Chapter 17 The One with the Bride
Happy New Year! 2020 was hard, it was really hard. Let's roll on 2021, not as a completely different life (since nothing's changed since last week) but as a new day. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and had a happy and restful holiday :) And thank you for 100 favourites! I never thought my lil story would be so appreciated!
I own nothing recognisable x
"Florence? Florence…" There was a slight sniffle. "Florence, please." The woman in question frowned, tugging her hair free from the collar of her charcoal turtleneck as she made her way up the spiral staircase from the wardrobe and towards the console room. She wondered whether she had jumped at the wrong time, and her other self was still there, but she couldn't hear any response from herself as she got closer. There was a choked sound as she found herself stepping into the room, and the same lanky messy haired Doctor that she had left with Martha only an hour or so earlier had his back to her as he stood rigidly on the other side of the console.
She stepped closer, it sounded like he had been talking to someone as she had approached, but there was no-one else in the room, no Martha, no Rose, no Mickey. "Doctor…" She called out gently, as she came up behind him. "Doctor, what's-" Her question died in her throat when he turned around and she saw him. He looked broken, he had been crying. His lip quivered as he tried to say something but he was at a loss for words, she reached her hand up to touch him in some way, his suit jacket, his tie, something to let him know that she was there. The second she held out her hand, his eyes darted down and then back up. Not back up to her eyes, however, but past her.
"What?" He uttered, and Florence frowned up at him,
"What?" She asked, touching a hand to the top of her head in confusion, thinking she had something stuck there.
A voice behind her made her spin suddenly on her heel and forced her to grab the console. "Who are you?" A ginger woman stood, hands on her hips staring at the two of them in a mixture of confusion, fear and annoyance. However, Florence's main concern was the glittery, white, very much wedding dress she wore. Florence whipped her head between the strange woman and the Doctor, who was still staring stock still at the stranger.
"But-" He began, but the woman was, rightfully so, not finished with her questions,
"Where am I?" Florence was distinctly reminded of her first interaction with the Doctor so many weeks earlier, the mixture of emotions in the bride in front of her all too familiar.
The Doctor seemed at a loss for words that stifled his vocabulary infinitely more than any monster that they had encountered. "What?"
"What the hell is this place?!" She asked, furiously, and Florence did her best to be as placating as she could, feeling some sort of sympathy that she was sure the Doctor couldn't feel through his intense confusion.
"Hey, look… you're safe, I promise-" She was cut off, it seemed she was as guilty as the Doctor,
"Don't you be good cop! This is kidnap!" The Doctor was looking from her to the controls, and Florence noted that he wasn't helping her out by being obtusely evasive,
"What? You can't do that. I wasn't... we're in flight!" He looked at Florence, as if he wished for her to tell him he was seeing things. "That is, that is physically impossible! How did…?" The ginger pointed her finger at him, stepping backwards,
"Tell me where I am." She told him sternly. "I demand you tell me right now: where am I?!"
Florence cleared her throat. "The TARDIS." She informed the woman, receiving a pissed off look in return,
"The what?" She asked.
"The TARDIS." The Doctor chipped in, but Florence waved him off, knowing he made things worse - somehow.
"The what?" She asked again, and Florence sighed, she hoped she was less frustrating the first time she had met the Doctor.
"The TARDIS, that's what it's called!" The ginger just held her hands up in frustration once more,
"The WHAT? That's not even a word! You're just saying things!"
The Doctor ignored her dismissal of his precious ship, waving his arms at her in unbridled confusion. "How did you get in here?" Florence groaned and muttered to him,
"Tact, Doctor. She's confused." Unfortunately for Florence, the woman overhead her.
"OI!" She yelled at the two of them, pointing an accusatory finger. "I'm not confused, I'm angry! You clearly kidnapped me!" Florence was about to interrupt pleading their innocence, but a stern look from the woman shut her up. "Who was it? Who's paying you? Was it Nerys? Oh my god, she's finally got me back. This has Nerys written all over it."
The Doctor looked down at Florence before looking back up at the other occupant of their ship. "Who the hell is Nerys?"
"You're best friend." Was thrown at him scornfully, and Florence had to stifle an inappropriate laugh and the Doctor's face.
"Hold on." The lost Time-Lord began, trying to regain control of the situation. "Wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?" Florence nearly slapped him. She stumbled over her words for a moment, ready to tell him how ridiculous he sounded,
"Are you fuc-" The bride herself cut her off with a furious cry,
"I'm going ten pin bowling!" She yelled. "Why do you think, dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle! I've been waiting all night for this!" Florence shook her head in exasperation when the Doctor looked down at her for help. "I was just seconds away, and then you, I dunno! You drugged me or something! You, and ya girlfriend!"
