Here's To Forever

by BuffyAnn23

After the events of GITF and meeting a mysterious woman from their future, The Doctor and Rose have finally broken down the barriers and admitted their feelings to one another. So what happens next? An A/U retelling of seasons 2,3, and 4. *Companion piece to Written Across Time and Space. (You will need to read that first)

11. Chapter 11

A/N: Welcome to season 3. Preliminaries first, of course. I Do Not Own Doctor Who. I am simply borrowing the characters for my and the wonderful people who read the story's amusement. Also, even though I know I've been bad about responding to all your comments, (So Sorry.) I just want to say, wow and thank you. The feedback I've received really means a lot to me. And now for your entertainment, please enjoy The Runaway Bride.

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Chapter 11 – Another Christmas in the Trenches

"Well?" The redhead asked angrily as she stood before them; arms crossed and tapping her foot against the grating.

"What?" The Doctor stared back at her. "You can't do that. We're in flight. That is, that is physically impossible! How did…?"

Rose placed a hand over The Doctor's mouth. "Why don't we all calm down for a minute and start off with some introductions, yeah?" She placed her other hand against her chest. "M' Rose and this is The Doctor." She nodded towards the Time Lord before removing her hand from his mouth. "And you are?"

"Donna." The redhead replied, trying to curb her anger.

"Nice to meet you." Rose smiled.

"Yeah okay, now if you wouldn't mind telling me where the hell I am." Donna snapped.

"You're inside the TARDIS." The Doctor replied.

"Inside what?"

"My um…" he and Rose shared a quick look before continuing. "My spaceship. It's called the TARDIS."

"Your spaceship?"

"Yeah."

"Which would make you what, an alien?"

"Yep." he replied popping the 'p'.

"That's got to be the biggest load of rubbish I've ever heard." Donna said rolling her eyes. "I need a phone." She began looking around the room and muttering to herself. "I shoulda known this would happen. I bet it was Nerys too. This has got her stink written all over it."

"Who the hell is Nerys, and wait a minute," The Doctor took in Donna's attire. "Why are you dressed like that?" Donna stopped muttering and glared at him. Wincing slightly, he glanced down at Rose who was giving him her own version of his 'dribbled on your shirt' look.

"I'm going ten pin bowling. Why do you think, Dumbo?" The redhead shouted. "I was halfway up the aisle! I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away and then you…I don't know, you drugged me or something."

"I haven't done anything!" The Doctor replied defensively as he finally released Rose from his protective grip.

Donna paused in her rant and looked between the two of them as if something just clicked into place. "What was he just doing with his head on your stomach?" she asked Rose.

"Oh," Rose chuckled. "He was talkin' to the baby."

"Baby?" she squawked, looking at The Doctor accusingly. "Is that what you do? Travel 'round space, picking up women and impregnating 'em? Well you can just think again spaceman, 'cause I'm not carrying your alien offspring!"

Rose let out a snort, followed by a giggle and then bit her bottom lip when she saw the look on the Time Lord's face. "Sorry," she muttered. "It was funny." Turning back to the redhead, she gave her a reassuring smile. "Donna, we're…" she looked up at The Doctor who seemed to be waiting for her response as well. "Together." she finished.

"What?" Donna looked The Doctor up and down and then leaned forward slightly in Rose's direction. "Really?"

"Oi!"

"Oh look in a mirror you scrawny Martian."

"I'm not from Mars." he pouted.

"Who bloody cares!" she shot back. "I need to get out of here." Looking over her shoulder, she noticed the doors at the bottom of the ramp and took off towards them.

"No, wait…" Rose called, hurrying after her. "Donna don't open those!"

Ignoring the blonde's warning Donna yanked open both doors, ready to make a run for it and then stumbled backwards at the sight before her.

"S' a spiral nebula." Rose said softly as she stepped up beside her. "You're in outer space," she explained. "And he really is an alien, he wasn't lyin' about that."

Donna looked around in awe. "How am I breathing?"

"The TARDIS generates a force field around herself. Creates a sort 'a bubble that protects us."

The redhead shuddered, rubbing her arms. "It's freezing with these doors open."

Rose gave the woman a sad smile and then pushed the doors shut. When they turned around The Doctor was standing at the console looking over the readings on the monitor and shaking his head.

"I don't understand this, and I understand everything." he complained. "This…this can't happen! There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside." He pushed back from the monitor and grabbed an ophthalmoscope from the tool belt attached to the console. "Maybe it's some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field?" he babbled as he made his way over to Donna, brandishing the tool in his hand. "Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic…"

Rose grabbed the ophthalmoscope from The Doctor's hand as he passed her and tossed it onto the jumpseat. "Doctor, calm down. There's more important things to worry about right now than how she got here."

"Like what?"

"Like what?" Donna repeated bewilderedly. "How about getting me to the church!"

"Right! Fine!" he shouted back returning to the console. "We don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"

"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road. Chiswick, London. England, Earth, the Solar System." Donna spouted off, emphasizing each word as her voice became shrill.

"Right, Chiswick." The Doctor quickly entered the coordinates, bouncing around the control panel and flipping switches. After a few seconds he pulled down on the materialization lever and the TARDIS landed with a soft thud. "Here we are, Chiswick." he said looking up at the redhead and making a shooing motion with his hands. "Off you go."

Donna narrowed her eyes and hiking her dress up to her ankles, turned and hurried down the ramp towards the door. Opening it cautiously, she stepped out to find herself in a large alleyway surrounded by a large group of flats. "I said, Saint Mary's." She turned to look back at The Doctor who had just exited the TARDIS with Rose behind him. "What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?"

The Doctor ignored her, gently stroking the TARDIS's outer wall."

"What is it Doctor?" Rose asked.

He shook his head. "Something's wrong with her. It's like she's…" he paused in thought for a moment before running back inside. "Recalibrating!" he called out. "She's digesting. What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong?"

Rose watched through the doorway as he rushed about the console and then turned her attention back to Donna who was staring at the TARDIS in disbelief. "You alright?" she asked gently. When the woman didn't reply, Rose moved over towards her. "S' okay you know. The whole bigger on the inside thing can be a little overwhelmin'."

"Donna?" The Doctor interrupted, poking his head out the door. "You've really got to think. Is there anything that might've caused this? Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts?" He began tugging on his ear as he stepped out of the timeship to join them. "I can't let you go wandering off. What if you're dangerous? I mean, have you, have you seen lights in the sky or did you touch something like something, something different, something strange? Or something made out of a box of metal or..." he paused. "Who're you getting married to? Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?"

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, halting his interrogation. "First off, if you're goin' to ask a question, pause long enough to give her time to answer, yeah? And secondly, why would she be marryin' a Slitheen?"

"You can never be too sure, and I'm just ruling out all the possibilities in case…" he looked up to see Donna heading down the alleyway towards the street. "Donna!" he called out. Reaching down, he took Rose's hand and they ran after her.

"Donna, wait." The Doctor said once they had caught up to her.

"Leave me alone. I just want to get married."

"Come back to the TARDIS." he tried again. "We can figure things out from there."

"No way." she shook her head. "That box is too weird."

"It's bigger on the inside, that's all." he argued.

"Oh! That's all?" she replied sarcastically. Sighing, she looked down at her watch. "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

"You can phone them." Rose suggested. "Tell them where you are."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Haven't you got a mobile?" The Doctor asked.

Donna stopped mid-stride and turned to face him. "I'm in my wedding dress." she hissed, her voice rising once more. "It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets!" she yelled, fists clenched and breathing heavily.

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "This man you're marrying. What's his name?"

Donna's face softened a bit as she thought of her husband to be. "Lance." she replied in a gentler tone.

"Good luck, Lance." he muttered.

"Oi!"

"Doctor!" Rose rebuked, lightly smacking his arm. "Donna, here you can use mine." she offered pulling her mobile out of her pocket.

"Thanks." Donna said taking the phone. "No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married." The redhead muttered as she stalked away from them to make her call.

"I'm not…I'm not from Mars." he grumbled looking over at Rose.

"Hey, don't look at me." She held up her hands. "You're the one who made her mad."

"She started it."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Doctor, she's upset. S' her weddin' day. This is supposed to be the happiest day of her life and she's missin' it."

"I will never understand the human obsession with this whole wedding nonsense." He ran a hand through his hair. "You lot have to have the perfect dress and the perfect tux, and the posh venue and music and flowers and cake and…I mean does all that stuff really matter?"

Rose shrugged as she watched Donna speaking animatedly into the phone while pacing back and forth. "To some people I guess, yeah."

"What about you?" he asked.

She turned back to him and raised an eyebrow. "What about me?"

He swallowed roughly and began tugging on his ear. "Does that kind of stuff matter to you?"

Rose shook her head as though she was trying to clear it. "I haven't really thought about that kind a' stuff in a long time. I mean, yeah when I was a younger I admit I use to dream of the perfect fairytale weddin', but then…"

She looked up to see him studying her closely. They were heading into uncharted territory and she wasn't quite sure what answer he was searching for. She was perfectly content in their relationship. Did she want more? Of course she did. With him she wanted everything he could and would give, but she would never pressure him for it. Yes, she had gotten pregnant which had been a huge turning point while in the beginnings of starting an actual relationship but they were dealing with it, together. Now here he was discussing the rationality of marriage. Was it possible that he had actually been thinking about that as a next step, or was he trying to gauge her reaction to the idea because he thought she would eventually expect it?

