Nothing.

The boxes did nothing…

They read as being in existence; they had to! They were there… they were everywhere! You could see them, you could feel them... you could pick them up and shake them like a set of maracas and still…

Nothing!

Donna and her family had been patient while he drove himself slowly insane waiting… and waiting… and waiting… for nothing!

"There has to be something!" He said, sinking into his own crossed arms on the kitchen counter as a cube stared back at him; black and fathomless…

The infuriating, little –

"Fine!" Donna exclaimed from her vantage point on the opposite side of the breakfast-bar… "But they're in everyone's homes… they're in their places of work…" Donna moved to begin pacing the kitchen, "they're in the cafes, the bars, the shops and the restaurants… they're in the schools…" she paused… "God… they might even be in the curriculum by now…"

"Donna…"

"They're up to something though, Doctor," she insisted, her pace picking up a notch… "they've gotta be…"

He straightened up… "It's been two weeks now, Donna and… nothing!"

She looked straight at him, "But they're everywhere…"

"So… they're everywhere…" he asked, cautiously, watching as her cheeks pinked…

"Everywhere though," Donna said again, starting to pace the floor slightly… "They've managed to get into people's streets… we've taken them into our homes and workplaces… willingly…"

Gods – she was intoxicating… just watching her made him stop and take in the light firing behind her eyes as thought processes ran away with themselves…

His mouth dried, "Go on…"

"These things have blogs…" she continued, her pace increasing as a hand shot into her autumn hair, "hash-tags, facebook pages… myspace accounts… they probably Whatsapp and Instagram!"

He couldn't find any words… he just watched her eyes spark…

"Physically and in the ether… they're everywhere…"

"Like an invasion…" the Doctor finished, trying not to think of how she was now looking at him and concentrating on the impending conundrum…

"Or an enticement…"

"Into a trap…"

"Well – what are we going to do about it?"

The Doctor took in a breath, "I was thinking of Italian…"

She blinked… "What?"

"Supper!" He explained, making an effort to pop the p's in the word as he moved back and tried to control himself a little.

"Now?" She asked, looking aghast but for the hint of a blush on her cheeks…

"Now…" he shrugged, "or back in 1875…" and he swaggered a little closer, "I have a time machine… you know…"

Donna leaned into the flirtation, her eyes taking on a tantalising sparkle, "So instead of saving the world, you want to whisk me away on a date?"

"We can save the world later…" he squirmed, "We won't be long."

"Oh…" she sighed, dipping her eyes for a moment before setting them on her, "What I had in mind was going to take some time…"

He felt his hearts tighten… and other areas give a little warmth…

Gods, she was maddening…

Donna was looking at him through narrow eyes… as if considering something... before giving a long breath and shaking her head… "No… we have to work through this…"

The Doctor felt himself leap toward her… "UNIT are conducting assessments…"

"Martha!" Donna said with a smile, throwing her had forward in relief… "she's our man… sort-of… if she's on the case… then it's ok…"

Martha… The Doctor felt himself cringe… he could always not mention it… What did it matter anyway? If he agreed and whisked Donna away for a meal and they could work out a few… kinks… in their relationship…

…

Argh! He had to tell her!

Aside from the fact she would certainly KILL him should she find out on her own… she was also owed an explanation.

He gave a gruff… This could be a little awkward…

"I don't think she's with UNIT anymore, Donna…"

The redhead cocked her head, "Since when…"

The Doctor shrugged and went to answer but was interrupted with-

"It doesn't matter – you have other contacts…Like Jack!"

He felt the heckles rise on the back of his neck and tried to control the anger he felt at her mentioning his name… it was jealously and he knew it!

"Not Jack," The Doctor confirmed, "Though there is someone I could get in touch with…"

()()()

"She's a little blonde, isn't she?"

The Doctor gave her a long, sizzling look over his glasses as he looked up from a cube he was examining.

