Lazy Sundays

Donna was in the kitchen of the Tardis washing the last of the dishes. The sentient ship would have tended to the messy plates of their brunch, but sometimes Donna insisted on completing the chore herself. She and the Doctor were having a lazy Sunday together, also per Donna's request. It wasn't even Sunday, but the Doctor learned to appreciate the concept. Lazy Sunday was fast becoming a tradition.

It wasn't easy for him at first, to surrender an entire day to unproductivity, but he was learning to embrace it. Donna would catch up on telly programs, spend time reading, she had time to cook or bake, and even go for a mid-day swim in the Tardis pool. It was lovely.

She turned the faucet handle and reached for the towel to dry her hands. She then headed to the library to find her favorite Martian. She plonked down into the cozy armchair opposite him.

"I'm going to start series 5 of The Great British Bake Off. Care to join me?"

"Absolutely." He replied with genuine interest. Sitting beside Donna on the sofa was his favorite part of lazy Sundays. She would kick off her slippers, drape a velvety throw over her legs, and he would lean back into the cushions and enjoy watching her as much as the program. None of his previous companions ever suggested these kinds of activities, and he now wondered why. The ability to be comfortable sitting close, doing nothing, yet while perfectly content, made him happy in a new way. He was beginning to realize that he wouldn't have wanted to spend these kinds of days with anyone else anyway.

After two episodes, Donna suggested a sunny stroll through the Tardis gardens. She loved being able to unwind like this; the park was inside the spaceship, so she could aimlessly wander the beautiful grounds without the threat of some unforeseen galactic catastrophe. When it came to them, disasters like that weren't hard to find when they were travelling.

They went along in silence, hand in hand, flanked on either side by trellises taken hostage by stunning damask roses, before the Doctor spoke. "I know I've said this before, but thank you for showing me the value in this, Donna."

Donna scoffed, "Oh stop, you don't need to thank me for this. Believe me," she sighed, "it's my pleasure. Nothing like a little bit of good old fashioned rest and relaxation." She took in a deep breath of the soothing floral-scented atmosphere.

"I've never done things like this before, unless I don't remember. Honest though, because of you, I feel peaceful and calm. I would never have thought to do these simple things. There's a kind of pleasure your company allows that's new to me, and you should know how much I appreciate it."

Donna smiled bashfully at his sincere compliment, gratefully leaning into his side. He simultaneously wrapped his arm around her to pull her in tighter for a quick squeeze.

"It's a mutual feeling, Doctor."

His grin grew, and they entered back into the hall of the Tardis.

"Now," Donna said, adding vibrancy to her tone, "how do you feel about Italian for dinner?"

"My mouth's watering already." He replied with a broad smile. He cheerily led her by the hand to the console room where he set the controls for Venice…

After sampling the local cuisine, taking forkfuls of each other's panzanella, carbonara, and spinach and pancetta topped pizza, sipping glasses of a very fine chianti, they hesded back home to watch more of Donna's telly program in their jim-jams. It wasn't long before Donna's head softly slid onto the Doctor's shoulder as she drifted off to a relaxed slumber. He watched her for a while, waiting for a deeper sleep to take her, before he carried her to her bed and gingerly tucked her in.

He tucked a strand of fiery hair behind her ear and whispered, "Sweet dreams, Donna" before he took to the library for some late night reading. The book was open, held in his hand, but most of the time between then and the morning was spent conjuring up ideas for their next lazy Sunday, which he reasoned, could take place tomorrow…

I think I might have wrote a chapter similar to this one in the past, but will any of you readers really complain? I'm banking on no, but don't let that stop you! I truly value your honesty and feedback.