TEAGANNE

I watched the Doctor turn his head to the landscape of... wherever they were.

He nodded one way, his eyes glazing over as he spoke. "I spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate. With this... family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they were..."

He paused. I looked at him with understanding, I knew what it was like to lose somebody close to you.

I had a friend, when I was sixteen. Her name was Rebecca. She was one of my oldest friends, my only friend if I'm honest. I was never the most likable in school. I liked to keep to myself, it was what I was used to. Rebecca and I met when we were eight, she used to live down the street from where I did. We became friends through books actually, we were forced to work in partners for a school project and I was paired with Rebecca. Funnily enough, both she and I had thought the book was kinda dull - hardly had a plot. By the end of the week, all we could say about the book was that it sucked. After that, Rebecca and I found a lot of common ground with things.
When Rebecca turned sixteen she wanted to leave, get out of the country, travel the world. She was done with high school the minute she started. After eleventh grade, she dropped out and planned to head to the States. She left on a plane without hardly saying a quick see-ya before hanging up the phone and boarding.
I got the call at 10:42 that night - the plane had lost control and dropped from the sky. Only eight of the 250 passengers on the flight survived, none of which were Rebecca.

"Still..." The Doctor brought me out of my flashback. "Gone now."

"Your friend..." Donna started, "Who was she?"

The Doctor visibly stiffened, but changed the subject quickly. "Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know..."

He stared at her and she rolled her eyes. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver from his jacket.

"What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary."

"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..."

I flicked him again.

"Have you ever wanted to just..." Donna said to me, "Punch him in the face?"

I laughed as Donna whacked the sonic screwdriver aside. "Stop bleeping me!"

"What kind of secretary?"

"I'm at HC Clements." She told him. "It's where I met Lance. I was temping."

She turned her head slightly in thought. "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 gave her a sweet smile, Lance sounded nice.

"I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee." She told us. "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."

One cup of coffee... "When was this?" I asked.

"Six months ago."

"Bit quick, to get married..." The Doctor pointed out.

"Well... he insisted." she told him. "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?" The Doctor asked.

Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards - that sort of thing." She replied. "If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths'."

"Keys..." I mused.

"Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy."

"Yeah. I'm not from Mars."

I smirked, I could tell that Donna irked him. The Doctor and I stood, holding out my hand to the bride.

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

We went into the TARDIS and traveled to where the reception was to be held. When we walked in, everyone was partying as if nothing had ever happened. Donna looked around, thunderstruck. She folded her arms and a woman spotted her and froze. The rest of the room followed into an erie silence, all eyes on us.

"You had the reception without he?"

"Donna..." A man stepped forward. "What happened to ya?"

"You had the reception without me?" She repeated, raising her voice a notch.

There was an awkward pause, so I cleared my throat. "Um, hello. This is the Doctor and I'm Teaganne."

Donna turned to me. "They had the reception without me."

"Yes," The Doctor said. "I gathered."

Another woman stepped forward, "Well, it was all paid for - why not?"

"Thank you, Nerys." Ah, Nerys...

The first woman approached Donna. "Well, what were we supposed to do? 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—"

The whole room started talking at the same time until all I could hear was an incomprehensible babble of voices. Beside me, Donna burst into tears, at which their anger melted into pity. The man hugged her and she cried into his shoulder. Everyone applauded - and Donna winked at the Doctor and I through her fake tears. I smirked.

The reception party continued as before, except now Donna had joined in with the dancing. The Doctor and I, leant against the bar. I smiled slightly as I watched her. The Doctor noticed a man with a mobile phone and gestured to borrow it. The man noded and handed it over. I watched over his shoulder as the Doctor, putting on his glasses, did a WAP search for H C Clements. He cast a furtive look around the room before using his sonic screwdriver to speed the process up - the result "Sole Prop. TORCHWOOD" was displayed on the screen. The Doctor closed the phone and gives it back to the man, memories now seeming to flood back to him. The music became more prominent as he turned back to the dancing. His eyes fell onto a couple dancing - the man threw the woman backwards over his arm and I spotted the Doctor with what I will now dub as the 'remembering Rose look.' He swallowed and looked away. He noticed the cameraman in the corner, who is recording the proceedings.

The Doctor leads me to cameraman's side as he puts a tape in the camera to show the us.

"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". Here we are..." He said.

He played the tape - the camera is zoomed in on Donna's face as she seemingly disintegrates into golden particles with a scream.

"Can't be!" The Doctor bursts.

"Play it again?" I asked, and he does.

"Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping." The cameraman said.

The Doctor watched the video again, brow furrowed incredulously.

"But that looks like... Huon Particles!"

"What's that?" I asked him.

"That's impossible, that's... ancient! Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years! So old that..."

His eyes were suddenly drawn to the ring/biodamper he earlier placed on Donna's finger.

"... it can't be hidden by a biodamper!" He finished.

We ran as fast as we could to a window - and sure enough, there were the Santas, making their way slowly to the house. The Doctor rushed back to Donna.

"Donna! Donna, they've found you." He told her.

"But you said I was safe."

"The biodamper doesn't work." He told her.

"We've got to get everyone out." I said.

Donna looked around at the people. "Oh, my God - it's all my family..."

"Out the back door!"

We ran out the back door, only to be confronted with two of the Santas.

"Maybe not." I muttered.

We ran back inside. The Doctor darted over to another window.

"We're trapped."

The Doctor looked at the Christmas tree in the middle of the room.

"Christmas trees..."

"What about them?" I asked.

