It was an exhausting sort of sleep: the sort that traps a person just below the surface, struggling to wake, body and limbs as heavy as lead. Donna felt like she had been kicking against its undertow for ages by the time the background whispers got a little too loud.

"...yes, yes, I know you're sorry, my darling, but the best way you can help is by being quieter, yeah?"

A sniffle. "I am quiet, Mummy, but can I please just-"

"No, I said. It won't hurt you to sit there and think for awhile. Besides, right now Donna needs her rest."

On hearing her own name, Donna drew a sharp breath, the smell of fresh coffee filling her nose. Exhaustion still pinned her down like a weighted blanket, but her fingers managed a twitch, her lungs another deep inhale. Slowly, one eye cracked open.

Low, bluish light met her. Even in her disoriented, dry-mouthed state, Donna instantly discerned something had gone very wrong. Waking in a strange bed, to strange whispers?

And...more sniffling?

Maternal instinct took over, and Donna reacted before she could think. "Reese?" she called out as she struggled upright, forcing her eyes to fully open. "Reese, love, are you alright?"

"Your daughter is fine, Ms. Noble," said a calm voice. Startled, Donna looked over. A woman -smartly dressed, short haircut, attractive- sat in a nearby chair, a steaming mug on the desk behind her, and she was observing Donna intently, like a doctor might a patient. "How is your head?"

"My head? It's… fine?" Donna glanced around, bewildered and more than a little alarmed. Her bed was not a bed, so much as a rickety cot, and the room around her was oddly shaped, narrow and long and windowless. Numerous flatscreen monitors hung in a row down one wall, most off, some blank and glowing. Two women and a man, clad identically in black, sat at a long table before them, headsets over their ears. One spoke in a hushed undertone, another scribbled furiously on a pad of paper. None of them paid Donna the least bit of attention.

"What's happened?" she asked, clutching the rough blanket with shaky fingers. "Am I in hospital or something?"

"No," the woman replied, just as another blonde -this one young, with long, straight hair- came into view. She knelt before Donna, gazing up at her for a long moment. Her shapely brows were knitted, her dark eyes full of worry.

"Do you know me, Donna?"

Donna began to shake her head, but as a flash lit up a dark, dusty corner of memory, the pretty face turned familiar. She did know her- the lost woman, found, only to be lost again. A woman who was everything, somehow...not to Donna, but close. "Rose?"

Rose gave her a smile that could rival sunlight, though she caught only a glimpse of it before she was snatched into a tight hug. "Oh, Donna, it's so good to see you again."

"You too," replied Donna automatically, mind desperately grappling for where she might have seen Rose before (store clerk? former colleague? fourth cousin?)

(Anywhere other than those hazy old dreams where monsters dwelt, the ridiculous novel she had once tried to write.)

Donna was still trying to sort it when Rose sat down beside her, the bed creaking beneath them. "And your head's okay?"

Rose seemed to be blinking back tears as she asked this, actual tears over Donna. "Why is everyone so bothered about my head?" Donna snapped, frustrated, only to gasp and point at Rose as a few unrelated puzzle-bits slid into place. "Wait a mo. You… you aren't even supposed to be here." Blanks were filling in by the second, now. "We left you behind, left you in another world."

Rose nodded, thumbing the moisture away from her lower lashes. "Yes, that's true, but…Donna, do you know what year it is?"

Just thinking about it made her head spin dizzy circles. Such a question should never have two answers, yet somehow, it did. Like she was two people, living two lives at once. As if she'd chosen both paths when the road forked, with each turning out its own unique destiny, its own unique Donna.

The two were irreconcilable, they didn't mesh at all, though she gave up trying to sort through the mess the instant she recollected where she was, and why. "Oh no." Stomach jolting with panic, Donna swiftly sought out the woman in the chair. Kate. "Did you save my daughter? Oh god, how long have I been out?"

"Not long," Kate assured her. "Less than thirty minutes. But your daughter is still in the library, I'm sorry."

"Wait a minute, I know who you are," said Donna, giving the place a second, astonished look-over. "UNIT. You're… you're an alien task force, we've worked with your people before, when the Sontarans invaded. It's not terrorists holding people hostage, is it? It's aliens."

