Donna took a sip of her coffee, then looked expectantly across the table at him. "Well?" she prompted.

The Doctor looked back at her, eyes wide. Where to start? This had seemed like such a good plan, right up until this moment. "Well," he said. "Well, you see…it's sort of…complicated." He ran his fingers through his hair absently. He grinned ruefully. "Guess I didn't plan this very well."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "You'll have to do better than that. Why don't you start with why I should work for you."

"Not for me, for Torchwood," he said. "Because you're brilliant, of course."

"And how do you know that, then?"

"Because I know you. Well, not you, someone like you, from another world."

"Another world? Is this a joke? Are there cameras here?" Donna looked around, pushing her chair back.

"No, no, nothing like that!" he said, reaching for her hand. She was going to leave and he'd never see her again, all because he hadn't planned this properly. He could feel his heart racing. "Please," he said, and he could hear the desperation in his voice.

To his relief, she didn't stand up, nor even pull her hand away. She looked down at his hand holding hers, and he could see her thinking. Finally, she looked back at him. "You'd better hope there aren't any cameras, else there'll be a picture of us holding hands on the front page. Your Rose won't like that, I'll wager."

"She knows I'm here," he said. That was mostly true. "Look, this will sound mad, completely bonkers. I hope you'll believe me, but all I ask is that you listen. Will you do that?"

She gently removed her hand from his, then pulled her chair back up to the table. "Okay. Why don't you start at the beginning."

He took a deep breath. Might as well just dive right in. "There are other worlds, like this one, running on parallel timelines. Like alternate universes. Normally, they never overlap and no one even knows about them. Each world is sealed off. But there have been a few times when we were able to travel between this world and another one, across the dimensions. With me so far?"

She nodded, "I think so. Go on."

"I'm from the other world. So is Rose," he said. He'd deal with Jackie later. "And I knew the Donna Noble of that world. Quite well, actually."

She narrowed her eyes. "Really," she said.

"Yes, really," he continued.

"So that's why Rose just appeared out of nowhere – the lost heiress? There was a lot of speculation, but never an 'alternate world' suggestion," she said.

He hadn't thought about how they would have explained her sudden appearance. "Yes," he said.

"So, why are you here? Can't you go back?"

"No, we can't go back. The dimensions are sealed off again." He rubbed his chin, tugged at his ear. This was the hard part. "Even if they weren't sealed, I couldn't go back."

"Whyever not?"

"I shouldn't even exist. And I wouldn't, if it weren't for you. Well, the other you."

"Is this going to make any kind of sense?"

He shrugged. "Probably not," he said. At least she was still listening. He did his best to explain the metacrisis, the Daleks, all of it. How he was part Timelord, part human, and partly her. By the time he finished, her coffee had gone cold and the cafe was mostly empty. At least she had listened to the whole story.

"You were right. It does sound bonkers," she said, finally.

"Yep," he agreed.

"So you came looking for me. Because you miss her?" she asked.

"Yes. Well, I didn't intend to look for you. I just started seeing you everywhere."

He could see her thinking. "You called my name. Outside the theatre."

"That was me. I didn't think you heard," he said.

She picked up her coffee cup, put it down again. "I'm not her, you know. I can't take her place."

"No, of course not." He held his breath.

"Did you love her?" she asked, watching him closely.

He hesitated. "We were best mates," he said. Which didn't really answer the question, he knew.

"And Rose?"

He wasn't sure what she was asking, so he avoided the question again. "She's waited a long time for me."

"Hmmm," she said. "Alright. I'll give you and your Torchwood two weeks. Only because they are probably going to sack me from this job for taking a two-hour break anyway."

He grinned, "Brilliant! You won't regret it!"

"Oh, I probably will," she said, with a smile. "Where should I report, then?"

"We'll send a car in the morning," he said.

"A car? How posh," she said, standing and putting her purse over her shoulder.

He stood, too. He wanted to hug her, but thought it was probably too soon for that. He stuck out his hand instead. "Until tomorrow, Ms. Noble," he said, shaking her hand.

"Oh, you can call me Donna," she said. She shook his hand, but to his surprise, she stepped forward to put her other arm around his shoulder to give a quick pat. For a few minutes after she left, he just stood there.

Donna tossed her purse and her mail on the table by the door as she entered her flat. She kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the sofa. What had possessed her to say yes? He sounded absolutely mad, and she wasn't sure how much of his bizarre story she believed. But he had seemed so sincere, looking at her with those big eyes as he talked about someone who looked like her, in another world. And why had she felt compelled to hug him? He had seemed so vulnerable, then so happy when she said yes.

She got up and picked up her mail from the table, idly flipping through it. Torchwood. What could she possibly offer them? Well, she supposed administrative skills could be useful anywhere, but she had heard rumors of the sorts of things they were working on. Bonkers. But if they were sending a car, she might as well get the first day tour, and then decide whether to stay. She could always go back to the temp agency if it seemed too weird.

She walked back to her bedroom. Better decide what to wear now, she thought. Maybe her black pinstripe suit. Yes, that would do nicely.

"You told her we'd send round a car?" Rose asked. She was sitting in the chair across from his desk. He still wasn't sure he liked having a desk, and a proper job, but he was trying to adjust.

"Yes," the Doctor answered. "Shouldn't I have?" He was rubbish at protocol, following the rules.

"Well, it's not really standard procedure," she answered. "But I suppose under the circumstances it's alright."

"Good, good. We should have a desk and everything set up for her before she gets here, don't you think?"

"What exactly do you think she'll be doing?"

"Well, she's a secretary. Don't we have secretaries? Administrative assistants or something?"

"Of course we do."

"Well then, she can be my secretary. Assistant. Whatever she wants to be called."

"Your secretary," Rose said.

"Sure. Why?"

"It just sounds so...domestic," she said with a grin. "Is that what you told her?"

"No, I didn't actually tell her what her title would be," he answered. "If she doesn't want to do that, we can find something else, can't we?"

Rose nodded. "Knowing the other Donna, I imagine she'll be running the place before long."

He grinned, "Right you are."

"Right, then. Let's find her a desk, shall we?" She stood and headed out of his office, and he followed.

"This will be your desk," he said, gesturing toward it. "My office is through that door, but I'm usually in the lab. You can set this up however you like, just let us know what you need."

Donna nodded. "I'll be your secretary?"

"Well, only if you want. And you can choose a different title if you like."

He watched her survey the room. "I'll need a few things, but this will do for now." She put her purse in one of the desk drawers, and picked up a notepad and pen. "Why don't we go over what you expect of me," she said.

"Oh, well," he stammered. He hadn't thought of that. Shouldn't she know what needed to be done?

She took pity on him. "Doctor. That is what you like to be called?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Doctor, why don't you sit down here," she gestured at the chair next to her desk, and seated herself behind the desk. He sat, not sure what to expect. "You've never had a secretary before?"

"No. Well, yes. Well, no. Not secretaries, but assistants."

"Right." Donna put down the pen. She looked back at him. "What exactly do you do here?"

He took a deep breath. "Officially, I'm the science advisor, or something."

"And unofficially?"

Just as sharp as the other Donna. "Unofficially, I'm trying to build a ship."

"A ship?"

"A spaceship. And maybe a time machine, but that's much more complicated."

"I see," she said. He watched her, afraid she would decide that she wanted no part of his insanity. "So," she started, then stopped. "So," she started again. "You're doing research?"

"Yes, research."

"Well, then, you need someone to organize it. I can help you with that," she said decisively.

"That," he said, "would be brilliant."