Gwen returned to the hub a few hours later, having been repeatedly delayed while she had tried to bring order to the chaos at the wharves. She desperately wanted to go home and check on Rhys, but there was still too much to do before she would be able to finally collapse in his arms.
It had been utter madness at the docks while the police had swarmed back over the warehouses after the worst of the explosions had died down. Fire and medical personnel had descended with swift efficiency and dealt with the blazes before they had gotten out of hand. Several police officers had been thrown into the waters of the bay when the explosion had happened, luckily only a few had been seriously injured.
Torchwood was going to have to fill out an official report with statements from everyone involved in the search and rescue and ultimate explosion that had ended the threat of the angels. She had laughed in their faces when she thought of trying to get the Doctor to give an official statement, some intuition had told her that it would be a cold day in hell before he would ever consent to that. She had assured them that both she and Jack would file reports to fill them in on what had happened, and that that was the best that they were going to get.
She walked up the steps to the main control center, her eyes roaming over the vast space to try to locate everyone. The Doctor was dozing softly on the couch with Donna's head cradled gently in his lap, his fingers tangled in her brilliant red hair even while his thumb brushed a gentle circle along her temple. Donna was snuggled into the Doctor's coat with a soft smile on her lips while her hand was resting lightly on his thigh. The sight made the heaviness in Gwen's heart loosen just a little bit when she remembered just how close they all had come to losing their lives. It was thanks to the two of them really, that the entire earth was not even now being ravaged by an army of those monsters.
There were several take out containers strewn on the table by the couch, with several clean plates waiting nearby. She grimaced when she felt the answering growl in her stomach, before she forcibly pushed the thought down and walked towards Jack's office. The sooner she dealt with this, the sooner she could take care of herself.
Jack was sitting in his office with a nearly empty bottle of scotch on the desk in front of him, he was scribbling furiously in one of his many journals while a nearly full glass of liquor sat by his hand.
"Well Jack, you managed to duck very neatly out of having to deal with that debacle!"
His head jerked up at her words, the smile on his face was blinding as he offered her the glass of scotch. "We saved this for you, thought you might be needing it."
She stepped forward and took the glass gratefully, raising it to her lips and throwing it back with a faint grimace. "It's absolute madness over there, Jack. They're in complete shambles and they're screaming for blood over the deaths of their officers."
"Well, there's been enough bloodshed today, and there will be no more. They are going to just have to just deal with it."
Gwen turned around at the sound of the Doctor's voice, having not even noticed that his eyes had tracked her progress across the hub before he got to his feet and followed her into Jack's office. His face was grim and his words were implacable, though she had already known that he would not be swayed.
"I know, Doctor and I already told them that. They actually want to have a proper debriefing with you in regards to what happened in the warehouse."
The Doctor was already shaking his head before she even finished. "No. I don't do paperwork."
"No, he just leaves it to us!" Jack couldn't help but pipe up with a laugh.
The Doctor pinned Jack with a chilling look before he turned back to Gwen. "I know how police officers can get. The team went in under my command and an officer died on my watch, there will be questions and explanations that none of them will accept anyways. Half of them are probably already convincing themselves that they all had some sort of mass hallucination to try to explain the appearance of the ghosts rather than admit that they were seeing specters out of time." Gwen started at that comment, wondering how he knew that when she hadn't even had a chance to tell him yet. The theories were already running wild and only a few of the commanding officers were even willing to admit that anything remotely supernatural had happened.
The Doctor saw her reaction and just laughed softly. "See? Humans are so predictable at times like this. I can't stay here for those explanations because honestly the explanations will never be sufficient, and I really would rather not end up in a jail cell in Cardiff. I've seen the inside of too many of those across the galaxy."
Jack looked up at the Doctor, laying his pen in his journal before he closed it and leaned back in his chair. "Doctor, would you be willing to give us a statement? I've already been working on mine and can work yours in as well. You were the expert in the crisis and now that your part is done I will say that you were called away. Which usually is the case where you are concerned."
The Doctor looked back at Donna who was just stirring on the couch, her eyes opened and immediately locked onto his with a smile before he turned back to Jack and nodded. "Only me, Jack. Donna is to be left completely alone. Any blame or burden resulting from this will rest solely with me."
"Of course, Doctor. I would never dream of bothering Donna with this sort of stuff, she's been through enough as it is."
The Doctor nodded firmly in response. "All right then, whenever you're ready."
"One more thing that I forgot to mention. All three of the weevils in the holding cells survived the sealing of the rift and seem to have reverted back to their normal charming behavior."
