A/N: Hi guys! I'm really sorry for the late update! I had a conference I had to go to present my research and it took over most of my time that I would have spent writing more of the chapters.
Minho'sgirl15: Hahaha, thank you so much! I tried to add a little bit of the Doctor in the last chapter. Hopefully the Doctor is a little more careful with the bond? ;)
WRose: Hmmm… that's an interesting thought, but you gotta wait to see what happens! Because… spoilers. Hahahaha, you have to also keep in mind that the bond is there, but there's no romantic feelings between the Doctor and Iris…. (evil laughter). As to when Iris will tell Jack about Gray, it might take some time. You have to realize that Iris' life might be a little more hectic because it will be going in-between Torchwood and dealing with the Doctor a lot. She's still the same old Iris. She might have an easier time realizing when she can tell people about stuff, but it's still a big question to her as to when that perfect time is.
Bwburke94: I am not aware of it unfortunately… please let me know what the story is called? If I know the title, I might be able to grasp a little bit of what you may be asking since Big Finish audio has so many stories out. I have mainly only been following the 8th Doctor's story, so I might have missed it.
Mr_Fizzles: Thanks so much! I really wanted to put awkward Doctor in the story because, why the hell not? Iris isn't in full control of how to use the bond between her and the Doctor, so it should always be there!
SJGIM: Thank you so much for your love and appreciation for my story! Hahahaha it's a struggle to incorporate Ianto into this awkward love situation going on here right now, but it will definitely be there! It's just going to take time as the Doctor's taking her away from Torchwood from time to time for some adventures.
TheGravekeeper: Don't worry, there's so much more to come from this story!
TricksterAngel: Hahaha thank you so much for your support! I will try to do my best!
And without further notes from me, please enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 17: A New Meeting
Iris washed up and exited her room, already prepared to head to work. She heard the sizzling of something being cooked and headed towards her kitchen. And to her surprise, she saw Jack cooking them breakfast. She watched him in silence and wondered how Jack looked normal. She felt happy to see Jack do something so normal and savored it.
It had been days since they had returned to Torchwood and they were honestly enjoying the sense of normalcy that seemed so rare in their lives.
As if sensing her presence, Jack looked back as he was cooking and said,
"Good morning."
Iris responded, smiling warmly. "Good morning. I thought you would head back to the Hub last night."
Jack turned around and set the omelets he had cooked onto the plates as he said,
"Nah, I hope you don't mind me crashing here. It's honestly better than the Hub."
Iris began preparing Jack's coffee while saying,
"It's fine. I really don't mind."
She then felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and Jack put his head on top of hers just like the many times before the year-that-never-was. Iris leaned into Jack's embrace, the two people silently enjoying each other's warmth.
Then Jack muttered, "I could have prepared the coffee."
Iris smirked as she turned around and said, "But your coffee tastes awful. I'd like to not get sick in the morning, thank you very much. Also, Ianto's been spoiling me with his great coffee. Returning to anything other than that is a little difficult."
Jack looked at her with a playful glare as he pouted. Iris pecked his lips with a light kiss and wriggled her way out of his arms to set the coffee onto the table. The moment the pot was on the table, she felt Jack's hands try to settle on her hips and she bolted away.
Iris ran towards the sofa and tried to keep a distance from Jack, giggling as she said,
"We need to go to work soon!"
Jack didn't stop his advance on her and quickly hugged her, causing Iris to topple towards the sofa. She felt the sofa beneath her and gasped at the close distance between her and Jack. Iris saw something more than the playfulness in Jack's eyes as he closed the distance between them and kissed her gently. Making sure she had the bond with the Doctor in mind, Iris leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened it.
The kiss they shared was much more intimate than before as they struggled to be closer to each other. Their separation from the Master made them realize just how much they longed to be with each other.
When they broke the kiss for air, Iris risked a glance at the clock and groaned as she gently pushed Jack away from her.
"Jack, we have to really eat and go."
