The Doctor and Rose were showing Donna around their favourite marketplace when the Doctor noticed a stall up ahead. "You are gonna love this!" He exclaimed as he handed her a small jug of the local drink before getting one for him and Rose. "One, two, three," he countered as they took a large drink.
"Hmm!" The Doctor moaned, the Doctor and Rose noticed each other had froth covering their upper lip so wiped each other's lip.
"Ah! It's lovely," Donna exclaimed as she followed Rose and the Doctor while they pointed things out for her.
A Chinese woman walked up to her. "You want to buy Shukina?" She showed her but Donna kept going as the woman approached her again. "Peshwami? Most beautiful Peshwami in all of Shan Shen."
Donna shook her head. "Oh, no, thanks," she stated as she watched Rose haggling like a pro.
Donna decided to have a look around by herself and leave the couple to get lost in themselves, god knows they deserve a little happiness. "Tell your fortune, lady?" A woman called out from her booth. "The future predicted," she explained. "Your life foretold."
Donna shook her head. "Oh, no thanks."
"Don't you want to know if you're going to be happy?" The lady insisted.
Donna grinned at her. "I'm happy right now, thanks."
The woman tried again. "You got red hair, the reading's free for red hair."
Donna looked around but couldn't see the Doctor or Rose anywhere. "All right, then," she gave in.
She walked into the stall and sat where indicated as she held out her hand. "Oh, you're fascinating," the fortune teller explained as she read her palm. "No, but you're good," she assured her. "I can see a man and a woman, the most remarkable couple. How did you meet them?"
Donna quirked a brow. "You're supposed to tell me," she pointed out.
"I see the future," the fortune teller reminded her. "Tell me the past. When did your lives cross?"
Donna shrugged. "It's sort of complicated, I ended up in their spaceship on my wedding day. Long story," she dismissed.
"But what led you to that meeting?" The fortune teller persisted.
"All sorts of things," Donna thought. "But my job, I suppose. It was on Earth, this planet called Earth, miles away but I had this job, as a temp. I was a secretary at a place called HC Clements," she suddenly had a very real flashback like she was back at her desk at HC Clements before finding herself back in the fortune tellers tent. "Oh. . . Sorry," she apoligised.
The fortune teller continued to stroke her hand as she explained. "It's the incense, just breathe deep," she urged Donna. "This job of yours, what choices led you there?" She continued questioning.
Donna suddenly remembered something. "There was a choice, six months before. Cause the agency offered me this contract at HC Clements," she suddenly found herself reliving that day as she explained. "There was this other job, my mum knew this man."
Her mother got into the passenger side of her car while Donna got in the drivers side. "Jival, he's called, Jival Chowdry," her mother explained. "He runs that little photocopy business and he needs a secretary."
Donna sighed as she turned to her. "I've got a job," Donna insisted.
"As a temp," Her mother scoffed. "This is permanent, it's 20,000 a year, Donna," her mother started to nag.
Donna put her seatbelt on as she explained the job to her mother, yet again. "HC Clements is in the City. It's nice, it's posh, so stop it," she ordered. Just as she was starting the car she was brought back to the fortune tellers tent.
"Your life could have gone one way or the other," the fortune teller pointed out. "What made you decide?"
Donna shrugged. "I just did."
"But when was the moment?" The fortune teller persisted. "When did you choose?"
Donna suddenly found herself back in the car and waiting to turn left at an intersection while her mother nagged. "It won't take long, just turn right. We'll pop in and see Mr Chowdry, so Suzette can introduce you."
Donna rolled her eyes. "I'm going left," she insisted. "If you don't like it, get out and walk."
"If you turn right, you'll have a career, not just filling-in," her mother continued.
Donna sighed. "You think I'm so useless," she burst out.
"Oh, I know why you want a job with HC Clements, lady," her mother continued, ignoring her outburst. "Cause you think you'll meet a man with lots of money and your whole life will change.
Well, let me tell you, sweetheart, City executives don't need temps, except for practice."
Donna sighed. "Yeah, well, they haven't met me," she countered.
"You turned left," the fortune teller realised. "But what if you'd turned right? What then?" She suggested.
Donna found herself back in the fortunetellers tent as she gripped her hands. "Let go of my hands," Donna demanded as she tried to move her hands away.
"What if it changes? What if you go right? What if you could still go right?" The fortune teller insisted.
"Stop it," Donna growled out until she felt something crawl up her back. "What was that? What's on my back? What is it? What's on my back?" She started panicking.
The fortune teller ignored her. "Make the choice again, Donna Noble, and change your mind. Turn right."
"I'm turning," Donna informed her in a trance like state.
"Turn right," the fortune teller urged her. "Turn right, turn right."
Donna was back in the car at the intersection as her mother nagged her. "Let me tell you, sweetheart, City executives don't need temps, except for practice."
Donna sighed. "Yeah, suppose you're right," Donna conceded.
"Turn right and never meet that couple," the fortune teller urged her as Donna switched the indicator to the right. "Turn right and change the world.
Six months later she found herself at a bar during Christmas time. "We wish you a merry Christmas, We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas," as people sang Christmas songs around her.
"Get out of the way," she urged them as she pushed her way through.
"And a happy New Year," they finished off.
"Get out of the way!" She ordered, as she carried a tray of drinks to her friends. "Here we are, feed at the trough."
"Mooky says let's go to the Boardwalk," one of her friends suggested. "It's two-for-the-price-of-one."
Donna scoffed. "Christmas Eve? It'll be heaving."
"Well, exactly," another friend agreed. "Get in and grab 'em," she suggested.
She laughed with her friends as her first friend realised. "That's the second round of drinks you've bought," she complained. "It was my turn."
Donna grinned. "I can afford it, promotion," she explained. "You are talking to Jival Chowdry's Personal Assistant, I'll have you know. Capital P, capital A, £23,000 per annum, merci beaucoup!"
