Promised One 2

by arielle.dawnn

A continuation of season one with my OC Layla.

13. The Runaway Bride

The Doctor watches as Layla continues to pace in her room. Seeing that she is getting herself worked up, he steps in the middle of her path. He wraps his arms around her and holds her tightly. "Everything will be alright, Love. Jackie's not mad and will help us. Rose might be upset, but she will be okay in time."

Layla hugs him tightly. "I know. But I think she is going to hate me. She is a very emotion driven person. When her and Shareen fought over a guy, they had bad rows. But she never loved the guy, only liked. You've seen how she has pulled away from me since we started traveling. I think this will be the ending of our friendship, if she even considers us friends anymore now."

"Take this from me, someone who has had to say goodbye to a lot of friendships over time. Sometimes you just have to let people go. Not everyone in your life is meant to be there long periods, just part of the journey. So you need to treasure the time you had with her, because if she does leave you, then those memories are all you'll have left. They shouldn't be forgotten because the things that were truly meaningful and beautiful will live with your memories." The Doctor kisses the top of her head as he remembers back to his own friendships he lost. "One thing you have to remember is that when we bond, your lifespan matches my own. We are going to befriend many other people and we will lose them too. To distance and death, even by their own choice. But even though we will lose them, we will always have each other to help us through those lost friendships."

Layla shudders as she listens to him and realizes that he is right. She had already been thinking about how Rose didn't seem to want to be friends anymore. But while their friendship seems like its ending on a bad note, Layla knows she will always be fond of her friendship with Rose. Layla pulls back from their embrace and gives him a soft kiss. "Thank you. That helps a lot. I think it will take some time, but I'll be fine. I have you to help."

"Of course you do."

Layla drops her arms from around him and straightens her shoulders. "Alright. I'm ready. Let's get this over with and then we can bond." Layla checks to make sure she is ready for the day and looks towards the ceiling. "Love, are we safe to leave?" The Tardis groans in confirmation. The Tardis has been helping them with being able to leave Layla's room without Rose catching the Doctor coming from said room.

The Doctor gets Layla's attention before she heads for the door. "Don't forget your gifts for Jackie."

Layla had forgotten and goes to her desk to grab them. She turns to the Doctor with a cheeky smile and puts them in her pockets that are now like his. She had always said she wanted one and now she has them. The Doctor laughs and goes towards the door and opens it, waiting for her to leave first. As she passes him, he catches her wrist and pulls her towards him for one last kiss. "Things will be fine, Love."

Xxxxxx

Layla sits the book she had been trying to read down and wipes her eyes when she feels the tears on her face. She thought things would be okay. She thought things would be painful, but simple. She had never expected what happened. She never expected to lose her family all in one day. They are not dead, no. But they are unreachable to her. Forever. The Doctor looks at her with reddened eyes. He wraps his arms around her collapsed form and holds her tightly as they both tremble. She lets out a strangled sob and grips his shirt tightly, needing to hold onto him. The Doctor's hearts hurt for his love. For what she lost. It was something she was going to have to get used to though. So all he can do is hold her tight as she falls apart and help her rebuild the pieces.

Xxxxxx

"I've got a surprise for you. Any second now your grandpa Prentice will visit."

"He died mum, ten years ago." Rose told her softly.

"Oh I know. Ten past. Here he comes." Jackie gave them a happy smile. Layla, Rose, and the Doctor's mouth had dropped open when they saw an ethereal humanoid shape appear and stand beside Jackie.

Xxxxxx

The Doctor ran outside with the others following him. He looked around, alarmed, at how many of these 'ghosts' appeared. Jackie looked at him smug. "They haven't got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade."

"What do you mean, shift? Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?" The Doctor asks. His brow was scrunched up in confusion and he had grabbed Layla's hand, pulling her away from any of the 'ghosts' that had gotten too close.

Xxxxxx

"When did it start? Worldwide?"

Jackie shrugged her shoulders. "About two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning and there they all were. Everyone freaked out. No sign of you to help. But everyone got used to them. Made us realize how lucky we were.

"What makes you think it's granddad?" Rose asked her.

