Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for reading and reviewing and following. I think there might be some spoilers for The God Complex, but this thing is basically one very twisted spoiler, except for all that other stuff. That's a good episode, though, you should go watch it. Thanks for reading and reviews would be awesome.

Donna had traded off Chloe with Martha as soon as she entered the TARDIS. Consequently, she had lost track of Lydia who had run and hid as soon as she got inside. Trouble was, she was quite good at hiding in the TARDIS, as good as the only other full Time Lord Donna knew. So, she was futilely walking the corridors, trailed by Zara, Georgiana and Esther.

"Come on, Old Girl," said Donna. "I know she wants to be alone, but you know she shouldn't be."

"In here, Mummy!," said Zara pointing at a door.

"Lydia!," said Georgiana, knocking on it.

"I'm fine!," Lydia shouted from the inside.

Donna knew the door to the room. She had only been inside it once. Once was more than enough to know that Lydia wasn't fine. Besides that, the room was bloody weird, all white with no seeming beginning or end and besides that, the laws of physics only sort of applied. The Time Lord who told her that had not been in a mood to explain at the time he was in there after Midnight. She didn't think it was the sort of place suitable for toddlers.

"Come play!," called Zara.

Donna got closer to the door, gingerly moving Zara and Georgiana to one side. "Lydia? Sweetheart? Why don't you come out of there?"

"I'm fine!," she repeated.

Donna rolled her eyes wondering how anyone on Gallifrey had ever known when anyone was actually fine. "I don't think you are, though, Lydia. Come out and we can have a cup of tea and talk."

There was a long pause. Donna thought she might actually be getting through to the girl.

"No, thank you!," called Lydia.

"Lydia, this isn't even fair. There's some kind of Time Lord lock on this door. I can't come in."

Zara put her hand on the door and it opened. She beamed with pride at Donna.

"Good girl. Now you two-"

Zara and Georgiana toddled in with Esther behind them.

Donna groaned. "I wanted you to wait out here! Why isn't there a baby lock on that?"

Donna walked inside, carefully holding Chloe even in the sling. She looked to see that Lydia was levitating. She went up to the ceiling, then back down to the floor, the action reminiscent of a child bouncing a ball against a wall.

"Lydia, could you stop that so we can talk?"

"No."

Donna looked as Georgiana and Zara watched Lydia with fascination.

"How?," asked Zara staring at Lydia.

"Zara," said Donna, "whatever you're thinking: no."

Zara was still watching Lydia though and then Donna's worst fear was realized as Zara floated up off the floor, giggling with delight.

"Zara Katherine Smith-Noble, get down!"

Zara did not heed Donna as she giggled. Instead, she started doing somersaults in the air. Donna looked at Georgiana who was now looking from Zara to Lydia with curiousity.

"Georgiana, no," said Donna. "I don't need you both up there."

It was too late as Georgiana lifted up off the floor and started levitating by Zara. Esther barked.

"Come, doggie!," called Georgiana.

Just when Donna had thought it couldn't get weirder, the dog began floating up to where Georgiana waited to pet her.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Donna as she watched the babies and now her dog happily frolicking in the air.

"Mummy, come play!," said Zara.

"You get down from there," said Donna. "The both of you, no, the three of you, now. Lydia, that's you as well."

"Esther thought you meant her," muttered Lydia.

Donna shook her head. "Okay, the four of you! Now!"

"Mummy, come up!," said Zara.

Donna stiffened. "No, Mummy cannot come up because she doesn't understand how to alter the laws of physics at her whim. Mummy would much rather you all come down right now before you hit your heads on something."

Georgiana giggled as she did something akin to a doggy paddle.

"Donna!,' the Doctor shouted from the console room.

"Okay," said Donna, "I'll be back and then you're all getting down!"

Donna marched down the hallway and quickly ran into the Doctor.

"Hello," he said grinning broadly. He looked at Chloe in the sling and bent to give her a kiss. "Where are the other girls?"

"They're in your Emo Room," Donna said crisply.

The Doctor paused, trying to work out what she meant. "You mean the Zero Room?"

"I don't really see the difference."

"Oh."

"You upset Lydia."

