Then…

"Are you alright?" she murmured, wrapping her arms around the Doctor's waist from behind after setting down the bag.

The Doctor stared at the console for a moment before he nodded slowly "I think so. Or I will be."

"I'm glad that you allowed me to stay, by the way," she sighed, releasing him to take a drink from the bag.

"I'm sorry about that, Ty," the Doctor mumbled, scratching the back of his head "I really should have known better. Being the only one of your kind is…"

"Don't," Tyra shook her head "You don't have to say it. And you're forgiven."

The Doctor took a deep breath, steeling his nerves "Tyra? I…" He froze when a flash of white caught his attention. Oh, come on… Not again "What?"

Tyra blinked at the Doctor in confusion "What what?" She followed his gaze and snorted at the woman standing there.

"What?" the Doctor repeated.

The red-haired woman crossed her arms angrily "Who are you?"

The Doctor looked from the woman in the wedding dress to Tyra who was still holding the blood bag "But…"

"Where am I?"

"What?" the Doctor demanded, completely flabbergasted still.

The woman glared "What the hell is this place?"

Tyra snorted when the Doctor once again repeated "What?"

Now…

"You can't do that," the Doctor shook his head "I wasn't… We're in flight. That is – that is physically impossible. How did…?"

"Tell me where I am," the woman shouted, glaring at the Doctor "I demand you tell me right now. Where am I?"

The Doctor looked to Tyra helplessly but she just grinned, taking a sip from the bag in her hand. He huffed at her betrayal and turned back to the woman "Inside the Tardis."

"The what?" the woman demanded.

"The Tardis," the Doctor repeated, sounding more and more annoyed at the woman in the wedding dress.

The woman raised her eyebrow, sounding just as done with the Doctor as he seemed with her. Tyra merely sat down on the jump seat, watching the confrontation in amusement "The what?"

"The Tardis."

"The what?"

The Doctor groaned "It's called the Tardis."

"That's not even a proper word," the woman pointed out "You're just saying things."

"How did you get in here?" the Doctor questioned.

The woman stared at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously "Well, obviously you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it."

"Sorry, who's Nerys?" Tyra asked in confusion, leaning against the console next to the Doctor "And what did you do to her that she has to get you back for it? That sounds like a story I would be interested in hearing."

"Your best friend," the woman jabbed her finger at them before she caught sight of the bag that Tyra was holding "What is that? Are you drinking blood? What kind of sick freak does that?"

"Hold on," the Doctor cut in, resisting the urge to defend Tyra "Wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?"

"I'm going ten pin bowling," she sneered.

Tyra hit the Doctor over the back of the head lightly "Wedding dress, Doc. She's getting married."

"I was halfway up the aisle," the woman shouted again, her finger digging into the Doctor's chest. He shifted away, fiddling with the controls as the woman followed him, still ranting "I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away and then you two, I don't know, you drugged me or something. You and that freak of yours."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed dangerously "I didn't do anything. And I would appreciate it if you didn't call her a freak."

The woman stomped around the console, following the Doctor as he checked on what had happened "I'm having the police on you," she huffed "Me and my husband… As soon as he is my husband. We're going to sue the living backside off you." Her gaze caught the door and she started running toward it.

Tyra exchanged a look with the Doctor, stepping back a little as he surged forward "No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't." He whirled around to Tyra "Why didn't you stop her?"

"Sorry," she shrugged "I doubt that she would have liked me anywhere near her. I'm a freak after all." Tyra finished her response with a small shrug, not insulted at all. People had been calling her worse things before.

The woman opened the doors and looked at the gaseous nebula of the previous supernova they had been circling around. The Doctor joined her by the doors "You're in space. Outer space. This is my spaceship. It's called the Tardis."

"How am I breathing?" the woman gaped and for the first time since she had gotten over her shock, she wasn't yelling.

The Doctor leaned against the other half of the door behind the woman, drawing Tyra closer to his side "The Tardis is protecting us."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself "And this is Tyra. You?"

"Donna," she mumbled, still staring outside.

The Doctor tilted his head "Human?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded before her head snapped up "Is that optional?"

The Doctor shrugged "Well, it is for me."

"You're… You're an alien?" she questioned before her eyes went to Tyra "Are you too?"

Tyra shook her head "He is. I'm not…"

"It's freezing with those doors open," Donna suddenly remarked, her arms wrapped around herself tightly.

The Doctor slammed the doors shut, whirling around to run back to the console, leaving Tyra standing with Donna "I don't understand that and I understand everything."

"Except for Human interaction," Tyra mumbled under her breath.

"This – This can't happen," he shook his head "There is no way a Human being can lock itself onto the Tardis and transport itself inside… It must be." He let out a triumphant noise as he grabbed an ophthalmoscope, getting very close to Donna, looking into her eyes "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection?"

Tyra stepped forward hesitatingly "Doctor… Maybe this isn't…"

"Something in the temporal field?" he cut her off, not even really noticing that Tyra had tried to talk. He was way too focused on the mystery in front of him.

"Doctor," Tyra sighed, seeing the anger rising in Donna's eyes.

He just blundered on "Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA with the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic…" Donna reached out, delivering a loud slap to the Doctor's face. He turned back to her, a hand resting on his stinging cheek "What was that for?"

"You're so dense sometimes," Tyra snorted, patting his shoulder.

Donna glared at them in annoyance "Get me to the church."

"And she's shouting again," Tyra sighed, hopping onto one of the railings close to where the Doctor was standing.

The Doctor dropped his instruments and turned back to the console "Right," he huffed "Fine. I don't want you here anyway. Having Tyra here is more than enough trouble."

"Hey," Tyra exclaimed "At least I'm not the one wandering off all the freaking time."

"Are you two done?" Donna demanded, crossing her arms again.

The Doctor rolled his eyes "Where is this wedding?"

"Saint Mary's," Donna started as the Doctor got to work "Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System." She froze when something caught her eye. Tyra looked over to see one of Rose's blouses slung over the railing across from Tyra "I knew it," she hissed, snatching it up "Acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?" Donna turned on Tyra "Did he abduct you too?"

Tyra grabbed the piece of clothing from her hand as the Doctor swallowed a few times "That's our friend's," he said quietly. Tyra threw it onto the second level, making a mental note to put it away later. Maybe she would bring it to Rose's room later…

"Where is she then?" Donna demanded "Popped out for a spacewalk?"

Tyra placed her hand on the Doctor's standing as close to him as she could "She's gone," Tyra told the woman.

Donna raised an eyebrow "Gone where?"

"We lost her," the Doctor mumbled, wrapping an arm around Tyra's waist out of Donna's sight. Tyra let him, knowing that Rose had been important to him as a friend even if he might not have always liked her very much towards the end. It didn't matter whether she had been flirting with him or treating Tyra the way she had – not that he knew everything about that either but she had been his friend and that was what counted, in the end.

"Well, you can hurry up and lose me," Donna shouted furiously. She calmed down for a moment, studying the pair closely. Tyra shot her a warning glare with a small shake of her head, while the Doctor stared at the console sadly "How do you mean, lost?" she whispered.

The Doctor's head snapped up, distancing himself from Tyra "Right," he clapped, his mask back up "Chiswick."