The Doctor nodded at that, surprised at the thrill he felt that those poor creatures had survived. Though Jack seemed to view them merely as a nuisance that needed to be contained so that they didn't kill humans, they were still living, sentient beings and had had no choice in coming to this world. In that, the Doctor was grateful that there had not been more bloodshed. He had no idea how many of those creatures had been slaughtered in those warehouses, but it had to have been hundreds judging by the thick layer of oily dust that had covered the ground. He was just happy that the slaughter had finally been ended.
"I'm not surprised once the threat had passed, they will no longer be driven mad with the pain of their fellows. However, the rift will take a while settle into its more normal patterns, but once it does you will most likely have to deal with a new influx of the weevils as you like to call them and it'll be back to normal in good old Cardiff!" The Doctor said with a laugh when his gaze locked with Jack's withering glare.
"I think we could all do with a little peace and quiet here, hopefully it will be a while before all hell break's loose again." Jack's attention suddenly shifted behind the Doctor, every bone in his body intently staring back towards the Tardis.
The Doctor turned around, somewhat startled by the sudden shift in Jack's demeanor before he saw that Martha had stepped out of the Tardis and was making her way to Jack's office.
Donna was on her feet in an instant, wrapping Martha up in a tight hug before she followed her to their side.
Martha looked absolutely exhausted, the bags under her eyes were heavy and pronounced but she was smiling brilliantly when she joined them. "He's going to be just fine, Jack. With Tardis' guidance, I was able to reverse the temporal energies in his body." She swayed slightly with exhaustion, her hand rising to rub her temples tiredly while she thought back on all that she had had to deal with during Ianto's surgery.
The Doctor gently took hold of her elbow when he noticed her sway and led her to a chair where she could rest for a bit. Urging her to sit, he looked up with a question but had noticed that Donna had already dashed out of the room. He smiled because as usual she was two steps ahead of him, and sure enough just then she hustled back into the room with a bottle of water for Martha.
Martha smiled up at them both before focusing her attention back on Jack. "He will feel some residual effects for quite a while because of the extent of the cellular damage, and be especially alert for vertigo. His shoulder and scapula were fractured in seven places, but luckily they were all clean breaks. With the help of the Tardis, I was able to repair the worst of the damage but he is going to need to rest and properly recuperate for at least a month. NO missions, Jack. He is to remain back at the hub where he won't run the risk of undoing everything that we did today."
Martha fixed Jack with her sternest doctor gaze, knowing that where his people were concerned at least he would always make sure to take the utmost care. "He was lucky Jack. I wouldn't have been able to save him if the Doctor and the Tardis hadn't been here, it was touch and go as it was."
Jack was bouncing on the balls of his feet, nodding at every word and repeating her instructions before he couldn't contain himself any longer. "Is he awake now? Can we go see him?"
Martha laughed and nodded. "Yes, Jack, though he is still very groggy from the medication. He has asked to see you and Gwen, but go easy on him! I've already instructed the Tardis to kick the lot of you out if you disturb him too much." She had to shout the last as both Gwen and Jack had bolted out of Jack's office and raced each other to the Tardis where they had to pause in their mad dash just to be able to get into the door. She could only shake her head with a chuckle before she turned back to look up at the Doctor.
"So what really happened, Doctor? Two separate earthquakes in Cardiff today, highly localized with minimal damage except at the epicenters. Explosions and warehouses vanishing and then a call from you saying that there was an incident with the angels?"
Donna looked from Martha to the Doctor and just shook her head in exasperation. "Before you both dive headlong into details, Martha when's the last time that you ate?"
She looked up at Donna with a slightly distant look on her face, mouth opening to answer then closing again as she really thought about it. "I don't know Donna. Maybe yesterday? I tend to lose track of time when I'm in crisis mode."
Donna nodded at that. "You just sit right there and I'll go make you a plate. We got Italian, seems to be the only thing around here. Be right back!"
Martha blinked as Donna hurried off, unable to help the instant smile at the whirlwind of energy that was Donna Noble.
She looked up at the Doctor, surprised by the soft look on his face as his gaze followed Donna out the door. "She looks like she is doing well, Doctor. So you were able to figure out a way to beat the metacrisis?"
He looked back to Martha with a sigh and shook his head. "Not hardly, but that's a long story and I don't want to delve into that without Donna here as it is more her story then mine. But yes, she has beaten the metacrisis though there were some…" He paused, gaze going distant while his mind flashed back to all that had happened in the last six weeks. "complications that we are still trying to navigate."
