Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Look at their hands! They're clean.”

“What's wrong with clean hands?” the Doctor asked, trying fruitlessly to pull free. He hardly seemed to see the guns trained on them. 

Cline frowned at the three strangers. 

Between them he got a forbidding stare, a curious gleam, and a defiant glare back. 

The glaring woman’s bright hair caught his eye. 

“Alright, process them. Her first,” Cline pronounced, pointing at Donna. 

“Let me go!” Donna barked. She tried to hook a leg around a crate, but their captors efficiently got her moving again in no time. 

“Donna—!” the Doctor yanked against the soldiers’ grip. “Don’t you hurt her!” 

“What's going on?” Martha asked sharply. “Let her go!” 

In the blink of an eye Donna’s arm was slotted into a machine. 

“What the hell is this thing?” she demanded. In the distance the Doctor threw his weight toward her with little result.

“It’s an extrapolator,” the nearest soldier explained. The machine had already tightened its grip and begun to rumble. 

“A what?” Donna bit out, but any answer was drowned out by a shrill cry. 

“Donna!” the Doctor shouted. His efforts to escape gained a new desperation. 

“Donna, are you alright?” Martha asked loudly. 

“I’m fine, but that hurt!” Donna spat through her teeth. “Something scraped my hand, I’m probably bleeding like a stuck pig all over the inside of this thing—” 

The Doctor regained a measure of composure, however thin. “Extrapolator...” he repeated. His eyes narrowed. “What kind of—?” 

The machine opened...and a young woman stepped out. 

“Oh, my god...” Martha gasped. 

“Who—what—?” Donna sputtered. She pressed her sleeve down over the wound on the back of her hand with a hiss. 

“Your daughter,” the Doctor breathed. “She’s your daughter.” 

“Hello, Mum,” the girl said with a sardonic smile. Her hair alone confirmed her parentage, but her entire person bore a strong resemblance to her mother. 

“Your turn,” Cline told the Doctor, and his captors hauled him toward the machine even as Donna was pulled away. 

“Stop that!” Martha shouted as Donna barked “Leave him alone!” Neither of their objections helped—the Doctor’s arm was trapped in the machine in no time at all. 

“My daughter...” Donna said uncomprehendingly. Her eyes snapped from the girl to the Doctor and back again. “How d’you mean, ‘my daughter? That’s not possible!” 

“I mean it’s a genetic extrapolator,” the Doctor bit out. “Ow—ow—ow—ow! It’s taken a tissue sample and extrapolated it, with—some kind of accelerator!” 

The machine released him and the Doctor staggered back...only to be greeted by another young woman stepping out. 

“Hello, Dad.” 

The other girl’s face didn’t have the same instantly recognisable resemblance to her parent as the first. 

Not until her cheeky grin made its first appearance. 

“Arm yourselves,” Cline ordered, and each of their daughters eagerly accepted a weapon.

“My daughter?” Donna repeated inanely. 

“And mine,” the Doctor said faintly. He traced the scrape on his hand. “Blimey.” 

“You two primed to take orders? Ready to fight?” Cline asked sternly. 

 Both young women nodded sharply. 

The blonde girl answered first. “Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir—”

“—Generation five thousand soldiers, primed and in peak physical health,” the ginger-haired girl finished. “Oh, we’re ready.” 

The two of them quickly joined their peers at the barricade, weapons at the ready. 

“So they’re your daughters?” Martha asked incredulously as Donna dumbly stared after them. 

“Mmm...technically,” the Doctor hedged. 

“Technically how?” Martha demanded. 

“Her turn, next,” Cline ordered, and Martha instantly tried to twist from the soldiers’ grip. 

“Something’s coming!” the blonde girl suddenly announced. 

The silence in the tunnels only held for so long. 

“So...?” Donna asked, drawing it out. “Our...our daughters?” 

“Well...it’s basic progenation—reproduction from a single organism. Means one person is both biological—”

“No, no, no, I—I get it. It’s a cloning machine, it fast-forwarded through their development. I figured that much out on my own, thanks,” Donna told him sharply. 

The ginger girl snorted under her breath at that. Donna aimed an uncomfortable look at her. She pressed her other palm over the scrape on her hand. 

“But...” Donna swallowed hard. “...But it’s not like they’re real, are they?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

The Doctor pursed his lips. “Depends what you’d call real, I suppose,” he admitted in a low voice. “It’s—we’re extrapolating a relationship from a biological accident, really. They’re...they’re generated anomalies, created at gunpoint—”

He cut himself off with difficulty.

“Under the circumstances...can you really call them our children?” the Doctor finally asked. 

“I mean…” She hesitated. “Accident or not, they did come from us, didn’t they?” 

“They also have ears,” the ginger girl put in dryly. 

“And have minds of their own!” the other girl added. “We may be—what’d you call us, ‘generated anomalies’?—but we’re walking, talking, thinking people. How are we not real?” 

There was a note of genuine curiosity in her final question, but Donna and the Doctor each felt it like a blow. 

“I...I just—!” Donna spluttered, flushing crimson. “I...I’m sorry,” she finally muttered. 

“S’alright,” the ginger girl replied, shrugging it aside without much difficulty. “Just rude, is all.”

The Doctor unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. Donna elbowed him in return. 

“I’m—I’m Donna. This is the Doctor,” she told them. “What’re your names?” 

“Don’t know. Haven’t been assigned yet!” the blonde girl said cheerfully. 

“‘The Doctor’? What sort of a name is that?” the ginger girl asked sceptically. 

“Oi!” the Doctor protested. “What makes ‘Donna’ any better?” 

This elbow hit harder. 

“Nothing against your name, obviously,” he backpedalled, rubbing surreptitiously at his ribs, “But they don’t even have names at all yet! Stones, glass houses—you understand, don’t you?” 

“Your rudeness must be rubbing off on me,” Donna told him sternly. “Now hush.” 

She turned back to the girls. “So, any thoughts on names, then?” Donna asked with forced cheer. 

“Hmm...” The blonde girl considered that for a moment. “I really don’t know what makes a good name, to be honest.”

“S’pose that makes sense.” Donna frowned at nothing. “What’d you just say?—‘generated anomaly’....” She snapped her fingers. “How about ‘Jenny’?” 

“Jenny...” She flashed a bright grin. “Yeah, I like that! Jenny!”

“And you...” Donna looked back at the ginger girl. Tension tightened her eyes. “Well, if she’s got ‘generated’, anomaly’s right there...”

“You’re assuming we’d both be okay with matching like that?” Donna’s daughter raised a dubious eyebrow. “That’s pretty rude, too.” 

“I...I...” Donna was left agape, lost for words. 

His eyes narrowed. “Are you okay with matching?” the Doctor asked, and the ginger girl flushed, caught out. 

“...Yeah,” she reluctantly admitted, “I guess. But it’s the principle of the thing! She shouldn’t just assume.” 

“Maybe she shouldn’t,” the Doctor agreed, shooting a conciliatory look at Donna, “But she is just trying to help, you know.” 

“I suppose...” 

“So...?” He trailed off expectantly. 

The ginger girl sighed. “Sorry, Donna,” she mumbled sulkily, sounding like a far younger person than she appeared to be. 

“S’alright,” Donna managed, rather pink herself. 

The Doctor kept an eye on her, but when Donna seemed unlikely to speak again he jumped back into the ring. 

“Right, so! Donna wasn’t wrong...‘anomaly’ is right there,” he thought aloud. “Anomaly…what about ‘Molly’?” 

Her face brightened at once. “Molly? I like that!” 

“Perfect, there we are! Jenny and Molly.” The Doctor darted a glance at Donna, catching the barest sliver of approval. 

“How long's this war gone on for?” the Doctor asked. 

If General Cobb could be described as doing something so undignified as shrugging, he did so. “Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead.”

“What, fighting all this time?” Donna asked incredulously. “Why?”  

“Because we must!” Jenny exclaimed at once. 

Only Donna caught the flash of agony that crossed the Doctor’s face before he smoothed it away. 

“Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge—it's our inheritance. It's all we know!” She looked from Donna to the Doctor and back again, her eyes shining with zeal. “How to fight, and...how to die.”

“Hopefully to live, though,” Molly added casually. “I mean that’s my plan, anyway.” 

“That’s a soldier to be proud of,” General Cobb pronounced, giving Molly an approving slap on the shoulder. The proprietary look he gave both girls made Donna’s eyes narrow. “Both of them. Primed for victory!” 

“The progenation machines are powered down for the night shift—but soon as they're active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two.” 

Cline’s casually presumptive words had Donna bridling immediately. 

“You already plugged us into that flipping machine!” she spat. “Without asking, might I add. And I would’ve said no, for the record!” 

“Er...Donna—“ The Doctor’s hand dropped onto her shoulder. 

“Hush, Spaceman, I’ll say my piece if I want to!” Donna crossed her arms and fixed her defiant glare on the General himself. “I’m not doing it again in the morning. You’ll have a hell of a time dragging me all the way back there, I’ll tell you that right now.” 

“Donna,” the Doctor whispered in her ear, “Molly. She’s right here…” 

Donna paled—but she held her determined posture. “I’m—I still won’t do it again,” she repeated, but the wind had clearly been taken out of her sails.

 Donna studiously avoided her daughter’s eyes. 

Molly, in her turn, fixed her gaze on the nearest numbered plaque. Her face was unreadable. 

“Can’t believe we’re being lumped in with you two,” Molly moaned, not even bothering to keep her voice down. 

Much as Donna tried to ignore it, she couldn’t help hearing her teenage self and—god forbid—her mother in that familiar whine. 

“We didn’t even do anything wrong—“  

“More of those numbers over here,” Donna said loudly. “They’ve got to mean something…” 

Molly slumped into a corner of the cell with one more indignant grumble. 

“They make as much sense as that ‘breath of life’ story,” the Doctor remarked. 

“You mean that’s not true?” Jenny demanded incredulously. She stood indecisively halfway between Molly’s chosen corner and the others.

“No, it’s a myth, isn’t it, Doctor?” Donna asked. 

Molly derisively snorted something indistinct ending with the word ‘condescending’. Donna’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t respond. 

“Ye–e–es,” the Doctor drew out, keeping a concerned eye on their visible simmering, “But there could still be something real in that temple. Something that's become a myth—a piece of technology, or a weapon...”

“So the Source could be a weapon…and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?”

His face tightened grimly. “Oh, yes,” the Doctor sighed.

“Not good, is it?” Donna asked with her own sigh. 

“Obviously,” Molly sniffed contemptuously. 

Donna wheeled on her. “I’ve had about enough of your lip, miss,” she snapped. 

“Why should I listen to you, Mum?”  

Donna flinched at her caustic tone. 

“Not like you even want me around, anyway—you’ve made that more than clear,” Molly spat, bringing her knees up in front of her and settling back into the corner with a show of nonchalance. “Figure I can say whatever I like.” 

Jenny’s hands went up to awkwardly fuss with her hair, tucking back a few loose hairs and tightening her ponytail. 

“I didn’t—it was, I mean—” Donna looked lost for words. 

“Molly, Donna—your mum, I mean—she didn’t mean to hurt you,” the Doctor cut in. He pointedly didn’t glance at Jenny. “Really, she didn’t. She wouldn’t! It’s more about the...the choice of it all, right?” 

The lack of recognition on Molly’s face had him rapidly recalibrating. 

“Being forced, I mean. Hauled up to the machine and strong-armed by soldiers into it...” The Doctor almost imperceptibly pulled in on himself. “We aren’t from here, we’re not—we don’t reproduce like that normally.” 

“I don’t—jury’s still out on you, Martian,” Donna muttered. Jenny raised a curious eyebrow. 

“I don’t either!” he protested, but then he wavered. “Not any more, anyway.

“But the point is, Molly, your mum didn’t want to do that. It—that’s not a reflection on you. Really, it’s not,” he added when Molly shot him a dubious look. “It’s just...it’s just that she doesn’t want to be forced to do that again, to have another child without choosing to.” 

“Hmmm.” Molly settled back into her corner without adding anything further, but at least she looked more thoughtful than indignant now. 

The Doctor glanced over to Donna, but she was busy examining the scrape on her hand in minute detail. 

“Anyway...we need to get out of here, find Martha, and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath,” he listed. His eye caught on Jenny’s shining expression despite himself. “What, what are you—what are you—what are you staring at?” he asked. 

His daughter beamed at him. “You keep insisting you're not a soldier, but look at you—drawing up strategies like a proper general.”

Martha pulled her mobile out of her pocket so quickly it nearly went flying. “Doctor?!” 

“Martha, you're alive!” he cried. The relief in his voice was almost tangible.

“Doctor!” Unbidden tears almost filled her eyes, but she determinedly sniffed them back. “Oh, am I glad to hear your voice—are you alright?” she asked. Martha ignored the inquisitive bubbling of her Hath companion.  

“I'm with Donna—we're fine. What about you?”

Martha opened her mouth to reply, but there was a muttered exchange of words on the other end of the call. “Pardon? What was that?” she asked bemusedly. 

A heavy sigh from the Doctor huffed over the line, and then he grumbled, “And—and Molly. And Jenny. They’re the girls from the machine...the soldiers—ow!”  

His words were cut off with a pained grunt and a muffled remonstration from Donna. 

“They’re—they’re our daughters. Happy now, Donna?”  

Despite the dire circumstances, Martha couldn’t hold back a laugh at his put-upon tone. “That’s you told,” she chuckled. 

“I’m so glad we’re amusing you, Martha,” he groused. “Not like there’s anything more important going on! Where are you, anyway?” 

She rapidly reported that she was in the Hath camp—and that they’d suddenly begun marching off to find something new on the map. But when Martha asked what she should do, she bridled under his command to do nothing. 

“But I can help!” she protested. Her eyes narrowed. “Donna wouldn’t stand for that, mister, and neither will I,” Martha declared. 

“But if you’re safe there, you—”

Before he could try to convince her again, her mobile died. 

Chapter Text

“We have to get past that guard...” Donna frowned at the bars of their cell. 

“I can deal with him,” Jenny volunteered. 

The Doctor paled. “No, no, no, no—” 

“Not without me,” Molly protested. She leapt directly to her feet in one fluid movement. 

Donna wheeled around at once. “No!” she snapped, “You’re not doing anything of the kind!” 

“They shouldn’t come with us at all, anyway,” the Doctor declared. 

“What?!” Jenny spluttered. 

Donna turned on him. “You can’t be serious!” she cried.  

“They belong with them,” he told her, gesturing at the soldiers outside. The Doctor avoided looking directly at either of the girls. “Here, with their—”

“They belong with us! They’re ours!” Donna bit out. Her hands fisted at her sides. “How can you—after everything you said—”

“You didn’t seem so keen before,” Molly observed. 

“Hush, I’m trying to talk to him right now,” Donna said sharply. She brandished a finger in his face. “You’ve got another thing coming if you think you’re gonna be making decisions for me like this, especially about my daughter—”  

“It might even be safer!” the Doctor tried once more, but the implacable look on Donna’s face was rather familiar by now. “They’re—they’re not really—” 

“Shut it, Spaceman,” Donna snarled. A fire that’d been missing since Molly’s appearance burned again in her eyes. “Hand it over—the stethoscope, now.”  

He slapped it into her palm without another word. 

“Jenny, sweetheart, would you come here, please?” 

She exchanged an anxious glance with Molly before she hesitantly sidled over. 