Donna was already halfway out of the door as soon as the Tardis had landed "I said, Saint Mary's," Donna grumbled, seeing the building all-around "What sort of Martian are you? Where is this?"

"Something's wrong with her," the Doctor breathed, petting the Tardis' frame with a worried frown "The Tardis… It's like she's recalibrating." He ran back inside, while Tyra stayed where she was, watching Donna "She's digesting." The Doctor messed around with the console, trying to find out what happened "What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong? Donna? You've really got to think. Is there anything that might've caught this?"

Donna walked around the Tardis, ignoring the Doctor completely. This was impossible. She glanced inside the box and then walked around it again as her eyes grew wider and wider as she did the normal circle around the Tardis.

"Anything you might have done," the Doctor continued calling over his shoulder from inside "Any sort of alien contacts? 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?"

"Doctor?" Tyra called over to him as Donna started walking away after another freaked out glance into the Tardis "She's wandering off."

"Donna." The Doctor ran toward them, stopping in front of Donna to block her path.

Donna shook her head "Leave me alone. I just want to get married."

"Come back to the Tardis," the Doctor tried to convince her.

Donna snorted "No way. That box is too weird."

"I know it's weird," Tyra told her with a small grin "But if anyone can help, it's the Doctor."

"I really doubt that," Donna shot back, looking down at her watch "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

The Doctor looked at her, his eyes softening a little "You can phone them. Tell them where you are."

"How do I do that?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Haven't you got a mobile?" the Doctor questioned.

Donna closed her eyes and took a deep breath "I'm in my wedding dress," she hissed "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."

"Ty?" the Doctor turned to Tyra with a sigh "Do you have your phone?"

Tyra patted the front pockets of her jeans and frowned "No. I think I left it in my room," she muttered "Damon called earlier – he says hi, by the way – and I forgot it after I changed."

"Great," he mumbled and turned back to Donna "This man you're marrying. What's his name?"

"Lance," Donna smiled dreamily.

The Doctor hummed "Good luck, Lance."

"Oi," Donna exclaimed "No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you. Both of you." With that said, she started running towards the street.

The Doctor stared after her in exasperation "I'm – I'm not… I'm not… I'm not from Mars."

"Is that really the most important thing right now?" Tyra asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"No," he shook his head "But I'm not from Mars. That's just insulting."

Tyra patted his shoulder "Well, while you're here pouting, Donna is leaving. She is certainly… something."

"Oh, that she is," the Doctor agreed, tugging her after the bride.

They ran, catching up with her as she was trying to flag down a taxi "Taxi," she shouted as one drove past her "Why's his light on?"

The Doctor pointed, while Tyra stood back. She never really did the whole taxi experience, so she wasn't quite sure how it worked. Whenever she needed a ride, she either used public transport or – most commonly – compeller herself a ride "There's another one." He tried to run and catch it but was too slow.

"Taxi," Donna called again and waved frantically in an effort to catch the driver's attention but again they just drove on "Oi."

The Doctor glanced back at Donna in confusion "Do you have that effect on everyone? Why aren't they stopping?"

"They think I'm in fancy dress," Donna pointed out, looking at her dress with tears once again gathering in her eyes.

A taxi drove past, honking "Stay off the scotch, darling."

"They think I'm drunk?"

Two guys in a car yelled out of the window next "You're fooling no one, mate."

"They think I'm in drag," Donna huffed.

"Hold on, hold on." The Doctor shook his head, stepping out into the road. He raised his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. A taxi did a quick U-turn, coming over to pick them up. They climbed into the backseat with Tyra half pressed against the door and somehow almost managed to sit on the Doctor's lap. It was a slightly frustrating position to be in.

Donna leaned forward to talk to the driver "Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road." She sniffled lightly "It's an emergency, I'm getting married. Just… Hurry up."

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart," the driver called back "Double rated today."

"Oh, my God." Donna's eyes widened as she turned to the Doctor and Tyra "Have you got any money?" she whispered.

The Doctor shook his head "Er… No." He glanced down at Tyra before looking back to Donna sheepishly "Haven't you?"

"Pockets," Donna gestured to her dress violently.

Tyra rolled her eyes, leaning forward to compel the driver to take them to the church when the Doctor reached out to stop her "Don't," he murmured.

"Why?" Tyra frowned.

"Ty, it's not right. We can get money…"

Tyra shook her head "Look, we should get Donna to the church. Who cares how it's done?"

The Doctor looked hesitant for a moment before he sighed, letting go of her arm "You're a terrible influence."

"I know," Tyra grinned before getting the taxi driver's attention just as he was about to drop them off by the side of the road. She looked into his eyes "You will take us to the church as fast as possible and you will do it for free."

"What good is that supposed to do?" Donna huffed.

The taxi driver nodded "Sure thing, sweetheart."

Donna gaped when the man accelerated "How…? How did you do that?"

"Trade secret," Tyra winked at her.

"No, but you just…"

Tyra shrugged and leaned her head against the window, her eyes closed as she thought about Henrik and what happened not even a full day ago.

Donna looked down at her watch with a worried frown "Come on," she mumbled, mentally begging the taxi driver to hurry up. Almost as if hearing her thoughts, the car slowed down as traffic started to pick up. Why there were so many people out on Christmas Eve, Donna didn't know. The only thing she did know was that it was almost too late.

"Are we missing it?" the Doctor asked quietly, biting his lip.

"Yeah," Donna nodded, blinking back the tears.

The Doctor looked over at her "Well, you can book another date, right?" he pointed out.

Donna nodded with a small sniff "Course we can."

"You've still got the honeymoon."

"It's just another holiday now," Donna muttered.

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, realising that he wasn't necessarily making things better at the moment "Yeah. Sorry."

Donna shook her head "It's not your fault."

Tyra looked over at her as the Doctor grinned "Oh? That's a change."

"Wish you had a time machine," Donna mumbled longingly "Then we could go back and get it right."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, sending Tyra a panicked look "But even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline… Apparently."

Donna looked at him for a moment before she sighed and looked back out of the window, watching the other cars crawl along the motorway.


It had taken them an hour to reach Saint Mary's and by the time they got there, the wedding was well and truly over. Donna let out a small sob, sinking down on a bench outside the church.

They were quiet for a moment before the Doctor pulled something out of his pocket "Oh," he remembered "You'd better put this on."

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna grumbled, looking at the simple golden band in the Doctor's hand.

He grimaced apologetically "This is a bio-damper. It can stop people from tracing the energy in you. Should keep you hidden." He slipped it onto her finger with a small grin "With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

"For better or for worse," Donna laughed tearily "So, does this happen often?"

"What?"

"This," she gestured to herself "Whatever the hell happened…"

The Doctor sighed and grabbed Tyra's hand, startling her out of her thoughts "Christmas seems to be a bit of a bad time for us… Last Christmas, there was this great big spaceship hovering over London." At Donna's confused look, he added "You didn't notice?"

"I… had a bit of a hangover," Donna admitted.

"We spent Christmas Day over at the Powell Estate," the Doctor continued, not caring whether Donna was interested or not "With this family… My friend. She had this family. Well, they were…" The Doctor let out a small snort "It was a pretty nice evening until we noticed that Tyra was missing."