"What sort of complications? Is she alright?" Martha was instantly concerned when she heard that, her mind already thinking of possible side effects and if they would be a danger to Donna or the Doctor.
The Doctor smiled in response. "I believe so, but it is still something that I'm still very uncertain exactly how it will develop. Unfortunately, we can't stay here long, I still need to check on several other rifts to make sure what happened here isn't being repeated all over the known universe."
"So Doctor what DID happen?" She looked up as Donna bustled back into the room with a full plate, napkin and utensils with another bottle of water tucked up under her arm. Martha smiled her thanks as she took the plate, before turning her attention back to the Doctor.
The Doctor leaned back against Jack's desk with a soft sigh, his eyes locking with Donna's before he turned back to Martha and jumped in feet first. "Well it's all tied into what happened with Donna about six weeks ago."
"Wait, the rift activity had something to do with Donna?"
Donna settled on the seat next to Martha at that question, her hands clenched nervously in her lap as she mentally prepared herself to revisit those painful memories. She felt the question in the Doctor's gentle mind touch, his thoughts softly brushing against hers for confirmation before he continued. She looked up at him and nodded softly, letting him know that it was all right and she was ready for him to begin.
Martha didn't miss the byplay between the two of them and she watched fascinated while she was eating, the subtle glances and the way their eyes constantly seemed to seek the other out hinting at its own conversation. Something had definitely changed between the two of them, it was obvious in the way that they were acting with each other and she was pretty sure it had to do with the metacrisis.
"Donna was abducted by the Master about six weeks ago, he had felt the presence of my mind beneath the mental shielding that I had woven in place over Donna's Time Lord consciousness." Martha gasped when she heard that, her gaze flying to Donna just in time to see her flinch in reaction to his words. Oh, this was not going to end well.
The Doctor continued, his voice somewhat emotionless as he began to recount everything that had happened. Donna interjected from time to time, describing what the Master had done to her though she seemed to gloss over the very real agony that she had to have experienced during that whole time.
To think that she had been held captive for over a week while her body was trying to burn itself out, Martha couldn't even begin to imagine the effect that would have had on her. Yes, her parents had been in the Master's clutches for a year but he had only used them for slave labor and wanted to constantly flaunt how powerless the Doctor had been to save anyone.
The dull, hollow tone of Donna's voice bespoke of an agony that was nearly too much for her sanity to properly remember. She had heard patients speak of terrible pain and suffering that way in the past, they distanced themselves from it and spoke about it almost as if it had happened to someone else just so that they could forget how bad it had truly been.
Come to think of it her entire family spoke about the year that never was in the same hollow tone, almost as if they had convinced themselves that those events had happened to someone else. She knew that it was a coping mechanism that they had developed because there was no one that they could really seek counseling from because of what had happened. If they started to talk to a stranger about those events, they most likely would be committed to an asylum before the first session had even ended. That had been the main reason why she had finally worked up the strength to end her travels with the Doctor, because she knew that her family would have no one to turn to in order to begin the long process of rebuilding their shattered lives.
She shuddered when the Doctor continued, how he had gone to that ship fully prepared to die and that somehow the prophecy of the Ood had been fulfilled by the events there without him regenerating. She winced when she heard the pain in his voice when he spoke of his planet coming back into existence, about how once again he had had to doom them all to the fires of hell in order to save the rest of the universe. She blinked back tears when she imagined what that decision must have cost him, how he must have railed and screamed against the injustice of it all. She had seen his cold rage before, especially when he had dealt with the Family of Blood, but this must have been something that had to have completely devastated him.
Her mind was spinning when she realized what he was hinting at, that an alternate reality had formed because of the events on that distant ship. What had truly changed? Other than the fact that the Doctor had not regenerated into a new form, nor had he even had to abort a regeneration to remain the same.
Donna watched Martha through their whole tale and what she saw made some of the tension that had been coiling within her melt away. It felt good at least for their small circle of friends to know truly what had happened and why. It was a comfort to know that she would not have to be on guard every moment that she spent with them for fear that she would let something slip.
The Doctor's gaze snapped back to her when he felt that little sigh of relief in her mind, his brow furrowing as he tried to follow the trail of thought in her mind. She had seemed almost frightened when he had begun to recount everything that had happened, almost as if she had been afraid Martha would reject her for the changes in her mind and body. However, Martha as always had been compassionate and understanding, her first concern had been Donna and her health just as it had always been in the past.