“This might be a bit cold, sorry,” Donna told her. “Just hold still...” 

“What’re you doing?” Jenny asked nervously. 

“Just checking for...” Donna listened intently for a moment longer. “Come here,” she ordered, and the Doctor approached. “Listen, and then tell me where she belongs.”

He, too, listened. Then he fell back a few steps. 

“Two hearts.” The words fell from his lips without any expression at all. 

“Exactly.”

“What’s going on?” Molly demanded, finally joining the other three where they stood. 

Both adults ignored her question. 

“Does that mean she's a—what do you call a female Time Lord?” 

“What’s a Time Lord?” Jenny asked, her eyes shining with a familiar curious gleam. 

The Doctor’s eyes caught on hers, unable to look away. “It's who I am. It's where I'm from,” he murmured. 

“And...I'm from you...” Jenny trailed off at the look of emptiness on his face. 

“You're an echo, that's all,” he said bitterly. “A Time Lord is so much more—a sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering—” 

“So that thing lets you hear heartbeats?” Molly interrupted. Her fingers reached out for the stethoscope. 

“Yes, it does,” Donna answered, glancing at the Doctor and away again immediately. “Here, I’ll listen to your heart too—might as well check to make sure it’s beating...” 

She scooped the instrument from his hand and put the earpieces back in, setting the chest piece over Molly’s heart. 

Her expression changed. 

Donna slid it to the other side. 

She slid it back to the first side. And then back to the other side again. 

“What’s wrong?” Molly demanded. Her lower lip wobbled with tension. “Oh, god, something’s wrong, isn’t it?” 

“I—” Donna’s mouth worked silently. 

“Oh, my god, am I dying?” Molly wailed. She staggered away and collapsed on the floor of the cell. “I’m dying—not even a day old, and I’m already dying—”  

The guard showed up at the bars. “Everything alright in—?” He cut himself off on spotting Molly sprawled on the ground, and he immediately fumbled for the keys. 

Donna still stood frozen, numbly holding out the stethoscope—but luckily Jenny was on the ball. When the guard hastily entered the cell, she caught him on the back of the neck with a swift, sharp blow. He hit the floor with a great thump. 

“Jenny!” the Doctor exclaimed, but she just looked at him in confusion. 

“What?” Jenny looked down at the unconscious guard, then back up to the Doctor. “We wanted to get out of here, didn’t we?” she asked in an injured tone. 

When he just gaped at her in horror, Jenny rolled her eyes and snatched the guard’s keys. 

Molly sucked in a shuddering breath and let out a sob. 

With that sound, Donna finally unlocked her body. She dropped the stethoscope and crouched to pull her daughter into a hug. 

“You’re not dying,” she told her firmly. “I—I don’t know exactly what’s happened, mind, but your heartbeats sound strong.” She looked to the Doctor as she spoke her final words. “Both of them.” 

“How did it happen, though?” Donna hissed. 

“I don’t know!” the Doctor exclaimed, only for her to shush him. He shot her a frustrated glance. “They’re right behind us, Donna, not like speaking slightly quieter is going to make much of a difference, anyway—”

“Fine, then,” she said at a normal volume, “How’d it happen? Two hearts, that’s—that’s a Martian thing, and I’m the one who put my arm in the machine—” 

“I don’t know!” he snapped. “I just—I don’t know! I can’t tell just from looking at her, I’d need to do tests—”

“Must’ve been your DNA mixed up with mine, yeah?” Donna interrupted. “So much for not mating—” 

“Oi! I didn’t do anything—” 

“Well, something had to’ve happened with you!” she snarled, wringing her hands. “I don’t have two bloody hearts, I’m sure of that much! You can get out the stethoscope again if you don’t believe me—” 

“I don’t know!” the Doctor repeated, but his mind was speeding from theory to theory. “Maybe—maybe the machine glitched, and used my biological template with your DNA?”

“Oh! That—that could be it...” Donna visibly relaxed...but only for a moment, puffing back up to full-throttle frantic again almost immediately. “Wait, I went first! That can’t be it!” 

“Right...look, I’m just trying to figure it out!” the Doctor said defensively. “I’m not a god, my memory isn’t perfect—” 

Donna huffed a terse laugh. “That’s got to be a first, your admitting that,” she muttered sourly. 

Jenny cleared her throat awkwardly. 

The Doctor and Donna spun around, only now noticing that the two girls had stopped a good fifteen feet back. 

“This is it,” Jenny announced. “The secret tunnel from the map,” she clarified when they just looked confused. 

“Might want to stop fighting—we’ve got a war to stop, after all,” Molly told them ironically. 

“Must be a control panel somewhere...” The Doctor pointedly didn’t respond to her provocation, instead sonicing wildly. 

Donna’s eye caught on another plaque. “There’s another one of those numbers—they're everywhere,” she observed. She fished out the notebook and took it down with the others.

“Who d’you reckon left them?” Jenny asked. 

“Original builders, maybe?” Molly speculated. 

The Doctor shot her an approving look. “Not a bad guess. Might be some old cataloguing system...”

Donna frowned down at her notes. “The numbers are counting down, though—this one ends in ‘one-four’, and the prison cell said ‘one-six’...”

“Always thinking, both of you,” Jenny remarked. “Who are you people?”

“You’re not from here, you said,” Molly recalled. 

“I told you—I'm the Doctor.”

Jenny raised an eyebrow. “The Doctor. That's it?” 

“Seriously?” Molly asked sceptically. She looked to Donna in appeal.

All Donna could do was shrug. “That's all he ever says,” she commiserated. “Sounds like nonsense, but that’s just him.” 

“Oi!”

“So you don't have a name either?” Jenny asked. “Are you an anomaly too?” 

His mouth turned up. “No,” he answered. 

Donna snorted. “Oh, come off it, you're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met!” 

“How’s he anomalous?” Molly inquired. 

“How isn’t he anomalous, more like,” Donna scoffed. “Lives in a box, two hearts, the strangest affinity for cats...”

Fortunately for the Doctor’s remaining tatters of dignity, the control panel finally clicked open. 

“Here it is!” he exclaimed, and got busy sonicing inside it. 

“Two hearts...” Molly frowned at nothing. “So that’s anomalous?”

“I have them too, though,” Jenny butted in. “Can’t be that anomalous. But Donna, he said he’s a ‘Time Lord’—what’s a ‘Time Lord’, exactly? What’re they for?” 

“They’re another species,” Donna began as the Doctor looked up from his work. 

“They're not—we're not for anything,” he told Jenny. “Just people, that’s all—different, non-human people.” 

Molly slanted him a dubious glance. 

The distant shouts of General Cobb and his soldiers reached their ears as the Doctor was busy sonicing the laser grid. 

“Jenny, what’re you—?” 

Donna made a grab for her arm, but she ducked out of the way and back down the corridor. Molly was just a step behind her. 

“Molly!” Donna barked, but her daughter barely even flinched. 

The Doctor only just caught each of them by the sleeve. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. 

“I can hold them up!” Jenny panted. She pulled against his grip. Her sleeve almost slipped through his fingers, but he hung on grimly.

“I can’t let her get all the glory,” Molly quipped, managing to yank her sleeve and self out of his reach entirely. 

“No, we don't need any more dead—”

“But it's them or us!” Jenny protested. 

“It doesn't mean you have to kill them,” he told them.

“This really doesn’t seem like the time for a debate,” Molly remarked. She edged even further away. 

“We’re trying to save your life!” Jenny exclaimed incredulously. 

The Doctor finally let go of Jenny’s sleeve with a sigh. “Listen to me: the killing...after a while it infects you. And once it does, you're never rid of it,” he said hoarsely. Grief rang through every word.

“Girls, please don’t do this,” Donna ordered, her voice rising higher with anxiety. 

The Doctor’s gaze flicked between the two of them. 

Molly got an obstinate look on her face—one the Doctor was terribly familiar with. “We don't have a choice.” She tugged Jenny onward.

“We always have a choice,” he begged. 

Jenny set her jaw. “I'm sorry,” she told him firmly, and she followed Molly around the corner. 

“Molly—Jenny—!” The Doctor made an abortive move to rush after them, but the voices getting closer and closer stopped him in his tracks. 

“What’re you—?!” Donna lunged after them. 

“Donna, no!” His arms wrapped around her, hauling her back toward the control panel. “Stay with me—you’ll get yourself killed!” 

In the same moment around the corner, the sound of gunfire began. 

“But they’re our daughters!” she hissed. Donna continued to struggle. 

The Doctor flinched, turning her to face him with difficulty. “I know,” he groaned, “I know, but they’ve got all that training and programming—they’ll be fine. But you—Donna, you can’t get in the middle of all that!” 

He fixed her with a pleading stare. 

“Please.”

When she silently acquiesced, the Doctor released her with a final squeeze and returned to sonicing at frantic speed. 

Donna looked longingly back to the corner they’d gone around. 

The continuing gunfire had her wringing her hands in helpless worry as she waited. 

The tension got to be too much. “Jenny? Molly!” she called out in a loud whisper. Donna dared to take a step closer. “The Doctor’s right—it’s always a choice. You’re more than soldiers—more than killers...more than what they made you to be.” Her voice cracked at the end there, and she cleared her throat. 

The General ordered his troops to cease fire. 

“Molly? Jenny? Are you alright?” 

“M’alright, Mum!” came a welcome voice, and Molly shot around the corner without a gun in hand. 

That was when the Doctor finally got the lasers turned off. 

“They’re off!” Donna hollered, beckoning her frantically. 

“Jenny—leave it! We have to go!” the Doctor shouted. 

Donna herded her daughter down the corridor, jerking the Doctor after her by the hand and the lapel. 

“Hands!” he gasped, but she didn’t let go of him for an instant. 

Distantly they could hear General Cobb calling something or other, followed by the loud retort of another gunshot. 

The three of them skidded to a halt on the other side. 

“Jenny?” Donna bellowed at the top of her lungs. “Move your bum!” 

The Doctor reclaimed his hand to cup both of them around his mouth. “Come on, Jenny!” 

“Hurry up already!” Molly shouted. “Don’t leave me alone with them!” 

The moment Jenny reached the edge of the trap, though, the laser grid reappeared. 

The Doctor lunged for a non-existent control panel on the far side of the lasers. “No, no, no, no, no, no—the circuit's looped back!” 

“Zap it back again!” Donna demanded.

He shot her an unamused look. “The controls are back there.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned. 

Jenny cast an anxious look over her shoulder. “They're coming,” she called. 

The Doctor wibbled. “Wait, just—there isn't—Jenny, I can't—” 

She shot him a blinding grin. “I'll have to manage on my own.” Jenny waggled her eyebrows teasingly. “Watch and learn, Father.”

“Oh, god, she’s just like you,” Donna moaned. 

Donna and the Doctor’s jaws dropped as they watched Jenny’s entirely improbable gymnastics.

“Show off,” Molly muttered, rolling her eyes. 

“No way...” Donna breathed. “But that was impossible!”

The Doctor’s face could’ve split in two with the width of his smile. “Not impossible—just a bit unlikely!” 

Jenny threw herself into his arms with a triumphant whoop. 

“Brilliant! You were brilliant!” He crushed her in a hug. 

“Yeah. Brilliant,” Molly grumbled. She crossed her arms. 

Donna eyed her even as Jenny began to babble.

“I didn't kill him! General Cobb—I could’ve killed him, but I didn't!” The Doctor gave Jenny another enthusiastic squeeze before releasing her. “You were right—I had a choice!” she chirped. 

Donna had just opened her mouth to speak when the soldiers appeared on the other side of the lasers.

Chapter Text

Donna sidled up to where Molly was dawdling well behind Jenny and the Doctor’s quicker pace. 

“Everything alright?” she casually inquired. 

“Fine.” 

Donna side-eyed her—Molly was glaring daggers at the back of Jenny’s head. 

“Oh, yeah, fine...” She nodded obligingly. “Definitely seem fine.” 

Molly sighed a very teenagerly sigh. “I am fine,” she bit out. 

“You’ll find this out later, but it’s actually rather obvious when someone’s not alright if you’re looking for it,” Donna told her wryly. “Comes with age, but you can develop the skill early if you try.” 

“I don’t—” Molly shot her a frustrated look. “It’s just...I don’t even know what it is.” 

“Jealous?” Donna asked. 

“What?!” Molly yelped. She shot another glare at Jenny, as if it was her fault. She lowered her voice. “No!” 

“Been there, let me tell you.” Her mum let out a sigh of her own. “My friend Nerys—well, I call her a friend, it’s complicated—but it’s felt like she’s been a step ahead of me my whole life...” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Donna got a distant look in her eye. “Yeah, it’s...it was like whatever I did, she did it faster, easier, better, and with a bow on top...s’a bloody nightmare.” 

A thoughtful frown crossed Molly’s face. 

“But it wasn’t her fault, really—not always, anyway...” Donna shook herself free of her thoughts. “It’s not a contest, life, no matter what people try to tell you.” 

She dared to put an arm around Molly’s shoulders. 

“You’re going to live your own life, make your own choices, do whatever you choose to do—and you’re going to be brilliant, all on your own terms. No matter how many backflips Jenny does.” 

“If you say so.” 

“I do.” 

“So...you travel together, but you're not...together?” Jenny asked. 

“What?” Donna’s eyes darted to the Doctor’s back where he was walking ahead of them. “No—no. No way!” 

Molly’s keen hazel gaze took in every nuance of her reaction. “You’ve gone all fluttery,” she observed. 

That curious gleam reappeared in Jenny’s eyes. 

“No, I haven’t!” Donna shot her daughter a quelling look before turning back to Jenny. “We're friends, that's all,” she explained, striving to sound calmer. “I mean, we're not even the same species—there's probably laws against it.”

“Really?” Molly arched a ginger eyebrow. “Have you checked?” she asked sensibly. 

“Er, well—no, but—” 

Molly raised her voice to ask, “Are there laws against it, Doctor?” 

“Hmm?” He looked round owlishly, sonic screwdriver in hand. “What?” 

Donna was absolutely certain that the Doctor was putting on that abstracted-professor routine to avoid this conversation—he’d heard every word, the nosy git, she’d bet anything. 

“Against relationships between different species,” Molly coolly clarified. At his blank look, she raised her eyebrows and explained further, “Such as between you and Mum.” 

The Doctor fumbled his grip on the sonic. “Wh—I—I’m—I mean—” 

With a sickening swoop in her stomach, Donna recognised that glint of amusement in Molly’s eye. It was a familiar sight on her mum’s face, particularly when she was intentionally making someone uncomfortable—probably in her own, too, if she was brutally honest. 

“N–n–no, not as such,” he finally managed to spit out. “Anyway—” 

He lengthened his strides to pull a good ten feet ahead of them, really making a meal out of smacking his sonic against his palm as if it wasn’t working. 

Molly turned back to Donna with a ‘ta da’ sort of gesture. “Well, there you are then!” she said cheerfully. “No laws standing in the way.” 

“Thanks,” Donna bit out. She looked back to Jenny, pinching the bridge of her nose. “There you have it—we’re just friends because...just because. Any other questions?” 

Jenny looked on the verge of following Molly’s line of questioning...

The Doctor pointedly cleared his throat from ahead of them.

Donna hit her with a gimlet stare. 

Jenny chickened out. “Er...what’s it like, then? The travelling?”

“Oh, never a dull moment!” Donna grinned widely, half from relief. “It can be terrifying, brilliant, and funny—sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things, though...whole new worlds!”

