The Runaway Bride
)0(
"Christmas! Christmas time is here!" Tory laughed as she danced around the living room inside of her and Jordan's shared apartment.
"Yes, yes alright!" Jordan glared at Tory and she staggered into the room from her bedroom.
Jordan all but collapsed onto her chair, laying her head back and closing her eyes.
"Have pity on the hung-over." She groaned.
Tory stopped her dancing and stared at her pale and sick looking roommate.
"Tea?" she suggested.
"Water." Jordan corrected. Tory nodded, even though Jordan couldn't see the action, and walked into the kitchen to get the requested drink.
Tory walked back into the room, glass of water in hand, and tapped Jordan on the shoulder. Jordan just held out her hand for the glass, leaving her eyes closed. Tory chuckled but followed the unspoken instructions, watching carefully as Jordan started to drink.
"I could kill for an aspirin." Jordan muttered as she sipped the water.
"Sorry." Tory grimaced, it was her fault they didn't keep the pill in the house after all.
"Not your fault." Jordan waved her unoccupied hand dismissively.
"What was the party for anyway?" Tory asked as Jordan slowly started to regain some colour.
"U.N.I.T. was given extra funding by Mister Saxon."
"Was he there?" Tory was quite interested in Harold Saxon; he had come out of nowhere and in a matter of months had worked his way up to Minister of defence.
"Yeah, he was sorry he missed meeting you." Jordan groaned and stood, "I'm going back to bed." She left the room without another word. Tory grinned at her retreating back before turning her attention to the T.V. and flicking through the channels, looking for something to keep her entertained while Jordan was recovering.
Tory sighed and turned the T.V. back off as her search proved useless. She lay back on the sofa and considered visiting Jackie before remembering what Jordan had told her about the battle of Canary Warf; Jackie Tyler, Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith were all on the record of the dead. Tory screwed her eyes shut as she tried to block out the memories of just what had happened when Jordan had told Tory had happened to their friends.
Tory shifted in place restlessly as a pulling sensation started in her chest. She rubbed the place, just between her hearts, and scowled at the ceiling. The pain had been coming on and off ever since her night with the Doctor and Tory had no idea why.
She shifted in place again as she started to feel uncomfortably hot.
Tory stood and moved towards the window, planning to stick her upper body out to try and cool down. She lifted her hand to open the latch and stared at it in fear as a golden cloud of dust condensed over her skin.
"This can't be good."
For a moment Tory thought she was regenerating again before the dust solidified fully against her skin and pulled her away.
)0(
The Doctor stared at the spot where the hologram of Rose had being standing a moment before, tears running down his cheeks. Another friend lost. He closed his eyes for a moment collecting himself and remembering Rose's last words to him;
"Don't be alone now I'm gone," she had smiled through her tears, "go tell Tory how you feel."
The Doctor turned to the console and starting putting in the coordinates for Tory's bedroom without really thinking about it, he just wanted to see her, to be sure she was okay, she was his… he wasn't even sure what they were to each other; boyfriend and girlfriend sounded too childish to his mind, and Rose's last words to him…. He knew he loved her and he knew she felt something for him but he didn't know if it was love. And thinking of Tory; he'd had a slight headache ever since their night together…. but that wasn't the proper description, it was more like a hole, just an empty space where his mind was expecting something to slide in but it was missing. He had no idea where it had come from.
He was drawn out of his thoughts when he caught a glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye and jerked his head up to find a female ginger dressed in her wedding dress standing beside the central console opposite him.
"What?" the Doctor demanded as he stared.
The woman turned with a yelp to face him.
"Who are you?"
"But..." the Doctor was dumfounded.
"Where am I?"
"What?" the Doctor repeated.
"What the hell is this place?" the woman yelled.
"What?!" the Doctor stared for a moment before looking around the room like there might be some hint as to how the woman had gotten there, "You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is... that is physically impossible! Only Tory can… How did...?" he couldn't even complete his sentences.
"Tell me where I am." The woman commanded, "I demand you tell me right now, where am I?"
"Inside the TARDIS." He answered, still staring at her.
"The what?" she asked in shock.
"The TARDIS."
"The what?"
"The TARDIS!" he snapped, annoyed that this woman couldn't even grasp such simple information. He turned to the controls, trying to find the cause of the woman's appearance so he could get rid of her as soon as possible.
"The what?" she demanded again.
"It's called the TARDIS."
"That's not even a proper word." She snapped, "You're just saying things."
"How did you get in here?" he demanded, sick of her constant disbelief.
"Well, obviously," she spat, ridged with anger, "when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it."
The Doctor just watched her rant, looking her up and down in confusion.
"Who the hell is Nerys?" he asked before his 'relevance filter' could kick in.
"Your best friend." The woman snapped back.
"Hold on, wait a minute..." he was about to argue when he noticed just what she was wearing, "what're you dressed like that for?"
"I'm going ten pin bowling." She answered casually before yelling, "Why do you think, Dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle!"
The Doctor began moving around the console, determined to find out why she was here and get her on her way. The woman followed his progress around the console, ranting the whole way.
"I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away! And then you... I dunno, you drugged me or something!"
"I haven't done anything!" he tried to defend himself.
"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!" the Doctor didn't reply as the console finally started to give him some results, he'd have to ask Tory if she had anyway to increase the speed of the scanner. He realised the woman had fallen silent and lifted his head just in time to see her racing down the ramp towards the doors.
"No, wait a minute!" he warned her, following down the ramp, "Wait a minute! Don't...!" It was too late.
The woman swung the doors wide open and stopped in shock as the view of the super nova he had been using to talk to Rose met her eyes. Her mouth fell open slightly as the Doctor came to a stop next to her.
"You're in space." He explained, "Outer Space. This is my... space-ship. It's called the TARDIS."
"How am I breathing?" she asked quietly.
"The TARDIS is protecting us." The Doctor explained in a comforting tone.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor. You?"
"Donna." She answered.
The Doctor looked her up and down.
"Human?"
"Yeah. Is that optional?"
"Well, it is for me." He answered casually, "And my errrrm….. my…..Tory is more than one species." Donna glanced around at him.
"You're an alien."
"Yeah."
They stared out at the super nova for another moment.
"It's freezing with these doors open." Donna commented.
The Doctor reached over her and slammed the doors shut, his manic energy returning as he dashed back up the ramp and to the console.
"But I don't understand it and I understand everything!" he ranted at her, "This... this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be..." he pulled out an ophthalmoscope and used it to look in Donna's eyes continuing to talk as he did so, "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic..." he was cut off as Donna slapped him around the face, hard.
)0(
Tory hit the upper deck of the TARDIS hard and groaned quietly as she tried to sit up.