"Here's to Mr Chowdry," her first friend insisted as she raised her glass in a toast.
"Mr Chowdry," they all cheered as they tapped glasses.
Donna turned and noticed one of her friends looking at her back suddenly. "She gets all the luck," another friend pointed out.
"What's wrong?" She questioned the friend that was staring at her back. "What is it?"
Her friend shook her head. "Sorry?" She apoligised.
Donna looked herself over. "Did someone spill a drink on me?"
Her friend shook her head. "No."
Donna's look turned to confusion. "Why do you keep looking at my shoulder? What's wrong?"
Her friend shrugged. "I don't know."
Donna sighed. "Don't tell me you're getting all spooky again, it was bad enough when you saw the ghost of Earl Mountbatten at the Boat Show. What are you looking at? What is it?"
"It's like. . . It's like there's something I can't see," her friend tried to explain.
A man burst into the pub. "No, shut up! All of you! Come and see," he urged them. "Just look at the sky! It's a star! It's a Christmas star!"
"Well, come on, then," Donna's first friend urged them out of the pub.
Donna followed her friends out as one of them commented. "What the hell is that?"
"Ken Livingston, that's what," another friend pointed out. "Spending our money on decorations. I mean, how much did that cost?"
Another of her friends scoffed. "Don't be so stupid, it's flying, it's really flying!" She pointed out.
"That's not a star, that's a web," Donna explained. "It's headed east, middle of the City," the star starts sending electricity all over the city and as people start ducking to get away Donna notices her friend still staring at her back. "Alice, there's a great big web-star-thing shooting at people and you're looking at me."
"There's something on your back," Alice explained in fear.
Donna starts running towards the star as her friends call out. "Donna! Where you going? You'll get yourself killed! Donna!"
Donna ran towards an army blockade. "Fire!" She heard one soldier yell as they used a tank to fire a projectile at the web-star. They finally managed to destroy the ship.
Donna made it to the cordon by the Thames. "Everyone stay back," one soldier urged the bystanders. "The Thames has been closed, return to your homes. Keep away from the river, and that's an order."
Donna moved around until she found a space between two trucks as she heard a radio. "Trap 1 to Greyhound 75, what is your report? Over."
"From the evidence, I'd say they managed to stop the creature," someone responded. "Some sort of red spider, blew up the base underneath the barrier, flooded the whole thing. Over."
"And where are they now? Over," who must be their leader questioned.
The soldier seemed to hesitate before responding. "We've found two bodies, sir. Over."
"Is it them? Over."
Donna watched as two stretchers were rolled past. She noticed a male and female hand sticking out from beneath the blankets, it looked like they were holding hands. "I think so," the soldier replied. "They just didn't make it out in time, the Doctor and Rose Tyler are dead," Donna watched as the paramedics were careful to keep the hands of the dead couple together as they loaded them onto the ambulance, she didn't understand why they wouldn't seperate them. The males other hand fell out and something tube like and silver fell out with a blue tip. "It must have happened too fast for him to regenerate."
"Or something happened to Rose Tyler that made him not want to regenerate," the leader explained. "Escort the ambulance back to UNIT base," he ordered.
Donna was walking around and not understanding why the sight of those clasped hands and that tube thing would produce such an ache in her heart when she noticed a blonde woman running towards her. "What happened? What did they find?" She questioned Donna immediately. "Sorry, did they find someone?"
Donna shrugged. "I don't know, a couple called the Doctor and Rose Tyler."
"Where are they?" She sounded like she was begging.
Donna pointed in the direction of the ambulance. "They took them away, their dead, I'm sorry," she noticed the confused but devistated look on the blonde woman's face. "Did you know them? I mean, they didn't say the doctors name, it could be any doctor."
The blonde woman sobbed. "I came so far."
Donna placed her hand on the blondes arm. "It could be anyone," she tried to assure her.
"I don't understand," the blonde muttered. "Why am I still here then?" She looked to the alleyway suddenly and seemed to brighten a bit before turning back to Donna. "What's your name?"
"Donna," she introduced though she had a feeling the blonde already knew her name. "And you?"
The blonde waved her off. "Oh, I was just passing by, I shouldn't even be here. This is wrong, this is wrong. This is so wrong," the blonde snapped out of her musing. "Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"
Donna noticed the blonde glancing at her back. "Why do you keep looking at my back?"
The blonde shook her head. "I'm not," she denied.
"Yes, you are," Donna stated angriely. "You keep looking behind me, you're doing it now," Donna tried to see if something was on her back. "What is it? What's there? Did someone put something on my back?" She turned back but the blonde had disappeared.
Donna went back to her life as she forgot about her strange encounter with the blonde girl. "You can't sack me!" Donna insisted. "I'm your personal assistant!"
"You don't have to make a scene," Chowdry insisted. "Just come downstairs and we can have a little talk."
Donna glared at him. "I'll make a scene, all right, right in front of a tribunal and the first thing I'm gonna say is "Wandering hands!"
"Come on, Donna," Chowdry urged her. "You know what it's been like for the past few months, ever since that Christmas thing. Half my contracts were on the other side of the river, and the Thames is still closed off," he explained. "Look, I can't deliver, I'm losing a fortune."
Donna gestured around her. "Well, sack one of this lot! Sack Cliff! He just sits there," she pointed to him. "I don't know what he does all day. Sorry, Cliff," she apoligised before changing her mind. "Actually, I'm not sorry, what do you do all day?"
The ground started shaking violently. "What the hell?" Chowdry exclaimed as all the workers but Donna ran to have a look. "Like an earthquake, that's weird. Funny sort of clouds."
Donna had been reading her redundancy papers. "Who typed this?" She demanded. "I'm your PA, did you get someone else to type this? Beatrice!" Donna yelled out.
While everyone else was watching the news, Donna started packing up her desk. "Hole punch, having that," she commented. "Stapler, mine. Toy cactus, you can have that, Beatrice, catch," she threw it to her as she continued. "Cliff, I'd leave you my mouse mat, but I'm worried you'd cut yourself."
