The Best of Times
Turn Left
The Doctor, Gazelle and Donna milled about a marketplace on the planet Shan Shen, which had been colonised by Chinese settlers and had a nice oriental theme to it. "You're gonna love this." the Doctor said to the two women, handing them both warm drinks with froth on top "One, two, three." and they all took swigs of their drinks, leaving Donna with a foam moustache, Gazelle with a white frothy top lip and the Doctor with a frothy white goatee "Ah!" he sighed contently
"Perfect." Gazelle said, licking the froth off her lip
"Lovely." Donna finished, wiping off her moustache
Once they'd finished their drinks, they explored the marketplace further. The married Time Lords led the way, both eagerly poking around the stalls, while Donna decided to go her own way. It was the Time Lords' honeymoon after all, so she felt they deserved some alone time. Presently, she passed a fortune teller's tent "Tell your fortune, lady." the fortune teller called "Your future predicted, your life foretold."
"Ah, no thanks." Donna waved her off
"Don't you want to know if you're going to be happy?"
"I'm 'appy right now, thanks." Donna snorted. And she was. The past few weeks had been the best of times. She and the Time Lords had travelled to all sorts of places, and nothing had gone wrong, apart from a run-in with Casanova in Venice, which had led to the Doctor loosing a bet with the infamous womaniser.
"You're got red hair. Reading's free for red hair." the teller persisted
"Alright, then." Donna conceded. Since the teller wasn't taking no for an answer, she decided she might as well humour her.
They were both soon sat inside the teller's tent with the teller holding Donna's hands and tracing her palms "Oh, you're fascinating." she said "Oh no, but you're good. I can see... a man and a women. The most remarkable people. How did you meet them?"
"You're supposed to tell me." Donna said flatly
"I see the future." the teller waved her off "Tell me the past. When did your lives cross?"
"It's sorta complicated." Donna shrugged "I ended up on their spaceship on my weddin' day. Long story." that had been a blessing in disguise, for it had opened her eyes to the bigger picture and that was what had led her to where she was now.
"But what led you to that meeting?"
"All sorts of things." Donna said thoughtfully "But my job, I s'pose. It was on Earth. I 'ad this job as a temp. I was a secretary at this place called HC. Clements." she briefly had a flashback to her time at that company "Sorry." she mumbled as she snapped back to the present.
"It's the incense, just breath deep. This job of yours, what choices led you there?"
"There was a choice, six months before, because the agency 'ad offered me this contract wiv HC. Clements. But there was this other job. My mother knew this man..."
In the summer of 2007, Donna and Sylvia were getting into their car, ready for Donna to go for her induction at HC. Clements. "Jival, he's called. Jival Chowdry." Sylvia said as she got in the passenger seat "He runs that little photocopy business down on Merchant's Street, and he needs a secretary."
"I've. Got. A. Job!" Donna rolled her eyes as she got in the driver's seat.
"As a temp!" Sylvia countered "This is permanent. It's 20,000 a year, Donna."
"HC. Clements is in the city. It's nice, it's posh, so stop it!" Donna retorted as she started the car and drove off.
"Your life could've gone one way or the other." the teller said "What made you decide?"
"I just did..." Donna murmured, getting the feeling that there was something coming up behind her
"But when was the moment?" the teller persisted "When did you choose?"
The Nobles were waiting at a junction as a blue lorry drove past "It won't take long, just turn right." Sylvia persisted "We'll pop in and see Mr Chowdry. Suzette can introduce you."
"I'm goin' left." Donna retorted "If ya don't like it, get out an' walk."
"If you turn right, you'll have a career. Not just filling in."
"You fink I'm so useless." Donna rolled her eyes, not standing for her mother's typically condescending attitude
"Oh, I know why you want a job with HC. Clements, lady. Because you think you'll meet a man with lots of money and your life will change. Well, let me tell you, sweetheart, city executives don't need temps, except for practice."
"Yeah." Donna scoffed "Well, they 'aven't met ME yet." and with that, she turned left
"You turned left." the teller noted "But what if you turned right, what then?"
"Let go of my 'ands." Donna demanded, starting to get suspicious of the woman's prying
The teller just grabbed Donna's hands tighter "What if it changes? What if you go right? What if you could still go right?"
"Stop it!" Donna growled, then she felt something crawling up her back "What's that? What's on my back? What is it, what... What's on my back?"
The teller just fixed Donna with an intense stare "Make the choice again, Donna Noble, and change your mind... turn right."
"I'm turin'." Donna said in a tone that sounded like she was under hypnotic suggestion
"Turn right." the teller ordered "Turn right and never meet them! Change the world!"
"Let me tell you, sweetheart." Sylvia said in her condescending tone "City executives don't need temps, except for practice."
"Yeah, s'pose you're right." Donna said meekly and turned right.
On Christmas Eve 2007, Donna was in the pub with her friends Veena, Mooky and Alice "Here we are." Donna said, placing a tray full of drinks on the table "Feed at the trough."
"Mooky says let's go the boardwalk." Veena said "It's two for the price of one."
"Christmas Eve?" Donna asked rhetorically "It'll be 'eavin'!"
"Exactly!" Mooky chortled "Get in an' grab 'em!"
They all laughed at that, then Veena noticed something "Hey, that's the second round of drinks you've bought, it was my turn."
"I can afford it." Donna said proudly "Promotion. You're talkin' to Jival Chowdry's personal assistant, I'll 'ave ya know. Capital P, capital A, £23,000 per annum, merci beaucoup!"
Veena raised her glass "Here's to Mr Chowdy!"
"Mr Chowdry!" Donna and Mooky toasted
"She gets all the luck!" Mooky laughed, happy that things seemed to be going well for Donna for once.
At that moment, Donna noticed that Alice wasn't joining in with the celebrations, she was just staring at Donna's shoulder "What's wrong? What is it?"
"Sorry?" Alice blinked, snapping out of her trance
"Did someone spill a drink on me?"
"Why?"
"Why d'ya keep lookin' at my shoulder?" Donna questioned "What's wrong?"
"I don't know." Alice said uneasily
"Oh, don't tell me ya gettin' all spooky again." Donna rolled her eyes "It was bad enough when ya saw the ghost of Earl Mountbatten at the boat show! What're you lookin' at? What is it?"
"It's like... it's like there's somefink I can't see."
