Warning: you don't have to be overly familiar with S4 because I'll be changing a few things along the way; and I'll be doing so knowingly.

Summary: this is the sequel to Goodbye Mr Smith where Donna met up with Mr John Smith. She now gets to meet up with the Doctor properly.

Disclaimer: these don't belong to me in any shape or form; and I can't pretend 'write what you know' applies to me anymore either.

A/N: I thought if I was going to change when Donna originally met the Doctor I might as well change some other things too! I have no other excuse.

Previously before this:

she eventually resolved to seek out the Doctor. This time, if she found him, she wouldn't mess it up. She knew the score now, and she knew the rules of the game; she had read them in John's journal. If she was lucky she could become his friend; she'd decided it was worth the risk.

Welcome Mrs Smith

Part 1

.

It hadn't taken much persuading from Martha to get Donna to have a look around the place that featured the most in John's journal: the TARDIS. In fact she had jumped at the chance to compare how he had written about it with the reality. Perhaps, she had hoped, it would allow her to accept that all that talk of alien worlds was real and John belonged somewhere else entirely, in a different format. He was facing aliens at that precise moment nearby, she thought; and probably wasn't John anymore.

Martha had led her to the main doors cautiously, keeping her hands over Donna's eyes; frightened of scaring her off and wanting to amaze her instead. As they entered and made their way up the ramp, Martha released her hold and asked, "What do you think?"

"Wow!" Donna exclaimed as she looked around the console room of the TARDIS. "Is this really where you live with him?"

"Oh yes," Martha replied proudly.

Donna was still swivelling on the spot, keen to take everything in. "She really is beautiful! No wonder he found the flat so stifling at times," she said in reverential, hushed tones and reached out to brush a fingertip over a strut. She then turned a very sad gaze onto Martha before running a hand lovingly over the place at the console where he would normally stand. "He must have hated his time as a human; it would have been like caging a tiger."

Martha felt that she ought to give Donna some solace. "He loved his time with you, Donna. I've never seen him happier."

Donna visibly waved that compliment off. "That's only because he wasn't back with that Rose you mentioned; he'd have been really happy if he'd met her instead. No, I was a handy stopgap; I can see that now. And I have you to thank, Martha, for that."

Martha gasped at her tone. "But you love him! How can you just give him up like that?"

"That's exactly why I can," Donna reasoned. "I love him enough to let him go. I want him to go on and be happy with his life, and this is how I can give that to him."

"You amaze me, Donna," Martha confessed with a slight shake of her head.

With a self-deprecating shrug, Donna blushed. "Glad to hear someone can be amazed by me," she mumbled. "I could never do what you do," she said more stridently. "You're the truly amazing person round here."

She then purposefully strode out of the TARDIS before Martha could say anything else. She'd seen what she wanted to see; she'd had it all proven to her. Now all that was left was the slow process of healing her broken heart. Yes, saying it quickly like that made it sound simple.

The Doctor could smell Donna's perfume as soon as he stepped back into the TARDIS; it wafted all around him in the console room, but it was strongest by the monitor. "Why did you bring her here?" he instantly asked Martha before he could stop himself from reacting any further in front of her.

"I wanted to help her accept you changing, and she asked if she could see your home," Martha answered in a small, tight voice. "I'm sorry if that was wrong."

"No, not wrong," he replied, brushing off the thoughts that bombarded him. She'd wanted to see his home for herself; seeing the TARDIS had influenced her decision. Ultimately she had rejected them both; and he felt his spirits sink even lower.

The TARDIS tried to protest that this wasn't so, that Donna had caressed her and been in awe, but the Doctor didn't want to listen to such things. The TARDIS considered showing him footage of what Donna had done, but she decided that she would leave it for the time being and show him later when he was calmer. He'd had a life changing day after all; and he needed to become reacquainted with his ship. For now he had to gain a sense of normality before he could properly grieve.

Despite his best efforts he was dreaming of Donna again, laying lazily in bed with her as she giggled at his insipid jokes. It was only in his dreams that he felt the full intensity of those moments from when he was human; he could distance himself during his waking life. Didn't being a Time Lord mean he could control his emotions after all? He was above such petty things as lust, desire and arousal. Except he wasn't above any of that in his dreams; instead other emotions like loss, homesickness and need also came tumbling in to confuse things in his mind. The strangest thing of all was the experience of waking up with tears on his face.

Rassilon, he missed her!

He could get through this, the Doctor knew he could. By fairs means or foul he would survive this latest hiccup. All he needed was a distraction.

That distraction was supplied by Harold Saxon, otherwise known as the Master. He would fill the Doctor's waking day with other thoughts that were far darker; especially once he had learned that the Master had sent in a special task force to eliminate a certain area of Chiswick. There would be no hope of finding that precious love again.

When the TARDIS set him down in London he was still feeling lonely, lost and dejected after the events of the Titanic. The Doctor coped in the only way he knew: he pretended it wasn't happening. Because of that, the tall building in front of him was intriguing. Why had the TARDIS brought him there? What puzzle did Adipose Industries hold for him to solve? Using his sonic screwdriver, and flashing his psychic paper about, he set upon his latest adventure little knowing there was another reason the TARDIS was sitting there.

