Journey's End

The light expanding from the Doctor was blinding, even with eyes pressed closed. Any moment a new Doctor would stand in place at the console, it seemed.

Until Rose whimpered from the floor. Then suddenly, it was as though the Doctor threw the light from his body toward a sealed cylinder off to the side of the console room. The container that held both his severed hand from the Sycorax invasion, and Rose's hand that the Master had cut off. The Doctor, unchanged from his previous appearance, knelt next to Rose as she opened her eyes.

"Bleedin' Daleks," she groaned as the Doctor helped her to sit up, ignoring the incredulous looks he was getting. "And stopping that is gonna come back and bite ya if you're not careful."

"I'll risk it," he replied blithely, helping her stand. "Now, then. Where were we?"

He began adjusting the console while Jenny walked to the container. Rose watched her daughter in bemusement while the others stared at the Doctor like the madman he was.

"What the…?" Jack questioned, completely taken aback.

"Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I?" the Doctor explained as though it were the most natural thing in the universe. He gestured to the hands, where Jenny was patting the glass and murmuring. "Look at me! So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle - namely, my hand. My hand, there. My handy spare hand holding onto Rose's."

Everyone burst out talking at once, except Rose who leaned against the console, staring up at the time rotor with a pensive expression.

"Want to share what's in that gorgeous head of yours?" Jack asked, hip checking her gently.

"Can't do that," she said softly. "Even if I want to. This is going to be bad."

Jack frowned. "What is?"

She didn't answer, merely closed her eyes and dropped her head as the lights went out in the TARDIS. Donna and Jenny cried out, but the others turned to the Doctor out of habit.

"They've got us," he told them all. "Power's gone... some kind of chronon loop!"

The seven people lurched to their side as the TARDIS tilted.

"What's got us?!" Donna shouted.

It was Jack who answered her. "There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets. They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination."

All was silent for a few moments, then Donna spoke again. "You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?"

the Doctor began shaking his head, then jerked his head around. "Micky! You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe - you've seen the future, what was it?"

The young man shrugged. "Don't exactly know, boss. We were just calling it the darkness."

"The stars were going out," Donna remembered.

Rose nodded. "I remember that too. One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying."

Mickey sighed. "We built this machine, called it the Dimension Cannon. Figured if everything was falling apart, I had to risk coming to find you."

Jenny walked over to his side and looked up at him. "I saw you. You were trying to find us."

He grinned down at her. "You look a lot like your mum, kid. I reckoned I was missing what I was aiming for, because I was trying to target the two o' you and kept seeing her. It got harder as the different dimensions started to collapse…" He looked up, his expression turning grim as he met their eyes. "It's bad. The whole of reality, even the Void was dead. Something is... destroying everything."

Donna was thinking, and tapped on Lee's arm while working through what Mickey was saying. Lee was focused on her as soon as she started; it being a habit he remembered her doing while they thought they were married.

"In that parallel world…" she mused, "...you said something about me."

Rose breathed in, eyes alight. "Yes! Mickey's hopper-"

"Aw, come on babe," the darker man whined almost reflexively. "It's called the dimension cannon."

She smirked at her oldest friend. "Mickey's cannon and my sonic pen could both measure the timelines, and every fluctuation seemed to converge on you."

Donna blinked. Then she frowned. Then she began shaking her head in utter disbelief. "But why me? I mean... what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!"

Donna couldn't see the six looks of disbelief directed at her, having dropped her head in embarrassment. It absolutely confounded the other within the TARDIS how she could think of herself as "just" anything. Donna had faced aliens that wanted to destroy the human race, and humans that cared even less for their fellow man, and never backed down despite fear and inexperience. She travelled with two people who had spent years (nearly a millenia in the case of the Doctor) and had, on occasion, reminded them that they were still part of the universe and subject to the problems therein.

Suddenly the computer at the console beeped, drawing their attention.

"The Dalek Crucible," the Doctor intoned grimly. "All aboard…"

The console room shook violently as they landed with a crash.

"Doctor!" the furious voice of a Dalek shouted at the TARDIS "You will step forth with the Abomination or die!"

The Time Lord looked nervous as he watched the door. "We'll have to go out. 'Cos if we don't, they'll get in."

Mickey and Jack looked surprised and turned to Rose to verify the statement. She looked to be in a great amount of pain as she nodded.

"Thought you said nothing could get into the TARDIS," Mickey protested.

Jack moved determinedly to the storage area under the grating, about to open it. "You've got extrapolator shielding."

"Last few times we were against the Daleks, they were barely a threat, just hybrids living off'a scraps," Rose said quietly, kissing Jenny's head.

Her husband nodded and picked their daughter up, holding her protectively close. "This is a fully fledged Dalek Empire... at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything."

Seeing the pair so resigned caused the fear in the others to spike.

"Right now, that wooden door... is just wood," the Doctor sighed.

Rose shook her head at Jack as he opened his mouth again. "It's no good, Jack. Mickey's hopper needs more time and your manipulator went down with the power. We don't have any options left."

The blonde woman felt a tug on her consciousness and glanced at Donna, who was staring at the rotor with a very distracted look. Her lips pressed together in a firm line.

"Right then. All of us together... yeah," the Doctor said, worried about them all, but not seeing any way to protect his loved ones.

They all moved to the door, and just before opening it he noticed that Rose wasn't at his side as per usual. He glanced up to see her taking the hand of a very distracted Donna.

"Rose? Donna?" he asked, baffled.

"Right behind ya," Rose assured him, her eyes never leaving those of their companion.

He didn't like it, but he nodded and drew a deep breath.

"Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters!"

The Time Lord gave a slight laugh. "It's been an honour, it really has…" he began, only to be interrupted by his wife.

"No sad goodbyes, yeah?" she called to him softly. "Those are terrible last words."

He shook his head, giving her a teasing grin, but it had nowhere the wattage it normally held. One more deep breath and he opened the door, walking out surrounded by people he considered family.

Rose and Donna were slightly behind the rest of the group, moving slowly as the Daleks began chanting.

"Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!"

It was the angriest broken record any of them had ever heard, broken only when the Supreme Dalek moved forward and began speaking. "Behold, Doctor. Behold the might of the true Dalek Race."

Donna glanced back at the time rotor, her brow furrowed as though she could hear something none of the others heard. Rose watched her carefully.

The Doctor realised Rose and Donna were still inside the ship and turned to call to her, but the door suddenly slammed shut.

Lee immediately flew at the door, trying to open it. "Donna? D-donna!"

The Doctor looked at the Supreme Dalek, "What have you done? Open that door!"

"This is not of Dalek origin," the alien leader screamed. "The Abomination is still within the TARDIS. You will bring her out at once!"

Mickey was now working with Lee, both of them trying to ram the door and dislodge it.

"Clearly I can't," the doctor replied scathingly. "Release the TARDIS so the door can open."

"This is Time Lord treachery!"

"Me?! The door just closed on its own!"

"Daddy, what's happening?" Jenny asked, tears coming to her eyes as she struggled to cope with her fear.

"If she will not exit, then she and the TARDIS are weapons that will be destroyed together!"

Before anyone of them had even a moment to comprehend the statement, the floor beneath the ship opened and the blue box fell through, the men held back as they all shouted in despair.

"What're you doing?! Bring it back!" the Doctor cried, allowing Jenny to slip from his arms as he stared after his beloved ship and the two women still inside. Wildly, he tore at his hair, "What've you done?! Where's it going?"

The Supreme Dalek sounded smug as it answered, "The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino Energy. The TARDIS will be deposited into the core."

"But you can't, you've taken the defences down. It'll be torn apart!"

Inside the TARDIS, Donna had forgotten what distracted her in the first place as she held to the railing to keep from being slammed around. She screamed, looking for Rose, only to find her fallen to the floor, slammed into the struts and console, tossed about like a rag doll.

Above them, the Doctor was shaking in fury as he tried not to think of what it would do to Rose to feel the TARDIS torn apart as she awaited her own demise. "My Rose and Donna are both in there, you can't do this!"

