A/N: Hi! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, if you celebrate. If not, I hope you all have/had a happy holiday season :) I'm sorry for the wait for this chapter. Things were insanely busy at my house this past week. But let me just say a huge thank you to my followers, to those who have already favorited this, and to everyone who has left such kind reviews. I adore you all. Enjoy part 2 of Partners in Crime!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related. That all goes to the BBC. *Some lines below are borrowed from the episode Partners in Crime. Credit for those lines belong to their respective writers.*

Running for their lives once more, the Doctor began to lead them back up to the roof. Turning to Donna, Rose asked, "What are you even doing here? At Adipose... after hours?!"

"I'm investigating!" she answered gleefully as they reached the rooftop. "Because I thought, how do you find the Doctor and Rose? And then I just thought, look for trouble and then they'll turn up." She continued as the Doctor soniced the door shut and then began working on the window washer's cradle, "So I looked everywhere. You name it. UFOs, sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet they're connected. Because the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You two opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day. I mean, that's got to be a hoax."

Rose smirked. "Oh, yeah. Complete bullocks."

The Doctor stopped what he was doing and looked towards the ginger woman. "What do you mean, the bees are disappearing?"

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet. Well, on the same site, there was all these conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries and I thought, let's take a look."

"In you get!" he said, once done working on the cradle.

"What, in that thing?"

"Yes, in that thing."

"Not again," Rose groaned.

"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again," Donna stated.

"She makes a point, Doctor."

"No, no, no, because I've locked the controls with a sonic cage," he explained proudly. "I'm the only one that can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own, which is very unlikely."

Once the three were safely in, the slowly began to lower. "Sorry, Doctor, but what exactly are we doing in this thing again?" Rose questioned. Before he could answer, the cradle dropped suddenly and began to propel down at an alarming rate. Raising his screwdriver, he was able to stop their dissent. "Must have her own sonic device," she said, giving the Time Lord a pointed look.

"Yeah, yeah, we can all have a go at me later."

Donna looked around nervously, trying to figure out an escape plan. "What are we going to do!?"

Realising they were stopped in front of Miss Foster's office once more, the Doctor began sonicing the window. "Hold on. Hold on. We can get in through the window."

Noticing that the screwdriver was taking a lot longer than usual, Rose asked, "What's wrong?"

The Doctor turned and growled in frustration. "Can't get it open!"

"Well, smash it then!" Donna shouted as she picked a spanner up off the floor and began beating the window.

As Rose watched the pair in front of her pound on the glass (that clearly was not going to break), she started to hear a familiar buzzing sound. "Shhh! Wait, you two. Listen, listen."

Pausing, they both stopped and looked around. "She's cutting the cable!" Donna noticed right as one of the cables snapped, sending her flying out of the cradle. Rose immediately wrapped her arms around the still connected cable and watched in terror as the Doctor carefully scooted down, trying his best to reach the other woman.

"Donna!" he shouted.

"Doctor!" she replied, sending a wave of relief through the Doctor and Rose. She was still alive and hadn't fallen... yet.

"Hold on!" he instructed when he saw she was dangling by the end of the broken cable.

"I am!"

Rose continued to clutch her own cable tightly as she looked up, trying to discern what Miss Foster would do next. When she realised what the woman had planned, she yelled. "Doctor!"

Hearing Rose cry out in terror was never a pleasant experience for the Time Lord and almost certainly meant she was in immediate danger. After realising what was happening, he pulled out his sonic and stretched to hand it to Rose. "Stop her," he instructed.

Rose nodded, trusting that the device was set to the right setting, and pointed it directly at Miss Foster. Within seconds, she heard the woman cry out in pain and saw her drop her sonic pen. Holding on to the cable with one hand, the Doctor reached out as far as he could and caught Miss Foster's device before it could fall to the ground. Unable to reach the window they were in front of the Doctor called out, "Rose, it's time to put that gymnastic training to use. I need you to climb up! I'll be right behind you!"

