The Runaway Bride- Evil Santas

Bold= Flashback


After running a little ways back to the Tardis, The Doctor and Rose looked back at the Santas playing the trumpets.

One of them lowered his trumpet ominously.

All three of them turned into held like weapons - the Doctor soniced the cash machine and caused notes to fly everywhere.

There was mad scramble and confusion as people ran around trying to catch the money and stuff it into their pockets.

"You just sent them into a frenzy. Look at that. I't's like they've never seen money before." said Rose in awe.

"Well, you humans are an... interesting lot. Now we need to go and find out what happened to Donna." said the Doctor.

" True. Very true." agreed Rose.

The Doctor and Rose ran back in the direction of the Tardis as Donna and the masked Santa drove along in the taxi.

~oOo~

"I promise you, mate - I'll give you the rest when we get there. Oh, I look like a mess." said Donna miserably. She took her veil off, trying to catch her breath.

"Hurry up!" Donna yelled, wanting to get to her wedding.

~oOo~

The Doctor and Rose reached the Tardis doors running at a sprint.

~oOo~

"Hold on a minute, I said 'Chiswick'. You've missed the turning. " said Donna, and when the driver didn't reply she spoke again. "S'cuse me? We should've turned off

back there. We're going the wrong way!"

~oOo~

The Doctor pummeled the Tardis into action with his usual equipment - namely his fists and a hammer. The rotor started to rise and fall.

"I think we made it back in time, the Tardis is working and we are on your way to save Donna. Oh yes!" said the Doctor.

"Oh yes!" said Rose, and the two busted out in uncontrollable laughter.

~oOo~

The taxi Donna was in joined the motorway and cut across the lanes, causing other drivers to beep their horns angrily.

"What the hell are you doing? I'm late for the wedding. My own wedding. Do you get that?" Donna shouted.

~oOo~

The Doctor traced the taxi's progress on his monitor.

"How far away are we from Donna?" asked Rose curiously.

"Nearly there now, only about a minute or two. I think we should be in time to save her." answered the Doctor.

"Just in time to save the day." said Rose, going to stand by the Doctor at the controls.

"As always." the Doctor replied, grinning and grabbing Rose's hand.

"What would it mean, me being part Time Lady or whatever?" Rose asked, wanting to get this off her chest.

"It would mean that you would be the last Time Lady in existence." said the Doctor.

"But what do you mean?" asked Rose, still confused. "I couldn't be full Time Lady could I? I'm human."

"D.N.A can be re-written, just as time can." the Doctor said.

"So you're telling me that I'm turning into one of you?" Rose asked.

"More or less, yes." said the Doctor.

"But why is this happening all of a sudden?" Rose said.

The Doctor hesitated for a second. "I think that it mean that the universe has singled you out to be well, in human terms, my wife."

"What is it in Time lord terms?" asked Rose, still unsure about all of this.

"Mate. Or My bonded." said the Doctor.

"But why would the universe choose me?"asked Rose, still processing.

The Doctor hesitated before answering. "Reasons." he said evasively.

~oOo~

"Turn around! Turn this cab around now! Are you deaf or what?" Donna yelled, panicking.

She lunged forward, pulling the Santa hood off the driver - his mask fell off, revealing the robot underneath. Donna sat back in her seat, shocked.

"Oh, my God." she said weakly.

She started pushing on the doors and windows, looking for a way out and trying to attract the attention of other drivers.

"Help me! Help me! Help me! Help me! Help me!" Donna yelled, hitting the window with her hand.

A man in a red van noticed her, and looked concerned, but he was powerless to help since they were driving on a motorway.

"Help me! Help me! Get me out! Help me! Help me! I'm being driven by a robot!" Donna was starting to freak out.

Sparks flew from the Tardis console and it tilted dangerously. Rose turned pale as a sheet.

"Behave! "The Doctor said, hitting the outside of the Tardis with a hammer.

The Tardis fell out of the sky just above Donna's taxi, spinning through the air.

Donna could clearly make out Rose's scream through the ruckus.

"Are you are kidding me?" Donna said, mesmerized.

Two children from the car in front of Donna stared through the back window of their car, amazed.

The Doctor attached string to the console so he could operate the controls from the door. He then stumbled over to the doors, string between teeth, and threw it

open. Meanwhile, Rose was on the outside, hanging on for dear life.

