An Eternity Among The Stars

by seasidewriter1

Waking up in the Doctor Who world after a serious car crash, Selene finds herself being invited to travel with the Doctor and his companions. Together they all protect the earth from the dangers it faces as well as saving other worlds and time periods. But as time goes on, how strong will the relationship between the two become? Will they fall in love? starts with 10 *Doctor/OC*

13. The Runaway Bride

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who in any way (show, books, comics, planets, universes, aliens etc.) or any of the characters. I only own my OC Selene.

13. The Runaway Bride

The Doctor, cooling down from releasing every pent up emotion since Rose let go of that lever, scrubbed a hand over his face. The rage and fury had left his system; that was the downside of keeping such emotion locked up for, well, hundreds of years. Was he upset? Oh, yes. Did he quite remember everything he'd just shouted at Selene? Not quite. But those thoughts were silenced when he looked up and there, by the door, stood a woman in a white gown and a veil, back to him.

" What?" the Doctor suddenly voiced, sounding incredibly confused. The woman spun around, staring at the Doctor in shock. Her ginger hair was done up and styled, her make up was impeccably done and pear earrings matched her dress.

" Oh!" she squeaked, blinking a couple of times. Selene glanced carefully over her shoulder, staring at the familiar looking woman by the ramp to the TARDIS door.

" What?" the Doctor asked again, face scrunching up.

" Who are you?" the woman asked, looking him over.

" But—" the Doctor looked around, completely confused. How did she get on his TARDIS? They were orbiting a supernova.

" Where am I?" the woman asked again, sounding rather miffed to put it lightly.

" What!" the Doctor asked, voice jumping and octave.

" What the Hell is this place!?"
" What!?"

Selene, who had her back still turned to the Doctor, glanced slowly and cautiously over her shoulder, spotting the familiar ginger haired woman, who was staring at the Doctor angrily.

" Y-you can't do that. I'm not… we're in flight! That is—that is physically impossible!" the Doctor exclaimed as he stared up at the console. Honestly, what the Hell was going on that day? Everything was getting torn apart and making no sense! Selene wiped her eyes again and tried to swallow her sorrow. She mentally berated the Doctor with the thought: I thought we came to terms with the impossible just happening. " How did—"

" Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now—where am I?" the woman ordered in a loud, strong voice. The Doctor kept staring at her with disbelief. Not only was her appearance impossible, but the last few moments in the time machine had been tense and miserable and now he was just… confused. Forget everything that had just happened with Selene for a second, he was really confused to this woman's appearance.

" Inside the TARDIS."

" The what?" she asked, swallowing hard and staring at the strange man.

" The TARDIS."

" The what?"

" The TARDIS!"

" The what!"

" It's called the TARDIS!" God, did this woman listen?

" That's not even a proper word! You're just saying things!" God, was this man a complete looney?

The Doctor, who was twisting knobs and pulling small levers, leaned towards her and asked,

" How did you get in here?" The woman glared at him and her lips thinned out.

" Well, obviously when you kidnapped me," she spat at her supposed kidnapper, still having yet to take notice of the other woman in the room. The Doctor slowly stood from his hunched over position, gears turning in his head. What was happening, what was happening… " Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God she's finally got me back! This has got Nerys written all over it!"

The Doctor slid a long fingered hand through his hair, ruffling it up more. His mouth still hung open in confusion and his brows were still arched. As the woman angrily tossed about the name Nerys he voiced his thoughts.

" Who the Hell is Nerys?"

" Your best friend!"

It was then he fully took notice of the woman's attire. Her long white dress with small shining beads sewn onto it, the veil on her head…

" Hold on, wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?" he suddenly asked, earning an exasperated look from the bride.

" I'm going ten pin bowling. What do you think, dumbo!" Dear God she had a voice! " I was halfway up the aisle! I've waited all my life for this! I was just seconds away and then you—I don't know, you… drugged me or something!" She stared to follow him as he began to circle the console pulling levers and pushing buttons.

" I haven't done anything!" the Doctor exclaimed.

" We're having the police on you. Me and my husband—as soon as he is my husband—we're gonna sue the living backside off ya!" Spotting the doors, the woman immediately made a beeline for them, marching with determined strides. Enough of this nightmare, she was going to get married. When the Doctor caught on to her intentions he shouted,

" No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't!"

And then the doors were open and space was expanding before the woman's very eyes.

" You're in space… outer space," the Doctor said, walking over to join her by the open doors, " This is my… spaceship… It's called the TARDIS."

Any other day, Selene would have joined the two at the doors, stare out into the wondrous beauty of space around them… but it wasn't any other day. She'd just been informed of what was basically her termination as a companion. Her mind was processing she had lost two homes in one day. Her emotions were running high and she still didn't know quite how to act. Selene had rubbed away the last of her tears with the cuff of her cardigan and turned to face the console; but she looked like so much different than she usually did. Her shoulders were hunched forward, her arms were crossed protectively over her chest and her head was ducked. She felt small… she felt sad…

" How am I breathing?" the woman asked softly, blinking in shock at the swirling royal purple and coral pink that was a supernova.

" The TARDIS is protecting us." A pause.

" Who are ya?"

" I'm the Doctor. You?"

" Donna."

The Doctor looked her up and down and asked,

" Human?"

" Yeah. Is that optional?" she wondered out loud.

" With me it is." Another shocked pause as Donna let that sink in.

" You're an alien."

" Yeah."

After taking another long look at space, Donna looked away.

" It's freezing with these doors open," she told him. And with that, he shut them quickly. He ran up the ramp with equal speed, still attempting to grasp the situation; and that was hard. It was really, really hard.

" But I don't understand, I understand everything! This—this can't happen. There is no way a human being can lock itself on to the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be—impossible." The Doctor, ignoring Selene's heavy presence on the other side of the console, grabbed a ophthalmoscope off a tool belt and held it quickly up to his eye. He leaned in close to Donna and began to use the piece of medical equipment. " Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon Shell? Maybe something macromining your DNA with the interior matrix? Maybe a genetic—"

SMACK!

Donna's right hand raised up and slapped him hard across the cheek. He stumbled away from her, giving her a shocked look. He hadn't been slapped for a good long time and he enjoyed that fact. But it seemed like that streak was up…

" What was that for?!"

" Get me to the church!" Donna shouted. The Doctor immediately sprung back to the console.

" Right. Fine. I don't want you here anyway. Where is this wedding anyway?" the Time Lord asked, preparing to set coordinates.

" Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System!"

Donna's eyes landed on the figure whom had managed to keep quiet the entire time. The ginger haired woman noticed that her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were pink and there was an air of sadness around her. There also happened to be a discarded purple blouse dangling over the railing. Oh, of course she wasn't the only one with this insane man!

" I knew it! Acting all innocent. I'm clearly not the first!" Donna marched over to Selene and took hold of her wrist. " How many women have you abducted before us?" She held up the blouse and the Doctor's eyes landed on it sadly.

" That's my friend's," the Doctor said flatly.

" Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?" The Doctor's eyes slid to Selene and back to Donna as he said,

" She's gone."

" Gone where?"

" I lost her."

" Well you can hurry up and lose me!" Donna saw the Doctor's saddened face and then asked, " How do you mean, 'lost?'" He merely walked past her, grabbed the blouse, shot a look at Selene and then announced,

" Right, Chiswick!"

She turned her attention back to Selene and pulled her off to the side, sending a glare at the Doctor, who was fixing coordinates. " Right, then, what's your name?"

" Uh… Selene," she replied, clearing her throat.

" How long has this," she gestured back at the Doctor, " loon kept you all locked up?" Selene shook her head and furrowed her brow, dismissing Donna's comment.

" He didn't kidnap me, he hasn't locked me up. I-I'm a, uh… friend of his o-or at least… I was…" she murmured, forcing her voice to stay level. Donna's eyes looked her over, wanting to disbelieve what Selene was saying because of how sad she seemed; but then again, when was today making sense?

" Oh, just great. Two space aliens!" Donna groaned, putting her hands on her hips.

" No, no—I'm human, I promise." Selene leaned back against the railing. She furiously rubbed at her eyes and sighed. " This must be a Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays…" she said, finding herself quoting Hitch-Hiker's Guide.

As Donna marched off in a different direction, muttering something about Martians, Selene looked up and found the Doctor's eyes locked on her. His gaze was hard, steely; he was still clearly upset and maybe, as she guessed, put off because he couldn't get rid of her yet. The Doctor was, in fact, observing her reddened eyes and pink cheeks, having been oblivious to the fact she'd been crying. Well, of course he'd been oblivious, he'd been ignoring her. Anger was still gripping his hearts… that alongside sadness. He'd trusted her, smiled with her, laughed with her, enjoyed her company… she knew what Rose meant to him, so why had she hidden what would happen to her? And looking over her tear stricken face… he began to think. What he'd been thinking about before… what exactly had he shouted at her?

With a resounding thud, the TARDIS landed and the Doctor waved Donna towards the doors. When she stepped out, followed by the two Time Travelers, she looked at her surroundings.

And it was most definitely not the church.

" I said, 'Saint Mary's.' What sort of Martian are you?" Dona snapped, turning around to see the Doctor gently running his hand down the side of the TARDIS' blue, wooden exterior. Selene sucked in a breath of fresh hair, a weight lifting off her chest as the cool, new, oxygen filled her lungs. " Where's this?"

" Something's wrong with her… I don't know it's like she's… recalibrating!" He ran back inside as Donna noticed something very, very odd about this spaceship of his… " She's digesting. What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong? Donna! You've really got to think. Is there anything that might've caused this?" He began to rattle off different things that might've been happening—lights and what not.

Said woman began to peer around the deep blue police box, noticing its tiny size compared to what she'd been standing in a minute ago. It had been… huge, extensive, even! This box was… just a box! Panic began to rise up a bit as she attempted to figure out what was going on.

" Donna… It's alright," Selene said comfortingly, following her as she darted around the TARDIS. Donna poked her head inside and assessed the size inside, where the Time Lord was whizzing about, a stethoscope pressed to the console. She ducked outside again as the Doctor asked,

" Who are you getting married to? Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip 'round his forehead, is he?"

Donna's hands were clasped over her mouth in what seemed to be… horror. Whatever was going on, she didn't like it. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, not the most bloody terrifying day of her life.

" Donna!" both the Doctor and Selene called out as she began to walk away.

" Leave me alone, I just want to get married," Donna told them with a shaky voice.

" Come back to the TARDIS," the Doctor tried to reason.

" No way. That box is too… weird!"

" Then we'll go to a café before we drop you off at the church; look, it's like the… like the Doctor said. If there's something dangerous going on, you're better not wandering off. Besides, the TARDIS is the safest place you can be," Selene said comfortingly, keeping up with the brisk pace the bride-to-be was setting.

