𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈

Between the Lies There's Truth

————-«« "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚."»»————- 

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Unlike Renata who preferred to go out and eat when she spilled a centuries-old secret, the Doctor chose to talk with Donna in the console room. He doubted Renata would be coming back anytime soon. Gabby was probably off in her own room too. It was just going to be him and Donna for the rest of the 'night'.

And starting to talk wasn't that hard, least not the part of how he and Martha ended up in 1913; the Family who was chasing him; the Chameleon arch; hiding amongst humans for 3 months. But then he got to the part where he'd met Renata. That's where it got harder.

Donna could tell it was too. He'd shifted away from her, his sentences became more like fragments with a few stutters here and there. "When did talking about Renata make you this nervous?" she ultimately asked just before he got to the part where he, as John Smith, was going in search of Renata in the nearby town with Matron Joan.

"I don't know!" he defensively said. "This wasn't me!"

"It kinda was," Donna made a face that pretty much told him he was being dramatic. "You sought her out, went looking for her in the town...all cos you wanted to see her."

"That's not true!"

"Yeah? Then what happened afterwards? Did you find her?"

"You know what, I think this story is done!"

"Oh no, spaceman!" Donna latched onto his arm before he would take off on her. "You started the story, now you finish it!" And by the hook she had on his arm, there was no getting out of it.

With a sigh, the Doctor answered in a very quiet tone, "Yes, I did. And she wasn't happy about it! Nearly shut the door in my face!"

Donna let go of his arm but only to laugh.

"It wasn't funny! She practically threw me out so I had to go looking for her in the town where there were no doors!" The Doctor then went on to explain how he'd been responsible for knocking poor Renata out in the town.

Donna may have laughed again and told him that definitely sounded like him. The dynamic between the two Time Lords may in fact be like that. The Doctor was very discouraged to continue, but Donna promised him she'd take him serious and listen from now on. So, he went on.

He told her about the journal John Smith had created, full with his actual memories. He told her about the dance he'd invited Renata to (and how she'd been practically forced to go along with it thanks to Matron Joan), the Family chasing after them, and finally the decision John had to make to save them all. Of course the ending was what got Donna.

She was completely serious then. "Doctor, you mean to tell me you fell in love with Renata?" her eyes were wide and blinking fast.

The Doctor, for his part, was fervently shaking his head. "I-I didn't - John Smith did! He fell in love with her, not me!"

Donna's eyes narrowed on the stammering Time Lord. "Then why are you so defensive about it?"

"I-I'm not!"

Donna raised one eyebrow at him.

"...am I?" the Doctor took a moment to think about things. He looked away from Donna but even when he tried to think about 1913, his mind refused. Each time he thought about it, he remembered everything he did. From the moment he met Renata to the last moment they shared.