Donna had no words to describe how happy she was to finally be out of bed. She reckoned that lying around on her back for nearly a week had done far more damage to her spine than the actual injury had. Not like any of the others had agreed with her of course but it was something she was used to. She could get used to a lot of things apparently; it was a talent that never ceased to surprise her. The fact that she was standing on a planet worlds away from Earth no longer fazed her. The fact that her travelling companion was an alien with two hearts and a ridiculously long lifespan was mere commonplace. The fact that she had met, and liked, the infamous Rose Tyler, however, was something that was only now just settling in.
Rose had been the stuff of legend in the Doctor's head. It was like sitting with the old drunk in the pub that rambled on and on about "the one that got away," Martha had said. Everything had been Rose this and Rose that in the beginning. Despite this typical daftness Donna still have to give him points for not repeating the same thing with her. That really didn't matter though, Donna knew enough without the constant reminders.
Despite all this, finally meeting Rose had been a strange experience. She'd appeared so suddenly that she hadn't had time to really absorb the fact; granted she had had other things on her mind at the time. Rose was as normal a human being you could get. She was a shop girl with no A-levels who had simply grabbed the Doctor's hand when he'd told her to run. An incident that no one could have guessed would have had as far reaching implications as it had, but one thing Donna had learned while traveling with him was the fact that individuals and how they react in different circumstances often made history.
Rose wasn't a superhero, and that an expectation that Donna hadn't even realised she'd held. She was, however, the woman the Doctor loved and that made her perfect. Donna remembered the feeling and hoped that the Doctor didn't find himself in the same situation she had. Your lover turning out to be a double agent to an invading race wasn't an experience she recommended. Not that it was a situation likely to happen of course.
"I'm surprised you aren't plotting a shopping trip, Donna," Jack said from his place beside her. They were leaning against the TARDIS doors, waiting for the others to come out. Martha was insistent upon one final once over of both the Doctor and Rose, much to both of their annoyances. Donna had laughed long and hard at them and then had rushed out with Jack before either one of them could throw something at her.
"That's first on the list," Donna assured him. "I reckon we'll be heading someplace quiet after all this mess."
Jack snorted. "Do you honestly believe that?"
Donna had to concede that point. "I can hope though," she flashed a meaningful look at her friend. "After all this I believe anything can happen."
"I've always been rather fond of hope myself!" Donna smiled at the Doctor as he approached, or was rather being guided by Rose, toward them. They were a strange but fitting sight to behold. Rose could walk without the Doctor, but she couldn't do it as easily. The Doctor on the other hand couldn't walk a straight line without her.
Martha appeared behind them, smiling triumphantly. "That was rather fast," Jack observed. "How did you pull it off?"
Martha shrugged indifferently. "Threatened to leave them here. It's not like either of them can run after us."
"Oi," Rose cried. "You can't make fun of cripples!"
"Or people who will walk into walls if left unattended," the Doctor added with a pointed glare at Rose. Martha and Rose shared a giggle over that and Donna made a mental note to ask for details later. First things first though. She reached into her pocket for her TARDIS key and opened the doors. The group all followed her and she knew the others were just as relieved to all be standing here together as she was.
It was too quiet behind her, she decided, and she turned to see Rose covering every corner of the console room with her eyes. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand while the Doctor looked at her with the most loving gaze Donna had ever seen. Donna then remembered that this was Rose's first time in the TARDIS in six years
"Welcome home, Rose," Martha whispered. The TARDIS hummed pointedly. "I think she missed you," she added.
"I missed her too." Rose steered her and the Doctor toward one of the pillars so she could lay her hand against it. "It took me almost three months to relearn how to fall asleep in a quiet room."
Martha nodded her agreement and Donna wondered if she'd have the same trouble when she left. She couldn't imagine going to sleep without it.
"Best sleeping aid in the world," the Doctor agreed. "No insomnia on the TARDIS with that lovely sound." He placed his hand on the pillar beside Rose's. "Missed you too, old girl," he whispered to the ship. The TARDIS thrummed happily. "Everything's in its right place," he announced. It was with an air of finality and, Donna thought, also an attempt at processing that everything had, for once, gone right for him.
"I hate to ruin the moment," Martha said carefully. "But I really should be heading back."
"Me too," Jack added. "The last time I vanished without a word my team almost mutinied."
"And I want to go shopping," Donna declared.
The Doctor laughed tiredly at Donna's declaration. She couldn't quite tell whether it was because he was actually tired or because he was so used to hearing her say that. He looked at Martha and Jack. "You don't want to come with us? The more the merrier, after all."
It was a question that he knew the answer to, but Donna knew he had to ask. Had to at least try. He'd never discussed it really with her but she knew that he'd felt terribly about not being able to be what they'd wanted. Everything was alright now but that didn't erase the guilt. Nothing probably ever would.
