Title: Trust Me
Pairing: Ten/Donna
Rating: K+
Genre: Het
Cat: Angst, Romance
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Donna is worried about her future and the Doctor makes her an offer she can't refuse - to see it. But will she like what she sees?
Author's Note: So this is my first Doctor Who fic and I'm SUPER nervous about it. I'll admit that I've only seen the Ten & Donna episodes, so I don't know if anything in the fic has been ruled out or can be done another way or what, but from what I've read of fic, just about anything is possible, and if not, we'll just pretend it is for the sake of the fic. ;) And I will say I am not British, so excuse any Americanisms that make their way in. I tried my best to keep them in character, at least dialogue-wise. Anyway. I hope you enjoy. :)

Donna sat on her bed in the TARDIS, unable to stop shaking. She jammed her hands between her knees and attempted to breathe normally, but she let out a sob instead. They'd come so close to being killed today, and while this wasn't their first brush with death, today had felt so much more real and it had left her considering her choices. It wasn't that she wanted to leave the Doctor – no, she'd never felt like her life had meant more than it did while traveling with him – but she wondered just how long it would last before something would happen to one or both of them, and that scared the hell out of her.

A soft knock sounded at her bedroom door then, and she looked up, waiting for him to speak. "Donna? Can I come in?"

She rolled her eyes to herself. She'd basically fled to her bedroom as soon as they'd returned from their adventure, so he probably thought she was mad at him. "Yes, you can come in," she said in response, and the door opened slowly, before the Doctor's head appeared around it. Donna had to laugh at the expression on his face, like he was scared she'd bite him if he came too close. "I'm not mad at you," she said.

His expression changed, surprised at her words. "Oh. Then why did you run off as soon as we got back?"

"I just needed a few minutes by myself, that's all," she said, her voice quiet.

The Doctor seemed to realize she was more upset than she was letting on and stepped closer, now that he knew she wasn't angry with him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shrugged, smoothing her hand over the bedspread. "We could have died today. Not that that's anything unusual with us, but it does happen quite a lot and it's just made me wonder. . ."

"You don't want to go back, do you?" The Doctor asked, sounding very concerned about such a thing happening.

"No!" Donna insisted, shaking her head fiercely. "You're stuck with me, Spaceman." She reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it, and he met her gaze, smiling at her.

"I apologize for the interruption, in that case," The Doctor said. "You were wondering. . ."

Donna let out a sigh, releasing his hand. "It just makes me wonder how long we can keep doing this, before something happens." She brought a hand up to her face to wipe away a tear that had somehow escaped without her knowledge.

The Doctor didn't respond, just stared at the floor in front of him, and just when Donna was going to ask if he was alright, he looked up at her. "Would you like to know?" he asked, and Donna gave him a confused look.

"Know what?"

He continued to stare at her and swallowed. "Your future."

Donna's eyes widened. "You can tell me my future?" she said, the words gushing out in a hushed voice.

"Not only that," he muttered. "I can show you."

The color drained from her already pale face as she took in the Doctor's words. "How?" she finally asked, looking down between them as she felt the Doctor's hand on hers.

"I can take you there, both of us, through your mind. Well, my mind. Both our minds together? In any case. . ."

"Yes! Oh, Doctor, I want to see so badly what's in my future!" Donna had grabbed his arm, shaking it, and he carefully removed it, as he wasn't finished yet.

"I would love to show you, Donna, but you have to keep in mind that you may not like what you see." Donna reigned in her enthusiasm and gave him a grave nod; she'd been expecting that, really. She'd probably be missing an arm or be stuck with some weird hairy Doctor that wasn't nearly as nice to look at as this one when he regenerated. "Not that I want to show you your future to scare you, of course. Or that what I want to show you is even a bad thing. . ."

"Oi! Get on with it, Doctor!" Donna interrupted, her patience wearing thin.

He took her hand again and made sure she was looking him in the eye before he spoke. "Whatever you see, I want you to trust me and remember you asked to see this."

He could see the doubt and worry in her eyes. "You're scaring me," she mumbled.

"Do you still want to see?" the Doctor whispered.

