Cuddles and Quotations
Donna awoke slowly to the unfamiliar sensation of being cuddled.
She lay curled up on her left side and someone was snuggling her from behind. What the hell? Her eyes popped open and she glanced down to the bare arm that was tucked across her waist over the duvet. Under the covers, a body with a core temperature slightly cooler than hers was pressed against her backside. Donna looked over at the chaise lounge and saw a blue shirt covered in blood and a pair of brown pinstripe trousers tossed over the back. Bloody hell, she thought, as memories of the day before (or was it earlier today?) flooded through her mind. The game, the sword, the Doctor saving her life before she bled to death on the Wardrobe Room floor.
Now he was naked in bed with her because he certainly wasn't wearing his usual geek chic getup. And she wasn't wearing anything more than a sweater and her underwear. I shouldn't have kissed the bugger. Fighting to keep herself from panicking, Donna concentrated on the body behind her. She felt the unmistakeable feeling of fabric against her bare legs and realized with some relief that the Doctor was wearing pajamas. Ok, not quite naked then. Donna wasn't sure whether to be glad or disappointed.
What the hell do I do now? The thing was...she really didn't mind cuddling with the affectionate Time Lord. Really, she told herself, it's not much different from one of his usual hugs, ain't it? It's just like a hug...except you're lying down. In bed. And he's hugging you from behind. And he's asleep. And you're half naked. Ok, so not like a normal hug, then.
Unnerved, Donna dared to straighten her legs out to try and wiggle her way out of his arms. The Doctor made a discontented sound and shifted, entwining her ankles with his long calves and preventing her from moving. Donna froze. She was completely trapped, entangled in the Doctor's unconscious embrace.
She was cognizant of his twin heartbeats thumping against her back and she went still. The rhythm was strange and alien, but comforting at the same time. Donna realized her own heartbeat had slowed and matched every other beat of his two hearts. She closed her eyes and felt the slow rise and fall of his chest against her body. The Doctor wasn't intentionally keeping her captive. He was simply asleep and she was a warm body to cuddle. A small grin broke out on Donna's face. She'd always suspected he was a cuddler. She had once caught him napping on the Library sofa and found him clutching one of the throw pillows like a small child hugged a teddy bear. With everything that the Oncoming Storm had done, she wasn't surprised that he sometimes wanted something, or someone, to hold now and then.
Donna adjusted her own breaths to match his so as not to wake him. After a moment, their breathing patterns merged. A feeling of pure wonder flooded through Donna at the sensation of their bodies breathing together in unison while the Doctor held her. They almost seemed to be of one body, one entity. She'd never experienced something so intimate with him and, to both her delight and dismay, a sensation of desire thrilled through her. She'd never really thought of the Doctor in that way, even after what the Orb of Veracity had shown her yesterday in the TARDIS attic. But now that she knew he loved her, well...that changed things. A lot. And Donna wasn't sure how to handle that.
The Doctor softly mumbled in his sleep and snuggled even closer to her. Their bodies were nestled together and Donna swallowed in discomfort. She could feel bits of him, very male bits of him, against her bottom. Those were the bits that she was pretty sure she was supposed to pretend didn't exist, but it was very obvious that they did. Oh. My. God.
She immediately launched into a full mental chastisement. Stop being such a prude, Donna! Of course he's got those...bits. In the end, he's a bloke, yeah? Doesn't matter if he's an alien, he's a still a bloke. Time Lords must reproduce somehow. He looks human enough, so it's logical that they do it the same way humans do. Blimey, what am I thinking? I am in bed. With the Doctor. He's got me trapped in his arms. And he's obviously got...those bits and they're poking into me! I don't think I've ever been more aroused and more uncomfortable in my entire freaking life!