" It's… bigger on the inside. That's all," the Doctor added as they walked down the street.

" Oh! That's all?" Donna asked sarcastically. She looked at her watch with a sigh. " Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it."

" Why don't you phone theme, tell you where you are?" the Doctor asked as their paced slow to a more comfortable walk.

" How do I do that?"

" Haven't you got a mobile?"

Both women shot him a look.

" I'm in my wedding dress. 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 for forgot to say was, 'give me pockets!'"

The Doctor pursed his lips and nodded as Donna once again berated him. Best to change the subject back to one of importance then…

" This man you're marrying, what's his name?" he suddenly inquired. Donna smiled and tilted her head a bit.

" Lance."

" Good luck, Lance…"

" Oi! No stupid Martian and his human girlfriend are gonna stop me from getting married! To Hell with you!" Donna shouted as she marched off, leaving the two at the mouth of the alley.

" No, no, w-we aren't… aren't dating," Selene stuttered awkwardly as she ran after Donna.

" I'm—I'm not—I'm not—I'm not from Mars," the Doctor sighed, taking off after the two women. Then he added under his breath, " She's… she's not—not my girlfriend…"

Donna darted onto a main street and began trying to hail a taxi. When the two caught up, it seemed to be the best move to actually get her to her wedding.

" There's another one!" the Doctor called out, pointing to an oncoming cab.

" Taxi! Oi!"

" There's one!"

The three were making mad dashes up and down the same stretch of the sidewalk, flinging out their arms as they attempted to catch one of the cabs. They finally decided to pause and the Doctor, rather bluntly, asked,

" Do you have this effect on everyone?"

" Aren't you charming today," Selene ground out at him. The Doctor met her gaze after hearing her tone of voice and glared slightly—a true, genuine glare that came around from the remains of his emotional explosion.

" Why aren't they stopping?"

" They think I'm in fancy dress," Donna explained. A taxi drove past, honked its horn and the driver called out,

" Stay off the Scotch, Darlin'!"

" They think I'm drunk."

Another car past and honked, the two young men inside shouting,

" You're fooling no one, mate!"

" They think I'm in drag!"

The Doctor looked her up and down once and pursed his lips again. Selene prepared to use her clever taxi-snagging skills she'd learned in Boston, but the Doctor said,

" Hold on, hold on." He then held his fingers to his lips and let out a whistle so high pitched that Donna covered her ears. A taxi did a swift U turn and came to a stop beside them.

" Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just of Hayden Road. It's an emergency, I'm getting married! Just… hurry up!" Donna told the driver as they all climbed into the cab. As they began to drive off, the driver looked at the trio in the mirror.

" That'll cost you, sweetheart. Double rates today."

Money. They needed money.

" Oh, my God! Have you got any money?" Donna urgently asked the two with her.

" Not on me right now, sorry," Selene said, patting down her pockets. The Doctor, who had never probably carried money with him in his life winced a bit.

" Um—no," he said and then looked at the bride, " haven't you?" She glared at him again and gestured at her dress.

" Pockets!" When they climbed out, Donna angrily glared at the driver. " And that goes double for your mother!" The Doctor gave her a surprised look at her comment. " I'll have him. I've got his number, I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas Spirit…"

The Doctor looked around in surprise, noticing all of the holiday décor for the first time. Oh, he loved Christmas!

" Is it Christmas?" he asked.

" Well, duh! Well, maybe not on Mars, but here's it's Christmas Eve!" Her hand whipped to the Doctor's stomach as she spotted a phone booth—and a normal one, too. " Phone box!"

On their jog to the phone box, Donna told them her reasoning for getting married on Christmas Eve—because she hated the holiday. She was honeymooning in Morocco because there'd be sun. She just couldn't bare the holidays… by the time she got hold of the phone, her mind went blank on what to dial. She'd been using her mobile for so long now!

" What's the operator, I haven't done this in years. What do you do, dial one-hundred?"

The Doctor thrust the Sonic Screwdriver at the phone and let it pulse for a moment; after a moment the dial tone came up.

" Just—just call direct," he told her, pocketing the Sonic.

" What did you do?"

" Something… Martian, now phone! I'll get money!" And he was off like a rocket.

Figuring it best to not follow the Time Lord, Selene leaned up against the phone booth and scrubbed a hand through her sun-warmed hair, which had decided to fall out of its bun from all of her jogging. She closed her eyes and listened to the usual chatter of people on the streets, for once that day forgetting about everything that had happened the day prior. But then, she forced herself to try and think of what was going to happen next… she knew that eventually they'd end up with that giant… spider… thing… but what happened now? As she tried to think back to the episode…

Selene's mind pulled a surprising blank.

It was like she could realize and remember the streets, the taxis, all of that… but she couldn't remember what was about to happen. Like a puzzle with missing pieces—important pieces. In the tranquility that was her no longer hurting head, she didn't realize how long she'd been relaxing till she heard,

" Thanks for nothing, Spaceman! I'll see you in court!"

Donna had climbed into a cab and the Doctor was looking between the woman and a row of Santas, who were playing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen on brass instruments. And one of those Santas was driving Donna's cab.

Oh, Selene thought something flicking on like a light switch. The Santas. They were what happened next. It was honestly like someone had ripped out a bit of information in her memory and the moment she connected the dots, they were sewn right back in. That was troubling…

" Donna!" the Doctor yelled as the cab squealed away. The music had stopped. The Doctor turned and saw that all of the instruments were now aimed at him. Knowing exactly what they were about to do, he pulled out the Sonic and aimed it at the ATM he'd previously been at; suddenly, there was a flurry of money streaming from the machine, causing delighted chaos as people scrambled to grab the pound notes. Taking his leave, the Doctor pushed a hand against Selene's back, driving her back to the direction of the TARDIS.

As they neared the blue phone box, the Doctor began to search his pockets for his key.

" Oh, just stop," Selene muttered as she yanked a thin necklace chain from her own pocket. The Doctor spotted the TARDIS key hanging from the bottom of it and watched as she shoved it into the lock with surprising ease. She pushed the door open and gestured him inside. " Well, go on!"

The Doctor began to flick switches, press buttons, and spin wheels and then lifted a hammer and smacked the console with it. There was a delicate ding and the TARDIS began to fly. Literally fly.

" Remind me, do you need a license to drive this thing? And if you do, remind me again, do you have one?" Selene asked as the TARDIS tilted a bit.

" Oh, shush!" the Time Lord said as he turned the monitor to face himself. He was following a red dot on the map that appeared on the screen. Selene stared at him for a long moment, keeping her balance as the TARDIS turned and tilted. He was still irritated—he couldn't put it aside for one minute could he? He was bounding around, pulling one lever there and kicking another switch with his toe, trying to do everything on his own.

" If you'd like help, just ask," Selene shouted over the engines. The Doctor shook his head and brushed past her. He didn't need her help, he knew what to do.

" Just… stand to the side and let me handle all of this!" he told her, pointing towards the railing. She crossed her arms and snorted.

" You may be tall, but your arms and legs can't reach entirely around the console!"

" Just… shh!"

And then a rush of sparks exploded as he hissed at her. The console room began to erupt in sparks—the console was acting up again. Selene liked to think that the time machine was agreeing with her and on her side, but she wasn't going to say anything like that. The Doctor raised the hammer and smacked the console again.

" Behave!" he ordered.

After a moment, the two inside the TARDIS jolted violently as the spaceship smacked into the tarmac of the motorway. The Doctor was trying to switch controls and unwrap string at the same time, and it wasn't working.

" Do you need help?" Selene asked, arching a brow. The Doctor shook his head emphatically.

" No!"

" All you have to do is ask nicely!" she prodded, getting the idea he didn't want to ask for her help because he was put off with her—any other day he would have already had her doing something.

" I do not need your help!"

The console sparked again and the floor tilted.

" Yes, you do!"

" No I don't!"

He kicked a lever upward. Another explosion of sparks.

" Just ask me nicely, damn it!" Selene shouted, stumbling to keep her balance. Letting out a yell, the Doctor grabbed the console edge and met her gaze.

" Help me, please!" he finally shouted to her.

" Alright, was that so hard?" Selene called out to him, grabbing hold of a lever with a round top on it. She pushed it to the right and then upward and the dramatic tilt of the floor evened out. It was quiet between the two for a moment and then they met each other's eyes again. " I, uh… I didn't know that would… work…"

" That was, uh, was the right… one, thanks for that," the Doctor muttered, surprised that she'd pulled the next lever that actually needed pulling.

Well…

That was the first civilized moment of the day.

The Doctor continued to call out what she should pull or press or tweak or twist as he tied some string around a specific control lever. He held it between his teeth for a moment before grasping the string and darting to Selene. He forced it into her hands and met her eyes.

" If I say pull the string, you pull the string," was all he said before he bounded to the doors, throwing them open.

They were flying right beside Donna, who was trapped inside her cab.

" Open the door!" the Doctor shouted, keeping one door open with his arm and shoulder and the other one open with his knee and calf; his entire body was contorted in the doorway, keeping the console visible behind him. His voice carried over the roar of traffic, but Donna wasn't sure she'd caught his words right.

" Do what?" Donna asked.

" Open the door!"

" I can't! It's locked!" She pounded on the lock and tried to open it again as an example. The Doctor used the Sonic to unlock the door for her. She slid the window open and announced, " Santa's a robot!"

And indeed he was. Its head was made of a coppery looking metal with black, glossy, bug-like eyes that were emotionless and flat. The Doctor hoped he'd never have to encounter them again, but, like usual, he didn't get what he wanted.

" Donna, open the door!" the Doctor reiterated urgently, face contorted with concentration. God, his leg was getting tired… But then, Selene was beside him, forcing her back against the right hand door, allowing his leg to drop. She held up the string, which was long enough to reach the door.

" What for?!"

" You've got to jump!"

" I'm not bleedin' flip jumping—I'm supposed to be getting married!" Donna snapped out the window. The robot beeped once and the cab accelerated, carrying Donna away from the TARDIS.

" Pull the string!" the Doctor ordered, to which, Selene did, pulling it swiftly. The lever pulled and the console sparked massively again, smoke billowing upwards. The TARDIS began to weave around, beside and above all traffic—they bumped the roof of a car a couple of times, but had the man driving the car known that it were a life or death situation, he surely would have understood why the flying blue police box had been so intrusive.

Arriving beside Donna again, the TARDIS jostled against the ground a few times, causing Selene and the Doctor to slip downwards, the wind whipping across their faces. The two helped each other up, grasping their forearms for support. The Doctor threw his arm out to point the Sonic at the robot once they were steadied again; thankfully the pulsing of the Sonic caused the robot's head to spark and malfunction, the hands gripping tight to the steering wheel.

" Donna, please listen! You'll have to jump, it's the only way!" Selene called out to her, back pressed against the doorway.

