Title: Keep Her With Me
Author: yeknodelttil
Series: Doctor Who
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance
Spoilers: Season Three (yuck!!)
Characters: Doctor (tenth), Rose, Jack
Disclaimer: Roses are red, Violets are blue, I don't own them, So pretty please don't sue!
Author's Note: This is to replace the worst season ever made – Season Three
I know 'Rose in season three' has been done before but I'm putting my own spin on the episodes.
Chapter One: Continuing JourneysA group of four unusual people walked towards the TARDIS late at night. Rose was almost falling asleep on the Doctor's shoulder as they walked. Jack followed them carrying a small bundle.
"I guess your mother isn't so bad." The Doctor began talking to Rose, scratching behind his ear. "Although I am worried about her influence on Tala…" He trailed off. "Rose, where is Tala?"
"She's right…" Rose looked down. "Not here." The two shared a panicked look.
"Don't be so dramatic." Jack told them suddenly. "I've got her." He held up the carrycot for them to see. "I grabbed her in the confusion." Jack smiled at Jackie actually hugging them. "Is your mum on something Rose?"
"What?" Rose stopped and looked at Jack.
"She didn't hit him for one." Rose snorted.
"Just because 'she' didn't hit me doesn't mean that she was on something."
"Whatever you say Doc." Jack winked causing Rose to laugh loudly. Theta mock glared at the pair of them.
"Anyway…" He opened the door and began to walk in. Rose was too busy laughing to notice that her husband had stopped, Jack didn't notice either and they all shunted forward up the ramp.
"What's wrong?" Rose asked unable to see over her husband's shoulder.
"What?" He husband yelped. She caught something white turn suddenly.
"Who are you?" She jumped at the female voice.
"But—" The Doctor looked round the room.
"Where am I?" The voice interrupted.
"What?!" The Doctor couldn't think of anything to say. He moved slightly to let Rose see what he was staring at.
"What the hell is this place?" Rose nearly fainted when she saw what her husband was looking at. Jack's mouth just dropped.
"What??" The trio sounded together.
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"How did she get in…" Rose began only to be cut off by one of her husband's rambles.
"You can't do that, I wasn't...The TARDIS was powered down, the door was locked! Nothing can get in!"
"Not even the hordes of Genghis Kahn." Rose muttered under her breath. Jack handed her the carrycot and turned to check the door. He swung it back and forth on its hinges, checked for marks to signify it had been kicked and checked the lock was okay.
"It's fine." The Doctor looked at him as if he was expecting some form of answer that would help him explain this woman's appearance.
"That is-- that is physically impossible! How did--?"
"Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now - where am I?" Rose could see the woman was using fear to fuel her anger, she had used it many a time herself.
"You're inside the TARDIS." Rose told the woman gently, pushing past her husband, to stand beside the woman.
"The what?" The woman was suffering from culture shock.
"The TARDIS." Rose tried again.
"The what?" Those words were really beginning to grate.
"The TARDIS!" Theta yelled.
"The what?"
"Do you know any other words?" Jack cut in. The woman whipped her head round to face him. "It's called the TARDIS." Jack meekly inputted.
"That's not even a proper word. You're just saying things." At that moment Rose noticed that Tala had woken up from all the yelling. Rose decided she needed to act quickly before a tantrum came their way.
"I'm going to change Tala."
"Okay, please be quick." She smiled slightly at her husband's plea, before rushing out of the room towards their daughter's nursery.
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A loud stream of curses filled the room as a console sparked and fried. Rose had never seen the Doctor move from under the consol as fast as he did then, she brought Tala and placed her in the playpen. After nearly losing her husband she wanted Tala to be near them.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she walked behind him, pressing a gentle kiss to his hair in an effort to calm him down.
"Trying to figure a way to get rid of her!" He stood up and glared at his wife. "I don't like walking into our TARDIS and finding a woman standing in the control room!" She smiled he was doing that more and more now, saying 'our' TARDIS rather than 'the' or 'my' TARDIS.
