The Fires of Pompeii: Carpe Diem

"If I might..." the Doctor gestured to step closer. The woman raised her arm and the Doctor knelt before her, touching it, "Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary."

"Who told you that?"

"The voices."

"Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Donna asked, looking at the sisters, "Is this what's gonna happen to all of you?"

"The blessings are manifold," Spurrina stepped forward, revealing her arm was rock as well.

Donna touched it, "They're stone."

"Exactly," the Doctor stood and stepped back, "The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts."

"But why?" Angel frowned, "What's going on?"

"This word...this image in your mind, this 'volcano,' what is that?" the High Priestess asked.

"More to the point, why don't you know about it?" the Doctor looked back at her as he stepped over to Angel's side, "Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibylline."

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature inside you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust in the lungs...taking over the flesh and turning it into...what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible."

"Oh, but you can read our minds. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are!"

"We...are...awakening!" the High Priestess rasped, her voice echoing with another's.

"The voice of the gods!" Spurrina breathed.

"Words of wisdom, words of power," the sisters began chanting, "Words of wisdom, words of power."

"Name yourself!" the Doctor shouted, "Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."

"We...are...rising!"

"Tell me your name!"

"Pyrovile," Angel breathed.

The Doctor looked at her a moment before the High Priestess wailed, "Pyrovile!"

"Pyrovile," the sisters repeated over and over, "Pyrovile."

"What's a...Pyrovile?" Donna looked at them.

"I think that's a Pyrovile..." Angel nodded at the woman, trying to recall what she knew of the species, "It's like it's...growing inside her."

"She's at the halfway stage," the Doctor nodded, eyeing the priestess.

"Well, and that turns into?" Donna asked.

"That thing in the villa, that was an adult Pyrovile."

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor," the High Priestess rasped, "And your Mate!"

The Doctor stiffened at that threat, "I warn you...I'm armed!" and then he...pulled out a little, yellow, water pistol, "Donna, Angel, get that grille open."

"What are..." Donna shook her head.

"Come on," Angel grabbed her arm and they ran over to it, the Doctor backing up a step to guard them.

"What are the Pyrovile doing here?" the Doctor turned back to the High Priestess, though keeping Angel in the corner of his eye.

"We fell from the heavens," the High Priestess gasped, "We fell so far and so fast we were rendered into dust."

"Right. Creatures of stone shatter on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."

"Ok, so seventeen years ago woke you up and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourself, but why the psychic powers?"

"We opened their minds and found such gifts."

"Yeah, ok, fine. You force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that. I get that. Yeah, but...seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic, and I know psychics, I call my Mate a psychic, she's really not though, well…sort of is. She's like you, but she's so much more. She can see through time. But she was born with that talent. Where does your gift of prophecy come from?"

"Got it!" Donna yelled.

"Now get down!" he called, moving to them, the pistol still trained on the High Priestess.

"What, down there?"

"Yes, down there!" the Doctor nodded. Angel jumped down, motioning for Donna to follow, "Why can't this lot predict the volcano? Why is it being hidden? My Mate can see it clear as day, she HAS seen it. Why can't you?"

"Sisters, I see into his mind!" Spurrina proclaimed, "The weapon is harmless."

"Yeah, but it's got a sting!" he squirted the High Priestess who moaned in pain, "Get down there!"

Donna dropped down, landing beside Angel as the Doctor followed, ending up landing right on top of his Mate, making them both blush a bit at the position.

"Hello," Angel breathed, staring into his eyes, he always said he loved her eyes, that they were like dark hot chocolate with golden sprinkles, but she rather loved his eyes as well, she could see so much of his soul in them.

"Hi," he let out a breath as well, his hand lightly touching her cheek, neither making a move to get up, forgetting, for a moment, where they were and what was happening.

"You fought her off with a water pistol," Donna laughed in relief, cutting through their thoughts, jolting them into memory of what was going on, "I bloody love you."

