A/N here's the next part. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer; unfortunately none of these characters are mine.

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Donna Noble was lost. She had left her room and was intending to go back to the infirmary, where the TARDIS was, but all the corridors in this place looked the same. She had been looking for almost 20 minuets and was just about to swallow her pride and ask for directions when she spotted the large Jaffa she was introduced to the night before walking towards her.

He stopped in front of her. Yesterday she had heard Celesia refer to him as muscles and she could definitely understand why; the man was a walking wall.

"Are you lost Donna Noble?"

She looked up at him. "Yeah, little bit, this place all looks the same to me. I'm trying to get back to the TARDIS, any chance of some help?"

Teal'c bowed his head slightly "I shall escort you." He turned and headed in the direction of the infirmary.

As they walked Donna decided to do a little finding out about Celesia. "Have you known her long?" she asked with no preamble.

Teal'c didn't look at her. "I have known Vala Mal Doran many years."

Donna nodded and then, after a few seconds silence, "What's she like? I mean if she's anything like the Doctor then…"

"Vala Mal Doran has proved herself to be a very loyal friend many times. I know of no one with her spirit or courage."

Donna had been with the Doctor for nearly 6 months, she had forgotten that not everyone was as chatty as him. "What about her and Dr Jackson? Are they… you know… together? They looked pretty close last night and if a man ever looked at me the way was looking at her I would be a happy woman."

"Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran share a special bond." That seemed to be all he had to say on the subject.

Donna was prevented from asking any more questions by there arrival in the infirmary. The TARDIS was still sitting in the corner, but Celesia was no place in sight. "Looks like your friends gone" she commented to Teal'c.

Teal'c just lifted his eye brow at her. "Indeed." With that he bowed his head goodbye and left.

Donna made her way over to the TARDIS and stepped in.

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After breakfast Vala had convinced Cam to help her escape from the infirmary, claiming there was nothing really wrong with her, she had just severely altered her biology. Cam had been hesitant, he didn't want to suffer the wrath of Carolyn when she found out he had been involved in her escape. Vala had assured him that she would take full responsibility so they had quickly made a dash for it and where currently hiding out in Cams rarely used office.

Vala was hungry. All the infirmary staff had given her for breakfast was a bowl of Corn Flakes, which Vala declared the most tasteless thing she had ever eaten, and a cup of fruit juice. Since she wouldn't shut up about how she was going to starve to death Cam had to let Sam in on the escape so she could bring food from the mess hall.

The three of them now sat in Cams cramped office. Sam and Cam had, over the years, grown use to Vala's large appetite but what the amount she had eaten for breakfast today shocked them. Sam had brought enough food for all three of them; she and Cam had ended up with a slice of toast each while Vala ate the rest.

"It's my Time Lord Physiology." she explained. "I can't help it."

"You're going to eat us out of house and home Princess" Cam joked.

Vala simply shrugged and continued to finish off her plate. Cam and Sam shared a look, they both wanted to talk to Vala about what had happened over the past few days but neither knew how to go about it.

Eventualy Cam bit the bullet. "So, this Doctor is your… cousin?"

Vala sighed, she knew this conversation would happen at some point but had hoped her team mates would have given her a bit more time to adjust "Yes, technically. It's all a little complicated."

Sam was as unsure as Cam about how to talk to Vala; for one thing she didn't know what to call her. She had seen her friends' reaction last night when both the Doctor and Daniel had called names at the same time; she hadn't known which one to respond to. Was she still Vala or, now that she had gotten her memories back, was she Celesia?

Vala seemed to sense her friends' hesitation and, remembering Daniels words from what seemed like so long ago now, decided that talking about things might be the best thing.

"It's ok to still call me Vala Sam." She had noticed how Sam hadn't called her by her name, either of them, since this had all started. "I'm still her, in a way."

Sam smiled and nodded, at least that was one thing sorted out. Cam however didn't seem so sure.

"Are you really? I mean you changed, you've got a whole other life now, family, a past, heck even another name." Cam knew he was being unreasonable but couldn't help himself, this whole situation had thrown him for a loop and he didn't know how to deal with it. At the hurt look on Vala's face he mumbled and apology and quickly left his office, he had thought he was ready to speak to Vala but apparently he needed some more time.

Vala sighed as Cam left. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Everyone walking on egg shells around her not knowing what to say? She looked over at Sam and knew she was as confused as Cam. She had yet to speak properly to Teal'c and after her conversation with Daniel last night she knew he too was unsure about the situation.

She had told Daniel the other day that the price for getting everything you wanted was to lose it, was that what was happening here? She had regained her past but lost her present? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, if her friends here on earth rejected her because of this she didn't think she had the strength to start over again. She had done it before and knew how hard it was.

"Are you ok Samantha?" Her friends had all been so worried about her recently, she knew to it was taking its toll.

