Donna kept her eye on the Doctor, his face drawn up, wrinkles around his eyes- that she found he had when he was concentrating. She could see a desperation in them, for her to understand what she hadn't been able to fully grasp yet, but she knew that in time she would.
Whatever they were facing, whatever he needed her to understand, she would find a way to stand by his side through it. She wasn't going to leave him to do this alone.
And if that meant accepting that somehow this ship, was also a planet, and that the ones she had met, might not be real...then she would do her very best.
After a moment, he reached out once more, tucking her hand into his. Someones palm was sweating, and she wasn't sure where the blame lay, but knew it was most likely her.
Donna's heart was racing, and her mouth was dry to make up for the moisture of her hand. She wasn't scared, exactly, but her mind knew that they had every reason to be on edge.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic, and flipped it on, the bleeping seeming to mean something to him. He jerked his head up, and headed for the door she had just been looking beyond.
The hallway was still empty, the air cool but still seemed to be heavy against her brow. He turned right, following something she couldn't hear in echoing back to his device, or perhaps she just didn't know how to listen for it.
"This way," he muttered.
He was so focused on whatever it was that they were seeking she didn't dare to speak yet. She paused only when she heard giggling, saw a flash of blonde hair, and the face of a small boy. He smiled up at her, and she felt panic flood her system.
"Doctor!" she said, quickly.
He glanced at her, and then at the boy, who was slowly fading in front of their eyes.
"I wouldn't trust what you see and hear here, Donna, " he said, his voice tight. "Just focus on you and me. We're what you can trust."
She forced herself to nod, and fought back the way her stomach had decided it was time to tumble over itself. She wasn't prone to panic, not really. She had never thought of herself as steady, but some part of her knew that she had a way of adapting that made this life she had committed to less of a ride- but she felt as though they had stumbled into a horror movie instead of a space ship.
He turned once more, tightening his grip.
"What are we looking for?" she finally asked, trying to keep her mind focused- only somewhat successfully.
He tried to keep moving forward, trying to protect her, or himself, she wasn't sure. She grabbed his hand tighter, and tugged him to a stop.
He avoided eye contact for a long moment, and then he ran his free hand over his head- though with his tight grip on the sonic only a few fingers connected with the hair.
"I don't know," he said, sighing. "The last time I saw something with this sort of power it was this sort of gaseous race, but this time, it's hard to say. What I do know is that it's sick or dying or maybe it's just stopped caring about the world it was controlling."
"I...tell me how to help," she said, instead of admitting she didn't really understand.
This was bigger than she had come into contact with, but she stood her ground.
"I don't know," he said. "Just stay here, stay sharp."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and started off again. Every turn seemed unfruitful, and there were several giggles, and even a couple screams that she had to pretend she hadn't heard.
He kept focused, until at last he stopped. She looked at the sonic, as if she would suddenly understand what it claimed laid beyond the door. It was still a mystery to her, but he dropped her hand and set to work trying to get it open.
She shifted her weight, keeping her eyes only on him. If she didn't look around, whatever wasn't really there, couldn't make an appearance.
Something icy found her arm though. The grip of it tight, though the length of the grasp wasn't large.
The intense cold seemed to crawl up her arm, and she felt as though if she looked down, she'd see icicles clinging to her skin.
"Doctor!" she said, urgently. "I think something is beside me."
She looked down, as the sonic paused. She could make out his back going rigid, as he spun around.
She could make out Evan, even as her eyes blurred.
The Doctor reached out, his hands seeming to scald even through her shirt. He held her up, as she felt ice course through her veins.
DW
He held her to him, looking down at her. Her fingers were turning purple, her arm freezing as he brushed his fingers over it.
He shifted her, laying her carefully against the floor and spinning back to the door. He hadn't seen anything beside her, but something had clearly affected her, and now he wasn't only concerned, he was angry.
He ran the sonic over the door, until at last he finally heard the lock give. It slid open, hot air rushing over him- and for the first time he realized how cold he had been feeling.
He stepped in, carefully glancing back at Donna, and looking around the room. He saw no mist, nothing that indicated anything sentient at all.
The heat surrounded him, and he felt like something was pressing against his body, pushing him to collapse against the floor.
His eyelids felt heavy, and he had to fight back the urge to sleep.
"Whatever you've done to her!" he screamed out. "I want you to undo. Right now! I came here to help! Stop this!"
His threats- promises- pleas, went unattended. He scanned quickly, the signal coming back empty. Whatever was here, was gone, or hand moved. Either way, he had a injured Donna on his hands, and something was dragging him down.
The Doctor hurried out, scooping up Donna and looking both ways. He didn't know where the TARDIS. He didn't know what he was looking, or what had happened to Donna. He did know that he was scared, and the cold air around him seemed thick and he was struggling to keep his feet moving.
He heard laughter, voices, but the only thought on his mind was how to save Donna.