We're finally here! Much thanks to BMG as ALWAYS with her ceaseless insights and comments and typo nabbing and see, I didn't forget the milk!

I hope to write the next few chapters more quickly, maybe nano IS having an influence!

Whatever it is, I'm happy! I hope you all like it!

Chapter 9

The quartet spent the better part of the afternoon exploring the Tardis gardens, Wilf and Sylvia both wandering off the path towards different flowers or trees that grew in the various parts of the gardens.

Donna had to admit that the sort of hotchpotch overgrown look to the gardens actually seemed to be inviting and could lure one in deeper to explore along hidden pathways that would be revealed as a person pressed through the overgrown tangle.

"Hold on, Wilf! You don't want to get too close to those flowers." The unexpectedly urgent tone in the Doctor's voice stopped Wilf short just as his hand was about to reach out to an exquisitely gorgeous purple flower, whose dewy petals seemed to be throbbing with a life all their own. The perfume wafting off the flower was heavenly and seemed to fill his senses with a profound sense of peace.

Wilf's hand stopped instantly at the Doctor's instructions, his head turning back to see a look of intense fear on the Doctor's face. "What's wrong, Doctor? I was just going to lean in for a closer look, it's such a gorgeous flower!

The Doctor stepped forward and with a soft smile gently pulled Wilf a safe distance from the purple blossoms, his eyes intent on the old man for a moment before he turned to look back at the flower. "I didn't realize which part of the garden we've come to that's all, Wilf. The flowers and trees here can be quite toxic to humans if one isn't careful, but were important in certain ceremonies to the Time Lords and so I kept them separated from the rest of the gardens just in case my human companions wandered too far afield."

Sylvia stood back beside Donna, her eyes traveling over the flowers and bushes around them before she looked up at the artificial sky and frowned. "Doctor, does the sun set in here? I've lost track of how much time we've actually been roaming through these amazing gardens."

The Doctor nodded with a grin as he looked up at the rapidly darkening sky, his attention now focused back on his companions as he began to lead the way back into the safer parts of the gardens. "The Tardis keeps a natural diurnal cycle in here to keep the plants natural rhythms. It helps with their growth cycle as well as their cycle of fertilization. If she didn't keep that cycle, it'd be quite easy to lose track of time and end up spending days and days in here!"

Sylvia fell in step with the Doctor, her eyes bright as she began to ask questions about what the differences were between day and night on earth and on Gallifrey and why the plants were red and what were those silver leafed trees?

Donna just smiled softly as she reached out to wrap her arm gently around her grandfather's frail shoulders. He grinned at her, his eyes shining as he waved a hand at the amazing scene which surrounded him. "I wasn't going to take one of the flowers, Sweetheart! I just wanted to smell it better, it was simply amazing!"

Donna shook her head with a laugh. "He wasn't worried about you picking one of his flowers, Gramps. There really are some dangerous plants in here and I tend to be careful when I wander the gardens and stay in the areas that he's shown me are safe."

Wilf looked around the huge expanse with a new understanding, his eyes were shining when he turned back to Donna before he asked. "This is really all that's left of his home world?"

Donna took her grandfather's hand and squeezed it tight as she looked up to where the Doctor and Sylvia were animatedly talking about the higher phosphorus and potassium content in Gallifreyan soil, her mind brushing his in a gentle caress when she had felt the momentary hitch in his thoughts when he'd heard Wilf's question. "Unfortunately, yes. This is all that's left of his home world, and that's why every plant that he could possibly save, no matter how dangerous has a place in this garden. He said that over the centuries he managed to move all the dangerous ones into one single area, but he could never and would never consider destroying any of them."

The Doctor's back stiffened for just a moment when Donna finished, his thoughts flashing for a brief moment before they settled once more. She knew that he didn't like thinking about being the last of his kind, nor the fact that all that remained of his planet traveled with him wherever he went. He would have loved to be able to set down somewhere and plant the gardens anew on some other planet so that just in case his Tardis did get destroyed one day then at least something of Gallifrey would live on, a thought had been brought frighteningly to the forefront with what had just happened with the recent disaster aboard the Tardis. However, she knew that in all the centuries that he had been looking, the Doctor had never been able to find another planet similar enough to Gallifrey to support any of the fauna that existed only aboard the Tardis.

"Oh no, that wouldn't do at all! This place is lovely and magical, I could never imagine him destroying anything in here!"