"All right, Donna, have some respect," Chowdry ordered. "There's 2,000 people in that hospital and it's vanished."
Donna scoffed. "Oh, I'll show you vanishing, thanks for nothing!" She yelled out before turning back to them. "Oh, and you know when that money went missing from the kitty? Anne Marie, that's all I'm saying. Anne Marie!"
The ground shook again. "Oh, don't tell me, the hospital's back," Donna snarked. "Well, isn't that wizard?" Donna drove home and found her family watching the news on telly.
"To confirm, the Royal Hope Hospital was returned to its original position, but with only one survivor, the only person left alive is medical student Oliver Morgenstern," she heard a reporter state.
They put the survivor on telly. "And there were these creatures, like rhinos. Talking rhinos in black leather."
"Rhinos?" Donna questioned.
"Rhinos could be aliens," her grandfather pointed out.
"Shush," she stated as she continued to listen.
The survivor continued. "We couldn't breathe, we were running out of air, a colleague of mine gave me the last oxygen tank. Martha-Martha Jones, and she died."
Her mother was busy going through her box. "Least you've got a hole punch," her mother pointed out. "And a raffle ticket."
Donna scoffed. "Yeah, well, they can keep the raffle, I wouldn't take a penny off that man."
"Honestly, you two," her gramps complained. "There's aliens on the news, they took that hospital all the way to the moon and you're banging on about raffle tickets."
Donna rolled her eyes. "Don't be daft, Gramps, it wasn't the moon, it couldn't be."
"Yes, well, I am telling you, it is getting worse," her gramps insisted. "These past few years, it's like all of a sudden, they suddenly know all about us. There's keen eyes up there and they're watching us, and they're not friendly," her gramps warned.
"This stapler says "Bea"," her mother pointed out.
Donna rolled her eyes again. "Can't believe how well you're taking it, me getting sacked. Thought you'd hit the roof."
Her mother sighed. "I'm just tired, Donna, what with your father and everything. To be honest, I've given up on you."
Donna focused back on the news as the reporter continued. "This further report just in from Oliver Morgenstern."
"There was this woman who took control," he explained. "Said she knew what to do, said she could stop the MRI or something. Sarah Jane her name was, Sarah Jane Smith."
"Sarah Jane Smith was a freelance investigative journalist, formerly of Metropolitan Magazine," the reporter explained. "Her body was recovered from the hospital late this afternoon."
Donna sighed. "What's for tea?"
Her mother shrugged. "I've got nothing in."
"I'll get chips," Donna offered. "Last of my wages, fish and chips, yeah?" When she got no respond from her gramps or mother she got up and walked out of the house. She was slowly walking down the street when a flash of light lit up the alleyway and a blonde girl ran out. "Blimey, you all right? What was that, fireworks?"
The blonde girl shrugged. "I dunno, I was just walking along. That's weird."
Donna suddenly realised who she was standing in front of. "You're the one," Donna pointed out. "Christmas Eve, I met you in town."
The blonde girl nodded her head. "Donna, isn't it?"
"What was your name?" Donna questioned.
The blonde girl grinned. "How're you doing? You're looking good," she complemented. "How's things? What you been up to?"
"You're doing it again," Donna pointed out.
"What?" The blonde questioned.
Donna pointed over her shoulder. "Looking behind me, people keep on doing that," she complained. "Looking at my back."
"What sort of people?" The blonde questioned.
Donna shrugged. "People in the street, strangers. I just catch them sometimes, staring at me, like they're looking at something and then I get home and I look and there's nothing there," she tried to look at her back but couldn't. "See, look? Now I'm doing it."
"What are you doing for Christmas?" The blonde questioned, changing the subject.
Donna's look turned to confusion. "What am I what?"
"Next Christmas," the blonde pointed out. "Any plans?"
Donna shrugged. "I don't know, that's ages away. Nothing much, I suppose. Why?"
"Just, I think you should get out, you and your family," the blonde urged her. "Don't stay in London, just leave the city."
Donna's confusion deepened. "What for?"
The blonde ignored her. "Nice hotel, Christmas break."
Donna shook her head. "Can't afford it."
"Well, no, you've got that raffle ticket," the blonde pointed out.
Donna's confused look turned to suspicion. "How do you know about that?"
Again the blonde ignored her. "First prize, luxury weekend break. Use it, Donna Noble," The blonde urged her.
"Why won't you tell me your name?" Donna moved past her. "I think you should leave me alone," she insisted as she walked off.
They had been listening to Christmas songs as they drove up to the lodge they were staying at. "Cor blimey, that's what I call posh," her gramps gasped out as people walked out to help with their luggage. "I said you were lucky, didn't I always say? My lucky star," her gramps stated proudly.
"For God's sake, don't tell them that we won it in a raffle," her mother complained. "Be classy, dad, take those things off," she ordered as she saw the reindeer ears he was wearing.
Her gramps shook his head. "No, I shan't, it's Christmas," he turned to one of the staff. "Oi, I'll have that one, thank you, it's got my liniment in it."
Her mother joined her as they slowly walked towards the lodge. "I reckon we deserve this," Donna stated. "It's been a hell of a year."
Her mother nodded her head in agreement. "Your dad would've loved this."
"Yeah," Donna agreed. "He would've."
Once they had checked in and shown to their room.
Donna was getting ready the next morning when a knocking came at the door. "Oi, Gramps, get that," she called out. "That'll be breakfast. We've got croissants."
"Why can't you get it, Lady Muck?" Wilf questioned of Sylvia.
"It's Christmas Day, I never get up before ten," Sylvia remarked as she flipped through the channels on the telly. "Only madam there was up with the dawn chorus, like when she was six years old."
Donna rolled her eyes. "I'm not wasting a second in this place, how was the sofa?"
