Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. So, enjoy and please let me know what you think of this one. I really love hearing from you all. Thanks! Happy reading!
On the TARDIS, Amy, Rory, Jack, Ianto and the Doctor had gathered in the console room to discuss the latest development.
"What's in Cardiff?," asked Rory.
"A rift in the fabric of time and space," said Jack. "Things have a tendency to wash up. This Madame Kovarian must have washed up."
"Hold on, this is in Cardiff?," asked Rory.
Amy leaned in to him. "Well, something was bound to happen there eventually."
They laughed quietly as Lydia entered.
"Lydia! There you are!," said the Doctor. "We found someone I think you're acquainted with: Madame Kovarian."
Lydia's blood went colder. "What?"
"We're off to Cardiff to see her. I'm going to need your help."
Lydia walked closer to the Doctor. "No."
"No?," asked the Doctor.
"Don't go anywhere near her. She's evil. Besides that, the monsters are always with her."
"What monsters?," asked the Doctor.
"Gwen didn't mention any monsters," said Ianto.
"No, she wouldn't," said Lydia. "You don't remember them after you look away. You forget them. I saw them every day for six years and I haven't got a clue what they look like. Please don't do this. It can only end badly."
The others looked at the Doctor anxiously.
"We have to get some answers," said the Doctor.
"Then ask someone else!," said Lydia. "You said you knew someone who had worked with the Silence. What about them?"
"We still can't locate him," said Ianto. "Somebody must have given him a heads up. We have sources on it."
Donna entered. "Okay, what's going on? I just about had Zara and Georgiana down for a nap and the TARDIS said to come here."
Lydia turned to Donna. "He wants to go talk to Madame Kovarian. You can't let him."
"I need information," said the Doctor.
"The one who kidnapped them?," asked Donna. She looked at the Doctor. "Why don't we just drop her off in a dark alley? Are you out of your mind?"
"Donna, Lydia knows more than anyone here," said Jack.
Donna approached. "Yes. Because they took her from her mum's arms when she was a baby and held her hostage! Probably not an experience she wants to relive." Donna walked back over to Lydia and gave her a hug.
"Donna..." pleaded the Doctor.
Donna looked at Lydia. "Alright, sweetheart, I'm coming with you and nothing will happen to you as long as I'm there. I'll get Martha to watch the girls, that ought to put her off having children for a while," she joked.
Lydia nodded, trying to be reassured by Donna's promise.
"Well," said John, happily flinging open the door of the TARDIS, "here we are. Chiswick!"
The Doctor, the Oracle and Mayantha came out after him. Donna stepped out last holding Josh and Ella by the hand.
"Mum, I'm too old for hand holding," Josh moaned.
"Not today, you aren't," said Donna.
"Yes," agreed the Doctor, "holding hands with Mum is good. Mums are good. Mums are the best. They smell nice, they give the best hugs, they always tell you when there's a tri-lunar eclipse..."
"We're in a park," noted the Oracle.
"Yes," said the Doctor, "I was going to mention that but I didn't want to sound as if I was making a fuss."
John frowned. "I was trying to land on Donna's street. We are in Chiswick, though."
"Yeah," said Donna, "Duke's Meadow. My grandfather used to bring me here sometimes. The Thames is right over there, I think."
Josh looked up at the sky. "Where are the zeppelins?"
"Yeah," agreed Ella.
"Um, no zeppelins here," said John.
"Why not?," asked Mayantha, also staring at the sky. Everyone was except John, making them look quite ridiculous to other passersby.
"Well, the Hindenberg-"
"They told us about the Hindenberg in school!," exclaimed Josh. "It was the first!"
"Right..." said John. "Well, here it blew up."
"What?," exclaimed Donna.
"Will Gran's airship blow up?," asked Ella.
"No, sweetheart, of course not," said Donna. She cast a glare at John.
"We should find Donna's mother," said the Oracle, attempting to steer things on track.
"Right," said John.
"Lead the way!," the Doctor said exuberantly. "Vamonos al Chiswick!"
The others stared blankly at him.
"It means 'Let's go to Chiswick.'"
"Caught that," said Donna.
They started walking and the Oracle began insisting to the Doctor that he not try to force catchphrases into existence. John was walking with Donna and the children when he saw someone familiar.
