Chapter 30: The Runaway Bride

It is the next morning before Rose wakes up. Her body still feels heavy with sleep. Her head is resting comfortably on something that isn't a pillow. Forcing her eyes open she sees dark blue of Nine's shirt from the day before. As her memories come flooding back she is also aware that her arm is slightly twisted behind her and currently clutching at another hand. She sits up and sees a Doctor on either side of her. Both are currently asleep. Nine's face is contorted in a frown as his arm that wasn't holding her reaches out as if to grab something. It's then that she hears her name as a whimper coming from Ten. She immediately squeezes his hand in reassurance. He stops moaning but his face is still screwed up in horror. Rose leans down and gently tries to wake him up. His eyes fly open and he sits up, gasping for breath. Looking around wildly, he spots her and envelops her in a rib cracking hug.

"You're ok." He breathes.

"Just fine. Except I think you just broke a few ribs." She grins at him.

"You should probably have a Doctor check that out." Nine's sleepy voice comes from behind her. She laughs and sits so she can see both of them. Both Doctors then sit up too. All humour drains from her face.

"Are you two going to be ok to continue watching today? Nobody would mind if we skipped another day." She looks mostly at Ten.

"Should be alright. If we haven't left yet then we still have more to watch. Might as well get it over with." He shrugs half heartedly. She nods. Ten decides to head back to his room so they can all freshen up and get changed as they fell asleep in the previous days clothes. Once they all emerge into the main room they are not the first ones up for a change. Jack is sitting nursing a cup of coffee. His face lights up when he sees them. He jumps up and pulls Rose into a tight hug and then does the same to each Doctor.

"Get off." Nine grumbles, trying not to show how pleased he is that Jack is acting as though nothing happened.

"If I gotta buy you a drink for a snog then I at least get hugs for free." Jack smirks. He notes that when Rose moves so do the Doctors as if they are drawn by some unknown force. They talk for a while until everyone emerges and is ready to sit down again. Unwillingly moving from Rose's side, Ten pulls Donna into a corner and they talk in hurried whispers. Everyone carries on with their own conversations but are distracted when the usually stoic and bubbly Donna lets out half a sob and pulls Ten into a hug.

"Damn right I did Spaceman." She hiccups a laugh and his mouth twitches. When they rejoin the group, everyone decides to get on with watching.

Ten and Rose sit, cuddled together as they had the day before. Nine sits next to Rose with a tight grip on her hand. Sarah-Jane resumes her position next to Nine. Donna and Jack go back to sitting on a couch while Mickey and Martha take the third one. Jack glances around before pressing the button.

The bride's father has his arm linked through hers instead of the other way around. She changes it. The organist strikes up the Wedding March. The bride and her father begin to process down the aisle. There is a strange sound, the bride screams and then zooms up through the roof and away in a golden sparkle.

"That should be impossible!" Nine splutters.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Ten murmurs quietly. "No such thing with this lot."

"What was that golden stuff?" Martha asks.

"Huon energy. Very dangerous and my people destroyed it years ago. The only bit left should be in the heart of the TARDIS." Nine explains.

"So the stuff that I took in?" Rose asks. He nods.

"You took in a bit more than that though. You also had the entire vortex running through your head."

The golden energy flies into the Tardis and solidifies back into the bride. They have the same conversation as the end of the last episode.

"Oh god. I don't know how you two didn't kill each other. You can both argue forever." Jack laughs.

The Doctor states it is physically impossible as they are in flight. Donna demands to know where she is. He tells her she is in the TARDIS. She doesn't understand. They argue back and forth until she tells him it isn't even a proper word.

Everyone laughs watching the duo.

"Those arguments are going to go on into eternity." Martha shakes her head in amusement.

The Doctor looks up from the console to ask how she got in there. Donna accuses him of kidnapping her.

"Why would I look so confused about it if I had kidnapped you?" Nine asked, bemused.

"Acting innocent." Donna shrugs.

"He's really not that good of an actor." Rose laughs. "Not that you were to know that." She adds, seeing the raised eyebrow.

Donna demands to know who is paying him before assuming it is somebody called Nerys. He asks who Nerys is and she says she is his best friend. The Doctor finally registers what she is wearing and asks what she is wearing it for.

"Really Doctor?" Jack sniggers.

"I was a bit shaken up." Ten defends himself sharply. "Besides, she seemed to think it was a prank so she might have been at a fancy dress or something." He adds, not having meant to bring up such reminders so soon. Especially when he saw Jack back off so quickly.

She sarcastically tells him she is going ten pin bowling before stating she was halfway down the aisle when he drugged her or something.

"Not sure drugging you can transport you away like that." Mickey grins.

"Well, alien particle thingies wasn't exactly going to be my first guess." Donna snarks back.

"Apparently it should have been." Jack grins. She elbows him in the side.

The Doctor defends he hasn't done anything and Donna threatens to sue him before running towards the doors.

"Good luck with getting money out of him." Rose laughs.

The Doctor tries to tell her to stop but she opens them to see a nebula.

"That's pretty." Rose smiles.

He walks over and tells her she is in space on his spaceship. Donna asks how she is breathing and he explains the TARDIS is protecting them. They finally get around to introductions and he asks if she is human. She says she is before asking if it's optional. He states it is for him.

"Well, not so much optional, as he just isn't." Mickey corrects.

"Technically it is optional. I do have one method of turning into a human but I forget all my memories. The TARDIS sets me up with a background and I forget everything about being a Time Lord." Nine tells them. Martha shudders as her Doctor from her time has only just become a Time Lord again. That was not a good three months.

Donna states he is an alien and he agrees. Her reaction is to say it is freezing with the doors open.

"You took that well." Jack looks impressed.

"Well, I was looking out into space." Donna reminds him. "Besides, I wasn't sure if I believed him yet. I was more focused on getting back to my wedding."

The Doctor slams the doors shut and goes back to the console. He says he doesn't understand that and he understands everything.

"That's so not true." Jack scoffs.

"Let him keep thinking that." Donna mock whispers.

"Oi!" Nine pouts.

He grabs an ophthalmoscope and uses it to look into Donna's eyes. He starts rattling off things it could be until Donna slaps him.

"Oi!" Nine protests again,

"You were rambling." Donna smirks.

"No need to slap me."

"Was quite enjoyable though." She grins.

"Women." Nine rolls his eyes.

"Oi!" Rose and Martha both protest.

He reels back and asks what that was for. Donna demands he take her to the church. He heads to the console saying he didn't want her there anyway. He asks where the wedding is. She rattles off instructions but then spots a purple shirt on the railing.

"Oh." Rose winces as she realises that is hers.

"Sorry for what I'm about to imply." Donna mutters.