"Bring Donna back!" Lee growled, without a single stutter.

"The females and the TARDIS will perish together! Observe."

Above their heads, a screen projected the TARDIS, slowly sinking into the energy at the heart of the Crucible. The four men watched in abject horror as they could do nothing to stop it. Jenny seemed strangely calm, and the Doctor thought to himself that she didn't yet understand what was happening.

"The last child of Gallifrey is powerless," the Supreme Dalek taunted.

The Doctor had tears pouring down his cheeks as he began pleading for his wife and friend. "Please. I'm begging you, I'll do anything! Put me in their place! You can do anything to me, I don't care, just get them out of there!"

Donna had crawled from her place to Rose's side, trying to wake her friend and a strange glow caught her eye. She looked up to see the container with the hands of Rose and the Doctor giving off the same kind of light the Doctor had after being shot, and that she sometimes saw in Rose's eyes when something remarkable was about to happen. Mesmerised, she reached toward it, knowing somehow that she was meant to touch it. As her hand made contact with the glass, the warm energy flowed around her and through her as she began to shake.

The jar exploded and Donna was knocked backward. She shook her head and watched as the hands fell to the grating and seemed to pulse and grow, the golden energy spreading from the hands into the shape of a man… no, it wasn't large enough to be a man.

As the shape became fully formed, a boy, who looked roughly ten years old, sat up and looked at her.

"Who are you?" Donna blurted.

He rolled his shoulders and looked down. "Am I… a child?"

"Yes, and you're starkers," Rose groaned, pushing herself to her hands and knees. "Go put on some clothes, while I move the TARDIS."

The red haired woman shook her head, but moved to help her. "You're not even surprised, blondie," she accused.

Rose gave her a wan smile. "No, I'm not. But I've already met my son on a few occasions."

"Son?!" Donna didn't know why she felt surprised. She'd been there when Jenny was created, after all.

"Later, Donna," she said softly. "Let's try not to die right now, yeah?"

The Doctor had no idea what was happening inside the ship, all he knew was that the most important thing in the universe to him was about to be destroyed… along with their amazing home, and his little girl was going to have to witness it. He felt her press against his side.

"Total TARDIS destruction in ten rels!" the daleks announced, beginning a countdown. "Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!"

Jenny looked up. "Mum and Aunt Donna will be okay."

He closed his eyes as he bent to wrap his arms around her. "Of course they will..."

"Four! Three! Two! One!"

As the TARDIS sank out of sight, the Supreme Dalek taunted the Doctor further. "The TARDIS has been destroyed. Now, tell me, Doctor... what do you feel? Anger? Sorrow? Despair?"

The Time Lord opened his eyes, the darkness that only Rose had ever been able to calm plainly visible as he whispered bitterly, "Yeah."

He glanced back at his friends, the three men all looking both heartbroken and furious with their captors.

"Then, if emotions are so important, surely we have enhanced you."

Jack snarled out, "Yeah? Feel this!" as he turned and shot at the dalek leader.

The bullets bounced away harmlessly, as the detestable creature fired back with the familiar scream. "Exterminate!"

With a cry, Jack fell lifelessly to the floor as the two other men shouted angrily. The Doctor quieted them with a look, scooping his daughter up and shielding her from looking at the man. Mickey, having known the Captain for years, flexed his hands into fists, trying to avoid the urge to strike out at the hateful beings.

"I know, Mickey," the Doctor nodded. "But leave him, it's the best we can do just now."

"Escort them to the Vault," the Supreme Dalek insisted, turning to head through the ship first. "They are the playthings of Davros, now."

The other men were pushed along, but the Doctor looked back at Jack, catching the wink from the "dead" man. He could only hope that the faith he had always tried to have in Rose would prove as reliable as the permanence of the immortal man.

On board the TARDIS, which was no longer in the heart of the Crucible, Rose looked over the boy who was, appearance-wise, a miniature of the Doctor in his present face.

"Well, as far as I can see, you're stable. Do you feel alright?" she asked as she rubbed her temple absently.

"I feel fantastic," the boy admitted, although he frowned at her. "Are you feeling alright… Mum...? Does your head hurt?"

Rose smiled softly and leaned forward to kiss the boy's forehead. "I'm fine, love. TARDIS will finish mending in a bit and we'll be off to save your dad and sister. Donna, that energy zapped you, also. How are you feeling?"

Donna shook her head, and shuddered. "Okay, I know Jenny came from a machine - a progeneration accelerator - but do you always have to worry about bits of him falling off and growing a new one?!"

The boy shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no, I'm unique, Aunt Donna. Never been another like me! Because all that regeneration energy went into those hands - and I became so very hand-some… because then you touched it- WHAM! ...instantaneous biological metacrisis. I grew... out of you. Them and you, I mean. Still, could be worse."

"Oi! Watch it, spaceboy," the ginger woman snapped.

The mini Doctor echoed her instantaneously, "Oi! Watch it, Earth-girl."

Rose waved her hands as the two of them stared at each other with matching shocked expressions.

"Shut it, both of you. We're trying to stay off the radar right now, and you two shouting loud enough to be heard on Clom!"

Donna pursed her lips, silent mostly from the embarrassment of having been reprimanded for arguing with a child. As she stood there quietly, she noticed something was happening in her mind.

Rose piloted the ship with her eyes closed. Despite having practiced rather often, she still couldn't pilot the magnificent ship, and was relying on her connection with the old girl to find the right buttons, knobs, and levers. The boy moved near her and watched with interest.

"You'd think I'd have been adult, both you and Dad were adults when those hands were collected. Why do you think I'm just a kid?"

"Bad Wolf," Rose answered absently. "And a bit of Donna."

"So, I'm the Bad Wolf incident in time and space that you've been expecting, and the moment of my creation rippled back to Aunt Donna as the trigger? Nifty."

"Almost," the blonde nodded, her attention still on her task.

"But why me?" Donna asked faintly.

"Because you're special," the other two people answered immediately.

The redhead shook her head, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "Oh, I keep telling you: I'm not."

The boy smiled at her. "Of course you are, Aunt Donna! Just because you can't see it, doesn't make it less true. I know you put up such a big front, all the time - the attitude, the lip - because you think you're not worth it… but you really, really are."

"Stop it," the woman said, shaking her head.

"The timelines were always drawing you here," he told her with a fond smile. "You and my parents. Everything you did, and that they did, I know it because they knew it. You were important, and you are still important, because your job isn't done yet."

"What else could I possibly do?" she asked, a bit desperately.

Rose opened her eyes, and Donna wasn't surprised to see her eyes glowing the familiar warm gold. "Donna Noble, your life will never be ordinary again. Are you ready?"

She shivered gently at the weight in her friend's voice. Her whole life had been just missing the big events, or being just outside the spheres of social influence, but she could still feel the importance of what was happening here. "Ready for what?"

"Are you ready?" The voice asking wasn't that of Rose Tyler, or even the dual voice that seemed to indicate Rose was the conduit for a much larger force. It was a voice of eternity, coming together in a ringing tone that seemed to echo within the poor woman who had never thought she might be important enough to even get a promotion.

The Doctor stood in a holding cell, his daughter bravely standing in a cell right next to him, all the pride and programming coming to bear in her posture and expression as she glared at Davros. He envied her the ignorance as to the maliciousness this creature could exhibit.

"Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained," the Dalek creator snarled triumphantly. "Even a small one can be dangerous."

The Doctor smirked. "Scared of me? Or better yet, frightened of a little girl."

"He ought to be," Jenny grinned, a rather feral look in her eyes.

Davros continued as though neither had spoken. "It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long-"

The Time Lord shook his head and turned just enough to the side to be giving him the 'cold shoulder' as he snapped, "No, no, no, no, no. We're not doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, 'cos the Supreme Dalek said 'vault', yeah?" A doleful eye swept the room. "As in, dungeon. Cellar. Prison. You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement, like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

The corrupted leader interrupted him with an angry assertion. "We have... an arrangement."

