A/N: sorry it's taken so long to update this in order to finish it, but my muse has been totally distracted elsewhere

Part 3 – The Introduction

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In next to no time the Doctor rushed back in, fully clothed in his favourite brown pin-striped suit. "Sorry about the whole… erm… nude thing, Donna," he stammered his apology.

"No problem, Spaceman," she cheerily replied. It amused her that he was so flustered. Then again, it had only been Earthman that had flashed her before. The Doctor tended to be more private in that respect, unless totally distracted, of course. Funny how having Earthman around managed to do that to him.

As she washed and dressed to go and visit Sarah Jane's home, Donna found she was becoming increasingly flustered as her brain refused to work. Where had she put the biodamper? She knew she had put it somewhere safe. "Spaceman! Have you seen my ring?" she yelled out of her bedroom door.

Earthman popped his head around the door frame. "Didn't you leave it by the kitchen sink?"

"Oh yes," she answered, holding her head briefly. "I seem to be losing it a bit. Where is he, anyway?"

"Where do you think?" he asked in return, whimsically. "He's done nothing but hold the baby since he got dressed. Anybody would think he's proud or something."

Her smile beamed back at him. "There's nothing like a proud dad."

"And so he should be. You produced a beautiful baby boy, Donna," he gushed.

"I had excellent material to start with," she fondly told him as she gave in to her need to caress his cheek. "You turned out pretty beautiful too."

He blushed and averted his gaze modestly. "Well, I try," he stammered; and was delighted when she laughed.

"Where are we going to first? Do you know?" she queried.

He brightened then. "Yes, Jack happens to be visiting London, so we're meeting both him and Sarah Jane at Mum's," he supplied.

"Thank God for that! That's less running about for me. Did you finish making our present for Jack?" she hastily whispered. "I don't want him to go without a Vortex Manipulator for much longer."

"It's okay," he whispered back. He cast a glance around and then patted his pocket. "I've got it in here. Don't worry; we'll make sure he's safe."

"Good," she sighed with relief. "Let's go collect our boy… and the baby."

They both giggled together at the joke.

"Now remember, Donna," the Doctor warned her as they headed down the ramp, "you are not to lift a thing, walk about for long, feel any pain or get over tired. Any problem, you let us know immediately."

Inevitably she rolled her eyes at him, just as he had expected her to do. "Yes, Spaceman. Now open the bloody doors so that we can get on with it!"

He double checked that Earthman had the changing bag slung over his shoulder as he bent to picked up the baby carrier with its precious occupant. "Come on, gorgeous," he cooed to the baby and adjusted the shawl that surrounded him. "Let's go and introduce you to everyone."

Earthman took hold of Donna's hand to wrap it possessively around his arm. "Our first act as new parents!" He grinned at her with glee. "Do you think they'll have cake?"

"If you're lucky," she replied. "But if they haven't I'll make you one as soon as I can."

He instantly kissed her cheek. "That's why I love you."

"Geroff! I'll think you like me at this rate," she blustered; and let him lead her out of the TARDIS.

Donna sat back in the comfortable cushions and watched the Doctor proudly showing off his son to everyone. There had been a fluttering of Sylvia's net curtains, gasps of delight and shouts of "They're here!" when they had approached the front door before they entered Donna's former home.

They'd found Sarah Jane and Jack already there, waiting anxiously for them to arrive, abandoning their cups of tea in their eagerness. It had felt like they were entering on their own red carpet. Soon the baby was totally surrounded by adults kneeling on the living room carpet or sitting on the edge of their seats, all desperate to pull him up out of the baby carrier and into their arms.

"Ooh Donna, he's beautiful!" Sylvia sighed happily as she practically melted at the sight of her grandson. "Look Dad! Look at his long eyelashes and mop of dark hair. Who do you think he takes after?"

Wilf eagerly peered closer. "I'd say he's just like his dad with his colouring, but we'll have to see what colour his eyes are when he wakes up."

To Sylvia's delight, the Doctor told her, "You can pick him up if you like."

"Are you sure?" she asked but didn't wait to bend down and lift the baby up.

There was lots of "Aw!" going on whilst everyone looked enviously on.

"I don't want to pass on any of my germs to him," Sylvia continued as she gazed lovingly down at the baby. "I can't believe I'm finally a grandmother!"

