It had only felt like seconds since Drew had hugged Ianto, Gwen and Jack goodbye, when the TARDIS gave a small lurch signaling they had landed wherever the Doctor was taking them 'Be care dearest Drew' the TARDIS started 'This trip will test your relationship with Donna, and hers with the Doctor. This trip will be hard on all, take the greatest of care' Drew put her hand on the wall of the TARDIS "I will" she whispered as she watched the Doctor walk out the doors, she followed behind him with Donna hot on her heels, the Doctor moved a curtain out of the way "Ancient Rome" he smiled before moving out into the crowd "Well it's not to them obviously, for all intents and purposes this is brand new Rome" he added looking back at them
"Oh" Donna started gasping, "It's so… Roman" she swooned
"Well described Donna" Drew laughed, looking around at all the carts and people, Donna rounded on the Doctor
"This is fantastic" she breathed with a huge smile on her face, she threw her arms around the Doctor's neck as Drew rolled the sleeves on her button up shirt half way up her arm and undid the front buttons revealing a layered light grey and dark gray muscle shirts. "It's warmer here than I remember" she commented mindlessly, the Doctor appeared beside her
"It's about seventy nine AD" he smiled, she laughed
"Well yes a lot changes in nineteen hundred and thirty years"
"I'm here" Donna started, making Drew giggle, "I'm here in Rome, Donna Noble in Rome" Drew put her hand on the older woman's arm
"We've established this love"
"This is just weird," she said rounding on Drew "Everyone here is dead"
"Well, just don't tell them that" the Doctor scoffed
"Hold on a minute" Donna said, her facial expression changed from absolute wonder to one of annoyance "That sign over there's in English" Drew and the Doctor spun around "Are you having me on?"
"No, no, no" the Doctor started
"It's the TARDIS, she translates everything for us" Drew said finishing the Doctor's thought, "She makes it look like English. Speech as well, we're talking Latin right now"
"Seriously?" Drew nodded "I just said seriously in Latin" Donna laughed
"Oh yeah" the Doctor laughed, Donna put her fingers on her temples as they started further into the market
"What if I said something in actual Latin? Like Veni, vidi, vici?" she asked as they walked up a few steps "My dad said that when he came back from football, if I said veni, vidi, vici to that lot, what would it sound like?" she asked looking between the Doctor and Drew, the Doctor sucked in a breath through his teeth before exhaling and rubbing his head
"I'm not sure" he said looking at her, then to Drew who shrugged "You have to think up the hard questions don't you?" he asked his voice raising and octave
"I'm going to try it" she smiled before walking over to a man standing by a cart
"Ah, hello sweetheart, what can I get for you?" he asked
"Umm veni, vidi, vici" she said staring at him
"Huh?" he looked towards the Doctor and Drew before looking back at Donna "Me-no-speak-Celtic" he said waving his hands wildly, Drew put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh "No-can-do-missy"
"Yeah" Donna said rolling her eyes before walking back over to where they stood "What did he mean, Celtic?" she asked
"Welsh" the Doctor said staring off at something
"You sounded Welsh" Drew added laughing
"There we are learnt something" the Doctor said before wandering off, Drew noticed a woman dressed all in red watching them, but shook it off as the woman just thinking they looked out of place.
"Don't our clothes look a bit weird?" Donna asked catching up with him
"Nah, it's Rome anything goes" Drew laughed
"Like Soho only bigger" the Doctor added
"You've been here before?" Donna asked
"Ages ago. And before you ask that fire had nothing to do with me, ok maybe a bit. But I haven't gotten the chance to look around properly. The Colosseum, the pantheon, Circus Maximus…" he trailed off ducking through a doorway "You'd figure they'd be looming by now, where is everything?" he spun around looking, Drew looked around catching a glimpse of red but it was gone before she could get a good look. "This way" the Doctor said heading down an alley, Drew and Donna followed after him they came out and found the Doctor turning on the spot "I'm not an expert but, there are seven hills of Rome, aren't there?" Donna asked looking up at the only hill in sight "How come they only have one?" she asked looking between Drew and the Doctor before the earth started to shake,
"Here we go again" someone behind them yelled, the Doctor grabbed Drew as she stumbled and almost fell, they looked around at the people who were smiling as if this was a normal occurrence
"Wait. One mountain. With smoke. Which makes this…" she trailed off
"Pompeii. We're in Pompeii!" the Doctor said suddenly
"And it's volcano day!" Drew shouted, the Doctor grabbed Drew's hand and started running back the way they came Donna hot on their heels. He threw back the curtain but found the TARDIS missing, Donna appeared beside them "You're kidding me. Don't tell me the TARDIS has gone missing" she huffed slightly out of breath
"Ok" the Doctor said looking from the empty space to Drew who had her eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating on something
"Where is it then?" Donna asked
"You… told me not to tell you," the Doctor said sincerely
"Oi, don't get smart in Latin with me!" she scolded, the Doctor blinked at her before taking off towards the man Donna had talked to before
" 'Scuse me, 'Scuse me. There was a blue box, big blue box, big blue wooden box, right over there. Where's it gone?" he asked quickly
"Sold it, didn't I" he replied smugly
"Who did you sell it to?"