Donna held his gaze as she reluctantly nodded. "I think I'd go mad if I didn't, now that I know such a thing is possible."

He echoed her nod. "Alright then. Ready?"

She nodded and he lifted his fingers to her temples. Her eyes fluttered shut – they'd done the whole mind sharing thing before, so she knew what to do here – and she waited.

"Open your eyes," the Doctor said after a moment, and she hesitated, before slowly opening them and looking around, her expression confused as she took in the surroundings.

"Did it not work?" she asked, patting the bed next to her, as if checking if it was real or not.

He didn't answer with words, just stood up, holding his hand out to her. She took it, looking a little frightened, but more confused than anything, and followed him out of her bedroom and through the TARDIS.

"So you're telling me my future is here on the TARDIS," she whispered, as if talking any louder would break the spell, or like her future self could hear her if she wasn't quiet. The Doctor just nodded and Donna felt his grip on her hand tighten. He was really much too serious and it scared her. She was about ready to tell him to turn back, she'd changed her mind, when they turned a corner and. . .

"That's me!" Donna exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"I told you I could show you," the Doctor said, and Donna let out a sigh of relief that he actually said something. "Come on." From where they were standing, they could only see the back of Future Donna's head, so they made their way around to look at her face to face. Once they did, Donna gasped.

"Is that. . . Is that mine?" she asked, this time her hushed voice coming more from the shock of what she saw than trying to intentionally stay quiet.

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. "She's yours," he confirmed, watching Donna as she gazed at her future self, wonder in her eyes.

"I have a daughter," she said, awestruck. They stood there watching Future Donna rocking her infant child, when Donna suddenly had a thought and snapped her head to look at the Doctor. "So if I have a child, that means there's a man involved somewhere, right? I mean, maybe it was a random shag somewhere, but knowing the places we go, I can't see that being too much of a possibility. And then there's the matter of living on the TARDIS, so that would make it difficult to have a proper relationship with a man, not to mention what he must think of you. . ."

She trailed off then as a future version of the Doctor (still looking very much like the skinny streak of alien nothing Donna was used to, thank goodness) walked into the room, like Donna's sheer mention of him was enough to conjure his presence. Future Donna didn't notice him at first, giving him time to watch her without her seeing.

Donna found herself watching the Future Doctor, curious about his reaction to Future Donna and the baby, and she felt her heart speed up a little at the look on his face as he gazed at her future self and her child. It was very much a gaze, and if she didn't know any better, she would call that a loving look he gave her. Perhaps it was just the bond of years together as mates – that is, friends – but she'd never seen him look at her that way before.

She wanted to look over at the Doctor and see his reaction to the scene before them, but she didn't want to miss something important – in the future, that is. It was entirely possible that she was missing something important by not looking at the Doctor right then, but she had time to deal with that once they were done here.

Future Donna looked up then and smiled at the sight of the Future Doctor. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he responded just as quietly. He didn't move yet, content to just watch her, and her smile grew as she gave him an order.

"Well, come on, get off it," Future Donna insisted. "Come give us a kiss."

If Donna had been disturbed by how casual her future self was being at the thought of the Doctor kissing her, she didn't show it, too involved in the scene to react.

The Future Doctor finally walked over, stopping beside the rocking chair and running his hand over the baby's head. Donna felt a shiver run through her body at the sight, though she wasn't sure why. The Future Doctor leaned over then, dropping a soft kiss to the baby's forehead, and the child squirmed in Future Donna's arms. Donna felt a tear run down her cheek at the scene – she wanted a child so badly, and it looked like that dream was actually going to come true. But her reaction turned to sheer shock at her future self's next words, and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh yes," Future Donna cooed to her infant daughter, "Daddy's here."

Daddy? Referring to the Doctor? As in, the Doctor was the father of her child. There had to be some explanation, like she'd gotten pregnant on some alien planet and they'd agreed to call the Doctor the baby's father just so she wouldn't grow up wondering. Yeah, that seemed likely. Because there was no way. . .

The Future Doctor turned his attention back to Future Donna, saying, "You did say give us a kiss, right?"

She smirked at him. "What, you think you can get me up the duff and then run off without giving me so much as a kiss?"