But before Donna could probe further, a man came bursting into the pub "Come and see!" he urged "Just look at the sky. It's a star! A Christmas star!"
"Well, come on, then!" Veena said eargely, and all the pub patrons piled outside. They all looked upwards to see a webbed star fly through the sky above them
"What the 'ell is that?" Mooky stared
"Ken Livingstone, that's what, spendin' all our money on decorations." Veena huffed in an annoyed tone. London's mayor had a habit of wasting money. His stupid idea to replace London's beloved Routemasters with bendi-buses came to mind. "I mean, how much does that cost?"
"Don't be so stupid." Mooky retorted "It's flying. It's really flying."
"That's not a star." Donna murmured, eyeing the star closely "It's a web. It's 'eadin' east. Middle of the city."
The webstar came to a stop hovering over the middle of London, then promptly sent out bolts of electricity that caused destruction anywhere they struck. Everyone ran away screaming except for Donna and Alice. The blonde was too busy looking at Donna's back to pay attention to the mayhem going on. "Alice, there's a great big webstar thing shootin' at people, an' you're lookin' at me?" Donna scoffed
"There's something on your back." Alice said and ran off in fright. Donna ran towards the webstar, ignoring Veena's calls for her stay away.
By now, the British Army was on the case and tanks opened fire on the webstar and were able to destroy it, thus ending the threat. Donna reached the scene, only to find it cordoned off by the authorities. She managed to slip past a police barrier and a jeep to find U.N.I.T Private Harris talking on his radio "From the evidence, I'd say they managed to stop the creature." he said "Some sort of red spider. Blew up the base underneath the barrier. Flooded the whole thing. Over."
"And where are they now? Over." his superior said over the other end
"We found two bodies, sir. Over." Harris replied, and Donna then saw two stretchers with bodies cover in red sheets on them being wheeled towards a pair of ambulances.
"Is it them? Over?"
"I think so." Harris replied "They just didn't make it in time." Donna saw a a male arm slump out of one the sheets. It was clad in a brown pinstripe suit and dropped a silver metal pen-like object with a blue light at the end to the ground. Peeking out of the other sheet was a female arm clad in a black leather jacket and fingerless glove, clutching another silver and blue penlight. "The Doctor and Gazelle are dead." Harris said grimly "Must've happened too fast for them to regenerate." the bodies were loaded into the ambulances
"Escort the bodies back to U.N.I.T base." the U.N.I.T officer ordered
Donna turned and made her way back up the street. Just then, a blonde woman in a blue bomber jacket came racing up towards her "What 'appened?" she gasped "Who'd they find? Sorry, did they find anyone?"
"I don't know." Donna frowned "Some bloke called the Doctor or somefink, an' some girl called Gazelle, I fink."
"Well, where are they?" the woman asked
"They were taken away. They're dead." Donna told her gravely "I'm sorry, did ya know 'em?"
"They were like a brother an' sister to me." the blonde sighed sadly "I came so far."
"They could be anyone." Donna tried to sooth, though Gazelle was an unusual name so those chances were slim.
"What's your name?" the woman asked Donna suddenly
"Donna. An' you?"
"I was just passin' by." the woman said hastily "I shouldn't even be 'ere, this is... wrong. It's wrong. This is so wrong." Donna then noticed that the woman seemed focussed on her back "Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"
"Why d'ya keep lookin' at my back?" Donna probed. First Alice, now this mystery woman
"I'm not." the woman said, pulling her gaze back to Donna's face
"Yes, you are." Donna insisted "Ya keep lookin' behind me. You're doin' it now." she strained to look behind herself "What is it? What's there? Has someone put somefink there?" she looked back to see that the blonde woman had disappeared. Donna could only shake her head in bewilderment and go home.
It was the summer of 2008 and Donna found herself being issued with a redundancy notice "You can't sack me, I'm your personal assistant!" Donna growled at Mr Chowdry
"You don't have to make a scene." Mr Chowdry tried to reason "Just come downstairs and we can have a little talk.
"Oh, I'll make a scene alright. Right in front of a tribunal, an' the first thing I'm gonna say is 'Wanderin' 'ands'!"
"Now, come on, Donna, you know what it's been like this past few months, ever since that Christmas thing." Mr Chowdry reasoned "Half my contracts were on the other side of the river and the Thames is still closed off. Look, I can't deliver, I'm loosing a fortune!"
"Well, sack one of this lot!" Donna protested "Sack Cliff! He just sits there, dunno what 'e does all day. Sorry Cliff." she turned to the man in question "Actually, I'm not sorry, what do ya do all day?"
But before she could get an answer, there was a loud bang and the room shook. Everyone except Donna ran to the window. "What the hell?" Mr Chowdry stared "Like an earthquake." they all looked out of the window to see the nearby Royal Hope Hospital with dark clouds hanging above it "It's weird. Funny sort of clouds."
Donna wasn't concerned with the events outside, she was too busy looking at her redundancy notice. "Who typed this?" she demanded "I'm your PA. Did ya get somebody else to write this?" a woman looked guiltily at Donna "Beatrice!" Donna snarled
BBC news were soon reporting the situation with the hospital. "It sounds impossible, but the entire hospital has vanished." the reporter said, and the shot changed to show an empty crater on the site of the hospital "It's not been destroyed, there's no wreckage, it's simply gone. Reports from bystanders say that the rain lifted up around the hospital..."
Everyone except Donna were crowded around the telly watching the news. Donna was busy packing her things "Hole punch, 'avin' that. Toy cactus, you can 'ave that, Beatrice." she threw the item in question at Beatrice "Cliff, I'd leave ya the mouse mat, but I'm worried you'll cut yourself."
"Alright, Donna, show some respect." Mr Chowdry scolded "There's 2,000 people in that hospital, and it vanished."
"Oh, I'll show you vanishin'." Donna retorted "Thanks for nothin'!" she turned leave when there was another bang and flash "Don't tell me, the 'ospital's back." she said sarcastically "Well, isn't that wizard?" and she stormed off
That evening, Donna was at home watching the news with Wilfred "To confirm the Royal Hope Hospital has returned to it's original position, but with only one survivor." the reporter said "The only person left alive is medical student Oliver Morgenstern."
The shot changed to an interview with Morgenstern "And there were these creatures." he said "Like rhinos, talking rhinos, in black leather."
