Thanks for the reviews, Seileach and dreamcatcher386!!!!!
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Chapter 10: Some Alone Time
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Donna and the Doctor both taught a class at the same exact time, only on near opposite ends of the campus. As such, they had agreed to meet in front of the canteen, then go inside together to eat. At first Donna figured it would be just too weird, a professor eating in the same room with a bunch of rowdy university students; however, the Doctor assured her that, at the vast majority of universities that existed, professors did occasionally eat in the same canteen with the students.
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As she walked toward the canteen, Donna thought about the class she had just taught. If there was one thing she never thought she would be doing, it was teaching. Donna had always figured on temping the rest of her life, sad though it may seem. That did not mean, however, that the teaching position was unwelcome; quite the contrary. If anything, Donna loved the opportunity to do something else, something more productive, with her life.
There was a slight breeze, wending its way through the evening air. Donna put on her jacket, which she had previously been carrying, to keep herself warmer. As she approached the canteen, she watched as students streamed both in and out of the building, book bags and notebooks in hand, headed possibly back to their dormitories or the library. Through the mass of students, Donna saw the Doctor. He was leaning up against the wall, hands in trench coat pockets, with his head back and eyes closed. He looked very relaxed, Donna thought, almost as though he was asleep; but, as she approached, the Doctor opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her.
"You done sleeping, space man?"
"Ha ha," said the Doctor sarcastically. He stopped leaning against the wall, and began walking with Donna toward the canteen entrance. "I was relaxing, if you must know. Teaching a bunch of university kids can be tiring."
"Oh, of course," said Donna. "After all, compared to fighting Sontarans, Vashta Nerada, Daleks, and being injured to the point of regeneration, teaching university students must be so difficult."
The Doctor turned to look at her, could think of nothing to say, so remained silent.
Donna gloated. "You're speechless!"
"I am not!" said the Doctor, almost indignantly.
"Oh yes you are," said Donna.
"Am not."
"You really are speechless," said Donna. "I am loving this!"
"I'm not speechless," said the Doctor. "I'm just…responding with a dignified silence."
"HA!" Donna crowed. "I'll believe that was dignified silence when pigs grow wings."
"Actually, there is a planet, near Messaline, where pigs can fly," said the Doctor.
"Oh shut it, space man," said Donna, which caused the Doctor to start laughing. Pretty soon, Donna was laughing along with him for the sheer ridiculousness of it all, and only settled down once she and the Doctor had entered the canteen and picked out what food they wanted.
"Where should we sit?" asked Donna. She and the Doctor gazed around the room, full of tables and chairs and famished students, tucking into a good meal.
"How about over there?" the Doctor pointed to a table, seating two, near a window on the far side of the room. Donna nodded and the two began slowly dodging students while they made their way to the table, which they reached with not a drop spilled.
As Donna and the Doctor ate their meal, they talked about how their classes had gone during that day. Donna told the Doctor how much she enjoyed teaching Scottish history, which she liked a lot more that she previously thought she would. The Doctor congratulated Donna and this, and also mentioned how he used to have a Scottish companion traveling with him.
"Oh really?" said Donna, with some interest. "When was this?"
"Long time ago," said the Doctor, taking a bite of bread. He chewed, swallowed, and said, "I was in my second life, or whatever you want to call it. I looked like Mo, from the Three Stooges."
Donna laughed. "I can imagine that; Larry, Curly, and Mo, biting and punching each other all around the console."
"Oi!" But the Doctor was laughing.
"What was her name?" asked Donna.
"It was a him, actually," said the Doctor. "Well, I had both a him and a her. The "her" was Zoe. Nice girl."
"I bet," said Donna. "So who was the bloke?"
"His name was James McCrimmon," the Doctor replied, slurping up some soup from a spoon. "Although, we all just called him Jamie. He came from the 1700s era of Scotland."
"What happened to him?"
"Well," the Doctor leaned back in his chair, sighed somewhat, and had a look about his face that said he was thinking about a long past memory. "To tell you this, you'll need a bit of background. To start, I was kind of on the run from my fellow Time Lords because I had stolen a TARDIS; the same one I'm using now. If I was ever to set foot back on Gallifrey, I knew I would get into heaps of trouble. So, I did whatever I could to avoid my home planet." He paused a moment, the continued. "Anyway, there was this one place the TARDIS landed, it was in what appeared to be a battlefield from the first world war. But, it wasn't really World War One. Some rogues had decided to have a little fun playing war games, and my companions and I were caught up in the middle of it"
"So what happened?" Donna asked.
