temple behind because she realized she'd never fall in love with him like she fell in love with her best friend.
When she walked into her mother's house, Sylvia had been dozing unfitfully on the living room couch, two cups of cold tea on the table in front of her. She startled awake at the sound of a key in the lock, and stumbled to her feet by the time Donna was inside.
Donna looked at her mother's red eyes and puffy face and finally felt herself start to crumble.
"Mum," she said brokenly, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Sylvia pulled her into a hug as Donna started to sob. They curled together on the couch and Donna clung to her mother and cried like she did when she was a child. She cried for her grandfather, the dearest man in the universe. She cried for reaching the penacle of her life only to lose it all to the insecure frustrated woman she used to be. She cried for Shaun and the life they might have had.
And she cried for the Doctor, who broke her heart, and she hoped he would forgive her for leaving him when he so obviously needed her. But she needed time.
Donna tried returning to work after Wilf's funeral but she found it impossible. She felt large and small at the same time, surrounded by ringing phones and constant memos. Instead, she used the small amount of money Wilf left her to travel around the world. Her mother actually enjoyed running the family news stand in Wilf's place, giving her a way to gossip with the neighbors on a regular basis, freeing Donna to do anything she wanted. Donna felt it was what Wilf would have wanted, to see her traveling again, and sometimes saving people, saving the world.
Which is how she found herself across the pond, watching the sunset, seven months, three weeks, three days and fifteen hours later. Waiting.
Donna didn't have to wait long. In the distance, coming through the vortex, she could hear the time rotor whirring, becoming louder and louder until she turned at grinned into the sudden wind blowing through the canyon.
Sometimes a message would come easily, sometimes it came like a slap to the face. This time the Doctor felt the psychic tug so abruptly and keenly that he missed his footing and fell face flat against the TARDIS corridor he was walking down.
He had been wearing his glasses so they pushed painfully into the bridge of his nose as he fell.
"Blimey," he said to the floor. He rolled over to his back. "That's going to leave a mark," he said to the ceiling.
The TARDIS continued to hum like nothing was amiss. Though if she could, she'd tell him not to read and walk at the same time.
The Doctor adjusted his glasses back on his nose, frowning as he felt the ridge where his specs were jammed. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his psychic paper.
"We need to talk. Donna.
The Doctor sprang to his feet and read the rest of the message, which consisted of when and where Donna was at, as he made his way to the council room. Reading and walking again like that didn't just end with him and his conk on the floor. Well, reading and walking very fast. Running in fact. He entered the coordinates quickly, using both hands and one foot to steer her across space and time. He couldn't help smiling.
The Doctor grabbed his coat, tucked his glasses into his jacket pocket, and adjusted the knot of his tie. He ran a hand through his hair, hoping the part looked okay...then he realized he was primping and stopped himself. He wouldn't be able to impress Donna Noble that way, and knowing her she'd be able to tell he was trying.
He didn't know how long he had been away, but he sensed that it had been longer for her than it had been for him. She needed her space. He needed her presence back in his life, grounding him.
With one deep breath to prepare himself, he opened the door and leaned out, looking around. There she was, standing at the edge of a cliff and grinning at him. She was wearing loose, comfortable clothing, a dark green shirt and lightweight capri pants with her hiking boots. The sun was setting and the red and gold tones were glinting off her skin and hair. Nothing could have prepared him for how beautiful she looked, he thought and he grinned back at her.
They both moved and soon he had his arms around her and was lifting her off the ground, laughing. "I missed you!" she said, laughing into his ear and he squeezed her tighter.
He put her down and she grabbed his hand, still smiling at him. They turned back and walked towards the edge of the cliff where he first saw her. Donna Noble was here next to him standing in the sunset. The Doctor glanced at her hand in his and felt, for the first time in a long, long while, a sense of contentment.
"How long has it been for you?" Donna asked.
"About two weeks," the Doctor lied.
She gave him a wry look. "You didn't wait long then, did you?"
The Doctor felt the strings of time pass by since he last saw her. It was late summer now, he realized. It had taken her longer than he thought to come around.
"Doing some exploring?" the Doctor asked her, looking out at the scenery.