Donna swallowed hard and tried her best to listen as Kate Stewart explained how the new UNIT headquarters in London was dealing with the cube outbreak… how they had searched for The Doctor and how her father, the Brigadere, had raised her on stories of the Time Lord of Gallifrey…

Great, Donna rolled her eyes, tall, blonde, brainy and with a massive hero-worship going on there… how was she supposed to compete with that.

Then she looked at the alien in the room and was left almost gasping for breath as his eyes translated the want and possession he felt on there.

God! She felt turned on!

Breathe! She reminded herself, there's a reason you're in the Tower of London and it's not for a kinky thrill!

"Don't you think Doctor?" The scientist amongst them asked…

The Time Lord startled, momentarily looking shocked. "Yes, Kate… I agree."

"Wonderful," the woman beamed, "I will set it all I motion and keep you updated…" she nodded to several other UNIT personnel and they all left the room.

Donna sniggered, "Did you even hear what she said?"

The Doctor looked slightly embarrassed, "No…"

Donna held in a laugh before she saw him looking her way…

"I was thinking of other things."

"Italian?" She asked…

"Only if you wear the dress you had in Pompeii."

Donna blushed, "You remember that?"

"You in that dress," he leaned forward, "tied to an altar with rope…" he sucked in a breath and leaned further toward her, "Yes, I recall…"

Heat flushed through her, "While we leave UNIT to collect and test a few of these cubes…"

He shrugged, "We'll give them a few days and see what happens while we visit a greek spa…"

"I thought that we were going to Italy…"

"That's supper," he smiled, "I was talking about desert."

She deflated slightly, "I thought you might want to try something else for desert."

"Well… that's why I suggested a spa," he leaned forward, flagging his eyebrows, "Any excuse to get you out of your clothes."

Her chest tightened.

But before she could answer, Kate Stewart re-entered the room, "Oh! Are you still here?"

"No! We're off!" The Doctor declared, snatching Donnas hand and dragging her out of the Tower of London and into the TARDIS without a backward glance.

As he shut the TARDIS door, he turned but she was already there; they were nose-to-nose and after the shock shooting through his eyes came a darker regard as his pupils widened to black pools and he let out a heavy breath.

Donna wasn't green; he wanted her and she was enjoying that feeling, letting it quicken her pulse and warm her skin as he looked on her with such boiling desire…

She reached past his hip and clipped the lock on the TARDIS door, hearing The Doctors breath hitch as she withdrew and let her hand drag just past the edge of his jacket so he felt the motion and shook out the breath he had been holding.

Donna looked up at him through her lashes, just as electrified by their proximity as he was, rewarded by the sight of his interest in his stance, in his entire attention and by other signals she almost blushed to think of.

Was this going to be their first time?

She suddenly wasn't certain what to say or do.

And it was entirely possible The Doctor was sensing this too… as the look in his eyes cooled.

Perhaps now wasn't the time for passion…

And as she acknowledged the thought, she saw his hand reach out in search of hers…

Their skin met with a tingle and he tugged her closer, bumping her chest to his as they both giggled…

His eyes sparkled and his lips were on hers before Donna had chance to gasp.

All upper-brain functions failed and Donna simply let go; all the inadequacy, all the insecurity, all the years of self-recrimination melted as this one, perfect being found the galaxies and universe itself unimportant compared to proving to her she was all the things he wanted and desired.

And, actually, he was doing a bloody good job of it.

He kissed her with all the wonders of time and space unfurling beyond and around them; time swallowed them as The Doctors lips traced a path from Donnas lips, across her jaw and down the column of her neck and rested at the hollow, breathing a while as they both recovered…

From nowhere, it seemed, she found the ability to move and press him against the ramp-guards for a deeper kiss, letting her hands glide about his skinny body as she pressed into his mouth, finding her hands on his buttocks to give a tight squeeze.

The Doctor whimpered into her mouth, his body reacting and growing hard against her as their bodies crushed together as his tongue swooped about hers and darted into her mouth.

