A/N: I'm not happy with this chapter but at least it is done.

Part 19

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"He's not picking up," Donna fretted at her phone as the taxi sped along. "Why isn't Callum answering? How much of a head start did Nerys say Lance has?"

"Easily more than thirty minutes," John reluctantly replied. It was plenty of time to reach Callum.

"We'll stop Lance before he has a chance to do anything," Jack promised her.

"NO!" Donna screamed. "For God's sake, let him go, Lance! It's me you want. Not him."

"But he means something to you. Doesn't he?" Lance yelled back. "More than me!"

"It's erm… It's not as though I don't think anything of you," she replied.

"Oh yeah?" Lance dismissed her words before prodding Callum in the throat with a sharp blade. "You took me to court," he accused, "had me legally allowed no nearer than a hundred yards. That's how much you think of me! But this kid, this little boy turns up out of the blue with no connections is suddenly allowed to be with you. Not me. Him!"

"There's a special reason for that," she cautiously responded. "One you might be aware of."

"I know all about your gymslip pregnancy," Lance sneered. "How you let yourself get up the duff and then dumped your sprog so that you could go gallivanting around the country with a load of musicians."

Donna blanched at his words. "That's not true," she insisted.

"Isn't it?!" Lance shrieked. "I saw you."

"What do you mean you saw me?" she wondered.

"Don't play the innocent with me," he spat. "You were with that guitar player," he proclaimed, pointing vaguely, "from the old rock band. You had him in your hotel room. I saw you with him… doing stuff!"

"Give over," she raged. "You didn't see squat!"

"I saw you with my own eyes, through the window, half naked with that has been," Lance maintained. "Oh you think you were really clever, getting that court injunction against me, but it didn't stop me getting a room in the building opposite, right where I could see you prancing about in front of the window."

"Got a telescope, have you?" she accused. "To do your peeping Tom act?"

"So what if I did?" he confessed. "It doesn't alter the fact you would throw yourself at him. Funny how you are suddenly available to jump into bed with a man."

"I think that's the point, Lance," she deliberately riled him. "I finally found a man to take an interest in, and not someone who saw me as an object. As some sort of trophy that you'd parade in front of your mates, if you actually had any."

"You bitch!" he declared, raising the knife in a more threatening manner. "You'll pay for that by losing your b-"

He never finished the sentence because John suddenly grabbed him from behind, knocking the knife out of his hand whilst holding his throat, and then Jack dived to rugby-tackled Lance to the ground. Lance was soon pinned down with his wrists held behind his back.

Instantly, Donna ran forward to grasp Callum, hugging him tight for a second. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" she quickly asked. Once he'd nodded to confirm he was okay, she turned her attention onto John. "I was beginning to think you'd never get here."

"We had a bit of trouble getting over the back fence," he sheepishly admitted, keeping a grip on their prisoner.

"But we got here as soon as we could," Jack tacked on. He nodded down at the prone Lance beneath his knee. "We tried to make it worth the wait."

Donna suddenly noted that Lance's wrists were held together with a cable tie. "Where on earth did you get that from?"

"My pocket," Jack nonchalantly replied. Seeing her confused expression, he waggled his eyebrows whilst saying, "You just never know when they might come in handy."

"Trust me, you don't want to know," John quietly added when she turned her frown on to him.

"The police will be here any moment, they said on the phone," Callum's mother appeared to assure them. "Why was he after my son?"

"It's because of me, I'm afraid," Donna confessed, releasing her remaining hold on Callum so that he could be held by his adopted mother. It hurt to see but she knew that it almost meant he had lived in a loving relationship. "Ah. There they are," she observed as the police car pulled up sharp outside the house.

Two officers wearing stab vests got out of the car and assessed the situation. Explanations were offered, Lance was handcuffed properly, and statements taken, and video footage taken by a neighbour was included with the arrest sheet. Another police car had turned up to help collect witness statements.

Throughout the questioning, Callum sat away from Donna despite her wanting to desperately check on him again. That special position was rightly taken by his mother. By her side, John continued to offer comfort and protection, grasping her hand in his or wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

It was exhausting after the drama and emotional confrontation. She noted it was lucky they weren't performing that night, since it gave them the chance to check in on Nerys to see if she was okay before heading off down the motorway to their next venue.

"Who could have imagined this happening when we woke up this morning?" Jack wondered when they were eventually released by the police to go home.

"Nothing but fun when you meet me," Donna joked. "I'm so glad you were here to help though, Jack. Thank you."

"See. I have my good side," he cheekily replied, giving her a wink. "And you thought I was all bad."

"I didn't," she denied, causing John to laugh. "Well. Not all the time," she amended.

"On that note, I shall leave you two lovey people to get on with your day." Jack hugged them both goodbye. "Let me know if you need me again."

"Where to next?" John whispered into her ear.

Tonight meant together in a hotel room, with him free to take their relationship wherever they wanted to, she remembered. A night full of potential promise. Or disaster.

"Hmm. I was thinking…. Basinstoke."

A/N2: many thanks to serenityslady for suggesting 'Basingstoke' from Gilbert & Sullivan's "Ruddigore".