"I haven't done anything!" The Doctor pleaded, while Florence gestured between the two of them,
"And we're, we're not! You know!" The ginger ignored them, the story already forming in her head,
"I'm having the police on ya! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're gonna sue the living backside off ya!" Florence stepped between the two of them, trying once more to be the mediator,
"Listen! Please, just listen to us!" Her attempt was swiftly put to a stop when the woman ignored her and sprinted towards the double doors, just as Florence herself had done - she was disappointed in herself that she hadn't thought of the bride trying to do the same. "No, no! Wait! Please!" She was too late, the doors were flung open and Florence found herself staring into the vastness of space in front of her, stopping her and the bride in their tracks. "Oh." She mumbled, having never seen the beauty of the stars in mid-flight, and felt the Doctor come up behind her.
"You're in space." He told them, directing his words at the stranger, but Florence repeating it in her head over and over again. "Outer space. This is my spaceship." Florence found spaceship to be such an obsolete word for the TARDIS, it didn't even begin to describe the immensity of its power and presence in one's mind, to her 'spaceship' was like calling a mansion a tent. "It's called the TARDIS."
"How am I breathing?" She had to hand it to the woman, it was a fair and valid question that Florence was ashamed to say hadn't even crossed her mind, she feared the Doctor's recklessness had finally gotten to her.
The Doctor's reply was simple, like a primary school teacher. "The TARDIS is protecting us." The woman looked up at the Doctor, and down (only slightly, Florence may add) at Florence.
"Who are you?" Florence smiled kindly, hoping that this was the new leaf they could turn over.
"I'm Florence," she told her, gesturing to the lanky man at her side, "and this is the Doctor. You?" There was a hint of a smile, progress.
"I'm Donna."
"Human?" The Doctor asked, causing the smile to falter, and Florence to nudge him for freaking her out,
"Yeah, is that optional?"
The Doctor looked nonplussed, shrugging. "For me, it is." Florence gave him a warning look, smiling again at the woman, Donna.
"Ignore him. I do." It seemed that Donna couldn't,
"You're an alien?" Florence shook her head,
"He is, not me. I'm human." There was a moment of silence, tense, uncertain silence, before Donna shivered, rubbing her bare arms.
"It's freezing with these doors open…" Whatever it was, whether Donna's humanity, or her drawing attention to her dress or just her presence, something kickstarted the Doctor into panic mode once more, snapping the doors shut and racing back over to the console.
"I just don't understand that, and I understand everything!" He raised a finger without even looking at Florence, who had opened her mouth to argue. "Okay, most things! But this! This can't happen!"
"What do you mean?" She asked him, following him as he ran circles around the console.
He ran a hand over his hair in agitation, flattening it like Florence had never seen. "I mean, there is no way a human being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside!" Florence gestured herself,
"Uh… hello?" He shook his head, grabbing Florence's arms,
"No, no, I promise you this is nothing like your jumping…" Florence gave him a look,
"But you don't know that!" The Doctor shook his head,
"It feels different, okay!" He let her go and spun around, whipping some sort of eye instrument out of his pocket, pointing it at Donna's face. "This is, well it must be some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? No, no that similar to Flo…" He kept babbling. "Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell… Maybe something macro-mining your DNA within the interior matrix? Maybe-" Donna cut him off with a swift slap, causing Florence to raise her eyebrows in shock,
"Ouch." She muttered, only semi-sympathetic after his dismissal of her theory.
The Doctor rubbed his cheek. "What was that for?!"
Donna gave him a dark look. "Get me to the church!" She demanded, and he threw his arms up in annoyance,
"Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway!" Florence almost laughed at the childish claim. "Where is the wedding?"
"Saint Mary's. Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth! The Solar System!" Donna yelled at him, before casting her eyes across the room and catching sight of an unfamiliar blouse that had been hanging on the railing. "Oh! I knew it! acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted? You blinking double act!" Florence tried to protest,
"Oi, how do you know that's not mine!" Donna gave her a look,
"And is it?" Florence was about to respond a sheepish, 'probably not' but the Doctor answered for her,
"It's not. That's our friend's…" Donna's scowl somehow deepened, while Florence turned to look at the Time-Lord, the sadness in his voice worrying her.
"Where is she, then?" Donna asked, sarcastically adding, "Popped out for a space walk?" The Doctor opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, answering her forlornly,
"She's gone." He refused to look in Florence's direction.
"Gone where?" Florence let Donna do the talking, not wanting any more questions about her place in the supposed kidnapping.
"I lost her." The soft look that Donna held in her eyes disappeared almost as quickly as it had come.
"Well, you can hurry up and lose me!" She paused. "How do you mean, lost?" She asked, a little more gently, but the Doctor shook her off, taking the blouse from her and casting it aside, stepping back to his controls.
"Right, Chiswick."
