I would like to point out that this was written while under the influence of pain meds, chocolate, and possibly a glass of wine. I've been laid up in bed for the past 24 hours with a severely sprained ankle. WOO! In my mind, I'm calling this "Hide and Seek 2: Electric Bugaloo!" I had some fun playing with slightly creepy!Doctor. Mwah ha ha ha ha!
I don't know if it's any good, but I did read through it once to proofread it. So...hopefully not too many grammatical errors. I also found myself yelling at the Doctor and Donna for being such silly gits. Maybe I'd better lay off the chocolate.
Donna woke up the next morning and stretched languorously. Yawning, she opened her eyes and bolted upright when she realized she wasn't in her own bed. Her eyes flickered around the room as she took in her location. Oh bloody hell, she thought. I'm in the Doctor's bedroom. In HIS BED. She slowly turned her head and saw the top of a head covered in tousled brown hair just poking up from under the duvet. A light snoring emanated from under the covers. She was in bed...with the Doctor.
She flushed a brilliant shade of scarlet before remembering what had happened the night before and she relaxed a little. That's right. The game, her reward for beating the Doctor, and the story he'd told her. Donna's gaze moved up, to the underside of the canopy where the silver circular letters gleamed in the firelight. Such a lovely story...had the Doctor been pulling her leg? Immediately she dismissed that thought. The Doctor had no reason to lie to her. Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Donna snuggled back down under the covers, but kept one eye on the slumbering Time Lord. She'd only seen him asleep once or twice since she'd started traveling with him. He was always awake, always teasing her for needing rest. "Humans sleep too much!" he'd complained more than once when she'd announced that she was knackered and was going to bed.
Curiosity got the better of Donna and she pulled the blue duvet down with care, so as not to disturb the Doctor. He was turned towards her, eyes closed, breathing slowly through slightly parted lips. One hand rested on the pillow next to his face, his long fingers curled slightly. She'd never seen him look so peaceful before and it was a stark contrast to the usual bouncing Time Lord who both amused and exhausted her with his youthful exuberance for adventures and danger. A shock of hair lay across his forehead and Donna resisted the urge to reach out and brush it away. Donna remembered how he'd touched the TARDIS' wall the night before, how his fingers had caressed the coral walls and it had made her uncomfortable. Take that, you infernal machine. I'm actually in bed with him and you're not! she thought and smiled smugly.
She was in bed. WITH THE DOCTOR. Donna colored bright red again and wondered why she was acting like a Victorian virgin. It seemed so wrong to her, but at the same time it also felt like the most natural thing in the world to be cuddled up in his bed. Like he'd ever try anything with me, anyway, she thought. He's my best friend, not my...lover. That thought made her turn even brighter and she squeaked and ducked her head under the covers. You have got to stop thinking things like that! Donna yelled at herself.
There was a movement next to her and she sensed long legs stretching out and heard mumbling sounds. "Donna?" she heard the Doctor say a moment later, his voice deep and scratchy from sleep. "Why are you under the covers? What are you doing under there?"
Nice going, you idiot, she chastised herself. You woke his gorgeous butt up. Donna forced a smile on her face and popped her head out from under the duvet. "Erm...nothing. I just...it's nothing."
The Doctor tilted his head to one side and quirked his left eyebrow, regarding her. It was clear he didn't believe her. "Are you still embarrassed about sleeping with me?" he inquired. As her face turned bright red, he added, "I mean sleeping with me in this bed?" he squeaked. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the slap.
It never came. The Doctor opened one eyelid and saw Donna looking in the other direction. "Yeah."
"Oh, well...nothing to be embarrassed about, is it? Nothing...happened. And it never would..."
"I know, Doctor."
"Well, good. How did you sleep, though?" he asked, curious.
She turned towards him and there was a smile on her face. "Like a baby."
"Oh, lovely!" he exclaimed and grinned. He reached out a hand and took hers. She didn't pull away and he squeezed firmly. "Because I want a rematch."
"You...what?"
