A/N – Okay, Donna is just SO much fun to write! I'm definitely having fun with this, and I hope you guys enjoy it too! In response to some reviews…
ThatBigBlueBox – Tragic? Me? Psh, I don't know what you're talking about… Heh. Rose is definitely going to go through something regarding her memories of her past life, but I won't reveal too much, that'd spoil the surprise! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter though!
MewWinx96 – It won't take him TOO long. The Doctor can be a little dense when it comes to the obvious, but he's so focused on helping Rose that things will add up pretty quickly. He'll get there. I won't say WHEN but… he'll get there. Also, thank you for suggesting I split the chapters! It definitely feels like you need a breather when you read them, so it works!
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This was not how The Doctor had anticipated this day going, not in the slightest. He'd just wanted to give Rose the chance to say goodbye to her mother, and to figure out just what was happening to her timelines. He had NOT expected an unwelcome passenger to board the TARDIS, especially one who seemed incredibly irate at being there.
She took a defensive position, her shoulders stiff as she glared at the two of them as though THEY were the ones intruding. He called out mentally to the TARDIS, hoping for some kind of explanation, but she was being unusually silent. Fine, if she wanted to ignore him, then so be it, for now; he had bigger problems.
"You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is... that is physically impossible! How did you-?" The Doctor immediately began to ramble, unable to string together a decent sentence. He chanced a look at Rose, but she was watching them both with a strange smile on her lips. Was she – Was she ENJOYING this?
"Tell me where I am," The ginger woman snapped, ignoring everything he'd just said. "I demand you tell me right now, where am I?"
"You're on the TARDIS," The Doctor replied, completely bemused.
"The what?" she asked, every muscle in her body radiating tension, and The Doctor fought back a grimace.
"The TARDIS," He repeated, and the woman's eyebrows shot upwards, her voice going even higher in pitch. (if that were possible)
"The WHAT?!" She repeated, and Rose glanced at The Doctor, noticing he was ready to snap. Shaking her head, she moved around the console towards the woman, smiling reassuringly at her, hands lifted to try to be placating. The Doctor might be confused as to how she'd got here, and so was she, honestly, but poor Donna looked like she'd just been plucked out from what should be one of the best days of her life.
"It's an acronym, the TARDIS. It stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space," Rose smiled lightly, gesturing to The Doctor. "He's The Doctor, and I'm Rose. We kind of… travel."
"What, you go around travelling and kidnapping people?" Donna shot back, and The Doctor couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes as he moved around the console. "What's this, then, some sort of human trafficking thing?! I'll have you know, the minute I get back, me and my husband will be suing the living backside off of you two! I don't care what you've got planned, I'm not doing ANYTHING!"
"No, no, honestly, it's nothin' like that!" Rose shook her head quickly, biting her bottom lip. "Listen, we're not trying to kidnap you or hurt you or anythin', in fact, we'll do what we can to get you home. It's your big day, yeah?" She flashed the redhead a tongue in teeth smile. "I love your dress."
Donna's expression softened slightly in response, sensing genuine sincerity coming from the blonde, but The Doctor poked his head up from the console, looking perplexed.
"Hold on, what're you dressed like that for?" He asked, and Rose pressed her face into her hand, muttering something under her breath. Donna simply lifted her eyebrows, shifting her gaze back to him.
"I'm going ten pin bowling," She offered flatly, before her voice twisted into a shout. "What d'you think, DUMBO?!
"Doctor, it's obviously her wedding day," Rose offered by way of explanation, and he looked between both women, slightly wounded by the insult and overwhelmed in general. This… woman was just too loud and in his face, and quite frankly, he didn't know how to handle the situation. Rose seemed to be doing better than he was, at least. "Sorry 'bout him, he's really good at missing the obvious sometimes."
"Rose," The Doctor warned, and Rose flashed him a smirk in response.
"London Eye Transmitter," She reminded him, and The Doctor fell silent, glaring petulantly at the controls. To an extent, Rose could understand him – he'd always been more of a big picture bloke, which was why he often lost sight of things right in front of him. He was completely brilliant, but even big Time Lord brains couldn't keep track of EVERYTHING.
"I was halfway down the aisle," Donna recalled mournfully, bringing her hands up to her temples, and Rose felt a pang of sympathy for her. Getting sucked into The Doctor's life definitely wasn't easy, and she knew that too well, but she'd happily gotten involved when he'd come barrelling into her life. Donna, though, didn't have a choice.
"Doctor, how could she just appear like that?" Rose asked, turning back to him with a frown finally forming on her lips. "We're nowhere near Earth, are we?"
