This chapter is another human AU, and based on a prompt from All of the Prompts on Tumblr: Character A returns to their birth-town for the holidays. Character B is their estranged childhood best friend.

Donna watched the road carefully as she drove. It was already dark out as she made her way to her childhood hometown. Her mum had only just finished settling herself and Donna's grandfather, Wilf, into their new home in old Chiswick, and Donna had been invited over for Christmas dinner. She probably should have left her home earlier, but she hadn't wanted to end up with any extra time on her hands. Not after what her mum had told her.

She probably should have said no altogether, but she hadn't seen her dear old Gramps since he and her mum had moved back across the country nearly a month ago, and she already missed him. She could deal with her former best friend for a few minutes if she had to. The astronomy club was due to wrap early up at seven, and she was on track to arrive just a few minutes before. Maybe she would stop to refill her tank first, just in case. Who had a club meeting on Christmas Day anyway?

Of course John was still a nerd. That was nothing unexpected. She snorted fondly at a memory of him looking intently through the toy telescope that had stuck out the side of that old blue treehouse of his. The TARDIS, he'd called it. They had spent hours playing together in it together as children, pretending that they were adventurers traveling through space and time, going on all sorts of adventures. He'd called himself the Doctor because he wanted to be one when he grew up, and claimed they were both aliens called Time Lords.

Donna had never been as into all of the rules as he was, but she'd still had fun. John had been a wonderful storyteller and always made sure to include adventures that she would enjoy too, like the time they had been caught by bad aliens and forced to marry each other or else.

She still had the little plastic ring that he had given her, though she didn't wear it anymore. She may have had a teenage crush on him back then, but that hadn't lasted long. No matter how much fun they'd had together, or how many times he had declared her brilliant, the truth had come out eventually. And when it did, he had stomped all over her heart.

Sometimes she still heard his voice in her dreams, telling her in so many words that she was not special, not pretty, not clever, not important. All of the words that he knew would dig in and hurt her the most. And maybe she had started it by telling him that she didn't want to play in the TARDIS anymore, but they had been fourteen years old at the time. She had long outgrown make believe, and he should have too.

Donna readjusted her grip on the steering wheel, surprised at how strong her old feelings still were when she let them take hold of her. Something that had happened nearly twenty years ago shouldn't still hurt so much. She turned into a petrol station, moving as slowly as she safely could to further delay herself.

She pulled into the driveway at ten after seven and busied herself with gathering up the gifts she had brought. She slowly made her way to the front door and rang the bell.

"Hi Mum," she said when the door opened, smiling. "Happy Christmas."

"You too, Donna. Come on in. Dinner is almost ready." Sylvia stepped back to allow entrance. "Oh, what goodies have you brought for us? Let's put those under the tree."

Donna followed her mum into the sitting room and sat her gifts down under the small Christmas tree in the corner. With her hands free, she moved to hug her mother. "Where is Gramps?" she asked, quietly.

"Oh, his astronomy club meeting must be running late. They went out to a lake somewhere, but I'm sure he'll be back soon. I still can't believe they had a meeting on Christmas." Sylvia paused. "John's coming too, you know. He offered to give Dad a ride, so I invited him to stay for dinner. I hope that's okay with you."

Donna was pretty sure her heart skipped a beat. "Oh, yeah, that's fine," she lied, as she cursed internally.

"He's excited to see you."

"Right." Donna took a deep breath, fighting the blush that wanted to creep onto her cheeks. She wasn't a bloody teenager anymore. It had been years since their stupid fight. She could handle this like the adult she was.

"Oh, don't be like that," Sylvia chastised her. "He's just as sweet as ever, and he's made sure to make Wilf feel welcome back here. He's actually the one who started up the astronomy club. He says it takes him back to stargazing on the old hill when you were children."

Donna nodded, taking in the new information. It was nice that John was being friendly with Wilf, but she still didn't want to see him. "Is there anything I can do to help you get ready for dinner?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

Donna had almost finished washing the cooking dishes when she heard the front door unlock. Her heart raced as she dried her hands and nervously patted down her hair.

Wilf entered the kitchen first, nose in the air as he followed the smell of Christmas dinner. He grinned when he saw her. "Donna! Come here, love." He embraced her tightly before placing a wet kiss on her cheek. "How was the drive?"

