sixwordstories | (no subject)

Oh... okay.. ummm...

[She's playing with her fingers.]

Right... tea then, back in a tick!

[And she scurries away before she dies of embarrassment.]

[He nods and kneels to remove the panel but stops when he knows she's gone. Sitting down on the floor he sighs softly, resting his head against the inside hull of his ship. Closing his eyes he just listens to her, the voice that sings in his head. He loves it. It's only minutes but feels like hours as he connects with her, slowly he smiles as everything ebbs out of him. For the first time in years he's felt completely like his old self]

Right, fixing...

[And off he starts]

[She returns a bit later with two cups of tea, a pot, condiments and some biscuits all neat on a tray. She sets it down on the jumpseat and calls out when she doesn't see him from where she's standing.]

Tea's on!

[And just after she spoke the Doctor put the panel back, and got to his feet, slowly heading towards where she was sitting]

[She smiles but, note how he's not bounding with excitement like he was before.]

Is everything going alright?

Oh yes, everything's fine.

[He offered her a smile as picked up a cuppa]

One thing down, a few more to go.

[She sips her tea and looks around.]

Amazing... It's like running into all the yous... so similar and yet... so different.

[He smiled and watched her for a while]

Donna, you know what you did was wrong, don't you.

[Her face falls a bit.]

You want me to take her back?

[She's asking a question because she doesn't want to answer him]

[He sighed softly]

No, I don't want her to go back. This TARDIS is everything I have left of a life I once had and loved. Rooms filled with memories of friends and loved ones.

[She nods.]

Literally the only thing you have left...

[She swallows and speaks hardly above a whisper.]

I should have asked or at least told Rose, though... that what you mean?

[He nodded at her question and stood, walking towards a space]

This is where Jack and I worked together, fixing up the old girl. Rose and I once danced around this console.

[He bit his lip]

Romana, she used to walk out the console room and change her image. Adric, Barbara, Sarah Jane, Ian, Leela...Susan.

[He touched the console as he spoke about Susan]

My granddaughter used to travel with me.

[Donna's gonna be strong for him right now, because that's what he needs right now. She stands and walks over to him, gently resting her hand over his. She speaks softly.]

Susan... Your first companion... You allowed her stay behind on Earth because she had found someone she loved and who loved her...

[He nodded slowly and looked back at her with surprise in his eyes]

Sometimes I stop and see how she is, but I've changed so much now...

[His words faulted]

I lost her too.

[She had never been able to figure out if that meant he lost her before the Time War or during it. But it didn't matter, her reply would be the same. She gets him to look at her and rests a hand on each heart. She was about to speak, but changes her mind. Instead she pulls him into a hug.]

[He was silent as she held him, his arms slowly wrapping around her]

So many people Donna, so many memories. Ghosts walking in this TARDIS.

[She's going to hug him a little tighter at that. The experiences after Midnight had taught her that sometimes... the Doctor just needs someone to listen to him, so she's going to just let him talk as much as he needs to right now... and she's going to try not to interrupt.]

[He let out a soft breath and looked at her as he pulled away]

What about Rose? What about her and her things? This was her home too.

[Donna meets his eyes, but at the mention of Rose, she looks away and when he says "her home too" Donna gasps a little.]

I-I didn't think of that... I...

[Okay, Donna don't dwell on how you screwed this up... she takes a breath.]

I suppose we should return them to her...

[He ran his fingers through his hair, the excitment of having his TARDIS back was fading. Guilt filling his every pour. But this was his home, this was where he'd spent hundreds of years of his life. So much longer than Rose had.]

Donna... [his voice was soft, unsure for the first time]...I don't know what to do. I... [He sat down on the floor of the console]

[She sits down next to him and puts an arm around his shoulders.]

There, there... it's alright. You don't have to know. It's a lot to take in all at once.

[He looked at her, wide eyed and somewhat sad]

I want to do what I used to be best at. I want to run away. [He closed his eyes then, pinching his nose]

I should take you back, take you to Wee. Keep you out of trouble.

[She hugs him tighter.]

We should go get Wee, I agree... but, listen, Spaceman. I'm the one to did this... and if I brought any trouble upon you... then... I deserve it, not you.

[He shook his head]

Donna, those friends of hers are dangerous, they'd kill you as soon as look at you.

[He pulled away a little]

I can't let any more people die because of me, because of my connection to them. We'll get Wee and get you home. It's the only place you'll be safe, back with your Gramps.

And no arguing.

[She's too shocked not to stop him from pulling away. She won't argue, but she's not giving up without a fight - she just needs to change tactics.]

Right, well... if they're that dangerous, best we get Wee... They'd probably go after her first.