A/N – it's been eighty-four years…. But i'm finally back! I'm sure most of you have forgotten this story exists, but it's back and i'm really doing my best to keep it going this time haha! I hope you guys keep on enjoying the story and where i'm going with it. I found all of my old notes and it jogged my memory! I also uploaded it to AO3, just in case you might be confused if you saw it over there!
EXTRA A/N - Sorry for the re-upload! I'm not sure what happened the first time I tried to post this!
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As the line to the ATM finally dwindled, The Doctor wasted no time in rushing to it, glancing around briefly to ensure he wasn't being watched. Once he noted that it was, indeed safe, he activated his sonic, forcing the machine to distribute a few notes. He took them, slipping them into his pockets before something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He paused, turning slowly, and every muscle in his body began to tense up as he saw a very familiar sight.
Three masked Santa's were walking towards him, playing trumpets. Their gait was slow and ominous, and The Doctor's thoughts immediately flitted to Rose. They'd seen these before, last Christmas. Pilot Fish. The Doctor turned quickly, eyes wide, only to see Rose getting into the back seat of a taxi with Donna. That in itself would be fine, he supposed – he could always find them again. His eyes flitted to the driver, only for panic to set in.
He was a robot Santa.
"ROSE!" He shouted, immediately moving forward. Hadn't she seen the robot in front seat? Surely she recognised it! She seemed to hear him, poking her head out of the window to flash him an apologetic smile.
"Doctor! Find us at the church! I'll see you there!" She shouted, and he shook his head frantically as the taxi began to drive away.
"Rose! Get out of there! Get out of there now! THEY'RE PILOT FISH! The Driver! He's a PILOT FISH!" He shouted after her as the taxi turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Running his fingers through his hair and making a mental note of the taxi's licence plate, he turned back to the other robots, who were slowly moving their instruments towards him, ready to use them as weapons.
Thinking quickly, The Doctor pointed his sonic at the ATM, sending a torrent of money flying from the slot. Instantly, the crowd around him surged forward to try to catch some of the notes, and he took advantage of the chaos to turn and run as fast as he could for the TARDIS. She wasn't quite up for travelling – still digesting whatever energy she'd accidentally taken in, but this was an emergency. He'd make it up to her later.
He pushed open the door, running over to the console, and began to flick up the levers to send them into flight, flinching only briefly when she sent a brief, frustrated zap to his fingertips, trying to deter him. This time, however, The Doctor wouldn't be swayed, and he glared up at the time rotor.
"Rose is in trouble – We need to get to her and Donna, now!" He urged, darting to the left, twisting a knob, and the TARDIS shuddered in response. He knew his ship held a strong fondness towards Rose, one he hadn't been able to figure out just yet, and he was certain she wouldn't want anything to happen to her.
Proving him right, the TARDIS let out a soft groan, before forcing her systems to boot up. The Doctor let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and programmed the ship to lock onto Rose's biodata. Unfortunately, he couldn't just wait for them to reach their destination; he had to get them both to safety, which meant…
"Sorry old girl," He muttered, knowing she wouldn't like it. Still, he flicked a final switch, sending them into physical flight.
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The way The Doctor had shouted her name still weighed heavily on Rose's mind, and she gnawed on her bottom lip, wondering if it were too late to just open the doors and jump out. She discarded the idea immediately, though, knowing Donna wasn't likely to follow her. Her gazed drifted over to the bride, who took off her veil, shaking her hair out with a relieved sigh.
"I promise you, mate, I'll give you the rest when we get there. Oh, I look a mess." She ran her fingers unhappily through the red strands of her hair, trying to catch her breath, and Rose shot her a smile.
"Y'still look gorgeous, Donna, don't worry." She tried to reassure, and Donna scoffed slightly in response.
Rose's gazed drifted to the driver briefly, trying to twist herself to get a look at his face, the suspicion inside of her brewing as she took note of the elaborate Santa outfit he was wearing. Most cabbie's didn't dress up in full costume; Christmas or not. Her suspicion began to swell into panic upon seeing what seemed to be a hint of a plastic mask over his face.
"Hold on a minute, I said Chiswick! You've missed the turning!"
Donna's voice cut through the fog in her mind, and the taxi swerved violently onto the motorway, sending her body into Donna's, who grimaced and hit her fists on the back of the cabbie's chair.