She changed tactics, trying to reassure herself that it wasn't a big deal. Look, Donna, he's practically a monk, she told herself. He doesn't just jump in the sack with anyone, which is surprising considering how damn handsome he is. She paused as her thought-locomotive changed tracks, running full steam in a direction that she'd never been. I wonder if he's the same as human guys? Or do a Time Lord's twig and berries look different? Oh my god! What am I thinking?! Donna Noble, you're a naughty girl! The locomotive derailed, flipped, then crashed and burned. Donna smirked, both embarrassed and delighted with herself even as a slow blush rolled across her body. She concentrated again on the Doctor pressed intimately against her backside. Bloody hell...he must be having a really good dream, by all accounts. Wonder if he's dreaming about stroking the TARDIS? A naughty giggle escaped from her lips.
Either the rise in her core temperature or the giggle caused the Doctor to stir. Donna felt his heartbeats accelerate as he awoke and his breath hitched. There was an awkward silence as he realized that he was in a very compromising position with his companion. His embrace stiffened for a second, then relaxed momentarily, then stiffened again as he disentangled his limbs from hers and scrambled backwards. Donna rolled onto her back to look at him and almost laughed at his expression. His brown eyes were two huge round saucers as he stared at her and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He looked terrified and Donna immediately felt sympathy for him. "I am so sorry!" he squeaked. "I didn't mean..."
"Doctor," she cut him off. "Don't be. Really. It's ok. You were asleep." She decided not to mention she had felt his body's reaction to her. It was obvious he knew and he look mortified enough.
He blinked at her in disbelief. "And you're not...?"
"No, you prawn! It's fine. You just wanted a cuddle, that's all. I don't see your teddy bear, so I suppose I'm the next best thing."
"Time Lords don't...don't have teddy bears." He lifted a hand and ran it through his messy hair, looking away.
Donna could see that he wore short sleeved blue and white striped pajamas. Good lord, even his jammies are pinstriped! "Maybe you should get one. You're the last of the Time Lords, so there's no one left to make fun of you."
He didn't say anything, just shifted uncomfortably underneath the covers and Donna realized he was trying to control his body. Yeah, that's right. Down boy. Reign in the discostick. She paused. He has got to stop listening to Lady Gaga when he's flying the TARDIS. I'm going to kill Martha and that Jack fellow, whoever he is, for getting him addicted to that crazy woman's music. It's rubbing off on me and not in a good way.
"Doctor, what time is it?" she asked, trying to distract him by changing the subject.
"Round about 2 in the morning, I suppose," he replied, still looking away. "You've been asleep for more than fourteen hours."
"Blimey."
He looked back at her and he seemed more composed. "How are you feeling?"
Donna sat up and the world swam around her. "Oooh, dizzy," she replied, gripping the covers with her hands and closing her eyes. She hadn't really noticed, but now that she was able to concentrate on other things, she realized she didn't feel well. "A little nauseated. Think I might be dehydrated. My throat's like the bloody Sahara."
He shifted and placed his hands on her shoulders, gently pressing her back down to the bed. "Lie down, Donna."
She readily complied and looked up into his concerned face as he touched her neck, feeling for her pulse while his other hand brushed across her forehead. "Rapid pulse, you're pale, and you're sweating a lot. Your blood pressure is still low. I think it's hypovolemia." The Doctor crossed his arms and sat back.
"What's that?"
"Similar to dehydration, but it's caused by sodium depletion due to blood loss, not from losing water. Donna, you lost a lot of blood yesterday. I gave you a blood volume expander and you stabilized quickly. I hoped that would take care of it, but it obviously didn't. You need fluids, rest, and a solid meal."
Donna's stomach rumbled at the thought of food, despite her nausea. "I could murder a cheeseburger and chips about now."
The Doctor cracked a smile. "That's good to hear," he said. "Might upset your stomach though. You stay here and relax. I'll be back in a tick." He slid off the bed, pulled on a dark blue dressing gown and slippers, and padded out the door.
