No material used is mine. Purely fan-made Doctor/Donna stuff. Hope you enjoy.
The Doctor and Donna were sitting quietly in the TARDIS. It had been one day since the Doctor had snapped his fingers and closed those TARDIS doors, flying away to who knows where. The images still haunted Donna's mind: a blood-curdling scream, Miss Evangelista's skeleton sitting on that chair, her skeleton "ghosting" and asking for Donna herself, calling her "the nice lady". It was the most terrifying thing Donna had ever experienced.
The Doctor must also be in such pain, thought Donna, having met that River Song person, who seemed quite familiar with him, then having to watch her die for their own good. It must be terrible to watch so many people die.
True enough, the Doctor was indeed very quiet. He couldn't stop thinking about River Song and her blue book full of "spoilers". The fact that she seemed to have known him troubled and mystified him a lot. River Song had said, though, that he would officially meet her at some point in the time stream. It was all very puzzling.
The Doctor looked up from the TARDIS console and examined Donna sitting in the TARDIS chair. He noticed she looked extremely pale and her eyes were unfocused, yet troubled, as if she were reliving a worst memory.
Poor Donna, thought the Doctor, she thought her family with that man, Lee, she said? Why was she the one to be sent to that parallel world, with a husband and children of her own. The Doctor couldn't help feeling a little jealous though. Would she rather have that family than be with me? I guess anyone would like to have a family. But that's one adventure I can never have, thought the Doctor sadly, one of the last things he said to Rose. Just thinking about that day and her pain made him feel even worse.
I have to be strong for Donna's sake. She seems to be in a frightful state.
The Doctor quickly flipped a switch on the TARDIS console and the TARDIS made a whirring sound as it jerked forward, heading toward other dimensions. Donna seemed to hardly feel the impact; she hardly even blinked.
"So," said the Doctor cheerily, "where shall we go today, eh Donna? You said you wanted to hit the beach right? We could go there. Or, better yet, let's go to the amphitheater in Greece! I always love a good history lesson, don't you? No, you'd find that boring. Well, how about we go the Barcelona? Not the country, but the planet! They have dogs with no noses! Did I ever tell you that? Donna?"
Donna seemed to have taken in no word of his speech. Determined to make her speak, the Doctor took her shoulder and shook her gently. "C'mon, Donna, say something! Where would you like to go?"
"I wanna go home," said Donna sadly, "I just wanna go home and forget about it all."
"No, Donna, you don't mean that!" exclaimed the Doctor, surprised and a bit horrified. "I have so many other worlds I still have to show you. Wait, I've said this before, haven't I? Just for a visit then? Would that make you feel better?" said the Doctor, gently.
"No, cos if I tell them, they're just going to be concerned about my travels with you. Well, granddad will. I'm not sure 'bout mum though. She never cares about anything I do." added Donna bitterly.
"Well, if you don't wanna go home, would you rather discover another planet then? Have another adventure? Or do you wanna —"
"Doctor," interrupted Donna, "why did I go to that parallel world? I should have been safe inside the TARDIS. It's never done anything crazy before. Why me? Did it ever happen to your other friends, Rose or Martha?"
"Nope, you're the only one."
"But, why me? Why did I have to go to that parallel world, have a family and all that? Does someone hate me enough to make me go through the pain of losing something that was never real?"
"I don't think it has to do with hate Donna. But you are a very special person, you are. I'm not exactly sure why it chose you; maybe it had something to do with the Library itself?"
"Doctor, I keep tellin' you," said Donna tiredly, "I'm nuthin' special. I'm just a temp from Chiswick. I've never done anything important in my life. Heck, I can never do anything right. I'm just Donna, not special."
"Now, see here, Donna" said the Doctor, a little concerned, "who told you 'you couldn't do anything right'?" "Cos I've seen you Donna, and you've done some extraordinary things. You've flown the TARDIS for one, a feat which none of my other companions have ever done. You've shown bravery on our encounter with the Ood, as you've had on many occasions. You've also —"
"Doctor, stop!" said Donna frustratedly, getting up from the TARDIS chair to pace around the space.
"Look, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me, but I can't accept it. I'm really no different from anyone else. I'm just Donna. But, frankly, I tend to mess things up on many occasions. People never fail to tell me that." Donna looked up from her pacing and saw the Doctor staring at her.