"Why would I want to do that, when the act itself is so pleasurable?" He grinned at her and lowered his face to hers, meeting her in a kiss that, while not passionate, was definitely more than friendly.

Donna decided she'd seen enough and spoke up, forgetting about wanting to stay quiet. "Take me back," she said loudly, then decided to add, "Please."

The Doctor didn't say anything, hadn't said anything since telling her the baby was a girl, just turned so he was facing her and waited for her to face him. She refused to look at him, just closed her eyes and waited for him to take her back. When his fingers touched her temples, she jolted, and she heard him murmur a quiet apology. Hearing that just made things worse and she felt more tears running down her cheeks. Why had she agreed to this?

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," the Doctor said after a few more moments, and Donna reluctantly opened her eyes, finding herself looking right at the Doctor, but quickly averting her gaze to absolutely anything else. Once she was satisfied they were back in the present day, she turned away, immediately heading for her bedroom, first walking, then running once she thought she was out of the Doctor's sight.

He watched her walk away, his expression stoic, but his eyes showing the ache he felt in his heart. He knew it was a bad idea, showing her her future, especially when he knew what happened, but there was also a part of him that wanted her to see it, see how happy they were together. Now that he'd done it, he was sure that future was long gone, nothing but a figment of his imagination. Donna had certainly seemed upset at the idea of them being together, that much was certain.

In her bedroom, Donna had crawled under the covers and was lying with her face down in her pillow. Her now wet pillow, as she hadn't been able to stop crying. What did the Doctor think he was playing at, showing her a future where the two of them were together and had a child? She supposed it was her fault for agreeing to it – he'd tried to warn her, told her to trust him. But she was so . . . what? She wasn't angry, not really. Shocked, definitely.

The longer she laid there, listening to the soft humming of the TARDIS around her, the more she thought about it, she gradually came to realize what it was that upset her so much. She lifted her head, pushing herself up to a sitting position and bringing her knees up so she could hug them.

She was just about to get out of bed and go find the Doctor to apologize when she heard a knock on her door. She had to smile to herself, thinking how similar it was to what must have been mere hours ago, but seemed like days or longer.

"Donna?" He sounded so concerned. "Are you alright? I'm sorry. I should have known you'd be upset, but. . . I'm sorry."

Donna shook her head to herself and pulled the cover back, climbing out of the bed and walking to the door. She opened it and just looked at him for a few moments before saying, "You can come in." She stepped back so he could move past her, then closed the door behind them once he was in the room.

When she turned around again, he was sitting on her bed and he frowned. "I didn't mean to make you cry," he said, only looking at her for a second before looking down at the floor. "I thought it might upset you, but I wanted you to see."

Donna watched him for a moment, then returned to her bed, sitting next to him. "I was just surprised, that's all," she said, but even she knew that was a flimsy excuse. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, then the Doctor spoke.

"I know we agreed to stay mates, and I've been fine with that, but that doesn't stop the way I feel." His voice had more confidence than he actually felt, and it was all he could do keep himself from giving himself a congratulatory pat on the back for getting the words out.

Donna barely moved beside him as she responded, her voice soft. "You're in love with me?"

He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck with one hand. "Maybe?" he tried, and to his surprise, Donna chuckled.

"Not instilling a lot of confidence in me, Time Boy," she said, and he risked a glance at her, glad to see her smiling.

"You're lovely, Donna Noble," he said, and her smile faltered a bit, but her eyes remained bright.

"You're serious, aren't you?" she asked, sounding entirely in disbelief.

"Of course I am. Why would I lie?" He took a chance and reached for her hand, and Donna just watched him as he slid his long fingers between hers, then they both looked up at the same time, sharing suddenly shy smiles. "I would do anything for you, Donna. And before you ask, yes, I am serious."

Her eyes remained bright and gained a twinkle at her next words. "Well, come on then. Give me a kiss."

The Doctor looked so surprised at her words that he didn't even process it when Donna rolled her eyes and pulled him closer to her, initiating the kiss herself. Once he realized they were properly snogging, though, he more than made up for it, gathering her to him and deepening the kiss. Donna moaned as his impressive tongue snaked its way inside her mouth, and she released her grip on his hand to press a hand against his chest.