The tables had turned and a spark of excitement shot through her as she enjoyed the feeling of him around her body and inside her mouth, sucking at her tongue and nipping at her lips.

Her heart was racing by the time he swept her up into his arms, lips never leaving hers, and carried her through the console room and into the corridors, finding an available room almost instantly.

The Doctors lips left hers, taking her breath with him, as he moved away from her slightly to look into her eyes…

He was asking; she knew there was so much to lose if they got this wrong…

But she wasn't afraid; he would always catch her should she fall.

Between kisses, Donna looked about and asked, "This your room then?"

The Doctor smiled pressing his lips against hers, taking her hands and tugging her with him as they went further in, "This is our room."

"Ours?" She asked, pulling her face away, only to find her neck became target to the onslaught as he kissed and sucked her skin…

"Yep," he confirmed, running his tongue over her freckles, "the TARDIS made it while we were out."

"TARDIS," she breathed past the feelings he was stirring…

"Yep…" somehow he was fixed in a particularly sweet spot on her neck… "she must like the idea of you staying with us."

God; she trembled, having trouble thinking… how was he still talking?!

In danger of The Doctors passions entirely overwhelming her, Donna thought fast and gave his shoulders a push to land him on the overly large bed…

Before she knew it, she was over him, looking down at that wide grin and feeling her eyes sparkle in return.

And she couldn't help it; always had to say something… so she shrugged, "Should have known I would be on top."

"I wouldn't want you anywhere else," he replied, running his hands up and down her thighs, "This way I can watch you while I bring you to the brink and tip you over the edge…"

All-but speechless with anticipation, Donna blinked as he arched up to kiss her, nibbling her lower lip as he withdrew, "I've waited so long to make love to you, Donna Noble."

So what were they waiting for?

()()()

"We're back!" The Doctor exclaimed, leaping out of the TARDIS before shrugging his shoulders to Kate Stewart of UNIT, "Well… we never left, depending on your perspective…"

He reached for Donnas hand and she grinned; he was such a romantic!

Kate nodded off to her side and beckoned, "We've been busy whilst you were… preoccupied this past week." She took off across the courtyard and into the old tower, speaking as she walked, "I have fifty cubes being monitored and more coming in…"

Donna broke into a jog to keep up as The Doctor followed the UNIT personnel…

"They have been getting a little feisty…" Kate continued, walking them through opening door and cramped corridors. "We have isolated and recorded all cubes during the week you were gone."

"Week?" Donna squeaked.

The Doctor turned back and flagged his eyebrows at her.

"They remain unreadable; not registering on any form of monitor other than what we physically record… thus, each cube is monitored by a person."

"And other than 'getting a little feisty'," Donna asked, "What have you discovered?"

The old corridors opened up into a large room of contained areas… each separate and isolated…

"Not much," Kate admitted, "they are all behaving individually…"

Donna looked back to The Doctor, thrilling to see him static with excitement as he darted his attention from one cube to the next.

And she saw it too… one was blowing flame like a volcano, another was displaying hieroglyphs on its skin, another was sparking blue lightening, another was playing the birdy song…

It all seemed a little innocuous until Kate directed their attention to a huddle of screens and announced, "Their on-line presence has begun breaching secure systems… the MoD, UN, Pentagon…"

"Are you telling me that these creatures want us to do the macarena while they sit on the buttons of our nuclear bombs?" Donna asked.

Kate startled, "The what?"

Donna shook her head and looked to The Doctor; there was a familiar fire in his eye as he stared at a dormant-looking cube on Kates desk…

"What are you?" He asked the object, removing his glasses and closing on it… "What makes you tick…"

Here we go… Donna thought.

"You're everywhere, Donna said so… on the earth and in the ether…" He moved forward, plucking the cube from the table and glaring at it… "So what is your purpose? Everything has one…"

Nothing.

