Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or any song used in this chapter. Thanks for the reads and reviews, glad you like it. Please enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you thinks. Also, the button with the lines appears to have disappeared at the moment so bear with me. Thanks and happy reading!
"What button did you push?," asked Gwen.
Rhys shook his head. "I don't know. I was there and all of a sudden you showed up on the screen!"
Gwen groaned. "It was me in another universe."
"Well, how am I bloody supposed to know?"
Gwen looked carefully at the keyboard. "Is that key greasy? Did you drop your bloody pizza?"
Rhys rolled his eyes. "I was hungry! I've been here hours! It's not my fault the cheese fell off and onto the keyboard!"
Gwen considered this and pushed the greasy key. All the screens in the Hub went black.
"Good one," snorted Rhys.
She glared at him.
"Sorry," he quickly recanted.
Suddenly, the monitors lit up. A message crawled across the screen.
BAD WOLF IS COMING. BAD WOLF IS COMING.
"What's that supposed to mean?," Rhys asked.
Gwen shook her head. "Haven't got a bloody clue."
The ballroom quieted as Mister Fitzwilliam rushed his young cousin away, caught up in hushed conversations about Miss St. John-Smythe.
Rory looked at Amy.
"Were we just doing the Time Warp?," he asked.
"Yeah," said Amy, "I think we might have been."
Jane sighed to Martha and Jack. "Poor Miss St. John-Smythe, to be so foreign to her own land and make such a mistake."
"Her reputation will not be helped by this," Cassandra said softly.
Jack considered this. "Ianto! Why don't you distract the people with some entertainment?"
"Oh, not again," said Ianto..
"Oh, please, Mister Jones," said Cassandra. "I would love to hear Freebird again."
"Or perhaps some other song of Wales?," asked Jane. "Your country has such interesting music."
Jack and Martha smiled at Ianto. He cast them both a scowl and headed for the piano.
"Where it began, I can't begin to knowing, But then I know it's growing strong, Was in the spring and spring became a summer who'd believe you'd come along..."
It was then that Ianto noticed the TARDIS materializing on the other end of the ballroom.
"Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you..."
"Sweet Caroline!," added Martha and Jack to Ianto's further chagrin as he continued. "Ba, ba, ba!," they added to represent the absent horn section.
Jane looked at Jack curiously.
"That's how they sing the song in Wales," he explained.
The Doctor came out of the TARDIS too distracted to notice the playing of a Neil Diamond classic at the ball as he headed towards Amy and Rory.
"You just parked the TARDIS in a ballroom," said Rory.
"Where did that girl go?," asked the Doctor.
"Aren't people going to notice a blue police box from the future in the middle of the room?," asked Rory.
"Who?," asked Amy.
"Miss St. John-Smythe! Where is she?"
Amy looked at Rory and shrugged. "Her cousin took her somewhere. He seemed pretty cross with her."
The Doctor headed through the ballroom and up the staircase. Amy gave Rory a worried look and soon followed. Rory followed her.
It was as Ianto was getting massive applause for his rendition of Sweet Caroline that Donna came out of the blue box, finding Martha and Jack.
"Donna!," exclaimed Martha. "I thought you weren't coming."
"Yeah, change of plans," she said. "Look, I need you to go back in the TARDIS with the girls. They're in Chloe's room." She handed Martha a baby monitor.
"Is sverything okay?," asked Jack.
Donna shook her head. "Where did the Doctor go?"
"He went upstairs, he was looking for Miss St. John-Smythe," said Martha as Jack's mobile rang and he stepped away.
"Just look after the girls," said Donna.
"Yeah, of course."
"Oh, and if you see Rose don't let her in the TARDIS."
Martha shook her head. "If I what?," she couldn't help but shout.
Donna didn't answer, she just hurried upstairs in pursuit of the Doctor. Martha rushed back to the TARDIS.
Lydia was starting to get bored. Time travel was turning out not to be as fun as her father had alluded to, he never mentioned being lectured about proper Regency comportment by someone like Mister Fitzwilliam. She had pretended to be his cousin for over a week now and still didn't know his first name.
Then again he had probably never tried to introduce the Time Warp as a dance from the Russian Court. It still seemed like something he might do.
"Such behavior I wouldn't expect from some house maid, let alone a young lady of your standing! Do you have any idea what you have done to your reputation, let alone your potential at forming an alliance of any consequence!"
"Yeah," said Lydia, "the pelvic thrust will really drive you insane..."
"What did you say?"
Lydia sighed and sat back. "You wanted a dance, I gave you a dance from the Russian court after I asked you not to have me lead the dance."
"Are you saying this is my fault?"
Lydia shrugged.
Mister Fitzwilliam scoffed. "Such impudence!"
"I didn't want a ball, I didn't want to dance, I don't care about an alliance, whatever that is. Why is it an alliance anyway? Are we fighting someone?"
"I shall have to find some school for you, to smooth over the cracks of your education as a young lady."
Lydia's eyes widened. "Right, I suppose you should get on that right away."
"I shall send inquiries in the morning."
Lydia pulled the psychic paper from its secure spot inside the ribbon on the waist of her dress. "See, you just got this letter from the Duke of Something or other and you have to go to John O'Groates first thing."
"What? Let me see that!"
Lydia handed him the psychic paper.
"Oh, you are good," said a ghostly voice.
Lydia turned as the Doctor walked in, followed by Amy and Rory. She froze.
"You're very good with the psychic paper. Is that how you got into the house? Won his trust? Made him believe you were a relative?"
