Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thank you for the reads and reviews and follows! Please let me know what you think and happy reading!
The Doctor couldn't stand it.
His sister's interrogation.
Alright, so it wasn't what would be defined in most corners of the galaxy as an interrogation, per se, but he could tell. Malyon sat across from him silently, the creaks of the sitting room filling the silence.
"I didn't do anything!," he finally burst out.
"Did I say anything?"
"She's being irrational, she's not thinking things through, she-"
"I never said a word. I simply worry that you're not taking the Oracle's last request seriously as you have made no progress of late."
"How am I to make any progress when she-"
"And now she sits with Romana." Malyon scoffed. "The only woman who would ask for you, though I know not why."
"We were close in my fourth incarnation."
Malyon narrowed her eyes. "How close?"
The Doctor took the opportunity to steal a glance at his wristwatch. "Well, then, best be off. Time for the school run."
"Doctor!," Malyon shouted.
"Oswin! Lydia! Time to pop over to Earth!," the Doctor called.
"You should have never let her meet the Master!," Malyon shouted helplessly as he got further away.
"Miss Noble."
Donna looked up to see Romana. Where had the time gone?
"Right, I've got those minutes right here for you," said Donna, taking some pages off the printer.
"Are you distracted, Miss Noble?"
Was she distracted? What? Other than having her children's alien father having exacted his own custodial arrangements?
"No, of course not."
"Perhaps the position is too demanding."
"I don't think so," said Donna. Ever since she'd gotten back from Gallifrey, she found herself more and more fed up with Romana, which of course was nothing to do with that half-arsed marriage proposal because she certainly didn't want him. No, of course she didn't. She didn't like those big eyes or the cute bum or the good kissing...
"Miss Noble, are you listening?"
"Of course I am." It wasn't as if she was distracted like some love-addled school girl thinking about the kiss with the Doctor and the fact that the only other man she had ever loved was actually the same man and he was back... Sort of. No, nothing like that. Romana droning on was much more interesting.
Donna came in from her usual long day to find Sylvia laying in wait for her as she came in the house.
"I have had enough of this," said Sylvia.
"Well, hi to you, too," said Donna.
"Josh and Ella are my grandchildren and I think they're spending far too much time with those aliens," said Sylvia.
"Oh, come on, Sylvia," said Wilf, "what's the harm?"
"The Doctor seems to adore them," said Geoffrey.
"Mum, please, I don't have the patience for this right now," said Donna. "I just walked in the door. I haven't eaten-"
"Is that all you can think about? There's something strange about this!"
"Mum, there is nothing strange- okay, well, yes, there is something strange about this but not in whatever prejudiced way you're thinking of!," said Donna. "Just let them carry on, would you?"
"I think I deserve an explanation!"
Donna sighed. "And you will get one when I am ready to give it."
Donna made her way upstairs. What was she going to tell her family? What was she going to tell Josh and Ella? It was all such a huge mess she laid at the feet of the skinny alien who would one day become a floppy-haired alien.
"Oh, hi, Donna," said Oswin. "Dad is just upstairs with Ella. Josh is already asleep."
"Already?," asked Donna.
"Wore him out," said Oswin with a smile. "Good night."
Donna finished going upstairs and came upon Ella's room.
"That is not how the story goes," Ella protested.
"Yes, it is," said the Doctor.
"Where were the dwarves?," asked Ella.
"Dwarves? There were no dwarves in Snow White. That was just an egregious misinterpretation of the facts," said the Doctor.
"Let me see," said Ella.
"You saw the book same as me."
Donna walked in as Ella took the book and was flipping the pages.
"Hello," said the Doctor.
"Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday?," asked Donna, looking at the cover. "Bit scary, don't you think?"
"Nonsense!," said the Doctor.
"I'm not frightened," said Ella.
"Of course you aren't," said the Doctor. "Brave girl like you? What have you got to be scared of?"
"Say good night, Ella," said Donna.
"Good night, Doctor," said Ella.
Donna followed the Doctor out.
"When are you going to tell your family?," asked the Doctor.