Jack nodded, wishing that the day did not require them to go to work directly, but he got up and helped Iris off the sofa. They ate their breakfast before driving to the Hub.
Once they arrived, Jack immediately delved into his paperwork and calls while Iris caught up to what Tosh and Owen were working on. The day went on as if it was a normal scenario when it was finally time for lunch. Ianto had gone out to pick food up from the nearby Chinese restaurant. Iris groaned at returning to outside lunches, but she acquiesced.
The team were joyfully talking about stuff including about Gwen's engagement to Rhys. But Iris thought back to John Hart and how he talked about Gray. Iris glanced at Jack and planned to tell him that night about Gray. Not the entire story, but that Jack should be wary about their next encounter with John.
But fate was not in her favor as Jack came out of his office and indicated to Iris to come into his office. Jack looked thoroughly annoyed from whatever call he had been making. Iris closed the door behind her and asked,
"What is it?"
Jack rubbed his face with his hands in frustration and said, "UNIT just called for help down in London."
Iris frowned as she didn't quite get what was going on as she asked, "Why call for our help?"
Jack looked at her and murmured, "Titanic."
"Oh…" Iris said.
In fact, a few days back, while Iris and Jack had been watching a movie together back at her place, she felt an overwhelming sense of adrenaline and fear from the Doctor through their bond. And then the Titanic had almost crashed the Buckingham Palace. That required a whole new amount of paperwork from both Torchwood and UNIT.
And since then, UNIT was tied up with cleaning up after the mess the Doctor had left with that incident since UNIT's main base was much closer to the palace than Torchwood was.
"What are they asking for?" Iris asked.
Jack said, "They want some information regarding Adipose Industries. They're getting strange readings and can't send people over to work undercover and thought that we would be able to send some people."
Iris groaned and said, "And you wanted me to check it out?"
Jack nodded and said, "Well, you suggested it to the Doctor, so might as well. If I'm guessing right, he will be there, so I think you should be fine…"
Iris smirked and said, "Aren't you going to come with me?"
Jack shook his head, looking disappointed that he couldn't go with her as he said,
"There's another case we have to look at. It's horrible timing, but I have to be there. I might get lucky and join you later, but I have an inkling that the Doctor wouldn't stay around that long."
Iris sighed and said, "I can go. Just call me to let me know what the case is about."
Jack nodded and hugged her, before saying, "Go back home and pack. UNIT's Kate Steward will talk with you about it."
Iris' eyes widened and then she smiled as she said, "Are you making me your ambassador now?"
Jack just tousled her hair as he said, "Whatever. Just go and remind the Doctor to not do anything stupid."
Iris raised an eyebrow at that and asked, "You think whatever I will say will prevent him from doing that?"
Jack looked at her and laughed out loud as he admitted, "No, not really."
Iris told Ianto that she was going to head over to London. Since Ianto's appearance on the Valiant, Iris made sure to keep Ianto in the loop as much as possible. She trusted him with more information than anything. Also, his presence comforted her.
Ianto decided that he should withhold his feelings for Iris, noticing how close she was with Jack. He tried to be friendly without making it plainly obvious that he was pining after her. Tosh had tackled him the day after John Hart left, saying that Ianto should confess to Iris, but Ianto hesitated.
He wasn't sure he wanted to be confuse Iris. But he nor Jack was aware of one thing. Iris' bond with the Doctor was confusing her the most. She did not show it, but it really confused her from time to time. Even as she kissed Jack that morning, she had to constantly be mindful of the bond. And as wonderful the kiss was and how much she wanted it, one part of her mind wasn't comfortable with it. The part that reminded her that she had bonded with the Doctor and not Jack.
Iris needed an explanation from the Doctor about this. A thorough one. Iris sighed as she finished packing her bag with simple necessities such as her journal, phone and laptop. She also brought her handgun with her, just in case. She knew that the Doctor had a big no-weapons policy, but Jack would kill her if she didn't take it with her.
