CHAPTER 33
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Donna Noble materialized her TARDIS outside of her mother's house in Chiswick and stood in the Console Room for a moment unmoving. For one of the few times in her life, Donna was afraid of talking to someone.
She had stood up to Davros, Dracula, Carmilla, and all kinds of various villains of all shapes and sizes since she had become a Time Lady. None of them had ever scared her as much as the thought of facing her mother today did though. She'd rather fight a million Daleks or even face up against the Empress of the Racnoss again any day rather than tell her mother what she was about to reveal to her.
She had put it off as long as she could, but she knew that she couldn't do it any longer. She had been feeling guiltier and guiltier about not mentioning it every time that she would go to visit her, and she just couldn't keep it a secret from her any longer. It had to be now, or she would lose her nerve and never tell her.
She left her TARDIS and slowly walked up to the door of the house. She felt as if she were going to her doom, and she kept hoping that the Cybermen might show up right now and give her another excuse to delay this another day. Where were the bloody aliens when you needed them to invade? Any other time there would be a million of them but not today. Of course not!
Next time she met some aliens she was going to give them a stern talking to about when it was convenient and not convenient to launch an invasion. They would have to learn to work around her schedule and not theirs. Donna shook her head as she knew that this whole stupid train of thought was her procrastinating big time.
She knocked for a few minutes, but no one ever came to the door. She really didn't want to have to come back later so she used her key from when she used to live there and opened the front door with it. She then locked the door behind her and went to find her mother. She knew that she shouldn't be doing this because she might scare her mother into thinking that she was a prowler, but she really wanted to just get this over with today. She knew that her mother was here somewhere because her car was still in the driveway, and she wasn't going to rest until she found her.
Donna finally found her mother in the back of the house doing laundry. That explained why she hadn't heard her she supposed. She cleared her throat to let her know that she was there, and Sylvia looked up at her in surprise.
"Donna, what on Earth are you doing here?" Sylvia asked.
"I've come here to talk to you about something. It's something very important," Donna said as she got more and more nervous by the moment.
"Well, go ahead," Sylvia said impatiently.
Donna took a deep breath and then let it out as she prepared herself for what she knew was coming. She had to do this. It was now or never. There was no going back now.
"I'm not human anymore. I'm a Time Lady now," Donna finally blurted out.
Her mother looked at her without any trace of emotion on her face for a moment, and Donna began to fear that maybe she'd gone mad. Had she finally sent her over the edge?
Then Donna was completely taken back when her mother began to laugh at her. That was the last thing that she had expected.
"What's so bloody funny? I just told you that I was a flipping alien. That should get something more out of you than just a silly laugh," Donna said annoyed.
"Oh, Donna! You're so funny. This is really a good prank. Who put you up to it? Your granddad? He's a jolly old prankster, isn't he?" Sylvia asked still laughing.
"It's not a prank. It's the truth. How else do you think I can suddenly function and do things without staying in a grand funk all of the time?" Donna said.
"I assumed that you just finally grew out of it. I mean I know that the divorce was hard on you, but you had to get over it sometime," Sylvia said.
"What about the Doctor? Was I just supposed to get over him too?" Donna asked.
Sylvia stopped laughing and became concerned now. She had thought that the Time Lady remark earlier was just a joke put in Donna's mouth by her dad, but now she suddenly wasn't so sure.
"You remember him?" Sylvia asked suddenly scared for her.
"Yes and the TARDIS and all of our adventures through time and space together. I remember it all," Donna said.
Sylvia was looking at her with great worry on her face now, and Donna could see that she thought that her mind was about to start burning up. She had to put her at ease about that right now.
"My mind's fine. It's not going to do a meltdown again. I don't ever have to worry about that anymore because I'm not human anymore. It was the only way that I could keep my memories and keep myself from being a depressed shut in. I agreed to let myself be turned into a Time Lady," Donna explained.
"What?" Sylvia asked in a mixture of anger and fear.
"It's okay though. I'm still me. I'm the same old Donna no matter what. The only difference is that now I'm happy again. I'm finally traveling through time and space again just like I did before except this time around I'm doing it by myself in my own TARDIS," Donna said happily.
"What?" Sylvia asked again.
"Is that all you have to say?" Donna asked annoyed again.
"Who are you, and what did you do to my Donna? That's what's happened here, isn't it? You're some kind of alien, and you've replaced her. You'd better bring her back, or I'll beat her location out of you!" Sylvia screamed.