"But then?" he prodded.

Looking into his eyes, she continued. "I grew up. Life happens, things change. Sometimes you realize that you can be happy with what you have without havin' to define it by others' standards." She took his hands in hers. "Doctor, what's this really about?"

He looked down at their joined hands before meeting her eyes. She knew him so well that she could read the internal conflict all over his face and was once again giving him a way out of the conversation. It was true that normally this type of subject would have made him shut down emotionally while he hid out making unnecessary repairs on the TARDIS but as the dynamic of their relationship had changed he found himself wanting more than he ever thought he would, and he knew deep down she did too.

"I just don't see what all that stuff has to do with proving your commitment to someone." he said. "If you truly love someone, then all that 'window dressing' doesn't matter. What matters is what you pledge to one another." He looked deeply into her beautiful hazel eyes. "Rose, what I'm trying to say is…"

"No one's picking up." Donna huffed in frustration as she approached the couple and handed the phone back to Rose. "You'd think with me disappearing like that they'd have a bloody search party out looking for me by now." She looked between the pair, settling on The Doctor's irritated expression. "Oh, I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" she asked sardonically.

"As a matter of fact…" The Doctor began.

"You know what, I think I'm just gonna get a cab." she cut in before stalking off once more.

Rose sighed and pulled away from The Doctor to go after her. "C'mon, if you want to get to the bottom of this we'd better follow her." she said heading in the direction Donna went.

When they caught up to her, she was standing at the curb yelling obscenities to unyielding taxi drivers.

"I really don't think that's going to get them to stop." The Doctor remarked.

"Oh shut up." Donna growled waving her hands at another oncoming cab. "Taxi!"

"Do you have this effect on everyone?" The Doctor asked. "Why aren't they stopping?"

"They think I'm in fancy dress." she replied.

"There's another one!" Rose called out.

"Taxi!" Donna tried again as it whizzed past them. "Oi! Why the hell is his light even on?" she complained.

"Stay off the sauce, darling!" The cabbie hollered out his window.

Donna threw her hands up in the air. "They think I'm drunk."

"You're fooling no one, mate!" A man yelled from another passing car on the opposite side of the street.

"They think I'm in drag!"

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply but then quickly shut it again upon seeing the warning look on Rose's face. Three more cabs passed by them without stopping before he had finally had enough. "Hold on, hold on." he said sticking his first finger and thumb into his mouth and releasing a high pitched whistle, making one of the cabbies quickly do a U-turn and pull up to the curb in front of them. With a pleased grin he reached out and opened the back door, gesturing for them to get in.

Donna rolled her eyes as she hiked up her dress and climbed into the taxi, causing his smile to falter.

"You did good." Rose assured him with a quick kiss as she climbed in after her.

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road." Donna told the driver as they settled themselves in the back seat. "It's an emergency. I'm getting married. Just hurry up!"

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart?" The man replied over his shoulder. "Double rates today."

"Oh, my God." She looked over at The Doctor and Rose. "Have either of you got any money?"

"Um, no." Rose replied.

"We usually don't need it." The Doctor added. "Don't you have any?"

"Pockets!" Donna reminded him snippily.

The taxi driver having heard the trio's exchange quickly pulled over to the curb and ordered them out, but not before receiving a fierce tongue lashing from Donna.

"And that goes double for your mother!" she shouted slamming the back door as she got out. "I'll have him. I've got his number." she said as she watched him speed off. "Talk about the Christmas spirit."

"It's Christmas?" The Doctor looked over at Rose to see she wore the same surprised expression.

"Well, duh." Donna replied with another eye roll. "Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve."

"I better call mum." Rose said pulling her phone from her pocket and moving away from the busy street so she could hear better.

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" The Doctor asked, shoving his hands into his pockets."

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas." The redhead grimaced. "Honeymoon, Morocco. Sunshine, lovely." she sighed. "But unless we find a way to get some money for a taxi, it looks like I'm not going anywhere."

"I'll tell you what," he said spotting an ATM at the end street. "Just wait right here and I'll see what I can do about getting us some cash. Don't move." he ordered sternly and then took off in a sprint down the street.

"Where's he off to?" Rose asked, having finished her call.

"Said he was going to get some money."

The two women watched as he came to a halt in front of the cash machine, bouncing around like a hyperactive toddler as he waited his turn.

"Oh no," Rose pressed a hand to her forehead. "He's gonna sonic the ATM."

"He's going to what?"

"S' a…alien thing." Rose replied. "Last time he did it, the machine emptied itself into the street." She placed her hand on Donna's shoulder. "Jus' wait here, I'll be right back."

Rose reached the cash machine just as The Doctor pressed his sonic screwdriver against the screen.

"What are you doin'? Don't remember what happened last time?" she asked.

"Oh, don't worry. I recalibrated the setting." The cash machine beeped softly and then ejected a few notes. "See, nothing to worry about." He grinned at her as he pocketed the sonic and the money, but Rose's attention was elsewhere. "What is it?" he asked, following her gaze. Across the street from them his eyes settled upon a trio of Santas playing brass instruments and his stomach dropped.

"Pilot fish." Rose murmured.

"Taxi!" They heard Donna's voice call out and turned just in time to see her climbing into the back of a cab. "Thanks for nothing, spaceman!" she hollered. "I'll see you in Court."

As the cab pulled away, they both caught a glimpse of another Santa behind the wheel.

"Donna!" The Doctor shouted as the music behind them suddenly stopped.

"Doctor," Rose said, tugging on his sleeve.

The group of Santas had lowered their instruments, pointing them towards the pair as they approached. The Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out his sonic; aiming it at the cash machine once more and it began to spit out cash in droves. Reaching down, he grabbed Rose's hand and they took off running down the street as crowds of people attempting to retrieve the money put a barrier between them and their pursuers.

Upon entering the TARDIS, The Doctor quickly ran over to the console and began pulling levers and spinning dials. He looked up at Rose just as she reached his side. "As soon as I say, I'm going to need you to steer her, just like I taught you."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Something incredibly dangerous and stupid."

"So the usual then?" she grinned tongue in teeth.

"Very cheeky, Rose Tyler." he said giving her a quick kiss.

As soon as they were airborne, sparks began to shoot up from the time rotor. "Behave!" he shouted, smacking the control panel with mallet.

"You know she hates it when you do that." Rose commented.

"Yes, well, I don't particular like having bits of my hair singed off but that doesn't seem to deter her either." he retorted as he ran down the ramp towards the doors and opened them.

From her position at the console, Rose could see they were hurtling towards the motorway. Realizing the speed at which they were descending, she quickly pulled back on the steering lever to avoid a crash landing which resulted in a slight bounce off the tarmac. "Sorry." she smiled sheepishly as The Doctor grabbed onto the doorframe to steady himself.

"You're good." he called back. "Now get us as close to the cab as you can."

Rose weaved the TARDIS through traffic in a zigzag pattern until they were positioned right next to the taxi that Donna was in.

"Open the door!" The Doctor shouted, hanging halfway out of the blue box.

Donna stared back at him in surprise. "Do wha?

"Open the door!" he repeated.

"I can't, it's locked!"

Pulling his sonic screwdriver from his pocket he pointed it at the car door and after a few seconds the latch was released.

Donna immediately lowered the window and stuck her head out. "Santa's a robot." she drawled.

"Donna, open the door!" he shouted again in irritation.

"What for?"

"You've got to jump!"

"I'm not blinking flip jumping." she screeched. "I'm supposed to be getting married!"

The robotic driver, suddenly aware of what was going on, began to accelerate the cab's speed and started to pull away from the TARDIS as Donna gripped the window frame tightly; fear etched across her face.

"Rose, they're getting away." The Doctor hollered over his shoulder.

"On it." she called back, adjusting their speed.

After a slight bounce off the roof of a passing car, the TARDIS was once again floating alongside the taxi. Aiming his sonic screwdriver at the robot driver, The Doctor quickly deactivated it, causing it to clamp down onto the steering wheel as the cab began to lose control.

"Listen to me," he implored the emotional redhead. "You've got to jump."

"I'm not jumping on a motorway!" Donna argued.

The Doctor took a breath in attempt to calm his frustration. "Look, whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good!" he said holding out his hand. "Now, come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!"

"Yes, you look lovely!" he replied sarcastically. "Now come on!"

Donna looked over at the robot Santa apprehensively and then back at The Doctor before slowly reaching down to grasp the door handle. As she pulled up on it, the door swung open of its own accord, making a popping sound as the broken hinges locked it into place. She looked up at The Doctor once more, who was still holding his arms out, and then down at the asphalt passing beneath her before retreating back into the cab, shaking her head. "I can't do it."

The Doctor held out his hand. "Trust me."

"Donna," Rose called out. "You can trust him. I swear to you he won't let you get hurt."

Donna scrunched up her face as she braced her hands against the inner frame and the door for leverage. Taking a deep breath she leapt out of the taxi and straight into the TARDIS, knocking the Doctor onto his back in the process as the doors slammed shut behind her.