As she zipped her backpack, she heard a knock at her door and quickly opened it. Kate Steward was there and Iris broke into one of her biggest smile as she said,
"Kate Steward! It's really nice to finally meet you. I'm Iris Kim, the Technician and secondary medic from Torchwood."
Kate shook her hand as she replied, "Kate Steward, leader of the science team in UNIT. Pleasure to meet you. We heard a lot about you from Captain Harkness."
Iris nodded and quickly followed the woman to the car. It was a long way to the Tower of London.
When they finally arrived, Iris had gotten the briefing and identity she was go into the company under. Iris had no problem getting prepared for the role she had been given. She was to go as a normal worker for the company and find out as much information as possible.
Iris dressed in navy-blue dress pants with a white dress shirt. She had an inkling that she might regret the white shirt, but it was the only clean shirt that she had at the moment. She blamed Jack for the rest. Adjusting her glasses, she parted ways with Kate Steward.
As she headed towards the glass fronted building, she noticed someone with red hair and realized that she did recognized the woman. It was Donna Noble. Iris almost smashed into another person as she stared at the woman who passed through security.
Shaking her head, she decided to focus on her own task as she went to the office that she was to be a part of. Once she got settled into her desk within the office, she began to download all the information she could grasp, making sure that it was undetectable. Later in the afternoon, she was instructed to go to the lecture hall since she was a new employee for Adipose Industries.
If she were to work more proficiently, the senior workers stated that she needed to know more about the company itself. Without complaint, Iris sat in a well-positioned seat towards the back. As she waited in her seat, she noticed people filing in one-by-one, and eventually, Donna Noble joined the fray as she sat down a few rows ahead of her. Iris smiled, knowing exactly what was happening as the presentation began.
Foster was giving the presentation, saying,
"Adipose Industries, the 21st century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is. You just take one capsule. One capsule, once a day for three weeks, and the fat, as they say…"
Then the narrator on screen said, "The fat just walks away."
Iris just rolled her eyes at the literal meaning of the catchphrase the company had come up with. She tuned out the rest of the questions the woman called Penny was giving to Foster as she felt the bond with the Doctor grow a little stronger. Not wanting to give away her presence, Iris tried closing down her side of the bond just momentarily. She didn't want to meet him just yet. She had to get enough material for UNIT and Torchwood since it had become her responsibility to fill out the paperwork with whatever was taking place at Adipose Industries.
When it seemed the presentation was done, Iris immediately stood up and went towards her desk to start her infiltration of the company information. She picked up the machine that would help her hack her way to gather information. Toshiko and Iris had upgraded it since the last time that they had to use it with the Weevil incident. She then attached the tool onto her computer and impatiently waited for the information to load. Once it had finished, she hid it back inside her bag and proceeded to continue her act as a call center worker.
Iris picked up a call and responded with, "Good morning. I represent Adipose Industries."
Then she saw a shadow over her and looked up as a wave of red hair came near her. It was Donna Noble. Iris acted naturally and continued her call with,
"That's a three week course of pills for a special price of 45 pounds."
Donna whispered to her, "Donna Noble, Health and Safety. Don't mind me."
Iris nodded with a smirk while she continued speaking to the client on the phone with,
"The box comes with 21 days worth of pills, a full information pack, and our special free gift, an Adipose Industries pendant."
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Donna pick up the very pendant she had mentioned and study it with interest. Once she finished the call, Donna quickly told her,
"I'll just need to keep this for testing. And I just need a list of your customers Could you print it off?"
Iris smiled a warm smile at the woman as she responded, "I suppose so."
Donna smiled back at her as she asked, "Where's the printer?"
Iris pointed to the machine as she said, "Just over there, by the plant."
Donna squinted and asked, "Which plant, that plant?"
Iris nodded and said, "Yup! That's the one."
Donna smiled and waved at her, saying "Lovely. Thanks."
Iris then interrupted her before she left with, "It doesn't need a code by the way. Just prints and you can pick it up."
Donna gave her a thumbs up and headed towards the printer. Iris took a glimpse as Donna took the papers and walked away, only to find the Doctor approach it, look around, and run back to the woman called Clare to print the list again.