"Rhinos?" Donna raised a brow
"Rhinos could be aliens." Wilfred said thoughtfully
"There were hundreds of them." Morgenstern continued "We couldn't breathe. We were running out of air. A colleague of mine gave me the last oxygen tank. Martha. M-Martha Jones... and sh-she died."
Sylvia was busy rifling through the box Donna had brought back with her "At least you got a hole punch." she remarked "And a raffle ticket.
"Yeah, well, they can keep the raffle." Donna said bitterly. In hindsight she should've gone for that temp job at HC. Clements after all. "I won't take a penny off that man."
Wilfred rolled his eyes at his daughter and granddaughter's lack of perspective "Honestly, you two, there's aliens on the news, they took that hospital to the moon, and you're banging on about raffle tickets!"
"Don't be daft, gramps." Donna snorted "It wasn't the moon. It couldn't be."
But Wilfred wasn't so sure "Yes, well, I'm telling you, it's getting worse, these past few years. It's like all of a sudden, they suddenly know about us. And there's keen eyes watching us up there, and they're not friendly." he finished grimly
Sylvia examined the stapler Donna had brought back "This stapler says 'Bea'."
"Can't belive how well ya takin' it, me gettin' sacked." Donna remarked "Fought you'd 'it the roof."
"I'm just tired, Donna." Sylvia sighed "What with your father and everything." Geoff was currently laid up in Albion Hospital with heart problems "To be honest, I've given up on you."
Donna had a good mind to snap at her mother, reminding her that she was the one who'd twisted her arm into going for this secretary job in the first place, but she didn't, she just turned back to the telly. "There was this woman who took control." Morgenstern said "Said she knew what to do, said she could stop the MRI scanner. Sarah Jane, her name was. Sarah Jane Smith."
The shot changed to a phot of a middle-aged brunette woman with a kind, stately face "Sarah Jane Smith was a freelance investigative journalist, formerly of Metropolitan Magazine." the reporter explained "Her body was recover from the hospital this afternoon. Miss Smith had a son called Luke..."
"What's for tea?" Donna asked her mother
"I've got nothing in."
"I'll get chips." Donna decided "Last of my wages. Fish and chips, yeah?"
Wilfred didn't respond. He just solemnly watched the news report mentioning that Sarah Jane's son and his two friends were among the dead at the hospital.
Donna was soon walking down the road on her way to the chippy. Suddenly, she saw a flash of light coming from an alleyway, accompanied by an electrical buzz. The blonde woman Donna saw at Christmas came sprinting out of the alleyway. "Blimey!" Donna exclaimed "Are you alright? What was that? Fireworks or..."
"I dunno." the woman shrugged "I was just walkin' along. That's wierd."
Donna then recognised the woman "You're the one. Christmas Eve, I met ya in town."
"Donna, isn't it?" the woman questioned
"What was your name?"
"How're ya doin'?" the woman changed the subject, and staring at Donna's shoulder "You're lookin' good. How's things, what've ya been up to?"
"Ya doin' it again." Donna frowned
"What?"
"Lookin' behind me. People keep on doin' that. Lookin' at my back."
"What sorta people?"
"People in the street. Strangers. I catch 'em sometimes, starin' at me. Like they're lookin' at somefink. An' then I get 'ome, an' I look, an' there's nothing there." she tried to look over her shoulder "See? Look, now I'm doin' it!"
"What're ya doin' for Christmas?" the woman asked suddenly
"What am I what?" Donna furrowed a brow
"Next Christmas, any plans?"
"I dunno, that's ages away." Donna snorted "Nothing, I s'pose. Why?"
"Just... I fink you should get out. You an' your family. Don't stay in London, just... just leave the city."
"What for?"
"Nice 'otel, Christmas break."
"Can't afford it."
"Well, no, you got that raffle ticket."
"How d'ya know about that?" Donna asked suspiciously
"First prize-luxury break. Use it, Donna Noble." the woman insisted
"Why won't you tell me your name?" Donna asked again, receiving no reply "I fink you should leave me alone." she said and walked away, hearing that electrical noise again.
Donna ultimately decided to heed the woman's advice and use the raffle ticket, so Christmas Eve 2008 found the Nobles arriving at a mansion house hotel in the Chilterns. Once they'd pulled up in the driveway, footmen came out to greet them. "Cor, blimey, that's what I call posh." Wilfred remarked as he unloaded the boot of the car, wearing two pairs of antlers on his head "I said you were lucky, didn't I?" he remarked to Donna "I always said, my lucky star."
"For God's sake, don't tell them we won it in a raffle." Sylvia hissed "Be classy." she noticed the antlers "Dad! Take those things off!"
"No, I shan't! It's Christmas!" Wilfred retorted, then stopped one of the footmen from taking a bag "Oi, I'll have that one, thank you. It's got my liniment in it."
Donna and Sylvia looked at the fancy building "I reckon we deserve this." Donna remarked "It's been a 'ell of a year."
"Your dad would've loved this." Sylvia sighed. Geoff had sadly passed away shortly after the business with the Royal Hope Hospital.
"Yeah. He would 'ave." Donna squeezed her mother's arm comfortingly.
Next morning, Donna was in their bathroom when there was a knock at the door "Oi, gramps, get that." Donna called "That'll be breakfast. We've got croissants."
Groaning, Wilfred got up from the settee, where he'd slept "Why can't you get it, Lady Muck?" he grumbled to Sylvia, who was lounging on the bed, scoffing chocolates.
"It's Christmas Day, I never get up before 10." Sylvia said simply "Only, madam there was up with the dawn chorus, like when she was six-years old."
"I'm not wastin' a second of this place." Donna retorted "How was the sofa?" she asked her grandfather
"Oh, yeah, not so good, really." Wilfred said, standing up and massaging his back "Ooh. You know, we could've paid for a second room. Oi." he whistled and pointed at Donna "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas." Donna pointed back
"Merry Christmas, dad." Sylvia chimed in
The knocking came again and Wilfred answered the door, where a maid was waiting with breakfast "Yeah, alright, come in, my darling. Grub's up. Merry Christmas." he said to the maid
"Merry Christmas, sir." the maid answered in a Spanish accent
"We have interrupted your programme to bring you breaking news." a BBC newsreader said on the telly
"Have you seen this?" Sylvia said urgently
"Cos' I fought, nice early breakfast an' then we'll go for a walk." Donna rambled, not paying attention "People always say at Christmas 'Oh, we all went for a walk.' I've always wanted to do that. So, walk first, presents later, yeah?"
