Metella frowned at Rose and Donna. "Your robes are from a distant place, yes?" Rose nodded. "Might I offer you a change of clothes before you start a riot?"
"Yes, please. That would be very kind of you." Rose accepted, and she and Donna followed her into another room. "These should fit you." She held out a dress for each of them and they took them gratefully.
Metella left them to change and returned to her daughter's side.
"So, what were you saying earlier?" Donna asked. "What could have happened when you changed time that would justify letting an entire city burn to death?"
Rose sighed heavily as she undressed. This was far from a happy memory, even if she did get to meet her real dad. "There are these things called reapers. The Doctor said they were like bacteria taking advantage of the wound in time." Rose paused, fighting back the images that came to mind. "They took people, wiped them from existence. They took the Doctor. That was the first time I killed him."
Donna was taken aback by that statement and filed it away for a later interrogation, but for now, she needed to convince Rose to convince the Doctor that these people were worth the consequences. "But the Doctor's still here."
"When time healed, when what I changed happened again," she hung her head and fought back the tears that threatened to fall, thinking of her father's sacrifice, "Everything came back, including the Doctor. But, Donna, if we save these people, we won't be able to go back and undo it. The TARDIS didn't work when the reapers came, and if the reapers came here, which they would, we wouldn't be able to stop them. They would destroy a lot more than just Pompeii. We can't save them all, but we should be able to save this family. Not everyone has to die for history to survive." Rose met Donna's gaze as she explained, begging the other woman to understand.
"What did you change?" Donna asked. "Certainly, nothing like this."
"I saved one man that was supposed to die. Just one, and the reapers came. Pompeii is a fixed point in time It can't be changed. The consequences would be so much worse." Rose tried to push the conversation back toward the matter at hand.
"Who?" Donna pressed.
"My dad." Rose admitted as she busied herself tying off the sash on her dress.
"Oh, I'm-" Donna stopped. Sorry just didn't seem right.
Rose walked back toward Evelina's room, hoping Donna would follow without asking any more questions.
By the time they made it back to Evelina's room, she was sitting up and talking again. She laughed as they entered, wearing her mother's clothes.
"You're not supposed to laugh. Thanks for that." Donna struck a dramatic pose. "What do you think? The Goddess Venus."
Evelina looked at her in surprise. "Oh, that's sacrilege."
Donna smiled at the young girl, trying to put off the awkwardness she felt. "Nice to see you laugh, though. What do you do in old Pompeii, then, girls your age? You got mates? Do you go hanging about round the shops? TK Maximus?"
"I am promised to the Sisterhood for the rest of my life." Evelina answered dutifully.
Rose narrowed her eyes, "Don't you get any choice in that?"
Evelina shook her head. "It's not my decision. The Sisters chose for me. I have the gift of sight."
Rose placed a hand on Donna's arm silently begging her to follow along with her next question without pressing the issue. "Do you see anything important happening tomorrow?" She asked as casually as she could.
"Is tomorrow special?" Evelina clearly wasn't fooled by Rose's assumed nonchalance.
Rose sighed in relief as Donna backed her up, "You tell me. What do you see?"
Evelina shook her head in confusion but humored her guests, "The sun will rise, the sun will set. Nothing special at all.
"What about the earthquakes that have been goin' on? Do they get any worse?" Rose asked.
Once again, Evelina shook her head. "Tomorrow promises a normal day in Pompeii. The gods are pleased with us."
"You're sure?" Donna asked again.
Evelina didn't answer, only covered her eyes to seek the help of the sisterhood. She sought to ease the minds of her guests, but she did not think they would be swayed.
Rose felt slight tremors leading to the house, nothing as large as earlier in the day, but rhythmic enough for her to worry about what the Doctor had gotten himself into. She stood and walked to the main common area of the house and Donna, Evelina, and Metella followed her. As they got closer to the hypocaust, the noise grew louder.
Metella was the first to speak, "What is it? What's that noise?"
"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius." Caecilius mused.
The Doctor ran into the house, with Quintus close on his heels. "Caecilius? All of you, get out."
"Doctor, what is it?" Donna yelled.
"I think we're being followed." He answered as the grill covering the hypocaust flew off, and a large creature of stone and fire appeared before them. "Just get out!" He yelled as the family continued to stare at the creature as if they themselves were made of stone.
"The gods are with us." Evelina's voice held equal great respect, but it was fear that made sweat drip from her brow.
"Water." The Doctor ordered. "We need water. Quintus. All of you, get water. Rose! Donna!" The two women, as well and Quintus and a slave rushed off to find water.
One of the household staff spoke in awe, "Blessed are we to see the gods." But his reverence did not entreat the creature to spare him, and the giant breathed on him, turning him instantly to ashes.
"Talk to me." The Doctor ducked down, making himself appear smaller and threw his hands out. "That's all I want. Talk to me. Just tell me you are. Don't hurt these people."
The Doctor was too focused on dealing with the stone creature in front of him to notice his two companions muffled screams as members of the sisterhood grabbed them as they returned with the buckets they had collected. Evelina stared at the sisters in confusion, but she dared not speak up.
"Talk to me. I'm the Doctor. Just tell me who you are."
Quintus and the slave made it back with buckets and scooped water out of the fishpond and threw it at the giant creature. Its fire was extinguished, and it crumbled to the floor with a sizzle and a short thud.
Caecilius loosened his hold on his wife. "What was it?"
The Doctor barely spared the family a glance as he stared at the remains of the creature, "Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."
"Doctor, or whatever your name is, you bring bad luck on this house." Metella's dark words drew his attention.
He tilted her head at her and gestured toward Quintus, "I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" He turned his back on the family as the parents finally acknowledged their son. "Still, Rose, if there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it's a good thing we stayed." He held out his hand before noticing that Rose had not yet joined him again. "Rose? Rose!" He looked around the room. "Donna? Donna? Donna!" He noticed Evelina's fearful and worried look. "Do you know where they are?"
She nodded.
"Where?" As soon as he had his answer he took off running.