" I'm not jumping on a motorway!" she protested, nodding down to the cement speeding below them.

" Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now come on!" the Doctor shouted at her urgently, voice edging on bossy. Donna's brows pulled together and she glared at the man.

" I'm in my wedding dress!"

" Yes, you look lovely. Come on!"

" Oh, stop sassing each other and lets get this over with!" Selene added in with a groan, watching as Donna pushed her door open. She stared at the concrete again, horrified at what she was about to do. The Doctor held his arms open and leaned out of the TARDIS slightly, Selene holding the right door open for him.

" I can't do it!" she told him, the strongest worried expression crossing her face. She didn't want to die…

"Trust me," the Doctor said softly, face full of what could only be described as hope and sympathy in a perfect mix. His eyes were watering from the wind and his hair was getting whipped about, and he looked trustworthy.

" Is that what you said to her, your friend, the one you lost?" Donna suddenly asked, leaning out of the doorway a bit. " Did she trust you?"

" Yes, she did. And she is not dead, she is so alive!" His eyes were tearing up for real then, and before he could say his next two words, Donna's attention whipped to the woman beside him.

" And you—do you trust him?" Selene looked over at the Time Lord, meeting his gaze for a fleeting second. She turned her blue eyes back to Donna, tearing up just like he was.

" I do. With my entire being, with my entire life," Selene told Donna, voice shaking a bit.

" Now jump!" The Doctor's gaze locked with the ginger haired woman's and, sucking in gasping breaths, Donna grabbed hold of the car's doorframe and propelled herself forward with scream. She launched across the gap and into the Doctor's arms, the two collapsing to the ramp. Selene took both doors and slammed them shut, yanking the string again. The TARDIS zoomed upwards, the spinning blue police box flying into the sky.

OOOO

When the TARDIS had landed on a rooftop that overlooked the London skyline, Donna glanced despairingly down at the silver watch on her wrist. It was three thirty. She'd missed her own wedding; wasn't that just cheery… Selene was waving away the smoke that drifted through the TARDIS doors, attempting not to choke on it. The Doctor actually was choking on said smoke, coughing as he sprayed a fire extinguisher inside.

" Funny thing is, for a spaceship she doesn't do that much… flying," the Doctor mused once he tossed the extinguisher aside and shut the TARDIS doors. " We'd better give her a couple of hours."

" Are you okay? Selene asked, shoving her hands into the pockets of her white cardigan. The second woman shrugged and said,

" Doesn't matter."

" I'm sorry we missed it…" Selene said, dropping herself to sit on the edge of the rooftop, feet dangling over the edge.

" Well, you can… book another date," the Doctor suggested awkwardly.

" 'Course we can…"

" Still got the honeymoon."

" It's just a holiday now."

" Yeah, yeah… sorry." Donna sighed and looked up at the tall man.

" It's not your fault," she told him. His brows rose and he scoffed a bit.

" Oh, that's a change!" he chuckled.

" Wish you had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right," Donna told him, locking eyes. He held back a glance to the TARDIS and decided to agree.

" Yeah. Yeah. But… even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline." A pause. " Apparently."

" I think we all wish we could go back and fix something we did…" Selene said louder than she intended, earning a hard stare at the back of her head from the Time Lord. Donna sat on Selene's right, the two staring out at St. Paul's Cathedral and every other building in the distance. Selene focused on her feet for a bit, staring at how far down the ground was… how big she seemed to be at the top of this building. But with that thought came the startling and crushing thought of just how tiny they actually were.

Playing the gentleman, the Doctor shrugged his pinstriped jacket off and walked up behind Donna; he draped it around her bare shoulders and she observed it as he sat beside her. How odd the three of them must have looked just… sitting there on the roof of a building, a blue phone box idly in the background. Donna scoffed at the jacket around her shoulders.

" God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat," she told him, causing Selene to snort a bit while trying not to laugh. The Doctor tried not to roll his eyes as he dug around for something.

" Oh, and you better put this on," he told Donna, pulling out a ring. Donna's brows pulled together at the sight of it and she groaned.

" Oh, do you have to rub it in?"

" It's a bio-damper, right?" Selene asked, saying what her memory stirred up. The Doctor refused to meet her eyes and nodded.

" Indeed it is. Those creatures can trace you. This," he held up the ring, " should keep you hidden. With this ring, I thee bio-damp!" the Doctor said, popping his 'p' once the ring was on her finger.

" For better or for worse," Donna said, looking at it. The Doctor smiled and then the three lapsed into silence with nothing but the wind and traffic making sound. It was brief, but it was nice. " So, come on then, robot Santas. What are they for?"

" Ah, your basic roboscavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas," the Doctor explained.

" Why, what happened then?" Donna inquired, earning looks from the time travelers.

" Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?"

" I had a bit of a hangover," Donna admitted. The Doctor searched the cityscape and then nodded to the right.

" I spent Christmas day just over there. The Powell Estate with this… family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were…" There was a good long pause that made the guilt rise up Selene's throat and feel like it was about to strangle her. " Still. Gone now."

" Your friend… who was she?"

" Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you?" the Doctor asked, diverging from Donna's previous question, " And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know. What's your job?"

" I'm a secretary," she replied as he reached into the inner jacket pocket to remove the Sonic. Using it, he began to scan her whilst saying,

" 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."

" This friend of yours, before she left, did she punch you in the face?"

" She didn't but I might," Selene supplied as Donna glared at the Sonic, which was level with her eyes.

" Stop bleeping me!" She smacked his hand away and the Doctor ignored Selene's comment, glancing off towards the London Eye.

" Well, where specifically do you work, that might give us a hint," Selene said, shifting her sitting position.

" I'm at H.C. Clements. 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 gonna fit in here. And then he made me a cup of coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of H.R. He didn'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."

" When was this?" the Doctor asked.

" Six months ago."

" Bit quick to get married," he pointed out.

" Well… he insisted. And he nagged and he nagged me, and he just wore me down. And then, finally, I just gave in."

Had she swapped the roles, that statement would have been completely truthful.

" What does H.C. Clements do?"

" Oh… security systems, you know… entry codes, I.D. cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for locksmiths."

" Keys…" the Doctor mused.

" Anyway, enough of my C.V. Come on, its time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming…"

" Well, you've got us with you. If you need to shove the blame on some one, do it to us," Selene told her with a comforting smile. Donna smiled a bit.

" Thanks for that." She slowly turned her head to the Doctor. " You can do the explaining, Martian Boy."

So, what, they were both ganging up on him now?

" Yeah, I'm not from Mars," he said tersely as he helped Donna up, leaving Selene to herself to her feet.

" Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's going to be heartbroken."

OOOO

Heartbroken wasn't exactly the word or the atmosphere of the reception hall when the trio arrived. Donna stopped at the edge of the dance floor, staring at her wedding guests in shock. Everyone was partying. They were smiling and laughing and having a good time. Lance was dancing with Nerys of all people and honestly, Donna was hurt. The music cut off once everyone realized Donna had arrived.

" You had the reception without me?" she asked, trying to keep her anger and annoyance at a minimum level. The Doctor ran a hand over his mouth and chin, stretching out his jaw as the awkward silence slipped in.

" Donna, what happened to ya?" Lance, a man in a tuxedo jacket and a red and gold vest asked.

" You had the reception without me?"

" Hello, I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord introduced with a smile. He had gotten used to Selene chiming in soon after that, but she didn't this time, which made his brows pinch a bit in the middle. Donne turned to look at him.

" They had the reception without me."

" Yes, I gathered."

" Well it was all paid for. Why not?" Nerys, a skinny blond woman asked snottily.

" Thank you, Nerys!" Donna hissed with displeasure. Donna's mother, Sylvia, stepped forward and began to question where she'd gone and what had happened. All at once, everyone stepped forward, bombarding her with an overwhelming amount of questions. Donna's eyes widened and she looked around, unsure of what to do. But, before everyone knew it, she began to sob. Everyone quieted down, seeing how upset the woman seemed. Lance stepped forward and embraced his fiancé, to which everyone, exempting Nerys, applauded to. When Donna's gaze turned to look at the Doctor and Selene, she paused to wink before continuing to fake cry. The Doctor smiled a bit and as someone announced to get Donna some water and to start the music back up, he looked to the side for Selene, only to find that she'd slipped off at some point.

The reception was soon in full swing again, celebrating Donna's reappearance. The Doctor and Selene had ended up on opposite ends of the room, the space the Doctor's burst of anger had caused becoming visible. Selene sat at a small round table, sipping at some sort of soda—she wasn't sure what it exactly was, she'd ordered it absentmindedly and wasn't focused on its taste. She was staying away from alcohol for a while—memories of a certain blue eyed, smirking prince and a bunch of fourteen hundreds ale sneaking back into her mind. It wasn't the moment to repeat that again.

Her mind had drifted back to what was probably going to happen after they helped Donna. She'd probably be left somewhere like Croydon or, like Sarah Jane, Aberdeen. If she was lucky maybe she could find her way to Cardiff and track down Captain Jack… God, had she really been stupid enough to not mention Rose's fate? Rubbing her temples, she noticed someone sitting across from her. Looking up, she spotted Donna and offered a meek smile.

" You seem like the one person who is having no fun at all," Donna told her, smirking slightly. She found she was starting to like this woman—even if she was traveling around with a space alien in a blue police box. Despite the whole… sad exterior she was wearing at the moment, she thought she must be a pleasant person to be around in general.

" Just have a lot on my mind, that's all," Selene said, sipping her soda, which she determined was apple flavored—was it that brand she'd tried back home? Tango, was it called? Well, never mind that, that wasn't too important.

" Does it have something to do with our favorite Martian in a pinstriped suit?" Donna inquired, arching a brow. The tightening of Selene's lips gave Donna her answer. " What is it? Did you have a lover's spat?"

A furious blush spread over Selene's face and she shook her head quickly.

" We're not dating. It wasn't a-a lover's spat. Just… a fight."

" Must've been pretty big if it's been making you this upset all day." Selene laughed humorlessly and shook her head.

" I've had the time of my life traveling with him. I've seen places that I could never dream of. But the friend—our friend—he just lost… to some degree, it was my fault she had to leave, and, because of that, he's gonna drop me somewhere so he doesn't have to face me again," Selene explained in basic terms, not feeling too energetic. Donna's lips pursed for a moment before she put a hand on Selene's.

" Men, no matter where they're from, are idiots," she said, making Selene crack a smile and laugh a bit.

The Doctor, who'd been leaning against the bar with nothing to do, watched as everyone danced happily. He was thinking though, about H.C. Clements and what Donna had said about them practically being locksmiths. Curious, he borrowed a phone from a pleasant man and typed in H.C. Clements whilst sliding his glasses on. When the results came up, he let the Sonic's blue light illuminate as it pulsed, rushing through all the results. The end result was this:

H.C. CLEMENTS

Sole Prop.