Iris shook her head in amusement and continued her day. Eventually, she left just like everyone else. She took a different direction however, and headed towards the Tower of London. Once she arrived there, she waved her Torchwood identification tag and code number, allowing her access to Kate Stewart's office and UNIT.
Before she headed towards the woman's office, she quickly jumped into the bathroom and changed clothing to a more comfortable one. Now she had on black leggings with a huge pastel-pink hoodie. She had her glasses still on with her hair now in a more comfortable messy bun.
With that, she knocked on Kate Stewart's door. Iris heard a faint,
"Come in."
Hearing the response, Iris stepped into the room as she said, "It's me, Iris Kim."
"How was it?" Kate asked her, noticing the change in clothing.
Iris shrugged and handed the USB that held the information she had transferred from Adipose Industries.
"The information in there should be enough. After tomorrow night, you should notice the Doctor's handiwork, but just in case, we should be wary about representing Earth to the Shadow Proclamation again. As you know, seeding on a level five planet is illegal and Foster is directly responsible for the birth of all the Adipose babies. Media coverage and responsibility should be done by Torchwood so you don't need to worry about that. If you can represent for the planet to the Shadow Proclamation in a professional manner it would be helpful."
Kate raised one eyebrow as she asked, "Why would you task us with that?"
Iris leaned back in her chair as she replied, "Torchwood, as much as we try to be efficient in what we do, is not best with maintaining peace with others except me, Jack Harkness, and Ianto Jones. The rest can be… well… they may prefer the method of shoot-first and ask questions later."
Kate nodded and agreed to do so. Iris then left after arranging what UNIT needed to do and asking her about Martha Jones. It turned out that Martha was settling down well and working well in UNIT.
Iris reached the hotel room she was staying at for the night and exhaustedly jumped onto the bed. Tiredly, she decided to call Jack. She waited and then after a few rings, the man picked up.
"Iris? It might not be a good time to call right now."
Iris frowned as she asked, "Why? What's wrong?"
Jack hesitated before asking, "Do you know anything about sleepers?"
Iris tensed at the mention and asked, "Is it Beth?"
Jack responded with a yes and continued to say, "Yeah, we are having her stay at Torchwood in one of the holding cells."
Iris wasn't sure what to say, especially since whenever she had time to think about anything not about the Adipose Industries, it always seemed to lead to what had happened with John and his mention of Gray.
Jack noticed that Iris was not confident with what she was feeling and changed the subject with,
"How are you?"
Iris sighed out loud and said, "Nothing I can't handle, really. It's going as it should and I got UNIT to handle the most important part. All Torchwood has to do is handle the media and whatnot."
Jack sighed as he said, "More paperwork?"
Iris smiled a little as she heard the pout in Jack's voice as she said, "Yup."
"Jack?" Iris said after a few seconds of quietness.
"Yeah?" Jack responded.
Iris waited a bit, gaining her courage as she said, "I love you."
Iris heard Jack take in a breath and then respond with, "I love you too. We got this dealt with I think, so if you meet the Doctor, don't feel guilty if something happens."
Iris smiled at that and said, "You sure you'll be alright without me? Last time, we didn't get to do much because of him."
Jack remained silent and he chuckled as he said, "I… I think I can wait a little longer I guess. Though I do wish you were here with me."
Iris smirked as an idea popped in her head as she said, "So you are positive that you can survive without feeling my lips on yours? My fingers not running through your hair and tugging on it?"
She heard Jack intake a breath from shock. She had never been this obvious about their relationship. Then Jack replied with a shaky breath,
"What about you? You sure you can survive not feeling my hands on your hips as we-"
"Oh look at the time! Too bad, gotta go!" Iris said, smirking widely as she quickly hung up.
She enjoyed this a little too much, she knew that. But it was fun to tease Jack. Last time, he had teased her and needed to realize something: two could play the game.
On the other line, Jack incredulously looked at his phone. He couldn't believe that he fell for her tricks. Sighing out loud in frustration, he tried to ignore the growing feel of desire flowing through him.
