Author's Notes: I don't own Doctor Who. Thanks again for the reads, reviews and follows. And you know what? Hello, lurkers. I don't think I've said hi to you this whole story. Anyway, please let me know what you think, I look forward to it and happy reading! Or you know as happy as can be since this is Turn Left.

"Leeds?," Donna asked, shifting Zara in her lap. "I can't go to Leeds."

They were in a relocation office, having spent the last month in a hostel. The place was crowded, children were crying and the staff were beyond caring.

"The whole of southern England is covered in radiation," said the worker. "We have seven million people to relocate and France has closed its borders-"

"Allons-y!," Zara interjected as she played with her doll.

The worker sighed. She wasn't amused at Zara. "It's Leeds or you can wait in the hostel another three months."

"All I want is a washing machine," said Sylvia.

"What about Glasgow?," asked Donna. "I heard there were jobs going there."

"You can't pick and choose," said the worker. "It's Leeds or nothing. Next!"

Donna, her mum and grandfather boarded the army bus along with a bunch of other families. Zara played happily, looking out the window until they finally arrived at a street of terraced houses.

They got off the bus and one of the soldiers began calling out assignments. Donna got out Zara's pram and gathered the multitude of other things. For once she was glad she had over-packed since she still had all the baby kit she needed, except for a proper cot and high chair, but it did make her feel a bit like a gypsy to carry around the contents of half of Mothercare and her own things.

"The Noble family at number twenty-nine!"

"That's us," said Wilf.

They walked down the street where a woman was waiting on her front step.

"Used to be a nice little family in number twenty-nine. They missed one mortgage payment - just one - they got booted out. All for you lot."

Donna was furious. "Don't get all chippy with me, Vera Duckworth. Pop your clogs on and go and feed whippets."

They walked on.

"Sweetheart, come on. You're not going to make the world any better by shouting at it," said Wilf.

"I can try," said Donna.

They found number twenty-nine. The door was closed.

"What do we do?," asked Sylvia.

"Do we get keys?," asked Wilf.

"Who do we ask? One of the soldiers?"

The door flew open and a man appeared. "Hey-ey-ey! Is a big house! Room for all. Welcome! In you come."

"I thought this was our house," said Donna.

"Is many people's house! Is wonderful! Here, let me help you!" The man descended the steps and helped Donna with all of Zara's gear. Donna picked up the baby and pulled the pram up with them.

"We've been here for eight weeks already. Had a nice little paper shop in Shepherd's Bush - all gone now!" He pointed up. "So, upstairs, we have Merchandani family, seven of them. Good family. Good kids." He pointed at a boy who walked by. "Except that one. You be careful of him. Ah, that's a joking! Where's that smile, eh?"

He gestured towards himself. "Rocco Colasanto. I'm here with my wife and her sister and her husband and their kids and her daughter's kids. We've got the front room. My mother, she's got the back room. She's old. You'll forgive. And this, this is you. This is your palace!"

Donna looked to see they were in the kitchen. There was a curtain separating it from the rest of the house and beds made up on the floor.

"What do you mean this is us?," asked Sylvia.

"You got camp beds. You got the cooker, you keep warm, you got the fridge, you keep cool. Is good!"

Donna would have shared her mother's sentiment, but Zara was looking at her. She couldn't act worried in front of Zara.

"What about the bathroom?," asked Sylvia.

"Nobody lives in the bathroom!," Rocco laughed.

"No, I mean, is there a rota?," asked Sylvia.

"Is pot-luck! Is fun! I go wake Mamma. She likes new people. Mamma! Is people! Nice people!"

"Oh, well. We'll settle in, won't we? Make do? Bit of wartime spirit, eh?," said Wilf.

Sylvia just sat on her camp bed. Donna looked at Zara.

"Okay," said Donna looking at Zara, "let's get you settled in. Bring out your toys, eh?"

"They'll take up half the room!," Sylvia complained.

Donna shot a look at her mother. "What is she meant to do? Sit quietly on her bed?" Donna looked. Zara didn't even seem to have a bed, actually.

Wilf spoke again. "Well, America, they'll save us. It was on the news. They're going to send Great Britain fifty-billion quid in financial aid. God bless America!"

Donna set up her camp bed so Zara could look out the window. She always wanted to look out the stars as she fell asleep and she could let her have that. The baby didn't seem to mind, holding on to Donna like a baby gorilla while she slept.

As she drifted to sleep she could hear a man. "Donna Noble, you are brilliant."

It wasn't that long later when the residents of number twenty-nine gathered around the tiny television to watch the news from America.

Donna tried to pass Zara some of her tinned meal.

"Banana?," asked Zara.

Donna shook her head. "No, sorry, sweetheart. Those come from far away and almost all the trade has stopped."