“Oh, I'd love to see new worlds,” Jenny chirped, her eyes shining. 

“You will,” Donna told her fondly. “And you too, miss,” she added on recognising the sour look on Molly’s face. “All the new worlds you can manage—a first class tour of the universe!” 

She suddenly grimaced. 

“But I s’pose the first stop should be to see my mum...god, that’s going to be awful,” Donna groaned, “But she’s your Nan—I can’t just not introduce you.” 

“Nan?” Molly asked. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. “Your mum—so she’d be my grandmother, right?” 

“Yep.” Despite the current topic, Donna couldn’t hold back a smile. “It’ll be a bit of a job explaining you to her, but once she’s had a chance to flip her lid she’ll be spoiling you like anything—just you wait.” 

Molly perked up. “Do I have any other grandmothers?” she asked with great interest. 

“No, ‘fraid not,” Donna chuckled. “I’m your only parent, so she’s the only one you’ve got. You do have Gramps, though—a great-grandfather,” she added. 

“What’s he—?” Molly began to ask, but Jenny interrupted with a question of her own.

“Do I have a Nan?” 

“Er...” 

Donna darted a helpless glance at the Doctor, but he didn’t look back. The set of his shoulders had gotten terribly stiff.

“...I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she told her regretfully. Her voice softened. “Your dad...he’s the only one left of his people. Other than you, I mean.” 

“But that’s not fair!” 

Donna blinked. Molly also looked surprised—and the Doctor’d turned halfway around to surreptitiously peer at his daughter as well. 

Even Jenny appeared shocked at the vehemence of her own words. 

“It’s not, though,” she complained. “How come Molly gets a Nan and a Gramps?” 

“...It’s not fair,” Donna agreed once her tongue was willing to cooperate. “It isn’t, I know it’s not, but it’s just...it’s just how it is.” She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Jenny.” 

Jenny seemed to shrink in on herself. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets and slouched ahead without another word, her lip sticking out in a pronounced pout. 

“...Oh, dear,” Donna sighed. 

“S’alright, Mum.” Molly touched her arm. “I’ll go talk to her. Maybe she’ll cheer up if I tell her we can share Nan.” 

She hurried to catch up with Jenny before Donna could say a word in reply. 

“Careful, there might be traps,” the Doctor called after them, a concerned crease in his brow, but neither of them slowed their pace. 

Donna hurried to catch up to him. “Kids—they never listen,” she drawled. 

The Doctor harrumphed. 

Donna hesitated. 

“Look, is it alright? That I promised Molly she could see new worlds too, I mean?” The words practically burst out of her. 

“What?” He gave her an odd look. “Course it is. Why wouldn’t it be?” 

She sagged with relief. “Oh, just—I mean, Jenny on her own is a lot to adjust to, but having two teenagers about the place? That’s got to be a bit...well, you know—?” Donna gestured in a vaguely expressive way.  

“Well, yeah. It will be a bit—” The Doctor mimicked her gesture, only a little mockingly. “But that’s alright, because you’ll be there too.” 

“Yeah...” She stared straight ahead as they kept walking. Further up the corridor their two girls whipped round the next corner, giggling. At least Molly’d managed to cheer Jenny up...

A hand landed on her arm, tugging her to a stop. “Donna...you didn’t think I was going to just drop you at home, did you?” 

Her startled gaze snapped to his and immediately away again. 

“No! I...I didn’t think so,” she hedged, “I just—I wasn’t sure that you’d...” Donna pressed her lips white. “What I mean is, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to...keep it simple.”

“Oh, Donna...” 

“Dad-shock is enough for you to be dealing with without my daughter’s cheek,” Donna told him in her best business-like manner. 

“I like her cheek!” the Doctor protested. He looked at her askance. “Dad-shock?” 

“Sudden unexpected fatherhood. Takes a bit of getting used to.”

A distant frown crossed the Doctor’s face as his hand dropped from her arm. “No, it's not that...” he murmured. 

Donna took his fallen hand at once. “What is it?” she asked gently. “Something’s bothering you, I can tell.”

“Donna, I've been a father before,” he told her. 

“What?”

His mouth tightened. “I lost all that a long time ago, along with everything else.”

“Doctor...” Her lips parted around his name in a sigh. “Oh, Doctor. I’m sorry.”

“I know I’ve been a bit—” The Doctor gestured in that inexact way again. “But I'm just—when I look at her I can see them...the hole they left, all the pain that filled it...”

Donna gently squeezed his hand. “That must be so hard,” she murmured. “But—it won’t stay like that. You know it won’t. Grief is like that. Time will help—and so will she.”

He fixed his eyes on their clasped hands. “And you—will you help me?” 

She tilted his face up to look at her properly. The desperation he ordinarily hid was on naked display. 

“Of course I will.” Donna cracked a crooked smile. “I’ll need your help with Molly, anyway—she’s already a handful.” 

“Just like her mother.”

“Watch it, Spaceman.” 

Martha’s face brightened the moment she caught sight of them. “Doctor!”

“Martha!” He pulled her into a big hug at once. “Oh, I should’ve known you wouldn't stay away from the excitement...”

She pulled away with a chuckle. “Donna!”

Donna went to hug her, but hesitated when she noticed the state of her clothing. “Oh, you're filthy. What happened?”

“How’d you get here, anyway?” Molly butted in. 

Martha’s eyes widened as she glanced between the four of them. “I, er—took the surface route...” She frowned suddenly. “So, which of you’s Jenny, then?” 

Donna was quick to reel Jenny in with an arm around her shoulders. “Jenny, meet Martha—Martha Jones! Martha, this is Jenny.” 

“And here’s Molly.” The Doctor dared to ruffle Molly’s hair before darting out of reach—just in time to avoid a swift punch to the arm. 

“Don’t do that!” Molly squawked. She tried in vain to tidy her fringe before giving up and redoing her ponytail altogether. Martha and Donna failed to stifle their laughter. 

The distant shouts of the General froze them all mid-motion. 

Molly made a face. “Oh, god, not him again...”

“I'm the Doctor,” he shouted, “And I declare this war is over.”  

He pitched the globe into the floor with all his strength, shattering it to bits. All the banked energy from inside went swirling through the air. 

Most of the soldiers on both sides dropped their weapons...

In no time at all, Jenny clutched at his arm. “What's happening?”

“The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process,” he told her. 

“But what’s that mean?” Molly demanded.

His mouth curved into an unguarded smile. “It means a new world...”

Sharp gasps escaped all five of them as Jenny lunged desperately forward—

“No!” 

A shot. 

The General’s own soldiers restrained him and threw his gun to the ground. 

The Doctor caught his daughter in numb hands and laid her down. 

“Jenny? Jenny!” 

She stirred at the sound of his voice, and opened her eyes. Martha knelt beside them, frantically checking her vitals. 

“Talk to me, Jenny!” he said urgently. 

“Is she going to be—?” Donna began to ask—but the blooming splotch of red on her daughter’s upper arm caught her eye. “Oh, my god, Molly!”  

“Hurts,” Molly hissed through her teeth. “Really bloody hurts—don’t recommend it, getting shot—” 

Donna propelled her to the ground alongside the others, putting pressure on the injury. “Oh, good to know, I was going to go ahead and get shot too. You’ve really turned me around,” she bit out. “Martha? Doctor? Is Jenny—?” 

She cut herself off on seeing Martha’s slow shake of the head. 

“Oh, god,” Donna muttered. 

“Mum, let me up.” Molly sat up with a pained groan, ignoring Donna’s instinctive protest. She took over pressing on her arm from her mum and scooted closer to Jenny. 

“A new world...” Jenny murmured hazily. Her eyes wandered, taking in the dizzying wisps of life-giving gases above. “It's beautiful.”

“Jenny, be strong now. You need to hold on, do you hear me?” The Doctor’s voice was full of desperation. “We've got things to do, you and me, hey?” 

“C’mon, Jenny...” Molly reached out with a bitten-back yelp to put the blood-stained hand of her injured arm on Jenny’s, resting over her wound. “I told you earlier, you can’t just leave me alone with them—”

Donna gave up hovering over all of them and knelt alongside the Doctor. 

She stroked a lock of blonde hair out of Jenny’s face with shaking fingers. “You’ve got so much left to do, sweetheart,” Donna told Jenny quietly. 

All the Doctor seemed able to see was his child, still clutching her to his chest. “You're my daughter, and we've only just got started,” he choked out. “You're going to be great—you're going to be more than great. You're going to be amazing. You hear me?”

Jenny’s breathing grew more and more laboured—he clutched her tighter and tighter—

The slightest golden glow shimmering over her skin made the Doctor’s jaw drop. 

“What—?” 

His voice died when he noticed the same golden lustre rising from Molly as well. 

“What?!” 

“What the hell is that?!” Donna squawked. 

“Get back!” the Doctor barked. Molly froze. 

He almost dropped Jenny altogether as he scrambled away. Donna and Martha struggled to their feet, leaving the two girls on the ground together. 

“What’s happening?” Molly squeaked. Her hand still covered Jenny’s as the energy intensified. 

“It can’t be what I think it is,” Martha breathed. “Is it?”

“They’re...they’re regenerating,” the Doctor said breathlessly. 

“There’s no way—Molly too?!”

“What?!” Donna rounded on him. “What’s happening to them?” 

“They’re—they’re healing,” he told her. He sounded dazed or drunk with relief.  

Donna’s jaw dropped. “Healing? How?!” 

“It—it’s something Time Lords can do when they—when they’re about to die—” 

“Why’s it happening to Molly, though?” Donna screeched. 

“Yeah, how’s she doing that?” Martha asked incredulously. “That’s impossible!” 

Donna completely disregarded Martha’s question, giving the Doctor a fierce shove. “Two hearts or no two hearts, you had no part in creating her—” 

“Two hearts?!” Martha yelped. “How?!”

A nearly deranged grin took over the Doctor’s face. “Donna, just—just look.” When she didn’t move, he physically turned her around. The three of them were struck silent. 

That golden glow was blindingly bright. Ripples of regeneration energy flowed around, through, and between them until with a chorus of sharp gasps—

The energy snuffed itself out in the blink of an eye. 

Molly and Jenny each took a deep breath in unison. 

Donna jerked herself out of the Doctor’s grip. “Jenny?” 

Jenny sat up in a fluid movement. 

“Hiya,” she said casually. 

“You’re alright?!” Donna demanded. 

Jenny looked down at herself, then back up at her with a shrug. “Think so?” 

Donna froze. Those eyes—they didn’t used to be the exact same shade of blue as hers, did they? 

Not now—not important. 

“Good. Molly?” she called. 

“Yeah, m’alright too, Mum.” That grin Molly flashed up at her—Donna had seen that grin in every possible circumstance: in sun, in snow, in so many crises— 

Before she could sag into relief, Donna turned on the Doctor. “You’re going to explain precisely what the hell just happened, you hear me?” she barked. 

The Doctor just nodded, still sporting his deranged grin. 

One of the soldiers dropped something with a clatter, reminding all of them that there’d been a whole crowd of people watching everything that just happened. 

Chapter Text

“That was awkward,” Molly pronounced as she stepped inside the TARDIS. 

“Just a bit,” Martha agreed solemnly, following a step behind. 

“All those people just staring...” She wrinkled her nose. “I really didn’t—ow!” Molly squawked. 

She ran right into Jenny, who’d stopped on the entry ramp to gape at the vast space of the console room. 

Jenny didn’t shift an inch on impact. “It’s bigger on the inside,” she breathed. 

“Yes, it is,” the Doctor agreed. He swaggered over to the console and ostentatiously leaned against it. “What do you think?” 

“It’s amazing!” Jenny spun on the spot in a burst of energy.

“S’alright,” Molly allowed. She held a straight face for just a moment before her lips twitched and a grin broke through. “Nah, it’s brilliant! How’d you get all this inside that little box?” 

The lights of the TARDIS smugly flickered a little brighter.

The Doctor’s smug grin widened. “Now that you’ll find out later.” 

The sound of wheels coming from deeper inside the TARDIS heralded Donna’s arrival. 

“Alright, I’ve grabbed every piece of equipment that looked handy...” 

She was preceded by a massive rolling cart filled with medical devices. 

“No, no, no, no—not in here! We can do all that in the med bay!” the Doctor immediately protested, moving to push the cart back out again. He picked up a particular item with a tut. “Why’d you even bring all this? The oesophageal doppler needs to be plugged in anyway—it’s not going to help much without the power cable, is it?”

Molly and Jenny exchanged a speaking look. 

“Well, you didn’t exactly seem in a hurry!” Donna spluttered. “You just had to hear them say ‘it’s bigger on the inside’ before you bothered to check them over—”

“They’re fine! It isn’t an emergency—”

“Speak for yourself!” Donna snapped. She gave the cart a shove, propelling the Doctor back a few stumbling steps. “We don't know what happened yet!" 

“They’re both—”

“—Going to the med bay,” Martha finished firmly from behind Donna. “Meet us there when you’ve settled...whatever this is.” 

She rapidly towed the girls down the corridor, leaving the other two behind. 

“Sorry about them,” Martha told them resignedly, “Today’s been a bit chaotic, they’re overtired...”

“Yeah, we know,” Jenny sighed. 

“We were there for most of the chaotic bits,” Molly said dryly. 

Both girls were already hooked up to various monitors when the Doctor and Donna straggled in with the cart, now organised a bit more neatly. 

“How are they?” Donna asked, a bit out of breath. 

Martha frowned at the readings consideringly. She’d taken the time to scrub up a bit and pull on a clean jumper in the meantime. “Their hearts seem to be perfectly healthy...for a Time Lord, anyway,” she finally said. 

“See?” The Doctor turned to Donna with a frustrated gesture. “I told you!” 

“Oi! I was worried! How was I supposed to know about Time Lord nonsense?” she bit out. 

Martha delicately cleared her throat. 

They jumped on the spot with surprisingly similar guilty expressions. 

“Doctor, d’you mind checking their other vitals?” she asked sweetly. “I might be a doctor, but I’m not the Doctor.” 

He hurried over, slipping his glasses out of his jacket pocket as he went. 

Donna let out a sigh. She shoved the cart closer to a shelving unit and began to unload the portable visual field analyser. 

The Doctor mumbled under his breath as he scrolled through the various readings. 

“So...is this a good moment to ask how Molly’s a Time Lord in the first place?” Martha inquired. 

He froze for just a moment. “Right,” the Doctor sighed, resuming reading, “We never did figure that out, actually...” 

“I just happened to check her with a stethoscope, and it turned out she had two hearts,” Donna offered. She shelved the digital sphygmomanometer, the micro-plethysmograph, and the VR incentive spirometer at random. 

Molly rolled her eyes. “She’s right here,” she drawled. “And Jenny is too, I guess.” She flinched at the sharp elbow Jenny dug into her ribs. 

Martha frowned. “But that’s not poss—”

“I know!” Donna threw her hands up in a helpless gesture. “Doesn’t make any sense.” 

She went back to unpacking the cart as Martha began to pace. 

“It has to begin with Donna, somehow,” she muttered. “Molly came from her, she was born from her cells...” 

“But I definitely don’t have two hearts!” Donna interrupted. “One-hundred percent human, I am. You can check!”

“Actually, don’t mind if I do...” Martha distractedly collected the Doctor’s stethoscope and sat Donna down on her own examination table. 

She rested the chest piece first on one side, then the other. 

“Right, that’s definitely one heart.” 

