"You just can't fly her properly, can you? How much practice have you had? Centuries! Of course, you can't fly for five seconds without losing control and crashing! Five seconds! That's all I ask! But, oh, no! 'It'll be fun!' you said! And look where it got us! Smacked into a coconut tree in the middle of who knows where! Sand everywhere!"
The Doctor sighed as he listened to Donna's rant, watched her stomp around, flicking the tiny grains of sand out her flip-flops. "It's a beach, Donna. There's bound to be sand. I'd be worried if there wasn't." However, what Donna said was true. He had crashed into a coconut tree due to his rather reckless driving, but he'd only been trying to add a bit of fun to the job. The TARDIS was broken, but not dead. At first, he'd thought that they had crashed in Hawaii, which would have been lovely, but no. The island, wherever it was, was uninhabited, with a big scary volcano further inland.
"Obviously," Donna huffed, standing on her tiptoes to look around. With a sigh, she whipped around to face him. "Why can't you fly normal for once?"
The Doctor tugged at his earlobe, staring at the ginger. He didn't have a very good answer, if he was being honest. "Oh, come on!" He encouraged her, grinning. "It'll be fun!"
Donna glared crossly at him. "That's what you said last time, Spaceman."
The Doctor nodded slowly, biting down on his lip. Donna rolled her eyes, stomping forward again. The Doctor hurried after her, catching her as she tripped over something. She steadied herself, pushing him away and wrapping her arms around her waist.
"We need to find shelter," she muttered coldly, rubbing her bare arms. She wore jeans and a short-sleeved red top, her hair pulled up into a ponytail, despite his protests. He liked her hair down. "It's bloody freezing."
XXX
The Doctor stared up at the cavern that Donna had spotted only moments before. The entrance was tiny; you had to crawl to fit into it, and that was only if you could get inside without getting scared off by the sharp thorns that poked at the entrance. However, inside was a large cave, big enough to fit at least ten people, if you wished. Vines crawled along the floor, a few rays of sunlight streaming through the small cracks in the ceiling. However, there was just enough sunlight to light the cave. Donna was already scrabbling at the thorn-less vines, probably to make bedding.
She sent another glare towards the Doctor, gesturing to the vines scattered across the floor. "Don't just stand there, Time Boy! Make yourself useful!"
The Doctor chuckled, and then dropped down to gather some of the vines, which he carried to the middle of the floor.
"Thing is, I don't understand why we can't just stay in the TARDIS," Donna said suddenly, her anger seemingly forgotten. She dropped a large bundle of vines and grass on the pile the Doctor had created.
"She just needs time to repair herself, so she's locked us out," he explained, rolling the sleeves to his pinstriped suit up to his elbow. "She'll be up and running in about seventy-two hours," he promised.
"But what damage was done in the first place, with your terrible flying?"
"It was an off day!" He whined, and then shook his head. "I just broke a few buttons. Possibly snapped a few wires. Nothing too serious."
"See," Donna muttered. "Terrible flying."
The Doctor sighed in defeat, kicking at the pile. A few of the vines and grass scattered, and with a groan, Donna started to form them into makeshift beds. "You're the Oncoming Storm," Donna growled, her anger returning, "go get firewood or something."
Nodding absently, the Doctor crawled back out of the cave, brushing the dirt off of his pants as he stood up again. The sun had reached the water, making it glow with shades of orange and pink, and of course, it's usual deep blue. The Doctor cocked his head, pausing to examine it for a few moments, before heading off to gather the twigs and other things they'd need in the future.
Eventually, he'd gathered twigs, bark, leaves to soften the beds, sticks, rocks, and a few other things that had been stuffed carelessly into his bigger on the inside pockets. He carried the sticks however, uncomfortable with losing them after his head search (in which he'd managed to rip a hole in his suit). The sun had vanished by the time he reached the cave again, the stars glittering in the sky. Dark clouds covered the moon, causing the area to be darker. He slowed as he approached the river, frowning. Nervously, he took a step onto one of the stepping-stones, wobbling a little. The water lapped at the edges of the large rocks, causing them to be wet. His foot touched grass, and he sighed in relief, only to lose his balance. The sticks fell from his grip onto dry land while he, on the other hand, fell backwards into the river, the quickly running water soaking his clothing.
The Doctor shivered, gritting his teeth as he climbed to his feet, scrambling out again and stumbling over to the sticks. He gathered them into his arms again, starting back towards the cave, passing the TARDIS on the way. She looked beaten and worn, but when he stopped to lean against her, he could feel the warmth and her humming, even from the outside. He smiled, and hopped playfully back over to the cave, only to stop outside, his smile fading. A numb feeling had spread through his body, his head buzzing and ears ringing. The small sounds of crickets and other animals started to echo around him, becoming louder until his ears were aching from the sound. He gritted his teeth, gripping the sticks in his arms tighter, until finally, it all stopped, just like that. His eyes snapped open, wide an unsure. Everything was normal again.
There had been something a bit too familiar about it, but he couldn't quite place what.
"Doctor?" Donna's voice rang in his ears, and he jumped from the unexpected loud sound. Shaking his head to clear it, the Doctor smiled again.
"Yeah, I'm coming!"