Zara looked truly sad.

"People's fat has come to life and is walking through the streets..." the newsreader announced.

"Aliens," said Wilf.

"Yeah," Donna agreed. She looked over at Sylvia. She was alone in the corner. She smiled and turned back to Zara. "Eat up."

"And there are spaceships. There are reports of spaceships over every major US city. The fat is flying. It's leaving..."

They looked to see the little fat creatures floating upwards.

"Bye bye," said Zara waving at the screen.

They settled in to their new life in Leeds. Well, as much as they could. Wilf and Rocco became fast friends. Zara became entranced with the Colasantos and the Merchandanis. She was quickly given the title of "La principessa" and they doted on her, which Donna was grateful for because Sylvia was just tuning out altogether. When she was present, there were more little snaps at Zara. Then Zara impressed them all by picking up Italian, learning it from all the elder residents of the house, especially Rocco's mother. She even spoke more than the Merchandani boys. Her favorite words became "Molto bene."

Donna tried to get work, she did. She went into town as often as she could, there just wasn't much there and what she did get didn't pay well. She kept trying, though, because Zara was counting on her.

She tried, though, and knew she was failing. Then one night she just lost it. She couldn't have Zara living like this with a worthless mother in a kitchen. She didn't even know who her dad was and he was probably dead, anyway.

Then for some reason instead of the mushroom cloud, she flashed back to that hand falling out from under the sheet the night Zara was born.

That hand. It held her hand as brown eyes gleamed at her.

She cried and sobbed as Zara crawled up to be with her.

"Mummy no cry," said Zara.

"Oh, Mummy will cry, thank you," said Donna. She kissed her on the cheek and clutched her close.

She then heard gunshots outside. She watched as Rocco and Wilf rushed out.

She looked at Zara seriously. "Stay here."

She walked outside to find the soldiers were shooting at their cars.

"Hey! Firing at the car is not so good!," said Rocco. "You crazy or what?"

"It's this ATMOS thing, it won't stop! It's like gas, it's toxic."

"Well, switch it off," said Wilf.

"I have done, it's still going. It's every car. Every single ATMOS car, they've gone mad."

Donna heard footsteps behind her and realized Zara hadn't listened. She spun around to pick up the baby and the soldier started screaming.

"You, lady, turn around!"

"What?," asked Donna as she instinctively cradled Zara away from the gun.

"Let me see it!"

Was it her back again? "See what?"

Wilf and Rocco stepped in front of Donna.

"Put the gun down!," said Wilf.

The soldier stopped. "I'm sorry, I thought I saw something-"

"Call yourself a soldier? Pointing guns at innocent women and children?," asked Wilf.

Donna saw the a flash of light and heard a buzzing up the hill.

She knew what it was and carried Zara up with her.

"Donna! Where are you going?"

She walked up and found the blonde.

"Hello."

"Hi," she answered.

She sat with the blonde on a bench as Zara toddled around.

"It's the ATMOS devices. We're lucky it's not so bad here, Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe... China, South Africa... they're getting choked by gas," she explained.

"Can't anyone stop it?," asked Donna.

"Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters... on board the Sontaran ship... any second now..."

Suddenly, the sky turned to fire.

"Stars!," said Zara pointing.

"Yeah, sweetheart, stars," said Donna. She looked back at the blonde. "What was that?"

"That was the Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones. They gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has transported to the Sontaran home world. There's no one left."

Donna looked at the blonde, started examining her up and down. "You're always wearing the same clothes. Why won't you tell me your name?"

"None of this was meant to happen. There was a man. This... wonderful man, and he stopped it. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, he stopped them all from happening."

"That...Doctor?"

"You knew him."

"Did I? When?"

"I think you dream about him, sometimes. It's a man in a suit? A tall, thin man, great hair. Some... really great hair."

Donna could picture herself, lying in bed, lazily playing with some fantastic hair. She had dreams like that where she would only remember snippets, ever since she found out she was pregnant. Pieces of a pinstripe suit. A Chuck Taylor trainer.

Those gleaming brown eyes.

"Who are you?," Donna asked, taking Zara by the hand to keep her from wandering too far.

"I was like you. I used to be you. You've travelled with him, Donna. You've travelled with the Doctor in a different world."

"I never met him and he's dead," said Donna.

"He died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve, but you were meant to be there. He needed someone to stop him, and that was you. You made him leave. You saved his life."

Donna could picture herself in a room that was flooding. She was in a wedding dress. There was screaming. She looked up and she could see the man. The pieces were all there in one package for the first time.

"Doctor!," she shouted.

He turned and looked at her with those eyes.

"You can stop!"

She could see herself again. He was standing in front of her pleading, "Please don't go."