“See?” Donna huffed. “The Doctor suggested that it might be my DNA following his biological template, but that can’t be right since I went first.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Martha grimaced. “Or doesn’t, I mean—that can’t be it, is what I meant.” 

“I was busy!” the Doctor insisted. “My brain was already trying to solve the problem of war and all, not my fault I got it wrong...”

“No one’s judging your ideas,” Martha soothed. 

“Speak for yourself,” Molly snorted. 

“And there’s no way the Doctor’s DNA got mixed in, somehow?” Martha asked, turning sharply. “Did you touch hands or anything before?” 

“Nope.” The Doctor popped the ‘P’. “I didn’t do anything with the machine beforehand, and any shed skin cells would’ve been null—that kind of progenation needs fresh, living cells directly from the source to work. That’s why it bothered to scrape our hands.” 

“You’re certain?” 

He shrugged. “Yeah.” 

“Hmm.” Martha made a face. “Mind if we check their DNA against yours, just in case?” 

“We’re right here!” 

Martha spun on the spot to face the girls, her hands up. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to speak over you. Would you two mind if we test your DNA?” 

“I’m fine with it,” Jenny said at once. She shrugged at Molly’s raised eyebrow. “I want to know what’s going on as much as they do,” she defended. 

“That’s fair,” Molly sighed. She held out an arm resignedly. “Alright, stick me.” 

“I don’t use anything so barbaric as needles,” the Doctor sniffed. He ran a small glass square along her forearm and slotted it into a humming device. He quickly did the same for Jenny, then came at Donna with another one. 

She shied away at once. “What d’you think you’re doing?” Donna barked. 

“You’re the basis of Molly’s genetic make-up,” he told her patiently. “Mine’s on file already for Jenny, but getting a comparison to yours too would be handy.” 

Donna wrinkled her nose, but she rolled up her sleeve for him. 

“Thanks!” the Doctor chirped, and he hurried to slot her sample in. He squinted at the screen. 

Martha hovered over his shoulder. 

The Doctor slipped off his glasses, giving them a thorough wipe before dropping them back on his nose. “That can’t be right...”

“What?” Martha asked. 

He pointed out a series of genes highlighted in violet. “Donna has some chrono-chromosomes,” he announced. His brows furrowed with concentration. “Probably from that huon exposure...”

“What?!” Donna yelped. She slipped from the examination table, coming up behind them.  

“Oh, my god...” Martha’s eyes widened. 

“Is it the chrono-wotsits?” Donna asked anxiously. “What’s wrong with me?” 

“No, it’s—” The Doctor pointed wordlessly at a particular diagram. 

Donna looked at it. 

Her mouth fell open. 

She looked at it again. 

“That’s—!” Her voice failed her. 

“What’s going on?” Molly grabbed Jenny’s hand and squeezed. 

Jenny gave her a reassuring look. “Someone tell us what’s going on, please!” 

“I—you—you’ve got bits of both of our DNA,” the Doctor managed. One of his hands went up to shakily run through his hair. “Both of you. Blimey...” 

“What?!” Jenny yelped. 

“But you said that’s impossible!” Martha exclaimed. 

Jenny scrambled to her feet to peer over the Doctor’s shoulder with the others. Molly still sat on the examination table, mouth agape. 

“It is!” the Doctor insisted. “Or, well—could it—?” He spun to pace away, only to abruptly turn back to the monitor with a whoop of “Actually—!” 

“What is it?” Donna snapped. 

“What if—they regenerated, right, but they regenerated together—it’s rare, very rare, but they could’ve exchanged DNA with each other in the process...” 

“How? Hang on, never mind that—” Donna waved her own question aside. “You never really explained properly. What is regeneration, anyway? You said it’s healing?” 

“Right, so that’s something I’ve seen before,” Martha interrupted. She watched the Doctor begin to pace again, his brain still going full throttle, before continuing to explain. “Time Lords, they have this energy—that’s the gold stuff—they use it to heal themselves...or to change bodies when they’re about to die.” 

Donna looked about to explode with questions, so she hurried to finish what she was saying. 

“It’s called ‘regeneration’ because they literally regenerate their entire bodies—every cell. And when they’re dying, it changes every part of them.” Martha steeled herself to remember. “I...I saw this other Time Lord before and after he regenerated, and you’d never have believed they were the same person on sight.” 

“Right...the Master...” Donna swallowed hard. She looked a little sick. “But...seriously? I mean, I’ve seen a lot, but that’s...” 

Martha’s lips thinned. “He was an old man, looked seventy if he was a day, and suddenly he was this younger thirty-something bloke.” 

Donna licked her lips uncertainly. “So Jenny, she was about to...?” 

“Yeah, well, that’s where Himself needs to answer your questions—it’s obviously more his area than mine,” Martha said dryly. “But logically I’d assume that their bodies—your bodies, sorry,” she addressed Jenny and Molly, “You were trying to heal yourselves with energy geared toward change, and when your energy mingled you changed to be more like each other.” 

“Exactly!” the Doctor exclaimed, coming up behind her unexpectedly. 

He beamed at Martha as she and everyone else nearly leapt out of their skin with surprise. 

“Couldn’t have explained it better myself! Or, well, I’d have more technically accurate language, I’m sure, but you’re managing quite well.”

“...Thanks,” Martha said slowly. “I think, anyway.” 

“You’re welcome!” He turned to Donna. “So, based on their levels of regenerative energy now, I’d posit that the machine not being designed specifically for Gallifreyan DNA made something go a bit wonky...” 

“Rude!” Molly objected, finally back to herself again. 

“Not a judgement!” the Doctor protested. “But your levels are still low, even for a freshly-regenerated Time Lord. Don’t worry, we can correct that. It all starts with a good diet,” he added in a hurry when Donna paled, “Loads of leafy greens and Neptunian papayas.” 

“Ooh, those are rather good, actually,” Martha told them cheerfully. “You’re in for a treat!” 

“They were low-energy to begin with? What’s that mean?” Donna demanded. 

“Ah. Well...” The Doctor looked away from her in favour of fiddling with the DNA examiner. “She...Jenny, she didn’t have enough to heal herself...so without Molly being there to jumpstart the process...” He had to clear his throat vigorously. 

“She’s fine,” Donna murmured, taking his hand from the controls. He squeezed her hand gratefully. 

“Anyway, now they’re both fine. Will be fine, I mean,” he said thickly. 

“Good.” Donna pressed his hand once more before letting go. “Now, back to the original question that started all this: how the hell did Molly have any regeneration energy to begin with?!”

“Ah.” The Doctor looked stumped. “Well, that’s...well.” 

“Oh, great. The one question he can’t answer,” Donna moaned. 

“I think a break would be best,” Martha interjected, eyeing the drooping Jenny and Molly. “I’m bloody starving.”  

“Stop that!” Donna ordered. She physically pushed Jenny back down into her seat with a grunt of effort. 

“But she already had two!” Jenny protested. 

“You had two and a half!” Molly accused, heaving with injustice. 

“No matter how many either of you had, it’s never appropriate to throw a punch over the last sandwich,” the Doctor told them sternly. “No physical fights—especially not in the kitchen.” 

Martha stifled a snort where she stood at the counter. 

“If you ask nicely, Martha might even make another one,” Donna hinted. 

She enjoyed their discomfort as she watched them stare each other down.

“...Martha, would you...would you mind making me another sandwich?” Molly finally mumbled. “Please?” she added sulkily when Donna raised her eyebrows. 

“Of course! No problem,” Martha answered at once. With that, Jenny went ahead and took a bite out of the contested sandwich.

“Thanks,” Molly told Martha, almost cheerfully. Donna gave her an approving nod and stood with a groan. 

“Right, Martha, d’you mind showing me where these papayas from Uranus are?” she asked. 

“Neptune,” the Doctor corrected absently. He refilled both of the girls’ salad bowls. 

Donna rolled her eyes feelingly at Martha with a smirk. 

“Should be in the fridge—the drawer on the left,” Martha chuckled. “The bright red ones, with the violet swirls?” 

“Oh! I thought those were some freaky space melon or something,” Donna remarked. 

Donna got down a cutting board and set to work. 

“Dad, I don’t want more salad,” Jenny moaned. Her sandwich was nothing but crumbs by now. She reluctantly prodded the leaves with a fork.

“It’s good for you,” the Doctor said firmly. He waggled a bottle temptingly. “There’s zongaberry vinaigrette—want to try?” 

She wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks.” 

“S’good,” Molly volunteered, her mouth brimming with half-masticated lettuce. 

“Mind finishing chewing before speaking?” the Doctor wearily asked. “You’ll make people jealous.” 

Donna sagged into a chair with a groan. 

“Kids, eh?” Martha dropped a cup of tea in front of her. 

“Bless you, Martha Jones,” Donna told her fervently. She gulped down half of it with a wince, settling back in her seat. “Whatever UNIT’s paying you, it’s not enough.” 

“Mind if I get that in writing?” Martha chuckled. She set out another two cups, one for the Doctor and one for herself, before taking her own seat. “They’re both settled, then?” 

“Yeah. Molly’s already down for the count...the Doctor’s just grabbing them extra blankets.” Donna massaged her temples with a sigh. “I really didn’t get out of bed this morning expecting I’d be refereeing teenagers.” 

She laughed. “Well, fights between siblings are normal,” Martha remarked. “God knows it was with mine.” 

“Ha! I suppose they really are siblings now. Sort of, anyway,” Donna conceded. Her brows furrowed.  “Actually, they might’ve started acting like it on Messaline. A bit, anyway. Not quite to the point of fistfights, but there were some stroppy moments...some jealousies.” 

“I guess it’s only natural,” Martha said slowly. “I mean, you’re born, then you’re in close company with another kid and two adults for a while...it makes sense they’d sort of settle into those roles, doesn’t it?” 

“I suppose...” 

She put her hand over Donna’s. “How’re you holding up?” Martha asked sympathetically. “Got to be odd for you, suddenly co-parents out of nowhere.” 

Donna rolled her eyes. “The first thing I said was ‘no mating’. And here we are anyway, offspring to spare.” She took a long sip of tea. 

“Two’s not so many...”

“No, no, I always wanted at least two,” Donna said reflectively. “It was a bit lonely, being an only child. Though I never imagined they’d be born so grown-up, with clothes on and all.” 

Martha found herself snickering. “They’re such lovely girls, though,” she told her. “So strong—and your Molly’s a firecracker, isn’t she?” 

“Gobby, you mean,” Donna said wryly. “Just like her mum.”

“And her dad,” Martha corrected with a smirk. 

“God, she’s doomed, isn’t she?” 

Martha chuckled, taking a sip of tea. Her brows knit. “Are...are you going to stay? On the TARDIS, I mean?” 

Donna flushed a delicate pink. “I...to be honest, I wasn’t sure he’d want me to,” she confessed in a rush. “Then we had a chat, and he...yeah, I’m staying. Molly too,” she added, “I couldn’t take her from—from her dad, anyway.” 

“Are you sure?” Martha asked tentatively. “I mean—it’s not the safest thing, travelling with him...”

Donna set her jaw. “That may be, but with Jenny and all...he needs me. They need me.” 

A corner of Martha’s mouth turned up. “Definitely can’t argue with that.”

“And if she’s my daughter too...I can’t just leave Jenny behind either. Never.” 

Martha nodded slowly. “Absolutely...I hadn’t thought of it that way—sorry." She hesitated. "Just...the safety thing—it might be worth discussing with him.” 

“Thanks, Martha—that does make sense,” Donna told her softly. She raised her voice slightly. “Doesn’t it, Doctor?” 

There was a moment’s pause before the Doctor slid out from around the corner. “Dunno how you do that,” he grumbled as he trudged over to the kitchen table. 

“Long experience,” she told him solemnly, with a whisker-thin wink to Martha. “Takes more than that to get one over on Donna Noble.” 

“I’ll try harder next time,” he said dryly. The Doctor looked to Martha with a small smile. “Now, are you staying the night or shall we drop you at home?”

“So you’re sure about this?” Donna asked. “You don’t wanna come with, see new worlds with the kids?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Martha’s mouth turned up into a small nostalgic smile. “I’m sorry,” she abruptly added, “Really. It’s not that I don’t want to get to know the girls better, but I just can't do it any more...the travelling, it’s—”

Donna gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. “Don’t worry about it. I understand—and you have your gorgeous, strong Tom waiting for you too.” 

Her smile grew into a grin. “I definitely do.” 

“We’ll see you again soon, though, I’m sure,” Donna said decisively. “I’ve got a feeling.” 

Martha cocked an eyebrow. “You know, I do wonder...” 

“What?” 

“Sometimes...sometimes you sound just like him.” Martha looked Donna over consideringly. “And we never did figure out how Molly became a Time Lord...” 

Donna waved the half-formed notion aside dismissively. “Don’t be silly—it’s got to just be a coincidence. Something went wobbly, or he’s wrong about how the machine works...”

“If you say so.” Martha gave her a dubious glance, then one final cheerful smile. “Keep me posted if he ever works it out, eh?” 

“Course!” Donna held out her arms, and Martha stepped closer to give her a hug.

“Good luck,” she told her.

Donna smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “And you.”

The Doctor finally gave up hovering at a distance and approached properly. 

“Oh, get on with it,” Donna ordered, prodding him onward as she slipped past him. 

“Bossing about the Oncoming Storm,” Martha mused aloud, her eyes dancing. “Never thought I’d see it.” 

The Doctor huffed. “Should’ve known you’d have a field day,” he grumbled. 

“Field day? More like a field life,” she told him solemnly. 

He broke into a chuckle. “Well, I suppose I’ll survive it,” he said. The Doctor gave her a fond smile. “So this is goodbye, eh?” 

“Yeah.” She tried for a grin. “You'd think it'd get easier, saying goodbye.” 

Something in his expression froze. 

“Doctor? Are you—” She cut herself off when she realised. Martha took his hand. “She’s fine, she’s with you—you didn’t have to say goodbye to Jenny,” she reminded him. 

“It was close,” he managed. “Too close.” 

Martha gave his hand a squeeze before letting go. “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” she said breezily. “And that was neither.” 

He choked out a laugh. “That’s true...”

She fixed him with a warm look. “All those things you've been ready to die for...and now you've finally found something worth living for.”

A smile spread slowly across his face. “Oh, there's always something worth living for, Martha...but you’re not wrong,” the Doctor allowed. “You’re not wrong.” 

Chapter Text

Molly was preceded into the kitchen by her long, high-pitched yawn. 

“Morning, miss,” Donna called over her shoulder. “Any signs of life from your sister?” 

“Nope.” She slumped into a chair with another yawn. “Dad?”

“Yep. He’s a morning person.” 

“Eugh.” 

“Yeah, I know,” Donna chuckled as she carried on cutting up fruit at the counter. 

Molly dropped her cheek to the tabletop. “That’s just rude,” she grumbled. 

“It is,” her mum allowed. A moment later a hot mug landed by her nose. “Try this—it’s called ‘tea’.”

She hauled herself upright with a groan. Molly eyed the light brown liquid suspiciously before daring to take a sip. 

“...Not bad,” she allowed. With another sip, Molly’s brain seemed to kick into gear. “Where is Dad, anyway?” 

“Ran to the shops. We’re out of bananas, and apparently that was an emergency.” Donna set aside her knife and dumped some more Neptunian papaya into the large blender jar. 

