The Companion Connection
By Lumendea
Chapter Fifty-One: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith: Final Preparations
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
….
Rose Marion Tyler's appearance would have surprised most people that knew her. The young woman who normally wore jeans, t-shirts with science sayings, sensible shoes, and kept her hair tied back was wearing a simple, but elegant bridesmaid's dress that was a pale blue colour with a white sash. Her long dark gold locks were twisted up on her head in an elegant bun with the back portion curled and flowing past her shoulder. True to her promise, Sarah Jane had ordered small white flowers to be put into Rose's hair. The only thing that was the same was that her golden bracelet, the inactive form of her Star Knight sword, was still on her wrist. Rose glanced down at her feet. She was wearing simple white ballet flats and briefly wondered if Sarah Jane would notice if she wore them during the ceremony instead of the heels that were waiting in the changing room. Rose turned her attention to the mobile phone she held in her hand and checked the time with a sigh.
The sound of a car made Rose look up quickly at the drive of the elegant building that Sarah Jane and Johnny had rented for their wedding. A black car with tinted windows pulled up in front of the stairs that Rose was standing on. The back driver's side door swung open and Jo Jones almost stumbled out of the car.
"Oh good, just in time," Jo said with a huff. Her eyes landed on Rose and she grinned widely. "Oh darling, look at you!" Jo stepped forward to the stairs and held out her arms. Rose smiled and gently hugged the older woman. "You look gorgeous," Jo said warmly. "Absolutely marvellous."
"Thank you, Jo," Rose replied with a slight blush.
"Who else are we waiting for?" Jo asked.
"You're the last one here," Rose said with a smile. "Everyone else has been in London for a few days."
"Well, when a tropical storm makes you change your entire travel plan; getting someplace on time can be an issue," Jo replied with a laugh. "I'm just glad I didn't miss it." Rose took a moment to look back at the car and smiled as Santiago climbed out along with an older young man with dark hair. "Rose, this is Henry, my youngest son," Jo said. "He just finished his degree in chemistry from Berkeley in California."
"Nice to meet you," Rose said politely.
"It is nice to finally meet you," Henry replied with a nod. "Mum didn't stop talking about you the entire way here."
"I certainly did not. It took us two days to get here," Jo defended before she shook her head, "Anyhow, where is everyone?"
"There is a lounge on the ground floor, to the right of the main door. Last time I looked, that was where they were waiting."
"Well then, that's where you can find me!" Jo stood on her toes to kiss Rose's cheek. "Come along, Santiago." Rose sighed softly as Jo climbed the stairs and vanished inside. Henry shook his head and turned to Rose.
"I'll join everyone inside in a moment. Where should I park?"
"Around the right side is fine," Rose said. "Don't go to the left side."
"Why not the left?" Henry asked.
"That is where the General has his transport," Rose said with a shake of her head. "He's being a bit paranoid about this wedding."
"Is he expecting trouble?" Henry asked.
Rose looked at him and then asked, "How much do you know?"
"I grew up on the usual Jones family bedtime stories," Henry replied with a grin. "The Doctor, the TARDIS, UNIT, and faraway planets."
"Then the General is expecting trouble," Rose answered with a chuckle.
"Of course I am," the deep and stern voice of the General said from the doorway. He was dressed smartly in his formal uniform and trying to mask his amusement. "This many companions all in one place is begging the universe for trouble." The General stepped outside the door and glanced at Rose with a smile. "You alone are a trouble magnet."
"No, I'm Jeopardy Friendly." Rose raised her chin and grinned. "The Doctor is Trouble Magnet."
The General shook his head and sighed. "I rest my case. There is certain to be some kind trouble today."
"Don't be so worried General. Today is a happy day."
"I notice that you're still wearing your sword," the General pointed out.
"Yes… well… it's pretty. And doesn't actually come off." Rose turned and started climbing the stairs. "I'd better go see what other maid of honour duties I've got since Jo is here now." Rose paused and looked over at the General. "You want trouble, just imagine how bad the bachelorette party would have been if Jo hadn't been delayed."