"Missing?" Donna asked, glancing over to her.

Tyra shrugged "I don't do Christmas."

Donna nodded in understanding "Yeah, me neither." She bit her lip before looking at the girl "Look, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have called you a freak."

"I've been called worse," Tyra waved off "Don't worry about it."

Donna shook her head "Still. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's honestly alright," Tyra told her seriously.

"Can I ask… Why do you drink blood?" she questioned hesitatingly.

Tyra raised her eyebrow "What do you think is the reason?"

"Vampire," she whispered uncertainly "You said you were Human… That's the only thing that I could think of but that can't be right… Can it?"

"Why not?" Tyra asked, exchanging a glance with the Doctor.

Donna scoffed "Because they're just stories. They don't exist."

"There's more to the world, Donna," the Doctor said "How did you get inside the Tardis? I don't know… What's your job?"

Donna blinked a few times "I'm a secretary," she gave back, throwing me an uncomfortable look.

The Doctor grabbed his sonic, scanning her again "It's weird," he mused "I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important."

"This friend of yours," Donna started, a glare once again on her face "Just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" She shoved his hand away from her "Stop bleeping me."

The Doctor did stop but continued his questioning "What kind of secretary?"

"I'm at HC Clements," Donna explained "It's where I met Lance. I was temping…" She looked lost in memories "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 he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee." She sighed dreamily "And Lance… He's the head of HR. He didn't need to bother with me. But he was nice, he was funny. And it turned 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."

The Doctor held out his arm for Tyra, waving her over to them "When was this?"

"Six months ago," Donna said.

"Bit quick to get married," the Time Lord blinked in surprise, wrapping his arm around Tyra's shoulders, resting his head on her head.

Donna shrugged "Well, he insisted. And he nagged and he nagged me." Tyra exchanged an amused look with the Doctor, knowing that it wasn't Lance who had been the one nagging "And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in."

"What does HC Clements do?"

"Oh," Donna blinked out of her memories "Security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths."

The Doctor frowned "Keys…"

"Anyway, enough of my CV," Donna sighed before getting up "Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."

"Yeah," the Doctor shook his head "I'm not from Mars."

Donna ignored him, letting out another small sigh "I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken."


Heartbroken wasn't the right word for what they walked in on a little while later. Everyone was dancing underneath a huge disco ball, having a great time. As soon as the first person caught sight of Donna, everything stopped.

"You had the reception without me?" Donna asked incredulously. She had frozen as soon as she entered, glaring at a woman to the side until she was noticed.

Lance stared at Donna in shock "Donna, what happened to you?"

"You had the reception without me…" Donna repeated.

There was an awkward pause until the Doctor leaned forward to introduce himself as cheerfully as he could "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

Donna rounded on them, her hands on her hips "They had the reception without me."

"Yeah," Tyra grimaced "You said that already."

"Well, it was all paid for… why not?" the blonde who had been dancing with the groom earlier snapped arrogantly.

Donna glared "Thank you, Nerys."

"Ooh," Tyra drawled quietly "You still haven't told me what you've done to her, Donna. Although… From what I can see I would probably have done something similar. Whatever it was that you did…"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow in surprise "You… Are you rambling?"

Tyra winced "Damn… And you say I'm a terrible influence," she muttered, hitting the Doctor's arm.

An older blonde approached angrily "Well, what were we supposed to do?" she demanded "What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know." That broke the dam as everyone started talking at once, demanding what happened.

"Where were you the whole time?" Lance questioned.

Donna's eyes darted around at everyone as she burst into tears dramatically. The room froze and Lance reached out, pulling her into his arms. From where her head was placed on her not-quite husband's shoulder, Donna winked at the Doctor and Tyra, continuing to fake sob.

The Doctor shook his head with a small smile and wandered over to the bar as the party continued. He looked over to a guy messing with his phone "Can I borrow your phone for a moment?" he asked loudly.

"You really should invest in your own," Tyra shook her head as the man handed it over. The Doctor entered the browser and quickly typed in HC Clements. The phone cycled through websites extremely fast when he started using his sonic on it until a window popped up "Oh… Great." HC Clements belonged to Torchwood. Somehow, neither of them were surprised that Torchwood had something to do with this. Even if they didn't exist anymore.

The Doctor looked over at Tyra "By the way, did you know that Damon compelled Rose?"

Tyra looked up in surprise "How do you know that?"

"So you did know?" the Doctor asked "And Rose told me about it."

"Huh… I'm gonna have to talk to Damon about covering his tracks," she mumbled to herself before her eyes widened "Did she tell you why Damon compelled her?"

The Doctor shook his head "No… Why?"

Tyra shook her head "No reason. Don't worry about it."

"Tyra." The Doctor crossed his arms.

She sighed "No, Doctor. We just lost Rose. I'm not going to tell you why Damon compelled her. Just know that he had a reason for it. A good one."

The Doctor studied her for a moment before he nodded reluctantly. After a few beats of silence in which he let his gaze wander over the crowd, he spoke again "Do you see what I see?"

Tyra frowned for a moment "What?" She followed his line of sight, seeing a guy with a video camera, recording the dancing people "Do you think he recorded it?"

"Let's find out," the Doctor shrugged, making his way through the crowd.

When he asked, the man nodded "I taped the whole thing. They've all had a look." He wound the tape back to the right time, still talking "They said 'sell it to You've Been Framed'. I said 'more like the News'. Here we are…" The cameraman played the tape, the camera zooming in on Donna's face as she disintegrated into golden energy that flew off through the roof of the church.

"Can't be," the Doctor shook his head sharply "Play it again?"

"Clever, mind," the man shrugged "Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping."

Tyra looked at the Doctor, seeing his expression "What is it?"

"That looks like Huon Particles," the Doctor explained.

The cameraman raised his eyebrow "What's that then?"

"That's impossible," the Doctor blinked "That's ancient… Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years. So old…" He closed his eyes, dread settling over his face "So old that it can't bee hidden by a bio-damper." With that said, the Doctor ran outside.

Tyra followed him and stopped short when she saw several Santa robots approaching "Oh, not them again," she groaned.

"Donna," the Doctor shouted, vaulting over a railing, running up to the woman "Donna, we have to get out of here."

"What? Why?" she blinked.

The Doctor shook his head "The bio-damper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out."

"My God," Donna breathed, even if she didn't quite understand what was going on "It's all my family."

"Out the back door," the Doctor waved. He froze when he saw more robots our there "Maybe not, then."

Tyra grabbed his arm "There are more." She pointed out the French windows.

Donna shivered "We're trapped… What are they?"

The Doctor groaned out loud when he saw the remote one of them was holding "Christmas trees," he called out in alarm."

Donna blinked in confusion "What about them?"

"They kill," Tyra told her, rubbing at her chest when she remembered the last time. The three had really done a number on her.

"Get away from the trees," the Doctor called out, jumping over tables and chairs to herd the people back and away from the wall the trees were at.

"Don't touch the trees," Donna joined in, shooing her family away.

