Disclaimer: Since the only Time Lord RTD ever brought back was the Master, I can authoritatively say I don't own them. Can't even say I own the plot. Just the alterations :)

Spoilers: The Doctor's Daughter, Stolen Earth, Journey's End. Anything Classic with Romana in it.

Author's Notes: I know Classics fans will be jumping for joy, but there should be a large segment of New fans jumping too. It's all because this fic just sat there as an idea in the notes folder until it hit me: Jenny was running around all over the place, canonically, so why not make it her that found Romana? Then the story just started flowing, and I think I finished the original draft of the first four chapters in one night.

Betaed by the lovely tkelparis, who has also been occasionally nagging me to write a prequel to this story. That'll probably be a few months, though.

Not Rose-friendly, so if you think Rose is the best thing since sliced bread, go find another fic.

Chapter 1: Not the Last of the Time Lords after all

"Owww," Jenny groaned and bent double, desperately trying to keep from revisiting her last meal. "You didn't say it would hurt so much. Or be so nauseating."

"I did tell you time travel without any shielding from the Vortex was debilitating," Romana said after she'd controlled her own nausea. She stood, cracked her neck and back, brushed her mahogany curls away from her heart-shaped face, then helped Jenny up. "Now to find out exactly where we are. I mean, it's Great Britain, 2008, London. It's a dreadfully smelly city, but unique in its' combination of stinks and odours. But exactly when and where is a bit of a trick."

"You never did explain why we had to go back in time after I told you about Donna and Martha, though," Jenny said in puzzlement as she followed the Time Lady she'd rescued from an obsessed collector.

"It was the way you described their clothes, mannerisms, and personal technology," Romana replied patiently. Jenny would ask stupid questions but she couldn't help it, having been made as she was and then abandoned. And at least she had the intelligence to ask when she didn't understand. She had to wonder, though, what had happened to the Doctor? That was most unlike him, to just leave like that. She would have expected him to stay for the funeral at least. "Their clothes and mobiles indicated an early 21st century origin, which means he's likely spending a good bit of time in this here and now. We'll just have to put together a TARDIS detector and track him down."

"But we don't look out of place, and our clothes are from elsewhen," Jenny said, tugging on her blue t-shirt as they walked down the street and passed people. "Well not too much out of place," she added as she stared at a man with a bright green mohican who was dripping chains off his leather jacket. She walked on a few paces, taking in the sights, then realised Romana had stopped and turned about to rejoin the dark-haired elegant beauty.

Romana was stood at a newsstand, scanning the papers on offer and looking for signs of trouble. At least she had the precise date - fifth of July, 2008. "Hm. Nothing unusual."

Jenny peered at the paper, then smiled at the kind-looking old man tucked up in the stall. He smiled back, which meant he was a friendly sort...but Dad probably didn't come through here, so it'd probably be a waste of time to ask about him.

Romana smiled at the old man as well - he seemed a cheery sort, for a newspaper hawker. So she bought a paper off him, then headed down the street again. "Come along Jenny. We've places to go and things to do."

"Like find Dad," Jenny nodded, gave the nice old man a cheery wave, then followed.

Wilf sent his latest customers off with a cheery 'Have a good'un', then shook his head and checked his watch. He was going to be late back home if Brian didn't move his lazy carcass, and then Sylvia would have kittens.

A few hours later, Romana and Jenny were on a bus, following the beeps of the thing Romana had made from bits in her pocket and the Vortex Manipulator. "I still don't understand how you turned those bits and bobs and the manipulator into a Dad-finder."

"It isn't technically a Doctor-finder," Romana replied, blue eyes fixed on the screen. "It's a TARDIS predictive calculator. It would take educating you in five-dimensional temporal calculus at the very least for you to understand the details, but basically I've cobbled these bits and bobs into a device that will tell me where the TARDIS will be. It's a pity that, in using the manipulator as the predictive base, I took away our ability to use it to just hop there-then, but he's going to be somewhere around here within the next few hours, according to the timelines."

The machine made a sound like a hiccup, and Jenny stared at it. "Was it supposed to do that?"

"No, no it wasn't," Romana frowned and shook it, and it hiccupped again. "We'll need to get off here."