TORCHWOOD

He handed the phone back to who he'd borrowed it from and resumed his lazy position leaning against the bar. He watched the crowd again, spotting one man dancing with a woman with long, blond hair… blond hair like…

Rose.

He remembered that time in New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York… when he caught her, lifted her back up…

He shook his head and dismissed the memory.

" So, spaceman," Donna said as she stepped over to the Doctor. Just like school all over again, she thought sarcastically to herself. He arched a brow.

" Shouldn't you be off dancing with Lance?" he asked.

" I will be in a minute, but you looked a bit lonely. And a certain someone else is a bit lonely too." She nodded through the crowd to where Selene still sat, sloshing the remains of her soda around the bottom of her glass. The Doctor directed his eyes away and didn't reply. His face was blank of emotion, clearly trying his hardest not to let any emotion slip through his mask. " You know, she really is sorry about what happened." He arched one brow, which was the only expression his face then held. " She lost a friend too. And she's really scared she's about to lose another one. And ya know what? You've already lost someone. Do you really want to lose another?"

With that, Donna pat his arm once and then grinned as Lance pulled her away. The Doctor's jaw tightened before he turned his head to look towards Selene again. 'She's really scared she's about to lose another one' was what Donna told him… He'd told her he was going to drop her off somewhere.

I am dropping you off somewhere far, far away and don't you expect me to come ever pick you up again.

Those were his exact words. So that was what he'd been forgetting… just how… abrasive, how harsh that really sounded.

Did he really want to lose another friend, another companion? Did he ever want to lose some one he cared for?

That inner monologue was how he found himself weaving through the crowd towards Selene's table. When he arrived by her side, he waited till she slowly looked up at him.

" Yes?" she asked, voice quiet and cautious. Of course she was being cautious, he'd literally unleashed a Time Lord rage monster on her.

" Um… I'd, uh…" He paused, removing his glasses and tucking them away. The music, which had paused started up again with a slower song, gave him an idea. Clearing his throat, the Doctor held out a hand.

" Dance with me?" he asked, keeping his other hand shoved in his jacket pocket. There was a moment where she just stared up at him in disbelief, thinking she must have heard him wrong. Dance with him? Was she imagining this or was she still asleep in the TARDIS, about to face the Doctor's wrath again? He raised his eyebrows and held out his hand more, keeping his palm facing upwards for her to accept. Slowly, her fingers, chilled from her glass, slid over his warm palm, wrapping around his hand. She stood and he pulled her into the middle of the couples beginning to dance together.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Selene placed her hands on his shoulders, just beside the curve of his neck. She was briefly aware of how much it was like an awkward middle school dance—and that wasn't comfortable. So, steeling herself a bit, she stepped a bit closer and clasped her hands behind his neck. The Doctor gently sat his own hands on the curve of her waist, noting how he could just barely feel her breath skim over his throat. Both noticed the lack of space between the two, but stayed silent, swaying side to side like everyone else. As the did so, they both felt warm, a bit more relaxed but also a bit more awkward…

After a good long moment of Selene keeping her head turned away from the Time Lord, she looked up at him, feeling once again small, but this time because of his height.

" How… how's your head?" he asked, voice quiet, but lacking the tension it had been holding all day.

" Uh… it hasn't been hurting," Selene replied with a nod, clearing her throat and glancing off again. After another awkward pause, her blue eyes met his brown ones. " I… I don't think I ever said sorry earlier. You know, when… when, well… earlier." With the emphasis on that one word, they both knew what she was talking about. The Doctor's lips pulled down.

" Selene—"

" I really am sorry. You have every right to be so unhappy with me." Wow, unhappy, Selene? You know that's an understatement! " I mean, you trust me to travel with you, me a girl from a different universe who could've told you everything about the future. I betrayed that trust when I didn't tell you about… about Rose. A-and I should have just told you. So what if it tore up the fabric of space in time, it was already been shredded like a cat's scratching post. I was scared, I was worried… I didn't want the entirety of this universe to collapse in on itself the moment I uttered the first word about what would happen. And i-if you have to take anything away from what I'm telling you, know that—that I did try to save her. She should still be here…" Selene said, words coming out unbidden, unchecked and she didn't care. She'd been holding in all of those thoughts since the first shout left his lips.

The Doctor, who listened to every word that rolled off her tongue, looked sadly down at her. She was tearing up and looking at their Converse clad feet like a dejected, upset child. And, to Selene, she felt a bit that way. It's stupid to feel this way… you sound whiny… she deadpanned in her head.

" Selene… it—it was…" He swallowed the painful words that rose in his throat. " It was—it was a fixed point. I think we both know that. It couldn't have been changed… Though I'm still rather put off with you not telling me about it…" he said and trailed off for a minute there, making Selene shut her eyes in fear of another shouting match, " I didn't handle my reaction too well. Everything was just… building up inside of me and I just… let it all go, and I'm sorry you were the one I let it fly at."

The two stayed quiet for another moment and then a small smile wedged itself onto Selene's face.

" It was a perfectly understandable reaction, actually. Trust me."

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply with something around the lines of 'no, it's not' but he couldn't seem to get them out. It was like they'd stuck to his throat when he saw the look she was giving him. She was asking—begging, even—for him to forgive her. And deeper than that, the look that had made him stumble over words and unable to speak, was the look that she'd had when he'd shouted. It was a look of shocked, utterly disbelieving fear. And he didn't like that. He didn't like being looked at like that, especially by someone so close to him…

" Uh, mate, the song's ended," laughed a party-goer, patting the Doctor soundly on the back. Both jumping out of their own thoughts, they realized he was right—the slow song was over and more upbeat music was being played again. Blushing, the two quickly let go and glanced away from each other. Well, an awkward end to an awkward dance. Was there any way else to do it?

" There's a, uh, cameraman over there who's been, um… filming the wedding. We should see if we can have a look at the tapes," Selene stuttered out, pointing to a floppy haired man off to the side. The Doctor nodded and slipped his glasses back on.

" Good idea, good idea," he agreed.

With the awkward apologies aside, everything felt a bit lighter between them; not completely relieved, but lighter. He really was still upset Selene hadn't told him anything and he was still mulling over what Donna had asked him about losing another friend… Selene, meanwhile, was worrying over his whole decision of leaving her behind, which was still a very plausible occurrence. They stepped towards the cameraman and the Doctor stuck out a hand.

" Hello, I'm the Doctor, this is Selene. We were, um, wondering if maybe you recorded the bride's… disappearance?" the Doctor inquired as the sleepy looking man shook his hand.

" Well, um… hold on a moment…" the man said in a Welsh accent as he paused in recording the reception. He popped in a different tape a second later. " Well, I taped the whole thing. They've all had a look. They said 'sell it to You've Been Framed.' I said 'more like the news.'" With the push of a button the trio watched Donna disappearing in a flash of gold on the small screen. The Doctor's brows pulled down.

" Can't be. Play it again?" And so he did.

" Clever, mind. Good trick. I'll giver her that. I was clapping," the cameraman told them as they watched the footage again.

" Hardly a trick…" Selene murmured, crossing her arms. The cameraman shrugged lazily.

" What else could it have been?" he asked.

" But that looks like… Huon particles…" the Doctor muttered in absolute wonder.

" What's that then?"

" That's impossible. That's… ancient! Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years. It's so old that…" His voice trailed off then and his head snapped to look towards Donna.

" So old that what?" Selene asked cautiously.

" It can't be hidden by a bio-damper! Selene, stay here!" He bolted out of the room, leaving Selene to stare after him.

" Funny fellow, isn't he?" asked the cameraman, watching the Time Lord dash off.

" Oh, you have no idea…"

Making her way towards Donna was harder than she expected; she was pushing and weaving through all of the moving bodies, trying not to get swept up into someone's arms and forced to dance. She avoided one couple as the Doctor came barreling back into the room, a look of panic written on his face… a very familiar look of panic.

" Donna! Donna, it isn't safe anymore," Selene said urgently as she managed to reach her.

" What?" Donna asked in confusion.

" They've found you," the Doctor hurriedly added as he skidded to a stop beside the women.

" I thought you said I was safe."

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

" Oh, my God. It's all my family…"

" Out the back door!"

Unfortunately, when the three made their way to said location, pushing people gently aside, they pushed the doors open to find two robot Santas were already standing there.

" Or totally not," Selene said, spinning back around, as the other two shut the doors. She ran to another window, spotting the two robots stop their progression, lifting up a remote control.

" Christmas trees…" the Doctor murmured, looking at all of the decorative trees around the room. He remembered last Christmas and how the Tylers and Mickey had almost been killed by, well, killer Christmas trees.

" What about them?" Donna asked.

" They kill!"

" We need to warn everybody," Selene announced before all three dashed into the room as fast as they could letting out cries such as:

" Get away from the Christmas trees!"

" Don't touch the trees!"

" The trees aren't safe, step away from them!"

Their cries were loud and persistent enough for everyone to go silent and watch as they pulled the children and others away from afore mentioned decorations.

" Stay away from the trees!" the Doctor called out one last time, earning a strange glance from almost everyone in the room. Sylvia scoffed at the tall man and said,

" Oh, for God's sake. The man's an idiot. What harm's a Christmas tree gonna…" Her voice trailed off when something peculiar began to happen.

Off the tree drifted round, shinning, sparkling ornaments; they began to float around the room, making everyone laugh and smile with delight. How odd they were, who'd come up with them? While the majority of the room thought they were brilliant and clever, the Doctor and Selene knew better than that. They floated above the crowd of people for a moment before suddenly one zoomed down and smashed into the floor, exploding.

The chorus of screams began as the explosive ornaments began to smash into anything, exploding when they did. People ducked for cover behind tables or ended up getting thrown backwards into tables or chairs. Donna pulled Lance down to stay undercover, holding him close in shock. The Doctor dove behind the sound system, landing hard on his side while Selene slid under a half toppled present table. She lay flat on her stomach attempting to ignore the screams of fear and the explosions that shook every inch of the room. The explosions suddenly stopped. The screams ceased and, the next thing she knew, the Doctor's familiar voice rang through the room.

" Oi! Santa! Word of advice—if you're attacking a man with a Sonic Screwdriver…" There was a muffled thump as the microphone struck his palm. " Don't let him near the sound system," he said, voice coming through the speakers.

Then, the high pitched whirring of the Sonic echoed through the entirety of the room, making every guest clamp their hands over their ears. Selene squeezed her eyes shut, and gritted her teeth, feeling the pulsing rattling her skull.

After a moment it stopped.

Everyone began to nervously chatter, asking around if everyone was okay or staring at the collapsed robots. Selene slowly dragged herself out from under the table and stood up, her knees wobbling like she'd been standing on a boat for a few hours. She spotted the Doctor examining the remote control the robot Santa had been holding. Stepping over fallen tables and scattered presents, Selene heard Lance ask,

" But what was it? What were they?"

