1. Just a Mate
"With Martha, like I said, it got... complicated. And that was all my fault. I just want a mate"
They'd just lifted off from earth after that episode with the Adipose who were, the Doctor had to admit, the cutest of alien forms he'd seen yet. Well, not that alien, seeing as they were simply balls of fat, but living fat, which couldn't be any more alien then trees. The fact that they'd just gotten into the Void was evident by the several suitcases scattered around the console room. Donna hadn't gotten around to picking them up and if she though he was going to…oh no! He wasn't a bellboy. If she wanted to live in the TARDIS, she had to pitch in too. Member of the crew and all that. If she didn't agree, he could always pitch her out into space. Granted it would be lonely without her, but he could find another companion couldn't he?
As the Doctor lounged in the captain's chair with his Converse-clad feet resting gently on the console, in a rare moment of indulgence, he could distinctly hear the water running. And it had been running awhile. Too long in fact. Drat that human taking advantage of his hospitality. Not five minutes in the TARDIS and she insisted she needed a shower after being around the Adipose. Talking might've been nice or maybe planning their first trip together, was that too much to ask? As if in response to his craving, he heard a piercing scream from down the hall, a thud, and the sound of running water was abruptly ceased. There were a few moments of silence before the door slammed and Donna came storming into the room. Well she'd apparently gotten one suitcase into her quarters because she'd changed into a pair of light lavender pajamas, a pink wrap-around robe and matching slippers.
The Doctor sprang up. "Joining me at last? Jolly good"
Donna wasn't in such good spirits. "What in bloody blazes was that?" she demanded.
"Sorry? What was what?"
"Oh don't go on all innocent…do ya expect me to believe the TARDIS shut off the hot water, do ya, flyboy?"
The Doctor was about to point out that it had been the TARDIS, who no doubt had been as irked about Donna's long showering as he had, but he could see the long argument that would cause so he wisely changed the subject. "Right then…in the TARDIS again, traveling in the stars to other worlds…"
Donna snorted. "If you think that ploy's going to work, you've got another thing coming to ya and it ain't murmuring sweet nothings, mister!"
Oh yes, this wouldn't be another case of "complications" like he'd had with Martha; he could tell that already.
"Well?" Donna rounded on him, with hands on hips. "Where we going then?"
"Whoever said we were going anywhere just now?" The Doctor flopped back down onto the couch and made a point of kicking off his shoes. "I mean, in my vast knowledge of humans, you hardly look fit to go anywhere."
"And how 'bout you wearing the same outfit for months in a row?" Donna said, pointing accusingly at his choice of dress. "What kind of hospitality is it to invite me in the TARDIS and not go anywhere? What kind of manners do you Martians learn anyway?"
"I'm not from Mars."
"Where are you from then?" her anger faded as curiosity got the better of her. "I don't think you ever told me." Donna sat down on a corner of the couch and the Doctor obligingly scooted over to give her more room. "What's it like?"
"Gallifrey…what a planet, oh if only you could've seen it, Donna. It its splendor it was simply brilliant. Towering mountains covered with snow…hundreds of rivers, lakes, the greenest vegetation you could imagine…and the Academy, oh you could see it for miles shimmering like gold in the sun. And then…it was all gone," he said, the warmth faded from his voice.
"What happened?"
"There was a war and I had to destroy it."
"Oh," said Donna simply, seeming to not know what else to say. "I'm sorry." She shuffled one foot awkwardly against the floor.
"Anyhoo, where should we go next?" he coaxed her with a big grin. "Another planet? Back in time? Forwards? Oh, you haven't lived until you've seen New New New Earth. You'd love it!" He popped up from the couch and headed to the console. "What'll it be Donna?"
"What? Like this?" she asked incredulously.
"Sure, no one's saying you can't."
"But my hair's a mess…" Donna headed over to her nearest suitcase and began rifling through it when a sudden shudder from the TARDIS knocked her off her feet. "What in blazes…? I thought you'd let me pick the place!"