It was a comforting realisation, though Donna couldn't for the life of her say why.

"Yes." Kate tucked her hair back, revealing a blinking Bluetooth earbud. "And if you know us, then you know we're very good at what we do."

"Yeah," Donna replied with a snort, "that's not exactly what the Doctor-" All at once, she froze. "The Doctor. I haven't thought of him in ages. How could I possibly have forgotten the Doctor?"

"You saved all of reality," Rose told her, sorrow in her eyes. "But at a cost. You took on a Time Lord's consciousness, Donna, and no human mind can sustain that."

Grief welled in Donna's chest, the loss as fresh as if it had just happened. "He...he just took it away, took everything. I was going to stay, travel with him forever, and he just reached his hands out and-" A shuddering breath. "Why can I remember it all now?"

"There was always a risk of this," said Rose, in a grave, foreboding tone. "The Doctor locked up all that knowledge in your mind, but he wasn't able to actually rid you of it. For years he's been worried this might happen. That something would come along and remind you of your time with him, and trigger that door to open."

"Well, you don't have to look like that about it! Look at me, I'm perfectly fine-"

"Only because I injected you with a potent acetylcholine inhibitor," Kate inserted, setting her mug of coffee back onto the desk. "A memory suppressant, prepared specially for you by the Doctor himself, many years ago. He gave a dose of it to UNIT, and entrusted us with your protection."

"I'm sorry, Donna, but it's a temporary palliative," Rose added. "For a short time it will block the Time Lord knowledge, so it can't burn your mind before the Doctor gets a chance to lock it away again."

"Lock everything away, you mean, so I can't remember the only truly meaningful things I've ever done in my life." With a shake of her head, Donna got up from the bed and squared her shoulders. She couldn't worry about that now, not with her girl badly in need of a rescue. "Well, temporary or no, right now I'm a woman who once traveled with the Doctor, and that makes me something of an expert when it comes to aliens."

Kate looked intrigued, but before she could reply Rose jumped up. "You can't go in there, Donna."

Donna ignored her, scenting victory elsewhere. "I've even dealt with aliens in a library before," she told Kate. "I've got tons of experience, and you need that."

"But it's not the Vashta Nerada again," argued Rose, "nothing like that at all, thankfully. You've never met these sorts of aliens, an' neither have I, for that matter. And they aren't here to hurt people, the Doctor says. Not physically, anyway."

It was a vague, irritating (and rather Doctorish) put-off, and though Donna meant to demand full clarity, what came out was a rather shocked-sounding "He's here?"

For a moment Rose looked surprised, and then she gave a funny little laugh. "Yeah, course he is."

Her reaction sent a familiar tingle of energy charging through Donna's spidey-senses; her ears perked up, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "He's here," she repeated, giving Rose a slow, considering look-over, "and you're here, too. You didn't just come back, you came back to him, didn't you? After we left you behind with your family and the other one, the other-"

"Yes," Rose cut in, fidgeting with an earring as she darted a look around the trailer. "But it's not what you think. It's a long story, Donna. A lot of years have passed since that happened."

"Ma'am," one of the soldiers called to Kate, waving a sheet of paper in the air anxiously. "A word, please?"

"One moment," Kate excused herself, steps muted against the flat carpet as she hurried to join the small huddle at the table.

Rose watched her go, then gestured to the wall full of blank monitors. "Bet you're wondering why they've got all that tech when they aren't even using it."

Donna nearly laughed at her feeble distraction attempt. "You and him," she repeated, a bloodhound on a hunt. "Are you two..."

She let the question dangle, sharp eyes watching Rose's face for any twitch, any flicker that might betray the current state of things between her and the Time Lord. Things had to have come to a head at some point; the pair couldn't possibly have decided to spend their lives in a state of perpetual pining. Nobody was that stupid.

Well. Nobody but the Doctor, that is. Piling all the burdens of the universe upon his own scrawny shoulders, like some sort of volunteer Sisyphus. Just him and his boulder forever, sharing a life, equals in emotional IQ.