Rose quickly pulled up on the steering lever, propelling them back into the air and then ran over to help them up off the grating. "You alright?" she asked Donna as she got to her feet.

"Yeah, I think so." she replied, brushing off her dress. "So these robot Santas, what are they for?"

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

Rose nodded in agreement. "They traced him back to my mum's flat and left us a killer Christmas tree that tore a hole through the wall." she elaborated in light of the redhead's incredulous expression.

"That reminds me," The Doctor said. "Give me your hand." Donna held out her arm and he attached a small metallic bracelet to her wrist.

"What is it?"

"It's a bio-damper. Those creatures can trace you, but this should keep you hidden."

"But I don't understand. Why would they…"

Donna's question was cut short as the time rotor ignited with a bang, showering sparks over them.

"What's wrong with her?" Rose asked as The Doctor quickly made his way over to the console while trying to dodge the flames.

"Dunno," he said. "But we better set her down for a bit until we figure it out.

-oOo-

A wave of smoke wafted from the open doors of the TARDIS as The Doctor emptied a fire extinguisher onto the last of the flames coming from the console. Whatever was going on with Donna and her mysterious appearance in their midst seemed to also be affecting his beloved ship.

Rose sighed as she turned her attention back to Donna. The Doctor had set them down on top of an apartment complex and the two women were now sitting at the edge of the roof, dangling their feet over the side as they looked over the city.

"You alright?" she asked the redhead.

Donna shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

"Did we miss it?"

"Yeah."

"M' sorry." Rose said softly.

Donna looked up and gave her a small smile. "It's not your fault." Glancing at the blue box over her shoulder she chuckled. "Too bad that thing doesn't travel in time, we could go back and get it right."

"Well, actually…" Rose began.

"You are kidding me?"

"The problem is, you can't cross your own timeline." Rose explained. "So it wouldn't really work."

Donna nodded as she studied the blonde for a moment. "So you and him are really together huh?"

"Yeah." Rose blushed.

"And the whole he's an alien thing doesn't bother you, with you being pregnant and all?"

"Nah." Rose shook her head. "Our biology is pretty much the same; his species is jus' a little more advanced. Which he likes to bring up quite a bit."

Donna snorted softly. "That doesn't surprise me. So do you know what you're having yet?"

"S' a girl." Rose smiled, running a hand over her stomach.

"Congratulations." Donna said somewhat wistfully looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Thanks." Rose replied, taking in Donna's pained expression. She could tell the woman was barely holding it together, and not ever having been in this type of situation herself, she wasn't able to offer much in the way of comfort. But she was a good listener, so maybe if she got her talking it might help. "So tell me, how'd you meet Lance?"

Donna's expression softened. "Oh, we met when I started temping at HC Clements about six months ago. 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 going to fit in here. And then…" she sighed fondly. "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. 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."

Rose grinned. "So it was love at first sight then?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded. "And then suddenly, he wanted to marry me. I mean, he practically insisted. And he nagged, and he nagged, and he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in."

"He sounds like an amazin' guy." Rose said.

"Mmm." Donna nodded. "He's wonderful."

"You know, funnily enough for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying." The Doctor commented as he approached, putting an end to their conversation. "We'd better give her a couple of hours." Looking down at Rose he noticed her shivering slightly and removed his coat. "You shouldn't be out here without a jacket." he said wrapping the coat around her and kissing the top of her head. He then removed his pinstripe jacket and handed it to Donna.

"God, you're skinny." she remarked as she pulled it over her shoulders. "This wouldn't fit a rat."

Rolling his eyes he sat down next to Rose, pulling her against him and dangling his feet over the side of the building.

"So, the robo whats-its, you said you met them last year?" Donna inquired. "What happened then?"

The Doctor stared at her dumbfounded. "Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?"

She shrugged. "I had a bit of a hangover."

"He stared at her for a moment longer as if contemplating. "Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know. What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary at HC Clements."

"It's weird." he said pulling his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and proceeding to scan her with it. "I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important."

"Rude." Rose chided, elbowing him.

"Very." Donna agreed. "And stop bleepin' me!" she shouted as she batted the sonic away. "Do you ever have the urge to just punch him in the face?" she asked, looking over at Rose.

Rose laughed. "Sometimes, but S' usually my mum he has to watch out for. She's actually slapped him good a couple times."

The Doctor winced and rubbed his cheek automatically before shaking off the memory. "What does HC Clements do?"

"Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths. Anyway, enough of my CV." Donna stood up, brushing off the back of her dress. "Come on, it's time to face the consequences."

The Doctor stood up as well and offered his hand to Rose, pulling her up and into his arms.

"Oh, this is going to be so shaming." Donna shook her head. "You can do the explaining Martian boy." she said poking The Doctor in the chest.

"Yeah, I'm not from Mars." he glared at her, stressing the last word.

Ignoring him, Donna turned back to Rose. "Oh, I had this great big reception all planned." she told her dejectedly. "Everyone's going to be heartbroken."

-oOo-

When the trio entered the reception hall the sight that met them was not at all what they were expecting. The DJ was casually spinning records and Donna watched mouth agape as her fiancé and the entire wedding party moved around the dance floor happily as if the ceremony had gone off without a hitch. As she continued to watch Lance dancing with a smug looking blonde one by one the rest of the guests began to notice her presence and shortly after the music stopped.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna asked in astonishment.

Lance spun around at the sound of her voice and the smile faded from his face. "Donna, what happened to you?"

"You had the reception without me?" she repeated, her voice rising.

Donna turned towards her new friends. "They had the reception without me." she articulated.

"Yes, I gathered." The Doctor replied before leaning over her shoulder and waving. "Hello. I'm the Doctor and this is Rose." Rose gave a little wave as well before gently tugging him away from the angry bride and her clenched fists.

"Well, it was all paid for." The blonde who had been dancing with Lance replied inconsiderately. "Why not?"

"Yes, thank you, Nerys." Donna spat.

An older woman stepped out of the crowd and judging by the woman's resemblance and temperament, Rose could immediately tell that it was Donna's mother.

"Well, what were we supposed to do?" The woman chastised her daughter. "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."

The entire wedding party began advancing on them all at once, spouting out question after question and talking over one another until Donna broke out into tears, effectively silencing the room. Lance quickly raced over and wrapped her up in his arms, rubbing her back as he tried to console her while everyone else began to applaud them.

Donna tightened her grip on her fiancé, tilting her head to the side so she could look over at The Doctor and Rose. She gave them a small wink and then turned back to Lance as she continued her mock sobbing.

"She's good." Rose commented in between giggles and The Doctor smiled in amusement as they watched Donna pull her fiancé onto the dance floor and the music started up again.

"Hey," he nudged her shoulder with his own. "Give me your phone for a minute."

Reaching into her pocket, Rose pulled out her mobile and handed it to him. "Does it need to be recharged?"

He shook his head as he took out his glasses and slipped them on. "I just want to check out the place Donna mentioned." He pulled up the navigation page and typed HC Clements into the search bar. After a few seconds the screen displayed the results. Upon seeing the words 'Sole property of Torchwood', the pair exchanged a troubled look.

"I better make a call." he told her and she nodded in agreement.

As The Doctor stepped out into the hall, Rose watched the people on the dance floor and thought back to the earlier conversation she had with him. Was this the type of thing she wanted when she thought of commitment? Maybe if she had been asked three years ago when she when she was still with Mickey she might have thought so. But even then, if she was honest with herself, she never really pictured that type of future with him either. She always imagined that there could be something more out there for her than just work, telly, and chips, and she knew that when she finally found it she would grab on tight and never let go. Then she met The Doctor and everything just fell into place. She was his from the moment he said "run" and she never looked back. Now standing here watching Donna and Lance as they moved about the dance floor and seeing how happy they were, she knew deep down that none of that traditional stuff mattered anymore. Not the dress, not the reception, not even the fancy ceremony, because he had accepted her 'forever' and that display of commitment was good enough for her.

The Doctor finished his call fairly quickly and stood in the doorway for a few minutes just watching Rose. She looked deep in thought and with the way she was chewing her lower lip, he wondered what she was thinking about. He thought for a moment about what he had asked her earlier in regards to Earth wedding traditions. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about committing more fully, but the whole domestic aspect still kind of rattled him. As he continued to watch her, he noticed she was absentmindedly stroking her stomach again; something that had become quite an endearing habit of late as she watched the dancers wistfully and he felt the immediate need to have her in his arms. Pocketing the phone, he made his way through the guests and over to her.

"I talked to Jack." he said over the music when she saw him approaching. "HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute. He said after everything that happened at Canary Wharf, it should have been shut down but someone else came in and took over before that could happen and he hasn't been able to get any information on who it was."

"So what now?" she asked.

"Well, I'll probably want to have a look around the place, but first…" he held out his hand. "How about a dance Miss Tyler?"

Rose blushed and lightly bit down on her bottom lip as she slipped her hand into his. "I'd love to." she replied with a grin.

Returning her smile, he led her onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her as they began to sway to the music.

"They look really happy." Rose said as she looked over his shoulder at Donna and Lance.