"Donna, come and see." Sylvia called, getting increasingly frightened by the news on telly
The maid suddenly spotted something on Donna and said something in Spanish "What?" Donna questioned. The maid repeated what she'd said, but Donna couldn't understand it.
"Donna, look at the telly." Sylvia called
The maid repeated what she'd said for a third time "What does that mean?" Donna asked her "I don't know what ya sayin'." Then, she noticed something on her back, but when she looked in the mirror, there was nothing. Panicked, the maid ran from the room.
"For God's sake, Donna, don't just stand there!" Sylvia called again "Come and look."
Donna made her back into the main room "... how this is possible, but this footage is live and genuine." the newsreader said "The object 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." the shot changed to show a ship that looked very much like the Titanic plummeting through the sky "We're getting this footage from the Guinevere range of satellites."
Donna stared at the image "Is that... a film or somefink?"
The ship was now bearing down on the palace "The Royal Air Force has declared an emerg..." the newsreader said, only for the TV screen to turn to static. Then, there was an almighty boom from somewhere in the distance and the room shook.
"It's gone dead." Syliva said, flipping through the channels "All of 'em."
Wilfred went to the window and was horrified by what he saw outside "Oh... oh, God rest their souls." he breathed
Everyone went outside to see a huge mushroom cloud in the distance. They all knew what that meant: London, capital city of the United Kingdom and home to millions of people had been completely destroyed by the Titanic. "I was supposed to be out there selling papers. I should've been there, we all should. We'd be dead." Wilfred said numbly, in shock from the disaster that was unfolding before him
"That's everyone." Sylvia breathed "Every single person we know. The whole city."
"Can't be." Donna stared
"But it is, it's gone!" Sylvia said "London's gone!"
"If you hadn't won that raffle..." Wilfred to his granddaughter, who looked at the Spanish maid, who was pointing at her back again.
2009 was a bad year for the UK. With it's capital city destroyed, millions of people dead and the government wiped out, the country went back to the dark ages. In the spring of that year, the Nobles were in an office with a housing officer. A fair chunk of London's population had evacuated London over Christmas, so had survived the city's destruction, but now everyone needed relocation. "Leeds?" Donna stared at the paper the officer had shown them "I'm not movin' to Leeds!"
"It's Leeds, or you can wait in a hostel for another three months." the housing officer retorted
"All I want is a washing machine." Sylvia said wearily
"What about Glasgow?" Donna persisted "I 'eard there's jobs goin' in Glasgow."
"You can't pick and choose!" the housing officer said irritably "We've the whole of Southern England flooded with radiation. Seven million people in need of relocation, and now France has closed it's borders! So, it's Leeds, or nothing. Next!" she stamped Leeds on the Noble's papers.
And so, the Nobles were amongst a fair few other refugees were transported by army bus to the city of Leeds in Northern England. They were soon all standing in a street full of terraced houses waiting for instructions "The Daniels family, billeted at number 15." a soldier ordered through a megaphone "Mr & Mrs Obego, billeted at number 31. Miss Coltrane, you're in number 8. The Noble family, billeted at number 29."
"That's us, c'mon." Wilfred said, picking up his suitcase "Off we go, oh, alright." he led his family down the street towards the house they'd been instructed to go to.
Outside one of the houses was a woman who eyed the Londoners with disdain "Used to be a nice little family at number 29." she sneered "They missed one mortgage payment, just one, they got booted out. All for you lot."
Donna was in no mood for Northern hostility "Don't get all chippy wiv me, Vera Duckworth!" she snapped "Pop ya clogs on an' go an' feed whippets!"
"Sweetheart, come on." Wilfred said, leading her away "You're not going to make the world any better by shouting at it."
"I can try." Donna said darkly
They reached number 29 "What happens? Do we get keys?" Sylvia asked
"I don't know, do I?" Wilfred countered
"Who do we ask? The soldiers?"
Just then, the front door was opened by a portly Italian man with a jolly demeanour "Hey-ey! Is a big house! Room for all! Welcome, in you come!" he greeted enthusiastically
"I fought this was our 'ouse." Donna frowned
"Is many people's house." the man replied "Is wonderful. In, in, in." the Nobles followed the man inside "We've been here for eight weeks already." the man explained "Had a nice little paper shop in Shepherd's Bush, all gone now. So, upstairs, we have Merchandani family, seven of them. Good family. Good kids." he eyed two boys who were leaning on the banister watching the newcomers "Except that man." the man pointed at one of them "You be careful of him. Ah, that's a-joking!" he ruffled the boy's hair "Where's that smile, eh? Rocco Colasanto." he introduced himself "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. My mother, she's got the back room. She's old. You forgive. And this, this is you! Your palazzo!" he led the Nobles into the kitchen
"What d'you mean, this is us?" Sylvia questioned
"You live here!" Rocco said cheerfully
"We're livin' in the kitchen?" Donna asked incredulously
"You got camp beds. You got the cooker, you keep warm, you got the fridge, you keep cool. Is good!"
"What about the bathroom?" Sylvia asked apprehensively
"No one lives in the bathroom!" Rocco snorted
"No, I mean, is there a rota?"
"Is pot luck!" Rocco laughed "Is fun! I go wake mamma. She likes new people." he went off to find his mother.
Donna and Sylvia took in their surroundings with despair. Wilfred decided it was wise to make the best of a bad situation "Oh well, we'll settle in, won't we?" he said, setting down on one of the beds "Make do, bit of wartime spirit, eh?"
"Yeah, but there isn't a war." Donna said dejectedly "There's no fight. It's just... this."
"Well, America will save us." Wilfred said, trying to stay optimistic "It was on the news, They're going to send Great Britain fifty billion quid in financial aid. God bless America!"
Unfortunately, that didn't work out as America soon had problems of it's own. A few days later, the household were all crowded in the kitchen eating out of tins and watching the news "America is in crisis, with 60 million reported dead." Trinity Wells reported "60 million people have dissolved into fat, and the fat is WALKING." the shot changed to show white blobs with faces waddling along through streets "People's fat has come to life and is walking through the streets. And there are spaceships. There are reports of spaceships over every US city." the shot changed to show huge saucer shaped ships hovering over American cities "The fat is flying. The fat is leaving..."