“A smoothie without banana is an emergency, Donna,” the Doctor proclaimed. He swept in and began unpacking bunch after bunch of bananas from a much-too-small carryall bag. “Completely changes the texture.”

“If you say so, Spaceman.” Donna claimed a bunch from the pile and began peeling them. 

“Morning, Dad.” 

“Right!” He started, turning to smile at her. “Morning, Molly. How did you sleep?” 

“Not long enough! But I couldn’t get back to sleep once I woke up,” she complained. 

“Oh, that’s normal,” he told her. The Doctor opened a large drawer and began moving all the bananas in there. “Your body will be a bit keyed up from healing for a while—all the adrenaline and things mean you’ll be prone to sleeping in shorter intense chunks of time. And when you do wake up, you’ll be ready for anything...” 

“Sorry, just gonna turn on the blender—this’ll be loud for a minute,” Donna interjected, and then the noise of the appliance drowned everything out. 

Even with the warning, Molly flinched before covering her ears. 

The Doctor winced too, but he kept on sorting out the bananas.

Out of nowhere, Jenny burst into the kitchen with a wild look in her eyes and a shout. “Get away from my—!” She cut herself off when the blender abruptly stopped. 

Jenny dropped her hand, which brandished a large hairbrush. 

“Improvising, were we?” Molly remarked dryly. 

“What...was that?” Jenny asked weakly.

“Just your breakfast.” Donna approached with measured footsteps. “You alright, sweetheart?” 

“Er—yeah. Think so.” Jenny’s hand went up to her hair awkwardly. “I...that woke me up, and I might have...overreacted. Slightly.” 

“See?” The Doctor pointed to her. “That’s what I meant, Molly. For now you’ll wake up ready to defend yourselves!” 

Donna shushed him with a sharp look. 

“It’s okay. That’s just the blender,” she told Jenny briskly. “C’mon, sit down.” Donna ushered her to the table, appropriating the brush. “Doctor, can you get her some tea?” 

“Course!” He leapt into action. “Course I can, you’re going to love this! Tea’s really the best drink, it’s the reason I love the Earth so much—” 

“Oi! Earthgirl over here,” Donna scolded, but there was no real bite to it. Once Jenny was seated, she took advantage of the angle to gently undo her decidedly worse-for-wear ponytail and began to brush it out. 

“Oh, you know there’s loads of things I love about the Earth,” the Doctor blustered. “I mean, you’re from there, and Martha, too—I even lived there for a stretch back in the seventies, didn’t I tell you? The music alone...” 

“Big ABBA fan, were you?” Donna drawled. She set aside the brush. Her hands smoothed down Jenny's hair, dividing it into sections. 

“Obviously! Who isn’t?” He sounded genuinely perplexed at the idea that anyone might not be as he set a mug before Jenny. 

Jenny took a careful sip, minding her mum’s grip on her hair. “Oh, that is nice,” she remarked. 

“Fantastic.” Her dad gave her a brilliant grin before hurrying back to the counter. “Right, now—smoothies all around...” 

Donna looped the elastic around and let the plait fall. “There we are! When you get to a mirror, let me know if you like it.” 

Molly pushed her chair out enough to get a better angle. “...I like it, anyway,” she decided. 

“Really?” Donna shot her a strangely shy smile. “I’ll do one for you, then, but another day. Don’t want you to match too much, do we?” 

The Doctor gave the console a fond pat. “Thanks, Old Girl,” he murmured. 

“I told you not to call me that.” 

His head snapped up. “You know I’d never dare,” he chuckled. 

“Too right,” Donna scoffed. 

He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, leaning against the console. “Besides, me calling anyone else old? I try not to be too much of a hypocrite...” 

“Try harder,” she advised him laconically.  

The Doctor rolled his eyes, even as his mouth turned up. 

Both girls soon joined them in the console room. 

“Are we going somewhere?” Molly eagerly asked. “A new world, maybe?” 

Jenny was bouncing on the spot, eyes sparkling with excitement. 

“Sort of,” Donna answered before the Doctor could. “New to you two, anyway.”

“Oh? Where do you have planned?” he asked. 

She raised her eyebrows expectantly. 

“Oh. Oh, right...” The Doctor deflated somewhat. 

“She is my mother,” Donna told him sternly. “Can’t avoid her forever.” 

“I know,” he sighed, “It’s...I know.” 

Molly perked up. “Your mum—Nan? We’re visiting my nan?” 

“And mine!” Jenny butted in. “Sisters, remember?” 

“Yes...you should be prepared for this, actually. See, I haven’t exactly told her about the whole space and time travel thing yet...so this will be a bit of a slog,” Donna admitted. She grimaced. “Don’t take anything she says too personally, eh? It’s me she’ll be mad at.” 

Molly looked intrigued, while Jenny shifted into a more defensive stance. 

The Doctor cleared his throat. “But first I want to give you these...” 

He stepped toward his daughters and looped a chain around each of their necks—first Jenny, with an affectionate touch of her cheek, and then Molly, gently tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. 

“These are your very own TARDIS keys,” the Doctor began. “Make sure you always keep them safe, and they’ll always keep you safe.”

“How?” Donna demanded. Her hand came up to finger her own key where it hung around her neck. 

“There are perception filters built into all the keys,” he explained. “Let you stay unnoticed—not completely, but they’ll help a bit.”

“Seriously? That would’ve been good to know,” she grumbled.  

“Didn’t I—?” The Doctor cut himself off at her sharp look. “Oh. Well. Now you do know.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Jenny gushed. She tilted the key to admire the shine. 

Molly’s eyes went to the central console, stroking the key. “Thank you, TARDIS,” she murmured. 

The ship’s ambient hum split into a complex harmony as Donna ran a fond hand over the nearest pillar.

“Anyway! We’re off to Chiswick.” The Doctor circled around to the monitor, reaching out to the controls—

Then he dropped his hands back to his sides. 

“We’re...already in London?” The statement sounded more like a question. 

“What?” Donna came over to squint at the time-space coordinates. “Oh! We are.”  

She shot the Doctor a disbelieving look. 

“You seriously didn’t notice you got all those bananas just a mile from my mum’s?” 

“No! I just asked the TARDIS to take me to a shop that sold bananas!” the Doctor protested. 

Donna snorted. “Well, she definitely did that.” 

“Right, well...let me see if I can get us closer—”

“I don’t think so, Spaceman!” Donna smacked his hands away from the controls. “We’re not ending up on Venus by accident again! We’ll walk.” 

“Feels like so long since you visited!” 

Donna couldn’t help her fond smile as Wilf bustled from kettle to fridge to cupboard. He was practically bubbling over with energy. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” she agreed, “It’s a bit hard with the whole time thing, but we’ll have to be better about regular visits...” 

“I’d definitely appreciate that,” he told her. “Anyway, you haven’t introduced me to these two properly yet.” He nodded to the girls with a friendly smile as he got down the mugs. 

“Right, well...when’s Mum going to be back?” Donna asked. The Doctor’s fidgeting in his seat only got more pronounced.

“She’s—” 

Her grandfather’s words were cut off by the sound of the front door opening and shutting. 

“—Why there’s traffic like that on a Sunday morning I’m sure I don’t know. What this city is coming to these days—” Sylvia stopped in her tracks as she entered the kitchen. “Well. Look who’s finally popped by,” she sniffed. 

“Hi, Mum.” Donna moved to stand only for her mum to wave her off. 

“Don’t bother yourself, Donna—not that you ever do.” She swept past the table, gracing the Doctor with a glare, and tucked the fresh carton of eggs into the fridge. 

“Mum...” Donna sighed. “I’m sorry it’s been so long, we were just busy—” 

“Almost three weeks! And she’s much too busy to phone her mother...” Sylvia scoffed. She reached for the biscuit tin as Wilf filled the kettle with boiling water. 

“Mum...” Donna sighed again. “Look, there are a few things I need to explain. Would you sit down?” 

“I’m sure I can have a seat in my own kitchen,” Sylvia snorted. She brought the tin, the milk, and the sugar to the table as Wilf ferried over the last handful of mugs. 

Donna just rubbed at her temples. 

When her mum had situated herself and the biscuits as far from the Doctor as possible, her eyes caught on Jenny and Molly. 

“Oh, are these Louise’s girls?” she asked, brightening considerably. 

“What?” 

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “Your second cousin. Her daughters—Victoria and Rachel, right? Surely you remember—”

“Of course I remember Louise’s girls!” Donna snapped. “But no, this isn’t them—” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sylvia said acidly, indicating Molly, “This one has to be family, just look at her hair!” 

Donna grimaced. “Well...yes, but—listen, I just need to explain—” 

“But—” Sylvia began. 

“Sylvia, darling, can’t you just listen for a moment?” Wilf set a gentle hand on his daughter’s arm. “Give her a chance to talk, eh?” 

She tutted, but Sylvia finally settled into her seat and gave Donna a terse gesture to begin. 

Jenny slowly reached to the far end of the table to take a biscuit. When no one scolded her, she stuffed the whole thing into her mouth at once.

The Doctor gently nudged her. When she looked his way, he held out an expectant hand. Jenny handed him another biscuit, her mouth still full. 

“Right. So, Mum...” Donna hesitated. “I haven’t told you everything about my travelling with the Doctor.” 

“Ridiculous!” 

It was the only word Sylvia had been able to say for a while now. 

“It’s true!” Donna insisted. “How else can you explain Molly?” 

Molly shot a crooked smile and a wave at her grandmother. 

“Impossible!” Sylvia finally managed to spit. 

“Going well, this is,” the Doctor sighed into his tea. 

Donna darted a glare at him. “Not helpful,” she growled. 

Wilf, however, was chuffed beyond human ken. “Two great-granddaughters...” he chuckled gleefully, “And so gorgeous! Good work, you two—I knew there was something there...”

Jenny turned pink as she grinned at him. Molly made a point of rolling her eyes, but her lips were tugged irresistibly upward by Wilf’s joy. 

Donna and the Doctor studiously avoided each other’s gaze.  

“But Dad, they can’t be!” Sylvia protested. 

“Come on, darling. You said yourself that she looks just like Donna,” he reminded her, and Sylvia’s eyes snapped back to Molly’s face despite herself. 

“But—” Her mouth worked soundlessly. “But space and time travel—”  

“And aliens,” the Doctor added helpfully. Donna mimed zipping her lips at him, but he just made an obstinate face. 

“And aliens!” Sylvia exclaimed indignantly. “It’s just...”

“I know it sounds bonkers.” Donna leaned in slightly. “Believe me, I know it does. I was thrown into it at the wedding and I wasn’t exactly chuffed to learn about any of it. But it’s true, all of it. That’s just a fact...” Her eyes drifted to her daughters, then back to her mum. “And I couldn’t keep it from you any more—not with the girls to consider.” 

“Can’t believe you’ve been lying to your own mother all this time,” Sylvia sniffed. 

Donna rolled her eyes with feeling. 

Her mum looked from Molly to Jenny, examining every feature. 

“Your eyes. Jenny has your eyes,” she said abruptly. 

Donna smiled fondly at her daughter. “Yes, she does,” she agreed. 

“Do I?” Jenny’s fingers leapt to the corner of her eye. 

“You do,” the Doctor told her with a lopsided grin. “Bright blue.” 

A matching grin bloomed on Jenny’s face. 

“And your dad’s smile,” Wilf added, grinning himself from ear to ear. “Cheeky as anything.” 

“Oi!” the Doctor protested, though Donna waved his protest aside. 

“...How old are they, anyway?” Sylvia suddenly asked. 

“Oh.” Donna frowned at the Doctor. “We never did work that out, did we?” 

“And what’s that?” 

Sylvia leaned forward and squinted out the window. 

“...A cat.” 

“Whoa,” Molly breathed. Her face was practically plastered to the glass. 

Sylvia pursed her lips disapprovingly. “That one’s always digging up my azaleas,” she sniffed. 

“What’re azaleas?” 

“They’re flowers. I grow them—came third at the garden show last year,” Sylvia bragged. 

Her granddaughter beamed up at her. “That’s amazing!” 

Sylvia shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s alright, I suppose...I’ll do better this year, you'll see.”

“Mum?” Molly called. “Come look, it’s a cat!” 

“A what?” Jenny wandered over too as Donna approached. 

Outside, a prosperous tabby stretched out comfortably on the pavement. 

“Oh, right, Jangles. Lives across the road,” Donna remarked. 

“Jangles? Is it really?” The Doctor hurried over. 

“Yeah, your best friend,” Donna told him dryly. 

“Oi! I beg your pardon.” The Doctor looked down his nose at her. “That position has been filled. Jangles couldn’t hope to compete against Donna Noble.” 

Her mouth quirked up. 

“By the way, Nan, I was wondering...” Jenny pointed at the wall of framed photos. “Is that you as a little girl over there?” 

“Oh, probably...” Sylvia bustled over to show the girls through them. 

Donna watched them go, a small smile playing on her lips. 

The Doctor gently nudged her. “Not so bad, eh?” 

“S’pose not,” she allowed. “Could’ve been worse.” Donna cocked an eyebrow. “How’re you doing with all this?” 

He shrugged. “Not as bad as I thought it might be. No physical threats yet, but there’s still time.” 

She stifled a snort. “Oh, come on. She’s finally got to the ‘being excited about grandchildren’ part—you’re safe for life after giving her them.”

The Doctor just hummed noncommittally. His eyes rested on the girls across the room. 

She gave him a nudge. “Alright?” 

“Yeah. I’m alright.” The Doctor hesitated. “I—about what your Gramps said—” 

“I got extra chips!” Wilf sang out from the front door, and the girls whipped out of the room in the blink of an eye. 

“Shouldn’t be surprised they’re ravenous, at their age,” Sylvia sniffed, and she followed them to the kitchen. 

“What, a day and a half?” the Doctor muttered. He hardly flinched when Donna smacked him in the arm. 

“Maybe I should’ve got more extra chips,” Wilf remarked slowly. He eyed the stack of empty packets. 

“No, no, they’ll be fine,” Donna told him. “They’ll need their greens when we get back, anyway—” 

“Mum?” Jenny interrupted. 

“Yes?” 

“I was wondering...Nan was showing us all those photos, but there’s only two with you in—and you’re all grown up in them, too. Why’s that?” 

“What?” Donna frowned. The Doctor looked similarly puzzled

“That can’t be...” Sylvia disappeared back into the lounge, then returned with a matching frown. “I’ll have to get down the old albums,” she muttered. Then she perked up. “Or, just add some new photos with my gorgeous grandchildren!” 

“Something to show up Suzette, eh?” Wilf asked keenly. 

“Stop it, Dad,” Sylvia blustered. Donna tried to hide her smirk. 

“What’s her one grandson compared to our girls?” He beamed at the two of them. 

“Oh—oh, no,” Sylvia abruptly wailed. 

Everyone jumped in their seats. 

“What—what’ll people say?”  

“What?” Donna looked utterly disconcerted. 

“Your coming out of nowhere with two teenagers!” Her mum was wringing her hands. “Lord, there’s no way you could’ve managed a secret pregnancy back then—”

“Oh, my god—I didn’t even think of that!” Donna immediately looked to the Doctor. “Can’t we just have adopted—?” 

“No, no,” Wilf interrupted, his brow furrowed, “Won’t work, sweetheart. Molly’s your spitting image, and Jenny’s eyes...” 

The Doctor cleared his throat, but Sylvia was busy panicking aloud. 

