They waited until the other passengers had left the ship before following them down what looked like a metal gangplank.

Donna stopped, half-way down, marvelling at the first sight of Vira. She had been here before, of course. Vira had seemed beautiful to her, mostly because of how much like Earth it was. She'd been a bit homesick at the time. Now, she had a chance to gaze around at the distant countryside and appreciate the differences. The houses were dome shaped, like small temples and dotted across fields of green and gold, they looked exotic, like something out of a fairytale.

The landing strip was full of people. Again, Donna had seen Virans before but not such a lot at once and their telekinetic skills were amazing in the face of bags, boxes and containers. They all floated beside or front of people as they raced to and fro. They stared in wonder at the visitors from Earth, congratulating everyone on their safe arrival and anxiously enquiring about the nature of the distress call.

"No, we were just fine," one official hastily explained, "we must have sent that by accident! Hope we didn't worry you! Although, your help in the last lap was much appreciated!"

"It's beautiful," Clara breathed behind her. "In all my days, I never dreamed I'd actually get here!" She and Jenny smiled at each other.

"All the research finally paid off," Jenny said.

Inside the first building they reached, each passenger was checked and cleared before entering a large reception room with tables of food and drink. As the children went through, they headed to the tables, completely at ease with the choice of food.

It was sight of the Virans and humans staring at each other in wonder, Donna thought, as if they couldn't believe the other was real. She could have watched them forever.

Gradually, the children were taken, some alone, some in twos and some with a parent, for interviews which would determine the families whom they would live with. The children waiting to be called for these interviews looked strained and anxious. Jenny and Clara went to sit with them, chatting lightly to them in an effort to distract them as much as possible until the moment came. Donna and the Doctor sat with Peter.

"Do they still think you're my parents?" he asked.

"No," the Doctor said, "I disabled our perception filters when we landed. They know we're strangers but no one's arrested us yet, surprisingly!"

"It does tend to happen when we arrive somewhere new," Donna told him. "Quite a lot, really."

Peter smiled, then glanced at the doors of interview rooms.

"It'll be fine," the Doctor assured him, "tell them you've just towed an asteroid across space. They'll be queuing up for you then!"

"Peter Murray!" A voice called.

Peter stood up and looked back at them.

"I'll see you in a minute." There was a slight question in his voice.

"We'll be here," Donna said. They watched him walk into the room.

"I never thought I'd say this but..." Donna sighed. "I'll kind of miss him."

"Yeah, I know," the Doctor said. "He's going to be fine though. This planet is really good for him."

"How do you know?"

"Didn't I say?" the Doctor asked innocently. "I've met Peter. In my past and in his future. And when I did, he knew enough about time travel to know not to tell me where I'd meet his younger self, only that I would. I always wondered why he wouldn't elaborate very much about his journey here. I was dying to know all about it when I knew he was one of the evacuees. He only told me a few little details."

"You knew him? When we met him?"

"Yeah...soon as I heard them say his name. It made sense and you..." The Doctor turned and looked at her intently.

"Donna, one of the things he told me as an adult was that on that ship, a woman he got to know showed him the first compassion he'd ever known."

"What? Me?"

"Yes. Think about it. You gave him your TARDIS key."

"But..." Donna looked at the ground, unable to think of anything to say.

"It was the Racnoss firing squad all over again. You risked your life for someone you hardly knew."

"My life was already well at risk!"

"Yeah but you gave the only thing that could have helped you, to him."

"But..." Donna hardly knew why this made her feel defensive. "It wasn't, you know, turning the other cheek or anything like that. It was just...we were all adults. And he wasn't. He was terrified. I thought he should be protected."

"Exactly," the Doctor said gently. "No adult in Peter's life had ever done that for him before. Most children in this room were sent away for love and with love. Peter was sent because, as he told us, it bought his parents protection and also because he was a trouble maker. They barely knew him or wanted to know him. They sent him here because it was easy. You saw his attitude and you also saw that there was something behind it."

"Oh." Donna looked away, not wanting to meet the Doctor's eyes. She felt vulnerable.

"I watched him," the Doctor continued. "That whole time we were on the move, he stuck close to you and he watched over you, right until we were separated. And you did the same for him. He appreciated that, Donna and he always will."

"I wish you'd told me this when we'd already said goodbye to him," Donna said. Suddenly she could see the motivation behind some of the Doctor's sudden disappearances. Jack had come and sat beside them and he gave her shoulder a quick squeeze.

"So, did he tell you anything else when you met him?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said. "He told me that I should look at the picture of him on page 52 on a book written by a certain Catherine Hayes. 'Course, I didn't know then who that was." He nodded across the room to where Louisa and Catherine sat, talking to a Viran couple.

"So we have to wait until she grows up and writes the book?" Donna asked.

"Well...no," Jack said, again sounding sheepish. He reached into his coat and pulled out a battered looking novel.