The Tardis was in line with the taxi, zooming along beside it on the motorway. Donna stared at him, hands pressed against the window.

"Open the door!" yelled the Doctor.

"Do you what?" asked Donna.

"Open the door!" yelled Rose, terrified that her new acquaintance was going to be, well, eaten by the ex-Santa driving her car.

"I can't, it's locked!" cried out Donna.

The Doctor soniced the door, which enabled Donna to push the window down.

"Santa's a robot." Donna said weakly to the Doctor, terrified.

"Donna, you have to open the door." said Rose, who was still hanging on to the outside of the Tardis.

"What for?" Donna said, hoping that they weren't going to make her jump.

"You've got to jump!" yelled the Doctor, while Rose nodded her head in agreement.

The robot Santa driver turned his head slightly at this.

"I'm not bleedin' flip jumping, I'm supposed to be getting married!" said Donna shrilly.

The robot put his foot down and the taxi overtook the TARDIS. The Doctor pulled on the string, causing random explosions from the console once more and the Tardis

banged the roof of the car of a distressed man before it pulled itself back in line with the taxi.

The children, who were still watching, muttered to each other excitedly. The Doctor and Rose both struggled to regain their balance, the Doctor then soniced the

robot that was driving Donna, disabling it.

"Listen to me - you've got to jump." said The Doctor, hoping Donna would come to her senses and jump.

"Donna listen to him. You have to jump!" said Rose, pleadingly.

"I'm not jumping on a motorway." said Donna more forcefully this time.

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on!" said the Doctor.

"I'm in my wedding dress!" yelled Donna.

"Yes! You look lovely! Come on!" said Rose, exasperated.

Breathing heavily with fear, Donna opened the door and positioned herself to jump. The Doctor held out his arms to catch her. The children were chanting 'jump! jump!' from inside their car.

"I can't do it." said Donna fearfully.

"Trust me." said the Doctor, calm as a summer breeze.

"Now, jump!" said Rose, knowing that they had Donna convinced now.

So Donna, with a scream, jumped and landed on top of the Doctor in a heap on the floor. The children cheered, the doors slammed closed and the Tardis zoomed back up into the sky.

~oOo~

Donna looked at her watch. It just turned half three. The Doctor landed them on the roof of some high-rise building and was now coughing and spluttering as he tried

to extinguish the smoke billowing from the Tardis doors.

"You gonna be okay Doctor?" asked Rose, joking but semi- seriously.

"I think so Rose." said the Doctor, smiling, and earning a giggle from Rose. "The funny thing is though, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd

better give her a couple of hours. Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah." replied Rose shortly.

"Doesn't matter." said Donna sadly, shrugging.

"Did we miss it?" asked Rose, feeling guilty and feeling bad for Donna.

"Yeah." mumbled Donna hollowly.

"Well, you can book another date..." suggested the Doctor.

"Course we can."said Donna, still sad.

"Still got the honeymoon..." said Rose, trying to lighten Donna's spirits.

"It's just a holiday now." said Donna.

"Yeah... yeah... sorry." said Rose, backtracking a little.

"It's not your fault." said Donna, offering Rose a half-smile.

"Wish we had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right." said Donna miserably.

"Yeah, yeah. But... even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently." said the Doctor.

Rose gave the a look and the two had a silent argument about whether or not to go back. Eventually, the Doctor win.

Donna gave the Doctor and Rose a suspicious glance before going to sit on the edge of the roof. The Doctor sat next to her, removing his jacket and draping it around her shoulders.

"God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat." said Donna.

"Tell me about it. " Rose chuckled and went to go sit on the other side of the Doctor.

"Oh and you'd better put this on." said the Doctor after smiling a bit. He produced what looked like a wedding ring from his pocket.

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" said Donna halfheartedly.

"'That's not what he meant by that Donna." said Rose, almost completely sure of it.

"Rose is right. Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden." said the Doctor.

He slipped it onto her finger. "With this ring, I thee bio-damp." he said.

"For better or for worse." said Rose. The Doctor smiled at her.

"So, come on then. Robot santas - what are they for?" asked Donna.

"I've been wanting to know that myself." said Rose.

"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. We met them last Christmas." said the Doctor.

"Why, what happened then?" asked Donna.

"Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?" asked the Doctor incredulously.

"It's really been a year then, hasn't it. It's been a brilliant year." said Rose, lost in thought.

"I had a bit of a hangover." said Donna dismissively, ignoring Rose.

