They're parents, she thinks, sometimes. New for the universe, new for them.
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Jenny taught her acceptance. Rejected, waved off as irrelevant, Donna named her and made her real.
When they left her behind, she learned loss.
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Martha taught her rebellion. In choosing her own way, Donna was the first to recognize that Martha had come to know herself.
When she left them behind, Donna learned fulfillment.
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Lance taught her rejection. When she was passed off as so much meat, she found her feet.
The death of the Racnoss gave Earth, and Donna, room to create a new core.
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River Son taught her fire. When she died for the sake of a planet full of people, she saved Donna.
Donna learned that perfection from someone else wasn't perfection at all.
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The twin taught her sacrifice. When he killed Davros and his army, he gave up the innocence of his untainted soul.
When they left him, she learned how to say goodbye.
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Donna taught him about life. When he took her memories, she was left with naught but her own human life and a newfound ability to love herself, though she knew not why.
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When he left her, she learned to be born again with a gap in her memories that ached of emptiness.
He learned that he had, in fact, been born.
A/N: Title taken from the hymn "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman".