As they emerged from Rose's office, Donna noticed that the Doctor's crazy hair seemed a bit more lopsided than it had been when she first saw him. She didn't even want to know what they had gotten up to in there after Mr. Tyler had left, but as she observed Rose's beaming face she was genuinely pleased for her friend. Though she did not know the man, the look he was giving Rose assured Donna that his feelings for her were as real as Rose had hoped.
When Donna first accepted the strange but rather welcome offer to join the ranks at Torchwood, she had quickly learned of the rumors that revolved around Rose Tyler. Some of them were preposterous, quite frankly, but others were… well, just very very sad. Donna didn't know what to expect from her new boss, but quickly came to realize that Rose was a very kind person, though reserved for the most part. She was brilliant and apt at dealing with all that alien stuff as if she had been doing it all her life…and for all she knew, perhaps Rose had been. Not much was public knowledge about the Tyler heiress. Donna was new to the organization, yes, but even she could tell that things had changed at Torchwood when Rose mysteriously popped up out of nowhere and had shortly thereafter been given her position by her father. Not everyone there liked that and she had made a few enemies in the process, but it didn't seem to bother her in in the least. Rose treated everyone fairly whether they were genuine with her or not. She wasn't stupid though and had confided in Donna that she knew what people were constantly whispering behind her back. She was just too busy to care and had more important things to worry about than workplace politics. Donna respected her all the more for that.
When Rose had sat her down one day in her office and confessed the reason Torchwood had approached her, Donna was livid. Having worked as a secretary most of her life, she didn't really think her job skills had merited being singled out by an organization such as this one, but part of her had secretly preened at the fact that they had. Feeling that she was basically a glorified and well compensated lab rat had crushed her. Most of all, she felt betrayed by Rose, the one person she had truly come to like and feel esteemed by since coming to Torchwood.
Rose apologized profusely, and with tears in her eyes had held Donna's hand as she confided everything. She told her things Donna was pretty sure not many people at Torchwood even knew, things that both confirmed and debunked numerous rumors that had been circling around the water coolers for ages. She learned more about The Doctor and Rose's travels, the years she spent with him. While she didn't go into very much detail, Donna could tell how much this man meant to her personally, as well as to the safety of a universe she hadn't even known existed up until quite recently. Not to mention their own, what with all the stars going out and all. Then Rose told her about her other self in the parallel universe and oh what a shock, and yes even thrill, as Donna learned that she too had traveled with this… this intergalactic cowboy that dashed about saving planets and stars and all of creation really. While she hadn't done any of that, part of her couldn't help but swell with pride, knowing that somewhere out there was a little piece of her capable of doing great things. In all her life, Donna had never dared to hope that she could make even the smallest difference in the world.
And that had been that, really. When Rose had finished and told her in a small voice that of course she would understand if she wanted to leave Torchwood, Donna couldn't help but want to both slap and hug her boss. She might be rude and quite loud at times, but Donna Noble was also fiercely loyal. Knowing what she now knew, there was no way she could abandon Rose or her efforts to get back to this man in order to save both universes from the unnamed threat that had taken the form of a blackened, starless night. And so she had stayed.
From then on Donna had thrown herself into her work with all the energy she could muster, often spending nights at Rose's flat. Between talk of timelines and dimension hopping, the women also continued to foster a strong friendship, laughing and gossiping over glasses of wine late into the night. Others at Torchwood thought it strange that Rose Tyler and her receptionist should suddenly be so close, but the two women had no problem with their situation and slipped quite easily between work and "hanging with their good mate" mode. Every time Rose prepared for another jump with the canon, Donna was always by her side ready with a fierce hug as she said goodbye quite possibly for the last time. It pained her to know that she might never see Rose again, but she wished so very badly that her friend would find her Doctor and stop whatever was going on. When the stars had started to come back, Donna knew it must have worked. Then Pete finally got a call from his wife and knowing that Donna would want to know, came to see her from his office.