"Long, but I'm glad to be here," she answered, casting her eyes towards the doorway. "Happy Christmas, Gramps."

"Happy Christmas to you too, my dear."

John appeared in the doorway, watching her. He was just as skinny as he had always been, but significantly taller. His features were much the same as she remembered them, only matured and more refined. His unruly hair had darkened a few shades into a nice chestnut brown, but his wide brown eyes were as familiar and striking as ever, and were nicely framed behind a pair of rectangular glasses. He wore a brown pinstriped suit that clung to his thin form, and the look was completed by a pair of old Converse trainers.

He gave her an awkward, painfully familiar wave. "Hello, Donna."

"Hi," she said, and gave him a little smile before she turned back to finish the washing up. It was all she could do to stop herself from throwing herself at him for a hug as a fierce wave of what could only be described as homesickness rose up in her. It felt like the room was spinning as she fought to focus on her task, and she was suddenly hyper-aware of the diminishing air in the room. God, she had missed him.

She sensed rather than heard him approach her, and her fingers began to tremble. She sat down the bowl that she was rinsing so she wouldn't drop it and breathed deeply in through her nose.

"Would you like some help with those?" John asked.

His body was hovering so close to hers that she could feel his warmth through her clothes. Goosebumps began to form on her arms. "Oh, I'm almost done, but thanks."

"At least let me dry the last few."

He reached for the bowl, and Donna nodded her permission, reminding herself that this would only last for a few hours, and then she would be free of him once again. She kept her eyes firmly on her task, hoping that he wouldn't want to chat. But who was she kidding? John had always had a big gob on him.

"So, how have you been?" he asked, and she could have sworn that she heard a slight waver in his voice. "It's been a long time."

"Fine, thanks."

He hummed under his breath. "You still look the same."

Donna rolled her eyes. Did he mean fat and ugly? "So do you," she said, unsure what else to say.

"Have you done anything interesting lately?"

"Not really." She knew that she was being rude, but she couldn't help it. She had spent years feeling hurt and angry at him, and she wasn't about to forgive him just because he was being nice and looked so much like, well, himself.

He seemed to get the message after that and stopped talking to her. They finished the washing up quickly and silently, and then they both helped Sylvia set out all of the food.

Donna ended up next to John at the table. She ate quietly, listening to John and Wilf tell stories about their adventures with the astronomy club. She found herself being drawn in despite herself, much as she had been when they were kids, and when John mentioned twisting his ankle thanks to a meteor shower and an unfortunate series of events, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, you think that's funny do you?" he shot at her, one eyebrow raised. "I'll have you know that I've got very delicate ankles."

Donna threw back her head at that, laughing. "I'm sure you do, Spaceman." The old nickname fell easily from her lips, but when her ears heard what her mouth had just said, she instantly sobered. "Sorry," she said, meekly.

"It's okay." John blushed, the tips of his ears a deep red. "Anyway, it took months to heal. So if you ever happen to go watch a meteor shower in a field after dark, make sure you keep one eye on the ground and watch out for upturned rakes."

The conversation continued, but Donna tuned it out. Why was she letting herself be pulled back in like this? He had perfected the nice guy act, but she knew that he could be cruel when he wanted to be. He had apparently only just tolerated her when they were children, and he was likely doing the same now. He'd always dearly loved her Gramps. Maybe that was the real reason he had hung around with her for all of those years.

Suddenly, Donna became of aware of a lull in the conversation. She looked up from her plate and was surprised to see that everyone at the table was looking at her. "Um… What was that?" she asked.

Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "John asked what kind of work you're doing these days."

"Oh, no, really, that's okay. I was just making conversation. It's not necessary to ans-"John started.

"I'm just a temp," she said, softly. She found herself looking away from him, knowing that she couldn't bear to see the look on his face if he were going to make fun of her.

"Oh, that sounds great," John said. "You must never get bored of your job if you're always moving around and doing different things."

Donna bobbed her head, trying to ignore the sarcasm that he had to be masking. Who in their right mind would think temping was a good career choice? "What about you?" she forced herself to ask. "What do you do?"

"I teach," he began. "My-"

"John is a professor of physics and astronomy at the university," Sylvia interrupted. "He's really made something out of himself."

Wilf nodded. "I've sat in on some of his lectures myself and they're brilliant! Always said he would be a doctor, didn't he?"