Rose obediently began to climb the cable as she replied loudly, "For the record, I've been putting the gymnastic training to use every night!"

He smiled broadly. Leave it to Rose to retain her cheekiness even in life or death situations. "Ha! Too right!"

"Quit flirting. I'm going to fall!" Donna yelled at them. "What was I thinking? This is all your fault. I should've stayed at home."

Reaching the next window up, the Doctor easily slid it open and helped Rose inside, looking down at Donna he replied, "We won't be a minute!" Once inside, he immediately took Rose's hand and ran with her back down the stairs and towards Miss Foster's office.

"I know this is a really bad time, Donna's life is at stake and what not, but can I just tell you how much I've missed this!" Rose told him, breathless from all the running.

Pausing for the briefest moment, the Doctor pushed Rose against the wall and snogged her for all she was worth. "Me too," he said against her lips, before taking off again.

"Donna's gonna kill us!" She giggled.

"Our little secret." He winked.

When they reached the office, the Doctor immediately went for the window, where he could see Donna's dangling legs, and Rose went to the woman tied up in the chair.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" the woman asked frantically.

"Are you a journalist?" Rose asked, working on undoing the knots keeping her to the chair.

"Yes," she replied tersely.

"Just make something up. That's what you lot do, yeah?" Rose looked over and saw the Doctor had got the window and was desperately trying to grab Donna's kicking legs. "Get off," she heard the fiery red head snap. Abandoning the hopeless knots, she made her way next to the Doctor to try and help.

"I've got you. I've got you. Stop kicking!" he shouted.

Rose called out, "Donna, it's just the Doctor! Let 'im help you!"

Hearing Rose, Donna finally relaxed and let the Doctor pull her in. "I was right. It's always like this with you, innit?" she asked once inside, safe and sound.

"Oh, yes!" He smiled at her. "And off we go!"

"Oi!" the tied up woman cried as they began to exit.

The Doctor popped back in. "Sorry! Thought Rose had sorted you out." He soniced her bonds free. "Now do yourself a favour. Get out."

As they ran back through the call centre, the three turned a corner and ran straight into Miss Foster and her guards. "Well, then. At last," she stated calmly.

"Hello," Donna greeted in mock-friendliness.

The Time Lord nodded. "Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor."

The blonde to his right waved. "I'm Rose."

"And I'm Donna," the other woman finished.

"Partners in crime." Miss Foster smirked. "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor reached in his pocket, "I've still got your sonic pen. Nice. I like it. Sleek. It's kind of sleek."

"Oh, it's definitely sleek," Donna agreed.

Rose shrugged. "I've seen better."

"Don't mind her," the Doctor whispered. "Just jealous she doesn't have one of her own." Ignoring Rose's snort, he continued, "But back to you Miss Foster, answer me this, if you were to sign your real name, that would be?"

"Matron Cofelia of the Five Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class," she answered.

Recognition dawned on his face. "A wet nurse, using humans as surrogates."

"What seriously?" Rose looked between the Time Lord and the apparent wet nurse.

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost," Miss Foster, or rather Matron Cofelia, explained.

"What do you mean lost? How do you lose a planet?" the Doctor questioned.

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."

"What, like an outer space super nanny?" Donna chimed in.

"Yes, if you like."

"So... So those little things, they're, they're made out of fat, yeah, but that woman, Stacy Campbell, there was nothing left of her."

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

Rose and Donna gasped as the latter asked, "What about poor Stacy?"

"Seeding a level five planet is against galactic law," said the Doctor darkly.

The woman in front of them narrowed her eyes. "Are you threatening me?"

"I'm trying to help you, Matron. This is your one chance, because if you don't call this off, then I'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets." With the, the guards flanking her raised the guns.

Raising his hands, the Doctor shifted his body in front of Rose's. "No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. One more thing, before dying. Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?"

"No."

He grinned manically. "Nor me. Let's find out." Pushing his sonic screwdriver and the Matron's sonic pen together, he created a glass shattering sound, causing everyone but himself to grab their heads in pain.