Donna looked back at the blonde. "Stop it. I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone." She picked up Zara and started walking away.

"Something is coming, Donna. Something worse."

"The world is stinking! How can there be anything worse?!"

"Trust me. We need the Doctor more than ever. I've been pulled across from a different universe, because every single universe is in danger. It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."

"What?!," Donna spat.

"The darkness."

"Well, what do you keep telling me for? I'm just a temp, I'm not even that, I'm nothing!"

"You're the most important woman in the whole of creation."

Donna shook her head. "I'm just tired, okay, I'm just tired."

"Donna, you need to come with me."

"Maybe that works on men, blondie, but you're not shifting me. I can't change the world, I can't do anything, I need to take care of my daughter, that is the only thing I need to do, so just leave me alone."

Donna started back down the hill carrying Zara.

"You'll come with me when you're ready, then!"

"You'll have a long wait, then!," Donna shouted back.

"Just three weeks!"

"Then what?," spat Donna. She looked back to see the woman had vanished. She sighed and looked at Zara. "That girl is trouble."

"Trouble," agreed Zara.

"Come on, let's get you to bed."

Donna was extremely surprised to see who was at the door.

"Alex!"

He smiled. He was wearing a nice suit. Donna felt Zara walk up from behind her and hold her leg. She looked, there were two soldiers standing just at the bottom of the steps.

"Is she yours?," Alex asked, pointing at Zara.

"Yeah, this is Zara," said Donna. "Zara, this is Mummy's friend, Alex."

"Hello, Zara," said Alex.

"What are they here for?," Donna asked worried.

"They're my escort."

"Your escort?"

"Want to go grab a bite?"

"I don't have a pass-"

"No, it's fine. We'll bring Zara." He turned and looked at the soldiers. "She's with me."

The soldiers drove them in a jeep past the barricades to the posh part of town. Well, posh for Leeds, anyway. They found a cafe and sat down. Zara played with the offered coloring sheet and crayons.

"Is she writing?," Alex asked in amazement.

"Yeah," said Donna. Zara beamed up at her.

"But she's not yet two, is she?"

The food came and they dug in. Zara was the one taking chips off Alex's plate this time and he seemed to take it pretty well. It was the best meal Donna had in ages, but she kept sliding more food onto Zara's plate.

"No idea when I last went to a restaurant," said Donna. She looked at Alex. "I can't believe you're here. You didn't make it home for Christmas?"

"No," he said. "Too much work. Mum was, though."

"I'm sorry," said Donna.

"A lot of people died."

"That doesn't mean I'm not sorry. I am glad you're alright."

"I'm glad you are."

"What have you been up to?," asked Donna. "I mean, it doesn't look like you've been living in a camp."

"No, my office has set up in Edinburgh."

"I thought the emergency government was in York," said Donna. "Shouldn't the Foreign Office be there?"

"No, my branch is set up there. I still travel a bit, though, not as far lately." He paused. "How have you been getting on?"

"Oh, you know. Same as everyone. My mum is depressed. Grandad's himself. Sharing a kitchen inside a house with twenty other people in it. I've been trying to find work, but it's not easy. I can't get a pass all the time and I've only found really rubbish temporary jobs."

"Do you want money?"

"Oh, Alex, don't give me money."

"No, seriously, I don't need it." He was getting out his wallet.

"Alex, don't."

"Look, here's three hundred quid," said Alex. "That's the cash I've got on me-"

"Alex-" she protested.

He put the notes in her hand and closed it shut. "Come on. You've got Zara to think about."

"I've got no way to pay you back," said Donna.

"Don't worry about it," said Alex. "I told you. I don't need it."

"Why are you doing this?," asked Donna.

"My family's gone, Donna. I've known you since we were kids. Who else am I going to give it to?"

They rode back to the tenement. Alex walked Donna and Zara to the door.

"I have to travel again," said Alex. "I ought to be able to visit in a few weeks, if you want me to."

"Of course I would," said Donna. She motioned around. "As you can see, I haven't got anything planned."

He handed her a business card. "If you have any problems, call this number."

"At the Foreign Office?," Donna asked.

"Just say my name," said Alex.

Donna was left standing with Zara as he drove off.

Sylvia appeared. "Was that Alex Wroughton?"

"Yeah," said Donna. "He's living in Edinburgh now. He stopped by to visit."

Sylvia tsked. "That's not what he stopped by for."

Donna turned to her mother. "What are you talking about?"

Zara held up her coloring sheets from the cafe.

"Come on, sweetheart," said Donna. "We'll put those up on the wall!"

A/N: Reviews are like missing a really good sale and then you use the TARDIS to travel back in time to be first in line. Yeah, I've thought this out. My similes still need work, though.