Angel moved to help her stand as soon as the Doctor got off her, smiling, "I know that feeling."

The Doctor just beamed and kissed her quickly, taking her hand to pull her off, "This way!"

"Where are we going now?" Donna called as she followed after them.

"Into the volcano."

"No way."

"Yes way," he spun the water pistol, "Appian way."

Angel just laughed and, in a way similar to the Doctor whenever his companions attempted accents, said, "No, don't do that."

~8~

"The strangers would threaten our great endeavor," the High Priestess called out, "The time has come. The prophecy must advance."

~8~

Lucius stared into the hypocaust, "The prophecy must advance," he nodded, "Thy will be done," he turned to the guards, "Summon the Cult of Vulcan."

"Yes, sir," the guard dashed out.

"We must go to the mountain. Vesuvius awaits."

~8~

Caecilius stood in his villa, looking out at the rising sun with his wife, "Sunrise, my love. A new day. Even the longest night must end."

"The mountain's worse than ever," Quintus frowned as he looked out at the smoking mountain.

"We killed a messenger of the gods in our own house," Metella lamented before turning to her daughter, "Sweetheart, can you see? Tell us. What's going to happen?"

"Just...leave her alone," Quintus pleaded, upset with seeing his sister used the way she was.

Evelina closed her eyes a moment, frowning, "I can see..."

"What is it?" Metella asked.

"A choice," her eyes opened, tears in them, "Someone must make a choice. The most terrible choice."

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Donna walked through the tunnels of Vesuvius, Angel taking a bit more of the lead, letting her intuition guide her, "But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it alright?" Donna asked, hopeful, "For you to stop it?"

"Still part of history," he shook his head.

"Well, I'm history too. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"Throughout time there are things that are fixed and things that are in flux, able to be changed," Angel tried to explain, rubbing her head a bit, her headache was starting to come back with the heat and the terrible smell of smoke around them, "Pompeii...it's fixed Donna."

"How do you know which is which?"

"Because that's how we see the Universe," the Doctor stopped and turned to look at her sadly, "Every waking second."

"We have the ability to see what is and what was," Angel said, sounding almost like she was reciting an age old lesson, "What could be and what must not be."

And it was even stronger in her.

Her visions...she saw more of what could be than anything but...her feelings...sometimes, like now, with how she was leading them off, she got the impression that those feelings were also of what is...what was happening at that very moment or near enough. It was like...when she shivered, knowing it meant an enemy had likely killed someone, that was happening at that exact moment. She had to admit, she was rather scared of how her abilities might progress. She already saw what could be, felt what is, how long would it be before she saw what was, what must not be? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Foreknowledge alone was the most dangerous aspect to time travel, you could end up creating the future as a result, trying to alter something that couldn't be altered, among so many other things. She worried, each and every time she saved someone, that she might be disrupting the future. Whenever she pushed or pulled someone away it was always right before they were about to be killed or wounded and...if that gut feeling meant that, it meant those people would have been dead if not for her. What then? What sort of future was she building for those men and women? It was different with Rose's father, they KNEW he was dead, he'd been dead for so long, it was an established event in Rose's life...but the people she saved, there was no telling when they would have died, they didn't know their personal futures, it wasn't set in stone yet. It gave her freedom to save them, but she often wondered...at what cost? How would it affect the future?

She could only hope that, since time didn't seem to be disrupted right after it happened, perhaps, the future would be alright.

"That's the burden of the Time Lords, Donna," the Doctor squeezed her hand, sensing her thoughts, he'd often worried the same, how her small changes to the timelines of those around her might play out in the future, "We're the only ones left."

"How many people died?" Donna asked as the Doctor turned them to walk on.

"Stop it!"

"Doctor!" she yelled, making them stop, "How many people died?"

"20,000," he whispered.

"Is that what you can see?" she looked between the two of them, "All 20,000? And you think that's alright, do you?"

"Of course it's not alright," Angel turned to her, "But Donna…some things are necessary. Some things have to happen for the sake of the Universe."