Oh, so help her, faces were gonna get shoved together if that utter rubbish was still going on.

A heavy moment passed as Rose held Donna's gaze, her full lips pressed tight, an unreadable glint in her eye. Then, all at once, a grin broke free, and she held up her left hand, palm in.

Sparkling like stars on her ring finger was a trio of flawless gems, set in a double band.

An audible gasp escaped Donna. "No. No way. You can't mean to tell me you two are-"

"Married, yeah."

Impulsively, Donna swept Rose into a bear-hug. "Oh, things really have changed, haven't they? If Spaceman finally got it through his thick head that he deserves to be happy."

Rose chuckled and squeezed her tighter. "They really have."

Questions bubbled up till Donna could burst with them, but before she could voice any Rose pulled back, looked past her, and made a beckoning sort of gesture. Glancing over her shoulder, Donna saw a small figure in a striped dress and pink trainers slowly slide off a chair.

"Oh, blimey," Donna exclaimed, struck with guilt. "I completely forgot you were here, Suzy. I'm so sorry."

Suzy didn't answer as she came around the bed, feet dragging, eyes wide with worry.

Rose went to her. "Donna," she said, smoothing a gentle hand over the child's long windblown hair, "this is my daughter, Susan. Although I think you two have already met."

"She's... yours?" Donna could hardly find words, nearer to being struck speechless than when Brad left Jen. "As in yours... and the Doctor's?"

Rose laughed. "Yep."

"Oh," replied Donna, a long whoosh of air leaving her lungs as she took in the little girl with new eyes. Charming, tiny bit odd, larger than life, too clever by half. Physically she resembled Rose, but those big, expressive brown eyes, oh, those were all Spaceman. "That...that actually explains a lot."

"Suzy, don't you have something to say to Donna?"

Suzy turned up her small face, her pink cheeks tear-streaked, thick lashes wet. "I'm sorry," she said, chin wobbling. "I didn't mean for your head to get hurt. I just… miss you."

"Miss me?" Donna echoed, both baffled and touched. "Sweetheart, you don't even know me."

Indignation sparked in Suzy's eyes. "Course I do," she contradicted hotly. "I've heard all about you. Sometimes Daddy even talks like you and...well, he says he doesn't like it when that happens. But I know he does, cos he misses you too."

Donna blinked. "He talks like me?"

Suzy's expression shifted toward mischievous. "Sometimes. He says it's not fair that the shouty lady in his head is the only part of him that will ever be ginger."

"What on earth is she on about?" Donna asked, as Rose snickered.

"Also, I know you from my dreams." Suzy tugged Donna's hand for her full attention. "I see you in them. You come home to the TARDIS-"

"Suzy," interrupted Rose firmly. "Not the time. Didn't I say we'd discuss that with Donna later, once your daddy gets here?"

"-and I know it's true, cos Daddy dreamed about Mummy coming home," Suzy continued in a rush, like she couldn't stop herself. "And it happened!"

"Susan."

Little nose scrunching guiltily, Suzy fell silent, still her eyes watched Donna, expectant. Clearly hoping Donna would push to continue the conversation, in spite of her mother's effort to shut it down. "You shouldn't go bringing things up when your mum's told you to wait," Donna told Suzy sternly. "Please go sit on the bed now, so us grown-ups can talk privately."

Suzy stilled, taken aback, but then she obeyed without a word of protest.

"So is that why she did what she did today?" Donna asked Rose, low, their heads bowed close together. "She came to meet me because that dream of hers means something?"

"To be honest, Donna… I doubt it. What Suzy said about the Doctor having a similar dream that came true, that was massively oversimplified. The TARDIS... she sees time, you know, and she gets in your head. In that way she's always helped the Doctor be where he's supposed to be, do what he's supposed to do. Yes, he did dream about me, which started -started- a long, complicated sequence of events that eventually led to our being reunited. Sort of like...like if you forget your wallet one day and so a stranger kindly pays for your coffee, then you go out with him, and then one day you marry him. Sometimes things just happen. It doesn't mean forgetting your wallet was destiny."