"What the hell!?" she muttered as she pulled herself upright and over to the wall of the TARDIS so she could rest her back against it. She kept her eyes closed to help fight down the nausea caused by her unusual method of travel. Huon particles if she wasn't mistaken.
Tory swallowed before opening her eyes slowly. She was on the upper deck in the control room looking down at the Doctor and a ginger woman in her wedding dress darting around the console. Tory stared at the two, trying to work out what was happening.
The Doctor was nattering in the woman's face excitedly, probably happy to have a puzzle to solve. Tory shook her head fondly at his behaviour and tried to climb to her feet so as to get his attention. Her attempt was abandoned as the woman slapped the Doctor across the face and Tory saw red or more aptly, silver.
)0(
She slapped me! The Doctors thoughts circled as he recovered from the shock of Donna slapping him, he turned back to indignantly demand what that was for when he noticed the silver cloud of Meridian Particles that was blocking his view of Donna. He heard a thump as Tory, silver eyed, landed next to him and began patting down every part of his body that she could reach.
"You okay?" she asked once she couldn't find any injuries on him.
"Perfect." He grinned down at her, making a matching grin appear on her face, "Hi."
"Hello." Tory rubbed at her chest right between her hearts as she looked at him.
"Are you alright?" he asked in concern.
"I am now." Tory frowned on the inside though, why had the pain stopped? The Doctor glanced over her shoulder at the solid barrier of Meridian Particles.
"Is this because Donna slapped me?" he asked in a slightly teasing tone.
Instead of answering Tory reached up and kissed him. As their lips touched both Time Lords experienced something they never had before. For the Doctor it was like the gap he'd noticed in his mind filled, making him feel content and complete. Tory felt the comforting presence of the Doctor sweep over her mind as she felt something click inside of her. She stepped away from the Doctor, her shock making the shield of Meridian Particles disappear and her eyes clear.
"Tory?" the Doctor tried to step after her but Donna's shout grabbed his attention.
"Get me to the church!" The Doctor shot Tory a look that clearly said they would be talking about this later but turned to answer Donna.
"Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"
"Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System." She listed off before spotting a purple shirt slung over one of the side railings, she scooped it up and held it out accusingly. Before she could open her mouth Tory snatched it out of her hands glaring at the ginger.
"That was our friends." She hissed threateningly.
"Where is she, then?" Donna snapped, "Popped out for a spacewalk?"
"She's gone." The Doctor answered sadly from beside the console.
"Gone where?"
"I lost her." He answered after a moment.
"Well, you can hurry up and lose me." Donna cried before noticing the matching looks on the Doctors and Tory's faces as they mourned their friend, "How do you mean, "lost"?"
Tory made an angry snorting noise before turning her back on Donna and handing the shirt to the Doctor; he took it and gave her a grateful look before speaking.
"Right! Chiswick."
)0(
The second the TARDIS landed with a jolt Donna was darting out of the door. Tory glared after her for a moment before closing her eyes to ward off a wave of nausea. Tory stumbled to the side and grabbed the console for support feeling an echo of her discomfort play back to her.
"Tory!" the Doctor cried as he darted forward and wrapped his arms around her waist to help her stand.
"I'm fine," she waved him off which he ignored and helped her over to the captain's chair, "Thanks." She gave him a grateful smile. He glanced towards the door, an anxious look on his face. "Go take care of the ginger." He kissed her on the forehead.
"Stay here." He ordered, "Once Donna's safe I'm taking you to the med-bay." Tory opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she saw the actual worry in the Doctor's eyes.
"Fine," she agreed, "but don't tell Jordan, mention me feeling sick and dizzy after I told her about our last date and she'll think I'm pregnant!" Tory snorted in amusement before closing her eyes and laying her head down on the back of the seat, missing the Doctors face as it moved from shock to amazement to hope before he forced it into a neutral mask.
He kissed her forehead and walked to the TARDIS door where he was met by an irate Donna.
"I said: Saint Mary's." she pointed out, "What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?"
The Doctor turned and stroked the side of the TARDIS in concern, there was no way she would have missed such an easy location without a VERY good reason.
"Something's wrong with her..." he mused, missing Donna rolling her eyes, "It's like she's... recalibrating!" he ran back into the TARDIS and up to the console, Tory watched him in amusement as he passed her. "She's digesting." He announced. Tory stood and moved to the other side of the console to help.
"I'll be careful." She promised, pausing before realising something, "If that's how the Old Girl reacted to whatever happened I better not travel for a while."
"You aren't traveling until you've been to the med-bay and had a check-up." He ordered before switching to a more curious tone, "What happened to you anyway?" he questioned.
"Huon particles," Tory answered with a frown, "I'm part TARDIS so I have a small number inside of me, whatever happened caused them to react and bring me here." Tory swayed on the spot before gabbing the console again to steady herself. She glanced over at the Doctor to make sure he hadn't noticed before going back to the console readings.
Tory glanced over at the Doctor again in time to see him place his hand against the time rotor.
"What have you eaten?" he whispered to the TARDIS, "What's wrong?" pause, "Donna?" he called over his shoulder, "You've really gotta think. Is there anything that might've caused this? Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contact? I can't let you go wandering off in case you're dangerous. I mean, have you... have you seen lights in the sky? Or... did you touch something? Something... something different? Something strange? Something made out of a sort of metal or... who're you getting married to? Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?" he glanced towards the doors in time to see Donna running the other way, "Donna!" he turned to Tory, "Stay here." He ordered before running after Donna.
Tory sagged against the console the moment the Doctor had closed the doors fully behind him.
"Just you and me then, eh girl?" she patted the console before moving towards the screen and reading it, "So what's going on?" she muttered, "You're digesting and I'm getting dizzy spells, but what does it all mean?" she walked around the console as she spoke musing to herself, "And my huon particles acting to bring me here that can't be a coincidence!" she stopped and sat back in the chair, "And what about Donna? What's the human got to do with everything?" she paused and frowned, "And how do I tell the Doctor that I think we're mated?" Tory sighed and put her head in her hands, "I don't even know how he feels about me!" she straighten just as the Doctor burst back into the TARDIS and darted up to the console.
"Donna's been kidnapped!" he explained as he darted around the console.
Tory jumped up and joined him, catching on to what he wanted she started fixing the controls. The Doctor started abusing the console into compliance with his fists and his hammer making Tory glare at him as she flicked a switch. He raised the hammer.
"Behave!" he cried as he hit the console.
"Stop hitting her!" Tory scolded snatching the hammer away from him and looped its string around her wrist so he wouldn't be able to take it back.
"But-"
Tory ignored him and set the Helmic Regulator to follow Donna's life signs that the Doctor had showing on the TARDIS screen.