"Yeah," Donna answered. "There are a lot of places I wanted to see and get the dead Earth out of my head. And I've always wanted to go to Bryce Canyon. I think the structures look like castles-"
"It's technically not a canyon. Canyons are formed by erosion from a central stream, like a river, but this landscape was formed by headward erosion, or the enlargement of a body of water's drainage basin, forming these natural amphitheaters from pinnacles called hoodoos. They have other charming names, like tent rocks, fairy chimneys, earth pyramids-" He stopped when he looked over at Donna. Pursed lips and wide sparkling eyes like she was laughing at him. "They also look like the spires and towers of a majestic castle," he concluded.
"Don't they though?" Donna said in a teasing, breathy tone that was so familiar.
He smiled down at her as she turned to point out different castles she could see in the landscape. I adore you, he wanted to say. He was sure it was written all over his face and all she had to do was glance back at him to see it.
"I-I didn't see you at Gramp's funeral," Donna said.
"You didn't?" The idea alarmed him but it wasn't a surprise. He didn't like funerals.
"Well, not you you. There was a man there that I thought might be you. Another skinny streak of nothing in a tweed jacket like Gramps used to wear. Said Wilf was 'cool' and that they were 'old friends' when he came 'round to give his condolences. He wouldn't meet my eyes though. When I suspected it was you he was already gone..." Donna gazed wistfully out at the canyon for a moment. "I suppose that's the past now," she said, squeezing his hand.
"Or the future," the Doctor said.
"That's another thing," Donna said. "What do you want for the future, Doctor?"
"Oh, Donna!" the Doctor said, turning so they were facing each other. "I want you to come home. To the TARDIS. There are so many other places I want to take you, remember? But I know what traveling is like, and I understand if you don't...if you don't want to risk it again-"
"Of course I want to go traveling, Time Boy," Donna said. She released his hand to give him a friendly pat on his shoulder. But she gripped the lapel of his brown coat and bit her lip and the Doctor waited while she thought out what she wanted to say next, studying every gesture and motion she made like it would give him a clue to what she wanted.
"But that's not exactly what I meant. Yes, I want to go traveling. I haven't ever really stopped. But...but what did you want for the future...between us?"
Everything, the Doctor wanted to say. But he knew he didn't deserve Donna's love after everything they've been through. "Whatever you're comfortable with, Donna. We can carry on like we used to, best mates and partners traveling the stars." Donna's face fell a small fraction and the Doctor was afraid that he was asking too much. "I understand...I understood what you were trying to say last time we talked, but-" Well, that was only partially true. He thought he understood what she was trying to say. That she didn't feel the same way she did before. But it had been over seven months since he left Donna on Earth and he couldn't help but notice she wasn't wearing her engagement ring anymore.
Which didn't mean she wanted him, but a man could hope.
"You're my best friend," he said, "And I want to travel with you again. I'd love it. Before we decide," the Doctor said, changing tone and wrapping his hand around the one on his coat. He turned to pull Donna along to the TARDIS. "Let's take a trip. I want to show you someplace special, somewhere I've always wanted to share with you."
He stopped to let her swing her pack over one shoulder. "Where's that then?"
He grinned at her. "It's a surprise."
Donna stepped out of the TARDIS first as it whirled to a stop. They were in a small crater that looked like a large space quarry. It reminded her of the time they went to see the courtship of the Zyglots. It was night and the sky was filled with several celestial bodies and a colorful space-time rift that was all too familiar.
"The Medusa Cascade," Donna said, surprised and little wary. She studied the colorful phenomenon as the Doctor exited the TARDIS behind her, shutting the door. She noticed he took off his coat. "Why did you bring us here?"
"I know the last time we were here wasn't under the best circumstances," the Doctor said, "But this little moon is important to me. It was one of the first places I traveled to."
"Would it happen to be the fifteenth moon?" Donna asked him.
She loved how pleased he looked. "You remembered!" he exclaimed happily.
"Of course I did, you were trying to seduce me with the universe at the time," Donna said. "Going on and on like I could understand what all of that meant."
"You understood that I wanted you to stay," the Doctor said. He grabbed her hand and Donna looked up at his manic grin and wild eyes. "Now let me show you what's special about this moon!"
He started running towards the horizon with Donna in tow. Donna laughed as she was tugged behind him. It was exhilarating, being there again, running with her barmy Doctor. She felt a sweet feeling swelling in her chest. The feeling of light, innocent adventure that was so rare for them, reminiscent of the times when they were living in the happiness of the moment.
She wanted to know if he meant it when he said he wanted to go back to being partners traveling across the universe. In a way, it was what Donna wanted more than anything. But to go back the way they were...well, in a lot of ways it felt like a step backwards. And Donna was tired of moving backwards in her life.