"I'm not being self-pitying here, spaceman, so don't you get the wrong idea! I'm just saying you shouldn't say those things about me. They're not true."
"My words are as true as anything," said the Doctor. He put on his spectacles and leaned forward towards Donna, as if trying to decipher some code. Donna looked fairly bemused.
"You said that 'you can never do anything right', am I correct? What things haven't you done right?"
"I-I don't know. I just hear it all the time. I don't quite know what I've been doing wrong, but it's always something."
"And who has been telling you that? Your friends? You seemed to get along fine with them. Certainly not your granddad; he's always admiring and supporting you. But how about your mother, hm?" said the Doctor. Donna's eyes widened and she tried to tell him that it was not true, that her mother loved her and—
"But it is true! Isn't it Donna?" the Doctor exclaimed, making an extravagant snapping gesture in the air. He leant back on his heels.
"It's always your mother, isn't it? Your mother has always been the one that's been putting you down all this time. No matter what you do, your mother always finds something wrong with it, doesn't she? Ever since you were little, nagging and complaining at you, and you never knew why…"
"Doctor, stop it," said Donna, "it's not like —"
"Your own mother, always telling you that you were worthless, good-for-nothing, a waste of space. Eventually, you came to believe that. And even though your granddad, or maybe even your father, at one time, flattered and praised you, you never believed it. It was only your mother's opinion that mattered most, the only one you believed was true. That's why you snap at people when you're upset; you think, 'What have I done wrong now?' don't you? Now, when people give you true, genuine praises, you deny them or turn them done. Well, I'll tell you this, Donna Noble," The Doctor grabbed Donna's hand in both his own. Donna looked surprised and startled by the gesture.
"Hands," she said, looking down at his hands clutching hers, indicating that this gesture was beyond her boundaries. But the Doctor was determined to convince her. How could she think this of herself? His best mate, always being put down by her own mother. No, thought the Doctor, this has to stop. She has to know the truth about herself, here and now.
"Look at me," pleaded the Doctor. Donna looked up at him, a little hesitantly.
"Donna Noble, brave, magnificent, Donna Noble," Donna, who had started to look a bit uncomfortable, blushed slightly and looked down.
"No, no, no, look at me Donna," The Doctor took one of his hands that was holding her hand and gently, but firmly, held her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"As I have said before: you have saved my life in so many ways. You've even saved my Time Lord behind on more than one occasion. You can communicate with any species on our travels and make them listen to you. You are always so gentle and kind and loving and caring and you don't let anyone walk over you. I don't give a damn what your mother says about you, you don't let her walk all over you anymore. Look at all the people who admire you and care for you. Look to them, not to your mother. What has she done for you, Donna?"
"She loves me," said Donna, quietly, "I know she does."
"Oh, I know she does to, Donna, but she has a funny way of showing it. Look at me, Donna" The Doctor stopped talking until she looked up again.
Look, I'm not saying she doesn't love you, of course she loves you, just as a mother should; all I'm saying is to think of all of your accomplishments and all of the other praises you receive from those who show their love in nicer ways. Don't think on the negatives. Unless, you really do do something wrong, like, oh say, trap you and your friend on an unstable planet orbiting around a black hole while a bunch of Ood are attacking you." added the Doctor, with a sideways glance at Donna.
Donna couldn't help but laugh a little. "You did that, Doctor? What a mess that must have been!"
The Doctor smiled at her. "Yes, yes, you're right. So you should only look on the negatives if something like that happens. Alright?"
"Alright" said Donna, with a giggle.
"Good," said the Doctor. He gave Donna a friendly, little kiss on her head.
"Right," the Doctor said cheerily, moving away from Donna towards the TARDIS, flipping some switches on the console. "Where shall we go now, Donna? I was thinking —"
"Doctor," interrupted Donna, "that planet you were talking about, with the black hole and whatnot. Was that with Rose?"
"Yes," said the Doctor, voice lowering a few octaves and looking slightly downcast.
"But you'll find her, don't worry!" proclaimed Donna, quickly, "I mean, as Pocahontas says, she could be 'just around the river bend', right?"
"Right," said the Doctor, looking a little better. "So, molto bene! How 'bout it Donna? Where shall we head to now?"
"Onwards"
"Onwards, huh? Right then. Allons-y!"