Wilf nodded his head. "Oh, yeah," He tried to move and felt his back crack. "Not so good, really. Oh, God. . . You know, we could've paid for a second room," he whistled to get their attention. "Oi! Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," Donna grinned.
Sylvia rolled her eyes but grinned. "Merry Christmas, Dad."
The knocking came again. "Yeah, all right," Wilf complained as he walked over to answer the door. "Come on in, my darling," he called to the waitress. "Grub's up," he yelled to the other occupants of the room. "Merry Christmas," he greeted the waitress.
"Merry Christmas, sir," the waitress grinned back.
Sylvia stopped on a news channel. "We interrupt this programme to bring you breaking news," a reporter explained.
"Have you seen this?" Sylvia commented.
"I thought nice early breakfast, then we'll go for a walk," Donna explained. "People always say that at Christmas, "Oh, we all went for a walk." I've always wanted to do that. So, walk first, presents later, yeah?"
Sylvia ignored her as she watched the news report. "Donna, come and see."
"What?" Donna exclaimed as she looked to her mother.
"Donna, look at the telly," Sylvia insisted.
Donna rolled her eyes as the waitress started speaking spanish. "What does that mean? I don't know what you're saying."
Sylvia sighed. "Donna, look at the TV," her mother insisted but Donna had noticed something on her back out of the corner of her eye and she was trying to see what it was. "For God's sake, Donna, don't just stand there, come and look!"
The reporter continued. "How this is possible, but this footage is live and genuine. The object is falling on Central London. I repeat, this is not a hoax, a replica of the Titanic is falling out of the sky and it's heading for Buckingham Palace," Donna left the bathroom and stared at the telly like the rest of her family. "We're getting this footage from the Guinevere range of satellites."
"Is that a film or something?" Donna questioned.
"The Royal Air Force has declared an emer. . ." The news report cut off suddenly as the ground shook."
Sylvia tried the remote but nothing came on, no programs, no news, nothing. "It's gone dead, all of them."
Donna shook her head. "No, but the Titanic? Oh, don't be daft," she scoffed. "Is that like a sequel?"
While Donna and Sylvia had been staring at the telly, Wilf had moved to the windows. "Oh! Oh, God rest their souls," he called out, catching the woman's attention. They dressed quickly and ran outside to stand and stare with the rest of the people as they watched a huge mushroom cloud appear where London use to be. "I was supposed to be out there selling papers, I should've been there. We all should," Wilf pointed out. "We'd be dead."
"That's everyone," Sylvia gasped. "Every single person we know, the whole city."
Donna shook her head. "Can't be."
Sylvia nodded her head. "But it is, it's gone. London's gone."
"If you hadn't won that raffle. . ." Wilf pointed out. Donna turned away from the sight and noticed the waitress that had delivered their breakfast, pointing her finger and shaking her head.
Donna and her family had been sent to a temporary shelter until a more perminant place could be found. "Leeds?" Donna yelled at the poor worker who had just told them where their new home would be. "I'm not moving to Leeds!" Donna denied.
"I'm afraid it's Leeds, or you can wait in the hostel for another three months," the worker pointed out.
Sylvia turned to her. "All I want is a washing machine."
"What about Glasgow?" Donna tried. "I heard there was jobs going in Glasgow."
The worker shook her head. "You can't pick and choose," she explained. "We've the whole of southern England flooded with radiation, seven million people in need of relocation, and now France has closed its borders. So it's Leeds or nothing," she finished as she stamped their paperwork. "Next!" She dismissed them.
Donna, Wilf And Sylvia we're loaded onto an army bus and delivered to Leeds. "The Daniels family, billeted at number 15," a solider called out on a megaphone. "Mr and Mrs Obego, billeted at number 31. Miss Coltrane, you're in number 8," people started moving off as their names were called. "The Noble family, billeted at number 29."
Wilf picked up his suitcase. "That's us, come on, off we go," he urged them. "All right?" He questioned as they walked down the street.
"Used to be a nice little family, number 29," a woman yelled out to them. "They missed one mortgage payment, just one, they got booted out, all for you lot."
"Don't get all chippy with me, Vera Duckworth," Donna yelled back. "Pop your clogs on and go and feed whippets."
Wilf sighed. "Sweetheart, come on, you're not gonna make the world any better by shouting at it."
Donna scoffed. "I can try," she pointed out as they continued.
They finally made it to number 29. "What happens?" Sylvia questioned. "Do we get keys?"
Wilf shrugged. "I don't know, do I?"
"Who do we ask, the soldiers?" Sylvia continued.
Before anyone could respond the door was opened and an Italian man stepped out. "Hey! Is a big house, room for all," he assured them. "Welcome, in you come."
Donna stared at him in confusion. "I thought this was our house," she pointed out.
He gestured around him. "Is many people's house, is wonderful," he assured them. "In, in, in," he urged again. Donna, Wilf And Sylvia picked up their luggage and stepped into the house. "We been here for eight weeks already, I had a nice little paper shop in Shepherd's Bush. All gone now," he explained as Donna looked around at all the people in the house. "So, upstairs, we have the Merchandani family, seven of them, good family, good kids. Except that one, be careful of him," he pointed out until he saw the shocked looks on her families faces. "I is joking! Where's that smile, eh?" He grinned at them. "Rocco Colasanto," he introduced. "I'm here with my wife, and her sister and her husband and their kids, and their daughter's kids. We've got the front room, and my mother, she's got the back room. She's old, you forgive her and this, this is you," he pointed them to the kitchen. "This is your palazzo!"
Sylvia walked in and looked around. "What do you mean, this is us?"
"You live here," Rocco explained.
Donna pointed to the floor. "We're living in the kitchen?"
Rocco nodded his head. "You got camp beds, you got the cooker, you keep warm, you got the fridge, you keep cool. Is good," he nodded his head while still grinning.
Sylvia had been looking around in horror. "What about the bathroom?"