The thing was, as he spoke, a weird twinge shivered down her back. Why was it that Lance was giving her a freaky vibe? She couldn't place her finger on it… but…

" Just stop wittering. Just help them," Donna told him with worry. The Doctor, still kneeling on the floor, held up the remote for them to see.

" Look at that—remote control for the decorations, but there's a second remote control for the robots," he explained, grabbing one of the detached robot heads. His brown eyes scanned over it, trying to make sense of his new discovery. " They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

" Never mind all that, you're a Doctor, people have been hurt," Donna interrupted him. Selene fished around in her pocket before pulling out her mobile.

" I'll call an ambulance—there's no use trying to talk to him when he's in his thinking mode," Selene told her, stepping from the room whilst dialing for an ambulance.

After hurriedly giving the address from outside, she found the Doctor using the Sonic to scan for a signal a couple feet away. She shoved the mobile back to where it had been before and stepped over while Donna asked,

" But why is it me? What have I done?" The Doctor raised the Sonic skyward, staring up into the sun.

" Something in the sky…"

They all directed their attention upwards, searching the clouds. The Doctor moved the Sonic side to side to see if the signal would get weaker or stronger, but it just stayed the same; whatever was up there wasn't good news, and to Selene's relief, she somehow managed to remember what it was. That… spider thing. But other than that, her mind seemed to have locked up other memories. When Lance and Sylvia exited the reception hall, Donna parted from the two time travelers to speak with them, leaving the Doctor muttering to himself. Selene wondered to herself if she should let the Doctor know about the things to come… or the one thing she remembered… make up for not saying anything about Rose… give a hint maybe…

" No, no, no! Oh, I've lost the signal. Think, think, think… where could have all this began?" the Doctor muttered, breaking Selene's thought process. He shoved the Sonic back into his pocket and slid his fingers into the hair around his temples. She looked over at him and cleared her throat awkwardly, still sensing what tension was left there. He looked over at her and blinked his widened eyes, clearly waiting for her to talk. It seemed as if the apologies made him shove those thoughts of anger aside to try and get through all of this.

" Um, well, Donna said she worked at H.C. Clements right?" Selene pointed out. The Doctor's eyes widened a bit more and his mouth dropped open.

" Yes! The only proprietor of that company is, take a guess? It's Torchwood. Figures they'd be apart of this somehow… Good thinking, come on, we need to get there now."

Relieved at actually being able to speak civilly with the Doctor, the two jogged up to Donna.

" I've lost the signal," the Doctor announced as they skidded to a stop, gravel kicking up around their feet, " Donna, we've got to get to your office, H.C. Clements. We think that's where it all started. Lance—is it Lance? Lance, can you give us a lift?" Lance gave him a 'what the hell' sort of look, but it was ignored as he jogged off towards the parking lot. Lance was about to ask what was happening, but when Donna followed the two strangers, he had no choice but to follow.

OOOO

When they arrived at H.C. Clements, the four followed Donna to her office, an urgency leaking into the air that was beginning to be very, very stressful to all of them.

" To you lot, this might just be a locksmith's, but H.C. Clements was bought up twenty-three years ago by the Torchwood Institute," the Doctor explained, diving onto one of the computers.

" Who are they?" Donna asked. Selene and the Doctor looked over at the couple.

" They were, uh, behind the battle at Canary Wharf…" No reaction. " You know… Daleks and Cybermen all over London?" Selene asked. To her and the Doctor, that had literally been mere hours ago; but for everyone else, who knew how long ago that was. While they looked at her expectantly, Donna remembered something.

" Oh, I was in Spain," she told them.

A pause.

" They had Cybermen in Spain," the Doctor said slowly.

" Scuba diving."

" That big picture, Donna—you keep on missing it." The Doctor bounded away from the computer, pushing between the would-be bride and groom and jumped onto another computer. " Torchwood was destroyed, but H.C. Clements stayed in business… I think someone else came in and took over the operation." The Doctor smacked the computer's top hoping it would start up. When that didn't work, he assaulted the spacebar a couple of times to no avail. What a spaz… Selene thought with a tinge of fondness leaking into her inner voice.

Donna leaned towards the Doctor and asked,

" But what do they want with me?"

The Time Lord straightened up and thought of how to explain it; he was so used to being around people who could just guess what he was talking about… or actually knew what he was talking about, but out of the three with him, only one would really understand.

" Somehow… you've been dosed with Huon energy." As the Doctor began to speak, Selene noticed Lance tense up in the slightest. Well, there goes that weird tingly feeling again… something about him… "And… that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark Times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is remnant in the heart of the TARDIS. See? That's what happened. Say… that's the TARDIS," the Doctor said, grabbing a mug and passing it off to Selene, whom he pulled to stand beside him, " and that's you." He held up a pencil. " The particles inside of you activated," he began to shake the pencil, " the two sets of particles magnetized," Selene began to wobble the mug around like the Doctor was doing with the pencil, " and whap!" The Doctor dropped the pencil into the mug. " You were pulled inside the TARDIS."

Donna stared at the mug Selene held, blinking a couple of times.

" I'm a pencil inside a mug?" she asked. Selene smiled at that.

" Yep! A 4H by the looks of it too," Selene said nodding to the blue pencil.

" Sums you up!" the Doctor added, taking the mug from her and setting it back on the desk, " Lance, what was H.C. Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

" I don't know. I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager!" Lance said as the Doctor used the Sonic to turn on a computer that had mistletoe dangling by its side. " Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"

" They make keys. That's the point…" the Doctor murmured as he pulled up a floor plan. " And look at this. We're on the third floor. Underneath reception there's a basement, yes?" He bolted towards the lift without receiving an answer. He pressed the button and waited for it to arrive. When it did, he stepped inside. " Then how come, when you look on the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official. So what's down there then?"

" Only one way to find out," Selene added flatly with a wry smirk. She stepped in beside him and stared at the other two.

" Are you telling me there's a secret floor?" Lance asked skeptically.

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

" It needs a key," Donna smartly pointed out.

" I don't." Using the Sonic, he unlocked the LB button. " Right, then. Thanks, you two. We can handle this. See you later." Donna scoffed at his quickly said words.

" No thanks, Martian. You both are the ones that keep saving my life," she told them, walking with determination into the lift. " I ain't letting you out of my sight!" The Doctor backed up against the back of the glass lift and said,

" Going down."

" Lance?"

" Maybe I should go to the police…" Lance trailed off, sounding too enthusiastic to leave. Selene's eyes narrowed at him as he smiled and gestured to the door. Suspicious man you've got there, Donna…

" Inside!" Donna demanded, causing Lance to sigh and step in.

" To Honor and Obey," the Doctor murmured, reminding Lance of the vows he was going to take.

" Tell me about it, mate…"

" Oi!"

OOOO

When the lift arrived at the lowest level that shouldn't exist according to official plans, they all stepped out into a dark, dank passageway that was eerily lit green. The walls were dripping with water and the floor had small puddles on it, which was what caused the musty smell that immediately wrapped around them. It was like they'd stepped into a basement that had been flooded for an entire year… maybe longer.

" Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?" Donna asked, looking around the strange passage.

" Let's find out," the Doctor suggested.

" Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?"

" Well, its his building, I'd hope he'd know about a secret floor," Selene said, wiping a droplet of water that splattered onto her forehead when she'd been looking upward.

" Oh, look! Transport!" the Doctor said with glee, running towards a line of segways. There were only three, much to the excitement of Selene, who sighed and rubbed her forehead.

" This day gets better and better," she said to Donna as the Doctor jumped onto the segway in the center.

" Hop on," he said over his shoulder, eyes on Selene. Donna smiled at her a bit and soon enough the three were off down the passage on segways of all things.

Selene stood behind the Doctor, her front pressed awkwardly close to his back; her hands were wrapped around his midsection so she wouldn't topple off. Tension be damned, Selene enjoyed being close to him. She decided that the Doctor told her to jump on the back of his segway because of the lack of a fourth one—he was only one she knew very well out of the three with her, so that was her conclusion.

After a moment of serious silence, the Doctor glanced over at Donna, who was attempting not to laugh. And she completely failed. It was absurd! Absolutely absurd! There she was, with her fiancé, a space alien and his traveling friend riding segways in a secret passage of her office building. The Doctor began to laugh as well, a true, genuine smile pulling his lips upwards. It was the happiest he'd felt all day. But something else made his smile widen, even if he didn't want to momentarily admit it—it was the fact that Selene, who had her face resting against the back of his shoulder, was laughing too, a smile pressed to the cloth of his jacket.

The Doctor soon had them all stop by a door that was marked with a Torchwood sign, designating that only employees of said institute could enter. So, naturally, the Doctor began to pull at the wheel that would disengage the lock. Water was trickling down the wall beside the door, pooling on the floor below. The wheel squeaked and groaned a bit, but the door did, in fact, open, which let the Doctor peer inside. A long ladder stretched upward, leading to another hatchway door.

" Wait here. Just need to get my bearings. Don't do anything," he said, pointing to Donna and Lance. His finger then landed on Selene. " Make sure they don't do anything, would you? You've gotten quite good at that." And with those words, he began his ascent up the ladder.

" You better come back!" Donna told him in an almost scolding tone.

" I couldn't get rid of you if I tried!"

" Donna… have you thought about this? Properly?" Lance asked Donna when the Doctor was out of earshot, " I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we gonna do?" After a pause, she looked over at him.

" Oh, I thought July," she replied with a smile, thinking he'd been speaking of a new wedding date. Lance just gave her a look as she continued to watch the Doctor climb.

" I really think we should just leave, this man is… insane!" Lance tried again, holding onto his fiancé's wrist.

" And no matter how insane he may seem, he's right. We need to just stay here, okay?" Selene said, crossing her arms and tugging at the hem of her shirt. Lance, exasperated with the pure madness of those surrounding him, rubbed his eyes and waited for the strange man to return.

" Thames Flood Barrier!" the Doctor announced when he returned, wiping rest off the palms of his hands, " Right on top of us—Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."

" Wait, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna asked with shock lacing her voice.

" You'd actually be pretty surprised how often that happens," Selene said with a small smile. Donna's mouth dropped open into an almost perfect 'o.'

" Lets keep moving shall we?"

When they came to a set of doors with the Torchwood 'T' on it, the Doctor pushed them open, allowing them inside a laboratory. There were dozens upon dozens of tubes that held blueish water inside that constantly bubbled. The Doctor's immediate reaction, besides staring around in wonder, was to say,

" Ooh, look at this! Stunning!" He moved to look at one of the tubes up close, watching the bubbles slither and bob around.

" What does it do?" Donna asked, saying the first sensible question that came to mind.