"Yeah, seems so." The Doctor agreed before pulling her closer to him. "Rose, about earlier…"

Rose shook her head. "We don't need to talk about that now, okay? Let's jus' finish the dance and then we'll go do some investigatin', yeah?"

He nodded as the sound of clapping filled the air, signaling the end of the song. As they pulled apart and headed off the dance floor he noticed a camera man on the opposite side of the room filming all the guests.

"What is it?" Rose asked, following his gaze.

"I just thought of something. C'mon." he said pulling her across the room.

"Sorry to bother you," The Doctor told the young man as they approached. "But I was wondering if you by any chance filmed any of the ceremony?"

"Oh, I taped the whole thing." he boasted. "They've all had a look. They said sell it to 'You've Been Framed'. I said, more like the News." He flipped the video screen on the camera around to face them and rewound the tape to the ceremony footage. "Here we are." he said pressing the play button.

Donna's smiling face appeared on the screen as the footage showed her walking down the aisle with her father. A few seconds in, she was surrounded by a blinding golden light and she began screaming as her entire body broke into tiny gold particles and shot up towards the ceiling.

"Can't be." The Doctor murmured. "Play it again."

The camera man rewound the tape once more so that they could get a better look.

"Are those…?" Rose began.

"Huon Particles." The Doctor nodded in confirmation.

"What's that then?" the camera man asked.

"That's impossible." The Doctor replied. "That's ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years." He turned to Rose as the realization made the color drain from his face. "So old that it can't be hidden by a bio-damper!"

"Doctor!" Rose shouted after him as he raced from the room.

Donna, having witnessed the exchange, made her way over to Rose. "What's he gone and done now?"

"I have no clue." The blonde replied, rubbing her temple.

"Donna!" The Doctor shouted as he re-entered the room. "Donna, they've found you."

"But you said I was safe."

"The bio-damper doesn't work." he said as he made his way over to them. "We've got to get everyone out."

Donna looked around the room frantically. "My God, it's all my family."

"Rose, check the side doors." he instructed. "I'll check the back."

Running over to the opposite side of the room, she pulled back the curtains to reveal two robo santas heading towards the building.

"Back door's out." The Doctor called as he came up behind them.

"Then we're trapped." Rose replied.

They watched as one of the robo santas lifted up a controller and pointed it towards the window. Both The Doctor and Rose looked at one another and then back over their shoulders at the enormous Christmas trees decorating the venue.

"What?" Donna asked upon seeing their expressions.

"Christmas trees." Rose breathed and glanced back at The Doctor.

"What about them?"

"They kill." The Doctor said as he began herding people away from them. "Get away from the trees!" he shouted. "Get away from the Christmas trees! Everyone get away from them!"

"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot." Donna's mother retorted. "Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to…Oh," she paused in fascination as the ornaments on the trees began to detach from the branches and float up into the air, dancing to an absent melody above their heads.

All of the guests murmured in awe at the spectacle until one of the ornaments dove downwards into the floor and exploded, creating a mass panic. One by one the ornaments began to throw themselves about the room, exploding wherever they landed while the guests screamed in terror and attempted to escape.

The Doctor grabbed Rose and dove behind the DJ's sound booth, shielding her with his body as two ornaments collided over their heads.

"Hello." she said softly once he had lifted himself off of her enough to see her face.

"Hello." he replied, leaning down to give her a kiss before helping her to her feet.

As they peered over the side of the sound booth, they saw six robo santas had lined themselves up across the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed Donna and Lance hiding underneath one of the tables and gestured to them to stay put, to which they had no objections.

"Rose, get down and cover your ears." The Doctor ordered. Once she was out of the way, he turned back to the uninvited guests. "Oi! Santa!" he called out. "Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver," he picked up a microphone and flipped it in his hand before bringing it to his lips. "Don't let him near the sound system."

Taking his sonic, he inserted it into the control board and flicked the switch creating a massive sound wave that shook the robots to pieces. When the last one collapsed to the ground he removed the sonic and bent down to check on Rose.

"You alright?" he asked gently.

She nodded, removing her hands from her ears. "Yeah, sound wasn't as bad back here."

Helping her to her feet, he placed a kiss to the top of her head and then made his way across the room to get a closer look at what was left of the robots.

Rose shook her head a little in attempts to clear the ringing sound in her ears and then walked over to where Donna was fussing over a few children while trying to calm down her fiancé.

"What is it?" Lance demanded. "What were they?"

"Just stop wittering and help them." Donna said, pushing him towards the kids. "You alright?" she looked at Rose concernedly.

"Yeah, M' fine. A lot of other people are hurt though."

"We've got ambulances on the way." Lance called over his shoulder.

"Good. You okay?" Rose asked, placing her hand on the bride's shoulder.

"Yeah." Donna sighed. "It's just this whole day has been completely mental. I keep looking around and saying to myself, this can't possibly get any worse."

"Look at that." The Doctor interrupted, tossing Rose a robo santa head. "Remote control for the decorations, but there's a second remote control for the robots. They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

"I just jinxed myself didn't I?" Donna said with a withered look at Rose.

"There's still a signal." he continued, gesturing for them to follow him outside. "There's someone behind this, directing the Roboforms."

"But why is it me? What have I done?"

He took the severed robot head back from Rose and began to sonic the inner works. "If we find the controller we'll find that out. Ooo!" He lifted the sonic above his head. "It's up there. Something in the sky."

"Please tell me S' not the Sycorax again." Rose groaned.

"No." he said quietly. "This is definitely something else."

The Doctor began to make his way around the parking lot, trying to get a better read on the signal's origin while the two women watched with slight amusement.

"Alright, I demand to know what's going on." Lance ordered, stalking up to them.

"Where do you want me to start?" Donna asked irritably.

As Lance formed a retort, he was suddenly startled by a strange metal tool with a blue light on the end as it appeared in front of his face.

"I've lost the signal." The Doctor announced. "Donna, we've got to get to your office." He turned to Rose. "HC Clements. I think that's where it all started." Glancing back at Donna he noticed her fiancé studying him closely. "Lance!" he grinned walking over to clap the man on the back. "Is it Lance?" The man nodded still slightly confused by The Doctor's behavior. "Lance, can you give us a lift?"

"Okay," he replied slowly. "Car's around back."

"Good man." The Doctor patted his back once more and then reached out for Rose's hand. "Let's go."

-oOo-

When they entered the office building The Doctor went straight for the computers, using his sonic to access their records.

"To you lot this might just be a locksmiths, but H C Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute." he explained to the almost newlyweds.

"Who are they?" Donna asked.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." He took in her blank expression and continued. Cyberman invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"Oh," Donna said thoughtfully. "I was in Spain."

"They had Cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving." she informed him, making Rose snicker.

The Doctor gave his pink and yellow human a mock glare before turning back to the redhead. "That big picture, Donna. You keep on missing it."

"So, Torchwood was destroyed, yeah?" Rose said, moving the conversation along. "But HC Clements stayed in business and Jack thinks someone else came in and took over the operation?"

"Basically."

"Who's Jack?" Donna inquired.

"He's a friend of ours." The Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "Now back to the topic at hand."

Donna sighed and crossed her arms. "Okay, so what do they want with me?"

"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." He glanced over at one of the desks and picked up a coffee mug and a pencil. "Say, that's the TARDIS." He gestured to the mug. "And that's you." He held up the pencil. "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetized and whap." He emphasized his point by dropping the pencil into the mug and swirling it around. "You were pulled inside the TARDIS."

"I'm a pencil inside a mug." she said flatly.

"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." Setting the mug down, he turned to her fiancé. "What was HC 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." Lance replied irritably. "Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

"They make keys, that's the point." The Doctor muttered to himself as he returned to the computer which was now displaying the schematics of the building. "And look at this. We're on the third floor." he murmured as he hopped up and ran over to the lift.

The three humans in the room exchanged a look and moved to follow him.

"Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" he said, stepping into the glass box and examining the buttons on the panel. "Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? Jack was right." he grinned looking up at Rose. "He said there's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. Question is what's down there?"

Lance eyed him skeptically. "Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?"

"No, I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor."

"It needs a key." Donna pointed out.

"I don't." The Doctor smirked, pointing his sonic at the panel and activating it. "Right then." he paused, finger poised over the button. "Thanks you two, but we can handle it from here. See you later."

He took Rose's hand and grinned, reminding her of a similar elevator ride back on Satellite 5 when he was big ears and leather, and she returned his smile.

"No chance, Martian." Donna piped up. "You two keep saving my life. I ain't letting either of you out of my sight." She turned back to her fiancé and gestured towards the lift with a slight jerk of her head. "Lance?"

"Maybe I should go to the police." he suggested.

"Inside." she ordered sharply.

Grumbling under his breath, he reluctantly stepped into the lift.

The Doctor glanced over at Donna and then leaned forward over Lance's shoulder. "To honor and obey?" he goaded.

"Tell me about it, mate."

"Oi!" Donna snapped warningly as Rose lightly smacked The Doctor on the arm.

The remainder of the ride down was done in silence. As the doors opened into the lower basement, they stepped out into a dank corridor, illuminated by an eerie green light.

"So what do you think they use this place for?" Rose asked, squeezing The Doctor's hand to help alleviate nerves.

Looking down at her he smiled mischievously and wiggled his eyebrows "Let's find out."

