"Uh-oh."

"What do you mean 'uh-oh'?" Donna squeaked at him. He'd been standing around, fiddling with some ancient looking telephone thing for ages. And then he'd stood around with his eyes closed, hands on the console with the Time Rotor glowing for ages after that. She'd expected more...well...more SOMETHING when he'd decided to contact his Eighth self and go after Rose. Especially after he had explained to her at length that they had one shot and one shot only to make this work.

"Whenever you say 'uh-oh', bad things happen. Bad, bad, terrible things, you skinny pillock! What did you do? "

"It's not that bad," he said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck and pull at his ear. It wasn't. It could be. No, no, no. There was no room for bad. This was his one chance to get Rose back.

And he might have messed it up for good.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Donna asked.

"Well, I got a hold of him or his TARDIS, rather," the Doctor said, squirming again trying not to panic, trying not to show his brilliant companion whose brilliant idea this had been in the first place that he may have just cocked it up and ruined, well, everything. Because if this failed, if he had reawakened that blaze of hope only to have it crushed out, the pain of his broken hearts might very well kill him. "And I got him successfully through the Void, no problems there, thanks old girl," he said, patting the console. "He's there, in Pete's world, no problems."

"And?" Donna said, crossing her arms and looking at him in a very alarming fashion.

"Weeelll...it's a very delicate procedure, only enough energy for one try, one try only, must concentrate, very little window for actual communication, crossing Timelines and the Void, must be very careful with the exchange -"

"Doctor," Donna interrupted threateningly.

"Ididn'thaveachancetoexplainanythin gtohim," the Doctor blurted out.

"You didn't what?" she asked, incredulously.

"I didn't have a chance to explain anything to him," he repeated, slower this time, sinking back onto the bench.

"So, let me get this straight," Donna said and he cringed. He didn't want to hear it. "In the one chance we have to get her, you just sent a past you, a you who has never met Rose and who Rose has never met, into a parallel world with no instructions, no idea how he got there, and no reason for him to even find her and you thought what exactly was going to happen? That she'd hear the TARDIS whining and come running? That they would just bump into each other on the street? That they'll figure it out on their own and he'll bring her back here anyway?"

"Well, I am brilliant, any of me, after all," he said, weakly. "And so is Rose," he said, his voice growing stronger. She would find him. She always found him. He believed in her, right? Now he'd just have to believe in himself a little as well.

"So now what?" Donna asked, sensing his tension and his apprehension.

"Now...we wait," the Doctor said firmly, turning from her to stare resolutely at the door.

Donna heaved a sigh and turned with him to face the door. "Well, at least you sent the dishy one," she muttered.