Rose cried out, clutching her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard a wolf howling, and someone calling out her name. The voice was so familiar... One she would recognise anywhere...

"Come on!" Donna's voice broke through, as she pulled the Doctor and Rose away.

Running as fast as possible, the Doctor lead the ladies back to the storage closet he and Rose had been hiding in all day.

As he threw out various mops and buckets, Donna said, "Well, that's one solution. Hide in a cupboard. I like it."

The wall slid back to reveal the green machinery. "I've been hacking into this thing all day, because the Matron's got a computer core running through the centre of the building. Triple deadlocked. But now I've got this," he held up the sonic pen, "I can get into it. She's wired up the whole building. We need a bit of privacy." He held up two wires together, causing sparks.

"What did you do?" Rose asked.

"Stopped the guards that were coming after us." He peered at the machinery. "Why's she wired up the tower block? What's it all for?"

Donna observed the pair she had been searching for for so long. "You look older. You both do," she commented.

"Thanks," the Doctor replied with a hint of sarcasm. He knew where this was leading and this was not a discussion he wanted to have at the moment... Or ever for that matter.

"Still just you two travelling?"

"Yep. Well, no. We had this friend. Martha she was called. Martha Jones. She was brilliant. And I destroyed half her life. But she's fine, she's good. She's gone."

Rose cringed, trying desperately not to dwell on why Martha had left them. She decided to change the subject. "What about you, Donna? I thought you were going to travel the world?"

"Easier said then done. It's like I had that one day with you two, and I was going to change. I was going to do so much. Then I woke up the next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try. I went to Egypt. I was going to go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water, and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been mad turning down that offer."

The Doctor frowned. "What offer?"

"To come with us," Rose whispered to him.

"Come with us?" he repeated questioningly.

Taking that as an invitation, Donna practically squealed. "Oh yes, please!"

He blinked. Unsure of what to say. "Right."

"Inducer activated," a computerised voice announced.

"What's it doing now?"

"She's started the programme."

"Inducer transmitting," the computer continued.

Rose began biting her thumb. "What does that mean though? Is everyone taking the pills going to turn into those little fat babies?"

The Doctor examined the machine."So far they're just losing weight, but the Matron's gone up to emergency pathogenesis."

Donna nodded. "And that's when they convert..."

"Skeletons, organs, everything. A million people are going to die. Got to cancel the signal." He pulled the Adipose pendant out of his pocket and began dismantling it. "This contains a primary signal. If I can switch it off, the fat goes back to being just fat," he explained, attaching part of the pendant to the inducer.

"Inducer increasing," the computer stated.

"No, no, no, no, no. She's doubled it. I need. Haven't got time. It's too far. I can't override it. They're all gonna die!"

"There's got to be a way to stop it!" Rose cried out, searching his face for answers.

"Is there anything I can do?" Donna asked, trying her best to stay calm.

He went back to the machine. "Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you. Got to double the base pulse, I can't..."

"Doctor, tell me. What do you need?"

"I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got the one. I can't save them," he told her, grabbing his hair in frustration.

With ease, Donna reached in her pocket and pulled out her own pendant, handing it over to the Doctor.

"Donna Noble, I could bloody kiss you!" Rose proclaimed throwing her arms around the other woman's neck.

She winked. "No thanks, blondie. You're not really my type."

The three breathed a sigh of relief as the Doctor used the second pendant to boost the override. Before they could utter another word though, the whole building shook as a loud noise made it's presence known above them.

"What the hell was that?" Donna asked bluntly.

"I think the nursery is here for pick up," the Doctor replied.

"When you say nursery you don't mean a crèche in Notting Hill."

"Nursery ship," he clarified.

Suddenly the machinery lit up once more. "Incoming signal." The Doctor listened carefully as a garbled voice came over the speaker.

Donna looked between him and Rose nervously. "Hadn't we better go and stop them?"

"Hang on." He held up his hand. "Instructions from the Adiposian First Family."

Rose scooted closer to the Time Lord. "What's being said? The TARDIS isn't translating."