Rocco shook his head. "Nobody lives in the bathroom."
"No, I mean, is there a rota?" Sylvia questioned.
"Is pot luck," Rocco explained. "Is fun! I go wake Mama, she likes new people," he explained as he left the kitchen. "Mama! Is people! Nice people!"
Wilf sighed. "Ah, well, we'll settle in, won't we?" He assured them. "Make do, bit of wartime spirit, eh?"
Donna shook her head. "But there isn't a war, there's no fight. There's just this," Donna pointed around her.
"Well, America, they'll save us," Wilf pointed out. "It was on the news, they're gonna send Great Britain 50 billion quid in financial aid. God bless America."
Once they had settled themselves down as much as possible, they joined the other families in watching the news. "America is in crisis with over 60 million reported dead," a reporter explained. "Sixty million people have dissolved in to fat and the fat is walking. People's fat has come to life and is walking through the streets and there are spaceships. There are reports of spaceships over every major US city. The fat is flying, it's leaving. . ."
"Aliens," Wilf pointed out.
"Yeah," Donna agreed.
That night Donna and Sylvia were trying to sleep. "Mary McGinty, do you remember her?" Sylvia pointed out.
Donna shook her head. "Who was she?"
"Worked in the newsagent's on a Sunday," Sylvia explained. "Little woman, black hair."
Donna shook her head again. "Never really spoke to her."
"She'll be dead," Sylvia pointed out. "Every day I think of someone else, all dead."
"Maybe she went away for Christmas," Donna suggested.
Sylvia sighed. "Maybe," she agreed.
Donna turned to her mum. "I'll go out tomorrow, I'll walk into town. There's got to be work," she assured her. "Everyone needs secretaries. Soon as I'm earning, we'll get a proper place. Just you wait, Mum."
Sylvia shook her head. "What if it never gets better?"
Donna scoffed. "Of course it will," she tried to reassure.
"Even the bees are disappearing," Sylvia pointed out. "You don't see bumblebees any more."
"They'll sort us out, the Emergency Government," Donna pointed out. "They'll do something."
Sylvia shook her head. "What if they don't?"
Donna quirked a brow. "Then we'll complain."
Sylvia scoffed. "Who's gonna listen to us? Refugees," Sylvia pointed out. "We haven't even got a vote. We're just no one, Donna, we don't exist."
They heard singing coming from the next room. "And I spent all my money on whisky and beer. . ."
Donna shook her head. "I am going to kill that man!" She yelled as she got up and walked into the next room. "Now listen, Mussolini! I am telling you for the last time to button it! If I hear one more sea shanty. . ." She broke off as she noticed Wilf singing with them.
Wilf shrugged. "Always loved a sing-song," Donna sighed as she gave up and her and her mother joined the singing.
"I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me he's just a poor boy from a poor family spare him his life from this monstrosity, easy come, easy go will you let me go. . ." They broke off as they heard gun fire outside.
One of the younger boys went to get up. "No, you stay here," Rocco insisted. "Everyone, stay!"
Wilf followed Rocco out of the house and noticed a young soldier. "Hey, firing at the car is not so good!" Rocco yelled out. "You crazy or what?"
The soldier gestured to the car. "It's this ATMOS thing, it won't stop, it's like gas, it's toxic."
"Well, switch it off!" Wilf suggested as he pointed to the car.
"I have done," the soldier countered. "It's still going, it's all the cars, every single ATMOS car. They've gone mad," Donna had followed Wilf out and was standing just behind them when the soldier held up his gun and pointed it at her. "You! Lady, turn round," he ordered. "Turn around!"
Rocco tried to stand in front of Donna. "Are you crazy, boy?" He yelled out.
"NOW!" The soldier demanded.
"Put that gun down!" Wilf ordered.
The soldier ignored them both. "I said, turn around!" He ordered Donna.
"Do what he says!" Sylvia yelled out. "Turn around!"
"Show me your back! Now!" The soldier yelled. "Show me your back!" Donna held her arms up and slowly turned around. The soldier looked confused as he lowered his weapon. "Sorry, I thought I saw. . ."
Wilf walked towards him. "Call yourself a soldier? Pointing guns at innocent women. You're a disgrace," he yelled. "In my day, we would have had you court-martialled!"
Donna though had noticed the flash of gold light that came from around a corner, the same flash of light she saw the last time she saw the blonde girl. "Donna, where are you going? It's not safe at night!" Sylvia questioned. "Donna! Donna!"
Donna ignored her as she walked around the corner and saw the blonde standing there again, this time she noticed a gold wolf standing next to her. "Hello," Donna greeted, a gold wolf was nothing compared to what she'd seen these past months.
"Hi," the blonde greeted. "It's the ATMOS devices," she explained as they walked to a park and sat down on a bench. "We're lucky, it's not so bad here, Britain hasn't got that much petrol but all over Europe, China, South Africa, they're getting choked by gas."
"Can't anyone stop it?" Donna questioned.
The blonde just looked at the sky as she nodded. "Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship. Any second now."
Donna gasped as a wave of fire swept through the sky. "And that was?"
The blonde turned back to her. "That was the Torchwood team," she explained. "Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, they gave their lives and Captain Jack Harkness, Uncle Jack has been transported to the Sontaran homeworld. There's no one left," she pointed out.
"You're always wearing the same clothes," Donna pointed out. "Why won't you tell me your name?"
The blonde shook her head, ignoring her questions. "None of this was meant to happen. There was a man and woman, this wonderful couple, and they stopped it," she explained. "The Titanic; the Adipose, the ATMOS, they stopped them all from happening."
"The Doctor and Rose?" Donna realised.
"You knew them," the blonde pointed out.
Donna looked taken aback by that. "Did I? When?"
"I think you dream about them sometimes," the blonde continued. "It's a man in a suit, tall, thin man with great hair and his fiancée, short, blonde with a cheeky grin."