"He's safe; he's benefiting from Donna's immunity at the moment," the Doctor appeased her.

"So she's breastfeeding," Sylvia remarked, and shot Donna a glance. "I bet she doesn't last doing that. She never could stick with anything for long. Oh look at his little precious fingers! You'll have to get him scratch mitts," she said, aiming the last bit towards her daughter. "And I hope you've got plenty of babygrows because you can never have enough; although I'm not sure white was a sensible colour to completely dress him in. No one will be sure if he's a boy or a girl."

A scowl appeared on both the Doctor and Earthman's faces whilst Donna tried her hardest to ignore her mother's criticism. Unfortunately she was out of practise.

"I'll dress him all in mint in the future then," Donna retorted. "Or pink," she muttered to herself rebelliously.

"How will that help?" Sylvia wondered as she continued to snuggle her grandson close and kept her attention on him.

Wanting to distract Sylvia away, Wilf declared, "I suppose I'd better get the kettle on, and then we can wet the baby's head."

"What?!" the Doctor cried out in alarm.

"He means we'll have a drink to toast the baby's arrival, you prawn," Donna spoke up to explain, and the Doctor sagged in relief while Sarah Jane knowingly laughed.

"It's normal to have a glass of sherry or something stronger," Sarah Jane informed him.

"Oh," he merely replied, whilst thinking what a strange custom it was.

"I'd better come and help you, Dad," Sylvia decided. Knowing her father he'd pick out the wrong glasses, let alone open the wrong bottle, and show her up. "There's cake to be cut up, sandwiches to be put out and salad in the fridge too." She then turned to give the baby back to the Doctor before scurrying off into the kitchen.

The other two guests saw this as their chance to become better acquainted with the new baby and pressed forward. In fact they were itching to hold him. It wasn't every day that you got to see a Time Baby, let alone a brand new one.

The baby snuffled, so the Doctor gently turned him within his grasp to gaze directly at his face. "Come on, sleepy head. There are people here who want to say hello to you."

Earthman gave a cough. "They might want to give him a cuddle too if you ever let go of him," he teased.

"It's a new love affair. He's always like this when he discovers a different life form," Donna remarked.

"Oi!" both Doctors exclaimed, making the others giggle.

Sarah Jane couldn't get over the fact the Doctor was a new father, and how well he was coping with the situation; much better then she would have done. This was a new side to him. She had not personally had many opportunities to get acquainted with babies. "He has every reason to be besotted," she argued. As she then purred at the baby held safely within the Doctor's hands, she asked, "Have you thought of any possible names yet, Doctor? Donna?"

Sensing that all eyes were suddenly on her, Donna cautiously answered, "I was thinking of 'Kieran' or 'Bryce'. Spelt the B-R-Y-C-E way." When she then received a few puzzled looks, she added, "It means beam of light, or son of a nobleman. And I was thinking that we could perhaps have 'Irving' as his middle name."

Everyone except Earthman wondered why the Doctor paled at such an old fashioned name. After all, old names were coming back into vogue.

"Can we talk about this later, please?" the Doctor softly asked. It didn't quite gain the reaction he was expecting.

"I'm sorry! I knew I should have gone with 'Jonathan'," Donna said as she dissolved, then burst into tears, and hid her face within her hands.

"Donna!" Earthman cried out in anguish as he rushed to console her, wrapping his long arms around her shoulders to pull her closer as he cooed sweet murmurings into her hair.

Horrified, the Doctor placed the baby in Sarah Jane's hesitant arms before he too sought to comfort Donna. He rushed to kneel down before her and joined the hug. "I understand," he crooned, and kissed her cheek. "It's all a bit much for you. We'll take you home."

"You don't have to; I don't want to be a burden," Donna sobbed beneath the two men.

"It's natural to get upset after the day you've had," Jack sympathised. When Sarah Jane eyed him curiously, he admitted, "I've been a father so I've been through this." He then stretched out to take hold of the baby's finger. "My, he is a good looking baby! He'll break some hearts when he is older."

"Have a hold of him Jack," Donna offered as she wiped at her eyes, and smiled as the two men holding her tried several antics to make her do so. "These two will get plenty of time to monopolise him later, so don't worry about them."