"They're back, Miss. Noble, Rose and the Doctor are back! I just thought you'd like to know." He gave her one last smile and then hurried back to his office. Shortly thereafter, Torchwood was abuzz with excitement over the news, everyone eagerly anticipating their return… some less than others, but for the most part, everyone was pleased and very much relieved. She later came to find out more details as to their location and figured that it would be a few days before she would see them. She was so curious and excited to meet this fantastical man she had heard so much about and prided herself in knowing that she had played a part in their reunion, even if it was only miniscule.
When they finally showed up, Donna was surprised to say the least. Rose had described him many times over, but she hadn't expected him to be quite so… skinny. His famous hair she was always going on about just looked a bit odd, like he'd been caught up in a windstorm or something… perhaps a vacuum cleaner? He wasn't bad looking, but Donna could never really find him attractive, no definitely not. She wondered what in the world Rose Tyler had seen in this strange man who had just stood there and gawked at her like an idiot buffoon.
She was brought out of her reminiscing by Rose as she dropped the Doctor's hand and came around the desk, crushing her with a hug. Donna laughed and hugged her back. The Doctor just stared at them, a strange look flashed across his face, only to be quickly replaced by that goofy grin of his again.
"Oh Donna, it's so good to see you again! Can you believe it? I'm back! And with this one in tow to boot! We never had that one pegged, did we?"
Donna laughed again and shook her head. "No, we didn't! How did you manage? Punch them aliens in the face? Oh go on then, tell me you did! Gave them a good slap for me too, yeah?" She winked.
Shaking her head in amusement, she replied, "No… not quite. It's a long story really… we should have you over for dinner and we'll tell you all about it ok? Tomorrow night sound alright?"
Aha! So he was staying at her flat! Well of course, that made complete sense. The poor bloke, she wondered if he had any idea what awaited him… though by the look on his face earlier, perhaps he already did. She smirked at the thought.
"Sure, I'd love it! I'll bring the sparkling wine?"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow as the two women suddenly broke into a fit of hysterical giggles.
After regaining composure, Rose gave Donna one more hug and joined the Doctor. "Absolutely, I'll give you a ring! We're just going to walk around now, give him the tour and all that."
"Alright, see you then. Nice meeting you Doctor. Just stop it with the staring and we'll be good, yeah?"
Chuckling slightly, the Doctor just nodded and beamed back at her. He was going to like this Donna, he could tell.
As they walked towards the lift, Rose looked over at him and couldn't help but smile. Unlike the last time they had kissed back in her flat, she had not freaked out just now when things had gotten a little more intense. Not that they'd done much of anything but snog, but she felt that this was a big step for her. It had felt natural, easy even… guilt had not plagued her. She recalled with a thrill how eagerly he had responded and quite enjoyed knowing that she had such an effect on him. When they had finally managed to regain control of themselves, remembering where they were, the Doctor had straightened himself up and quite enthusiastically asked Rose for a tour. She was definitely surprised at his request, but agreed and suggested they go check out the Research and Development labs. Rose was sure he would like it there and was hopeful that it would pique his interest in joining her at Torchwood. Perhaps she ought to snog him more often if that's all it took to change his mind about things he was so adamant against… not that she needed much of an excuse, not anymore really.
As they rode in the elevator, he looked down at her and she guessed that her face probably mirrored his. She saw mischief in his eyes and a touch of leftover shyness. After years of suppressing so much, this new openness and never before indulged upon physicality was going to take some getting used to on both their parts. Her Doctor in brown had always been so careful about what he permitted and while they had often hugged, held hands, and flirted relentlessly, an unspoken line had always existed and was one that neither had ever dared to cross. That line had been slowly becoming more and more blurred over the past few days, and while done haltingly and with a good measure of awkwardness, Rose felt that they were both finally on the same page with regards to what they wanted. Almost as if he could read her mind, the Doctor raised an eyebrow and grinned, his cheeks still a bit flushed. Rose grinned back. If Jackie had been present she would have rolled her eyes and smacked them both.
When the doors opened, they exited the lift and Rose led them down a relatively quiet hallway. Staff in white lab coats could be seen through various windows, most of which looked up and waved as they saw them walk by. As they neared their destination, which the Doctor had surmised to be the door at the end of the hallway, another door opened to their left and they almost walked right into a woman that was coming through it. Upon seeing them, she stopped and stared. She did not seem very surprised to see them, and her expression was not a warm one either.
