Much Ado About Who

Chapter 6: Rhondium Particles

"I used a fixed point supernova—one that was already dying—in order to power the projection I used to say goodbye to Rose," he explained, then gently his hand rested on her cheek again. "I'm telling you, Donna Noble, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you with me." There was another pause, then finally, he gave in to the words he had been wanting to say for quite some time. "I love you, Donna."

She gasped at his words. Hearing him say it was so much more than hearing the gossip of her two friends. "I—I love you, too, Doctor."

His own gasp followed at hearing her words. Together they smiled at each other for another long moment.

And then the cloister bell rang out through the ship as it began shaking. The Doctor growled as he hopped up and started to run for the door. "Grr, of all the timing! C'mon Donna, time to do some of that adventuring I promised you! Don't forget the sonic!"

-*-*-

Donna jumped up, thankful she still had on her clothes, and quickly pulled on her sneakers that still sat by the bed. She held his sonic screwdriver in her hand and grabbed his coat on her way to follow him. Only then did she realize he had stopped at the door, hand held out waiting for her to take it. The grin on his face made her shake her head. Always ready for trouble, her Spaceman, and rather excited to get into it.

"Together," he stated as he grasped her free hand.

When they came into the control room Geoff looked up from the console and smiled when he saw them holding hands. "Good then, you two have worked things out. That's good, because we're going to need all the brain power we can get on this."

"What's happened?" the Doctor questioned his brother.

"Well, I was tinkering when—," Geoff started.

"Geoffrey Horatio Smith, have you got us into trouble?" Donna barked out as she handed the Doctor his coat and he began putting it on.

"Oi! You are not my mother, no use of full names necessary! And no I did I not get us into trouble, thank you very much! As I put us into the vortex I noticed a strange reading from Earth. So I started tinkering to build a Rhondium Particle Detector." He held up the handheld device he had been working on the past few hours while the Doctor had roamed the ship and had his talk with Donna. "See, look at the little dish, it spins when we're close." He grinned, proud of his creation. Then frowned when he thought again about what had happened. "Anyway, I linked the detector into the TARDIS so that the Old Girl could help me do a planet-wide scan of Earth and she went berserk!"

"Well." the Doctor frowned as well. "Your timing couldn't have been worse. Thanks." He pulled the console screen closer and began reviewing his brother's scans. "Oh, you're right, that is strange. Alright then, back to Earth we go." He pushed the main lever on the console and the ship materialized down the street from the International Gallery.

As they started to walk down the ramp towards the door, Donna handed the sonic screwdriver to Geoff. "Here, Timeboy. You keep this. My pockets aren't big enough and I know you two have that Time Lord technology in yours."

"We could always do some tinkering with your clothes, Donna, if you'd like bigger-on-the-inside pockets as well." Geoff grinned.

"How about we don't do any more tinkering for now?" Donna said with a pat on his back as he slipped the screwdriver into his pocket.

The three of them stepped outside the TARDIS in the alleyway and looked around.

"Well, no immediate signs of trouble. I guess we'll just have a walk and see where your little detector-thingy takes us." Donna said as she stepped out of the alleyway onto the pavement to glance around. The Doctor and Geoff were just behind her and looked both ways.

The Doctor spoke first. "I say we go that way," he said, pointing in the general direction of the International Gallery.

"Why that way?" Donna asked. "You haven't got the detector thingy."

"No, but that way has a chocolate shop!" The Doctor grinned.

Donna rolled her eyes. Geoff joined his brother with a grin of his own. "Oh yes, that's definitely the way to go! See Donna, I'm certain those blinky lights mean the direction of the chocolate shop is the way to go!"

Donna sighed. "Right, so this is what it's going to be like running around with two of you. I'm outnumbered. Alright, to the chocolate shop we go."

-*-*-

Ten minutes later the Doctor and Geoff walked out of the shop, each with a half of a chocolate egg in their hands and boyish grins on their faces. Donna had stepped out a few minutes before and was waiting impatiently for them. "Alright, you two, let's get going. Your stomachs may have actually sent us in the right direction. Something is definitely going on at the gallery. Look at all those police cars. We should head that direction."

The Doctor looked at the Rhondium particle detector in Geoff's hand then up at Geoff, who shrugged and nodded. Donna sighed again as she looked at the two then set off in the direction of the gallery.

"Well we can't just walk in the front doors, it's after hours, let's go around and find a back alley," the Doctor nodded towards the side of the building, whispering to the two as they passed a few officers.

"Oh, look, the lights are blinking faster! I think we go this way!" Geoff pointed away from the building.

"But Geoff, the police are clearly surrounding the gallery," Donna argued.

"Donna, the detector doesn't lie! It says to go this way!" Geoff argued back.

"Donna, come on, let's follow him and see what he comes up with. We can always come back and check out the gallery," the Doctor argued in his brother's defense. The brother that was already started to walk away with the detector in front of him.

"Doctor, by then it may be too late! And that detector thing of his hasn't shown us a hint that it actually works! It could just be following the smell of the fumes from that bus!" Donna looked just in time to see Geoff stepping up onto the bus. "That bus that Geoff just got on! Geoff!" Donna yelled after him and they started to run towards it, just in time for it to drive off. Donna's jaw dropped as she watched it continue to move further away.

"Donna, come on! This way!" the Doctor shouted as he grabbed her hand and ran out into the middle of the street just in time to stop one of the police cars that had been around the gallery as it started to pull off in chase of the bus. He pulled out his psychic paper and waved it at the driver. "You're going after that bus, so are we! We need a lift!"

"UNIT? What is UNIT doing here? Alright, get in!" shouted Detective Inspector McMillan from the passenger seat.

The pursuit was on, McMillan was yelling into the handheld radio, with an operator and other policemen speaking back to him. They were now in the Gladwell Road Tunnel following after the bus when all at once in a flash of light the bus disappeared. At the same time Donna gasped out in pain and collapsed onto the Doctor.

"Donna!" the Doctor yelled out.

"It's gone. Right in front of me. The bus has just gone!" McMillan called out over the radio. He then turned to the backseat passengers. "Sir, what has happened to your—partner?"

"She's—she's passed out! It's Geoff, he was on the bus and its disappeared and now she's fainted!" the Doctor gasped out as he turned Donna over, pillowing her head in his lap. "Donna, Donna, can you hear me?"

With no response he checked her pulse and breathing and found that both were stable. He started to place his hands at her temples, then stopped quickly with a growl. "Grr, it's the same as scanning you. Argh, Donna, why did you have to make me promise? Why?" He ran his hand over her hair and a small whimper escaped him. "Donna, Donna, please. Please. Please come back to me."