Sparks flew from the console and it titled almost throwing Tory over the top of it while the Doctor had to hang on to the other side. They managed to level out the flight and the Doctor darted to the doors as Tory placed her hand, ready, on a leaver.
He opened the doors and fell against the edge to help him keep his balance. The TARDIS was flying alongside a Taxi which Donna was inside of. Donna was sitting, staring at the Doctor, her hands pressed against the window.
"Open the door!" the Doctor yelled to her.
"Do you what?" she yelled back, her voice muffled by the glass.
"Open the door!"
"I can't," she yelled back, understanding what he had said this time, "it's locked!"
He rolled his eyes and pulled his sonic out for his breast pocket and soniced the car window, Donna quickly pushed it down.
"Santa's a robot." Donna pointed out.
"Donna, open the door." He ordered.
"What for?" she demanded.
"You've got to jump!" The Doctor explained. The robot turned its head slightly towards them.
"I'm not bleedin' flip jumping," Donna argued shrilly, "I'm supposed to be getting married!"
Suddenly the taxi gained speed and pulled away from the TARDIS. The Doctor stared after it for a moment before looking over his shoulder at Tory.
"Now!" he ordered.
Tory yanked the leaver down, sparks exploded from the console forcing Tory back a few steps with a surprised shriek. The TARDIS sped up, hitting a roof of a car as it passed over, and pulled up beside the taxi with a jerk forcing both Tory and the Doctor to fight for their balance, the Doctor by the door and Tory trying to get back to the console.
The Doctor pulled the sonic once more and aimed for the robot, sparks flew and its hands tightened on the wheel, this seemed to be the affect he wanted as he placed the sonic back into his jacket and returned his attention to Donna.
"Listen to me," he begged, "you've got to jump."
"I'm not jumping on a motorway." She argued.
"Whatever that thing is," he tried to explain, "it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on!"
"I'm in my wedding dress!" she yelled.
"Yes!" he agreed, exasperated, "You look lovely! Come on!"
Donna opened the door letting it swing back.
"I can't do it."
"Trust me." He told her calmly.
"Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you lost? Did she trust you?"
"Yes, she did." He answered with a sad smile, "And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now, jump!"
Donna jumped with a scream and landed on top on the Doctor in a heap on the floor. Tory growled at them but managed to control the urge to through Donna across the console room to remove the ginger from HER mate.
The Doctor used his feet to slam the doors closed and Tory piloted the TARDIS into the air and away.
"Jordan is going to have to do a whole lot of paper work after that." She realised, "She's going to kill me."
)0(
Donna stood outside the TARDIS and stared at her watch as the two aliens that had just saved her life used fire extinguishers on the inside of their spaceship. She glanced down at her watch, just past half three. They were on the roof of some random building in London and she was surprised that the smoke billowing out of the ship didn't attract any attention to them.
The Doctor stumbled backwards out of the ship, dragging Tory by her sleeve with one hand and a fire extinguisher in the other. They made it out and the Doctor took both extinguishers and tossed them back inside before walking over to Donna.
"The funny thing is," his hand slid down Tory's wrist and intertwined their fingers, "for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours. You all right?"
Tory felt his mind sweep over hers again and relaxed into his side.
If this was mating, she thought to herself, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
What?!
Tory jerked away from the Doctor and stepped away from him hurriedly, moving behind Donna.
"What was that?" he demanded, stepping around a bewildered Donna and following Tory's retreat.
"Don't worry about it," Tory tried to blow him off.
"I was inside your head." He pointed out, moving slightly so her backwards retreat moved away from the roof and back towards the TARDIS.
"Yeah." She squeaked, "Funny that."
Donna moved away from the pair, giving them more than enough space for whatever Martian thing they were doing.
Tory's back hit the TARDIS with a loud thump.
He stepped in front of her, blocking any escape route as she could hardly trust her Meridian Particles right now.
"Mates?" he questioned.
Tory was too worried about what his reaction might be to see the hopeful look in his eye.
"Erm…" she glanced up at him and then down at the floor.
"Tory?" he muttered, stepping towards her and taking her hand. They both gasped as the connection opened up again, "Why are you scared of me?" he asked in a hurt tone as Tory's emotions flowed over him in wave.
"I'm not!" she denyed strongly, "I'm afraid of your reaction."
"To what?" he whispered. Tory detected a flicker of hope in his emotions which he quickly squashed down.
"We're mated." She sighed.
The Doctor stared at her for a moment before lowering his head and pressing it against hers gently.
"Which means?"
"I'm yours, forever." She closed her eyes. The Doctor felt her emotions change; the fear became stronger but jealousy and anger joined it, "But you're not mine." She growled.
"Forever is very long time." He pointed out.
Tory sighed and pulled back, resting her head on the TARDIS behind her but letting the Doctor keep her hand.
"My TARDIS side claimed you as my mate after we slept together." She told him bluntly, wanting to get this over with so he could refuse her and move on while she was left alone; after all what guy would want and everlasting connection to any woman FOREVER? "This means I can never be with anyone else ever, even if you do, without feeling like I'm dying. I can only ever get pregnant from you or one of your regenerations anyone else and the child would be killed by my own body while it was still a single cell. And as long as we have skin to skin contact we can hear each other's thoughts and feel strong emotions the other is feeling." Tory waited to for the Doctors shock that she could feel over their bond to fade and be replaced by disgust but it never happened.
The Doctor stared at Tory. Did she really think that he wouldn't want her? He LOVED her! He was more worried about her not wanting him but from the looks of things there was no chance of that!
Slowly a beaming grin spread across him face as he stared at her.
Donna caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
"You dumbo," she mouthed, "KISS HER!" his grin got larger. Normally he wasn't very good at doing as he was told but this time he could make an exception.
Tory jumped as she felt the Doctor's lips press against hers in a hard, demanding kiss, she returned it, finally feeling his joy at what she had told him and his hope. The Doctor kept his love for her hidden, wanting to wait until he knew she felt the same way so as not to scare her off.
They felt like they were kissing for mere seconds, which was more like minutes, when Donna interrupted them.
"Not to break up the Martian love fest," the two broke apart.
"Sorry Donna." The Doctor had a stupid grin on his face, one that was only matched by Tory as they looked into each other's eyes.
Tory was the first to break the stare as she turned to the side to face Donna.
"The wedding!" she cried realising that Donna was just standing there.
"Doesn't matter." Donna shrugged.
"Did we miss it?" the Doctor asked gently. The pair walked towards her, hands still joined.
"Yeah."
"Well, you can book another date..." he tried to reassure her.
"Still got the honeymoon..." Tory suggested.
"It's just a holiday now." Donna pointed out.