The Doctor decided not to pursue this. He scanned the landscape.

"I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate. With Rose, she had this family. Well, they were..." said the Doctor, trailing off.

Rose took a deep breath. "Donna, my family got sucked through a portal to a different dimension named Pete's World. I'm never going to see them again."

"You never know. Things have a way of coming back to us, if not always in the way we expected." said the Doctor.

"Did you just quote Harry Potter?" asked Rose, grinning.

"I believe I did." said the Doctor, grabbing Rose's hand. He paused for a moment, lost in thought.

"Still... gone now." said Rose, wanting to get off the subject.

Donna felt pity for Rose, but she also knew that the Doctor cared for Rose a lot, and he would never let her go.

"Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the Tardis? I don't know." said the Doctor, pondering.

He contemplated her. Donna rolled her eyes.

"What's your job?" asked the Doctor, pulling his sonic screwdriver out of his jacket pocket

"I'm a secretary." said Donna proudly.

"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..." said the Doctor, puzzled.

"Doctor." Rose said, trying to alert him that what he just said wasn't very nice.

"What?" asked the Doctor defensively.

"Rose, have you ever punched him in the face?" asked Donna.

"Tempting sometimes, but I don't think that I have, so no."

Donna whacked the sonic screwdriver aside. "Stop bleeping me!" she said indignantly.

"What kind of secretary?" asked Rose.

"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping." said Donna.

~oOo~

Donna was sitting in a crowded, open-plan office space, gazing at her surroundings as though she was slightly overwhelmed.

"I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought - I'm never gonna fit in here." said Donna.

From across the office, Lance caught Donna's eye and gestured to the coffee pot, offering her some.

"And then he made me a coffee." continued Donna.

Donna gestured to herself and mimed "me?!" with disbelief.

"I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee." said Donna.

~oOo~

"And Lance - he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny." said Donna, lovingly.

Rose wondered if she had ever used that tone of voice while talking about the Doctor. She probably had. Oh Gallifrey.

Rose blushed, and the Doctor gave her a weird look.

~oOo~

Donna and Lance were laughing and joking at the bottom of a flight of stairs within the office block.

"She's not that bad!" said Lance, smiling.

"She is!" said Donna, and the two of them began to laugh hysterically.

~oOo~

"And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him - one cup of coffee. That was it." said Donna.

"When was this?" asked Rose.

"Six months ago." answered Donna.

"Bit quick, to get married..." commented the Doctor.

"Well... he insisted." shrugged Donna.

"Of course." said Rose, managing to keep a straight face.

This time it was the Doctor's turn to give Rose a warning look.

~oOo~

Donna and Lance were standing in a crowded bar. "Will you marry me?" Donna blurted out suddenly.

Lance's eyes widened in terror.

"And he nagged... and he nagged me..." said Donna, exasperatedly.

Donna was chasing Lance down several flights of stairs in the office block.

"Go on, just think about it! We'd make a great couple! And I'd get rid of the dog... and we could do up that back bedroom." stated Donna.

"And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in." said Donna in a ta-da sort of way.

Donna and Lance were walking down a street, her clinging to his hand. "Please? Oh, please? Please? Please, please, please, please, please." begged Donna.

"What does HC Clements do?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards - that sort of thing." said Donna, uninterested.

"Sounds interesting enough." said Rose.

"Oh it is, but it gets quite dull after a while. And If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths'." said Donna.

"Keys..." said the Doctor, musing.

"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." snickered Donna.

"Yeah. I'm not from Mars." said the Doctor.

"Alright. ten bucks for every time you have to tell her you're not from Mars." whispered Rose in the Doctor's ear.

"Your on." said the Doctor, and the two shook on it.

Donna looked back to see what the two of them were talking about, but decided she really didn't care. The Doctor stood and lended her a hand to help her up.

"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken." said Donna, ever the drama queen.

~oOo~

When the three of them walked in, it looked as though everyone had decided to go on with the reception without Donna.

'Merry Christmas Everybody' blared out at full volume from the speakers, and everyone was dancing, drinking, eating and laughing.

Donna looked around at the merriment, thunderstruck. She folded her arms. Sylvia spotted her first and froze.

The rest of the room soon followed suit until all was silent and all eyes were on Donna , Rose, and the Doctor.

"You had the reception without me?"asked Donna, disbelieving.

