The road less travelled...

Title: Nightmares and Daydreams – Moving On 5/5
Author: katherine_b
Characters: The Doctor (Nine, Ten) and Donna Noble
Spoilers: Everything up to Journey's End.
Summary: The Doctor has found Donna again.

Part V

The familiar blue box materialises and the door opens with the usual creak. The other Doctor steps out, his hands deep in the pockets of his pants and the misery still visible on his face.

The Doctor hears Donna give a tiny gasp and he sees a small frown appear on her face as she watches the other man, who has closed the door of the TARDIS and now moves to lean against the same tree where his previous incarnation first saw him, his weariness and despondency obvious.

As the Doctor watches, Donna steps back, takes a moment to gather her thoughts, and then moves onto the path, following it around to the opening where the benches are standing.

The Doctor sees that his future self has tensed, his eyes fixed on the woman the instant she appears, some of the exhaustion disappearing as his shoulders straighten.

Donna glances around the park before moving in the direction of the TARDIS. The Doctor sees the other man tense as, with pretend carelessness, she crosses the stretch of grass towards him and takes a seat on the closest bench, leaning back to gaze out across the sun-dappled grass.

For another seemingly endless moment, the Doctor watches her before he cautiously begins backing towards the TARDIS that is only a few feet behind him. The man hidden on the other side of the park can sense his future self's uneasiness and concern, as well as his uncertainty whether to stay or not.

“You don't have to leave,” Donna says suddenly, closing her eyes as if soaking in the sunshine, while the Doctor starts visibly at the first sound. “I won't bite.”

The Doctor behind the hedge can feel that the other man is becoming increasingly anxious, not knowing how to react in this situation, and he can't help suspecting that Donna is secretly enjoying a little bit of revenge for what he did to her.

“Oh, I...” the Doctor trails off, “I should go...”

“You only just got here.” Donna's eyes open and she studies him, her head on one side. “Why would you go already?” She looks anxious. “It's not me, is it?”

“Donna, no! I – ” The man stops short, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open as he realises what he just said. “I'm... I'm sorry...” he stammers.

The man concealed behind the trees grins at the expression on Donna's face. She's clearly trying to smother her amusement and fighting the desire to laugh out loud at the Doctor's horror at his own mistake.

“You know me then?” she says lightly.

“Yes.” The Doctor takes a half step forward. “But you don't know me.”

“Oh, you might be surprised.” She reaches out and, before he can react, takes his hand, pulling him gently down onto the seat beside her.

“You don't know me,” he insists, nevertheless letting himself be seated beside her. “You can't!”

“John Smith,” she says cheerfully, and the Doctor watches his later incarnation wince at the use of that name. “Not too popular with my Mum, are you? Still, Gramps seems to like you. Share a love of the stars, I suppose. What's your favourite constellation then? Theta Haren? Sigma Beta?”

The later incarnation of the Doctor gasps as Donna throws off the names of the constellations surrounding Kasterborous as easily as if she's just named the planets of Earth's solar system, and the Doctor in hiding chuckles at the smug expression on Donna's face. He's certainly aware that she named them because she knows it was his desire to visit those far-off places that created that nickname he has used ever since childhood.

“Donna...” the man beside her offers hesitantly, questioningly, as if almost afraid to ask exactly how much – and how! – she knows.

“Doctor,” she says at last, the smile on her face widening, and the man standing a distance away watches as the other Time Lord finally lets himself breathe and believe.

And that's when she deals him a cracking slap across his face that makes him gasp and the other man wince, although he's relieved he isn't the only one who had to suffer through that.

“Okay,” the Doctor says slowly, his hand pressed to his injured cheek, “I deserved that.”

“Mmm hmm.” Donna arches an eyebrow expectantly. “And that's all I get after you wiped my memory and dumped me back at home, is it?”

“Hey!” he complains. “I'm not going to apologise for saving your life!”

“Actually, I wouldn't want you to,” she admits. “I know. I know what you had to do – and why you did it. But you know you deserved that.”

“How do you know all that, by the way?” the Doctor asks suddenly, as he obviously realises the full magnitude of what just happened. “How did you remember? And so suddenly? I mean, this time yesterday, you had no idea I was even here!”

“Oh, that was his doing,” she says carelessly, waving a hand in the direction of the Doctor, who steps around the tree hiding him and takes several paces forward so that he's visible in the half-shadows.

For a moment, the Doctor stares at his former self, understanding dawning on his face, before giving a tiny nod. “Thank you,” he says simply.

“Oi, I think he deserves more than that,” Donna scolds him, scooting along the bench a little to give him a nudge with her elbow.

“Oh, no.” The Doctor shakes his head. “No, really, that says everything.”

And he means it. He's spent so many years saving the lives of other people – often complete strangers – that he can only be satisfied at the way the misery has been banished, and he has to smile at the fact that the other Doctor is obviously almost bouncing with happiness.

He can't help thinking that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to become this man after all, which was something he hadn't even wanted to contemplate during their last meeting.

“You should go,” he says in the end. “And Rose is waiting for me.”

The mention of Rose, which had previously served only to increase the despondency on the other Doctor's face, causes no more than a flicker this time, although he sees the other man's hold on Donna's hand tighten.

“Yes,” he agrees, “we should.” He glances at Donna, a world of affection in his eyes. “If you want to, of course.”

Donna's eyes sparkle and she pulls their joined hands into her lap. “Do you think you could stop me?”

“I wouldn't want to try,” he laughs, jumping up and tugging on her hand to bring her to her feet. “Come on then, if you're coming!”

However she beats him to the TARDIS and it's her key, hanging on a chain around her neck, not his, that unlocks the door.

The other Doctor hesitates for a moment, turning to the former version of himself, perhaps struggling to find the right words.

“I don't know how to thank you,” he admits quietly. “But I’m so, so grateful that you've given me back something this precious.”

“Glad to hear it, Timeboy,” Donna's voice announces from inside the TARDIS.

The Doctor in the brown suit rolls his eyes, his annoyance, not that it could possibly be called that, belied by the huge grin on his face, and then disappears inside the blue box.

Chuckling softly as the TARDIS dematerialises, the Doctor turns away, strolling back down the path, heading for the Powell Estate.