The laugh that escaped was harsh and mocking as he said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've got the word. You're the Dalek's pet!"

Davros moved to speak to Jenny. "Such a good example he sets for you, child. But I was promised that today I would see the Doctor's family, complete."

Any amusement in the Doctor turned into cold anger. "Leave her alone."

"She is mine. To do as I please."

The girl's eyes narrowed as her lips curled back in disgust. "Mum says no one owns a person."

"You know nothing of this, child," Davros dismissed her. "Yet, you must be here. It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophesies of Dalek Caan."

He pressed a button on his control panel, and a light began to shine down onto an open Dalek casing, where the small, tentacled creature sat, weakly flaily.

"So cold and dark. Fire is coming... the endless flames…"

Behind them, Mickey and Lee stood, furiously expressionless. Neither understood how the Doctor was continuing on as though he hadn't lost such precious beings, but they trusted him enough to take their cues from him.

Jenny, however, had a bit too much of her mother in her to stand silently - well, to be honest, she likely got that from both parents. "Ew! Now I know why mum won't eat calamari."

"Dalek Caan is the last of the Cult of Skaro," the Doctor informed her. "But it flew into the Time War, unprotected."

"Caan did more than that." Davros smiled. "He saw Time. Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind. And... he saw you. The Doctor and his family."

The Doctor glanced back at Mickey and Lee, giving them a slight nod. Both men felt hopeful, as the Dalek hadn't seen all of the Doctor's family, and it meant the ladies had a chance of being okay.

Caan screamed his prophecies to his fellow Daleks, "This I have foreseen in the wild and the wind. The Doctor will be here, as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious Children of Time! The completion of the Pack! The Abomination's howl!"

There was a tremble of rage that shot through the Doctor at this mention of his beloved wife by their term. "Was it you, Caan? Why did the TARDIS door close? Tell me!"

The Dalek progenitor grinned with delight. "Oh, that's it! The end, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your progeny... show her your true self. Dalek Caan has promised me that, too."

"I have seen it. At the time of ending, the Doctor's soul will be revealed. The Abomination will leave this world!"

One of his fists crashed into the barrier around him. "What does that mean?"

"We will discover it together... our final journey. Because the ending approaches. The testing begins," Davros gloated and turned away.

"Testing of what?" Jenny asked, beating her father into saying it.

"The Reality Bomb."

The voice of the Supreme Dalek was broadcast all throughout the Crucible, counting down.

"Behold... the apotheosis of my genius," Davros bragged, flipping on a screen that shows a group of people and machinery.

The countdown ended, and the Supreme Dalek screamed, "Activate planetary alignment field!"

In the TARDIS, everything shook for a moment.

"Mum! What was that?" the boy cried out.

"The planetary alignment has been activated," Bad Wolf answered. "Time runs short."

Donna frowned, suddenly remembering how this power seemed to drain Rose. "Bad Wolf, yeah? You need to let Rose go."

"Rose Tyler is needed to prevent destruction. She will be released when she is no longer necessary."

The redhead shook her head. "No, you'll end up tearing her apart."

"She is necessary."

The entity dismissed the conversation, and Donna bit her lip, worried over the whole situation.

"But that's Z-Neutrino Energy. Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single stream. No. Davros. Davros, you can't! You CAN'T! NO!" The Time Lord tried with everything in him to burst out of the containment field that surrounded him.

To no avail, the people on the screen were suddenly… not. They vanished into the ether as surely as though they had never been there.

"Test completed,"was announced.

"Where'd the people go?" Jenny asked, although she was fairly sure she already knew.

"Electrical energy, young Miss Tyler," Davros grinned maniacally. "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality Bomb cancels it out - structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."

"The stars going out…?" Mickey asked.

"The twenty-seven planets... they become one vast transmitter," the Doctor glowered. "Blasting that wavelength…"

"Across the entire universe," Davros nodded gleefully. "Never stopping. Never faltering. Never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

The voice of the Supreme Dalek rang through the ship again. "Prepare for universal detonation! The fleet will gather at the Crucible! All Daleks will return to shelter from the cataclysm! We will become the only life-forms in existence!"

Rose closed her eyes again, with a small sigh. "The Bad Wolf is needed elsewhere and else-when, she will return."

"Wait!" Donna cried.

"Trust yourself, Donna Noble."

The golden form disappeared from the TARDIS, leaving Donna and the boy alone. He began pulling things from the storage area under the grating and putting them together.

"What are you doing?" she asked, shouting in her confusion.

He grinned at her. "I'm making a Z-Neutrino biological inversion catalyser!"

"Yeah. Earth-girl, remember?" she said.

He nodded. "So the Daleks are made by Davros, creepy guy in the hoverchair. But I could use this to lock the transmission of the space-eater beam onto Mr. Ugly and send it through all the Daleks because they share his DNA!"

Donna nodded. "So instead of destroying everything else, it destroys the Daleks?"

"You got it in one!"

The redhead and the boy grinned at each other.

Inside the Crucible, a transmission came across the screens, it was Martha, dressed in black, with a grim, determined expression.

"This is Martha Jones representing the Unified Intelligence Taskforce on behalf of the Human Race. Can you hear me? This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat: can you hear me?"

"Aunt Martha!" Jenny gasped.

"Put me through!" the Doctor cried out.

The Dalek creator gave him a cold and triumphant smile. "It begins as Dalek Caan foretold."

"The Abomination roams the worlds and the Children of Time gather!"

"Put me through!"

"Doctor!" Martha exclaimed once she saw him on her screen. "I'm sorry. I had to."

"But the Doctor is powerless - my prisoner. State your intent," Davros stated imperiously.

She held up a key. "I've got the Osterhagen Key. Leave this planet and its people alone, or I'll use it."

Jenny scowled. "What's it do?"

The black woman breathed slowly , forcing her voice to stay calm and emotionless. "There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."

The Doctor gasped, horrified at the very thought. "What? Who invented that?! Well - someone called Osterhagen, I suppose - but Martha, are you insane?!"

She shook her head, and explained further. "The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the Human Race is so great, so without hope... that this becomes the final option.

The Doctor's voice was flat, and cold. "That's NEVER an option."

Anyone could see that her duty was killing her, but Martha was strong and pressed on. "Don't argue with me, Doctor. 'Cos there's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something, but what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"

"She's good!"Mickey whistled softly.

"Who are these people? Doctor, Jenny, where's Rose?"

The Time Lord swallowed thickly and dropped his head, remembering the last he'd seen of his precious girl and hoping there was a chance she was still coming back.

Another transmission began, catching them off guard. Jack appeared onscreen, causing Mickey and Lee to gasp in surprise. The Doctor, however, didn't so much as bat an eye. He was more interested in Jackie, Pete and Sarah Jane than the captain.

"Captain Jack Harkness calling all Dalek boys and girls! Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off," Jack announced cheerfully, holding onto a warp star that had been hardwired into the ship.

"He's alive!" Lee said in surprise.

Mickey shook his head, "Never mind Captain Cheesecake, that's Rose's parents there with Sara Jane!"

Jenny stared at her grandparents, taking in their faces for the first time. "Mum wouldn't want me to mention how much she resembles Grandma Jackie, would she?"

"Grandma?!" Jackie squawked, goggling the girl even as Jack spoke over her.

"I've got a warp star wired into the mainframe," he warned the Daleks, his face serious with the threat. "I break the shell... the entire Crucible goes up."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, his eyes wild as he tried to think through all the things that could happen with the others and then glanced down at his daughter before speaking in exasperation, "You can't! Where did you get a Warp Star?!"

Sarah Jane's chin lifted in defiance. "From me. We had no choice, we saw what happened to the prisoners."

"Impossible. That face... after all these years."