Tyra helped them push the people away and the Doctor rolled his eyes when no one listened to them "Get away from the Christmas trees. Everyone get away from them. Everyone stay away from the trees. Stay away from the trees."

"Oh, for God's sake," Donna's mother rolled her eyes "The man's an idiot. Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to…" The plastic baubles were floating off the trees "Oh."

Tyra sighed "Well, at least it's not spinning this time."

"I don't think this is much better," the Doctor pointed out as the baubles started zooming at people, exploding as soon as they hit something. Everyone started panicking as one man was throwing into the air, landing squarely on the wedding cake. Donna had ducked underneath a table, holding onto Lance tightly "Oi. Santa!" the Doctor shouted out as all six of the robots lined up in front of the bar "Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near the sound system." He jammed his screwdriver into the deck, causing Tyra to quickly raise her hands to her ears as the pain from the high-pitched tones made her hit the ground, curling into a ball while the robots were falling apart.

"It's alright, Stan," an older man murmured, patting another man's back "It's all over."

"Ty," the Doctor called out, falling to his knees next to her "Are you alright?"

She still had her hands clutched over her ears but now that the sound was gone, the pain was quickly receding "You asshole," she hissed, glaring at the Doctor."

He held up his hands "Sorry, but this was the only thing I could think of. Come on." The Doctor pulled her to her feet easily, leading her over to the broken-down robots "Look at that." He picked up the remote "Remote control for the decorations but there's a second remote control for the robots." His hand uncovered one of the heads, revealing a blinking plate in the place the brain was "They're not just scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

"Never mind that," Donna snapped "You're a doctor. People have been hurt."

"Nah, they want you alive," the Doctor shook his head "Look." He threw one of the baubles to her, slipping the remote into his pocket "They're not active now."

Donna stared down at the ornament "All I'm saying, you could help."

The Doctor jumped up "Got to think of the bigger picture. There's still a signal." He grabbed Tyra's hand again, tugging her outside with him, following the signal with the help of his sonic. Either it was Tyra's imagination or he had become a lot more touchy-feely the past day. The number of times he had taken her hand or thrown his arm around her was almost higher than in the past two years put together. Not that she minded… "There's something behind this, directing the Robo-forms," the Doctor explained as soon as Donna joined them.

"But why is it me?" Donna asked quietly "What have I done?"

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out," the Doctor pointed out, letting his screwdriver wander up until it was pointing at the sky "Ooh. It's up there. Something in the sky." He continued scanning but when the ambulances arrived a few moments later, he grumbled "I've lost the signal. Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started." The Doctor looked around until his eyes landed on Lance "Lance," he called out "It is Lance? Lance, can you give us a lift?"

Tyra rolled her eyes when he just ran off and looked to Donna's not-quite husband "Sorry about him," she offered "But if you could… That would be great."

Lance looked at Donna before he sighed "Alright. Where to?"


"To you, this might just be a locksmith but HC Clements was brought up twenty-three years ago by the Torchwood Institute," the Doctor spoke up as soon as they had reached Donna's desk.

"Who are they?" Donna asked.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf," the Doctor pointed out. When Donna sent him a clueless look, he raised his eyebrow "Cybermen Invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?"

Donna shook her head "Oh, I was in Spain."

Tyra snorted at the Doctor's look of exasperation "They had Cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving," Donna gave back with a shrug.

"The bigger picture, Donna," the Doctor sighed "You keep on missing it. Torchwood was destroyed but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation."

Donna tilted her head "But what do they want with me?"

"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy," the Doctor pointed. Tyra's head snapped up when Lance's heart skipped several beats. She had been listening for any irregularities since his heart had sped up earlier when they entered the building. This was going to be a nightmare. There was almost no chance that he wasn't involved… "And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark Times. The only place you'd find Huon particles now is a remnant in the heart of the Tardis. See? That's what happened. Say, that's the Tardis." He picked up a coffee mug "And that's you." A pencil "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and what." He shook the mug and the pencil before dropping the pencil inside "You were pulled inside the Tardis."

Donna blinked at the display in front of her "I'm a pencil in a mug?"

The Doctor sent her a huge grin "Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." He whirled around to Lance "Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

"I don't know," Lance lied through his teeth, his heart fluttering "I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager. Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

The Doctor finally got a computer screen to work, getting it to display the plans of the building "They make keys," he pointed out "That's the point. And look at this. We're on the third floor." He whirled around, jogging over to the elevator "Underneath receptions, there's a basement, yes? Then how come when you look in the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So… What's down there?"

Lance shifted, crossing his arms "Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?"

"No," the Doctor shook his head "I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor."

"It needs a key," Donna pointed out.

The Doctor smirked "I don't." He then used the screwdriver on the lower basement button "Right then. Thanks, you two. Tyra and I can handle this. See you later."

"No chance, Martian," Donna scoffed, getting into the elevator with us "You're the man who saved my life. I ain't letting you out of my sight."

The Doctor shrugged at her determination "Going down."

"Lance?"

Lance looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting all over "Maybe I should go to the police."

Donna crossed her arms "Inside." Lance quickly joined them before the doors closed.

"To honour and obey?" the Doctor joked.

Lance snorted and for the first time, he seemed to actually be genuine "Tell me about it, mate."

"Oi," Donna exclaimed as the elevator descended, stopping with a low ping. They stepped out into a long, dark and dank corridor that was very dimly lit with an eerie green light "Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?"

The Doctor grinned, waggling his eyebrows "Let's find out."

"Do you think Mister Clements knows about this place?" Donna questioned, walking forward.

The Doctor joined her "The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it."

Tyra glanced at Lance and quickly wrapped her arm around his neck, her hand muffling his sound of protest. A minute later, he slumped in her arms as she let him fall to the ground with a thud. She had no doubt that he was the one who had given Donna the Huon particles and if he hadn't, he at the very least knew what was going on here. Tyra walked up to Donna and the Doctor while they were getting onto two Segways "What are you…?"

"Hold on," Donna spoke up, looking around "Where's Lance?"

Tyra shrugged "Said he wanted to stay behind." She eyes the Segway wearily "I'm not getting on that thing…"

"Alright," Donna shrugged, getting the Segway to move forward.

Tyra laughed as they started crawling along the corridor, walking along next to the Doctor, not even having to pick up her speed. The Doctor leaned down to her "What did you do?"

"Knocked him out," Tyra explained "He knows something, Doc. Lance has something to do with this, I'm sure about it. He has been lying ever since we entered the building."

"Yeah," the Doctor mumbled.


The three stopped at a bulkhead door labelled Torchwood in big, bold letter. Authorised personnel only. The Doctor hopped from his Segway and turned the wheel to open ed the door "Donna, Tyra, wait here. Just need to get my bearings." He waved his fingers in Donna's face "Don't do anything." And to Tyra "Don't wander off."

Tyra huffed at him "I'm not the one who always wanders off."

"Canary Wharf?" He raised his eyebrows.

Tyra rolled her eyes "That was once," she groaned "You're not going to let me forget that anytime soon, are you?"

"No chance," the Doctor snorted.

"You better come back," Donna warned him.

The Doctor started up the ladder than had been revealed by the door "I couldn't get rid of you if I tried."

As soon as he was out of sight, Donna turned to Tyra "So, how long have you known him?"