"Old Caecillius. Look if you want to argue, why don't you go take it up with him? He's on Foss Street, big villa, cant miss it," he said turning back to his cart
"Thanks" the Doctor said before taking off towards Drew and Donna, he stopped half way there turning around and jogging back "What did he buy a big blue wooden box for?" he asked the man confused, the man shrugged. "We need to spilt up" he said having finally reached the two women "We have to find Foss Street, a man named Caecillius bought the TARDIS"
"Why don't we just ask some one where Foss Street is?" Donna asked
"We don't have time to ask people and have them tell us the wrong way" the Doctor snapped, Drew put her hand on his arm "Sorry, lets just go find this place and get out of here" they spilt up and went in three different directions, Drew ran around asking people who looked like they would know and found Foss Street within five minutes, she sighed "Now to find the Doctor and Donna" she ran down the street she'd come up and collided with the Doctor half way down "I found it" they both said at the same time
"Where's Donna?" he asked
"Haven't seen her" he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street then in the direction Donna had gone, they collided with Donna after three turns and an almost knocked over fruit stand. "We found it" Drew said her breathing slightly labored
"This way" the Doctor said grabbed Donna's hand with his free hand
"No, I found this big sort of amphitheater thing we can start there, we can gather everyone together, maybe if we got a great big bell or something, we could ring it. Have they invented bells yet?" Donna rambled
"What do you want a bell for?" the Doctor asked confused
"To warn everyone! Start the evacuation! What time does Vesuvius erupt?"
"Its seventy nine AD, the twenty third of August, which makes volcano day tomorrow" he said, Drew could see the anger growing in his eyes
"Plenty of time, we could get everyone out easy"
"Yeah but we're not"
"But that's what you do, you're the Doctor, you save people" she retorted
"Not this time" he said through his teeth, Drew pulled his arm putting herself between him and Donna
"Donna, Pompeii is a fixed point in time, what happens here happens, we cant stop it" Drew explained, she took the Doctor's hand and could feel all his muscles tensing, she knew he wanted to stop it but he couldn't. She turned with the Doctor to head towards Foss Street; Donna grabbed their conjoined hands and pulled them back
"Says who?"
"Says me!" the Doctor yelled anger finally reaching his facial features, Drew squeezed his hand trying to calm him
"What, you're in charge!" she steamed crossing her arms
"TARDIS, Time lord, yeah!" he snarled
"Donna, human, no! I don't need your permission, I'll tell them myself," she yelled defiantly
"You sound about the place, announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're some mad old soothsayer! Now come on! TARDIS, we're getting out of here," he yelled before turning and walking away, Drew dragging along behind him trying to calm him down.
"Well I just might have something to say about that, Spaceman!" she yelled after them
"Oh I bet you will," he yelled back before turning a corner
"Don't be too hard on her, she doesn't understand" Drew said quietly
"I know, I just wish she wasn't so damn stubborn" he sighed, kissing her forehead as they stopped to wait for Donna. They walked through large elaborate doors just as the ground began to shake once more; the Doctor rushed forward and grabbed a stone bust before it could fall to the floor. "There you go," he said righting the bust
"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor," the man said
"That's me" the Doctor started shaking the mans hand "I'm a visitor, hello" he smiled before walking into the larger room
"Who are you?" the man asked following them
"I'm… Spartacus" the Doctor said thinking quickly, Drew rolled her eyes
"And so am I" Donna said, Drew nearly punched both of them
"Please excuse them, my name is Lupa" she said stepping forward "this is Rutila" she said motioning to Donna "And this is Celsus" she said then motioning to the Doctor covering for them.
