The road less travelled...

Title: Planet of the Dead and the Living 6/7
Author: katherine_b
Characters/Pairing: The Doctor (Ten), Donna, Lady Christina de Souza
Rating: G
Spoilers: Everything in Planet of the Dead and some things for NuWho S4.

Part VI

“Do you think we'll survive the journey back?” Christina demands as the Doctor looks out at where he knows the wormhole to be.

“Only one way to find out,” he tells her. “Next stop...”

“...planet Earth!” she finishes for him.

He stamps hard on the accelerator, seeing as they leave the shimmering cloud behind them, and then, amid the screams of everyone on the bus, they dive into sudden darkness as they enter the wormhole. The Doctor fights to keep control of the wheel, listening to the cries of fear from most of the people behind him, and then there's a shower of white sparks and the sky clears in front of them.

He catches a glimpse of red berets as the bus flies over the massed patrols lining the road and steers them up into the sky.

“Oh!” he hears from behind him. “Oh, it's London!”

“Oh, we're back home!” exclaims a teary voice that he knows must belong to Angela.

“He did it,” Nathan says, before adding more excitedly, “He did it!”

“Of course he did,” comes Donna's calm, confident voice from the very back of the bus, and he looks in the rear-view mirror to see her smile.

Even as he smiles back, he turns the bus back to face the wormhole.

“Christina,” he says sharply. “The phone!”

And as she hunts it out, he waits anxiously for the first of the metal stingrays to come through the wormhole.

He snatches the phone from Christina's hand and activates it, hitting redial just as he catches the first glimpse of silver from the wormhole when three of the creatures appear.

“Malcolm,” he exclaims as soon as it's answered. “Close the wormhole!”

“Yes, sir!” comes the immediate reply. “My pleasure sir!”

And then he can't quite believe his ears at the sound of the dial tone.

“He's hung up on me!” he exclaims to Christina.

He rings back as quickly as possible, but gets almost no chance to speak.

“Malcolm!”

“Not now,” comes the desperate response. “I'm busy!”

And again the dial tone, and he groans in frustration.

“He's hung up again!”

He calls back and is quicker to speak this time. “Malcolm, listen to me!”

The voice on the other end is numb with obvious defeat.

“It's not working!”

“I need that signal,” he snaps. “We've got billions of those things about to fly through.”

“Well, what do I do?”

“Use the backfeed integrator,” he orders, suddenly remembering and regretting his earlier mockery of the system that Malcolm had put in place. “And keep the signal ramping up,” he adds.

“But by how much?” comes the desperate question.

“Agh,” he snatches a figure out of the air, “five hundred bernards. Do it now!”

There's a metallic whoosh from the wormhole, which flickers in the sky, and he gets further proof that it's worked from the victorious 'yes' on the other end of the phone. He watches as one of the stingrays is shot out of the sky and can't help being amused at the realisation that UNIT seems to have found guns that actually work.

Not that he approves, of course.

He's looking around for the other two stingrays he saw fly through the wormhole when he hears a panicked voice behind him.

“Doctor, it's coming for us!” Nathan bellows.

He peers over his shoulder to see the gleam of silver next to the bus and jerks the wheel. “Oh, no you don't!” he says from between gritted teeth.

The bus gives a satisfying jolt as it makes contact with the stingray and he watches in the side mirror as it sails helplessly across the sky, only to be shot down, as is the third one.

Glancing into the rear-view mirror, he notices that Donna is at the other end of the long bench seat, all but peeling herself off the window. He really shouldn’t laugh.

There's an instant of peace after the metal stingrays crash to the ground and the guns below stop firing. He sighs with relief and lets himself relax, only to glimpse a strange expression on Christina's face.

“Did I say I hated you?” she demands, adding, as he turns fully towards her, “I was lying.”

And then he feels her hands on his jacket and he's pulled towards her, finding her lips pressed against his. He hears the faint sound of applause and laughter from the other passengers. Even Donna, he’s relieved to see in the rear-view mirror as Christina lets him go, has a grin on her face and her eyes are dancing.

He nods at the line on the floor of the bus. “Do not step forward of this point,” he orders briskly, hoping to deter any further amorous advances.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he goes on, looking in the mirror at the others on the bus, “you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty 200!”

Steering the bus carefully, he lowers it to the ground on the location where the wormhole had been, just in front of the lines of UNIT soldiers. As he brings it down, he sees people staring at them open-mouthed, including many of the UNIT soldiers, but they break into applause when the wheels hit the ground with a slight jolt.

Fishing in his jacket pocket, he pulls out the sonic screwdriver and aims it at the door, which swings open, and turns in his seat to watch as everyone begins to gather their belongings.