The kiss lasted for a few minutes, but felt like forever, in more ways than one. When they pulled away from each other, Donna caught her breath, then murmured, "Oi."

The Doctor beamed at her praise. "That was good, huh?"

She pursed her lips at him. "You aren't just trying to get in my knickers, are you?"

"Well, of course. How else am I supposed to get you that baby?" He leaned in to kiss her again, but Donna's hands pushing against his chest stopped him, and when he looked at her, he saw she was looking upset again. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "This all is just a bit sudden," she said. "I mean, you show me my future and it involves you and a baby and I'm just supposed to go with it?" The Doctor shifted his gaze to look anywhere but at her, but Donna was having none of that. "Oi, enough of the 'poor Doctor' routine, Spaceman! This is my life we're talking about! I have some say in the matter."

He slowly lifted his head up to look at her, and she saw a determination in his eyes that was almost frightening. "I know why you're so upset," he said, and his tone was so sure she couldn't help but give him a pointed look.

"Oh? Care to elaborate?" She knew she was being overly defensive, but the fact that the Doctor knew her so well was more than a bit disconcerting.

"You're scared," he said simply, and Donna tried not to react, but she couldn't help but flinch. The Doctor continued. "You're so used to jumping at the first man who shows interest in you that you don't know what to do when someone actually cares about you and you return their feelings."

Donna scowled. "You don't know me that well, Spaceman. You barely know me at all, in fact. It's really rather ridiculous for you to think you're in love with me, actually." She stared at him, trying to look stern, but soon felt the warmth of treacherous tears on her face and swore under her breath as she wiped them away.

But rather than deny her words, insist that he was in love with her, dammit, and she was just going to have to bloody well put up with it!, the Doctor just gazed at her. She grew tired of his scrutiny after a moment and spoke. "Well, don't just stare at me. Don't you have anything you want to say? Anything about how I'm being daft and it would be ridiculous for you to not be in love with me?"

"Is that what you want me to say?" he asked, and she huffed.

"Of course not," she insisted, turning her nose up as if she was too good for the very thought.

"Alright then," the Doctor said, much to Donna's surprise. "Perhaps you should get some rest." He stood and started to walk to the door, but Donna's voice stopped him.

"So that's it? You're just going to leave?"

He slowly turned, and the look in his eyes made Donna shiver. "I will never leave you, Donna. I promise."

She let out a shaky breath. "You can't promise that. What if . . . Something could happen."

He returned to the bed, much to Donna's relief, and pushed her hair from her face as he spoke earnestly to her. "I promise I will never leave you of my own will. Yes, something could very well happen to one or both of us, but is that any reason to put your life on hold, deny yourself the chance to be happy?"

Donna still looked hesitant – which wasn't like her at all, but he supposed all her bluster was covering up for a whole load of insecurities, probably put there by that nagging mother of hers – but finally said, "This baby isn't going to have any sort of weird alien bits, is it?"

The Doctor's face broke out in a wide grin, and Donna couldn't help but return it. "To answer your question, I honestly don't know, because there's never been a Time Lord-human hybrid before. . ."

"Oi! Don't refer to our daughter as a hybrid! You make her sound like a science experiment!"

He paused, getting a dreamy look on his face. "Our daughter," he repeated, awe in his voice.

"Yeah," Donna agreed, then laughed a little. "If anybody had told me I'd end up having a kid with you, I'd have told them they were mad." Her expression grew thoughtful. "Though I suppose I have to be a bit mad myself to be here with you in the first place."

"In only the best way," the Doctor said, giving her a cheesy smile. Donna rolled her eyes, but returned the smile, and the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking a bit nervous. "So. . ."

Donna sighed. "Can you give me some time to get used to this?" she asked. "Believe it or not, I'm not the type to shag someone right after they've admitted to fancying me."

"Hey, what sort of Time Lord do you take me for?" he asked, and Donna giggled. He grinned, then said, "Can I at least kiss you again?"

Donna gave him a cheeky look. "I think that could be arranged."

His grin lit up his face and he only had one word to say before he lowered his lips to hers. "Brilliant."

THE END!