Donna grabs the shirt and gestures with it, asking how many women he has abducted. He looks up and spots what she is holding, his face falls and he quietly tells her that is his friends. Donna asks where she is, whether she went out for a space walk.

"Those are rather fun." Rose breaks in, trying to stop the misery taking over the room again.

"You've been on one?" Donna asks, curiosity overcoming her guilt.

"Yeah, he took me for one shortly after Cardiff." Rose smiles.

He looks back at the console as he states she is gone. Donna looks slightly frightened as she asks gone where. The Doctor states he lost her. She retorts he can hurry up and lose her.

"Ouch, sorry." Donna winces at her own harshness. Ten gives her a thin smile but she appreciates the attempt. Rose leans more firmly into his side and he squeezes her shoulders.

She then asks what he means by lost. The Doctor takes the blouse from Donna and throws it through a doorway. He ignores this question and says Chiswick. Back at the church a woman is on the phone saying she didn't run away she just vanished. She tells whoever it is to check the house.

"Oh great." Donna sighs, covering her face with her hands. The last thing she needs is all her new friends watching her mother.

"What's up?" Jack asks her quietly.

"Nothing. Just mum." Donna rolls her eyes.

She asks a man called Lance, who was the groom, if there is any sign. His reply is negative. He asks where she went and Sylvia states she must just be showing off, on her first day of school she was sent home for biting.

Jack roars with laughter. "Why did you bite someone?" He asks.

"He was being mean about my hair." Donna tells him primly.

"Good for you." He tells her, slinging an arm around her shoulders, still grinning.

Donna's father says it's more serious and she has never disappeared before. Sylvia retorts that she didn't disappear, it's just a party trick. Then she changes track asking if she is dead.

"That was her second thought after you showing off?" Martha asks incredulously. Donna just shrugs, well used to her mother's views about her daughter.

The Tardis has landed in an area surrounded by buildings.

"Not the church then." Rose smirks.

"Given his history, I'm lucky it was the right time and year." Donna gives a small laugh.

"I'm not that bad. Besides the TARDIS was affected by the particles too." Ten defends quietly.

"Whatever you say dear." Rose's smirk widens as he pouts.

Donna asks what sort of Martian he is and where they are. The Doctor is stroking the TARDIS as he asks what is wrong with her. He runs back inside saying it is like she is calibrating. He then asks Donna if she has done anything to cause this, even seeing lights in the sky as she makes a circuit outside the TARDIS.

"Ah. You've just spotted the problem we all have." Martha laughs.

"Little bit of a surprise." Donna agrees.

Donna cannot cope with the reality of it being bigger on the inside and is walking away. The Doctor runs after her, asking her to come back inside. When she says it is too weird he replied it is just bigger on the inside, that's all.

"Really? That's all?" Rose asks Ten with a laugh.

"Yeah. That a problem?" He asks with a wan smile in return.

"Not for me. For Donna it might be." She smirks.

"Not any more at least." Donna shrugs.

Donna checks the time and states she will miss it. The Doctor asks if she can phone them, asking if she has a mobile.

"She's in a wedding dress!" Martha points out.

"So?" Nine questions.

"Wedding dresses don't usually have pockets." Donna tells him.

"That's silly." Nine states. "Useful things, pockets."

Donna points out this problem in her own unique style. The Doctor asks the name of the groom and then wishes Lance good luck.

"That was rude." Rose tries to sound stern but is too busy laughing.

"I don't blame the Doc for that reaction." Jack sides with Ten. "I'd be wishing Lance luck too."

"Men." Donna rolls her eyes. All the males in the room protest.

Donna states that no stupid Martian will stop her getting married. As she runs away the Doctor protests weakly that he is not from Mars.

Everybody laughs. "You assume that alien means Martian." Jack tells her, amused.

"Well, I hadn't exactly thought much about it. I had other things to think about." Donna shrugs.

"So why do you still call him Martian?" Mickey asks.

"Because it annoys him." Donna smirks. Mickey and Jack both laugh.

They try to call a taxi but they all seem to think Donna is in fancy dress and ignore her. One calls out for her to stay off the sauce.

"Rude!" Rose cries out. "They should still accept the ride. Except…" She realises the problem. "You will have no money in a wedding dress and the Doctor doesn't carry Earth money around."

"You'd think he would the amount of times he visits." Sarah-Jane points out.

"Rarely need it." Nine replied.

"You've got bigger on the inside pockets full of all kinds of crap. You'd think you could manage some Earth money." Rose rolls her eyes.

"It is not crap!" Nine protests.

"Two days ago, well two days before we got here, you pulled out a gameboy, a tiny piece of string, chewing gum and some Denarii." She points out.

"Why Denarii?" Martha asks in amusement. Nine shrugs.

The Doctor does a very piercing whistle and a taxi does a quick U turn to pick them up. They get in and Donna rattles of directions again. The taxi driver tells her it's double rates today and Donna asks the Doctor if he has any money. He says no, asking if she has any.

"If she doesn't have a phone, it's unlikely she will have money." Mickey rolls his eyes.

"I dunno, I've seen money stuffed in odd places." Nine informs him. Everyone shudders at this.

Donna remind he she has no pockets. The taxi driver dumps them back where he picked them up. She yells at him as he drives off and the Doctor asks if it is Christmas. Donna tells him it might not be on Mars, but on Earth it is Christmas Eve.

They all laugh again. "Oh Donna, you do well as comic relief." Jack sniggers.

"You sure put him in his place." Mickey agrees.

"Someone has to." Donna states with a smirk.

As they run down the street, the Doctor asks why she is getting married on Christmas eve and Donna tells him she hates Christmas. They make it to a phone booth and the Doctor uses the sonic, telling her to phone direct. She asks what he did and he replied something Martian.

"Something Martian?" Sarah-Jane laughs, eyebrow raised.

"It was quicker than arguing with her again." Ten mutters.

"Most things are quicker than arguing with Donna." Jack snickers.

"Watch it!" Donna warns.

The Doctor joins the queue at a cash machine, hopping from foot to foot, while Donna phones someone. Her mother answers but the phone dies. The vicar is using his phone to tell the police another wedding party has arrived but the current one refuses to leave. Donna gives very vague instructions to her mother about where she is.

Everyone except Donna laughs.

"I'm sure those WH Smith's are very rare in London." Jack sniggers. Donna whacks him on the arm.

"Ow! That hurt woman."

"Good." Donna smirks.

The Doctor gives the London Credit Bank ATM the sonic treatment, and goes straight to Please Take Your Cash without the rest of the preamble. Donna accosts a woman in the street. She begs for a tenner. The Doctor takes the money from the ATM then spots a trio of Santas playing God Rest Ye Merry on brass instruments.

"Oh. Not them again?" Rose groans.