Fortunately there was a stop nearby, so they got off the bus and wandered down the street past a church. "So," Jenny started. "Why'd it hiccup? I thought it was supposed to beep."

"Something's going incredibly wrong with this space-time location-" Romana was interrupted by a tremendous jolt that threw the two women into each other and then down to the ground. From the heap on the sidewalk they made, Romana stared at the sky, aghast at the sudden change. From sunny day to pitch black night. Only it wasn't quite pitch-black...there were other planets in the sky, and far too close for comfort. "Oh my...the planet's been stolen."

Jenny rolled off Romana, then looked up at the sky. "Oh Source, look at that. Those are other planets." Jenny looked at Romana, a bit scared. "Someone's collecting whole planets!"

Romana cringed, remembering her time as a collectible before Jenny had rescued her. They'd taken great pleasure in blowing up the place, after freeing all the other collected women and assorted beings. "Yes...but for what?" Romana murmured, once she'd gotten over the shock. "Come on, we have to find an electronics store," she said as she got to her feet and moved into a jog.

Then she smacked her head and ran back to Jenny, who was patiently waiting for her. "The shops were this way, weren't they?"

"Yup. I'd have shouted if you got much further," Jenny grinned, then lead the way. "There's even a computer shop, if I remember right."

"That is exactly what we need," Romana said, then saved her breath for running. She could dimly sense the burgeoning panic of the population, and wanted to get inside and safe before armed looters started rioting. She did, after all, have a very precious girl to look after. Even if that girl could actually look after both of them better, she was still older and felt responsible.

After noticing no one was about - not even an employee - Romana stood back as Jenny jimmied the lock with a set of tools that there would have to be words over later. Words like 'where did you get those?', and 'can you get me some?'.

"There. All in - let's get what we need and find a safe place," Jenny said, eyeing the street warily. All she had was a pistol and a stunner, and that wasn't enough to keep them safe, not with the way all her senses were screaming 'Danger!' at her. And it was the ones she didn't really know how to use, either. The Time Lord ones...well, too late for more lessons now, she'd just have to deal with being on-edge.

She was taken aback, though, when Romana picked up one of the laptops then headed for one of the doors in the back. "What are you doing? We need to find a safe place - there'll be looters any minute, plus whatever stole the planets may come along to attack the population into submission!"

"And why would anyone look in the locked back room of an empty store, so long as we stay quiet?" Romana replied with an arch look, amusement sparkling in her greenish eyes. "Besides, we're safe enough here for now, and I need to work on things."

"Fine," Jenny grumbled and unlocked the door for the sometimes annoying woman she'd rescued and was travelling with. Then she split her attention between the door and the broadcasts that played while Romana worked.

Then something occurred to her. "Romana?"

"Mmm?" was the reply. Romana had most of her attention on hacking into UNIT computers so she could use Earth's detection equipment to find out what was going on. "What is it?"

"I didn't think about it until just now - how are we still breathing and not frozen?" Trusting her hearing to tell her if anyone was going to get -too- close, Jenny walked over to the other woman and peered at the screen. The broadcasts were voice-only, apparently, because the screen was filled with an image. Rather blobby, but it looked vaguely familiar all the same... "Is that a space station in the middle of the planets?"

"Atmospheric shell. Good, because we didn't all freeze and die. Bad, because that means that whoever's responsible wants the people as well as the planet." Romana looked up briefly and smiled. "Good catch. Yes, that's a space station, but Earth technology right now is too primitive to give us a really good look at it." She turned back to the screen and bit the corner of her lip. "Looks like we're going to find out who the thieves are - look, inbound ships departing the station."

"Two hundred of them," Jenny nodded, frowning at the screen. "Romana...Earth's not got good enough tech to stand up to that many attacking alien ships...has it?"

"No," Romana shook her head and sighed. "But they'll try anyway. Humans are stubborn and tenacious, and they'll do anything to defend what's theirs. Now if this lot of invaders will only be mannerly and broadcast, we can figure out who they are, and then maybe we can do something to help."

They watched the ships approach, and at fifteen hundred miles away, the aliens did indeed begin broadcasting. But oh, how Romana wished they hadn't - she felt her hearts freeze in fear, and she trembled in her seat.