"You and I were both exhausted last night. I want," he repeated, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling with mischief, "a rematch."
Donna stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. "You really can't stand being bested, can you? What's worse? That it was a human or that it was in your own TARDIS?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, when you put it that way...both, I suppose. No matter. I'll beat you this time, just you wait."
"Dream on, Spaceman," Donna huffed. "What's my reward when I win again?"
The Doctor was silent for a moment. "What is it that you want?" he asked, his voice become low and intense, which surprised Donna.
She swallowed a little, feeling some of the earlier nervousness returning. Why was he looking at her like that? He shouldn't be looking at her like that. "Ah...oh...not much, Doctor. I'd be happy with another night in this wonderful bed."
"It would be my honor," he replied, voice still quiet.
It was Donna's turn to raise an eyebrow. It would be my honor, what kind of language was that? she wondered, but didn't have time to contemplate it because the Doctor had started babbling at her again.
"So, same as before. You hide, I'll seek. I'm really doing you a favor because I do know the ship better than you and know all sorts of places to hide where you'd never find me. Let's just say I'm evening the odds in your favor, hmm? This time I have to physically catch you, so even if I discover your hiding place, you can still get away and find another. Sort of like adding in Tag, yeah? And we'll also have a time limit...say, two hours. That should be enough. What do you say?"
"I say we should have some breakfast first. And I want to change my clothes."
"Oh, of course," he replied, waving a hand dismissively. He suddenly sprang out of bed and scurried over to his wardrobe, which he flung open. Inside, Donna could see a line of identical brown pinstripe and blue suits hanging from a bar. Interspersed were a few different colored shirts and warm Henleys. The Doctor grabbed a blue suit and a light blue shirt and headed for the bathroom. "Going to take a quick shower. Meet you in the kitchen in 20!" he called over his shoulder.
"Yeah, sure."
"Great!" He flashed her a grin and bounced into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Donna slid out of bed and started towards the bedroom door, when a gleam of light from the open wardrobe caught her eye. Curious, she stepped over and peered in. Light emanated from the back wall of the wardrobe. She shoved the clothing aside and blinked in surprise. She was staring into the Wardrobe Room of the TARDIS, connected through the back of the Doctor's own wardrobe. Well, that made sense, didn't it? He could access the room quickly if he needed to. Donna climbed into the wardrobe, tripping over the Doctor's numerous pairs of Converse trainers, and passed through to the Wardrobe Room.
"It's like bloody Narnia, this place," she grumbled. Around her, racks upon infinite racks of clothing hung on spiral bars, both above and below her. Donna knew this room well, having come here to find historical clothing for their adventures or just to kill time. She always found something different and exotic and it had become one of her favorite places on the ship. "I'll bet Mr. Tumnus is around here somewhere looking for his red scarf."
Donna headed down the spiral staircase to the exit a few floors below, going to her room. She changed into jeans, a blue sweater, and trainers in case she had to run for it. She slipped a small flashlight that she'd brought with her from earth into her pocket. After shoving her red hair up into a pony tail, Donna headed for the kitchen. She found the Doctor already there trying to make tea and fuss over a pan of frying bacon at the same time. Laughing, Donna shoved him aside and tended the bacon while he saw to the tea.
They ate their breakfast quickly and then dumped everything into the equivalent of the TARDIS' dishwasher. One thing Donna loved about life with the Doctor was that there was very little washing-up to do. "Ready?" the Doctor asked her.
"Oh yes," she replied, imitating his frequent phrase. "Warm, comfy, ridiculously huge bed...here I come."
"We'll just see about that," the Doctor answered coolly, then turned and hid his head against the wall and started counting, alternating between Martian and Gallifreyan.
"Show off!" Donna called as she tore off down the hall. Her feet pounded through the corridors as she tried to think of a place to hide. How did you outwit a Time Lord? Was it even possible? Donna sure as hell was going to try.