Donna looked back over to his clothing on the chaise lounge. His blue shirt was covered in ugly dark brown stains of dried blood. She suspected his brown pinstriped trousers were probably in the same condition, though it was hard to tell on the dark fabric. How much had she lost? She recalled dim images of a deep puddle of blood underneath her. The Doctor had said something about nicking an artery. She sat up and pushed down the covers to look at her right calf where the falling saber had sliced into her leg.
The room spun, but she ignored it. Her calf was perfectly fine, completely healed. She flexed her foot and winced. Her muscles were stiff and sore, but the Doctor had told her that she would be for a day or two.
She then wondered why the Doctor had fallen asleep. He'd slept the night before and shouldn't need anymore sleep. Had the whole fiasco worn him out? He'd even put on pajamas and he hardly ever wore jammies. Donna knew he had clean suits in the wardrobe. Why hadn't he just changed his clothes?
The obvious answer slammed into her and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. He'd stayed to watch over her. She remembered his words from the day before, "I like watching you sleep." He knew that she would sleep for an extended amount of time, so he'd dressed for bed. He wasn't content with sitting on the chaise lounge and waiting for her. He'd crawled into bed to get some rest himself and he must have been exhausted after the game, taking care of her, then watching over her as she recovered. Maybe he'd wound up snuggling with her because it was his subconscious way of both protecting her and getting the sleep he needed at the same time. Donna wiped her eyes and sniffed. No one had ever treated her like that. The Doctor made her feel loved and wanted like no one else ever had and she knew she loved him in return for it.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the Doctor reappeared, carrying a tray. He came around the bed and set it down on the nightstand, then raised an eyebrow and grinned slowly. There was something both seductive and unsettling about that smile. Donna gave him a confused look and then saw where he was looking. She glanced down and realized she was completely uncovered and her bare legs and red knickers were showing. Blushing in embarrassment, she tugged the sheet back over herself. What are you looking at, Spaceman? She opened her mouth to snap at him, but that smile made any scathing remark instantly evaporate. He'd never looked at her like that before.
The Doctor cleared his throat and looked away, but he was still smiling. "How's your leg?"
"Fine," she said weakly. "Doctor, I need some jammies. This ain't exactly proper, you know."
"Of course," he replied. "In fact, those long sweater sleeves will probably get in the way."
Get in the way of what? she wondered as he walked over to his wardrobe, tugged it open, shoved his suits aside, and climbed through the back to the Wardrobe Room. Donna laughed out loud at the sight. He popped his head back through, grinning like a happy little boy. "It's like going to Narnia, Donna!"
"I thought the same thing!"
"Got the idea from CS Lewis!"
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Right, be back in a jiff." He returned less than a minute later with an article of clothing draped over his arm. "Would this work?" he asked, holding it up. Donna regarded it and it was her turn to raise her eyebrow. It was straight out of the 1970's, she suspected, when babydolls were popular. The top was made of soft pink silk, empire waisted in a crossover style. Alternating rows of satin ribbons and delicate scalloped lace followed the crossover. Eyelet lace threaded with a larger satin ribbon surrounded the bottom of high waistline, ending in a bow under the bust. The rest of the gathered material flowed down to her hips. The sleeves were short and fluttery. There were matching silk pajama shorts trimmed with more scalloped lace and tied with a satin ribbon. The pajamas were lovely, but looked like something she'd have worn as a teenager with romantic notions in her head. The Doctor seemed strangely anxious and she figured that it wasn't often he had to choose pajamas for other people, not to mention females.
"Not something I'd expect to convalesce in," she admitted, "but I suppose it will do."
"Oh, good." He looked relieved and dropped the pajamas onto the bed, then cleared his throat. "Um, do you need help or...?"
Donna gave him a half-smile. "I think I can manage, Doctor. I don't feel well, but I'm not an invalid."
"Oh, ok. I'll just..." He gestured with one hand and then turned his back. "Tell me when you're done or if, ah, you need me," he said over his shoulder.
