The Doctor appeared in her doorway, the smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes. The rain beat against the windowpane, louder even than the wind that howled around the hotel.
"Something wrong with your room?" Donna asked, putting aside the book she had been reading.
He shook his head, but stepped into her room. "I'm just bored. The weather—" he gestured vaguely at the window.
"They say it'll pass by afternoon, and we'll have our sunny beach again."
He nodded, but the smile was gone. He jumped, looking at the window as a clap of thunder echoed around the hotel.
"You don't like the thunder?" she asked, stifling a smile.
He looked from the window back to her. After a long pause, he shook his head. "No. Never have."
She patted the spot next to her on the bed. "Come here, you prawn."
He grinned sheepishly, but sat down next to her, sliding as close as he could get, one arm behind her shoulders. She put her arm around him, and felt him tense again at another clap of thunder, louder than the last.
"When you were a child – you were a child once, right?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Of course I was a child once, Donna. Time Lords aren't grown on looms."
"Right. So, when you were a child, and you were frightened by the thunder, what did your mother do?"
He closed his eyes, and she could almost feel him remembering, so far back.
"She would rub my back until I fell asleep, if it was at night. During the day, she'd just sit with me."
She leaned her head against his shoulder, tightening her arm around him as the thunder sounded again. He rested his head against hers. "Thank you," he whispered.