Florence popped her head out of the TARDIS first, looking around at the buildings and courtyard they had landed in curiously, a frowning appearing. "Uh, this isn't a church…" She stepped out and allowed Donna to exit after her, to see if they had parked around the corner or something, but the ginger seemed as confused as she was,
"I said 'Saint Mary's'!" She complained, and Florence shared a grimace with the Doctor. "What sort of Martian are you? Where are we?" Florence gave a slight laugh,
"Yeah, he's a bit… well shit at the navigation sometimes…" Donna turned to ask Florence something else but froze when she saw the blue box behind her that they had emerged from, staring at it in confusion.
"Oi!" Came a cry from inside just before the Doctor ran out and looked around briefly. "Something's wrong with her. The TARDIS, it's like she's…" He ran back in and Florence followed, there was a weird sound coming from the central column, Florence touched it gently,
"Like she's what?" The Doctor peered at the screen in front of him before whacking the side of it.
"Recalibrating!" He cried. "She's digesting! What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong?" He asked his ship soothingly, while Florence watched Donna run in and out of the TARDIS, presumably confused at its size as most were. "Donna! You've really got to think." He hadn't even noticed her movements, and Florence watched the display amusedly. "Is there anything that might've caused this? Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off. What if you're dangerous." He was shuffling around, pressing various buttons and looking at some scans on the screen. "I mean, have you, have you seen lights in the sky, or did you touch something like something, something different, something strange? Or something made out of a… box of metal or…" He perked up slightly in thought. "Who're you getting married to? Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?" He looked at Florence at this and she nodded, confirming she knew what he meant, before nodding her head to the still open door when he realised there was only one other woman in the room with him. "Donna!" He raced out after her and Florence followed with a slight laugh, waltzing out of the TARDIS, catching up with the retreating bride. "Donna!" The Doctor continued to call after her, but she shook her head.
"Leave me alone." She told them both. "I just want to get married." Florence held a hand out gently to her,
"Donna, please, come back to the TARDIS, we want to help you."
Donna shook her head once more. "No way. That box is too weird." The Doctor shrugged,
"It's bigger on the inside, that's all." Florence gave him a look, he wasn't being particularly human-friendly at the moment; Donna scoffed.
"Oh! That's all!" She told him sarcastically, before looking at the little watch on her wrist. "Ten past three." She mumbled, looking dejected. "I'm gonna miss it." The Doctor looked slightly uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck,
"You can phone them." He suggested. "Tell them where you are."
"How do I do that?" Donna asked, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows like she was asking a ridiculous question,
"Haven't you got a mobile?" He looked at Florence, giving her a wink. "Or ask Florence nicely she might let you borrow hers." Florence shook her head in exasperation when Donna stopped in her tracks and glared at him,
"I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets?" He looked taken aback at her sass. "Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets!" She finished with a yell, and Florence had to stifle a laugh.
"This man you're marrying… what's his name?" The Doctor asked tentatively, and Donna smiled softly,
"Lance."
"Good luck, Lance." He muttered, causing Donna to scowl at him.
"OI! No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you!" She turned with a swish of her dress, running off into the main street, leaving the Doctor and Florence behind.
"I'm, I'm not, I'm not from Mars." The Doctor called halfheartedly after her, causing Florence to let out a loud laugh, grabbing his sleeve and leading him in Donna's direction,
"Come on, Martian."
"Taxi!" They saw - or rather heard - Donna attempt to hail a taxi down on the main road of a parade of shops, but the taxi moved on without even pausing. "Why's his light on?" Florence pointed to another one heading their way,
"Quick there's another!"
"Taxi!" Donna called, waving her arm. "OI!" It drove past yet again, and the Doctor looked at her oddly,
"Do you have this effect on everyone? Why aren't they stopping?" Donna huffed,
"They think I'm in fancy dress." She told him sourly, just as another taxi drove past, the driver yelling out of the window.
"Stay off the sauce, darling!" Florence raised her eyebrows at the cheek, with Donna crossed her arms,
"They think I'm drunk!" She said, incredulously, as another car came past driven by young men.
"You're fooling no one, mate!" Florence gaped and threw a middle finger up at the retreating car,
"Pricks!" She called out, while Donna threw her head back in annoyance,
"They think I'm in drag!" The Doctor looked around for a taxi before holding his hand to his mouth,
"Hold on, hold on." He let out a piercing whistle, and a taxi u-turned and pulled up alongside them, Florence helping Donna and all her dress inside.
"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road. It's an emergency." Donna told the driver quickly. "I'm getting married. Just hurry up!" The driver turned to look at the odd trio in the back,
"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart? Double rates today…" Donna gasped and looked at the Doctor and Florence,
"Oh my god, do either of you have any money?" The Doctor looked at Florence, who patted her pockets and shook her head, before turning back to Donna,
"Err, no. Haven't you?" Donna gave him a fierce glare,
"Pockets!" The driver turned and glared at them,
"Right! Out!" He told them, but Donna held her hands up in a praying position,
"Please! Please, just… I'll pay you when we get there!"