"How could Pompeii affect the Universe?"

Before either of them could reply, a terribly screech echoed down to them, "They know we're here!" the Doctor shouted, "Come on!"

~8~

Lucius approached Vesuvius with the Cult of Vulcan, each member carrying a circuit.

~8~

The trio ran through the tunnels, trying their best to avoid flames shooting up, Angel helping them dodge and weave through them moments before they shot out.

~8~

"Oh, mighty Vesuvius accept these offerings in Vulcan's design and show unto us, I beseech you, the gods of the Underworld!" Lucius called to a mountain entrance.

The Cult knelt as a Pyrovile stepped out of the cave.

~8~

They arrived in a great cavern, seeing the creatures of magma and stone walking around, "It's the heart of Vesuvius," the Doctor breathed, "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of 'em," Donna whispered.

"What's that thing?" Angel pointed at something across the way as the Doctor pulled out a small collapsible telescope and peered through it.

"Well, you'd better hurry up and think of something," Donna remarked as they kept low, "Rocky IV's on its way."

"That's how they arrived..." the Doctor squinted, seeing it was a ship, "Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" he collapsed the scope.

"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe...it erupts and they launch themselves back in space or something..."

"No, it's worse than that," Angel breathed, her eyes filling with tears as the last part of her vision rang in her mind.

"How can it be worse?" Donna shook her head, a Pyrovile roaring a few feet away, "It's getting closer."

"Heathens!" Lucius yelled. They looked up to see him standing on a high ledge in the cavern, "Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

"Come on!" the Doctor called, leading them across the cavern floor, for the ship.

"We can't go in!" Donna yelled.

"We can't go back!"

"Crush them!" Lucius cried, "Burn them!" they stopped when a Pyrovile stepped in front of them. The Doctor quickly fired his water pistol at it, making it flinch back so they could run past, "There is nowhere to run, Doctor...Angel...daughter of London."

"Now then, Lucius," the Doctor turned as they made it to the ship, "My lord Pyrovillian...don't get yourselves in a lava," he looked at Angel and Donna, "In a lava...no?"

"No," they said at once, sounding very much like sisters again, they even had the same expression on their faces.

"No," he nodded, turning back to the man, "But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish...once this new race of creatures is complete...then what?"

A Pyrovile started towards them, boulders and other rocks being crushed along the way, making the Doctor tug Angel closer, as Lucius spoke, "My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization."

"But if you've crashed...and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna called.

"The heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

"What do you mean 'gone?'" Angel shook her head, "Where'd it go?"

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for our new species to rise."

"Yeah, I should warn you, it's 70 percent water out there," the Doctor scoffed.

"Water can boil and everything will burn, Doctor!"

He put the pistol away, "Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know. Donna!" he pushed her into the pod, Angel following after them before the Doctor soniced the door shut.

"You have them, my lords!"

"Could we be any more trapped?" Donna huffed as the door behind her and the pod itself suddenly got hotter, "Little bit hot."

"See, the energy converted takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix which wields Pyrovile to human," the Doctor remarked, examining the controls before them, mostly speaking to Angel, knowing she would understand some of it more than Donna, "Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"Well, can you change it...with these controls?" Donna managed to follow along anyway.

"'Course I can. But don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back," Angel said softly, realizing what was coming, the end of her vision.

"I can avert the system," he nodded, "So the volcano will blow them up, yes, but...that's the choice. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Oh my God," Donna breathed, shocked.

"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's us," the Doctor looked at Angel, knowing she would stand by him, "We make it happen."

"But the Pyrovile are made of rock. Maybe they can't be blown up."

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs," the Doctor set the controls, "Nothing can survive it," he looked at Donna and Angel sadly, "Certainly not us."

"Never mind us."

The Doctor put his hand on the lever, "Push this lever and it's all over. 20,000 people," he hesitated, not wanting to be responsible for so many deaths, and not just of those in Pompeii, but...possibly theirs as well.

