A/N: My enormous thanks to all who reviewed, you were amazing and gave me a lot of motivation for the story. Also I am extremely grateful to those who favorited, alerted or read, and I must again say sorry for the tardiness of this chapter.

WARNING: Spoilers for most of series 4 and some of the specials that came afterwards. Also for the first season of classic Doctor Who because of a little reference, I know it has been more than 50 years out there but if anybody plans to see it, it still counts as spoiler, I guess.

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC

EPILOGUE:

The TARDIS welcomed them both in with a flurry of lights that was almost blinding. She was not in flight, yet her time rotor bobbed up and down happily, as if in greeting. The Doctor watched Donna go up the ramp that flowed steadily upwards from the entrance, suitcase packed and ready trailing behind, a bag slung from her shoulder. She reached towards the console, which she brushed softly with her baggage free hand.

"I missed you too." she told the ship, who hummed gently in response.

The tension that had come from the last conversation with Sylvia and the disastrous final image he had of Shaun, the man practically running from the kitchen, even if still present inside the Doctor, loosened when he felt the TARDIS' glee at him having returned with Donna. The ship had felt her absence as much as her pilot. She had lost so many passengers already, people that she had ended caring about, and the Doctor knew that she was happy that someone came back. He understood only too well, as not only were they both connected in a telepathic way, but her losses were also his own.

Being linked as they were, the elation emanating from the TARDIS boosted slightly the Doctor's mood, and it even seemed to be making Donna a little more at ease, but the ship also seemed to notice the gloomy atmosphere they had brought inside. He could feel her confusion under the layer of happiness.

Donna was looking around, taking everything in, from the coral walls to the railings, probably searching for any changes, or maybe just reacquainting herself with what had once been her home as much as the place she lived with her family. The Doctor hoped it would again become such a thing for her. When Donna had drank in the once familiar surroundings, sorely missed without her knowing she had, her gaze strayed to all the personal belongings she was still holding.

"So I think I should organize my things." Donna pointed out; looking significantly towards the luggage and hat box the Doctor had carried in addition of the suitcase she had taken care of.

The Doctor nodded and guided her through the maze the TARDIS corridors were in the direction of her room. She probably knew the way, as the police box had not made any changes since she had been forced to go, at least not in that particular part of her distribution. Donna said nothing however, allowing the Doctor to lead.

When they arrived at the door it opened for them, courtesy of the TARDIS. The place Donna had lived in was in the same state she had left it, the same way as the rooms of others that had once inhabited the ship. It was not in complete disarray, but it had been clearly left with the idea of been returned to relatively soon. A jacket was draped haphazardly over a chair, while a book lay on the bedside table, a bookmark resting between its pages. A long forgotten contraption that could only belong to the Doctor lay upon a desk, and one of his Converse could be seen half-hidden under the bed, but nobody made a comment about that sign of someone else occupying the place. Not a single drop of dust was to be seen, probably thanks to the TARDIS. The only difference from the last time Donna had been there was that the wardrobe's doors stood ajar.

"I didn't touch much." The Doctor admitted. "I came in, took some clothes, not even all of them, and left them in your house before having a conversation with your mother and grandfather about the metacrisis. I've never even entered since."

"There was a severe lack of clothes in my wardrobe after a certain John Smith was in the house, I recall that. At least you returned the hat box."

"As if I would dare to take it." The Doctor tried to lighten the mood, but Donna only nodded and feeling out of place at his own ship the Time Lord deposited his load on her bed and left for the console, as he felt that right now she wanted to be alone, or at least, away from him.

He could feel the questions rolling from his ship in waves, surprised at how her passengers hardly talked when normally neither of them found the time to stop speaking. Not even in live threatening situations, sometimes made even more dangerous by a word in the wrong moment.

"I´m not sure how I messed up this time." The Doctor admitted to her while pressing the controls that would take them from 21st century London and into the Time Vortex. "Things were going quite well this morning, a bit tense, maybe. But then, between all that happened with Shaun, and Sylvia not being entirely happy about the situation, even after accepting it, well…"

Soon after Shaun had abandoned the house, after confirming what everybody except Sylvia had been sure about, that there was not going to be a wedding after all, Donna had walked into the kitchen where her ex-fiancé had stood moments before and where the three occupants still stood in a stunned silence after the announcement.

As soon as she had entered, her mother had turned towards her, clearly discontent about her cancelling the wedding, telling her that her marriage with the Doctor was not legal on Earth, so she need not have worried about it. When Donna told her that she could not marry someone when she was going to be travelling the universe with another, whom she was already married to, then things had gotten bad.