John was secretly watching her out of the corner of his eye, waiting for her reaction. Did he expect her to lavish him with some kind of great praise? She wasn't about to do that. Instead, she just shrugged and shoved some green beans into her mouth. Of course he was doing something brilliant with his life. He was John Smith, child prodigy turned adult super genius. She would have been far more surprised if they'd told her he worked retail.

She was terribly relieved when dinner was finally over and it came time for John to leave. Goodbyes were shared all around, and Donna just barely avoided John's awkward attempt to hug her. When the front door was closed and locked behind him, she sank down onto the sofa and sighed in relief. Maybe it hadn't been so bad to see John again, but she was glad that he was gone now.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door, and Sylvia went to open it. Of course John's car wouldn't start and all of the repair shops were closed for the Christmas holiday. Of course Sylvia would invite him to stay the night rather than offering to drive him home. And of course they would have to share the guest bedroom, with its one double bed.

"I'll sleep on the floor," Donna offered, as they stood facing each other in the bedroom. John had borrowed a set of Wilf's pyjamas and looked suspiciously like a kid in his dad's oversized clothes. If there was something endearing about that, Donna refused to acknowledge it.

"No, no, that's not necessary," John argued. "We're adults. We can share the bed."

Donna shook her head. "I'm not exactly comfortable with that."

"I promise I won't steal all of the covers." He smiled at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "We used to have sleepovers all the time, remember?"

Of course she remembered. They had spent countless nights curled up together at each other's houses or in the TARDIS. Even as they had grown older, Sylvia hadn't minded them sharing a bed because it was just John. Naive, sweet, innocent John who was far more interested in aliens than girls. She still heard his unusual heartbeat in her dreams sometimes. That reminded her to ask if he'd ever outgrown the harmless murmur, but she decided to wait until later.

"Donna?" John asked, quietly, as he stepped closer to her. "Are you okay? I'm really sorry if I'm ruining Christmas for you. I didn't mean for my car to break down." He paused, but Donna still didn't reply. He sighed. "Look, I'll sleep on the floor. It's really not a problem."

"Well, only if you're sure," she agreed. Better him than her, really.

He arranged the provided pillows and blankets on the floor and settled into his nest as Donna shut off the light. She slipped into bed feeling exhausted and overwhelmed by the day. "Good night," she said, dryly. Hopefully he would be gone by the time she woke up in the morning.

"Good night, Donna. Sleep tight."

She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but she soon found that her mind wouldn't let her. She felt unexpectedly guilty. John had no padding at all on his scrawny body. She didn't want to be mean to him, even if he had been mean to her all of those years ago. He would probably be in terrible pain by morning if she let him stay down there.

"John?" she asked, quietly, almost hoping that he wouldn't hear her. Maybe in the morning she would tell him that she had offered, but he had already fallen asleep.

"Yeah?"

Donna rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing that she would regret her next words. "You can come up here with me if you like."

There was some rustling. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, come on." She patted the empty space beside her for emphasis. She watched as his shadowy form stood up, and then the bed dipped as he sat down.

Donna's skin tingled when he slid beneath the covers next to her. She was acutely aware of him in the darkness, and when his familiar scent hit her, tears sprang to her eyes unbidden. She was such an idiot. Why was her body reacting this way to someone she hadn't seen since she was fourteen? Why did she want to grab hold of him and never let go?

"Thank you," John said, softly. "Um… Goodnight again."

Donna closed her eyes and didn't reply. She wasn't quite sure why her cheeks felt damp all of a sudden, but she refused to let herself cry.

Donna woke hours later feeling too hot. Her face was pressed against something smooth, and there was a strange pulsing in her left ear. She sighed, adjusting her arm to better hug her pillow as she blinked in the stuffy darkness.

Suddenly, her pillow moved and it all came crashing back to her. John. She was snuggled up with John in bed. She tried to pull away, but his arm was wrapped around her waist and he wouldn't let go. "Mmm," he murmured, when she shifted.

"Let me go," she hissed, shaking him awake.

He let go as soon as he woke and realized what was going on. "I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened!" he cried, as he sprang out of bed and turned on the light.

Donna squinted at him in the bright light, furious. "What do you think you're doing, feeling me up while I'm asleep?"

"Me? Feeling you up?" he squeaked. "You were practically lying on top of me!"

