"Still lost."
Donna still didn't know for sure if the skinny spaceman was talking about Rose…or himself.
She rolled over in her bed - she had a bedroom on a spaceship- and pushed herself up. First night in- what did the Doctor call it- ah, the Vortex. How could she have thought of sleep? He had still insisted that she needed her rest and dismissed her to her room. After soundly telling him he wasn't her keeper and she was old enough to turn in when she wanted, ta, Donna acquiesced to his suggestion.
Forty-five minutes later according to the grandfather clock in the corner- what the world does a 'Time Lord' need with all these clocks anyway- Donna realized that sleep was not going to come anytime soon. The odd breathing sound that the ship made around her was something she was not used to, either. Like a fan that clicks every so often, it's something she was sure she could get used to, but she wasn't quite there yet.
She leaned forward and rested her chin on her palm, softly tapping the underside of her jaw. The Doctor was one of the most- scratch that- THE MOST insane, manic, and just plain weird person she had ever met. Everything was one extreme or another. "I like suits. Actually, I like one suit. Well- I like one suit so much, it's all I ever wear." If there was ever a creature that was a slave to habit, it was definitely that one. Much like her old boss at H. C. Clements with those spats. Donna half-smiled at the memory. Though in darker moments she still missed the feelings she had borne for Lance, she had moved on with her life. As much as searching for the Doctor had allowed her to move on.
After her adventure with the Doctor, Donna had planned that trip to Egypt to try and broaden her horizons. She had travelled in time and space, now it was time to walk in the dust of her own world- but on a budget. She flew down in coach, with a screaming toddler to one side and a large, swarthy gentleman with a breathing problem to the other. Once she got to Egypt, she was subjected to a bus ride into town with a rather belligerent goat.
The hotel at least was somewhat clean, if very small. The tours were short, and the crowds kept her from being able to get close to everything she wanted to see. Not to mention the fact that her tour guide had only just learned how to speak English. Once, Donna was able to get away from the group and watch the sun set over the desert horizon. Though she had issues with bare feet outside- never know who's been there- she was determined to have the "full experience." She kicked off her shoes to feel the soft, timeworn sand, and stepped on a shard of glass.
Travelling with the Doctor most assuredly was nothing like that. Everything was completely new and completely mental. The man himself was definitely bonkers, but at the odd moment when he seemed to slow down, it was like he was completely bereft. A man who travelled the whole of time and space, but had absolutely no idea where to go. Maybe he was just as lost as Donna had been.
Rose. She remembered the Doctor mentioning his 'friend,' though any friend that made a bloke look that desolate is definitely not just a friend. Every time Rose's name passed his lips it was like it had also carried knives, carving up his throat. What was their story? Why was she no longer here? The Doctor obviously had loved Rose. But what did she know? A woman who falls in love with a man cavorting with world-destroying spiders can't be considered the most observant. Donna sighed. That alien did need someone with him, that much she did know. Poor Martha. What a dumbo, thinking a wedding dress had pockets- if he knew that this Martha fancied him she must have had it bad. The Doctor brought this up, of course, after he said he had "destroyed half her life."
She shuddered involuntarily, rubbing her arms against the perceived chill. Maybe she shouldn't have come. Maybe her first instinct had been correct- that the Doctor was someone to fear. Anyone capable of making it snow or thinking that they destroyed someone's life should make you at least pause. But no, she had bounded into the TARDIS without a second thought.
No. No, she couldn't give up on this opportunity again. Anything, even a mad spaceman with questionable actions, was preferred to her less-than-ordinary life.
Conflicted, Donna stood and wrapped her dressing gown around herself. She was probably just overthinking things, as she was wont to do. A temp from Chiswick, of course she'd be barely able to handle all of this stuff! How could she possibly have thought that travelling the whole of time and space was a good idea? That someone of universal-proportions importance would truly want her along?
All Donna wanted right now was a good cuppa. Maybe she'd be able to make it to the kitchen without the Doctor noticing her. She thought she remembered where it was…three doors down to the left. She slowly opened her door and looked around to make sure the Doctor was nowhere in sight. Satisfied that she was unobserved, she started to make her way to the kitchen. As she turned, she felt a blast of cool air coming from the direction of the console room. What in the world, nix that, space could that be? It felt like they were still floating, so he probably hadn't landed somewhere. The Doctor didn't always have the best, or safest ideas- maybe she had better go check.
Donna padded slowly to the console room and as she turned the corner, she quietly gasped at the view in front of her. They were indeed still floating, but no longer in the Vortex. The TARDIS' doors were wide-open revealing ebbs and swirls of pink and red against the inky black of the universe. There were more stars than Donna had ever seen, even on the clearest of nights on the hill with her granddad. Unbeknownst to her, tears had started to fill her eyes. Her gaze drifted lower until it landed upon the Doctor.
The Doctor was sitting with legs dangling outside of his ship. His shoulders were hunched, his head bowed too low to be enjoying the sight before him. Donna's heart sank. How could someone look so forlorn when they were literally bathed in the light of such exquisite beauty?
He hadn't indicated that he noticed her presence, so Donna spoke up, a little brasher than she had intended. "Oi! You could warn someone that you're going to let all the cold air in!"
The Doctor quickly turned his head. "Donna! What are you doing up? You haven't been asleep long enough for a normal human cycle. You've only been in your room for two hours, thirty-seven minutes and sixteen seconds."
"Couldn't sleep." As the Doctor had babbled, Donna had seated herself next to him. She lowered her feet outside the TARDIS and then paused. "Do I need to worry about losing my slippers?"
"The TARDIS may be allowing us to breathe through her shielding, but I'm sorry, if you kick too hard, your slippers will become part of this nebula."
Though his words were in jest, the brightness did not reach his eyes. He turned back to look at the view. Donna studied his profile- the slight hook in his nose, the shock of chestnut hair. She finally settled on his eye. Even in profile, the inner turmoil that his antics usually masked was laid barer than she had ever seen.
She lightly bumped his shoulder with her own. "You all right?"
"Always am," he blithely remarked, albeit a little too quickly.
Her eyes flitted over his face and then she turned back to the nebula. "This is absolutely gorgeous," she whispered, unable to keep an unaffected tone.
They sat in silence for a moment, possibly for many moments. Donna couldn't help but feel that the Doctor was worn out, worn out from hiding, worn out from running, worn out from losing those he cared about.
He was lost.
Donna turned back to him, again searching his face. He did need a mate, a friend to help him, someone to keep his personal demons at bay. A mate to keep him from going over the edge. Donna looked down at her slippers, and after considering them a moment, kicked her feet and watched them drop and lazily float away. She may be a temp, but if she could help this man out by being a friend, she would be the most loyal one he could have.
After a few more quiet minutes, Donna broke the silence. "My feet are freezing!" The Doctor snapped out of his reverie, and looked at her bare feet.
"Well, what did you go and drop your slippers for?"
"Oh, shut up and help me up." The Doctor stood and offered a hand to her. She smoothed her dressing gown down as he closed the TARDIS' doors.
The Doctor's mask effectively fell back into place as he bounded up towards her. "Well, Donna Noble, since you have rightly decided that sleep is better left to species with less-than-superior biology, where would you like to go first?"
Donna smiled. "Surprise me, Spaceman."