"Across the Stars: The Journey To and Beyond Vira." Donna read. "Wow!"

"Your research into this mission was supposed to be...slightly more technical," the Doctor said.

Jack looked slightly defensive.

"It's got good information," he said. "Besides, she writes well. I couldn't stop reading it once I started. And when I saw the mention of you two..."

"What?"

Jack flipped through the book and opened it on a hazy looking picture.

"They must have got most of the pictures from the security cameras," he said. "It's not either of your best sides."

"It's terrible," Donna said, "I look all red and blotchy and..." She leaned forward to read the caption.

"Doctor....? and his wife, Donna-gave valuable assistance to the crew on one or two occasions. Passengers recall this couple as particularly amorous."

"Amorous? Oh God!" Donna buried her face in her hands. Jack nudged her.

"Cheer up, Donna! Could be worse! You'll like what's on page 52!" He leafed through the book again and handed it to her.

"Keep that out of sight," the Doctor muttered, looking over at Catherine and Louisa. "Do we really want to create another paradox?"

Donna stared at the page. There was an adult Peter, barely recognisable, with a small, pale child in his arms. She had curly hair and both smiled cheerfully at the camera. She traced the outline with a finger. The child definitely had Viran blood.

"Read the caption," Jack said quietly.

"Peter Murray, (evacuee) and agent for the Time Organisation. Pictured with his daughter, Donna Noble Murray."

"You've made her cry," the Doctor said accusingly to Jack as he took the book.

"Wow! Donna! A child of a whole new generation named after you! That's something I haven't even managed to achieve!"

"Yeah, well..." She sniffed. "Not many people fancy calling their child Doctor, do they?"

The Doctor smiled vaguely and flicked through the book.

"Anything else interesting?"

"Just one more thing," Jack said. "I'll tell you right...about...now."

Clara had come back to them, Jenny in tow. The Doctor put the book into his pocket.

"Jack..." she began, twisting her hand awkwardly.

"Don't tell me," Jack said, leaning back in his chair. "You've decided that you want to stay here. They want to begin a Time Agency of their own to travel back and regain as much of their lost history as they can. You want to be part of it."

Clara's mouth dropped open.

"How'd you...?"

"I know everything," he said smoothly.

Donna leaned over and whispered to him.

"Is she in the book too?"

"Yes. Plenty of mentions of Doctor Clara Stokes in chapter 8!"

"Jenny, I'd ask you to stay with all my heart," Clara said, "but I think you're where you're supposed to be right now."

Jenny smiled back at her.

"I'll come and see you," she said, "now I have some help figuring out the whole space travel thing."

The Doctor stood up and held out a hand to Clara.

"You've always got a lift home, Clara. Whenever you need it. Remember that."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

Peter came out of the room, turning to say something to a tall man who had escorted him out.

"Everything ok?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah," Peter looked back at the man. "He's a philosopher. At least, that was the nearest thing I could think of, the way he explained it. And he researches the theories of time travel!"

"He looks nice," Donna said.

Peter took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I think he will be," he said finally.

Donna stood up and put her arms around him. It wasn't as if she could thank him, she knew that. His arms tightened around her and he whispered,

"I'll miss you."

"Me too." She opened her hand and held it out to him.

"I can't take it," Peter said, looking at the chain. "Your granddad gave you that."

"You can," she said, "and no one would be more chuffed than him to know where and to whom it had gone to. Please."

He took the chain and clutched it tightly, nodding at her.

"What's your grandfather's name?"

"Wilfred. Wilfred Noble."

"Tell Wilfred Noble that I said hello. Hello from Vira." He offered her a small smile and she saw in his expression, something of the man in the photo clutching the small child in his arms.

"Be magnificent, Peter," she said softly.

.....................................

The TARDIS seemed to take longer than usual before they were in motion again.

"She's been through a lot," the Doctor said, lowering his voice as if to respect her sensibilities. He looked at Jack, frowning slightly. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Yeah, fine," Jack said, sounding slightly distracted. His cheery mood seemed to have evaporated since they left Vira and now in the bright light of the console room, he guessed that he looked how he felt, pale and tired.

"Jack," the Doctor looked around for Donna and Jenny but Donna was giving Jenny a quick tour of the console room. "Jack...what you said about your brother. I wanted to say that...well, I won't insult your intelligence by saying that it wasn't your fault because a part of you knows that, just as another part of you won't accept it. But I wanted you to know that I understand."

"Thank you," Jack said quietly. Somewhere in the history of the Time War, there was an equivalent of Gray for the Doctor. Or more than one. Maybe a whole race of them. Spend five minutes with the Doctor and you would know that. But hearing it said meant everything when you spent so much time stuck in a loop of remembering, of dreaming you'd done it differently and clinging to the dream in so many waking moments.

............................................

Donna looked at Jack as she led Jenny back into the console room. He had seemed fine during their time on Vira but now he looked exhausted. The Doctor was giving him that look that meant he was worried and pretending not to be.

