Fic: Faith (1/2)

Title: Faith (1/2)
Author: shining_moment
Characters/Pairing: Ten/Donna
Rating: G
Word Count: 956
Summary: As she reaches him, he smiles, certain she must be able to hear his hearts crashing against his chest. She smiles back, a curious smile of vague recognition that makes him sad, makes him wish she was running at him and hugging him instead.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Doctor or Donna. They own me ;)
A/N: Post JE...yup, more fix-it fic. Big thanks to time_converges for her valued opinion on this when I was having a minor wibble...


He still misses her every day with a pain that feels like it will never lessen. He misses the feel of her hand in his, the gentle press of her lips against his skin, the ripple of her laughter in his ear, the sweet smell of her hair as it tickles his chest.

He hasn’t been back since he left her, hasn’t dared to but he’s wanted to, so badly it hurts. Every time he meets anyone new, he finds himself comparing them to her, wishing she was still with him and desperately aching to see her but he’s always resisted.

Until today.

He finds himself walking down a street close to where the Nobles’ house stands and he sees her walking towards him, the sight stopping him in his tracks, the sound of his hearts thundering in his ears. Her hair is curly and pulled back into a loose ponytail, reminding him of all the times he would pull it free and run his fingers through it, gently caressing her head as she would smile and close her eyes. She looks healthy, her eyes are shining, her skin bright, luminous even.

As she reaches him, he smiles, certain she must be able to hear his hearts crashing against his chest. She smiles back, a curious smile of vague recognition that makes him sad, makes him wish she was running at him and hugging him instead.

“Hello, it’s Donna, isn’t it?” he asks, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“It is, yeah,” she pauses, “Sorry, we’ve met, haven’t we? I just-“

“John Smith,” he interrupts, “I’m a friend of your Grandad's.”

“Of course, I remember, sorry,” she gestures down at the pram in front of her, smiling at him, “Lack of sleep.”

“And this is?” he tails off, peering into the pram, his breath catching at the sight of the sleeping baby with the soft tufts of red hair and the perfect pink rosebud lips.

“Amelia,” Donna says, smiling down at the baby who wrinkles her nose and makes a faint snuffling noise but doesn’t wake.

“Oh my, she’s beautiful,” he says, unable to tear his eyes from the tiny girl, wondering if her smile will curve in the same way as Donna's, if her eyes will sparkle with the same mischief of her mother's.

"She is now, yeah," Donna smiles, "Now she doesn't look like a wrinkly old fella like she did at first. I almost called her Wilf."

"Good name," he manages to smile back at her, "Maybe not for a little girl though. How old is she?"

"Three months," Donna leans down to reposition the blanket her daughter has just kicked off and that's when the baby chooses to wake up, opening her eyes and blinking once, twice before settling her gaze on her mother. The Doctor doesn't even need to think about how long it's been since he brought Donna home because the familiar brown eyes now looking in his direction tell him everything he needs to know.

"Are you happy?" he blurts out before he has a chance to think about what he's saying, "Sorry, it's none of my business."

"It's fine," she looks at him and nods her head slowly, "And I am, yeah. I mean, she was a bit of a shock but sometimes things happen for a reason, don't you think? Almost like destiny. Do you believe in destiny?"

"I," he pauses, nodding, "I do, yes."

"It's like she filled a huge gap in my life that I didn't know really needed filling, if that doesn't sound too stupid?"

"You could never sound stupid," he says, fondly, before remembering he was trying to aim for casual, “I’m glad, I mean, you know, I’m happy for you.”

"Oh, for crying out loud, Spaceman," his eyebrows raise in complete disbelief as she reaches out and takes his hand, tangling her fingers tightly in his, "Say hello to your daughter, will you?"

"Wha-? Donna?" he splutters, his mouth dropping open as he looks back at her, then down at the little girl in the pram before finding himself wrapped in the arms he's missed so much, her scent all around him, her breath on his face as he closes his eyes, hoping he won't open them to find this has been another cruel dream.

She pulls back and looks into his eyes, stroking his cheekbones tenderly with her thumbs as tears spill down her face as she smiles. She kisses him, her lips warm and soft on his, her hands moving to the back of his neck, her fingers raking through his hair before she pulls away and rests her forehead against his.

"I missed you so much, once I remembered you," she whispers, closing her eyes briefly as he squeezes her hand, bringing back so many memories with that one simple gesture, "Did you miss me?"

"Every minute of every day," he states solemnly, swallowing hard as he looks into her eyes with an intense chocolate gaze identical to the one she's been faced with ever since their daughter arrived.

"You're going to want to know what happened, aren't you?" she asks, smiling as he wipes the tears from her face, "How my head didn’t explode and all that."

"Well," he glances down at Amelia, still awake but making no sound, just looking adoringly at Donna, "Is she always this placid?"

"Surprisingly, she pretty much is, yeah," Donna steps back from the pram and gestures for him to take hold, grinning as his eyes widen in what looks like fear. Looping her arm through his, she kisses him quickly on the cheek, "Tea, I think we need tea. Come on, I think we‘ve got some catching up to do."