Somehow, Donna did not feel entirely disheartened. "But it might be, especially if a cheeky time-ship nicked it from your purse. There might be something to Suzy's dream."

"I don't know." Rose sighed, leaning back against Kate's desk. "The Doctor has tried to work out a solution to your problem for years, but…" Her face scrunched and she bit her lower lip, all apology.

"But what? C'mon, spit it out. It's 'impossible?' That what you meant to say?"

When Rose looked even more apologetic, Donna rolled her eyes.

"Well," she said huffily, "my last doubt about you being his wife just curled up and died. You actually look like him right now, that's the same look he'd always get right before he'd start spewing the 'I'm so, so sorry's'. Well, you can save them for someone else, Mrs. Spaceman. Right along with your 'impossibles'."

Rose burst out laughing, managing to grimace at the same time. "I did sound like him just then, didn't I? How awful, I take back whatever I said. Thanks for the call out."

Donna grinned. "Anytime."

"He always loved that about you, you know," Rose went on, her eyes full of warmth. "How you would never let him give up."

Such potent praise made Donna's cheeks burn. "The Doctor and I, we're just equally stubborn, is all," she dismissed.

"See, we need you, Donna," Suzy chimed in from the bed, and when her mother shot her a look, pasted on an angelic expression. "I wasn't eavesdropping! You were talking at normal voice-level, Mummy."

Rose considered her. "You know what, Suzy, I'm glad you drew my attention just now, because I've forgotten to ask you about something. When Sarah Jane phoned earlier, she says you traveled from her house to Chiswick in under twenty minutes. I wonder how you got there so quick?"

Going by Rose's tone, she wasn't actually wondering much at all. Suzy obviously knew this as well- eyes falling to her lap, she thrust a hand into a pocket of her dress, soon retrieving a large wristwatch with a brown leather band.

"How did you even manage to get ahold of this?" Rose quickly confiscated the item.

"T'was in a drawer of Daddy's nightstand."

Rose's brows shot up. "Seriously?!"

"What is it?" The thing looked vaguely familiar to Donna.

"A vortex manipulator." Rose rubbed the spot between her eyes. "It was Jack's. We came across it again a few years ago, when Suzy was a baby, and I didn't want it on the TARDIS. But the Doctor promised me he would lock it up."

Donna stifled a laugh. By the looks of Rose, the Doctor was really going to hear it for that one. Donna dearly hoped she'd get to witness it.

"Excuse me, Rose?" Kate approached, holding out her earpiece. "The Doctor just came on, he wants to speak to you. He says he'd like to know what's wrong, and why you've been... ignoring him?"

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, as if summoning patience, and then jammed the device into her ear. "Hello, love, everything's fine, I've just been distracted is all… no, nope, um, nothing too major."

"Please find out how my Reese is," Donna whispered urgently.

"Well, Sarah Jane phoned, she'd had a little issue with Suzy. I'll explain later. Is Ree- I mean, are all the hostages still alright?" Donna's heart lurched for a moment until Rose caught her eye, smiling and nodding vigorously. "Well, you whinge too, when you get hungry, so have some compassion- yes, you do. Can't UNIT sneak in a few pizzas or something?"

Rose giggled silently and Donna chuckled behind her hand, amused and deeply, deeply relieved. Reese was safe and Rose was winding up the Doctor, just like Donna would always do on their own adventures. If there was joking and banter, things were never too dire, and suddenly, Donna felt the weight of every year that man had been absent from her life. God, she missed him. Missed his stupid gob and his stupid hair and the stupid way he'd look at her, like she was so special-

Stupid, Donna chastised herself.

"Well, I could," Rose was saying to him, picking up a pen from Kate's desk and fiddling with the cap. "But, did Kate tell you UNIT's been clamoring for one of us to come into HQ? Thought I might run over there for a bit… yeah, they said they've never seen the likes of that star-cruiser's shielding… of course they won't, Doctor, but you can't blame UNIT for trying to secure a back-up plan. Besides, if they know we've got the means to destroy their way home, don't you think those bookworms might be more willing to negotiate?"

