A/N: Alright, so, slow beginning. I'm trying to establish characters before we begin really getting into the storyline and what is happening. This first part of the story is very Romana-centric, but the future ones will be far more Rose and Doctor oriented. After all, this is a Rose x Doctor story.

Enjoy!

"Why now?" Rose asked.

The Doctor, startled out of whatever state of mind he'd been in, met her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Why now? Why do they choose to invade us now?" She inquired, eyeing the young girl who stood before her. She didn't quite understand how she knew about aliens and the likes, considering she was dressed just like a human. Then again, the Doctor looked human.

"Why not?" Romana countered, wincing as she leaned back against the table. She grit her teeth, barely managing to stop a groan of pain from escaping.

"You're still injured," Rose noted sadly. She paused a moment, before taking off her jacket. "Stand still," she said, lifting the girl's shirt enough to get a good look at the wound.

It was black and blue around the edges, with a deep cut just under her ribs. Rose winced just looking at it.

"It's not much," Rose admitted as she wrapped the jacket tightly around the girls middle. Romana, for her part, managed to suck in a breath, refusing to let any sounds of pain be voiced. "But for now it'll have to do."

"Thank you," the girl said honestly, a pained smile on her face.

Rose returned it, feeling a little ashamed that she'd been wary of the girl.

The Doctor watched the exchange with a hint of pride, and curiosity. It was clear that this Romana bore no ill will, but she did know about far more than she should. He was knocked out of his reverie when Rose's phone rang. With an unreadable look in her direction, he answered it.

"All right, Doctor," Jackie began, "I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do."

Harriet jumped in.

"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," she suggested rather excitedly.

Romana smiled a bit at that.

"Mickey, any luck?" Rose inquired.

While Rose and Harriet were speaking, the Romana chanced a look at her father. He had a pensive glint in his eyes, and Romana knew exactly what that meant. She ignored the cries of her side as she pushed herself over to him.

"You have a plan," she stated.

The Doctor was surprised at how she seemed to be able to read him so well. For a moment, just a brief moment, he allowed himself to believe she was the actual Romana, his Romana, but he knew better. She was dead.

This girl though, she acted a bit like her. She acted a bit like him, actually. And Rose, now that he thought about it.

"Not a good one," he promised, trying to get a read on her.

"I have faith," the girl shrugged, "In the face of hopelessness, every plan is a good one."

"Where'd you hear that one then?" He asked, a crooked grin on his lips.

"Here and there," the girl replied cryptically, a playful hint in her tone. Her eyes shined with knowledge and he didn't like how she seemed to know something he didn't.

Romana, for her part, wanted to laugh at how she was using his own advice on him. Not that he'd really know it was a future regeneration that said it.

"If we could just get out of here," Rose stressed.

Though they'd both been in their own conversation, they hadn't tuned the other two out entirely.

"There's a way out," the Doctor stated, rather grimly.

"What?" Rose inquired.

"There's always been a way out," he answered.

"Then why don't we use it?" She asked, and the question clearly laid heavily on the Doctor's shoulders.

"Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe."

Even though he was leaned over the phone and not facing her, Romana could see the guilt he bore. He'd always been like that, taking on far more guilt than he ever should have. It's where she'd learned that particular trait from.

But this was not his fault.

Her family had always had the horrifying task of protecting the universe. It'd nearly torn them apart many, many times, but she'd learned that while it was a terrible burden, it was also a great gift. She made a difference. Her father made a difference. Her mother made a difference.

She knew that the danger they faced this time would be just as threatening as what they faced all the time. No matter, they would still follow through. It's who they were.

"Don't you dare!" Jackie exclaimed. "Whatever it is, don't you dare!" And despite never meeting her grandmother, Romana could visualize her expression. It was the same one her mother had many times before, specifically when either her or her father was doing something particularly dangerous.

"That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies."

"Do it," Rose said, and Romana felt a smile twitch on her lips despite the situation. Her mother was so, so brave- even now.

"You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?" The Doctor asked her seriously, his eyes just on her as if she were the only person in the room.

Romana felt perhaps her initial assessment was wrong. Perhaps her mother and father were already in love, even if they didn't realize it just yet. Perhaps a part of them had always been in love.

"Yeah," her mom replied, and Romana was a bit shocked to see the devotion in her eyes.

"Please, Doctor, please! She's my daughter, she's just a kid."

Though Romana knew the pain she must be feeling, she understood that this must be done. This was her mom showing her dad that she trusts him completely for the first time. This was important, even if they didn't realize it at the time.

"Do you think I don't know that?" The Doctor answered, terror rooted deep in his words. "'Cause this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart. It's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Rose asked him.

Romana began to gravitate towards her parents on instinct, as she'd done so many times before in dangerous situations. Only, this time they didn't pull her to them, like usual. They didn't hug her and tell her it was going to be alright. They didn't grab her hand and tell her to run. They didn't ask her for her opinion or input.