"Almost there!" he called.
They stopped abruptly at the precipice of a huge rock face. Donna gasped at the sight. They were standing on the edge of one half of the moon, the other half across from them like the canyon on Earth they had been standing on moments before. It was a wide chasm, and Donna could see nothing but the vastness of the Medusa Cascade between the two halves of the moon, green and yellow and red nebula clouds, and hundreds and thousands of stars.
"Two halves of one moon! Broken by a unique gravitational disturbance in the rift and orbiting around each other like two magnets-" the Doctor explained, throwing his arms wide, face and body fully animated as he went into what Donna thought of as his trademark know-it-all mode.
"It's like the cliffs of Moher on crack!" Donna exclaimed. "Extreme cliffs! It's probably not safe for us to mill about the edge, is it?" she asked, leaning over to see how far the bottomless cliff went.
"Are you ready?" The Doctor had leaned in close to ask the question right into her ear. He had grabbed her hand again, and he pulled it up against his right heart.
She looked up and smiled at the manic glint in his huge brown eyes. "Ready for what?" she asked.
"We're going to jump," he said, casually, like he was saying they were going to have a picnic.
"What?! No, no bloody way-" Donna said, raising her voice and trying to pull away.
He held her hand fast. "There's a gravitational anomaly between the two halves of the moon. The orbit is delicate and unique, causing a magnetic push and pull that is weightless when you're right in the middle. And miraculously the atmosphere is still breathable," he said. "Come on, Donna. There's nothing in the universe like it," he continued when Donna looked wary, "Don't you trust me?"
If Donna didn't know him as well as she did, she might have missed the gruff, vulnerable edge his voice took. It was the right question, Donna realized, looking at him as he moved to pull her back to the edge, looking so hopeful.
Donna smiled at the Doctor, and moved to start running towards the cliff. His grin could light up the night as he moved to run beside her.
Together they jumped.
Donna couldn't help a small cry as they fell, and she lost hold of the Doctor's hand. There was a moment of terribly fast free fall and then, in an instant, they were floating down between the two halves of the moon, rainbow colors of the nebula clouds surrounding them. Donna could feel the funny weightless tug in her abdomen, the sort she had only gotten on roller coasters or scuba diving.
It was the most magical moment she ever had.
Donna laughed out loud and tried to do a summersault, her fiery hair whipping about her face. Directly above her she could hear the Doctor laughing too, and she moved to float on her back so she could see him. He turned and comically did a backstroke as he moved passed her.
They played like that for a long time. Donna couldn't tell if they were floating down or floating up between the two halves of the moon. She tried spinning like a dancer, tried tucking her knees to her chest so she'd fall faster, tried flapping her arms and gliding like a bird. Meanwhile, she could see the Doctor laughing, smiling, and spinning in the air next to her. They pushed at each other's arms and ankles, trying to get the other to spin. At one point he did an impressive triple pirouette and Donna threw her head back and laughed as he spun into her.
The motion didn't feel like a lot, but it was enough to send them hurtling for a half second. It was enough that Donna cried out and clung fiercely to the Doctor. He chuckled and pulled her in close, holding her as they floated. Donna felt that giddy feeling leech into her heart and soul and thought she had never been so happy. She told him so.
"I've never felt so alive," she said. And it was wonderful, after months of never quite feeling alive, to feel so complete.
Donna pulled away slightly so she could look at his face, wanting to connect, and share the joyful experience. But behind the twinkling expression on his face was a seriousness that stopped her from saying anything else. She turned away, pressed her cheek to his chest to listen to his hearts rather than look into those eyes. His heartsbeat was so fast, like a hummingbird's wings. She had only processed it before she felt the gentle pressure of his fingers on her chin, lifting her face back up.
He looked into her eyes and then used both of his hands to bring the palm of her hand reverently to his lips, closing his eyes just as he made contact. It was a distinctly romantic gesture and Donna's heartbeat increased watching him. Perhaps it was the extra adrenaline pumping through them that made him a bit braver, driving him to do something he normally wouldn't.
"Spaceman," she whispered. And he opened his eyes, dropping her hand slightly so he could smile unsurely at her. He was so close she could smell that strange, alien scent that was unique only to him.
Donna gently removed her hand from his and ran a hand along his fringe and the side of his face, looking into his eyes and wishing there was a way to reassure him. She felt a strange tug in her mind as her fingers brushed his temple and Donna knew what she should do.