"'Scuse me? We should've turned off back there. We're going the wrong way!" Upon receiving no answer, she swelled with anger, looking at Rose. "D'you believe this bloke? Is he deaf?! What the hell are you doing? I'm late for the wedding, my own wedding. Do you get that?!"
"I don't think it cares, Donna," Rose bit out as the taxi swerved once more, and her fingers gripped the door handle, trying to push the door open, but, as expected, it was locked tight, and she grimaced, fighting back her panic. The Doctor would find them.
"What do you mean? Oi! Turn around! Turn this cab around right now!" Donna demanded, and lunged forward to pull at the cabbie's hood in a desperate bid to get him to listen, but the movement pulled back the hood and caused the mask to slip off, revealing the robot underneath. Rose grimaced, her worst fears realised, and Donna fell back into her seat, her mouth open in soundless shock.
"Oh my God," Donna breathed, and Rose could feel the fear radiating from her body. Her mind began to swim, thinking back to the last time she'd seen the robots. The Doctor had called them Pilot Fish… a sign that something bigger was coming. Her heart dropped down to her stomach, as Donna spoke again, tension rolling off of her in waves. "What th'hell do we do?"
"We get out," Rose muttered, and turned, trying to open up the window with a grimace. She slammed her fist against it angrily as Donna began to shriek desperately, banging her palms against the opposite window to try to attract the attention of other drivers.
"HELP! Oh my god, HELP US!"
Turning in her seat, Rose felt her training from Torchwood begin to kick in as she tried to think up a way out. Wherever the robot wanted to take them, it couldn't be good. Knowing it was risky, Rose gritted her teeth and dove forward over the front seat, grabbing the wheel and yanking it sharply, causing the car to swerve sharply over the lanes. Cars honked behind them, and Donna let out a shriek of fear, but Rose didn't relent, using her other hand to shove the robot's head against the driver's seat window with her strength. The robot tried to twist the wheel out of her grip, but Rose hung on tightly, adrenaline pushing her onwards.
"What're you DOIN'?!" Donna demanded, her hands suddenly wrapping around Rose, trying to pull her backwards.
"I'm tryin' to get us OUT of this mess, Donna! Lemme go!" Rose shouted back, trying to wriggle out of the ginger's grip.
"Not a chance!" Donna hissed, eyes blazing. "I'm not DYING on my WEDDING DAY!"
"Well we're runnin' out of options!" Rose huffed, her arms beginning to ache with the strain of holding onto the steering wheel. Her mind might be older, but her body definitely didn't have the years of training she was so used in the other world. If she got out of this… that'd be something to work on.
Donna had been ready to bite back a sharp retort to the blonde, but the sound of a crash behind them caught her attention instead, and she turned, staring in disbelief at the sight of a blue police box flying down the M4. "…Maybe not," She breathed, completely at a loss.
The disbelief in Donna's voice drew Rose's attention, and she quickly turned to peer over her shoulder, her eyes widening upon spotting the TARDIS. For a moment, in her adrenaline fuelled haze, she'd forgotten The Doctor would be on his way. She'd just grown used to doing things by herself that she'd really just entered another mindset. Still, the sight of the time ship hurtling towards them caused a huge smile to bloom on her lips.
"Doctor," She breathed aloud, and taking advantage of her distraction, the robot Santa used one hand to force her to release the wheel, shoving her backwards into Donna, and back against the seats. Both women let out cries of indignation, but Rose scrambled to the door, palms pressing up against the window as the TARDIS began to fly beside them.
"You've got to be kidding me," She heard Donna mutter behind her, and she let out a laugh, her relief only growing as the door opened, and the Doctor appeared in the doorway, his eyes locking onto her immediately. Though she couldn't hear him through the roar of the cars and the wind outside, she could see his lips form her name, and she tried to pull the window down the rest of the way, shaking her head violently as it stuck.
"It won't open!" She shouted, and The Doctor didn't hesitate to pull his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket, pointing it at the taxi. Rose saw the tip light up, and one more pull at the window yielded results, allowing her to slide it down to the bottom.
"SANTA'S A ROBOT!" Donna shouted over her shoulder, and Rose winced, but didn't take her eyes from him, though the wind stung her eyes.
"Rose, open the door!" The Doctor ordered, and Rose nodded, her fingers fumbling for the handle, though Donna was quick to demand why. "You've got to jump!"