"It has to happen Doctor," Angel whispered, resting her head on his shoulder as she put her hands on the lever with his, letting him know it was ok to pull it.

"I know…" he swallowed hard.

And then Donna put her hands on as well.

They all looked at each other a moment before pulling the lever down.

~8~

Evelina gasped, sensing the change in the future, as did the sisters of the Sibylline.

~8~

"Nooooo!" Lucius cried, "Noooooo!"

~8~

"Nooooo!" the High Priestess screeched.

"A new prophesy!" Spurrina gasped.

~8~

Angel winced as she braced herself against the side of the capsule as it shook, Vesuvius erupting around them, closing her eyes, concentrating as much as she could, pulling a power she hadn't used in such a large amount in so long to the surface...

~8~

"The future is changing," Evelina breathed.

~8~

Lucius screamed as flames of the mountain god's cavern burned him.

~8~

The mountain erupted, sending ash and the capsule the trio were trapped in, now surrounded by a faint golden glow, up into the air, throwing those inside about, Angel just barely managing to hang onto the sides of the capsule.

~8~

"The sky is falling!" Caecilius exclaimed, looking up.

"Death," Evelina backed away to the wall, "Only death!"

~8~

The townspeople looked up, stunned, watching the mountain, not sure what to do.

~8~

The Doctor helped Angel out of the capsule as the woman rubbed her head, Donna climbing out after them, "That did not help my head," Angel muttered.

"It was an escape pod," the Doctor peered at the pod a moment before realizing the volcano was active behind them, "Come on!"

And then they were off, running back to the town.

~8~

People watched in horror as the cloud of ash blocked the sun.

~8~

The villa quaked as dust and furniture fell around the occupants.

"Out!" Caecilius shouted, "Out, everybody out! Quickly!"

~8~

The people panicked, screaming and running, trying to escape the town.

~8~

Caecilius tried to lead his family out...when the ceiling fell around them, blocking the way.

~8~

The ash began to fall like black rain as the Doctor, Angel, and Donna ran through the streets.

~8~

The High Priestess wailed as the temple collapsed around her.

Spurrina sat on the floor with the soothsayers gathered to her, "You lied to us! And yet this was meant to be."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel tried to make their way to the TARDIS amidst the chaos in the streets while Donna shouted out to anyone who might listen, "Don't! Don't go to the beach! Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe! Listen to me..." she turned around, hearing a little boy crying, all alone, and made her way to his side, "Come here."

But a woman pulled the boy away, "Give him to me!"

Donna stood there, devastated, crying at the sight around her, when Angel stepped forward and grabbed her hand, "Come on," she said gently, tugging her back to the Doctor as they ran towards the villa, only to find the family crouched together against the back wall with their servant, the same one Angel had saved before.

"Gods save us, Doctor!" Caecilius cried.

The Doctor stared at them in terrible sadness before pulling Angel towards the TARDIS.

"You can't!" Donna gasped, "Doctor, you can't! Angel!" she rushed after them, into the TARDIS, storming up to them as the Doctor rushed around the console, preparing to dematerialize, "You can't just leave them!"

"Don't you think we've done enough?" he glared, "History's back in place and everyone dies."

He didn't know what he was more angry about, the fact they'd nearly gotten trapped in Pompeii, that his MATE had nearly gotten trapped, or that he'd been forced to be the cause of it, along with Angel. Their entire planet had burned, because of HIM, and now...it was happening all over again in Pompeii and worse yet...he'd made Angel responsible for it too. That was a guilt and a burden he DIDN'T EVER want her to have to bear.

"You've got to go back! Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back!"

The Doctor released the brake and the TARDIS disappeared, his face stony.,

"It's not fair," Donna breathed, tears streaming down her face.

"No, it's not," Angel whispered, coming from around the other side of the console to stand by her.

"But your own planet," she looked at Angel, "It burned."