Davros would have looked surprised, Jenny thought, if he was capable of any emotion other than hate. She didn't understand everything that was going on, but from what she could gather, her dad knew all the people talking on the screens, and the creature known as Davros. The people were trying to make the Daleks stop doing what they were doing - which seemed to be destroying everything. Jenny looked around, feeling it would get worse before it got better.

Sarah Jane's breath hitched as she saw the Dalek progenitor. Her voice was a furious spike of ice, even in a whisper, "Davros. That's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?

The creature (for he was no man now) sounded positively gleeful, though his unchanging face showed nothing. "Oh, this is meant to be. The Circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."

She practically spit venomously at him, "And I've learned how to fight since then. You let the Doctor and his family go or this Warp Star - it gets opened!"

The Doctor winced at her threat, looking down at Jenny with unfathomable sadness. She gazed back up at him, her young heart breaking at seeing him so mournful.

"It's going to work out, Dad," she assured him with a small image of her mother's smile.

"You can't know that, Jenny," he chided her softly. "You don't know what I've done for this to happen."

She ignored the continued threats around them. "But I do know. Mum told me it would be alright. We can always trust her, yeah?"

He gave her a ghost of a smile, trying to be strong for her sake. His beloved wife was gone now, along with the ship that was more his best friend, and the woman who had practically become a sister to him; and to top it off, the companions he had travelled with had all tried to stop the Daleks with deplorable options that threatened the whole of Earth and all the brilliant species found there. He had made them into something he had always fought against - ruined their lives, obviously. He was pulled out of his tortured mind by the insane cackling of Dalek Caan.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed! See him! See the heart of him!"

Davros dug the insult deeper, twisting it to cause even more pain, "The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor: you take ordinary people and you fashion THEM into weapons. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

"Shut up you nasty, crazy bag of bones!" Jenny shouted at the man in the chair. "They're all just trying to help!"

"Already, I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor," Davros continued, ignoring the little girl. "The Earth woman who fell opening the subwave network."

"Who was that?" the Doctor asked, jerking his head up to look around.

"Harriet Jones," Jack replied sadly over the screen. "All we saw was a flash of light after the Dalek's traced the subwave call to her."

"How many more? Just think. How many have died in your name?" the skeletal madman taunted.

All the deaths that had occurred around him began to play back through his mind, creating a wave of disgust and self hatred with which the Time Lord was far too familiar.

Davros had no sympathy for his self worth, and continued to prod him. "The Doctor... the man who keeps running, never looking back, because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you... yourself."

There was no answer from the captive Doctor. Really, what could he say? Even the only one who ever offered him absolution had been destroyed because of his actions.

"Enough. Engage defence zero-five," the Supreme Dalek screamed over the comms.

"Transmat engaged!" an underling cried out.

The white light of a transmat beam filled the room, depositing Jack, Sarah Jane, Jackie, Pete, and Martha in the floor just in front of Mickey and Lee. The kneeling men reached out to help the newly caught prisoners, but the Daleks advanced.

"Don't move! All of you! Stay still!" the Doctor exclaimed in a sudden panic.

"Guard them! On your knees, all of you. Surrender!" Davros commanded imperiously.

"Do as he says," the Time Lord murmured softly, clearly on the verge of giving up.

The humans knelt, their hands behind their heads and they gazed at their captors balefully, clearly wanting to do anything else.

Davros nearly crowed, "The final prophesy is in place. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek... the time has come! Now…" He pointed upwards in a euphoric guise. "Detonate the Reality Bomb!"

The sound of movement filled the air, and the Supreme Dalek's orders echoed around them. "Activate planetary alignment field!"

The shimmer of the aligning planets would have been gorgeous if not for the disaster toward which they raced.

"Universal reality detonation in two-hundred rels!"

The Doctor thrust a hand into his hair with abject terror and desperation. "You can't, Davros! Just listen to me! Just STOP!"

A new sound began to fill the air, a familiar sound that brought a surge of wild hope to them all. Well, those who weren't Dalek felt hope. Davros sneered at the sound.

"Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing! And no-one!" he screamed defiantly as the beautiful blue box materialised.

Dalek Caan giggled maniacally as the TARDIS became solid and the door opened, light spilling out. A boy burst forth, pointing a device straight at Davros, who merely pointed at him and zapped the boy with electricity, which knocked him back and off his feet."

Donna came speeding out, and scooped up the machine. "What did you say it was supposed to do?" she asked the child, not getting an answer before being struck with a similar electrifying bolt.

"Donna!" several voices shouted.

Lee started to get to his feet, but Mickey held him back. "Not yet, mate!"

Davros then aimed his lightning at the device, taking a deep satisfaction at the small explosion that accompanied its destruction. "I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor. They are pathetic."

A countdown began over the comms, but there was a golden light that began to grow just in front of the TARDIS that neatly occupied the attention of all within the room. Somehow, the Doctor knew exactly what it was.

"Rose," he breathed in a relief that was absolutely profound in its depth.

"Nothing can stop me!"Davros screamed, much like a toddler pitching a fit.

"You are wrong, Davros," the dual voice of Bad Wolf replied blandly, her form stepping out of the light. "And you will soon see that for yourself."

Dalek Caan raised two tentacles in a semblance of praise. "The Golden Wolf howls across the worlds!"

"Five... four... three... two... one…" the countdown drew to a close, but everything connected to their weapon shut down just when it should have surged up.

Donna had stood, and when they all turned to look at her, she was at a control panel, flipping switches and pushing buttons with uncharacteristic boldness. "Oh... closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops using an internalised synchronous back-feed reversal loop! That button there!"

"System in shutdown!" a Dalek voice screamed out.

Rose blinked her golden eyes with a soft smile, slowly raising one hand, and the holding cells shut off as though they had never held her husband or daughter at all.

The boy sat on the floor at the moment, shaking his head. "Mum, that kinda stung."

Rose nodded. "I imagine it did," she replied in a voice much more akin to her regular tone. "I told you to be careful, didn't I?"

The grin he shot up at her, caused the Doctor to gape in shock. That was HIS smile! Who was this child?! And what had happened to Donna? She hadn't been able to do that sort of thing before their separation.

"Donna, you can't even change a plug!" he exclaimed, choosing the easier problem to address.

The redhead grinned mischievously at him. "Do you wanna bet, Time Boy?"

"You will suffer for this!" Davros shouted at them.

Rose ignored the madman, as one would ignore a child throwing a tantrum and approached her husband and daughter, leading the boy. "Were you hurt?" she asked him, that golden glow receding, but not fading completely.

"I'm fine," the Time Lord murmured, taking her into his embrace.

Donna caught the movement of Davros and resolutely flipped a switch, electrocuting him before he could attack the reuniting couple. "Oh...! Bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion," she taunted him over his shrieks.

"Exterminate her!" Davros demanded breathlessly of the Daleks surrounding them.

As the vicious creatures turned to face the source of their creator's ire, Donna merely pressed a few buttons, and flipped a couple of switches. The Daleks seemed to lose power, like a wind up toy on it's last lurches of movement. When the blasters drooped, the rest of the captive humans got to their feet.

"Weapons non-functional!" the Daleks announced.

A small, sarcastic laugh escaped Donna. "What? Macrotransmission of a K-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix?"

The captives rushed to join them, Lee kissing Donna's cheek with a smile of his own. "I kn-new you were brillant, D-d-d-...love," he murmured. "But h- but - but how…?"

"Part Time Lord, part human," the boy answered. "Kinda like me… probably because of me."

"And who are you?" the Doctor asked. "Rose?"

"That's a bit more complicated," Donna said, "biological metacrisis, the hands."

"The Doctor-Donna... just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming! The Doctor-Donna," the boy nodded.

"Get over here and help me!" Donna ordered the Doctor with a smile. "I got the Vault sealed already."

The Doctor rushed to help her as Jackie moved to hug her daughter. "Oh sweetheart! You're okay!"

"Stop them! Get them away from the controls!" Davros shouted ineffectually.

"And... spin," Donna smirked, flipping a switch as the Daleks began twirling on the spot.