"Who are you?" Donna tried again.
The blonde sighed. "I've been looking for them for a long time," she explained. "Cause you've travelled with them, Donna, you travelled with the Doctor and Rose in a different world."
Donna shook her head in denial. "I never met them and their dead."
The blonde nodded her head in agreement as tears leaked from her eyes. "He died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve but you were meant to be there," she explained. "The Doctor needed someone to stop him cause Rose was hurt and that was you. You showed him that Rose was alright, you saved their lives."
Donna suddenly saw an image of her in a wedding dress and holding up a blonde woman as she watched the man, the blonde described. "Doctor, you can stop now," she called up to him. "Stop it!" Donna insisted as she stood up to leave. "I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone."
The blonde wasn't finished. "Something is coming, Donna," she insisted. "Something worse."
Donna gestured around them. "The whole world is stinking, how could anything be worse than this?"
"Trust me," the blonde insisted. "We need the Doctor and Rose more than ever. I've been pulled into this universe because every single universe is in danger," the blonde stood up to face her. "It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."
Donna felt a shiver race down her spine at the serious look the blonde was giving her. "What is?"
"The darkness," the blonde explained.
"Well, what do you keep telling me for?" Donna scoffed. "What am I supposed to do? I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm. . . I'm not, I'm nothing special," she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone. "I'm a temp, I'm not even that, I'm nothing."
The blonde grinned at her. "Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation."
Donna scoffed. "Oh, don't, just don't," she insisted as she sighed. "I'm tired, I'm so tired."
"I need you to come with me," the blonde called out to her as Donna turned away.
Donna turned back to her and scoffed. "Yeah, well, blonde hair might work on the men, but you ain't shifting me, lady," Donna snarked.
The blonde grinned at her. "That's more like it."
"I've got plenty more," Donna agreed.
The blonde turned serious suddenly. "But you'll come with me," she insisted as she turned to the gold wolf, she seemed to be listening to something before turning back to Donna. "Only when you want to."
Donna scoffed. "You'll have a long wait, then."
The blonde shook her head. "Not really, just three weeks. Tell me, does your grandfather still own that telescope?" She changed the subject.
"He never lets go of it," Donna confirmed.
"Three weeks' time," the blonde pointed out. "But you've got to be certain, cause when you come with me, Donna, I'm sorry, so sorry, but you're going to die," Donna didn't even bother to comment as she walked back to her family.
It was a few days later that they got word that Rocco and his family were moving. "And you! I'm gonna miss you most of all," Rocco grinned at Donna. "All flame-haired and fiery."
Donna laughed. "Oh, but why do you have to go?" She insisted.
"Is the new law," Rocco explained. "England for the English, et cetera," he dismissed. "They can't send us home, the oceans are closed. They build labour camps."
"I know, but labour doing what?" Donna questioned. "There aren't any jobs."
Rocco seemed to hesitate before answering. "Sewing, digging, is good," Rocco assured her. "Now, stop it before I kiss you too much," he turned and shook Wilf's hand. "Wilfred, my capitano," they saluted each other before he followed his family into the army truck.
Donna sighed. "It'll be quiet with him gone, still, we'll have more room."
"Labour camps," Wilf stated as he tried to hold back his tears. "That's what they called them last time," he pointed out.
Donna turned and frowned at him. "What do you mean?"
"It's happening again," Wilf continued.
"What is?" Donna questioned before she realised exactly what he was talking about. She ran up to one of the soldiers. "Excuse me, excuse me, where are you taking them?" The soldiers ignored her as she ran after the truck. "Where are you going? Where are you going? Where are you going? Where are you going!"
It had been almost three weeks since Rocco and his family had been taken away and her mother had fallen into a depression. Donna had been out every day asking about jobs but no one was hiring.
She walked into the home they now had to themselves and noticed her mother sitting in the same place she had left her when she went job hunting. "I asked about jobs, with the army," she explained. "They said I wasn't qualified, you were right. You said I should have worked harder at school. I suppose I've always been a disappointment."
"Yeah," Her mother agreed, that was the only reaction she got out of her so Donna left her to visit her gramps on the hill.
"You know, we'd get a bit of cash if we sold this thing," Wilf pointed to his telescope.
Donna turned to him. "Don't you dare," Donna insisted. "I always imagined your old age, I'd have put a bit of money by, make you comfy. Never did, I'm just useless," rather than comfort her he leaned to have a look through his telescope. "You're supposed to say, "No, you're not."
Wilf sighed. "Ah, it must be the alignment."
Donna looked towards the telescope. "What's wrong?"
Wilf shrugged. "Well, I dunno, it can't be the lens 'cause I was looking at Orion, the constellation of Orion. You take a look," he urged her. "Now tell me, what can you see?"
Donna sighed. "Where?" She leaned forward to look through the telescope.
"Well, up there, in the sky," Wilf explained as he gestured.
Donna looked before shaking her head. "Well, I can't see anything, it's just black."
"Well, I mean, it's working," Wilf insisted. "The telescope is working."
Donna shrugged. "Well, maybe it's clouds," she suggested.
Again Wilf gestured to the sky. "There is no clouds."
"Well, there must be," Donna argued.
Wilf shook his head. "There's not, it was there. An entire constellation. Look! Look there," he pointed out as they noticed the stars disappearing. "They're going out. Oh, my God! Donna, look, the stars are going out."
Rather than answer him, Donna turned around and found the blond standing behind her. "I'm ready," she informed her.
The blonde led her to an army truck which drove them to a large warehouse, they didn't speak the whole drive as Donna thought about what she'd have to do. "Lodestone testing now at 15.4," a voice informed them over the PA. "Repeat, 15.4."
A soldier walked up to them and saluted. "Ma'am."
The blonde sighed. "I've told you, don't salute."
The soldier shrugged. "Well, if you're not going to tell us your name."
"You don't know either?" Donna pointed out.