Jenny frowned and rested a comforting hand on Romana's shoulder. "I'm going to guess you recognise the voices?" She didn't bother to ask hostility level - anything that shouted 'Exterminate!' like that was definitely out to kill.

"I...yes, I do recognise them," Romana managed, after a moment. "But after you told me what little the Doctor mentioned of the Time War, I had thought they were all gone." She swallowed, shook her head to focus herself, then pulled out the mangled Vortex Manipulator turned TARDIS-predictor and tried it again. "Blast," she said when all it did was hiccup forlornly. "No TARDIS, no weapons, and a Dalek army...oh Doctor, where are you?"

"You think he'd come? With Daleks around? He was awfully pacifistic when I was born...that was half his trouble in accepting me." Jenny said with a sigh, then she frowned. "We're staying put, unless you can give me a good reason for moving us right now."

"Of course he'd come, he likes Earth. Plus, the Daleks are terrified of him, for good reason," Romana said, then sighed. "The question is, what have they done to keep him away, and can he get through it? And yes, we'll stay - unless this gives me a location, there isn't any point in moving."

"Dad and Donna never stop thinking. Even when they're running, they're always thinking. Soon's they notice the planet's gone, they'll get right to it. You'll see." Despite her reassurances, Jenny was starting to fret. There was a war about to be waged, against an enemy she knew nothing about, and all she had was a pistol and a stunner.

"Tell me more about Donna," Romana asked, to distract Jenny from useless fretting, as she got back to work. There had to be some group somewhere that would have a plan. A weapon, something. Even just a low-level broadcast from someone trying to gather a group to fight back would be helpful.

"Don't really know that much that I didn't already tell you. She's got gorgeous ginger hair, and a fierce temper, but it's not an unreasonable one - she doesn't snap at any little thing. But Dad seemed to annoy her sometimes, cos when I had him speechless with logic once, she was really amused and told me to keep it up. Like it was giving her a break."

"He's always hated it when someone points out how irrational he's being at whatever given moment. But he never tries to deny logic. He just...doesn't always use it." Romana smiled at Jenny over her shoulder, then returned to her work. At least the wi-fi she was hooked into was still working.

"She's really observant too - notices stuff other people don't, which is how they found out the war I'd been created to fight in had only been seven days long. Course, at first even she didn't think I was a really real person, but I do have a mind and independent thought and so on, and me telling her that changed her mind right smart. And I know I told you she was the one who figured out a name for me." Jenny leant against a wall and thought about how little she really knew about the two people who'd been the most important in her life.

"Sounds like a good person for him to be travelling with," Romana said with a reminiscent smile.

"Yeah, but I bet their close friendship draws a lot of annoyance. I mean, barely half-hour out of the machine and I thought they were together-together, though they denied it." A series of beeps caught Jenny's attention, and for a moment she thought it was the Dad - no, TARDIS - detector, but it was coming from the computer. "What's that?"

"A broadcast, working on some sort of subwave...I think. Hang on, let me try and tune into it, clear it up." Romana worked frantically for a few minutes, and then they received a woman's voice.

"Can anyone hear me? The Subwave Network is open. You should be able to hear my voice. Is there anyone there?"

Romana worked harder at it while the woman talked, until the screen resolved into four split windows. One occupied by an older woman, one occupied by two men and a woman, and one occupied by a woman and a child. The last was empty except for static.

"Sarah Jane Smith," Romana murmured, feeling a bit of awe at finally seeing one of the companions the Doctor had talked most about during her time with him, once she was identified. "Jenny! See if you can find a working webcam in this flotsam! We need to be able to talk with these people!"

"On it!" Jenny caroled and started rummaging. A webcam she didn't know, but a camera would, by definition, have a lens. As Martha Jones joined the conversation, Jenny growled in frustration. "Why can't they be useful and have a camera in here? I'd love to say hi to Martha!"

"Probably because it's the repair portion of the shop - I tucked us back here in case we needed parts," Romana replied sensibly. "If you think it's safe, duck out front and see if you can find one on the shelving. If one's not out there, try the storage room. And hurry!"