She continued to run, choosing corridors at random. It occurred to her after several minutes that she hadn't heard the Doctor's voice calling after her this time. There hadn't been a boisterous, "OLLIE OLLIE OXEN FREEEE!" She stopped to listen. The TARDIS was absolutely silent and even the usual background hum of the engines was absent. That was odd. Donna remembered that the Doctor had told her that he and the ship were linked symbiotically. If the Doctor was trying to be extra quiet, then maybe the ship was following suit.
"That's not fair," she grouched to herself. The silence was unnerving. A shiver ran up Donna's spine. She felt like she was being hunted and she didn't like that feeling. She took two steps and then broke into a frantic run.
Donna was so used to her loud, bouncing Doctor that the silent, stalking Doctor somehow scared the wits out of her. Donna's instincts told her to go up, away from the danger. She knew the Doctor would have started lecturing about leftover primal instincts to flee into the trees from her ape ancestors had this been a different situation. She turned down a different corridor and found a flight of steps leading up. Donna flew up the steps a couple of flights.
A thought suddenly struck her. With all the noise she was making, it would be very easy for the Doctor to track her. She stopped and impulsively tugged off her trainers.
I've got to be like a cat, she thought. Silent and quiet and sneaky. A glance down through the grating of the stairs revealed the flash of a blue jacket about five floors down. Donna panicked, dropped her sneakers, and raced down the corridor on tiptoes. The Doctor was way too close already.
She shoved open the first door she came to, ran inside, then shut it as quietly as possible. The room was a giant ball pit, filled with the small multi-colored plastic balls that she'd played in as a child. "Oh, what the hell," she muttered and cannonballed into the pit, burying herself in the balls so she was hidden from view.
A moment later, she heard the door open. There was a pause and Donna held her breath. "Doooooonnaaaaa..." she heard the Doctor's voice sing out. There was a sinister edge to his voice and the icy shiver ran up her spine again, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Donna squeezed her eyes shut. Go away go away go away...
"I know you came in here."
No, I didn't!
"I saw your shoes on the landing."
Oh. Crap!
"We can do this the hard way or the easy way, Donna."
What was he playing at? Why was he deliberately being so creepy?
"Very well, then. Have it your way." There was another pause and then a sudden THUNK in the ball pit as the Doctor dove in headfirst. Donna erupted out of the pit before he could reach her and hit the floor running as his head came into view. He saw her dash out the door and grinned, calling, "You can run, but you can't hide! I'm coming to get you now!"
The metal grating of the flooring tore into Donna's bare feet as she found another staircase and fled up it as quietly as possible. She chose a door at random on the next floor and entered, shutting the door silently.
Donna's eyes grew wide when she turned around to see where she'd wound up. Stone walls met her gaze, different from the coral metallic walls that made up the rest of the TARDIS' interior. She took faltering steps down the hall. The wall on her left was made from solid grey stone hewn in enormous stacking blocks, like a medieval prison. In fact...Donna turned to the right and gasped. Three cells were lined up on the right. Tall iron bars with a wide door blocked in all three cells. Donna flipped on her flashlight with a trembling hand and turned the beam into the first cell. She saw a narrow bunk complete with scratchy blanket and...her blood turned to ice. There was a set of manacles set into the wall. Real, actual manacles.
Donna covered her mouth in shock and clicked the beam off, feeling tears spring to her eyes. Why did the Doctor have a prison on the TARDIS? She was thankful that the cells were empty. Donna spied another door at the other end of the hall and ran for it, wanting to be away from this gloomy, frightening place.
The door opened into a dark, dusty room with a high ceiling. Donna closed the door behind her and flicked her flashlight back on. Innumerable objects, boxes, and crates lay scattered and piled around the vast room. Donna's feet tread upon thick wooden boards, sending motes of dust swirling after her hesitant steps. "Must be the attic," she breathed softly. The Doctor had mentioned once or twice that the TARDIS had an attic, but she'd never found it. Fortunately, the floor showed the fresh footprints of the Doctor's feet, which told Donna that he visited here frequently and that he wouldn't be able to track her easily in the disturbed dust.