"Oh, erm… About two years now," Tyra answered, quickly trying to get an estimated time "It's a little hard to tell with him sometimes."

Donna nodded "And…"

"Thames flood barrier right on top of us," the Doctor called out, jumping down the last few rungs of the ladder "Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."

Donna opened and closed her mouth a couple of times "What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?"

"Oh, I know," the Doctor clucked jokingly "Unheard of." He turned and lead the way through a door and into some sort of laboratory at the end of the hall. There were massive tubes bubbling away and some chemistry equipment set up here and there "Oh, look at this," the Doctor marvelled "Stunning."

Donna reached out to touch the device in confusion "What does it do?"

"Particle extrusion," the Time Lord explained "Hold on." He ran over to another tube "They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, my people got rid of Huons. They unravel the atomic structure… But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river. Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result." The Doctor grabbed a vial with a clear liquid inside "Huon particles in liquid form."

"And that's what's inside of me?" Donna whispered. The Doctor nodded, turning a knob on top of the container, causing the liquid to glow gold. Not even a second later, Donna started glowing as well "Oh, my God."

The Doctor shook his head "Genius. Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then… Ha!" The Doctor jumped backwards "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." A slap rang through the room again and the Doctor turned back to Donna "What did I do this time?"

Tyra raised a hand to her head in exasperation "You don't learn, do you?"

"Are you enjoying this?" Donna demanded "Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

The Doctor nodded quickly, too quickly "Yes."

"Doctor," Donna raised her eyebrow "If your lot got rid of Huon particles… Why did they do that?"

"Because they were deadly," the Doctor admitted, his voice low.

Donna stumbled back a few steps, raising a shaking hand to her mouth "Oh, my God."

"I'll sort it out, Donna," the Doctor assured her, squeezing her shoulders gently "Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I am not about to lose someone else."

"Oh, she is long since lost," a voice rang out from somewhere above.

The Doctor looked over at Tyra but she just shrugged and shook her head "Nothing inside this room other than us." A wall in front of us slid up to reveal a tiered hole descending into the Earth "Urgh. Deja-vu."

"I have waited so long," the voice murmured longingly "Hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken."

The Doctor walked forward, glancing down into the hole, ignoring the robots that were pointing their guns at them "Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser." He looked up at the ceiling "How far down does it go?"

"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth," the voice answered.

"Really?" the Doctor blinked "Seriously? What for?"

Donna looked at the hole in consideration "Dinosaurs."

"What?" the Doctor frowned, turning around to face the woman dressed in white.

Donna shrugged unsurely "Dinosaurs?"

"How did you get dinosaurs?" Tyra asked with a small grin.

"That film," Donna murmured "Under the Earth with dinosaurs." She held up her hands at the look the Doctor shot her "Trying to help."

He shook his head "That's not helping."

"Such a sweet couple," the voice cooed mockingly.

"Only a madman talks to thin air," the Doctor called out "And trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

The voice turned breathy "High in the sky. Floating so high on Christmas night."

The Doctor rolled his eyes "I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom. Come on, let's have a look at you."

"Who are you with such command?" the voice demanded.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Prepare your best medicines, doctor man, for you will be sick at heart." With those words, a blue light started up on the other side of the hole and a giant, red spider appeared.

"Racnoss?" the Time Lord breathed "But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss?"

Tyra grimaced "I hate spiders…"

"Empress of the Racnoss," the spider corrected with a hiss.

It was then that Tyra heard footsteps from somewhere close to where the creepily huge spider was standing and raised her eyebrow when she saw Lance.

The Doctor tilted his head "If you're the Empress. Where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or are you the only one?"

"Such a sharp mind," the Empress complimented mockingly.

"That's it, the last of your kind," the Doctor mumbled, his tone sad "The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores. They devoured whole planets."

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

"They eat people?" Donna breathed horrified.

The Doctor stared to the side, to a wall next to the Racnoss' head. Tyra didn't make an effort to check what the Doctor was looking for since her eyes were still trained on the man she had knocked unconscious not half an hour ago "HC Clements," the Doctor started "Did he wear those – those er, black and white shoes?"

"He did," Donna nodded with a grin "We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats." The Doctor pointed to a pair of feet sticking out of tons of web across the ceiling, wearing black and white shoes "Oh, my God."

The Empress hummed happily "Mm. My Christmas dinner."

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

By then, Lance had reached the balcony above the Empress, an axe clutched in his hands. The Empress hissed angrily "Except for me."

Donna's eyes widened when she saw Lance up on the platform "But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing," she murmured, trying to stall. Tyra was about to mention something when the Doctor shook his head at her "Oi! Look at me, lady. I'm talking. 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," the Empress laughed. Lance was sneaking up on her, holding up the axe and looking like he was getting ready to take a swipe.

Donna nodded hurriedly "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." She stared at Lance "Now, do it."

"A spider is a spider?" Tyra repeated in amusement.

The smile was wiped from her face when Lance started laughing, dropping the axe "That was a good one. Your face."

"Lance is funny," the Empress laughed.

"What?" Donna breathed, staring at the scene in front of her in pain.

The Doctor looked at her sadly "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Donna demanded "Lance, don't be stupid. Get her."

Lance rolled his eyes and glared down at them "God, she's thick. Months I've had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."

"Better than being a lying slimeball," Tyra shot back with a sneer.

Donna shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes "I don't understand," she breathed, her voice sounding smaller than it had that day.

Tyra shifted "Donna… He has been lying to you from the start."

"How?"

"He made you coffee," the Doctor pointed out.

Donna blinked "What?"

Lance sighed in annoyance "Every day, I made you coffee."

"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months," the Doctor told her tightly.

"He was poisoning me," Donna realised.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair as Tyra continued to glare at Lance "It was all there in the job title," he shrugged "The Head of Human Resources."

When the man caught Tyra's gaze, he actually stepped back, his expression betraying the fact that he was apprehensive when it came to her "This time, it's personnel," Lance smirked.

Donna stared up at him in disbelief, still not quite understanding what was going on. No, that wasn't right. She did understand but it hadn't really hit her yet "But we were getting married."

"Well," Lance shrugged unconcernedly "I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap. Oh, Brad and Angelina. Is Posh pregnant? X-Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me. Dear God, the never-ending fountain of far, stupid trivia. I deserve a medal."

The Doctor shook his head at the man "Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?"

"Wait," Tyra raised her hand, a grimace flitting over her face "Don't… You do know that spiders eat their mates after… Right?!"

"It's better than a night with her," Lance pointed out with an ugly grimace.

Donna let out a low sob "But I love you."

"That's what made it easy," Lance dismissed "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 out of everyone the two of you understand that, don't you, Doctor?" He opened his mouth to include Tyra as well but then decided otherwise, just focussing his attention on the Doctor. Not that Tyra minded. If he had talked to Tyra, she could have probably just tried to kill him… For real this time.

The Empress narrowed her eyes "Who is this little physician?"

"She said Martian," Lance shrugged.

The Doctor sighed, throwing Donna a slightly exasperated look. Even if it was exactly what the Doctor needed. Better to be seen as Martian than to have her know where he really was from "Oh, I'm sort of homeless," he started, pacing closer to the hole in the ground "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 snorted in amusement.