"Yeah." Tory agreed quietly, not too sure what to say next.
"Sorry." The Doctor offered.
"It's not your fault." Donna waved him off.
"Oh! That's a change." He joked, getting a weak smile for his efforts.
"Wish we had a time machine." Donna told them, "Then we could go back and get it right."
"Yeah, yeah." He agreed, "But... even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline." Tory resisted the urge to face-palm, "Apparently." He added feeling Tory's exasperation. Donna gave the Doctor a look before moving to sit on the edge of the roof.
Tory slapped the Doctor across the back of the head and went to sit beside Donna. He followed after a few moments, placing his jacket on Donna's uncovered shoulders as she shivered and sitting on her other side.
"God, you're skinny." Donna exclaimed as she tried to pull the jacket around her, "This wouldn't fit a rat." The Doctor gave her an offended look.
"I happen to like skinny." Tory reassured him quickly.
"Thank you." He sniffed and turned to Donna, "Oh and you'd better put this on." He pulled a wedding ring lookalike from his pocket and held it out to her.
"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna moaned before glancing at Tory, "And the misses may not like it."
"Those creatures can trace you." He explained to both of them quickly, to reassure them, "This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden." He slid it onto her finger, "With this ring, I thee bio-damp."
"For better or for worse." Donna joked. The Doctor and Tory smiled at her.
"So, come on then." She nudged him with her shoulder, "Robot Santas, what are they for?"
"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger." He explained, "The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas."
"Why, what happened then?" Donna questioned. Tory and the Doctor stared at her.
"Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?" he asked.
"I had a bit of a hangover." Donna explained dismissively.
"Remind me never to go partying with you Donna." Tory teased. The Doctor chose not to continue the conversation and looked over the view.
"We spent Christmas Day just over there," he nodded in the direction of Rose's old flat, "the Powell Estate. With this... family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were..." he paused, lost in thought. Tory reached around Donna's back and squeezed his hand sending him some reassurance through the bond and receiving a wave of gratefulness in return. "Still... gone now."
"Your friend... who was she?" Donna asked carefully.
"Question is," he ignored her, "what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know..." he looked her over, contemplating, before letting go of Tory's hand and pulling out the sonic, "What's your job?"
"I'm a secretary." Donna answered as the Doctor started to scan her.
"It's weird, I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..."
"This friend of yours, just before she left, did she punch you in the face?" Donna snapped before whacking the sonic aside, "Stop bleeping me!" The Doctor gave her a startled look before glancing at Tory for help.
"You deserved that." She shrugged.
"What kind of secretary?" he asked ignoring Tory.
"I'm at HC Clements." Donna explained, "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 coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him, one cup of coffee. That was it."
"When was this?" the Doctor questioned.
"Six months ago."
"Bit quick," he commented, "to get married..."
"Well... he insisted. And he nagged... and he nagged me...And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in."
"What does HC Clements do?" Tory asked this time.
"Oh, security systems," Donna answered, "you know... entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for "locksmiths"."
"Keys..." the Doctor muttered as he thought it over.
"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming." She paused and gave the Doctor a serious look, "You can do the explaining, Martian-boy."
Tory snorted in amusement.
"Yeah. I'm not from Mars." The Doctor pointed out standing. Donna nodded.
"Yeah," Tory agreed as she took the Doctors offered hand and he pulled her to her feet, "Martians look completely different!" the Doctor rolled his eyes and offered his hand to Donna, helping her up.
"Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken."
)0(
'Merry Christmas Everybody' was belting out full volume when Tory, Donna and the Doctor walked into the reception, all of Donna's guests were laughing, eating and partying while Donna stared over the room.
Donna crossed her arms over her chest and glared, waiting to be noticed, Tory and the Doctor two steps behind her and holding hands.
An older woman finally managed to spot the party of three by the door and froze. Slowly the whole room realised something was going on and turned to follow the woman's gaze. The music stopped.
"You had the reception without me?" Donna demanded angrily.
"Donna..." a young black man shoved his way to the front of the crowd, "what happened to ya?"
"You had the reception without me?!" Donna repeated, her voice rising.
There was an awkward pause.
"Hello!" the Doctor piped up cheerfully, "I'm the Doctor and this is Tory." Donna turned to them.
"They had the reception without me."
"Yes," he agreed, "we gathered."
"Well, it was all paid for, why not?" demanded a blonde woman.
"Thank you, Nerys." Donna spat.
The older woman, who had been the first to notice the trio's arrival, moved towards Donna.
"Well, what were we supposed to do?" she demanded, "I got your silly little message in the end: "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know..." suddenly the whole room started talking at the same time, all demanding to know just what Donna was thinking, why, how, but not one asking her if she was okay.
Donna stared around at all the faces of her friends and family and burst into tears.
The crowd fell silent.
The young black man darted forwards and pulled her into a hug.
Tory and the Doctor were shocked. Where was the strong woman from before?
The crowd applauded as the man comforted Donna as she continued to cry into his shoulder, the pair slowly spun on the spot until Donna was facing Tory and the Doctor, she glanced up and gave them a wink.
Tory grinned and the Doctor smirked.
Minutes later the party continued on; Donna and the man dancing together in the middle of the floor and everyone dancing around them. Tory had made her way to the bar and was sitting on the table top watching the party while the Doctor lent on the bar beside her thigh. He noticed a man with a mobile and gestured asking to borrow it. The man agreed and handed it over.
Tory watched over the Doctor's shoulder as he pulled on his glasses, did a WAP search for H. and then soniced the phone to speed up the search and find what he wanted, the result: 'Sol Prop. TORCHWOOD'. Tory glared at the phone and rested her hand on the back of the Doctor's neck, pushing comfort down their bond. He closed the phone with a snap and handed it back to its owner before searching the room for a distraction from his sad thoughts. His gave fell on the dance floor and he moved without really thinking about it he took Tory's hand from his neck and held it in his own, pulling her from the bar and onto the dance floor just as a new song started.
Well, I've roamed about this Earth
With just a suitcase in my hand,
And I've met some bug-eyed Joe's,
I've met the blessed, I've met the damned.
But of all the strange, strange creatures
In the air, at sea, on land,
Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,
I love you, you understand.
Tory grinned as the Doctor spun her before pulling her back to his chest.
So, reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
'Cause my body's tired of travelling
And my heart don't wish to roam.
No, no.
I have wandered, I have rambled
I have crossed this crowded sphere,
And I've seen a mass of problems
That I long to disappear.
Now, all I have's this anguished heart,
For you have vanished too.
Oh, my girl, my girl, my precious girl,
Just what is this man to do?
So, reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
'Cause my body's tired of travelling
And my heart don't wish to roam.