But he was sure to look for her here. Donna somehow knew that. She couldn't see another exit, so she knew the best strategy was to try to hide as best as she could. There was no way he could search this entire room in less than two hours. Donna ran on tiptoes down a row of forgotten junk and spied a ladder made from two by fours nailed into the wall of the room. She looked up and saw the underside of a sort of loft in the pale beam of her flashlight. It seemed as good a place as any to hide, so she mounted the ladder and hoisted herself up.
The loft held several old chests, like ones that held pirate treasure. They were strangely free from dust, unlike the rest of the relics in the room. Donna settled down in front of one chest, hesitated, and then opened it. Inside was...gold. A lot of gold. "Blimey!" Donna whispered. "And he says he doesn't have any money." She fingered one of the coins and examined it closer. "Cripes!" It was a doubloon. "That skinny git really does have pirate treasure stashed away." She put the coin back and opened the other chests, most which held gold coins, though some held jewels and other precious objects.
The last trunk held nothing but a strange orb about the size of a softball. It glowed blue and yellow in the gloom. Donna picked it up and held it up to her eyes, To her shock, she saw an image of the Doctor appear. He was standing in one of the TARDIS' corridors looking around. "Ha!" Donna said out loud. "Finally got you off my trail!"
He loves you.
Donna nearly dropped the orb. "Who said that?" she whispered.
There was no answer.
Donna looked around. "TARDIS, is that you?"
He loves you.
Donna looked down at the orb in her hand. The voice was coming from it. She saw the Doctor spinning in a slow circle, as if choosing where to go. A look of pure concentration was on his face and he actually stopped and looked directly at her, seeing her but not seeing her.
He loves you but he can't tell you. He's too afraid. The darkness he's seen, the deeds that he's done. It is too much. But he loves you and he wants to be with you. Forever.
"Stop it," Donna demanded, staring down at the image of the Doctor in the orb cupped in her hands. "That isn't true and you know it. I don't know who or what you are, but so help me you better bleedin' just shut it right this..."
Fear unites you. And loneliness, but you can end his loneliness, Donna Noble. And yours. You love the Doctor.
"No." The Doctor was still looking up at her, as if waiting. "I can't. He's too alien..."
Love knows no bounds. He asked you what you wanted. You want him.
Unnerved, Donna dropped the orb into the trunk and got to her feet. She saw a door in the wall and ran for it, flinging it open. She came out into the Wardrobe Room and shook her head in surprise. She thought she was several flights above it, but...nothing made sense in the TARDIS. It was worse than MC Escher's "Relativity" at times.
Donna slammed the door shut, shaking from what she'd experienced over the last hour. It was too much. She wanted to crawl into a hole and hide until the game was over and then...and then...she had no idea. Her instincts told her to flee to her room. It was less than five minutes away. She could curl up under the covers, lick her wounds, and wait for the Doctor to come and find her so she could lose. Fortunately, Donna's stubborn streak was much stronger than her will to quit and she abandoned all thoughts of giving in so easily. She squared her shoulders, and marched down the stairs of the Wardrobe Room. Sod it all. She'd go hide under the skirts of one of those eighteenth century dresses the Doctor was always harping at her to try on. She'd refused, saying she'd look like a walking fireplace and her hips were wide enough, thank you, and she didn't need panniers to help her. What was it with him and eighteenth century getup? Was he just into that time period, or what? The last thing I need, she thought, is a Time Lord with a fascination with eighteenth century Europe with its depraved courts and Venetian balls and French revolutions and bloody Casanovas.
Donna found the section with the eighteenth century costumes and a particularly hideous purple and green creation with acres of ruffles and bows hanging from the rack. Donna thought of it as the Barney dress. Yes, it would do nicely. She dropped to her knees and crawled under the voluminous skirt that skimmed the ground. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the costume next to it, which was a palace guard's outfit complete with unsheathed saber. Her movements loosened the saber and it fell, slicing cleanly through the jeans covering the calf of her right leg as she crawled under the dress.
