This is based off a picfic request I got on tumblr (accio-riversong). The prompt was: the TARDIS falls in love with Donna and flies her to glamorous locations as an apology for wrecking her life. Note that italic quotations are Donna's thoughts, and boldface italic quotations is the TARDIS speaking. I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters.

That blue box caught her off guard, like a smack in the face. For a moment she thought, "what the hell is THAT doing in my yard?" but a small part of her, deep inside of her soul, felt unexplainable happy.

Against her better judgment, Donna stepped towards the Police box, reaching out to touch the wood. It was warm against her skin despite the crispy autumn air that made her flesh blush with windburn. The door opened with a creek, causing the ginger to jump back ever so slightly.

"I swear, if someone jumps out at me they'll have a black eye until January!" Donna quipped, chalking everything down to a prank. However reluctantly, she pushed open the Police box's door, and the sight nearly knocked the wind out of her.

Within the confines of the small, wooden box that sat in her yard was anything but small. She brought her hand to her mouth, trying to cover her astonishment. "This isn't possible!" she thought, but continued inward towards the… well… whatever it was! But even through her utter disbelief, a nagging voice in the back of her mind spoke.

"It's different."

"Alright, how'd you pull this off? A bit of the ol' smoke and mirrors, ey? Well you can't fool me!" she spoke aloud, more to herself than anything. While reason told her this was a joke, someone from work messing with her for fun, her heart told her different. It was on the tip of her tongue, ducking into the shadows of her mind. Donna closed her eyes, swallowing hard. When did her headache start?

"My fiery one! It worked!"

Donna opened her eyes, whipping around to find no one but herself amidst the impossible blue box.

"Oi! I'm not in the mood for your games! Show yourself," Donna yelled, and a sharp pain ran across her brain. The woman gasped, bringing her hands to cradle her head.

"TARDIS."

A stream of cold air whirled around her, almost as if it were dancing. Everything was too much for Donna; she wasn't the kind of person who liked to be tricked, or who wasn't in control. And this situation was out of her realm of understanding. Why did this box, this Police box, feel so… right? And her head… and these names… and these images! What did they mean?

Donna let out a strangled cry as her head began to burn with the heat of a thousand suns. She fell to her knees, doubling over in pain.

"Doctor, TARDIS, Pompeii, Ood Sphere."

"STOP!"

"Sontaran, Jenny, The Library, River Song, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, Meta-Crisis, Doctor-Donna."

Donna screamed as the pain reached a climax, like an axe splitting open her reality. It all came to her, the things she had forgotten… how could she have forgotten! The Doctor, their adventures, her friends. But why did it hurt? The woman collapsed, rolling on her back to stare up at the ceiling of the TARDIS; not her TARDIS but definitely the same one.

Suddenly, a million brilliant lights glowed above her, flying and swimming through the air, joining together to form a woman. Just a face, one that made her smile despite her pain, the pain that she believed was going to kill her.

"Donna, brilliant Donna, lovely Donna," the woman spoke, with a voice as smooth as silk, as beautiful as a song.

"Are you…" she began, and the woman just smiled and nodded.

"Open your mind for me, oh fiery one. Let me in… let me save you."

Donna closed her eyes, allowing the last of her tears to spill down her cheeks. She trusted the machine, her spaceman's spaceship, with her life. And so she did as she was told, calming herself as much as possible. A sudden burst of cold filled her body, followed by a pulling sensation. It was as if someone was tugging at her soul, separating herself from the foreign, from the blinding golden heat.

It was over as soon as it began. The pain was gone, her tears were dry. The last of her memories floated into her consciousness.

"He stole your mind and erased himself from you. The Doctor, in all this glory, saved your life and killed you."

Donna sat up slowly, and the TARDIS hummed beneath her. She was so confused, yet she understood everything. The TARDIS, her TARDIS, had brought her back. But why… and how?

"The Doctor couldn't save you, my precious Donna. But I could…"

The ginger chuckled, realizing that all new tears had formed and were rolling down her flushed cheeks. Tears of happiness, of a lost life being found once again. Tears of love.

"Stand, fiery one. Stand and come with me. Fly me to the stars, through the galaxy and back again. Anywhere… everywhere… me and you."