* * *
Donna collects the Doctor's coat from the rear seat and drapes it over her arm as she follows the others up the aisle. He takes it from her with a smile as she reaches him and shrugs into it before they follow everyone else off the bus.

“Standard procedure,” the UNIT soldier is saying as he steps onto the road. “We need to screen you and then you'll all be taken for debriefing.”

As the Doctor pulls out his psychic paper, Donna does the same, so when he tells the soldier, “I don't count” she adds a “Me neither” and follows him through the lines of soldiers.

“No, but Doctor...” she hears Christina say, and Donna glances over her shoulder to see one of the UNIT men grab the other woman's arm.

“With me ma'am,” he orders.

Donna catches up to him as the Doctor stops in front of a woman in a red beret whose features are suddenly all too familiar to the redhead.

“Captain Erisa Magambo,” she murmurs to herself, suddenly reminded of a circle of mirrors, and she can't help glancing over her shoulder to make sure there's nothing on her back.

“Doctor!” Donna hears, and she looks back to see perhaps the geekiest man she's ever clapped eyes on rushing towards the Doctor.

“You must be Malcolm,” the Doctor says with a big smile.

“Oh,” that man exclaims, clearly almost speechless with delight as he grabs the Doctor around the chest in a huge hug. “Oh, I love you!”

Donna sees Captain Magambo fight the grin that is appearing on her face, and she looks up to see the Doctor smiling rather foolishly. Donna can't help laughing. She's going to tease him for days about this!

“I love you!” the bespectacled man repeats, saying again, as he pulls away, “I love you.”

“To your station, Dr Taylor,” the captain says quietly.

And Malcolm shakes his head slightly, taking several steps away, muttering a polite agreement, before turning back to point to the Doctor.

“I love you!” he repeats, and Donna sees his eyes light up like candles as the Doctor silently points back at him.

She can't help grinning again. Forget days – this is weeks' worth!

The scientist finally backs away and the UNIT captain steps forward.

“Doctor,” she begins, and then stiffens, her right hand coming to her temple, “I salute you whether you like it or not.”

The Doctor cringes away as if he's been slapped and Donna chuckles silently to herself.

And then the captain is all business. “Now, I take it we're safe from those things.”

“They'll start again,” he tells her with what Donna can hear is reluctance in his voice. “Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault, it's their natural lifecycle. But – I'll see if I can launch the wormholes onto uninhabited planets.”

He turns to look at where the other passengers of the bus are being scanned and checked by UNIT personnel.

“Closer to home, Captain, those two lads,” he nods at Nathan and Barclay, “very good in a crisis, weren't they, Donna?”

“Better than you know,” she tells him.

“Nathan needs a job,” the Doctor goes on, acknowledging her words with a nod. “Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay. UNIT's finest.”

And as he waggles his eyebrows at the captain, Donna suddenly wants to hug him. She knows, as does he, that a recommendation from the Doctor is a guarantee.

“I'll see what I can do,” she promises, before turning her back on the bus to look behind them. “And I've got something for you.”

The Doctor turns, too, and Donna, who is an instant late, hears the delight in his voice and knows what she will see when she looks.

“Better than a bus any day!” he exclaims, crossing the ground in several large strides to where the TARDIS has just been removed from the back of a lorry. “Hello!”

“Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace,” the captain goes on as the Doctor affectionately strokes the sign above the door.

“Oh, she doesn't mind,” the Doctor replies.

“D'you mean the Queen or the TARDIS?” Donna can't help asking, exchanging grins with the UNIT captain.

“Now,” Erisa says briskly, “I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork.”

Donna is about to offer when she sees the look on the Doctor's face and stays silent.

“Not a chance,” comes the reply.

The woman offers her hand. “Until we meet again, Doctor.”

“I hope so,” he says, shaking it warmly.

“You made a friend,” Donna remarks as the captain moves away.

“I think I made two,” he says, pointing to where Malcolm is peering around the door at him.

“Oh, no, mate, he's a member of your fan club,” she teases, poking him in the ribs. “You know I'm going to give you merry hell about this. And you did promise I could drive, remember?”

“Yeah, I was hoping you'd forgotten about that,” he says uneasily, sliding a finger into his collar. “Tell you what, better let the old girl get used to it again first, eh? She's never quite the same after something like this.”

She gives him a nudge, rolling her eyes. “You know I can tell when you're lying!”

And then, out of the corner of her eye, as he gives a sheepish smile, Donna sees as Christina breaks away from the UNIT soldier scanning her.

“I'll be right back,” Donna says briskly and moves away as Christina approaches.

Looking around, Donna spots the red-bereted woman and hurries over to her.