The Empress nodded "I think so too."

"Well, tough," Lance hissed, pointing at Donna "All we need is Donna."

"Kill this chattering little doctor man and the other girl," the Empress commanded.

Donna shook her head, inching in front of the Doctor "Don't hurt them."

Tyra grabbed onto her arm and shook her head "Don't."

"No, I won't let them," she told Tyra.

"At arms," the Empress shouted, causing the robots to point their guns at the Doctor and Tyra.

The Doctor raised his hands, his speech speeding up "Ah, now… Except."

"Take aim." Tyra pulled the Doctor back toward herself, making sure to stay between him and the robots again.

"Well," the Doctor started "I just want to point out the obvious…"

The Empress tilted her head "They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots."

"Just… Just… Just… Hold on, just a tick," the Doctor hurried, almost stumbling over his words "Just a tiny… Just a little… tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship… So, if I reverse it and the spaceship should come to her." The Doctor turned the knob on the Huon container and the particles inside the bottle, along with Donna, glowed.

As the Tardis materialised around them, the Empress shouted "Fire."

"Off we go," the Doctor shouted, racing to the console.

Outside, Tyra could hear the Empress crying out "My key. My key…"

Donna walked over to the console, sitting down with her back to the Doctor as he ran around, putting in coordinates and flipping switches "Oh, you know what I said about time machines?" he mumbled to Donna "Well, I lied. And now we're going to use it." Tyra moved over to the dejected woman, not quite sure what to do "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this."

Tyra slowly reached out for Donna "I'm pretty bad at comforting people in situations I don't know what to do," she admitted "But then again… The more I see people getting their heart broken, the more I don't ever want that to happen to me."

Donna sniffed a little before actually leaning into Tyra's soft touch "You've never been in love?" she questioned quietly.

"I… Don't know, actually. Well, no. I don't think so," she shrugged "Maybe? I just never got the chance to experience much… love."

"That's just sad," Donna scoffed, turning her head into Tyra's shoulder. She sighed, rubbing Donna's back as she started watering all over her.

The Tardis quieted down, having reached the destination. The Doctor peered around the console, catching Tyra's eye "We've arrived," he smiled lightly "Want to see?"

"I suppose," Donna mumbled, not moving from where she was sitting.

"The scanner's a bit small," the Doctor murmured looking at the monitor "Maybe your way's the best." He walked over to the door "Come on. No Human's ever seen this..: You'll be the first."

Tyra got up, pulling Donna up along with her while she complained tiredly "All I want to see is my bed."

The Doctor stepped to the side, revealing the outside "Donna Noble, Tyra Mikaelson, welcome to the creation of the Earth." Lumps of rock were floating around a dust-covered sun. The sun was different though… The light was a lot less normal, rather it glowed slightly red "We're gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the Sun, over there." He pointed at the large star "Brand new. Just beginning to burn."

"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked, looking around.

"All around us," the Doctor gestured "In the dust."

Donna sighed "Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right… We're just tiny."

"No but that's what you do," the Doctor murmured with a grin. How he could still be so in love with the human race, Tyra will never know. He had seen so many bad things happening. Hell, she had seen a lot of bad things happening and she wouldn't have bothered anymore. Not until she met the Doctor anyway "The human race makes sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful but only if it's being observed."

Donna stared at the dust "So I came out of all this?"

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

A large rock drifted past, causing Donna to let out a snort "I think that's the Isle of Wright."

The Doctor pointed to the rocks that were drifting towards each other "Eventually, gravity takes hold. 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 nodded.

"But the question is… What was that first rock?" the Doctor mused.

A seven-pointed star came out of the dust cloud and Tyra tapped the Doctor's shoulder "I think we just found it."

"The Racnoss…" the Doctor breathed before rushing back to the console, turning the wheel frantically "Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?"

The rocks and particles of dust and gas started to zoom past. As if they were drawn to the Racnoss by magnetic force "Exactly what you said would happen," Tyra gave back "They're drawing in the rocks."

"Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth," the Doctor groaned "They became the centre of the Earth. The first rock." He looked up, stunned as the Tardis started shuddering violently, nearly knocking them off our feet.

"What was that?" Donna shouted, holding onto one of the corals as Tyra quickly shut the doors, trying to stop any of them from being thrown into space.

The Doctor looked up "Trouble." The Tardis continued to shudder and shake, throwing them all over.

"What the hell is it doing?" Donna demanded, trying to make her way over to the Doctor as the shaking became worse.

"Remember that little trick of mine?" the Doctor called back "Particles pulling particles? Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back."

Tyra caught Donna when she came stumbling past her and rolled her eyes sarcastically "Of course, they are. Why wouldn't they?"

"Well, can't you stop it?" Donna frowned "Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"

The Doctor let out a sigh "Backseat driver," he complained "Oh. Wait a minute… The extrapolator." He pulled out the pan-dimensional surfboard… "It can't stop us but it should give us a good bump."

"You still have that?" Tyra asked, raising an eyebrow "I thought you would have gotten rid of it after what happened in Cardiff."

Donna raised her eyebrow curiously "What happened in Cardiff?"

"What did you do to Nerys?" she shot back.

The Doctor had his trusted hammer in his hand, getting ready to use it "Now," he shouted, causing them to dematerialise and materialise "We're about two hundred yards to the right."


"Come on."

Donna ran after him, holding up her skirt "But what do we do?"

"I don't know," the Doctor shook his head. He put a stethoscope to the door, listening to what was behind it "I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history."

"But I still don't understand," Donna shook her head "I'm full of particles… But what for?"

"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth," the Doctor began, starting another of his rambling explanations "But my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck."

Tyra whirled around when she heard movement behind her and gasped quietly when something was thrust into her lung. One of the robots was standing in front of her, a knife in its hand while the other had grabbed Donna from behind, covering her mouth. Tyra sank to her knees, trying to draw in a breath but it was proving to be a challenge "Doc… Doctor," Tyra gasped out.

"They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput. So, you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles. They need you to open it, Donna and… and you have never been so quiet." He turned around to look behind him only to notice that Donna was gone and Tyra was on the ground, gasping for breath "Ty…"

She scrambled to pull at the knife, her fingers continued to slip from it, making it even more slippery with blood "Get… out…"

The Doctor reached out to grab a hold of the knife "I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling it out with a quick motion. Tyra let out a low scream, pitching forward to land against his side "Are you alright?"

"I… will… be," she nodded, her breathing becoming easier as her lung healed itself "Robots took Donna."

The Doctor helped Tyra to her feet, letting her lean against him to regain her balance. He opened the door with the sonic only to find yet another robot pointing its gun at them "Really?" he sighed, making quick work of it "Let's go and get Donna." He grabbed the robot's cloak before hurrying to the drilling site.


As soon as she entered, Tyra could see the Huon particles leaving both Donna and Lance who had been strung up directly over the deep hole "The secret heart unlocks," the Empress exclaimed "And they will waken from their Sleep of Ages."

"Who will?" Donna shouted "What's down there?"

Lance shot her an annoyed look "How thick are you?"