"Well, these war games involved a kind of mist, separating different battles and battlefields from varying points in history from each other. Luckily, through a certain series of events, I eventually found out what was going on," the Doctor said. "I knew, however, that I wouldn't be able to put everything to rights on my own. So, very much reluctantly, I had to call on my fellow Time Lords for assistance."
"Did Jamie and Zoe go with you?"
The Doctor nodded in confirmation. "The blokes who had started the war games, also Time Lords, went too. Needless to say, they were severely punished. After them, I was put on trial. After all, I had stolen a TARDIS, broke the laws of time, and interfered in the history of other planets. I tried to argue that what I did, it was for the good of everyone, but that didn't work out so well for me. At one point Jamie and Zoe convinced me to escape while I was waiting to hear the verdict."
"I take it you didn't succeed," said Donna. It wasn't a question.
"Nope."
"What happened then?"
"The three of us were caught, just as we were about to reach the TARDIS. Jamie and Zoe were sent back to their own time periods, their memories of me completely wiped, save that of their first adventure with me." The Doctor gulped down some water; talking this much was making him thirsty. "I, of course, was exiled on Earth, after a forced regeneration. But that's another story for another night."
After the Doctor was finished, he and Donna sat at the table in silence for a few moments, each thinking about what had just been said. Occasionally, they ate a bite of the dwindling food on their plates. Then, Donna remembered something.
"Doctor," she said.
"Hm?"
"Remember when you showed me the files from the missing people?"
"What about it?"
"There was a missing professor…"
"There were two missing professors," the Doctor reminded.
"Yes, I know that," said Donna impatiently. "But the name of one of the professors was James McCrimmon."
The Doctor thought for a moment. "Yeah, I did think that was odd," he said. "But then, there are several people in the world, and in times past and present, who share names. I know for a fact that there have been numerous John Smith's."
"That's just your alias," Donna pointed out.
"I know, but still," said the Doctor. "Just because there's a James McCrimmon listed under the Oxford faculty, it doesn't mean that it's the same Jamie I knew. Besides, it's doubtful, even laughable, that it would be the same person. I mean, first of all, how would he have arrived here in the first place?"
Donna didn't answer. There was silence between the two for a few minutes, until Donna asked the Doctor how his class teaching had gone. The Doctor replied rather enthusiastically.
"Oh, it's wonderful!" The Doctor said happily. "I love how you humans are able to grasp such complex (to humans, anyway) subjects as physics. It's positively amazing!"
Donna grinned. "Any students stand out in particular?"
"No, not really," said the Doctor. "Although, that Maxine was in the class."
"She didn't try anything on you, did she?" Donna asked.
"No, thankfully," said the Doctor. "Although I did hint that the reason she wasn't taking notes was because she had a previous arrangement which enabled her to pass that class without effort."
"You didn't mention Cadger, did you?"
The Doctor grinned innocently. "I might have."
"Doctor!"
"What? I didn't actually say she was the one shagging Cadger Ethyls," the Doctor protested. "All I did was make it sound like a hypothetical situation. No one but Maxine and I actually knew what was really being talked about."
"Did it make her pay attention?"
"You bet. She snapped to attention immediately and was a good little student for the rest of the class."
"That's good then, I guess," said Donna. "Although you sure had a twisted way of going about it."
The Doctor grinned impishly at her.
The two finished eating dinner soon after. As they were leaving the canteen, after having dropped of the trays with crumbs of their meals, they saw Maxine, laughing and joking with a group of friends. They were the same friends, in fact, that Donna had seen her a few days previously. One of the friends saw Donna and waved; Donna reciprocated. Maxine was about to wave too, but when she saw the Doctor, she hurried inside the building.
"Great, now you've made her frightened of you," said Donna, not being entirely serious.
"It's her own fault," said the Doctor. "She's the one shagging the chancellor, a big no-no, I believe."
Donna decided to let the matter rest, so said nothing more on the subject.
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Donna and the Doctor, each feeling content and relaxed after the dinner they had just eating, headed back to the TARDIS. Together, they walked under cover of the setting sun, which gave off a deep, golden glow and turned the sky and clouds around it the color of light red roses, deepening into a darker pink color as the evening sky turned night. When they reached the TARDIS, the sky was just beginning to be sprinkled with stars, each shining brightly and casting a romantic glow on the Earth beneath them.