Jack eagerly took the baby from Sarah Jane, much to her relief, and held him lovingly; gently rocking him to and fro. "Hello baby! I'm Uncle Jack," he fondly said, enjoying every second of this opportunity. "Aren't you precious? I can't wait until you are older and I can show you how to run rings around Daddy. Just think of all the fun we'll have."

"Jack!" the Doctor warned as Donna giggled.

Jack merely grinned cheekily back in defiance and carried on talking to the baby. "No doubt you'll get your own back on me too by driving me crazy with questions, about everything and anything."

"Does that mean you are offering to babysit?" Earthman asked, to the Doctor's amusement.

"Only if you are trying to produce another little godchild for me," Jack shot back instantly.

"Oi! Give us a chance to get over this one!" Donna griped. "I dunno. That is bloody typical of a bloke to suggest another pregnancy within hours of giving birth."

But Jack was pleased to see both the Doctor and the Duplicate blush at the thought and release their tight hold on Donna.

"Yes, well, I'm sure we could consider it," the Doctor blustered.

"I think it would be brilliant for us to have another one, when you're ready, Donna," Earthman approved. "Just think, the next one could be beautifully ginger like you. Oh yes!" he exclaimed, warming up to his subject. "Can you imagine her in her little white socks, holding her big brother's hand as they race around the TARDIS?"

"Actually, I can," Donna agreed. "Although I think she's likely to be a bit of a tomboy instead of keeping to all the pink frilly stuff."

"Maybe," he grinned, "but she'll be a little cracker! I can hardly wait to see her."

"There is one problem," Donna pointed out.

The two men in her life looked at her with the same puzzled expression, halted from drifting into their happy thoughts of ginger Time Tots.

"We have to erm…" She risked a glance at Jack and saw he was silently enjoying their predicament immensely. "We have to arrange the conception."

"Oh!" Sarah Jane blurted out, and blushed. "You've got two candidates to choose from. That'll be a bit awkward."

Both Earthman and the Doctor had shot Donna a 'did you have to?' warning look.

"That can all be sorted out later," the Doctor firmly stated. "Now where is Wilf with this drink?" He got up from where he had sat by Donna and went to investigate.

"You're a natural, Jack," Donna commented to Jack as he continued to coo at the baby; changing the subject, to the relief of everyone.

"I'm rubbish with babies," Sarah Jane announced with dismay. "I didn't even think I'd be able to cope with Luke until he sort of happened."

"I'm sure that's not true," Earthman said to console her, and gained a thankful smile.

"Tea's ready!" Sylvia announced from the direction of the kitchen. "So if you could all come through and sit up at the table we can begin."

Earthman politely offered his arm for Sarah Jane to take and then he escorted her out of the room.

There was the start of a hungry snuffle from the baby that Jack recognised, so he took the baby over to Donna and sat down to hand him gently into her waiting arms. He then saw his chance to ask his burning questions. Whispering low, he asked, "What exactly are the sleeping arrangements between you three? Do you have constant company or do those two exclude you?"

Now that they were alone, Donna felt she could confide in him a little bit since he'd understand perfectly. "Earthman comes into me when the Doctor gets up and leaves him on his own. So I get a cuddle from him, and normally a couple of hours later Spaceman comes in. I end up squashed between them, but it's nice. They don't let me feel left out," she answered in quiet tones.

"So they erm…" Jack suddenly halted his questioning when the Doctor appeared and hovered over them.

"Go and have some cake, Jack, and leave Donna to feed our little one." He could tell she was anxious about doing so in front of anyone else and stood determinedly waiting for Jack to leave.

Jack obediently made his way into the kitchenette, leaving the Doctor and Donna alone. Waiting until he had definitely gone, Donna then offered the baby her breast and the Doctor knelt so that his body shielded her from any casual viewers from the doorway. "Can you feed him okay?" he softly asked, giving her hand a tender caress.

"I think so," she answered in gratitude. He was always so caring and thoughtful; when he put his mind to it.

They both watched their baby take his feed with hungry enthusiasm. "I suppose he really is a Timeboy," the Doctor commented, and couldn't resist touching the baby's soft cheek.

"Perhaps I'll refer to him as Mini Dee," Donna considered, and they both chuckled together.

"About this second baby," he began, placing a hand on her knee as he did so. "I know we haven't even decided on a name for this one yet, however, I'm willing to try when you are; but I don't want to rush anything."