Rose grinned and slipped inside the building before the General could respond. She glanced into the lounge to see the Jacksons, Victoria, Ace, Mel, Tegan, and Jo all exchanging greetings and talking excitedly together. Santiago was standing near the doorway talking with Luke, Clyde, and Rani. Colonel Benton was watching the groups with an amused smile from where he was leaning against the far wall. Satisfied that the major guests were doing well, Rose climbed the grand staircase to the wedding floor. She knocked on the side door to the room that was serving as the bridal changing room. A moment later Barbara carefully opened the door and scanned the hall before she opened the doorway enough to let Rose in.
"Bit paranoid aren't you?" Rose asked with a smile, "Johnny isn't going to try and peek."
"I'm not taking any chances," Barbara replied with a smile. "So, is Jo here?"
"She got the timing a little off," Rose said. "But yeah, she's downstairs now with the others."
"Excellent, all the out of town guests are accounted for." Barbara snatched up a notebook and checked off Jo's name and her party. "And the local guests should start arriving in an hour or so. They do know not to talk about aliens and the Doctor once those people arrive, right?"
"I'm sure they do," Rose said calmly. "Breathe Barbara. Everything is going to be splendid and tomorrow you and Ian will be moving into Sarah Jane's guest room to look after Luke when they leave for Greece."
"I've tried calming her down," Sarah Jane said to the side of them, "But it isn't working."
Rose turned and smiled at Sarah Jane who was standing calmly in front of a large mirror. She was wearing a long and simple white wedding dress with long white gloves. It was a flowing dress that actually looked pretty comfortable to Rose. Sarah Jane's hair was pulled up at the back of her head in a stunning bun with a large white flower in it.
"You look relaxed," Rose observed as she walked over to Sarah Jane. "Better than Barbara by far."
"Well, my dear mother-in-law to be is worrying enough for the two of us." Sarah Jane smiled softly at her reflection. "No matter what happens, this is going to be a wonderful day."
"Let's hope so," Rose said. "The General is trying to make sure nothing strange or alien happens today."
"I doubt he'd actually be able to prevent it," Sarah Jane replied. "I do hope the Brigadier and Benton don't have to leave for anything."
"Actually, he's worried about something here," Rose said before she thought better of it.
"What?" Sarah Jane spun to look at her with wide eyes.
"Oh nothing," Rose said quickly with a forced smile.
"Rose Marion Tyler," Sarah Jane said sternly.
Rose grimaced at the use of her full name. "The General is worried about something here because of all the companions in one place."
That comment made Sarah Jane laugh and drew Barbara's attention. "Well if anything is going to happen, I hope it happens now while it is just us here and not later when the other guests arrive. I'd hate to try and explain aliens to my publishing friends."
"Well I'm glad that you're so happy today," Rose said warmly. "I doubt anything could knock you off of this high you're riding." Rose's phone started to ring and she flipped it open quickly to see the General's mobile number. "Hello?"
"Rose, the Register is here," the General informed her.
"Thanks, General." Rose frowned a little, the Register was very early. Rose hung up and turned back to Sarah Jane. "The Register is already here. I'll be back once I sort this out."
"Thank you, Rose, for running around taking care of things," Sarah Jane said.
"What are maids of honour for?" Rose smiled before slipping back into the hallway.
Rose hadn't been expecting the Register to arrive for at least another hour. Arriving two hours before the ceremony seemed a bit extreme even if everyone was pretty much ready to go. Sarah Jane had been energetic so early that she and Barbara had just agreed to start getting final preparations moving. Rose blinked as she reached the top of the staircase and saw the person the General was standing with. It was tall, dark haired man with sharp features wearing a black suit. The Register that Sarah Jane and Johnny had spoken with had been a female.
"Hello," Rose greeted as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I'm Rose Tyler." She eyed him suspiciously, noting that the General was doing the same.
"Nice to meet you, young lady," the man said pleasantly. "I'm afraid that Emily was taken ill and I was sent to oversee this marriage."
"Nothing serious I hope," the General said.
"Oh, nothing serious, but certainly not a good choice to see to a marriage. You wouldn't want the officiate having to dash out of the room in the middle of vows." The man turned back to Rose. "I am Robert Schrekc."
"Nice to meet you Mister Schrekc." Rose held out her hand "Thank you for filling in then."
"Of course," Schrekc said as he opened a folder he was holding. Rose frowned and let her hand drop to her side. "All the paperwork is in order, I simply wanted to meet the bride and groom before the wedding." He gave Rose a smile. "I certainly wouldn't want to startle Miss Smith on her way down the aisle."