A faint spluttering sound emanated from the tiny earpiece. "Sure I am," she went on with another grin for Donna, arms crossing. "M'not wasting my time trying to pronounce that gobbledygook you just said. Mine's perfect, I think, cos they love books and look like worms… yes they do, sort of. Oi! Listen, Doctor, I'm ringing off now- oh." She frowned, denting her chin with the pen's round bottom. "I dunno about that, I thought I really ought to go in to HQ...oh. Really? Alright, alright, yeah, you do make a good point. Yes, I promise I'll hurry. I've just got one thing to finish up- ten minutes, max. Love you too."

The pen hit the desk with a small clatter. "Well, looks like I'm going in," Rose announced, tossing the earbud back to Kate. "The Doctor thinks I might have better luck getting them to see things our way."

Donna straightened. "I'm going with you."

"You can't," was the immediate reply, and Donna knew Rose had been readying herself for this battle. "For two reasons. "One- the creatures we're dealing are powerful telepaths, and they've got no qualms about getting in your head. You can't even think straight around them if you're human."

"You're human," Donna pointed out.

"I'm a special case. Being married to the Doctor gives me certain advantages in that department. I'm protected. You won't be."

Her heartbeat quickened. "What about Reese? I thought you said she was alright?"

"She is," Rose and Kate assured simultaneously. "She and the others are grouped on the top floor in the computer lab," Kate explained. "As long as they stay there, out of the way, they're fine."

"But a couple hostages who've interfered," Rose added, "or tried to escape, they've been plagued with terrible hallucinations, and one's had their mind wiped. You can't risk that."

"Risk it? I've been practically promised it," Donna retorted. "And hey, aren't there soldiers in there with him? Human soldiers? I swear I saw two or three go inside during the news report."

"Second," Rose ticked off her fingers. "We all want your daughter, the other hostages, and the rest of humanity to escape this situation unscathed, yeah? So the Doctor needs to be at his best. That means he cannot find out about you right now, Donna, I'm sorry."

For a moment Donna felt she'd prefer to have them platonic and pining, over this frankly unreasonable level of marital overprotection. "Look, Rose, I get that it will be a shock for him, seeing me again. He'll be upset and worried and maybe even a bit emotional, I've seen it all before, and you certainly have too. He can handle it. It's hardly going to incapacitate him."

Though Rose's skeptical expression remained, her eyes softened. "This is going to be a big deal, Donna, I don't think you realise."

I really don't, Donna thought privately. "The only big deal I see is my own child in trouble. Could you just sit back and wait, if it was Suzy? I've got to help. I can help, as well as you can, it's not like I'll toddle in there and be useless! We've taken down flipping Daleks together, remember? Besides," she added coolly, glancing at Kate, "it's not like I need permission from either of you. Associates of the Doctor automatically get full clearance. And I know you've got other people of yours in there; you're protecting them somehow."

"Telepathic disruptors," Rose admitted, a hint of a smile playing at her mouth. "Little device, sticks behind your ear and protects your brain."

Donna beamed at her. "Oh, there we go, that's the spirit!"

"Well, you'll have to ask Kate if you can borrow hers. They're tricky to make, and we don't have any extras."

The winning smile was turned on Kate, who returned it, and promptly handed her a thin blue device, the size and shape of a penny. It had no adhesive, but when Donna put it behind her ear as instructed it stayed put, though it stung a bit. "Like a bee-sting," she complained.

"All right, Donna Noble." Rose smoothed down her oversized jumper. "Let's dream-team this thing. Go get your coat."

Donna saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

Necessary things gathered and goodbyes said, they were almost to the trailer's door when Rose abruptly halted and turned back. "Don't even think about it, Susan Jacqueline Tyler," she called out across the long space, pointing her finger in warning. "You're staying put. If you leave this trailer for even one second, I will know. Don't think I won't."

Slowly, Suzy eased back down onto the bed.

"I'll keep an eye on her," promised Kate.