Lydia didn't say anything. She couldn't believe the sight in front of her. She was shaking.
"Well?," asked the Doctor. "No clever plan?"
Donna ran up the stairs and past an open door.
"Mummy!"
She turned looking down the hallway. There was no one there. Martha would know better than to let her out anyway.
"Mummy!"
Donna realized that the call was coming from inside the open door. She carefully approached it and walked inside.
She found a nursery, ornately maintained with what must have been 1796's best baby things. In the cot, stood someone who could best be described as Zara's doppelganger. She had the Doctor's brown eyes, her ginger hair and pale skin and the Doctor's gleeful grin on her face as she shouted, "Mummy!"
"Uh..."
"Mummy! Mummy!"
She was jumping in the cot now, Donna thought it looked like a bit of a strain on the craftsmanship. She walked over as the little girl held her arms out. Donna lifted her up and took her into her arms.
"Uh, hi," said Donna.
The girl had her arms around Donna's neck now.
"Let's just go find the Doctor then," she said.
"Blanket," she said.
"Oh," said Donna. She reached into the cot for a cream colored afghan. She worked to wrap it around the toddler and not lose her grip. "Were you cold? You are a bit warmer than my girls."
The girl frowned. "Ella?"
Donna froze. The name evoked all those memories of the Library she had just about been able to push aside with the aid of a real husband and children. "Sorry?"
"Ella? Josh?"
"Why are you saying Josh and Ella?," she asked shaking her head.
"Josh! Ella!"
"Okay," said Donna, carefully drawing a breath. "Why don't we just go find the Doctor? Doctor!"
"Well," said the Doctor, "aren't you going to say anything?"
Lydia stared at him. Mister Fitzwilliam had voiced his objections, only to be disputed by the Doctor and still seemed to believe the psychic paper, but he was quietly considering the events.
He frowned. "You're not the Master, are you?"
"Why would I be the Master?," she asked.
"Then who are you!"
"I had a letter from the Countess of Carlisle!," Mister Fitzwilliam protested.
"No," said Rory, tiring, "you didn't."
"Yeah, what part of psychic paper didn't you get?, asked Amy.
Donna entered with the baby. "Hi, question. Who's this?"
"Lydia!," shouted the baby. She looked at the Doctor. "Daddy!"
Amy looked at the baby. "Why does she look like Zara?"
"Yeah, I know," said Donna.
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the baby.
"Madame, what are you doing with my cousin?," asked Mister Fitzwilliam.
"I'm keeping her, obviously," said Donna.
"You walked into a room, saw a baby that looked like yours and now you're keeping her?," asked Rory.
"That's how my life goes, Rory," Donna answered.
"She's a quarter Time Lord," said the Doctor, "one heart, your DNA and the Duplicate's DNA."
"The Duplicate?," asked Rory.
"Right, yeah, I had this duplicate... Long story," said the Doctor. "Why is it just yours and his?"
"What do you mean?," asked Donna.
"Well, he went with Rose."
"Who's Rose?," asked Lydia.
"More importantly, who are you?," asked the Doctor. "Where did you come from? And what the hell are you doing here?"
"Doctor," said Donna softly. She had just realized what was so familiar about Miss St. John-Smythe.
The eyes.
"I'll handle this, Donna."
Lydia's lip started quivering. The Doctor watched in confusion as water started coming out of her eyes. He looked over at Donna, who scowled at him.
"Look what you've done," Donna said handing the baby over to him. She sat down next to Lydia and put her arms around her. "It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay."
"It's just she's a Time Lady and she's crying," said the Doctor.
"I know that!," Lydia snapped. She then resumed crying as Donna held her, much to the Doctor's complete confusion.
"Stop being such a dumbo," said Donna. She looked back at Lydia. "Okay, sweetheart, just take a minute. We're just wondering what's going on, that's all."
"We got kidnapped by the Silence, from the other universe," Lydia started, sobbing.
"The Silence?," asked the Doctor, his attention piqued. "Who are they?"
This only made Lydia sob harder.
"It's okay," said Donna. "Your name's Lydia, right? That's what the baby called you."
She nodded. "Yes."
"What's she called?"
"Georgiana."
"Oh, my God," said Amy pointing between them, "you both have Pride and Prejudice names!"
"Pride and Prejudice?," asked Mister Fitzwilliam.
"Right, don't pay attention to that," said the Doctor. He looked back at Lydia. He motioned at Georgiana. "And she belongs to?"
"John," said Lydia. "And Donna."
Donna looked over at the Doctor knowingly. She turned back to Lydia. "What about you, sweetheart? Your mum and dad?"
Lydia was silent.
"I'm betting your dad is his alternate," said Donna, motioning at the Doctor, as she ran her fingers through Lydia's hair. "Then I would guess that your mum is probably the Oracle."
Lydia nodded. The Doctor froze.
Donna looked at Mister Fitzwilliam and pointed at Lydia. "Yeah, I'm taking her too."
"Donna, they aren't ours," said the Doctor.
"Oh, let's just leave them then," said Donna.
"Why are you out of the TARDIS anyway?"
Donna remembered. "I had to tell you something."
"What?"
Jack ran in. "There's a message at the Hub. Gwen thinks it might be from another universe."
"Hold on," said Amy, "alternate universes? That's a thing?"
"Yeah, it's a thing," said the Doctor. He looked at Jack. "What's the message?"
"Bad Wolf is coming," he said. He pointed at the baby the Doctor held. "Sorry, is she Zara's clone or what?"
As the Doctor's face turned pale, they heard screams coming from the ballroom.