The Doctor turned around as they came out of the denser growth and found themselves back on the main path that led to the large arched exit back into the rest of the Tardis, the smile on his face though strained was still filled with warmth. "I'm the captain of an ark of sorts, Wilf. It's my responsibility to make sure that my planet lives on, in whatever capacity it can for however long I manage to survive. But that doesn't mean that I should take unnecessary risks with my companions either." His hand reached up to rub the back of his neck in his usual absent-minded gesture before he continued. "I'm sorry that I was so harsh back there, I should've paid more attention to where we were going."

Wilf just laughed and clapped the Doctor on the shoulder, his gaze shooting back to his daughter's piercing stare in a look that was meant to silence any nasty retort she had in mind before he returned his attention back to the alien in front of him. "Nonsense, Doctor! I'm glad that we got to see all of your gardens, I'll just remember to not wander too far from you or Donna in the future if we come in here again!"

Sylvia shook her head when she heard her father's comment, but she truly couldn't fault his excitement and if she hadn't been so adamant about staying on Earth during this trip and not spoiling his fun with Donna, she would have been tempted to throw caution to the wind and join them on this adventure.

"It's getting late, Doctor. I have plans with the Wednesday girls tonight and need to start to get ready for that and I'm sure that you all are eager to be off on your adventure. Why don't we get Dad's bags and then you can be on your way?"

The Doctor looked strangely at Sylvia, almost as if he could sense her inner struggle before he simply nodded. "Quite right, Sylvia! The universe awaits and I don't want you to be late on our account."

Leading the way out of the gardens and into the control room, Sylvia and Wilf stumbled as they looked behind them, surprised that all the corridors that had lain between the control room and the gardens were now missing. The Doctor hadn't missed a stride and Donna had followed right behind him as they made their way towards the double doors of the Tardis.

Wilf just grinned at Sylvia, the look taking decades off his weathered face as he hurried after the Doctor and his granddaughter. Sylvia just laughed softly at the boyish smile on his face, her heart softening just a bit although she was still worried about where and when the Doctor would be taking Wilf and Donna.

She still remembered the stories they'd told her about Pompeii and the Daleks, and the planets in the sky and she couldn't shake the dread in her heart that this trip wasn't going to be all fun and games. She refused to bring her father's spirits down though and so she just swallowed her misgivings and was determined to wish him a safe and fun trip.

The doors to the Tardis opened with a soft squeal, the fading sunlight outside attesting to how late in the day it was and how much time they'd lost while wandering through the depths of the Tardis.

"Let me show you where my bags are, Doctor! I've had them packed by the door waiting for when you both got here!"

The Doctor winced at Wilf's words, his guilty gaze flashing to Donna before he turned to follow Wilf and Sylvia into the house.

Don't worry so much about it, Doctor. At least we're here and they're not that mad; it's not like we haven't been late to things before!

She could almost see the frown in his mind as he disappeared through the front door, his thoughts were such a confused jumble of emotions that she couldn't begin to put a finger to any one of them. I checked those settings a thousand times, Donna. We should've arrived at the exact time that I set and been right on time. The Tardis even assured me that her calibrations were all reset after I managed to install the new transducer. I'm worried that she's not completely up to this trip yet.

Donna frowned after the Doctor, her arms crossed over her chest to ward off the sudden chill she felt at his words. Were they rushing things so soon after such a near fatal accident? Perhaps it wasn't a good time to take Wilf on this trip.

She chewed her lip thoughtfully, her gaze rising to the darkening sky in the hopes of finding some answers but all she saw was the scudding clouds in an unseen wind. Her grandfather had been looking forward to this trip for months and now that it was here, she knew that they couldn't abandon the trip just because they were both still spooked. They would just have to be extra careful and made doubly sure that the Tardis managed her landings better throughout the trip.

The door to the house opened once more and the Doctor and Wilf came bundling out into the street, the Doctor loaded down with two small suitcases while Wilf carried a smaller bag in one hand and a large overcoat in the other. He gave Sylvia a hug and a soft kiss to her cheek, his steps light and nearly dancing as he spoke. "Now you know how to reach Donna's phone if you need anything, I don't know how long we'll be gone but I'll make sure to give you a call to let you know everything's alright!"

Donna laughed and took the large coat from her grandfather's hands, her gaze turning back to her mother. "We'll call, Mum. Don't you worry! Remember the Doctor has a time machine and when we come back we'll try to make sure that we come back before it seems like too much time has passed!"