"Uh right," Rose said with a nod. "If you'll just wait here and I'll go and check with Sarah Jane." Rose glanced over into the lounge and spotted Johnny. "It looks like Johnny is already celebrating with the guests in there."
"I'll start there then," Schrekc said with a nod, "Thank you, Miss Tyler."
Rose turned and started to climb the stairs, she glanced back over her shoulder in time to see the General and Schrekc walking into the lounge. She really hoped that there hadn't been any alien conversations going on. Rose knocked on the door and gained entry to find Sarah Jane sitting in a chair with her glasses on and a notebook in hand.
"Writing an article?" Rose guessed.
"I just had some thoughts," Sarah Jane admitted with a smile. She looked down at her dress and laughed softly. "Why did I want to get dressed so early?"
"I don't know," Rose said with a shrug, "Barbara and I tried to tell you that you still had hours before the wedding. My guess is that you thought getting into your wedding dress would make time move faster."
"No comment," Sarah Jane replied with a small smile. "So Emily Bates is here? It's really early for her to have arrived."
"Actually, apparently Mrs Bates is sick so another guy came to fill in. Mister… Schrekc," she said slowly, carefully repeating the name. "He asked to meet you before the wedding. That okay?"
Barbara glanced around the room quickly. "Nothing is out that is a problem."
"That's fine," Sarah Jane said. "What are the others doing?"
"Last time I checked they were playing some kind of game where they boasted about adventures and the others tried to decide if they were telling the truth or not."
"Sounds like fun," Sarah Jane said.
"It would be more interesting if anyone actually had to lie," Rose replied with a smirk. "So far, I think everyone has been sticking to actual adventures they had." Rose put her hand on the doorknob. "I'll be back."
"Don't rush," Sarah Jane said. "We've still got hours to go."
"I told you we didn't need to rush," Rose heard Barbara say as she stepped into the hall.
"Johnny and I were worried that something would happen today," Sarah Jane defended. "An invasion or alien plot to take over the world-"
Rose closed the door and shook her head. Walking back towards the main hall, Rose noticed Schrekc waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He was leaning calmly against the wall and smiled slightly as Rose came into view. Rose glanced back towards the lounge and then back to Schrekc.
"Just a touch noisy for me," Schrekc explained calmly. "I'm not much for crowds and I'd hate to interrupt the fun of friends who don't get together very often."
"Well, Sarah Jane says it is fine if you come up," Rose said. "Follow me please."
Rose led the man up to the door of Sarah Jane's room and knocked. Barbara opened the door and allowed them both inside. Mister Schrekc nodded to both Barbara and Sarah Jane. "A pleasure to meet you both today. I am Robert Schrekc. I am filling in due to Mrs Bates' illness."
"I'm Sarah Jane Smith, soon to be Chesterton-Smith. Thank you for coming." Sarah Jane rose from her chair quickly and offered him her hand. "I'm afraid that everything is a bit quiet right now. We started our final preparations a bit early."
"No problem at all," Schrekc said, shaking her hand. "I don't mind the quiet time at all. I just wanted you to have a chance to meet me before the glorious event."
"Glorious event, I like that," Barbara said with a smile. "I'm Barbara Chesterton, the mother of the groom."
Sarah Jane smiled as Schreck patted her hand. Then he smiled and said, "I imagine that this is very exciting for all of you. Such a wonderful marriage, especially given the remarkable shared memories of the assembled group."
"What do you mean?" Sarah Jane asked, a look of slight alarm creeping into her eyes.
"I mean travels in time and space, it's not often there are so many such travellers in one place."
Sarah Jane tried to pull her hand away but suddenly gave a weak cry. Rose's eyes widened and she summoned her sword as a strange glow surrounded Schrekc and Sarah Jane's hands. Sarah Jane's eyes glazed over and she began to sway. Barbara grabbed her and tried to pull Sarah Jane's hand loose. She shouted for him to release her. Sarah's face was growing paler and she started to fall.
Rose glared at Schrekc who was smiling, his eyes glowing red, and raised her sword. Swinging, Rose brought the sword against the arm that was holding Sarah Jane's hand. The arm vibrated with the impact, forming a strange indent in the arm, and Schrekc released Sarah Jane's hand. Rose's eyes widened as the entire arm, including the fabric, seemed to reform into its proper shape.