Donna kept one eye on him as she slipped out of her sweater and bra (which had become rather uncomfortable), then tugged on the pajamas. The silk felt rich and sensuous against her skin. She was a little dismayed that the cross-over top showed off some of her cleavage. It wasn't enough to be obscene, but more than she felt comfortable revealing. Donna snuggled down under the covers and tugged the blankets up to her chin. Problem solved. "All done."
The Doctor turned back around and he made a face when he saw her under the covers. He moved her discarded clothing to the chaise lounge and stepped over to the tray. "Sit up, Donna. I brought you something to eat."
Donna pressed her lips together and obeyed, contemplating whether to pull the sheet up over her chest. She knew it wouldn't have stayed, though, and she let it drop. The Doctor didn't seem to notice. He placed the tray in her lap and it contained a steaming bowl of soup, some bread, and an enormous glass of water. "It's not much, just some vegetable beef soup, but it's got lots of sodium and that's what you need right now. Anything heavier might upset your stomach. Those croissants are special. They come from a boulangerie in Paris from the turn of the 19th century." He continued babbling about how his seventh incarnation's companion, Ace, had nearly eaten all of his croissants before he'd manage to preserve them in the kitchen.
She picked up the glass of water, realizing how thirsty she was. She almost had the glass to her lips when the Doctor snatched it from her hand with a cry of, "Oh! I almost forgot!" He rummaged in his dressing gown pocket and pulled out a curly crazy straw, the kind Donna had when she was a kid. He popped the straw into the glass with a flourish and handed it back to her, smiling broadly. Donna smiled back and sipped the water, giggling a little as the liquid spiraled and spun through the complex curves of the plastic straw. A bead of condensation rolled down the glass and the Doctor watched, fascinated, as it dripped off the end and straight into her cleavage. He stared, eyes going a little round at the sight.
Donna followed his line of sight and then calmly set the glass down on the tray with a resounding thud. The sound seemed to startle him out of his reverie and his eyes flickered up to her face, his countenance guilty. "I suspected you were a boob man," Donna said lightly.
His jaw dropped, then closed, and he looked away. "I...uh...sorry...they just um..."
"Can't help but notice them. They are attached to me, you know," Donna replied. The Doctor peeked back at her and couldn't believe that she wasn't furious at him for staring at her cleavage. This was a change...a great change! The Doctor perked up a little at the thought. He'd twice done something that the old Donna would have raked him over the coals for, but she'd dismissed each situation with a calm demeanor. Curious, the Doctor let his eyes drift back to the front of her shirt.
Donna had picked up the croissant and was munching with a look of sheer bliss on her face. "Oh, you weren't kidding, Doctor. This is amaz..." She stopped chewing when she saw where he was looking and frowned. She then reached out her hand and gently took his chin, tipping his head back up to look her in the eyes. "I'm right here, Dumbo. Ain't nothing down there but Thelma and Louise and they're not nearly as interesting as what's up here."
"But they're so nice..." the Doctor started to argue, but then caught himself. "Wait...Thelma and Louise?"
"Yep. Always trying to escape confinement. They look like they're fit to burst out of this top, don't you think?" She took a nonchalant bite of her croissant as the Doctor blushed bright red. Donna giggled internally and found she enjoyed seeing the almighty Time Lord embarrassed, even though she knew that was wrong. In some twisted sense, it was her way of getting back at him for trapping her and poking at her with his bits and making her squirm.
The Doctor cleared his throat and turned his back for a second or two. Donna resisted the urge to laugh. He seemed to regain his composure as he reached into his dressing gown pocket and withdrew a long, metal bar about twelve inches long. Donna couldn't hold back anymore and peals of laughter spilled from her lips. "Your pockets! Bigger...on the inside..." she chuckled. "Just like your jacket." Too bad your pajama bottoms aren't bigger on the inside...cause you could use it. The thought made her laugh even harder.