"Aliens." Wilfred stated
"Yeah." Donna replied
"The fat creatures are being raised into the air." Trinity continued with her report
One night, a few days later, Donna and Sylvia were lying in their camp beds in the kitchen "Mary McGinty, remember her?" Sylvia asked miserably
"Who was she?" Donna asked
"Worked in the newsagents on Sunday. Little woman, black hair."
"Never really spoke to 'er." Donna murmured
"She'll be dead. Every day I think of someone else. All dead."
"Maybe she went away for Christmas." Donna tried
"Maybe."
"I'll go out tomorrow." Donna determined "I'll walk into town. There's gotta be work. Everyone needs secretaries. Soon as I'm earnin', we'll get a proper place. Just you wait, mum."
But Sylvia had lost all hope "What if it never gets better?"
"Course it will."
"Even the bees are disappearing. You don't see bumblebees anymore."
"They'll sort us out." Donna said, not ready to give up just yet "The emergency government. They'll do somefink."
"What if they don't?"
"Then... we'll complain."
"Who's going to listen to us? Refugees" Sylvia asked dejectedly "We haven't even got a vote. We're just no one, Donna. We don't exist."
Then came the loud sound of the Colasantos singing The Wild Rover in the living room "I am going to kill that man." Donna grumbled and got up to give Rocco a piece of her mind. She burst into the living room "Now, listen, Mussolini! I am tellin' you for the last time to button it! If I 'ear one more sea shanty..." she tailed off when she saw that Wilfred was sitting with the Colasantos, clearly joining in with them.
"I always enjoyed a sing song." he said simply
Donna and Sylvia decided that if they couldn't beat 'em, they might as well join 'em, and soon the whole household was performing a rousing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. Just as they were getting into the swing of things, they were cut off by the sounds of gunfire from outside. "You stay here, everyone stay." Rocco warned his family as he and the Noble went out to investigate.
They stepped outside to see a soldier shooting at the exhaust pipe of his jeep, which was spouting out a thick cloud of gas "Hey, firing at the car is not so good." Rocco said to him "You crazy or what?"
"It's this ATMOS thing." the soldier said "It won't stop. It's like gas, it's toxic!"
"Well, switch it off!" Wilfred told him
"I have, it's still going! It's all the cars. Every single ATMOS car, they've gone mad!" the soldier said, then suddenly pointed his rifle at Donna "You, lady, turn around. Now!" he ordered
"Are you crazy, boy?" Rocco stared
"Put the gun down!" Wilfred demanded
"I said, turn around!" the soldier yelled at Donna "Show me your back!"
"Do what he says!" Sylvia shrieked to her daughter "Turn around!"
Donna turned around to reveal nothing on her back. The soldier lowered his gun "Sorry." he said sheepishly "I thought I saw..."
"Call yourself a soldier?!" Wilfred roared at him "Pointing guns at innocent woman! You're a disgrace! In my day, we'd have had you court marshalled!"
But Donna wasn't bothered with the solider anymore, she'd seen the blue flash that she'd seen when she'd spoken to the blonde woman last year. She went round the corner to see the woman standing there "Hello." Donna called
"Hi." the woman answered
The two women were soon sat on a park bench, looking at the sky, which was obscured by a layer of smog "It's the ATMOS devices." the woman explained "We're lucky. It's not so bad 'ere. Britain 'asn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe, China, South Africa... they're gettin' choked by gas."
"Can anyone stop it?" Donna asked
"Yeah, they're tryin' right now." the woman replied "This little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship. Any second now..."
And at that moment, the sky appeared to burst into flames for a few seconds, then cleared, living a clear black night again. "An' that was?" Donna questioned
"That was the Torchwood team." the woman replied "Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, they gave their lives. An' Captain Jack 'arkness has transported to the Sontaran 'ome world. There's no one left."
"Ya always wearin' the same clothes." Donna remarked, noting that the woman was wearing the exact same blue bomber jacket, plum t-shirt and black trousers and boots every time she saw her "Why won't you tell me ya name?"
"None of this was meant to 'appen." the woman sighed, avoiding the question again "There was a man an' woman. This wonderful man an' this lovely woman, they stopped it. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, they stopped them all from 'appening."
"That... Doctor an' Gazelle girl?" Donna questioned
"You knew 'em."
"Did I? When?"
"I fink you dream about 'em sometimes. It's a man in a suit an' a woman in a leather jacket. A tall thin man wiv great 'air an' a beautiful brunette woman wiv a figure to die for."
Donna had enough of the woman's vagueness "Who are you?" she demanded
"I was like you." the woman said, patting Donna's shoulder in a comforting way "I used to be you. You've travelled wiv 'em, Donna. You've travelled wiv the Doctor an' Gazelle in a different world.
"I never met them." Donna insisted "An' they're dead."
"They died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve." the woman said "But you were meant to be there. He needed someone to stop 'im. Gazelle was the one who did that, but you were the reason Gazelle made 'im stop. You made 'em leave. You saved their lives."
Donna was standing in a flooding room beneath the Thames Barrier as a huge red spider thing screamed and wailed agony, while a tall man in a brown pinstripe suit stood on a walkway overlooking the mayhem with a cold, unforgiving look on his face. "Doctor!" Donna shouted up to him "You can stop now!" the man ignored her.
Standing beside Donna was a pretty brunette woman in a black leather jacket and jeans "Come on." she said to Donna and they both made their upstairs to the man. When they reached him, the brunette put her hand on the man's shoulder "Doctor, we've done enough. Come on, snap out of it!" she told him
Donna snapped back to the present "Stop it!" she said, standing abruptly "I dunno what ya talkin' about. Leave me alone!"
"Somefink's comin', Donna." the woman said, getting up too "Somefink worse."
"The whole world is stinkin'. How can anyfink be worse than this?!"
"Trust me, we need the Doctor an' Gazelle more than ever. I've..." she swallowed hard "I've been pulled across from a different universe, because every single universe is in danger. It's comin', Donna. It's comin from across the stars an' nothing can stop it."
"What is?"
The darkness." the woman said cryptically
"Well, what do ya keep tellin' me for?" Donna asked in frustration "What am I supposed to do? I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm not... I'm not, I'm nothing special, I'm a temp. I'm not even that, I'm nothing!"
"Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the 'ole of creation."
"Oh, don't." Donna scoffed "Just... don't. I'm tired. I'm so tired."