"That's just it," the Doctor said, drawing her attention again, sounding so...tired, so hurt, "Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If we could go back and save them then we would, but we can't. We can never go back! We can't! We just...can't!" he looked down, "We can't…"

"Then why save that servant if he was just gonna die anyway?" Donna looked at Angel.

Angel blinked, gasping as something struck her and she spun to the Doctor, rushing over to him, taking his hands, "We can't save our people," she agreed, "And we can't save them all, but we CAN save someone…"

He looked at her and she gave him a little smile, showing him her thoughts. Donna was right, why would she have saved that servant from the Pyrovile just to have him die now?

He started smiling.

~8~

Caecilius and his family, along with his servant, sat huddled together as ash fell around them. They looked up at a wheezing sound, to see a bright light fill the room when the box that had somehow disappeared when the Spartacus trio had entered it, appeared again in the same spot. The doors opened and the Doctor and Angel stood silhouetted against a white light.

"Come with us," the Doctor held out a hand.

Caecilius reached out and grasped the Doctor's.

Angel had saved that simple servant because he was meant to live, THEY were meant to live!

~8~

They watched from a hill as a a dark cloud descended over the town. The Doctor, with his arm around Angel, Donna beside them, and Caecilius, his family, and his lone servant, watching as the city was destroyed.

"It is never forgotten, Caecilius," the Doctor told them, "Oh time will pass, men will move on, and stories will fade, but one day...Pompeii will be found again...in thousands of years...and everyone will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina?" Donna looked at the girl, "Can you see anything?"

"The visions have gone," she shook her head.

"The explosion was powerful enough to crack open a rift in time," Angel nodded, smiling just a bit at how SHE had given the explanation this time. She was good when it came to time and space.

The Doctor sighed, "Just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free," he squeezed Angel beside him, in the end, she was the one true soothsayer of them all.

"But tell me...who are you, Doctor, Angel?" Metella looked at them, "With your words...and your temple containing such size within?"

"Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone."

"The great god Vulcan must be enraged," Caecilius murmured, "It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of...volcano," his voice cracked, "All those people..." he hugged his wife to him as Quintus took his sister's hand, none of them noticing the Doctor, Angel, and Donna slip back into the TARDIS.

"Thank you," Donna said, taking Angel's hand and squeezing it, knowing that it was her, her that convinced the Doctor to go back, it was always her.

"You were right," Angel squeezed her hand back, "Sometimes we need someone," she smiled softly, "I can't always see everything, but you can see what I miss."

Donna nodded at that, knowing it had been HER as well that had helped save that family, SHE had noticed Angel saving the servant, all the excuse they needed to save them.

"Welcome aboard," the Doctor smiled.

"Yeah," she tried to return it.

Angel frowned, still seeing tears in Donna's eyes, and tugged her, "Come with me."

Donna frowned as Angel pulled her off, the Doctor trailing behind, "Where are we going?"

"To cheer you up!" Angel cheered, smiling back at her, knowing just what Donna needed, the one good memory in the bad, "I'm not about to let my sister be sad after her first trip am I?"

Donna had to smile at that when Angel pulled her right past a door...shutting it in the Doctor's face, which made her laugh.

Angel opened the door to see the Doctor standing there, blinking, "Sorry Doctor, girls...no," she smirked, recalling his little joke in the temple, "Gingers only," she beamed at him and shut the door...only to open it a moment later as he pouted, to give him a kiss, before shutting the door again.

"First official meeting of Gingers United!" he heard Angel announce to Donna through the door, "First order of business...uniforms!"

He laughed and shook his head, it seemed Martha and all her dressing up had gotten to Angel, she seemed to like doing it not just for period trips anymore, he could only imagine what those two would get into.

~8~

Six months later would find Caecilius searching through his villa, in Rome, "Metella, my love, have you seen that clasp? The beetle one. The Egyptians do love a scarab."

"Here we are, I was giving it a polish!" she arrived with the clasp in hand, giving it to him, "Now calm down."