The Doctor opened the TARDIS door and let Donna enter first, before following in behind her and closing the door. He then went over to the seat by the console and sat down, stretching.
"You look relaxed," Donna remarked. She sat down next to him.
"Mmhm." The Doctor put his feet up on the console and his hands behind his head. His eyes were closed and there was a contented expression on his face; he did indeed look relaxed.
Donna relaxed as well, sitting as she was, next to the Doctor. She would have tried to rest her feet on the console like he was doing, but since she was shorter than the Doctor, she didn't think she'd be able to stretch out that far. So, instead, Donna stretched out as best she could, looking every bit as comfortable as the Doctor did. Donna looked over at him; she smiled when she saw that he was dozing.
"Donna?" said the Doctor suddenly. Donna started; she hadn't thought the Doctor was awake.
"What is it?"
"What about us?"
Donna was confused. "Pardon?"
"Us. What about it?"
Slightly more perplexed, Donna asked. "What about us? What are you talking about?"
"I was thinking about that kiss you gave me, a few days ago in front of the administration building." The Doctor sighed and took his feet from the console, and instead letting them rest on the floor. He turned to Donna. "You said that you had done it to protect me from Maxine."
"I did," said Donna. What on Earth is he getting at?
"Is that only why you did it? Or was there more than one reason?"
"What do you mean?" Donna thought she might already know; at least, she had a feeling now, what he might be hinting at. But, she believed it would be wise to at least hear him out, to find if her suspicions were correct. Not that they were bad suspicions; quite the contrary.
"Maybe I should start over…?" It was both a statement and a request. Donna nodded, so the Doctor continued. "Do you remember how I said on that day, that I used to have feelings for Rose?"
"I do," said Donna.
"Well," said the Doctor, "I did used to have feelings for her. She was the first companion I had after the Time War, and something about her just…endeared itself to me. I don't know how it happened, but at first, my feelings for Rose were what they had been for every other companion of mine. Purely platonic feelings, of friendship…a deep kind of friendship."
"But slowly, those feelings began to change."
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't until I lost her, that day in the Torchwood building at Canary Wharf, that I realized how much I truly loved her. And when I appeared to her, as an image, at Bad Wolf Bay, I wanted to badly to tell her my feelings; I really did. But something was preventing me from doing so. Maybe it was my own stubbornness; after all, I hadn't felt that way about any female for what seemed like eons. Thankfully, I did get the courage to actually tell Rose that I loved her; but, right before I was about to say those words, the image of myself vanished. I was left there, in the TARDIS, feeling almost suicidal. I can only imagine Rose's devastation." Even though that had happened ages ago, the Doctor still felt the absolute pain and heart-wrenching sadness; he even felt himself beginning to choke up slightly, so he took a moment to compose himself before going on.
"Wait… that was right before I met you," said Donna. "I remember seeing dried tears on your face, but I never knew what."
"Yes, that was right before you met me, but never mind that now," said the Doctor. "Anyway, when I saw Rose again, for the first time in two or three years, you can imagine how I must have been feeling."
Donna could, in fact. She remembered the look of shock, and then of pure joy, before he had began running toward Rose.
"You can probably imagine how I must have been feeling, then, as I was leaving Rose once more at Bad Wolf Bay. Only, unlike the previous time, she had my clone. I didn't want to leave her again, but I knew I must. My clone had committed genocide; I understand the reasoning for it, believe me. But I wanted to at least give Davros and the Daleks a chance to leave before decimating them; as you know, I didn't get that chance." The Doctor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "So I left Rose with my clone, because I knew she could do for him what she did for me, after the Time War. It hurt, to see her kiss him like that, when I knew it should be me. But Rose's place was now in that universe, along with my clone. In the days that followed, what with losing Rose again, as well as you, you can say that I was not the most happy of persons. I had just lost those I cared about all over again. But while I was still regretting your fate, I at least was able to think about Rose and my clone, in the other universe."
"What were your thoughts about it?" asked Donna.
"I realized that, while I was depressed beyond belief, that I was also beginning to feel happy," said the Doctor. "I was happy that Rose finally had the chance to live with me, after a fashion. What's more, she would be able to spend her life with my human version; a happy life, with someone who she would be able to grow old. Unlike if she had stayed with me, where she would have aged while I would not."
"I'm glad you've had closure regarding that," said Donna, with sincerity.
"Me too," said the Doctor. There was a moment of silence before he began speaking again. "Like I said, I'm happy that Rose is happy with my human version."
"But…?"