"I need you to come wiv me." the woman told Donna
"Yeah." Donna snorted "Well, blonde 'air might work on the men, but ya ain't shiftin' me, lady."
"That's more like it!" the woman laughed
"I've got plenty more."
"I know you'll come wiv me. Only when ya want to."
"You'll 'ave a long wait, then." Donna said as she started to walk away
"Not really, just three weeks." the woman said smugly "Tell me, does ya grandfather still own that telescope?"
"Never lets go of it." Donna replied, turning back to her
"Three weeks time. But you've gotta be certain. Cos' when ya come wiv me, Donna... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but ya gonna die, I'm afraid." and she promptly faded away right before Donna's eyes.
Over the next three weeks, British society collapsed even further, and three weeks after ATMOS, the Colasantos were being relocated. "And you, I'm gonna miss you most of all." Rocco said to Donna as he hugged her goodbye
"Oh, but why d'ya 'ave to go?" Donna asked. The Nobles had formed a good bond with the Colasantos. Their happy-go-lucky attitude helped lift everyone's spirts in these dark times.
"Eh, it's the new law." Rocco replied in his cheerful way "England for the English, etc. They can't send us home, the oceans're closed. They build labour camps."
"I know, but labour doin' what? There aren't any jobs."
"Sewing, digging. Is good!" he kissed her check "Now, stop it before I kiss you too much." he turned to Wilfred and saluted him "Wilfred, my capitano."
Wilfred saluted back. The two men shared a look that meant they both knew what was really happening. Then Rocco climbed onto the back of the military lorry where the rest of his family were waiting. "It'll be quiet wiv 'im gone." Donna said, oblivious to the truth and trying to maintain a cheerful façade "Still, we'll 'ave more room." she turned to her grandfather, who's eyes were red with unshed tears.
"Labour camps." he said, his voice trembling "That's what they called 'em last time."
"What d'ya mean?" Donna frowned, then looked at the lorry, where Rocco was hugging his wife, the whole family looking terrified.
"It's happening again." Wilfred said sadly
"What is?" Donna asked, then the penny dropped. "Excuse me?" she ran after the lorry "Excuse me, where're ya takin' them?" she called out, but was ignored.
She gave it up and returned to the house, where Sylvia was sitting in the kitchen, motionless and depressed. "I asked about jobs, wiv the army." Donna spoke up "They said I wasn't qualified." Sylvia didn't reply. The eviction of the Colasantos had been the last straw and she was now completely broken. "You were right." Donna sighed "You said I should've worked 'arder at school. I s'pose I've always been a disappointment."
"Yeah." was all Sylvia could say.
That night, Donna and Wilfred were sitting in an allotment with Wilfred's trusty telescope "You know, we'd get a bit of cash if we sold this thing." Wilfred mused
"Don't you dare!" Donna said sharply. She knew how much her grandfather loved his stargazing and it was pretty much what was keeping him stable in these dark times. "I always imagined, your old age... I'd 'ave put a bit of money by. Make ya comfy." she said reflectively "Never did. I'm just useless." Wilfred didn't reply, he was too busy peering through his telescope "You're supposed to say 'No, you're not.'" Donna grunted
"Ah, must the alignment." Wilfred muttered, not paying attention
"What's wrong?" Donna asked
"Well, I don't know." Wilfred replied "I mean, it can't be the lens. I was looking at Orion, the constellation of Orion. You take a look." he moved aside and Donna peered through the telescope "Tell me, what d'you see?"
"Well, I can't see anyfink." Donna frowned "It's just black."
"Well, I mean it's working! The telescope's working."
"Well... maybe it's the clouds." Donna suggested
"There is no clouds." Wilfred said, looking at the sky. It was a clear night, with no cloud at all.
"Well, there must be!" Donna insisted
"There's not! It was there. An entire constellation." then he saw it, one-by-one, all the stars in the sky were going out, like lights in a building "Look, look there. They're going out. Oh my gawd! Donna, the stars're going out!"
Donna wasn't surprised. She remembered the blonde woman talking about the darkness coming. She realised this must be it. She turned and saw the woman standing behind her "I'm ready." Donna told her
The woman took Donna to a warehouse which had been commandeered by U.N.I.T. In the centre of the building was a circle of mirrors, and in one corner was a blue police phone box from the 1960's with wires trailing from it, some going to the mirrors, others going to a large computer, where technicans were working. A black woman in an officer's uniform approached Donna and the blonde woman and saluted the blonde "Ma'am."
"I've told ya, don't salute." the blonde grumbled
"Well, if you're not going to tell us your name..." the officer retorted
"What, you don't know either?" Donna questioned
"Crossed too many different realities." the blonde said "Trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change an entire casual nexus."
"She talks like that. A lot." the officer warned Donna "You must be Miss Noble."
"Donna."
"Captain Erisa Magambo." the officer extended a hand and Donna shook it "Thank you for this."
"I don't even know what I'm doin'." Donna mumbled
"Is she awake?" the woman asked Magambo
"Seems to be quiet today." Magambo replied "Ticking over. Like it's waiting."
The blonde woman eyed the blue box with a sad expression then turned to Donna "D'ya wanna see it?" she asked
"What's a police box?" Donna questioned
"They salvaged 'er from underneath the Thames." the woman said "Just go inside."
"What for?"
"Just go in." the woman encouraged.
Donna went inside the box "No way!" she exclaimed and came back out again. She did a circle around the outside of the box and looked inside again. Inside was a huge room, far bigger than the outside implied.
"What d'ya fink?" the blonde woman asked with a laugh as Donna stepped out again
"I need a coffee." was all Donna could say
She was soon given a coffee and she and the woman went back inside the box. The room inside looked like the control room of a spaceship, with a mushroom-shaped console in the centre. The room was dark, seeming dead. "Time An' Relative Dimension In Space." the woman explained "This room used to shine wiv light. I fink she's dying." she put her hand on the glass pillar sprouting out from the console and a soothing hum briefly sounded "Still tryin' to 'ep." she sighed
"An'... it belonged to the Doctor an' Gazelle?" Donna asked
"They were a Time Lord an' a Time Lady, the last of their kind."
"But if they were so special, what were they doin' wiv me?"
"They fought you were brilliant." the woman told her
"Don't be stupid!" Donna scoffed
"But you are!" the woman insisted "It just took the Doctor an' Gazelle to show ya that, simply by being wiv them. They did the same to me, my ex-boyfriend an' my mom. To everyone they touch."
