Part 10

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"Pregnant!" she hissed back at him. "You told them I'm pregnant. That takes the biscuit. Of all the things you could have picked, you just had to go for that one, didn't you."

"Well, it IS a possibility," he tried to argue.

That hurt more than it should have done or had any right to be. "It's also a possibility that I'm the Queen of Sheba, but for some reason that one didn't enter your head."

"Taking into account all the possibilities would have been a pointless exercise in the circumstances," he commented on a sniff, placing himself down onto the sole chair next to the bed. "As it is, I had to come up with a plausible excuse why you collapsed in the way you did."

Her mouth open and closed a few times. "Okay, I agree you covered all the facts."

"Thank you." He sat back with some satisfaction.

Okay, his expression should not have amused her, but it did. "But it doesn't explain why I glowed bright yellow."

"No. Ah…," he stammered. "Well, the thing is… erm.."

"I'm teasing you. I know why, you div!"

He sat forward again. "You do?"

Time to drop her bombshell. "Of course," she smugly proclaimed. "I remember. And when I say I remember, I mean everything, including who you are, Earthboy."

"What! But… No, you can't. Really?" He grinned with delight. "That is amazing! I thought you probably would but I couldn't be sure." Then he was visibly struck by her saddening expression. "What's wrong? Why aren't you pleased?"

In a strained voice, she gasped out, "Why d'you think? Apart from the betrayal and being dumped, I lost so much."

"But I found you," he stressed.

She huffed a sad laugh. "Are you sure that's what you wanted?" she queried. "Last time I knowingly saw you, you were running after a young blonde on a foreign beach, promising your life away."

"Ah, about that…"

"Don't even bother explaining," she dismissed his possible answer, holding up a hand to halt his words. "It doesn't really matter but I was right about you getting the booby prize." Her face crumpled with grief, and she quickly folded her knees up to her chest, hiding her tears behind her hands. "I've really gone and done it now, haven't I. Enslaved you in a marriage you'd never have chosen, binding you to me just to stay alive, and I can't even pretend you fancied me. Still," she sniffed, wiping her hand across her nose, "at least I saved poor Shaun from a fate worse than death."

Now seething, John bit out, "Who is Shaun?"

Without managing to look at him, Donna supplied, "The bloke down near the council offices who asked me out, soon after you showed up. It didn't seem right to say 'yes' while we were sorting you out."

"How would I make such a difference?" he bitterly and somewhat sarcastically wondered.

"Oh, you know," she reasoned. "The bond thingamajig stopped me from seriously considering him. I know that now that my memory is almost all back; and all of yours… his has gone where it belongs."

There was a flurry of movement as she sought out a fresh paper tissue from the box on the bedside cabinet to blow her nose. And John watched her with fear in his heart that took away his ability to breathe for a second and left a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was he being rejected again?

"Don't you want me?" he quietly asked.

Her head snapped up to gaze at him. "I'm not saying that. After all, I was willing to travel in the TARDIS for the rest of my life with the Doctor. If I couldn't stand to stay with him I certainly wouldn't have considered it. Everything is ditto for you."

"But just as a friend."

"John, it's unfair of you to expect me to feel undying love for you when it'd only be unrequited. Bloody selfish, now that I think about it. After all, when you first got here you went on about your undying love for your ex; and…" She gave a laugh that was nowhere near humorous. "…it was Rose all along. The person even Martha was made to feel ugly against. Martha - who has brains as well as beauty. Oh, and I mustn't forget youth. Both of them have bags of it. Unlike me." Her nose was given another ferocious wipe with a tissue. "I should be beyond annoyed with you for acting as though you cared about me. You'd make a fantastic actor, by the way. Had me convinced until now."

This wasn't getting him anywhere if she didn't believe him or could see the truth. It needed a different tactic. "Then why aren't you angry?" he risked wondering.

Her stern gaze was directed at him. "Perhaps I'm finding this all a bit overwhelming, you know, suddenly gaining back the heartache of the last few years. All that I did and achieved, plus having Fate laugh at me. I mean, I've always wanted the normal things other people manage to get, like someone to share a life with, a home, and the promise of a family. Well look at me now! A husband, the prospect of money, a dead daughter, and the rest of my life needing you in it if I don't want to face dropping down dead every time my old friend is mentioned. How wizard!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in despair. "Be careful what you wish for because you'll get it, they say; and didn't that come true."

"Donna, try and calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down!" she raged. "You're not the one that's been tricked into a situation that will mock you every single day of your life. For all I know you're only here as a survival strategy. I've heard of friends with benefits but this is bloody ridiculous!"

"I'm innocent here too," he gently reminded her. That right hand of hers was swaying awfully close to his head. Far too close for comfort. "I need you."

"Yes, I got that bit, thanks very much," she spat. "Life or death; and a quick jolly."

"Now look here, it wasn't a 'jolly'," he finally snapped. "You are not the only injured party! I was dumped like a bag of jumble that was up for grabs, and got almost killed for my pains while saving the universe. Everyone I have been close to has rejected me. Rose, the Doctor, you…"

"I never rejected you!" she interrupted. "What are you doing here if that happened? Tell me that!"

His eyes bulged in anger. "Then what do you call this?! You're not exactly putting out the welcome mat. All you're doing is pushing me away."

"I'm not, you blithering idiot. I'm trying to give you space, not pander to your ego." She averted her gaze. "You deserve better than me," she quietly finished. "With someone of your own choosing."

With a strangled cry, he got up and sat on the edge of the bed, taking her hands in his. "Donna, I cannot believe you think I don't want you," he wetly stated. "I was duped into thinking I loved her, for a short while, but it turns out she didn't want my sacrifice. Didn't even want me and was willing to risk using the cannon again, so I destroyed it and came looking for you, the only person who had really cared. And guess what?"

"What?" she inevitably asked.

"My plan to be your best friend again backfired on me," he confessed. "I fell in love."

"You did?" she whispered in awe.

"I did," he confirmed, fervently nodding. "When we get home I'm telling your mum we are sleeping together from now on."

"My mum? A bit sick, don't you think, you and Mum." A mischievously glint was obvious in her eyes. "You going after her like that. Unless you've always fancied being a toy boy, of course."

In answer, he narrowed his eyes to give her a withering look. "Not your mother. With you."

"Oh I see," she feigned ignorance. "That makes more sense."

"I thought so." Feeling the need to convince her a bit more, he continued, "We don't want to worry about the glowing coming back anymore."

She forced herself to grimace. "And there was me thinking you wanted to continue sharing a bed with me after our weekend away together."

"There is that too, considering we're married."

"Not yet we ain't," she countered. "We're bonded; that's different."

His mood immediately brightened with hope. "So you want to marry me?"

"Depends if you're asking or not."

"So what do you say?" he offered and then cleared his throat. "Make an honest man of me, Donna. Let me love you with all my heart and declare it to the whole universe. Because when I say I love you, I really do. Will you properly marry me?"

Talk about a no-brainer. "Yes!" she cried, launching herself into his arms.

Outside the door, the nurse awkwardly avoided walking in just yet. Let them have their moment, she decided, especially as she held within her hands the blood test result that confirmed whether or not the husband's assumption that his wife was pregnant was correct.

~O~O~