"If I get that contract for the marble granaries of Alexandria, we'll be rich, you'll see..." he grinned...but it faltered when Evelina walked by wearing a short blue tunic, "Hold on there, Evelina. You are not going out wearing that!"

"Don't start dad, it's what all the girls in Rome are wearing," she smiled, kissing his cheek, "See you later."

"Are you seeing that boy again?" he called after her.

Quintus walked by, carrying a few scrolls under his arm, looking far more mature than last time, "Oh, look at Quintus," Metella gazed on him proudly, "My son, the doctor."

"Mum, I've told you," he sighed, though he was inwardly pleased that his parents finally knew the truth about his ambitions and were actually quite supportive of them, "I'm not a doctor for the legion, not yet. I'm just a student of the physical sciences."

"Well, that's a doctor to me," she kissed his forehead, "Give thanks to the household gods before you go. There's a good boy," she turned to Caecilius, eyeing his clothes, "Come here, let me fix it. You've got that folded all wrong..."

Quintus shook his head at his mother and walked over to kneel before their shrine, sprinkling water on it, "Thank you, household gods. Thank you for everything," he smiled, looking at the carving...the Doctor, Angel, Donna, and the TARDIS.

~8~

Angel and Donna laughed as they posed in front of a mirror in the back of the wardrobe. Both of them were wearing the most ridiculous outfits they could find. Angel was wearing a pair of bright, neon purple bell-bottom pants, with ridiculously high orange heels, a shirt that was practically a tent on her and in a bright pattern that hurt the eyes, looking like an optical illusion, with a bright pink feather boa around her neck, a large red hat on her head that was so wide it could probably have been used to fly, and big yellow sunglasses that took up more than half her face on. Donna, on the other hand, had a tiara on her head, with one of the joke glasses that had bushy eyebrows and a big plastic nose on, with a purple feather boa, what looked like it was a yellow shag carpet as a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of pants that were cow patterned, and big swimming flippers on her feet. They both looked ridiculous but they were laughing too much to care.

"Strike a pose!" Donna cried and they tried to make the most random pose they could...only for Angel to lose her balance and topple over, rolling onto her back as she laughed even more, so hard that tears came to her eyes. Donna tried to help her up but stepped on one of her flippers and fell right beside her, the two gingers' faces as red as their hair.

They had tried to be serious, really actually looking for 'uniforms' to wear, trying on suits and dresses and pajamas among many other things, but then they just started getting silly. They dressed up as clowns and ghosts and babies, though they DID find some rather lovely Flapper dresses in the back, before they just started throwing the most random pieces of clothing at each other and egging the other into changing into them.

The Doctor stepped in, right at that moment, missing his Mate as she'd been locked in the wardrobe for a good few hours now, and stopped at the sight of the two women sprawled out on the ground, seeming to have trouble breathing, and dressed in clothes he was sure the TARDIS hadn't had, "Do I want to know?"

Angel just smiled and scrambled to her feet, "What do you think?" she asked, gesturing at her outfit as she unwound her boa, trying not to knock her hat off her head in the process as it had, somehow, managed to stay on her head despite her fall.

"I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it before," the Doctor nodded, he really didn't know how she managed to find outfits so completely ridiculous, yet look as amazing in them as she did.

Angel laughed and flung her boa around his neck, "A good answer deserves a good reward," she remarked, tugging him towards her by the boa, kissing him soundly.

He beamed as he pulled away, his hands wandering to her waist, "I suppose that answers another thing," he remarked, "If I, for some reason, chose a bowtie or a coat without lapels in my next body...all you needed to do," he tapped her nose, "Is pick an outfit that uses a boa."

She paused, considering that, "I think I might just wear it for THIS body," she told him.

"Oh will you?" he laughed, stepping back, taking the boa with him, though she didn't seem to notice.

She nodded, "We decided boas will be mandatory Gingers United attire," she informed him, that was really ALL they had managed to decide in the middle of everything, "Boas are cool!"