The Doctor shook his head in response, confusion furrowing his brow. He chanced a glance at Donna, only for his eyes to widen as he noticed her running for the TARDIS doors. That was a problem; they were still orbiting the Wolf-Rayet star.
"No, wait!" He called after her, running quickly in the same direction, but he was too late. She opened up the doors, only to come up short when she stared out at the sight before her. Silently, The Doctor came up beside her, watching her reaction carefully, and Rose moved to her other side, hesitantly resting her hand on Donna's shoulder. "You're in space," The Doctor offered after a second. "Outer space. The TARDIS is how Rose and I get around; she's my… space ship."
"How am I breathing?" Donna asked quietly, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful sight before her, and she heard Rose breath a soft little sigh beside her. She sounded… sad. Wistful, almost.
"The TARDIS is protecting us," The Doctor replied, hands slipping into his pockets. "Now, who are you, exactly?"
"Donna," She replied after a beat.
"Human?"
"Yeah. What, is that optional?" Donna scoffed, her words steeped in sarcasm.
"It is for me," The Doctor shrugged, and Donna froze, turning to look at him warily. He LOOKED normal enough; a bit on the skinny side, but he still looked normal. Then again, he had some kind of weird space ship flying around some sort of… supernova and he'd managed to beam her up from her wedding, somehow. Faced with the evidence, she felt as though she didn't have much of a choice to believe him.
"You're alien," She noted quietly, and at his nod, she turned to look at Rose, who was still watching the supernova outside with a look on her face that could only be described as sad, and her suspicion of the two of them only continued to grow. "What about you then, blondie?"
"What?" Rose blinked, coming out of her trance, before she offered Donna a smile. "Nah, I'm human. Born on Earth, just like you." Her expression turned suddenly plaintive, and she rubbed her hands together slowly. "Not much left for me there now, though."
Donna opened her mouth to try to think of something to say, but averted her gaze, arms moving to wrap around her own body.
"It's freezing with these doors open," She muttered, and The Doctor, who had been watching Rose with a pained expression, darted forward to shut the doors before he turned on his heel and rushed back to the console. He could sense a mystery beginning to form, and if random humans were going to start appearing on his TARDIS, he wanted to know the reason.
"So, Doctor," Rose piped up, and both he and Donna turned to look at her. "How is this possible?"
"I don't know. I don't understand this, and I understand everything!" The Doctor's voice rose as he rushed around the console. "This... this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside." He picked up an ophthalmoscope from a small pot of tools hung on the edge of the console and dashed back over to Donna, using it to peer into her eyes, trying to find SOMETHING to give him a clue. "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection?" He guessed, frowning. "Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell, or maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-"
Rose had seen the slap coming from a mile away. She could tell just how frustrated Donna was getting as The Doctor babbled nearly incoherently at her. All the poor woman wanted was to get married. Still, Rose puffed out her cheeks to fight back laughter as Donna's hand came in direct contact with The Doctor's cheek.
He stumbled back at the blow, completely aghast. "What was that for?!" He demanded, indignant, and Donna seemed to swell up.
"GET ME TO THE CHURCH!" She all but snarled at The Doctor, who drew back, glaring back at her in irritation. He dropped the ophthalmoscope back into the pot, before he turned and moved back to the console.
"Right! Fine! We don't want you here anyway, do we Rose?" The Doctor shot Rose a pointed glare, but she was watching Donna with a curious expression on her face. It was almost… fond. Oh no, oh no no no, he was not having this terrifying, slapping woman on the TARDIS, no matter how much Rose liked her spirit. That would be JUST as bad as having Jackie Tyler on board. "Where is this wedding?"
"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System!" Donna listed off, moving to the other side of the console and surprisingly, linked her arm through Rose's. "And you? You're comin' with me. I know you said there's nothin' left for you on Earth, but I can tell you're upset when you think about it. You can stay with me til you get back on your feet if you need to. My husband, well, soon to be husband, won't mind it."
Rose looked surprised at the offer, tilting her head to the side slowly.
"You're not taking Rose anywhere!" The Doctor snapped, suddenly heated. He doubted Rose would leave him willingly, but he wouldn't put it past this woman to drag her out of the doors. Donna let go of Rose, choosing to stand in front of her in an almost protective manner, her eyes narrowing.
"Oh yeah? Just WATCH me, spaceman! I'm not havin' you kidnapping some innocent girl on my watch, y'hear me?! You even think about following us and I'll have you, I swear!"
Rose looked between the two of them, somewhat bemused. Donna had obviously gotten the wrong idea somehow, but she was grateful of how the older woman seemed to want to keep her safe. Something about her attitude just reminded Rose of her mother, and her heart ached.