"Yeah, they made some interesting upgrades." Ten nods.

Donna gets into the taxi, which is driven by another Santa.

"Oh dear." Mickey winces.

The Doctor calls after her having spotted the santa. Donna drives away. The Santas point their instruments at the Doctor, so he zaps the ATM, which sends banknotes flying across the street. Lots of people rush to grab the money and he runs away.

"Awesome. Shame I missed that part." Donna laughs.

In the taxi, Donna promises to give the driver the rest of the money when they arrive.

"Not sure it's going to care." Jack told her, trying to sound smart.

"Obviously." Donna rolls her eyes.

The Doctor runs back to the TARDIS and dances around the console. The taxi has gone the wrong way and Donna is yelling at the driver who pays no attention. Donna tugs at the Santa's hood and its mask falls off to reveal that it is a robot. She tries to open a window and screams for help.

"Not a lot people can do to help on the motorway." Mickey points out.

"I was being driven the wrong way by a robot after vanishing from my own wedding and ending up on a spaceship with a Martian. Forgive me for not thinking too clearly." Donna tells him firmly.

"I'm not bloody Martian." Nine groans when it becomes apparent Ten isn't going to respond. Donna flashes him a smirk.

Sparks are flying in the TARDIS. The Doctor hits the console with a hammer. It swoops down and bounces off the tarmac.

"Are you actually flying the TARDIS?" Rose asks in astonishment.

"She is a ship." NIne points out.

"Yeah, but you never actually fly, just dematerialise."

"She's not too good at really flying for very long." Ten shrugs.

"No wonder she doesn't like it if you fly her like that." Jack sniggers.

The Tardis weaves through the traffic as the Doctor ties a piece of string around a control lever. It comes alongside the taxi. The Doctor opens the doors holding the other end of the string in his teeth. He calls for Donna to open the door. When she finally understands she tells him it's locked. He uses the sonic and she gets the window open.

"I said the door not the window." Ten whines trying for a playful tone and almost pulling it off.

"Well, I didn't plan on listening to you much, why start then?" Donna smirks.

She calls that santa is a robot. He repeats for her to open the door as she needs to jump.

"Oh my god." Martha gasps.

"It's the only solution really." Jack states reasonably. "Unless Donna actually wants to find out where they are taking her.

"I'm alright thanks." Donna tells him firmly.

She says she isn't jumping, she is supposed to be getting married.

"Sorry Donna, but you aren't going to be getting married in the cab either. You've already seen it going the wrong way." Sarah-Jane points out.

"Yeah but being late, you can set up for another day. If you go splat and miss the jump, well, it's hard to plan a wedding as a ghost." Nine reminds her.

"Hard but not impossible." Jack grins.

The robot accelerates away. The Doctor pulls on his string, there are more bangs from the console and the Tardis gives chase, bouncing off the roof of a car. When it is close enough, the Doctor tries the screwdriver on the robot driver. It clamps its hands onto the steering wheel. He tries to reason for her to jump. She points out she is in her wedding dress. He retorts she looks lovely and to come on.

Everyone laughs.

"I think she was more implying it's quite difficult to jump anywhere in a wedding dress." Martha giggles.

Donna opens the door. The Doctor reaches out for her. The kids in the Range Rover ahead shout jump. She falters, saying she can't do it. He tells her to trust him. Donna asks if that is he said to Rose, did she trust him.

"Very much so." Rose smiles gently at both her Doctors. Nine squeezes her hand and Ten tries for a smile while looking like he might cry again.

"You shouldn't." He chokes.

"Oh yes I should and I do." She tells him firmly.

He agrees she did trust him. Then he states she isn't dead but very much alive. Donna launches herself out of the taxi and lands on top of the Doctor.

"Least Donna got a comfortable landing." Rose laughs.

"Comfortable? Him? It was like landing on a skeleton. All bone he is." Donna tells her.

The children celebrate.

"You have some fans." Mickey laughs.

The TARDIS doors slam shut and it zooms upwards. The Doctor is emptying a fire extinguisher in through the Tardis doors. A lot of smoke is coming out.

Both Doctors wince. "Won't be going anywhere for awhile then. My poor ship." Nine moans.

He states they should give the machine a couple of hours. Donna tells him they missed the wedding and he apologises. She tells him it isn't his fault.

"That's a new one." Nine raises an eyebrow.

"I had a little more time to think logically. Besides, you did just save my life." Donna shrugs.

The Doctor comments that attitude is a change. Donna says she wishes he had a time machine.

They all snigger.

He says that even if he did he couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline, apparently.

They all go into full blown laughter.

Donna sits on the edge of the roof, looking towards St Paul's Cathedral and the City beyond. The Doctor takes off his jacket and puts it around her shoulders.

"Look at you being all nice." Rose laughs.

"Doesn't last too long." Donna assures her with a grin.

"Of course not." She sighs.

She pulls it around her telling him he is too skinny and his jacket wouldn't fit a rat. He hands her a golden band.

"No tact." Mickey smirks as Sarah-Jane and Rose both roll their eyes.

She asks if he has to rub it in. He tells her it will stop the santas from finding her. They talk about the santas and he explains what they are. He discovers Donna has no idea what happened last Christmas.

"You missed that as well?" Jack looks at her in awe.

"Hangover." She defends.

"You must have one hell of a hangover." Mickey says.

She states she had a hangover. The Doctor states he spent the last Christmas at the Powell Estate with his friend's family. He stares in that direction silently before saying gone now.

Rose pokes Ten gently in the side causing him to look down at her indignantly. She grins and so does he in return.

Donna gently asks who his friend was. He ignores this question, suddenly asking what the mercenaries want with her and how she got in the TARDIS. Then he asks what he job is while reaching into his jacket for the sonic. He mutters to himself saying she isn't special, powerful, clever or important.

"Doctor!" Rose scolds.

"Sorry Donna." Ten states earnestly. He had forgotten that moment in the chaos later on and she deserved the overdue apology very much. "You are incredibly important and special." He smiles, thinking on what he had told her that morning. "Even a bit clever too."

"Only a bit?" She raises an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well, with two of me in the room…" He begins, trailing off when Rose pokes him again. "You're very clever." He amends, glancing down to see Rose now beaming at him.

Donna asks if that friend of his punched him in the face right before she left.

Everybody except the Doctors all snigger while they both pout. "Rose wouldn't do that." Nine states.

"True, but I wouldn't blame Donna for doing so." Rose tells him. "Besides, I've got mum for that." She adds with a laugh.

"Oi! You're supposed to be on my side." He protests half heartedly.

"I would be if you weren't so rude."

He asks what kind of secretary. She tells him she works at HC Clements. Then she tells how she met Lance while the TV shows a couple of flashbacks.