“Captain!” She runs up to Erisa as that person is about to get into the UNIT truck. “Can I speak to you?”

“Miss Noble.” Erisa stops at once and turns back, a pleasant smile on her face. “How can I help you?”

“Today,” Donna speaks slowly, awkwardly, knowing this will sound strange, “on the bus, when you were talking to the Doctor on the phone – you knew me. And I have a feeling I know you.”

“Of course I know you.” Captain Magambo smiles and begins to count points off on her fingers. “Donna Noble, born and bred in Chiswick, lives with her mother and grandfather. First met the Doctor when her wedding was interrupted by pilot fish dressed as Santas. Chose to travel with him after saving a million people from being turned into Adipose. Helped to save this planet from the Sontarans and the Daleks among others. Saved the Doctor's life on more than one occasion, too.”

“What?” Donna stares, open-mouthed. “How d'you know all that?”

“Simple, Miss Noble.” The Captain winks as she gets into the truck. “I read your file.”

Donna stares after her for a moment before laughing and turning back to where the Doctor is standing beside the TARDIS.

* * *
“The little blue box, just like you said,” Christina's voice declares as the Doctor watches Donna leave, and he suddenly understands why she went, although he wishes she hadn’t.

“Right then, off we go!” Christina urges. “Come on, Doctor, show me the stars.”

He looks at her levelly, knowing that all of their conversations about being the perfect partnership have led to this moment, and knowing, too, what his response will – must – be.

“No.”

The delight fades from her eyes. “What?”

“I said no.”

She looks at him in disbelief. “But I saved your life,” she protests. “And you saved mine.”

“So?” he demands. “Do you know how many times Donna and I have saved each other? That's not how it works.”

Christina looks around and he can see fear in her eyes. Somehow that leaves him with a feeling of satisfaction.

“We're surrounded by police, I'll go to prison!” she exclaims.

He nods, aware that she's not feeling guilty, just sorry for being caught. “Yeah,” he agrees, watching out of the corner of his eye as Donna slowly approaches. He wonders if she knows what they're talking about.

“But you were right,” Christina says, and he can hear the desperation in her voice. “It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you – I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this! We're made for each other – you said so yourself! The perfect team!”

And now he knows the real reason why every instinct forbids him from inviting her along.

It's not because of Donna. He knows she would unhesitatingly throw open the doors to anyone who wanted to travel with them. He's already seen it in the way she persuaded him to invite Jenny along, and when she asked if Martha was going to go with them. That generosity is one of the things he loves about her.

It's because of himself, and because of the type of person Christina is. She's almost a mirror image of him. She throws herself at situations in the same reckless way he does, with the identical lack of thought for her own personal safety.

And he remembers one of the things Donna said to him so very long ago.

You need someone to stop you.

That someone is certainly not Lady Christina de Souza.

And perhaps she sees the answer on his face.

“Why not?”

He sighs a little. “I couldn't keep you safe,” he says stiffly. “I won't take that risk.”

Anything else he or she might have said is lost when a man in a camel-coloured coat with a smirk on his face comes up, trailed by two police officers, who immediately slap handcuffs on the woman opposite him.

“Lady Christina de Souza. Oh, I have waited a long time to say this! I am arresting you on suspicion of theft.”

The Doctor stares at the ground, knowing that Christina is watching him, waiting for a response that he's not about to give. Hard as this is, it would be worse if he interfered, and impossible to have her with him – with them – on the TARDIS.

As she's led away, Donna comes over and wordlessly takes his hand, showing her sympathy and understanding in the way she squeezes his fingers. He's about to say something to her about what just happened when he sees Carmen and Lou passing on the other side of a barrier. Carmen stops to speak to him.

“Doctor,” she says firmly, “you take care now.”

He musters a grin. “You, too. Chops and gravy, lovely!”

“No,” she says, and he feels the smile falter. “But you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir.”

He can see the look of fear on Donna's face that he suspects is reflected on his own.

“What do you mean?”

“It is returning,” she tells him. “It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor – oh, but then...”

She pauses for a moment, and that silence is worse than words.

“He will knock four times,” she finishes.

He stares at her, with nothing to say, watching as she turns and follows Lou and the UNIT officer away.

“Your song is ending,” Donna echoes softly, her voice shaking. “Just like the Ood said.”

Suddenly he slides his arm out of her hold and fishes in his coat pocket, pulling out the sonic screwdriver and turning to where Christina is being put into the car. With a judicious shot, he sees the cuffs loosen and then drops his arm, putting the sonic away.

He can't help the small thrill of satisfaction as he watches her scramble out of the car through the door on the other side.

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