"He's going to be like this all day isn't he?" Jack asked her. "Cranky."
"Yeah." Rose sighed the sigh of the suffering. "Was I this bad when I was pregnant?"
"That is a matter of opinion." The Doctor and Jack said at the same time.
"Has she, you know, transmatted or transported herself inside?" The Doctor ran his hands through his hair.
"I don't know; it's the only thing that seems to make sense." He ran round Donna. "This-- this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be..." He grabbed an ophthalmoscope and uses it to look into Donna's eyes. Rose knew to switch off immediately when he turned to techno babble mode. Rose laughed as she recognised the look on the woman's face, a look he was all too familiar with…SLAP!!
"What was that for?!" He looked at Rose hiding her laugh behind her hand. Jack was less successful; Rose elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.
"Get me to the church!" Theta's face had become absolutely livid.
"Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?" He stood by the controls. "I have better things to do with my wife, and 'brother'-in-law."
"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System." Donna suddenly spotted Tala's baby blanket over one of the railings. "I knew it. Acting all innocent." She showed him the blanket. "I'm not the first, am I? How many others have you abducted? Women? Children?"
"That's my daughter's. "
"Where is she, then? Popped out for a walk?" The Doctor's head gestured in the direction of Tala.
"She's in her playpen, hopefully sleeping, although with this racket I doubt she's doing very much of that." The Bride looked confused. Theta walked towards the doors, snatching Tala's blanket way from her and laying it over his daughter. "Right! Chiswick."
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"Something's wrong with the TARDIS." He muttered as he stepped out into London. Rose simply sighed as she watched him.
"I'm going to stay in here." She called to him softly. "I just don't want to leave Tala on her own." The Doctor nodded.
"I said 'Saint Mary's'. What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?" The Doctor looked at the woman, where had 'Martian' come from? He ignored her and felt the TARDIS' discomfort in his mind stronger than before.
"It's like she's...recalibrating!" He ran into the TARDIS, startling Rose who was also drifting off with her daughter. "She's digesting."
"Digesting what?" Rose asked as she stifled a yawn.
"What have you eaten? What's wrong?" The Doctor cooed at the TARDIS, Rose recognised the voice as the same one he used when speaking to their daughter. The sound made her hearts warm. She connected with the TARDIS fully and felt the unease. Rose stood and laid a comforting hand on the TARDIS, the ship hummed at the contact. "Donna? You've really gotta think. Is there anything that might've caused this? Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off in case you're dangerous. I mean, have you... have you seen lights in the sky? Or... did you touch something? Something-- something different? Something strange? Something made out of a sort of metal or... who're you getting married to?" Jack watched them all in amazement. "Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?"
"Doc, I think she's gone." It took a moment for the words to sink in before he ran out after her, Jack hot on his heels. Rose sighed and picked up her daughter.
"Sorry love," She grinned when she realised what she'd said. Her mum was right she was beginning to sound more and more like him. "Daddy's got us into a mess again. We have to go and fix it for him."
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"Donna!" Jack yelled as loud as he could. "Donna." He called as they finally managed to reach her.
"Leave me alone. I just want to get married."
"I know what it's like Donna, I'm married and it took us a lot to get there. Come back to the TARDIS." The Doctor pleaded.
"No way. That box is too...weird."
"It's...bigger on the inside, that's all." Jack knew the Doctor wasn't convincing Donna that the TARDIS was all that safe.
"Oh! That's all? Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it." Theta looked at Jack hoping he'd be able to help.
"You can phone them. Tell them where you are." The Doctor shook his head at Jack's comment.
"How do I do that?"
"Haven't you got a mobile?" Donna stopped and stared at Jack.
"Jack, she's in her wedding dress, do you really think she'll have pockets?"
"But Rose…"
"Rose has a mobile yes, but she didn't have pocket for it in her dress. I had it remember?" Jack thought about it.
"Well the design hasn't been thought out properly."
"It's not really that romantic if you have a mobile that could go off at any time in your pocket."
"No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you all!" Donna yelled as she interrupted their argument.