The Doctor turned and smiled at her, delighted with her amusement. He held the bar up and gave a quick snap with his wrist. To Donna's astonishment, the bar stretched out at either end a few more feet. Four small legs appeared at one end and two hooks appeared at the other. The Doctor set it upright next to the bed. "Ta da!" he sang, throwing his hands out theatrically. He pulled two IV bags, one containing a clear liquid and the other a yellow, from his impossible pockets and hung them on the stand. "I brought the medical bay to you because I know how much you don't like it there."
Donna's laughter died in her throat as she nervously regarded the IV stand. Worry crossed her face and she looked at the Doctor, who was smiling back at her in a not-quite-convincing way. The Doctor knew damn well that she was terrified of needles. There wasn't a lot that Donna Noble was truly frightened of, but needles were one of the few exceptions. She'd mentioned it to him once when they'd been laying around in the Library getting drunk out of sheer boredom. He'd had his requisite banana daiquiri and she'd had a few glasses of wine. They'd been talking about childhood fears and he'd mumbled about looking into the time vortex and running away. Donna told him she was scared of needles. Always had been, always would be.
"No way, Sunshine. Unh-unh. You put those thoughts right out of your head," she growled at him, waving her half-eaten croissant as threateningly as she could. French baked goods generally made poor weapons, except perhaps day-old baguettes. Donna wished she'd had one handy.
"Now Donna, be reasonable," the Doctor said soothingly. "You can just close your eyes and relax..." He stepped closer to her, reaching for her arm. His gentle, hypnotic voice sometimes worked when she was reluctant to go along with his schemes, but not this time. Donna was strong enough to resist him and fear only strengthened her resolve.
"Oh no, you don't! Don't you try that Time Lord mumbo jumbo on me, mister!" She tried to scoot away from him, but the heavy tray in her lap and the nausea made that difficult. She settled for fighting back with words. "And I am being reasonable! I reason that I don't want you shoving any more needles into me. You stuck me last night, don't think I don't remember that! My arm still hurts." Her voice changed from less demanding and more wheedling. "Doctor, I'm eating and I'm drinking and I'll be ok. Rest and food and fluids, that's what you told me. Well, I'm getting all of that now. Give me a day or two and I'll be fine. Really. I don't need anything more."
"Donna," the Doctor sighed and sat down carefully on the bed next to her. "I wouldn't put you through this if it wasn't important, you know that. I know that you're terrified of needles." He paused. "I suppose you won't believe me if I tell you that it won't hurt?"
"Every doctor says that," she retorted with a snort. "Pull the other one. It's got bells on."
"What if I asked you to trust me?"
Donna was silent for a long moment. "It's going to hurt," she stated flatly. "It always does."
"Not this time," the Doctor assured her, shaking his head. His brown eyes were round and earnest. "It really won't. Thirty-first technology. No pain."
"But yesterday..."
"Yesterday was an emergency situation," the Doctor explained. "You were going into shock and losing consciousness. I needed to get several drugs into your system at once and a good old fashioned hypodermic was the fastest way. Otherwise, I'd have had to use individual pressure hypos and while those don't hurt, they can only carry one drug at a time. I wasn't willing to waste time loading and injecting multiple syringes while you were fading on me. This isn't like that. Your blood pressure is still too low and you need plasma and fluids to stabilize your system. The technology I'm using is one thousand years in your future, from a time where medical science has largely advanced beyond the use of intravenous needles. You won't feel a thing. Do you understand?"
She nodded once, then looked away.
"Donna, trust me. Please. Have I ever lied to you?"
"No," she admitted.
"Then why would I do so now?"
Donna found she couldn't think of a reason. "You wouldn't."
She looked back at him and he slowly extended a hand and wiggled his fingers. "Then give me your arm." Donna pressed her lips together and hesitated before timidly sliding her left arm over towards his outstretched hand. He grasped her arm. "There's a good girl."
"Oi! Don't get all patronizing on me!" she huffed, but the high pitch in her voice revealed just how scared she felt.
"Sorry," the Doctor apologized as he started feeling along the underside of her forearm for a vein. "This won't take ten seconds."
Donna looked away again. "Just tell me when it's over."