As Donna and Rose stepped out into the early-evening, they found the military mayhem still going strong. Across the road and down, in a tall row of storefronts and residences, the library's top floor could be clearly seen above the chaos. Might Reese be at a window, watching? Impatience surged through Donna; she couldn't wait to get to her daughter, to enfold her in her arms. "It's gonna take forever to get through all this madness," she griped, following Rose. "Don't we need a pass or something?"

Rose shook her head and took hold of Donna's arm, weaving them swiftly around randomly parked jeeps, passing through groups of soldiers with a friendly smile, returning salutes left and right. The library's steps were barricaded by a metal fence, and Donna grinned at how its line of guards began to scurry like ants when they saw Rose coming, dragging the barrier apart to create a small opening. "I'm impressed," said Donna, as they ascended the short flight of steps alone. "We didn't even have to break stride. You've certainly got their respect, Mrs. Spaceman."

"It's the Doctor's fault." Rose rolled her eyes. "He won't cop to it, of course, but it's so obvious he did something. These poor people seem to feel they've got to give me the red carpet treatment, and it makes me crazy."

"Sounds like he hasn't changed much," commented Donna airily, as they came to the library's scuffed green door. "So what's the plan now, blondie? You want to run in first and tell him I'm here, or is it better if we both just-"

A hand clutched her wrist, and she blinked down at it. "Oh no, Donna." Rose sounded stricken. "I forgot, I didn't think."

Donna's gaze met Rose's, expectant and a little impatient. "Now what is it?"

"It's been nearly twenty years. Lots of things have happened. The Doctor has changed."

"Changed?" Donna stared at her. "You mean he's…"

Rose nodded. "Regenerated."

A knot swelled in Donna's throat. Her manic, spiky-haired best friend...gone? It was nearly impossible to imagine, confusing and awful, but god, she didn't have time to blubber over it now. "Well," she said briskly, managing to shoot Rose half a grin. "Please tell me he hasn't got any skinnier."

"No, no," Rose chuckled. "Just a bit… chinnier."

Donna had no clue what to make of that.

"Listen…" Rose fiddled with the door's old iron handle. "I know it'll be hard enough, having him be so different. And then, like I said before, he may react quite badly once he sees you. I need you to be prepared for that, okay? Please try to remember it's only because he loves you so much."

Nostrils flaring, Donna clenched her eyes shut. Here she was, trying to keep it together, what with kidnapped daughters and unknown aliens and a looming reunion with someone who used to be dear, but now she's probably not even going to recognise him, plus he's going to be 'angry', and on top of all of that she has to hear how much he sodding loves her? Her? "He will be fine," she replied, curtly. "I'm not that special."

Rose's grip on her wrist did not ease. "Donna. Did Suzy tell you she has a baby sister?"

White static filled up Donna's ears. Oh yes, Suzy had, but Donna had forgotten all about it. Chucked it to the back of her brain like meaningless trivia, a silly statement from a stranger. She was named after you. Probably.

With context, though, it meant too much. Two hot tears rolled down Donna's cheeks. "She said… Suzy said her sister was called after me. Donna. That's not true, is it?"

"Yes. Donna Amelia Tyler."

As she gazed down at her tear-blurred shoes, Donna almost wanted to protest. For as much as she'd liked to poke fun at him, take him down a peg when she could, Donna had always been very aware that the Doctor was quite an important man. Powerful, alien, the savior of millions, renowned throughout the universe. It was bad enough, having to hear that he'd missed her. Out of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of amazing friends he's had, why her? Why would he choose to name his own child after Donna?

"Is it because she's ginger?" she finally asked, voice quavering.

Rose let out a surprised laugh and pulled her into a hug. "Nope, though believe me, the Doctor is still hoping so hard for that. But right now, the peach fuzz she's got seems to be mostly blonde. We didn't call her after you because she looks like you, Donna, but because we love you. And we'd love for her to be like you."

Donna wiped her eyes. "Rose, you barely even know me."

"Well, I realise I only met you briefly, but in a way, you've been a constant in my life for years. The Doctor-Donna, remember? He was in your head, but you were also in his, just a bit. I feel like I know you incredibly well."