"We're—we're not... we're not... we're not from Mars." They said together as they chased after her further.
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Rose stepped out of the TARDIS and walked around it with Tala in her arms trying to spot the Doctor, Rose wasn't one that liked to be cooped up on her own. She stiffened as she heard the all too familiar doors slam, and the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. As it disappeared she shook her head.
It took her a moment to gently move Tala without dropping her, so she could reach into her pocket and pull out her phone. She dialled the Doctor's number – no answer, no surprise as she had an idea that he had no idea where his was as usual. She sighed and dialled the TARDIS.
First ring, second ring, third ring…
"Hello…would I really ring you if I was on the TARDIS?…You left me behind you-" She looked at Tala, and decided that it wasn't appropriate for her daughter to hear what she as going to say, "are you going to come and get me?…I'll be waiting." He tucked her phone into her pocket.
"Rose…" A sheepish voice came into her head.
"Yeah?" There was a pause.
"Can you meet us on top of the office block?"
"Why can't you come down here?" No answer came. "What did you do?"
"I'll tell you when you get here." Rose sighed and made her way towards the office block in question, prepared for whatever her husband was going to tell her.
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"What did you do to her?" Rose asked Jack the moment she saw the smoke billowing from the ship, she felt the waves of pain coming from the TARDIS. She mentally sent a wave of soothing words towards the ship, which seemed to respond positively to her.
"Me? I didn't do anything, it was him!" Rose handed Tala to Jack and advance on Theta.
"Why is there smoke coming from the TARDIS?" With every word she poked him in the chest.
"It was an accident!"
"Another thing, how could you not realise that your wife wasn't in the TARDIS?!" He began to scratch his ear.
"Well…" She just leaned up and kissed him, ruffling his hair as she did so.
"You can be an idiot sometimes, but I love you." He grinned at her.
"Love you too." He smirked slightly, "Anyway…You all right?" He asked Donna.
"Doesn't matter." Rose took over and sat next to the ginger haired woman.
"Did we miss it?" She asked tenderly.
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry." Rose told her softly. "You could always book another date." Donna nodded.
"Course we can."
"Still got the honeymoon..."
"It's just a holiday now."
"I'm sorry, we didn't mean…" Donna smiled at her.
"It's not your fault."
"Oh! That's a change." Came a disembodied voice.
"Ignore him he gets a bit cranky when his ship gets damaged."
"I'll tell her you said that." Theta yelled back.
"Be my guest." Rose snorted at the mumble that followed.
"Wish we had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right." Rose smiled slightly. She turned to look at her husband.
"Yeah, yeah. But...even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently." He told Donna. Rose started to shiver slightly; it was Christmas Eve after all. The Doctor walked up behind her and wrapped his coat around her shoulders. "I don't want you to get sick." He whispered in her ear. Rose reached up and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "You'd better put this on." He held something out for Donna to take.
"Do you have to rub it in?"
"Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden." Donna glared at him; Rose found she was really starting to like this woman.
"With this ring, I thee bio-damp." Jack snorted at the corny line, watching the trio with amusement, all the while still holding Tala.
"For better or for worse." Donna finished, clearly beginning to enjoy herself. The Doctor sat down on the other side of Donna. He leaned behind her and held Rose's hand. "So, come on then. Robot Santas - what are they for?"
"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. We met them last Christmas." Rose suddenly had a cheeky grin on her face. Theta winked which made matters worse, causing her to blush.
"Why, what happened then?"
"Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?"
"Was there?" A voice came from behind them, the trio turned to face Jack. "I miss all the best bits."
"I had a bit of a hangover." For the first timed the Doctor looked around at the scenery.
"I spent Christmas over there." He smiled slightly. "With my wife…well she wasn't my wife then…with her/our family." He looked at Rose and saw the affection in her eyes. "That was before we had our daughter, the Powell Estate." He suddenly snapped out of his reverie. "That was domestic. Was I being domestic?" He asked his wife panicking.
"You officially became domestic when you married me. But you were domestic long before then."
