A/N: contains some angst but there'll be more in a chapter or two.

Part 5

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Donna woke up with a start, wondering what had interrupted her precious sleep, when she heard the distant sound of someone obviously having a nightmare. Quite a bad one, judging by his whimpering. Certainly one you couldn't leave someone suffering with if you were half a decent person.

So she threw back the covers and left her bed, aiming for the other bedroom in the hotel suite. Once inside it, she easily spotted the prone form of John Smith, her latest bodyguard, in the throes of some imaginary agony. He'd managed to kick off most of his bedcover, leaving his bare chest on view. Quite a nice chest, she thought, with a pleasing smattering of hair; before she reminded herself she was there on a mission.

"John. Sweetheart. You're having a bad dream," she gently informed him as she touched his shoulder to rouse him. "Come on, wake up."

"What!" he blurted on seeing her looming over him. "Do you… Did we… What's going on?"

"You were having a bad dream, so I came in to wake you out of it," she softly told him, still bent over his body. "I thought you might appreciate escaping from your nightmare but if that's the wrong thing to do, just tell me, and I'll leave you be."

Trying to sit up, he insisted, "No. That's okay. I'm glad you woke me." He rubbed a hand down his face before asking, "Was I very loud?"

Enough to wake the dead. "No, not terribly," she replied to soothe him. "I just happened to have woken up myself so it's no problem."

"But you could hear me?" he warily asked.

"My bed isn't exactly on the other side of the world from you," she joked, "near enough to hear you when everything is silent."

"Oh. Thanks," he murmured, now feeling rather embarrassed.

Seeing the flush on his cheeks, she wanted to comfort him even more. "Do you want a hug?" As he went to deny the need, she continued moving closer. "I bet you do. I know I would. And this is stage two of our friendship plan," she noted, wrapping her arms around his waist as she snuggled against his body, "rather than some sort of harassment."

"Okay," he whispered, enjoying this part of his dreams. "Can I hug you back?"

"Go on then, treat yourself," she agreed. "Five minutes should do."

Wasn't all it was doing, he realised as he laid there with her flimsily clad body within his grasp. And if he pressed a small kiss onto her crown as he snuggled into her hair, that wasn't bad, was it? Her warmth made hm feel safer and happier than he'd felt in a long time. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Any time for a friend," she replied in a similar tone. Yet she was enjoying the encounter far too much in the circumstances; and so was he, judging by his bodily reaction. It could have unwanted consequences. Giving him a final squeeze, she shifted away. "Do you know what we need right now?" When he shook his head, she answered brightly, "Tea! We need a nice cup of tea."

Before he could agree or deny the request, she was gone, out of his bed, leaving him with warring emotions that would not be easily tempered by a humble cup of tea. However, it was a first step forward, so he welcomed it.

Not only did she prepare tea, she also ordered them breakfast from room service, so he had a quick invigorating shower before it arrived and was as fresh as a daisy by the time their food arrived.

"Did I order too much?" she wondered as he finished tucking in a full English breakfast.

He eyed the fruits, croissants, and other items she'd got them. "Just a bit. I normally only have a bowl of cereal, but this is nice."

"It also gets a bit boring after a while," she commented. "All this soon stops feeling like a holiday, but you'll be well aware of that. Sorry. At least I know what to get you tomorrow."

"Donna, it's fine. Don't fret," he said to wipe the worried look off her face. "Luckily, I could do with putting on some weight."

"You're not on drugs, are you?"

"Not anymore." When she continued to frown at him, he continued, "That was a long time ago, when we were touring, and everyone seemed to be taking stuff. I don't touch anything dodgy now. Honest."

She had to reassure herself he was okay by placing a hand on his arm, feeling him solid and alive. "Glad to hear it. You don't want to poison yourself like that."

"Instead, I'll just let you feed me up until I burst, shall I?" he teased, and gained the swat on the arm he'd expected. Laughing, he added, "You wouldn't be the first to try. For some reason, women tend to want to feed me."

"Can't think why," she pretended to grumble. It gained another of his heart-melting smiles that did things to her. "But weirdly enough, I feel responsible for looking after you."

He merely shrugged. "Seems reasonable considering I'm looking after you."

"Stage three of our friendship plan," she suggested, and they both nodded. "Talking of friendship, I need to contact Martha about later."

Now all business-like, she got up and disappeared into her bedroom. After a few minutes, she reappeared in the doorway, looking pensive.

John was shutting the door, having to pushed out the food trolley into the outside corridor, as she requested, "Can I borrow your phone for a minute?"

Reaching into his jacket pocket for it, he asked, "Why?"

"Mine seems to have gone off with the fairies," she explained, accepting his offered phone. "I'll quickly use yours to ring it so that I can hunt it down."

"Oh. Okay," he agreed, suddenly realising that it would given him access to her personal phone number without much effort on his part.

A couple of seconds later a dull tune began to play, and they soon won 'hunt the phone'. It was beneath a pile of clothing.

"Thanks," she said, about to hand the phone back. "Who's that as your screensaver?"

Gazing down at the screen to remind himself, he responded, "Ah, that's Maxie."

"Cute. I love dogs," she commented, still holding the phone to get a better look.

"I have more photos of him if you want to see."

"I'd love to," she enthused, and silently sought permission to look through his photo gallery. "Aww, he's adorable," she crooned. "Wish I still had a dog. Oh look! You took a photo backstage yesterday too."

Blushing, he held out a hand to get his phone back. "Just wanted to note the moment and show Mum. You know how it is."

"I do," she agreed. "Do you want to take a photo of us two together to show her?" she then offered.

Would he! "Yes, of course," he blustered hesitantly, his cheeks going a bright red.

"Or would you rather wait until you're with Rose again?" she hesitantly wondered, thinking that might be the true reason for the blush. "Probably best that you do," she considered when he didn't make a move to attempt a pose. "Well erm, I'll make us a cup of tea."

"I do want a photo with you," he forced out, sounding like a right berk in the process. "Honest. Mum'll be thrilled to know I met you."

'Are you sure you do?' she silently queried; and then tried to dismiss the thought from her mind. Instead, she faked a smile at his phone as he held it aloft.

His smile looked just as false as he thanked her for the photo. "That should do it."

"Tea!" she announced and moved over to the long countertop that doubled as a desk where the in-room kettle sat. "And you can tell me more about what you've been doing since you left Kasterborous and became a bodyguard."