Donna smiled at the Doctor before turning her attention back to an avid Martha. "I couldn't remain unchanged once the Doctor had drained the last of his consciousness from my mind." She took a deep breath to gather her courage before she ploughed on. "His mind opened mine completely. Even though I no longer possessed his consciousness, the ability remained switched on. I had thought the ability to reach out mentally to him across the stars had been due in part to his essence, but I was wrong. It was my own ability that I have since been struggling to learn to control."
Martha gasped at Donna's words, her eyes widening as she tried to imagine the constant strain that Donna must be under trying to learn how to control an ability that she had never possessed. No wonder she looked like she was about to collapse, but she could tell from their looks that the worst was not over yet.
"Donna's ability is actually very powerful, more powerful than I have sensed in any human in a long time and I can only think that that is in part to the other changes that are still manifesting from the metacrisis."
"Other changes?"
Donna nodded numbly. "Yeah, I can sense disturbances in time as well. Though that's a relatively recent discovery."
"I believe that my consciousness left an imprint on her mind, the telepathy was just a start but it created the pathway for this ability to manifest as well. I'm hoping that this is the last of it, but it is definitely new territory for me as there has never been a human/Time Lord metacrisis before. So unfortunately we are both having to navigate these tricky waters without any real idea of what is coming."
Martha started in shock at those words, her mouth agape as she really looked at Donna and for the first time noticed that she was constantly squinting and tilting her head as if trying to change her line of sight. Oh god, she must be in near overload with all that had happened in the last few days if the reports she had been hearing were any indication. Cardiff had always been a hotspot of temporal energy, she remembered well what the Doctor had told her when they had first stopped in Cardiff to refuel what had seemed a lifetime ago.
"Are you all right, Donna? Had this ability manifested while you were dealing with the angels?"
"Oh yes, boy had it ever." Donna could only nod, her eyes were haunted as she remembered the absolute terror she had felt with everything that she had seen. How she alone had been able to truly know what had been about to descend on them all. It had been completely overwhelming at times and if it hadn't been for the Doctor's calming presence within her mind, she most likely would've succumbed to sheer panic many times over during their ordeal. She still didn't feel magnificent as he insisted she had been, but she could feel the absolute truth in his thoughts and his words. In the end, that unwavering belief was enough to soothe some of the terror from her own mind.
"You've been through an incredible trauma, Donna and you hadn't even really had time to learn to cope with it before you had to leap right into a crisis. You're going to need a lot of rest after your ordeal here, Donna. And that goes for you too, Doctor. The universe can take care of itself for a while."
The Doctor laughed at her stern tone. "Always taking care of everyone else, Martha! Don't worry I'll make sure she gets plenty of rest after this."
Martha turned a steely gaze to the Doctor, shaking her head before admonishing him. "I mean that for you as well, Doctor. Don't think I can't see you're practically dead on your feet."
Donna threw her head back and laughed, truly laughed for the first time in days. With just a few words, Martha managed to put the Doctor on the defensive and there truly was nothing that he could do about it. "Oh, Martha, it's good to see you again. I just wish the circumstances had been better."
"Speaking of seeing people, where's Mickey?" The Doctor piped up in an effort to change the subject.
Martha smiled at the obvious ploy, but she allowed herself to be distracted for the moment. "He's on assignment right now in Paris and won't be back for a while, but he did want me to tell you both hello. He hopes to be able to visit with everyone properly soon."
The Doctor smiled somewhat wistfully. "Yeah, under better circumstances I hope."
Donna sighed when Martha spoke about Mickey, her thoughts immediately turning to her family who were now closer to her than they had been in weeks. She had kept in touch with them during the past few weeks though it had just been sporadic phone calls to let them know that she was alright, though she had not gone into much detail. Not that she could have really gone into detail. How did you explain to your mother that you were trying to learn how to cope with being a telepath all of the sudden? Never mind that you could see the fabric of time as it wove through the world around you? Yeah, her mother would most likely have tried to drag her straight to the psychiatrist again. Despite all those worries, she still suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to call them both, just to hear the sounds of their voices once more.
The Doctor shifted when he felt the turn of her thoughts, leaning close to her while his hand reached up to lightly brush against her cheek. "Go give them a call, Donna. They'll be happy to hear from you. Just try not to get into it with your mother."
Donna's gaze flew to his with those words, the answering smile on her face was somewhat abashed at his admonition. "I'll behave if she behaves, Doctor. You know I can more than hold my own with her now." With a soft laugh, she rose to her feet and stepped out of Jack's office back into the hub where she pulled her mobile out and dialed her mother's number.
Martha watched the Doctor as his gaze followed her out of the room, his brows furrowing slightly when Donna started talking to whoever had answered the phone before he turned his attention back to her. She was looking at him with a new understanding in her eyes, the smile on her lips a touch sad.