"Some help you are. Right, change of subject. Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know." Rose handed him the screwdriver as he delved into his pocket searching for it before remembering that Rose had his jacket. "What's your job?"
"I'm a secretary."
"It's weird, I mean - you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..."
"Do you slap him often?" Donna asked Rose.
"Only when he really deserves it. My mum does all the time though." Donna became distracted by his sonic screwdriver and slapped it to one side.
"Stop bleeping me!"
"What kind of secretary?"
"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping." Donna seemed to drift away. The Doctor rolled his eyes. "And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance - he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny." Rose smiled.
"I know the feeling, I mean a 900 year old Time Lord doesn't need to bother with me either."
"You needed rescuing!" He protested.
"But you didn't need to keep me around."
"That's a thought…" He joked; Rose hit him on the arm slightly. "What does HC Clements do?"
"Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards - that sort of thing."
"So basically they're locksmiths." Rose interrupted. Donna grinned at Rose indicating she was thinking he same thing.
"Keys..."
"Jack, a warning, he's off again." Rose yelled over her shoulder.
"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy."
"My wife makes me do enough of that." Donna and Rose dissolved into laughter. "Yeah. I'm not from Mars." The pair went again. Theta leaned over the pair and helped them up.
"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken."
"It can't be as bad as our daughter's baptism." Donna looked at her curiously. "My friends tried to steal my husband away from me."
"That's Nerys that it."
"Well the worst was Madame de Pompadour…." Theta grabbed his wife's elbow and led her towards Jack and Tala.
"Rose, don't you think we should let Donna take the information in?" He shook his head at her.
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The group burst through the door, Rose couldn't believe how the people were reacting to Donna's disappearance. They were partying. She couldn't help the words from tumbling out.
"You had the reception without her?" The crowd turned round towards the direction of the voice and came face to face with an angry Donna.
"Donna... what happened to ya?"
"You had the reception without me?!" Donna took over where Rose had left off.
"Hello! I'm the Doctor…and this is my wife Rose." Jack walked towards the crowd seeing if he could diffuse the situation.
"I'm Captain Jack Harkness…" He tried with all the charm he could muster.
"They had the reception without me."
"Yes, I gathered." The Doctor grinned and drew his wife closer to him.
"Well, it was all paid for - why not?"
"Thank you, Nerys." Rose had a flash of Madame de Pompadour.
"Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end - "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know—" At that moment Donna burst into tears, as Lance moved to hold her she winked at the group. The Doctor smirked, Jack coughed to hide his snigger and Rose moved to play with their daughter to hide her amusement.
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"Can I have your phone?" Jack asked Rose. Rose looked at him confused.
"What happened to yours?" She asked, leaning against the bar. All Jack did was point to a very innocent, yet familiar person. "Should've known."
"He thought it was a spare part of the TARDIS." Rose laughed as her husband grew beet red.
"He did the same to mine."
"It was an accident. "
"You said that last time."
"Well it's not my fault they look like multi-dimensional phase converter parts." Rose stepped back and whispered something to her daughter. As she put her daughter down he noticed something. "Where did you get that?"
"Get what?" He gestured to the object next to her. "Oh that. The TARDIS."
"But why have you got it?"
"I am not carrying our daughter around everywhere, especially places where I could drop her." His mouth opened and closed.
"But…"
"It's just a pram Theta. Not an alien life form." Theta couldn't draw his eyes away from the item in question; he had to admit it didn't look out of place. The pram's deep metallic blue seemed to appeal slightly.
"What about mud? It can't go through mud." She rolled her eyes at him.
"I asked the TARDIS to create one that could be used for everything, in the case of mud, the wheels will retract and the pram will hover over the ground, also there's a type of cloak that makes it invisible to everyone but you, me and Jack. Lastly the pram has a shield that protects Tala should we ever need it." He nodded. "Anymore questions."
"Do you want to dance?" Rose looked taken aback, that was the last thing she expected him to say.
"What did you say?" He shrugged.