"Maybe you have this same allergy," she suggested, indicating her arms, where the redness was slowly fading.

"You will, but it shouldn't be affecting you now," the Doctor said.

"I'm fine, really," Jack said, in an end-of-discussion tone. He seemed to force a smile as he looked around. "It's not like we'll run into huon particles on a daily basis anyway."

"Don't say that," Donna said, nodding towards the Doctor, "he'll think it's a dare!"

Jack followed her glance to where the Doctor had moved to show Jenny the console screen.

"Do you ever try and weigh this life we have against...the other kind of life?"

Donna nodded.

"I can't, though. It's impossible to get a measure."

"Yeah. They don't sit well together, do they?"

"No...but then again," she looked around the room, "there's lots of different ways to acquire a family."

"Well you certainly proved that!"

She nudged him.

"I can think of four people who'll be anxiously awaiting your return on Earth. Not to mention three who'd be just as happy if you stayed here travelling with us. That's not that different from actual, conventional family now, is it?"

"I saw lots of different kinds of families while I travelled," Jenny said, "even if they were...not at all like humans, I still saw that they were families. Isn't that strange?"

"Some things never change the further you go," the Doctor said.

"And those kids will prove that when they return to Earth someday," Jack said.

Jenny sat on the floor, leaning against the console.

"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked her.

"Fine. A bit tired but better than I have in ages," she said. "I guess I didn't realise how much it was taking out of me until the end. It was draining me."

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor said.

"For what?" She traced her finger along the side of the console. "It was my idea. My research. Mine and Clara's. I'm proud of what we did."

"You've every right to be," he said decisively.

Donna wandered over to the couch and settled herself on it, closing her eyes as she felt the softness of the cushions against her cheek.

"Are you feeling alright?" The Doctor's voice asked. "I haven't forgotten your concussion. I mean, I had, sort of, just for a while there but not for long! Is there anything you need?"

"Just tired," she said.

"Maybe I should check you over though just to be sure."

"Hands off!"

"The amorous couple," Jack said, not quite under his breath.

"Sorry I couldn't help you more when you hit your head," Jenny said.

"S'ok," she murmured, wondering if they'd take the hint and let her doze.

"Donna," the Doctor continued, "come on, let's get something to eat! Or better still, we'll head somewhere and..."

"Doctor!" Jack sounded amused. "She's fine. Let her sleep! We're all fine, despite deadly allergies, poisoning, concussions and intoxication! Things aren't always too good to be true."

"Well said," Donna said, without bothering to open her eyes.

"Try living my life," the Doctor muttered. "Anyway, I never get this human thing of wanting to sleep when the excitement's over!"

"Getting some well earned sleep before you land us into the next one."

"The next one! Exactly! Where to? I was thinking Planet..."

"Earth," Donna and Jenny said at the same time. They opened their eyes and smiled at each other.

"Earth? But..." He looked disappointed. "We've so much to show Jenny!"

"Yeah...on Earth. She's never had fish and chips. Never been to a pub. Or a cocktail party in the 20s. Or..."

"Cardiff," Jack suggested helpfully.

"Ok, I get it," the Doctor said, but he was smiling. "Earth it is."

"Think I'll go home for a visit," Donna said. It was a while since she'd been home, or even phoned them, she thought guiltily. Come to think of it, they hadn't phoned her either. She might have some grovelling to do. Besides, it would be nice for the Doctor and Jenny to have some time on their own. Neither of them would ever ask for it but it would definitely do them good. She looked at the Doctor and raised an eyebrow.

"No need for a speech now. I'll be back in a day or two." She turned to Jenny. "He likes to make these speeches when we go away, even for an hour or two!"

"You never made me a speech!" Jack said.

"One day I'll surprise you with one," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Anyway, you tend to turn up again, don't you? You're more dependable in that regard."

"Oi! So am I!" Donna said indignantly. "And I think we can safely say Jenny is too!"

"Fine," Jack said, "anyway if no one objects, I think I need a pick-me-up!" He reached into his coat and pulled out a bottle of very familiar liquid.

"Viran Vodka, anyone? Jenny, you'll give it a try. And Donna! You're an old hand at this!"

"No, I don't think they should be drinking right now," the Doctor said, "nor you, come to that."

"Oooh, he's getting all protective now," Donna said. She twisted her head slightly to see the Doctor. He was looking at the three of them with a half-smile on his face.

"Thank you," he mouthed to her.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

"Did you bring any souvenirs of this trip?"

"Only one."

She pulled out her TARDIS key and placed it carefully on the table next to her, next to the battered copy of Catherine's book.

"Page 52," the Doctor murmured.

"Page 52." She smiled sleepily at him and closed her eyes.

This time, they let her sleep.

The End

Thank you all so much for the fantastic reviews, they are so much appreciated, and for reading:)  Would anyone like to read another?