Sylvia scoffed at that and nodded back to the Tardis as the Doctor disappeared into those blue doors. "You mean like he was going to be on time for this visit?"

Donna winced at her mother's words, though she couldn't deny them.

"Now, now Sylv. They were busy off saving the universe again, I'm quite alright with that because they're here now and it's time for us to be off to the stars!"

He said the last while he danced a little jig in place, a soft laugh of delight bubbling between his lips before he settled down once more. Sylvia found it impossible to stay irritated in the face of her father's excitement and so she reached out and gave him a hug. "Oh go on then, Dad. Go on and have fun out in the stars, I can't wait to hear all about it!"

Donna smiled at her mother, knowing deep down just how much it cost her to wish them all a safe journey when she was staying behind, when she had dreamt so much of traveling on her own when she'd been younger. "We'll see you in a couple of weeks, Mum!"

Sylvia simply nodded to her daughter and gave her a final departing hug before she turned and closed the door behind her. She'd never watched her family leave on a journey as she'd felt it was bad luck, and she wasn't about to break that tradition now.

Donna and Wilf looked at each other for a moment before they each grinned an identical grin of mischief and turned towards the open Tardis doors where the Doctor stood waiting. "Come on you two, the Tardis is getting jittery and wants to be off!"

"Oh ho, Doctor! Let's not keep your splendid ship waiting any longer then she needs to, come on then, it's time to be off."

Donna smiled as her grandfather toddled off across the street, the bounce in his step something that she was happy to see. She followed after him, her eyes looking up at the clouds once before she was distracted by a flicker between the puffy shapes.

Donna felt the world fade away for a brief moment, her vision narrowing down to a dark tunnel of focus as her consciousness suddenly expanded beyond her body. She saw once more the flare of timelines across the galaxy, the threads weaving through an incomprehensible tapestry and that single, shining golden thread flared bright as it dove towards an unfamiliar star cluster before it flickered and vanished.

The Doctor was at Donna's side in an instant when he felt the sudden shift of her thoughts, his mind having reached out to hers when he'd felt that expansion. It was always disorienting when he saw time through her eyes, but he'd managed to catch the tail end of the strange vision that she'd just experienced. He grabbed a hold of her shoulders as she stumbled in the street, her hand rising to her forehead before looked up at the Doctor with a gaze filled with near panic.

"Donna? Donna, are you alright?"

"It happened again, Doctor. Just like on Bellatrix, I feel like I should know that thread but it was gone so fast I couldn't hold on to it."

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Donna looked up to see her grandfather's worried face hovering behind the Doctor's shoulder, his steps dancing from side to side as he tried to get in closer to make sure Donna was alright.

"I'm okay, Grandad. I think we should get into the Tardis so we're not making a spectacle on the street."

"Right you are, come along inside and I'll make you a nice warm cuppa. I'm sure that ship of yours, Doctor, has a kitchen it can show me? Tea will make everything better!"

The Doctor smiled faintly as Wilf seemed to take charge, though he slipped his arm around Donna's shoulder and half carried her across the street and into the Tardis. The sigh of relief that slipped from Donna's lips was all the confirmation that the Doctor needed to know that whatever had just happened had definitely nearly overloaded Donna's fledgling time sense.

He frowned back at the doors of the Tardis before he led the way up to the control console and sent the Tardis into the vortex so that they could get off of earth and settle down a bit before deciding if they were even going to continue on this journey.

Don't you dare, Doctor! Gramps would be devastated if we cancelled this trip now when he's been so looking forward to it.

The Doctor looked down to see flinty resolve in Donna's gaze even as he led the way down the corridor and into the Tardis kitchen, barely even noticing that the Tardis had arranged it just like Sylvia's kitchen so that Wilf felt immediately at home.

"Here we are, everything close to hand. You sit down, Donna." His eyes rose to the Doctor and he indicated the other chair. "You sit down too, Doctor. Let me make the tea and you take care of Donna for the moment."

Wilf turned and made his way back to the counter, his shoulders set in the absolute belief that the Doctor would make sure Donna was alright and he would do his part by keeping the tea hot and flowing.

The Doctor just chuckled softly at the force of nature that Wilf had suddenly become, his gaze flicking to the Tardis walls in gratitude that she had made the kitchen just like home so that he would feel useful while the Doctor dealt with Donna on a deeper level.