"Do you want to dance?" A smile broke out on her face as his words sunk in. A reply wasn't needed as she dragged him towards the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped them around his neck. The pair began to sway to the music. "We haven't danced since…" He trailed off.
"Our wedding." Rose rested her head on his chest and sighed as she let the words wash over her.
"Cos it you and me and all of the people
With nothing to do, nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you."
"You know I absolutely hate this party." Rose snorted. "Hey! I just don't like the people, Donna's not too bad but…"
"It's something about how they are." Rose finished. "That and besides the cake didn't have any ball bearings."
"It didn't?!" He looked crushed.
"You didn't notice?" He shook his head. "I'll let you have some later." The music began to change to a livelier track. The pair were suddenly interrupted when Jack walked up to them.
"Guess who the sole proprietor of HC Clements is? TORCHWOOD." Theta looked round the room seemingly searching for someone.
"HAH!" Jack and Rose jumped a foot at the cry. Theta quickly walked towards a cameraman.
"Jack where's Tala?" Rose asked crossing her arms, looking scarily like her husband.
"Oh sorry."
"You go with him, I'll look after Tala." Jack nodded and ran after him.
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Rose watched the crowd in silence. Tala slept peacefully in her pram. A wave of panic flashed through her mind. She saw her husband run towards Donna.
"Donna! Donna, they've found you."
"But you said I was safe."
"The biodamper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out." She saw her husband move towards the door and stop a commotion in the room prevented her from hearing more. She looked towards the trees. She pressed a button on Tala's pram before running towards her husband.
"The Christmas trees... they used them last year to…" Rose began but was stopped by a wave of coughing.
"What about them?"
"They kill. Get away from the tree! Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!"
"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna... oh!" Everyone turned to watched the baubles dance in the air. The Doctor looked at Rose helplessly before diving towards the sound system.
"Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver...don't let him near the sound system." The sound system made a horrible whine, everyone dropped to the floor covering his or her ears, bar Rose and him. Rose looked confused as the Santas vibrated falling apart.
"Why weren't we affected?" Rose asked him.
"Time Lords have a wider pitch range, we can handle high sound much better than humans."
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The group arrived outside H.C. Clements, Theta looked around thoroughly hating the fact he as going into another office block.
"If…there's a TORCHWOOD team in this block we're going to sit in the TARDIS and wait for Jack to sort it out." Rose told him sternly.
"But…" Rose silenced him pressing a finger to his lips.
"I nearly lost you yesterday I'm not going to go through that again." The Doctor leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
"Who's TORCHWOOD?" Donna asked calmly. The Doctor moved towards a computer.
"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." The Doctor's voice cracked, Jack placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.
"Cyberman invasion." Jack tried, taking over. She looked at him as if he'd grown another head. "Skies over London full of Daleks?"
"Oh, I was in Spain."
"They had Cybermen in Spain." Jack told her.
"Scuba diving." She gave him a look that clearly said 'Let me finish'.
"That big picture, Donna - you keep on missing it. Torchwood was destroyed, but H C Clements stayed in business." He hit the monitor – hard. "I think...someone else came in and took over the operation." The Doctor hit the computer monitor again.
"I'm glad you're more gentle with the TARDIS." Jack muttered, shocked at the Doctor's hostility.
"But what do they want with me?" Donna asked suddenly.
"Somehow you've been dosed with huon energy. And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS. See? That's what happened. Say...that's the TARDIS." He grabbed a cup. "And that's you." Theta picked up a pencil. "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and WHAP." He threw the pencil into the mug. "You were pulled inside the TARDIS."
"I'm a pencil inside a mug?"
"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." Donna looked like she was about to say something.
"Don't mind him he likes to insult species when he's cranky." The Doctor ignored her to address the forgotten member of their party.
"Lance? What was H C Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"
"I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager." The Doctor clearly had had enough of being 'gentle' with the computer. "Why am I even explaining myself?? What the hell are we talking about?"
