A/N. Hello again, sweethearts!. New month, new season, new story? As both Love and Medicine and one other story of mine are to be over soon (assuming you know what soon means in my case), I thought it's only fair. Time Lady!Rose, because this is doomed to remain my headcanon forever. Reunion fic, because . Not in this chapter, but in the next. Really. And not in the end of it, either. :P
Read, enjoy and leave a review, pretty please.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who is the property of the BBC.
Love Me Tender
1. Nothing Wrong
Donna Noble could not back away yet another heavy sigh from escaping her lips. This day has been eventful. Dangerous, of sorts. Interesting. Just like most times, almost everyone was saved…
It seemed the night – it has been dark outside when they returned to the TARDIS, anyway – was going to be quiet and she could actually get some proper rest. But no. There it was again.
Always equally sorrowful, equally heart-breaking… Something just as impossible to fix. She could have asked the TARDIS to somehow mute or block the Doctor's voice from echoing throughout the ship. She knew the ship cared about him very much, but was just as ready to help Donna if she asked for something.
But the fiery woman did no such thing. She secretly enjoyed the Doctor's unmasked emotions, confessions and admissions meant for the one woman he could never forget even if only revealed in his sleep.
As much as she tried to ignore them at first, Donna got used to it after a while. As much as the Doctor avoided ever talking about Rose to his companions – Martha's example had taught him quite a lesson – it still happened occasionally. Even those rare slips meant much more to her now that the depth of their connection was revealed to her.
It seemed it was one of the harder nights tonight, though. Donna has never spoken to him about his nightly… conversations. It was as if it were a sin to even admit she has been hearing his broken cries for his Rose almost every other night. It was amusing how the ship refused to allow her into the Time Lord's room. Privacy was always one of the things she respected, particularly when the implication given to her by the time ship was more than clear.
The Doctor's words sounded even more broken than usual tonight. The amount of pain and desperation in his voice was almost palpable.
"Rose. I love you! I wish I had said- wish I- If I'm allowed one thing, just one... Please, please return to me. My love..." Donna could not sleep, able to hear his cries as loudly from her room as from the corridor next to his. She was exhausted and it was not surprising a note of annoyance entered her voice then. She has given the TARDIS the one question that, under other circumstances, would not have even entered her mind.
"Did his Rose even love him?" She asked, somehow regretting her question at once.
I shall show you.
Donna gasped in surprise, which only grew as the ship was now leading – or rather forcing her into the media room. No explanation was needed, as the dreadful goodbye - it felt like something dreadful right away - has begun playing. "I- I love you!" The blonde girl has clearly been devastated by his reply. ''Quite right, too."
She was watching with both curiosity and realisation, her annoyance forgotten.
"I would do anything to see them reuniting again," she muttered after the goodbye has stopped playing. Nobody deserved such pain. Neither the Doctor nor his love. "Can something be done to actually get them together?" The ship did not respond, likely unwilling to startle the ginger woman more than she already has been.
"Look, TARDIS. Merely watching the scene has broken my heart. What about the actual victims of this separation? Are you sure nothing can be done?" Donna was suddenly afraid the Time Lord's behaviour, however harmless - her sleep cycle excluded, of course - might eventually ruin him. Apparently, some wounds simply refused to heal.
The old girl had nothing to say to it. The one theoretically able to do it was lost in nightmares just as cutting as his memories from the Time War. Rose… the ship knew nothing about her current capabilities.
A different universe meant different everything. Trying to contact the part of her they shared was both risky and dangerous to both the ship and her Wolf. But trying, urging, touching upon the bond the girl and the ship shared, very softly, very briefly… it was a very unlikely, almost fantastical… but a possibility nonetheless. The sudden worry about her pilot's sanity was what has put the finishing touches on the ship's decision to try.
"Make it happen. Make them see each other again!" Donna nagged, unaware of the TARDIS plans, but somehow glad the Doctor was not in a state to stop her from encouraging the impossible.
Rose, the very same girl from the scene the TARDIS had just finished transmitting, has materialised on board the ship the next moment. Donna was simply staring at the girl, stupefied. Still in the media room, the ginger guessed this room was chosen for a reason. Another warm-blooded person, perhaps. Not that she knew anything about the temperature of the Doctor's blood, Heaven forbid!