"Shouldn't it be me asking you that? I know how hard it is to have two sets of memories in your head at once, after I was a host to Jolinar I felt like I had lived her life. I know it's not exactly the same but I still get it, a bit at least." Sam smiled over at her friend; they had talked a few times about there shared past as hosts even though there experiences had been so different.

"I just don't know what to do Samantha. Everything's been turned upside down."

Sam asked the question that had been on her mind since the Doctor and Vala's relationship had been revelled. "Are you going to leave? Go with the Doctor? He is your family after all."

Vala looked up, she hadn't even thought about leaving Earth yet, when she had heard Sam's question she had thought that she wanted her to go but the look on Sam's face told her that she didn't. "I honestly haven't thought about it. He is family but you are all my family too. I was never one for travelling before but then after Qetesh that was all I did for so long." She thumped her hand off the table causing Sam to jump slightly at the out burst. "How can I have been two so different people! Nothing seems to match up now, Vala loves to go off on adventures but Celesia had never left her home world. Celesia is a teacher but Vala can't read anything that doesn't have big type and pictures. The list goes on and on. There's so little I'm sure of now…"

Sam felt for her friend. A movie and some chocolate weren't going to fix this like it had the other day.

"It was like this after I regenerated for the first time. It seems I've not learned to cope with it any better. Quences had such a time with me, I don't think I came out of my rooms for a month." She laughed at some memory Sam couldn't see. "No matter how much he told me I was still the same person I couldn't reconcile the differences." The smile vanished as she remembered she would never see the man she had loved as a father again.

Sam shuffled over in her seat and gave her friend a hug. No matter how confusing things where for all of them Sam knew it was important for Vala to feel she still had a place among them.

"Have you talked to the Doctor since last night?" Sam asked her after a minuet.

Vala gave a short laugh. "No, he's hiding in his TARDIS, that boy always did have a habit for sulking. I should probably go and find him shouldn't I?" Vala stood up to leave. "Thank you Samantha, you've always been a true friend." She left to go find the doctor.

"You too Vala, you too." Sam replied to the now empty room.

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Martha and Donna where sitting in the kitchen drinking tea. They had tried for a while to get the Doctor to go and talk to Celesia but he had been having none of it, insisting on fixing the TARDIS. From the yelps they could hear coming from him occasionally, as the TARDIS sent a spark his way, they guessed the TARDIS wanted him to go too.

Martha had filled Donna in on the year that never was and the fate of the Master. Deciding that to understand, then fix, what was going on with the Doctor Donna had to know what had happened last time he had found another Time Lord.

"But she's not an evil psychopath is she? At least I didn't get that impression from her, and her friends here seem to think pretty well of her even that Jaffa bloke."

"The Master didn't either when he was human but I think you're right. They acted like brother and sister." she paused and laughed "The Doctors big sister, oh this is going to be good."

"They said they where cousins, I suppose you're right though, she did act like he was her annoying little brother." Martha just laughed more at that statement "What?"

"Donna you act like the Doctor is your annoying little brother. You and her are going to get on like a house on fire I can tell that much. But this isn't helping us get him out there to talk to her."

Just as Martha said this they heard the door to the TARDIS bang shut quickly followed by Celesia giving the Doctor an ear full. The words couldn't quite be heard but the tone was definitely clear. The two companions strained to hear but couldn't, even so every so often they would give a wince as a particularly loud word could be heard.

Donna huffed "Wouldn't matter if we could hear them properly anyway, it's not like the TARDIS is translating." The TARDIS gave a hum in response, obviously what ever the two in the control room where talking about was not for their ears.

It was an hour and a half later when they heard the door close again. They gave the Doctor 5 more minuets then went to find him.

He was sitting in the captains' chair with a small smile on his face. It seemed that whatever had happened, while it may not have been particularly pretty, had at least shifted him out of his funk and cleared the air between him and Celesia some what.

"Doctor? Is everything ok?" Donna asked.

He grinned at her "You know what Donna; I think it might just be getting there."

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After leaving the TARDIS Vala went in search Cam, he had done so much for her in the past few days she knew she owed it to him to go and find him.

When she did find him he was on the surface sitting at the top of the small mountain the base was under. He was throwing stones at a small rabbit hole. She sat down next to him and joined in his game.

After a few minuets he turned his head to her. "I'm sorry 'bout earlier. It's just… you're like a sister to me. A rather annoying sister but still…" He picked up another stone and threw it.

"Cameron I'll always be you're rather annoying sister."

They sat together for a while longer just throwing stones. When it was time to go for dinner Cam stood up and offered his hands to Vala, pulling her up off the dirt. As they made there way back down the mountain Vala gave him a shove causing him to stumble and fall on his ass. She laughed and took off running, Cam hot on her heals.

When they got to the check point Cam had Vala thrown over one of his shoulders and was refusing to put her down. He carried her like that all the way down to the mess before dumping her at the table that Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were sitting at.

The five team members sat and ate dinner, the conversation flowing freely.

For the first time in over a week things felt like they might some day get back to normal.