" I'm not bleedin' flip jumping, I'm supposed to be getting married!" Donna's reply was shrill, and when Rose looked down at the road whizzing by, she had to admit, her stomach twisted with anxiety. She didn't have the time to react, however, as the car began to speed up, and she turned to watch The Doctor slip away, steeling her resolve.
Trust in The Doctor.
"Donna, we need to jump," Rose insisted, turning to look at the other woman, her eyes wide. "This might be our only chance, we can't waste it! You just gotta trust The Doctor," She flinched suddenly, touching her head as she felt a wave of dismay and pain shoot through her mind. Whatever The Doctor was doing to the TARDIS, she didn't like it.
"I'm not jumping in on a motorway! I'm in my wedding dress!" Donna hissed, and Rose forced a grin on her lips, despite the way her heart pounded in her chest.
"Are you? I didn' notice," She turned before Donna could retort, seeing the TARDIS pull up beside them once more. Pushing open the door without hesitation, the wind blew it backwards, and she gripped the top of the car doorway to keep herself balanced, seeing The Doctor point his screwdriver at the robot, deactivating it.
"Rose!" He turned to look at her, opening up his arms immediately, trying to keep his own balance as the speed and wind rocked the TARDIS precariously. "Jump! I'll catch you!"
Rose nodded once, taking a deep breath, but before she could force herself to leap, Donna grabbed her wrist, halting her suddenly in her tracks.
"Wait- Rose!" Donna breathed; her eyes wide and fearful. "You trust him? Like… really, properly trust him?"
Rose turned back to The Doctor, smiling despite her fear, "With my life," She promised. The Doctor's expression softened, the look in her eyes sending chills through his body. The strength of her trust in him… it frightened and terrified him all at once, and he forced himself back into the moment, desperation forcing him to reach out just a little further.
Donna's grip on Rose's wrist slackened, and Rose took that as the best chance she'd have, pushing herself forward in a jump into The Doctor's arms. He caught her with ease, clutching him to her chest tightly, and she could feel his hearts pounding. She pushed herself out of his arms after a second, stumbling back into the TARDIS, jumping slightly when a shower of sparks rained down from the time rotor.
"Rose, get ready to press that button by your left, the minute Donna jumps!" The Doctor instructed, and Rose glanced down, nodding quickly, her hand hovering over the button.
"Righ'!"
The Doctor turned, opening up his arms for Donna, and seeing Rose jump seemed to have given her some encouragement. She sucked in a deep breath, steeling her nerves, and jumped into The Doctor's arms with a shriek, sending the both of them topping down to the grating. Both winded, they stared at each other, but Rose hit the button, closing the TARDIS doors and sending the ship up into the sky once more.
Donna scrambled up onto her feet, stumbling back against a coral strut, pressing her hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath. The Doctor jumped up, rushing over to the console, trying to find somewhere for the ship to land as smoke began to pour out from within. He glanced quickly at Rose, looking her over.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, itching to pull her into a hug and just hold her there. He'd come too close to losing her twice now, and his nerves were on edge. The light glow surrounding her timelines wasn't helping his state of mind, and when Rose nodded, shooting him a smile, he forced himself to relax. "Always wandering off… You just can't stay put, can you?" He shook his head, and Rose flashed him her famous tongue touched grin.
"Wouldn' be any fun otherwise, would it?" She quipped, and The Doctor shook his head, only to step back as the level of the smoke began to rise. He felt a warning nudge the back of his mind, and he picked up a fire extinguisher. Clearly, the TARDIS wanted them all out whilst she rested.
"Right! Everyone out!" He instructed, and Donna didn't hesitate, opening up the doors and stepping out onto the top of a London building. She shook her head, not even bothering to ask, and looked down at her watch, her shoulders slumping when she saw what time it was. She'd missed it.
"The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying." The Doctor confessed as he stepped out of the TARDIS, brandishing his fire extinguisher, and Rose gently rubbed the wooden framing of the door, lifting her eyebrows at him.
"Are you tryin' to say she's out of shape?" She smirked, shaking her head. "Rude. I think she was brilliant." She heard a tired but grateful hum from the ship, and she grinned as The Doctor pulled a sour face at her, tossing the extinguisher back inside.
"Of course she was brilliant… but we'd better give her a couple of hours."
The pair turned to look at Donna, who was staring forlornly out in the distance. Rose hesitated before she stepped up beside her, noticing the expression on her face, feeling bad for her. This was supposed to be the best day of her life, but it was shaping up pretty poorly.