"Do you think Mister Clements knows about this place?" Donna asked as they walked along the tunnel.

"The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it." The Doctor stopped short and his face broke into a massive grin. "Oh, look. Transport." The others followed his line of sight and saw several Segway's leaning up against the wall. "C'mon Rose," he hollered over his shoulder.

As he eagerly ran over to the scooters, Rose couldn't help but giggle at his boyish delight.

"There's only three of them, so you and I will just have to share." he practically purred into her ear, making her shiver pleasurably.

Taking her hand, he helped her step up onto the back of the scooter and then he pulled himself up behind her, placing his hands on the steering bars and caging her in.

"You sure you don't want me in back." she asked him, somewhat breathily.

"No, this is good." he replied although the tone of his voice seemed a little higher than normal.

"Oi, Spaceman. If you're done feeling her up, can we get on with this mission of yours?" Donna requested, climbing onto her own scooter.

Rose blushed as The Doctor made a choking noise and then cleared his throat. "Right then, on we go."

They had only been motoring down the corridor for a few minutes when suddenly Donna burst out laughing. With the day she had been having, riding on moped in her wedding dress, down a hallway in a secret basement next to an alien and his pregnant girlfriend seemed to be the icing on the cake and she finally let loose. Rose and The Doctor watched her for a moment and then broke out in giggles of their own while Lance looked at them as though they had all gone insane. Their laughter slowly tapered off as they came upon a large door at the end of the hall labeled 'TORCHWOOD. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.' Hopping off the scooter The Doctor walked over and turned the hatch wheel to open the door, revealing a ladder.

"Wait here. Just need to get my bearings." He was halfway to the ladder when he spun around again and pointed his finger at the bride and groom. "Don't do anything. And watch her." he gestured to Rose. "She tends to wander off." He gave her a lopsided grin and she stuck out her tongue as he turned to make his way up the ladder.

They watched as he made his way to the top and opened another hatch door before climbing out on top of the structure.

"What do you see?" Rose called up to him.

"Thames flood barrier right on top of us." he responded. After a few more seconds, he lowered himself back down into the opening and pulled the hatch shut before descending down the ladder. "Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath." he said hopping off the last rung when he reached the bottom.

Donna's mouth dropped open. "What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?"

"Oh, I know." he replied cheekily as Rose stifled a laugh. "Unheard of." He brushed past the couple and reached out for Rose's hand. "C'mon, then" he called back over his shoulder.

-oOo-

As the group reached the end of the corridor, they came upon the lab facilities.

"Ooh, look at this." The Doctor grinned happily as he weaved through the large bubbling glass tubes stationed throughout the room. "Stunning!"

"What does it do?" Donna inquired.

"Particle extrusion. Hold on." He let go of Rose's hand and ran over to one of the larger tubes on the other side of the room. "Brilliant." he said, tapping the glass. "They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, my people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure."

"Your people?" Lance spoke up, sounding slightly nervous. "Who are they? What company do you represent?"

"Oh, I'm a freelancer." The Doctor replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. "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." He removed a small glass from the side of one of the tubes and held it up. "Huon particles in liquid form."

"And that's what's inside me?" Donna asked as she and Rose examined the clear liquid.

Tilting the jar slightly, The Doctor adjusted the knob on the top of the jar, and the liquid began to give off a golden glow. With another twist, the same glow began to emanate from Donna's entire body.

"Oh, my God!" she gasped as she looked down at the golden light surrounding her.

"Genius." The Doctor shook his head in awe. "Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyze inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then…" he trailed off, catching a glimpse of Rose as she continued to study the Huons. He noticed a fleck of gold in her irises created by the reflection of the particles in the jar and it called to mind the image of her ethereal form standing over him. Looking down upon him with such reverence and love and telling him how she wanted him safe. The memory filled him with a wave of awe and exhilaration, almost mirroring what he had felt back on the gamestation and suddenly everything clicked into place.

"The wedding!" he exclaimed. "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 reach boiling point. Shazam!"

Donna listened to his insane babbling, nodding along although she couldn't understand any of it until it finally became too much.

"What did I do?" He looked over at Rose as he rubbed his stinging cheek. "Blimey, she slaps almost as hard as your mother."

"Are you enjoying this?" Donna fumed.

The Doctor lowered his head apologetically and Rose rubbed his shoulder.

Donna sighed. "Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

"Yes." he stated unconvincingly.

She tilted her head and gave him a skeptical look. "Doctor, if your lot got rid of Huon particles why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly." He looked over at Rose and could tell she was revisiting the same memory as he had a few minutes ago, but for a different reason.

"Oh, my God." Donna groaned.

"I'll sort it out, Donna." he said. "Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it."

"Oh, I'm afraid it's too late for that."

The group looked around the room in confusion trying to locate the owner of the disembodied voice as the wall in front of them shuddered and began to rise, revealing a gaping hole in the middle of the floor. The Doctor reached out and pulled Rose against his side as the voice spoke again.

"I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!"

As the wall ascended further, they saw multiple roboforms lining the catwalks on both sides of the room with weapons trained on them.

"Someone's been digging." The Doctor observed. "Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser." He leaned forward to look inside. "How far down does it go?"

"Down and down, all the way to the center of the Earth!"

"Really?" he furrowed his brow. "Seriously, what for?"

"Dinosaurs."

"What?" The Doctor scrunched up his face in confusion and looked back at Donna.

"Dinosaurs?" she repeated, suddenly less sure of her answer.

"What are you on about, dinosaurs?"

"That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs." She looked over at Rose who was covering her face to hide a grin and shrugged. "Trying to help."

The Doctor shook his head in frustration. "That's not helping."

"Such a funny girl." The voice said.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair as he began to pace. "Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad." he told the mysterious voice. "Where are you?"

"High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night."

"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom!" he replied, his frustration starting to boil over. "Come on; let's have a look at you!"

"Who are you with such command?"

"I'm the Doctor." he replied matter-of-factly.

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor man, for you will be sick at heart."

A flash of blue light filled the room and as it dissipated they found themselves face to face with a gigantic red, half humanoid; half spider-like creature.

"Racnoss?" The Doctor said, eyes widening. "But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss?"

"Empress of the Racnoss." The female spider replied.

"What are the Racnoss Doctor?" Rose asked, looking up at him.

"The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions." he explained. "They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets."

"Racnoss are born starving." The Empress replied. "Is that our fault?"

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or," he paused for a moment in thought. "Are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind." she hissed.

"Hold on," Donna said as she ran back over the conversation in her mind. "They eat people?"

The Doctor turned back to the redhead. "Let's put it this way. HC Clements, did he wear those, those um, black and white shoes?"

"He did." Donna confirmed. "We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats."

The Doctor nodded along with her and then pointed upwards. Donna followed his finger's trajectory and noticed a pair of feet wearing those same black and white shoes sticking out of the webbing that lined the ceiling.

"Oh, my God!"

"Mmm. My Christmas dinner." The Empress cackled.

You shouldn't even exist." The Doctor argued. "Way back in history, the fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss they were wiped out."

"Except for me." she boasted.

A small movement on the ledge above the Empress caught Donna's eye.

"How'd he get up there?" Rose whispered to the redhead as she too caught sight of Lance while he made his way across the balcony and made a shushing gesture with his finger.

"I dunno," Donna replied. "But we need a diversion. That's what I've got inside me right, that Huon energy thing?" she asked the Empress as they watched Lance slowly make his way down the stairs towards her, brandishing a fire axe. "Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking." she hollered in attempts to keep the Racnoss's attention diverted. "Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."

"The bride is so feisty."

"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big thing, but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!" she shouted to Lance.

The Empress turned just in time to see Lance raising the axe to strike and she hissed furiously, causing him to freeze up on the spot. After a few seconds, he relaxed his stance as both he and the Empress broke out into a fit of laughter.

"That was a good one." he told her. "Your face."

"Lance is funny." The Empress agreed, still laughing.

Donna looked back at them confusedly. "What?"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said softly.

"Sorry for what?" she brushed him off. "Lance, don't be so stupid!" she shouted. "Get her!"

"God, she's thick." Lance said bitterly, his laughter finally subsiding. "Months I've had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

"I don't understand." Donna shook her head.

"How did you meet him?" The Doctor asked quietly.

"In the office." Donna finally turned her attention to him and took in his sorrowful expression. Behind him Rose was practically seething as she sent death glares towards Lance.

"He made you coffee." Rose said through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"Every day, I made you coffee." Lance reiterated.

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months." The Doctor explained, trying to make her understand.

Donna's face fell as realization settled in. "He was poisoning me."

"It was all there in the job title." The Doctor said turning back to Lance with a look of disdain. "The Head of Human Resources."

"This time, it's personnel." Lance quipped.

"But," Donna shook her head still reeling from the revelation. "We were getting married."

"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 flavor Pringle."

Donna struggled to hold back her tears as he unloaded on her while all Rose wanted to do was punch him square in the face.

"Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap, yap, yap." Lance continued. "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."

"Oh, is that what she's offered you?" The Doctor shot back. "The Empress of the Racnoss. What are you, her consort?"

"It's better than a night with her."

"But I love you." Donna said in a small voice.