"It just feels like him. There's the smell of those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"

Xxxxxx

"It's a psychic link. You want your dad to be alive. You're wishing him into existence. I'm sorry Jackie. There is no smell. No Cigarettes. Just a memory." The Doctor told her softly.

"But they're human! You can see them. They look human!" Jackie protested.

"Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot."

Xxxxxx

"When's the next shift?"

"Quarter to. Don't cause any trouble though." Jackie warned him.

"Is it the Gelth?" Rose asked.

"No, they were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transporting themselves over the whole planet."

"Can't you just leave it alone? Why can't it be real? Think of all the people that have been lost. Don't you think it's beautiful?" Jackie asked him, hoping that he could see her side of this.

The Doctor had just given her a look. "I think it's horrific."

"Jackie, there has to be some reason why these 'ghosts' appeared out of thin air. Aren't you a little bit curious as to why they all of a sudden come about?" Layla asked her while helping the Doctor and Rose set up the Doctor's equipment.

Xxxxxx

"Here we go!" They could hear the excitement in the Doctor's voice. The ghost he had caught started writhing in the field. "Don't like that much, do you? Who are you? Where are you coming from? Whoa!" The 'ghost' had tried to break out of the field. "That's more like it! Not so friendly now, are you?" The Doctor grabs his equipment when the shift is over and rushes into the Tardis. "I said so! Those 'ghosts' have been forced into existence form one specific point, and I can track down the source. Allons-y!"

Xxxxxx

"My mum's still on board." Rose had muttered.

The Doctor's face and transformed into a look of horror. Jackie looked at him with narrowed eyes. "If I end up on Mars I'll kill you."

The Doctor ignores her and sees on the monitor that they are surrounded by a bunch of soldiers. "Well there goes our advantage of surprise." He looks at Layla and Rose. "Stay in here, look after Jackie."

"Doctor, they've got guns." Rose pointed out.

"And I don't. Makes me the better person, don't you think?"

"Doctor, be careful. Try not to sass them too much. Or I'll hide your banana's from you for a week." Layla threatened him.

Xxxxxx

"It was only a matter of time until you found us. Welcome to Torchwood." The woman had said. She lead them on a tour of the building, pointing out all of the alien technology they had gathered. "For the British Empire."

"There isn't a British Empire." Jackie pointed out.

The woman gave them a sly smirk. "Not yet."

Xxxxxx

"What's your name?" The Doctor asked the question again.

"Yvonne. Yvonne Hartman."

Jackie saw a truck taking the Tardis away. "Oi, where are you taking that?"

"If it's alien, it's ours." Yvonne said it in a matter-of-fact way.

"You'll never get inside." The Doctor gave her a smug grin and watched as she just huffed.

Xxxxxx

"Her Majesty created Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great and fighting the alien horde."

"Does this mean I am a prisoner?"

Yvonne scowls slightly. "Had we caught you before, alone, then yes you technically would be. But since you are here with your…wife, then you are welcomed into the Empire."

Jackie chokes on her spit and Layla leans over to whisper to her, explaining what happened. While she was doing that, Yvonne took them to a room with a giant sphere floating in the air. "What do you make of this?"

"This is a void ship."

"There is something inside of it then?" Yvonne asked excitedly.

"Oh yes." He told them while he had sent Layla a worried look.

"How do we get in there?" Rajesh asked.

"We don't! Send it back to the void!" The Doctor grabbed Layla's hand and held it tightly, wanting to show her the seriousness of the situation.

Xxxxxx

"Look for yourself. The next ghost shift's in two minutes."

The Doctor stepped closer to her. "Cancel it."

Yvonne shook her head. "I don't think so."

Xxxxxx

"It's the ear pods. It's controlling them. We've seen this before. I'm so sorry." He held his sonic to the ear pod and disabled them. "They're dead."

"You killed them!" Jackie accused him. She held Layla's hand tightly in disbelief.

"No, Jackie. He didn't. They were already dead. Trust me on this. We have seen this before." Layla remembered back before and felt that same anger grow.

Xxxxxx

"What are they?" Yvonne asked, worried about what was to come.

