“Toast?”


“Yup!”

“And I suppose you'll be wanting some jam too, right?”

“Yes, please!”

Donna grabbed a jar out of the fridge and placed it in front of him, leaning against the table for a moment. “There you go. Now sit down, or you'll spill all over yourself.”

“Will not,” he pouted, and Donna mumbled something under her breath. “Oi, shut up!”

“Watch it, little Mister,” Donna warned. “You're not too old for me to spank you, you know.”

“You wouldn't!” he cried, his mouth open in shock. Donna just shook her head and giggled.

A moment later a third person entered the room, ruffling through his messy brown hair. “Morning,” the new arrival said grumpily, and pulled at his pinstriped pajamas sleepily.

Donna smiled and gestured toward the counter. “Morning, love. You want breakfast?”

The little boy nodded in response and looked up at his father, who had frozen mid-squabble. He grinned and shuffled up by a tall chair, climbing onto the seat and waiting expectantly for Donna to put a plate in front of him. After several minutes she slowly walked over and kissed him on the top of his head. “All right, Ian, your father's going to make a mess like usual, so you've got to be the big boy today and be good for Mummy, all right?”

“Will not,” the Doctor muttered, and stuffed a bit of toast into her mouth before she could say anything in reply. She smiled then gasped sharply and he started to stand up. “You all right?” he asked, and she nodded. “You sure? If you need to sit down....”

Ian was already munching on his own toast, carefully picking up a crumb that had fallen onto the table. He looked up at his mother and frowned. “Mummy, are you okay?”

“I'm fine, you silly spacemen,” she said, letting out a deep breath. “But it looks like I've forgotten to get somebody his juice. Doctor, do you want some coffee?” The Doctor slowly nodded and watched as she headed back across the room. When she returned a few minutes later she was holding three cups, the two mugs in each of her hands and a child's cup with stars and planets painted on it balanced in the few fingers she could spare. He saw her lips curl into a slight frown and immediately reached up, grabbing the small cup and one of the mugs. Donna shook her head and grabbed the mug out of his grasp. “Sorry, that's mine,” she said quickly. “Decaf.”

He nodded and Donna eased herself down between the two scruffy-haired Time Lords. The frown faded from her face after a bit and she yanked a piece of toast from his plate, examined it for a moment, then seemed to decide she wasn't hungry and handed it back to him. “You sure you're still feeling all right? Do you need anything? Want me to call-”

“Oi, settle down,” Donna ordered with a smile. “I'm fine right now, so stop worrying.”

“So what do you want to do today?” the Doctor asked, turning his attention to the little boy at the other end of the small table. Ian grinned and pointed toward Donna, as if it was obvious. “Well, actually, I thought you might want to see your great granddad. And I know Sylvia's been wanting to see you for ages. You and Great-Granddad Wilf can sleep outside and watch the stars. I know how much you like it.” His son shook his head again and the Doctor looked to Donna for support, but she simply shrugged. “All right, we'll talk about it after breakfast. Maybe....hey, wait a minute, how come he got a banana? That's rubbish!”

“Honestly, sometimes I can't tell which of you is the child and which is the father,” Donna said with a giggle. “There were only two left last night, and that one's cuter so he got it.” She pointed at their son, who was looking rather pleased with himself. “Oh, stop that. I know if I don't give you something decent to eat in the morning you're as irritating as your father.” Ian pouted and she smiled, then turned back to the Doctor. “I ate the other one before I headed to bed because I was feeling a bit off. You all right with that?”

“Course I am,” the Doctor said after a moment. “Besides, you deserve it after the week you've been having. I'll go out in a couple days and get some more, okay?”

Donna nodded, smiling appreciatively. “That'd be great,” she said with a sigh. “And don't you forget, little Mister over there likes to eat them with peanut butter, so you best get some. I won't have you feeding him all sorts of chocolate while I'm gone. I won't have the energy to keep up with him. As a matter of fact,” she added, sticking her finger out, “that goes for both of you.” Both of them frowned and Donna shot them a stern glare, then winked. “I'll go mad around you yet, I will. Maybe the two of us should pack up and leave you to your own devices. Then again, what would I do without you two driving me bonkers?” She reached to kiss the Doctor on the cheek, shifting awkwardly in the small chair and letting out a quiet groan. “You're not all that bad, I suppose,” she said gently. “I guess I'll keep you around.”

