So sorry for the long wait, uni work. But its Easter holidays now! Thank you all for the reviews and enjoy!
Chapter three
Waking up blind was, in Donna's opinion, the most terrifying thing she had ever had to cope with. She had startled awake after a particularly unpleasant dream, but found only blackness when opening her eyes. Blackness either way, it felt as though she was suspended between awakening and sleeping. Was she even conscious anymore, did she have a body anymore? And what was the beeping? It was too much, so Donna lashed out, desperately clutching for something solid.
The something solid just happened to be the Doctor lying beside her oblivious and deaf to his companions fright.
'What! What is it what's happened?' The Doctor bolted upright as her hand hit him and out the bed faster than a jack rabbit, looking around desperately for any sign of danger. He spun on his heels looking back to the bed and there he was greeted with the sight of Donna in near hysteric, soundlessly screaming. It was enough to set his hearts thrumming painfully.
He leapt back onto the bed and pulled her into a half hug, half death grip. 'Donna it's me, we're fine it's me!' He soothed shakily, stroking her back with strong, heated strokes, hoping to still the shaking form of his best friend.
He felt her hands grip at his pyjama top tightly for a few long moments before finally relaxing.
She pulled away slightly and blushed furiously. I'm sorry. It was just a shock. She said aloud, knowing the Doctor could read her lips. She wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve until they turned red once more from friction. The Doctor smiled despite himself, and gently pulled her hands away from assaulting her cheeks further.
'Hey don't be silly, I should have thought about it last night and made sure I awoke before you.' He apologised and it was Donna's turn to laugh and tell him not be silly.
There's a beeping Doctor. Donna said suddenly, and the Doctor stared at her for a long moment before he realised what she meant.
'Oh a beeping! TARDIS beeping! Tests are done, come on!' He said excitedly pulling Donna along with him towards the infirmary. If the Doctor was thinking clearly, he would have realised that it took a lot longer to get down to the infirmary then it normally did. But as he wasn't thinking clearly, he happily walked the distance and once there, he was instantly reading all the different screens with intense focus as Donna felt her way towards the far counter and leant against it.
And then there was silence for a long, long moment. In which time the tension in the room grew to almost unbearable anticipation. Donna's hands began to shake. The Doctor breathed in the most careful and deep breaths and then suddenly he booted the monitor with the force of six stallions.
Donna jumped, swinging her arms out blindly, self-consciously to protect her face and the Doctor roared angrily, giving the monitor a few more self raging kicks.
Donna by this time had lowered her arms, having come to the conclusion that whatever it was wasn't good and so had made her way to leave. She walked down the corridor and towards the kitchen without thought, she knew the way well enough. Blind or not.
Her only guide to let her know she was putting distance between her and the Doctor was the sounds of his tantrum getting quieter and quieter.
If she could see, her vision would be blurred by the few bitter tears that filled her eyes.
The Doctor finally calmed down and turned slowly round. He wasn't shocked that Donna wasn't there.
He ran his hand through his hair, and walked solemnly out the room. He headed towards the kitchen, knowing that's where Donna would be, she always resorted to the kitchen and tea whenever he kicked off like that.
However when he got there, and was greeted with the absence of his Ginger girl, he was surprised.
'Donna?'He muttered into the empty room.
'Donna? Where you got to?' He called out louder and started walking further into the depths of the TARDIS.
'Donna Edith Noble? Where are you?' He called every now and again, as he walked past the wardrobe for the fifth time. For some reason the TARDIS had begun switching the corridors and rooms around without consulting the Doctor. When he passed the wardrobe for the sixth time he stilled and glared up at the ceiling at his beloved ship.
'What are you doing? Stop changing the rooms around, I'm trying to find Donna.' He huffed and the Ship's only response was to switch the wardrobe with the cinema room.
'Well that's not helpful. Why aren't you helping me?' He said again, this time a little louder, reaching out to touch her walls. He didn't receive an answer back telepathically, or a hum or for a matter a fact, anything at all. Like she had lost her voice...
His stomach lurched wickedly.
He was hear no evil. Donna was see no evil and his TARDIS...his TARDIS could no longer 'speak' or rather understand what others were trying to 'say' to her.
'Oh no...' The Doctor murmured, his stomach lurching, 'Donna!' He bellowed down the hall even more the desperate to get to her now.
Meanwhile a few floors down, by the onboard zoo, Donna was desperately feeling her way along the colder walls. 'Come on old girl, help me out, I'm lost.' Donna muttered a little higher pitched then she normally sounded. She was starting to feel rather frightened. It was starting to get cold.
'Sweetheart?' Donna said a little louder, touching the wall once more, but no vibration happened under her fingers. Donna suddenly shivered, letting go off the wall and hugging herself tightly.
'Doctor, please find me.' She said to herself.