While Jenny was on the hunt, Romana took in the names of everyone. Captain Jack Harkness - flirt, but in charge of his own group. Martha Jones, doctor. She knew about Sarah Jane...and Harriet Jones was a former Prime Minister. Who, she discovered as Jenny came back with a webcam, had apparently done something that ticked the Doctor off, as he supposedly deposed her.

And what was an Osterhagen Key, that former PM Harriet Jones was so desperate to keep Martha from using? A key created by someone named Osterhagen, obviously...but a key to what? Probably nothing good from the firm way Harriet had put her foot down about it.

She grumbled as she argued with the camera - first it didn't want to connect to the computer, then when she realised she'd had the plug turned the wrong way, it had to install software. She didn't manage to get connected until they were getting ready to call the Doctor, and Ianto pointed out that if they did, then the Daleks could find them.

Everyone on the Subwave Network stared as a new screen resolved, and a voice none of them knew said. "That's a very good point, Ianto Jones. But if you wrap the broadcast in a recursive blindfold matrix resonating at 72.9 gigahertz, the Daleks literally won't be able to see it."

"Who are you?" Harriet Jones asked before any of the others could. "You're not the Doctor, but you talk like him."

"My name's Romana, and I travelled with the Doctor too, at one point in my life. Long story we haven't got time to get into now, but I wouldn't even be here without Jenny."

"Oh my God!" Martha gasped when Jenny's face popped onto the screen and grinned at them. "But you're...you were..."

"Dead?" Jenny asked over Romana's shoulder, still grinning. "Not really, just looked it. No time to explain...except for Romana explaining to whoever needs to know how to do the blindfold matrix."

Rose stared at the Noble's computer with a frown. "Who are they?" she asked. "I've never heard of either of them."

Wilf stared at the image of that lovely dark-haired lady and the sweet little blonde. "Blimey! Dunno who they are, but I saw them! Just today, at my newsstand!"

He didn't think it was a good thing to mention that Donna had told him that the Doctor had got a daughter named Jenny who'd been shot and, supposedly, died the day she was born from a machine. Or that the Jenny he'd met had said she was looking for her Dad as the two of 'em had walked away. Pity neither of them had mentioned he was the Doctor, or he'd have invited them home.

Not that them being here would've gone over well, given their current guest. Rose had that big gun and was already fussed enough that she couldn't talk to anyone on this network - no point in letting her have something else to get all worked up about. She might get fussed enough to be dangerous.

A very busy time passed, and just before the transmission began, Romana gave Harriet Jones a warning. "Now, I said they wouldn't be able to detect the broadcast...but if we go too long without being able to contact him, they will be able to detect something like ripples from all the energy in use, and they might be able to use that to home in on you by triangulating the ripples."

"They would have done that without the blindfold matrix - but my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth. Now, enough of words. Let's begin." Harriet very carefully didn't mention to Romana that all her equipment was cobbled together, and the blindfold would likely short out before too long. She didn't want to distract the helpful woman who'd worked hard to give her a chance to survive.

The transmission was initiated, and shortly there were bangs of equipment exploding, and sparks flying in the background of both Jack's window and Sarah Jane's, and Jenny bit her lip nervously. All they'd been able to do was tell them about the blindfold matrix, and if sparks started flying at Harriet's place...

"Come on, Dad," she murmured, too soft to be picked up by the webcam. "Get through before it's too late."

Romana, who'd opened a window to monitor the fluxing of the transmission, bit her lip as she noticed what she'd been afraid of. "Damn them, what did they do to keep the Doctor away? Harriet, the ripples are already starting to be at detectable levels. Torchwood, are the Daleks doing anything?"

"Not yet," Gwen replied after a glance at a monitor. "There's saucer movement, but not in any particular direction."

"Harriet, set the frequency to oscillate between 72.9 and 67.5. That should buy you a bit more time, and make the ripples more confusing so they'll have a harder time of it."

Harriet smiled, a sad proud smile. "I'm afraid I daren't, Romana. What I cobbled together to make the blindfold matrix work isn't-" she ducked a spray of sparks. "-very stable. And that was it, burning out."

"They haven't caught on quite yet," Gwen said. "Still no destination detectable."