Donna fumed as she realized that he was right. "Yeah, well, you could have pushed me off," she half-shouted. A glance at the clock told her it was only midnight and everyone else would be asleep, so she made a point to lower her voice. "I know I'm not exactly skinny, but you could have managed."

His shoulders sank, the fight going out of him. "Look, Donna, can we please not do this right now? I've missed you and I just wanted to have a nice visit and catch up, but it seems like all we can do is fight. I don't want to fight with you anymore."

"Oh, you can stop acting like that right now! I know you're not really Mr Innocent." Donna rolled her eyes at him.

"Why are you so angry at me?" he asked, at last, as he sat down on the side of the bed. He looked up at her with those big pleading eyes of his. "Have I done something wrong?"

"What do you think?" she snapped. Some small, rational part of herself wondered if she was overreacting, but he was pretending like he didn't even remember and that made her want to scream. So what if it had been years?

"Is this still about what happened after my parents died?" he asked, softly.

Donna's mouth clicked shut, stopping her latest insult from flying loose. "Your parents? But… Oh, John, I'm so sorry. I've been horrible to you! I didn't know that's why you were spending Christmas with us." She sat down beside him on the bed and gently touched his shoulder, unable to resist comforting him despite herself. "What happened?"

He tilted his head. "What do you mean? You know exactly what happened."

She frowned at him. "I moved away years ago, John, and we didn't keep in touch. How would I know?" She paused. "Oh, did you tell Gramps? Because sometimes he forgets to pass along information. I'll talk to him about that in the morning."

"No, but…" He turned to face her, looking deeply puzzled. "My aunt said she told your dad back when it happened."

"My dad?" she repeated. He had passed away a couple of years ago. None of this was making any sense.

"Yeah. It was that day, the last day that we saw each other," John continued. He was still looking at her like he expected her to remember at any second. "My parents had been been in a car accident the day before, and they both died during the night. My aunt wanted to hurry and gather up my things so that she could move me into her house, but I wanted to see you and play in the TARDIS first." He swallowed thickly. "I begged her. I needed to go so that I could pretend for just a little while that everything was still normal. I needed you. But you didn't want to play anymore, and you told me so, and I…" He gasped. "Oh, Donna, I said all of those terrible things to you. I thought you knew! I thought you were deliberately being mean to me, and I… I'm so sorry!" Suddenly, his arms were around her in a tight hug. "I didn't mean any of it."

"My dad didn't tell me," Donna said, as she hugged him back. She wished she could ask him why he hadn't. Her heart was breaking for John even as the deepest feeling of relief spread through her entire body. He didn't hate her. He didn't really think all of those awful things about her, and he never had. "All of those years, I thought you had just barely tolerated me until you couldn't hold it in anymore," she admitted, softly.

"Tolerated you? Donna, I loved you! You were my best friend." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I've regretted those words all of this time, but I was still angry at you, too. I've always wondered why you did that to me just when I needed you the most. I thought maybe you hated me."

"I'm so sorry. I could never hate you," she whispered, and clung to him. It felt so good to hug him again. It was like the missing piece of her heart had finally been found; the sharp, broken spot mended and made whole. They both cried as they realized the horrible feud between them could finally come to an end.

They stayed up most of the night talking and cuddling together on the bed, like they had done when they were children. Donna stroked John's side as she pressed her ear to his chest and listened to his wonky heartbeat. He hadn't outgrown it. John's fingers played with her hair, his other hand rubbing her back, and the sensations were just so painfully familiar that it made her heart ache. "I missed you," she whispered.

"I missed you too," he said. "All of these years, I missed you so much."

"I wish we had talked about what happened when we were younger," she said, with a sad sigh. "You know I would have been right there if I had known about your parents, right? I would have done anything I could to help you."

"I do now," he assured her. "You know that I didn't mean a word of what I said, don't you?"

"I do now," she repeated, and they shared a soft chuckle.

"I don't want to go so long without you in my life ever again," he breathed. Donna met his eyes and was surprised at the longing she could see in his gaze.

"Me neither," she said, and gently stroked his side. "We won't. Never again."

"Promise?"

"Promise," she confirmed.

He shifted closer and for a second Donna almost thought he might kiss her, but then he pulled away. "I hope you managed to have a nice Christmas despite me," he said. "I really am sorry if I ruined it for you."

