Author's Notes: I do NOT, seriously, DO NOT own Doctor Who, the Duplicate Doctor or Donna. Anyway, apologies about the delay, I started working nights, then the chapter I thought was this chapter had a line in it where I was like "Why am I not writing this chapter first?" Oh, as a reminder, just so no one gets confused I wrote chapter 22 and put it up, but then the site went all weird and it wouldn't show up until a day later, so if you don't think you read that chapter, you should go back and do that because there's stuff and things in there that you will need to know. Anyway, thanks for the reads and reviews and the follows and the favorites. I love hearing what you all think, so please enjoy this chapter and let me know!

"We're home!," Donna announced walking in holding hands with John. They had just been to the obstetrician and she couldn't wait to tell Josh and Ella everything.

"Hey," said Josh.

Donna smiled at John, walking in as Josh sat at the television.

"We were just as the doctor's," said Donna, trying to rouse his attention. "We got a picture of the baby. We brought it home to show you."

"Uh-huh."

John walked over and took the remote control, shutting the telly off.

"I was watching that!," said Josh.

"That wasn't watching so much as being hypnotized," said John.

"Where's your sister?," asked Donna.

"Her room. Lisette sent her there."

"What?," said Donna.

"She screamed about the monster again."

Donna looked at John. "I don't bloody believe it," she whispered.

"I'll speak with her," said John.

"This is the last warning," Donna hissed. "I mean it."

"I'll tell her," said John.

Donna made her way up to Ella's room. She found her sitting on her bed.

"Hi, Mummy."

"Hi, sweetheart." She sat next to her on the bed. "How was your day?"

"Bad."

"Why bad, sweetheart?"

"My monster came back and Lisette sent me to my room."

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen again." She rubbed her back. "Come on. Downstairs."

Later that night, John came in the master bedroom. Donna had been fuming since she came upstairs and John went to talk to Lisette. She had worked herself into a proper anger, something she had done a lot lately, pregnancy hormones had put her on overdrive, she was saving all her diplomacy for work.

"What did she say?," Donna asked sharply.

John sighed. "She thinks Ella is doing it to get attention."

Donna scoffed. "Of course she's not!"

"I know."

"This business all started that night at Ethan's. Something happened there!"

"I know." John started changing into his pajamas.

"And I won't have her feeling like she's done something wrong! Like she can't come to us if she's frightened! She's my baby, she needs to come to me if she's scared!"

"Donna, I know. Look, who are you angry at?"

Donna gritted her teeth. "That bastard Ethan, that bint Rose and yes, Lisette! Did you give her the final warning?"

John looked sheepish.

"Oh, John, for crying out loud!"

"You know, she has been their nanny since they were three."

"Yes! And she's really starting to be rubbish at it! And she's giving me such a hard time about the baby! I've agreed to hire a nurse, you're staying home, it's not like she'll be the one walking the halls with her every night! She has all the time Josh and Ella are at school, practically takes every other weekend to see her boyfriend! I'm sorry, it doesn't appear to be such a hard life!," Donna growled.

John laid down. "About finished?"

Donna smoothed her hand over her slightly protruding stomach. "Fine. I'll stop."

"How about their name lists? What have they come up with?"

Donna held up a sheet in Josh's hand. "Beckham, Maradona, Pele, Thierry."

"It's all footballers," John observed.

"Yes." She held up another sheet: pink paper with glittery stickers in Ella's hand. "Ariel, Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, Mulan, Pocahontas, Belle, Alexis, Miley..."

"Belle's not so bad."

Donna shook her head. "No. We're not naming the baby Belle."

"Why not?"

"Belle sounds like a call girl."

"What do you mean it sounds like a call girl?"

"I don't know. It just does."

"Your list had Annabelle and Isabelle."

"Those are different." She paused. "We could let Ariel make it to the finals, I suppose."

"What about Pocahontas?," John asked cheekily.

"No way!"

"No other baby will be called Pocahontas!"

"Yeah, for a reason!" She smacked him with the list and he held up his hands in mock surrender.

John leaned over and kissed her. "We had better get to sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"Why don't you have any suggestions?"

John groaned. "I've got no ideas."

"Yeah, I might have guessed that when you chose your name."

He glared. "I've gotten by with the name John Smith for quite a long time, thank you."

"I want you to be involved," pleaded Donna.