" Particle extrusion. Hold on!" He dashed to another tube and tapped it. " Brilliant." He sounded and looked so much like a child in a toy shop, that Selene, despite herself, smiled at the sight. " They've been manufacturing Huon particles. 'Course my people got rid of Huons. They unraveled the atomic structure."

" Your people?" Lance asked, confused, " Who are they? What company do you two represent?"

" Oh, we're freelancers, but this lot are rebuilding them! They've been using the river! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base till they've got the end result—Huon particles in liquid form!" The Doctor held up a small bottle containing the liquid, stepping towards Donna and Selene.

" And that's what's inside of me?" Donna asked carefully, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. Twisting a knob atop the small bottle, the bluish liquid began to glow gold, and then, so did Donna. " Oh, my God!"

" There's your answer for you," Selene said, patting Donna's shoulder.

" Genius…" the Doctor murmured, twisting the knob again so the golden glow faded. " Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyze inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then…" The Doctor pulled a thinking face; it was a face Selene had gotten to know so well that she counted down till he jumped back with a loud. " Ha! The wedding! Yes, you're getting married! That's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle—oh, you're body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside!" His voice was so excited and loud that it was an audible version of the excitement that was making him jump around. " Adrenaline, acetylcholine—WHAM go the endorphins! Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking over, a pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point, shazam!"

SMACK.

Donna's right hand whipped out and smacked the Doctor across the face for the second time that day. The force and surprise of it was enough to make the Doctor physically spin around. A bewildered look crossed his face as he peered at the woman.

" What did I do this time?"

" Are you enjoying this?" Donna asked sternly before continuing on, " Right, just tell me. These particles—are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

" Yes!" he attempted to assure her.

" Doctor… If your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?"

The Time Lord looked over Donna's shoulder at Selene, as if consulting her nonverbally. She usually had good insight on other people even if she had kept secrets… When Selene's blue eyes flicked up to meet his, she understood the stern look on his face. She gave a simple nod and moved her eyes briefly to Donna.

" Because they were deadly," he finally admitted.

" Oh, my God…" Donna whispered, looking as if she were about to tip over and pass out. But the bride felt an arm wrap around her back and found Selene at her side, keeping her steady.

" I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done, I'll reverse it. I am not about to lose someone else." At those eight words, both women looked up at him; Selene's brows furrowed at what that actually meant. Was he actually going to drop her off somewhere like Aberdeen? Or was he going to put up with her some more? Donna, on the other hand, searched his face and felt a small bit of satisfaction poke its head through her distressed state—so maybe her words had gotten through to him.

There was a whooshing hiss and a voice sounded from above as if coming through an intercom.

" Ooh, she is long since lost!" the voice said, following with an animalistic hiss. Then, the metal wall in front of the Doctor, Donna and Selene slowly slid upward, revealing another half of the room that had been previously hidden. There was a large circular pit that went so deep that blackness was all one could see—and that didn't please Selene in the least bit. Why were there always dark pits that were too deep? Stupid acrophobia… " I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe…" Another hiss. " … until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!"

Since the trio were too busy watching the new room be revealed, none of them noticed Lance slip out of the laboratory doors.

On catwalks hugging the walls of the pit-room, robots, like the ones in the Santa costumes, turned to aim their guns on the three, all wearing black hooded robes. The Doctor stepped forward and peered into the pit, which reminded him a bit too much of the pit the Beast resided in…

" Someone's been digging," he said, leaning over the edge, which made Selene wince a little, " Oh, very Torchwood… drilled by laser. How far down does it go?"

" Down and down, all the way to the center of the earth!"

" Oh, that's pleasant," Selene gulped with a shiver.

" Really?" the Doctor asked, getting no reply, " Seriously, what for?" Donna eagerly stepped forward, drawing Selene with her.

" Dinosaurs!" she said.

" What?"

" Dinosaurs?"

" What are you on about, dinosaurs?

" That film, 'Under the Earth,' with dinosaurs. Trying to help."

" That's not helping."

" Such a sweet couple!" hissed the voice jokingly. Dismissing the words, the Doctor continued to speak.

" Only a madman talks to thin air, and trust me, you don't wanna make me mad. Where are you?"

" High in the sky! Floating so high on Christmas night!"

" I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom!" the Doctor shouted, beginning to pace a bit, " Come on, let's have a look at you!"

" Who are you, with such command?"

" I'm the Doctor!"

" Prepare your best medicines, Doctor man, for you will be sick at heart!"

Then, before Selene could grab hold of the Doctor's wrist and tell him about what exactly was talking to him, it appeared. On a platform on the opposite side of the pit, a giant—literally giant—spider creature materialized. It was red and black and hissing like mad. While Donna gaped in shock and Selene closed her eyes momentarily, the Doctor's eyes widened.

" Racnoss. But that's impossible—you're one of the Racnoss!" the Doctor muttered in surprise.

" Empress of the Racnoss!" the Empress corrected in her almost constantly hissing voice. She gave a twisted sort of grin, baring her sharp teeth. Her eyes were completely black, contrasting with the bright red of the majority of her body. The Doctor stepped forward, sorting out more details.

" If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or… are you the only one?" he inquired, staring at the Empress curiously. He knew how that felt, being the last of a species. It seemed to come up quiet a lot more than he liked.

" Such a sharp mind!"

" That's it—the last of your kind…" He turned his head to talk quietly to both women. " The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores—omnivores. They devoured whole planets."

" Racnoss are born starving! Is that our fault?" Selene stepped forward and arched an eyebrow while crossing her arms.

" Being born starving? No. Basically committing purposeful genocide because of that? Yes, that would be your fault," Selene told the Empress, earning an angered hiss from the Racnoss. Donna blinked a couple times in shock and realization.

" They eat people?"

The Doctor nudged Selene and nodded upwards. Slowly looking up to the webs above them, she bit her lips and winced.

" H.C. Clements, did he wear those—those um… black and white shoes?" the Doctor asked Donna. A smirk suddenly appeared on her face.

" He did! We used to laugh! We used to call him 'the fat cat in spats!'" she told them. The Doctor and Selene, in unison, nodded and pointed upwards. When Donna looked up, she spotted a pair of feet dangling from the thick webs above… wearing black and white spats. " Oh, my God!"

" Mm, my Christmas dinner!" the Empress laughed, staring at them with all six of her obsidian black eyes.

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

" Except for me."

Donna saw Lance, toting an axe, exiting a doorway. He held up a finger in a 'shush' motion and nodded towards the Empress. Selene, too, noticed him and a feeling of dread washed over her. Oh. So that was what she'd been forgetting…

" But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing," Donna piped up, using her loud voice. When the Empress began to look in Lance's direction, Donna called her attention back. " Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me!"

" The bride is so feisty!" the Empress laughed as Lance approached her from behind, axe lifting up.

" Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big… thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!" Donna shouted as Lance hefted the axe over his head, only to have the Empress turn and hiss at him.

There was a pause as he seemed horrified… but then he started to laugh—an evil laugh at that too.

" That was a good one!" he exclaimed and pointed at the Empress, " your face!"

" Lance is funny!" she said before laughing a jolted, hissing laugh.

" What?" Donna asked in confusion.

" I'm sorry…" the Doctor whispered.

" Really sorry…" Selene said with full, genuine sympathy.

" Sorry for what? Lance, don't be stupid, get her!" Donna yelled again, only earning a very 'I'm so above you' smirk from Lance.

" God, she's thick. Months, I've had to put up with her—months—a woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!" Lance spat out, which made Donna stare up at him with confusion.

" I don't understand…" she said softly.

" How did he meet you?" the Doctor questioned, voice quieter and his face saddened.

" In the office."

" He made you coffee."

" What?"

" Every day I made you coffee," Lance said slowly with a self satisfied smile.

" The Huon particles are in liquid form, remember? My guess is that you had to be dosed with said particles for six months…" Selene told her. Donna stared at her for a moment and then swallowed thickly. She couldn't believe it…

" He was poisoning me…" Donna realized with a heartbroken tone.

" It was all there in the job title—the head of human resources," the Doctor said with a biting sound to his voice.

" This time, it's personnel," Lance replied with a chuckle.

" But… we were getting married," she said, tears gathering in her eyes.

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

Donna, who felt her chest tighten and hurt more and more with each word her supposed fiancé uttered, found fingers tightly laced between her own. Selene, somewhere around 'I had to say yes,' had taken Donna's hand to try and help comfort her.

" Oh, is that what she's offered you, the Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?" the Doctor asked, brows pulling together.

" It's better than a night with her."

" But… I love you…" Donna said, energy having left her voice. He gave a falsely sympathetic face.

" That's what made it easy. It's like you said, Doctor. The big picture—what's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to… go out there, to see it, the size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor? Same for your little traveling companion, too. She must want to see everything, be part of that big picture… just like me," Lance said, his words earning a hiss from the Empress.

" Who is this little physician?" she asked him.

" She said Martian."

" Oh, I'm sort of… homeless. But the point is what's down here?" The Doctor rounded Donna and stood at Selene's side, pointing into the pit. " The Racnoss are extinct, what's gonna help you four thousand miles down?"

Oh, that's deep… Selene quietly thought, now glad she had a hold of Donna's hand.

" That's just the molten core of the Earth, innit?"

" I think he wants us to talk!" Lance said, tilting his head with a smirk. Groaning Selene pointed at him.

" You can stop with the attitude, alright? And, honestly, what do you need at the bottom of his unreasonably deep pit?" Selene snapped, eventually pointing down into the pit.

" Yes, I think they want us to talk, too!" the Empress laughed.

" Well, tough. 'Cause we only need Donna!"

" Kill this chattering Little Doctor Man and his Pesky Little Girl!" she ordered the robots.

" Don't you hurt them!" Donna shouted, pushing Selene behind her and stepping in front of the two.

" Donna, don't," Selene urged her, taking hold of the woman's arm.

" It's alright," the Doctor added on.

" No, I won't let 'em!"

" At arms!" With the Empress's order, all the robots aimed at them again. The Doctor's hands flew up in a sort of 'I'm going to explain something' manor.

" Ah, now. Except—"

" Take aim!"

" Well, I just want to point out the obvious—"

" They won't hit the bride, they're such very good shots!"

" Just, just, just, just, just—hold on, hold on. Just a tick," the Doctor insisted, stuttering out words, " Just a tiny, little—just a tick! If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship… So, reverse it…" The speed of his words slowed down as he calmly reached into his pocket and extracted the bottle from before, beginning to twist the knob and Donna gained the golden glow again. " The spaceship comes to her."

Just as the Empress gave the command to fire, the TARDIS materialized around them, saving them from the deadly shots. When they were safely inside, the Doctor bounded to the console.

