A/N: you can't really tell my inspiration came for this during a migraine... much. Angst really loved me last week.

Part 20

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Donna nodded guiltily at her husband's question. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to. My next pregnancy wasn't supposed to happen yet, but you see I'm more than a little bit new at coping with all this Time Lord super powers stuff. It won't happen again; promise."

"Blimey, you don't do things by halves, do you!" the Doctor stammered in awe. "In under twenty four hours you've saved my life, given me back my son, we've had a daughter and now we have a third child on the way."

"Plus a wife," Jonathan added with a cough; quietly overjoyed that he had come high on his father's list. "I hope you've got a cover story worked out for all this."

The Doctor had been bent to kiss Donna after the wife reference, but the cover story bit stopped him in his tracks. "Why would I need a cover story?"

"Because we've been on the television, supposedly planning my wedding." Donna almost wailed, "Poor Shaun."

"Can't be baby blues," Jonathan commented, grabbing some tissues to hand to his mother. When she indignantly glared at him, he added, "I know you are mourning him too. He was my friend."

Moving closer, into her outstretched arms, he let her sob all over him.

~0~0~

Baby supplies were desperately needed, so they attempted to leave the flat. 'Attempt' being the operative word. Opening the front door, there was a waiting gaggle of noisy reporters shoving microphones in their direction. Loads of questions rang out, tumbling over themselves as they pressed nearer.

"Donna! How do you feel about your fiancé being killed by an alien?"

"What will you do now about the wedding?"

"When did you find out about your fiancé's death?"

"Is this the man you were seen cheating on your fiancé with?"

"Over here, Donna! Jonathan!" A flashbulb went off.

Stepping forward, the Doctor held up his hand and took over. They all quietened at his stern expression. The Oncoming Storm was riled. "This is not the time to ask such questions. Donna has had an emotional and stressful time in the last 24 hours."

At that point a thin angry cry rang out from a tightly wrapped bundle in Donna's arms.

"Is that a baby?"

"Is that your baby, Donna?"

Reluctantly, the Doctor admitted, "Yes, Donna gave birth."

That started a fresh barrage of questions.

"Did Shaun know?"

"Is that the reason you applied to be on TV?"

"Was Shaun the father?"

"Have you any tips for our readers on how to hide your pregnancy?"

"Do you mind having a new sibling, Jonathan?"

On and on the questions went. Donna handed the tiny bundle to Jonathan and then stepped up next to the Doctor. "Look," she began, speaking loudly with authority to the press representatives, "I didn't even know I was pregnant when I suddenly gave birth. It's been a huge surprise for us all. As for my husband, we will issue a statement later this afternoon. So pretend you are decent human beings for once and bugger off and leave us alone for five minutes!"

The Time Family then stepped back inside Donna's flat and firmly shut the door.

"Well, that went well. You would hardly anyone noticed we've just suffered life and death," Donna sarcastically commented. Needing the comfort, she reached out to take the baby from Jonathan's arms, readily accepting his kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Mum. It's just future old news," he consoled her. "Go sit down and I'll make us a cup of tea."

"That'd be lovely, thanks darling," she replied.

The comfort the Doctor instantly offered was more than welcome, and she almost melted into his arms. "Come on; let's sit down for a minute, then I'll sneak out to get the TARDIS and the things you need." He guided her onto the softness of the settee, and proceeded to place extra cushions around her. "Is that comfortable enough?" he anxiously wondered.

As she settled herself down, she wondered how long this would last.

~0~0~

"Are you sure you want to go with this press statement?" Brax sought to clarify as he read through the paper Donna had written out, expertly manoeuvring it out of his new baby niece's reach as she laid proudly on his lap; delighting in her responses. She had taken to him immediately and easily formed a familial bond with him.

"It seems to be the most logical version, in light of her rapid arrival and growth," the Doctor reasoned. "Yes, I think it best that we say I had sole custody of her from the night of the planets in the sky. Many people lost spouses and family thanks to the Daleks."

Brax eyed him over the top of the paper. "So you kept your baby daughter but gave away your son?"

"I was grief stricken," the Doctor argued. "How was I to cope with a son as well as a baby while my wife was presumed dead?"

"Most would say the teenage son was easier to look after than a newborn," Brax considered.

The Doctor deliberated this. "Well… He could have been trouble."

"What?!" Jonathan asked incredulously when his father thoughtfully looked at him. "Am I supposed to be a teenage tearaway now? No, I won't have it. I've agreed before now to say I'd gone to live with my girlfriend, but I refuse to be painted as a yobbo!"

"You did go to live with your girlfriend," the Doctor pointed out. "You could have stayed there."

"I could also have stayed dead after being shot at, on her order, three times," Jonathan raged back, startling the baby.

Brax placed a finger against her forehead, soothing her instantly. "Shh, my sweet."

Having seen this, Jonathan then continued to berate his father, "I am so sorry that I inconvenienced you. I'll try and go back so that she can finish the job properly, shall I? She'd be no happier to see me, so perhaps I should swap places and give her what she really wanted!"

In the angry silence that followed, Brax carefully asked, "What did the human female really want?"

"She wanted Dad, Uncle Brax," Jonathan informed him. "Not half-human inferior me, but the real man she loved instead."