"Um, sorry, don't I get a say in this?" She asked, lifting a hand, and both Donna and The Doctor turned to look at her expectantly. First, she smiled warmly at Donna, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Donna, thank you, really." Her smile grew even wider. "It's really nice of you to offer me somewhere to stay even though you jus' met me, but The Doctor didn't kidnap me. I chose to come with him, to travel. I've seen so much since I started, and it's been fantastic." Her smile shifted to The Doctor then, who'd softened considerably at her words. "I lost my family not long ago, and I'll probably never see them again, but they're safe and alive. I chose to leave them behind because that life isn't for me anymore. I know it sounds mad, but…" She shrugged. "It's my life, and I love it."
"This isn't some kind of Stockholm syndrome thing, is it? Or like… Martian Mind Control?" Donna asked suspiciously, and The Doctor's mouth fell open in response, completely shocked that she'd even ASK such a thing. Stockholm…? Well, alright, he'd… admittedly forced people to come on adventures with him before, (Ian and Barbara stood out most prominently in his mind, and he felt a twist of guilt he forced back.) but he was young then! He wouldn't make those kinds of stupid mistakes again.
"No, no!" Rose let out a laugh, smiling happily. "The Doctor asked me to come with him twice, because I refused the first time, but then I regretted it right away. There's been loads of chances for me to leave." She gave The Doctor a pointed glare. "He likes to try to send me away when he thinks things are getting too dangerous… but I always find my way back. The TARDIS is my home."
Donna pursed her lips slightly as she considered that, but finally she sighed, nodding her head curtly. If Rose wanted to run around space with some skinny Martian, then who was she to stop her? Mad, the pair of them.
Rose moved over to The Doctor then, and she took his hand, smiling at him with a look that Donna could only describe as adoration. The Doctor looked back at her, his eyes soft and tender, and it hit Donna in an instant. They loved each other. Bloody hell; was this some kind of weird sci-fi alien soap opera? She didn't want any part of this madness.
"Well, I've got a wedding to get to." She said pointedly, folding her arms tightly over her chest, and she heard The Doctor sigh in irritation as he rushed past her towards the doors, Rose following him with their hands still clasped together.
"Right! Chiswick!"
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Useless, absolutely bloody USELESS!
What kind of Martian couldn't even get the simplest of directions right?
Donna stared around her at the completely unfamiliar surroundings she'd found herself in when she'd exited the 'TARDIS', or whatever space-boy called his ship. There wasn't a single ounce of familiarity around her, and she ground her teeth together. Not even a church in sight! "I said: Saint Mary's. What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?" Donna demanded, but The Doctor ignored her. Spinning, she glared at him, seeing he was stroking the door of his weird blue box like it was some kind of pet. Wait, hold on. Blue BOX?!
"Something's wrong with her," The Doctor noted instead of answering Donna's question, and for the first time since Donna boarded, he felt a low, almost sickly hum in the back of his mind, and all of his mental alarms began to blare. "It's like she's recalibrating. She's digesting!" He rushed back inside instantly, and Rose frowned after him, mimicking The Doctor's gentle stroke against the door.
"What's wrong old girl?" She murmured, concerned. "Some kind of indigestion or something?" She called out to The Doctor, who was running his fingers over the console buttons, trying to figure out the cause of the ship's discomfort.
"You could say that!" The Doctor shouted back, before refocusing back onto the TARDIS. "What have you eaten? What's wrong?" He paused. "Donna? You've really gotta think. Is there anything that might've caused this?"
The Doctor began to fire questions off at Donna, who didn't reply, too stunned by the realisations she'd come to. She circled the TARDIS, noticing how it was completely impossible to be so small on the outside when the inside was HUGE, and she pressed her hands to the blue wood, peering back into the circuit room before she drew out again, her hands covering her mouth.
Rose looked back at her, sympathetic. She could remember all too well just how overwhelmed she'd felt when she'd first stepped onto the TARDIS, and she'd taken to calling it 'culture shock', as The Doctor himself once had.
"Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?" The Doctor continued to babble, but Donna turned around abruptly, beginning to walk away.
"Donna!" Rose called out, quickly rushing after her, knowing The Doctor would follow once he'd realised they were gone. She understood they couldn't let her out of their sight just yet, as The Doctor pointed out. There could be danger around her – after all, Rose was well aware that Donna Noble was the most important woman in all of creation; how could danger NOT follow? "I know it's a bit much, but come back to the TARDIS, yeah?"