" Off we go! Oh, do you know what you said before, about a time machine? Well…I lied. And now we're going to use it. We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet's core then it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant! Molto Bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna, Selene, we're going further back than I've ever been before." By the time the Doctor turned to look at both women, he finally noticed Donna perched on the pilot's chair, tears running down her face.

Selene, whom ignored all of the Doctor's speech, sat beside her and pulled her into a hug. She let Donna cry into her shoulder, rubbing her back as she shook with sobs she kept quiet. Opening her eyes, Selene met the Doctor's gaze, which had turned decidedly sad. Looking away, she rubbed Donna's back some more.

" I'm sorry… it'll be okay, Donna… I promise," she whispered. After another couple moments, Donna pulled away and wiped at her eyes, noticing that, thankfully, her makeup hadn't run. The Doctor slowly looked around the console at the two women.

" We've arrived. Want to see?" he asked.

" I suppose…" Donna said with a half shrug.

The Doctor pulled the monitor around the console and peered at it momentarily.

" Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best," he said, heading to open both doors. Selene pulled Donna to her feet and offered a friendly smile.

" This should make you feel better; the wonders of space and time usually do," she assured, linking her arm through the other woman's and walking to the door.

" No human's ever seen this. You two will be the first," the Time Lord told them, waiting to open the doors.

" All I want to see is my bed," Donna sighed as they walked down the ramp. The Doctor grasped both door handles and looked at them.

" Donna Noble, Selene Thomas… welcome to the creation of the Earth." The doors were pulled open and they were met with a wondrous sight.

Clouds of gas that appeared purple, blue, orange and red in color surrounded what was the brand new sun; giant lumps of rock floated about, sometimes knocking into each other and sometimes sticking. A great big grin spread over Selene's face, one that she figured was so goofy it needed to be covered by her hand. Donna's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock and wonder at what was before her.

" We've gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas…" The Doctor thrust a hand outward, pointing to the bright point of light. " That's the sun, over there! Brand new. Just beginning to burn."

" Where's the Earth?" Donna asked, looking for the familiar planet. The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but Selene enthusiastically cut in, grinning.

" All around us. The rocks, the dust… everything," she said.

" Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right, we're just… tiny."

" No, but that's what you do!" the Doctor said, smiling, " The human race! Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with… weddings and Christmas and calendars! This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."

" So I—Selene and I—we came out of all this?" Donna asked with a disbelieving smile.

" Isn't that brilliant?"

They all stayed quiet a while, watching the rocks slowly drift about… till one massive piece of stone drifted in front of the door.

" I think that's the Isle of Wight," Donna joked, making everyone laugh.

" Eventually gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, and everything, piling in until you get…"

" The Earth," both women said in unison.

" But the question is…"

" Where's that big rock?" Selene added on, scanning the space-scape before her.

It didn't take long to find it, simply because it was so out of place. Coming out of a large cloud of gas, a spaceship in the shape of a seven pointed star came towards the center of all the rocks.

" Look."

" The Racnoss," the Doctor whispered. He bolted back to the console and began to spin a crank around. " Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?"

Both women watched as time itself was fast forwarded in front of their eyes. Rocks and dust and gas began to pile around the spaceship, piling together tightly.

" Exactly what you said!" Donna replied. The Doctor bolted back over and watched as well.

" Oh. They didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth, they became the center of the Earth. The first rock."

BAM.

The TARDIS jolted and the Doctor quickly shut the doors.

" What was that?"

" Trouble!"

" What the Hell's it doing!?" Donna yelled as they were tossed about.

" That little trick of mine? Particles pulling particles? Well, it works in reverse, they're pulling us back!" the Doctor replied, getting up from where he'd been tossed to the floor. No amount of time in the TARDIS could ever prepare someone for being tossed around in it.

" Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a hand brake?" Donna called out again, helping Selene keep her balance as the TARDIS tipped again, " Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"

" Backseat driver… oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator!" The Time Lord pulled out the device that had been discovered in the Boom Town episode and placed it against the console. " It won't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!"

There was a pause as the TARDIS landed and then Selene shouted,

" Now!"

The Doctor pounded the extrapolator with a mallet and then they were in flight for a short moment. When the engines thudded again, the Doctor bolted to the doors.

" We're about two-hundred yards to the right! Come on!" he announced, leading them towards a door with the Torchwood logo. Water squelched a bit under their feet, and the Doctor fished out the Sonic, tossing it to Selene for later use. She quickly caught it and held it tightly in her hand. The next thing he extracted was a stethoscope, which he proceeded to use on the door.

" But what do we do?" Donna asked. The Doctor spared a look back at the women.

" I don't know, I make it up as I go along," he admitted, " But trust me, I've got a history."

" An extensive one at that," Selene added while still catching her breath.

" But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles, but what for?"

" There's a Racnoss web at the center of the Earth, but my people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss were stuck. They've just taken hibernation for billions of years. Frozen, dead, kaput. So you're the new key. Brand new living particles! They need you to open it—and you have never been so quiet," the Doctor said with confusion, both he and Selene turning to see that Donna had, in fact, disappeared.

The Doctor groaned and shoved the stethoscope into his pocket. This always happened at some point, he hated it when things like that happened! He turned to ask for the Sonic, but found it already held out to him, Selene nodding to the door. After using it on the door.

The minute it opened, there was a gun pointed at their face, wielded by one of those bloody robots.

OOOO

" My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them! So you might as well unmask, my clever little Doctor Man!" the Empress hissed once she used the Huon particles to awaken her children at the Earth's center. The Doctor, whom had dressed up in one of the robot's cloaks and used the face plate as a mask, dropped the disguise.

" Oh well, nice try," he said, straightening out his jacket. Selene jogged up the steps and pointed to Donna.

" We'll get you out! We've got you!" she called out, gripping the railing. The Doctor produced the Sonic again and used it to break the web surrounding the ginger haired bride.

" I'm gonna fall!" she shrieked in fear.

" You're gonna swing! I've got ya!" The Doctor held out his arms as if he were to catch her. Unfortunately the bit of web that Donna had gotten a hold of was… longer than what the Time Lord had expected. So, instead of sailing right into his arms as he'd hoped, she ended up falling to the ground. Sighing Selene looked down.

" Way over shot, my friend…" she muttered to the Doctor, who stared down at Donna with a slight wince.

" Oh… sorry."

Donna, who glared up at them managed to say,

" Thanks for nothing."

" The Doctor Man amuses me!" the Empress laughed. Selene, in the meantime, dashed back down the steps to help Donna stand.

" Empress of the Racnoss I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end. This. Now," the Doctor's voice was authoritative and seemed to leave little room for argument. He was gripping the railing and standing with his legs braced apart. He looked every bit as strong as he really was. The Empress hissed at him.

" These men are so funny."

" What's your answer?"

" Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline!" she laughed, throwing her head back.

" Then what happens next is your own doing," the Doctor replied, voice a familiar dead calm. Selene looked up. She'd heard that tone of voice just before he'd exploded at her…

" I'll show you what happens next! At arms!" The robots aimed at the Doctor, making Donna gasp. " Take aim! And…"

" Relax."

The robots slumped over, completely unresponsive.

" What did you do?" Donna asked/

" Guess what I've got?" The Doctor smirked down at them and held up a familiar looking remote. " Pockets!" She gave him a look.

" How did that fit in there?"

" They're bigger on the inside!" he said simply.

" You and your special technology…" Selene laughed to herself, shaking her head. Their conversation was then interrupted when the Empress hissed once more.

" Roboforms are not necessary—my children may feast on Martian flesh!"

" Oh, but I'm not from Mars."

" Then where?"

" My home planet if far away and long since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey," the Doctor said calmly, face impassive and cold. The Empress let out an enraged snarl, writhing around at the name.

" They murdered the Racnoss!" she shouted.

" I warned you. You did this." He calmly held out a hand that cupped three of the Christmas tree ornaments from the reception hall.

" No! No! Don't!"

The Doctor tossed them into the air and then threw two more handfuls of three. He grabbed onto the remote control to be able to direct them. Two ornaments flew into one of the passages, exploding so the wall let the waters of the Thames in. The other seven buzzed around the Empress's head as she screamed and shouted. One exploded on the ground, setting a fire. Selene and Donna covered their eyes from the flashes of light and debris.

One by one the Doctor used up the explosive ornaments. Corridors were broken, fires were started, and soon enough, the lair was a massive room of spraying water and bursts of fire. It was blazing hot and freezing could at the same time. Water rushed into the pit and choruses of tiny screams echoed upwards.

" NO! My children! My children!" the Empress wailed in agony as water and fire killed the Racnoss in the pit. Donna watched in absolute horror, but Selene's attention was only directed up at the man standing above them.

The Doctor stood with an angry set to his jaw, but his expression was emotionless. Water rained down around him and plastered his hair to his forehead. Fire came in bursts around him, lighting his face and making that glint in his eyes more prominent… it was the Fury of a Time Lord. It was a moment where he remembered that bit of him that he always stowed away, always tried to forget about… when he embodied that part of himself. He watched as the Empress of the Racnoss screamed for the death of her children and felt the heat of the fire warm his neck just before the ice cold droplets of water washed it away.

" Doctor!" Donna called. There was no response from him, just another cold stare into nothing. Selene's voice then rose to his ears, making him look down.

" Doctor, listen!" the brunette woman called out.

" You can stop now!" Donna begged him.

He looked back up, water dripping into his eyes, the glint slowly fading away as he heard one last strangled call of,

" My children!"

Water was churning across the floor, and the Doctor suddenly called out,

" Come on! It's time I got you out!"

The trio began a mad scramble up slippery metal steps, having to stop every now and then to clear debris. They only briefly took note that the Empress had transported back to her own ship, but that wasn't of complete importance at the moment. They found the first door they'd discovered earlier that day and began to climb the ladder with Donna in the lead.

" What about the Empress?" she called over the water that rained down on them.

" She's used up all her Huon energy! She's defenseless!"

The water finally stopped making their escape as hazardous as it had been, but when they attempted to open the hatch, they winced at the bright light that was the Empress's ship exploding. Waiting another moment, they finally pushed it open, all three somehow managing to stand or crouch while holding onto each other. There they stoop, atop the Thames Floor Barrier, gate eight, whooping and laughing that they'd made it out alive. The air was freezing on their soaked skin and clothes, but it was totally bearable, given the circumstances. London was doused in night and probably shocked that, for a second Christmas in a row, aliens had attacked them. But the Doctor, Donna and Selene didn't care what the city was thinking. They were alive and everyone was safe.

" There's just—there's one problem," Donna said while catching her breath.

" What is that?" the Doctor asked.

" We've drained the Thames."

They all let out another round of boisterous laughter as they realized she was right. The Thames was, in fact, completely drained.

OOOO

Donna Noble didn't remember a time that she was more glad to be home then that day. She didn't care about the tacky Christmas fairy lights that were tied onto the eaves and windowsills of the house or the equally as tacky Christmas tree inside—she was home and away from crazy spider aliens.