Carefully she moved her hands to either side of his face. Instinctively he held her more tightly at the waist as she brushed his temples with her fingers and gently followed the tug on her mind into his.
The colors in the nebula clouds had nothing against the burst of color and feeling inside the Doctor's mind as he opened up countless pathways before her and his thoughts danced across her own neurons like friendly fireflies.
His love for her was so integral to his thoughts. It was attached to every trivial moment on the surface and every deep, stout thought and feeling in the center of his mind. He opened to her, awed, reverent, and eager, like he wanted to show her who he was, like it was another adventure. His mind was vast, ageless, filled with brilliant starlight, but with dark, heavy spaces scattered around inside.
Donna unfolded her mind before him, like a blooming flower. She let her love for him shine into his mind like a lighthouse, pulling him away from those dark spaces, from the endless sadness and loneliness he was drowning in.
He gasped, and pulled out of her mind. Donna opened her eyes to look at him. His eyes were hooded and his mouth was open. He looked at her in shock. She smiled at him softy. "This is the moment," she said, "This is the moment where you know. Not something you took, not something that was said. You know now. You know that I love you. And I always will."
Wonder and happiness blossomed over his face and Donna couldn't help but smile. He gathered her into his arms holding her tighter, his hands moving up her sides to cup her face, and back down again. He looked so beautiful, she thought, as they floated there. And he did, his body, mind and soul so weightless, so free. They floated finally to the other side of the moon, the horizon coming into sight. He leaned into her, forehead and noses touching, as the stars unfolded before them.
"You love me," he breathed, moving to cup her face again.
"Yes," she whispered back, moving her hands to hold his close to her cheeks. She closed her eyes.
"I love you too," he said.
And then he turned his head, leaning forward, too slowly. Impatient, eager and smiling, Donna leaned in the rest of the way. Her lips met his and he pulled back slightly, surprised, but he smiled into the kiss when he felt Donna smiling too. He tasted like spices and starlight. Donna's hands slipped from his and wrapped around his neck, while his drifted to wrap around her shoulders and waist, pulling her as close as she could be.
It was a kiss of promises and possible forevers. And they carried on that way, floating in the universe in each other's arms, as they would carry on together for a very long time.
The End.
Author's Note: That's it, that's the show. But seriously, I want to thank every single one of my readers for your love, support, and friendship through this story. I wrote it because I needed a Donna catharsis, but what was even more healing for me was meeting the rest of the fans. I love you so much, thank you for reading. ♥♥♥
Ignite Your Bones
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Donna stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the colorful natural amphitheaters of Bryce Canyon. The waning daylight cast a red glow over the rocky terrain. She reached around and slipped her hiking pack from her shoulders and placed it next to her feet, pulling the water bottle out of the side pocket. She quietly sipped as she gazed at the natural beauty.
Since her trip to the dying Earth of the thirtieth century, Donna had made a point to travel to some of Earth's most well-known landscapes. She went to the Cliffs of Moher, floated down the Klarälven River, walked with elephants to the Kirisia Hills, and got an eyeful of Machu Picchu during an invigorating running adventure through the Andes. She discovered she needed to reacquaint herself with the good things humanity and her tiny blue planet had to offer.
It also involved thwarting an alien invasion in the Incan ruins using her sonic screwdriver, a handful of toothpicks, and the sole of her left hiking boot. Nefarious alien plots never took a day off, she mused.
She also noticed that every cut, bruise, and scrape healed remarkably fast. Even a sprain healed within a few hours after an unfortunate waterfall incident while she was white water rafting.
All part of being half-alien, she supposed.
Earlier that year she had buried her grandfather Wilfred Mott, one of her dearest friends. The Doctor had told her of his death after and she returned to the council room that evening, so long ago. He was leaning against the council, glasses perched crookedly on his nose, and his face grim. She listened to him silently as he recounted the story in detail, not hiding his moment of selfishness and grief when he thought he would die.
"Bottom line, Donna," the Doctor said, "I was honored by what Wilfred Mott did for me. And I-I hope-" he faltered before he could finish his sentence. Donna thought that perhaps he thought he was being selfish again, asking her for forgiveness when he had already caused so much grief between them.
Donna reached for him and hugged him, let him hold her. She thought she should cry but the tears wouldn't come. After a few minutes of silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts, Donna said quietly, "It's time for me to go, Spaceman," she pulled away, looking up at his face.