"Of course I'm okay, Mum," Rose smiled, hugging her mum quickly. "But we don't really have time for a chat just now."

The Doctor and Donna kept working the controls, chatting between themselves while Rose began guiding the humans into the TARDIS.

The two children were grinning at each other, as though they already knew each other, although with the bit of Rose in them, that wasn't an unreasonable thought.

"Jack, get the Old Girl ready to fly, please," Rose directed with a degree of authority that neither Jackie nor Mickey had ever seen in her before. "Sarah Jane, if you put in the coordinates of your house on that screen, we could pull in Luke so you know he's safe until we finish everything."

As her friend moved off to do just that, the two children moved to Rose.

"Mum," Jenny asked. "Are you still channeling Bad Wolf?"

With a wan smile, Rose touched a palm to both children's cheek. "Not for much longer," she promised them. "The task is nearly complete."

"We've got twenty-seven planets to send home. Activate magnetron," They heard Donna directing the Doctor from outside the TARDIS. Rose turned to join the two when Mickey put a hand on her arm.

"Babe, I'm sure they're good," he said seriously to her.

The blonde woman shook her head. "You don't know what's going to happen. I can't leave this to them, much as I wanna. This is part of the job I accepted when I became Bad Wolf."

Jack stepped up to Mickey. "Trust me, Mick. She won't listen. She didn't before they were married, she isn't gonna now."

"Married?" Mickey, Jackie, and Pete asked together as Rose slipped back out the door.

She saw the Doctor and Donna, gleefully naming the planets as they directed them back to their proper place and the Daleks and their creator raged pointlessly behind them.

Davros wailed, "But you promised me, Dalek Caan. Why did you not forsee this?"

The mad Dalek giggled, waving his tentacles. Rose stepped between the Daleks and the pair at the controls.

"He did see this Davros. He saw this exact scenario, because he met Bad Wolf and was changed by the meeting."

"This would always have happened," Caan assured them. "I merely helped."

Davros stared at Caan in horror. "You... betrayed the Daleks?"

The so-called prophet faced his originator in fury, screaming in rebellion, "I SAW the Daleks. What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed 'no more'."

There was a brief flash as the Supreme Dalek appeared in the sealed room.

"Davros, you have betrayed us," it screamed. Despite the protestations at the accusation, the Supreme Dalek continued. "The Vault will be purged! You will all be exterminated!"

A shot fired, but Rose's swiftly lifted hand caused it to veer away from her husband. It struck the central column and caused a shower of sparks.

"You will not harm them," the dual voice of Bad Wolf told the Supreme Dalek. "I will not allow it."

Behind her, she heard the mirthless chuckle of the Doctor.

"Oh, of course - we've lost the magnatron! And there's only one planet left oh - Guess which one. Look, we can use the TARDIS!"

As he rushed into the TARDIS to lock it onto the lingering Earth while Donna stayed at the other controls.

"Holding Earth stability... maintaining atmospheric shell," the redhead announced while flipping stitches.

"The prophesy must complete," Dalek Caan spoke to Rose, who nodded solemnly. "I have seen the end of Daleks in this place, and you must make it happen."

"Would you give me orders, Dalek?" the Bad Wolf asked, a challenge in her dual tones.

"The prophecy dictates the end," the creature of hate returned.

"Just- just wait for the Doctor," Donna said worriedly.

"It must be done."

The Doctor poked his head out the door just then, ready to say something, and something about his wife got his attention.

"What are you going to do?" he demanded of the entity.

"These Daleks must not be allowed access to the universe," Bad Wolf intoned. "I will remove their infection."

"Rose would not do that," he scowled. "Would you commit genocide?"

Bad Wolf showed no expression. "I would fulfill this prophesy. Rose will not, you will not - yet it must happen. I will do this to spare your family."

Donna gaped as the entity lifted her hands and the Daleks began to dissolve into the same golden particles that had once conveyed her into the TARDIS. The Doctor winced and shook his head in a sad acceptance, turning to the redhead.

"We need to go into the TARDIS," he said to her. "I can't stop Bad Wolf, so I have to trust her." He turned to look once more at Davros.

"Never forget, Doctor - YOU did this! I name YOU, forever, YOU are the Destroyer of Worlds!" Davros screamed at the Time Lord.

The Doctor shook his head. "I would have saved you from destruction, even now. But even I won't interfere with the Bad Wolf."

A wail of despair burst from the man in his chair as alarms blared around him. A panel exploded behind him as flames began to lick the edges of the room. Bad Wolf turned her back and walked Rose's body into the TARDIS before the golden glow faded away from her. Rose sighed and slumped into the Doctor's waiting arms.

"Did she hurt you?" he queried, more concerned about the effects of Bad Wolf than the burning Dalek ship.

Rose shook her head. "No, just tired. I'll take a rest as soon as we put Earth back."

He reverently kissed her forehead and walked her to the unusually crowded console. Looking around at the people who were so important to him and his wife, he felt a smile growing.

"And! Off we go!" he glanced around, noting the grins on most faces as he pulled a lever and the ship lurched and sent them all grasping for balance.

Well, all except Rose, who always seemed to manage to maintain her balance. She joined him at the console, leaning her head against him just as Sarah Jane, her arm around a blonde boy of about fourteen, spoke up.

"But what about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space!"

"I'm on it!" the Doctor replied, a bit manically. He used the monitor to make a call. "Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?"

"Loud and clear!" the answer coming almost immediately. "Is Jack there?"

"Can't get rid of him," he replied blandly.

Rose frowned slightly, gazing at the woman. "Jack, what's her name?"

The captain peeked at the screen. "Gwen Cooper."

The Doctor looked over as well. "Tell me, Gwen Cooper, are you from an old Cardiff family?"

The woman glanced at the man next to her before responding. "Yes. All the way back to the eighteen-hundreds."

Rose grinned broadly, looking up to see an equally delighted look on her spouse's face.

"Mm, thought so!" the Time Lord nodded, he leaned toward his wife. "Spatial genetic multiplicity…"

The blonde nodded, apparently understanding him, though her nearby parents were confused as to how she could.

"You don't usually start seeing that until almost the 30th century, after the cloning industry really picked up," Rose mused, tilting the screen slightly.

"Yeah, yeah! It's a funny old world!" he murmured before shaking himself roughly. "Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that Rift Manipulator - send all the power to me."

The people jumped into action, while the man replied, "Doing it now, sir."

Martha looked intrigued. "What's that for?"

The Doctor grinned. "It's a tow-rope. Now then, Sarah Jane - can we access your computer?"

"Luke can, and the computer's called Mr Smith."

The boy at Sarah Jane's side began touching things on a monitor that the TARDIS had provided. "Calling Mr Smith! We are in control, what can I do?"

"Well done!" Rose praised the boy, moving over to them while the Doctor made a few adjustments to the TARDIS.

"I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it round the TARDIS, you got that?"

Luke nodded. "I need remote access to TARDIS basecode numerals."

"Oh, blimey. That's gonna take a while," the Doctor groaned.

"No it won't," Rose laughed. "Sarah Jane, you know how."

Sarah Jane grinned broadly. "I do indeed!K-9, out you come!"

The metallic voice came across clearly. "Affirmative, Mistress!"

"Oh, good dog!" the Doctor laughed. "K-9, give Mr Smith the basecode!"

"Master," K-9 acknowledged the Time Lord. "TARDIS basecode now being transferred."

The Doctor began dancing around the console, directing the members of their family to different controls. "Now then, you lot - Sarah - hold that. And Mickey - you hold that. Because, you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place? Rose - that, there."

"Lee can work that one," his wife retaliated, sticking her tongue out. She didn't need instruction from the Time Lord that she could more clearly get straight from the TARDIS. And she had other tasks to attend.

