A/N: I've totally nabbed StarrGazzer and Bomb-O-Maniac's idea for this. I am so sorry by the long delay but I've been hampered by lack of Internet and being laid up ill.

Part 12

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"Donna," the Doctor whispered, easing forward towards her; far too close to be slapped, but certainly near enough to kiss her, should he so desire and, you know, if she actually let him. "I have something I have to tell you." He silently willed her to give him a chance.

"You do?" she wondered. Every nerve cell in her body was screaming at her to grab him; and in not a platonic way. This was very different, to say the least. "Tell me then."

"I… I…," he stammered as she waited for the declaration, whatever it may be. As it was, he chickened out on the heartfelt one he wanted to confess and went for a factual one that would hopefully result in a compassionate response. "I have to tell you; I'm dying."

That was not what she had expected to hear, yet seemed perfect logical now that he had said it. "Dying? What happened and how long do you think you've got?"

His eyes widened into pools of hurt that regarded her. "I'm dying from radiation poisoning. It happened at Christmas when I saved Wilf's life, and it's only a matter of time now. I'm holding it off as best I can. These creatures, called the Aubertide, are following me again. Well, probably just the one. They must have caught a stray wisp of regeneration energy from me in order to lead them here. Last time I imprisoned them all, but obviously one got away. Did… did Jonathan regenerate near here?"

"Right outside the front door here," Donna supplied. "So they are what brought you back here?"

"Well, that and the energy spike I detected," he admitted.

Thanks a bunch! Hurt did not begin to cover her spirits in that instant. She couldn't resist asking, "What would you have done if you hadn't been followed?"

He gave a small shrug to hide his guilty feelings. "Oh, I don't know... I would have probably peeked in at your wedding, then said goodbye to Martha, Mickey, Jack, Sarah Jane and Rose." His voice slightly broke on the last name, just as it always did.

A large mental door clanged shut inside Donna's head as he finished saying his list. That urge within her had to be resisted, because it would be utterly futile to allow it. "I see," she carefully said. "We'll try not to detain you any longer than necessary. Just let me know what Jonathan and I have to do about these Aubertide when they appear."

"My readings say they already have," he confessed.

"That makes sense," she commented, forcing her mind away from her personal angst and on to consider her misgivings earlier in the day. "There was this weird vehicle hanging about just before you turned up. One of those large transit vans with blacked-out windows."

No sooner had she finished the words then a wall of sorrow hit her, almost blasting her with its strength, as an audible sob broke through their conversation. "No!"

"Jonathan!" she cried as she turned to seek him out, desperate to offer comfort.

He stood a mere three feet away from them, with tears dripping down his young face, a picture of woe. "It's still all about Rose bloody Tyler, isn't it?!" he bitterly spat in the direction of the Doctor. "Everything always comes back to her! Sod me and Mum because everything is fine as long as your memories of her lie intact." He wiped desperately at his tears now, but it was a futile effort despite Donna rushing to attempt to help mop them up with a hankie from her pocket, as his fury remained focused on the Doctor. "Uncle Adam was right; you don't want Mum. You never did. It was all a charade to stop Rose clinging to you!"

"Jonathan, it's alright," Donna gently tried to sooth him as she dabbed at his tears. "I knew all along."

"No, it's not alright!" Jonathan cried louder as his face utterly crumpled. "It's not fair, Mum. You deserve more and… and… you mean so much to me."

She threw her arms around him and held him tight, placing loving kisses on his head as he hung on to her body. "You are my everything," she assured him. "We'll get through this together; you and me. And soon we'll have Shaun too."

"Don't forget we've got Uncle Adam," Jonathan mumbled from somewhere next to her neck. "Mum, can we go home now? I want to go home."

"Yes, darling," she told him. "Get your things together and we'll get going."

As they broke apart, the Doctor icily wondered, "Who is Uncle Adam?"

"He's erm…"

Donna was suddenly lost for words, whereas Jonathan wetly glared at his father. "He is my uncle called Adam. D'uh! What do you care?"

"Mind your tongue, young man!" the Doctor raged. "Donna doesn't have any siblings, so how can he be your uncle?" He turned his attack onto Donna. "Have you been picking up random men again, and getting iyour/i son to call them 'uncle'? I thought you were better than that."

An expletive behind him in the kitchen made the Doctor turn towards the voice, and then something hit him with a god almighty force across the face.

BAM!

"Call my daughter that again and you'll get another one," Sylvia threatened, shaking out the pain in her hand. It had been bloody satisfying to land one on him though. Totally worth it; especially as he had been thrown on to the floor.

Donna's squeak of surprise was interrupted by someone frantically ringing the doorbell.

"That'll be next-door to complain about all the noise," Wilf warned as he made for the door. His surprise grew when he saw who was stood on his doorstep. "Adam?! Come on in. We weren't expecting to see you yet."

"Evidently not," Adam coolly replied, and stepped over the threshold. "Oh!" he exclaimed despite himself when he saw the man lying on the hall carpet and fraught faces. "Have I missed something important?"

"Uncle Adam!" Jonathan cried with relief, and ran to hug his uncle. Adam reluctantly hugged back. "You came."

"I did," Adam needlessly confirmed; but there was a lot to take in. "Would you care to explain now that I am here?"

"Ah, Adam," Jerry declared from midway up the stairs. "There's been a lot of family drama that I have been forbidden from filming until you got here and gave permission."

To Jerry's amazement, Adam threw him his car keys. "Go and sit in the car for now. I shall come and collect you once I have had a chance to talk this through with Donna and her visitor," Adam order him. "This should not take too long."