In fairness to Sylvia, the Doctor had a feeling that she opposed that Donna left with him because of what he had brought back last time. The loss of her memories had been painful to Donna, but it could not have been easy on Sylvia or on her grandfather, and the Doctor suspected, it had been very hard on Shaun too. So while Sylvia looked furiously at her daughter while arguing with her about leaving instead of getting a job and marrying Shaun, under her annoyed words and expression, all the Doctor could see what that she looked scared, and that she was hiding that she was close to crying.

Through the argument Wilfred had stayed silent, and just as the Doctor was seriously considering interrupting the old man beside him advanced, circled each of their necks with one of his arms, and enveloped the two women in a hug.

If only out of surprise, they fell silent.

When the three pulled apart, Wilfred looked at his daughter directly in the eye.

"I get it, Sylvia, I really do." He told her softly "You're worried, and instead of all this you should have just told Donna directly that you care. I completely understand, because, I feel the same. I want her to stay here, completely safe. But she never looked as happy as when she was exploring the universe with the Doctor, and you know that. It is not the future you would have chosen for her, I know, but better she follows her own path than she continues to drift aimlessly."

Donna was looking at them with wide eyes.

"But dad, the last time…" Sylvia was close to pleading.

The Doctor found himself suddenly recalling Lady Christina de Souza, how he had told her that she was not coming with him when she had asked after their completely unplanned for voyage to the Planet of the Dead, full of dust and heat. He had given her no explanation, but at that moment the Doctor knew, so soon after his newest loss, that he could not bear to lose anyone else, to see them go, or even worse, to make them hurt in some way or other because of their association with him.

For an impossibly long instant, the Doctor considered going away, alone again, leaving Donna behind, but secure, and free from his dangerous company.

But then he remembered the whole painful and still raw experience on Mars, the Time Lord victorious and Adelaide Brooke. He could almost hear Donna on the day they had met, after she declined his offer to join him aboard the TARDIS, the way she had looked at him when she told him he should not travel alone, because he sometimes needed somebody to stop him. He also seemed to see her when Vesuvius erupted, face red and eyes tearful, pleading for the life of at least some while the Doctor's hand hovered hesitantly over the TARDIS controls and his hearts beat painfully with the knowledge of more death and destruction. Somehow, even while so thousands perished that night under the flowing lava and choking on smoke and ash, he had at least spared four of death, giving them a future, because Donna had been there.

The Doctor recalled even further back, when it was him and his granddaughter escaping from Gallifrey, the body he inhabited still his first, physically old but so young, never regenerated. It was centuries ago, a time when no companion had ever been lost yet. Then, out fear, he had kidnapped Ian and Barbara, his granddaughter's teachers and the two that would, after a rough start to their relationship with him, become his two first human companions. For a moment the Time Lord could feel the hard edges of a rock held inside his palm, a strong hand around his wrist with fingers digging into his wrinkled skin and blue eyes boring into him, Ian having just prevented him from bashing the skull of an injured cavemen, from killing without reason, on the first journey the Doctor had taken Ian and Barbara on, so many lifetimes ago. He had been different then, colder and not as willing to help or intervene, just watching and running, watching and running, never stopping to aid anyone if there was risk. All the companions he had known after that had helped to change that, first Susan and her Earth teachers, then all that had followed. And the Doctor understood that he would not leave without Donna unless she wanted him to, no matter the pain it might cause him if she decided to return to England in the end. Because all the time he spent with her would be more that worth it. He would rather mourn her loss than miss his chance to travel with her as long as the future allowed it.

After the Messaline debacle that resulted in Jenny's death and with Martha returned safely home, Donna had approached him in the TARDIS' console room. The desolation inside him had left him numb, and then Donna had turned him towards her and placed her palms to his chest, each hand over one of his hearts. Looking at him directly in the eye she told him that the pain he felt did not prove he had been wrong in letting his daughter in, it meant he had been right. The aftermath of the whole experience with the Daleks and their planet stealing had been a blow too many, however, so the Doctor had decided to close his hearts, to bar the entrance to anybody else, after so many goodbyes. He then understood that Donna had been right; maybe he could not feel as keenly the hurt of loss if he built a wall between himself and the rest of the world, but that brought along a completely different type of pain.

Not to mention that Donna would never forgive him if he left her behind again, after having already told her, in her room barely lit by the dawning sun while Shaun slept lightly in a nearby chair, that this time she would not stay behind. And the Doctor did not want to travel alone anymore. He did not want to go on without Donna. The thrill of adventure was not the same when he did not have someone to share it with, the corridors of the TARDIS felt unbearably silent, devoid of another presence.