The driver just shook his head at them. "Out! You're wasting my time! Get out before I call the fuckin police!" The Doctor quickly opened the door, ushering the women out after them, Donna huffing and muttering insults to the driver as she did.
"And that goes double, for your mother!" She yelled at the driver finally, throwing a rude gesture up at the taxi as he drove off. "I'll have him, I've got his number! I'll have him. Talk about Christmas spirit." She muttered to Florence and the Doctor who suddenly looked around at the decorations in the shop windows.
The Doctor smiled brightly. "Is it Christmas?" He asked Donna, who gave them a funny look,
"Well, duh." She mocked them. "Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve." She turned to Florence suddenly. "Have you got a phone? I forgot to ask!" Florence shook her head,
"No, sorry." Donna rolled her eyes,
"Bloody useless, both of ya!" She turned away from them, before pointing off into the distance. "Phonebox! We can reverse the charges!"
They ran over to a phonebooth, a real, modern one unlike the one Florence had been travelling in for weeks, before the Doctor turned to Donna. "How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" Donna shrugged,
"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon, Morocco. Sunshine, lovely." Florence looked at her oddly,
"Who doesn't like Christmas…" She muttered to herself more than anyone. The three of them piled into the phonebooth, or rather the Doctor and Florence lingered by the door. Donna grabbed the receiver, looking at the two of them for help. "What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?" Florence shrugged while the Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his sonic, flashing it at the machine,
"Just call directly." He told her, but Donna looked between him and the phone curiously,
"What did you do?"
The Doctor gave her a look. "Something Martian." He told her, pointing at the phone then grabbing Florence's hand. "Now phone. We'll get money!" They ran to an ATM and the Doctor turned to her. "Where's your phone, then? You usually have it." She gave him a look,
"My phone, darling Doctor, is with you!" He frowned in confusion,
"I haven't got it!"
She shook her head. "Not you you, you! Cardiff you!" He continued to frown, thinking back to their adventure with Margaret. "You took it for your weird little team ambush in Cardiff!" The Doctor laughed fondly,
"Oh yeah! the old team…" Florence crossed her arms as they moved forward to replace the man who had just taken money from the machine.
"Well?" She prompted, watching him use his sonic on the ATM and deposit a wad of cash into his hand.
He looked down at her. "Well, what?" She nodded at the cash he was holding,
"Well first, that's stealing, second: my phone?" The Doctor put both hands on her shoulders and spoke quickly, eager to get back to the temperamental bride-to-be,
"Florence, do you really think I'd still have your phone, it's been over a year and a regeneration later, now come on!" He made to pull her along with him but stopped when he caught sight of something behind her. She turned in the direction he was facing, frowning when she saw a troop of orchestral santas playing a carol outside the shop,
"Doctor? What is it?" He stared at them, as they turned slowly, almost as though they were facing their direction.
"Thanks for nothing, spaceman!" Came the call of the temperamental bride they were trying to help, and the duo turned from the Santa Claus orchestra to spot the woman jumping into a taxi, whose driver - Florence noted - was dressed like the santas that had caught the Doctor's attention.
"Donna!" He yelled at her, confusing Florence of the urgency. She wasn't sure who or what they were, but from the look in his eyes, they weren't friendly.
She turned to the santas behind them and grabbed the Doctor's jacket when she noticed that they had turned their instruments towards them as if weapons. "Doctor!" He turned to look and after a split second he held his sonic out, pointing it at the ATM that they had used, causing a flourish of banknotes to litter the streets, and a crowd of people attempting to catch any of it. He grabbed onto Florence's hand and raced them back to the TARDIS.
He flung the door open and began flicking switches and inputting coordinates, so Florence suspected, while she ran around him offering up both assistance, and slight panic. "Doctor, what were those things?" She asked him, as she was flung about the console in the usual TARDIS flight mode. "Creepy killer Santas? Santa aliens? Robots? Doctor, were they robots?"
"Yes! Florence, yes! Okay?" He yelled back, smacking the console impatiently, before grabbing onto Florence's hand and pulling her to his side. "Now keep pressing this button until I say stop!" She nodded quickly, pressing the button, before sparks flew from the area and she pulled back in shock.
"Was it meant to do that?" She yelled at him, in response he growled and reached underneath to grab a mallet, while keeping one leg aloft as he held a lever down with his foot.
"Smack where it sparked!" Florence gaped at him,
"I'm not hitting her!" The Doctor rolled his eyes and stretched across to do it himself, dinging a bell as he did so,
"Behave!" He told the ship, before turning to Florence, "Now's not the time for TLC!" Florence screamed as they were both tossed to the side once more, the Doctor straightened himself quickly and looked at the screen, following the red dot that was Donna. "Just a little bit of…" He pulled another lever with a flourish and pointed it out to Florence, along with what looked suspiciously like a brake. "Flo! When I say so! Pull the lever down and the brake towards the console!" Florence nodded. "Got it? Lever down, brake in!" Florence gave him a thumbs up as he stumbled over to the doors, opening them midflight.