"What makes you think there's a but?"
"Don't play daft with me, Doctor."
"Right. Well, I know I used to have feelings for Rose, but the thing is… I don't. At least, not anymore. Not toward her." The Doctor swallowed. "Truth is, there's someone else I'm beginning to have some feelings toward. I didn't think I would, but they're there."
Donna wondered who he was talking about, even though she thought she already knew. Nevertheless, she asked, just to be sure. "Who, Doctor?"
"I'm getting there," he replied. "This person I'm having feelings for… I only thought of this person of a really great friend. At first. But recently, something happened to this person that made me realize how much I really cared about them. I realized that what I was feeling toward this person were feelings, not of friendship, but something more, much more, than that."
Donna listened to the Doctor as he spoke. With each word, her heart began beating quicker and quicker, though not quite so fast as to give away the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach, trying to break free.
"Donna, I have to ask you something. But I want you to be totally and completely honest with me."
Donna looked into his eyes, both of which held a look of intensity. "Ok," she said softly. "I promise."
"Do you have feelings for me?" The Doctor quickly added, "Before you answer, let me say that a tip-off was the kiss from a few days ago. You didn't have to snog me like you did; a quick peck would have sufficed. The fact that there was an all-out snog indicated, at least to me, that you felt the same way about me as I do about you. I do have feelings for you. I didn't realize them for what they were until I thought you were going to burn up, after seeing the TARDIS. But the feelings are there. So, Donna, be honest with me. Do you feel the same way for me that I do for you?"
Donna stared at the Doctor, not fully comprehending what he was saying. Did she feel the same way for him that he did for her? Darn right, she did. She just hadn't exactly expected the Doctor to full on admit it like this. Needless to say, it took her by surprise, so it was a few seconds before she calmed enough to speak.
"Doctor, I-"
"If you don't, I'll understand. Just say the word, and I'll drop the subject and never bring it up again."
"If you hadn't interrupted me, you prawn, you wouldn't have to go feeling all insecure about it."
The Doctor tilted his head, a somewhat confused expression on his face, though with a hint of realization. "So you-"
"Duh, space man," said Donna, with a smile and slight laugh. "Did you even have to ask?"
"Well, I wanted to be sure," the Doctor replied. Now that he was, a huge grin spread over his face. He turned to Donna, placed his hand gently on her shoulder, and looked her directly in the eye. The grin softened somewhat, though he was still smiling.
"Now what are you thinking?" Donna asked, likewise gazing him in the eye. "That since I kissed you first, it's your turn?"
"Yep."
"This relationship is moving kinda fast, don't you think?"
The Doctor gave her an odd look. "Too fast for who?"
Donna sighed. "So you're a naïve space man who also doesn't know how to tell when someone is joking."
"Oh HA HA, very funny, Noble," said the Doctor.
Donna smiled.
"So what are you thinking, Doctor?" she said.
"I'm thinking what will happen if I do this," the Doctor replied. He drew Donna toward him, arms around her, and gave her an ever-so-light kiss. He drew his face back and looked at her.
"Well, I'm not complaining," said Donna.
"What are you going to do about it?" the Doctor asked her.
"This," she replied. And she kissed him right back.
The two of them sat there, in each other's embraces, lightly kissing one another. The tender feel of the Doctor's lips against her own made Donna's skin tingle. As the kiss deepened, the Doctor's hold on Donna grew tighter, more secure, as if he wanted to protect her from something unseen. The kiss turned to snogging, just as it had a few days previously. Needless to say, each was quite enjoying it, something they know they wouldn't have before Donna became a Time Lady. For what reason, they weren't sure, but that did not matter. What mattered was the here and now, and the snogging that they were currently doing. When the kiss ended, Donna and the Doctor slowly separated, each gazing into each other's eyes.
"We should probably get going to bed," said the Doctor. "Not with each other."
"Yeah, I sorta figured that," said Donna, with a slight laugh.
Somewhat reluctanctly, the two got up from the seat and went around the console. They said good night to each other once they reached the hallway, and separated: Donna, to her room and the Doctor, to his room.
o
A week and a half went by with no indication of the disappearances, or having anything having even the slightest hint of something to do with what was going on. Nevertheless, Donna and the Doctor kept their ears open, waiting to hear even the slightest pinprick of a hint; however, nothing was heard of. So, one day, when Donna and the Doctor had a chance to eat lunch together, a plan was made. That night, they were to investigate the disappearances, to see if they could find anything new.