"I haven't done anything! Something's got ahold of the TARDIS…and boy is it ever strong!" He clung to the console as the ship rocked again, this time stronger, which sent Donna tumbling to the other side of the room.
"Don't just stand there, do something!" Donna scrambled to her feet, fighting to keep her balance as she headed to join him.
The Doctor raced around the console, pulling this, pushing that, but finally when another snaking jarred him out of position even he had to admit "whatever it is, it's too strong. It looks like our destination is wherever the TARDIS is taking us."
"Oh that's lovely," muttered Donna, loud enough for him to here. "We're heading off to someplace and we don't even know where it is!"
"Yeah, isn't it exciting?" He grabbed Donna's hand and pulled her up as the ship continued to buckle beneath them. "Millions, billions, blimey even trillions of places we could end up. Come on, you've got to admit it's worth it."
"Fine then! Traipsing around a foreign world…could be hostile, might be breathable…in my pajamas!" She made a grab for the closest suitcase when another rocking sent them skittering towards them. "Could've at least given me a warning before"
"How was I supposed to know? Oh, hang on…" The Doctor ran around the console, checking readings and other what-nots. "I think we've landed."
"But it's still shaking!"
The Doctor ran over to the doors and peeked outside. "Uh, Donna, I think this is our stop." He spun around to face her. "We're getting off now!"
Donna had managed to trap one of her suitcases and dug through it frantically. "Not until I find…"
"Now, Donna!"
"Hold on a blasted…"
"Donna we go now or not at all!"
"Doesn't sound so bad"
"The phase 'not at all' meaning not at all LITERALLY. Never."
"What?"
"The TARDIS is dematerializing! Get over here NOW!"
"Well you might've said that in the first place, but noooo you wait until it's…"
"Just shut it and get over here!"
"Oi, who do ya think you're talking to?" Donna stood with a pair of steel-toed hiking boots in her hands. The floor beneath her had faded and she staggered back in shock when she saw a lava river. "Why didn't ya tell me about the lava, mutton head?"
"DONNA! Just get over here." The Doctor braced himself against the door and held out his hand to her. "When the TARDIS dematerializes everything else in it does too but us. You fancying a lava bath or a moonlight stroll with me?"
"I'm. Going. To. Kill. You. Later." She shot him a murderous glare and stumbled over to the door. "I bet you wouldn't have done something like this to your old companion Rose. In fact, I'm getting the impression that all that 'wanting a mate' stuff of yours was just a ploy to get me out here."
"We can discuss your suspicions LATER."
Donna reached the Doctor just as the floor disappeared and only by the Doctor's inhuman reflexes did she find herself dangling a foot above the lava rather than swimming in it. "Oi, this is brilliant." She grabbed his other hand and let him pull her up. She paused a moment to watch the TARDIS vanish completely and straighten her clothes before turning to the Doctor. "Well, any other surprises for me?"
"Considering that I saved your life…?" Hands in pockets, he regarded the TARDIS solemnly.
"So no ship, no normal clothes, no getting out of here, what's your plan now?"
"What else?" he said with a grin at her. "We go exploring."
"And what about the TARDIS?"
"Oh she'll be fine, peachy in fact. Speaking of which…" he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it where the TARDIS had been. The familiar grating engine starting up and then it was gone.
"What'd you do now?"
"Just moved her so she'll be more comfortable. Course the lava didn't bother her at all, but the TARDIS isn't just a ship, she's living so she's got feelings too and I rather take it that if you were in her place you'd much prefer to be left somewhere else, wouldn't you?"
"And you were telling me to shut it" Donna bent down to lace up her boots. "Alright. I'm ready for anything now. Let's go exploring and maybe find a bunch of evil aliens and make friends with them and save the world! That's what we're supposed to do, isn't it? Save the world and finish off the day with a great big banana."
The Doctor spared her an odd look. "You okay, Donna?"
"Me? Peachy. Just trying that rambling thing you've got going."
"For future reference, leave it to an expert."