The Doctor had missed running across space and time with Donna's hand held tightly in his own, the excitement that lit her features while they expectantly waited for the TARDIS doors to open to the new scenery that would greet them each time, how planets he had visited before seemed utter strangers when seen from her eyes, a novel place to explore once more as if it were the first time. He had also missed her snarky comments and nicknames that he would act offended about, but they mostly would make him smile internally while warmth spread inside his chest.

The Doctor felt bad for Sylvia, but as long as Donna chose him and the TARDIS, she was coming with them, as selfish as it might seem.

Wilfred appeared to think like the Doctor, as his tone when he answered his daughter was confident.

"I know what happened last time as well as any in this room. But people should not let the obstacles that may be on their way make them choose another just to avoid them." He turned towards his granddaughter. "Go to the stars, if it's want you want, and be sure I will always support you from here, no matter what."

"I know. Thank you so much gramps." And Donna hugged Wilfred again, tight.

"I…" Sylvia did not look altogether convinced but she went on. "Just promise you will visit often."

Donna smiled at her mother, all former animosity vanished. "I will, a promise it is."

For a moment the Doctor felt like an intruder upon the family scene, albeit being the one that caused it, or maybe because of it, but then Wilf turned towards him with his usual kind expression and the sensation evaporated like dew under the morning sun.

"So, when are you leaving?" He sounded as excited and as happy as he had when they had said goodbye to him from inside the TARDIS floating in the night sky when Donna had started travelling with the Time Lord, and the Doctor felt a rush of affection for him, for not being resentful even after all that had transpired since then.

"Well, as soon as Donna packs I think, that is what she said upstairs."

'Before she spoke to Shaun.' He reminded himself. 'Before she forced herself to hurt someone she cared for because you could not keep safe in the first place, and leave her alone after that.' He shoved those thoughts away. His decision was made, also hers, and there was no turning back. He did not want to turn back.

"But right away? You could at least stay for lunch, seeing as with all the commotion we missed breakfast." Sylvia offered.

The Doctor felt surprised at the invitation, the only reason he could fathom for it was that it was Sylvia's way of telling him that she was giving him her reluctant blessing, and of saying goodbye to her daughter. He was about to tell her that he did not do domestic, but Donna was too fast for him.

"Sure we'll stay, that will give me time to pack. We can leave afterwards." And with that, the matter of their eating arrangement was promptly settled.

Morning had effectively crept on them, and it was a good thing that they were in Christmas vacations and nobody had any pressing business to attend to. Noon was close approaching, so Sylvia moved around the kitchen to prepare the food, helped by Wilf, while Donna excused herself to get her luggage ready. The Doctor followed her to the foot of the stairs.

"Need any help?" He asked her from below as she started her ascent.

"No, don't worry." Her face looked friendly enough, but her eyes did not quite meet his when she answered, and her tone sounded somewhat subdued. That was when the first feeling of misgivings started its appearance, unbidden, inside the Doctor. He stamped them down, it was absurd, she had been acting at ease with him that same morning.

Being thwarted in his attempt to aid Donna, he returned to the kitchen and once again tried to assist someone, this time with the cooking, but Sylvia looked at him suspiciously, as if wondering if she should let him near her food. Finally she seemed to decide she would rather not risk it, and coaxed him and Wilfred from the kitchen, the latter, the Doctor suspected, sent to entertain him. Not that the Doctor minded not having to use his culinary skills.

"So want to go to the hill?" Wilfred proposed.

The Doctor knew from Donna that it was where Wilf went to stargaze every night, but that it was also some sort of sanctuary for him.

"But it is not dark yet." He objected.

"It's still a nice place to talk."

So they got a blanket and left the house, passing beside the TARDIS the Doctor had parked near the building and going in the direction of the little prominence that awaited them. The air smelled clean after all the rain from the night before and only a light wind ruffling gently through the grass disturbed the stillness of the slightly elevated location.

They made themselves comfortable, Wilfred on the chair that was awaiting him there, the Doctor sitting on the mantle the other man had advised him to take. Everything was too peaceful for the Doctor's liking; he itched to journey to his next destination, whatever it might be, this time, he remembered happily, with Donna.

"I know you say my granddaughter takes care of you, which I don't doubt, but…"

The Doctor did not let Wilfred continue. He owed no explanations to anybody, but he gave them anyway.

"She does, in many ways, and I am forever grateful to her for it. She does so as best she can, the same as me. I know I can't protect her from every danger, but I will do everything in my power to keep her safe, always."

"That" Wilfred told him "is exactly what I wanted to hear."