"You can hear her thoughts all the time now, Doctor?"
"Yup." The Doctor responded, for the first time in a while popping the "p" at the end just like he had done in the past. There was a boyish light in his eyes as he looked at her, his body suddenly vibrating with nervous energy. "She's pretty adept at hearing mine as well now, our minds are never really that far apart anymore. I tell you though it can get a tad uncomfortable from time to time."
He stopped dead when he realized what he had said to Martha, eyes going wide as he realized he had just been a complete idiot. "I'm sorry, Martha. I didn't think…"
Martha shook her head with a laugh, setting her plate aside before she rose to her feet and gave him a big hug. "I'm happy for you, Doctor. You deserve to be happy for once in your life, and besides I couldn't be happier with Mickey. I never did properly thank you for that by the way."
His answering smile was somewhat tentative, though he did return her hug. "You're happy now?"
"Yes, Doctor I am. Mickey is a good man, and more importantly we're good together! We understand each other, and support each other no matter what comes up. And trust me sometimes dealing with our crazy lives it can get completely overwhelming, but we work through it." Her eyes were shining up into his, her words ringing with her sincerity when she finally realized that she had always loved him more as a brother or a father figure than anything else. It had gotten all mixed up for her, but being here now with him she realized that she would always love him no matter what and that she truly was happy to see he was finally trying to allow himself some happiness of his own. "You deserve to be happy too, Doctor. I'm glad to see that you're finally not running from it anymore. Donna's good for you, she always did reign you in when you needed it and she was always so good at making the connections that we all missed. I couldn't think of anyone better for you actually."
The Doctor just hugged her tight. "I've missed you, Martha Jones. But I am so glad to see that you are happy, you deserve nothing less."
She grinned at that before stepping back. "I still reserve the right to call you if I ever need to Doctor!"
He responded with a playful salute. "The right is always yours, Martha."
She looked up when she saw Gwen slipping out of the Tardis and making her way over to where the Cardiff police officer was sitting, but frowned when she didn't see Jack following her out.
"Let me go check on Ianto, Doctor. I don't need Jack getting him too worked up on me!"
The Doctor stepped back from her with a teasing grin. "Quite right, you know how Jack can be."
"That's the problem!" Martha tossed back over her shoulder with a laugh before she hurried back to the Tardis.
The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest and took a deep steadying breath while he stood watching Gwen and Daniel talking quietly by the communications displays. He had no reason to continue keeping Daniel here, and the Doctor was sure he would want to make sure that his family was safe as well.
Hands reaching up, he straightened his jacket before he made his way over to join them. Gwen looked up at his approach, her eyes just as tired as everyone else's must have been but she still nodded to him in greeting.
"Doctor."
Daniel looked up at his approach, his entire countenance changing when he saw the Doctor's intent gaze on his features. "Is everything all right, Doctor? Do I need to stay here much longer?"
The Doctor shook his head as he pulled up a chair and settled between the two of them, his gaze traveling back and forth to try to better gauge their true moods. He could tell that they were both exhausted and still grief-stricken but otherwise they looked none the worse for their ordeal. Gwen had huge black smudges under her eyes which were still a little swollen no doubt from the tears that she still had to fight. Daniel just looked shell-shocked, worn out and dazed, but at least the anger that the Doctor had felt radiating off the man earlier seemed to have faded. It looked like once more Donna had been able to help him come to terms with a world gone completely mad.
"I was going to ask if you both were alright. It's been a long exhausting day for everyone, and there is still so much more that needs to be done. However none of that will be accomplished with either of you collapsing from sheer exhaustion."
"I think at least I am as good as can be expected, Doctor. This is unfortunately not as unfamiliar to me as I would hope it is. It has been a day of shocks definitely, but in the end at least we were able to make a difference."
The Doctor's lips turned up in a truly fantastic smile at her words, his estimation of her having just grown by leaps and bounds. Jack had indeed chosen well when he had made her his second. She was very much aware of the sacrifices that had to be made for the greater good, and also the very real possibility that one day she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save everything she loved. Indeed they might all have to make that sacrifice one day.
The Doctor looked to the both of them, sobering slightly when he thought back to that basement and the feeling of powerlessness that had overwhelmed him when Andy had been seized by the angel. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him." He sat back in the chair, hands rising to scrub at his whisker grizzled face as he ran over the events in his mind over and over again. "If I had had more time, I know I would have figured out a way but it all happened so fast and we were about to be overrun."