She let out a piercing scream as hot pain shot through her leg. Donna turned over to sit down and examine her leg. Dark blood was soaking the leg of her jeans and she rocked back and forth momentarily, struggling to stay calm. Pressure. She needed to apply pressure. There was an entire bureau of old handkerchiefs and scarves one floor down. Donna scrambled awkwardly out from under the gown, dripping blood everywhere as she hopped and dragged herself down the stairs to the bureau where the accessories were kept. She grabbed half a dozen old cravats, trying to remember her First Aid classes from school. Elevate the wound, yeah. Ok. Donna lay down and tried to simultaneously prop her leg up on the open drawer of the bureau and apply pressure, but she couldn't get enough leverage on her bleeding calf to do any good.
Donna groaned in frustration, knowing she needed the Doctor. She also knew that calling the Doctor would make her lose the game. She looked at her leg again and saw that the blood flow wasn't stopping. The cravats were soaked. "Sod it all!" she groaned. Donna was stubborn, but she wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to let herself bleed to death just to win a stupid child's game. She opened her mouth and hollered, "DOCTOR!"
There was no answer. Donna shut her eyes, trying to stay calm. He must be too far away to hear her. Terrific. She was going to bleed to death and it would have nothing to do with stubbornness.
Meanwhile in the attic, the Doctor followed the bare footprints up the loft ladder and he froze. Oh no. No no no. She didn't go up there. He really hoped she didn't. Sighing, he mounted the ladder and climbed up. The chests were all closed except for one, just as he feared. "Oh no," he breathed, looking down into the open chest at the softly glowing orb. The Orb of Veracity was intrusive and dangerous, which is why he kept it locked up in the attic. He shut his eyes, knowing what had happened. When held, the orb revealed the deepest desires and secrets of people in the closest vicinity of the user. The Doctor had been the only one close by when Donna had picked it up. "She knows," he said softly and swallowed. "She knows everything."
Unable to resist, the Doctor lifted the orb from the chest and held it in his cupped palms. He waited for the image of Donna to appear as he knew it would. When it did, he almost dropped it in shock. He wrested down the panic and studied the image of Donna briefly, before depositing the orb back into the chest and shoving the lid down with a resounding crash. The Doctor raced for the door to the Wardrobe Room. "Donna?!" he called, taking the steps two at a time. He stopped when he saw a deep pool of crimson blood by the eighteenth century clothing and streaks of blood leading further down the staircase. "Donna!"
Donna was starting to feel a bit tired and dizzy from the blood loss. Her ears suddenly heard the sound of the Doctor calling her name and relief flooded through her. "Here!" she tried to call out, but it wasn't any louder than her usual voice.
It seemed to be enough, though, because she heard the reassuring clatter of his trainers on the stairs and he suddenly appeared in front of her. His eyes went wide when he saw the deep, gaping wound along the back of her right calf. "Had a bit of an accident," she said, trying to smile. "A stupid effing rogue sword caught me. Guess I've lost the game, huh?"
"Don't worry about that now," he replied as he shifted into emergency gear. He bent down and scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing. "Let's get you to the medical bay and see to that leg." His voice had become clipped and efficient.
Donna was deeply embarrassed that she had to be carried like a baby. "Oh come on, I can walk."
"Don't be daft. You've lost a lot of blood. I saw most of it on the steps."
"But I'm bleeding all over you," she complained.
"Don't worry about me, Donna. I'm wash and wear." He hit the corridor and and raced for the medical bay. Donna's pale, clammy skin, staring eyes, and rapid pulse told him she was going into shock and that was very dangerous.
"How come you got a prison, then?" she mumbled out of the blue.
"What?" he asked in confusion as he entered the medical bay and deposited her onto a diagnostic table.
"I found this room, had three cells. Grey stone walls like...like the Tower of London, it was. Creepy. And manacles." Donna shuddered and the Doctor couldn't tell if it was from memory or her injury.
"Oh...that." He hadn't been up there in ages. "Donna, I'll tell you about that later. Right now, I'm worried about your..."