Still dabbing at tears, Donna smiled a little. "His gob and my lip, god. Dealing with that combo must've been a treat."

"Oh, it was." A creak, as Rose hauled the heavy door open, and Donna got a whiff of paper and ink. "C'mon. There's a private office just inside, the Doctor said to meet him-"

Her last word was lost, swallowed up by a heart-stopping scream from just beyond the door. Donna's gaze snapped to meet Rose's.

Then, identical grins stretched across both their faces.

"Oh," said Donna, as she and Rose rushed in. "I've missed this."


"Of course," said the Doctor. "If it's your commander's direct order, Daniel, of course you've got to follow it. Even though he's not here right now, and hasn't once laid eyes on this situation himself. Of course he knows better than me."

"I'm sorry, sir." Tall and impressive in his black military kit, Lieutenant Henderson stood in the middle of the children's room, looking like the answer to a what does not belong? puzzle, surrounded by cartoonish posters and games and picture books. "But he insists I join Sargeant Wilcox in observing the alien activity on the main floor. He wants a second set of eyes on the situation."

"I'm a second set of eyes. The best set of eyes."

"Yes, but…" Daniel snuck a look at the Doctor's makeshift radio equipment, strewn messily across the top of a bright yellow, undersized table. "You're busy with other things, sir."

"Right, well, only because the Blianwilgathworty are boring right now. Until they've finished with all those books -and that's hours away, mind- there won't be anything to see, not unless I can convince their queen to talk to me again. But at least they're quiet and predictable, which is far more than I can say for those idiot lads upstairs in the computer lab. Who now have zero eyes on them."

As if to prove his point, raucous young male laughter echoed from directly above. The Doctor turned his scowl on the ceiling.

The young soldier toed a polished boot against the colourfully-patterned carpet. "I've got to follow orders, sir."

"And in the meantime, I suppose we'll just hope and pray that your fellow humans won't do anything more to aggravate the scary naked monsters downstairs. One hostage in a vegetative state is plenty enough for me."

Without daring to reply (or salute him, for that matter), Lieutenant Henderson made his escape, boots clomping on the wooden stairs that led down to the main area of the library.

The foot-clomps coming from above were even louder and the Doctor huffed, stalking over to a window. Are you almost here? he whinged at Rose through their bond, trying and failing to spot her blonde head amongst the commotion outside. What's taking so long? I need you. My other help is useless.

You're lucky I was able to convince Kate that you didn't need lots more of the useless help.

Shifting a step to the left, the Doctor pressed his thumb to the loosened corner of a Peppa Pig and friends poster (such familiar faces all, these days), re-adhering it to the wall. Well then, my sanity and I thank you. Already he felt much calmer, just at having Rose's voice in his head. Suppose that means I owe you one, eh? he tacked on suggestively, grinning as he turned his back on Peppa. His wife never failed to pounce on such statements. He was quite eager to learn exactly how she would make him "pay up" later.

Those were debts he never reneged on.

Rose? he prodded a few seconds later, when she still hadn't answered.

M'almost there, Doctor, blimey but you're impatient today.

His anticipatory grin dropped into an full-on frown, as he suddenly felt quite neglected and put-out. Well, forgive me for missing you.

Her contrition instantly filled his head. M'sorry, love, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just… distracted.

With what? UNIT still arguing with you?

No, no. It's just, something unexpected came up. Something big.

What is it?

It took her a few moments to answer. Too complicated to explain like this. But you'll… you'll know everything in a minute. Can you possibly meet me without any other people around?

His curiosity surged to a ten out of ten, yet a sudden nervous stomach prevented him prodding her any further. How about in the office just inside the main entrance?

Alright, see you in a mo'.

The Doctor slumped back against a set of bookshelves, exhaling. A distracted Rose, walling him out of her thoughts, needing to tell him something face to face...hadn't they'd been down this path before?

Twice.

With a groan, he palmed his face. No, no no no, she couldn't possibly be pregnant again. Could she? Ever since DJ had been born they'd been so careful, he was sure. Well. Mostly sure-

An air-splitting shriek from the floor below interrupted his train of thought, and the Doctor was almost grateful for it as he dashed for the staircase.

