Donna had always believed somewhere deep in her gut that the Doctor would get Rose back in the end, because despite the Lance fiasco, she was a romantic at heart and it seemed to her that her favourite alien deserved a happy ending. She'd never gone so far as to actually speculate what it'd be like if he did end up reuniting with her, because he was so unpredictable, and because it might have felt a bit like intruding. If, however, she had envisaged it, this would not have been the way things would have panned out in her head. Because the Doctor she knew never shut up, yet there he had been, struck dumb for the best part of a minute. But it was what followed which seemed even odder to Donna. She'd expected confessions of love, maybe. Certainly hugs. She hadn't expected the exchange of dazed 'Hello!'s, for the two of them to simultaneously reach for one another's hands, and simply run off into the sunset.
Only it hadn't been a sunset. It had been a burning hydrogen storage tank. And they'd been running headlong into certain death, with gigantic grins on their faces. Still, the silhouettes had been impressive.
And now, back in the safety of the TARDIS, it occurred to her that they'd barely exchanged a word. Of course, they shouldn't really have needed to, because the intensity of the gazes they threw at one another ought to have been enough. But somehow, it wasn't quite. The result was that Donna was surprised the very air wasn't buckling under the weight of what remained unspoken.
So there they stood, the three of them in the entry way to the TARDIS, bracing themselves for the carnage that lay on the other side of the door.
"We might die," she pointed out, unnecessarily. The Doctor puffed his cheeks out, considering.
"Might well," he agreed, sounding faintly rueful, "Actually, there's a good chance. A very good chance. Which means…" he shifted on the balls of his feet so that he was fully facing Rose, "I should probably finish…"
"No!" Rose interrupted urgently, her eyes wide. The Doctor furrowed his brow, looking slightly hurt.
"Rose…"
"We're not saying goodbye," she insisted, reaching forward to fiddle with a button on his jacket, "Only just said hello." Her voice softened. "Don't jinx it."
The Doctor's tongue crept out of the corner of his mouth as he considered.
"You're onto something, there," he concurred after a few seconds, fiddling with her fingers, stroking the palm that lay in his, "No goodbyes. Not this time"
He paused. "But…"
Without warning, he seized Rose's face between his hands with more enthusiasm than Donna would probably have considered him capable of. Rose, despite her apparent misgivings at the idea of any semblance of a farewell, responded with equal zest.
The duration of the kiss was rather longer than Donna was comfortable with, and only the fact that they'd been separated by parallel universes for the last few years prevented her from making a rather tart comment. And anyway, it'd be like kicking a puppy, telling the stupid Martian to leave off what appeared to be his favourite pastime, even at a time like this.
"Still not goodbye," Rose insisted slightly breathlessly, when the two eventually relinquished their hold on one another, "We're gonna survive this, you and me."
The Doctor nodded hastily in agreement.
"Course it's not. Not goodbye. Don't like goodbyes. It's just…" he trailed off, his eyes focusing on Rose's, "…just insurance. Plan B. Backup. Better safe than sorry."
Rose appeared to consider, her tongue sneaking out between her teeth as she grinned up at him.
"You're allowed insurance," she conceded, and pushed open the door of the TARDIS with the hand that wasn't laced in his, "Now, let's go save the world."
An idea of what could happen in the season finale. Hope you liked it.
I know I haven't updated Pater Meus for yonks, but I'm really swamped with revision and I haven't had the chance. Plus, the Doctor's behaving dreadfully. Most of it's written, should be up soonish.