"Lever down, brake in." Florence mumbled to herself, attempting to keep an eye on the screen, the Doctor and her task all at once. "Lever down, brake in."
"Open the door!" She heard the Doctor cry to Donna, as they pulled up alongside the taxi. Florence couldn't hear the ginger's response but presume she vehemently declined. "Open the door!" There was a shuffle as the Doctor rearranged himself in order to reach his sonic before he repeated himself once more. "Donna, open the door! You've got to jump!" There was a brief second of silence before Florence heard the squealing of tyres and the Doctor cry out once more, to her this time. "Florence! NOW!" She immediately pulled down the lever and pushed the brake in, causing a shower of sparks to rain over her, and she screamed in shock. "And release!" She did as she was told and the TARDIS came to a shaking steady pace, keeping up with the taxi once more.
"Listen to me!" The Doctor called out to Donna again. "You've got to jump!" Florence tried to angle herself to see clearer whether Donna was jumping or not but could only see the back of the Doctor. "Whatever that thing is, it needs you." He attempted to reason with her. "And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now, come on!" There was another pause as she responded, and Florence heard the Doctor's voice rise at least and octave in exasperation. "Yes, you look lovely! Come on!"
"Donna! JUMP!" Florence threw her two pennies in and screamed towards the open door, she saw the Doctor stretch his arms out for Donna and more words were spoken, softer this time, before Florence saw the Time-Lord stagger backwards underneath the bride, the TARDIS doors slamming shut behind them.
"Florence! Just the lever!" The Doctor called as he helped Donna shakily get to her feet before running to pilot the TARDIS, Florence pulling the lever down and another shower of sparks falling over them, along with, she noticed, a very small fire.
A very small fire that the Doctor had to put out with a silver fire extinguisher as the three of them evacuated the sturdy ship on a rooftop in London. He was attempting to waft the smoke away while Florence stood leaning against the doors, giving him an unimpressed look. He looked at her innocently,
"What? Just a little… setback!" Florence crossed her arms,
"Doctor, she's a spaceship. You've nailed the time bit - well kind of - but come on!" The Doctor laughed slightly and shut the door of his still smoking ship.
"I guess for a spaceship, she never really does too much flying…" He rubbed the back of his head before turning to call out to Donna. "Better give her a couple of hours!" Florence looked at the woman, who hardly acknowledged the comment.
"Donna?" She called out tentatively, approaching her. "You okay?"
The woman shrugged. "Doesn't matter."
"Did we miss it?" The Doctor asked, standing on her other side, awkwardly attempting some kind of comforting tone.
"Yeah." Donna told him, to which he shifted slightly.
"Could always book another date?" He offered, and Donna gave a halfhearted shrug.
"Course we can."
"Still got the honeymoon…" Florence gave her suggestion, but even she knew it was a weak comfort.
"Just a holiday now."
The Doctor looked at her earnestly. "Sorry." He apologised, more instinctively than anything, and Donna smiled slightly,
"Not your fault."
He laughed slightly. "Oh, that's a change!" Florence let out a small laugh at him for that, nodding along,
"Massive change, huge in fact." He gave her a look,
"Thank you, Florence." She smiled sweetly back at him in response, while Donne sighed and looked out at the London skyline again,
"Wish you had a time machine… then we could go back and get it all right…" She mused, and the Doctor and Florence shared an uncomfortable look with each other before the Doctor spoke,
"Um yeah, yeah. But… even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline." He stammered out an explanation, and Donna gave him a weird look.
"Apparently!" Florence jumped in, finishing his thought, and giving him another look. Thankfully, Donna ignored the pair and moved to sit on the edge of the roof, the Doctor watched her sit before holding his hand out to Florence, who was looking precariously over the edge. She looked at his hand before accepting it, allowing him to ground her as she lowered herself to sit next to Donna, smiling softly when she saw him take off his suit jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. The redhead looked at it and rearranged it before scrunching her nose slightly,
"God, you're skinny." She told the Doctor, making Florence stifle a laugh. "This wouldn't fit a rat!" The Doctor ignored her comments and instead held something out that made Donna look as though she wanted to push him off the roof.
"Oh, you'd better put this on." Donna scowled.
"Do you have to rub it in?" Nevertheless she accepted his proposal and held out her hand so that he could place it on her finger.
"Those creatures can trace you." He explained. "This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden… With this ring, I thee bio-damp." Donna smiled slightly,
"For better or for worse."
Florence rolled her eyes slightly at the Doctor, he really could have put it on any other finger in her eyes. "You just carry wedding bands around with you, eh Doctor?" The Doctor chuckled lightly,
"Why, you want one too?" She stuck her tongue out in response.