He took a seat at the kitchen table and looked at Donna, his mind still entwined with hers though the overload was passing now that she had stepped back into the safety of the Tardis' temporal field.

Donna, we don't know what's coming, but we know that it's going to be dangerous, possibly even deadly. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Wilf while he's traveling with us. The thought cut off as the Doctor swallowed convulsively at that thought, his gaze shooting up to Wilf's back where he stood at the counter preparing the teapot as he switched the kettle onl. He looked back to Donna and she flinched slightly when she saw the look of raw agony that he did nothing to hide. I couldn't bear it Donna, especially now that you've had another vision tied to that possibility.

Donna shook her head, her hand reaching out to take the Doctor's in hers before she replied. You don't know that it's tied to the prophecy, Doctor. The augers warned you against looking too much into the possibility that they'd told us was coming. They also told us to live our lives and to enjoy every experience we had together because we don't know when that happiness will end. This trip with Gramps is one of those experiences.

She reached up and gently turned the Doctor's head so that he was looking at Wilf bustling at the counter, humming a soft tune under his breath while he waited for the water to boil and he rummaged through the cupboards looking for a tin of biscuits. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time, Doctor and you and I have given him that. He knows that what we do is dangerous and that it isn't always going to be a happy ending, but he also knows that it's amazing out there and we promised to take him out to see even a small part of that. How can we take that away from him now when he's so close?

The Doctor took a deep breath, his hearts constricting in his chest at the thought of something happening to Wilf while they were traveling but he had to admit that Donna was right. The prophecy could still be years off, or it could be around the corner and nothing they did would change it. He'd refused to live his life in fear of the babblings of augers and seers before, and he sure wasn't going to start now.

You're right Donna, but that doesn't mean that I won't take extra care on this trip!

Donna simply smiled and nodded, before she sat back as Wilf bustled over to the table with the teapot in hand. I wouldn't expect anything less, Doctor.

She looked up to her grandfather, the smile on her face genuine as she saw the shine in his eyes. "Thanks, Gramps."

Wilf looked down at his granddaughter, his warm smile filling his eyes with love and concern. "Are you sure you're alright sweetheart? You looked like you'd seen a ghost out there."

The Doctor straightened up at Wilf's words, his eyes lighting up as he replied, "Not really in Chiswick, it's too quiet out there for ghosts but there are some interesting temporal anomalies that drift through every now and then."

Donna just laughed and shook her head at the Doctor. "That's not what he meant, Doctor! No Gramps, I'm fine really. Just had a strange turn that's all, but it's already passing especially now that you've made your perfect tea!"

The change in subject was just what Wilf needed, he beamed as he turned around and went back to the counter for the tin of biscuits, mugs and milk. "Your ship even has the right kind of tea, so it'll be just like home, Donna! And you and the Doctor can tell me all about what you've got planned and where we're going to go!"

Donna rolled her eyes and tossed a glance at the Doctor. "Oh now you've done it Gramps! He doesn't plan anything, he just sets the old girl on random and hopes for the best!"

The Doctor scoffed as he lifted the teapot and poured the tea into the three mugs, setting the pot aside and pushing a mug to Donna and Wilf before he replied, "Now, now Donna. I DO have a plan from time to time. Like the time I took you to Cotter Palluni's world, or Bellatrix Prime! I aimed for those planets and we arrived when and where we were supposed to land! I think that we should actually ask your grandfather where he'd like to go and we could always throw one planet in the future in there so he could see where humanity is in a few millennia."

Wilf sat forward as he finished stirring his tea, his lips parted excitedly when he heard the Doctor mention asking him where he wanted to go. "I'd be chuffed to be able to go to the moon, Doctor. I remember watching the moon landing and thinking how lucky those astronauts were to be able to go up there and stand on the moon looking back at earth!"

The Doctor grinned and dunked a biscuit, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully for a moment before he swallowed. "The moon is easy and we can definitely have that on the list. Anywhere else you'd like to go?"

Donna sat back as the Doctor and her grandfather bantered back and forth, throwing different destinations or times out and discounting or acknowledging the pros and cons of each place. She smiled as she sipped her tea, the fatigue that had suddenly washed over her with her temporal vision fading away in the warm kitchen with her family nearby.

Yes, the storm was coming, but for now she was going to enjoy the adventure.