He looked at her, sad and uncertain. Donna reached up and laid a hand against his cheek. "Until next time, eh?" she said, smiling softly.
He smiled back, but it was wane, and hardly reached his eyes. "Until then, Earthgirl."
They waved at each other as Donna left the TARDIS. Before the door closed behind her she thought she heard him say "Don't forget me, Donna." But it was so quiet she wasn't sure, and the TARDIS dematerialized before she could think anything of it.
Shaun was waiting patiently for her, sitting with his ankles crossed and his hands folded in his lap when she came in.
Donna did not have to hide what was about to happen. One look at his face as he stood to meet her and Donna knew he was already prepared.
After they talked and she gave him back his ring, he took both of her hands in his and raised them lovingly, carefully brushing her knuckles with his lips, the last physical gesture of love he would be able to give. Again, Donna thought she should cry, because she did love Shaun, just not the way he needed her to. It was terribly hard to leave him. But the tears wouldn't come.
He wanted to leave her the apartment and stay with his brother, but Donna insisted he stay.
"I need to be with my Mother," Donna explained. "Right now we need to be together."
"Right, of course," Shaun said, looking down. He looked up one last time. "I'll miss you, Donna. I hope...I hope we can be friends one day. But I need a chance to...well..."
"I understand," Donna said, smiling at him. "Don't worry about the flat, I'll send someone for my things in good time." Donna turned back towards the door. She hadn't even taken off her coat. Before she opened it she looked back one last time. Shaun smiled at her.
"Goodbye, Shaun," Donna said, "Thank you for taking care of me."
"Goodbye, Donna," he answered. And then she was gone.
Donna drove back to her mother's house in her blue compact car, wondering why she couldn't cry even though her heart was so broken. First she had to leave the Doctor, who loved her after all, then she learned she would never see her beloved grandfather again, and she had to leave a wonderful man like Shaun Temple behind because she realized she'd never fall in love with him like she fell in love with her best friend.
When she walked into her mother's house, Sylvia had been dozing unfitfully on the living room couch, two cups of cold tea on the table in front of her. She startled awake at the sound of a key in the lock, and stumbled to her feet by the time Donna was inside.
Donna looked at her mother's red eyes and puffy face and finally felt herself start to crumble.
"Mum," she said brokenly, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Sylvia pulled her into a hug as Donna started to sob. They curled together on the couch and Donna clung to her mother and cried like she did when she was a child. She cried for her grandfather, the dearest man in the universe. She cried for reaching the penacle of her life only to lose it all to the insecure frustrated woman she used to be. She cried for Shaun and the life they might have had.
And she cried for the Doctor, who broke her heart, and she hoped he would forgive her for leaving him when he so obviously needed her. But she needed time.
Donna tried returning to work after Wilf's funeral but she found it impossible. She felt large and small at the same time, surrounded by ringing phones and constant memos. Instead, she used the small amount of money Wilf left her to travel around the world. Her mother actually enjoyed running the family news stand in Wilf's place, giving her a way to gossip with the neighbors on a regular basis, freeing Donna to do anything she wanted. Donna felt it was what Wilf would have wanted, to see her traveling again, and sometimes saving people, saving the world.
Which is how she found herself across the pond, watching the sunset, seven months, three weeks, three days and fifteen hours later. Waiting.
Donna didn't have to wait long. In the distance, coming through the vortex, she could hear the time rotor whirring, becoming louder and louder until she turned at grinned into the sudden wind blowing through the canyon.
Sometimes a message would come easily, sometimes it came like a slap to the face. This time the Doctor felt the psychic tug so abruptly and keenly that he missed his footing and fell face flat against the TARDIS corridor he was walking down.
He had been wearing his glasses so they pushed painfully into the bridge of his nose as he fell.
"Blimey," he said to the floor. He rolled over to his back. "That's going to leave a mark," he said to the ceiling.
The TARDIS continued to hum like nothing was amiss. Though if she could, she'd tell him not to read and walk at the same time.
The Doctor adjusted his glasses back on his nose, frowning as he felt the ridge where his specs were jammed. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his psychic paper.
"We need to talk. Donna.
The Doctor sprang to his feet and read the rest of the message, which consisted of when and where Donna was at, as he made his way to the council room. Reading and walking again like that didn't just end with him and his conk on the floor. Well, reading and walking very fast. Running in fact. He entered the coordinates quickly, using both hands and one foot to steer her across space and time. He couldn't help smiling.