"Were you an' them...?"
"We were friends." the woman told Donna "The three of us, travelin' together in this box, through all of time an' space. We fought it'd never end, but it did. S'my own fault, I s'pose. I got cocky, an' we all paid the price for it. Still, can't change the past." she swallowed, then turned back to Donna "D'ya wanna see it?"
"No." Donna replied, then saw the woman looking over her shoulder again "Go on, then." she conceded, deciding to see what was on her back and nip it in the bud once and for all.
They were both was soon standing in the circle of mirrors. "Gazelle taught me a bit on 'ow the TARDIS worked." the woman said "So I've managed to 'elp U.N.I.T adapt some of the surface technology. Enough to show ya the creature."
"It's a creature?" Donna stared
"Just stand there." the woman advised Donna
"Out of the circle, please." Magambo ordered
"Yes, ma'am." the blonde said and walked away from Donna
"Can't ya stay wiv me?" Donna pleaded
"I can't." the woman told her, standing beside Magambo "But I'll be right 'ere, I promise."
"Ready... and activate!" Magambo ordered
The lights in the circle all turned on. They were so bright that Donna had to screw her eyes shut tight "Open ya eyes, Donna." the blonde woman called as the lights settled
"Is it there?" Donna whimpered
"Yeah, open ya eyes, look at it."
"I can't."
"It's part of ya, Donna, look." the woman encouraged
Donna opened her eyes and looked in the mirrors to see a massive black scarab beetle clinging to her back. She started spinning around in a panic, trying to get a better look. "It's ok, it's ok. Calm down." the blonde woman soothed
"What is it?" Donna whimpered
"We don't know."
"We don't know, I'm sorry." the woman told her
"Oh, thanks(!)" Donna huffed sarcastically
"We do know that it feeds off time." the woman explained "By changin' time, by makin' someone's life take a different turn, liker er... meetings never made, children never born, a life never loved. But wiv you, it's..."
"But I never did anyfink important!" Donna spluttered
"Yeah, you did." the woman told her "One day, that thing made ya turn right instead of left."
"When was that?"
"Oh, ya wouldn't remember. It was the most ordinary day in the world, but by turnin' right, ya never met the Doctor an' Gazelle, and the whole world changed around you."
"Can ya get rid... of it?"
"I can't even touch it." the woman sighed "It's in a state of temporal flux."
Donna had had enough of all the technobabble "What. Does. That. Mean?" she demanded
"I dunno." the woman said, then laughed "It's the sorta thing the Doctor would say, then Gazelle would put in more simple terms."
Donna's patience reached it's end "You liar!" she yelled "You said I was special! But it's not me! It's this thing! I'm just the host!"
"No, there's more than that." the woman tried to pacify her "The reading're strange, it's like... reality's just bendin' around you."
"Because of this thing!"
"No, no! We're gettin' separate readings from you. An' they've always been there, since the day you were born."
"This is not relevant to the mission." Magambo cut in
"Yes, it is." the woman insisted "It isn't just the Doctor an' Gazelle we need, but Donna too." she turned to the ginger "The Doctor, Gazelle and Donna Noble, all three of ya. To stop the stars from goin' out."
"Why? What can I do?" Donna questioned, then glanced at the beetle on her back "Turn it off. Please
"Captain." the woman nodded to Magambo
"Power down." Magambo ordered the technicians and the lights were shut off. The blonde woman went over to Donna and patted her arm comfortingly
"It's... it's still there." Donna whimpered "What can I do... to get rid of it?"
"You're gonna travel in time." the woman told her
Donna was soon wearing a jacket that was covered in wires. The woman explained what was happening "The TARDIS 'as tracked down the moment of intervention. Monday the 25th of June 2007, one minute past ten in the mornin'. Your car was on Little Sutton Street leadin' to the Ealing Road, but you turned right towards Griffin Parade. You need to turn left. That's the most important thing. You've gotta go back an' turn left. Have ya got that, Donna? One minute past ten. Make yourself turn left, 'eading for the Chiswick Highroad."
"Keep the jacket on at all times." Magambo advised Donna "It's insulation against temporal feedback." a technician placed some sort of advanced watch on Donna's wrist "This will correspond to local time wherever you land." Magambo explained, then handed Donna a glass of water "This is to combat dehydration."
The blonde woman led Donna back to the circle of mirrors "This is where we leave you." she said
"I don't wanna see that thing on my back!" Donna said hastily
"No, the mirrors're just incidental." the woman reassured "They bounce chronon energy back into the centre which we control an' decide the destination."
"It's a time machine." Donna said incredulously
"It's a time machine." the woman said with a smile
"If you could?" Magambo called, and the woman backed up out of the circle "Powering up." Magambo announced, and the lights came back on
"How d'ya know this is gonna work?" Donna called to the blonde woman
"We've used it before." the woman replied "Met Shakespeare an' some witches." she laughed, then went serious "Just remember, change that car's direction by one minute past ten."
"How do I do that?"
"That's up to you."
"Well, I just 'ave to run up to myself and 'ave a good argument."
"I'd like to see that!" the woman laughed
"Activate loadstone." Magambo ordered her staff
"Good luck." the blonde woman encouraged Donna
"I'm ready." Donna said determinedly
"One minute past ten."
"Cos' I understand now. You said I was gonna die, but you mean this whole world is gonna blink outta existence. But that's not dyin'. Cos a better world takes it's place. The Doctor an' Gazelle's world. An' I'm still alive. That's right, isn't it? I don't die? If I change things, I don't die? That's... that's right, isn't it?"
The woman was silent for a while then spoke up "I hope so." was all she could say.
"Activate!" Magambo called before Donna could probe further. Donna suddenly found herself engulfed in a white light.
When the light faded, Donna found herself on a London street in 2007. She celebrated at first, but then she recognised the street she was on "But... 'old on... but this is... I'm not... this is Sutton Court! I'm 'alf a mile away!" she looked at the watch thing. The time was 9:57 "Four minutes? Oh my God!" she legged it down the road
"Jival Chowdry." Sylvia said as she and Donna got in their car "He runs that little photocopy business in Merchant's Street, and he needs a secretary."
"I've. Got. A. Job!" Donna retorted
Donna sprinted down the street as fast as her legs would carry her.