Donna was shocked and yet secretly pleased at the same time. Her mother was showing that she actually cared about her. Too bad it took something like this to bring it out of her though.
"It's me. It's really me," Donna said as she tried to hug her mother.
Sylvia pushed her away and said, "No, you're an imposter. What did you do with her?"
Donna finally got tired of this and shouted, "Oi! I'm Donna. Me. I am. I know that it's a big deal that I've suddenly changed species, but that doesn't mean that I've changed who I am. I'm still the same person that I've always been. Either accept that or don't, but quit handing me this stupid alien nonsense!"
"Donna?" Sylvia asked as she tenderly touched Donna's face with tears in her eyes.
"Yeah, it's me. It's still me. The only difference is that I have two hearts and all kinds of crazy new powers that I still have no idea how to use," Donna admitted.
"I can't believe that you did this to yourself! Do you even know what kind of problems that you might have now? Maybe an alien who still thinks like a human could develop mental problems or something? You don't know! Did the Doctor even warn you about anything like that before he did this to you?" Sylvia shouted.
"Oh, here it comes. The criticism," Donna said sighing.
"I'm going to give the Doctor a piece of my mind!" Sylvia shouted.
"The Doctor didn't do this to me. Rose did," Donna said.
"Who is Rose?" Sylvia asked in anger.
"She's a friend of mine who's a Time Lady. She was human too before turning back into a Time Lady so she would know how to change me back without doing anything to me. I mean she's the Bad Wolf, the most powerful woman in the universe. I think that she knows how to change me into a Time Lady without doing anything to me. I'm fine!" Donna argued.
"I don't care who she is. She's going to wish that she'd never been born if I ever come across her!" Sylvia shouted.
She had no idea, of course, that she had already met Rose years before. She didn't connect a Time Lady Rose with Rose Tyler however, and she didn't really remember Rose's name anyway just her face.
Somewhere in the Vortex, Rose shivered for a moment; and she had no idea why. She hadn't felt like that since the last time her Mum had been mad at her. She would have to pay her a visit. Maybe she was mad about something.
"Will you listen to me? I'm fine. I've been a Time Lady for about two years now, and I've never had any problems. This is why I didn't want to tell you about this. It's why I put it off as long as I could," Donna said.
"Two years? You've kept this from me for two years?!" Sylvia shouted.
"Yes because I was afraid of just this reaction. I didn't want to be yelled at just because I finally started living!" Donna shouted back.
Sylvia looked at Donna without speaking for a moment and said, "Are you happy, Donna?"
"Yes. Happier than I've ever been in my life," Donna admitted.
"I know. I've noticed that about you lately. I thought maybe that it was a man, but it wasn't. It was because you remembered again. It really does make you this happy to be out there doing what you do?" Sylvia asked.
"Yes, it does. It makes me happier than anything. I'm helping people and making a difference. This is what I was meant to do. I know that now," Donna said passionately.
"Then I'm happy for you. That's all I've ever really wanted was what was best for you, Donna. It seems that you've found that for yourself without me," Sylvia said as she began to smile at her.
"I have. Are you really happy?" Donna asked.
"Yes. I'm happy if you are. Just promise me that you'll be careful out there, okay?" Sylvia asked.
"I will. I'm not going to let any old Dalek get me. I'd be too afraid you'd yell at me if I did," Donna joked with a grin.
Both mother and daughter then laughed together as they finally embraced one another at last. Donna was so happy. She had finally gotten it over with, and her mom was okay with it. It was all over. The shouting was done with.
She was so wrong!
At that moment, Wilf popped his head into the back door and said, "Hello?"
"Come on in, Dad. Donna's just told me a very big secret that I'm sure that she told you already," Sylvia said.
"You finally told her you're a Time Lady?" Wilf asked hesitantly.
"I knew it. She always told you everything," Sylvia said happily.
"You're okay with it? You're not mad?" Wilf asked in disbelief.
"No. I was at first, but I'm fine with it now," Sylvia said.
"Good. Well then maybe you're in just the right mood for me to tell you my little secret then," Wilf said.
"What?" Sylvia asked suddenly angry again.
"Oh, no! Not now. Don't tell her now," Donna said.
"Tell me what? Why does everyone keep secrets from me in this family?" Sylvia asked.
"I can't imagine. You seem to be such a happy, fun loving sort," a female voice said through the still open door.
"Liz, you're not helping!" Wilf said to someone behind him.