Martha and Jack were looking at each other, trying to gauge what the other was going to say. "What about for a couple days?" Rose offered. "A vacation this time maybe?" she glared pointedly at the Doctor. "Something that involves as little running for our lives as possible."
"You can't run at all," the Doctor pointed out.
"Neither can you," Rose countered with a glare.
"I can so run!"
"Not in a straight line, you can't!"
"Better to avoid whatever we're running from that way!"
Rose groaned. Martha and Jack exchanged equally aggravated glances and Donna just had to laugh at the pair of them. She hadn't seen the Doctor this relaxed and at home in all the time she'd know him. The look in Rose's eyes softened and the Doctor grinned brightly at her. "I think we can manage a vacation," he said. "I think I know just the place."
"Famous last words," Jack chuckled. "But I think I can risk a bit longer away from the team. As long as our pilot gets us there on the same day we left." He turned to Martha. "What's your prognosis, Doctor?"
The Doctor's eyes were wide and pleading. Rose was waiting in patient impassivity but her eyes were just as pleading as his. There was no way they could be resisted and Donna rolled her eyes in amusement as Martha nodded her head in agreement. "I'm with Jack though," she warned. "You return us the day we left and in Cardiff please! I don't want to have to get a lift out of Siberia or something thank you!"
The Doctor had stopped listening at the nod and rushed toward the console, nearly missing it completely when Rose's arm slipped from his. Rose managed to catch her balance while Martha moved forward to stop the Doctor from smashing into a wall. The TARDIS thrummed in a mix of concern and irritation, or at least that's what Donna interpreted it as.
"I'm fine," the Doctor replied in answer to unasked questions. He his hand moved for his right elbow and he started. "Rose?" The question was in a forced casual tone of voice, but the worry and fear was there plain enough.
"Over here and I'm fine," Donna caught Rose's glance and they both rolled their eyes.
"Talk about bloody separation anxiety!" Donna scoffed as she watched Martha steer him back toward Rose. The tension melted from the Doctor's face the second that Rose's arm was linked in his.
"You're a rubbish crutch, you know that?" Rose lectured.
"I am a brilliant crutch!" At Rose's stare he amended that he perhaps could be improved.
"You gonna stay with them?" Jack asked Donna quietly. She hadn't even noticed him move beside her.
"I'm not sure," she replied. Things hadn't gotten awkward yet and it seemed that they were stilling willing to spend time with people other than each other. She'd had mates before who had started dating and then no one else in the world had existed. You couldn't even get them out for a night with the group with out them ogling each other and snogging like they were alone. Rose and the Doctor hadn't stooped that that level quite yet but the minute they did she was going to let them know about it.
It was different for Martha and Jack, she knew. It would always be different for them.
Jack was now flipping levels on the console and checking readouts. She didn't ask how Jack knew how to fly the bloody thing but she reckoned that both he and the TARDIS had an understanding. How else would they have escaped that mess otherwise?
"We're going to Ipscallis 9," Jack announced, "completely home to the best beaches, and beachfront shopping in the universe."
"You sure there aren't sand monsters lurking about?" she asked. "Or shark people?"
"That would be Ipscallis 8," Jack chuckled
"Isn't that Ipscallis 7?" The Doctor cut in.
"EIGHT," Rose and Jack said in unison. "I almost both my legs on Ipscallis 8," Rose griped. "And I also recall that we ended up on Ipscallis 8 because we were trying to get to Ipscallis 9."
"I'd never-"
"Oh yes-"
"SHUT IT!" Donna shrieked. The silence was wonderful, she decided. If only no one had ever woken up, she found herself wishing. Perhaps she could have some peace. "Ipscallis 9 sounds brilliant. Let's go there and if we end up on any of the other numbers it's your head mister!" she stabbed a finger at the Doctor, whose jaw dropped in outrage, and then left the rest of them standing there.
She heard footsteps running after her and only realised it was Martha when she felt the hand on her elbow. "Was that really necessary?" she asked.
"You watch," she smirked. "We'll actually get somewhere now!"
Soon enough the TARDIS rumbled and shook, they were off again. Donna grinned in triumph "Shall we go find beach wear then?" she suggested.
"And something we don't mind running for our lives in," Martha added with a wary laugh.
As they wandered down to the wardrobe, exchanging their hopes for the trip, Donna wished they all could stay together this way. It was a foolish hope, she knew. Jack and Martha had lives they had to get back to, and even Donna knew that one day she'd leave as well. They all left in the end, the Doctor had told her once. Companions were never meant to stay forever.
Her thoughts once again turned to Rose. Yes, Rose had left him and Donna was unsure that it was Rose the companion who had returned. Her return was either the exception to the Doctor's rule or the start of something new. Either way worked for Donna, and she reckoned either way worked for the Doctor.