A new screen fuzzed into being and slowly resolved into the Doctor and Donna's face. "...some sort of Subwave Network."

"Doctor!" Five voices shouted, with a sixth saying "Dad!" instead, and then Jack continued. "Where the hell have you been? Doctor, it's Daleks!"

Gwen and Ianto had a bit of byplay about the Doctor's age and appearance, then Sarah Jane said. "The Daleks are taking people away, taking them to their ships."

"It's not just Dalek Caan," Martha added, but she might as well not have bothered, because the Doctor had finally noticed Jenny.

"Jenny? You...you were...you died in my arms!" he said, tears trying to form that he blinked away. "You didn't regenerate! How?"

"Short answer, I dunno. I just woke up, and since you weren't there I stole a shuttle and left the planet. Been banging around ten years since then trying to figure out how to find you again, Dad. Didn't manage that, but I did find someone else who knows you," She grinned and pulled her head out of the screen to reveal Romana.

Everyone watching the Subwave Network saw the Doctor's face light up, from his eyes to his brilliantly happy smile. Martha even thought his hair had perked up from the joy he was radiating.

"Romana," he breathed as he recognised the sense and feel of her, even though the face was new. "Oh Romana...I thought I'd never see you again."

"I didn't either, Doctor." Romana said, shining with the same joy he had. Neither of them noticed the rest of the Subwave chatroom introducing themselves to Donna. In fact, neither of them did more than stare at each other with goofy smiles until Harriet cleared her throat.

"As lovely as it is to have helped arrange the reunion, Doctor, I need to hand the Subwave Network over to Torchwood. I'm afraid the Daleks will find me very shortly."

"Oh? Well, we'll see what we can do about that," the Doctor reached for some controls, but before he could, the screen fuzzed up on him. "Ooh what's this? Another signal coming through? There's someone else out there...hello? Hello, can you hear me? Rose? Is that you?"

Oh, of course it couldn't be Rose, Romana thought, whoever she was. Another former companion she expected, as everyone on the Network, save for Harriet, was. Aside from their compatriots and/or family, of course.

No, it had to be Davros. The monster who created the Daleks. The monster who somehow survived past all odds to come back and create them all over again - this time from bits of himself. That raised the threat by an entire order of magnitude - Daleks were simply pure hate in a metal shell. Davros was insane enough and brilliant enough to direct that hate to be a true threat to all of existence.

While he was gloating at the Doctor, who was, uncharacteristic for him, not riposting back properly, Romana silently aided Torchwood in taking control of the Subwave Network before the Daleks could home in on Harriet Jones. Torchwood was better protected than a house, any day.

Then her TARDIS predictor beeped frantically, indicating that a future location near enough for them to run to had been detected. She made hurried farewells, then ran out of the room with Jenny hot on her heels.

"Sector seven," she said as they made as much speed as they could through the back ways and alleys that the Daleks were not paying attention to, for reasons she couldn't stop to ponder. "That's our sector, by the way. Six-six-five grid reference, means we're not far away at all. How's that for luck?"

"We're sticking to the alleys though," Jenny insisted. "Last thing we need is to get shot by a Dalek - or captured. Captured's probably worse."

"Actually shot is worse, even for a Time Lord," Romana corrected the youngling. "Time Lords can't regenerate from a full-on blast from a Dalek weapon. It's one of the many reasons my people - our people - feared and hated them so much." She smiled wanly as they cautiously crept across an open road to the next alley that would get them closer. They could probably run right down this road and get there faster. But not safer.

"Oh. Captured, there's always a chance to escape, no matter what they do." Jenny had to grab hold of Romana then, because at the sound of a peculiar grating, grinding wheeze of a noise, the woman had almost run out of the alley they were in. "Check first! With how happy he looked to see you, it'd kill him to have you shot right in front of him!"

Jenny looked out the alley, both ways, then ducked her head back in. "What's Dad's TARDIS look like?"

"A blue box, says Police on it," Romana replied, nearly vibrating from feeling him so close. "Did you see it?"

"Yep." Jenny sighed as Romana pushed past her and then stopped dead a few steps away from the alley. Then she started running, so Jenny darted out to provide cover, gun drawn. She didn't care what Dad had to say about guns at this moment, this was probably the brightest spot in this catastrophe and she was bloody well going to protect them!