"They make keys, that's the point. And look at this... we're on the third floor." Rose and Jack sighed as the Doctor ran off towards the hallway and into the lift. "Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" They barley stopped beside him before he darted into the lift. "Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked 'lower basement'? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So what's down there, then?"
"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Rose looked at the man suspiciously there was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on.
"No, I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor."
"It needs a key."
"I don't." He pointed his sonic screwdriver towards the lock.
"When can I have one of those?" Rose asked him sweetly, leaning slightly on Tala's pram.
"I'll ask the TARDIS for one later."
"Right then, thanks you two, we can handle this - see you later." Jack and Rose squeezed between Lance and Donna to get into the lift.
"No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight." Donna stood next to him
"Going down."
"Lance?"
"Maybe I should go to the police."
"Inside."
"To honour and obey?" Theta whispered to Lance.
"Tell me about it, mate."
"OI!" Donna protested.
"OW!" Theta yelped as Rose 'accidentally' elbowed him in the ribs.
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"Oh, look at this! Stunning! Particle extrusion!" The Doctor ran around the room, completely hyperactive.
"What's it do?" Rose asked.
"Particle extrusion. Hold on... Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. In case my people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure. But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result - Huon particles in liquid form."
"Only you could get this excited about science." Rose told him. He smiled at her and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly.
"And that's what's inside me?" Donna asked. The Doctor gently turned the knob at the top of the test tube, making the contents glow gold - and Donna with it.
"Because the particles are inert - they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... HA!" Everyone in the room jumped out of their skin. "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reached boiling point, SHAZAM!" Donna slapped him again.
"What did I do this time?!"
"Are you enjoying this?" He looked ashamed of himself. "Right, just tell me - these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"
"Yes!" Rose told her. "She'll be all right won't she Doctor?" He nodded.
"Doctor... if your lot got rid of Huon particles... why did they do that?"
"Because they were deadly. I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I'm not about to lose someone else." A loud clamour sounded around them.
"Oh, she is long since lost." A disembodied voice echoed around the room. Theta pulled Rose and Tala back as the wall next to them slid upwards. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!"
"Someone's been digging...oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?"
"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!"
"Really? Seriously? What for?"
"Dinosaurs." At this point Jack turned off. He looked around the room, realising that someone was missing. He tried to make it look casual as if he was studying the robots lined up and taking aim. He looked through the pipes he couldn't see anything. Rose glanced back and noticed what Jack was doing.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for Lance. Did you see where he went?" Rose did the same as Jack peering round, above and under objects.
"God, she's thick." The person in question spoke drawing their attention back to the conversation. "Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."
"I don't understand."
"How did you meet him?"
"In the office."
"He made you coffee." The Doctor whispered to her.
"What?"
"Every day, I made you coffee."
"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months."
"He was poisoning me?"
"It was all there in the job titled - the Head of Human Resources."
"This time, it's personnel."
"But... we were getting married." Rose's heart began to break for the woman.
"Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap, yap, yap – 'oh, Brad and Angelina - is Posh pregnant?' X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never-ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia. I deserve a medal." Rose stepped towards Donna but Jack held her back.
"Who is this little physician?" The Empress asked Lance.
"What she said - Martian."
"Oh, I'm sort of...homeless. But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"
"Kill this chattering little doctor-man!" The Doctor and Donna chatted but Rose couldn't hear them over the Empress. "At arms!"
"Ah, now. Except."
"Take aim!"
"Well, I just want to point out the obvious…" He pulled Jack and Rose to him.
"They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots."
"Just-- just-- just-- hold on, just a tick, just a tiny-- just a little-- tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it...the spaceship comes to her." The Doctor touched the tube.
"Fire!" The TARDIS materialised around them.
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"Donna you know we said this wasn't a time machine, we lied." Jack told the bride.
"We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna - we're going further back than we've ever been before." The Doctor noticed Donna's shoulder's shaking. Rose walked up to her.
"Donna do you want to get cleaned up?" Donna nodded and Rose led her off. As they reached the bathroom Rose led her in. "It's not that bad." She soothed.