Another scream, and then another, the sound of pure, shrill terror, and the Doctor's hearts beat fast as he leapt down the last three steps in one great bound. Skidding a little, he rounded the corner into the library's small lobby and nearly collided with soldiers Henderson and Bealy, who were attempting to wrangle the panic-stricken librarian, Mrs. Turner, into the stairwell.

"What in blazes is she doing down here, Daniel?!" he shouted over the poor woman's cries. "You said she was the one keeping everybody else in line!"

Henderson didn't answer, too busy being pelted by the librarian's flailing arms. Despite being roughly twice their age and half their size, Mrs Turner was putting up an impressive fight against the two men, and screaming herself almost hoarse. Swamped with sympathy, the Doctor set his jaw and made a quick, hard choice, then strode over to press two fingers to her right temple.

Loose tendrils of grey hair fell over her face as she slumped in Lt. Henderson's arms, eyelids fluttering closed. Sudden silence rang in the Doctor's ears.

"I don't like having to do that," he said coldly, to Henderson and Bealy's startled faces. "But at least she's no longer hallucinating. Now, will one of you please explain why this poor woman is not up in the computer lab where she's safe?"

"I don't know, sir, I'm sorry-"

Fed up, the Doctor flung his hands out. "It's been five minutes, Daniel! You left those civilians on their own and that's all it took, five bloody minutes for all hell to break loose. Both of you, give over your comms. From this point forward, I'm the only person giving orders around here."

"You sure about that?" called a voice- the most delightful voice in the universe. Spirits instantly lifting, the Doctor turned to look and there she was- his Rose, waggling her fingers in greeting from across the room. Donna hovered behind her, looking pensive.

"Took you long enough," he replied, all fond adoration, before rounding on the soldiers again. "You two. Get Mrs Turner back upstairs before she wakes up. Make sure she's comfortable. And then stay up there; I want you both supervising those civilians. My wife and I are about to resume negotiations with the Blianwilgathworty, and we don't need any more distractions, you hear?"

Henderson nodded, sliding an arm under the limp librarian's knees in order to carry her. But Bealy scratched his chin, hesitant. "But...who will stand guard, and prevent the aliens from escaping the building?" he asked.

The Doctor gestured left with his thumb. "I've got Donna here now. She's brilliant, she'll sort 'em. Wouldn't be surprised if she shouts them right off the planet-"

As his own words registered the Doctor's breath caught, his bones and flesh turning to ice. Five eternal seconds passed, and then his eyes regained mobility, making a slow, reluctant sideways shift. Squeezing shut at the barest glimpse of red hair like flames.

Warm, familiar fingers threaded with his. "Doctor," said Rose quietly. "It's alright."

He shook his head with vigor, even as he allowed his tightly-clenched eyes to slowly slit open.

A blurred figure came into focus, and the Doctor gasped again. Donna. It was Donna, his Donna -ginger locks, porcelain skin, kind eyes- standing right here in front of him, as mute as he was, reciprocating his dumbfounded stare.

Ever so slowly, the Doctor lifted his hand into the air, stretched out one experimental finger. Poked it into the center of her forehead.

She was warm, fleshy.

Annoyed. "Oi!"

"No," said the Doctor, cringing in horror. "Oh no. I'm hallucinating."

"Doctor-"

Rose looked startled as he spun to face her. "Rose, I'm hallucinating," he repeated in a panicked undertone, grabbing her just above her elbows. "It's those naked pink buggers in the other room, they've somehow got into my head!" Jerking his chin to the left, he bid her to look, carefully avoiding doing so himself. "I see her right there," he went on, hearts still pounding like mad. "She's right next to me. I see Donna!"

As Rose opened her mouth to answer, a familiar voice cut in, clear and loud and close. "That's right, and I see a dumbo in a blinking bow-tie!"

Gaze snapping her way, the Doctor was astonished to find his old friend glaring fire at him, her finger pointed directly at his face. "You know, at first I wasn't so sure it was you either, Spaceman! But there's nobody else who could be so completely bonkers!"