"What on Earth?" Rose gasped as Schrekc turned towards her and looked at the sword.
"Naughty little thing aren't you." He chuckled and held up his hand. "I'm afraid child, that it isn't that simple."
Rose held her sword out in front of her, not daring to take her eyes off of the strange creature. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sarah Jane regain her footing, but didn't see Barbara. A second later, Barbara brought a chair down on Schrekc's head.
"Run!" Barbara shouted. She grabbed Sarah Jane's arm, guiding her to the door.
Rose nodded and kept her eyes on Schrekc who was starting to rise. The dent in his head reformed to its previous appearance. Growling, Rose brought her sword down on his back and watched as the strange form gave way beneath her sword again. The body was split in two, but there was no blood or bones. Rose stepped back towards the door as the two halves started rejoining; the odd texture of the form reaching out to the other half.
"Gross!" Rose dashed out into the hall and closed the door. She rushed down the hall to where Sarah Jane and Barbara were starting down the stairs.
"Everyone!" Barbara shouted, "We've got trouble."
They reached the main hall and their friends poured out of the lounge to join them. "Do you mean trouble like the old day's trouble?" Jo asked with an excited look.
"Definitely that kind of trouble!" Sarah Jane groaned. Barbara handed her over to Johnny who held her gently. Sarah Jane shook her head and looked over at Luke.
"You alright?" Johnny asked urgently.
"Just dizzy," Sarah Jane assured him.
"I knew this would happen," the General huffed. Stalking to the front door, he pulled on the handle sharply, but it wouldn't give. "Benton try a window!"
Benton rushed over to one of the windows and tried opening it, but it remained tightly fastened. Rose joined Benton and swung her sword against the glass, but the blade never connected with the glass. Instead, there was a dull thrumming in the air as Rose's sword stopped half an inch from the glass.
"No good sir," Benton said as he turned to the General. "Whatever it is, it has us trapped."
"Well," the General sighed, "At least there aren't any civilians here yet."
"No, just a really creepy blob thing that heals itself," Rose muttered. She looked over at the stairs. "It won't be down for long. We need a plan!"
Everyone stopped as a familiar grinding sound echoed in the hallway. Rose grinned and glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the TARDIS would land.
"For once he has good timing," the General muttered, but a smile was pulling at his mouth.
"I wonder why he's coming?" Tegan asked with a grin. "Is it the wedding or the alien?"
"I'd guess the alien," Sarah Jane replied with a smile. "How much time have we got?"
"An hour and thirty-two minutes to the wedding," Ben Jackson answered as the TARDIS finished materialising. "But other guests will start arriving before that."
The TARDIS door opened and Rose grinned as Donna stepped out and caught sight of them. "Uh… I really hope I don't have to explain this."
"Don't worry Donna," Sarah Jane said with a wide smile. "This is the rest of the Companion's Club."
"Really!?" Donna grinned and stepped closer. "Oh, that is brilliant! I'm Donna Noble."
"Must I remind everyone that we've got a problem," the General said sternly.
Rose looked back at the TARDIS as the brown haired Doctor stepped outside and closed the door. "Anyone know why the TARDIS had trouble materialising?"
"Maybe the same reason that all the doors and windows are sealed Doctor," Benton offered with a smile. "There's a hostile alien inside the building."
"Really?" the Doctor asked in surprise as he looked at the group. "Blimey! Everyone is here aren't they?"
"Doctor?" Tegan asked cautiously. "You regenerated again?"
"Uh… Tegan good to see you, but what are you talking about?"
"Timelines," Rose said quickly in a loud voice. She spun to look at all the gathered companions in turn. "No one talk about how we met! It's in his future and this is the body before the one you all met last time."
"What?" The Doctor stared at her in a blend of shock and horror. "You're joking, right Rose?"
"Sorry, but no Doctor." Rose turned to look at the other companions who all had doubtful worried looks on their faces. "Just think about it. We all know something the Doctor doesn't."
"Oh, that was just mean," the Doctor hissed at Rose. A strange roar from upstairs caught the Doctor's attention. "And speaking of mean." Rose gasped as the figure of Schrekc stumbled into view at the top of the stairs, roaring again. Out of his back, two large grey wings formed and its face shifted to an almost skull-like appearance, except with long horns growing at the top. The creature's eyes glowed red and glared down at them. "Oh very mean."