Donna tries hard not to wince visibly watching those memories. For six shorts months she thought she had met the right bloke and would live a happy life. Nothing turned out like she expected but she had to reflect that meeting the Doctor was a far better life than being married to Lance.

She says they met six months ago. The Doctor comments that's a bit quick to be getting married. She states he insisted and wore her down while more flashbacks show that Donna was actually the one begging for them to get married.

Said woman put her face into her hands as the stupid show just showed all her friends exactly how pathetic she had been. She felt an arm tighten around her shoulders but didn't look up.

"Love the persistence." Jack's voice comes from right by her ear. "Gotta love a woman who knows what she wants." He adds. She looks up to see him grinning at her, arm around her shoulders. She gives him a small smile.

He asks what HC Clements do and she tells him they deal with security systems. She then states they need to go and face the consequences, adding he can do the explaining. He tells her he isn't from Mars.

"Yeah, yeah." Donna smirks, looking more like herself.

They get up as she says they had a big reception planned. She thinks everyone will be heartbroken. Everyone is bopping to Slade, under a big disco ball, and having a great time when the Doctor and Donna enter.

"Oh my god! Do none of them even care where you are?" Rose gasps in horror.

"Not really." Donna shrugs, trying for nonchalant. Judging by the looks of pity she is receiving, she guesses she failed.

"Not even Lance?" Jack asks through gritted teeth. She shakes her head. "Bastards. All of them." He mutters angrily.

"They think I was just trying to get some attention." Donna murmurs.

"They could still at least have tried to look for you instead of having a bloody party." Mickey bursts out. "Jackie would have torn London apart to find Rose if she disappeared like that."

"Yeah, well, let's get to Donna kicking everyone's backside." Rose states, seeing how uncomfortable the older woman was looking.

Her entrance stops the fun. She comments they had the reception without her. Lance comes forward asking what happened to her. She is stuck on the fact they had the party and the Doctor introduces himself. Donna turns and tells him they had the party without him. He awkwardly states that he gathered. A woman states that it was paid for and why not.

"Because she was bloody missing you bitch." Rose snaps, not having missed the fact this woman had been dancing quite happily with Donna's fiance, nor did she seem happy that Donna was ok.

Donna's mother comes forward asking how she managed it. Everyone starts talking at once until Donna bursts into tears.

"Oh yes, now everyone cares." Martha glares at the screen.

Lance hugs her and everyone applauds, except Nerys. Donna winks at the Doctor.

"Nice." Rose compliments with a grin.

"Works every time." Donna laughs.

Later, as Lance and Donna are dancing together, all happy again. The Doctor gestures to a man holding a smartphone, and borrows it to look up HC Clements. HC Clements, sole proprietor - Torchwood.

Both Doctors' hands clench tightly around Rose.

"Oh bloody brilliant." Jack spits furiously.

The Doctor hands back the phone. As he watches the dancers, he sees a man dipping a blonde woman and has a flashback of catching Rose when Cassandra left her body on New Earth.

"Doctor." Rose breathes so quietly only Ten can hear her. "I'm so sorry." He simply holds her tighter and buries his face in her hair.

"Me too." Comes a muffled whisper in reply.

The Doctor spots the man making the video record of the wedding. He makes his way over and watches the replay of when Donna turned into gold energy and flew off. He asks the man to play it again claiming it looks like Huon Particles.

"Oh crap." Nine mutters.

"What now?" Martha asks.

"Huon energy can't be hidden by the bio damper. They can still track Donna."

"Just brilliant." Jack sighs.

The cameraman asks what that is and the Doctor states that is impossible.

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." Rose laughs.

He realises it cannot be hidden by a bio damper and dashes from the room. Outside there are robot santas.

"Nice of them to wait until you figured it out." Martha grins.

"Yes, very kind." Sarah-Jane agrees.

He goes back inside and tells Donna they found her. She reminds him he told her she would be safe and he replied that the bio damper doesn't work. They need to get everyone out. He suggests the back door but the santas are there too.

"You're surrounded." Mickey groans.

They look through the French windows. Some out there too. One has a remote control. Looking around, the Doctor spots the Christmas tree. He and Donna yell at the kids to get away from the tree. Donna's mother calls him an idiot, asking what harm a tree can do.

"You're probably about to find out." Sarah-Jane winces.

The plastic baubles are floating off the trees. Then they start to zoom at the people and explode when they hit something. Panic, the presents go tumbling, and one man gets thrown into the air and lands squarely on the wedding cake.

Despite the situation they all snigger a bit.

"What a waste of cake." Jack complains.

Donna and Lance hide underneath a table. The Doctor looks up over the DJ's sound desk to see six Santa's all lined up in front of the bar. He calls to them not to let a man with a sonic screwdriver near the sound system. He jams the screwdriver into the deck, and the resulting harmonics shake the robots to pieces.

"My ears were ringing for ages after that." Donna complains.

"Well at least ringing in your ears means your alive." Mickey points out.

Once it is clear everything is over people start emerging from hiding places. Donna tells Lance to help them as the Doctor finds the remote control for the decorations. He realises someone has taken control of the robots. Donna tells him to help people who have been hurt.

"Not really that type of Doctor." Ten shrugs.

"You can be though." Rose points out.

"Well obviously I have far more knowledge than Earth Doctors but still doesn't make me one. Besides, in the kind of work I do, useful to have some basic first aid knowledge." Nine smirks.

"Thought you had superior Time Lord biology?" Martha asks teasingly.

"My companions don't though." Nine reminds her.

The Doctor tells her they wanted her alive and chucks a bauble at her. Donna tries again to say he can help and tells her to think of the big picture. He states there is still a signal and runs out. Donna's mother asks who he is but Donna runs out after him without answering.

"Didn't really know myself." Donna sighs. "Not that she would have listened anyway."

Donna asks why they want her and what she has done. He tells her that if they find the signal they will find that out. He points the sonic to the sky saying the signal is coming from there.

"Someone with a spaceship then." Mickey rolls his eyes.

"Someone with a spaceship that knows about Huon particles." Nine frowns deeply.

A large red claw touches the screen showing the Doctor looking upwards. A voice says that she shall descend this night. The spaceship is a seven pointed star, with spiders web accessories, and the Empress looks like a giant spider.

"Oh yuck!" Rose exclaims. "Human/spider hybrid thing."

Outside the reception hotel the ambulances have arrived. The Doctor declares that they need to get to Donna's office and asks a nearby Lance if they can have a lift.

Donna glares at the screen.

They run into HC Clements building as the Doctor says they were bought by Torchwood years ago. Donna asks who they are.

"Bunch of egotistical, moronic bastards." Jack sniffs angrily.

"Oi, not everyone who worked there was bad." Martha corrects him, thinking of her cousin. He doesn't reply but keeps further grumbling under his breath.