She smiled gently. "I know; and thank you. Give us a chance to get over having this one first before you start your experiments on me, eh? It's taken a fair bit out of me and I'll take a while to recover." They shared a brief kiss.

"Aye aye! They're at it already, Sylvia!" Wilf exclaimed with glee from the doorway, and then instantly felt guilty for interrupting them. "I came to say that it's all waiting on the kitchen table when you are both ready."

"Thank you, Wilf," the Doctor answered as pleasantly as he could. "We're just waiting for the baby to finish feeding."

"Rightio! I'll leave you to it," Wilf stated with some embarrassment, and then left them alone as soon as he could.

"Doctor, I'm truly sorry about the Irving bit," Donna sadly apologised. "It's just… I thought it would be nice to have something of your brother's rather than go the obvious route with Dad's name."

The Doctor tenderly kissed her again as he answered, "It's a lovely thought; really it is. Thank you. But I need to consider it more closely."

"Are you trying to make Earthman jealous?" she asked, and the Doctor laughed.

"You know very well that it doesn't work like that," he assured her. "You're still my number one girl."

"Girl!" she scoffed.

"Okay, woman," he amended, grinning. "I know I don't say this enough, especially considering you're my wife, but I love you, Donna Noble. Thank you for giving me so much to love in my life."

"You mean the two duplicates, and I didn't do much beyond touch a jar," she modestly insisted.

"I also mean you," he whispered. "I love you," he emphasised, "with your brightness, your friendship, your compassion, your unconditional love… I just couldn't have done it without you. I'm not sure you'll ever know how much you've healed me, or how much you mean to me."

"Come here, you softy," she demanded, and kissed him with such sweet tenderness.

"Are you two trying to make me jealous?" Earthman asked with some amusement when he joined them.

"No," the Doctor replied, and double checked that Sylvia or Wilf weren't in the vicinity before very briefly kissing Earthman too.

Earthman blushed.

"Not in front of the baby," Donna joked. When they gave her a joint mock exasperated look, she added, "It's alright, I'm not jealous. Okay, perhaps I am a little bit. Only I could end up with sort of two husbands and neither of them are interested in me."

"That's not true!" Earthman protested, and took the baby from her arms to allow her to cover herself up again. He then placed the baby on his shoulder and began to wind him with gentle pats. "I love this bit," he told her with an ecstatic grin on his face.

"You won't be so pleased when he is sick all down you," she warned him. She then fished out a tissue and handed it to him. "You'd better take this just in case."

"Oops!" the Doctor exclaimed as it proved to be too late. "You've got a little something on you," he pointed out to Earthman with far too much glee in the circumstances.

They both tackled clearing up the spillage and then grinned fondly at the baby held safely in Earthman's arms. "No, you can't have him back yet," he told the Doctor sternly. "It's my turn."

"Boys and their toys," Donna drily commented as she hauled herself up out of her seat. "I'll leave you two to check his nappy whilst I go and eat. There's a cup of tea with my name on it somewhere. I dunno about you, but I'm gasping."

"You go and eat, love. We'll be through in a minute," the Doctor told her. "Do you need help?"

"No, I'm fine," she insisted as she wobbled slightly through the door.

"Is she fine?" Earthman asked anxiously.

"Of course she is. She's Donna, after all. She makes everything fine," the Doctor reassured them both.

Earthman did not look too convinced. "I need to know that she is."

"She will be." The Doctor caressed his cheek with a tender touch. He was shocked when Earthman grabbed his fingers.

"And what about future children? Will we get them?" he wondered in a whisper. All he gained was a knowing smile. "Don't you dare say 'spoilers'!" he warned.

"Oh my precious Earth boy," the Doctor crooned. "Why would I want to spoil so many wonderful things to come for you? For all of us?"

"Then I'll get my little girl?" Earthman sought to confirm.

There was a happy nod in return. "Now let's enjoy this miracle of ours, and go and celebrate him being here."

Tears threatened to well up in Earthman's eyes. "This is bloody brilliant, you know."

"Oh I know," the Doctor agreed.

"Are you two coming or what?!" Donna could be heard to yell out. "If I'm going to miss out on drinking alcohol the least you can do is bring me my baby!"

"Yes, dear!" the Doctor called back, and they shared a delighted smirk. This could only get better for them.