Not much later they returned to have lunch. Somehow Donna had accomplished the feat of packing full to burst three suitcases, two bags and a hat box in the brief period they had spent outside.

The atmosphere felt much less strained than before during the meal, until Sylvia mentioned Shaun. Guilt clouded Donna's features at his name, and the Doctor stared down at his plate in resignation. If anybody was to blame here it was not Donna; that he had no doubt about, but she did not share his feelings on the matter and felt responsible.

Wilfred expressed his point of view "I think Shaun needs some time, what happened to him is hard, and impossible to digest in such a short time. I would understand if he feels like being alone at the moment, too."

Finally it came time to leave. The Doctor found his arms full of suitcases before he even noticed. Donna was being very quiet, and the prickling of unease the Doctor had felt was slowly growing. After saying goodbye to Donna's family and once again promising to visit, they headed towards the TARDIS.

"Donna doesn't seem too happy to be here; when she woke up she looked completely convinced and excited about it." The Doctor told his ship as he absentmindedly rubbed his palm along the time machine's console.

Donna had expressed nothing but a desire to continue traveling with him, so it was probably not second thoughts what was causing her to be upset.

The Doctor wondered if it had something to do with the argument with her mother, but they had parted in friendly terms. The Doctor did not delude himself into thinking that Sylvia approved of her going with him, or their past relationship, which might not even continue, and he would not blame Donna for it even if the idea made him feel cold. It was something that would have to be addressed and the Doctor had not decided if he wanted it to happen sooner rather than later. Taking into account the circumstances, the Doctor was fairly convinced that Sylvia had taken everything as well as she possibly could, so it could not be that would Donna unhappy

The only possible explanation was that the conversation with Shaun before he left in a hurry was the catalyst for Donna´s attitude. The look of guilt she had worn when hearing the name backed the Doctor´s theory. The Time Lord might not be thrilled about it, but Shaun and Donna had shared something, they had wanted to get married. He would never have done anything to stop them if they went with it, with or without memories removed. Even if it broke his hearts, it was the least he owed Donna, after all. If she still did not remember, he would not have intervened at all; maybe he just might have gone to her wedding, taking care that she could not see him. If with her memory restored she still went with it, well, it was not strange that she wanted to move on, even if the Doctor had not. Thankfully Donna had ultimately chosen the Doctor, to his immeasurable relief. Where they stood with their relationship was still shady, however, afte she had also felt something for another.

"So what do you think?" the Doctor asked The TARDIS. "Was it the situation with Shaun what upset her?"

The ship made a huffing sound, as if stating it was obvious.

Shaking his head the Doctor humored her "You were enlightened immediately I suppose?"

The TARDIS hummed contentedly.

What was it that Wilfred had said? That Shaun needed time to accept and come to terms with all that had happened?

The Doctor felt his lips stretch into a grin. He agreed with Wilfred on that one.

Good thing the Doctor had a time machine, then.

Her return to the TARDIS was tainted by remorse.

Without memories, there had always been a feeling of something missing in her live. She could not define it, she could not explain it, but there was a void that nothing could help to fill. Her grandfather's support and Shaun's had been the closest she had come to feeling better, but it had not been enough. She would be forever grateful to both of them for it anyway.

When the last traces of the metacrisis had abandoned her mind and memories had flooded back, it all had made sense at last. So much of her identity, of her life, had gone astray, and getting it back was glorious. She also had the Doctor again, and the possibility to travel the universe with him, as she had once told Martha Jones, forever. But there had been no Shaun before, no reason to feel at fault

The TARDIS had been static to see her, a sentiment Donna shared. The former temp had really missed her during those months. Donna tried to greet the ship back, but her heart was not in it, as the time machine soon realized. The face Shaun had made when she returned the ring he had once given her haunted her continuously. It was a mixture of resignation and deep sadness, and the fact they simultaneously appeared in his expression made it worse than if it only had been one.

Not only had the TARDIS sensed something was amiss, her pilot also had guessed as much. He did not push her, however, and fell silent at her lack of response. There had been awkwardness between them, when such a thing had never happened before. He had soon left her alone in her old room, and now Donna was lying down on the bed it had been so long she had last been in. Donna regretted not being able to fully appreciate being back in this place she had longed for without being aware she had, suitcases she had only half emptied resting on the floor.

The flash of a ring upon an open palm, a hand with a matching band of gold circling a finger closing tightly around it.

Donna pressed her face against the pillow unsuccessfully trying to dispel the memory. She shifted and lowered it to stare at the TARDIS ceiling.