"Well, it's not like Christmas has ever been my favorite holiday," she assured him as she moved to stroke his cheek. His skin was so soft, and she smiled when she realized that he still had the smattering of freckles on his cheeks. "Besides, this is worth all of dinner's annoyances."

"Yeah," he agreed, quietly.

"You're a doctor," she said. She had rolled her eyes about it before, but now she felt happy for him. Very few people actually achieve their childhood dream. John had, even if it wasn't in exactly the same way as he had once planned.

"Well, yeah," he agreed, and chuckled. "Not the medical kind though, not anymore."

Donna grinned at him as she realized what he was saying. Maybe his childhood dream had come true exactly. "Anymore?"

"Yeah. It was too stressful after a while, so I went back to university and started over." He shrugged casually, as if one normally just tosses away a medical degree when one wants to. "But I love being a professor. It's great fun."

Donna giggled despite herself. "You're something else, do you know it?"

"So are you, Donna-" Suddenly he froze, his body going stiff.

"John? What's wrong?"

"No, I mean..." He spoke slowly, his eyes drifting away from hers as he drew deep breaths. "You're still you, aren't you?"

Donna frowned at him, puzzled. "What do you mean? Of course I'm still me. Who else would I be?"

"No, but I mean, you're not...married, are you?" There was a note of dread in his voice.

Donna snorted. "No. I came close once, but he got cold feet and left me at the altar."

"Oh, good," John said, and then he cringed. "No, not good! I really didn't mean that. I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm sure he was an arse."

"He was that and far more," Donna readily agreed. But all of this talk of marriage was making her suspicious. Maybe he was just looking for an opening to share his own news. With a heavy heart, Donna asked, "So, what about you? Do you have a wife and children at home waiting for you?"

John wrinkled his brow. "No, neither. There's never been anyone in my life who I wanted to marry. At least, not since you."

Donna laughed as she remembered their pretend wedding. "I've still got that ring you gave me somewhere. Well, my bio-whatever."

"Biodamper. I've still got mine too. I keep it on my keychain." He grinned at her, his eyes bright in the low light of the room. "I was very serious about you back then, you know. I wouldn't even look at any of the other girls in my classes because as far as I was concerned, you and I were actually married."

"I was the same," she admitted quietly. She pressed her face into his shoulder, basking in the way it felt just to be with him again. It felt like no time had passed at all, and yet, so much time had. She loved his darker, shorter, messy hair that stuck up all over, a perfect match for his eyes, and even the little age lines that gathered at the corners of his eyes and lips. He had done of lot of smiling, her Gran would have said, and Donna knew that it was true. John had always been an unreasonably happy person, even when he was doing his best to outrun his demons.

She had loved him when she was a child, and she was desperately afraid that she still loved him now. But it had been years! They didn't even properly know each other anymore. It didn't matter that being in his arms again felt like coming home to her soulmate.

"John," she said, quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I want to get to know you again. I don't want to keep missing you." She tried to think of how to phrase it, and found herself thankful for the darkness that would hide her blushing cheeks. "I don't want to keep wondering what if this, or what if that. Or…what if our biodampers had become real rings?"

There was a moment of silence, but then John hugged her tightly, pulling her even closer to him. "You're right. We can't go on wondering. Shall we go out for a breakfast date then? I hear Christmas leftovers are being served at the kitchen table at nine, and pyjamas are acceptable attire."

Donna laughed at his silly sense of humor. "That sounds wonderful to me."

"Yeah? Good." He chuckled. "And if that goes well, maybe we can go out on a proper date as soon as my car gets fixed."

"I can drive us, you know," Donna teased. "Why don't we do breakfast here and lunch out? That way we can get in two dates before I've got to head back home."

"Have I told you lately that you're brilliant, Donna Noble?" He kissed her cheek, his lips lingering for just a moment longer than necessary. "It's a plan."

As Donna fell asleep in her best friend's arms, warmed by his familiar touch and the kindness of his words, she realized that everything felt right with her world for the first time in years. She was in love with this man even if she wasn't ready to admit it to herself yet, and she never wanted to be separated from him for long ever again.

Six months and many phone calls and dates later, Donna walked down the aisle to John, and they never looked back.

A/N: If anyone is still reading this, I would love to hear from you!