Back at the hotel, Iris yawned as the exhaustion really got to her. She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes, making sure to get a good amount of sleep. The next day, she made sure to hang around the building. She was doing the allotted work, but not focusing really on the task. Rather, she was making sure she hid her traces of taking the information out. She had her trench-coat with her today and decided to stay after-hours. Knowing that Donna and Penny were going to hide in the women's bathroom, she went towards a closet where there were no CCTVs in the area.
Once she was there, it was only a matter of waiting for the excitement to begin. It really felt like a long wait for her to just use her time to wait until the Adipose came to pick up their children. UNIT was on stand-by to make sure the panic was going to be controlled as much as possible, but she was to wait here within Adipose to ensure that nothing out-of-place occurred.
Once it was time, she snuck out and made sure that she used the device that Toshiko had gotten her to make CCTVs momentarily freeze so that she could move undetected. But then, she knew not to head to Miss Foster's office just quite yet.
Once she heard the gunshots, she made sure that the area by Ms. Foster's office was mostly empty before heading in. Penny looked at her incredulously and said,
"Oy! Don't just stare at me like that! Let me out!"
With an exasperated sigh, Iris untied the woman and said,
"Don't come back will you? It's going to become a bit of a bloodbath."
Penny looked at her if she was insane and said, "There's no way I'm going to just let this slide. This needs to be published!"
Iris shook her head and threatened the girl a little.
"Look, I don't want to do this to you, but the moment you publish this, you and your family will be marked by the government, Torchwood and UNIT. Might as well stay out of trouble and live a normal life instead of being imprisoned for life?"
Penny looked at her with slight fear and then ran off, not wanting to be by the building anymore. Waiting patiently by the window, Iris looked out the window. After not even five minutes, Iris saw feet dangling by the windows. Laughing a little to herself at the sight of flailing feet, she opened the window and yelled out,
"Donna Noble! I'm Iris from earlier! Let me help you get inside!"
Donna looked a little downwards to find Iris' arms stretched out to reach her legs and screamed,
"Help me! NOW!"
Iris quickly grabbed onto Donna and safely put her inside the building when the door slammed open to reveal the Doctor. Donna huffed out loud in shock and frustration as she said,
"Thank you!"
Then glaring at the Time Lord, she stomped towards him and said,
"I was right. It's always like this with you, innit?"
The Doctor hadn't seen Iris just yet and smiled as he said, "Oh, yes!"
Their reunion was quickly interrupted by a cough. The Doctor looked up in surprise to see Iris standing there, her arms crossed. She was smirking as she said,
"Hello Doctor."
"Iris? What are you doing here?"
Iris rolled her eyes before grabbing onto the Doctor's hand and ignored his question, instead dragging them along as she said,
"No time to explain yet. Time to go."
With that, the trio headed down to the call enter to only run into Miss Foster and her guards. Foster had a sinister smile on her face as she said,
"Well, then. At last."
Donna muttered a slightly embarrassed "Hello."
The Doctor smiled a little as he said,
"Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor."
Donna joined in with, "And I'm Donna."
Iris followed suit with, "Iris."
Foster looked at three of them, although Iris caught a perplexed look from Foster when they met eye contact. The expression was quickly gone and replaced with a sinister one as the woman said,
"Partners in crime. And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."
The Doctor smiled wider as he said, "Oh, yes, I've still got your sonic pen. Nice. I like it. Sleek. It's kind of sleek."
Donna and Iris nodded as the other woman said, "Oh it's definitely sleek."
Iris then spoke before the Doctor, saying "Yeah, and if you were to sign your real name, that would be?"
Foster looked at Iris warily as she slowly responded with, "Matron Cofelia of the Five Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class."
The Doctor's eyes widened as he tugged a little sense of surprise to Iris through their bond before commenting,
"A wet nurse, using humans as surrogates."
Foster looked at them and calmly said, "I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."