"Can you hear me?" The Doctor asked, looking slightly ridiculous as he peered into the impassive, inactive, inept cube dangling between his finger and thumb.

Nothing.

It was maddening!

But just as Kate looked sideways to Donna for an explanation, they jumped at the sound of the cube fizzing.

The Doctor dropped the thing on the table before him and took a step back, mouth wide in shock and wonder… "Well… something made you wake up!" He exclaimed, "Come on! Show us what you're made of…"

The fizzing sound deepened as the cube on the table began to shake.

Donna felt Kate grip her arm, "Look… they're all at it."

She was referring to the other cubes in all the testing stations…

It made no sense… why now?

And as soon as she pondered, the cubes responded, suddenly displaying the number 9…

"Nine!" Kate exclaimed, eyes about the room, "What does that mean?"

"It's a count-down…" Donna declared…

"But a count-down to what?" The Doctor agreed, leaping about the room, observing the cubes at their stations, "they've had enough of questions and probably sense they are close to discovery…"

The cubes all flicked to eight.

"Oh no you don't!"

8…

"It's accelerating," Kate cried, alarmed and lunging to her computer monitor, "reports are coming in… they are beginning to emanate a low-level energy field!"

7…

"A low-level what?" Donna cried above the whining she started to hear piercing her concentration…

Kate replied but Donna hardly heard her, needing to cover her ears against the sound…

"Donna?" The Doctor asked.

6…

She felt a tightening in her chest…

"Donna…" The Doctor turned toward her…

5…

God it hurt! Whatever was going on suddenly drained her of pressure and she felt the muscles in her body give as she swooned…

"Donna!" The Doctor leapt toward her, catching her before she fell, brushing the hair from her face and hauling her body onto his for support.

She wanted to tell him she was fine… but her brain was working faster than her body as she limply lay in his arms, watching the panic in his eyes as others fell into her field of vision.

"Let me," Kate urged, tugging her from his hold and into the hands of several UNIT workers, "We can take care of her."

And though The Doctor looked pained to do so, she was glad he leapt to his feet, donning his glasses and sombre feature.

Whatever the cubes were, they could not withstand the oncoming storm.

Try as she might, darkness claimed her then and, though she was vaguely aware of chaos reigning on the extremities of her cognition… she couldn't wake until her suddenly exhausted body lifted her eyelids and allowed her back to consciousness.

At some point, she had been moved to some-sort-of emergency yoga mat and had two anxious-looking interns.

"You need to rest," the brunette girl with glasses insisted, taking a puff on her inhaler. "There was a thing where the cubes tried to stop people's hearts…"

"But The Doctor back-fed their signal and destroyed the ships they had observing Earth…" the other intern added, "He was amazing."

Donna fully appreciated the awe the two children felt for the alien genius who had, once again, saved the Earth… but, for now… she just wanted to stand…

He was at her side in a moment, "And where are you going?"

"I'm standing up to find out how you saved the world without me, Spaceman…" she replied, "that alright."

He grinned, noticing the refresh of her personality… "It would be," he admitted, "if you hadn't just suffered an extreme pre-syncope and syncope-"

"Oi," she gave a fond slap to his arm, touched by his concern, "don't go getting fancy on me in Latin…"

He blushed a little, "Fine; you suffered a basic Orthostatic hypotension…"

"I had a faint-flop… but I'm fine now. What did I miss?"

"Oh," he breathed in through his teeth, "just another dashing example of my heroic intelligence in a moment of crisis…"

"Blew them up," she levelled, running her tongue across her teeth, "didn't you?"

A sort-of silence followed that told her she was right and he wasn't certain how she would take the information…

In truth, she wasn't certain how she felt about it either.

But the way the cubes had invaded… the threat they had posed… she understood why he had done what he had done. But still, reprimanded, "Could have waited a bit…"

"What? How long did you think it would take me to figure this one out?" The Doctor asked, smiling. "Can't be hanging around here for months on end… there's a galaxy out there…" and he turned to Donna, hand outstretched, "You coming?"