Yeah, reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
'Cause my body's tired of travelling
And my heart don't wish to roam.
No, no.
Well, you took me in, you stole my heart,
I cannot roam no more.
Because love, it stays within you,
It does not wash up on a shore.
But a fighting man forgets each cut
Each knock, each bruise, each fall,
But a fighting man cannot forget
Why his love don't roam no more.
Oh, reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
'Cause my body's tired of travelling
And my heart don't wish to roam.
Yeah, reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
'Cause my body's tired of travelling
And my heart don't wish to roam.
Yeah, walk with me, my love, my love,
Walk tall, walk proud, walk far,
For you are my love, you are, you are,
You are my shining star.
Walk with me, oh my love,
Walk tall, walk proud, walk far.
For you are my love, you are, you are,
You are my shining star, you are, you are.
Yeah!
Reel me in, my precious girl,
Come on, take me home.
My body's tired of travelling
And my heart don't wish to roam.
He lowered her towards the floor, leaning her back over his arm just as the last note played. Tory giggled as he pulled her upright, planting a quick kiss on her lips. Tory smiled against him and deepened the kiss before remembering where they were and pulling back. The Doctor pouted down at her making her giggle again before she led him from the dance floor and towards a cameraman in the corner of the room.
"I taped the whole thing," the man explained as he put a tape in the camera to show the two Time Lords just what had happened to Donna at the wedding, "they've all had a look. They said: "sell it to You've Been Framed". I said: "more like the News". Here we are..." he played the tape; the camera was zoomed in on Donna's face as she seemed to disintegrate into golden dust with a scream.
"Can't be!" the Doctor protested.
"Is that….?" Tory's voice trailed off; if those were what she thought they were…..
"Play it again?" he half demanded half asked.
"Clever, mind!" the man complimented as the tape replayed, "Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping." The two Time Lords watched the video again both becoming more and more certain that Donna was somehow, someway, connected to Huon particles.
"But that looks like... Huon Particles!" he turned to Tory.
"A human would never be able to survive that." Tory argued.
"What's that?" the man asked.
"That's impossible," the Doctor explained, slightly out of it as his brain moved faster than his mouth could keep up, "that's... ancient! Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years! So old that..." he and Tory whirled and found Donna, the biodamper still on her hand, "it can't be hidden by a biodamper!" he turned and ran to the nearest window and after seeing what was outside turned back and ran to Donna.
Tory ignored this and reached for her phone.
"Jordan?"
"What!?" the hung-over woman snapped.
"I've got a situation," Tory's deadly serious voice was more than enough to jolt Jordan's brain into working, "alien attack in progress."
"Give me an address and I'll have a team to you in minutes."
Tory did as she was told and hung up just in time to see the Doctor and Donna to run towards the two massive Christmas trees at the end of the room.
"Get away from the tree!" he ordered.
Children and adults did as he said as Donna joined him.
"Don't touch the trees!" Donna cried as she pulled some of the more stubborn kids away.
"Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!"
"Out!" Donna ordered, "Lance, tell them!"
"Stay away from the tree!" the Doctor cried.
"Oh, for God's sakes," the older woman from before scoffed, "the man's an idiot! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna... oh!" she trailed off as the baubles floated away from the tree, almost like they were dancing. The Doctor glanced frantically around the room, searching for Tory, he found her on the other side of the room from the trees standing beside the sound system. He turned back as the crowd chattered excitedly about the baubles above their heads.
Suddenly the baubles started to dive-bomb the crowd, exploding. The humans separated, screaming and darting for cover.
The Doctor ran for the sound desk and all but fell behind it and on top of Tory.
"Now is not the time!" she hissed at him, he smirked at her.
The explosions stopped and the room fell silent.
The Doctor and Tory peaked over the side of the desk and looked at the robot Santa's that had all lined up in a row on the dance floor. He jumped to his feet and spoke.
"Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver..." he picked up a microphone and flipped it the right way up before speaking into it, "don't let him near the sound system." He held the sonic to the mic making a horrible, high-pitched screeching noise. The human's covered their ears and the Santa's vibrated violently until suddenly falling to pieces.
The humans started standing up as the Doctor launched himself over the sound desk and ran towards the robot pieces.
Tory followed, slightly more slowly as she checked for more danger and the soon to arrive U.N.I.T. team. She hovered over his shoulder as he picked up a remote.
"Look at that," the Doctor held it up, "remote control for the decorationsbut there's a second remote control for the robots." Donna joined them as the Doctor examined the head of one, "They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."
"Never mind all that," Donna spoke up, "you're a doctor; people have been hurt."
"I'll make some calls." Tory reassured her pulling out her phone and putting in Jordan's number. After a quick conversation with the still hung-over Jordan and her eventual reassurances that a U.N.I.T. medical team Tory hung up and walked back over to the Doctor who had just managed to get a signal from one of the robot heads.
"There's still a signal!" he cried triumphantly before grabbing Tory's hand and darting out of the room.
Outside the Doctor stood scanning the helmet with the sonic.
"There's someone behind this," the Doctor explained as Donna joined them, "directing the robo-force."
"But why is it me?" Donna asked, "What have I done?"
"If we find the controller, we'll find that out. Oh!" he cried raising the sonic into the air, "It's up there. Something in the sky." Tory stepped back as a U.N.I.T. van arrived and gave out instructions to the disembarking soldiers and medical team.
"I've lost the signal." The Doctor cried, darting up to Tory and yanking her away, "Donna, we've got to get to your office, H C Clements. I think that's where it all started. Lance, is it Lance? Can you give me a lift?" he darted off, dragging Tory with him.
)0(
The group of four walked into H. unopposed and up into Donna's office. The Doctor moved straight to her computer while Tory moved to watch the door. Donna and Lance followed the Doctor.
"This might just be a locksmiths, but H C Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute."
"Who are they?" Donna asked.
"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." The Doctor answered in a dark tone. Donna just stared, "... Cyberman invasion." Donna looked at him questioningly, "Skies over London full of Daleks?"
"Oh, I was in Spain." She waved him off.
"They had Cybermen in Spain." Tory answered.
"Scuba diving." Donna added.
"That big picture, Donna, you keep on missing it." The Doctor commented before darting over to another computer, "Torchwood was destroyed, but H C Clements stayed in business. I think... someone else came in and took over," he whacked the monitor, "the operation."
"But what do they want with me?" Donna asked. The Doctor turned and faced her, giving her his full attention.
"Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. 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 a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS and Tory. See? That's what happened. Say... that's the TARDIS" he held up a mug, "And that's you." He showed her a pencil, "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetised and whap!" he threw the pencil into the mug, "You were pulled inside the TARDIS, same thing with Tory."
"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" she asked weakly.