"Cybermen!"

Xxxxxx

"There invading the whole planet." Yvonne uttered through trembling lips.

"It's not an invasion. It's too late for that. It's a victory." The Doctor told her as he stood close to Layla.

Xxxxxx

"Identify yourselves."

"You will identify first."

"Daleks do not take orders."

"You have identified as Daleks."

"Outline resembles the inferior species known as Cybermen."

Xxxxxx

"Quarantine the sphere chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with the personnel." The cybermen take Yvonne, Jackie, and Layla.

"No! Layla! I demand you leave her alone! I won't help if you hurt her! NO m!" The Doctor had screamed as he tried to reach for her, but the cybermen were blocking his way.

Xxxxxx

"No!" Jackie screams as she was brought forward for her upgrading.

"Leave her alone Tin Man!" Layla tried to get Jackie free.

Xxxxxx

Jackie and Layla stopped running down the stairs as Jackie's phone rang. "Oh, my god, help us!"

The Doctor sighs in relief that they are alive. "I need you to listen. Where are you?"

Jackie looks around the stairwell. "N3."

"North corner, staircase three. Just keep low, we're on our way to get you. Tell Layla I love her, please. Stay safe."

"No! Don't leave us!"

Xxxxxx

Layla and Jackie have been running all over to avoid the cybermen but finally get caught. "You will be upgraded."

"No, but you can't. Please." Jackie pleaded while standing in front of Layla, trying to protect her.

Xxxxxx

"It's a prison ship." The Doctor says uneasily.

"How many Daleks?" Rose questioned.

"Millions."

Xxxxxx

"But it's like you said. We've all got void stuff. Me too, because we went to that parallel world. We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in." Rose ventured.

The Doctor looked at her sadly. "That's why you've got to go." He was only talking to Rose though. He knew that he couldn't let Layla leave him nor would she allow him to send her away.

Xxxxxx

"I can't leave him Jackie. You're like a mother to me, but he is my soulmate. Please don't ask me to go." Layla pulled Jackie away from the others and pleaded.

Jackie looked at her with tears in her eyes. "I'm not going to ask. Stay safe."

Xxxxxx

"I'm supposed to go." Rose asked him flatly. "What about Layla? You didn't say anything about her."

"I'm staying Rose. I asked the Doctor to help me find any blood relatives I have and I would like the chance to meet them." Layla jumped in with a flimsy lie. She didn't want Rose to find out about their bond now. Not like this.

Xxxxxx

"I'm not going! I've lived with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor, and all the things I've seen him do for me, for you, for all of us. For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum. But not anymore, because now he's got me." Layla and the Doctor looked at Rose with disbelief. The Doctor took the medallion from Pete and put it around Rose's neck. Pete pressed the button and they left. Leaving behind the Doctor and Layla.

Xxxxxx

"Once the breach collapses, that's it. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!" The Doctor had snarled at Rose, angered that she would give up her family for a man that had no feelings for her.

Rose looked at him defiantly. "I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never going to leave you. So what can I do to help?"

Xxxxxx

"Cybermen are on their way up. One floor down." Rose alerted the Doctor.

Xxxxxx

The Doctor gives Rose a magnaclamp and they put one on each side of the levers. "Push the red button. When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us but the daleks and the cybermen are steeped in void stuff. Are you ready?"

The Doctor pulls Layla over to their clamp, ignoring the look Rose sends them. The Doctor and Layla wrapped one arm around the magnaclamp and each other with the other. "The breach is open! Into the void! Ha!"

Xxxxxx

"Offline."

"I've got to get it upright!" Rose had let go of her clamp and grabbed onto the lever, pulling it to turn on again.

"Online and locked."

Layla and the Doctor watch in horror as Rose is pulled off the lever and heading towards the void. Before she is sucked inside, Pete appears, grabs her, and they disappear together.

Xxxxxx

"Layla! Wake up, love." The Doctor is shaking her shoulders, trying to rouse her from her sleep. Layla cries out and grabs the Doctor's arms tightly as she finally wakes up. The Doctor rubs her sweat soaked hair. "It's alright love. Just breathe."

