A/N: I know it's been a while since my last update, I apologize. But I tried to make this chapter a little longer to make up for it. Enjoy!

Donna rocked nervously in her chair as she waited for the funeral to start. She was never any good at funerals, rubbish at them, and today was going to be no exception. She'd spent half of her father's funeral in the loo partly because she didn't like to see others cry and also because she had been asked to speak. She knew that this was all going to go pear-shaped. She was going to get up there, and she was going to talk about her grandad, and then she was going to be a blubbering mess in front of everyone.

She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her back and berated herself for it because it was only Shaun. Funerals also made her jumpy. He leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips and she reciprocated. He then dragged his chin on top of her head and gave it a kiss as well.

"What are you doing you big softie?" She asked, winking at him playfully.

"I love you, you know that?" He lifted her chin with two fingers so that he could look into her eyes.

"I might," she teased, "I love you too."

He caressed her cheek lightly, "You're going to make it through today."

She was about to say something in return when Shaun greeted someone over her shoulder.

"John, Clara, good to see you," he said cheerfully, "I'm gonna go find Jenny, love," he said turning his attention back to Donna, "the service is about to start." He pecked her quickly on the lips before descending into the crowd to find their daughter.

"Hello Donna," Clara greeted warmly. Donna could tell Clara felt a bit jittery being here. She assumed it was because not long ago she had lost Danny Pink. John had told her about the situation one night and her heart broke for Clara. She had allowed herself to get close to Wilf and now he was gone as well.

"Hello," Donna reached out to hug her and she had intended it to be a quick hug in greeting but she found that she could not let go of her. She sensed that Clara felt the same because she did nothing to end the hug in a hurry. When they did eventually part Donna could see the hurt on Clara's face but that she was also fighting it. She didn't like to lose control.

She began to make her way over to John, who was just at good at hiding his grief as Clara was, but the sound of the vicar clearing his throat halted their actions. Taking the hint everyone made a bee line for their seats. Deciding that Sylvia may need a little extra support Shaun sat on one side of her and Donna on the other. Jenny sat, head down on her father's other side and Clara and John took the seats beside Donna.

The vicar read a quick, impersonal obituary of Wilf's life; nothing to write home about. And followed it with a few lines of scripture you could find at any funeral. Donna could recite them from memory. They had a quick prayer and then Donna realized that all eyes were on her. Nervously she realized that it was time for her to speak.

Removing herself from her seat was almost impossible; it felt like she had been glued to it. As she was slowly making her way up to the podium they had set up earlier that day her heels sank into the grass. The vicar patted her shoulder awkwardly and left her to it. Scanning the audience around her she saw nothing but familiar faces, which made it all the more terrifying. She couldn't let these people down, she was bound to bollocks it up. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't. And who would blame her? Everyone would accept that this was a difficult time for her and they would move on to John's portion of the service. Looking in John's direction it was as if he had read her mind. The way he looked at her unnerved her. He looked at her like, well, just like her grandad did. Like she was something special.

"I'm sorry," she began, "if I mess this up. I'm not good at this sort of thing. I want my grandad's funeral to be perfect and memorable and I'm afraid that I'm not going to do him justice. But, let me start off by saying that he loved each and every one of you. I can recognize every face here today. From his friends down at the senior centre down to the people that he talked to in the shops every day. My grandad was a remarkable person and just a little bit eccentric. As if you couldn't tell, we're having his funeral service on a hill top where he would come up to every night to look at the sky. You can't say that about a lot of funerals. I bet you he spent over half his time on this hill top; he loved it." A lump rose in her throat but she pushed it down. She was going to get through this.

"I know that no one is perfect but damn it, Wilfred Mott came as close as you could get. He had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the world. He was a loving father to my mother and a loving grandfather to my daughter and I. My husband Shaun never really had a father figure growing up, and my grandad had his doubts about Shaun at first, but he turned into the best fill-in father Shaun could have ever asked for." Her eyes began to water as she saw her mother and Shaun holding each other's hand tightly and crying. "He was the best friend you never knew could exist. Over half of you in attendance know that to be true. But please know that he lived his life the way he wanted these past few months. He spent time with all of you and he spent time with his family. He looked up at the stars and he dreamed about a world beyond ours. He held Jenny until she fell asleep and he and I snuck junk food into the house and hid it from mum. Shaun took him for a ride in his police car and he got to reconnect with someone he hadn't seen in a long time." Donna looked at John and nodded.

"He also made a new friend in Clara, who has become like part of the family. He cared for her as if he had raised her himself. And I couldn't had pried him away from John if I had tried," she paused, taking a few calming breaths, "Gramps left a letter for John to read to us today and I'm going to shut my big gob now and let him come up here and speak to you. I assure you he's a much better speaker than I am. In closing I want you all to know that I loved," she stopped herself, "I love my grandfather and I'm going to miss him every day. But he lived his life as a dreamer and that's the best way to live it. Thank you."

Tears streaked her cheeks as she made her way from the podium to her seat. Meeting John halfway he surprises her by gently grabbing her wrist in an attempt to comfort her and it forces her to look at him. When her eyes meet his something feels familiar; almost too familiar. She finds that she cannot look away, it's almost as if this has happened before. But how could it? In the few months that she has known John he'd never taken hold of her wrist before; he isn't the touchiest person. Something about those eyes. John is no spring chicken but his eyes are far too old for his face. Suddenly, as though she had been struck by lightning, she gasps loudly as a memory floods her mind.