The Doctor frowned and Iris felt an immense amount of confusion through the bond and tried to soothe him a little using the same method. But the Doctor asked,
"What do you mean lost? How do you lose a planet?"
Foster just rolled her eyes and said in a nonchalant manner, "Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."
Donna looked at the woman across from her in shock as she asked, "What, like an outer space super nanny?"
Foster looked at Donna in disdain as she responded, "Yes, if you like."
Donna, clearly confused, began to say,
"So. So those little things, they're… they're made out of fat, yeah, but that woman, Stacy Campbell, there was nothing left of her."
Iris grimaced upon hearing about the person she had not saved. If she had been a little more actively saving people, would this have been prevented?
As if sensing her guilt, the Doctor set a hand on Iris' back to calm her. Iris hid the grimace when the Doctor responded angrily to Foster's earlier answer to Donna's statement.
"Seeing a level five planet is against galactic law."
Foster looked head on to the Doctor, seeing how he had placed a hand on Iris' back, trying to discern the relationship the two had. She then cautiously asked,
"Are you threatening me?"
The Doctor replied as calmly as he could, "I'm trying to help you, Matron. This is your one chance, because if you don't call this off, then I'll have to stop you."
Foster smiled wickedly as she said, "I hardly think you can stop bullets."
The guards took aim with the guns in their hands and Iris tensed immediately. She then quickly said,
"Wait! Hold on, hold on… one more thing, before you go on ahead and kill us. Do you perhaps know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?"
Foster frowned and said "no" while the Doctor smirked in excitement as he said,
"Nor me Let's find out."
Iris flinched and covered her ears for a bit before running out of the office. Donna dragged the Doctor out as the three people bolted out to find a safer place to be. Once they arrived, Iris immediately helped the Doctor empty out the cupboard. The Time Lord and Iris heard Donna say,
"Well, that's one solution. Hide in a cupboard. I like it."
Iris chuckled and the Doctor gave her an annoyed look as he responded to the new companion,
"I've been hacking into this thing all day, because the matron's got a computer core running through the centre of the building. Triple deadlocked. But now I've got this, I can get into it."
Iris held some wires for the Doctor as she told the Time Lord,
"She's wired up the whole building. We're going to need a bit of privacy."
The Doctor set the force field up and said, "Just enough to stop them. Why's she wired up the tower block? What's it all for?"
As Iris and the Doctor worked on the wiring, Donna asked,
"You look older."
Iris tensed a little and looked at the Doctor sadly, though hearing the Doctor thank the woman without much seriousness.
Donna then looked at Iris as she said, "So not on your own anymore?"
The Doctor was about to respond when Iris said,
"He's still alone. It's just… well…"
The Doctor continued the response with, "Well, I had this friend. Martha she was called. Martha Jones. She was brilliant. And I destroyed half her life. But she's fine. She's good. She's gone."
Iris shook her head and said, "He didn't really ruin her life so much. You can just say it was really bad, but… all of us got through it. I only met Martha during the most difficult part of her life, but I think she wouldn't exchange that experience for anything else in the world. She won't regret it."
The Doctor smiled sadly when Donna asked again,
"Do you travel with him Iris?"
Iris looked up at the woman and shook her head as she said, "Not yet. I traveled once with him… but it… it was a bumpy ride."
The Doctor groaned as he said, "You clung onto the outside of the TARDIS. Of course it's going to be a bumpy ride."
Donna looked at Iris as if she was insane when the girl lightheartedly snapped,
"Don't you put the blame on me mister! If you had let us on the TARDIS, we wouldn't have done that. You instead decided to try to run from Jack and me."
Donna looked at the Doctor this time and rolled her eyes and said,
"Men."
Iris and the Doctor looked at her for a moment in surprise before laughing a little. But it quickly died down when Donna asked,
"What about Rose?"
Iris felt the Doctor immediately sadden through the bond and wasn't sure what to do as he said,
"Still lost."
Trying to change the topic, the Doctor asked, "I thought you were going to travel the world?"
