A/N: here is the penultimate chapter. I hope you're heartbroken there's only one more part... what? Can't a writer wish?

Part 8

.

"Donna, isn't it time we met this new young man of yours?" Sylvia quizzed her. "Or are you ashamed of me and your dad?"

"Of course I'm not ashamed! Whatever made you think that?" Donna protested.

"The fact you haven't let us see him, obviously," Sylvia retorted. "Why don't you bring him round for Sunday dinner? Your dad would love to find out all about this John."

Donna scowled at her. "And what would you like to do with him? I'm warning you, Mum, don't mess this up for me."

Sylvia snorted her derision. "I could only ruin things if he isn't serious about you; so don't talk wet!"

"Alright, I'll invite him round," Donna said resignedly. "What time Sunday do you want him to show up?"

"Make it noon," her mother replied.

"Why does that have such an ominous ring to it?" Donna asked.

"Stop being such a drama queen! And none of your antics, missy," Sylvia warned her.

John turned up at the Noble house bright and early, in order to impress and save Donna from any grief. His relief was tangible when it was Donna who answered the door, and she ushered him in. "I wasn't sure whether to bring a gift or not, so I played safe with this...," he said, showing Donna the bottle of white wine he had bought.

Donna kissed his cheek gratefully. "Mum will be happy with anything so you've already made her day. Come through and meet everyone." She grasped his hand, noting how nervously he shook, and led him further into the house. "This is Gramps, my granddad... and this is Mum," she introduced him. "This is John."

"Nice to meet you, lad. You can call me Wilf," her Gramps greeted John with a firm shake of the hand.

Sylvia was more reticent when she took John's outstretched hand. "Hello, I'm Sylvia," she told him.

There was much smiling before John realised he was still holding his gift, so he blustered his apology and passed the bottle to a delighted Sylvia. "Isn't he thoughtful!" she muttered to Donna. "Go and show him to your dad while I finish off dinner with Dad's help."

Up until that point Donna had been hesitant to do so without her mother's permission, so she held out her hand to John. "Come and meet Dad. He's up in the bedroom."

John found himself being taken up the stairs and shown into the main bedroom. "Hello," he instantly greeted the frail man lying in the bed.

"Dad, this is John," Donna proudly introduced them. "He's the history teacher I told you all about."

John gladly accepted Donna's dad's feeble handshake. "Sorry about not being able to get up," Geoff quickly excused himself, nodding towards the bed. "I've been under the weather for a while now. Our Donna has said some lovely things about you."

"Oh!" John instantly blushed a deep red. "I hope some of it is close to the truth," he said modestly.

Donna told possessive hold of his arm. "No, not a word of it was anywhere near," she teased.

Geoff chuckled. "You've got to watch her, she can big you up without a backward glance," he told John. "Donna, can you get me some fresh cold water?" he suddenly asked.

"Of course, Dad," she immediately agreed and raced downstairs to do so.

Geoff watched her cautiously and then spoke softly to John. "I know you've only been together for five minutes, but would you promise me something?"

"I'll try to," John answered, wondering where this was going.

"Look after her for me. I know she seems strong, and she takes care of everyone else; but sometimes she needs taking care of more than anyone; not that she'd ever admit it!" Geoff explained.

It didn't seem too much of a hard decision for John to agree to keep an eye on Donna; after all his secret plans all revolved around her anyway.

"You'd better not have been giving him the third degree," Donna warned her father when she reappeared a minute later.

"Oh no! I have no intention of scaring this one off," he consoled her; and John and Donna shared a relieved smile.

Once Sylvia had taken up Geoff his dinner on a tray, and they'd sat watching him eat some of it before he'd given up after gamely attempting to finish the meal, they made their way back downstairs and tackled their own meal.

"Donna said you're only at the school until Christmas, like her," Wilf started up a conversation with John. "Where are you off to after that?"

John reluctantly admitted, "I have no idea yet. It all depends what I am offered. Hopefully I will hear by the end of October, but you never know in this game what will come up next."

"Don't you find it all rather unsettling, not knowing where you will be or what you will be doing next term?" Sylvia asked him.

"Not at all! I rather like the flexibility and spontaneity of it all. Life can get boring otherwise," John replied.

"See! I'm not the only one who likes temporary jobs," Donna took the opportunity to stress a point she had often made to her mother.

Sylvia shrugged her shoulders. "It just doesn't seem a good way to carry on, if you ask me. Especially if you ever want to have children together."

"Who said we're having children?" Donna spluttered. "Getting a bit ahead of yourself there, Mum. You're almost as bad as the kids at school."

"Been giving you both some grief, have they?" Wilf asked mischievously.

"I'll say!" John agreed. "But it's been fun, hasn't it?" he asked Donna, adding in a cheeky wink.

"What on earth have they said?" Sylvia innocently wondered.

John went straight into a list of things said without thinking to clear it with Donna. "They've had me dating someone else, cheating on her, leading Donna astray, we've apparently eloped, ending up with an illegal marriage; and the latest is that we are secretly married with a baby on the way!"