"Might stick around here, actually," Donna admitted, flicking a few pieced of cube shrapnel across the table… "You know…"

As his hand fell away, so did the smile on his lips, almost making them shudder, "You… you aren't coming with me?"

Oh, she couldn't keep up the pretence! So she had to smile and slap his arm, "Of course I'm coming with you, you prawn!"

Relief washed through those chocolate eyes and he moved to spin her in a hug, delivering an unexpected, chaste kiss to her lips.

Donna blushed, recalling the company they were in… "Put me down, you big softie."

And he did, taking a grip on her hand so tight she thought that he may never let go.

"Before you go…" Kate said, marching past them and opening an ominously creaking door, "Can I have a word?"

The Doctor and Donna looked to each other and followed the request… going into the plain office.

The door squealed to a close as Kate remarked, "I must get that seen to."

Donna agreed, but leaned against the wall as The Doctor took his serious stance; legs wide, hands in his pockets… tight bum.

Donna hid a giggle… really, she should be an adult about things right now.

"What did you want, Kate?" The Doctor asked, serious and professional.

"It's… a little personal," the scientist admitted, perching on the desk and bridging her hands and taking a breath… "But after seeing you both, I thought you should be made aware."

"Of what?" Donna asked, noticing the woman lock her body enough to deliver uncomfortable news.

"It was when The Doctors heart stopped and he had me check you…"

"The Doctors WHAT?" Donna asked, entirely unaware of any danger to him before this was mentioned and feeling his hand on hers to soothe her…

"Yes?" The Doctor asked, anxiously. "And I was fine and I asked you to check on Donna… and?"

"Well…" Kate chewed the words, "I said she had a strong heart beat and that she was fine… but, the thing is… afterward I discovered another two."

"Two, what?" Donna asked.

"Heartbeats," Kate looked up at Donna.

That made no sense at all.

"Two heartbeats?" Donna looked to The Doctor, "But mine was a human/Time Lord meta-crisis… it didn't change me physically… did it?"

Kates face wrinkled, "Human/Time Lord… what?"

The Doctor went from stunned to over-drive in a second, "It was a crisis on a genetic level, merging Donnas mind with mine, it downloaded my brain into hers and we've been working to control the side effect…"

"Side effects like the human clone of you," Donna added.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Never mind," The Doctor dismissed, turning to Donna and gripping her arms, looking her over urgently, "There shouldn't have been any physical changes, but you are unique…"

"An extra heart though…" Donna shook her head, "Can I regenerate like you can?"

The Doctor was about to answer when Kate interrupted with, "Excuse me… but no."

No? Not two heartbeats? What was going on?

"Well… you recall I said I had discovered another two," she squirmed slightly, "not two. So, my calculations make it three heartbeats."

"Three heartbeats?" Donna asked, "But Time Lords only have two hearts."

She looked at The Doctor, but only saw him pale, wide-eyed and beyond dumbfounded …

"Yes," Kate agreed… "Humans have one heartbeat… such as yourself. And Time Lords have two…"

Donna shook her head, "So where are you getting three from?"

Kate rolled her shoulders in a stereotypically British display of discomfort… "Well… have you been feeling poorly or lightheaded for no particular reason of late?"

Donna thought about that morning…

"Does food taste any different to you…?"

She supposed the food last night had turned her stomach, but what had that got to do with….

"No…" Donna let the realization sink through her… "No way…"

The Doctor turned to her… the same look in his eye.

"But there was only that one time…" she couldn't understand… "And I'm on the pill!"

Clearing her throat, Kate countered, "May I suggest that contraceptives may not compensate for Time Lord Tenacity…"

That should have been funny.

It really wasn't.

And as The Doctor moved to place a hand on Donna's tender stomach, he looked her in the eye…

"Congratulations," Kate wished them…