Donna shrugged her shoulders as she said,
"Easier said then done. It's like I had that one day with you, and I was going to change I was going to do so much. Then I woke up the next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try. I went to Egypt. I was going to go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water, and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been made turning down that offer."
Iris gently smiled to Donna as the Doctor asked,
"What offer?"
Donna responded in a matter-of-factly tone, "To come with you."
The Doctor asked, "Come with me?"
Iris wanted to hit her head on the nearest wall hearing that question as Donna said, "Oh yes, please."
Miscommunication was one thing that the Doctor seemed to excel at some times. The Doctor realized this from the bond. He sensed how annoyed Iris was at him for the second as he muttered embarrassed, "Right."
Then the computer voice said, "Inducer activated."
Iris swore under her breath and quickened her work on the computer as Donna asked, "What's it doing now?"
Iris responded, "She's started the program."
The Doctor sensed the distress Iris seemed to be feeling and tried to console her. He risked a glance at her facial expression. She didn't show much emotion as if to not scare him or Donna, but he realized that she knew what was happening outside with the information she held from the show.
Thankfully, Iris had deadlocked those memories from the Doctor beforehand and was not easily accessible.
Iris felt the warmth flow through the bond and smiled a little at him before focusing back on her work on the computer. She saw the Doctor notice the readings on the computer and his immediate anger as he said,
"So far they're just losing weight, but the Matron's gone up to emergency pathogenesis."
Donna looked horrified and said, "And that's when they convert."
Iris sadly responded with, "Skeletons, organs, everything. A million people are going to die. We have to cancel the signal."
As she was saying this, the Doctor dismantled the pendant he had from earlier. He said,
"This contains a primary signal. If I can switch if off, the fat goes back to being just fat."
Iris ground her teeth when the inducer increased. Immediately, she tried working on it, knowing that Donna had the second pendant.
As the Doctor vented his anger, Donna asked Iris, "Is there anything I can do?"
The Doctor answered instead with, "Sorry, Donna. This is way beyond you. Got to double the base pulse, I can't."
Iris ignored him and said, "Donna, you still have that pendant?"
Donna looked at Iris for a moment before a look of realization came across her face. She immediately pulled it out to hand to the Doctor. The man looked up in surprise as he said
"Donna! You're brilliant!"
With that, he pulled it apart and plugged it in, causing the inducer to shut down. Soon enough, they all heard a loud noise and the three people looked up as Donna asked in fear, "What the hell was that?"
Iris responded hurriedly, "Nursery ship."
The computer lit up and a signal came through. Donna looked at Iris worriedly as she asked,
"Hadn't we better go and stop them?"
The Doctor shushed them as he said, "Hang on. Instructions from the Adiposian First Family. She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post. Oooh… Oh! We're not the ones in trouble now. She is!"
With that, the three people bolted to the roof. Once they had arrived, Donna asked the duo,
"What are you two going to do then? Blow them up?"
The Doctor saw Iris communicating to someone as he shook his head and said,
"They're just children. They can't help where they come from."
Donna looked at him with surprise as she said, "Oh, that makes a change from last time. That Martha must've done you good."
The Doctor smiled as he said, "She did, yeah. Yeah. She did. She fancied me."
Donna smiled back as she responded jokingly, "Mat Martha, that one. Blind Martha. Charity Martha."
The two began waving at the Adipose babies and Donna chuckled as if not believing the situation as she said, "I'm waving at fat."
Iris walked up to them, having finished calling UNIT and instructing them what to do. The Doctor looked at the two in mischief as he said,
"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works. There she is!"
They all saw Foster levitate upwards as the Doctor yelled out,
"Matron Cofelia, listen to me."
Foster shook her head, giving them a victorious smile and said, "Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it'll be too soon."
Iris yelled out, "Matron Cofelia, we heard a signal from the parents! They know it's a crime to breed on Earth so they want to get rid of their accomplice!"
Foster smirked and said, "I'm more than that, my dear legend. I'm nanny to all these children."