So did Donna as a matter of fact.
"It's Nerys," said Donna, brightly. "There's a Nerys here?"
"Oh, God, Nerys," said John.
"Who the hell is Nerys?," asked the Doctor.
John saw that Nerys was headed straight for Donna and company. She gave a frenemy's wave as she walked towards them.
John turned to Donna frantically. "Right, Donna, something I've never told you about this Donna."
"What?"
"Nerys isn't her best friend. She's actually her worst enemy. Frenemy is the phrase I believe."
The Doctor nodded. "Having a frenemy is so complicated."
"Why is Nerys her worst enemy?," asked Donna. "What happened?"
"Well," said the Doctor, "you might have at one time taken her boyfriend."
"I did what?"
"You didn't mean to, he just preferred a curvier woman as it happened."
"How long's this been going on?," asked Donna.
"Oh, you know, about seventeen years."
Nerys finally reached them. "Donna! Hello!," she said, giving her a hug.
"Hi, Nerys," said Donna.
"Sorry about Zara's birthday party, I was just too busy," she said with a cool smile. "Veena said you looked terrible."
Donna froze, having no idea how to respond.
Nerys looked down. "So, have you had the baby yet?"
"What?," Donna asked rattled.
"She means Chloe," said John with a smile.
"Chloe," said Donna, "yes, of course, had Chloe."
Nerys nodded understandingly. "You know, they say having a baby takes away IQ points. Where are the little darlings?"
"They're with my mum," said Donna.
"Yes," said John, "we were just visiting with my brother... James McCrimmon and his wife-"
"Molly," supplied the Oracle with a smile. She held out her hand to shake Nerys'. "Molly McCrimmon, pleasure to meet you. These are our children, Maya, Josh and Ella."
Josh and Ella frowned at each other at the prospect of that particular parentage. The Oracle might have been alright, but the Doctor for a father? That was just ridiculous. They could hardly believe he was old enough to be Mayantha's father.
Nerys gave the Oracle a thorough once over. "Two brothers with different last names? Ianto and now James?"
"Ianto, right," said John, now completely confused.
"I chose it," said the Doctor. "Sometimes you get tired of being a Smith."
"Such a handsome group of brothers, you two should watch out," said Nerys, looking at Donna and the Oracle. "Someone could snatch them away."
"Nerys, what an interesting dress," said the Oracle.
"Oh, thank you."
"I haven't seen one like it in years," she said. "Or in broad daylight."
"Well," said Nerys, "I'll be going. Donna, I hope you liked Zara's gift voucher. Every penny counts, I know. Bye!"
"Bye!," said Donna.
Nerys walked away.
The Oracle looked at Donna. "What an unmitigated bitch."
"That was bizarre," said Donna. She looked at the Oracle. "You know, you can be quite scary if you want to."
"I try my best," said the Oracle.
"Right, better get to Sylvia's before we run into too many of Donna's friends," said John.
They started walking.
"Hold on, did she just say she got my baby a gift voucher?," asked Donna. "What sort of rubbish is that? We've known each other years!"
"Yeah, but you don't like each other very much," said John.
"Not the point!"
The TARDIS landed on the Plasse and Jack and Ianto led the Doctor, Donna, Lydia, Amy and Rory back to the Torchwood Hub.
"Oh, look who decided to turn up," said Rhys. "How's Jane Austen getting on in that space cave?"
"Where's our prisoner?," Jack asked Gwen.
"Down with the Weevils," she answered.
"What's a Weevil?," asked Amy.
Nobody answered her.
"Okay," said Jack, "Ianto, Gwen, you stay upi here and monitor. Rhys, you- what are you doing here, Rhys?"
"I've been here all bloody night!"
"Right," said Jack, "maybe you could run out and get some coffee for everyone?"
Rhys glowered.
"I'll have a latte," said Ianto.
They headed down the stairs to the lower level of Torchwood.
"Oh, God, what stinks?," asked Amy.
A Weevil sprang up from the back of its cell and bared its teeth at the vistors. Amy, Rory, Donna and Lydia all screamed.
"Cool it, sweetheart!," said Jack, banging on the plexiglass wall of the cell to emphasize his point.