Gwen leaned forward and placed her hand on his arm, her gaze intent on his own sorrowful features. "I don't blame you, Doctor. Much as it would make coming to terms with this whole thing a lot easier, I just can't blame you." She shivered when she felt Daniel's gaze boring into her at those words, but she couldn't stop now. She couldn't let him think for one second that she felt he hadn't done everything in his power to save Andy. "I talked about it with Jack and Ianto, and they both agree that if you had stopped we all would have died and the earth right now would be terrorized by creatures that people would have no clue how to fight." She smiled tremulously through the tears that suddenly burned down her cheeks, her mind flashing back to the look of calm acceptance on Andy's face right before he had been killed. "I think Andy knew that in the end, Doctor. That's why he asked you to make sure we never forgot him or his sacrifice."
Daniel grunted softly when she finished, his own mind was still a jumbled mess of emotions that he knew would take a long time to sort. He did know though that he was irrevocably changed by the events of the last thirty-six hours and that this would be one of those events that would forever shape his life into the before and the after. He had been in the after before, when he came back from Kosovo and again from Afghanistan but even those traumatic events had done nothing to prepare him for the knowledge of the enormity of the universe and how tiny they all really were in the grand scheme of things.
It still amazed him that one man, one alien could have so much power as to stand at the eye of the storm, to become the storm really while he shaped the winds to some design that only he seemed to know. The power within the man was terrifying but strangely comforting at the same time, because he had seen firsthand the lengths to which he would go in order to save the earth and all who called it home.
He looked up at the Doctor when he felt the touch of his gaze, the question plain on his face. "What about you, Daniel? How are you coping with all of this?"
He shrugged slightly, breath blowing out through clenched teeth while he tried to gather his thoughts. "I'll be honest, I'm not coping at all Doctor. I'm running on auto-pilot and trying to just get through the next few minutes in one piece. I know it'll all come crashing down soon enough, but for the time being I will be all right. I've been in this place before at least."
Gwen reached out to give him a big hug. "And you've got a great support network now, Daniel. Unfortunately you can't really talk to anyone about what you saw or experienced in that warehouse, nor can you discuss the events afterwards without everyone thinking you're completely starkers. But if you ever need someone to talk to or scream to or whatever, we're all here for you."
The Doctor smiled at her declaration. "Be a support for each other through the rough times ahead. I will warn you it is not going to get easier, and there will come a point where people will no longer be able to deny the fact that you are not alone in this universe."
Gwen shuddered at what felt like a prophecy, her eyes locking with his while she tried to read further into his intent. He didn't pull away from her gaze, but his eyes for once were completely shuttered and she only read what she knew he wanted her to read. "The earth will need protectors because I can't always be here and I think that Torchwood will be ready to rise to the challenge." His gaze swept over Daniel to show him that he included him in that sentiment.
Daniel sat up a little straighter when he felt the praise in the Doctor's gaze, for the first time that day he suddenly felt as if he might have found a focus in the midst of the all the madness. He would have to think about it and he would of course need to talk to Gwen and Jack further, but maybe… just maybe something good would come of this and he would be able to continue to help make a difference.
The Doctor rose to his feet, content now that they both would be all right and would lean on each other as needed when the time came. He had been mostly concerned that Daniel at the very least might do something rash simply because he couldn't cope with the knowledge of all the truly terrible dangers that were waiting for them out there.
"Go home you two. I'm sure you both have tons of paperwork and reports to fill out in regards to all of this. I will make sure that Jack has my statement and I will try to keep it as believable as possible without leaving out too many details."
Gwen nearly wilted when he mentioned home, her heart stuttering in her sudden desperate need to run home and check on Rhys and finally break down in his arms. She threw her arms around the Doctor in a tight hug, squeezing for all she was worth before she stepped back. "Thank you, Doctor, for everything."
He nodded sadly when he saw the tears in her eyes once more and though he wished he could do something to ease her pain, he knew that it would only end up diminishing her if he tried. "You're welcome, Gwen Cooper. I'm happy to have properly met you."
She smiled sadly up at him before she turned and made her way to the blast doors, grabbing her coat off the coat rack before stepping into the little hallway where she waited for the lift.
The Doctor watched her go with something akin to regret on his face, regret for everything that had happened since his own strange rebirth and how even now other people were still paying the price that should be his. He then turned to look at Daniel who he found was looking at him strangely. "What is it Daniel?"
Daniel shook his head. "Just you, Doctor. It just seems like you are so filled with regret, will there ever be a time when it all can just have a happy ending? Or is it always like this for you?"