"My children," the Empress explained, ignoring the Humans' bickering "The long lost Racnoss, now reborn to feast on flesh. The web star shall come to me." Tyra shivered when she heard hundreds – if not thousands – of legs scurrying up the hole. She really didn't like spiders "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web."

"Use her," Lance shouted hysterically, fighting against the bonds "Use her."

The Empress sent the man a feral grin "Oh, my funny little Lance. But you are quite impolite to your lady friend. The Empress does not approve." The web released Lance, causing him to fall into the hole.

"Lance," Donna called after him. Despite everything she had found out, she still loved him…

The Empress reared up "Harvest the Humans. Reduce them to meat. My children are climbing toward me and none shall stop them." Her head snapped around to the disguised Doctor walking up the steps above Tyra "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor man."

The Doctor removed the mask and robe he had taken and sighed "Oh well. Nice try," he shrugged "I've got you, Donna."

"But Doctor… Tyra," Donna called out "They stabbed her."

"Hold on," the Doctor smiled, pointing his sonic at her.

The web started to give away and Donna let out a scream "I'm going to fall."

"You're going to swing," the Doctor called up "I've got you."

Donna swung across the hole with a shrill scream, past the Empress. Why Tyra saw her coming in lower than the Doctor had expected, she shot forward, catching her before she could hit the wall "You good?" Tyra asked, steadying her.

"You… But they stabbed you," Donna stuttered, throwing her arms around Tyra.

"I'm a bit more resilient than people might think," she shrugged with a grin.

The Empress hissed in annoyance "The doctor man amuses me."

"Empress of the Racnoss," the Doctor spoke up, the Oncoming Storm lurking just beneath the surface "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 coexist. Take that offer and end this now."

"These men are so funny," the Empress chuckled.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes "What's your answer?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline," the Empress smirked.

"What happens next is your own doing," the Doctor warned, setting his face determinedly.

The Empress scoffed "I'll show you what happens next. At arms," she shouted "Take aim. And…"

"Relax," the Doctor finished, causing the robots to slump.

Donna let out a gasp "What did you do?"

"Guess what I've got, Donna," the Doctor grinned, pulling out the remote he had slipped in earlier "Pockets."

"How did that fit in there?"

Tyra patted her shoulder "Bigger on the inside. Mine are too," she told her, gesturing to the jacket she was wearing.

Donna stared at the jacket for a moment before she reached out, slipping her hand inside "That's… That's just…"

"Robo-forms are not necessary," the Empress recovered "My children may feast on Martian flesh."

"Oh, but I'm not from Mars," the Doctor tilted his head.

The Empress stopped "Then where?"

The Doctor looked her dead in the eyes "My home planet is long since gone but its name lives on." He paused dramatically "Gallifrey."

"They murdered the Racnoss," the Empress exclaimed, rearing away from the Doctor some more.

"I warned you," the Doctor pointed out "You did this." He pulled out some of the Christmas tree decorations from another pocket, throwing the baubles in the air as the Empress started shaking her head, pleading. With the remote, he directed them, blowing several holes in the corridor wall, letting the Thames in whilst the others surrounded the Empress. Fires broke out everywhere and manhole covers burst under the pressure of the water rushing in.

"No," the Empress shouted in despair as water flooded down the hole, bringing alien screams from far down "No. My children! No, my children. My children."

Donna stared up at the Time Lord, a horrified expression on her face "Why aren't you stopping him?" she hissed before addressing the Doctor "Doctor… You can stop now."

"My children."

That shout seemed to rip him out of his trance "Come on." He jerked his head up "Time I got you out."

Tyra herded Donna to the stairs, letting her go up in front of her. The Doctor helped the dress-clad woman climb over the rubble before holding out his hand for Tyra. She shivered at the coldness of the water but followed the other two up the stairs.

Underneath them, between the water and the flames, the Racnoss leaned her head back to the ceiling "Transport me."

"But what about the Empress?" Donna called out, looking down from her spot on the ladder.

The Doctor glanced back down as well "She's used up all her Huon energy. She's defenceless." He reached the top and climbed out in time to reveal the fireworks. Tanks had fired at the spaceship which caused it to explode over Canary Wharf.

Tyra sat down on the edge of the manhole cover while the other two stood next to her. Donna cleared her throat once she was more or less steady "Just there's one problem…"

"What is that?" the Doctor frowned.

Donna pointed to the side, drawing their attention to the very much empty river "We've drained the Thames."


They were parked just outside of Donna's house. Across the street "There we go," the Doctor nodded, patting the Tardis' side "Told you she'd be alright. She can survive anything."

Donna hummed "More than I've done."

The Doctor quickly scanned her with the sonic "No, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine."

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

Tyra looked up at her "He would have been still alive if he hadn't been an idiot. I mean… He kinda walked right into that."

"Tyra," the Doctor warned "Be nice."

"He deserved it," Donna mumbled before she stopped "No, he didn't. I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

The Doctor nodded "Best Christmas present they could have." Inside the house, Donna's mother and grandfather hugged "Oh, no. I forgot you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do."

"Even if it snows?" the Doctor questioned, reaching into the Tardis. The lamp on top of the blue box turned yellow and fired off a bolt of energy into the sky which caused an instant snow shower.

Donna laughed in shocked surprise "I can't believe you did that."

"I can," Tyra snorted, leaning her head against the Time Lord's shoulder. She hadn't been very talk active today just because she was still hung up over the fact that she lost Henrik for a third time now. She thought last time was bad enough… This time was way worse and she couldn't stop looking at the pictures she had of him now. Whether this made the whole thing better or worse, she didn't know.

"Basic atmospheric excitation," the Doctor shrugged, his chin on Tyra's head

"Merry Christmas," Donna mumbled.

The Doctor looked at her "And you. So, what will you do with yourself?"

"Not getting married, for starters," she huffed.

Tyra grinned "That's a good idea, I guess."

"And I'm not going to temp anymore," she continued "I don't know. Travel? See a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

The Doctor looked down at me for a moment before turning back to Donna "Well, you could always…"

"What?"

"Come with us?" he shrugged.

Donna bit her lip "No."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded, his arms tightening around Tyra.

Donna sighed "I can't."

"You're fine," Tyra told her "It's up to you."

"No, but really," she cut her off before Tyra could say anything else "Everything we did today. Do you live your lives like that?"

The Doctor shook his head "Not all the time."

"I think you do. And I couldn't," Donna told him.

"But you've seen it out there," the Doctor pointed out "It's beautiful. Isn't it, Ty?"

She nodded "It really is. But Doctor…"

"It's terrible," Donna cut in 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. I mean, you scare me to death."

Tyra stiffened at her words, knowing how it impacted the Doctor "Donna…"

"And you," she turned to me "I'm still not sure whether to believe you or nor but… I wanted to apologize again. For the way, I acted in the beginning. Towards both of you."

"It's alright," Tyra shrugged "I probably would have reacted similarly."

The Doctor flicked her ear "Somehow I doubt that."

Donna stared at the girl for a moment before she shook her head "Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner." The Doctor looked at her unmoved "Oh, come on."

"I don't do that sort of thing," he denied.

"You did it last year," Donna pointed out "You said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty."