"I am very involved," said John, flicking off the lamp and taking the baby name book and lists away from Donna. He spooned behind her, wrapping his arms around her to rest his hands on her belly. "We are having a baby and that makes me happy enough to not care what she's called."

"Thought you wanted Pocahontas."

"Right," said John, his eyes growing heavy. "I don't care so long as she's called Pocahontas. Pocahontas Lion King Smith Noble."

The end of the summer term meant that it was time for Josh and Ella's ninth birthday party. Donna knew well and good she spoiled them on these occasions. She always had, trying to make up for Ethan's absence and general crappiness as a father. This year was no exception and Donna was rather proud of her efforts. She refused to give in to separate parties. She hadn't spent two months on bed rest and thirty hours in labor with them both to give separate parties. Usually this resulted in some compromise like a party at the game center or an expedition to the zoo. She was proud of her solution this year. Josh would be outside with his football party. They would play little matches and there was a screen showing the Noble Sport Network's coverage of the initial rounds of the World Cup. Ella would be inside with a princess party where all the little girls would have make overs where their nails were painted and their nails were done. Ianto had even found a service to do it all. There would be tea and pink cakes, the two parties would only meet to cut the big cake and open presents. The sitting room was pink, the back garden was covered in every available football decoration. There was a small army of children's party workers here and Donna thought she had everything accounted for. John was in charge of the boys and promptly at noon, there was a steady stream of boys coming in and their parents took to the back garden.

Donna looked up and realized that the only girls who had arrived for Ella's party were Nerys' daughters, Sophie and Kylie. She checked her watch and it was half past twelve.

"Nerys!," she hissed.

Nerys took another sip of her white wine, knowing exactly to what Donna's hiss referred to. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Oh, God, what am I supposed to do?"

"You sent out the invitations?"

"Of course I did! I reminded everyone I chatted with at the end of term prize giving, they all said they would come. I sent them to everyone in their year and the ballet class."

"Should we wait more?"

Donna looked over at Ella's anxious face. She looked back at Nerys. "Did Kylie and Sophie each get Ella a gift?"

"No, just the one."

Donna looked over at the gift tables. Ella had the ones from her, John, and Sophie and Kylie's. Josh's table was piled high with gifts from the thirty or so boys that must have been in the back garden.

"This can't be happening," said Donna.

"Maybe there was traffic," reasoned Nerys.

"Something's going on. We've got to do something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know." Donna paused. "Poppy Clark lives down the road, doesn't she?"

"Suppose so."

"I'm going down there."

"Donna!"

Before Nerys could object further, Donna was out the door and down the five houses to the Clark residence. She knocked on the door and found Poppy's mum, Viola.

"Donna," she said. "What's going on?"

"Well, I think you may have forgotten, but it's the day of the party! We were just wondering where Poppy was."

"Oh, Poppy's ill."

"Ill?," asked Donna. "Oh, no."

Then Donna saw Poppy running behind Viola's back.

"Well, she seems better. Why don't you bring her round to my house? You have two other girls, don't you? Bring them as well."

"We just can't today, Donna. We don't even have a gift."

"Oh! Well, that's alright. You can just get her a card, put a note in it. I could give you the note. I could get a card, there's a Tesco, just two blocks."

"We're not coming, Donna. Sorry."

"What the hell do you mean you're not coming?"

"Frankly, I don't feel it's safe."

"What's not safe? I'm not safe? My husband?"

"Ella. Everyone knows about her fits. Bernice Frain told everyone all about it."

Bernice. Of course. Her enemy from the Parents' Association. Bernice was the sort of woman who had given up her corporate law practice to stay home and make her children organic cupcakes and be the room mum and head of the Parents' Association, generally making it her purpose in life to make Donna or any other mother who worked feel like a failure. "Her fits?"

"The screaming about the monsters. She's delusional, Donna."

Donna felt her face getting red. "You are the most stupid bitch I have ever met. You and the whole bloody lot."

"There's no need for this language, Donna."

"No need? You screw with my babies and you screw with me and you do not want to screw with me! Still owe money on this house?"

"What?"

"You remember this." Donna realized she was pointing a finger at Viola as if to curse her.

That might have been overkill.

Might have.

Donna came back and found Nerys was the last one in the sitting room.

"What happened?," asked Donna.

"Ella went to her room. My girls went outside. I'm sorry."

"Mum!," Kylie shouted.

Nerys went out to answer the shout as John came in from the outside and picked up one of the many pink cupcakes. Donna put her face in her hands.