Iris froze at that. Did Foster just call her a legend? What did that imply? But Doctor must not have heard that as he said,
"Exactly! Mum and Dad have got the kids now. They don't need the nanny anymore."
But they were too late as Foster fell to her death once the levitation beam was turned off. Iris cried out in guilt and the Doctor immediately turned her around so that she was in his arms. Donna looked at them and wondered just how close the two really were. She had noticed how there seemed to be an invisible bond between the two and that they seemed to be super friendly.
But she had also seen how Iris froze when Foster had said the word legend while looking at her. Iris seemed to be scared about something and Donna felt protective of the younger woman. Eventually, they all exited the building and handed Iris the sonic pen. Iris pocketed it and took a mental note to keep it in the Torchwood archives. As they were walking away, they saw Penny just glare at them and yell,
"Oi, you three! You're just mad. Do you hear me? MAD! And I'm going to report you for… madness."
Donna snickered as she said, "You see, some people just can't take it."
The Doctor looked at the two women and said, "No."
Donna said then, "And some people can. So, then. TARDIS! Come on!"
Iris chuckled as the two followed the overly excited woman. Once they arrived where the TARDIS was parked, Donna exclaimed,
"That's my car! That is like destiny. And I've been ready for this. I packed ages ago, just in case Because I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather. He goes anywhere. I've gotta be prepared."
Iris snickered, earning a glare from the Time Lord, who jabbed her in her side with a finger.
"Urgh! The pain!" Iris exclaimed, hugging her body from the shocking sensation.
Donna just ignored their antics as she unloaded the boxes into the Doctor's arms. The Doctor looked at one and said with amusement,
"You've got a hatbox."
Donna yelled out, "Planet of the Hats! I'm ready."
Then she looked at the Doctor as she seriously asked, "I don't need injections, do I? You know, like when you got to Cambodia. Is there any of the that? Because my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and she. You're not saying much."
The Doctor looked at Donna then to Iris as he said, "No, it's just. It's a funny old life, in the TARDIS."
Donna looked crestfallen as she said, "You don't want me."
Iris quickly sneaked off and called Jack to let him know that she was ok. But she was more surprised when Jack said,
"Hey, if he's ok with it, go travel with him."
"Jack…" Iris whispered.
"Go. Explore the universe! Have some fun. Just make sure that you come back to us, alright?"
Iris smiled warmly and said, "Yes, sir."
Jack sighed and chuckled before saying farewells. Iris bade him goodbye and headed back to the TARDIS. Donna had gone to leave the car keys to someone, Iris knowing that it would be Rose. But she saw the Doctor loading Donna's boxes into the TARDIS. Sensing her presence, he asked,
"You knew about this didn't you?"
Iris feigned ignorance and asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Donna being my companion."
Iris sighed and said, "Yes. She'll be good for you."
The Doctor then turned around and said, "And you?"
Iris put her hands in her pockets as she asked again, "What?"
The Doctor walked up to her, making her hold in her breath from the closeness as he asked,
"Come with me?"
Iris eyes' widened and said, "You sure?"
The Doctor sent a wave of emotions through their bond and Iris gasped. Looking at the Time Lord, she hesitated before nodding silently and smiling widely. Before they could say anything more, Donna came running in and dragged them both inside.
"Off we go, then."
Iris laughed, wondering how Donna knew that she was tagging along. The Doctor looked at the two of them and said,
"Here it is. The TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."
Iris looked around while Donna responded. She finally will be traveling through the universe in time and space.
The Doctor said, "So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"
Donna grinned and said, "Oh, I know exactly the place."
The Doctor asked her expectantly, "Which is?"
Donna smirked and said, "Two and a half miles that way."
The Doctor looked at Iris in confusion and she merely shrugged, smirking. With a sigh, the Doctor did exactly that after hearing the reason why. The Doctor then opened the door and began waving his hands with Donna and Iris to show Wilf of them traveling.
The Doctor smiled widely. Maybe he could enjoy the presence of another companion. Not one, but two. And his side of the bond tingled with excitement from both Iris and himself.