A reluctant Jerry eyed them all as he made his way out of the house and into the cold outside. The door slammed shut and they stood regarding each other, except for the Doctor who remained propped up against the bottom steps of the stairs.

"It was all HIS fault!" Sylvia blurted out, pointing at the Doctor.

Adam raised an inquisitive eyebrow, so Donna took over. "Adam, this is Jonathan's father; Dr John Smith. Mum hit him when he insulted me."

"I didn't!" the Doctor quickly denied. But under her beady gaze, he relented. "Okay, I might have done."

"Sylvia, I am going to need you to make us a cup of your delicious tea, and then I'm afraid the four of us…" Adam swivelled his finger to include himself, Jonathan, Donna and the Doctor. "…need to discuss this matter alone. Is that okay with you?" he finished on a highly pleasant note.

With a small huff of defiance, Sylvia nodded her agreement.

"What about me?" Wilf added his query.

"Can I impose upon you, Wilfred my dear friend, to make us some other refreshments in the form of a sandwich or two?" Adam inquired.

Wilf touched his head with two fingers in a miniature salute. "Right you are! I'll get onto that straight away. "

~0~0~

Brother of mine slowly drove by the human house again, licking his lips with anticipation. There was much regenerative energy here to be had, and if he was wise enough, he would be able to harvest all of it. Now all he needed was an effective plan.

He had been spooked earlier by the appearance of the Doctor; his former jailer. Oh how he loathed the Time Lord with his big blue box! But he also needed him, despite all that, in order to regain what had once been rightfully his. When the broken time lock had released him, the natural thing to do had been to seek out this energy source.

The problem was a proximity one. In short, he needed to get close enough to the Doctor without being perceived as dangerous. For that he needed a human form that would be more useful, to say the least. This latest one was on its last legs; he could feel the heart within it crushing under the weight of its task. If he didn't act soon and obtain a new body all his efforts to stay alive would be dashed.

Looking out of the window of the transit van, he saw a likely candidate in the form of a man suddenly standing outside the house. Inwardly he crowed whilst he opened the van door to grab his next form.

~0~0~

Adam remained standing in Sylvia's front parlour while Donna occupied the sofa with Jonathan; both of them had declined any more tea or sandwiches, whereas the Doctor and Adam had tucked in with gusto into the small treats Wilf had brought them, and emptied the teapot.

So far nothing had been exchanged between the two men besides details of the reality show being undertaken, the reaction from the viewing public and the ratings so far. Weirdly enough, Adam was boasting about Jonathan as he finished eating.

"I've had a few enquiries from television and teen magazines about possible photo-shoots. He's become quite an instant celebrity," Adam explained in his usual measured way, but Donna knew by now that there was an element of excitement underlying his words.

"I see," the Doctor carefully replied as he leaned back to rest against the mantelpiece. "You are using my son as promotional and commercial material. That may be wonderful for your production company, but I need you to answer a question."

Uh oh! Donna knew that tone of voice all too well. It meant he wasn't pleased. So she waited to see if the Doctor had picked up on the things that were bothering her.

"Of course you may," Adam acquiesced.

The Doctor lifted away from the fireplace and placed himself directly in front of him. "Who are you? Despite you trying to hide it, I know you aren't human."

Jonathan squirmed nervously in his seat, hoping nobody had noticed whilst being glad Donna had taken his hand.

A sly smile appeared on Adam's face as he lowered his olfactory misdirection shield. "Don't you know, Thete," he softly wondered in Gallifreyan.

His jaw dropped. "What! What?!" the Doctor spluttered in shock, recognising his brother's scent immediately. "You can't be! They all died. You died, Brax!"

But Adam shook his head. "I was sent here to guard the Archive, saving it from capture and destruction. Its preservation was paramount. I'm so sorry that I wasn't allowed to even look for you and if it wasn't for your w… for Donna here, I would never have known you had survived too," he explained.

Giving out a cross between a sniff and a sob, the Doctor, exclaimed, "Brax! I have never been so glad to be wrong."

The two brothers clasped their hands over the other's forearms; the only physical contact they allowed themselves. A promise of future interaction was made between them as Brax telepathically revealed his habitual location.

Well, that makes even more sense, Donna considered. "Now I know why you felt so odd to me," she confessed. "Sorry," she added when Adam, Brax, or whatever she was supposed to call him now, coolly regarded her.

To her surprise, he smiled pleasantly at her. "No need to be, Donna Noble, as I was similarly affected by you. But fortunately your son Jonathan informed me of your circumstances."

"You knew who he was?!" she accused Jonathan sitting beside her, who in turn looked incredibly sheepish.

Blushing fervently, Jonathan admitted in a tiny voice, "I knew straight away. I recognised his scent. Sorry, Mum; so sorry, but I just thought..."

"What exactly? That I'm too stupid to know? That I'd attack him? That I'm not good enough to be let in on your bloody big secret?" Donna blazed indignantly. "Go on, do tell. I'm dying to find out."

"Well, you see, it was like this," Jonathan stammered out, not quite finishing the excuse. He had no idea how he would explain his plotting to halt the wedding.

Scowling at him, Donna threatened, "Great, just what I wanted to hear. You will regret this when I get you home!"

"Donna, he didn't mean it like that," the Doctor defended Jonathan. "I'm sure he has a very good reason for omitting to tell you about Brax."

"Yeah, sure," she griped, deeply hurt by the betrayal.