“Suzette’ll have a field day—let alone what the other Wednesday Girls will think, oh, lord—maybe we can pretend they’re Louise’s girls—?” 

He cleared his throat again. “I do have a potential solution, if I can speak?” the Doctor said dryly. 

Donna clutched at his arm. “What? What is it?” 

“Perception filters.” 

They all stared at him. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sylvia snapped. 

“They help you to stay under the radar,” he explained. “Let you blend in and go unnoticed. If I boost the filters in their TARDIS keys, then people should just fill in the story for themselves—they’ll just sort of assume that Jenny and Molly have been around the whole time.” 

“That’s...” Sylvia stared at him, agape. 

“That’s so cool!” Molly exclaimed. “Do mine first!” She fumbled the chain over her neck. 

Donna frowned. “I don’t know how I feel about that,” she said slowly. 

“Eh?” Wilf blinked at her bemusedly. “Sounds like a good fix, all things considered.” 

She grimaced. “It feels...wrong. Like I’m lying to everyone I’ve ever known...” Donna steadfastly ignored Sylvia’s scoff. 

“It is up to you,” the Doctor told her, sonic in one hand and Molly’s key in the other. “If you’re not comfortable with it, I mean. It’s your planet—in the end, you get to decide what people you know think of all this.” 

“Sweetheart, maybe just think about it. Especially since this isn’t temporary,” Wilf said. “Not like the Doctor or the girls are going anywhere...” Jenny bobbed an enthusiastic nod. 

“That’s true,” Donna allowed, but the frown lingered on her face.

Wilf put a hand over hers. “It’s not my decision, of course, but don’t dismiss it out of hand, darling.” He patted her hand reassuringly. “You know the Doctor’s just trying to help.” 

The Doctor bobbed an enthusiastic nod, watching her reaction. 

Donna thought furiously. 

“Come on, Donna,” Sylvia scoffed, “Can you imagine what Nerys will say if you suddenly have nearly-grown children and no explanation?” 

She looked to the Doctor at once. “Do it,” Donna ordered. The urgency in her voice was palpable. “Do it now.”  

“It’s heavy,” Molly grumbled, not for the first time. 

The Doctor sighed and took her bag in his free hand. 

“Oh, this is heavy,” he was surprised into saying. He carefully slung it over his shoulder. 

“Thanks, Dad,” Molly sighed. She shook out her arms.

“Sorry, you lot, I didn’t think she’d load us up with all this,” Donna sighed, carrying a large box herself. “More fool me, making us walk all this way...” 

“I like a walk!” Jenny chirped, skipping a few steps. 

Molly glared at her sister. “You didn’t have all that food to carry,” she said sharply. 

“Molly, simmer down, please,” Donna admonished. “Jenny’s got her own bag to carry, and your dad’s taken your bag—you’ll be alright now.” 

“S’pose,” she grumbled, but Molly subsided. 

“Just a few more blocks,” the Doctor told them bracingly. “We’ll be fine, eh? Almost there...” 

All of a sudden they heard an agitating, grating voice.

“Donna? Is that you?” 

Donna froze on the spot. “Oh, god,” she muttered under her breath. Then, pasting on a smile, she turned. “Oh, hi there, Nerys. Fancy meeting you here.” 

“Mhmm,” Nerys sniffed. She eyed the Doctor disapprovingly. “With the usual entourage, I see...”

Donna raised her eyebrows. “You mean...my family?” 

Nerys pursed her lips. “I meant him,” she said sharply. She shot the Doctor a poisonous glare.

The Doctor glanced at Donna for guidance, but all she could do was shrug. “...Hello, Nerys,” he said in a carefully neutral tone. 

“Yes, well...” She turned up her nose at him, turning to the girls with a disturbingly friendly smile. “Lovely to see you two, though,” Nerys gushed. “How was Singapore?”

“Singapore?” Molly looked blankly to Donna, then the Doctor. 

“It was...great?” Jenny said feebly. “Really fun?” 

“I’m glad to hear it.” Nerys beamed at the two of them. “My twins will be overjoyed to hear their favourite babysitters are back in London...”

“Not for long, I’m afraid,” the Doctor interrupted. “We’re off to, er—” 

“Brazil,” Donna finished his sentence. “Early tomorrow morning, actually. We just dropped by Mum’s for lunch, but...” She shrugged as best she could while still balancing a box on one hip. 

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Nerys actually appeared genuinely disappointed. “Well, they’ll have to keep practicing their dance routine to show you next time,” she told the girls. Nerys shot a glare at the Doctor. “If your husband ever lets you stay at home for more than ten minutes, anyway.” 

Donna’s jaw dropped, but luckily Nerys didn’t seem to require a response. 

“Anyway, I’ve got to run—Helen’s waiting in the car. Safe travels!” 

With a series of gratuitous air kisses that conspicuously left out the Doctor, Nerys finally disappeared back into the ether whence she came. 

The four of them were left blinking at the empty space she’d been filling. 

Donna broke the silence. “Hurry, let’s go—what if she comes back this way?”

Chapter Text

“So what’s in there, anyway?” 

The question burst from Jenny’s lips like she’d been holding it back for decades rather than minutes. 

“Not sure, exactly,” Donna admitted. The cardboard box sat on her desk, just where she’d put it a moment ago. “Mum just just told me my old things might as well clutter the infinite spaceship instead of her attic...”

“Can we look?” Molly eagerly asked. 

“I mean, I wasn’t planning to get into it right away...” 

Their faces fell. 

“...But I suppose we don’t have a schedule to keep to, anyway.”

“Brilliant!” Molly chirped, and before Donna knew it they had it open on her bed and were elbow deep in its contents. 

“Oi! Be careful, some of that’s very old!” Donna darted forward to rescue her frayed baby blanket from being tossed aside. 

“Yeah, Jenny, be careful...” Molly drawled, digging deeper into the box.

“You’re the one who tossed that rag!” Jenny immediately protested.

“None of that, you two,” Donna admonished, “I’ll do the parenting, Molly. Now, one thing at a time, yeah?” 

Molly rolled her eyes, but she did obediently mutter “Yes, Mum,” with Jenny, so Donna set that aside to address later. 

“Right, so this was my blanket when I was a baby...” 

They both made appropriately interested noises at the blanket, but they were a great deal more interested in the more interactive sorts of relics of Donna’s childhood. 

“Hard to imagine your feet were ever this tiny,” Jenny remarked. She could barely fit two fingers into the tiny bootie. 

“Was this for a special occasion?” Molly asked. 

“Oh, yes...” Donna smoothed out the skirt of the little dress thrown over Molly’s lap. “This was my christening gown. That’s a sort of, er, ‘new baby party’, I guess,” she clarified. 

“Don’t suppose we could fit into that,” Jenny laughed. “Ooh, and what’s this?”  

She lifted out a large velvet box. 

“That’s my old jewellery case!” Donna exclaimed. “Careful, there’s all sorts of things in there.” She helped Jenny to get it settled on the bedspread between them. 

Molly helpfully shifted the cardboard box to the floor to make room. 

“This necklace was my grandmother’s...” 

“Ooh, I like that...” Molly cooed. 

“What’re these from?” Jenny asked, brandishing a handful of battered bangles. 

“Those aren’t anything special,” Donna said dismissively. “Just some cheap things I tucked away a couple years back. Tell you what—I’ve got the more interesting stuff in the small compartments.”

She pulled out one of the drawers. Donna was pleased to get an appropriately awed reaction as both of her daughters leaned in to get a better look. 

“Few years ago my mum went through her things and started to pass some keepsakes down. Gramps gave her this locket when she turned twelve...” Donna displayed the small, slightly tarnished silver locket. She frowned at it slightly. “Could use a good clean, honestly.” 

“It’s so pretty!” Jenny plucked it from her palm to get a closer look. 

“Meh...it’s alright, I guess.” Molly wrinkled her nose at it.

Donna stifled a chuckle as she pulled out the next drawer. 

“What’re those?” Jenny dropped the locket back where they found it, snatching up one of the dusty tissue-wrapped bundles from the new compartment. 

“These are broaches,” Donna told them. She and Molly each grabbed a bundle as well and began to delicately unwrap them. “Let’s see what you think of ‘em.” 

Molly had hers undone first. When Donna had hers free as well, she set the gaudy thing down on the bedspread beside Molly’s. 

“...Wow,” Jenny breathed. Then she sneezed. 

“There’s still more,” Donna reminded them.  

Jenny leapt to grab another. 

In no time all of them were all lined up together. 

“...Well. They certainly are just like I remember,” Donna sighed. 

“Who gave them to you?” Molly asked. 

“Great-aunts, mostly.” Donna pulled a face she was glad neither of them could see. “I mean, it was kind of them to think of me,” she hastily added, “But I can’t say I ever...er, wear broaches. So they’ve been wrapped up for a long while.” 

That was all true, but she’d succeeded in avoiding saying outright that they were the ugliest, most horrible broaches she could imagine. 

“They’re so colourful,” Jenny murmured. She traced a gilt flower on a particularly ornate one. 

“...You like them?” Donna asked disbelievingly. 

“Yeah!” 

She shrugged. “Then they’re yours.” 

Jenny beamed. 

“Don’t I get to pick some first?” Molly complained. She elbowed Jenny out of the way with a grunt. “C’mon, greedy guts, let me have a look—” 

“Oi! Mum said I could have—” 

Donna cleared her throat loudly. “You each get three,” she told them sternly. “Sort it out between yourselves.” 

The series of complex negotiations were largely conducted via facial expressions and pointing, but in the end each of them were the proud new owners of three garish broaches. 

“Perfect!” The fond smile spreading on Donna’s face was entirely genuine. “I’m sure you’ll both take good care of them.” 

“Course we will!” Jenny exclaimed. She was already busy pinning them to her top. Molly had one on either shoulder, and was trying to decide where to pin the third. 

Rather than offer any advice, Donna slid out the third and final drawer. 

“Alright, this is the last one!” she announced, “And then we should go check on your dad. See if Nan killed him by sending us home with too many biscuits...” 

“Oh, I think between the four of us we can handle them.” The voice came from behind her. 

Donna rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you can,” she told the Doctor as he sauntered into her room. 

She pointedly looked at her watch, then back to him. 

“What sort of time do you call this?” 

“Well past time, I shouldn’t wonder,” he rejoined. He stopped by the bed, hands jammed into his pockets as usual. “How’s the treasure hunt?” 

“You can see that for yourself.” Donna gestured at their daughters, bedecked with garish jewellery. 

“Aren’t they brilliant?” Molly demanded. She showed off the lurid green one she’d finally secured in her hair. 

The Doctor grinned. “You look fantastic—both of you!” he told them fondly before turning back to her. “Oh, Donna, before I forget, I’ve put the tins of—” 

His jaw dropped unexpectedly. 

“You alright, Spaceman?” Donna asked. 

When he didn’t recover his composure after a minute, her concern deepened. 

“Doctor? What’s wrong?” She reached out to touch his arm, but before she could he ducked down and snatched something from the last drawer of her jewellery case. 

“Dad?” 

“What’s wrong, Dad?” 

The Doctor still didn’t respond. 

The background hum of the TARDIS grew hushed. 

His entire being seemed focused on the item in his hand. 

Donna got to her feet. “Doctor? You’re starting to scare me...” When he still didn’t say anything, she gently pushed him down to sit on the bed. 

Now, at least, she could get a better look at what he was holding. 

The box was rather small, fitting perfectly into the palm of his hand. It was carved from a wood so red it was almost scarlet, inscribed with a delicate pattern on the hinged lid—so simple, yet with an understated elegance. 

Something long-buried inside her stirred.

His hand was shaking ever-so-slightly. 

“Dad? What’s that box?” Molly asked. 

“Doctor?” Donna said quietly again. 

All of a sudden he unfroze. His other hand came up to rest on top of the box as he locked eyes with her. 

“Do you know what’s in here?” the Doctor asked in hushed tones.

“Yeah...it’s my great-grandad’s watch,” she said matter-of-factly. “Why’s it got you all ruffled?” 

“When did you get it?” he asked in that same quiet way. 

Donna shot him an exasperated look. “I dunno...a long time ago. Ages, really—I must’ve been two when he died?” She rapidly recalculated. “No, three, I think. Why?” 

The girls’ eyes darted from her to the Doctor. 

“Your great-grandad—was he on your mum’s or your dad’s side?” 

Their eyes snapped back to Donna again. She tried to ignore them for now. 

“My dad’s. Why?” 

“And what was his name?” 

“William Gregory Noble,” she said with hardly a second’s hesitation. “Why?” 

“Hmm.” 

The Doctor regarded her with a strange expression. It somehow bridged the gap between ecstatic, stunned, incredulous, terrified, and wary all at the same time. 

“Donna...” he began, but his mouth only worked silently for a long moment, lost for words. 

“Just open it!” Jenny begged him. 

The Doctor started. “Right—right, yes, of course.” 

He flipped up the lid. Cushioned in velvet, sat...

“...My great-grandad’s watch.” Donna graced him with a slow nod. “The one I told you about.” 

“Ooh,” Molly breathed. She leaned over so far to see that she almost overbalanced onto her dad’s shoulders, grabbing Jenny’s arm at the last moment. 

“Look at it closer.” The Doctor watched her closely as she bent to peer at it, inside that box still perched on his palm. 

Her gaze met his. “It’s a watch,” she told him patiently. “Not gonna do much on its own, is it? It’s broken, too—or at least wound down, being in a box all these years...” 

“Has it really?” The sharp note of innocence in his voice just didn’t ring true. Donna narrowed her eyes at him. 

“What?” she snapped. 

“Been in a box for years and years,” he repeated. 

“Yes,” she pronounced sharply, “It has.”  

“Really? It doesn’t look that old. It’s not dusty, either.” 

Donna blinked. Jenny elbowed Molly eagerly but was only shushed by her sister.

“It’s been tucked away...” she began weakly, but the Doctor could smell weakness. 

“Sure it has, but even things tucked away with utmost care get dusty over the years,” he told her authoritatively. 

“I’m sure you’d know, old man,” she muttered sourly, but Donna couldn’t help taking another look at the box and its contents nonetheless. That deeply-disguised something stirred inside her again. 

The Doctor was already watching her when she glanced at him. 

Her expression firmed up. “I don’t understand what you’re getting at,” she told him. “I don’t.”  

He sighed heavily. “It’s—you won’t believe it. I mean—I barely believe it...”

“Believe it or not, you’re going to have to spell it out for me,” Donna bit out. “It’s just a watch—why are you bothered about it?”

“Donna...” The Doctor sighed again. “Look, Time Lords—we have this way of hiding ourselves, this sort of...camouflage, I suppose. We can use this device to rewrite our biology to become any number of humanoid species.” 

“What?” She stared at him, aghast. 

“it’s meant to be temporary,” he went on, “It’s always meant to be temporary, and there’s an easy way to reverse it, but part of the process hides your memories from you. It’s to make it easier, you see—blending into another culture, I mean.” 

“That’s...that’s just...” 

The Doctor took advantage of her loss for words. “Donna...the simplest explanation for Molly’s double hearts is that she got them from you. That the directions for growing two hearts and developing regeneration energy were there from the start. Which means,” he said louder, over her immediate objection, “That you yourself must’ve had those directions inside you, too.” 

“Oh, come off it!” Donna threw up her hands. “That’s ridiculous. I’m the most bog-standard human imaginable!” 