The Doctor grinned at her before continuing. "It was designed to have six pilots and I have to do it single handed. Martha - keep that level. But not anymore! Jack - there you go, steady that. Now we can fly this thing -" he smiled at Jackie, hugging her, but guiding her a bit away before telling her in a fond tone, "No, Jackie. Not you. Don't touch anything, just... stand back, next to Pete. - Like it's meant to be flown! We've got the Torchwood Rift looped around the TARDIS by Mr Smith. We're gonna fly planet Earth back home. Right, then! Off we go."

He flipped a lever, and the TARDIS shuddered, but not as violently as it had when they were chasing Donna in the cab. Rose wandered around the console, reaching forward to tap a button or adjust a setting, Donna was standing near Lee, but occasionally moved to make an adjustment or two on her own. They were all a bit giddy with excitement as they tugged their planet back to where it should be. Even Jackie and Pete were beaming as they watched. The children had wandered off but now returned to see what was happening.

"Mum," Jenny said, leaning against the railing near Rose. "We decided to name my brother Donald, since Aunt Donna was his creation generator."

Rose smiled at them. "I think that's a very appropriate name. Have you introduced yourselves to your grandparents yet?"

The newly christened Donald laughed. "I haven't even introduced myself to Dad yet!"

The Doctor, not far away, popped his head up. "Ah yes, that reminds me, how do we suddenly have two children?"

The boy raised his hands. "You could say I'm your 'handy' second child!"

His father blinked, eyes darting to the corner where the smashed remains of the jar that had held their hands still sat. "Biological metacrisis?"

"Got it in one!" Jenny laughed.

Jackie had moved toward the kids while the little family was talking. "These are my grandkids?"

Rose smiled, then moved to hug her mother while her friends smiled from their positions. They all knew how hard it had been for Rose to be separated from her mum.

"Oh I missed you," she sighed happily. "And yes, this is Jenny and Donald, I guess."

"I didn't even know you and himself were married," Jackie said to her daughter. "When and where?"

Rose laughed a bit. "Gretna Green, in 1969."

Martha laughed. "Boy, that was a good party after you got back."

The group of them got the Earth back to its rightful place, and began cheering and congratulating each other. Jack turned to hug Donna, but Lee spun her away from the captain and kissed her thoroughly. Jack barely noticed, as he was happy to hug anyone.

The Doctor moved to take the TARDIS to the planet surface, and opened the door. Sarah Jane and Luke were the first to step out into the sunshine. She turned back to grin at the Doctor and Rose, who had followed the mother and son out.

"You've said before that you're alone, and you usually act like the loneliest man… But look at you right now - you've the biggest family on Earth!"

"Oh!" Rose gasped, the golden glow suddenly engulfing her as she disappeared.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane gaped, blinking in shock.

"What happened?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Bad Wolf does things even I'm not able to fathom."

"That must drive you mad," his former companion smiled sympathetically. "I know how you care for her."

He barely had time to nod before another flash and Rose returned, along with Harriet Jones. As the gold receded, Rose sighed wearily. "I just realized what they meant by the flash."

Harriet looked around, feeling very disoriented. "I… where…?"

Sarah Jane patted her shoulder. "Don't worry ma'am, we're just happy to know you're safe. The threat is gone and Earth is back where it belongs."

Rose leaned against the Doctor, smiling. "I couldn't let the Daleks get ya, Harriet," she told the other woman. "We've been through a lot together."

Harriet smiled at Rose. "Thank you, my dear. You will always be precious to me."

The Doctor wrapped one arm around his wife and opened his other to the ladies who both moved to join the hug. Luke stayed back, but smiled at the happy look on his mother's face. As the four parted, Sarah Jane linked arms with the former Prime Minister. "Come, Ms. Jones. Luke and I will take you home."

She nodded. "I imagine I'll need to contact someone to repair my wall as soon as I can."

Jack and Martha wandered out the door as the three of them left. Jack immediately stuck out his hand to shake with the Doctor, who reached out also and grabbed his hand with a firm grip. He then whipped out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the vortex manipulator that was as ever present on the former Time Agent's wrist.

"I TOLD you, no teleport. And Martha, get rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh? Save the world one more time," he said, still smiling.

"Consider it done," Martha said, then hugged Rose. "Two kids, now? Don't let them grow too much between visits, okay?"

The blonde woman bussed the darker woman's cheek. "I'm dropping them at yours for babysitting!"

They laughed together as Mickey popped out of the TARDIS. "Wait for me. I'm staying."

The Doctor blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Mickey shook his head. "Well, I'm not stupid - I can work out what happens next. And hey, I had a good time in that parallel world but my Gran passed away. Nice and peaceful. Spent her last years living in a mansion. There's nothing there for me, now. Certainly not Rose."

Rose frowned a bit. "Did you think I would…?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I know you're for him. But I got no one on that side who understands what it's like out there."

Jack slung an arm around the darker man's shoulders. "Mickey Mouse, I got an idea. You help me convince Miss Martha here to give UNIT the boot and I have just the job for you."

Mickey held up a fist to the Doctor, who bumped it with his own. "Brand new life. Just you watch. See you, boss."

As the three walked away, chatting about the team they would make, the Time Lord and his wife caught a glimpse of their timelines and burst into laughter.

"Should we tell them?" Rose asked between her giggles.

"Where's the fun in that, Rose Tyler?" her husband chuckled in response. "We'll see them again, soon, and laugh about it then."

She led him back into the TARDIS with the tongue touched grin he loved so much, and they set about putting in the next set of coordinates.

"There's time for one last trip," the Doctor informed his in-laws with a somber tone. "Dårlig Ulv Stranden. Better known as…"

Jackie and Pete exited onto the damp, windy beach first, followed more slowly by the Doctor, Rose, and the two children.

"Ugh, fat lot of good this is! Back of beyond, bloody Norway! I'm gonna have to phone the house. We left the nanny on the nursery run."

Pete was quiet, having thought of something his wife clearly had not. "Jacks, I don't think we have long…"

"I was pregnant, do you remember? Had a baby boy!" Jackie rambled, smiling fondly at her daughter and son-in-law.

"Ah, brilliant! What did you call him?" the Doctor asked curiously.

"Doctor."

Rose recognised her mum's joke, and covered her mouth with a hand.

"...really?" the Gallifreyan murmured, too surprised to say more.

His mother-in-law laughed, smacking his arm teasingly.. "No, you plum. He's called Tony!"

"Why does the air feel so off here?" the recently created Donald asked.

The Doctor jumped, his eyes going wide as he remembered. "There's no artron energy in this universe!"

Rose patted his arm. "We're doing fine. There's plenty of time before..."

"Time before what?" Jackie asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Donna and Lee had followed the family out and were waiting just outside the door. Before she could reflect that it wouldn't help the situation currently unfolding, her new knowledge burst forth.

"The walls of the world are closing again... now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimension retroclosure." She grinned at Lee. "See, I really get that stuff now."

Jackie studied their faces. "But I just found you again, Rose! You can't leave so quick!"

"We've got to, Mum," the woman who looked to be in her 20s explained softly. "The kids and I can't live in this universe for long. And the Doctor still has so much to do in our universe."

"Then we can go back with you!" Jackie declared.

The Doctor looked away, a dull flush of regret colouring his features.

"There isn't time for that, Jack," Pete explained to his wife as he placed comforting hands on her shoulders.

Jackie's lower lip began to tremble. "But… she's my little girl…"

Rose stepped forward to hug her mother tightly. "I'll always be your little girl, Mum. But now I have to go be more than that."

"Rose, we've gotta go. This reality's sealing itself off," the Doctor murmured, his throat tight with tears of his own.

Rose pulled back from Jackie, reaching up to wipe away the tear that had escaped her mother's eye. "Jenny, Donald, hug your grandparents and go back to the TARDIS."

Both Pete and Jackie hugged the children fiercely.

"Can't believe I got grandkids and won't know them…" Jackie sighed mournfully.

Donna and Lee wrapped arms around each other, their hearts a bit sore for the family. As the kids trudged into the blue box they knew as home, the couple followed them inside.