The Doctor rushed to the console room as fast as he could with the constantly switching rooms and corridors. When he arrived, he stopped dead at the entrance in utter shock. The console, the console blinked and flickered and flashed erratically. Like the controls were on the malfunction.
'Oh no no no!' He shouted, running up to it and started to push various buttons and push different levers. Nothing happened. He pushed the lever that brought up the monitor but instead the lights went out.
He roared angrily and pushed the button to make the lights come on and instead various fans from around the room popped out from the wall and started blowing. 'No not the cooling system...lights!' He shouted, pounding the lights button once more, and this time, the fans stopped and went back into the walls and the monitor came on.
'Well that's something.' He muttered, scanning for Donna. Thankfully, within several misfires, Donna flickered on screen.
'Found you!' He chirped happily. Only the happiness didn't last long, as he noticed what dark room she was in. He could only see a little, thanks to the lights being off, but the familiar glint of water shining on the white tiles told him it was the swimming pool. Blind Donna was about to walk straight into the swimming pool!
'Donna stop, stop moving!' He begged the screen image of his friend, but alas she kept moving forward.
'Shit!' He cursed, already turning to rescue the love of his life.
In the depths of the TARDIS, Donna's next step went over the edge, her whole body jerked forward and she splashed into the dark deep swimming pool.
'Donna! Donna! Don't try to swim, wait for the water calm!' He was shouting, hoping she would somehow, miraculously hear and not thrash under the water, if she was to do that, she wouldn't know which way to swim being blind, and in all likely hood drown. 'Donna!' He screamed again, pelting down the winging corridors, but alas, the TARDIS kept spinning him in circles, unable to set a path.
Donna screamed soundlessly as she sank, and millions of tiny bubbles rushed from her mouth in a flurry. She thrashed her arms and legs to no avail as she continued to sink. Her heart thrummed painfully, and her lungs began to burn and her sightless eyes stung furiously.
Donna's mind suddenly filled with watery images of her father, and suddenly she was seven years old again, in her pink bathing suit, with the purple frills, being lowered lovingly into a swimming pool.
'That's it Donna, kick your legs, kick!' Her dad spoke proudly, as little Donna held onto the bar at the edge of the pool and kicked her little legs.
'That's my girl! Now you do the same with your arms, keep em' moving and you'll be swimming my girl!' Donna's proud father cheered.
But then he got ill, and the swimming lessons stopped, and after her father's illness and untimely death, Donna never learnt to swim. And so... she sank. Sorry Dad. She thought sadly, as she felt her lungs give up and blackness, real blackness followed.
When the Doctor finally reached the swimming pool, the emergency lights had flickered on, and in the dim yellow glow, in the centre of the pool, the Doctor's eyes were greeted with a pale figure with flaming red hair spread out beneath the depths of the water.
'Donna!' He cried, tears already forming, at the thought of being too late.
He dived in as expertly as an Olympian swimmer and his slim lined figure cut through the water deep down to where Donna floated weightlessly beneath the heavy water. His arm snaked around her chest and he kicked upwards forcefully with is muscular legs. Donna sagged in his arms, resisting the pull but thankfully the Doctor was strong and soon broke the surface of the water.
He heaved her up over the lip of pool and crawled breathlessly beside her.
'Come on Donna!' He begged as he began to perform CPR. He pressed on her chest heavily and pumped as hard he could without breaking her ribs. He pinched her nose and breathed into her sweet strawberry lipped mouth and stared desperately at the ginger for any sign of life.
'Please Donna please...' He trembled repeating his actions again, but come the fifth round, as he sagged tiredly against her, he stared at her pale face and sopping wet hear, and realised, she was gone.
Her freckles seemed like dos of fire burning against her skin.
'Oh Donna, Donna I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me my love. Please come back to me. I can't live without you, I need you, I love you Donna...don't you hear me?' He cried beside her.
'I love you please come back!' He suddenly roared, pulling at his hair and pulling big chunks of it out.
The TARDIS was silent. The only sound was the soft lapping of the water at the edges of the pool as he settled.
'Doctor...' Donna croaked sorely.
'Doctor, are you here?' She whimpered brokenly, but as her foggy memory began to clear, she remembered his state of deafness.
She flumped painfully onto her side, as her fragile lungs began working fully again. She felt slowly around, feeling the cold tiles and water all around her until she felt the solid figure of the doctor.
Suddenly her feather touch became tangible and she grabbed at his leg firmly. He yelped and jumped in surprise until he realised that it was Donna. Donna was alive! Donna was alive and here and with him!
He laughed brokenly as new happier tears fell and he gently pulled her into a hug, moulding his body round hers and holding her for all she was worth.
As the Doctor lifted Donna and carried her out the dark and wet swimming room, Donna's mind buzzed with the words he had confessed to her. She had heard them all.
To be continued, and thank you all for the reviews...