The Doctor states they were behind the battle of Canary Wharf but Donna looks politely puzzled.

"You seriously missed that?" Everybody looks at her in confused awe. Donna flushes under the attention.

She defends she was in Spain. He tells her they had Cybermen in Spain so she adds she had been scuba diving.

Everybody laughs a little at how hopeless Donna was being.

He states she keeps missing that big picture. Then he adds that Torchwood was destroyed but HC Clements kept going so someone must have come in and taken over. Donna asks what that has to do with her and he explains about Huon energy and how she got into the TARDIS. He demonstrates with a cup and a pencil.

"Interesting analogy." Mickey raises an eyebrow.

"It was all I had to hand." Ten shrugs.

The Doctor asks Lance if HC Clements were working on anything top secret. Lance protests that he doesn't know before asking why he is even explaining himself as the Doctor uses one of the computers.

"Stupid ape." Nine rolls his eyes.

"Be nice. It's a little overwhelming the first time." Rose reminds him.

"It was only a couple of santa robots." He sighs theatrically.

"And a disappearing fiance." Jack adds.

He looks at the building plans and then the lift stating that there is a button for a floor that doesn't exist on the official plans.

"Ooh, a whole secret floor." Sarah-Jane smiles. "You must have been delighted."

Lance asks if he is telling him there is a secret floor. The Doctor points out he is showing him there is one.

Everyone laughs, Donna a little more bitterly than the rest. Jack gives her a concerned glance that she doesn't see.

Donna points out it needs a key but the Doctor retorts that he doesn't. He uses the sonic, then thanks the two of them saying he will see them later.

"I don't think you're getting rid of her that easily." Martha smirks.

"Good thing too." Ten murmurs.

Donna tells him 'no chance' as she gets in the lift too. Donna asks Lance if he is coming. He suggests going to the police and then she orders him in. He gets in. Doctor remarks to honour and obey and Lance states to tell him about it.

"Rude!" Rose laughs. Ten grins, unrepentant.

Donna protests.

"Least she didn't slap you again." Sarah-Jane grins.

The Empress watches the lift coming down. She states the bride approaches and she is the key.

"So she needs the Huon energy in Donna for something?" Rose guesses. "Doesn't explain how they got it into her, or why Donna."

They emerge into a corridor that is lit in eerie green. Donna asks what goes on down there and the Doctor suggests they find out.

"Always the best idea." Jack states cheerfully.

"Don't envy you running anywhere in a hurry in that dress." Rose winces.

"It worked out ok." Donna shrugs.

Donna asks if Mister Clements knows about it and the Doctor replied he is probably part of it. He then spots transport. They ride on an electric, two wheeled device. Donna can't help laughing and the Doctor joins in. They arrive at a bulkhead door labelled Torchwood. Authorised personnel only. The Doctor turns the wheel to open it to reveal a ladder. He tells them to wait there and not to do anything.

"Hasn't travelling with me taught you anything?" Rose smirks.

"They were well behaved and didn't wander off." Ten retorts smugly. "It's not that hard."

"Just boring." Rose grins.

"He kept saving my life, made sense to stick with him." Donna reminds her.

"Wish all my companions thought like that." Nine mock sighs.

Donna tells him he had better come back as he starts to climb. He states he couldn't get rid of her if he tried.

"And why would you want to?" Jack laughs.

When the Doctor has climbed a way up, Lance turns to Donna and asks if she has thought about this properly. He asks what the hell they are going to do. She distractedly turns to him and says she thought July.

"You were still thinking of the wedding?" Mickey asks with a laugh. Donna flushes a little.

"Well it was clearly very important to her." Martha tells him sternly.

"At least she didn't suggest they try again on Boxing day or something." Jack grins.

The Doctor climbs up to another sealed cover operated by a wheel, like in a submarine. He opens it and climbs out onto the top of number 8 in the Thames Barrier.

"Secret bases underneath the Thames." Jack claps his hands happily.

"Honestly, they couldn't have picked a different city to have a secret base, just once?" Rose rolls her eyes.

The Doctor appear back with the other two and states the flood barrier is right above them. Torchwood snuck in and built it underneath.

Everybody scowls at the screen.

Donna asks in surprise if there is a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark. The Doctor replies, slightly sarcastically, that it is unheard of.

Rose smacks Ten's arm lightly while laughing. "Bit rude."

"That's me, rude and not ginger." He smirks back.

They emerge into a laboratory with lots of bubbling tubes. The Doctor calls it stunning. Donna asks what it does and he replied particle extrusion.

"They are making Huon particles?" Nine gapes. "Whoever has the knowledge to do this must be so incredibly old."

"Like you then?" Sarah-Jane laughs.

"Oi! Possibly older than me. I'll have you know I'm barely middle aged for a Time Lord."

The Doctor continues to look around as he states they are manufacturing Huon particles and that his people got rid of them. Lance asks who he works for and he replies he is a freelancer. He continues explaining they are using the river and a flat hydrogen base to get Huon particles in liquid form.

"Quite brilliant." Nine nods.

Donna asks if that is what is inside her. The Doctor turns a knob on top of the container, and the liquid glows gold. So does Donna. He gets more and more animated as he explains what happened with the Huon particles inside Donna. Eventually she slaps him.

"Ow!" Both Doctors complain.

"You deserved that one too." Donna tells him firmly.

"I was explaining." Ten pouts.

"You were looking incredibly excited and rambling about something was probably terrifying poor Donna." Rose tells him. "Besides, it didn't look like she slapped you that hard anyway."

He asks what he did this time and she angrily asks if he is enjoying this. Then she asks if the particles are dangerous and if she is safe. He unconvincingly replies yes but Donna isn't persuaded, asking if they aren't dangerous, why his people got rid of them.

"She has a good point." Jack states, looking over at the guilty expression on both Doctors. He takes that to mean the particles are definitely dangerous.

The Doctor gravely replies they were deadly.

"What?" Everyone except the Doctors and Donna, exclaims.

Donna softly exclaims 'oh my god'. The Doctor tells her he will sort it out. He will reverse whatever they did to her and he isn't about to lose someone else.

"Hard not to believe him when he says it like that." Donna mutters softly.

"Yeah, he's pretty intense in the few seconds he can remain serious." Rose grins at Ten.

"I can be very serious." He tells her, nose in the air.

"If you say so. Just hope the spider woman is impressed by your recital of Disney songs." She teases.

"Oi!"

A voice states she has been long since lost. The wall in front of them slides up to reveal a tiered hole descending into the earth. The voice continues that she has waited so long at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered. Lance runs away. Black robed robots turn their guns on the Doctor and Donna.

"At least one of you didn't get caught." Jack sighs. Donna just glares at the screen.