"I needed her help-"

"I don't care. You took her to see that woman who tried to screw with her head. I don't get it. One minute, you're yelling about skinny jeans, the next you just take her in there like you don't think she needs protecting."

He shifted nervously on his feet. "It's different with Time Lords."

"Oh, don't I know it!" She paused. "Is she... the alternate of your daughter? Is that why you're acting like this?"

"No," said the Doctor. "I never had a daughter like her."

Donna nodded. "Okay, well, I reckon, I'm the mother of two Time Babies, I figure I know as much as you and I know she doesn't need to hide away alone in some room. She needs us to help her."

"Donna, I don't know how to help her."

She shook her head. "Of course you do. You're a great dad."

"No," he said, motioning at Chloe, "I do this well. I'm good at the baby thing. I'm good at playing, teaching letters and basic Calculus, but Donna, Time Lord children go away to school when they're eight. There are four days a year to see them and one of those days you spend at the prize ceremony for the whole bloody Academy- there are fifty grades, Donna."

"So, you hardly see them?," asked Donna.

"And sometimes I missed those days," he said, staring at the floor.

"What?," asked Donna. "You're just going to stop talking to Zara and Chloe when they turn eight?"

"No, of course not!"

Donna smiled at having proved her point. "I know you. I know you loved your other children, even if you had trouble getting to parents' day. Point is, Lydia's here now and you can help her."

The Doctor shook his head. "She's not mine, not really."

"I know, but right now we're all she has."

Zara laughed wildly from the Zero Room. The Doctor frowned. "What's going on in there?"

"Right, I also need your help getting Zara and Georgiana down because they're levitating. Esther as well."

The Doctor entered the Zero Room. "Okay, Ginger Time Babies, come down."

"No!," shouted Zara. "Daddy play!"

"Zara, this room alters the laws of physics at the telepathic will of a Time Lord." Donna watched as Zara floated down frowning into the Doctor's arms. "You might have noticed, you're a Time Baby."

He placed her on the floor and did the same with Georgiana, then Esther. He looked at them sternly. "No levitating! This is not a play room!"

The girls looked at Donna for sympathy. "Oh, no, Mummy told you not to."

"Why did you let them in here? You can't let babies in a Zero Room," he said.

"Then why isn't there a lock?"

The Doctor looked up to Lydia. "Okay, are you coming down on your own or do I have to drag you down as I did with them?"

Lydia stood upright then floated to the ground. "I just want to be alone."

"I'm sorry I took you to see Madame Kovarian. I won't do it again, in fact, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to."

She crossed her arms. "I'm alright."

"What did she do to you?," asked the Doctor.

Lydia shook her head. "It wasn't just her. There was another woman, there were the monsters."

"They must have wanted something," said the Doctor.

"They just tried to get in my head," Lydia managed to stammer out. "They wanted me to do something for them. I don't know what."

"They never managed it, though, did they?," asked the Doctor. "I saw it. Kovarian thinks she controls you, but she doesn't. You saved yourself, you saved Georgiana. No matter what she says, you're not their pawn. Remember that."

Lydia nodded.

Donna cleared her throat. "Let's go have a snack."

The McDonald's had cleared out by the time they found the entity hovering over the ball pit. Both John and the Doctor took out their sonic screwdrivers and scanned the entity.

"Some sort of massive energy discharge," said the Doctor.

"Where from? You can't find anything like this on Earth!"

The Doctor walked closer with his sonic screwdriver. "There's something inside there. Underneath all that energy."

"We need a catalyzer," said John.

"I had one in my TARDIS," said the Doctor.

John snorted. "That doesn't do us a lot of good."

The Doctor took out his mobile.

Donna and the Oracle were perusing the aisles of Parallel Tesco when the Oracle's mobile rang.

"Have you heard of something called a Jelly Baby?," the Oracle asked.

"No time," said the Doctor, "we need a catalyzer. I'm at something called McDonald's and there's some sort of being trapped in an energy discharge."

The Oracle sighed. "What do you want me to do? Build one out of parts I find at the grocery store?"

"Yes, actually."

The Oracle smiled. "Fine. Give me five minutes."

"I knew I married you for a reason," said the Doctor.

"Yes, absolutely nothing to do with every other girl in our class at the Academy slapping you." She hung up the phone.