“No. I’m sorry, Donna, but you’re really not,” he said emphatically. “Even if a Time Lord hides themselves, their biological code can’t be completely removed—if they did, they wouldn’t be able to become themselves properly again, you see?” 

“No,” Donna insisted, but he ignored her. 

“See, even now your DNA is closer to mine than an ordinary human’s—remember the chrono-chromosomes? They’re not normally found in human DNA. I thought it must’ve been the huon energy back when we met, and travelling through the time vortex on top of it, but now...” 

Donna had begun shaking her head in denial long before he finished speaking. “That’s impossible,” she scoffed. “Completely impossible.” 

“But hang on—doesn’t that pattern on the box look like those circles in the console room?” Molly blurted out. 

“What?” Donna gasped. She examined the engravings again and her mouth fell open. 

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in false surprise. “Now that is odd...”

Jenny leaned precariously closer. “And aren’t those the same circles on the watch too?” she whispered loudly into Molly’s ear. 

“Get off me,” Molly hissed, shoving her over. 

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Donna snapped. Her hands fisted at her sides. 

“No? Not even a little?” the Doctor asked. 

Her lower lip trembled ever so slightly until Donna pressed it white. “No,” she snarled. “It can’t. Get out of my room.” 

Her voice cracked on the last word. She swallowed hard. 

“Donna—” 

Before she could repeat her demand in a shout, the Doctor dropped the box on the bed and snatched up her hands. He squeezed them tight. 

“Donna, please listen to me. I’ve been where you are now. Really—I promise I have,” he said intently. “It’s scary—terrifying, utterly terrifying. I know it is.” 

A whimper escaped her.

“I’ve hidden too, just like you. I hid myself from myself...and when I realised I couldn’t even trust my own memories...!” The Doctor’s face tightened. His voice lowered. “I can count on one hand the times I’ve been more terrified.” 

Donna relieved her tension by squeezing his hands in return—so tightly he winced. “Tell me what that watch is.” Her voice came out in a petrified whisper. “Say it.” 

“That watch...” The Doctor somehow looked even more intense than before. “It’s you. The Time Lord you, I mean.” 

Jenny lost her balance and hit the bedspread face first. 

He didn’t take his eyes off Donna’s face. “Can’t you hear it whispering?” he asked. 

Her eyes snapped to the watch. Donna swallowed hard as that long-concealed something churned, closer to the surface than before. 

“Yes,” she choked out. “But what’s it mean?” 

“You became human. Don’t know how long ago or why, but you changed, and your memories were stored in the watch. There’s a perception filter on it,” he explained, “One that let you blend into life on Earth...it even hid its own significance from you.” 

“Whoa,” Molly breathed. 

“But—but I remember it all!” Donna said desperately. “My mum, my dad—Gramps, he did so much for me—” 

The Doctor pulled her down to sit beside him. “Your feelings are real,” he murmured. “All of them. Some of them were probably from your original life, but the people you felt them for on Earth were real, and they felt them too.”

“But—”

His arm came around her shoulders. “Wilf—your Gramps, you can’t tell me he’d stop caring about you if he knew. You know he loves you. And your mum...well, she’ll shout and fuss and all that, but—” 

“Oh!” Jenny shot upright. “The photos!” 

Donna started. “What?”

“The photos! That explains it—why there weren’t photos of you as a kid at Nan’s, I mean!” 

“Showoff,” Molly muttered. 

She shook her head wildly. “No, no, no—it can’t—”

“I’m sorry, Donna,” the Doctor told her. “I’m so sorry.”

He went ahead and folded her into a proper hug. Donna clung to him, too stunned to cry. 

“I can’t believe it,” she said blankly. “How—how’s it possible that I’m missing so much of myself? Who even am I?” 

His arms tightened around her. 

“You’re our mum,” Jenny said stoutly. She reached out and patted Donna’s shoulder awkwardly. “You’ll always be our mum.” 

“You both keep saying I’m just like you, too,” Molly remarked. Her serious expression belied her casual tone. “If—if you forget who you are, just try and remember who I am, okay?” 

“Oh, darlings...” Donna untangled herself enough to touch Molly’s cheek and smooth back Jenny’s hair. “I could never forget you two.” 

The Doctor tightened the arm he still had around her. 

“You’re still you,” he said fiercely. “Even with the watch. You’re always you, just—you don’t remember everything, that’s all. The person Donna Noble is inside, that’s still who you are.” 

She made a face. “Figures. I’m still stuck as boring old Donna, even if I’m an alien,” she muttered. 

“Oi!” 

“Sorry, Molly,” Donna sighed. “I didn’t mean—it wasn’t you I was—oh, never mind.” 

“There isn’t a magic fix for any of those complicated feelings about yourself,” the Doctor told her. “Being a Time Lord doesn’t make you perfect...”

“Oh, that much I know already, sunshine.” 

Molly badly stifled a snort. 

The Doctor grimaced. “I’ll ignore that bit of slander, but just because you sound more like yourself now.” 

“Aw, you like it, really.” Donna grinned up at him. 

His mouth twitched upward despite himself. 

“Oh, god, don’t tell me I have some ridiculous Time Lord name like you,” she said abruptly.  

The Doctor smirked down at her. “Alright then...I won’t.” 

Donna made a face. “I’ll change it if it’s awful,” she said decisively. “I’m not going to suffer through something ridiculous.” 

The Doctor failed to suppress a grin. “Oh, it can’t be that bad.”

She rolled her eyes. “Given that you picked ‘the Doctor’ over whatever your real name is, I’m not nearly so confident,” Donna muttered. 

“So will Mum have a ‘the something’ name too?” Jenny asked. 

“Well, I mean, you’ll still call her ‘Mum’, I assume,” the Doctor said thoughtfully. “But not all Time Lords opted to go by a title. There were several schools of thought among—”

Donna didn’t appear to register a word he was saying. Her eyes were glued to that scarlet box once more as the whispers grew louder. 

Slowly but surely, her hand reached out— 

“—Mum?” 

Donna started. “What? Sorry, I was miles away.” She turned over the watch in her hand almost absently. 

“Are you gonna open it?” Molly asked again. 

“I...” Her eyes darted down to examine the engravings again. “...Yes. S’pose I am, yeah.” 

“Donna?” 

“Hmm?” She looked up with another start. The Doctor took her empty hand between his. 

“It’s all going to be fine,” he told her. His thumbs absently traced over her knuckles and back again. “We’re right here.” 

Donna found a smile for him, however strained it might have been. “I know.” 

She looked to her girls. 

“I love you both,” Donna hoarsely told them. She cleared her throat impatiently. 

Jenny put on a brave smile. “I love you, Mum.” 

“Love you,” Molly mumbled. Her knuckles whitened where her fingers knotted together. 

Donna looked back at the Doctor. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“Love you too, Spaceman,” she said thickly. 

His mouth popped open, but before he could say a word Donna opened the watch.

Chapter Text

The faint golden mist disappeared into her as she sucked in a sharp gasp. 

She took a slow breath and let it out again just as slowly.

“Donna?” 

Her eyes snapped open. 

She took in his person at length—he still sat beside her, clutching her hand. The wrinkled suit, the worn trainers, the overexcited hair, the barely-there bags under his eyes...and their girls, wide-eyed, still sprawled on her bed. 

“Doctor,” she said simply. She shot Jenny and Molly a reassuring look. 

The empty watch clicked shut, and she set it aside. 

“Are you—? Do you—?” His tongue tripped over his words. 

A leisurely smile crossed her face. “I’m fine, Spaceman. I remember you.” 

“Oh,” he breathed. It was suddenly clear that only anxious anticipation had been holding the Doctor together. The tension left him all at once, and he slumped forward over her hand. “Oh, good. That’s good...” 

“Doctor?” Her fingers hesitated before carding through his hair. “Are you alright?” she asked.  

“Fine,” he groaned, letting his head drop to rest properly in her lap. “Just—no more surprises for a while. My hearts can’t take this kind of stress...” 

Her laugh was cut short by a nervous question from Jenny. 

“So you’re alright, then, Mum? You remember us?” 

Her face softened. “Of course I do, sweethearts—”

“What’s your Time Lord name?” Molly interrupted. 

Jenny elbowed her rather hard. “Seriously? You can’t just let Mum breathe—”

“But I want to know!” Molly protested. She gestured vaguely in their mum’s direction. “She’s fine! Dad’s not flipping out any more—” 

“You call that not flipping out?” Jenny asked incredulously. “Look at him!” 

The Doctor stopped his breathing exercises to shoot her a reproving look. “I’m fine, just relieved!” he insisted. 

Jenny eyed him dubiously. “If you say so,” she said.

“Donnathenatheiadnesteria,” Donnathenatheiadnesteria said loudly. 

“What?” 

“My name.” She had to grin at the disbelief on their faces. “It’s Donnathenatheiadnesteria.” 

“Donnathena...” Molly mouthed the rest of it. “Hang on, say that again?” 

“Donnathenatheiadnesteria,” Donnathenatheiadnesteria said again. 

“Donnathenatheiadno—no, er—” She scowled. “Say it one more time?” 

“Donnathenatheiadnesteria,” Donnathenatheiadnesteria said a third time. 

“Donnathenithe—oh, I give up.” Molly slumped flat on the bedspread with a pout. 

“‘Mum’ is a lot easier,” Jenny remarked. 

The Doctor’s mouth twitched as he sat up all the way. 

“Donnathenatheiadnesteria? Really?” he asked.

Donnathenatheiadnesteria coloured. “Yes,” she bit out, a bit defensive. 

She ignored Molly’s grumbling of “How’d he do that?” 

“You were really on me about ‘the Doctor’ when yours is five times as long?” 

She levelled a scorching glare at him. “Listen, I’m not going to take—” 

“It’s lovely, though,” he hastily added. 

Her eyes skittered past his, and then away from the girls’. “You’re just saying that to avoid being shouted at,” she mumbled.  

“No! Really, I’m not.” 

Donnathenatheiadnesteria snorted. 

He shot her a crooked smile. “...I can still call you Donna, though, right?” 

“Course you can.” 

“Good,” he breathed, “Good.” 

“So...what does your being like us now—properly, I mean—really change, anyway?” Molly asked. 

The Doctor froze.

“Hmm?” Donna glanced up at her. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean...if you were human, really human, how would that’ve been different?” 

“Well...” Donna grimaced. “I...I wouldn’t have lived as long as we’re going to now. That’s the big one.” 

Both girls froze too. 

“What?” Jenny whispered. 

Donna immediately reached a hand to each of her daughters. “It’s alright, I’ll be here a long time,” she told them rapidly, “It’s okay...” 

“But you’d—?” Jenny’s lower lip trembled. 

“Oh, girls,” she sighed. Donna hauled them both into a big hug. 

Jenny wriggled to one side to avoid knocking the jewellery case off the bed. 

“It’s—it’s scary to think about this sort of thing, I know,” Donna said softly. “And I don’t want you to think too much about it, mind, especially since you don’t have to, now, but...”

All she could do was shrug helplessly.

“Humans have a limited lifespan, but Time Lords live a long, long while. It’s in the name.” 

Her attempt at a joke completely fell flat. 

“...Sorry, I just—this is hard to talk about. Sorry.” She bit her lip. 

“M’glad you’re—” Jenny choked on her words, instead burrowing her face into Donna’s shoulder. 

“I know, sweethearts.” Donna kissed her temple. “But...even if I hadn’t been—” She swallowed hard. “I would’ve been with you two and your dad forever. However long my forever would’ve been.” 

Her eyes caught on the Doctor where he still sat, frozen. 

“Get over here, Spaceman.” 

In what felt like no time, all three of them were crushed against him. 

“Dad, you’re pulling my hair,” Molly complained, but his embrace only tightened. 

“We’re all here with you,” Donna told him. “We’re all here for good.” 

“I know,” he breathed into her hair, “But it was close. Too close.”

“Close only counts—”

“—In horseshoes and hand grenades, I know. Martha already told me,” the Doctor grumbled. 

“I was going to say ‘it only counts if you let it’, actually,” Donna sniffed. 

He let out a strained chuckle as he held his family a little closer. 

“It hurts!” Molly whined, and the Doctor finally released them. 

“Love you too,” he told her dryly. 

“So where are you thinking for their first proper trip?” Donna asked once the girls had escaped to explore the TARDIS. She carried on sorting through the rest of her old things.

“Oh.” The Doctor frowned up at the ceiling from her bed. “Not sure.” 

“Somewhere new...well, somewhere new for you might be a bit of a stretch...” She placed her jewellery case on her dresser, and then set to collapsing the empty box. “Got a short-list?” 

“Not yet.” 

Donna eyed him sideways. “Alright, what’s going on?” she abruptly asked. 

“What?” He rolled over to look at her in surprise. “Nothing’s going on!” 

Her eyes narrowed. “All those short answers, and you don’t look even a little excited to show them the universe? Of course something’s going on!” 

The Doctor failed not to squirm where he lay. 

“C’mon. What is it?” Donna demanded. 

“S’not safe,” he muttered. 

“Safe?” She gave him an odd look. “That’s not the deal, is it? Travelling with you.” 

“No.” The Doctor’s chin stuck out obstinately. “But it is now.” 

“Seriously?” Donna gentled her voice. “That’s not what they want. You know that.” 

He refused to look at her, instead opting to frown at the ceiling again. 

The Doctor ignored her weight shifting the mattress under him. 

“Doctor...” She sighed. “They won’t thank you for hiding the world from them.” 

The Doctor sat up, incensed. “That’s not what I’m trying to do!” 

She raised a dubious eyebrow. “Isn’t it?” 

“No!” 

Donna pursed her lips. 

“I...it’s just—” He sucked in a breath. “What Martha said wasn’t wrong.” 

She blinked. “Wait, what? What did Martha say?” 

“It’s dangerous. I’ve always known that.” His fingers tied themselves into knots in his lap. “I’m just...selfish, I s’pose, letting you humans travel with me. You always....always get hurt, in the end. Sure, you go home in the end—if you’re lucky. But so many returned to find their lives at home in shambles...” 

The smack to his arm took him by surprise. 

“Oi!” 

“You’re not a bloody god,” Donna told him tartly. “There’s no way to make sure things stay perfect at home while you’re away—that’s just life.”

“I—” the Doctor began indignantly, but she spoke over him. 

“‘Us humans’ made our own choices,” Donna said firmly. “Don’t infantilise us like that, you numpty. And need I remind you that I’m not human?” 

“But you were,” he protested, “And I let you—”

“You didn’t let me do anything!” Donna snapped. Then she reconsidered. “Alright, you didn’t kick me out of the TARDIS, and you did teach me to fly her. But other than that...Doctor, it was my decision to come with you.” 

“But—”

“‘But’ nothing.” The Doctor barely flinched when she gave his cheek a sharp tap. “I understand being nervous about travelling with our girls, but they’re strong, smart, and have all that soldier training. If anything, they’ll be better at travelling than you.” 

“Hardly,” the Doctor sniffed, but his imperious air was undermined by how his mouth twitched irresistibly upward. 

“Anyway, if you’re really nervous, we could always go somewhere we’ve already fixed up,” Donna suggested, getting to her feet. “The Oodsphere, maybe?” 

“Not a bad idea,” he finally allowed. The gears in the Doctor’s head began to turn again. “Or maybe somewhere on Earth—where was Nerys talking about, Singapore? There’s a fantastic football match there in the 2844 Olympics...” 

Donna smirked. “I’m not the audience you should be pitching to.”

