"That was great!" Donna exclaimed. "A planet, called Barcelona! I guess us humans never forget our roots!" she joked. The Doctor grinned back. It'd ben a while since he'd been to Barcelona, though he'd wanted to go with Rose. Rose. He'd told Rose he would take her to the beautiful place, and here he was, going with another girl! Tears instantly filled his eyes. Donna didn't fail to notice this sudden change, and walked over to The Doctor, looking into his eyes.
"You alright?" Her usually loud voice had grown soft.
"Yeah. I'm fine." The Doctor tried to say dismissively, though his voice broke in the middle of his reassurance.
"You sure? You don't sound 'fine'. Maybe-"
"I'm FINE, Donna!" He snapped. Then, realizing what he'd done, he brought his hands to his face and rubbed his palms against his eyes. He didn't want to fight with his best friend. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm just really tired, and I'm sure you're tired too. Why don't you go to bed?" Donna looked as if she might argue, then saw the pleading in his eyes. She sighed.
"Yeah, I guess I am pretty tired." She said, faking a yawn. "I think I will go to bed." She patted his hand resting on the console, then walked to the hallway that held the room she stayed in.
The Doctor fiddled with pieces on the console, thinking about Rose. How she was trapped in an alternate dimension. How he'd never see her again. How she'd never be able to travel with him in the TARDIS again. Two silent tears ran down his cheeks.
"I'm fine." He chanted as he ran his hands through his hair. "I'm fine." He collapsed on the floor, a mess, tears now falling steadily. "I'm fine."
"Liar." He heard a voice call from the hallway. He turned to see Donna, in all her pajama-d glory, striding towards him. She plopped down unceremoniously next to the Time Lord. "It's okay to not be fine all the time, you know." She said softly, looking into his eyes. The Doctor looked back at her helplessly. "Oh, stop giving me those puppy eyes." she joked, then grew serious "Tell me. What's wrong?" The Doctor, not ready to speak, just watched her. "Is it Rose?" He nodded. She put her arm around him, and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. Donna new very little of his old friend, only that something had happened, and he couldn't see her again. And that The Doctor blamed himself, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't his fault at all. "Tell me about her."
The Time Lord looked at her, the looked at the ceiling.
"She was fantastic. She wasn't afraid to tell me off, or disobey me if she thought I was wrong. She was caring, not just to me, but everyone she met. Hell, she once absorbed all of Time and Space to save me and Jack. She was brave too. Never backed off from a fight." He wiped away the new tears that had appeared in his eyes. "But then she took on a fight that was too big. She tried to help me, but then, I couldn't save her. Someone else did, but she was trapped in an alternate dimension because of it. And now-" his voice broke with emotion,"-I can never see her again." He broke down. The tears fell freely now, no barrier to keep them in. Donna could do nothing but watch as The Doctor fell apart like a toy, held together only with duct tape. Donna pulled The Doctor closer to her and rubbed his arm.
"It's okay, Doctor." She soothed. "I'm right here. I won't leave. I'm right here." The doctor looked up into here eyes.
"You're never gonna leave?"
"No. I promise. I'm gonna stay here and travel with you forever."