"I'll have to," the Doctor replied. "Because you won't know. Ah! There's the spot." Donna squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the sting of the needle, but all she felt was firm pressure in the middle of her arm. The pressure lessened after a moment and the Doctor said, "All done. You can look now." Donna opened one eye and peered at her arm to where a white plastic disk about the size of a silver dollar was stuck fast. Two clear plastic tubes emerged from the disk and led up to the IV bags on the stand.
"How did you do that?" she demanded. "It didn't hurt at all! Why is there no needle?"
The Doctor got up from the bed and fiddled with the mechanical drip lines underneath the bags before answering. "It's...complicated" he replied. He knew that if he told Donna that the disk contained millions of microscopic needles that allowed the IV infusions to permeate her skin, she'd freak out. She opened her mouth to complain and he hastily added, "You really ought to eat your soup. It's probably getting cold."
Donna looked down at the soup on her tray and realized that she hadn't even tried it yet. She picked up her spoon and started eating, surprised at how hungry she was. The Doctor busied himself tidying up his bedroom and getting rid of their soiled clothing from the day before while she finished eating.
He took her tray when she'd finished her soup and Donna let out a contented sigh. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Doctor."
He shot her a half-smile. "I'll be back in a little bit," he told her before padding towards the door.
Donna settled back into the pillows and watched the shadows from the flames in the fireplace dance across the copper walls of the Doctor's bedroom. The crackling and popping of the ever-burning logs made her recall the chilly nights at her aunt's cottage in the Cotswolds when her whole family would sit by the parlor fire. Gramps would tell stories of the war while Gran knitted and called him an old liar. I really ought to call him, she thought. Tell him I'm ok. She glanced up at the IV pole and her fingers tightened reflexively on the blankets. I'm ok. I'll be ok. Donna shut her eyes and let out a long breath. I hope I'll be ok. I don't know what to do. I thought I loved Lance, but I never felt this way about him, the way I do for the Doctor. How am I supposed to tell him that I love him?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the mattress on the other side of the enormous bed dipped. Donna opened her eyes and saw the Doctor sitting on the bed and watching her. "I thought you were asleep," he said.
"No, just thinking," she replied.
"About what?"
"About...it's nothing." She looked away.
The Doctor watched her and frowned. Something was obviously troubling his companion and his natural nosiness and curiosity compelled him to press on. "You know you can tell me anything, Donna."
Not this. Not yet. "I know, Doctor. I d...can't really talk about it just now."
He grimaced in frustration but he knew better than to push her. She'd tell him when she was ready, he knew. "Ok." A thought struck him and he bounced up from the bed. "Would you like for me to read you a story?"
"Yeah, sure. I like hearing you read."
"Great!" He scurried over to a side table and rummaged through a stack of dusty old tomes before selecting one. Donna saw that it was almost two inches thick with a dark blue cloth cover that was somewhat faded. She could just make out the gold embossed image of a plump bear with his nose stuck in a honey pot on the cover. The Doctor retrieved his glasses from his dressing gown, plumped his pillows up, and settled onto the bed. He slid his glasses on, crossed his ankles, opened the book, and began to read, "'Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself under the name of Sanders...'"
Donna smiled broadly to herself as the Doctor related the familiar tale of how the silly old bear and Christopher Robin tried to fool a bunch of bees by dressing up like a rain cloud. She stole a sideways glance at him as he read and thoughts began racing through her mind. He'd be a great dad. His kids would adore him because he's such a big kid himself. He's been a dad before. He told me as much when Jenny was around. Oh god...what if he wants to have kids with me? You're being stupid, Donna. Love is not the same as wanting to make babies and change nappies and...I really should stop now.
The Doctor's voice and her own exhaustion worked like a gentle sedative and she was asleep within minutes. He carefully closed the book and slid off the bed when he sensed she was unconscious. The Doctor checked the drips and tugged the covers over his sleeping companion. He hesitated for the briefest second before leaning down and brushing his lips over hers. Donna made a contented sound in her sleep and her mouth curved up in a tiny smile.