Though she knew they weren't her parents, not yet, she didn't feel it until the moment Rose looked over solemnly, mouthing a 'sorry' to her as she put her life in danger.

"I could save the world but lose you," the Doctor said with so much pain, and Rose looked away from Romana to meet his eyes.

A hint of a smile tugged at Rose's lips.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor," Harriet commented, "It's mine."

Romana almost scoffed, but she managed to hold it in. Okay, maybe she did have a bit more authority over Earth than the three present, but they'd both been the savior of the planet enough times to warrant some opinions on matters of safety.

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie demanded.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North," the woman stated rather proudly, "the only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you." She paused, her eyes flitting to Romana. "Do it."

"I mean," the teen interjected boredly, "technically I was elected as the Speaker of Earth in the 82nd century, but no, let's just forget about that."

Rose laughed, despite the situation, and the Doctor even managed a grin.

"I don't believe you," Rose told the girl with a quirked brow, and only got a smirk in return. The Doctor clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Use the 'buffalo' password," the Doctor said hurriedly, "it overrides everything."

Some muted chatter and a moment later, and Mickey proclaimed, "we're in!"

"Here it is, uh, HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, 10 miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Right, we need to select a missile," the Doctor answered, prompting a grin from both Rose and Romana.

The prospect of an explosion reminded her of Ace, and Romana smiled even wider.

"We can't go nuclear, we don't have the defence codes," Mickey proclaimed.

"We don't need it," the Doctor replied, "all we need is an ordinary missile."

"Or some Nitro-9," Romana added under her breath, grateful when her father didn't hear.

"What's the first category?"

"Sub harpoon, UGM-84A." Mickey supplied.

"That's the one," the Doctor assured him, shooting a look both at Rose and Romana, "Select!"

Mickey's next words were a little muffled, as if he weren't talking to them. If she had to wager a guess, Romana would say that Jackie was trying to stop him. She could understand why, even empathize with how she must be feeling, but it was more than a little frustrating for the time traveler, considering she knew how this had to play out for the most part. One little misstep could devastate the whole of the timelines, and possibly delete her from existence. So, no pressure.

"You ready for this?" The Doctor prompted, as patient as ever.

"Yeah," Mickey affirmed. Rose fidgeted a little, clearly a sign she knew what was happening on the other side of the line as well.

"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands," the Doctor stated, and Romana couldn't help but role her eyes at how dramatic he could be sometimes. "Fire."

An exclamation of "Oh my god" could be heard from the phone, the air in the room thickening with fear and worry and a million other emotions. Romana raised a brow in anticipation, waiting for the master plan. There had to be one, right? She knew that her parents got out alive and well. Even in this new timeline, they had made it well past this point in time.

"How solid are these?" Harriet asked, running to the doors and startling Romana from her reverie.

"Not solid enough," her dad stated grimly, surprising her with the resignation in his voice. "Built for a short-range attack. Nothing this big."

She scoffed.

He was ready to die. He was accepting it. She couldn't believe him. Her father had always fought until the last minute, he'd always jump up with a new idea to save the people he loved, and himself- but this him was just... ready.

She didn't realize just how broken he was inside. He was a shell of the man he'd become, and she was starting to understand a bit better why he needed his family as much as he did.

"All right, now I'm making the decision," her mother said, so full of life and energy. The spark she had seen so often in her father was ever present and glowing in her mother's eyes.

"I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this out," she promised, looking all around her for something they might be able to use to survive. "It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe."

Romana smiled, a tug of her lips that was so reminiscent of her mother she was glad that her attention was otherwise occupied. Her mother had always been resourceful, particularly when it came to the so-called "human approach". (She'd been called out enough for acting like her father too much on that front.)

"Now, this cupboard's small, so it's strong," Rose told them, ushering Romana over.

The teen followed her without any hesitance, wobbling a bit from the dizziness. As soon as they got out of this, and she had every bit of faith they would, she really needed to take care of her wound.

"Come and help me, come on," she prompted the Doctor and Harriet, who had thus far just been standing and watching her like they didn't quite know what to do with themselves.

Rose lead Romana to the back, leaving her with a gentle smile.

"We'll take care of everything, just wait here," she told the girl, giving her shoulder a soft squeeze.

Romana nodded, pride shining in her eyes as her mother rushed back to help Harriet. The Doctor was running towards the table, frantically yelling something into the phone, but Romana couldn't make it out, the sound of blood in her head like a river. Darkness tinged around her vision, and she found it harder and harder to stay awake. Just as the last bit of her consciousness faded out, she felt a hand slip into hers, and another one land on her shoulder.

She didn't need to look to know who it was.

A/N: Let me know your thoughts. After we finish the World War Three arc, things will speed up.