A disgusted frown appeared on Brax's face. "Surely you didn't really consider a lower species as a mate, Thete? I know Donna was once human but you never even allowed the relationship until she transformed."

Fury gripped the Doctor. "You don't understand about the relationship I had with Rose," he gritted out. "She was very special."

Jonathan had had enough. "In what way?! Was it the fact she was barely above Jenny's age, the blonde hair, the thickly applied makeup, or the fact the war seems to have turned you into a paedophile predator, which made her so special for you? Huh?" he raged. "Or was it her jealous possessiveness, her need to break the laws of time, or your need to be worshipped by an attractive teenage girl? Do tell, because I'd love to know why it was okay for you to hand me over to her like a goldfish won at the fun fair!"

"That wasn't the case!"

"Jonathan, that's enough," a calm female voice from behind warned him.

He swivelled on the spot and pleaded with her. "But, Mum! You know what I went through. Why are you sticking up for him?"

Donna moved nearer and took his hand in support, knowing he was lashing out because he rightly felt betrayed. "No-one can help who they fall in love with. Your dad isn't to blame for the fact that you loved Rose enough to want to stay with her at first, and he isn't to blame for the way she stalked us through various universes. It was her choice to rip apart the TARDIS, and it was her decision to get me to kill myself so that she could get back to him. Difficult situations need difficult choices, as you know; but at least your dad made a decision."

"How can you stand there and defend him wiping your memory and separating us like that?" Jonathan cried, the tears welling up in his eyes, and seeing similar tears threatening to spill out through his mother's eyelashes.

"Because I have to accept it happened. What else can I do other than live with it? But we changed the result as soon as we could, together, me and you," she wetly replied. "As for your dad, I'm not his first choice. Never have been and never will be. He is making do, like I did."

Feeling the need to refute that statement, the Doctor stammered, "Donna, I..."

"Don't try and deny it; please don't," she begged him, holding back more tears. "You are a man of honour, and I respect that you are a gentleman. You even went as far as to form a bond with me; but you can't include my son. For some reason he still isn't good enough for you and that breaks my hearts, let alone his. Do you really think him and Brax aren't aware that you can't truly accept him as your own son?"

"It's complicated," he defended himself.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "So you'll understand perfectly if I have to choose him and let you go. I'm not breaking our bond but setting you free from us inferior 'echoes'; that's how you described us instant Gallifreyans once before. Anyway, without us you can get yourself another pretty young thing to travel about the universe with, bossing them about, AND you can go back to visit your precious Rose somewhere in her timeline. There's a red bike to be delivered at some point, if memory serves me correctly."

The Doctor stood stunned, his breath rasping in and out thanks to the heavy weight that seemed to press down on his chest. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"So that you can have it all," she retorted. "Isn't that great?"

In a hurt voice, he murmured, "But you know how I feel about you."

"I do," she sadly admitted. "And for a few moments I was stupid enough to mistake it for something else. Martha was right to warn me."

He flinched as though physically struck. "What's Martha got to do with us?"

"I'm not even going to grace that with an answer," she replied, picking up the baby from Brax. "I'm going to change this one into fresh clothes then go to visit my mum to show her off. You're welcome to come with us or, failing that, visit us here any time you're in this part of the galaxy."

As she strode out of the room, closely followed by Jonathan, Brax demanded of his brother, What are you playing at, Thete? Go after her! Stop this nonsense in its tracks. But to Brax's horror, he didn't do that at all, but entered his TARDIS and dematerialised.

"He's gone, hasn't he?" Donna questioned Brax when he appeared seconds later in her bedroom doorway. She efficiently removed the baby's nappy and Jonathan handed her the items to clean up the mess.

"Yes. Donna, I want you to know that I am still here for you all," Brax proclaimed.

She gave him a wry smile. "Thanks, I appreciate that. How did the Aubertide announcement go?"

In the circumstances, he allowed the chance of subject. "As well as can be expected. Three people died this time because of that creature," he stated glumly. "The news of its death was welcomed by the press. Your part in the television programme will desist immediately. The channel executives are overjoyed with the publicity this had brought, but you yourself will suffer from some unwanted interest for a while longer."

"I expected as much," she admitted as the last popper was done up on the Babygro her daughter wore. They were already using the six to nine month size. "The appearance of madam here will no doubt set even more tongues wagging."

That wasn't all that would cause her problems, Brax remembered. "I should also warn you that Thete deleting that girl's photos yesterday didn't stop her reporting the incident to all and sundry."

Bugger! "You'd think the sonic screwdriver would have a flashy setting on it by now like they had in Men In Black," she reasoned, much to the two males' amusement.

Jonathan laughed. "We desperately need to work on that. I mean... I need to put it high on my list of apps on the one I make myself."

It was with regret that Brax placed a hand on Jonathan's shoulder in consolation, wishing he could have used a familial bond to do so. That option had suddenly become less available, and he needed to express his high regard for his nephew. "Why don't you come and construct one in my own personal workshop? I did promise you would be able to visit there once your part in my production ended."

"Thank you, Uncle Brax!" Jonathan beamed at him; a smile that almost melted his hearts.

~0~0~