She hauled him to his feet. 

When she turned to shut her bedroom, Donna’s eyes were caught by the door. 

The Doctor leaned closer. “That wasn’t there before, was it?” 

It was more of a statement of fact than a question, and they both knew it. 

“No,” she sighed, “No. It wasn’t.” 

A carving of Donnathenatheiadnesteria’s name glinted smugly at her from the wood of her door—a wood so red it was almost scarlet. It looked remarkably similar to the Doctor’s own bedroom door now.  

The Doctor nudged her again. “I did mean it, you know. That your name’s lovely.” 

A humourless chuckle escaped her. “That’s only cos you know how bad our names can get,” she grumbled. 

His mouth twisted into a smirk. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he allowed. “I never was a fan of ‘Glospinnenymortheras’...but that might’ve been because he was my least favourite cousin.” 

“It’s funny how one person can ruin a name for you,” Donna said meditatively. 

“Really? And I was surprised you didn’t name Jenny ‘Nerys’...” 

The Doctor expected the elbow, but his breath still whooshed out of him. “Ow!” 

“Shut up,” Donna said sternly, but she was smiling just enough for him to relax. 

The Doctor’s eyes flicked between her furrowed brow and the door she didn’t seem able to stop looking at. Donna pressed a hand unconsciously to her chest. 

“...You alright?” he finally asked. 

“Dunno. Still...still getting used to it again. My name, my self, my...everything.” She sighed. “Gonna take at least a week or two before trying to break it to Mum.”

He took her free hand and gave it a squeeze. “I get it...and I’m all for taking your time breaking it to Sylvia.” 

“I know.” Donna turned to him. “So where’s your bedroom door this week?” she asked abruptly.

“What?” 

“Your name’s on it, yeah? Now I can actually read it!” She grinned. 

“Donna...” The Doctor flushed pink. 

“Oh, come on!” It was her turn to nudge him. “It’s only fair if I get to know your ridiculous name too. Where’s the TARDIS hidden it this time? Past the arboretum like usual, or by the third storage closet?” 

“That’s—you—” 

She rolled her eyes expressively. “Even if you hide it from me now, you won’t be safe forever,” Donna predicted. “The girls’ll read it too, once we teach them Gallifreyan.” 

“Well, yes, but—I mean—” His hands twisted in a less-than-dignified gesture. 

Her brows drew together. “Why’s it such a big problem if I read it, too?” Donna asked. 

“You—I mean, they’re my daughters.”  

“Yes,” she said patiently. “I know. I was there.” 

“So...so it just isn’t the same!” the Doctor spluttered. 

She just looked at him expectantly. 

He let his hands drop to his sides. “You should know why!” the Doctor bit out. 

“What?” Donna’s mouth fell open. “Oh!” 

She stared at him like he’d spontaneously grown antlers. 

“Oh, you actually—” 

“Yes,” he hissed, “As a matter of fact, I do.” 

“...I suppose I just never figured you’d be the superstitious type,” Donna said thoughtfully. 

“It’s traditional!” he insisted. “It’s—it’s how things are supposed to be!” 

Donna gave him a disbelieving look. “So in your book we’re married, then?” she asked dryly. “Or, half-married, I guess?” 

“What?!” he squawked, turning even pinker. 

“I mean in your own words, it’s ‘how things are supposed to be’,” Donna quoted, rolling her eyes. “You already know my name, so...?”

“I—I—” The Doctor’s mouth worked soundlessly as he grew steadily closer to magenta.

“I never guessed you were so conservative,” she snorted. “All that blather about how our people were so pompous and stuffy, and you’re out here saying—” 

He wheeled on her in one swift movement. “They were gone,” the Doctor growled. 

Donna backed up a step. 

“All of you were gone,” he corrected himself. His voice rose almost to a shout as he reminded her, “I was alone for so long—alone in the universe, alone in my head, the last of my kind, the last Time Lord, the weight pressing in on me, the pain throbbing with every heartsbeat, you’re the last, the last, the last—is it surprising that I’d choose to respect our oldest taboos?!” 

The Doctor thundered out that last question before his sight cleared enough to see Donna standing frozen before him. 

“Donna...” he breathed, “Oh, Donna, I didn’t—” 

But she’d already whipped around and stalked away. 

“...Are you gonna sit with us, Mum?” Jenny hesitantly asked. 

“In a minute.” 

Molly and Jenny exchanged a glance. 

The Doctor grimly continued to eat his supper, his doleful eyes glued to the tabletop. 

Donna carried on chopping up carrots at the counter. If anything stood in the way of her sharp movements, they might well have cut as deep as the knife she held. 

Molly made eye contact with her sister again. Jenny’s leg swung idly from her chair as she shrugged broadly.

“...Soon, though?” Molly inquired. “I mean...” Her eyes flashed around the table. “Dad’s already halfway done, and Jenny’s licked her plate clean...”

Her mum finally carried the large bowl over. “I was just finishing up the salad, sweethearts,” she told Molly. 

“Sure,” her daughter said slowly. 

Donna’s eyes darted to the Doctor, but darted away just as quickly when they caught each other looking. 

She busied herself with the salad tongs. “Here, Jenny, a nice big bowl for you...” 

“Seriously?” Jenny groaned. She glumly watched the serving grow. 

“It’s good for you,” Donna said implacably. “Got to get your energy levels up, remember?” 

She grumbled something incomprehensible, but Jenny picked up her fork with martyred resignation. 

“It’d be better with dressing,” Molly muttered. 

“I don’t like it,” her sister stated. She chewed a forkful of dry greens with a grimace. 

Molly’s eyes flashed. “You didn’t even try it,” she snapped. 

“Molly, leave it,” Donna ordered in the same moment as the Doctor sternly said, “Molly, that’s enough.” 

Their gazes met for only the barest millisecond. 

“...Never mind,” Molly muttered. 

She made a point of pouring an unhealthy amount of zongaberry vinaigrette over her greens, but she didn’t say any other confrontational things. 

Not even when her dad silently slunk away the moment his dishes were stowed away. 

Not even when her mum’s face visibly fell after he left. 

“...We can get the washing up for you, Mum,” Molly told her. 

“Really?” Donna perked up slightly. “Oh, thank you, darling. I appreciate that.” 

From then she picked up the pace of her supper. 

Across the table Jenny nailed Molly with a withering stare. 

Donna hurried to the counter with her plate, still chewing, and rushed out of the kitchen again in record time. 

Jenny glared at her sister. “‘We can’, can we?” she asked tartly. “Thanks for volunteering me.” 

“Oh, come on! She clearly needed to go after Dad,” Molly sniffed. She gathered up the mostly-empty salad bowl and the bottle of dressing. 

“What?” 

“Seriously?” She looked at Jenny incredulously. “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice how tense that was!” 

“Obviously I did!” Jenny protested instantly. “But you’re sort of assuming—” 

Molly sighed long and loud as she carried the dishes away. 

With a grimace, Jenny gathered her silverware and joined her sister at the counter. “Alright, never mind,” she muttered, “Now. How’s this dishwasher work?” 

Donna followed the faint sound of the Doctor’s muttering to his workshop. 

She paused in the corridor a couple of doors away. 

“It’ll be fine,” Donna told herself under her breath. “Just—just break the silence and apologise.”

She took a deep breath before walking on.

He was hunched over something on his workbench. Must’ve been important—he had his sleeves rolled all the way up, while his jacket and tie were carelessly abandoned to the side. 

“Sonic needed a tune-up?” She strove for a normal, casual tone as she leaned in the doorway. 

“What—?” The Doctor narrowly missed knocking half the components onto the floor when he flinched. He backed a step away, his hand automatically going to his hair. “Oh...no. Well...no.” 

“Really?” Donna eyed the bits and pieces scattered over the surface with interest. “Looks like it, though.”

He cleared his throat, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Actually...I was just starting to put together a new one.” 

Her eyebrows flew up. “You really think Molly and Jenny can handle that responsibility?” she asked doubtfully. “I mean—they’re good girls, but if they could unlock things that easily...!” 

The Doctor blanched. “Oh, no—no, no, no, not for them. Not yet.”

“Good,” Donna sighed with relief—but with that relief came remembrance of why she’d come here. 

She stiffened slightly. 

“Then who’s it for?” Donna asked. She strove again for a normal, casual tone, but the Doctor clearly felt the tension. 

“This one’s for—well. For you.” He sounded terribly stilted.

Donna’s mouth dropped open. 

“For me?” 

“Yep.” The Doctor avoided her eyes, instead fiddling with a tiny rubber gasket. “I mean, you don’t have to take it if you don’t want it. I was just thinking that, well...”

“What?” Her voice didn’t quite sound like her own. 

“You’d—it’d be, er, handy for you to have. When we’re in—in situations when we have to split up.” 

“Oh,” Donna said dumbly. 

“Not just those times, though!” the Doctor hastily continued. “I meant—I meant that you’d be able to, er, work more independently...not that you don’t usually!” 

“Oh?” she asked faintly. 

His fingers worried the gasket harder and harder. “I’d thought of making you one before, but you know how it is, there’s always something else to do...but now, especially with Jenny and Molly along—” 

The Doctor cut himself off with difficulty as the gasket protested its mistreatment by slipping through his fingers and bouncing under his workbench. 

 “...Oh,” Donna said belatedly. 

“It’s—it’s a gesture,” he ground out. 

“No, no—I got that.” 

“You...you’re my equal,” the Doctor told her suddenly—fiercely, his eyes blazing as he dared to meet her gaze. “You’re more than capable of helping me keep Jenny and Molly safe out there. I can trust you to always, always have my back. I know that.” 

She flushed a delicate pink under that intense focus. 

“You’re my equal,” he said again, “And you always have been—it’s not because of the watch, or the girls. Really, it isn’t.”

“It isn’t?” Donna managed to say. 

“No,” he said emphatically. “No. I don’t think of you as lesser, I never have. Different, yeah—I’ve known that since day one....” The Doctor’s face softened. “I should’ve known you’d be just as different as a Time Lady, even in some other way.” 

Her tongue suddenly loosened. “I’m sorry,” Donna blurted out. “I—what I said, I didn’t want to hurt you—I mean, I’m not sorry for having different opinions, obviously—” 

“I’d never expect that,” the Doctor said dryly. 

“—And I still think that the name taboo is a rubbish archaic custom designed to maintain artificially distant relationships—” 

He made a face. 

“—But I just...” Donna trailed off. “I’m sorry for hurting you. I didn’t think of how long you thought you were alone—and I just...I wasn’t careful about your feelings about—about losing Gallifrey.” She swallowed hard as tears started to her eyes. “I’m sorry, Doctor.” 

“Oh, no, Donna—” He leapt forward to pull her into a hug. 

“S–sorry,” she choked out, “I—it didn’t quite hit me until you said—and talking about it just—” 

One of his hands gently stroked her hair while the other smoothed a hypnotic pattern down her back. “Shh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted at you, anyway—hey, we’re both sorry this time, that’s a nice change, isn’t it?”

The Doctor murmured comforting nonsense until Donna pulled back with a sniffle. 

“Sorry about getting your shirt all wet,” she said damply. 

“No, don’t apologise for that.” He fumbled through his pockets. “S’what it’s there for.” 

Donna raised a suspicious eyebrow as she accepted his handkerchief. “You only wear shirts for women to cry on them?” 

“Donna!” he squawked. 

She blew her nose before speaking again. “Oh, sorry—I meant for your half-wife to cry on,” Donna drawled. 

“Only ‘til she’s my full-wife,” the Doctor muttered under his breath. 

“What?”

His eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t think you’d hear—that is—er.”

 The Doctor visibly racked his brains for some other explanation, but nothing came to him in time. 

“I was going to, er, show you my bedroom door. Like you asked. It’s only fair, like you said...” 

“Were you really?” Her every word was laced with joking innuendo. 

“...Yes.”

When the Doctor dared to look at her Donna was gaping at him. He swiftly looked away again, clearing his throat awkwardly. 

“...And that’s all, is it?” she asked faintly. 

“...Depends,” he said roughly. The Doctor finally ducked down to find that wayward gasket. 

“On what?” 

He fished around under his workbench longer than strictly necessary. “...On what you make of certain taboos.” 

“But you’re the one who believes in them!” Donna’s voice was shrill with stress. “You’re the one who thinks we’d be—” She stopped speaking like the next word might burn her. 

“Well...” The Doctor still avoided her gaze as he stood and set the gasket back down with the other sonic components. “...Yes. But that’s just my side of it—I don’t just get to decide things for you, do I?”

When no reply came, he risked a quick glance in her direction. Donna was watching him with an unfamiliar considering look on her face. 

“...You alright?” the Doctor cautiously asked. 

“I’m just...you call that a proposal?” 

“Hmm?” He busied himself with sorting the components on his workbench by size. 

“‘Come along, Donna, casually do the thing that I think means we’re married—no pressure to think so too, though’. Seriously?” She threw up her hands in frustration. 

“Well...” 

The Doctor tensed when her hand landed on his shoulder, but she didn’t move it. 

“It does sound a bit...presumptuous, when you put it like that,” he murmured. He straightened one of the tiny rivets when it rolled out of line.

“Presumptuous, he says,” Donna snorted. 

“I mean, you weren’t wrong about the impracticality of trying to keep it secret,” the Doctor said quietly. He finally gave up the pretense of organisation and let his hands tighten on the edge of the bench. “There’s bound to be a time when you pass my room in the corridor...” 

“Course I’m right,” she said, waving that aside, “But you shouldn’t cross a line you don’t want to cross just to get it over with—” 

“I’m not.” 

“What?” 

The Doctor took a deep breath and held it for a moment before turning to face Donna properly. 

“I’m not,” he told her again. 

A strange light sparked in her eyes. “You could ask the TARDIS to hide it, change the design—or ask her to remove the door and put in a curtain or something—” 

“But I’m not,” he interrupted. 

Donna studied his expression. “No. You’re not,” she finally agreed. 

In the absence of anything to do with his hands, the Doctor shoved them into his pockets. 

“Is it—?” 

“It’s not just because of our girls,” he told her.  

“Or...?”

The Doctor sighed. His eyes drifted toward the ceiling. “I can’t say it’s not because of the watch,” he said slowly, “But that’s because of—the question Molly asked earlier. After you opened the watch...” 

Her warm hand wrapped around his. 

“If you were going to—” The words caught painfully in his throat. “It would’ve been too...” 

“Yeah.” 

When he looked back down, Donna’s eyes were dangerously soft. 

Leaning closer, the Doctor managed to ask without words. 

“Yes.” 

His breath stopped entirely. 

“Yes,” she repeated with a sigh, “Even though that was still a rubbish proposal.” 

“I—it doesn’t have to—” 

But Donna cut him off. “Yes, it does, you big idiot,” she said crisply. Her tone gentled a little. “Yes, it does.” 

“Donna—” 

She stopped the Doctor’s mouth mid-sentence. 

It might’ve been merely a chaste, experimental sort of kiss, but both participants seemed unwilling to end it. 

Before too long, however, distant shouts pulled them apart. 

“Da–ad! Molly broke the dishwasher!” 

“It’s not broken, it’s just—washing the floor, too. It’s fine!” 

“It’s overflowing!” 

“Tattle-tale!”  

Their eyes met in perfect unison. 

“They get their timing from you,” Donna told him sternly. 

The Doctor sighed. “I know.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Later?” 

The width of her smile made her cheeks creak. “Later.”