"And what was with you bein' all creepy-like?" she demanded. "Mr. 'You can run but you can't hide' in that sinister voice? You've never been like that before, all silent and weird. I don't like it! I don't!" she yelled, shoving him away.
"Donna," he repeated, keeping his voice calm, but he grabbed her hands. "I'd love to talk about this, really I would. But now," he emphasized, "now I need to take care of that leg. That sword knicked a major artery. I think you know what that means."
But Donna ignored him. "I'm not gonna play with you any more if you're going to get all weird on me!" Donna knew she sounded like a spoiled child, but her outburst made the Doctor smile.
"Ok," he agreed. "I won't get weird on you any more. At least, I'll try not to." He patted her hand quickly and then said, "I really need to get your pants off."
Donna's unfocused eyes grew round. "See! You're being weird! You ain't gettin' into my pants, Sunshine!" she bellowed, shooting up straight into a sitting position. "Just MATES, remember? Oh..." The world swam around her and she groaned, pressing a hand to her head.
The Doctor sighed, exasperated. "Your leg," he said slowly and deliberately as if speaking to a small child. "I cannot treat it with your pants on. They have to come off."
"Oh," Donna replied in a small voice as realization dawned on her through her fuzzy mind. "Yeah...right, ok." She frowned. "But you're going to see me in my...in my..."
"Knickers?" he offered, trying to be helpful.
"Oi!"
"There's worse things than me seeing you in your knickers." He didn't tell her that he didn't really mind seeing her in her underpants, knowing that would have earned him a slap. "But if it really bothers you, I think I have a solution." The Doctor rummaged in a drawer under the table and came up with a large cloth drape. "You can put this over yourself to preserve your modesty, ok?"
Donna instantly looked relieved. "Thanks, Doctor." He placed the drape on her lap and she fumbled underneath the cloth for the closure to her jeans. It took her several tries, but she managed to undo them and she lay back down on the table and lifted her hips to shove her jeans off. The movement tore into her calf and she cried out in pain. Blood poured from her wound and the Doctor quickly put his hands on her shoulders.
"Donna, stop! You're making it worse. Let me do this." She'd managed to get her jeans halfway off. The Doctor bent over her and reached under the covering. She felt his fingers search around, grazing the skin on the outside of her thighs before he found the waistband. His touch was electric and her breath hitched. Donna squeezed her eyes shut, feeling guilty for enjoying his touch on her skin when he was only trying to help her. The Doctor pulled her jeans off, carefully easing them over her injured calf. "I need you to turn over," he instructed. "I can get to the wound better that way."
She awkwardly rolled onto her stomach while he held the drape in place. Donna crossed her arms and rested her forehead against her wrists, fighting back waves of sudden nausea. She felt the weight of a warm blanket covering her body. Her breaths were shallow and she seemed to float in a swirling fog. She instinctively knew she shouldn't lose consciousness and she fought to stay awake. Donna could hear the Doctor babbling at her, but half of his words were incoherent. There was something about low blood pressure and volume expanders and possible transfusions. She felt the prick of a needle in her upper arm at one point and yelped in protest. Long, cool fingers brushed the hair out of her face and caressed her cheek as reassuring words filled her ears. The Doctor was telling her that she was going to be ok, he was going to take care of her, he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Without thinking, she snuggled into his touch, exactly like when she'd been asleep the night before. His hand stilled on her face for a long moment and then it was gone.
The fog lifted a little and the pain in her leg diminished. Out of nowhere, Donna remembered what the orb had told her. He loves you.
It can't be, she thought to herself. But the orb had also told her what she really felt inside.I love him. But I can't tell him. No way can I tell him. I don't know how and I'm too afraid.
Donna lifted her head and her eyes shifted so she was looking over her shoulder. She could just see the top half of the Doctor. He'd taken off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and had donned purple gloves. He'd put on his brainy glasses and they had slipped halfway down his face. The Doctor frowned in concentration as he worked on her leg, his hair sticking out wildly in every direction. She couldn't see what he was doing to her, but whatever it was didn't hurt. A delirious giggle escaped her. She wasn't sure why she was laughing. Had he given her something to make her loopy? She didn't know.