"Baby? When did they come out with that one?" Donna immediately quizzed him.

"Didn't you hear that one? Yes, the year eights have you a few weeks pregnant and they've started offering me possible names to call it. So far the most requested name is Justin if it's a boy, and Whitney for a girl. I should have sold raffle tickets for it in hindsight; I'd have made a fortune for Children In Need," John breezily explained.

Sylvia looked horrified. "They say that sort of thing to teachers these days? That's terrible! When I was young you would never have dreamt of saying such a thing. It's not even as if Donna has had the chance to get pregnant given the short time you've known each other."

She mistook Donna and John's embarrassed laugh as pertaining to what the kids had come out with. "True, kids are less respectful these days; but they do make it fun at times too," John commented, and then felt it best if he left it at that.

Donna regarded the poster on the staffroom noticeboard with many misgivings. "What do you say to going to the sixth form's Halloween dance? It could be fun," John tried to entice her. "You did say you wanted to dress up and go somewhere together."

"I don't know. I mean, it's another school thing so you'd be on duty again," she argued; but there was no protection against those puppy dog eyes of his. "Oh all right! I'll go, but don't expect me to let every lecherous sixth form boy try out his chat up techniques on me."

"They'd better bloody not! I'll have the little buggers' guts for garters," he complained jealously.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. No doubt you have a costume in mind," she said. "If you make me the back end of any pantomime animal I swear I shall leave my handprint on your face for weeks to come."

"As if I'd do that," he consoled her. "Especially when stage makeup can hide so much these days." It was only by sheer luck that he caught her hand before it made contact with soft tissue.

"This is ridiculous! Remind me again why I let you talk me into this," Donna griped loudly as she adjusted her costume around her torso.

"Because you look beautiful," John said once he had managed to get his pointed false teeth to sit properly in his mouth so that he could actually speak.

"Fangs for that," she quipped. "That's easy for you to say; but I've got to go out in public like this and I'm not sure hormonal seventeen year old boys are the ideal audience. Heck, I'd be worried about Gramps' silver cloak rabble seeing me!" She continued to prod and poke at her neckline. "Surely this can be classed as indecent?"

"Oh for the love of...! You look terrific, you know you do; so stop whinging and enjoy a night out away from your mother for a change," he moaned in return. "Just think how bad it is for me to spend all evening only being able to look at you."

She patted his cheek patronisingly. "Nice try, history boy. You almost had me believing you for a few seconds."

"Worth a try," he added.

"Oh definitely," she agreed.

James took his school duties as head boy very seriously; so it was with pride that he stood at the entrance of the sixth form dance. "How are you tonight, Mr and Mrs Smith?" he greeted them when he saw them appear.

"Fine thank you, Oliver," John answered, deliberately getting his name wrong in return. He may let them get away with calling Donna 'Mrs Smith' but he felt duty bound to show them that he didn't like it.

The head boy merely smirked in response, until he noticed Donna's costume as she removed her coat and his eyes nearly popped out of his head! "Who have you come as, miss?" he stammered.

"I thought you said it would be obvious we were Gomez and Morticia Addams," she admonished John. "I needn't have frozen my bits off like this."

John opened his mouth to comment on her bits, but thought better of it, so he quickly shut it again. Instead he felt it was best that he reply, "Come, my love, and let me get you a drink."

"Work work work," she joked to the head boy, and swept into the room beyond.

It all looked like a typical school dance to Donna; lots of wall flowers, loads of boys too embarrassed to ask a girl to dance, and a few confident couples. Thank God this time she was one of a couple there! As soon as she saw John get collared by a member of staff she sashayed across, seductively placed her arms around his neck and led him onto the dance floor, assured in the knowledge that he would willingly follow her if he knew what was good for him.

John breathed deeply as Donna moved against his body. "What are you trying to do to me, you minx?"

"You're the one that chose these outfits; I am merely a prop. If you'd rather I went and found someone else to do this with just say the word and I'll go," she offered, purring straight into his ear as she fought to ignore the way he made her feel. "I can just as easily take it all off."

She was doing it to him again! Not that he hadn't completely encouraged her. It had been part of the reason he had welcomed her into practically living with him. This was turning into the most wonderful period of his life. "Hold that thought until later, would you?" he breathily requested.

She bit down lightly on his earlobe, clinching the deal. "For you, darling, anything."

Martha kept her attention on them despite chatting to fellow science teacher Wendy Gibson.

"You must be so pleased for your friend, John," Wendy commented. "Unless they do all that smooching in front of you all the time."

Martha forced herself to wryly chuckle. "It is a problem at times," she admitted. "I hope for their sakes it can last."

"What makes you think it won't?" queried Wendy.

"The little matter of him not being what he seems," Martha said before she could stop herself. "And Donna not really being the person he wants."

"Oh!" Wendy exclaimed in shock. "Who is it she should be worried about?"

"A blonde who left him in the lurch. But take no notice of me; I'm sure Donna has nothing to worry about if she comes back," Martha commented.

Wendy didn't look convinced as she sipped anxiously on her drink.