"Donna!" her name was being called by the Doctor as they entered the console room, "Would you please slow down and look at me?"

They had just gotten back from one of their many trips to Chiswick and this one had not ended well. They had originally planned on spending the day with Wilf and away from Donna's scornful mother who still had a strong dislike for the Doctor when her grandad had to cancel last minute. This meant that their entire evening was spent with a scowling Sylvia Noble and her sharp tongue. Between her drilling the Doctor every five seconds and her constant hurtful remarks to her daughter they hadn't had much time to enjoy themselves. The whole ordeal finally caused Donna to snap at her mother and storm out, back to the safety of the TARDIS.

"Donna?" His voice was gentle and cautious, "Will you talk to me? Please?"

She kept her back to him and her tone neutral, "There's nothing to talk about, Spaceman. My mother made some hurtful comments, all of which were true, and I just couldn't take it anymore so I left." She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment as a few tears fell from her eyes.

"Hey now," he whispered, laying a hand on her shoulder, "don't listen to a word she says. You know she's wrong."

Flinching out of his touch she whipped around to face him. Her eyes weren't sad anymore; they were angry. "Oh, don't you start. You're just as bad as she is!" She spat at him, crossing her arms to make her point.

"Me?" He yelped in response, "What have I done? Except tell you how brilliant you are every chance I get. You always shut me down; refuse to believe me. I am the opposite of your mother."

She tore her glare from his eyes to look around the console room, "You may not have started it but you sure as hell fueled the fire."

"Fueled what fire? Donna, I don't know what you are talking about!" He pulled none too gently on his hair in frustration.

"You hadn't even known me half a day," her voice grew quiet and her face was sullen, "and you told me exactly what you thought of me. Not special, not important, you're such an excellent judge of character, Doctor. Imagine how it feels, living in your space ship, traveling to new worlds and having to hear you tell people you've only just met how special and brilliant they are. Even if you were lying to them you couldn't even have given me the same curtesy. I'm such a fool."

She saw that his entire demeanor had changed. He was wearing that, 'Oh, Donna' look. She hated that look. His eyes were so ancient but he could somehow make them appear so young when he looked at her like that.

"Oh, Donna," he tried coming closer to her again, "I am so sorry, I didn't," he looked as though he may actually cry, "I was in a bad place then. I didn't mean a word that I said. Of course you're important, you are Donna Noble. There's never been another like you and there never will be."

He leaned in for a hug but she wasn't having any of that. She still felt angry at him. She raised her right hand and made a move to slap him but he caught her wrist. She attempted to wriggle from his grasp but he stood his ground. She scowled at him and his eyes were practically begging her for forgiveness.

Having been put down her entire life Donna wasn't quick to forgive harsh words; especially since she had been harboring resentment towards the Doctor for that statement for quite a while. Of course he was still her best friend and she cared for him dearly, it just didn't ease the pain of what he had said. His words sounded so certain.

"How could you?" she asked as she turned her head to hide her tears. She could feel him lower their arms but his grip on her wrist didn't falter.

"Please forgive me," he requested, "I'm not good at admitting I need someone, you know that. But, I don't know what I would do without you. You're the best friend I have ever had and you don't know how much I love you for that. I'll never be able to express how much I regret hurting you."

She breathed in deeply through her nose and hesitated before answering, "I couldn't stay mad at you if I tried. I'll admit I've been holding on to that for a while but, I just don't want to dwell on it anymore. It's just hard sometimes, hearing that all your life and then this mystical stranger believes that about you too. I don't want us to fight anymore. You didn't do anything today, my mum did."

She closed the distance by snaking her arms around his shoulders and he held her close. Feeling the Doctor relax around her she allowed herself to smile. She felt embarrassed by letting herself get so emotional but truth be told, she needed it. Knowing that the Doctor knew how he made her feel on that bleak Christmas day made breathing easier. The resentment was fading into nothing but a memory.

"Are you sure we're okay?" The Doctor mumbled into her shoulder, "would you rather I take you home?"

Shaking her head furiously she adjusted her chin so that her hair wasn't blocking her mouth, "Don't you dare take me back there, Doctor. I'll deal with mum another day. Besides, the TARDIS is my home now."

He held her out at arms-length and beamed, "So you're not leaving me?"

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him fondly, "I'll never leave you."

She suddenly found herself lying down on a cool, wet surface. Opening her eyes quickly she attempted to un-blur her vision. Feeling grass blades under her hands she was aware of her surrounds enough to know she was on the ground. Staring up she could see John's face, no the Doctor's face, no John's, no it was the Doctor's face.

"Donna, look at me, are you okay?" He asked, worry in his voice.

She breathed lightly through her nose and smiled at him. She reached her hand up and laid her palm on his face. "Don't worry Spaceman, I'll never leave you."

When she saw the sheer panic appear on his face she closed her eyes again. She could faintly hear voices shouting her name but she couldn't be bothered. Before she completely lost consciousness she could hear her mother telling them to get her to the house. She couldn't help but think of how silly her mother was acting, it was only a headache after all.