The blonde rolled her eyes. "I've crossed too many different realities, trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change an entire causal nexus."
Donna sent the officer a confused look. "She talks like that, a lot," the officer explained. "And you must be Miss Noble."
Donna nodded her head. "Donna."
The officer held out her hand. "Captain Erisa Magambo, thank you for this."
Donna shook her hand as she looked at what the blonde was doing. "I don't even know what I'm doing."
"Is she awake?" The blonde questioned.
The captain nodded. "Seems to be quiet today, ticking over. Like it's waiting."
The blonde grinned at Donna. "Do you want to see her?"
Donna looked where they were looking. "What's a police box?"
"They salvaged it from underneath the Thames," the blonde explained. "Just go inside," she urged.
"What for?" Donna questioned.
The blonde urged her towards the call box. "Just go in."
Donna looked at her in confusion as she slowly enetered the box. "No way!" She exclaimed as she chuckled and stepped back out.
The blonde was grinning hugely at her. "What do you think?"
"Can I have a coffee?" She asked.
"Time And Relative Dimension in Space," the blonde explained as they sat in the console room with a hot drink each. "This room used to shine with light but she's dying without the Doctor and Rose. She's still trying to help though, she knows the worlds wrong," the blonde stroked the time rotor and they heard a faint humming as the golden wolf appeared again.
"What's with the wolf?" Donna questioned as she realised the wolf looked sick.
"She's what's left of Rose, and their both dying," the blonde explained.
Donna pointed to the wolf. "And it belonged to the Doctor and Rose?"
The blonde nodded. "He was a Time Lord, last of his kind and Rose was the heart of time, worshiped by some as the goddess of time."
Donna shook her head. "But if they were so special, what were they doing with me?"
The blonde grinned. "They thought you were brilliant."
Donna scoffed. "Don't be stupid."
"But you are," the blonde persisted. "It just took the Doctor and Rose to show you that, simply by being with them. He did the same to my mum as well, to everyone he touches."
Donna looked at her in confusion. "What are they to you?"
The blonde ignored her question as she looked to her back. "Do you want to see it?"
Donna shook her head, knowing that she was referring to the hidden creature on her back. "No," before changing her mind. "Go on, then."
"We don't know how the Tardis works, when I catch up to mum and dad they'll have to show me but we've managed to scrape off the surface technology," the blonde explained as she led Donna into the middle of a circle of mirrors. "Enough to show you the creature."
"It's a creature?" Donna questioned.
The blonde nodded as she placed her in the middle. "Just stand here," the blonde insisted.
"Out of the circle, please," Magambo ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," the blonde snarked.
Donna grabbed her arm. "Can't you stay with me?"
The blonde shook her head as she freed herself and stepped back out of the circle. "Ready?" Magambo commanded. "And activate."
A humming started as the lights around the circle turned on and Donna squeezed her eyes shut. "Open your eyes, Donna," the blonde urged her.
"Is it there?" Donna questioned.
The blonde walked to the edge of the circle. "Open your eyes," she urged. "Look at it."
Donna shook her head. "I can't."
"It's part of you, Donna," the blonde explained. "Look," Donna opened her eyes and slowly looked behind her to see a giant bug sitting on her back, she started panicking as she tried to get the bug off. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, calm down," the blonde tried to reassure her. "Donna, Donna, Donna! Okay."
Donna calmed down enough to look towards the blonde. "What is it?"
The blonde shook her head. "We don't know."
Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks," she snarked.
"It feeds off time," the blonde explained. "By changing time, by making someone's life take a different turn, like meetings never made. Children never born, a life never loved but with you it's. . ."
"But I never did anything important," Donna interrupted.
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, you did, one day that thing made you turn right instead of left."
"When was that?" Donna managed to get out through her fear.
The blonde shook her head. "You wouldn't remember, it was the most ordinary day in the world but by turning right, you never met the Doctor and Rose and the whole world just changed around you."
"Can you get rid of it?" Donna questioned.
The blonde shook her head again. "I can't even touch it, seems to be in a state of flux."
Donna sent her a confused look. "What does that mean?"
The blonde shrugged. "My dad would be able to explain it better, it's the sort of thing he would say."
"You liar!" Donna burst out. "You told me I was special! But it's not me, it's this thing! I'm just a host!"
The blonde shook her head again. "No, there's more than that, the readings are strange," the blonde seemed to check what looked like a strap around her wrist. "It's like reality is just bending around you."
Donna pointed behind her. "Because of this thing!"
The blonde kept shaking her head. "No, no, we're getting separate readings from you and they've always been there, since the day you were born."
"This is not relevant to the mission," Magambo pointed out.
The blonde ignored her as she continued checking her readings. "I thought it was just the Doctor and Rose we needed, but it's the three of you. The Doctor, Rose and Donna Noble. Together, to stop the stars from going out."
Donna was still shaking in fright. "Why? What can I do?" Donna yelled out. "Turn it off," Donna begged. "Please."
"Captain," The blonde called out.
"Power down," the captain ordered as the machine was switched off.
Donna seemed to relax slightly when the machine was powered down and she couldn't see the creature. "It's still there, though, what can I do to get rid of it?"
The blonde grinned at her. "You're going to travel in time," the blonde explained as they got everything ready. "The Tardis has tracked down the moment of intervention, Monday 25th, one minute past ten in the morning. Your car was on Little Sutton Street, leading to the Ealing Road, but you turned right, heading towards Griffin's Parade," they hooked Donna up to a crude time capsule. "You need to turn left, that's the most important thing. You've got to go back, turn left. Have you got that, Donna? One minute past ten, make yourself turn left, heading for the Chiswick High Road."
"Keep the jacket on at all times," Magambo explained. "It's insulation against temporal feedback," she handed Donna a watch. "This will correspond to local time wherever you land," she then handed Donna a glass of water. "This is to combat dehydration."
They led her back to the circle of mirrors. "This is where we leave you."