Lance gave her a look of mock sympathy. "That's what made it easy. It's like you said Doctor, the big picture. What's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you Doctor?"

"You know," Rose piped up. "I've met quite a few monsters in the last few years but you are by far the worst."

"Well, thanks sweetheart." Lance said with a wink, making The Doctor to have to physically restrain her from going up on the platform and knocking his teeth out.

The Empress turned to her coconspirator. "Who is this little physician?"

"She said Martian." Lance replied gesturing to Donna.

"Oh, I'm sort of homeless." The Doctor said as he kept his hold on Rose. "But the point is what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's going to help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"

"I think he wants us to talk." Lance told the Empress.

"I think so, too." she agreed.

"Well, tough!" Lance said. "All we need is Donna."

The Empress turned towards the Roboforms lining the walls. "Kill this chattering little doctor man."

"Over my dead body." Rose growled.

"Rose," he said warningly.

"No! M' not gonna let them hurt you." she argued, refusing to move away from him.

"At arms!" The Empress shouted and the robots turned their guns on The Doctor.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." he assured her quietly.

"Take aim!"

"Well, unless it involves us teleportin' out of here immediately, M' not movin'." Rose replied stubbornly.

"Weell, maybe not teleporting exactly but…" he wiggled his eyebrows and called out to the Empress. "Just, just, just, just, just hold on. Hold on just a tick. Just a tiny little, just a little tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So reverse it," he pulled the small jar of Huon particles out of his pocket and held it up, twisting the knob on the top. "And the spaceship comes to her."

The golden glow once again engulfed Donna's body, and suddenly the TARDIS began to materialize around them just as the Empress ordered the robots to fire. As soon as the blue box solidified, The Doctor released Rose and ran over to the console.

"Off we go." he shouted flipping the dematerialization lever. "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet's core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene. I've always wanted to see this. Ladies, we're going further back than I've ever been before."

While The Doctor continued his long-winded rant Donna lowered herself onto the jumpseat, trying to hold back her tears but when she felt Rose's hand on her shoulder and looked up into her warm understanding gaze, she broke. Rose wrapped her arms around the woman and sunk into the seat beside her, stroking her hair as she wept.

"S' alright." she murmured softly. "S' gonna be alright."

The Doctor watched them for a moment with a sympathetic eye before turning back to the console. When it came down to it; unless it was Rose, he was never much one for being able to offer comfort in these types of situations so he stayed back, allowing the two woman to speak privately while he maintained their current destination.

After a few moments Donna pulled back and sniffed. "I really thought he loved me."

"M' so sorry Donna." Rose said softly. "What he did to you is unforgivable. You are amazin' and you deserve so much more."

The redhead gave her a watery smile. "You really think so?"

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "I really do."

"We've arrived." The Doctor called out timidly. "Want to see?"

Donna shrugged. "I suppose."

"Well come on then." he said as he made his way down the ramp to the doors. "No human's ever seen this. You two will be the first."

"All I want to see is my bed." Donna muttered as she stood up from the jumpseat.

Rose smiled and put her arm around the dejected bride as she led her to the door.

"Rose Tyler, Donna Noble," he pulled open both doors. "Welcome to the creation of the Earth."

Both Rose and Donna were in awe. The view was absolutely breathtaking. They were surrounded by floating pieces of rock and dust, swirling in a sort of dance amongst hues of pinks, purples, oranges and blues as they orbited the sun.

"We've gone back four point six billion years." The Doctor informed them. "There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the Sun, over there. Brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked.

"All around us in the dust."

"Puts the wedding in perspective." she said sadly. "Lance was right. We're just tiny."

"No, but that's what you do. The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars." He looked over at Rose. "This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

"So I came out of all this?"

The Doctor grinned. "Isn't that brilliant?"

"I think that's the Isle of Wight." Donna said pointing to a large rock that drifted past and the three of them laughed.

"Eventually, gravity takes hold." he continued. "Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in. Everything, piling in until you get..."

"The Earth." Donna finished.

He nodded. "But the question is what was that first rock?"

Rose noticed a spacecraft slowly emerging from one of the gaseous clouds. "Doctor, look." she said, pointing towards the ship. "Is that them?"

"The Racnoss." he confirmed and then furrowed his brow. "Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?"

"S' pullin' everythin' towards it." she murmured.

"Oh, they didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth." he said as they watched the rocks and dust gravitate towards the ship. "They became the center of the Earth. The first rock."

Suddenly there was a loud banging sound and the TARDIS shook violently, sending them sprawling to the floor.

"What was that?" Rose asked as he pulled her to her feet and checked her for injuries.

"Trouble." he replied once he was satisfied with her condition and moved over to shut the doors.

The TARDIS lurched again and he quickly made his way over to the console to try and stabilize her.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna shouted.

"She." Rose corrected.

"Alright fine," Donna rolled her eyes. "She." The redhead corrected herself and Rose gave her a thumbs up.

"Remember that little trick of mine, particles pulling particles?" The Doctor asked. "Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back!"

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't she got a handbrake?" Donna shouted over the rumbling as she grabbed onto the console to stay upright. "Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"

"Backseat driver." he muttered under his breath. "Oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator!" He picked up what looked like a surfboard and Rose immediately recognized it as the item they confiscated from Blon Fel-Fotch Slitheen when she attempted to take over London. "It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" Placing it on the console he whacked it with a mallet. "Now!" he shouted and the TARDIS landed with a soft thump.

Once the TARDIS was stable, he grabbed Rose's hand and headed for the door with Donna trailing behind them. As they exited the ship they found themselves in another dim corridor similar to the one from earlier, only this one was illuminated in a pale blue lighting.

"We're about two hundred yards to the right." The Doctor said as he began to run, pulling Rose along with him. "Come on!"

Rounding a corner, he stopped them in front of a hatch door and began looking it over.

Donna was panting heavily when she caught up with them "So what do we do?" she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"I don't know." he replied, pulling a stethoscope from his pocket and running it over the door as he listened. "I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history."

Donna looked over at Rose. "Brilliant huh? For your sake I hope she gets your genes." she said nodding towards the younger woman's stomach.

"Oi!" The Doctor shouted defensively.

Donna rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in frustration. "You still haven't explained why I'm full of particles. What are they for?"

"There's a Racnoss web at the center of the Earth." he said continuing his examination of the door. "But my people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss were stuck."

Rose watched Donna as The Doctor spoke, trying not to laugh. To her, his non-stop gob was quite endearing. Maybe because she just loved the sound of his voice and enjoyed how excited he got over the littlest of things, but she could understand how others might not find that particular quirk so adorable. Donna was the type that would be referred to as 'the fiery redhead' and her temperament reflected that description which was why she and The Doctor's personalities clashed so easily. It was almost like watching siblings bicker when you observed their interactions. At the moment he was of course rambling on with a lesson in Racnoss history while Donna made faces and mimicked his longwinded speech with a blah, blah gesture. They were both so wrapped up in trying to control their laughter, that neither one of them noticed the danger creeping up from behind. Then suddenly, everything went dark.

"They've just taken hibernation for billions of years." The Doctor continued on; completely unaware of what had transpired. "Frozen, dead, kaput. So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and…" he paused as he suddenly had an uneasy feeling wash over him. "The two of you have never been so quiet." he said as he turned around, finding himself alone. "Rose?" he called out. "Donna?" Looking up and down the corridor he ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, not good." he muttered to himself, pulling his sonic from his pocket and pointing it at the door. After a few seconds the lock clicked and he turned the hatch wheel to yank open the door finding himself face to face with one of the Roboforms; holding a large gun. "Oh." he breathed out. "Definitely not good."

-oOo-

When Rose awoke, she found herself staring into a large gaping hole in the ground. Blinking a few times to clear her vision, she winced at the pain on her forehead and tried to lift her hand to check the injury but it wouldn't budge.

"Rose, you awake?" she heard Donna ask.

As her sight finally came into full focus, Rose saw that the reason for her immobility was the thick web like substance that was currently pinning her to the ceiling. Glancing to her left, she saw that both Donna and Lance were in the same state as she was.

"Yeah, M' awake. What happened?"

"We're apparently spider chow thanks to this idiot over here." Donna turned her head towards Lance. "I hate you."

"Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart." he shot back.

"My golden couple, together at last." hissed a voice from below them. Rose looked down to see the Empress staring up at them in delight. "Your awful wedded life." she quipped. "And you've brought your little friend back with you. Tell me, do you want to be released?"

"Yes!" The trio replied simultaneously.

"The bride and groom are supposed to say, I do."

"Hah." Lance scoffed. "No chance."

"Say it!" The Empress commanded.

"I do." Lance muttered.

Donna looked back at him and rolled her eyes. "I do."

"Great, I do too." Rose added. "So can you let us down now?"

"Not a chance." The Empress replied. "Activate the particles. Purge every last one."

Rose watched as the golden glow of the Huon particles began to surround Donna and Lance once more, creating a large cloud of energy.

"And release!" The Empress ordered, sending the particles straight down into the dark pit. "The secret heart unlocks and they will waken from their Sleep of Ages."

"Who will?" Donna asked. "What's down there?"

Lance whipped his head back in her direction and gave her a bewildered look. "How thick are you?"