He set the book back down on the side table and, with a final glance at Donna, left the room to let her sleep.
Four days later, Donna rolled her eyes as the Doctor boasted for the tenth time that morning about his impressive yo-yo skills. It was 1970 and they were in Edinburgh. The Doctor had seen some children playing with yo-yos and had began searching his pockets. He was visibly upset when his search failed to turn up his own yo-yo and he'd declared they needed a toy shop. The children eagerly pointed him in the right direction. He'd inquired after Donna's use of a yo-yo and was appalled when she confessed that she didn't know how to use one.
"There was a time when most of my companions could handle a yo-yo well," he babbled as he dragged her down the high street, eyes searching for the toy shop. They'd done some other shopping and her paper bags flapped and bounced as she ran to keep up with him. "I taught them all, of course. My fourth incarnation had quite the knack for it. Only one better than me was Romana." He frowned. "She was a Time Lady, of course. She would be better than me. She used to run gravitational experiments with hers. Had no finesse, that one. Anyway, it's time you learned how to handle a yo-yo. Ah ha! There it is!"
The toy shop was tiny, but very well stocked. The Doctor greeted the astonished old proprietor with a cheery hello and instantly began peppering him with questions about his yo-yo selection. Donna let go of his hand and scurried down the closest aisle where she could lean against a display of board games and get some respite. He's like Tigger, she thought.
That thought gave her an idea and she explored the tiny shop, keeping one eye on her enthusiastic Time Lord. She quickly found what she was looking for and slipped over to the register, where a shop assistant rang up her purchase and she stuffed it stealthily into one of her shopping bags. She was just in time because the Doctor turned around, searching for her. His face lit up when he saw her and he waved her over. He held two yo-yos. One was bright blue and the other was green. "Donna! I've found two beauties for us to buy. You've still got some money, right?"
"I don't know what you'd do without me," she groused as she reached for the wallet that she'd just shoved back into her purse.
"I'd be lost and miserable without my human companion to keep me out of trouble," he replied, grinning.
"Oi! You manage to get us into trouble even when I am around!"
"Then I'd be lost and miserable without my human companion to run away from trouble and save the universe with me." He reached down and squeezed her hand, his eyes full of warmth and something else.
Donna stuttered, "B...beauties, you say?"
"Well...the yo-yos are beautiful, yeah. But..." he trailed off, his expression turning serious. "Not as beautiful as something else in this shop."
Unnerved, Donna glanced behind her at a china doll wearing a wedding dress. "Yeah, she is a beautiful doll, isn't she?"
Confused, the Doctor glanced at the bride doll and then a sparkle flitted through his brown eyes. "Oh, she's alright, I suppose. Though..." His gaze shifted back to her. "I've seen much lovelier brides," he commented. "I can think of one in particular who appeared in my TARDIS at Christmas and helped me defeat the Racnoss."
Donna smiled at the memory, even though it was a little painful. "Oh, go on." She turned to the shopkeeper and paid for the yo-yos. They headed back up the street, the Doctor bouncing his blue yo-yo and whistling a jaunty tune in between calling out the name of his tricks. Donna gasped when he suddenly twisted the string up into his fingers to form a triangle as the yo-yo spun and rocked in the center. "What's that one?" Donna asked, impressed despite his earlier bragging.
"Rock the Cradle," he told her. "It's my favorite trick."
They reached the TARDIS and the Doctor was eager to get started on her yo-yo lessons, but Donna just laughed and asked for ten minutes to put her shopping away. The Doctor pouted a little, but agreed to wait. She rushed down the corridor and dropped her bags onto her bed, but not before withdrawing her purchase from the toy shop. Donna rummaged around in her dresser, found a small card and scribbled a message on it. She stuck her head out of her bedroom door, then glanced up and down the corridor and listened carefully. There was no sign of the Doctor. She tore down the hall at breakneck speed and burst into his empty bedroom, where she lay the toy down on the center of his bed. Smiling in satisfaction, Donna sauntered back to the control room where the Doctor was just setting coordinates for their next destination.