"Who is that, and why does she sound so much younger than you?" Sylvia asked as she grew angrier and angrier.
"I can explain, Sylvia," Wilf said in a shaky voice.
"Oh, just let me do it, Wilf. We'll be here all day if I don't," Elizabeth said as she forced her way past Wilf and into the house.
"Oh, no!" Donna said as she started backing away from what she knew was coming.
"Who are you? You're way too young for him. He's old enough to be your grandfather or maybe even your great-grandfather," Sylvia said.
"Oh, the claws are coming out I can see. You don't happen to know a woman named Lily by any chance do you?" Elizabeth asked.
"Who?" Sylvia said in mounting aggravation.
"I guess you don't know her. You certainly remind me of her though," Elizabeth said.
"Who are you?" Sylvia asked again.
"My name is Calliope, but the name that I've been going by lately is Elizabeth Storm. I decided to call myself by a human name in order to fit in better," Elizabeth said.
"A human name? You're an alien?" Sylvia asked.
"Yep. I'm a Time Lady from the planet Gallifrey. So as for me being too young I can assure you that I'm not as young as I look. I'm two thousand years old, Sylvia. If anything, he's too young for me! I'm not holding that against him though," Elizabeth said as she smiled warmly at Wilf.
"A Time Lady? You're a Time Lady?" Sylvia asked in complete shock.
"Yes, I believe I just said that. She's a little thick, isn't she? Now she's really reminding me of Lily," Elizabeth said.
"You're dating an alien?" Sylvia asked Wilf in disbelief.
"Uh, well it's more than that, Sylvia," Wilf said nervously.
"We've been living together for two months now, Sylvia. Ever since he moved out of your house, he's been with me," Elizabeth said.
"You said that you were moving in with an old friend!" Sylvia shouted.
"He was. I'm the old friend. I'm old, and at that time, I was just a friend," Elizabeth said happily.
Donna's ears perked up at that last statement. What did she mean by 'at that time, I was just a friend'? What was she to him now? This was all news to her! She knew he had moved in with her and that she was his girlfriend, but that last part made it sound like so much more than that.
"I've been to the house where he's living. I've seen it. I never saw you there though," Sylvia said.
"You never saw the friend though either, did you? The friend was me, and the house was actually my TARDIS in disguise. He's been living there with me sometimes and also traveling with me through time and space," Elizabeth said.
"You've been living alone with her for two months?" Sylvia asked in anger.
"Not totally alone. My daughter and her friend Lilith have been there sometimes too. Sometimes they travel with the Doctor and sometimes with me. It's not like it was just us all alone all of the time," Elizabeth explained.
"The Doctor? Why would they travel with him? Do you know the Doctor too?" Sylvia asked.
"I should. He's my son," Elizabeth said grinning.
"I knew it! I knew that he was behind all of this somehow!" Sylvia yelled.
"He isn't behind anything. He doesn't know about this either. All he knows is that we're dating. That's all I told him anyway," Elizabeth said.
"You mean it's more than that?" Donna asked.
"Oh, yes. We really should have told you, Donna. Wilf was afraid that you would get upset if we did so I said nothing. I can't keep doing that though. We have to tell both of you the truth now," Elizabeth said.
"Why now?" Sylvia asked.
Wilf began to back out the door as Elizabeth said, "I'm more than his live-in girlfriend, Sylvia. I'm his wife. We've been married almost since we moved in together. We got married about a week after he first moved in."
Sylvia looked like she was about to faint, and Donna made her sit down in a nearby chair. Elizabeth looked sadly at her. She hadn't wanted to make her ill.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sick. I have to tell you all of it though. I just hope that you'll be okay when I finish. There's one very important reason that I have to tell you this right now, Sylvia," Elizabeth said.
"I can take it whatever it is. Tell me," Sylvia said as she steadied herself for whatever was to come.
"I'm pregnant. You're going to be a sister, Sylvia," Elizabeth said happily.
Sylvia passed out, and Donna had to keep her head from hitting the floor. Donna just stared ahead at Elizabeth blankly as she desperately tried to process this new information herself.
"Surprise!" Elizabeth said with a nervous laugh.
Next: You'd better believe that this will be continued in the next chapter of It's Better With Two. The Doctor is probably going to have the same reaction when he finds out that Sylvia is now his sister. As if he won't have enough problems with the return of Eldrad!
As for what's going on here next time, we shift the focus to Victoria Collins next. Just why is Victoria immortal anyway? The answer to that begins in the next chapter.