"My children," The Empress informed them. "The long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh! The web star shall come to me. My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

"Use them, not me!" Lance pleaded. "Use them!"

"Oh, my funny little Lance!" she laughed. "But you are quite impolite to your lady friends. The Empress does not approve."

Reaching up, she extended one of her razor-tipped legs to rip open the section of webbing that held him in place and he plummeted straight down into the hole, his cries echoing throughout the room.

"Lance!" Donna screamed as they watched him disappear into the darkness of the pit.

The Empress laughed once more. "I shall now harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat. My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them. So you might as well unmask my clever little doctor man." She turned to face the Roboform that had appeared on the stairwell.

"Oh well. Nice try." The Doctor said, removing the mask and robe and dropping them to the floor. "Rose, the two of you are going to have to swing across." he called out, as he adjusted the settings on his sonic.

Donna's head snapped towards Rose. "What's he mean swing?"

"He's gonna use the sonic to loosen the web, and then we're gonna swing across to the other side of the pit."

"But, we'll fall." Donna protested.

"Nah, me an' him have done this type of stuff before." Rose assured her. "Don't worry, I'll go first and then you swing towards me and I'll catch you, yeah?"

Donna squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, okay. Let's do it."

"Ready, Rose?" The Doctor called out, activating the sonic.

"Ready!" she hollered back.

As he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the webbing it began to deteriorate and as soon as her hands were free, Rose grabbed onto the thickest strand of webbing she could find. The remainder of the binding substance gave way and she was flying through the air in an almost Tarzan-esque manner. When she landed on the opposite side of the pit, she let go of the webbing and spun around to face Donna. "Your turn." She grinned.

The Doctor aimed his sonic once more and the next thing Donna knew, she was swinging towards Rose at an alarming speed and screaming her lungs out. Within seconds, Rose was grabbing ahold of her and pulling her safely away from the pit.

"See, that wasn't so bad." Rose teased.

Satisfied that the women were safe, The Doctor turned his attention back to their captor. "Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now."

"These men are so funny." The Empress laughed.

"What's your answer?"

"Oh I'm afraid I have to decline." she replied, turning to her Roboforms. "At arms! Take aim! And…"

"Relax." The Doctor finished as the robots slumped forward.

"What did you do?" Rose asked

He grinned as he pulled a large remote control from his pocket. "Guess what I've got?" he sing-songed.

Donna's mouth dropped open. "How did that fit in there?"

Rose laughed. "They're bigger on the inside."

Their amusement was cut short as a laser beam struck the railing right next to where The Doctor stood.

"Doctor, look out!" Rose yelled as another shot hit even closer, barely missing him and causing him to stumble backwards and drop the remote. Looking across the room, he realized that another one of the Roboforms had just teleported in and he quickly scrambled for the remote in an attempt to shut it down as well. The sound of Donna's screams made him realize that the robot had now turned its attention on her and Rose and as he grabbed the remote and stood up, he turned around just in time to watch Rose push Donna out of the way as it opened fire. The next shot hit the ground right next to Rose's feet, forcing her closer to the pit and when she stepped backwards her foot hit a patch of loose concrete that immediately crumbled. The frozen look of fear on her face was the last thing he saw as she dropped straight down into the hole.

"Rooooooose!" he screamed as another laser beam whipped past his head. "Rooooooose!"

"My children thank you for your contribution." The Empress cackled gleefully.

The Doctor fumbled with the controller while trying to dodge the nonstop laser beams that kept him cornered. He felt numb. The image of Rose plummeting into the hole was playing over and over again in his mind's eye and at that moment he wanted revenge. He was no longer thinking about the safety of the planet. He was no longer thinking about helping Donna. He didn't care if he destroyed the place, nor at that moment did he care if he survived. All he knew was that his Rose and their child were gone, and the storm within him raged.

Donna stood in shock, with her hands over her mouth as she watched the scene unfold. If Rose hadn't pushed her out of the way when she did, it would have been her that fell into the pit. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." she said aloud as the tears spilled from her eyes. "Oh, Rose I'm so sorry."

"Okay, good. Well, stop bein' sorry and give me a hand up will ya?" a voice called out.

Donna's tears immediately ceased as she couldn't quite believe what she had heard. Carefully making her way to the edge of the pit, she lay down flat on her stomach and slowly peered over the side. Rose was holding tightly to a piece of metal that jutted out of the wall just slightly below the opening and looking up at her with a mixture of both fear and relief adorning her face.

"Rose, oh my god." The redhead exhaled a shuddering breath as she reached down and grabbed the blonde's hand. As soon as she got a good enough grip, Donna pulled her up and out of the hole.

When they had backed up to a safe enough distance, Rose threw her arms around Donna and hugged her tight. "Thank you." Rose breathed out a sigh of relief into the other woman's shoulder. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here."

Donna pulled back and smiled. "Nah, I'm nothin' special. I'm sure you would have gotten out of it on your own."

The next words out of Rose's mouth died on her lips as an explosion rocked the room. Looking over, they saw The Doctor standing against the railing with his sonic still pointed at the smoldering pile of what was left of the last robot, the full fury of the oncoming storm gracing his features.

"Roboforms are not necessary." The Empress announced. "My children have had a taste of your human and will now feast on Martian flesh."

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars." he said his voice unnaturally level.

"Then where?"

"My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey." The name of his home planet was spoken in such a harsh tone, it made Rose shudder.

"They murdered the Racnoss!" The Empress hissed.

"I warned you. You did this." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out some of the Christmas tree decorations that had reined havoc on the wedding party.

When the Empress realized what he was holding, she cried out. "No! No! Don't! No!"

His face remained impassive as he used the remote to maneuver the ornaments around the room and detonate them at the areas of his choosing. Several of the baubles blew a hole in the wall leading to the corridor, which breeched the outer damn to the Thames River and the lab began to flood. Wave after wave of water poured down into the hole, drowning out the screams of the Empress's offspring. The remaining ornaments exploded near the lab equipment, causing a massive fire to break out throughout the room.

"What is he doing?" Donna cried out over the roaring sound of the rushing water.

Rose watched him as he stood on the landing, unmoving and illuminated by firelight as the water rained down over him. His face showed a mixture of desperation and anger, but above all else, it reflected defeat. She had never seen that look on his face before and she never wanted to see it again. "He's gonna kill himself." she stammered.

"Oh god," Donna murmured. "He thinks you're dead."

"We have to stop him." Rose said as they got to their feet.

Donna ran over towards the wall right below him while Rose made her way up the stairs to the landing where he stood.

"No! No! My children!" The Empress continued to cry out in anguish.

"Doctor!" Donna yelled. "You can stop now!"

He glanced down at the redhead; barely registering what she was saying and not really caring either when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Spinning around, his eyes widened in shock to see Rose standing before him soaked and shivering.

"Doctor, you have to stop." she pleaded softly.

"Rose," he breathed out as the remote went clattering to the floor. He immediately pulled her into his arms, hugging and kissing her fiercely as they sank down onto the ground. He pulled back for a moment, and pushed the damp locks from her face, looking into her eyes. "I thought," his voice broke. "Oh, Rose I thought…"

"Shh." She placed her fingers to his lips. "S' okay. M' okay."

He wrapped his arms around her once more and held her tight as the water continued to fall upon them. Donna had just made it up to the landing where they sat when a bright blue light filled the room, signaling that the Empress had teleported back to her ship.

"We need to go." Donna said breathing heavily.

The Doctor nodded and stood up.

"But what about the Empress?" Rose asked.

"She's used up all her Huon energy." he said, pulling her to her feet. "She's defenseless!"

The trio quickly made their way up the stairs and into the corridor before the entire room flooded. Leading them back to the restricted door he had been investigating earlier, The Doctor bypassed the hatch and they climbed out onto the roof just in time to see an army tank fire two missiles into the heart of the Racnoss ship. The massive explosion lit up the night sky as pieces of the decimated craft rained down over Canary Wharf.

"We made it." Rose said, wrapping her arms around The Doctor's waist as he pulled her towards him.

"Yeah," Donna agreed. "There's just one problem."

The Doctor pulled his attention from Rose for a moment to look up at their new friend. "What's that?"

"We've drained the Thames." she laughed, gesturing behind her with her thumb.

-oOo-

Figuring that Donna's family had been through enough for one day and not wanting to freak them out by materializing a big blue box in the middle of their yard, The Doctor instead set the TARDIS down across the street from her parents' house.

"There we go." He patted the doorframe as the trio clambered out into the street. "Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything."

"More than I've done." Donna muttered.

"That's not true." Rose said, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "You were brilliant back there."

Donna gave her a soft smile as The Doctor performed a quick scan of her with his sonic.

"All the Huon particles have gone." he confirmed. "No damage, you're fine."

"Yeah, but apart from that, I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."

The Doctor tugged lightly on his ear and looked away uncomfortably. "I couldn't save him."

"He deserved it." she bit out, but as she caught Rose's expression her face softened. "No, he didn't." she sighed as she glanced over her shoulder, watching her parents set the table through the window. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have." The Doctor remarked and then frowned. "Oh no, I forgot you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do."

A slow smile spread across his face. "Even if it snows?"