"I'm sorry," She offered, and Donna shook her head, smiling blithely.
"You can always book another date," The Doctor pointed out quietly, hands in his pockets.
"Course we can," Donna agreed, and there was no more bite or anger in her words, she just seemed tired and resigned.
"Still got the honeymoon," The Doctor tried, searching for the bright side, and Rose smiled faintly at him, despite Donna's rebuffal.
"Sorry," The Doctor offered instead, finally seeming to understand there really wasn't much that he could say to make it better.
"It's not your fault. Either of you," Donna sighed, shaking her head.
"Oh! That's a change!" Rose elbowed The Doctor in the side for that, but Donna ignored them, lips slightly pursed.
"Wish we had a time machine," She murmured wistfully, missing the looks passed between the other two. "Then we could go back and get it right."
Rubbing the back of his neck, The Doctor nodded stiffly. "... Yeah, yeah." He hesitated. "But... even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently."
"Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time," Rose quipped, and The Doctor shot her a delighted grin in response, oblivious to the way Donna eyed them both suspiciously.
"Oh, nice one!"
Their banter felt comfortable to Rose – it felt safe, and The Doctor's smile warmed her inside as Donna moved to sit on the edge of the roof. She followed her, sitting down beside her with ease, letting her feet dangle and watching the people below. There was a winter chill in the air, and as Rose opened her mouth to ask if Donna was cold, The Doctor beat her to the punch, draping his jacket over her shoulders before he sat down beside Rose.
"God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat."
Donna's scathing tone lacked any true bite to it, and Rose couldn't stop herself from laughing, prompting The Doctor to narrow his eyes at her in response.
"Yeah, thanks for that, Donna. You better put this on." He pulled out what looked to be a plain silver wedding band, and rose lifted her eyebrows slightly, shooting The Doctor an almost reproachful look. Honestly. He really did lack tact, didn't he?
"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna asked, sighing slightly, crossing her arms over her chest, looking away from him for a moment.
"You should know by now he's a bit of a git when it comes to people's feelings," Rose offered in a quip, lightly elbowing The Doctor in the side, and he simply rolled his eyes by way of response to the comment.
"Those creatures can trace you," he warned, shaking his head faintly. "This is a bio-damper, it should keep you hidden." He reached across Rose as best as he could, taking Donna's hand and slipping the ring onto her ring finger. "With this ring, I thee bio-damp."
"For better or worse," Donna muttered with a half smile, looking down at her hand, before letting out a long sigh, steeling herself. There wasn't much she could do now – but she WAS curious about why she and Rose had been effectively kidnapped by a robot. "So, come on then, robot Santas, what are they for?"
"They're pilot fish," Rose pointed out, her gaze moving over to the distance, where she knew the Powell Estate lay. It hadn't been her home for seven years now, really.. but.. still. It felt odd, to know it was so close, yet there was.. nothing really there for her any longer. The things she'd really wanted to keep, she'd put in the pockets of her jacket, and everything else important she had given to her mum. "They're scavengers, basically. We've met 'em before."
"Last Christmas," The Doctor agreed. "The Santa thing is just a disguise, really, an attempt at blending in."
"What happened last Christmas?" Donna asked, and The Doctor shot her an incredulous look, whereas Rose simply blinked at them, curious. Oh – right. She'd come back in time – the Sycorax situation felt like it had happened.. so long ago for her. Grounding herself in the present was going to be difficult – but worth it.
"Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?" The Doctor asked, and Donna merely shrugged her shoulders.
"Had a bit of a hangover," she offered by way of explanation, and The Doctor blew out a breath, glancing over to where Rose herself had been looking not long ago.
"We spent Christmas Day just over there, at the Powell Estate," He mused, before he seemed to freeze, and glanced at Rose, apologetic. "Still, you know- it's.. a while ago, now." He looked down, feeling like an idiot for bringing it up at all, but Rose simply offered him a smile, reaching out to gently take his hand, giving it a squeeze.
"That's where my mum used to live.. and my best mate, Mickey." She offered by way of explanation. She was glad her voice seemed steady. It would be hard, not seeing her mum every day, but she knew that she'd be well taken care of, at least. She'd have Tony, and somehow, that was enough.