"So, come on then." Donna started. "Robot santas, what are they for?" She looked between the two of them, but Florence held her hands up in response,
"Don't look at me, he knows all apparently."
The Doctor sniffed slightly, looking out at the city as he answered them. "Ah, your basic robo scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise." Florence rolled her eyes slightly at that, she had guessed as much. "They're trying to blend in. We met them last Christmas." He waggled his finger between himself and Florence, who's eyebrows shot up,
"We did, did we?"
"Why, what happened then?" Donna asked obliviously, and the Doctor frowned at her,
"Great big spaceship hovering over London?" Florence's eyes widened, she looked forward to that… "You didn't notice?"
Donna shrugged. "I had a bit of a hangover." She explained, and the Doctor paused, giving her an odd look before turning back to the skyline.
"We spent Christmas Day just over there," he pointed in the direction, "the Powell Estate, with this family. Our friend, she had this family. Well, they were. Still, gone now." Florence looked at him quickly, she didn't like the look in his eye, who was he talking about? She couldn't work out if he meant Rose or Martha, or another companion she hadn't met yet.
"Your friend, who was she?" Donna asked, and Florence glad she did, but the Doctor avoided her question,
"The real question is.. what do camouflage robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get in the TARDIS?" He asked quickly, and Florence frowned at his evasiveness, swearing to talk to him as soon as they were alone. "I dunno, what's your job?"
"I'm a secretary." Donna told him, while he reached into his trouser pocket and began to use his sonic screwdriver to scan her without her permission once more.
"Doctor…" She warned, but he ignored her.
"It's weird. I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important." Florence shook her head at his rudeness.
"Doctor, rude." She scolded, while Donna glared.
"This friend of yours… just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" She asked angrily, smacking the sonic out of her face. "Stop bleeping me!"
Florence sighed and tried to maintain order. "Donna," the ginger looked at her, still looking sceptical, "so, what kind of secretary?"
"I'm at HC Clements." She told her. "It's where I met Lance. I was temping. 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." She smiled at the memory, causing Florence to once more feel terribly sorry for the poor bride. "I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me. But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him. One cup of coffee. That was it." Florence smiled at her,
"How long have you been together then?" Florence asked her, she knew the easiest way to get information out of people was to talk about things they loved, especially asking couples about their relationships.
"Six months ago." Donna replied, and the Doctor's eyebrows shot up,
"Bit quick to get married." Donna shrugged,
"Well, he insisted." She told them. "And he nagged, and he nagged me…" Florence began to get the feeling that Donna wasn't telling the whole truth, making her smirk at the woman's persistence. "And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in."
"What does HC Clements do?" The Doctor asked curiously, and Donna's face held the expression of someone who neither knew much nor cared about the job she was doing.
"Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing." She summarised for them. "If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths." The Doctor looked like he was trying to find some sort of connection between her arrival on the TARDIS and her workplace.
"Keys…" He muttered to himself, but Donna distracted them by standing and removing the jacket from around her shoulders.
"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences." The Doctor stood, helping the still heights-wary Florence to her feet and safely away from the ledge. "Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy." The Doctor frowned at her,
"Yeah, I'm not from Mars."
She ignored him, her mind on her reception. "Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken." She made her way to the door of the roof leading them back down to city level, while Florence patted his chest gently,
"Yeah… I don't think she cares, Marsbar." He grumbled behind her as they followed Donna.
The reception was held at a beautiful little hotel only a short cab ride away - which the Doctor could afford to pay for with his stolen money, much to Florence's dismay - and before the trio knew it they were preparing themselves to enter the main room where just a little bit too much music and laughing was coming from to fit in with the morose atmosphere Donna had predicted. Florence and the Doctor shared a look as Donna waltzed in and the two followed, looking uncomfortably around the large room, decked out in Christmas decorations and wedding favours, and filled with people dancing and singing along to Christmas songs.
"Oh god…" Florence muttered when she saw the room, while Donna marched to the dance floor and stood with her arms crossed, waiting for everyone to stop dancing and the music to stop.
"You had the reception without me?" A black man in what seemed to be the groom's tuxedo, who Florence thought had been dancing a little too closely to the blonde next time him, looked at her.
"Donna, what happened to you?" He asked, but Donna was still in shock.
"You had the reception without me?" She repeated, and the Doctor leaned forward slightly,
"Hello! I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself, and Florence slapped him slightly on the stomach.
"Doctor!" She muttered, and he looked down at her briefly,
"Sorry! And this is Florence." She closed her eyes in exasperation, opening them again to see Donna had turned to look at them.
"They had the reception without me!" She told them, as if they hadn't just heard and seen for themselves.