"Yes, you are. 4H." he swirled the pencil inside the mug, "Sums you up." He put the mug down on the table with a bag, "Lance? What was H C Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"
"I don't know," Lance answered defensively, "I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager."
Tory, getting bored of keeping watch walked over to the Doctor and pulled the sonic out of his chest pocket. She pointed it at the screen, it flickered before showing a 3D plan of the building.
"Why am I even explaining myself?" Lance snapped, "What the hell are we talking about?"
The Doctor kissed Tory on the forehead in thanks.
"They make keys, that's the point." The Doctor explained, "And look at this," he pointed at the plan, "we're on the third floor." He pushed himself away from the desk and led the way out of the room.
He stopped outside of a lift and waited for it to arrive at their floor.
"Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" the Doctor asked as the lift pinged and the doors opened, he stepped inside and looked at the controls, "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 plans. So what's down there, then?"
"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Lance scoffed.
"No," the Doctor looked adorably confused, "I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor."
"It needs a key." Donna pointed out.
"We don't." he answered pulling Tory inside the lift with him before sonicing the lock, "Right then, thanks you two, we can handle this. See you later."
"No chance, Martian." Donna protested, "You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight." She stepped into the lift.
"Going down." The Doctor announced pressing the button.
"Lance?" Donna questioned pointedly.
"Maybe I should go to the police." He suggested.
"Inside." Donna ordered, Lance meekly joined them in the lift.
"To honour and obey?" the Doctor spoke up.
"Tell me about it, mate."
"Oi!" Donna scolded them.
"As it should be." Tory teased, kissing the Doctor's cheek just as the doors closed and the lift started to fall.
)0(
The lift pinged and the doors opened showing a long, dark, dank corridor, dimly lit with an eerie green light.
"Where are we?" Donna asked as they stepped out, "Well, what goes on down here?"
"Let's find out..." the Doctor suggested as he walked a short ways out.
"Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?" Donna wondered.
"The mysterious H C Clements?" the Doctor checked, "I think he's part of it." Something off to the side caught his eye, "Oh, look, transport."
"You have got to be kiddin' me." Tory muttered but followed him anyway.
)0(
The four of them travelled down the green lit corridor, each on their own electric scooter and all looking extremely comical.
Donna glanced at the Doctor and the pair of them burst out laughing. Tory rolled her eyes but giggled along with them. Lance stared at the trio, not getting it.
They stopped outside of a door saying 'Torchwood – authorised personnel only'. The Doctor darted forwards and spun the locking wheel opening the door to reveal a ladder. He peered up the shaft.
"Wait here." He ordered, "Just need to get my bearings. Don't," he pointed at the three sternly, "do anything." He started up the ladder.
"You'd better come back." Donna warned.
"I couldn't get rid of you if I tried." He answered.
Donna and Lance watched the Doctor climb up the ladder.
"Donna... have you thought about this?" Lance demanded, "Properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we gonna do?"
"Oh, I thought July." She smiled brightly and turned her attention back to the Doctor. Tory snorted in amusement and Lance glared at her. Tory held up her hands in a surrendering gesture and backed off a few steps.
"I didn't say anything."
The Doctor reappeared, jumping off the ladder.
"Thames flood barrier!" he announced, "Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."
"What," Donna exclaimed disbelieving, "there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?"
"I know!" the Doctor exclaimed sarcastically, "Unheard of."
"You would not believe how many London landmarks I've been to." Tory added as they started walking again.
)0(
They entered some kind of lap full of massive test tubes bubbling away and all sorts of chemistry equipment.
"Oh, look at this!" the Doctor cried happily, "Stunning! Particle extrusion!"
"What does it do?" Donna asked.
"Particle extrusion. Hold on..." he moved over to one of the massive tubes and tapped it, "Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. My," he paused, "our," he gestured at Tory, "people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure."
"Your people?" Lance repeated, "Who are they? What company do you represent?"
"Oh, we're freelancing." The Doctor waved him off, "But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river! Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result, Huon particles in liquid form." He picked up a small test tube full of the liquid particles.
"And that's what's inside me?" Donna questioned scared.
The Doctor gave her a sad look as Tory stepped up to her side. He turned a knob on the top of the test tube round gently, making it glow gold, Donna and Tory with it.
"Oh, my God!" Donna cried.
"Silver is a MUCH better colour." Tory muttered.
He turned the knob again and the golden huon particles vanished. Donna returned to normal but Tory was over taken by silver, her Meridian Particles, almost like they were trying to stake a claim.
"Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... Ha!" Donna jumped as the Doctor became all manic enthusiasm again, "The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle, oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, wham go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!" she slapped him across the face.
Donna turned to Tory.
"Oh no, don't apologise," Tory reassured her, "he deserved that one."
"What did I do this time?" the Doctor asked indignantly.
"Are you enjoying this?" Donna demanded.
The Doctor relaxed, slightly ashamed of himself, as Donna walked towards him breathing slightly heavy in her distress.
"Right, just tell me, these particles, are they dangerous? Am I," she glanced at Tory, "WE safe?"
"Yes!" the Doctor answered unconvincingly.
"Doctor... if your lot got rid of Huon particles... why did they do that?" Donna asked.
"Because they were deadly." He answered gently.
"Oh, my God..."
"I'll sort it out, Donna." The Doctor promised, "Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I'm not about to lose someone else."
"What about you?" Donna asked Tory, frantically.
"I'm," Tory searched for the right word, "immune; huon's are part of my biology, with a bit of research I could probably remove them from you."
Before Donna could reply they were distracted by a series of loud crashes and bangs that seemed to come from all around them.
"Oh, she is long since lost." Came a woman's voice. One of the walls slid upwards showing a secret chamber with an enormous round hole in the floor. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe..." Tory noticed Lance run back through the door and out of the room, "until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!" The walls of the chamber where lined with stairs and scaffolding that unmasked robots in long black cloaks were manning, every single one of them armed.
The Doctor moved forward and peered down the hole while Tory moved Donna slightly behind her, her Meridian Particles still weren't stable but she had enough to try to protect Donna at least.
"Someone's been digging... oh, very Torchwood." The Doctor commented, "Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?"
"Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth!" the woman's voice answered over the speaker system.
"Really?" the Doctor answered, sounding shocked, "Seriously? What for?"
Tory was torn between protecting her mate and Donna, fighting her instincts to move to the Doctor's side and to stay with Donna was causing her to shuffle back and forth on the spot.
Thankfully Donna, either realising what Tory was going through or just wanting to be closer to the Doctor, shuffled forwards so she was standing just behind him. Tory grinned at her in thanks before latching onto the Doctor's hand.
"Dinosaurs." Donna suggested suddenly leaving both the Doctor and Tory in equal states of confusion.