"Tell them what?"
"About Josh and Ella."
"When are you going to tell your family?"
"Malyon knows. I don't want Oswin and Lydia to have the burden of lying to them."
"I don't see why-"
"They've always liked each other," said the Doctor. "Don't you see that's why? Time Lord siblings are very linked to each other. It's unfair to even have only one. I remember when Oswin was young-" He stopped himself. Donna instantly knew that whatever would have followed was too hard to say. "Well, we had lost the others by then."
"I'm sorry," Donna said again, feeling inadequate.
"So if you think I'll give them up, you're mistaken," said the Doctor. "The same goes for me not giving you up. I'm not losing anyone else."
Donna watched as he left.
No, that whole protective thing with the serious eyes, that wasn't sexy at all.
"How long have you known the Doctor?," asked Romana.
Donna looked up. The question had come out of nowhere. Not that she hadn't been thinking about possibly related questions.
Oh, God, she was doomed.
"Well, just since I worked for the Oracle," said Donna.
"I used to travel with him," said Romana.
"Oh," said Donna, trying to sound disinterested.
"I'm thinking of utilizing his reproductive cells," said Romana.
Donna tried not to drop her tea. The cow! He had flat-out told her no. In the nicest possible way, but no!
Again, not that Donna was interested.
"I worry that he may have some undesirable attributes," said Romana. He's quite volatile. Even looking at Oswin and Lydia-"
"What's wrong with Oswin and Lydia?," Donna asked tartly, her blood boiling.
"They are just children, but their shortcomings are widely known."
"Well, let's see," said Donna, "they were both born during a terrible war and just lost their mother. I think they're wonderful."
"Though some of that is due to the nature of their birth. This level of laziness never would have been allowed in my day. I shan't allow it."
Romana finally noticed that Donna was glaring at her.
"Is something the matter?"
"You're talking like there's something wrong with them," said Donna.
"Just that they were born. I plan on perfecting the process."
"You can't perfect being born," said Donna.
"Well, your species can't," said Romana. "Not with your hopeless and futile obsession with love."
Donna had enough. She stood and began gathering her things. "They're not the ones who need fixing and neither are we, you old cow. Just because you don't feel love or can't or don't want to, I don't know what your problem is, doesn't mean you should condemn everyone else to the same fate just because your biological time clock is ticking away!"
"Where are you going?"
"Lunch break," said Donna.
Romana looked flummoxed. "But who will type my memorandum to the United Nations?"
"Time Lords have fingers, don't they?," asked Donna, taking her bag and coat.
Romana made eye contact with Frobisher, who had been pretending not to watch from across the room. "Humans are so hard to read. Do you know what could be the matter with her?"
Donna made her way to the school. She knew the Doctor would be there and this was confirmed when she saw the blue box on the corner outside the gate.
Donna walked in the TARDIS. "Are Oswin and Lydia here?"
The Doctor was surprised to see her. "No, today is their tutelage with their aunt. Why do you-"
Donna spun around and kissed the Doctor. He returned the gesture and their hands began a frenzied exploration of one another.
"I think I'm going to resign," said Donna.
"Okay," said the Doctor, having no idea what bearing that had on what was happening at the moment.
She loosened his tie. "See, I can't stand Romana..."
"She's really not that bad," said the Doctor.
"Hush it," said Donna. "I think you deserve to be loved and you definitely need to be looked after and I want to be the one doing it and I'm not going to have her having some reproductive cells-"
The Doctor frowned. "The what?"
"Hush," Donna corrected again. "Because I happen to be of the opinion you should only have babies with people you love."
"You're unbuttoning my shirt," said the Doctor.
"Yeah, has no one done that before?"
"Not in a while."
"I'm not violating Time Lord protocol or something, am I?"
"Not exactly..."
"You don't care for it?," asked Donna undoing the final button.
"No, I'm finding it rather pleasant."
"Then what..." Donna asked, punctuating her question by shoving off his shirt and jacket, "...is the problem?"
"None that I can see," said the Doctor. "I do have a bedroom."