Lance runs down the corridor and through another door.

"How does he know where he is going? And why that way unless he wants to climb back to the flood barrier?" Rose asks suspiciously. She had seen the way Donna glared whenever he came on screen.

The Doctor scathingly states it's very Torchwood, drilling by laser before asking how far down it goes. The voice replied it goes to the centre of the Earth. He asks what for. Donna puts in Dinosaurs.

Everybody turns to look at her and she goes a little red.

"I saw that film." Mickey butts in. Donna throws him a grateful smile. Rose elbows Nine when she seems him open his mouth. He frowns at her but she shakes her head sternly knowing he is most likely about to say something scathing. He pouts but turns back to the screen, squeezing her hand.

The Doctor looks at her, confused. Donna repeats Dinosaurs and a film with Dinosaurs, adding that she is trying to help. He tells her that's not helping. The voice states they are a sweet couple. The Doctor states that only a madman talks to thin air and whoever it is does not want to make him made. He asks where they are.

"You definitely don't." Donna mutters.

The voice states she is high in the sky, and the ship is shown. The Doctor is on the screen saying he didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom. She asks who he is with such commands and he states he is the Doctor. She tells him to prepare his best medicines for he will be sick at heart.

"Already am." Ten murmurs sadly.

"He's not that kind of Doctor." Jack laughs, not having heard Ten. "Thought I wouldn't mind him giving out a little mouth to mouth." He winks over at Ten.

The Empress transports herself in.

"She's one of the Racnoss!" Nine gasps. He turns to his older self. "I see what you mean about impossible not really meaning much anymore. It's one after another."

The Doctor identifies her as one of the Racnoss, stating that is impossible. She corrects that she is the Empress of the Racnoss. Lance climbs a ladder and runs down another, much smaller, corridor.

"For someone who didn't know there was a secret floor he seems to know where to go pretty well." Martha adds, agreeing with Rose that it is suspicious.

He asks where the others are or is she is the only one. She states he has a sharp mind. He guesses she is the last of her kind. He explains to Donna the Racnoss came from the Dark Times, billions of years ago. They devoured whole planets.

"Not someone to invite over for tea then." Mickey laughs.

"Not unless you want to be eaten." Nine shrugs, sounding like he wouldn't mind that idea."

The Empress asks if it is their fault the Racnoss are born starving. Donna looks alarmed as she asks if they eat people.

"Naa, just planets, no people." Jack sniggers. Donna elbows him in the side. "Ow, woman! You have sharp elbows."

"You seem to keep forgetting that." She tells him lightly.

The Doctor asks if HC Clements wore black and white shoes.

"How could you...oh!" Rose looks grossed out.

"Poor guy." Martha sighs.

Donna agrees he did, saying they called him the fat cat in spats. The Doctor points to a pair of feet sticking out of the web across the ceiling, wearing black and white shoes. Donna exclaims and the Empress states he is her Christmas dinner. The Doctor says she shouldn't even exist as they were wiped out.

"Apparently not." Martha notes.

"I'm guessing she's the only one who survived." Jack nods.

Lance is on a balcony above the Empress. He makes the shush gesture. The Empress replied, except for her. Donna spots Lance and steps forward to keep the Racnoss attention on her.

"Nice work." Jack compliments.

The Empress makes to look away but Donna keeps her attention and keeps talking.

"Big thing?" Sarah-Jane laughs. Donna shrugs.

"Couldn't really think of much with what else was going on."

Lance sneaks up behind the giant Empress with a fire axe. He starts to swing the axe. The Empress turns and hisses at him. Lance laughs, and the Empress joins in.

"He's working with her?" Mickey groans.

"Why?" Martha frowns. "Surely she just sees him as food."

"Useful food." Nine corrects. "He could dose Donna with the particles, or any human, it just happened to be Donna."

"He doesn't suspect she would just turn on him once he did the job?" Rose raises an eyebrow.

"Probably not. Stupid ape." Nine rolls his eyes. Rose elbows him, glancing at Donna. It can't have been fun realising your fiance was giving you potentially lethal Huon particles and working with a human spider alien.

Lance states that was a good one and the Empress says he is funny. Donna looks confused and the Doctor apologises to her softly. Donna states she doesn't understand what is going on. Lance calls her thick, complaining that he has had to put up with her for months.

"Oi! Shut your mouth." Jack barks angrily. No wonder Donna kept all her insecurities locked up behind big personality, all this episode she had people calling her stupid and unimportant. Said woman smiles at him gratefully but he can see she is still upset.

Donna states again she doesn't know what's going on and the Doctor tells her that Lance made her coffee and had been dosing her with Huon particles.

"Bastard." Jack scowls.

"Well, I guess we can safely say Donna is jeopardy friendly enough to join the TARDIS crew." Rose tries for a joke.

"I wish you lot would stop being so jeopardy friendly." Ten complains.

"No you don't. You love the trouble." Martha tells him.

Donna realises he was poisoning her and the Doctor says it was all in the title, Human Resources. She turns back to Lance saying they were supposed to be getting married. Lance tells her that was just so she wouldn't run off, he was about to be stuck with someone who thinks a new flavour pringle is the height of excitement.

"That's a very good reason to be excited." Rose states firmly. "Pringles are amazing. What's your favourite?" She asks Donna.

"Prawn Cocktail." She gives a wan smile.

"Really? Me too." Sarah-Jane tells her warmly. Jack tightens his arm around Donna's shoulders.

Lance continues about all the things Donna talked about, calling them fat, stupid trivia.

"Oi, can't you shut him up." Mickey looks over at Ten. "How come you're just letting him talk to her like that?"

"I needed more information."

"That isn't information, that's just hurtful tripe." Jack states firmly.

He continues he deserves a medal. The Doctor now interrupts asking if that is what she offered him. He asks if Lance is her consort. He retorts it's better than a night with Donna.

"Somebody slap him." Rose scowls. Donna shrinks further back into the couch, trying to make herself as small as possible. Being with the Doctor had made her forget exactly what had been said and hurt she had been at the time. Jack doesn't allow this and pulls her up properly and looks her in the eye.

"You're wonderful and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Even him." He nods over towards Ten. She nods but still looks unconvinced. He keeps his arm firmly around her shoulders.

Donna tells him she loves him but he simply states that is what made it easy. He turns back to the Doctor, saying the human race is nothing and the Empress can give him the opportunity to see what's out there.

"So he does believe she won't eat him the second she's done with him. He definitely is stupid." Rose scoffs.

The Empress asks who the Doctor is and Lance says Martian. The Doctor corrects he is just sort of homeless, asking what is in the hole. Lance says he thinks the Doctor wants them to talk.

"Actually I want her to talk. You can just shut up." Nine mutters angrily.

