DoctorDonna

Chapter 9: Nightmare on the TARDIS

The morning after the party, Donna awoke suddenly, sitting up straight in bed and gasping. "No! Doctor!" she yelled out. The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, and her eyes wouldn't quite focus to determine where she was. Suddenly she heard a door opening and footsteps rushing towards her.

"Donna! Donna, are you alright?"

The bed shifted as the weight of another person moved beside her. She turned towards it as she felt hands on her face and finally the Doctor's face came into view. Donna practically leapt into his arms from where she sat, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head into his neck as she wept.

"Shh, shh, Donna. It's alright now. I'm here. You must have had a terrible nightmare. The TARDIS practically picked me up and carried me here herself after I felt you calling out to me. Ssh, it's okay now." He ran one hand over her back in circles and the other traced through her hair.

After a few moments of feeling him near, her breathing began to steady and she began to take in his scent. It soothed her even further.

As she calmed down, he whispered to her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I—we—you—" She sighed in frustration, then stiffened. "It's nothing, don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Donna—" He pulled back far enough away to attempt eye contact with her, but she kept her head down. He gently moved his finger under her chin, lifting up her face. "It is something. You were terrified, I felt it, I heard it, I saw it. Let me help you. Please."

She swallowed hard, and looked into the depth of his brown eyes. They were pleading with her. He was terribly worried for her. She sighed and began, "We were slow dancing in the control room, like last night. But you suddenly stopped and looked at me. It was this horrible cruel look. 'I'm so sorry,' you said. Then before I could stop you, you touched my face and I was surrounded by darkness. I couldn't escape. I couldn't move. Then I saw you in the distance, in the dark. I kept screaming your name and running towards you. But I could never get to you. Finally, I woke up—" Tears were streaming down her face, and when she looked back at him, they were falling down his face as well.

"Oh, Donna, my Donna." He pulled her back into his embrace and they held each other tight for a long time.

After a while, she pulled back, wiping her face, then running her hands across his cheeks as well. "There now, we're fine. I'm fine. Guess my subconscious is just still dealing with the whirlwind of the past few weeks. I'm okay, Doctor. I'll be okay. I'm here now, with you. I'll be fine."

She gave him a gentle smile and he couldn't help but look at the woman before him in awe. "You are so strong, so brave. So forgiving, so loving. I'm certain I don't deserve you, but I'll try my best to be who you deserve."

-*-*-

Just a little while earlier, Jenny and James had been sitting at the kitchen table with the Doctor, having tea and toast. He was mid-sentence, recounting the story of Pompeii to his brother and daughter, when suddenly he stopped talking and slammed his tea cup onto the table. Just as suddenly, the room seemed to almost turn on it's side, sending the Doctor falling out of his chair and onto the floor, the other two hung onto the table. As quickly as it had happened, things settled down.

"Dad, what happened!?" Jenny exclaimed as the Doctor jumped up off the floor.

He was already running out of the room. "Something's wrong with Donna!'

Jenny started to jump up, but James grabbed her arm. She looked over at him and saw his eyes were closed. He was communicating with the TARDIS. He opened his eyes and looked over at her. "It's okay. He'll take care of it."

"But he said something was wrong with Mum!" she argued, trying again to move away from the table, but he held his grip on her arm.

"Jenny, sit down, now." He was staring at her, but his eyes were soft. She did as he asked and sat back down. "There, now, I want you to do something. Close your eyes and reach your mind out to the TARDIS. Let her talk to you. For some it comes in the form of pictures, for others it's just feelings, for some it's actual words they hear. She'll talk to you in her own way. Let her explain."

Jenny closed her eyes and tried to open her mind to the ship that surrounded her. Slowly, James watched as her shoulders relaxed and she settled back into her chair. She opened her eyes and whispered, "Okay. She's okay."

"Yes. Jenny, she's okay. We both care about Donna. She is our family just as much as the Doctor. But there are going to be times that he has to be the one to care for her because only he will be able to. What they've been through is something they have to overcome together. We can be supportive and care for them the best way we can. But the Old Girl will let us know if it is us that should go running." He then smirked. "I think you noticed that she was quite insistent he get moving. Dropped him right out of his seat." He chuckled and sipped his tea.

-*-*-

An hour later, the Doctor was sitting up against the headboard on the left side of Donna's bed, his arm was wrapped around Donna's shoulder, his hand holding onto the book he was reading that was propped on her right arm. She cuddled into his chest, her body curled up like a cat, pressed against his right side. Her right hand was draped across his chest. His left hand alternated between stroking his fingers across her knuckles and hand, and turning the pages of his book. He wasn't complaining, he would happily sit like this the rest of his days if it meant Donna was at peace and not having anymore nightmares. Sadly, he knew the nightmares probably wouldn't go away after today.

Her eyes were closed, but she insisted he continue to read aloud to her and not stop, even if she fell asleep. The sound of his voice, the feel of his body next to hers, his scent, and opening her eyes to find him there, all her senses were surrounded by him and it allowed her to relax and calm down after the nightmare.

He had paused reading to flip the page when she finally found her voice again. "We should probably get out of here. Jenny and James are probably going stir crazy."

"It is a big ship, I'm sure they'll keep themselves busy exploring. Jenny has never seen the pool, or the garden, or—"

"Yeah, all the same, I think I could use a good cup of tea." She rolled over, out of his arms and was up out of the bed, stretching high to work out the tense muscles.

"Alright, I'll go fix you a cuppa, you get dressed." He grinned. "Unless you want to stay in your pajamas."

She looked down at the flannel pajama top and bottoms she wore, then giggled. "Oh yes, the height of fashion. Perfect for time travel and fighting off aliens."

"Well, it will be me fighting them off of you, I think." He grinned as he hopped up off the bed, placing a bookmark back in the book. He started to place it in the pocket of his suit jacket, but stopped himself after a thought, instead placing it on the bedside table. He'd keep this one here, just in case.

"Oh, right Spaceman. Because aliens find flannelette so attractive?" She snickered as she walked into her closet to find what she would wear for the day.

He was almost at the door before he spoke. "I think it's what is under the fabric they'd find attractive."

She popped her head out of the closet at his statement, an eyebrow raised, and upon seeing his cheeky grin, she just rolled her eyes and chuckled at him. After a moment, she came out with a familiar purple dress on her arm. His eyes grew wide. "You're going to wear the dress you got in Pompeii?"

She turned towards him, doubting herself for a moment. "Yeah, is that okay?"

He grinned again as he looked at her one last time. "Brilliant!" After he saw the big smile he had drawn out of her, he let himself out of the room and happily made his way towards the kitchen.

-*-*-