The Doctor and Rose hugged Jackie, and shook Pete's hand.

"Can't anything be done?" Jackie asked, openly crying at that point.

"Mum." Rose's voice was gentle. "You have a second chance here. You can do all those things you always wanted to do. Don't worry about me."

"I'm always gonna worry about you," Jackie said, with a watery chuckle. "I'm your mum; it's my job."

"Be happy," the Doctor told her sincerely, placing a kiss on his mother-in-law's forehead. "For us. Be very happy… Mum."

They left the couple then, Jackie still crying, but smiling at them as they closed the TARDIS doors. Donna and the children were working the controls, sending them back through the remaining gap while they still could. Seeing the Doctor watching their red haired friend, Rose looked up at him with a frown as she started to run over information in her head.

"I thought we could try the planet Felspoon... just 'cos. What a good name, 'Felspoon'. Apparently it's got mountains that sway in the breeze. Mountains that move. Can you imagine?"

"That sounds fun!" Jenny agreed cheerfully.

"And how do you know about Felspoon?" the Doctor asked her softly.

Lee looked questioningly at Rose, wondering why the Doctor was asking about Donna's new knowledge. Hadn't they already explained how that happened?

"Because it's in your head!" She replied with a wide grin. "And if it's in your head, it's in mine."

"And how does that feel?"

Rose understood in a flash. Donna's human brain couldn't hold the knowledge of a Time Lord. It would kill her to keep all of that information, yet Rose knew she would never choose to give it up.

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene! Great bit of universe packed into my brain. You know you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just try and hotbind in the fragment links and superseding the binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary-"

Lee moved to her side. "Donna! You okay?"

"I'm fine!" She insisted, a little too brightly. "Nah, never-mind Felspoon. You know who I'd like to meet? Charlie Chaplin. I've heard he's great, Charlie Chaplin. Shall we do that? Shall we go and see Charlie Chaplin?"

The children moved away from the woman as she began moving erratically.

Donna snatched up the phone, frowning as she couldn't really control herself. "Shall we? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester, Charlie Brown. No, he's fiction, friction, fiction, fixen, mixen, rixten, brixton-"

The redhead gasped and doubled as though she'd been struck. Lee let out a cry, wrapping an arm around her waist and moving her to sit on the jumpseat. Rose moved to her side as the Doctor did the same.

"Oh, my God," Donna panted, holding her head.

"Do you know what's happening?" the Doctor asked her softly.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Yeah…"

"Maybe one of you could tell the rest of us?" Rose bit out, wanting to help.

The Doctor's voice was controlled, but pain-filled. "There's never been a Human-Time Lord metacrisis before now. And you know why."

"Because there can't be," Donna whimpered.

"Oh yes there can." There was no doubt in Rose's tone as she looked between her husband and the woman who was like a sister to him, hands on her hips in defiance.

"Rose, my Rose," the Doctor said. "It's impossible for her to retain everything-"

Rose scowled at him. "Then we can take out what has to be removed, and she'll be fine."

"I want to stay," Donna begged.

"You will, love. You'll be right here with me," Lee promised her.

The Doctor frowned. "Rose, you don't understand…"

Rose blinked, and her eyes shone gold. "We're wasting time, my Doctor. Donna needs our help. You must take your life from her mind and we will build protection."

He gulped at the sight of Bad Wolf again in his wife's eyes. So frequently in such a short amount of time was sure to wear on her body, but he tamped down his worry to deal with the more immediate fate of his friend.

"Lee, if I could ask you to support Donna, as this is likely to be exhaustive."

The dark haired man moved behind her and murmured, "I-I'm right here, love."

The redhead was afraid, but she trusted these people. They were her family, and she knew they would give their lives to spare hers. She also could see from the knowledge inside her head that she would die if nothing was done. The Doctor pressed his fingertips to her temple, while Rose slipped under his arms and moved her fingers to the back of Donna's head. The human woman could feel the golden warmth slipping up around her mind, as the memories of the Doctor flashed before her and vanished like a video being reversed. The images moved faster and faster until the gold overcame her and Donna went limp, caught by Lee and held until the couple finished their work.

"Are you sure that will be enough to protect her?" the Time Lord asked the entity within his wife, frowning worriedly as he scanned their unconscious friend.

"Of all the timelines we saw involving the Doctor Donna, this was the one that led to the most happiness for this woman." And with that assurance, Bad Wolf was gone again, and Rose was left gasping against the console for relief.

"Rose!" her husband cried, leaping to her side.

She smiled wanly, looking around at the people around her. Lee adjusting Donna so he could lift her, the two children watching the adults with wide and wary eyes, her worried husband - she sighed with a breathy laugh.

"I think we could use a bit of a drift in the vortex until we regain our footing, yeah?" she suggested, to unanimous approval.

The couple went to the room they shared, and the small family went to the library. Once they were settled, the Doctor and Donald sat staring at each other.

"Daddy," Jenny laughed, "he's almost just like you!"

Rose brushed the boy's hair back. "Our own Doctor Junior."

The boy scowled good-naturedly and pushed her hand away. "Mum! I just got that right!"

They all chuckled.

The Doctor shook his head. "Explain this to me again? You are a metacrisis from the hands that we had in stasis?"

"You threw that regeneration energy off, and the homeostatic tracking capsule absorbed it, feeding the huon particle infused energy through the biologic dissemination facilitator into the genetic receptacles, which caused them to initiate a spontaneous evolutionary fusion," Donald said, the same way the Doctor often did.

"Right then, my DJ," Rose laughed. "I think your dad was a bit more on the side of the child issue."

Jenny replied, "Oh that one is easy! You don't know?"

Her parents looked at her with raised brows, prompting her to continue.

"Well, like Bad Wolf twisted that genetic extractor to create me from the combined samples of both you, Bad Wolf also used the tracker to combine your DNA to make a brother for me."

"Wait. DJ?"

Rose tapped the boy's nose. "Doctor Junior."

"I rather like that. I'd like to be called DJ, if that's all right with everyone?"

The Doctor laughed, "Why not? But if we're going to be a family of 4, as it seems we're meant to be, I should like to initiate a family bond that was common on Gallifrey before looming overtook traditional procreation."

"What's a family bond?" Jenny asked.

The hesitance on the Doctor's face prompted Rose to touch his hand. "You can take your time. We all understand how hard it is to bring up things from before the Time War."

After several moments, he finally managed to explain that a family bond was a way to maintain a connection even when separated by time, space, or both. The members can feel each other, whether they were healthy, in danger, or seeking each other. Even without a means of communication, they would know they were alone in the universe. His wife agreed at once, not even asking what it entailed in that trusting way with which she always humbled him while employing, but his children - even despite their unique origins - were quick to follow her example. He explained to Rose and Jenny, as DJ seemed to already have the knowledge of the ritual.

Soon enough, the family had clasped hands and entered the necessary state of meditation to link their minds. It was a short process, impossible to describe without the image of weaving, or of shuffling cards. The four minds lost no sense of self, nor did they relinquish their privacy in thought; but they each gained a background sense of the others.

"That's such a lovely feeling!" Jenny exuded brightly.

The Doctor had relaxed, a content expression on his face that echoed to DJ, and he smiled happily at the two children. When he looked at his wife, he found her unconscious. After a momentary panic, he touched his mind against the newly formed familial bond and found that she was healthy, but exhausted.

"It's a wonder your mum lasted as long as she did," he said softly. "How about we take her to bed, and then we'll see what the TARDIS has decided to do about a room for DJ, eh?"

The three of them did exactly that, exploring TARDIS rooms until Donna and Rose were both recovered enough for everyone to meet back in the control room. Donna was showing her brand new ring off to Rose, who was teasing Lee about taking his time in proposing, when the Doctor, Jenny, and DJ rejoined them.

"Guess who's engaged!" Donna laughed, true happiness in her eyes. "And he really did ask me, this time."