He says tough they only need Donna. The Empress orders the Doctor to be killed. Donna moves in front of him telling them not to hurt him. He tells her it's alright but she insists she won't hurt them.

"That's very brave of you." Jack tells Donna.

"Well they wanted me and Lance was my fiance. I couldn't let them hurt him."

"Thanks Donna." Ten tells her quietly. They both smile at each other and Rose watches in approval. She's glad that someone looks out for the Doctor so well.

The robots point their guns at the Doctor. The Doctor keeps talking and the Empress tells them to take aim. He states he wants to point out the obvious. She assures him they won't hit the bride.

"Not what I meant but I'm glad her safety is a priority." Ten smirks.

He keeps babbling and then states that the particles drew Donna inside the ship. Reverse them and it comes to her. The Doctor turns the knob on the Huon container. The Empress shouts fire and the TARDIS builds itself like smoke around Donna and the Doctor.

"Wicked." Mickey exclaims.

"Yeah, until they work out that trick works in both ways. If they leave, the Empress can probably draw them straight back." Nine points out.

"Don't be such a spoilsport." Rose laughs. "Let us enjoy success for a few seconds."

They dematerialise as the Empress shouts for her key. He explains that he lied before about not having a time machine. As he is talking, Donna looks like she is about to cry.

"I know you don't do emotions and stuff too much but you could at least try some form of comfort." Rose tells him.

"She might have slapped me again." Ten mock whispers.

"Probably because you put your foot in your mouth, you could still have tried." Sarah-Jane tells him.

He states they are now they are going back to when Earth was formed.

"Wow, that's so cool." Rose grins.

The Empress states that if the key is lost another must be cut. The robots turn their guns onto Lance. On the TARDIS, the Doctor announces they have arrived. Donna is sat on the jumpseat, miserable. He asks if she wants to see.

"I thought the view might cheer her up." Ten tells them.

"It was beautiful." Donna agrees.

She agrees but he decides the scanner is too small and goes to the door. He tells her to come on, no human has seen this before. Donna replied all she wants to see is her bed.

"It was better than bed." She acknowledges with a slight smile.

"I should hope so." Ten tells her firmly.

He opens the door and welcomes her to the creation of the Earth. Lumps of rock floating around a dust covered sun. He explains they have gone back 4.6 billion years.

"Wow." Everyone gapes at the screen.

"It's beautiful." Sarah-Jane smiles happily

She asks where the Earth is and he tells her it is in the dust. Donna states that puts the wedding in perspective, saying they are tiny.

"That's what makes you so brilliant." Nine smiles proudly at his future companions.

The Doctor tells her that is what humans do. Make sense out of chaos. Donna asks if she came from all this and he agrees it's brilliant. A large rock drifts past and Donna says she thinks that is the Isle of Wight.

Everybody laughs.

The Doctor explains how the Earth forms from the dust and asks what the first rock was. A seven pointed star spaceship comes out of the dust cloud. Donna points it out and he says it is the Racnoss. Back with the Empress she says she can now force feed the Huon particles. A robot pours Huon particle water down Lance's throat.

"At least she doesn't need Donna now." Mickey points out.

"She won't let them get away if she can help it though." Jack frowns.

The Doctor runs back into the TARDIS, and asks what it is doing. Donna states the rocks are being attracted to the ship. He runs back to the door and says the Racnoss became the centre of the Earth.

"So Earth is made around an alien spaceship?" Rose asks in amusement.

"Seems that way." Nine answers, eyebrows raised.

There is a bang and Donna asks what that was. He states it was trouble.

"Isn't it always." Martha laughs.

The Empress calls Lance her wonderful key and tells her servants to bind him. Lance glows gold. The TARDIS is throwing them about. Donna asks what it is doing and the Doctor explains they are reversing his little trick.

"At least they waited until you figured out what you needed to." Rose laughs.

"Yeah, that was kind of them." Mickey agrees with a smirk.

Donna asks if he can stop it with a handbrake or something. He calls her a backseat driver.

Everybody laughs again.

"I don't think a handbrake is going to help too much." Jack laughs.

"Oh shut up." Donna tells him fondly.

The Doctor remembers the extrapolator. He states it can't stop them but can give a bump.

"You still have that? I'm impressed you haven't blown it up yet." Jack sniggers.

"It's very useful." Ten tells him.

Lance is ensnared in web when the Tardis appears. The Empress states the bride shall join the groom. The TADRIS starts to materialise and then dematerialises again, appearing in a corridor. He yells they are about 200 yards to the right. The Empress shouts the bride is nearby and to find her.

"Time for a little jog. Took long enough." Martha laughs.

Donna asks what they do as they arrive at a door. The Doctor listens at it with a stethoscope, saying he has no idea he is making it up as he goes along. Then tells her not to worry as he has a history.

"See, even you admit you don't have a plan and make stuff up." Rose pokes Nine in the side, sticking her tongue out at him. He rolls his eyes at her.

Donna says she still doesn't understand and he explains the Racnoss web is the centre of the Earth. When Time Lords got rid of Huon particles it got rid of their power source so they made a new key, Donna. A robot grabs Donna from behind.

"Oh great. He probably won't even notice." Mickey rolls his eyes.

"Course I will. Hard to not notice the sudden silence." Ten smirks.

"Watch it Martian boy." Donna warns him playfully.

He keeps explaining until realises she has never been so quiet.

"See."

"He does have a point." Jack sniggers. Donna elbows him.

He looks around. Then sonics the door to reveal a robot aiming a gun at him. In the main room Donna is stuck next to Lance, over the hole. Donna tells him she hates him and he replied they are a bit beyond that.

"Not really, she still has every right to hate you. You being in that mess is your own fault." Rose snaps.

The Empress mocks them, asking if they want to be released. She makes them say 'I do' before saying she doesn't and orders the particles to be activated.

"I bloody hate spiders." Donna grumbles.

Donna and Lance glow. She calls for them to be released. The Huon particles zoom straight down into the hole dug by Torchwood. She says the secret heart will be unlocked. Donna asks what is down there and Lance calls her thick again.

"Oi! She's had a long day." Jack states angrily.

"Yeah, I think she's following as well as anyone considering the day she's had." Sarah-Jane agrees.

The spaceship starts to move towards the Earth as lots of somethings start to climb up the hole. The Empress says her babies will be hungry and to perish the web. Lance tells her to use Donna, not him.

"Pretty sure they will be hungry enough for both." Mickey rolls his eyes.

The Empress tells him he is being quite impolite to his lady friend and that she doesn't approve.

"That's the politest thing he's done in a while." Sarah-Jane states.

"At least Donna has a few seconds longer for the Doctor to get there." Martha reminds them.