The situation with Shaun had been complicated enough, but it was not the only thing in her mind since he had gone. When she was exhausted after the metacrisis and the Doctor was being so gentle, and the morning after when she had woken to see tired but fond eyes in his face and sensed him moving his palm to press it to her cheek, she had almost convinced herself that their relationship would continue as it once had. They had talked after that, about what he had done since wiping her memory, but she was aware he was not telling everything, and he probably realized she knew this. He looked sad while he explained about his last adventures, and Donna found that she hurt so much worse with the idea of him being alone than with the thought of being replaced for someone else. But this was moot, anyway, because even if he had chosen anybody to travel with, that did not mean whoever he took was taking her place, because Donna was sure that she had been nobody's replacement, and that he cherished his companions for who they were. He had renounced to get close to anyone, and is scared Donna, because she had always known that so much loss had broken again and again, but it almost seemed as if this time he had not been able to pick up the pieces.

While Shaun slept nearby, they had also commented about the future. Donna confirming that she was going back to traveling the stars had made the Doctor smile happily while Donna wondered silently how he could have doubted that she would ever take any other course of action.

Afterwards, the conversation with Shaun came, and as she let him go, she realized that she had lost him and the Doctor both somehow. She might have the Time Lord back, something that already made her immensely content, but she also understood then, as Shaun's hurried footsteps echoed away and she could feel cold air pressing against the bare skin of her ring finger, that the Doctor and her were going to be friends. That was great in itself, but Donna had been hoping, even after all she had been through since her separation, that maybe they could go back to their former relationship. But the Doctor had left her behind, no matter the reason, had let another man propose to her, and it could only be a sign that he did not feel the same way anymore.

Donna huffed and through the pillow against the wall, regretting it instants latter as she felt the TARDIS's discontent at the impact, however soft the object thrown.

"Sorry." She apologized sincerely.

It was normal to feel bad after all that had happened, but wallowing was not the answer. It was not fair to Shaun or her family, whom she had left in order to obtain the live she now had, and it was not fair to the Doctor, who could not be expected to guess why she was acting as she was, dense as he could sometimes be with the feelings of those that were close, yet piercingly accurate in unexpected moments.

It was time to regain the lifestyle she once led. One could not switch off how they felt, and Donna knew that the whole situation with Shaun would torment her, as well as knowing that her status had returned to friend in the Doctor's eyes, but she was onboard a ship that travelled through space and time, with a Time Lord that could never stand still, and she wanted to restart their enforcedly paused universe tour. So she headed in search of the Doctor.

The almost imperceptible humming that was always in the background when inside the TARDIS suddenly became more intense and Donna felt the walls and floor shift around her. Not long ago they had entered the Time Vortex, Donna had noticed it, so this could only mean she was materializing somewhere.

She flung the door open and headed to the console room. Halfway there she almost crashed into the Doctor, who was going in the opposite direction through the same corridor.

"Donna, I was looking for you! I have something to show you."

He looked happier than what Donna had seen him in what seemed like forever. Before she had left it had been the experiences in Midnight that had taken some of the excitement he usually displayed when showing her around. Afterwards the whole affair with the Daleks had transpired and had he been generally serious since the return of her memory. But now he looked enthusiastic once again, and Donna felt a pleased jolt inside her stomach because of it. She could feel the edges of her lips curving upwards to form a smile.

"Sure Spaceman, let's go."

Her acquiescence made him beam, and taking her wrist, he practically dragged her to the door that separated the interior of the TARDIS from whatever it was that awaited them.

A few hours later Donna returned to the TARDIS with her spirits considerably lifted.

She should have given the Doctor more credit, because he had clearly caught on to part of what was making her upset and set the TARDIS coordinates to England, a few years after they had left.

When she opened the doorway she was met with a park full of people. But two immediately caught her attention, Shaun and a small boy that could only be his son.

For a moment she hesitated, so small an instant that the Doctor should not have even realized, but he somehow did, because Donna felt fingers linking with her own as they both left the TARDIS with her hand in his.

As they approached, the boy was leaving Shaun's side and running towards his friends and it was all Donna could do to stare at the small child in shocked happiness. They reached her ex-fiancé and the Doctor made himself scarce by joining Shaun's son and giving them privacy.

Donna had not been sure what to expect, but Shaun was warm and kind towards her, and even while she thought she did not deserve this treatment, it made her happy that he had somehow gotten to the point where he bore her no ill will. They talked a lot during the next hours, of Shaun and his son and his wife. Donna was relieved to hear it, to know that all had turned out well in the end. When Shaun told her he was very glad that she and the Doctor were happy together, even while she knew he meant it in a different way than the actual situation was, she still acknowledged it with a few words and a smile, because he was right, she had him back and that was something to celebrate. And also because Donna sensed he was also telling her she was completely forgiven, maybe without even realizing it.