"Ah, siblings?" he asked
"Yes" she said not bothering with looking to the other for opinions
"Of course! You look much alike" he said suddenly, Drew was slightly taken aback she didn't think she looked like Donna or the Doctor, nor did they look alike. "Really?" the Doctor and Donna said at the same time
"I'm sorry but I am no open for trade" he said trying to usher them to the door
"And that trade would be?" the Doctor asked looking around
"Marble. Lobus Caecillius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man" he smiled proudly
"That's good, that's good" the Doctor started before pulling out his physic paper "Cause I'm a marble inspector" he said before walking around the room
"By the gods of commerce, an inspection" a blonde woman shrieked, taking a goblet away from a young boy and dumping it into the pond they were standing by "I'm sorry sir, I do apologize for my son" she said quickly
"Oi" the boy screeched
"And this is my good wife Metella… I must confess, we were not prepared for an-"
"Nothing to worry about" the Doctor said moving about the room until his eyes landed on the TARDIS "I'm sure you have nothing to hide. Although frankly," he said pointing towards the TARDIS "That object looks rather like wood to me" he said moving towards it
"I told you to get rid of it" Metella hissed towards her husband
"I only bought it today!" Caecillius said rushing over to the Doctor
"Ah, well… Caveat emptor" the Doctor said idly looking the TARDIS over
"Oh you're Celtic, there's lovely" Caecillius said all but rolling his eyes
"I'm sure it's fine but I might have to take it off your hands, for a proper inspection" the Doctor said turning to the older man
"Although while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Celsus?" Donna started looking up at he Doctor; Drew rolled her eyes and nearly dragged the older woman out of the house
"I don't know what you mean, Rutila," the Doctor said through gritted teeth as he smiled at the redheaded woman
"Oh this lovely family. Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?" Donna said through equally gritted teeth
"Why should we do that?" Caecillius asked
"Well the volcano for one thing" Donna said blatantly
"The what?" Caecillius asked confused
"The volcano" Donna said again looking at him like he had sprouted another head
"The what-ano?"
"The great big volcano right on your doorstep…"
"Oh, brother sister, for shame we haven't even greeted the household gods" Drew said dragging Donna over to the shrine, the Doctor following closely behind
"They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them; the top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow" the Doctor whispered quickly and sullenly to her
"Oh great they can learn a new word. As they die," she retorted sarcastically
"Donna, stop it" Drew spit, surprising the Doctor and Donna
"Listen I don't know what kind of kids you fly around space with" she said motioning to Drew, gave a soft 'Oi' "But your not telling me to shut up! Look at the boy, how old is he? Sixteen? And tomorrow, he burns to death" Donna whispered viciously
"And that's my fault?" the Doctor asked, his rage from earlier returning, Drew grabbed his hand trying to remind him where he was
"Right now yes" Donna spit
"Stop it the two of you!" Drew whispered violently
"Announcing Lucius Pestrus Dextrus, Chief Augur or the city government" a man announced before an older man stepped into the room, wearing a sort of shawl looking thing. Drew dropped the Doctor's hand, causing him to glance at her "Lucius, my pleasure as always" Caecillius started
"Quintus, stand up" Metella hissed towards her son, he rolled his eyes and stood beside his mother, eyeing Drew up from the corner of his eye
"A rare and great honor, sir, for you to come to my house…" Caecillius said reaching out to shake the older man's hand but the man kept it under the shawl
"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west"
"Quite. Absolutely. That's good, is it?" Caecillius asked
"Only a grain of wheat knows where it will grow," Lucius said confusing poor Caecillius more
"There now Metella, have you ever heard such wisdom" he asked motioning his wife over
"Never. It's an honor," she said smiling
"Pardon me sir, I have guests, this is Celsus, Rutila and Lupa," he said motioning to the time-trio, who waved at the stuck-up looking man
"A name is but a cloud upon a summer's wind," he said almost glaring at the three
"But the wind is most keenly felt in the dark" the Doctor retorted thoughtfully
"Ah!" Lucius said taking the Doctor's challenge "But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"
"I concede that every sun must set…" the Doctor trailed off glancing at Drew
"Hah!" Lucius started suddenly
"… And yet the son of the father must also rise" Drew smiled finishing the Doctor's sentence
"Where have you stolen such knowledge woman?" he asked glaring at her
"I didn't steal it from anywhere, I gained it honorably" she spat at the chauvinistic man. He turned to the Doctor
"Clearly you are a man of learning, I assume you have taught this woman what she knows?" the Doctor pointed to himself
"Me? Oh no, she learned most of what she knows on her own" he said smiling
"And you allow such to happen?"