After pottering about the place, poking his nose in into various places, and setting up camp in a seemingly innocent looking cupboard while he waited, the Doctor confidently scaled his way up the outside of the building with the intention of finding some new information. Yes, he found something all right! He found a curious Donna Noble gazing back at him with delight through two well-spaced-out panes of glass.

Instantly his hearts lifted with glee at the sight of her. If his eyes were correct, she had sought him out, judging by the conversation she had mimed. Racing down the stairs to greet Donna, he almost tripped over his feet trying to get to her quickly. With a jubilant whoosh of emotion, he engulfed her in a tight hug and was gratified to feel her hug him back just as tightly.

Time stood still for him as he held her within his arms. There was the familiar softness of her body, the scent of her favoured shampoo, the texture of her hair as it brushed against his cheek, the vibrancy of her being as she achieved something close to her heart, and the sheer knowledge that he was back where he wanted to be.

Mere seconds later they relaxed their grip on each other, and his secret dream was released too. Of course she had to mock him; it was almost written in her contract, and he found himself beaming at her in relief that she still felt able to do so. But he didn't dare hope she would want to travel with him yet. The fear of rejection stopped that one.

It was that same fear that made him react like a complete pranny when she hinted at him about an invite, and continue to do so when it looked like she would say 'yes'.

She had found him! She had finally found him; peering in the window like a demented bird on the windowsill. Why did that look appeal to her so much? Her excitement knew no bounds as she gesticulated at him through several panes of glass in order to make herself understood; and then she was off running to greet him personally.

Donna raced anxiously up the stairs towards the Doctor, knowing he was pleased to see her, but she was hoping it wasn't more than that on her part. She was sure he stumbled over himself to get to her, and she was sure she saw John briefly in that moment; making her heart skip a beat. It did make her hug him a bit tighter than she should have done, she chastised herself. What was she thinking? The little mantra 'this is not John' started to play in her head. Thankfully it stopped her from seeking out more from the embrace; something closer to a kiss in greeting. For now she was satisfied to merely hold him for a while.

She could do this, Donna was sure she could. That deep overwhelming need to travel and see all that he could offer her was still rampant inside her heart. For now John was still safely locked away, she told herself. The Doctor seemed a friendly enough bloke, and God knew why she had decided to spend her life with him based on only a few minutes; but she had. There was no doubt in her mind that this was what she wanted. Which was why she had deliberately picked up on his vague request to join him; she didn't want to leave any doubt in his mind either.

Except doubt crept in when he stood bumbling in front of her, going on about wanting a mate, and the complications Martha's crush had caused. Yes, she had seen some of those complications up close and personally, so she knew perfectly well what he meant. But it was how he said it! Donna didn't know how she had fought back the tears as he stood pathetically stuttering in order to explain himself; because that bit was pure John, and she had to protect herself from the pain it caused.

"You're not mating with me, Sunshine!" she heard herself snap irritably at him. She hadn't meant to be so mean to him, but she was shocked, hurt, and angry that his 'John'ness had peeked through to mock her. "You're just a long streak of…" she gestured wildly, desperate to swipe him off the path toward thinking she was after him in THAT way. It would be beyond embarrassing if he knew he was remotely in the running for 'fantasy of the week'. That snippet she kept safely to herself.

Donna knew she had done the right thing when he looked relieved at her words. Admittedly she had breathed a sigh of relief too when he clarified, "I just want A mate; not TO mate!"

Oh Rassilon, he'd done it now! He'd upset her good and proper. Of course she would not want be interested in him and his body; she had made that perfectly clear. So his declaration was needed to move things forward. It would seem he had succeeded dramatically when she asked, "I can come?"

Oh yes, oh yes! He had wanted to grab her there and then, but he showed his delight by saying, "I'd love it!" The offer of a hug to seal the deal was the most obvious thing in the world after that.

Donna glowed with the knowledge he was prepared to offer her a hug after all that emotional confusion; so she raced forward and accepted the embrace. Bugger her mum's car keys; they could wait five more minutes! This was a hug to savour.

She did, however, murmur after a couple of moments crushed against his welcoming chest, "I've got a few things I need to get from the car first."

"A few?" he queried once she had opened the boot and revealed numerous pieces of luggage.

"What? I was being logical. You have to be prepared for almost anything, don't you? I know that you travel to various climes and I wanted to be prepared," Donna reasoned, taking his silence as acceptance. So what if she happened to ignore his questioning gaze as she piled cases into his outstretched arms? It didn't matter. He was a seasoned traveller after all, and should have expected such preparations.

The Doctor suddenly found himself with armfuls of Donna's clothing; all wrapped up in mock leather casings, obviously. He hadn't got that close to his dream yet. But… blimey! The woman was prepared for literally everything! He hadn't even known it was possible to jam that much into the boot of a small Peugeot. A massive part of him was very impressed with her organisational skills and the fact she had done this in order to find him. Hope blossomed within him where it hadn't dared show before.