"What?" Tory turned and stared at her.
"Dinosaurs?" Donna repeated.
"What are you on about, dinosaurs?" the Doctor asked this time.
"That film," Donna explained, "Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help!"
"That's not helping." The Doctor told her.
"Such a sweet couple." The voice on the speakers interjected.
"Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?" the Doctor demanded.
"High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night."
"I didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom!" he shouted, "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." A teleport activated and on the other side of the chamber a giant red spider woman appeared, snarling and growling.
"The Racnoss..." the Doctor breathed, "but that's impossible, you're one of the Racnoss!"
"Empress of the Racnoss." The spider woman corrected.
"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss?" the Doctor interrogated, "Or... are you the only one?"
"Such a sharp mind." The Empress answered.
"That's it, the last of your kind." He turned to Donna and Tory, sensing Tory's confusion and started to explain, "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?" the Empress defended.
"They eat people?" Donna asked horrified.
"Donna," Tory asked, "H C Clements, did he wear those weird black and white shoes?"
"He did! We used to laugh, we used to call him the fat cat in spats." Donna giggled.
The Doctor nodded and followed Tory's gaze to the roof. He pointed and Donna turned to look, in the webbing on the ceiling the trio could just about see a pair of black and white shoes.
"Oh, my God!"
"Mm, my Christmas dinner." The Empress cackled.
"You shouldn't even exist!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss, they were wiped out."
"Except for me."
"But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi!" Donna shouted making Tory jump and the Doctor look at her in confusion, "Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes 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.
"Yes, I am!" Donna agreed, "And I don't know what you are, you big... thing." That earned a nod from Tory and the Doctor, "But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!"
Tory and the Doctor watched as Lance stared to swing an axe at the Empress. The Empress turned hissing. Lance stopped. Lance and the Empress started laughing.
"That was a good one." Lance chuckled to the Empress, "Your face!"
"Lance is funny." The Empress hissed back.
"What?" Donna asked disbelievingly.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor whispered quietly.
"Sorry for what?" Donna asked him before turning back to Lance, "Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!"
"God, she's thick." Lance scoffed. Donna stared at him, confused. "Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."
"I don't understand." Donna whispered.
"How did you meet him?" the Doctor asked her gently.
"In the office." Donna answered.
"He made you coffee." Tory tried to explain.
"What?"
"Every day," Lance spoke as though he was explaining something to an idiot, "I made you coffee."
"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months." The Doctor explained.
"He was poisoning me?" Donna asked quietly.
"It was all there in the job title," the Doctor spat, "the Head of Human Resources."
"This time, it's personnel." Lance and the Empress laughed.
"Let me kill him!" Tory begged the Doctor mentally. He shook his head and tightened his grip on her hand.
"But..." Donna whispered, "we were getting married."
"Well, I couldn't risk you running off." Lance told her spitefully, "I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap..."oh, Brad and Angelina... is Posh pregnant?" X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia." Donna just stood there and took it, she didn't fight or scream back at him, she just stood there and let the wave of insults flow over her. "I deserve a medal."
"Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?" the Doctor spat.
"It's better than a night with her." Lance gestured at Donna.
"But I love you." Donna spoke plaintively.
"That's what made it easy." Lance informed her heartlessly.
"You son of a bitch," Tory growled out, "You heartless goddamn son of a bitch! What gives you the right to play god?!"
"It's like you said, Doctor," he continued ignoring Tory's outburst, "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?"
"Who is this little physician?" the Empress demanded.
"What she said," Lance answered, "Martian; they both are."
"Oh, we're sort of... homeless." The Doctor waved it aside, "But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?"
"I think he wants us to talk." Lance turned to the Empress.
"I think so too." She agreed.
"Well, tough! All we need is Donna!"
"Kill this chattering little doctor-man and his female!" the Empress ordered. The robots turned and pointed their weapons at the two Time Lords. The Doctor pushed Tory behind him just as Donna leapt in front of them both.
"Don't you hurt them!" Donna yelled.
"No, no, it's all right." The Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders and tried to moved her to the side.
"We'll be fine Donna." Tory reassured her.
"No, I won't let them!" Donna protested remaining in place.
"At arms!" the robots all took aim.
"Ah, now. Except." The Doctor tried to talk.
"Take aim!"
"Well, I just want to point out the obvious..."
"They won't hit the bride." The Empress reassured him, "They're such very good shots."
"Just... just... just... hold on, just a tick, just a tiny... just a little... tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it... the spaceship comes to her." He twisted the top on the tube of Huon particles making the tube, Donna and Tory glow.
"Fire!" the Empress ordered. The robots fired but it was too late.
Tory breathed a sigh of relief as the TARDIS materialised around them.
The Doctor darted around her and up to the console.
"Off we go!" the TARDIS dematerialised, "Oh, you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're gonna use it." He explained to Donna as she moved over to the captain's chair and sat down, "We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna, we're going further back than I've ever been before." It was only then that he noticed Donna's shoulders shuddering with silent tears. Tory walked over and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and holding her as she turned her face into Tory's neck and cried.
)0(
The TARDIS, having arrived as its destination, clicked quietly as it cooled down. The Doctor peered around the console at Donna and Tory.
"We've arrived... want to see?" he asked quietly.
"I s'pose." She agreed unenthusiastically.
The Doctor swung the TARDIS monitor around.
"Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best." He walked over to the doors and waited for Tory and Donna to join him, "Come on."
Tory squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. Donna stood resignedly and walked towards him, Tory following.
"No human's ever seen this." The Doctor informed them, "You'll be the first."
"All I want to see is my bed." Donna answered as they arrived next to him.
"Donna Noble, Tory Williams, welcome to the creation of the Earth." He grinned and opened the double doors grandly showing the two gaping women a cloud of beautiful coloured gases and dust all back lit by the newly formed sun and with enormous rocks floating around. "We've gone back 4.6 billion years." The Doctor explained, "There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas." He points, "That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn."
"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked.
"All around us... in the dust." Tory reached around Donna's back and grabbed the Doctors wrist letting her awe through the bond. The Doctor grinned at her over Donna's head.
"Puts the wedding in perspective." Donna spoke, "Lance was right. We're just... tiny."
"No, but that's what you do. 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." The Doctor reached behind Donna as he spoke and pulled Tory towards him; he pulled her back against his front and wrapped his arms around her stomach, after a second her hands moved to hold both of his.
"So, I came out of all this?" Donna asked in amazement.
"Isn't that brilliant?" the Doctor beamed.
A massive piece of rock floated lazily past the TARDIS.
"I think that's the Isle of Wight." Donna joked making Tory and the Doctor laugh.