The Doctor hummed "Tyra doesn't celebrate Christmas. I don't want her to spend the evening alone again." He pinched me "Not like last year."

"In your defence… You were kind of busy," Tyra told him.

"Why don't you celebrate Christmas?" Donna frowned in confusion.

Tyra pointed to herself "I'm Viking. We don't do Christmas."

"Viking? No, never mind. Come on," the redhead pleaded "Please?"

Tyra looked at her and then up at the Doctor "You can go but I won't celebrate Christmas. Not if I don't have to."

The Doctor looked at her in consideration before he sighed in defeat "Oh, alright then. If you're sure, Ty…" He looked to Donna "But you go first. Better warn them and… Don't say I'm a Martian." He gestured back to the Tardis "I just have to park her properly. She might drift off to the Middle Ages. I'll see you in a minute."

"You're terrible," Tyra snorted, following him to the console.

He started up the engines, ready to take off when we heard Donna's voice through the door "Doctor! Tyra!"

The Doctor shut the Tardis down again, sticking his head out of the doors "Blimey, you can shout."

"Am I ever going to see you again?" Donna questioned softly.

"If I'm lucky," Doctor shrugged.

Donna smiled at him "Just promise me one thing… Keep Tyra around? She's good for you. Because I think sometimes… You need someone to stop you."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed quietly "Thanks, then, Donna. Good luck. And… just be magnificent."

"I think I will," she nodded determinedly "Doctor?"

He rolled his eyes in mock annoyance "Oh, what is it now?"

"That friend of yours. What was her name?"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment "Rose," he finally replied "Her name was Rose." With that, he closed the door behind him. He grabbed Tyra's hand, pulling her through the corridor after having put the Tardis into the Vortex. He was sick of getting interrupted and if this was the only way, he would take it.

Tyra walked after him, an amused smile on her face "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere we won't be interrupted," the Doctor huffed, his hearts picking up the pace, the closer they got to the Chinese gardens.

As soon as they were in the gardens, they walked over to the bridge and made themselves comfortable.

"So," Tyra spoke up nervously, kicking her legs over the edge of the bridge "What did you want to talk about?"

"I... Honestly, I've been thinking about this for a while and wanted to talk to you about this..."

Tyra tilted her head "What?"

"I - I like you," he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Okay? I… Like you too?" Tyra replied in confusion.

The Doctor shook his head "No, no… What I meant to say was that I… I have feelings for you."

"What?" Tyra blinked in surprise "I..."

The Doctor held up his hand to stop her "Ty, please... Just tell me one thing before we go any further. Do you feel the same?"

Tyra shook her head "How can you like me?" she asked, kicking at the water in frustration "I'm a monster. No one lo... likes monsters."

"You are not a monster," the Doctor hissed out, grabbing her by the shoulders. When she went to argue, he leaned in and in a burst of confidence pressed a kiss to her lips "If you were a monster, would I have done this? I will ask again. Do you feel the same for me as I do for you?"

Tyra stared at him with wide eyes and reached up to touch her lips "Yeah. But... Why?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

The Doctor frowned "Why what?"

"Why me? You can do so much better," she mumbled, letting her hair fall in front of her face.

"No way," the Doctor shook his head "Ty, I really like you. Please... Why not just give us a chance?"

Tyra bit her lip "I just can't," she whispered "Not yet."

The Doctor felt as if he should be disappointed but she said that she felt the same. She. Felt. The Same… A grin stole its way across his face as he looked at Tyra "I'm just going to have to convince you, then," he proclaimed.

"Yeah… Wait, what?" Tyra asked, shaking her head "You don't have to convince me, Doctor. I just… Need a bit more time. I'm sorry."

He sighed, grabbing her hands "You have nothing to be sorry for and I understand. I think one of the reasons I confessed is because Damon kept going on about it."

She let out a small laugh "You got the talk too, then?"

"Apparently," he nodded, leaning his head down, to press their foreheads together.


They parted way for the night and Tyra spent the next hours tossing and turning until she finally threw off the blankets, getting up. She was extremely restless and couldn't lie still long enough for her to fall asleep. Her talk with the Doctor was bouncing around in her head along with every memory she had of Henrik.

She wandered through the hallways of the Tardis until she had found her way back to the Chinese garden. The peaceful atmosphere of it almost immediately relaxed her, so she curled up on the bridge her and the Doctor had been on earlier.

Her feet were dangling over the edge, her bare toes just brushing the warm water lightly as her eyes kept drifting close.

"You're going to drown if you go on like that," the Doctor pointed out with amusement shining in his eyes "What are you still doing here?"

Tyra raised her shoulders in a shrug "Again. Not still… Couldn't sleep."

He sat down next to her with a sigh "Does it have anything to do with you not being on top of your game? Or with that little talk we had earlier?"

"Both? Either? I don't know," she mumbled weakly "I thought I could handle it but… What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I forget?"

The Doctor's eyes softened and he pulled her against him, ignoring her protests "You're talking about seeing him again, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Tyra breathed "I honestly don't know how Rose could do it. Just seeing him once in the parallel world enough… How could she actually want to watch her father die?"

"Well, she did quite badly at that," the Doctor shrugged, resting his chin on her head "Is it really about that?"

Tyra sniffed "I'm just… I'm so tired of being alone. My whole family leaves me soon or later and I don't know what to do about it. Then I see them, all happy and together and… without me." She buried her head in the Doctor's chest "Do you think it is because of me?"

"What? No," the Doctor shook his head.

"But the only thing that is missing in the parallel world is me," Tyra whispered "Doesn't that make me the reason?"

The Doctor tilted her head up "Tyra, listen to me. What happened is not because of you, alright? You told me that your father has been the way you know him because Freya died here, in this universe." He cupped her cheeks, rubbing his thumbs along her skin gently "Your siblings love you. Niklaus loves you, even if you don't think so."

"But why don't they care enough to stay?" she asked in a small voice "Nik has been daggering me for centuries, Kol and Finn left me along and the other two… Sometimes I think they don't even care about me anymore."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. He couldn't get annoyed at her for being insecure. She had been wearing this mask for too long, even longer than him. Sure, he was older but Tyra has been dealing with everything her whole life while his worst memories came from the Time War "Kol and Finn didn't leave voluntarily. I don't know about Elijah and… was it Rebekah? But I can tell you without a shadow of doubt that Niklaus does love you in his own way. I don't know about his reasons for stick daggers into you but maybe that's something you should talk to him about when you see him again?"

"That doesn't matter," she shook her head "I'm just so sick of being treated like I'm nothing."

"Hey," the Doctor frowned "Where does this come from, hm?"

Tyra looked down and shook her head "Just… Memories," she mumbled, not wanting to tell him that Donna's words had hit her harder than she let them know. She couldn't blame her though. It wasn't like she's wrong.

"Come on," the Doctor groaned, getting up. He held out his hand for Tyra to take.

"Where are we going?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow "You're going to bed, missy. You look like a ghost…"

"Thanks," Tyra rolled her eyes sarcastically but let him lead her to her room.

Okay, then. Here is Donna. I'm about to cry thanks to fucking up my first exam at uni... Oh well. Hopefully, the others will be better.

Nick