"She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post," he muttered, not seeming to hear Rose. "Ooo. Oh. We're not the ones in trouble now. She is!" Immediately, he took off out of the cupboard with Rose and Donna right on his heels.

"What you going to do then? Blow them up?" Donna asked once they were back on the roof. All around them thousands of little adipose were being beamed up to the large spacecraft above them.

The Doctor shook his head. "They're just children. They can't help where they come from."

"Oh, that makes a change from last time. That Martha must've done you good."

"Things were different last time, Donna," Rose told her. "But, yeah. Martha was great."

The continued watching the little white blobs float up around them and even waved at a few. "I'm waving at fat," she said in disbelief.

"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works," the Doctor conceded.

"Doctor, look!" Rose called out, pointing towards Matron Cofelia, who was being beamed up as well. She paused when she was level with them.

"Matron Cofelia, listen to me," he started.

She shook her head. "Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it'll be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one ever listen. I'm trying to help. Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?" the Matron questioned with a laugh.

"Just listen. I saw the Adiposian instructions. They know it's a crime, breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of?" He stared straight at her. "Their accomplice."

"I'm far more than that. I'm nanny to all these children."

"Exactly! Mum and Dad have got the kids now. They don't need the nanny anymore." Suddenly, as if sensing his words, the levitation beam cut off. Matron Cofelia made eye contact for the briefest of moments before plummeting to her death.

Rose and Donna both leaned into the Doctor, cringing at the sound of her body landing.

When they made it back downstairs and in front of the building, the Doctor pulled the Matron's sonic pen out of his pocket. Snapping it in half, he threw it in a rubbish bin.

"Oi! I could have used that," Rose said, smacking his shoulder.

He threw his arm around her waist. "Thought you'd seen better?"

She sniffed. "Well, I have. But since you won't make me my own screwdriver-"

"Oi, you three," the journalist they had encountered earlier called, interrupting her. "You are all just mad. Do you hear me? Mad! And I'm going to report you for... madness!"

"Didn't we untie her?" Rose asked when she saw that the woman was tied to another chair.

Donna saddled up next to them. "You see, some people just can't take it."

"No," the Doctor agreed.

"And some people can. So, then. TARDIS! Come on!"

"That's my car!" Donna exclaimed when the Doctor led her to the alley he had parked the TARDIS in. "That is like destiny. And I've been ready for this." She flipped open the boot of her car and began pulling out various suitcases. "I packed ages ago, just in case. Because I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather. They goes anywhere. I've gotta be prepared."

Rose watched as Donna began piling the Doctor's arms with her luggage. A part of her was thrilled with the prospect of having Donna travelling with them. As much as she enjoyed just being with the Doctor, it was nice to have someone else around. Someone to share the wonders of the Universe with. But does Donna really know what she was getting in to? Martha thought she did, but had been so wrong.

"You've got a, a hatbox," the Doctor stated suddenly as Donna topped off the pile in his arms.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready. I don't need injections, do I? You know, like when you go to Cambodia. Is there any of that? Because my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and she- You're not saying much."

The Doctor gently put the luggage down and made eye contact with Rose. He could feel her excitement and trepidation of having Donna along with them. He needed to try to explain. "No, it's just. It's a funny old life, in the TARDIS."

"You don't want me," she said dejectedly.

"I'm not saying that."

"But you asked me... Would you rather be on your own?"

"That's not it at all, Donna," Rose chimed in. "You just need to know what you're getting in to. Things got complicated with Martha, there at the end. He wasn't exaggerating when he said that part of her life was destroyed, thought I disagree with his claim of it being his fault." She gave a pointed look to the man on her left. "You need to truly understand the risks before you come with us. Because, as wonderful and amazing as the Universe can be, it's not always kind. And there's a good possibility you or someone you love might be hurt. Or even killed."

Donna took a deep breath. "I understand. I really do. But it's a risk I've got to take. Cause you two, you always swan in and save the day and make this world a better place. I want to be a part of that too. I need to."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and squeezed. "I think that can be arranged. We would love for you to come with us, Donna. We'd really like a mate."