"Rose, I heard you were back. Save us all then, did you?" Her tone was light and she added a smile and a quick breathy laugh as if to soften the comment.
Rose groaned inwardly, this was certainly not someone she had been looking forward to seeing again. Stella Evans had been a thorn in her side for years now.
"No, not at all, Stella. We have the Doctor to thank for that."
Rose gestured to him with a smile, though it did not reach her eyes. She stood up a little straighter though given the height difference, it did little for her confidence. Stella was tall and thin. Quite tall actually, almost as tall as the Doctor himself, though not quite... perhaps an inch or two shorter. She dressed in a smart looking suit and lab coat and had long, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were a startling shade of blue and she looked to be in her late twenties or perhaps early thirties. Most men thought she was the most attractive woman at Torchwood, and by the way she carried herself, she knew it.
Stella's eyes darted down to their intertwined fingers and then back up to the Doctor's face. Her feigned smile broadened and she extended a hand.
"Ah, right. It's a pleasure to meet you… finally. After all these years, I'm afraid we were all starting to wonder if you weren't just a figment of poor Rose's overworked mind."
The Doctor felt Rose's fingers twitch. He quickly looked back and forth between the two women and raised an eyebrow. Something was… off.
Shaking her outstretched hand, he smiled and chuckled, "Nope! " He loudly popped the "p" which made Stella take a little step back. "Definitely real! A touch less me and a bit more Donna, but still real I assure you."
The woman just stared. The Doctor smiled and continued looking around, becoming distracted with something in the lab when Stella did not continue the conversation.
Recovering, she cleared her throat and took a step forward again.
"Yes, well welcome to Torchwood, Doctor. I'm Stella Evans and I'm the head of this department. Feel free to look around my labs."
Turning back to her, he gave a nod. "Oh yes, I was planning to."
Smiling even wider, Stella took yet another step forward and casually placed a hand on his forearm, ever so lightly. "I do hope you'll consider joining us, I've heard so much about your expertise in alien technology. We would be honored if you would impart some of that knowledge, there is still so much we do not understand. "
Rose tried very hard not to roll her eyes.
Looking slightly uncomfortable, the Doctor pulled his arm away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, well… you see, I haven't quite made up my mind yet about what I want to do here… if anything."
"Of course, yes, I understand. My door is always open though, if you ever wish to join Research and Development. Stop by any time, Doctor."
Without even looking back in Rose's direction, she wished him a good day and walked away, back ramrod straight and head held high, her pony tail swishing in time to the clicks of her heels on the marble floor.
Seemingly oblivious to the tension between the two women, the Doctor turned to Rose and grinned. "So, why don't you show me these labs then? I think I spotted someone trying to use a Metebelis Crystal back there, those can be quite dangerous… cost me a regeneration once!"
Rose looked a bit taken aback. "Wait, what? Are you sure you should be going near it then, Doctor?"
Pulling her along, he grinned. "Weeeell… The radiation strength depends on how many of those there are, though strictly speaking, I probably shouldn't since I'm not sure what this new body of mine is doing half the time now."
She stopped dead in her tracks and since they were still joined at the hands he was forced to as well. Rose fixed him with one of her looks. "Doctor… why don't you just wait out here and I'll go find out how many of those are in there, yeah?"
"But then where would be the fun in that, Rose Tyler?" Grinning even wider, he winked at her and with one final tug pulled her through the doors to the lab, already making a beeline for a table in the back corner where a pile of softly glowing crystals lay.
The sheer excitement in his eyes confirmed to Rose that her hunch had been correct. It wouldn't take very long down here to convince the Doctor to give in and join the ranks at Torchwood. Up until then she had been so worried about how to convince him that she had never paused to consider if she really should. As they neared the potentially dangerous pile of crystals, she realized how much more careful he would have to be now that he had just the one life left. Fear gripped her as she thought of all the accidental injuries and even deaths that occurred at Torchwood each year and suddenly she wondered what in the world she had been thinking when she brought him there.