"They kill." He ran into the crowd. "Get away from the tree!"

"Don't touch the trees!" I told everyone.

"Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!"

Donna ushered a group of little girls away from the Christmas tree.

"Out! Lance, tell them!"

"Stay away from the tree!" The Doctor repeated.

The Santas pressed a big red button in the middle of their consoles.

"Stay away from the tree!" The Doctor yelled.

"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna..." The woman trailed off. "Oh.."

I turned to where her eyes were and saw the baubles float away from the tree in some kind of weird dance. The Doctor watched them mistrustfully as they hovered above everyone's heads. The guests chattered excitedly until the baubles started dive-bombing around the room and causing small explosions. Everyone started screaming and running for cover. Donna pulled Lance down to hide under a table with her. The Doctor ran over to the DJ's stand and I followed suit. He pointed to the ground and in a harsh whisper told me to cover my ears.

"Oi! Santa!" He called. "Word of advice: if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver..."

He picked up the DJ's microphone. "... don't let him near the sound system."

He held his sonic screwdriver next to the amplifiers and it made a horrible, high-pitched screeching sound that I could hear even through my covered ears. The guests scrambled to cover their ears and the Santas vibrated violently until they fell to pieces. The Doctor removed his sonic screwdriver, helped me up with his hand, and we ran to examine the mechanics of the Santas. Everyone began to get up off the floor. While everybody shook off, the Doctor picked up the consoles the Santas were using.

"Look at that," He turned to me showing Donna and I the handheld consoles. "Remote control for the decorations but there's a second remote control for the robots."

He examined the head of one. "They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

"Never mind all that, you're a doctor - people have been hurt." Donna pestered him

"Nah, they wanted you alive, look." he threw us each a bauble. "They're not active now."

"All I'm saying" Donna said "You could help."

In my hand, I felt a slight pulsing from the bauble.

"Gotta think of the bigger picture..." The Doctor saw me holding up the pulsating ball "There's still a signal!"

I gave him a slight nod and with that, he grabbed my hand and took off.

Donna followed us outside where the Doctor stood scanning the helmet of a Santa with his sonic screwdriver.

"There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force." He noted.

"But Doctor, why her?"

"What have I done?" Donna asked

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out."

He raised his sonic screwdriver into the air and exclaimed.

"It's up there."

"In the sky?"

"I've lost the signal" He lowered his screwdriver. "Donna, we've got to get to your office, H C Clements. I think that's where it all started."

He turned to the man beside Donna "Lance - is it Lance? Can you give us a lift?"

He darted off holding my hand without waiting for an answer.

When we arrived at H C Clements we ran into the building and then to Donna's office. The Doctor went straight to the computer and I followed suit.

"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, beating me to the question.

"They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf."

There was a blank silence from Donna. I knew enough from the Doctor's tales of his final moments with Rose what the Battle of Canary Wharf was.

"... Cyberman invasion." The Doctor prompted Donna.

She looked at him inquiringly.

"Skies over London full of Daleks?"

"That was a hell of a day on the news..." I remembered.

"Oh, I was in Spain." Donna said.

"They had Cybermen in Spain."

"Scuba diving."

"That big picture, Donna - you keep on missing it."

He ran over to another monitor. "Torchwood was destroyed, but H C Clements stayed in business."

"How?" I asked.

"Someone else came in and took over the operation, obviously." he whacked the monitor.

"But what do they want with me?" Donna asked

The Doctor went serious, giving Donna 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. See? That's what happened."

He picked up and showed Donna a mug "Say... that's the TARDIS,"

"And that's you." He picked up a pencil from a nearby desk.

"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." I finished for him, catching on pretty easily to what he was saying.

"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" Donna said weakly.

"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." I whacked the Doctor.

"Lance?" I turned to Donnas fiance. "What was H C Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

"I don't know," He said defensively, "I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager!"

The Doctor held his sonic screwdriver to the screen and it instantly displayed the page he was looking for.

"Why am I even explaining myself?" Lance kept going. "What the hell are we talking about?"

"They make keys, that's the point!" The Doctor finally shut him up. "And look at this..."

A 3D plan of the building showed on the screen.

"... we're on the third floor." I noted.

The Doctor started to swagger off so I followed and Donna and Lance caught at my heels. He ran all the way to the lift.

"Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" He said.

The doors pinged open and the Doctor went inside and looked at the controls. I stepped in beside him.

"Then how come when you look on the lift, there's a button marked 'lower basement'?" He continued. I leaned forward and saw with my own eyes the round, silver button marked 'LB' with a small lock beside it.

"There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans." He continued.

"What's down there?" I asked with a sly smile. I may have just gotten myself my first adventure with the Doctor.

"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Lance said, eying my smile

"No, I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor." The Doctor shot back.

"It needs a key." Donna reminded him.

"I don't." He smirked, sonicing the lock on the lift

"Right then, thanks you two, we can handle this." I smiled at Donna and Lance.

"See you later."

"No chance, Martians." Donna but in. "You're the man who keeps saving my life, and you-" She turned to me. "are downright astonishing!"

"I ain't letting you two out of my sight."

She joined us in the lift.

"Going down."

Donna turned to her fiance. "Lance?"

"Maybe I should go to the police." He fumbled.

"Inside."

Lance meekly joined us in the lift.

"To honour and obey?" the Doctor mumbled.

"Tell me about it, mate."

"OI."

I reached up and flicked near his eyebrow. He gave me a friendly glare as the doors closed and the lift started to descend.