She took a step backwards. "You just want to mate?"

"We just want a mate!" he tried clarifying.

"You're not mating with me, sunshine! That's why you two have each other. And don't try telling me it's not like that with you two, cause I ain't stupid. You telling me you hacked into the computer thing all day... HA! Then why were there a pair of pink lacy knickers hanging off the top of those mops?!"

Rose blushed and covered her face in embarrassment. "Oh my god."

"A mate. I want a mate," the Doctor sputtered.

"Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense," she scolded. "I mean, you're just a long streak of nothing. You know, alien nothing. How Rose stands it, I'll never know."

He looked at her, offended. "She stands it just fine, thank you very much!"

"Please, please, please can we stop talking about this," Rose said in exasperation. "Let's just get Donna's luggage inside and get going."

Donna's eyes widened. "I can come?"

The Doctor smiled. "Yeah. Course you can, yeah. I'd love it."

"Me too," Rose concurred.

"Oh, that's just-" She went to hug them, but paused. "Car keys."

"What?" he asked.

"I've still got my mum's car keys. I won't be a minute."

As Donna raced off, Rose helped the Doctor carry the suitcases inside. "It'll be nice having someone with us again," Rose said.

"You sure you're okay with it?" he asked as the last of the bags made it to the control room.

"Yeah. I'm actually really excited. Besides, I think I'm doing a lot better. Definitely ready to get back to our old lives."

He pulled her in for a hug and rested his chin on her head, "You'll tell me if things start to become too much, right?"

"Of course," she answered dutifully. Pulling back she looked him in the eyes. "Doctor, before when we were inside and you held your screwdriver against the sonic pen... did you hear anything unusual?"

"Besides the awful noise it created?" She nodded. "Not that I can recall. Why?"

"It's just, for a moment there, I thought I heard a howl. A wolf's howl. And on top of that someone was calling my name."

Fear nestled in the Doctor's chest. Logically, he knew the Master was dead. He held the other Time Lord until he took his last breath and then personally burnt the body. So it couldn't be him. But who? And why did she hear a wolf?... "Did you recognise the voice?"

"Yes. It sounded like-" She shook her head. "God, you're going to think I'm daft."

"I promise I won't. Tell me."

"It sounded like Mickey."

He exhaled in relief. At least it wasn't a threat. "Rose," he started.

"I know it's not possible! I know that, Doctor. But I would recognise his voice anywhere. It sounded like he was looking for me or something. Like he couldn't find me."

"The walls are closed, Rose," the Doctor told her gently, not wanting to get her hopes up. "The TARDIS would tell us otherwise."

She crossed her arms defensively. "So you're just saying I'm imagined it."

"No! The fact that you heard a wolf howl is cause enough for concern, but I don't know what to tell you. I don't have an answer."

"So we just ignore it?"

"That's the only thing I can think of, cause like I said, the TARDIS would inform us if the walls were collapsing. If it happens again though-"

"I know, I know. Tell you right away."

He leaned forward and kissed her softly. "You know I believe you, right?"

She nodded and leaned against his chest. "I do."

Just then Donna came running into the TARDIS. "Off we go, then."

The Doctor held his arms out. "Here it is. The TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"Oh, I know that bit. Although frankly, you could turn the heating up."

Rose laughed before asking, "So, Donna, where in all of time and space would you like to go?"

"Oh, I know exactly the place."

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "Which is?"

"Two and a half miles that way." She pointed to her left.

A minute later they were flying directly over a hill so Donna could wave goodbye to her grandfather. Donna knew in that instant, she would never forget the look of excitement on the older man's face. And she would treasure it always.

Mickey Smith shook his head as the ginger haired woman told him something about car keys in a bin. He rolled his eyes as she ran off. Sorry to that Sylvia lady, but he wouldn't be around to give the message. Already he could feel Control pulling him back.

So close. He had been so close.

Coming Soon: The Fires of Pompeii

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