The Doctor grinned and hugged his pseudo-sister tightly. "Much better choice this time, I think," he told her.

"Don't I know it?" Donna agreed.

"Let me see, Aunt Donna!" Jenny pleaded, bouncing until the redhead held her hand down enough for the girl to examine the jewellery.

The Doctor kissed his own wife on her temple, sharing a smile with her over their friends' happiness. "Before we go anywhere to celebrate, I would like to do a quick scan on Rose, DJ, and Donna in the med bay just to make sure everyone healed up."

"Can I run my own scans?" DJ asked eagerly.

"Only if you let your sister help," the Doctor said. "She needs to learn."

"Are you gonna teach Mum?" Jenny asked curiously.

Rose laughed. "I'm directly connected to the TARDIS, love. She'll help me use anything I need."

They all traipsed into the room, joking like the family they felt they were. Lee watched the Doctor scanning them with great interest.

"So these are typical readings for Rose?" He asked, pointing at the screens.

"Well, she used to give typical human readings, but the TARDIS changed her physiology and now you see these readings here are…"

"Yes," Lee agreed. "It's much higher."

Rose and Donna exchanged amused looks as the men discussed the results.

"Now you see, here on Donna's…" the Doctor trailed off, his eyes widening in surprise.

"What's causing that look, Spaceman?" Donna asked.

The Time Lord handed Lee the screen, scanning Donna with his sonic. The human man stared at the reading, swallowing hard. The red-haired woman began to feel alarmed as no one told her what was happening. Even Rose began to frown as the silence from the two men stretched on.

"I know something must have you both just gobsmacked, but we have no clue what's going on," the blonde woman said, eyeing them cautiously. "And since they're Donna's results, it seems only fair that she at least gets to see them?"

Donna nodded emphatically. "Right!"

Lee passed the results screen to his fiancee, his hand shaking. Her face as she read what was showing was confused, then shocked. Rose leaned over to see, and two words seemed to jump out at her.

"Fetal heartbeat?!" she gasped. "Oh! Oh Donna!"

Donna looked up with a teary smile, "I'm pregnant! I didn't think… I mean, I really didn't ever think anyone would want to have kids with me."

Lee seemed to be having the hardest time forcing the words out of his uncooperative mouth. Finally he gave up on speaking aloud and hugged her tightly to him.

Rose ushered the kids and the Doctor out into the hall, sending DJ and Jenny off to explore.

"You alright?" she asked her still shocked husband.

He nodded and ruffled his hair nervously. "I just… I mean, wow."

Rose watched his mannerisms as they headed toward the console. The near human woman knew that Donna would want to share both the engagement and pregnancy with her family, and so she intended to have the Doctor take them to Chiswick. She could tell something was bothering him by his twitchy movements.

"Doctor," she said softly, insistent that he not brush it off. "Tell me what you're thinking."

He sighed and leaned against the console, his head drooping. "This is always a rough part, and I had hoped you wouldn't have to face this again so soon."

She moved to his side, wriggling under his arm so that she was between him and the console, framed by his arms. "Have to face what? I don't know what's got you so upset."

"They're leaving."

Rose frowned. "What makes you say that?"

He rested his forehead against hers as he wrapped his arms around her securely. As he pulled her against him, he explained, "Once they start thinking about it, they'll realise they can't have a baby in the TARDIS. They can't risk that baby with the things we do."

She mimicked his sigh. "I hadn't thought of that. We're lucky that our kids started out able to run and follow directions, and already knowing when it's necessary to keep quiet. Though DJ's probably got your gob so he probably won't keep still ever."

The Doctor gave a weak chuckle. "All I know just now, is that they'll realise this soon. They will feel terribly about it, but they'll make the decision the others all have. They're going to do what I can't… settle down."

Rose pulled back and looked at her husband with a confused frown. "Who says you can't?"

The Doctor moved to the console and entered coordinates. As he pulled the lever to send the ship where he had inputted, he looked up. "You know my life is in the stars, Rose. I have to keep going, for all the people who can't."

"So, you're moving to a different home?" his wife asked with a knowing smirk.

He blinked. "What?! No!"

"Oh," she nodded, seeming to think it over. "So you're looking for a new wife?"

He gripped her arms, horror etched into his expression. "Never, Rose. I swear it."

She laughed at how serious he looked. "Doctor. Think. You have a home. You have a wife. You have 2 kids now. You can't get much more settled than this. Face it, my love. You've gone domestic."

Rose couldn't quite manage to keep the laughter tamped down at his horrified expression. His ability to ignore things that he simply didn't like still amazed her after all this time. She hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest. After a few more indignant splutters, he gave in and laughed breathlessly at himself as he hugged her.

"Stuck with you," he teased her gently. "That's not so bad."

"Yeah?" She asked softly, leaning back in his embrace to gaze softly at his face with her golden-brown eyes.

The Time Lord smiled, feeling his heart swell. "Yeah," came the murmured reply before his lips claimed hers.

So engrossed in each other were the couple that they missed all four of the other people on the TARDIS entering the room. It wasn't until Donna cleared her throat with a knowing smirk that they parted, both flushed with embarrassment and desire.

"Sorry," the Doctor grinned self consciously. "Got a little carried away."

Donna laughed. "Yeah, we saw. How about you carry us all to my house on Earth, now? I'm not going to insult you by discussing it. I remember enough to know you've already worked out the conclusion we also came to."

Rose moved to the redhead, taking both of her hands. "I know I don't have to say it, but you will always have a place with us. This is not a goodbye. I intend to spoil your baby rotten."

Donna pulled Rose into a fierce hug. "You better believe it!"

On arrival, the six people trooped out of the ship into the Noble's yard. Wilfred was delighted to see them, but Sylvia was decidedly cold. She hugged Donna, but she looked at Lee like he was some man off the street when he was introduced and she refused to acknowledge the Doctor or his family. Naturally, the Time Lord failed to notice but his wife had grown up seeing people treat her like less of a person for one reason or another.

"I think we ought to head out for a bit, Donna," Rose softly mentioned, after some time.

Her red haired friend frowned. "Oh, are you sure? We could call up for some sort of take away, have a cuppa before you're off."

The blonde woman shook her head with a bit of a grimace. "No, I think your mum would rather we aliens go on sooner than later."

Sylvia had the grace to blush as half a dozen pairs of eyes focused on her. "It's just… every time you people show up, there's something dangerous that happens."

Her father scowled. "Now, that's not fair. They're the ones what fixes things, Syl."

"Doesn't matter what we say," Rose said, giving the older man a small reassuring smile. "Sometimes people need to blame us for the sort of things we end up involved in, and they are going to blame us no matter what we do to the contrary. Don't be upset, we're quite used to it."

"Well, I don't care," Donna declared. "You come see us a lot, even if Mum doesn't like it."

Lee kissed Rose's cheek, and shook the Doctor's hand while Donna hugged the children.

"You'll-you'll always have a pl-place with us, too," the dark haired man said warmly.

As the family of four headed out the door, a faint rumbling of thunder could be heard over the start of falling rain.

"Ah... you'll have quite a bit of this. Atmospheric disturbance. Still, it'll pass," the Doctor noted, peering up at the sky.

"Donna, I want to know whether we're getting a niece or nephew as soon as you find out, you hear?" Rose said, sharing a grin with the redhead as Sylvia gasped.

"I'll call. Make sure Dumbo keeps you in range," Donna assured her with an ornery wink.

"We'll watch out for you, sir," Wilfred smiled. "You and your family. Every night, Doctor... when it gets dark... and the stars come out... we'll look up. We'll look up at the sky and think of you all."

Rose kissed Wilfred's weathered cheek. "Just don't spend so much time looking up that you miss what you have right here."

The small alien family filed back into their home with many waves, and dematerialized as they headed for their next stop in a universe that never failed to amaze.

A/N: There are only a few chapters left in this story, and we'll be moving on to a new story for a new regeneration. Let me know if you're still with me on the story and if you'd like to continue in the next adventure as well!