Donna looked at her watch. "Yeah, and we've got thirty minutes until Josh and Ella get out of school."
"Right..." said the Doctor. "So long as you understand that in future we will need more than thirty minutes."
"Really?," asked Donna.
"Oh, yes."
"Sounds promising," said Donna.
They resumed their fervent kissing and Donna found her jumper coming off just as she felt a burst of cold air on her back.
Also, for some reason the kissing had stopped.
"Sweetheart, what's-"
She turned to match the Doctor's gaze as Rose Tyler had just entered the TARDIS along with a group of people she didn't recognize.
And she had no top.
"Where's the Doctor?," Rose demanded. "Who the hell are you? Who's she?"
"The Doctor..." repeated the Doctor. "Right, I think he just went for chips."
"Is that your plan?," Donna whispered.
"Yes, and I happen to think it's fairly good," said the Doctor.
"No, you're the Doctor," said another small, mousy woman.
"What?," asked Rose.
"Your plan has failed," said Donna.
"Yeah, seeing that." The Doctor stepped back. "So, hello, everyone. Uh, who are you?"
"I'm Elton," said one blond bloke. "This is Ursula, Bliss, Bridget and Mister Skinner."
"What is going on here?," demanded Rose.
"Well, this is Donna..." said the Doctor.
"From the phones?," Rose asked with contempt.
"Doctor," said Donna.
"Yes?"
"Where is my jumper?," she asked in a hoarse whisper.
"Good question."
"Is this it?," Bridget asked politely picking it up off the railing and passing it to Donna.
"Yes, thank you," said Donna.
"What's going on, Doctor? Why did you abandon me?"
"He's been busy!," Donna shot back as the Doctor fumbled for an answer. "His wife died! He's had his children to look after!"
"Not too busy for you to throw yourself at him," said Rose.
Donna scoffed. "Hardly!"
"Sorry, I'm still unclear about what everyone is doing here?," asked the Doctor.
"We're the London Investigations 'n' Detective Agency," said Elton.
"Un?," asked the Doctor.
"No, 'n', like fish 'n' chips," said Elton. "LINDA for short."
"We were looking for you," said Rose.
"A bit," said Ursula. "Honestly, we were having fun in our band and then Rose came along and all the stalking began."
"We never found out what happened in Mister Skinner's book," complained Bliss.
"It is not stalking!," said Rose.
"It seems just a bit like stalking," said Bridget.
"We were going to see the universe," said Rose. "What happened?"
There was a long pause.
"Uh, sorry?," the Doctor finally said.
"Such a brilliant race, the Time Lords," said Donna.
"What are you doing with her?," asked Rose, looking at Donna.
"I think that's obvious," said Ursula.
"What's everyone doing here?," asked Josh.
The men and women of LINDA parted ways to reveal Josh and Ella had arrived.
Ella looked up. "Are you the Doctor's friends?"
"What? Now there's kids?," asked Rose.
"What happened to your shirt, Doctor?," asked Ella.
"That's a good question," said the Doctor. "Always with the questions, aren't you?"
"He spilled something on it," said Donna. "So, you two got out early. How nice."
Josh looked around. "What's going on?"
"Nothing!," said the Doctor. "Just standing here without a shirt."
Rose threw her hands up. "You lied to me!"
"Did I?"
"Yes! You were showing me the universe and now you're just sitting outside some school with these kids and that slapper and the wrong face!"
"We can take this outside, missy," said Donna.
"It's me or them, Doctor."
The Doctor frowned. "Them. Sorry."
Rose looked gobsmacked and walked out of the TARDIS.
"Did you want to get your things?," the Doctor called after. "There was a lot of cosmetics..."
After a chat and after the Doctor found a shirt, the rest of LINDA, who were actually quite nice, left.
"Are we traveling somewhere?," asked Ella.
The Doctor looked at Donna. "Are we?"
"We have a lot to do," said Donna.
"Oh, Mum," Josh groaned.
"Do we?," the Doctor asked with a grin.
"You bet we do," said Donna.