"See, she's a Weevil," said the Doctor. "They're a time sensitive species that washes up from the Rift."
"Do they have to look so frightful?," asked Lydia.
"Lydia! Don't be prejudiced! You and I probably look frightful to her."
The Weevil attacked the plexiglass again.
"Yeah, doubt that," said Donna.
The Doctor looked at the weevil closer, putting on his brainy specs as he walked towards the plexiglass. "Something's wrong with her. She senses something..."
"Well, well, well, the little girl returns."
They looked to see Kovarian in the next cell. The Doctor and Jack stepped forward first.
"I wondered how long until I would see you again," said Kovarian. "Doctor, I've missed that face."
"Right, well..." said the Doctor, trying to stall until he figured out what his first question would be.
'"Who the hell are you?," asked Donna.
"I haven't missed her, though," said Kovarian.
"What have you done to Rose Tyler?," asked the Doctor.
"All I've done is to try and help her get what she wants," said Kovarian.
"And what is that?," asked the Doctor.
"Oh, my God, still?," asked Amy.
"Little Amelia Pond, you look so young," said Kovarian.
"Wait, how do you know my name?," asked Amy.
"What do you want with my children?," asked the Doctor.
Kovarian turned to look at Lydia.
"No, don't," said Lydia, backing up towards Donna.
"Tick, tock, tick, tock," said Kovarian.
Lydia froze, eyes going blank as if she was under some sort of spell.
"Lydia?," asked Donna.
"Some kind of telepathic signal," said Jack. "She's transmitting it to her somehow."
"Stop it!," the Doctor growled at Kovarian.
"Tick, tock, tick, tock..." Kovarian taunted with with a cruel smirk.
Donna turned to Lydia and took her chin in her hand. "Lydia, Lydia, sweetheart, can you hear me?"
"What's happening?," asked Amy.
The lights flickered.
"Okay, what was that?," asked Rory.
Donna looked at Kovarian. "You better stop it or you'll be blind, lady!"
The Doctor looked at Jack. "What do you have your gun out for? How's that going to help?"
"What do you have the sonic screwdriver out for?," asked Jack.
The Doctor looked down. He had pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "What did I do that for?"
"Never mind! Help her!," Donna snapped at the Doctor.
"Sorry, is that blood?," asked Rory.
They looked at where Rory was pointing: the weevil cell neighboring Madame Kovarian's. Some sort of blue substance had sprayed everywhere and the Weevil was crouched over, gnawing on something.
Madame Kovarian recoiled at the sight with horror.
Lydia's eyes snapped back in place. She was shaking.
"It's okay, sweetheart," said Donna hugging her tightly, "I'm here."
"Weevil blood isn't blue," said Jack, trying to figure out what had just occurred.
"It's not from the Weevil," said the Doctor, realization dawning over him. "There was something else in that cell."
"What?," asked Amy.
The Doctor turned to face Kovarian. "The monsters you can't remember."
The visitors from Pete's World had been walking for over a half an hour as John vainly attempted to remember the way to Donna's house. It was a half hour two long for some members of the party.
"How much farther?," Josh whined.
"Stop your moaning, young man. It's good for you to get some fresh air," said Donna.
"I still need batteries for my PSP."
"Enough with the batteries!," said Donna.
John motioned. "There's a Tesco right there. You could get some batteries, that way he has something to do at Sylvia's."
"Does money look the same here?," asked Donna.
"Uh, no," said John.
"Then I haven't got any."
"No problem, I'll use the psychic credit card," said the Oracle. "Come on, Ella. Fancy a snack?"
Mayantha went in with them, leaving the two Doctors alone in front of Tesco.
"So, Donna's mother," said the Doctor, "does she enjoy slapping people as well?"
"No," said John.
The Doctor nodded, reassured.
"She does have an axe, though."
"An axe!," shouted the Doctor.
John did not have time to explain that because the next thing they heard was screaming from across the road. There were people running out of a McDonald's.
John and the Doctor edged instinctively closer until they saw the reason that people were running out of McDonald's was that there was a gold ghost inside of it.
"Well," said John, "you don't see that every day."
Before he realized it, the Doctor was running across the street. John hurried to follow him as the traffic stopped and more people came running out.