The Doctor tried to maintain his awkward smile for the crowd. "Yes… I gathered." The blond that had been dancing with Lance looked at Donna in distaste,
"Well, it was all paid for, why not?" She asked snottily, and Donna returned her look.
"Yes, thank you, Nerys." Florence nodded slightly,
"Ah, so that's Nerys." She murmured to the Doctor, who let out a soft chuckle.
A woman in a skirt suit ensemble and matching hat stepped forward. "Well what were we supposed to do?" She asked impatiently, as if having a party when the bride had disappeared was a sensible idea. "I got your silly little message in the end. I'm on Earth? Very funny." She walked up to stand in front of Donna and the rest of the party crowded behind her. "What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick, because I'd love to know." Everyone began talking at once, asking Donna questions, or telling her how stupid she was, or how worried they were, blaming her. Florence looked up at the Doctor uncomfortably, but he was looking similarly out at the crowd, she wasn't quite sure where they fit in.
The shouting came to a sudden end when Donna promptly burst into tears. Lance stepped forward while everyone aw'ed to hug her, she sobbed into his shoulder as the crowd started applauding - to Florence's confusion. She turned Lance as they hugged, so that her face was angled towards the Doctor and Florence, giving them a sly wink, and Florence's mouth dropped open. What a devilish woman.
A while later, Florence found herself being dragged onto the dancefloor by Donna, and was dancing along to some love song while the Doctor watched from the bar. She had tried to get him to join her but he merely pushed her towards Donna with a soft smile and a shake of his head, so she danced between Donna and Nerys - it was crucial to her to keep the two of them apart after Nerys' comments earlier. She looked over at the Doctor just as he closed the mobile phone in his hand, looking forlorn once more, and danced her way over to him, shimmying her shoulders and pointing her fingers at him to coax a smile. A smile was coaxed, barely there, but there nonetheless.
"Hey Glasses." She greeted softly. "Why the long face?"
He shook his head slightly. "No reason, just," he motioned the wedding around them, "human weddings. Got nothing on the weddings you can see on the planes of Sacronto-64, showers of shooting stars illuminate the couple's first dance, you eat these, these little balls of gaseous wonder…" Florence smirked up at him,
"Oh yeah, if we're so boring, why'd ya keep coming back for us?" He laughed at her. "Hey! I'm serious! Can't get rid of you, you just keep popping up on earth!" He laughed again but stopped as something behind her caught his attention, "What?" She turned to look at what he had seen, only finding a tall lanky (lankier than the Doctor even) man with a camera set up filming the wedding. "Ooohh." She realised, letting him pull her along by her hand.
The Doctor walked up to the cameraman, tapping him on the shoulder and smiling politely. "Hello, I'm the Doctor!" He told him over the noise of the reception. "Did you manage to catch the bride vanishing? My friend Florence here told me about it, I just can't believe it myself!" Florence nodded quickly,
"He thinks I had one too many mimosas at the wedding brunch!" She laughed ditsily and grabbed the Doctor's arm. "But I'm right! I know I am!" The cameraman stop his recording and flicked through his memory card, nodding excitedly,
"Oh, mate, I taped the whole thing! They've all had a look!" He laughed. "They said sell it to You've Been Framed. I said, more like the News. Here we are." The three of them crowded around the small screen and watched the replay of Donna disappearing in a burst of gold energy. Florence frowned, she was very sure she didn't look like that when she jumped, but the Doctor seemed to have a realisation.
"Can't be… play it again?" The cameraman did so and crossed his arms to watch it once more.
"Clever mind." He commented. "Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping!"
"But that looks like Huon Particles." The Doctor mumbled to himself, causing Florence to look up at him,
"Huon Particles?" She asked, just as the cameraman did the same, but the Doctor ignored them.
"That's impossible. That's ancient." He was rambling to himself, moving away from the camera, Florence following and thanking the cameraman for his help. "Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years." He told Florence, running a hand through his hair before halting suddenly, something dawning on him. "So old that it can't be hidden by a bio-damper!" He legged it out of the reception room, Florence following quickly behind him, until they made it to the glass doors leading to the garden, and marching towards them were the robot Santas that they had managed to evade only hours earlier.
"Oh my god…" Florence held a hand to her mouth, before turning to the Doctor. "Donna!" They ran back into the reception room but bumped into Donna halfway there, who had come to find them.
"What's going on?" The Doctor grabbed her,
"Donna, they've found you!"
Donna looked confused. "But you said I was safe!" The Doctor shook his head, annoyed at himself for his mistake,
"The bio-damper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out." Donna looked back at the reception room where music and laughed still echoed.
"My God, it's all my family…" Florence grabbed her hand gently,
"We'll check the back door!" The three of them ran to their only other way out, but were stopped by two more santas holding weapons.