"I'm not going to stop her" the Doctor gritted his teeth "If she wants to learn I'm not about to tell her no, she's my responsibility now I wont take her books away from her" he said putting his arm around Drew's shoulders, Lucius scoffed
"Their Celtic" Caecillius stated breaking the tension
"We'll be off in a minute," the Doctor stated
"I'm not going" Donna whispered
"It's ready" Caecillius announced proudly
"You've got to," the Doctor whispered harshly back to Donna
"Well I'm not" she spit back
"The moment of revelation" Caecillius said, throwing a sheet off something set of a pedestal, Drew looked back at what looked like a circuit board made of marble, she grabbed the Doctor's arm to get his attention, he looked back "And here it is, exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?" Caecillius asked
"As the rain pleases the soil"
"Oh that's… different. Who designed that then?" the Doctor asked stepping forward a bit
"My lord Lucius was very specific" Caecillius said
"Where did you get the pattern?" the Doctor asked looking towards the other man
"On the rain and mist and wind" Lucius replied vaguely
"But that looks like a circuit board" Donna said suddenly
"Made of stone," the Doctor added idly
"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?" Donna asked indignantly
"It's my job. As city Augur"
"What's that then, like the mayor?" Donna asked the Doctor snapped his attention to the loud mouth redhead
"Oh excuse my young sister, she had a sheltered life" he covered all but rushing over to the two women "This is an age of superstition, of official superstition. The Augur is paid by the city to tell the future. 'The wind will blow from the west' is the equivalent of the Ten O'clock news," he said in a rushed but hushed voice. Drew almost gasped as a pale and sick looking young woman entered the room all but glaring at them
"They are laughing at us, they used words like tricksters. They are mocking us"
"No, no, no. I meant no offence," the Doctor said quickly
"I'm sorry, my daughter has been consuming the vapors," Metella said rushing over to the girl.
"Oh for gods, mother what have you been doing to her?" Quintus snapped
"Not now, Quintus" Caecillius snapped at his son
"Yeah but she's sick, just look at her!" he yelled
"I gather I have a rival in this household, another with the gift?" Lucius asked almost demanding
"Oh, she had been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions" Metella stated proudly, she reminded Drew of Sarah-Jane always boasting about how smart she was and how far she was going to go in life.
"The prophecies of women as limited and dull" he said smugly "Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception," he added
"I'll tell you were the winds blowing right now, mate" Donna said hushed, the ground rumbled again
"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you" he snapped turning to Donna
"Consuming the vapors, you said?" the Doctor asked turning to Metella
"They give me strength" Evelina replied
"It doesn't look like it to me" he said looking her over
"Is that your opinion… as a doctor?" she asked suddenly
"I beg your pardon?" he asked taken aback
"Doctor, that's your name"
"How did you know that?"
"And you" she said turning to Drew and Donna "You call yourself Noble" she said looking at Donna "And you call your self MacDonald" Drew's eyes widened, not even Donna knew her real last name
"Now then, Evelina, don't be rude" Metella scolded her daughter
"No, no, no, let her talk" the Doctor interrupted
"You all come form so far away" she said, her eyes glazed
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all kinds of vagaries," Lucius said stepping in
"Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I do reckon you have been out-soothsayed" the Doctor said half turning to Lucius
"Is that right…. Child of Gallifrey" he spat put the last part, the Doctor spun around and looked at Lucius
"What?" he asked shocked
"Doctor what are they doing?" Donna asked taking Drew's hand and pulling the younger woman behind her, surprising Drew who hadn't realized she was shaking slightly
"And you daughters of… London"
"How does he know that?" Donna asked tightening her grip on Drew's hand
"The gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth"
"That's impossible" Donna spat
"Doctor, she is returning," he said looking blankly at the Doctor
"Who? Who is she?" he asked confused
"Daughter of London, there is something on your back" he said looking at Donna
"What's that mean?" Donna asked scared
"And you Child of Cardiff" Drew looked up at him from Donna's shoulder "There are some many futures for you and him and all end in the loss of something" he said staring at her, she glanced at the Doctor who was also staring at her, she put her forehead against Donna's shoulder. She didn't want to think about losing anything,
"Even the name 'Doctor' is false, your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord, sir. A Lord…. Of Time" she said before collapsing, the Doctor rushed towards her and check her vitals.