"What's happened?," asked Donna.

"Nothing, just an energy discharge being over the road at something called McDonald's. Mayantha!"

"Yes, Mum?," she answered from down the aisle.

"I need an energy conductor, any sort of wiring should do. Joshua, fetch me some sort of suctioning device."

"You mean like a vacuum?," asked Josh.

"Yes! Ella, I need glue. Let's go!," she said clapping her hands.

Moments later, Donna watched in amazement as the Oracle put together some sort of device using a Dyson, wiring from three blenders and some glitter glue Ella selected.

"Ella, I don't know that we need unicorn stickers," said the Oracle.

"I want to make it pretty."

A manager approached them nervously. "Ma'am, we don't... I mean, it's against Tesco policy to-"

The Oracle held up her psychic paper. "I think I'm well within my rights, don't you?"

He gave a slight bow. "Forgive me, Your Majesty." He started backing away.

"Who does he think you are?," asked Donna.

The Oracle glanced at the paper. "Uh, Queen of Sweden. Come on, we have to take this to McDonald's."

"Oh, finally!," said the Doctor as the Oracle ran in carrying the newly made catalyzer. Mayantha followed, then Donna with Josh and Ella.

"Would have liked to see you do it!," said the Oracle.

"What the hell is that?," Donna asked holding Josh and Ella as she looked at the gold being.

"Excellent question!," said the Doctor. "Hold that thought!"

The Oracle set the Dyson contraption down and started it with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. It whirred, sucking the energy off the being, peeling it off like layers of onion.

"Doctor!"

John and the Doctor turned to see Mickey Smith.

"Mickey! What are you doing here?," said John. "Also, I'm not the Doctor."

Mickey frowned. "What?"

"It's me!," said John. "You know, the Duplicate?"

"Oh, well, get ready for your favorite person," said Mickey. He motioned at the gold form. "That's Rose."

"What do you mean that's Rose?," exclaimed John.

"Rose?," asked Donna. "Hold on, let me go find a golf club!"

"Almost to capacity!," said the Oracle as the device took in more energy.

"Who are the rest of you?," asked Mickey.

"Time for introductions later," said John. "Why is that Rose?"

"I don't have the details, they just told me she was the gold ghost. She's been showing up everywhere. Also, she killed Mister Darcy."

John was totally confused. "How did she do that?"

The last layer of energy went into the makeshift catalyzer. They were surprised to see a man with rat-like features and hardly any hair at all cowering at them as he knelt down in the ball pit.

"I surrender!," he said. He batted at some of the balls. "What is this prison?"

"Um, is Rose from Tivoli?," asked the Oracle.

"That's not Rose," said John.

The Doctor approached. "Who are you?"

"Tullis. Do what you want, just don't hurt me!"

"What if we want to hurt you?," asked Josh.

Donna smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Are you an alien?," asked Ella.

"Duh," said Josh.

"What were you doing in there?," asked John.

"I don't know," said Tullis. "I was there planning the parade for the conquest and then they told us to form a queue and they put me in this device and now I'm here. Where am I?"

"You're on Earth, mate," said Mickey.

"Oh, I don't like the sound of that."

"The people that put you in the device. What did they look like?"

"Sort of like you. With eye patches," he answered meekly.

"The Silence," said John.

"Do you lot know what the Silence is?," asked Mickey. "We've been running around without a clue."

"No, surprisingly enough," said the Doctor.

"If the Silence are trapping people and sending them out like this, they must have a reason," said the Oracle.

"Some sort of distraction?," suggested Mayantha.

"From what? From Rose?," asked Mickey.

"If it's a distraction to keep us from finding Rose," mused the Doctor, "it has got to be better than that..."

They heard more screams and looked outside to see two more gold ghosts on the street and people running.

"Well," said John, "I don't know about anyone else, but I would say that is a pretty good distraction."

"Look! They're on telly!," said Ella pointing at the flat screen television on the wall. It was showing pictures from around the world of gold ghost sightings.

"Oh, yes," said the Doctor, "very good distraction."

"Right, not to push it or anything, but who are you?," asked Mickey.

"I'm the Doctor," he said.

Mickey scoffed. "Just what we need. Two of you."