The Doctor paused and regarded her, peering at her over his glasses. "What's so funny, Donna?"
"You really are the doctor, aren't you?"
A smirk crossed his face. "When I need to be," he replied. "But I admit it's not something I like to do, especially when it comes to my companions." He went back to work on her leg.
Donna dropped her head back down to her arms. "'Spose not," she remarked. "Sorry I went and got myself hurt."
"It wasn't your fault," the Doctor told her. "I should have stored that saber better. Isn't it ironic that out of all the life-threatening situations we've been in, you've never once been seriously injured? It's only until we played a child's game on the TARDIS that you were finally hurt bad enough to warrant a trip to the medical bay."
"Over seventy percent of serious accidents occur at home," Donna quipped.
"Maybe we shouldn't play Hide and Seek anymore."
"Hopscotch," she told him. "We'll play hopscotch. On Exicoria. Lots of asphalt there to draw a chalk hopscotch board."
"That sounds safe enough, though you won't be hopping anywhere on this leg for a few days." He finished with whatever he was doing and Donna felt a cool wetness on her skin. She looked back over her shoulder and saw that he was cleaning the blood off her skin with something akin to baby wipes.
"What'd you do?"
"Hmm?" He seemed very absorbed in his task. "Oh, just a little of this and a little of that. I used a dermal regenerator to close up the wound. It will be sore and you might have a slight limp while the tissues heal, but it will only last a day or two. No scarring, though."
"Brilliant, " she breathed. She wasn't looking forward to a nasty scar on her leg and was glad there wouldn't be one.
The Doctor finished and stripped his gloves off, dropping them into a waste bin. "You can turn over now." Donna flipped slowly onto her back and the Doctor bundled her up into the blanket, pulling the drape away once she was covered. He lifted her up into his arms and started for the door.
"Where are we going?" Donna asked. "And why won't you let me walk now?"
"You really want to walk around the TARDIS in your knickers?" he asked, looking down at her. "After all that fuss? I'm taking you to bed. You need to rest."
"But my room's in the other direction," she pointed out.
He grinned down at her and wiggled his eyebrows. "Who said I was taking you to your room? There's a perfectly good bed in mine."
Donna stared at him even as an excited shiver ran down her spine. "Doctor," she said, trying to bring a warning note into her voice.
He didn't buy it. "The game was a draw," he explained. "On account of your injury. Your reward if you'd won was to sleep in my bed again. Had I won, my reward was to have you sleep in my bed again, too. I enjoy watching you sleep there."
"Oh." Donna felt that she ought to be disturbed by the fact that he liked watching her sleep, but she didn't. She found it endearing instead, knowing that he was watching over her.
"I can take you back to your room," he offered and she heard the disappointment in his voice. "If you want to recover there instead."
Donna pressed her lips together. "No way," she replied. "I don't want to be anywhere else."
The gravity of those words weren't lost on him and he took a deep breath as he entered his bedroom. He lay Donna down on the bed and she wiggled out of the blanket. He caught a brief flash of red underpants before she tugged the covers over herself, looking up at him. They looked into each others' eyes for a long moment. "Thanks," Donna finally said. "For helping me."
The Doctor decided to take a chance. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her and reached out a hand, cupping her chin and running his thumb along her jawline. "You're welcome," he whispered. Donna closed her eyes at his caress, shaking slightly. It was just like yesterday, when she'd seen him touch the TARDIS' walls. Oh my god, she thought.It's true. It's bloody well true. He does love me. Tears spilled from her eyes, running down her cheeks. She felt the Doctor wipe them away. "What is it, Donna? Tell me what's wrong. Please?" he sounded like he was almost pleading with her. "Are you in pain?"
She opened her eyes and sniffed. He was looking down at her with concern in his eyes. "No, Doctor. Just...I'm just happy, that's all."