"Donna... what happened to ya?" asked Lance, concerned.

"You had the reception without me?" said Donna again, raising her voice a notch.

There was an awkward pause.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose." said the Doctor cheerfully.

"They had the reception without me." said Donna, turning to Rose.

"Yes, I gathered." said Rose.

"Well, it was all paid for - why not?" said Nerys.

"Thank you, Nerys." said Donna sarcastically.

"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-" said Sylvia, approaching Donna.

The whole room started talking at the same time until all Donna could hear was an incomprehensible babble of voices - so she bursted into tears, at which their anger

melted into pity.

Lance hugged her and she cried into his shoulder. Everyone applauded - and Donna winked at the Doctor through her fake tears. He smirked.

Rose cracked a grin as well.

~oOo~

The reception party continued as before, except now Donna joined in with the dancing. The Doctor and Rose leant against the bar, and the Doctor smiled slightly as he

watched Rose watch Donna. He noticed a man with a mobile phone and gestured to borrow it.

The man nodded and handed it over. The Doctor, putting on his glasses, did a WAP search for H C Clements.

He casted a furtive look around the room before using his sonic screwdriver to speed the process up - the result "Sole Prop. TORCHWOOD" was displayed on the

screen.

The Doctor closed the phone and gave it back to the man, memories now seeming to flood back to him. The music became more prominent as he

watched the dancing. His eyes fell onto a couple dancing and when he looked over he saw that Rose's eyes were on this couple as well. - the man threw the woman

backwards over his arm and the Doctor was reminded briefly of the moment on New Earth when Rose fell into his arms after Cassandra left her body.

He could tell that Rose was thinking about that same moment too.

Suddenly, the temperature of the room seemed to go up a few degrees, or maybe that was just him.

He swallowed and looked away. He noticed the cameraman in the corner, who was recording the proceedings.

The Doctor and Rose went at the cameraman's side as he put a tape in the camera to show the Doctor.

"I taped the whole thing - they've all had a look. They said "sell it to You've Been Framed". I said "more like the News". Here we are..." said the Camera Man.

He played the tape - the camera zoomed in on Donna's face as she seemingly disintegrated into golden particles with a scream.

"Can't be! Play it again?" requested the Doctor.

"Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping." said the Camera Man appreciatively.

The Doctor watched the video again, brow furrowed incredulously.

"But that looks like... Huon Particles!" The Doctor exclaimed.

"What's that?" asked Rose, very confused.

"That's impossible, that's... ancient! Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years! So old that..." he began.

His eyes were suddenly drawn to the ring/bio damper he earlier placed on Donna's finger.

"... it can't be hidden by a bio damper!" he finished.

He ran as fast as he could to a window - and sure enough, there were the santa's, making their way slowly to the house. He and Rose rushed back to Donna.

"Donna! Donna, they've found you." said Rose, with an air of someone delivering a death blow.

"But you said I was safe." Donna turned to the Doctor.

"The biodamper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out." the Doctor said calmly. Rose nodded in agreement.

"Oh, my God - it's all my family..."said Donna, looking around and realizing they were all in danger.

"Out the back door!" cried Rose. They ran out the back door, only to be confronted with two of the Santas.

"Maybe not." said the Doctor.

"Sorry about that." said Rose, nearly laughing.

They ran back inside. The Doctor darted over to another window and saw two more Santas.

"We're trapped." said Donna, scared.

The Santas were holding some kind of remote control, which they raised. The Doctor and Rose looked at the Christmas tree in the middle of the room.

"Christmas trees..." said Rose, looking at the Doctor. They were both thinking the same thing.

"What about them?" asked Donna, confused and not afraid of a little Christmas tree.

"They kill." said Rose and the Doctor at the same time.

A/N: Alright, so I am well aware that this took way longer than a day to lost :P I had to help with my church's Vacation Bible School, witch was honestly horrible because I had to help with the little kids, and I mean like the kindergartners. Now that my softball season is wrapping up, updates should become way more frequent for all of my stories, not just this one. Let's talk about the story. Nicolive and a few others have convinced me to do the big plot twist I was planning, now that I think about it,it would fit nicely in the story arc, so prepare to be amazed :P. I can say that Rose as a Time Lady will happen when you least expect it. As mentioned in this chapter, her D. already changing, so it won't be long now :) I can't wait until the Finale! Man, you guys are in for a shock. :P Chow for now,

Firestone Piper