Hours later, after saying goodbye to Shaun and his son, Donna watched from the console room as the Doctor closed the TARDIS'S doors, shutting out the two smiling faces from view. He almost run towards the console, and went around it, his hands working on the controls until the TARDIS activated and they dematerialized into the Vortex.

"Thank you." Donna told him sincerely, and was rewarded by an ear-splitting grin that sparked something warm in her chest.

"My pleasure. Your grandfather said that Shaun needed time, but I had a feeling that you required the contrary, so the Old Girl here was the perfect solution." He leaned and patted her central column affectionately.

"You were right. He was right. You both were."

"Yeah well, I was worried for a moment that I was completely wrong and that what you wanted was the opposite." His rubbed his hand up and down his neck, ruffling his hair. "Anyway…" he made a pause for dramatic effect "where next?"

Where next?" Donna exclaimed incredulously "I think that should wait until tomorrow." Then she remembered where she was "Well, at least wait until we have slept." She amended.

She suddenly wondered when the Doctor had actually rested for the last time. She knew for sure that he had not since helping her to get past the metacrisis, and who knew for how long before that. Even if he claimed that the regenerative energy had revitalized him, and even taking into to account the Time Lord biology that needed less sleep than a human one, it was a wonder he was so lively, even if it tended to be his default setting when not upset.

The Doctor did not seem to see the wisdom in her words, because he looked crestfallen. "But, but… don't you want to go?"

There was an uncertainty there that shook her. So she tried to assure him that it had nothing to do with not planning to travel with him.

"I want to, but at the moment I want a bed even more." Even if she would sleep alone tonight. And the rest of her remaining time on the TARDIS, no doubt.

"Donna, it's no fun to wait!"

No patience at all, Donna reflected. A result of inhabiting a time machine that made it so that you never had to wait.

"Fine, you go wherever you want, I'm going to my room to rest."

She made to leave but suddenly he called to her, and his tone was so serious, she turned towards him

"Donna." No trace of amusement remained on his features. "Why won't you look me in the eye?"

"I'm not…" Donna started, but stopped mid-sentence. He was right, she had not even realized she was doing it, but she had been avoiding his gaze for a time. She looked at him, took in his features, but avoided his direct gaze. Even now. She raised her eyes to meet his and found them wary. He stared right back and seemed to force himself to let his next words out.

"Do you want to return to Chiswick?"

"What!? No!" She refused vehemently

"Then why…?" He sounded frustrated and worried "I thought it was only because of the situation with Shaun, but why are you also upset at me?"

Donna did not want to have this conversation right now. But it was going to happen sooner o later after all. It was not as if she was going to look more forward to it in another moment. However the question of what she wanted them to be did not come, but was replaced with something that had also been occupying her mind constantly.

"You took my memories." She accused him.

He waited.

"I told you I did not want you to take them. I begged you not to. You went along with it anyway. It hurt many people. Me, Shaun, my family. You erased the best part of my life, and never even considered respecting my choice to die whole rather than to live incomplete. And you would do it again.

He did not deny it for an instant.

"I would."

"It's my decision to make!"

"It's also mine."

Donna stared at him incredulously.

"It is." His tone was eerily calm. "You say, Donna, that it hurt your family. So you think it would have been better if all I took them back was your corpse? "

"I… Of course not! But don't you get it? You have no right to touch my mind without my permission! I lost more than the memories of alien landscapes and of traveling through time! I lost you too!"

There was something lurking underneath the Doctor's eyes, something Donna was completely sure she was reading wrongly, because it no longer made sense to be there.

"You are right, your mind is yours. But I could not lose you either. Which I still did, but at least you were alive, you could continue as if I had never interrupted the natural course of your existence."

"I couldn't." Donna deadpanned. "I missed you ever day, and it was worse because I didn't know what it was I missed; only that it was important

He looked conflicted, but when he opened his mouth, Donna spoke first.

"Look, we are obviously getting nowhere, we aren't going to agree. I'm just going to bed."

"I'm sorry"

Donna stared.

"I'm sorry for taking your memories, and I'm sorry because I'd do it again if it would save your life."

Donna should have been angry, but he sounded so sad that it made her want to comfort him. And she did not want to fight with him when they none of them would change their opinion. She tried to end the conversation.

"Well, next time it won't be so easy for you, I won't let you do it and that's it. Night."

"Donna, before you leave, I have something to give you back." He hesitated. "If you want it, that is."

She watched curiously as he rummaged in his dimensionally transcendental pocket. It took him a short time to find what he wanted in its confines.

