Martha and I were waiting for the results of the exams outside of the lab in the precinct. Mickey was inside with the Doctor, and they were making tests for at least one hour. I was worried. Terribly worried. Time seemed to be frozen forever there, and the thought of being poisoned by my husband started to nag me more and more. I was beginning to feel paranoiac, so I needed the results of those tests. I needed to prove to myself that Lance was off the hook. I could worry about my guilt of suspecting him after the test results.

"Don't be so nervous, Donna. Maybe I got it wrong," said Martha.

"Yeah…"

"It could be heartburn. Or a liver problem. There are many options…"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Sorry..."

I smiled. Martha was a nice girl. That was a pity that nothing could help me to relax that moment. Still, she was being such a doll with a complete stranger, that I felt that wouldn't be right if I just ignored her.

"So, you are dating Mickey Smith, right? Good call. He is very smart and sweet," I said.

"Yeah, I know…" Martha smiled, looking at the lab's door.

"And still you have a small crush on John, right?"

She was shocked, and blushed so hard that she was almost a living tomato. I had to contain my laughs to not sound rude or hurt her.

"Oh, no! I… I don't" she denied.

"I've noticed the way you look at him. Those loving eyes, the way you got jealous when he asked if I was alright… It's pretty clear, actually. I wonder how he never noticed."

"He couldn't… You know how clueless he is. Sometimes I think he decided what to notice, and what to ignore, so he doesn't have to deal with the consequences. I think mine is the second case, so I won't do anything about that," said Martha.

"Why not?"

"It's complicated... It's just better leave that way," she said, blushing.

I decided it was better not to press her. For some reason she didn't want to talk about that, so it was better to leave it that way.

"Besides, now that Mickey and I are together, I feel something really nice with him. More than just attraction, you know? And I really wanna try with him. We understand each other."

"You don't have to explain. I get it," I nodded, smiling. Again, I was just a stranger, so she had no obligation to explain to me her feelings for the Doctor, or for Mickey. And that lead me to my second question of the day:

"Why do you call him Doctor?" I asked.

"Oh!" she smiled. "That's because he is an expert. He used to work here some years ago, and he was the best detective from Scotland Yard in this century. You know the Zygon case? That was him! And you know Mr. Sandman, the serial killer? His."

"Wow! That's quite impressive. So how come he is working on a small dirty office on the other side of the city?"

"A woman…" said Martha, a bit resentful. "Rose Tyler, that's what I heard. Mickey told me she was young, pretty and adventurous. And blonde! That's very important!"

"Right! It's always the blondes, right?" I asked, smiling.

"Exactly! Anyway, after the war they got engaged, so he decided that life in Scotland Yard was too dangerous. They opened the office together, and she used to follow him while he was investigating."

"Well, that wasn't a good idea. That place looks abandoned. I wonder how he can even pay the bills!" I said, laughing, but Martha didn't join me. "So, is that why you can't declare to him? Because he is married?"

"He is not married. Rose died," said Martha,, and that really surprised me. "She was killed by an old enemy of his, probably seeking revenge. Mickey said the Doctor watched that happening, he even shot the man, but Rose was already dead."

"Oh, God! So that's why… Poor John Smith!"

"But don't tell him that I told you that, please," she asked.

"Your secret is safe with me."

I felt the urge to hug him. I couldn't imagine something like that happening to me. If someone killed Lance, I think I couldn't live anymore. Even if our marriage was shaken, I loved him a lot. And that brought me back to my concerns. Lance wouldn't try to kill me, would he? That was nonsense... Bollocks...

They got out of the lab, both of them seemed wary. They looked at me, and I held my breath, waiting for one of them to say something. For a moment the silent was unbearable, and deep in my heart I knew something was wrong. Suddenly I wasn't so certain if I wanted to hear the news.

"Sorry, Donna… I'm so, so sorry!" said John.

And that's when I knew. My heart skipped a beat.