He grinned, holding her boa back from her, "Well you'll need to take this one back first or else you're in violation of your own rules," he teased.

Her mouth dropped open in a playful smile as she tried to reach for the boa, only for him to pull back. She moved to the side, he moved it behind his back to his other hand. She jumped for it, he just held it above his head, "Give it back!" she called with a laugh.

He just smirked deviously, something only Donna seemed to notice, the two seeming to have forgotten she was there, much like in the temple. He held the boa out as though to give it to her, only to pull it back suddenly as far back as he could go, Angel jolting after it...right into a kiss. He quickly dropping the boa to wind his arms around her, holding her closer, his one hand slowly drifting up to her neck, tilting her a bit to kiss her deeper...until he moved his hands suddenly, one behind her back, the other to her legs and lifted her up.

Angel squealed as he gathered her into his arms, bridal style, and spun around, making her laugh, her face red from the loving kiss he'd just given her. He beamed widely at the bright smile on her face, how her arms went around his neck, they way her eyes lit up, and leaned over to brush his nose to hers.

"You two are SO adorable," Donna remarked quietly.

They looked over at her to see her sitting on the floor of the wardrobe, cross-legged, smiling up at them, though it was small and wistful.

"Can't help it," the Doctor shrugged, not letting go of Angel for a moment.

It wasn't actually all that hard to keep holding her, she was practically light as a feather to him and, even if she wasn't, there was just something about having her near, having her in his arms, that gave him a strength he didn't know he had.

"Just love her so, so, so, so, SO much!" he spun her around again, dropping the hand under her legs to put his arm back around her waist.

"I love you more," Angel told him, giving him a peck.

"Oh now THAT'S impossible," he smiled, though his hearts raced at her words.

"How do you do it?" Donna asked, pulling their attention back.

"Do what?" Angel blinked as the Doctor set her back down, though he kept her close, her back to his front as he rested his chin on her head, swaying them side-to-side gently.

"That," she gestured at them, shaking her head, "You're aliens, you haven't changed at all. Despite what I said about you looking older...you HAVEN'T aged. Just how old are you?"

"903," the Doctor replied, "And Angel's 797."

Donna blinked, working out that they had to be immortal, or at least very, VERY slow agers, but it didn't really matter what they were, their ages were enough to go on with her point, "You'll be together for ages," Donna said, firmly believing it, "For centuries, millennia, the end of time even," she nodded, "I just..." she sighed, "Every time I see you, you're even more in love with each other and I don't think that'll ever change. How? How do you do it? I..." she looked down, a small frown on her face, "I barely had 6 months and we all know how THAT turned out."

Angel stepped away from the Doctor, the man letting her go, to sit beside Donna, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Donna..." she shook her head, trying to figure out a way to say what she wanted to, "There is something SO special about you. The way we met you," she smiled, "The way we met you again, that's not a coincidence, that's something more," she nudged Donna to look at her, "I really believe that things happen for a reason and I think you were meant to be with us, right now, NOT Lance," she smiled, "And Lance...he wasn't meant for you Donna, because YOU are just too amazing to be with HIM," she beamed, seeing Donna starting to smile again, "The Doctor is BRILLIANT yeah?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded, not quite sure where that was going.

"And YOU are his companion!" Angel laughed, "Don't you see? He wouldn't take you on if you weren't brilliant. And you deserve someone who is just as amazing as you, someone who deserves you, someone who will make you as happy as the Doctor makes me."

The Doctor smiled at her words, touched.

"Do you think that was Lance?" Angel asked, wrinkling her face in distaste as she said 'Lance.'

"No," Donna let out a breathy laugh as she shook her head, "Not at all, even before the wedding he never made me feel the way you clearly do around the Doctor, not really."

"You see," Angel nodded, "You couldn't be with Lance because there's a man out there who will love you so much more than Lance ever could, someone who will always be there for you and make you smile and laugh and feel all warm inside," she smiled back at the Doctor as he gazed at her softly, knowing that was how HE made HER feel, "And when you DO find him...I want an invitation to the wedding."