The Doctor grabbed his coat, tucked his glasses into his jacket pocket, and adjusted the knot of his tie. He ran a hand through his hair, hoping the part looked okay...then he realized he was primping and stopped himself. He wouldn't be able to impress Donna Noble that way, and knowing her she'd be able to tell he was trying.
He didn't know how long he had been away, but he sensed that it had been longer for her than it had been for him. She needed her space. He needed her presence back in his life, grounding him.
With one deep breath to prepare himself, he opened the door and leaned out, looking around. There she was, standing at the edge of a cliff and grinning at him. She was wearing loose, comfortable clothing, a dark green shirt and lightweight capri pants with her hiking boots. The sun was setting and the red and gold tones were glinting off her skin and hair. Nothing could have prepared him for how beautiful she looked, he thought and he grinned back at her.
They both moved and soon he had his arms around her and was lifting her off the ground, laughing. "I missed you!" she said, laughing into his ear and he squeezed her tighter.
He put her down and she grabbed his hand, still smiling at him. They turned back and walked towards the edge of the cliff where he first saw her. Donna Noble was here next to him standing in the sunset. The Doctor glanced at her hand in his and felt, for the first time in a long, long while, a sense of contentment.
"How long has it been for you?" Donna asked.
"About two weeks," the Doctor lied.
She gave him a wry look. "You didn't wait long then, did you?"
The Doctor felt the strings of time pass by since he last saw her. It was late summer now, he realized. It had taken her longer than he thought to come around.
"Doing some exploring?" the Doctor asked her, looking out at the scenery.
"Yeah," Donna answered. "There are a lot of places I wanted to see and get the dead Earth out of my head. And I've always wanted to go to Bryce Canyon. I think the structures look like castles-"
"It's technically not a canyon. Canyons are formed by erosion from a central stream, like a river, but this landscape was formed by headward erosion, or the enlargement of a body of water's drainage basin, forming these natural amphitheaters from pinnacles called hoodoos. They have other charming names, like tent rocks, fairy chimneys, earth pyramids-" He stopped when he looked over at Donna. Pursed lips and wide sparkling eyes like she was laughing at him. "They also look like the spires and towers of a majestic castle," he concluded.
"Don't they though?" Donna said in a teasing, breathy tone that was so familiar.
He smiled down at her as she turned to point out different castles she could see in the landscape. I adore you, he wanted to say. He was sure it was written all over his face and all she had to do was glance back at him to see it.
"I-I didn't see you at Gramp's funeral," Donna said.
"You didn't?" The idea alarmed him but it wasn't a surprise. He didn't like funerals.
"Well, not you you. There was a man there that I thought might be you. Another skinny streak of nothing in a tweed jacket like Gramps used to wear. Said Wilf was 'cool' and that they were 'old friends' when he came 'round to give his condolences. He wouldn't meet my eyes though. When I suspected it was you he was already gone..." Donna gazed wistfully out at the canyon for a moment. "I suppose that's the past now," she said, squeezing his hand.
"Or the future," the Doctor said.
"That's another thing," Donna said. "What do you want for the future, Doctor?"
"Oh, Donna!" the Doctor said, turning so they were facing each other. "I want you to come home. To the TARDIS. There are so many other places I want to take you, remember? But I know what traveling is like, and I understand if you don't...if you don't want to risk it again-"
"Of course I want to go traveling, Time Boy," Donna said. She released his hand to give him a friendly pat on his shoulder. But she gripped the lapel of his brown coat and bit her lip and the Doctor waited while she thought out what she wanted to say next, studying every gesture and motion she made like it would give him a clue to what she wanted.
"But that's not exactly what I meant. Yes, I want to go traveling. I haven't ever really stopped. But...but what did you want for the future...between us?"
Everything, the Doctor wanted to say. But he knew he didn't deserve Donna's love after everything they've been through. "Whatever you're comfortable with, Donna. We can carry on like we used to, best mates and partners traveling the stars." Donna's face fell a small fraction and the Doctor was afraid that he was asking too much. "I understand...I understood what you were trying to say last time we talked, but-" Well, that was only partially true. He thought he understood what she was trying to say. That she didn't feel the same way she did before. But it had been over seven months since he left Donna on Earth and he couldn't help but notice she wasn't wearing her engagement ring anymore.
Which didn't mean she wanted him, but a man could hope.