The web releases Lance, and he falls into the hole. Donna screams his name. Outside, the spaceship comes down over the city and people are amazed by it until it starts shooting out energy. A little girl screams as one beam cuts through the road until someone snatches her out of its way.

"Oh god." Rose covers her mouth.

A robot walks up the steps. The Empress tells the Doctor to unmask. He says it was worth a try. He tells Donna he has her. He points his sonic screwdriver at Donna, and the web starts to give way. She cries that she will fall. He assures her she will swing and that he has her.

"You're not going to catch her are you?" Mickey sniggers.

"Not even close." Donna sighs, mock glaring at Ten.

Screaming, Donna swings across the hole, past the Empress and stops underneath the landing where the Doctor is standing. The strand of web was just six feet too long. She drops to the ground with a clang.

Everyone winces.

"Ouch." Jack says, trying not to laugh.

The Doctor looks pained and calls out sorry. Donna tells him thanks for nothing. He tells the Racnoss he will give her one last chance, that he will find a planet for them to live. She declines. He states that whatever happens next it her doing.

Ten's face grows grave. Rose hugs him tighter.

"You gave her a chance. Nothing you could do." She assures him.

"You don't know that." He tells her.

"I do." She states firmly.

She tells her guards to take aim. He simply tells them to relax and they slump down. Donna asks what he did and he pulls out a remote control. He states he has pockets.

"So not the time to be showing off." Sarah-Jane rolls her eyes at him.

"Always time for showing off." Nine grins.

She asks how the control fit in his pocket and he tells her they are bigger on the inside. The Empress states her children will feast on Martian flesh. He tells her he isn't from Mars. His planet is far away and gone but the name lives on. Gallifrey.

Rose keeps hugging Ten tightly, feeling him go stiff at the name, and squeezes Nine's hand.

The Empress clearly does not like this name and she screams out they murdered the Racnoss. The Doctor tells her she did this. He takes some Christmas tree decorations from another pocket.

"You're going to blow the place up? Very you." Rose laughs, trying to lighten the mood.

"Going to blow it up, with you and Donna still inside?" Jack's eyes widen.

"Still safer than when MIckey blew up Downing Street with us in." Ten shrugs.

She keeps screaming for him not to. The Doctor throws the baubles into the air then uses the remote to direct them. He uses some to blow holes in the corridor wall to let the Thames in, whilst the rest surround the Empress. Fires break out, and manhole covers burst under the pressure. Water comes flooding into the lair and down the hole. Alien screams come upwards. The Empress screams for her children. Donna yells that the Doctor can stop now and he looks down at the chaos he has made for a few seconds.

"Doctor! Move!" Rose calls at him.

"I'm right here." He assures her.

He then calls to Donna to come on, it's time he got her out of there. Soaked to the skin, the Doctor and Donna head up the stairs. The Empress is beamed up. She states they will so suffer and the planet will be scorched. As they climb, Donna asks about the Empress. The Doctor explains she has used up all the Huon energy and is defenceless. An army tank rumbles down a street, then aims its turret at the spaceship. Someone says that Mister Saxon orders them to fire at will.

Ten suddenly goes rigid and glares at the screen almost as viciously as he does when Torchwood's name comes up. However Rose spots a hint of sadness underneath.

"You ok?" She whispers, noticing that Nine has not reacted the same way. He nods but his expression doesn't change.

Missiles pound the spaceship, which falls to pieces then explodes over Canary Wharf. The Doctor and Donna stand on gate 8 of the flood barrier, laughing. Donna says there is one problem, they drained the Thames.

"Typical." Jack laughs.

The TARDIS is parked on a road. They emerge and he says he knew the TARDIS would be alright. He adds she can survive anything. Donna states that is more than she has done.

"You've survived a lot today." Jack assures her.

He gives her a quick sonic scan and tells her the particles are all gone.

"Good."Everyone says happily.

Donna says she missed her wedding, lost her job and became a widow on the same day. The Doctor sadly says he couldn't save him. Donna states her deserved it. Then changes her mind and says he didn't before saying she had better get inside. He states it is the best Christmas present they could have.

"Not really." Donna sighs under her breath. Jack frowns at her and she realises she hadn't been quiet enough. She shakes her head she doesn't want to explain.

He then remembers Donna doesn't like Christmas. She agrees. He asks if she hates it even if it snows. The Doctor makes the Tardis lamp turn yellow and fire off a bolt of energy into the sky. Instant snow shower. She exclaims she can't believe he did that. He calls it a basic atmospheric excitation and she wishes him a merry Christmas.

"At least you made it home for Christmas. Could have been July knowing his driving." Rose laughs.

"And it was the right Christmas too." Donna agrees with a smile.

He asks what she will do now and she says travel. He offers her to come with him but she declines.

"Wow, so you asked both me and Donna twice." Rose smiles widely.

"Yet I'd never done it before you." Nine grumbles.

"You're becoming an old softie." Jack teases.

"I am not." Ten protests.

He says ok and Donna rushes on that she can't, asking if he always lives like that. He denies this but she states she things he does. He tells her it is beautiful out there and she retorts it's also terrible. The place was flooding and burning and he just stood there.

Ten looks down, shamefaced. He had no intention of admitting that if Donna had not been there he would have let himself die there. He had not wanted to continue on without Rose, nor did he felt he deserved to after slaughtering another entire race.

Donna adds that then he made it snow and he scares her to death.

"Yes, snow is downright terrifying." Mickey laughs.

He looks sad as he says right. Donna offers to do Christmas dinner though. He denies he does that sort of thing. She reminds him he did it last year.

"That was different." Nine tells her.

"I know that now." Donna nods.

She adds her mum cooks enough for twenty. He groans and then says alright. He tells her to go first and warn them but not to tell them he is Martian.

"I wasn't going to anyway." Donna rolls her eyes.

"I didn't know that." Ten smirks.

He adds he needs to park her properly. The Doctor goes into the Tardis, and the engines start up. She yells at him and the TARDIS stops dematerialising. He pops back out saying that she can shout. She asks if she will ever see him again and he says she will if he is lucky.

"And I was very lucky." Ten grins at her.

"Damn right you were."

She asks him to promise her he will find someone. He denies needing anyone.

"You so do, even if it's just someone to show off to." Mickey states.

"No, we need someone to remind us of the important things." Ten smiles.

Donna tells him he needs someone to stop him. He thanks her and tells her to be magnificent.

"She already is." Jack grins.

She says she thinks she will. He goes back inside but she calls him again. He comes out saying what now and she asks for his friend's name. He tells her the name was Rose in an emotional voice. The TARDIS starts to dematerialise, then shoots straight up into the sky before vanishing. The screen goes black.

"Well that means I think Martha is up next." Ten tells the room.

"Brilliant." Mickey grins. "Let's get to it."