A/N: Two chapters in one day?! What? Sometimes I'm just crazy like that. *Again may contain spoilers for Hell Bent*

It had been a few days Earth time since the vision of Donna had come to him. He had convinced himself that he may actually be going mad because every now and again, he would catch himself looking for her. As if his ginger haired companion would somehow be magically dropped into his TARDIS. Well, for a second time. But, he could never get that lucky, could he?

He had contemplated landing today. Somewhere serene and exotic. Exactly what he needed; but he had decided against it. It wasn't time. Not yet.

So, he settled on tinkering on pieces of the TARDIS that weren't broken.

"She's going to be cross with you if you get too close to her green wires again," Donna's voice echoed above him.

Her voice startled him, causing him to bang his head from under the console as he scrambled to get up off the ground. He stared at her in disbelief. She was wearing the same outfit that she had been wearing a few days ago; a green sweater dress with tights and boots. And she used to mock him how about he never changed!

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"When did you get so rude?" she asked him.

He stalked over to the closest mirror and rubbed a hand through his hair and over his face. "You're losing it," he mumbled to himself.

"It certainly sounds like it," Donna quirked, "have you always talked to yourself this much?"

He whipped around to face her, "Why are you back? Do know how," he took a second to calm down, "painful this is for me?"

Her eyes became angry, "Actually, I know exactly how painful it is to be on the receiving end of the memory wipe."

"I didn't mean that," he shot back at her, "I mean to see you. My mind is playing tricks on me! Mocking me!"

"It's doing no such thing."

"Then, pray tell, Mrs. Temple-Noble, why are you here right now?"

"I wish I knew," she answered honestly.

He charged up to her and swiped his hand through her shoulder, revealing she was still very transparent to the touch. Her angry eyes flashed with hurt before filling with anger again. She backed away from him and crossed her arms protectively over her shoulders.

"What are you?" he asked, his eyes downcast to the floor.

"Again, I wish I knew what to tell you."

"Donna, you know this isn't possible. You know if you set foot in this TARDIS for real your mind would burn and you would die. Can't you see that?"

"Well, you've said it yourself, if I'm not real then you're talking to yourself right now. What does that make you?"

He huffed, "A fool. Because only a fool could have the slightest amount of hope that you aren't imaginary."

"Or a coward," she spat, "something the big bad Doctor can't explain. Are you too tough for hope now?"

"Hope hurts too much!" he yelled through gritted teeth.

"You want to talk about hurt? How do you think I feel? Trapped behind your lies and everyone else's. Do you have any idea what it's like to have someone refer to your mood as having good or bad days?"

He swallowed hard.

"It's what mum says when I feel so sad that I can't get out of bed somedays. I miss someone I can never have back! I know you know what that feels like too but at least you have your memory of them. Something to make you smile when you feel low."

"Donna," he started.

"No! I have the floor now, Spaceman. It's my turn to talk and for you to listen."

He remained silent.

"I should hate you for what you did, but I can't. Do you have any idea what that is like? You took everything from me. You stand in front of me, telling me that I'm nothing but a ghost to you and yet I still want nothing more than to take your hand and wander throughout the universe. How thick is that?"

"Donna, you're not thick, you're," he was interrupted.

"Don't start, Doctor. Save your praises for someone else."

"After everything we've been through you still don't believe it?"

"How could I? It was so easy for you to wipe my memories and dump me back on Earth."

"It wasn't like that! You know it wasn't!"

"Do I?" she asked, coldly.

"I came back and checked on you, more times than you know!"

"Yeah, in that incarnation," she paced in front of him, "but how many times since you stopped wearing pinstripes did you come and check on me? Answer me that, Time Boy."

Shame stroke his body and he could feel his cheeks redden, "None," he admitted in a hushed tone.

"I'm sorry," she mocked, "could you say that a little louder for the rest of us on the TARDIS? Couldn't quite hear you."

"None!" he screamed, "I said none! None! None! None! Are you happy now, Donna?"

He could tell she was holding back tears, "That's what I thought you said."

"I know what you're thinking, and that's not it."

"Do you read minds now, do you?"

He shook his head, "If it's in your head, it's in mine."

She smiled ruefully, "You're mocking me."

"I didn't forget all about you. I thought of you, every day. When I saw a stranger with a funny hat. When anyone made a Barcelona reference. Whenever I hear the word Oi, I thought of you."

Her rueful smile turned into a genuine one. She closed the gap between them as she walked closer. "I thought of you every day too, Doctor. I just didn't know it." She reached out to take his hand, but of course it didn't actually grasp his. She disappeared in a cloud of golden dust.

The Doctor found this to be odd. The last time she disappeared there had been no dust of any kind; she had just gone. Inhaling some of the gold dust before it fell onto the ground he recognized the scent to be…..human? That couldn't be right.

Rushing over to the console he had the TARDIS scan herself again. The Doctor had never seen anything like this before. What could all of this mean? The console dinged to indicate the test was complete. The Doctor felt dumbstruck as he stared at the screen.

"Ten percent of human life detected," he read aloud, "What?"

The TARDIS hummed…..happily? It had been quite some time since she seemed to be so keen on anything. He had her run the test again, and again, and again. Each time with the same result.

He looked up at the ceiling, "What does this mean? What do you know that I don't?"

Suddenly a door flapped open with great vigor. Curious, since the door had not been there before, the Doctor walked across the console to investigate. As he approached the door he recognized the room almost immediately. Poking his head in all the way he found his assumptions to be correct. Inside the door lay Donna Noble's old room. A room he had left untouched since the day he was forced to take her back to Chiswick. Sitting on her old, still unmade from her last slumber there bed, the Doctor looked up at the ceiling yet again wondering just what in the hell was going on.