"I've been keeping it, as I was afraid that it would trigger the metacrisis, but it's yours after all."

In his palm was a wedding ring.

The irony of the situation made her laugh internally, but without any mirth. Sure, the jewel appeared to be silver rather than gold, but it was reminiscing of a situation she had found herself in no too long ago, while Shaun shot her a look she would never forget, unless her memories were forcefully wiped, of course.

What seemed like a lifetime ago, the TARDIS had taken them to a planet that surprisingly was not threatened by any immediate form of complete annihilation or alien menace. There was a beach there, to Donna's delight, albeit with blue sand. It still seemed nice so she prepared to spend the day there. However, bored by the calm, the Doctor had decided to become her tour guide. Dragging her almost forcefully from the calm location Donna had been peacefully relaxing on without really believing it, he set about to show her all the mysteries of the planet, ignoring her resigned demeanor. If she had not lived the nightmare of Midnight she might have refused, but then she just found herself unable to do so. To be fair to the Doctor, the place was beautiful, and the locals kind enough, with passable cooking skills even if she did not know half the ingredients and resolved not to ask, just in case.

Later, they finally returned to the coast where the TARDIS had landed. A group of humanoid creatures were there, celebrating some sort of ritual. The Doctor had told her it was a type of alien wedding. Apparently they liked to celebrate them at their blue beaches, as it was the place "where the two blues meet", sand and water, as blue was the color of good luck in their culture, and many believed it would mean a happy marriage. The Doctor had then produced from one of his enormous pockets a small band of "mitro", as he called it, a material similar to Earth's silver that they usually used in this planet when there was a wedding. It was the same ring that now waited on his palm for her to take it back. She remembered the Doctor giving her that ring the first time, with a very different intention then. He had smiled and asked her to marry him, so sudden, but even through her surprise she had agreed, and the ceremony had taken place in that same planet. The TARDIS had been amused when they returned, and Donna had been happy that she seemed to have no problem with them tying the knot, even if they had not been together for more than a few months before taking that decision.

So with a heavy feeling Donna took the ring he was offering her.

"I understand." She told him. She slipped the object into her pocket. "Don't worry; I think it's better if you only have a mate, Doctor."

He stiffened. "If that's what you want."

"Not really, but this is about the two of us, so, never mind if I want to continue being together, if you don't want to it's over."

"What?"

"That I'm not going to force you into a one-sided relation." She reflected for a moment and steeled herself to add. "We can get a divorce too, even."

"What?"

Donna felt annoyed at the utter shock in his tone. "Well, I don't understand so much surprise; do you really think I was going to oblige you even if I want to continue?

"What? No, no, no! Donna you're getting it wrong!" He sounded wishful, and Donna felt she was losing track of what was going on. Confusion must have shown on her face, because his eyes widened, as if in understanding, and then softened.

"Of course I want things to go back to being exactly as they were before, I just thought you didn't, that's why I even proposed the contrary to what I would like." He took a deep breath. "Donna, I love you, and never have stopped to do so since the day I started."

Donna heart was pounding too fast, and blood was ringing in her ears. She had heard wrong, she had to have heard wrong, because what he had so confidently stated made no sense. She struggled to find words, but the Doctor was faster.

"I don't expect anything at all from you even if I told you this; you know that, don't you?" He asked, sounding sad at her silence.

"You…" Donna swallowed. "No, it can't be. You were willing to let me marry another."

"What does that have to do with what I just said? I wasn't going to ruin your live even more by snatching every bit of happiness you possessed. But the truth was, it took all my willpower not to make plans to ensure that wedding never took place, because I was happy you had chosen me, once, and would much rather it stayed that way for ever."

And Donna could not pretend anymore that she had somehow misheard.

"You mean that?" she asked, and, unbidden, hope was spreading warm tendrils underneath her ribs.

"Every word."

Before Donna realized she had moved, she was kissing him. For a moment his surprise stilled him, but then he turned his head in the right angle and responded to her lips. It was so much better than she had remembered, and so different from doing the same thing with anybody else, with the feeling of his cooler tongue against hers. When they finally broke apart, Donna had lost her breath.

The Doctor was fixing his gaze on her, and there was wonder there, in those ancient eyes, and also happiness. Donna smiled at him, and he hugged her. Her head rested on his chest, and she could listen to the double-beating of his hearts, still somehow so alive after breaking time and time again.

"Did you really think that I had stopped feeling anything beyond friendship because I failed to stop your romance with Shaun?" He asked, and Donna felt the vibration of his words against her cheek.

"Yeah, I assumed as much." She admitted, pressing her face against his pinstripe suit, not wanting any sort of distance now that she knew she was permitted this kind of contact again.