"There you are. Are you ready?" he asked, looking up as the time rotor began to churn.
Donna joined him at the console. "You bet. Let's rock that cradle."
The Doctor chuckled. "Oh, it will probably be quite a while before we can rock the cradle." He paused, then cleared his throat. "We'll just start with the basics, ok?"
Later that evening, the Doctor wandered into his bedroom to take a shower and change his clothes. Edinburgh had been rather damp and his hair had suffered for it. He passed by his...no, he corrected himself...their bed, for Donna had chastely slept there for almost a solid week now and he'd started thinking of it as theirs, even if he hadn't joined her very much. Something new caught his eye and he stopped to stare. A familiar yellow bear sat propped up against his pillow. The Doctor crossed to the bed and noticed a card between its paws. He picked it up and read the message, written in Donna's hand. "You said Time Lords don't have teddy bears, but I still think you need something to cuddle and I may not always be around. So here's your very own Pooh. He's not a teddy bear and I doubt even the Time Lords were too high and mighty for the humble bear from the Hundred Acre Wood. Love, Donna."
The Doctor dropped the card and carefully picked up the smiling bear. He looked critically at the plush toy, then gave it a huge squishy hug. After a moment, he shuffled over to the side table where his enormous and worn copy of the collected works of A.A. Milne sat. Tucking the bear into his pocket, the Doctor flipped through the book until he came to a certain page. "'I used to believe in forever, but forever's too good to be true,'" he read quietly.
From the doorway came Donna's quiet voice as she quoted, "'Some people care too much. I think it's called love.'"
The Doctor's head snapped up and he looked over her. She gave him a small smile that looked a little sad. They stared at each other for what seemed to be hours until the Doctor closed the book and held out his arms to her. Donna stepped across the plush carpet and wrapped herself up in the Time Lord's arms. He held her close, rocking her slightly. "'I just wanted to be sure of you,'" he whispered, quoting Piglet in her ear.
Donna pulled back from their embrace to look up at him. "You want to know how sure I am?" she asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. The Doctor didn't answer. He only watched her, so she took a deep breath and said, "Right, then this is how sure I am." She reached up and pulled his head down to hers to kiss him deeply. The Doctor's eyes went wide in complete surprise for a moment, but then slid shut as he surrendered to the moment.
After awhile, Donna broke off the kiss. She peeked up at the Doctor, trying to control her embarrassment. He was smiling at her. It was that intense, seductive smile that she'd caught him giving her from time to time. The last time was when he'd seen her in her knickers. It always seemed to unnerve her a little bit, but not anymore. "What do we do now?" she asked. "I mean, things are happening and I don't know..."
The Doctor brushed a few stray strands of her ginger hair off her face before he placed a single finger over her mouth, shushing her. "'Out there things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy and footsy as you. And if things start to happen, don't worry, don't stew. Just go right along and you'll start happening, too.'"
"That's not Milne."
"Nope. A very wise doctor once said that."
Donna put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. "I suppose you're talking about yourself?"
He shook his head. "Not me. Seuss."
Donna chuckled before she reached down and took his hand, squeezing it. "I...I saw something last week in that crystal ball in the attic, Doctor."
"The Orb of Veracity," the Doctor replied, sighing. "I really should padlock that thing away and drop it into a supernova."
"But what it showed me about you, how you feel about me. Is it true?"
The Doctor looked deep into her eyes, shifted closer, and squeezed her hand back. "The Orb of Veracity cannot lie, Donna. It shows you what others think about you. What you saw was all true."
"Then what I said earlier, about love. 'I meant what I said and I said what I meant,'" she quoted.
"My Donna loves me one hundred percent," he finished, pulling her into a tight embrace before leaning down to give her the first of many passionate kisses to come.