"You're my best friend," he said, "And I want to travel with you again. I'd love it. Before we decide," the Doctor said, changing tone and wrapping his hand around the one on his coat. He turned to pull Donna along to the TARDIS. "Let's take a trip. I want to show you someplace special, somewhere I've always wanted to share with you."
He stopped to let her swing her pack over one shoulder. "Where's that then?"
He grinned at her. "It's a surprise."
Donna stepped out of the TARDIS first as it whirled to a stop. They were in a small crater that looked like a large space quarry. It reminded her of the time they went to see the courtship of the Zyglots. It was night and the sky was filled with several celestial bodies and a colorful space-time rift that was all too familiar.
"The Medusa Cascade," Donna said, surprised and little wary. She studied the colorful phenomenon as the Doctor exited the TARDIS behind her, shutting the door. She noticed he took off his coat. "Why did you bring us here?"
"I know the last time we were here wasn't under the best circumstances," the Doctor said, "But this little moon is important to me. It was one of the first places I traveled to."
"Would it happen to be the fifteenth moon?" Donna asked him.
She loved how pleased he looked. "You remembered!" he exclaimed happily.
"Of course I did, you were trying to seduce me with the universe at the time," Donna said. "Going on and on like I could understand what all of that meant."
"You understood that I wanted you to stay," the Doctor said. He grabbed her hand and Donna looked up at his manic grin and wild eyes. "Now let me show you what's special about this moon!"
He started running towards the horizon with Donna in tow. Donna laughed as she was tugged behind him. It was exhilarating, being there again, running with her barmy Doctor. She felt a sweet feeling swelling in her chest. The feeling of light, innocent adventure that was so rare for them, reminiscent of the times when they were living in the happiness of the moment.
She wanted to know if he meant it when he said he wanted to go back to being partners traveling across the universe. In a way, it was what Donna wanted more than anything. But to go back the way they were...well, in a lot of ways it felt like a step backwards. And Donna was tired of moving backwards in her life.
"Almost there!" he called.
They stopped abruptly at the precipice of a huge rock face. Donna gasped at the sight. They were standing on the edge of one half of the moon, the other half across from them like the canyon on Earth they had been standing on moments before. It was a wide chasm, and Donna could see nothing but the vastness of the Medusa Cascade between the two halves of the moon, green and yellow and red nebula clouds, and hundreds and thousands of stars.
"Two halves of one moon! Broken by a unique gravitational disturbance in the rift and orbiting around each other like two magnets-" the Doctor explained, throwing his arms wide, face and body fully animated as he went into what Donna thought of as his trademark know-it-all mode.
"It's like the cliffs of Moher on crack!" Donna exclaimed. "Extreme cliffs! It's probably not safe for us to mill about the edge, is it?" she asked, leaning over to see how far the bottomless cliff went.
"Are you ready?" The Doctor had leaned in close to ask the question right into her ear. He had grabbed her hand again, and he pulled it up against his right heart.
She looked up and smiled at the manic glint in his huge brown eyes. "Ready for what?" she asked.
"We're going to jump," he said, casually, like he was saying they were going to have a picnic.
"What?! No, no bloody way-" Donna said, raising her voice and trying to pull away.
He held her hand fast. "There's a gravitational anomaly between the two halves of the moon. The orbit is delicate and unique, causing a magnetic push and pull that is weightless when you're right in the middle. And miraculously the atmosphere is still breathable," he said. "Come on, Donna. There's nothing in the universe like it," he continued when Donna looked wary, "Don't you trust me?"
If Donna didn't know him as well as she did, she might have missed the gruff, vulnerable edge his voice took. It was the right question, Donna realized, looking at him as he moved to pull her back to the edge, looking so hopeful.
Donna smiled at the Doctor, and moved to start running towards the cliff. His grin could light up the night as he moved to run beside her.
Together they jumped.
Donna couldn't help a small cry as they fell, and she lost hold of the Doctor's hand. There was a moment of terribly fast free fall and then, in an instant, they were floating down between the two halves of the moon, rainbow colors of the nebula clouds surrounding them. Donna could feel the funny weightless tug in her abdomen, the sort she had only gotten on roller coasters or scuba diving.
It was the most magical moment she ever had.
Donna laughed out loud and tried to do a summersault, her fiery hair whipping about her face. Directly above her she could hear the Doctor laughing too, and she moved to float on her back so she could see him. He turned and comically did a backstroke as he moved passed her.