" There we go. Told you she'd be alright—survive anything," the Doctor said as they all stepped from the TARDIS, which was across the street from Donna's house. The Time Lord was smiling at his time machine fondly.

" More than I've done," Donna said tiredly. The Doctor quickly scanned her with the Sonic, trying not to smile at the look she gave him.

" No, all the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine," he told her, pocketing the Sonic again. Selene smiled at her and ruffled her own still damp hair.

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

" I couldn't save him."

" He deserved it," she said, earning a look from the Time Lord and the brunette time traveler, " No, he didn't." She glanced over her shoulder at the house. " Better get inside. They'll be worried."

" Best Christmas present they could have," the Doctor said with a smile, " Oh, no, I forgot—you hate Christmas."

" Yes, I do," she said with a distasteful look on her face.

" Even… if it snows?"

He reached up behind the POLICE BOX sign and pushed something, which made the lamp atop the box emit a bright burst of energy that shot into the sky. Within seconds, it burst like a firework and it began to snow.

Donna and Selene began to laugh. Hell, Selene figured if this was her last experience with the Doctor, she might as well enjoy the snow, right?

" I can't believe you did that!" Donna exclaimed.

" Oh… basic atmospheric excitation," he said with a smile.

" Yeah, basic," Selene laughed, hugging her arms around her mid section. She was rather cold, actually—the yarn of her cardigan was unfortunately still retaining water. The Doctor watched her for a moment, seeing her tip her head back and watch the white flakes drift down from the black sky. Sensing his eyes, she quickly glanced down at him and cleared her throat.

Right.

He was kicking her out soon, wasn't he?

" Merry Christmas, Donna," Selene told the ginger haired woman, giving her a big hug, " Oh, I'll miss you… If I'm ever in the area I'll pop in for a visit, alright? And watch Nerys, I'm sure she'll do something stupid some day." Both women laughed and Donna rolled her eyes.

" Merry Christmas to you too, alright? Stay safe in that big blue box," Donna told her. Selene lifted her hand in a sad little wave and then wove around the Doctor, not meeting his eyes as she disappeared into the console room.

After a pause of silence the Doctor awkwardly cleared his throat and asked,

" So what are you gonna do now?" Donna shrugged.

" Not getting married, for starters… and I'm not gonna temp anymore. I don't know. Travel, see a bit more of planet Earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something," she said, smiling at the Time Lord.

" Well, you could always…"

" What?"

" Come with me."

Donna slowly shook her head.

" No," she whispered.

" Okay," the Doctor replied, shuffling a bit and staring at his feet.

" I can't."

" No, that's fine."

" No, really. I mean, everything we did today—do you live your life like that?" she asked, arching a brow. The Doctor met her eyes.

" Not all the time," he tried to tell her.

" I think you do. And I couldn't."

" But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful!"

" And it's terrible!" Donna added on, raising her brows, " That place was flooding and burning and they were dying and you stood there like—I don't know—a stranger. And then you made it snow! I mean… you scare me to death!"

" Well, then…" the Doctor said after a short pause as her words fully sank in.

" Tell you what I will do, though—Christmas dinner." She nodded towards the house with a smile. " Come on then, grab Selene and come inside."

An almost scared look came over his face and he shook his head.

" I don't do that sort of thing," he attempted to reason, stiffening up a bit.

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

" Ooh… uhh…" He shifted awkwardly on his feet again. " Oh, alright then, but you go first, we'll follow. Better warn them. And… don't say I'm a Matrain. I just have to… park her properly. She might drift off to the Middle Ages. We'll… see you in a minute," he said, popping back inside. The door shut soundly and as Donna began to step across the street…

The engines whirred.

Spinning back around, she shouted,

" Doctor! Doctor!"

The engines stopped and his head popped back out.

" Blimey, you can shout!" he exclaimed. He heard her over the engines, now that's a voice… one that he'd rather gotten used to. Donna, unsure of what to do, offered a sad smile. Of course he wasn't going to stay…

" Am I ever going to see you again?" she asked.

" If I'm lucky," he replied.

" Just… promise me one thing… Keep Selene with you." The Doctor glanced over his shoulder into the console room, his smile falling a bit. " What I said before, about her being sorry, she really is. And she really, really doesn't want to go. And, I guess the most important out of this list, she really cares for you. And I think you need that; I think you need someone there to stop you sometimes… need someone there to comfort you and keep ya smilin'. And trust her again. She thought she was doing the right thing, helping save everything from just… imploding was the word she used, I think. Besides, she sure as hell trusts you with everything she's got," Donna told him, a genuine smile on her lips.

" Yeah… Thanks, then, Donna. Good luck. And just… be magnificent!" he told her with a grin. She shared the grin and nodded.

" I think I will, yeah." Her voice was a bit choked up, tears forming in her eyes. She laughed a bit and as he began to disappear inside… " Doctor?"

" Oh, what is it now?"

" That friend of yours… what was her name?"

There was a pause as the Doctor swallowed thickly, eyes stinging as he said, for the first time since she'd gone,

" Her name was Rose."

With that, the TARDIS door shut and the engines whirred, sending it rocketing into the sky. Donna watched as it disappeared, trails of snow coming off the corners. She smiled up at it, hoping that one day she would again see that crazy Martian Boy and his Human Companion.

OOOO

" If I could request where you drop me, could I ask for Edinburgh? Some place bigger, not small… And—and not America, I want to travel some more…" Selene said, fighting to keep her voice calm as she draped her damp cardigan over the railing. The Doctor slowly turned from the console and then leaned against it, hands in his trouser pockets.

" I've—I've been thinking, actually, since the, uh, the reception… I really did just… explode at you earlier… And Donna was right, as she seems to be most of the time. I don't want to lose anyone else. I can't lose anyone else. So, as long as you want to do more traveling… you're welcome to stay with me," he told her, fighting for the right words. He'd never kicked someone off the TARDIS and then invited them back on before. And, needless to say, it was hard. He felt a little guilty, he really did.

Looking up in shock, Selene saw tears brimming in the corner of the Time Lord's eyes and in a flash, he found her arms tightly locked around his neck. She took a long, shaky breath and let it out into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close, shutting his stinging brown eyes. He felt it in his chest as Selene shook in his arms—she was crying quietly, he could tell—he felt a tension in his chest loosen, and he felt that anger and pain melt off his shoulders. She thought she was doing the right thing… she made a mistake… didn't he do that all too often? Make mistakes that caused pain and suffering? Because it was the right thing?

A loud breath sucked in through his mouth and he clamped his mouth shut, choking back the sob that wanted to break out. Selene felt his fingers grip into her shirt, his forehead falling to her shoulder. Hot droplets of water permeated the cloth on her shoulder and the Doctor's face twisted up painfully.

So they just stood there, holding each other close, crying and clung to the other's warmth because they both needed, as Donna Noble said, someone to comfort them.

Afterword: Hi.

So.

You didn't ACTUALLY think I was gonna let the Doctor just DROP Selene off somewhere did you? No? You didn't? Good for you! =D So, just to let ya know, the next chapter will NOT be Smith and Jones… not yet. I don't know about you, BUT I think they need to relax and make up some more… clear what air still needs to be cleared and what not.

Also, we need to all thank my amazing friend grapejuice101 who has helped me plan out this chapter since, like… the third or fourth chapter of this story. Thank you so much for the help and the ideas and what not! You rock!

REVIEW REPLIES!

grapejuice101: I'm sorry I made you cry! D: Well, as we know, the Doctor made his awkward apology and will clear up whatever he needs to next chapter. Thanks again so much for the ideas and the help with this chapter and I hope you enjoyed!
dark-dreams-of-love: * returns hug * thank you, after last chapter, I needed that! But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks again!

toomanyobsessionstocount: Yay for OC/OC friendship! =D I'm sorry I almost made you cry! But there was Donna, WOO! I love her sass! So much! She's probably my favorite of Ten's companions! I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again!

dream lighting: She indeed did try to save Rose—but thankfully they've mostly made up! Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoyed!

The Yoshinator: I'm also that I almost made you, too, cry. As we see here, he remembered he promised to drop her off, but he didn't remember how harsh he was with her—I like to think he didn't remember at first and then slowly did and yeah, I have I weird mind. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and didn't cry for this one! Thanks again!
Heroicagal: I think that someone should mass-produce band-aids specifically for feels. They'd make a LOT of money. But last chapter hurt my feels as well, it took a while to recover. He did apologize! It was awkward, but we'll get a real non-awkward one next chapter! Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed!

Renate Amsel: * dawns sailor's cap and grabs fake pipe * the sea of feels be a dangerous place to venture… You were right, though, he didn't dump her off! MEH, I'm sorry I made you cry! But, anyways, I hope you enjoyed, thanks again!

: I'm sorry I made you cry (I seem to be making this apology a lot this time around…) But I'm totally with you on understanding why the Doctor was so upset with her and seeing where he came from—which was totally why I wrote it out that way. And as we can see through the progression of this chapter, the ever wonderful Donna Noble seemed to smack some sense into the Doctor's head. There'll obviously still be tension between them because, come on, they still need to clear some stuff up. I am sorry if it seems to quick of an apology, but since I, myself, cannot hold many grudges, I suck at writing fights for too long XD And I wish I was ginger… my friend's a natural ginger… I'm jealous… but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!

Ashtyn: I'm happy to hear you say I'm good at writing the emotional stuff, but it sucks cause then I make people—including myself—cry. Thanks again and hope you enjoyed!

The Whovian: I'm really glad you like my story! :D I'm surprised I've gotten all those things into my story at the same time, but I'm glad I have! I hope you stick around to read more! Thanks again!

Ella Unlimited: Feels just… UHG. Sometimes I feel like it would be better to be Vulcan because you don't have to deal with the feels… but then again, sometimes feels can be good! :) It was painful to write, I had to take many a writing break. I'm glad you understood the Doctor's rage—I was afraid people wouldn't :P And, as you have read, he isn't gonna leave her alone XD I had no plans for him to leave her, I would've hated writing that XD I'm glad you've been enjoying and thank you again!

Elliot Hart: Again, sorry I made you cry, and I apologize for making you rage… but here's an update! :D I hope you enjoyed and I hope I put your feels back together a bit. Also, thank you so much for thinking I'm a fantastic writer, it means a lot that you said that! It made me grin for a good couple minutes! Thanks again!

And thank you to those who added this to story alert and story favorites—it means a lot!
That's it for this chapter, I'll see ya in the next one! It should be up relatively soon, since I actually have most of it done; a new, original adventure to a new, original planet! OOOOO, I wonder what'll happen XD Stick around and find out!
P.S. Kudos to those who understood the Hitch Hiker's reference, even though I did point it out :P

Thanks again you guys!

~Mary