(Picks up in the End of Time, Part 2, as Donna stands in the middle of the road with copies of the Master beginning to surround her)
Her head was burning hot and all she saw around her were copies of the same man, and images flashing through her brain of strange creatures. Suddenly the face of a different man flashed before her eyes and the fire surrounded her, then the darkness.
The first thing she noticed when she felt herself coming back to consciousness was a steady beating. Thump-thump…thump-thump…thump-thump… She gasped for breath as she sat straight up and opened her eyes.
It was all there; all her missing memories were there. But something was different. She felt it. Thump-thump…thump-thump…thump-thump… She could feel the dual-pulse in the vein on the side of her neck, it whispered into her ears it beat so hard and so fast. Thump-thump…thump-thump…thump-thump…thump-thump… Her eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings. She was laying on the ground. Where? Oh yes, Chiswick. Near her Mum and Gramps home. But not her home. No, she knew that now. Where was that blue box, anyway?
She started to push herself up off the ground into a standing position when she heard a voice. "Donna! Donna!" It was her mom, and running behind her, also yelling her name was a man. She recognized the man, but who was he? Oh yes, wait, there was the memory. Shaun. Oh. Oh dear, what to do about this.
Donna ran to her mother, not quite ready to acknowledge Shaun or what it meant to have him there. "Mum! Where's Gramps? Where's the Doctor? Something's happened, I know it!"
"What!? How do you know about that? How can you know about that? Donna, you'll die!" Sylvia was scared to death for her daughter. The rush of emotions she was feeling was overwhelming. Frightened for her daughter, she recalled the warning the Doctor had given her that rainy night. Now, as she realized the Doctor had once again had saved the Earth from destruction, she finally realized how much of an idiot she had been for treating him so badly. She was brought back from her thoughts by Donna's voice.
"Mum, I think I did!" Donna exclaimed.
"Did what?" Sylvia's face showed confusion.
"I think I did die, but I'm still here, and I can remember now! I remember it all! But Mum, you have to tell me, where's Gramps? Where's the Doctor?" Donna pleaded with her mother. She had to find the Doctor, and fast!
"I don't know! Before we ran out for you, I heard them say on the news that something is going on at Naismith Mansion!"
"Then that's where they are! I have to get there! Now! Something terrible is going to happen, I can just feel it!" Donna started to walk away from the alley and towards the main street.
"But Donna, we can't just go there!" Sylvia argued with her daughter, afraid to lose her.
"Oh you just watch me, Mum!" Donna stood tall. "If I have to steal a car, I'm getting there!"
"I'll take you." Shaun finally spoke up, after having watched the mother and daughter argue. He had prayed this day wouldn't come. Wilf had vowed him to secrecy about the stories he had told him of Donna and the Doctor. As much as Wilf knew, he shared. The old man said he felt it was only right that Donna's fiancé understand why she couldn't remember certain things. As little as it was that Shaun knew about the situation, he knew that Donna was lost to him now. He saw the look of determination in her eyes and knew nothing was going to stop her from finding the Doctor. The least he could do was make sure she got there safely, and hopefully find Wilf to bring him home to his daughter.
"Oh, Shaun." Donna sighed and placed her hands awkwardly on his shoulders, unsure of what to say or do to the man she had tried to love so hard.
"Come on, let's go!" Shaun shrugged her off and went running towards the car, acting as if he hadn't noticed her awkwardness. Sylvia followed behind, not about to lose sight of Donna now.
Within minutes they were speeding out of town into the countryside. "Hurry, hurry!" Donna shouted.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Shaun shouted back. He sped into the driveway of the mansion and stopped just at the front door. Donna leapt out and ran inside, Shaun and Sylvia trailing behind slower.
Something compelled Donna. She could sense him, feel him, and it was pulling her towards him. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice shouting.
"… look at you, not remotely important! But me? I could do so much more! So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. It's not fair!"
She slid to a stop just at the door of a room filled with a strange combination of artwork and computers. She saw him, and she froze. She saw him gasping for breath after his rampage and decided it was time to bring it to a stop. "Really, Spaceman?" she spoke up. "You always did have a flare for the dramatic." She crossed her arms and stared at him.
The Doctor sucked in a breath and froze. Then slowly he turned to face the door behind him where he had heard the voice come from. Surely, he must be dreaming? Maybe the radiation was leaking out and causing him to hallucinate. But then he saw her, standing there tall, looking so sure of herself. He felt his whole body shaking. He must be hallucinating.
But then Wilf spoke from behind him, "Donna, love? What are you doing here? How can you be here?"
Wilf saw her too? So, he wasn't hallucinating. His mouth opened but he found himself struggling to find words. "D-d-Donna?"
She slowly came closer to him, her whole body trembling, then reached her hand out and touched his cheek. "Doctor."
Her touch caused what felt like electricity to flow through his body, he gasped and closed his eyes. He slowly reached his hand up to touch the one she held on his face. "H-how? How are you still alive?"
She ran her thumb along his cheekbone and he opened his eyes as she spoke, "Don't know exactly. Guess we'll have to figure that out. Later."
At that moment Shaun and Sylvia came running into the room. Wilf shouted at them. "Shaun! Sylv! What are you doing here?"
"We brought Donna!" Shaun exclaimed, still watching the Doctor and Donna, who hadn't moved from where they stood, staring at each other. He turned and ran to the glass box where Wilf stood.
Sylvia ran up to Wilf. "Dad! What on Earth have you gotten yourself into?"
"Oh, you know." Wilf tried to shrug it off, glancing between Donna and the Doctor, and Shaun.