"How would you know?"
"I was engaged once, it's going back a few years. Anyway I dropped out of school and I convinced myself he was the one, that he was worth it." Rose stopped. "Then it all came to an end, I was left in debt and heartbroken. I never thought there would be anyone else. Until I met the Doctor."
"What happened to him? Did he fly off in his spaceship?" Rose laughed.
"I'm from Earth."
"But you travel with him in this machine…"
"It's his machine, it's from his home, he's Time Lord. A while back I was slowly turned into a Time Lady. It's a very long story."
"This is too confusing." Rose reached over and hugged Donna. "How do you deal with him?" Donna nodded in the direction she thought the control room was.
"You mean besides sticking my fingers in my ears and humming loudly?" Donna laughed. "Seriously. I don't know it's just him, without the babbling and his childlike ways I don't think it'd be right." A flash of brown skidded past the bathroom door. Rose looked towards the door expectedly.
"It's a ship at the centre of the Earth." The figure then vanished back the way it came, Rose turned back to Donna. The head popped back around the door. "Are you coming?" Rose sighed and stood back up.
"See what I mean." As they walked back towards the TARDIS consol room, they were suddenly thrown across the hall. "What's happening?" Rose asked.
"They're pulling us back." Jack told her.
"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"
"Backseat driver. Oh! Wait a minute!"
"The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!"
"A 'bump' isn't the word!" Rose cried as she was knocked off her feet.
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"I'll investigate." Jack told them, before exiting the TARDIS with Donna. He mouthed to the Doctor 'talk to her'. As the doors closed Theta pulled his wife into a hug.
"You know I think we should take a break after this adventure."
"Maybe dancing like you promised." Rose expected a comeback but none came.
"I think…dancing would be a nice change."
"What about Tala?"
"I think a babysitting exercise for your mother and Jack." He placed a gentle kiss in her hair. "We haven't had a night to ourselves in a while…not that I would trade Tala for anything but you're worn out."
"I think with everything that's happened recently I'd like to spend some time with my husband." His lips had just brushed hers when the door opened. Rose groaned as he pulled away. The Doctor asked as Jack entered the TARDIS.
"Where's Donna?"
"Donna?" Jack asked innocently.
"Yes Donna."
"Oh…well it like this…its actually very funny really…I lost her." Rose swore she could hear a pin drop as the calm rolled over her husband indicating the storm to follow.
"YOU LOST HER!"
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The group entered the TARDIS once again. Donna looked battered and bruised.
"You drained the Thames! You drained the Thames!" Jack couldn't hold himself together any longer as he walked into the TARDIS. The Doctor mumbled in Gallifreyan as he manipulated the controls.
"Is Donna going to be okay?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, all huon particles have gone, she'll be fine." He addressed Donna. "He we are then."
"Whatcha gonna do now?" Rose asked her carefully, pulling Tala into her arms.
"Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno...travel...see a bit more of planet Earth...walk in the dust. Just...go out there and do something."
"Well, you could always…"
"What?"
"Come with us."
"No, but everything we did today...do you live your life like that?"
"Not all the time."
"I think you do. And I couldn't."
"But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful." Donna didn't answer he looked away slightly.
"I've got things to do here before I do. Tell you what I will do though - Christmas dinner. Oh, come on."
"I can't, my mother-in-law…"
"I understand." Donna laughed as she realised that although the Doctor was a powerful man, he was scared of his mother-in-law. Donna turned and began to walk away. "Am I ever gonna see you again?"
"If I'm lucky."
"Bye Donna," Rose told her. "It was nice to have another woman on the TARDIS." Rose walked towards Donna and gave her a hug, as did the Doctor and Jack, she bent down and gently kissed Tala on the forehead.
"Thanks then, Donna - good luck - and just... be magnificent."
"I think I will, yeah." She opened the door stepping out, as she turned to close it she looked at them questioningly. "You never told me, your daughter, what's her name?"
"Her name is Tala." Donna closed the door. As she watched the TARDIS shot into the sky.
TBC