Donna looked at her in fright. "I don't want to see that thing on my back."
The blonde shook her head. "No, the mirrors are just incidental, they bounce Chronon Energy back into the centre which we control and decide the destination."
"It's a time machine," Donna figured out.
The blonde nodded. "It's a time machine."
"If you could," Magambo urged as Donna walked to the middle again. "Powering up."
The lights came on again. "How do you know it's gonna work?"
"Hmm?" The blonde shrugged. "Oh, yeah, we don't, we're just guessing."
Donna rolled her eyes. "Brilliant."
"Just remember, when you get to the junction, change the car's direction by one minute past ten," the blonde reminded her.
Donna looked at her in confusion. "How do I do that?"
The blond shrugged. "That's up to you."
"Well I'll just have to run up to myself, and have a good argument," Donna chuckled.
The blonde chuckled with her. "I'd like to see that."
"Activate lodestone," Magambo ordered.
The sound of the TARDIS could be heard. "Good luck," the blonde commeneted.
Donna nodded her head. "I'm ready."
"One minute past ten," the blonde insisted.
"Cause I understand now," Donna explained. "You said I was gonna die, but you mean this whole world is gonna blink out of existence but that's not dying, 'cause a better world takes its place. The Doctor and Rose's world and I'm still alive," she noticed the look on the blondes face. "That's right, isn't it? I don't die, if I change things, I don't die. That's right, isn't it?"
The blonde shook her head. "I'm sorry."
Donna's grin fell. "But I can't die, I've got a future. With the Doctor and Rose, you told me."
"Activate!" Magambo ordered as she pulled a switch.
Donna landed on her hands and knees as people walked past her. She stood up and threw her hands in the air as she realised that she had done it, she had travelled back in time until she realised exactly where she was. "Hold on but this is. . . I'm not. . . This is Sutton Court. I'm half a mile away, I'm half a mile away!" She checked the watch. "Four minutes, Oh, my God," she starts running.
Past Donna was getting in her car with her mother nattering on. "Jival Chowdry, he runs that little photocopy business in Merchant Street and he needs a secretary."
Past Donna sighed. "I've got a job," she reminded her. "HC Clements is in the City. It's nice, it's posh, so stop it."
She pulled up at an intersection and indicated left but her mother kept nattering. "It won't take long, just turn right."
"I'm going left," Donna insisted. "If you don't like it, get out and walk. You think I'm so useless."
"Oh, I know why you want a job with HC Clements, lady," her mother snarked. "Cause you think you'll meet a man. City executives don't need temps, except for practice."
Donna sighed as she gave in. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," she agreed as she turned right.
Donna looked at her watch and realised. "I'm not gonna get there," then she saw the truck heading up the road and remembered what the blonde had told her. "Please," she begged as she squeezed her eyes shut and stepped out in front of the truck.
"Can you hear that?" Sylvia questioned.
Donna watched the traffic as it was held up. "The traffic's stopping."
"Something must've happened," her mother realised.
Donna managed to open her eyes as she saw the blonde kneel next to her. "Tell him this," she urged her. "Two words," then the blonde leaned forward and whispered the words in her ears as she died.
"Well, that decides it," past Donna realised as she turned the indicator left. "I'm not sitting in a traffic jam, I'm going left. Left, left, left. . ."
Donna screamed as she came to back in the fortune tellers tent and saw her cowing in a corner. "What the hell is that?" She demanded.
"You were so strong," the fortune teller questioned. "What are you? What will you be? What will you be?" She took off.
The Doctor and Rose looked into the tent. "Everything all right?" The Doctor questioned.
"Oh, God!" Donna gasped as she pulled them both into a hug.
Rose grinned at her. "What's that for?"
Donna shrugged. "I don't know, I can't remember. It's slipping away, you know like when you try and think of a dream and it sort of goes."
The Doctor picked up the giant beetle and turned it over to get a good look at it. "Just got lucky, this thing," he explained. "It's one of the Trickster's Brigade, it changes a life in tiny little ways. Most times the universe just compensates around it, but with you Great big parallel world."
"Hold on, you said parallel worlds were sealed off," Donna reminded him.
The Doctor nodded. "They are, but you had one created around you. Funny thing is, seems to be happening a lot, to you."
"How do you mean?" Donna questioned as Rose rubbed her back. "Well, the Library and then this."
Donna shrugged as she stated. "Just goes with the job, I suppose."
"Sometimes I think there's way too much coincidence around you, Donna," the Doctor speculated. "We met you once, then we met your grandfather, then we met you again. In the whole wide universe, we met you for a second time. It's like something's binding us together."
Donna scoffed. "Don't be so daft, I'm nothing special."
Rose grinned at her. "Off course you are, you're brilliant."
Donna remembered what the blonde girl in the other world said. "She said that."
"Who did?" The Doctor questioned.
"That girl," she tried to pull up a face but she couldn't quite see it. "I can't remember."
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, she never existed now."
"No, but she said the stars. . ." Donna broke off in thought. "She said the stars are going out."
"Yeah, but that world's gone," the Doctor dismissed.
Donna shook her head. "No, but she said it was all worlds, every world. She said the darkness is coming, even here."
The Doctor shared a look with Rose. "Who was she?"
She saw the girl suddenly in her mind and gasped. "It was Jenny."
Rose grabbed Donna by the shoulders. "Our Jenny?"
Donna nodded her head as she saw the hope on their faces. "But she told me to warn you. She said, "Two words."
The Doctor turned back to her. "What two words? What were they? What did she say?"
"Bad wolf," Donna told them. "What does it mean?" She questioned as she followed Rose and the Doctor as they took off out of the tent. They looked around only to see every sign proclaiming Bad Wolf even the TARDIS. They ran inside to see that the console room had turned red and a gong like sound could be heard. "Doctor, Rose, what is it? What's bad wolf?"
They turned to her and spoke together. "It's the end of the universe."