Finally, the Doctor broke away his gaze from Donna and looked back to Wilf. "Argh! What to do? What are we going to do?! We've got to get you out of there, Wilf!"
Wilf was relieved, the spark was back in the Doctor's eye. And he knew exactly why. His granddaughter, Donna. That was why. "No, Doctor. You all just go now. It's my time."
"What!? Dad! Don't say such a thing!" Sylvia snapped at him.
The Doctor turned to Donna and began explaining the mechanics of the box and what was going on. As she began shooting out questions and ideas, he answered back equally. It didn't quite occur to him that she was speaking on the same level of knowledge and understanding as he was. Quite a bit more than what even a 'super-temp' should be capable of theorizing or understanding.
Meanwhile, Sylvia was arguing with Wilf about this being the end of his life.
In those few moments, Shaun looked back and forth between the man, or rather the alien, who he knew his fiancé truly loved, and the man who had come to be almost like his own grandfather. The answer seemed so clear. Without a complete understanding of the mechanics, Shaun had figured out what the glass boxes were meant for. While the others were distracted by each other, he quietly stepped over to the empty glass box, opened the door and slipped in. He turned and looked down at the control panel in front of him, hitting the "LOCK" button.
As soon as they all heard the clank of the lock, all four of the others turned and stared. Wilf gasped and jumped out of the box he had been locked in. The Doctor and Donna ran over.
Donna raised her hands up, placing them against the glass. "Shaun, what are you doing!?"
Shaun cringed as he started feeling pain through his body. "Doing what I need to do, what I have to do for you, Donna." He struggled to get the words out through clenched teeth. "Saving you. Saving the Doctor. Saving Gramps. It's the only way. I see that. Don't you?" Another sharp pain ripped through his body and he collapsed to the ground.
Donna slid down to his level. "Oh Shaun, why? Why?"
He reached up his hand, only the glass separating them. "Because—because I love you." He fell forward, slumped down, his body convulsed another few seconds then became deathly still.
Days later the Doctor sat on the couch in Wilfred Mott and Sylvia Noble's home. Next to him was Donna Noble, his best friend, companion, his miracle. And perhaps, if he allowed himself to think it, his reward? He wrapped his arm around her and she cried onto his shoulder. They had just come from the funeral of Shaun Temple, her fiancé. Sylvia stepped in quietly and brought a tray of tea. The Doctor looked at her gratefully.
Sylvia hadn't said much to him in the days since the Naismith Mansion. None of them had really spoken much at all to each other, but the woman who had once seethed at even the sight of the Doctor had surprisingly suggested that he park the TARDIS in the back garden and stay as long as needed.
It was mostly small talk between all of them when they weren't busy planning for the funeral. Shaun had little family left, so it was left to Donna to make the arrangements. Sylvia and the Doctor stayed by her side through every meeting, every step of the way.
He had so many questions he wanted to ask Donna, but out of respect for her feelings for Shaun, he waited till the time seemed more appropriate.
He was so lost in thoughts he didn't realize that Sylvia had set the tea down but was still standing there as if she wanted to say something. He gave her a questioning look and she glanced away in embarrassment. He wasn't sure he had ever seen Sylvia Noble look embarrassed before then.
"Doctor, I was wondering if I could speak to you—um, in the kitchen?" she whispered quietly, glancing to her daughter then back to him.
Donna hadn't even heard what her mother had said. The Doctor looked down at her and squeezed her shoulder, shifting so she realized he was getting up. She adjusted herself and he moved to stand up. He followed Sylvia to the kitchen where she immediately busied herself with cleaning dishes in the sink. The Doctor stood and watched her quietly, assuming she would talk when she was ready. However, after an awkward minute of quiet, he cleared his throat. She stopped herself and turned, grabbing a towel to dry her hands.
"Doctor, I just wanted to say—well—when I saw that planet appear in the sky. All I could do was pray that you would save us. And you did. And I—I just wanted to say—" She was fumbling through, barely taking a breath. Then she suddenly stopped and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a hug. "I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, and—and I'm sorry."
The Doctor was genuinely touched by Sylvia's sudden display of affection, if not also quite a bit shocked. He slowly put his arms around her, returning the hug. "Sorry? For what?"
"For what?" She pushed away from him and looked at him seriously. "Are you having memory problems now? As rotten as I've treated you and you say, 'for what?"
"Oh, that. Well—let's leave the past where it belongs, in this case. Shall we?" He smiled at her and she returned it in kind.
She then took a deep breath and stepped back, leaning against the countertop. "You know Doctor, she tried very hard to love Shaun. But I don't know if she ever quite managed it."
His face scrunched up in confusion. "What?"
"I think something inside kept her from it, from loving him completely."
"How do you mean? Why?" He was still a little shocked by the conversation he was having with Sylvia but decided this turn of good will from her might mean he would get some of the answers he was looking for. Even if he was afraid of what the answers might be.
"What I mean is…" she looked up, locking eyes with him. "She couldn't love him because she already loved someone else."
The Doctor's jaw dropped, unsure of what to say.
At that moment they heard a voice from the other room. "Doctor, could you come back please?"
Without hesitation the Doctor followed Donna's voice back to the living room. He found her still sitting on the couch, but she was sipping on a cup of tea now. He moved to sit down beside her again and put his arm on the back of the couch behind her. She set the cup down on the table gently and leaned back and into his body, curling up into his side. He slowly moved his hand to her arm and gently stroked it, calming her till a few minutes later he realized her breathing had evened out and she had fallen asleep.
He closed his eyes and considered the words Sylvia had said to him. Yes, soon he would ask Donna to come back on the TARDIS with him. He needed to get her to the medbay to figure out how she was still alive. Then, he needed to ask her to stay.