A blue lorry drove past as Donna and Sylvia waited at a junction "It won't take long, just turn right." Sylvia persisted "We'll pop in and see Mr Chowdry. Suzette can introduce you."
"I'm goin' left." Donna said firmly "If ya don't like it, get out an' walk."
Donna continued to run towards the junction
"You fink I'm so useless." Donna rolled her eyes, not standing for her mother's typically condescending attitude
"Oh, I know why you want a job with HC. Clements, lady. Because you think you'll meet a man with lots of money and your life will change. Well, let me tell you, sweetheart, city executives don't need temps, except for practice." Sylvia sneered
Donna stopped for breath and checked the watch "I'm not gonna there." she wheezed, then she saw the blue lorry that had passed her past self at the junction and then she remembered what the blonde woman had said about her dying and realised what she meant.
"Yeah, s'pose you're right." Donna said meekly and switched the indicator to turn right.
Donna took a deep breath and stepped in front of the approaching lorry.
Donna and Sylvia suddenly heard screaming from down the road "Can you hear that?" Sylvia questioned
The lorry driver jumped out of his cab to check on the woman he'd just hit "Hold on! Back up!" he urged a taxi driver behind him
"Oi, get a move on!" the cabbie grumbled
At the junction, the traffic going to the right came to a standstill "The traffic's stopping." Donna groaned
"Something must've happened." Sylvia moaned
As Donna lay dying on the road, she saw the blonde woman come over to her "I'm so sorry." she said sadly "I 'ad hoped it wouldn't 'ave come to this. But when you see 'em, tell them this: two words." she whispered something in Donna's ear and the ginger drew her last breath and died.
"Well, that decides it." Donna said "I'm not sittin' in a traffic jam. I'm goin' left." and she promptly turned left towards HC. Clements.
Donna screamed as she found herself back in the fortune teller's tent on Shan Shen. The beetle fell off her back and crashed to the floor. "What the 'ell was that?" Donna spluttered as she watched the beetle twitch and die.
"You were so strong." the fortune teller said as she cowered in fear "What are you? What will you be? What will you be?" she fled in terror
The Doctor and Gazelle entered the tent "Everyfink alright?" the Doctor asked
"Yeah, we heard screaming. Something wrong?" Gazelle added
Donna stood up and looked at her two friends, glad that they were both very much alive and well "Oh God!" she gasped and hugged both Time Lords in relief
"What was that for?" the Doctor asked in bemusement
"I don't know." Donna laughed, happy that everything was back to normal and the two years of hell had now never happened.
Donna had soon told the Time Lords about the alternate timeline and the Doctor was soon examining the beetle. "Can't remember." Donna sighed "It's slippin' away. Ya know, like when you try an' fink of a dream an' it just sorta... goes."
"Just got lucky, this thing." the Doctor said as he poked the dead beetle with an incense stick "It's one of the Trickster's brigade. Changes a life in tiny little ways. Most times, the universe just compensates around it, but wiv you... great big parallel world."
"Hold on, you said parallel worlds are sealed off." Donna said to Gazelle. When she'd first come on board the TARDIS, Donna had asked about what had happened to the Rose person they'd both lost and Gazelle had told her about the parallel world.
"They are." the Time Lady confirmed "But you had one created around you. Seems to be happening quite a lot." she murmured thoughtfully
"How d'ya mean?"
"Well, first there was that reality you had created for yourself in The Library, and now this."
"Just goes wiv the job I suppose." Donna shrugged
"There's way too much coincidence around you, Donna." the Doctor frowned "We met you once. We met ya grandfather. Then we met you again. In the whole wide universe, we met you for a second time. It's like somefink's bindin' us together."
"Don't be so daft." Donna snorted "I'm nothing special."
"Yes, you are." Gazelle reassured her friend "You're brilliant."
Donna suddenly remembered that blonde woman in the parallel universe telling her that "She said that." she frowned
"Who did?" the Doctor questioned
"That woman... I can't remember."
"Well, she never existed now." the Doctor shrugged
"No, but she said... the stars.. she said the stars are goin' out."
"That world's all gone now." Gazelle reassured "All that horror never happened.""
"No, but she said it was all worlds." Donna continued "Every world. She said the darkness is comin', even 'ere."
"Who was this woman?" Gazelle asked
"I don't know." Donna replied
"What did she look like?" the Doctor tried
"She was..." Donna thought hard "Blonde."
"Did she give her name?" Gazelle asked, her and the Doctor starting to get suspicious now.
"No." Donna shook her head "But she told me... to warn you. She said..." she tailed off, trying to remember what the woman had said to her "Two words."
"What two words?" the Doctor asked urgently "What were they? What did she say?"
"Bad Wolf." Donna murmured
The Time Lords both shared a worried look. There was only one blonde woman who could know of those two words, Rose Tyler.
"Well, what does it mean?" Donna asked
Neither Time Lord answered, they both got to their feet and ran from the tent. Outside were poster all emblazoned with the words 'Bad Wolf'. They sped into the TARDIS to find the cloister bell tolling ominously.
"Doctor, what is it?" Donna asked as she joined them "Gazelle, what's Bad Wolf?"
"Trouble." Gazelle replied worriedly
"The end of the universe." the Doctor added grimly
To be continued...
Author's notes: And that's Turn Left in the bag. I like that this episode explores the scenario of what if. There's all sorts of interesting what if scenarios in the Doctor Who universe. What if the Doctor regenerated fully in Journey's End? What if instead of Rose, one of her colleagues was the one who met the Doctor? What if Rose had managed to hold on a little longer in Doomsday? The list goes on. My stories explore a what if scenario, namely what if a Time Lady survived the Time War with the Doctor? I might explore some of the other scenarios one day. Back to the episode, we've now got Rose Tyler back. In the actual episode, she is very Doctor-like. Here, I've had her have a bit of Gazelle in her too, by showing compassion for Donna and I've had her be somewhat more mature now. I like to assume that during her time in Pete's World, she reflected on her behaviour in series 2 and realised that she brought her situation on herself, so is more grown up and sensible now. Rose's line about Shakespeare is based on some behind the scenes trivia. Originally, it was going to be mentioned that a team of time traveling U.N.I.T commandos dealt with the Carronites. In this story, I've had it that that happened, with Rose joining them. This episode neatly leads us to series 4's epic two-part finale. I'm looking forward to it. See you all then!