Donna laughed, tears in her eyes at how...she couldn't even describe how Angel made her feel at that moment, "You'll be IN it," Donna swore, "My sister's GOT to be my Maid-of-Honor."

"Brilliant," Angel smiled, "I look forward to it."

Donna just shook her head and reached out to hug Angel to her, feeling so much better, feeling...she didn't know.

'You really are an angel,' the Doctor's voice called in her mind as she looked over at him again, him just beaming at her.

She just smiled and hugged Donna tighter, happy she could help.

A/N: Awww :) As I started writing the last scene, I had it all planned out to be nothing but fluff, but then Donna was there and I felt like...she's still stung and hurt from Lance and seeing them being so sweet together (there wasn't much fluff that she saw earlier) would remind her of that, and Angel would HAVE to comfort her sister.

But to make up for that...I can say that the pool scene will be in the next episode ;) And on that note...we're one more episode down and one closer to The Poison Sky which should happen, if all goes to plan, in just slightly more than a week! Oh, I can't wait!

Lol, did you see a little hint of 11 in this chapter? I wonder what HE would think of boas ;)

Some notes on reviews...

A lot of theories about fading/Rose/Angel/headaches/things...all I can say to them. Prophecies are vague (LOVE that about them). It could be that Rose has something to do with it all. Or it could be that it's a badly timed coincidence. Or it could be talking about Angel. Or the headaches could be related to Rose. Or related to the meta-crisis. Or nothing at all. Or it could be talking about nothing really to do with any of that. Or it could be...talking about something else entirely }:) Mu-wah-ha-ha (lol, sorry, felt like I had to add the evil chuckle there :))

The headaches...we'll find out in The Poison Sky exactly what they are, whether they're related to Rose or not :)

My favorite color is definitely purple :) Lol, when I was younger my art teacher had mentioned a former student of his was called 'Miss Purple' by him because she wore purple a lot, and I was like 'That's brilliant!' because I LOVED purple. So I did that too...and I became the next Miss Purple (I'll admit, I was a bit of a teacher's pet...lol, I actually ended up voted 'Teacher's Pet' in my high school year book, but that's cool, teachers need some love and appreciation too! lol :)) I grew out of that though, but my room is purple and my bed and a few clothes, so it's still there :)

I'd rather be an Elf. Werewolves with the uncontrolled changing with the moon, Vampires with their inability to go out in the sun, and angels being so associated with religion wouldn't fit me. I like the moon and wouldn't want to hate it, and I like sunlight too much to give up, and while I'm Catholic, I'm not extremely religious and I wouldn't want the responsibility of doing what I remember from church they had to do (fight, wipe out towns, give devastating messages, and also being guardians and responsible for the lives of others), I think it would be too much pressure. But Elves, being immortal and things, well, I always wish I had more time :)

I'd say a bowtie is cooler. Probably because I've heard it more on DW than the fez or Stetson :)

I'm a bit tired of how they all kiss him too. I think, if it's a built up and genuine relationship and it happens naturally then it works (hasn't happened yet, not even with River). OR if it's meant to be comedic, like with Donna, then it's cool. But genetic transfers and just such random kisses and kisses that should never be given (like Amy before her wedding) just make me go...why? They don't HAVE to kiss him...but then again...I'm sure not many people could resist the chance to kiss the Doctor lol :)

Very interesting theory about the meta-crisis...not to give spoilers, but we'll see more about the headaches very soon :)

I'd rather have a pet dragon, because it could fly and it's always good to have something that can start fires and keep you warm if the power goes out in winter or protect you from intruders coming in-tru-da window lol :) Unicorns are cute, but I think, for some reason, I'd actually be able to keep a dragon easier than a small horse :)

Angel's possible regeneration, not saying when or if it'll happen soon or in the far future, we'll have to wait and see :)