Okay, that was weird, she thought. Some armed blonde was running for Dad too, and she was closer. But Romana was faster, and could take care of herself. She started scanning for danger, then noticed movement. A Dalek, it had to be! Raising her pistol, she took aim at it's eyestalk and screamed. "Dad! Look out!"

"Dammit, where is she?" The Doctor asked, looking around. "I got the TARDIS as close to her as I could without drawing Dalek attention to her and Jenny...so where are they?"

"They'll be here," Donna said and laid a soothing hand on his arm. "Probably taking time for safety - it looks like a ghost town around here."

"Sarah Jane did say they were taking the people," he replied, fidgeting as he looked around the empty street. He could feel Romana, she was so close! But where was she? Distracted, he continued with the conversation. "But what for? Donna, think. When you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?"

"Just, the darkness is coming. I thought it was something to do with the stars going out." She shrugged, then caught sight of a blonde head she recognised, just not the one she wanted to see most for the Doctor's sake. "But look, you could always ask her yourself."

He looked up and saw Rose, who smiled when she saw him. But the feeling in his head crescendoed into a familiar song, and he saw a different, much more desired face past her. He could always talk to Rose in a minute - he needed to get to Romana!

He took off running, pushing himself to top speed without any buildup. He'd pay later, but that was later! Every second spent at less than top speed was a second without Romana in his arms! He was so focused on running to her that he barely noticed Rose running toward him.

He did notice when Jenny screamed "Dad! Look out!" though. He turned his head, saw the Dalek aiming at him, and managed to change his angle of momentum just enough so that it'd be a glancing hit, rather than dead-on.

He spun from the impact anyway and landed hard on his back. Dazed from the impact, made harder by all that redirected momentum, he thought he could hear Jenny scream a denial, and then the sound of gunshots. But he couldn't seem to catch his breath to have a look-round...well, no matter. The important bit, his missing half, had just skidded to a halt, dropped to her knees, and caressed his face with a gentle touch. She'd tell him what was going on.

"Oh Doctor," Romana sighed, to the backdrop of gunshots and an explosion.

Rose saw the Doctor and smiled, then her face lit up when he started running to her. So she started running too. Her grin faded away when she was passed from behind by that woman calling herself Romana and she pushed herself to try and take first place back. She was here, he was here, nothing else mattered!

Except he got shot, and that...that bint got there first! How dare she touch him like that when he was hers! It was all their fault he got shot anyway!

Jenny forced herself to not cry as she shot dead-on at the Dalek's eyestalk. One round after another as fast as that excellent pistol could fire...but nothing was getting through. Looked like she had to play Dodge the Dalek, she thought as her finger pulled the trigger but the gun clicked empty.

Then the Dalek blew up. And revealed that really cute Jack behind it, with a really good gun.

"Hi," she said, coming down from the adrenaline rush of combat. "Nice gun."

"It is, isn't it?" he grinned back at her, slung it over his shoulder then offered his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness, nice to meet you in person, Jenny."

"Likewise," she smiled and put a bit of flirt in both smile and handshake, but a glimpse of movement caught her eye. Someone was about to interrupt Romana's reunion with Dad, and she wasn't going to have it. "'Scuse me."

She caught up to Rose very easily and grabbed the gun, tugging her backward until the strap slid off her shoulder. "Give me that."

"What? Who the hell do you think you are, taking my gun?" Rose snapped, half her attention on this girl who called the Doctor 'dad', and half on the Doctor being cosied up by that Romana.

"I think I'm a lot more responsible than you to have this," Jenny snapped and checked the darkness around them for more Dalek movement. "I was stood there facing off a Dalek with a pistol, and you just acted like you didn't even have this gun! You never carry a gun for protection and not use it to protect! People die that way!"

"So? It's not a threat anymore, is it? Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get to the Doctor!" Rose started for her prone man, only to find Jenny in the way again and blocking her.

"That's not the point! The point is that you had this gun, and you could've shot the damn thing if you'd been paying attention, and then MY DAD WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SHOT!"