"No way," Donna replied flatly. "That box is too… weird."
"She's not weird!" Rose said defensively, wincing at the odd look Donna gave her. "Look, she's bigger on the inside, but it's just part of the whole 'alien' thing. You get used to it after a while!"
"Leave me alone, Rose. I just want to get married," Donna begged, and Rose bit her lip when she saw the ginger woman was near tears. "Ten past three, I'm gonna miss it."
Rose opened her mouth to reply, but The Doctor had caught up to them, overhearing the conversation, and pitched in his own solution.
"Can't you ring them? Tell them where you are?" He asked, and Donna rolled her eyes.
"With WHAT?" She shot back flatly.
"Haven't you got a mobile?" He said it like it should have been obvious, and Rose didn't bother to hide her groan as Donna stopped, looking back at him in disbelief.
"I'm in my wedding dress," She said slowly, gesturing to herself. "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?!" Her voice raised back into a furious shout, and both Rose and The Doctor winced, though he at least had the grace to look sheepish.
"This man you're marrying, what's his name?" he asked, and Donna's expression softened, a happy smile curling up her lips.
"Lance," She replied, almost dreamily, and Rose smiled lightly, before she froze at The Doctor's next words.
"Good luck, Lance," He shot at her, and Donna stiffened, her expression souring.
"Doctor!" Rose chastised, shooting a glare at him herself. She could understand his frustration, but that definitely felt more than a little uncalled for. He winced slightly at the warning tone in her voice, but didn't even get the chance to offer an apology.
"No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!" Donna shouted, turning on her heel to stalk away from him. Rose shook her head before following, leaving The Doctor to mumble feebly after them that he WASN'T from Mars. Honestly, why did humans enjoy jumping to that conclusion?
"Donna! Donna, wait! I've got a phone!" Rose called out as she rushed after the bride, who was trying to flag down a taxi, though none of them were giving her the time of day. She pulled her phone out from her inner pocket, having to dig a little with just how BIG they were. (Honestly, how did The Doctor find things so quickly?) before she pulled it out, offering it to Donna with a smile. "Sorry about The Doctor, he doesn't mean to be a git."
Donna took the phone quickly, flashing Rose a smile in return as she began to dial her mother's number quickly. She let out a quiet groan of frustration when there didn't seem to be an answer, and it moved straight to voicemail. "Mum, get off the phone and listen. I'm in... Oh, my God... I dunno where I am! It's... it's a street and there's WH Smith... but it's definitely Earth!"
As Donna spoke desperately into her phone, Rose took a moment to look around as she felt The Doctor stand up next to her, and she flashed him a quick smile, before she gestured out at the surroundings, to the Christmas lights hanging from store to store, the sights of Christmas trees and signs indicating the special 'Xmas Sales'.
"Merry Christmas, Doctor," Rose grinned impishly, her tongue touching the corner of her mouth, and he lit up in response.
"Oh! It's Christmas is it? Brilliant!" The Doctor grinned back at Rose, though his gaze searched her face momentarily, as though searching for something. He knew Rose loved to spend Christmas with her family, and he'd willingly taken her back to see them before. Now, though – that just wasn't possible. He wasn't sure if she'd realised it yet, but…
"Of course it's Christmas." Donna piped up, closing Rose's phone with a snap, before she handed it back over to her, shaking her head to indicate she hadn't been able to reach her mother. "It's Christmas Eve, actually." She shot him a look, eyes roaming up and down in distaste. "Don't have Christmas on Mars then? S'pose I'm not surprised."
The Doctor let out a long-suffering sigh in response, pinching the bridge of his nose slowly, ignoring Rose's quiet laughter beside him. "How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" He asked instead, and Donna shook her head, looking around them for any signs of taxis.
"Can't bear it," She confessed, distracted. "I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco; sunshine, lovely. Have either of you got any money?"
"Why'd you hate Christmas?" Rose asked in surprise, quickly searching her pockets quickly to try to find any sign of change or notes. She usually carried all kinds of currency on her person, mostly because she never knew where she'd end up. She couldn't find any Earth money after searching for a few minutes, and shook her head apologetically. "Nothin', sorry Donna."
"It's too cold, you're expected to buy presents for everyone you know and their bloody great-aunt Betty, family Christmas dinners always end in arguments, everyone puts up their decorations MONTHS too early, and you just hear the SAME songs on the radio and in every shop you go into. I swear, if I hear Mariah Bloody Carey warbling ONE more time this year, I'm gonna pull my hair out!" Donna ranted, rolling her eyes with a scowl. "What's to LIKE?"