The Doctor looked relieved. "Oh. Good." There was an awkward silence between them, something that the Doctor hated. He pulled his hand away and scratched uneasily behind one ear before he opened his mouth and started babbling. "So...um...that prison you found. It hasn't been used in ages. The Time Lords used to send me out on little errands from time to time to pick up renegades, wanted people..."
"Like a bounty hunter?"
"Kind of, yeah. That was long ago, though. I completely forgot that it was still around. I kept my prisoners in there if they were dangerous or less than cooperative. I think it's only been used two or three times since I've been traveling in the TARDIS."
"And what about that stalking behavior..."
He giggled in a slightly sadistic way. "I was playing with you."
She sat up in bed, feeling indignant. "It creeped the hell out of me, Doctor!"
"I know," he said. He put his hands over hers and squeezed. "And I'm sorry. I was just having a game, messing with your primal instincts. I won't do it again, Donna. I promise."
"You'd better not," she threatened. "Not if you know what's good for you!" He could tell that she was mollified, though, by the way she settled back into the pillows.
"I consider myself warned." He reached out again and touched her cheek. "And now I think you should get some rest." He winked. "Doctor's orders."
"When have I ever followed your orders?" she retorted, but there was a smile on her face. Her eyes flickered up to the canopy at the Gallifreyan writing. "Doctor?"
"Hmm?" he was still touching her face and seemed distracted.
"How long did Pelora wait for her man?"
He shrugged. "It's just a legend, Donna."
"I know, but how long do you think she waited?"
His hand slid up to brush her hair out of her eyes and she didn't flinch away. The Doctor was quietly pleased and then surprised when her hand moved over to his leg and she entwined her fingers with his, watching his face. He gave her a half-smile. "Time Lords live for centuries, so it's hard to say. But I think," he leaned in closer so that their noses were almost touching and he whispered, "that she waited long enough." Donna's eyes closed and he kissed her very softly on the forehead, expecting a slap or a sound of protest. None came.
The Doctor pulled back and saw that Donna was staring at him not in shock or horror, but with an expression of disbelief. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I was too forward..."
"No," she cut him off. "It...it was nice, Doctor. And I agree. I think she waited long enough, too." She sat up carefully, still holding onto his hand, her eyes searching his. "I don't mind if...if you kiss me."
The Doctor didn't say anything for a long moment, just stared into her blue eyes with his ancient brown ones. Donna mentally kicked herself. She was the one who was being too forward now. A smile slowly broke out on his face, but then he suddenly frowned in doubt. "Are you sure?" he asked, then launched into full babble-mode. "It could be the drugs I gave you. You're not exactly yourself right now. I don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of this situation. You've lost a lot of blood and your mental faculties might be imp..."
He was cut off when Donna rolled her eyes and planted a kiss on his lips, silencing him. She sat back after a minute, flushing bright red. "How's that for being impaired, mister?"
The Doctor blinked in shock, then have her a boyish grin. "Oh, brilliant! Just...brilliant!"
Donna snuggled down into the pillows, a wave of sleepiness washing over her. The Doctor saw how exhausted she was and let go of her hand, tucking the blankets around her. "Get some sleep," he said quietly, but he was still grinning.
"Don't go."
"I'll be right here," he promised.
She drifted off to sleep and the Doctor waited until her breathing become slow and deep before he slipped off the bed and went around to the other side. He stretched out next to her, closing his eyes and willing all the emotions that were coursing through him to settle down. He'd experienced everything from terror when he'd discovered Donna wounded to relief when she hadn't killed him when he kissed her forehead to complete exhilaration when she'd kissed him a moment ago. He'd come the closest he'd ever had to losing her today and it had scared him. The Doctor hadn't been scared in a long time, not like that. It was a lot to handle and he knew he needed to go slow, to take things as they came. He didn't know if Donna felt the same about him, but she hadn't pushed him away or fled from him.
He'd just have to wait to find out what happened between them as they both came out of hiding and sought each others' affections. "Ollie ollie oxen free," he murmured.