"What happened in here?," he asked. "Where are the girls?"

Donna threw her hands up. "No one came!"

"What? You mean they can do that?" John was in disbelief.

"Of course they can do that."

"Really? Because I've been to at least a dozen of these since we got married."

"Her birthday is ruined!"

"Well, Josh is having a brilliant time."

"Yeah, not helping because she sees the big pile of presents and the happy party and no one came to hers because the bint Bernice told every mum in the bloody year that Ella is delusional."

"Delusional? Why?"

"Her monster. Whatever bloody Ethan did to her. I should go murder him, then that bint Bernice."

"You're not going to murder anyone."

"No, but I am going to ruin her life. What the hell am I supposed to do with thirty bloody Hello Kitty gift bags?"

"Donna..."

She tried to hold back a sniffle. John took her into his arms. "It's just a party," he said. "She'll get over it."

"No! No, she won't." Donna fought to steel herself. She couldn't go up to Ella's room crying.

"Here. We'll go talk with her."

Donna knocked gently on Ella's door, John was just behind her. There was no answer, she looked back at John desperately and went inside.

Ella was sitting on the bed. Her face was red, she had clearly been crying.

"What are you doing in here? Don't you want to go down and enjoy the rest of your party?," asked Donna.

"No one is coming," said Ella. They could hear the screaming from Josh's party from the window at the head of Ella's bed.

"What? No, Sophie and Kylie are here, aren't they? Right?," Donna said looking at John.

"Of course! Good old Kylie and Sophie!," he added.

Ella didn't look at them. "They had to come because Auntie Nerys is your friend."

This was, of course, the truth and Donna knew it, but denied it. "No, they came for your party."

"They went to Josh's party. Everyone hates me."

"No! No, they don't." She sat down next to her on the bed. "No one hates you."

"I want to go back to bed." Ella curled into a ball and buried her face in the pillows.

"No, I can't let you go back to bed. I'm your mummy and it is my job to salvage this day."

"I don't want a party, I just want to go back to bed. Please," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"No," said Donna. She felt tears on her face and hurried to wipe them away. "Please, Ella..."

"No."

Donna couldn't help it, between hormones and how distraught Ella was, she started full on sobbing.

"Oh, Donna," said John, taking her into his arms.

"I just want her to have a lovely birthday," said Donna.

"Of course you do."

"I'm sorry, Mummy," said Ella, having emerged at the sound of her mother crying.

Donna froze, tears stopping out of shock. "What are you sorry for?"

"That no one likes me so no one came because they think I'm stupid. Maybe they'll like the new baby."

"Ella, you don't have to be sorry. Mummy's just crying because she's sad for you," said John.

Ella looked back at Donna. "Really?"

"Yes! Of course," said Donna, sweeping Ella into her embrace. "Because that's what it's like when you're a mummy. You want your babies to have everything they deserve and when they don't get it, it's worse than when you don't get something. Right, John?"

"Right." He took a seat on the other side of Ella. "Ella, do you think we're trying to replace you?"

Ella nodded.

"That's not true," said Donna. "We could never replace you. We'd never want to!"

"Ella," said John, "you're brilliant and you're special in ways you don't even realize yet and sometimes when you're so brilliant and so special it frightens people and they don't know how to deal with it so they cast you out, they make fun of you. You have to give it time."

"How much time?," Ella said plaintively.

John shrugged. "No telling really."

Donna cast him a dirty look. She turned Ella's chin to face her. "They'll figure it out. In the meantime, you have your family."

"Not Daddy," said Ella.

Donna sighed. "Yeah, your dad still hasn't figured out how special you and your brother are, but John and I know."

Ella didn't answer.

"Tell you what," said Donna, "we'll clean ourselves up and go back down to the party and you start thinking of what you want to do most in the whole wide world and we will do it tomorrow."

"Anything?," asked Ella.

"Anything."

They went back downstairs and the party gathered round as Josh and Ella got ready to blow out a nine candle each on both sides of the cake.

Ella knew what her wish was, closing her eyes and hoping that it would come true with everything she had.

When she looked up and opened her eyes as the partygoers applauded, she knew it hadn't happened.

Because her monster was standing in the corner.

She turned back around and wrapped her arms around her mum.

Donna looked up and across to the corner, then back down at Ella as she rubbed her back. "Come on, sweetheart, pick out a piece of the cake. You want one with a flower, don't you?"