"Maybe not!" The Doctor cried, Donna looked at him helplessly,
"What now? We're trapped!" One of the santas pulled a golden remote control out from underneath his robe, causing the Doctor to look back at the reception in panic, running ahead of them back into the room,
"Christmas trees."
Florence and Donna followed behind him, both frowning in confusion. "What about them?" Donna asked him as he looked around the room at the people still dancing and laughing.
"They kill." He told them simply, before attempting to usher anyone standing near them away. "Get away from the tree!" He told them, while Donna ran towards some children playing with the decorations.
"Don't touch the trees!" Florence ran over to any groups standing too close for comfort and directed them over to the bar instead.
"Everyone away from the trees! Grab a drink and stay away from the Christmas trees!"
"Turn the music off!" The Doctor instructed the DJ, before grabbing people and pushing them away. "Stay away from the trees!" Donna's mother looked at him as if he were mad and rolled her eyes,
"Oh, for god's sake! The man's an idiot! Why?" She asked them. "What harm's a Christmas tree going to-" She cut herself off as she noticed something behind them. "Oh." Florence turned around to see what had caught the crowd's eye, and her mouth dropped open when she saw the baubles of the tree rise up off of the tree and float around their heads. The crowd oohed and ahhed at the fancy decorations while Florence looked up at the Doctor in panic. There was a moment of hesitance before the baubles soared through the air and exploded upon contact with the tables, floor, and anyone who got in the way. There was mass panic and screaming as everyone dove for cover, trying to avoid the debris and smoke that had erupted in the air.
"Doctor!" Florence called out, as she ducked out of the way, grabbing onto his arm and letting him pull her out of the centre of the chaos. They ran and hid behind the DJ desk and Florence put her hand to her chest to calm her racing heart. "What do we do?" She asked the man beside her, he looked round at their resources quickly.
"Cover your ears…" He whispered with a grin, before poking his head over the table they had taken cover behind. "Oi!" He called out, and Florence braved it and followed his movements, looking out to see the santas standing at the bar, weapons at the ready. "Santa! Word of advice! If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver," he pulled his trusted gadget from his pocket, grabbing the microphone off the table and flipping it once in his hand before holding it to his mouth, "don't let him near the sound system!" He jammed his screwdriver into the plug and Florence had just enough sense to cover her ears as he activated it, sending a ringing noise through the room that had the santas violently shaking and dismantling in front of them. Once they had all fallen the Doctor ended the noise and ran over, Florence following warily.
"Be careful…" She warned, she had seen enough horror movies to become expectant that the enemy could jump up and grab you at any time. He shrugged and began to root around the figures looking for something,
"Nah, they're not going anywhere… Aha!" He pulled out a golden remote from underneath the red robe of the robot, as well as one of its heads. "Look at that, remote control for the decorations." He waved the object at her, before turning the head in his hands and observing a flashing light emitting from the top. "But there's a second remote control for the robots… They're not scavengers anymore, I think someone's taken possession."
"But who?" Florence asked, before feeling a little silly for asking. "I mean, this technology, must be advanced…"
"Never mind all that." Donna, who stood behind the inquisitive pair. "You're a doctor, people have been hurt…" The Doctor's mind was seemingly going at a hundred miles an hour, as he barely acknowledged what Donna was saying, throwing a bauble in her direction,
"Nah, they wanted you alive, see."
Florence turned to give Donna an uncomfortable look. "Sorry, it's just…"
The bride interrupted her before she could say anything.
"All the same… you could help!" Florence shook her head,
"He's, um, not that kinda doctor." Was the only way she could think of explaining it to the confused and scared woman, since the Doctor was busy doing only whatever he was doing with the robot head.
"You've got to think of the bigger picture…" He murmured, holding the head to his ear, as if listening to it. "There's still a signal!" He cried out, running out of the room with Florence hot on his heels, they ran out to the gravel driveway of the hotel, the Doctor began to scope out the signal with his screwdriver, Florence watching aimlessly.
"There's someone behind this… directing the roboforms." He told her, and she smiled wryly,
"Roboforms being a fancy word for robots?" He laughed mockingly at her before refocusing on the signal, just as Donna ran over to them.
"Why me?" She asked them. "Who's after me? What have I done?" Florence shrugged slightly,
"Not quite sure the answer to that one just yet, he's working on it."
The Doctor kept waving his screwdriver in and over the head in his hand. "If we find the controller, we find that out. Oooh!" He pulled his hand away from the head, as if he was being pulled by a giant magnet. "It's up there! Something in the sky…"
The three of them stood in the middle of a hotel driveway in Chiswick, looking up at the still blue sky and wondered what could be lurking within the atmosphere, biding its time before it struck.
Here goes the first part of the Runaway Bride! I love Donna so much and was really looking forward to Florence meeting a companion before they met her! So I thought Donna would be PERFECT! Hope you enjoyed this and would love to know what you guys are excited to read...
See you for chapter 19! xo