The Doctor sighed, his head turning to search out Donna who was seated on the couch with her feet tucked up under her while she was talking on the phone and he for once knew the answer to the question that he had been asking himself for what seemed like centuries. "Yes, Daniel. There are some days where I am very lucky, and everybody lives. I treasure those days because they are so very precious indeed. Its days like today that I have to remember more keenly what I am fighting for, why I have striven for so many centuries to make a difference on this planet and all across the universe really. When I see people like you and Gwen, Jack and Ianto all fighting against insurmountable odds no matter the cost it's absolutely brilliant! You are like giants to me, Daniel and I can't help be feel a sense of wonder at your innate ability to rise above any challenge. Your spirit will never be broken Daniel and that's just beautiful."
Daniel's lips were quivering by the time the Doctor was done and he found himself suddenly snapping to attention and saluting the Doctor. He felt filled with a calm sense of purpose that he knew would carry him through the dark days ahead, a peace that he had thought would never come again. "Thank you, Doctor. It has been an honor."
For once, the Doctor did not wave away his salute but he responded in kind, tapping two fingers to his forehead before Daniel's hand snapped back down and he turned to follow Gwen out into the night.
The Doctor fell back into the chair and sat staring broodingly at the flickering screens before him, his mind already racing as he thought about their imminent departure.
Donna stepped out of Jack's office, leaving the Doctor and Martha alone for the time being before she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She simply stared at it for a while, trying to sort through all that had happened before she called her mother.
Sylvia and Wilf still had no idea what had truly happened to her, they merely thought that she was just once more traveling the stars with the Doctor and was trying to come to terms with having nearly lost a year of her life. She needed to talk to the Doctor about all the changes that had happened to her, because she knew that there would come a time when she couldn't continue to hide how different she had become.
She definitely would have to tell her granddad first, she had never been one to keep secrets from him for long and he had always been infinitely supportive of her travels with the Doctor. She smiled softly when she thought of Wilf, she knew that he would be ecstatic when he found out about her and the Doctor. She had wondered if he had secretly been hoping for the two of them to finally stop mucking about ever since she had come back home during the Sontaran invasion.
Flipping the phone open and dialing her mother's number, she knew she couldn't procrastinate any longer. She felt her stomach clench when the connection was made and she waited with baited breath for the call to be answered.
It only took three rings and then Sylvia's acerbic voice responded. "I thought you'd forgotten how to use a phone. Nice of you to finally think of us for once."
Donna closed her eyes and blew a frustrated breath out through clenched teeth, already feeling the urge to snap back rising fast. "Hello, Mum. Nice to hear your voice too. I'm sorry I haven't called in a few weeks."
She could almost picture the feigned boredom in Sylvia's tone. "Yeah well, some of us have responsibilities here. We can't just drop everything to go traveling with some man."
"I'm not just traveling, mom you know that. We've done some truly amazing things, seen things and saved so many worlds; I don't understand why you can't be happy for me that I'm finally myself and am getting better every day."
Sylvia snorted in response to that comment. "Not like I'd know if you were getting any better, its been over a month since you bothered to come and see us. The occasional phone call like you can't even be bothered, even poor dad thinks you don't care anymore."
Donna winced at that, shaking her head before she sank down onto the couch and tucked her feet under her. This was not going at all the way she had hoped it would. "I've been checking in, mom. It's just I've been under a lot of stress lately, what with everything that happened in the last few weeks."
Sylvia just laughed in response. "You should've stayed here with Sean. After you left, he won the triple rollover. 27 million pounds worth actually. You would've been properly set up then, and I wouldn't be worrying every night about whether or not you were dead on some distant planet." Sylvia stopped herself immediately after that comment, most likely she felt she had given too much away and there was a sudden awkward silence on the other end.
Donna looked up when she saw the Doctor walk by her towards where Gwen and Daniel were sitting, his gaze touching her for a brief moment when he felt the burst of affection from her. Hearing her mother confirm that the Doctor had indeed given Sean a winning lottery ticket helped ease some of the last pangs of regret that she had felt. "You don't say, mom? Well I'm happy for him, he certainly deserved a better life than I could have ever given to him."
Sylvia was silent for a moment, most likely not quite sure what to make of Donna's blasé reaction to her ex fiancée suddenly becoming a millionaire or her complete avoidance of Sylvia's confession. Donna truly was happy for the Sean though, she knew in the end he would be far happier than he ever could have been with her shackled to his side. Money can only buy so much, and for her it would never have been enough when she had felt that she was only traveling through life as half a woman. She was quite happy and content with the life that she and the Doctor were making together, even though her mind was still reeling with the events of the past few weeks.