Jack intervened then, though more of his attention was on scanning for more Dalek threats. "Ladies, enough arguing about guns! The Doctor's been shot and we need to get him safely in the TARDIS!"

Romana anticipated a scolding from that little soldier later, but he was right there and she just couldn't wait another moment! She took off running, a huge smile on her face, and barely took note of the blonde girl that wasn't Jenny running toward the Doctor too. She was just an obstacle to her destination - an easily-dodged obstacle too.

Her hearts seized when he fell, but she'd seen it was a glancing blow so she forced herself to not collapse but kneel beside him, and reached out a trembling hand to stroke his cheek.

"Oh Doctor," she sighed out, voice hitching and not really noticing the gunshots and explosion. "We can't ever have an easy time of it, can we?"

"Romana," he breathed and leant his cheek into her hand. She was really here, and oh, though he hurt he smiled up at her. "Missed you."

A bit of a scuffle drew her attention, then the most disturbing person she'd ever sensed shouted. "Ladies, enough arguing about guns, the Doctor's been shot and we need to get him safely in the TARDIS!"

"Sterling idea, Captain," Romana agreed, and wondered why and how he'd become a fixed-point, then snapped. "Jenny, come here and help me get your father inside the TARDIS."

"Sorry," Jenny replied, still holding the big gun she'd taken from Rose. "I don't trust her as a rear-guard. But," she said as Donna came running, now that she wouldn't get shot - very smart of her, Jenny thought. "Here's Donna, she can help." And she hip-checked Rose, who was complaining that she should be the one helping her dad. Stupid twit had already done enough damage, letting her dad get shot.

At the TARDIS, Donna shook her head and was glad she didn't get involved in that to-do. "Blimey," she muttered as Jenny and Rose looked like they were starting to get into it. "It's like a soap with guns out there." She took off running though, the moment it was safe, and helped Romana get the Doctor inside the TARDIS.

Once they were all back inside and the door shut, Donna fretted. "What do we do? There's some medicine or something, isn't there?"

"Just step back," Jack sighed, and wondered why this companion didn't know about regeneration. He didn't have time to worry about it because he had to catch Rose and keep her back. "Rose, do as I say and get back. He's dying, and you know what happens next."

"What do you mean?" Donna cried out as Jenny joined her. "He can't!"

"No, oh no," Rose gulped. "I came all this way - you can't!" She struggled against Jack's hold as that horrible Romana finally left the Doctor's side.

Donna noticed, absently, that Romana had joined her and Jenny, and turned to her cos she was never going to get any answers out of a man with an armful of blonde. Never. "What does he mean, what happens next?"

"Trust the Doctor not to explain something important like regeneration to a companion," Romana sighed, then gave Donna the short explanation. "Time Lords, when we have a fatal injury, we regenerate. We're...reborn."

"Wot?" Donna asked as the Doctor's hand started to glow. "Like a phoenix?"

"Well yes, that's a very good analogy," Romana nodded, though her eyes were on the Doctor. "Only, every cell becomes completely new. Right down to the looks. In my last body, for example, I was as blonde as Jenny."

The Doctor gave a wan smile to Romana - trust her to manage to take a burden from his shoulders. "It's starting."

"But you can't!" Rose cried her denials out again as Jack pulled her against him. "I came all this way to get back to you...you can't!"

Jenny stared at Rose in disgust from where she was stood by Donna. "You can't honestly mean you'd rather he die than change! What kind of idiot are you?!"

"Here we go," Jack said and tucked Rose's head against his chest. "Good luck Doctor."

Jenny rolled her eyes as the really handsome Jack tended the idiot, then tucked a comforting arm around Donna. "It'll be all right, Donna. According to Romana, he'll still be Dad. He'll just have a different face and body."

"Oh, well that's all right then," Donna sniffed back tears and turned away from the brightening light she could blame them on. "Maybe he'll have some meat on those skinny bones this time." She tried to make a joke of it, but her voice broke at the end.

Romana and Jenny both heard the pain in her voice, and Romana draped her arm around the ginger the Doctor travelled with. And since they'd been paying attention to Donna, and not Rose, they missed the Doctor's warning and were taken by surprise by his regenerating.

Ending AN: See what I did back there? I saved Harriet Jones! *hee*