"Eventually, gravity takes hold." The Doctor explained, "Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the..."
"Earth." Donna finished.
"But the question is... what was that first rock?" the Doctor muttered.
A star shaped rock emerged from between the clouds.
"There!" Tory shouted pointing.
"The Racnoss..." the Doctor whispered before darting back up to the console and turning a wheel frantically, Tory on the other side of the console trying to anchor them in place. "Hold on, the Racnoss are hiding from the war! What's it doing?" he yelled back out to Donna.
"Exactly what you said." She yelled back.
The Doctor ran back down the ramp to look while Tory stayed put.
"Oh, they didn't just bury something at the centre of the Earth... they became the centre of the Earth." The Doctor realised, "The first rock."
Suddenly the TARDIS shuddered violently and the trio where nearly knocked off their feet.
"What was that?" Donna demanded.
"Trouble." The Doctor answered darkly, slamming the TARDIS doors shut.
Tory closed her eyes in pain as she started to feel a pulling sensation in her gut. The TARDIS shuddered and tipped again, throwing everyone inside around.
"What the hell's it doing?" Donna yelled over the noise.
"Doctor!" Tory yelled, grabbing his attention, just as her body glowed gold and vanished.
"Tory!" the Doctor yelled back.
"Doctor!" Donna grabbed the console.
"Remember that little trick I pulled, particles pulling particles. It works in reverse, they're pulling us back!" he explained as he tried to pilot the TARDIS. "They pulled Tory out of the TARDIS but she's still only just ahead of us in the vortex! We can still catch her!"
"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"
"Backseat driver." The Doctor exclaimed, "Oh! Wait a minute!" he pulled the extrapolator from underneath the console. "The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" the TARDIS rematerialsed in the chamber but then, "Now!" the Doctor yelled, slamming his mallet down on the device. The TARDIS dematerialised and reappeared down the corridor.
The Doctor darted out of the doors followed by Donna.
"We're about 200 yards to the right. And Tory should be," he darted to the left and caught Tory as she fell, seemingly from nowhere.
"My hero!" she kissed him before moving out of his arms and back to the ground.
"Come on!" the Doctor held out both his hands, Donna grabbed one and Tory took the other and they ran.
They stopped running outside the door to the Thames Flood Barrier.
"But what do we do?" Donna panted out of breath. The Doctor pulled a stethoscope from his inner pocket and held it to the door.
"I don't know! I make it up as I go along! But trust me, I've got a history."
Tory placed her hand against the door, trying to scan through the metal, and closed her eyes.
"But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles, but what for?" Donna asked.
"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but our people unravelled their power source." The Doctor explained, "The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck. They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput! So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and you have never been so quiet."
Both the Doctor and Tory turned to look and were met with an empty corridor.
"Why does that always happen?" Tory whined. The Doctor just groaned before turning back to the door and sonicing it open.
Standing on the other side was an armed robot.
)0(
"Harvest the humans!" the Empress screamed, "Reduce them to meat."
Tory was hidden on the other side of the room to the Empress, Donna was stuck to the roof, Lance had just fallen to his death and the Doctor...
A masked robot was climbing up the stairs on the side of the chamber.
"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" the Empress hisses and turned to the robot, "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man."
The robot froze before pulling off the mask and cloak to show the Doctor.
"Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Donna!" he aimed the sonic at the web loosening it.
"I'm gonna fall!" Donna screeched,
"You're gonna swing!" the Doctor was correct. Donna swung right over the whole and towards him.
"I've got ya!" he called, arms out stretched. Donna screamed and swung right under the Doctor and smashed into the doorway underneath him with a dull bang.
"Oh." He looked down at her surprised, "Sorry."
Donna was sprawled out on her back.
"Thanks for nothing." she mocked as she started to stand.
"The doctor-man amuses me." The Empress laughed.
"Empress of the Racnoss," the Doctor spoke in a dark tone, "I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now."
"These men are so funny."
"What's your answer?"
"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline." The Empress laughed.
"What happens next is your own doing." He warned.
"I'll show you what happens next." She hissed, "At arms!" the robots raised their guns. "Take aim! And...
"Relax." The Doctor all but whispered. The robot went limp.
"What did you do?" Donna asked.
"Guess what I've got, Donna?" he pulled the remote control for the baubles from his pockets, "Pockets."
"How did that fit in there?" Donna asked incredulously.
"They're bigger on the inside." He answered.
"Robo-forms are not necessary." The Empress scoffed, "My children may feast on Martian flesh."
"Oh, but I'm not from Mars."
"Then where?" the Empress asked.
"My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey."
"They murdered the Racnoss!" the Empress spat.
"I warned you." The Doctor reminded her, "You did this." He pulled out a handful of the explosive baubles.
"No! No! Don't! No!" the Empress panicked. The Doctor threw the baubles into the air, some surrounded the Empress and the others smashed into the walls of the corridor, destroying them and letting the water from the Thames rush into the chamber and down the hole.
The Empress wailed.
"My children!"
The Doctor stood in silence even after Tory appeared next to him in a flash of silver.
"Doctor!" Donna yelled from below, "You can stop now!"
The Doctor continued to stare until Tory took his hand and her fear spread through his system.
"Come on!" he yelled down to Donna but talking to both of them, "Time I got you out!" Tory and the Doctor turned and started pulling the debris on the stairs out of the way while Donna did the same below them.
"Transport me!" the Empress yelled, vanishing, just as the trio met back up and ran up the stairs.
Then ran back to the Thames ladder and started climbing.
"But what about the Empress?" Donna asked as they climbed.
"She's used up all her Huon energy," the Doctor called back, "she's defenceless!"
They climbed out on top on the Thames barrier in time to see a star shaped ship go up in flames.
Donna cheered and clapped while the Doctor grabbed Tory around the waist and pulled her in for a victory snog.
"Just... there's one problem." The Doctor and Tory separated at the sound of Donna's voice.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked slightly breathless.
"We've drained the Thames." Donna exclaimed. Tory and the Doctor stood in stunned silence before bursting out into laughter.
)0(
Tory, the Doctor and Donna walked back to the TARDIS still giggling together.
Tory stopped as her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Tory!" Jordan called down the line, "I need you!"
"Yes boss!" Tory snapped off a salute even if Jordan couldn't see it and could almost hear Jordan rolling her eyes. She hung up the phone and turned to the Doctor.
"Sorry," she shrugged, "I have to go."
"I know." He looked at her sadly of a moment and then pulled her into his arms and snogged her senseless.
"Wow." She muttered as they separated. He smirked down at her as she blinked. "Well….." she trailed off.
"You were just…" he prompted.
"Right, right." She nodded and then vanished in a flash of Meridian Particles.