"Oh my god where are we?"
The fear gripped her tight, there was terror in her voice, a chill in her breath, she froze where she stood, panicked, she reached out towards the man standing there.
The Doctor saw her there, clearer than ever before.
When they had first met, he was so disconnected from the universe, he was still raw from the loss of Rose Tyler, and his neglect of Martha Jones weighted heavily on his mind following her walk out. He was used to mending others, but rarely did he make himself his own project.
Donna was his gateway into self-healing, a friend who would not get in his way, wouldn't complicate him in matters of heart and mind, she would be there to compliment, to berate, to stand side by side with him, and, most importantly, would not be afraid to stop him in his tracks.
To overcome the monsters, he must remain measured. As a man, or a woman, as both, and then more.
But the fateful day came where he took their life in his hands, and ripped it away from her to save her life . She had saved the man, only for him to become, in healing, a destroyer.
Surely, he thought, they were through. Even if a miracle were to happen, there would be no trust after this. The curtain came down. Fin.
Fourteen years later, curtain raised.
It all comes flooding back.
One last trip, one spilled cup of tea, one enormous death trap.
And they were here, companions true, in a darkened corridor, potential danger all about them.
And she needed him.
He walked up to her and placed her hand in his, he pressed it firmly on his two hearts.
He needed to be sure. So sure.
Rose was back on Earth, Donna's daughter.
Their daughter
Shaun too, Donna's husband, the bearer of the seed that gave form to the legacy of their love
Surely her connection to them meant things could never truly be what they had been going forward?
But he had to be sure.
For he learned quickly, through his intimate actions, that Donna had given him everything someone sought in a fellow traveller, they had never insisted upon themselves, they respected their space, lent them their ear, and never asked for anything but companionship and adventure.
He kissed the tips of her fingers.
"I will get you home" he promised.
Donna's eyes stared into his like diamonds, sparkling, mesmerised, the terror in her voice dissipated, the sensation of menace, while real, was second only to her euphoria.
She threw herself onto The Doctor, giving him a long sensual kiss that told both as they stood just precisely where they stood with each other.
They were one another's home.
Of that they were both sure.
And now they knew.