"You said you lost your family, but that they were safe.. what does that mean? Can't you just go and visit them again?" Donna asked, shifting her body
Rose sighed, but offered Donna a mix between a smile and a grimace. She didn't even know where to begin explaining. "It's.. a long story,"
"Question is," The Doctor broke in, moving to run a hand through his hair, attempting to deflect the conversation. "What do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know. What's your job?" he asked, motioning for Rose to look in his coat jacket pocket.
"I'm a secretary." Donna replied, watching in some confusion as Rose shrugged but did what she was asked, pulling out the sonic screwdriver from the pocket he had gestured to, handing it over to The Doctor, who immediately leaned across Rose to attempt to scan Donna.
"It's weird," He muttered, shaking his head slightly. "I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..."
"Doctor!" Rose's words were sharp, breaking the Time Lord out of his diatribe, and he looked at Rose in bewilderment, who glared at him, giving him a little shove to the side, so he wasn't leaning on her. "D'you ever actually think before you speak?" She knew, of course, that when The Doctor was presented with a mystery he could get like this, ranting about how inferior humans could be. Usually, she'd just let him off with a light warning, but… Donna Noble, the most important woman in the universe.. She'd had such low self esteem when Rose had first met her in that alternate timeline, and even beyond that. This certainly wouldn't help her confidence by any means.
"What?" The Doctor asked, bemused, looking from an irritated looking Donna to a stern looking Rose.
"I bet you didn't think I was clever or important or special when you first met me. You thought I was just some stupid ape who sat at home eating beans on toast." Rose pointed out, and understanding suddenly dawned on The Doctor's face, and he had the grace to at least look sheepish.
"No – I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," He tried to hurriedly correct himself, shaking his head. "I just - sorry."
"It's a good job she hit you, or I would'a done it for her," Donna offered by way of retaliation, snorting slightly, looking away and setting her jaw, but there was no real ire in her tone, and The Doctor took that as a sign to continue with the line of questioning.
"What kind of secretary?" he asked, turning the sonic screwdriver over in his hand to check the readings he'd managed to gather from scanning Donna.
"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance." Donna offered, and there was a softening to her gaze that made Rose smile. A part of her wondered if this would even work out for her. She'd never heard of Lance, and though granted, she hadn't known Donna THAT well, surely she would've heard of a husband. Still, she clearly loved him, and that was enough reason for Rose to be happy for her. "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. 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." Donna let out a happy sigh, and Rose grinned at her playfully.
"When was this?" The Doctor asked, and Donna shrugged before she answered.
"Six months ago."
"Six months and you're already getting married? Talk abou' a whirlwind romance. My mum woulda' killed me if I did that," Rose laughed, shaking her head.
"Well, he insisted. And he nagged, and he nagged me. And he just wore me down. And then finally, I just gave in." Donna offered lightly, and Rose bit her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud, not wanting Donna to take it badly. She just.. had a hard time imagining that Donna could be nagged into anything. She chanced a glance at The Doctor, and the faint smirk on his face suggested his thoughts were similar.
"What does HC Clements do?" he asked, deciding not to comment, just in case Rose aimed another elbow at his stomach.
"Oh, security systems. You know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths." Donna offered dismissively, and The Doctor let out a thoughtful hum.
"Keys."
"Idea?" Rose asked, and The Doctor shook his head slightly. He didn't have anything yet, but he'd figure it out.
"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences." Donna let out a long sigh, leaning her head back for a moment. "Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."
"Yeah. I'm not from Mars." The Doctor countered, lifting his eyebrows slightly, but moved to stand up, offering a hand to help Rose stand.
Rose took it, using him to pull herself to stand, and shot The Doctor a small but cheeky grin. "But keep calling him that, it's nice to see his ego get cut down to size once in a while."
"Oi!" The Doctor huffed, moving to offer Donna his hand, too, narrowing his eyes at Rose, though he couldn't be too angry. Seeing her smiling again left him too relieved. Donna pulled herself up with The Doctor's help, pulling his jacket from her shoulders and holding it out to him. He took it gladly, pulling it back on as Donna let out a loud sigh.
"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken." She muttered, dejected, but began to walk towards the exit to the roof. Rose watched her go for a minute, before she looked at The Doctor, unable to keep herself from smiling as he took her hand with ease. There was a warmth in her at that. Every time their hands met, the slight emptiness that still lingered in her mind eased more and more.
Rose wasn't entirely sure how their journey would play out from now, she only knew of a few major upcoming events as the memories that John shared with her had faded from her mind. Still, as long s she was by The Doctor's side, there was nothing that she couldn't accomplish.