It was clear the companion did not realise the change at once.
"Is this even permitted?!" The girl, Rose, was fuming with anger. Donna guessed she has been in the middle of a heated argument. As much as that was possible when wearing a nightgown, of course.
"No matter how close we might have become, no matter your position- No matter your scientific knowledge, Dad-" The word was spat out with an unmasked disdain.
Rose realised the changes in her surroundings only then and sat down, unable to reach out to anything to support herself. It took her another second to identify the place properly, the joyful song of the TARDIS reaching her.
Donna cleared her throat, nodding at the girl in acknowledgement. "I hope you won't turn your fury towards me, dear."
Rose bit her tongue, stopping a torrent of questions from leaving her mouth, glancing at the woman with some of the unnuttered questions burning within her. Where is the Doctor? How is he? Can I see him?
Donna remembered the main reason why she has asked the TARDIS to help. "Rose! The Doctor needs you, needs you right now! Can't you hear him?"
She could, something feeling like a dual stab to her chest reminding her of everything at once. My Doctor.
"Go to him!" Donna hastened her… but there was no need.
Ignoring the fact that it might have been a trap, Rose headed straight for his room. Wearing a nightgown. An old, bare hardly-pink-any-more nightie… one he loved teasing her about.
"Don't you need a second to return to yourself?" The ginger woman stopped her, suddenly worried she might have accidentally caused more trouble than was absolutely necessary.
Rose shook her head. "The Doctor needs me." She shrugged at the woman and went to him.
"But- his door is always locked during the night, I should have told you before-" Donna has remembered the most important obstacle, suddenly feeling like a fool. What if this miracle was all in vain and they would need to wait until the morning?
"Not to me," the girl muttered, a small thankful smile appearing on her face. Never to me.
Donna Noble wasn't even surprised when it opened for her. That was always how it should have been. Although she did not intend to join Rose, she was somewhat relieved when Rose locked the door from the inside. It was no longer her problem, Donna tried to convince herself all was going to change for the better now, daring to hope she would get at least some hours of sleep, at last.
The Doctor was moving in his sleep, sheets completely discarded on the floor. He was sleeping without any clothes on. But that did not frighten her. What frightened her was the state he was in, all covered in sweat and burning, as a brief touch of his forehead has told her. "My Doctor." I love you, she echoed his quiet words. "I am not leaving you again, ever," Rose promised, both elated and worried. "Stay safe. I will be with you in moments," she muttered, still afraid to employ telepathy. It was hurting her back in Pete's World. Hurting her so hard...
She exited the room hurriedly, not forgetting to lock the door after her. Just in case."'Does this happen often?" It was time for some questions.
Donna gave the fair girl an uncomfortable smile. "More often than not. But we are never able to get inside when this happens. I mean myself. Thought it was the same to all companions, at first," she admitted.
Rose sighed in relief.
"Why, what? Is he turning into a werewolf at night, or something?" The woman giggled.
"No. The ship protects him at his worst moments, that's all," Rose explained tiredly. The ginger noticed the black circles under her eyes only then. Still, it was usual for women to not wear any make-up to bed, so what was she thinking? Donna believed she was looking no better.
"But it wouldn't allow me in during the night, even when he is not overtaken by nightmares. Door locked, always," she persisted.
"It's for your own good," Rose assured her.
"Hm? Not a werewolf, you say. A vampire?" It was impossible to say if the woman was joking… right until a wide grin enlightened her face.
Rose grinned back. "Oh, nothing so drastic. The TARDIS is saying there's no need to be so nosy, dear."
"Name's Donna."
"Donna. Okay. I'm Rose." She smiled sincerely. This woman cared about the Doctor. Was worrying about him. There was no reason for her to dislike the ginger… not that she was looking for such reasons. On the contrary, Rose was famous for her smiles and grins she tried to award everyone with… as soon as they proved to be worthy of her friendship and kindness. Too bad there were many people who were not.
A/N. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are love!
(This is, in a way, a part of a 'trilogy', as is my stories collection. Love and Medicine can be considered a part of it, but I have not yet uploaded the final one in the series anywhere. Wait and see...)