She felt him laugh. "Well we're even then." He sounded a little embarrassed, and when she raised her eyes to look at him he explained. "Well it's not exactly the same thing, but I was sure you would not want anything with me after Shaun."

Donna sensed uncertainty in his words, as if he was still not completely convinced that it was not the case. Donna knew that, as much as she had had strong feelings for Shaun, the intensity was not the same as those she shared with the Doctor. It was one more reason for feeling bad for him. Shaun was amazing; he did not deserve to be second best to anyone. And thankfully, it appeared that he was not anymore.

"Doctor, I liked Shaun, but even then, even while I could not remember, it was still you. I love you.

His arms tightened around her, and he leaned down to kiss her again, and then once more. Gradually, the kisses became less chaste, and hands started to wander. When Donna finally got her hands under his shirt and pressed them to his colder stomach, he pulled away. She barely held back a groan of frustration. The Doctor looked at her seriously, but arousal clouded his stare.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean after being with another, you might feel uncomfortable… It's fine, we've got time."

Donna was finding it difficult to focus, and found much more interesting a spot on his neck than what he was saying, so she proceeded to trace it with her tongue.

However he leant away. Donna felt like kicking him.

"I mean it." It was the worry in his tone more than anything else what made Donna actually concentrate to form a coherent answer.

"Believe me, Doctor, I want this very much, and I know what I am doing. There will be no regrets." Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. "Unless you don't feel like going on?"

His eyes burned.

"Of course I want to continue."

"That's settled then." Donna finished the conversation, and returned to her activities under his jaw.

Dimly she registered that he was starting to leave the console room, leading them in the direction of the bedrooms, which was difficult as neither of them was willing to disengage from the other. For a moment Donna wondered if they were going to his room or hers, then decided that the closest one was the best option.

And if on their way they left a trail of clothes behind lying on the floor, well, Donna was sure that they could find a way to make it up to the TARDIS later, if she was really annoyed by it.

Donna woke up feeling more peaceful than she had in a long time, slowly regaining consciousness. As sleep gradually released its hold from her mind, she became aware of her surroundings. She was tucked in the bed inside the Doctor's room, the infinitesimally low vibration of the TARDIS surrounding her.

She yawned and turned, noticing that the time machine gave a little more intensity to the lightning now that Donna had stirred; maybe ready to start the day cycle, a favor from the TARDIS to companions so as to give a semblance to the conditions on Earth. As she placed her hand on the empty space beside her, Donna noted in surprise that, however faint, lingering traces of warmth remained on the sheets. The Doctor with his Time Lord constitution normally awoke long before she did, and that coupled with his lower body temperature usually ensured that his side of the bed was always cold by the time Donna opened her eyes. That it was not meant it had been a short time sincehe had left. Donna felt a smile form, because that meant that this night he had stayed longer with her. Or maybe he had been exhausted. Either way, Donna was happy to know he had been there.

She got up and saw the pile of garments she had hastily discarded the night before neatly folded on the bedside table.

"Thank you." She told the TARDIS, and was suddenly met with a stony silence. "Won't happen again." She added, and the slow hum returned, Donna was fairly sure that with a slightly smug quality.

Shaking her head and taking the clothes to leave for her room, a flash of something metallic caught her eye. She paused and saw the silver-colored ring, that she faintly remembered leaving in her pocket when having the conversation with the Doctor before retiring to his room. She picked it up and slipped it on her finger

Later, after eating, showering and getting dressed, she entered the console room to find the Doctor in a state of barely contained impatience, twitching in eagerness to leave. As soon as she entered he extended his hand to her, and Donna could not fail to notice the twin band that now adorned his finger also.

"Choose a destination." He told her, a twinkling in his eyes.

Excitement flooded through Donna as she realized how much she had missed this, the knowledge, that anything, the whole universe, was waiting for her and the Doctor to explore it.

She grasped his offered hand, pressing a kiss to knuckles before intertwining their fingers and resting her palm against his.

"I'm not sure, Spaceman, but aren't there any places you would like to show me?"

"So many, Donna Noble, so many." And with that he pushed down a lever and the ship became even more alive around them. That could only mean one thing.

The TARDIS was in flight.

Excitement clawed at Donna. She had promised the Doctor forever, and maybe her forever was not as long as his, and there would be dangers around the universe that could threaten it. But as long as she spent every remaining second of it like this, well, Donna was content.

So, with an uncontained smile in both their faces and trying not to fall because of the time machine's jerky movements, they both waited, together, for the TARDIS to materialize upon their next destination.

Anywhere, anywhen.

.