Rose grinned knowingly as she watched him walk over to the TARDIS and reach up behind the doorframe. The lamp on the roof began to glow brightly and then fired an energy bolt into the sky, creating a slight firework effect and within seconds large fluffy snowflakes were floating down upon them.

"How did you do that?" Donna asked in astonishment.

"Oh," he shrugged. "Basic atmospheric excitation."

"Much better than the snow we had last Christmas." Rose recalled as he put his arm around her. "So, what you gonna do now?" she asked looking back at Donna.

"Not getting married, for starters. And I'm not going to temp anymore. I dunno. Travel; see a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

Rose looked up at The Doctor, batting her eyelashes and giving him a disarming smile.

He sighed inwardly knowing he would never be able tell her no and turned back to Donna. "Weell," he said, rubbing his neck. "You could always come with us." Rose grinned again and gave an enthusiastic nod.

"No."

"Okay." The Doctor shrugged and turned to head back into the TARDIS, pulling Rose along with him.

"Doctor," Rose chided, lightly smacking him on the arm and turned back to Donna. "Are you sure? There's plenty of room and we'd love to have ya, even if this one doesn't act like it." she gestured towards The Doctor.

Donna shook her head. "I can't."

"S' okay," Rose nodded. "We understand."

"No, but really. Everything we did today. Do you guys live your life like that?"

"Not all the time." The Doctor glanced over at Rose who was giving him a pointed look. "Weell, maybe quite a bit of the time." Rose crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Fine," he conceded. "All the time." He turned his focus back to Donna. "But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful."

"And it's terrible. And when Rose almost…" Seeing the flash of anger that sparked in his eyes, she quickly abandoned the rest of the sentence. Taking a breath, she began again. "That place was flooding and burning and they were dying, and you were stood there like, I don't know, a stranger. And then you made it snow." she gestured to the sky. "I mean, you scare me to death."

"Right." he sniffed and looked away.

Donna watched The Doctor for a moment and could tell that her words had upset him. Wanting to make amends, considering how much they had done for her she decided to extend an olive branch. "Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner." She motioned for them to follow her. "Oh, come on. Mum always cooks enough for twenty."

"Thank you, but we can't." Rose said. "We're actually havin' Christmas dinner at my parents' new house this year."

"Ok then."

"We'd better go." The Doctor said turning back towards the TARDIS.

"Yeah," Rose agreed giving his hand a squeeze. "Jus' give me a mo'." He nodded and gave her a quick kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor." Donna called.

"And you." he replied before stepping into the timeship.

"Are you sure you won't change your mind?" Rose asked one last time.

"Yeah, I'm sure." The redhead nodded. "I'll tell you what though. When that scrawny alien of yours finally pulls his head out of his arse and proposes, I better get a call."

Rose laughed. "M' not sure that's somethin' that'll ever happen."

"It better or I owe him another slap." she said. "Alien or not, you're carrying his baby and I know he loves you from the way he kept making goo-goo eyes at you all day. If it's a simple fear of commitment, I can have him straightened out right away."

Rose laughed again. "No, S' nothin' like that." She stared at the redhead for a moment longer before leaning in to give her a hug. "Merry Christmas, Donna."

"Merry Christmas, Rose." Donna replied, returning the hug.

Pulling back the two women smiled at one another once more and then with a small wave, Donna turned and headed towards her parents' house.

Rose waited until Donna was inside before turning and heading back to the TARDIS.

"Think she'll be okay?" she asked as she closed the doors behind her and leaned up against them.

The Doctor looked up from the console as he flipped the dematerialization lever. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I promised to keep in touch." Rose ran her hand along the railing as she walked up the ramp.

Meeting her halfway, The Doctor pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her nose with his. "Picking up strays again are we?"

"I like her, and I think you do too."

"Yeah, I kinda do." he admitted. "It's just…"

"What, Doctor?" She looked up into his eyes.

"Is it really so bad that I want you all to myself right now?"

"No, I guess not." she conceded, giving him her signature smile and winding her arms around his neck to bring him in for a kiss.

"Speaking of having you all to myself, I believe we still have some making up to do." he whispered seductively.

"What about dinner?" she giggled.

"Oh we'll be there in plenty of time for that." he assured her. "But for now, I think I'd rather start with desert."

-oOo-

The Tyler's new home was located in the town of Pernath; just ten minutes out of Cardiff, allowing an easy commute to Torchwood for Pete. Knowing that there was no way Jackie would allow the TARDIS inside the new place, The Doctor set her down in the back garden so as to not startle the neighbors.

"I feel like we should have brought somethin'." Rose told him as she rang the doorbell.

"Like what?"

"I dunno, jus' somethin."

The front door opened and Mickey stood in the doorway with a big grin on his face, holding a beer. "'Bout time you two got here." he said, pulling Rose in for a hug before stepping aside so they could enter.

"Well, you know the Doc," Jack chimed in as he joined them in the entry way. "Always likes to make an entrance." He laughed as he leaned in to give Rose a hug as well. Pulling back he handed The Doctor a beer.

The Time Lord looked down at the bottle and rolled his eyes. "Really, Jack?"

The Captain grinned and pulled him into a tight hug. "Technically, I did buy them so it counts." he asserted making Rose double over in laughter.

Pulling back, The Doctor shook his head as he tried to conceal a smile and then turned to Mickey for their customary fist bump.

"Your mum's in the kitchen." Mickey informed Rose as The Doctor hung up their coats.

Looking around, it seemed as though they had pretty much settled in to their new place. It definitely had a touch of Jackie's decor about it. The house was quite spacious in itself. As you walked in there was a staircase leading up to the second floor where all four bedrooms were located. Towards the left of the staircase was a small sitting room, which adjoined with the dining area. A little further into the house there was a small bathroom on the stairs' side wall with a hall closet opposite it and at the end of the house was a very large kitchen with an island in the middle and an archway that led into the living room.

He began to calculate in his head how much time had passed since Canary Wharf. With it now being Christmas, even though it had only been about a day for he and Rose, it ended up being about three months' time for them. Well, that would definitely give her parents enough time to settle in he thought.

"Alright, out with it." Jack said, disrupting his thoughts. "What kind of mess did you leave for me to clean up this time?"

"Mess?" he sputtered. "I don't leave messes. I'll have you know…"

"He drained the Thames, blew up the secret basement and killed a horde of flesh eatin' alien spiders." Rose interjected.

"Okay, now that's impressive." Mickey said, pointing the lip of his beer towards The Doctor before taking a swig.

"Eh, ok. That's not so bad." Jack conceded. "I was planning on finding a way to close the place anyway. Now the mess from the ship Saxon had destroyed, that's going to be a bitch."

"Who's he again?" Rose asked.

"New Minister of Defense. If you ask me, he's a complete asshole."

"Here, here." Mickey chimed in.

The Doctor drifted out of the conversation as the familiar smells of Christmas dinner began to fill the room. Leaving Rose to catch up with their friends, he made his way back to the kitchen where Pete was standing at the island carving a rather large Turkey while Jackie removed several side dishes from the oven.

"Need any help?" he asked as he strolled towards them with his hands resting behind his back.

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Not if it involves you upgradin' my appliances."

He nodded dejectedly, knowing he wasn't going to start an argument after the day they had, even if his upgrades were very practical in helping things get done in a quicker timeframe. Reaching down, he went to pluck a piece of turkey from the serving platter.

"Oi!" Jackie chided, batting his hands away and then walked over to the fridge. Opening the door, she reached in and pulled out a jar of orange marmalade and handed it to him.

Grinning happily, The Doctor leaned up against the counter and began to unscrew the lid as Rose came into the kitchen followed by Jack and Mickey.

"I knew the party had moved in here." Jack said. "Doesn't matter where you go, everyone always winds up in the kitchen."

"S' 'cause that's where the food is." Rose laughed as she reached into the cutlery drawer for a spoon and handed it to The Doctor. Wiping his hands on a napkin, he took the spoon, grinning sheepishly and leaned in to give her a kiss.

"Aww," Jack gushed. "You two are so adorable."

"Oh, shut up." The Doctor replied, throwing a roll at him.

Jack caught it midair and took a bite. "Thanks." he mumbled; mouth full.

"I'm surprised you didn't just catch it with your mouth," Mickey observed. "It's big enough."

"Hey!" Jack protested, throwing the remainder of the roll at Mickey.

-oOo-

Dinner had been wonderful and even after everyone had had their fill they all remained in the dining room laughing and talking, not really wanting the night to end.

The Doctor looked around the table at his…dare he think it, family?" Rose and Jackie were in the midst of popping open a cracker, while Pete, Jack and Mickey argued over some sporting match. 'Family,' he thought again and felt a sudden warmth flood through him. 'Family,' he quite liked the sound of that. 'His family.' It had been oh, such a long time since he had anything that remotely resembled a family and now…"

"You okay?" Rose asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

He looked up to see her warm hazel eyes filled with slight concern as she stared back at him. He smiled and reached out for the pink crown she held in her hands, placing it upon her head before pulling her in for a soft kiss. "I'm perfect." he assured her, wrapping his arms around her as she turned to lean back against his chest. 'Maybe,' he thought. 'Just maybe, a little domesticity wasn't so bad after all.'