“Mummy, is it time to go yet?” the little boy suddenly asked, and Donna shook her head. “But Mummy.....” He huffed and shot her his best impression of the Doctor's puppy dog eyes, which worked even better for him considering that it was Donna's own eyes looking back at her.

Donna managed a small smile and ruffled Ian's hair. “Mummy's waiting, sweetheart, so you just be my patient boy and eat your breakfast until it's time.”

They sipped their respective drinks in silence; rather, Donna and the Doctor sipped their coffee, while Ian sucked on the small opening in the top of his container full of orange juice. After a couple minutes he shoved the last of his toast in his mouth, smacking his lips and licking off his fingers. Donna shifted uncomfortably again but smiled as she watched Ian sweep the crumbs from his breakfast into his hands, depositing them back onto his plate. He turned to the Doctor and, seeing that there were some stray toast bits around his plate, scrambled off his chair and walked around to rid the rest of the table of the offending mess. When he was done he smiled proudly and plopped down onto the floor, watching his mother intently.

As if to answer him Donna abruptly stood, holding her cup out to the Doctor. “Okay, Mummy's ready to leave now,” she declared. “Kiss little brother or sister goodbye.” Ian hopped up excitedly and wrapped his arms around the curve of his mother's belly, snuggling his face into her sweater. “All right, all right, they get the idea,” she chided softly. “We love you too.” She gasped suddenly, holding his tiny hand to her waist. “I guess they say 'goodbye' back.”

Donna looked at the Doctor, who was grinning at her madly. “Oi, wipe that smirk off your face, Martian. Have you seen the size of me lately?” she asked, pointing down to her rather enormous baby bump and frowning slightly. “You thought I was a terror last time, you ain't seen nothing yet. It looks like little Mister is going to have a big brother or sister instead of a little brother or sister. And I swear,” she added, wincing again, “if you leave me for so much as three seconds I can guarantee you we won't have more children.”

The Doctor just laughed and nodded in agreement. “You'll be fine,” he said, squeezing Donna's hand. He looked down at their son and pointed toward the hall. “Ian, go get your coat, and I'll drop you off to stay with Wilf and Sylvia.” The little boy pouted and the Doctor shook his head. “Nope, you can't come with us. Sorry, buddy. Now shoo, or I really won't let you have any chocolate while Mummy's away. Go on,” he prodded, “I've got to call Aunt Martha.”

“Go on, love. Mummy's okay.” Donna blew out a deep breath as she bent down to kiss her son on the forehead. “If you get there early enough you can help Great-Granddad read his paper.”

Finally Ian scampered off and Donna stood back up and smiled, pressing one of the Doctor's hands to her shirt. She grunted softly as her stomach tightened under their fingers and looked up at the wall. “Unless that clock is very off it seems someone's in a bit of a hurry,” she said. “Call Martha and tell her we'll meet her in twenty minutes. Make that fifteen, actually,” she decided. “And tell her I'm sorry to wake her; it's her day off, the poor girl. I'll go get my things from the bedroom and meet you in the console room once I've rounded up Spaceman Junior.” The Doctor didn't move and she rolled her eyes. “Get a move on, Skinny. We may be in a time machine but I don't have all day, you know.” She started out of the room but turned around in the doorway. “Oh, and don't forget to put away his juice, or it'll go bad. Wouldn't want to come back home and have the smell of the TARDIS making us all sick.”

The Doctor nodded, watching as she waddled out of the room as gracefully as possible, and dug his mobile out of his pocket. “Good morning, Dr. Jones!” he said brightly. “No, everything's fine. You sound a bit groggy; Donna said you'd probably still be asleep. No? Good, she'll be glad to hear it, she felt awful for bothering you on your day off. She's the reason I'm calling, actually. She-” He sighed dramatically and pouted despite the fact that Martha couldn't see. “No, I've not gotten us stranded in 1969 or anything. How could you even think I would....oh, right. Everything's all right though, we just finished breakfast. Hold on a minute, have to put the juice in the fridge or Donna will have my head.” There was silence for a moment and then he spoke again. “Now where was I? Oh yes, that's right. The oddest thing happened while Donna and I were in bed early this morning. It seems she's gone into labor....”