"Sean is trying to do something worthwhile with the money actually. He has petitioned the government to start a foundation to help people with amnesia and Alzheimer's. He said you inspired him to make a difference for those who can't always help themselves. He always was a bit of a dreamer, but he showed up one day with a check for us as a thank you. He said he wanted to make sure that we were okay because we had always been kind to him." Donna smiled wistfully at that, blinking hard against the tears that were threatening to fall. "He paid our mortgage off actually though we tried to refuse the money and he said to say to you that he truly did wish you the best."
"He really is a good man. Some woman will be very lucky to have him. I'm glad that he's trying to make a difference now." And she truly was glad that he was trying to use his newfound money to help people, to help people who were sometimes so lost that they didn't even know where or how to look for themselves.
"Well, I'm glad to hear you're not taking the news to hard, Donna. Seriously though, when are we going to see you again?"
Donna would actually love to visit her family again, well her granddad anyways, but she couldn't visit them right now. She was too fractured and tortured with this newfound ability that she had no idea how to control, she needed some serious downtime with the Doctor where they could just focus on each other before they leaped back into the mad swirl of the universe. "I'll come for a visit soon, mom. The Doctor and I just have some things we need to do first, but then we'll come by. I promise."
She could tell that Sylvia didn't like her evasive answer, but that she knew better than to push Donna right now. "Is Gramps there with you?"
"No, you know your granddad, he's up on the hill again. I sometimes think he's looking for you."
Donna smiled at the thought, because she knew that he definitely was watching for her and the flying blue box. She wanted to take him on an adventure one day soon, so that he could visit those places he had always dreamed about. She would need to talk to the Doctor about it and see if it would even be a possibility. "I'm going to give him a call then, Mom. I'll be in touch again soon." And before her mother could say more than goodbye, she ended the call and leaned back against the couch with a frustrated sigh.
"That sounded like it went better than could be expected." She jumped when she heard the Doctor's voice, she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that he had come up beside her.
"As well as could be expected, Doctor. She couldn't help but rub in that Sean won the lottery and how she felt I would have been better off if I'd stayed with him."
The Doctor sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms and resting his head on her shoulder. "Do you think you would've been better, Donna?"
She knew what he was asking, could feel the uncertainty in his thoughts over the chaos of the last few weeks and if it truly would have been better if she had stayed behind on earth where she would have at least been safer. She reached up and clutched his arms tight around her, her own head falling back to rest against his shoulder while they both stared at the open doors of the Tardis. "No, Doctor. I know what it was like to live without you, to live without even remembering you and I could never go back to that life. Not even if it ended up being a millionaires life. Money can't buy happiness, Doctor and in the end I would have still been wandering aimless and hopelessly lost. I do not regret anything Doctor. I don't regret the last few weeks, and I certainly don't regret us."
She could feel the burst of warmth from him right before he pressed a soft kiss against her temple, his arms tightening for a moment about her before he murmured. "Why don't you give Wilf a call, then we can go see how Ianto is doing. I don't trust Jack unsupervised in the Tardis for longer than I need to!"
She laughed softly and shifted away from him, turning around to look up into the tortured depths of his eyes while her hand reached up and brushed his cheek softly. "I want to take gramps on an adventure with us soon, Doctor. I want to be able to show him some of the wonders that I've seen with you."
The Doctor's eyes softened when he heard her request, his mind instantly liking the thought of giving her grandfather a grand adventure. "I think that would be wonderful, Donna. We'll do so soon enough, but first we have other matters that we need to take care of."
She beamed when she heard his answer and threw her arms around his neck with a squeal of delight before she kissed him soundly. His arms instinctively tightened around her body, crushing her against him for a brief luxurious moment before they both broke apart. His gaze was searing in its intensity, his hand having risen to curl tightly about her neck before he pulled back with a soft sigh. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat up at him, her hand resting against his chest right between his twin hearts. "Call your granddad, Donna. I'm going to go check on everyone and get the Tardis ready for departure, we have some things that we need to follow up on and soon."
She shuddered softly when he mentioned their imminent trip to the Medusa cascade, her eyes locking with his briefly before she nodded. "All right, Doctor. I'll be right along then."
He brushed a soft touch against her jaw before he rose to his feet, thoughts stroking hers lightly before he turned and made his way to the Tardis.
They would need to leave soon in order to make sure that the sealing of the rift in Cardiff hadn't had a ripple effect on other rifts in the galaxy, but he also wanted to make preparations for where he wanted to take Donna to relax once they had done their duty. He realized that the respite couldn't come soon enough.