"Oh, Mariah Carey," Rose smiled slightly. "All I want for Christmas is you? I love that one. I used to listen to it every year with my mum when we hung up the decorations…" The Doctor looked at her quickly, but Rose didn't seem to be lost in any grief. She seemed thoughtful, more than anything else, her smile still intact. Happy memories were better than sad ones, and The Doctor was glad she was using those memories to keep her afloat.
"Can't stand it myself. Anyway, what about you, Martian Boy? Got any cash?" Donna asked, and The Doctor simply shook his head.
"Nope," He offered, popping his p lightly.
"I could've told you that," Rose smirked, pulling herself out of memory lane, and The Doctor elbowed her lightly in her side, prompting her to smile innocently at him.
"Useless, the pair of you!" Donna snapped, her shoulders stiffening. Watching them act all cutesy was getting her frustrated – she just wanted to get back to Lance and to get married. Turning on her heel, Donna stalked away from them, and The Doctor groaned quietly, prompting Rose to bite her bottom lip.
"Doctor?" She asked, looking up at him. "Is there any way you can get some money? I can keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't go off somewhere on her own."
"Rose Tyler, are you asking me to do something illegal?" The Doctor asked, lips slowly spreading up into a grin. Rose groaned in response, lightly slapping his arm with a laugh, rolling her eyes.
"I'm just sayin'! You get the money from… somewhere, and I just won't ask. We need to get Donna to her wedding, she's really upset over this, and I bet her family's really worried." Rose pointed out, and The Doctor nodded, fishing in his suit pocket before pulling out his sonic.
"Right, I'll get the money, you keep an eye on the blushing bride." The Doctor instructed, before he turned on his heel and rushed over to the nearest ATM machine. Rose watched him go, her smile slowly fading as a tired sigh left her lips. She was doing her best to keep her mind on their adventure and she felt like she was doing a pretty good job so far. Christmas, though… Why did it have to be Christmas? She wasn't ready to be surrounded by her favourite holiday without her family, and every little reminder of them hurt. She was sure that with time, the pain would fade, but it was much too soon.
"Focus, Tyler," Rose mumbled to herself, trying to snap out of it. She held herself tall, pushing back her old memories behind a wall in her mind. John had taught her how to do it when they'd been training her telepathic skills. It wouldn't keep the memories away forever, but it would allow her some time to keep her mind on the task at hand.
Turning, Rose caught sight of Donna trying to flag down another taxi, and she began to quickly run over to her. She grimaced as one taxi stopped next to her and she leaned over to quickly talk to the driver, blocking Rose's view of him. Some kind of agreement was quickly reached, and Donna pulled open the back door, looking triumphant.
"DONNA! WAIT!" Rose cried out as she got into the car. Donna ignored her, and was ready to shut the door until Rose came up beside her, and leaned in slightly, sucking in some deep breaths. Donna stared at her, eyes slowly narrowing, but Rose simply grinned. "Budge up."
"Thought you didn't wanna come with me?" Donna asked, but did as she was told, moving to the other end of the car as Rose slipped in and shut the door. The Doctor would just need to find them. If they were heading to the church, Rose would sure he'd find a way to get the TARDIS there.
"The Doctor will follow us," Rose said simply in response, smiling pleasantly. "Listen, Donna, you can't just appear on the TARDIS the way you did, it's… not s'posed to be possible. The Doctor's worried you might be in some kind of danger, so, I'm here to make sure you stay safe."
"Danger," Donna repeated with a small scoff as the car began to move. "The only danger I'm in is from getting an earache from my mum when I see her again. Oh, I can't be bothered arguing now. Let's just get to the church."
"ROSE!"
The sound of The Doctor's voice prompted Rose to look up quickly, and she rolled down the window as she saw him, staring after her with wide-eyes. Biting down on her bottom lip, she leaned out of the window slightly to shout out to him.
"Doctor! Find us at the church! I'll see you there!" She called, flashing him a reassuring smile.
The Doctor shook his head quickly in response, stepping forward with panic clear in his eyes. "Rose! Get out of there! Get out of there now!"
The sound of his voice began to fade as the taxi moved further away from him, and Rose felt a spasm of unease in her stomach as he shouted something else she couldn't quite hear. It hadn't seemed like The Doctor was just being overprotective, like he'd been in the past when they got separated. He'd seemed… genuinely panicked. Biting on her thumbnail, Rose sat back in her seat and furrowed her eyebrows together, glancing at Donna as she fussed over her veil and her hair.
If they WERE in some kind of danger, Rose knew The Doctor wouldn't be far behind them, but for now, she just needed to make sure Donna Noble remained safe.