They played like that for a long time. Donna couldn't tell if they were floating down or floating up between the two halves of the moon. She tried spinning like a dancer, tried tucking her knees to her chest so she'd fall faster, tried flapping her arms and gliding like a bird. Meanwhile, she could see the Doctor laughing, smiling, and spinning in the air next to her. They pushed at each other's arms and ankles, trying to get the other to spin. At one point he did an impressive triple pirouette and Donna threw her head back and laughed as he spun into her.
The motion didn't feel like a lot, but it was enough to send them hurtling for a half second. It was enough that Donna cried out and clung fiercely to the Doctor. He chuckled and pulled her in close, holding her as they floated. Donna felt that giddy feeling leech into her heart and soul and thought she had never been so happy. She told him so.
"I've never felt so alive," she said. And it was wonderful, after months of never quite feeling alive, to feel so complete.
Donna pulled away slightly so she could look at his face, wanting to connect, and share the joyful experience. But behind the twinkling expression on his face was a seriousness that stopped her from saying anything else. She turned away, pressed her cheek to his chest to listen to his hearts rather than look into those eyes. His heartsbeat was so fast, like a hummingbird's wings. She had only processed it before she felt the gentle pressure of his fingers on her chin, lifting her face back up.
He looked into her eyes and then used both of his hands to bring the palm of her hand reverently to his lips, closing his eyes just as he made contact. It was a distinctly romantic gesture and Donna's heartbeat increased watching him. Perhaps it was the extra adrenaline pumping through them that made him a bit braver, driving him to do something he normally wouldn't.
"Spaceman," she whispered. And he opened his eyes, dropping her hand slightly so he could smile unsurely at her. He was so close she could smell that strange, alien scent that was unique only to him.
Donna gently removed her hand from his and ran a hand along his fringe and the side of his face, looking into his eyes and wishing there was a way to reassure him. She felt a strange tug in her mind as her fingers brushed his temple and Donna knew what she should do.
Carefully she moved her hands to either side of his face. Instinctively he held her more tightly at the waist as she brushed his temples with her fingers and gently followed the tug on her mind into his.
The colors in the nebula clouds had nothing against the burst of color and feeling inside the Doctor's mind as he opened up countless pathways before her and his thoughts danced across her own neurons like friendly fireflies.
His love for her was so integral to his thoughts. It was attached to every trivial moment on the surface and every deep, stout thought and feeling in the center of his mind. He opened to her, awed, reverent, and eager, like he wanted to show her who he was, like it was another adventure. His mind was vast, ageless, filled with brilliant starlight, but with dark, heavy spaces scattered around inside.
Donna unfolded her mind before him, like a blooming flower. She let her love for him shine into his mind like a lighthouse, pulling him away from those dark spaces, from the endless sadness and loneliness he was drowning in.
He gasped, and pulled out of her mind. Donna opened her eyes to look at him. His eyes were hooded and his mouth was open. He looked at her in shock. She smiled at him softy. "This is the moment," she said, "This is the moment where you know. Not something you took, not something that was said. You know now. You know that I love you. And I always will."
Wonder and happiness blossomed over his face and Donna couldn't help but smile. He gathered her into his arms holding her tighter, his hands moving up her sides to cup her face, and back down again. He looked so beautiful, she thought, as they floated there. And he did, his body, mind and soul so weightless, so free. They floated finally to the other side of the moon, the horizon coming into sight. He leaned into her, forehead and noses touching, as the stars unfolded before them.
"You love me," he breathed, moving to cup her face again.
"Yes," she whispered back, moving her hands to hold his close to her cheeks. She closed her eyes.
"I love you too," he said.
And then he turned his head, leaning forward, too slowly. Impatient, eager and smiling, Donna leaned in the rest of the way. Her lips met his and he pulled back slightly, surprised, but he smiled into the kiss when he felt Donna smiling too. He tasted like spices and starlight. Donna's hands slipped from his and wrapped around his neck, while his drifted to wrap around her shoulders and waist, pulling her as close as she could be.
It was a kiss of promises and possible forevers. And they carried on that way, floating in the universe in each other's arms, as they would carry on together for a very long time.
The End.
Author's Note: That's it, that's the show. But seriously, I want to thank every single one of my readers for your love, support, and friendship through this story. I wrote it because I needed a Donna catharsis, but what was even more healing for me was meeting the rest of the fans. I love you so much, thank you for reading. ♥♥♥