Layla wraps her arms around his chest as she works on easing her breathing. "Does it get easier?" She mumbles out. The sorrow in her voice was loud and clear.

"It does, love. It will always hurt, but it eases over time. The sharp, jagged, edges of your hurt will blunt overtime. You will always miss them, but you won't breakdown whenever you think of them with time. The way they left was rough, so it is to be expected to affect us more. But we've been searching for a crack and the Tardis found one. It will be big enough for us to say goodbye. Go take a relaxing shower and then we can say our farewells. After that we can travel and when you're feeling better, we can get started on the bonding."

"I don't want to wait. I want to find the perfect place to bond after we talk to Rose. Just like we planned. I knew we were going to lose Rose when we told her of our bond, and while this loss is more permanent than what I had imagined, it was a loss that was always going to happen. We had waited so long to tell Rose about our bond to the point she was willing to throw her time with her mother away for you. They are safe. She is safe. I can deal with the loss, but I don't want to wait to live because they are no longer part of my life. I want to live every day to its fullest. Tomorrow is not promised. I love you, Doctor."

The Doctor gives her a soft smile and a tender kiss. "I love you too."

Xxxxxx

The Doctor and Layla are standing by the console, waiting for Rose to appear. When she finally gets to where they were able to meet her, Layla moves off to the side and motions for Jackie and Mickey to come over to her. Jackie looks at her with a smile and tears in her eyes. Mickey looks at her happily. "How long do you have?"

"About two minutes. I figure this would be the best time to say a proper goodbye, without the possibility of death and the void. How are you two?"

"We're good, love. We're expecting another Tyler soon. Six months before they arrive." Jackie rubs her stomach and a brilliant smile on her face.

Layla looks at her and can see the glow on her. She is happy that Jackie is finally happy. Complete. Layla knew that Jackie had missed Pete terribly and to be able to be with him now and have another child must mean everything to her. She looks at Mickey with a grin. "Ready to change more nappies?"

Mickey grimaced good naturally. "I'll have you know that I am a nappy changing professional. Ricky and Kayla let me babysit often."

"I can see that. You have some spittle on your shirt." Layla laughed at Mickey frantically looking at his shirt for said spittle.

"Is the Doctor telling Rose about the bond? Or do I need to tell her?" Jackie questioned quietly. Mickey didn't look confused so Layla assumed that Jackie had mentioned it to him.

"No. He didn't want to put that on her since she will never be able to see him again. He is hoping that distance will allow her feelings to fade and she can move on. He worries that if he told her now, she would be too bitter to move on. Besides, she would never believe you even if you told her. We believe this to be kinder than dropping that bombshell on her. Our time is almost up. I wish I could give you both a hug. But I love you two. I hope you have fantastic lives."

Nothing more is said as their images fade away and it is only the Doctor and Layla left in the console. Layla looks at the Doctor with red eyes, but free of tears. "How did your talk go, love?" The Doctor asked her gently. He hoped it had gone better than his conversation with Rose.

"It was great. Jackie has Pete again and building their family. Mickey seems to be happy with his life. Changing nappies all the time. How was your talk with Rose?"

"Not good honestly. She wanted me to cross over to see her. Kept hinting towards her feelings before outright telling me she loved me. Honestly I was glad our time to talk was up. I wasn't sure how to respond to her. Part of me still wanted to tell her of the bond, but the other wanted to keep her from being upset like we agreed." The Doctor walks around the console to input some coordinates when he looks up and sees a woman in a wedding dress standing right there in their Tardis. "What?"

Layla turns to see what he is looking at and the woman turns around to face them at the same time. "Oh!"

"What?" The Doctor looked at her baffled. Layla was starting to giggle, finding it humorous that the Doctor was so confused. She didn't know what was going on, but the woman seemed just as confused as the Doctor.

"Who are you two?" The woman demands.

"But…" The Doctor starts before she cuts him off.

"Where am I, eh?"

"What?"

The woman looks around the console. "What the hell is this place?"

The Doctor just continued to look at her with wide eyes. "What?" He pinches Layla's side as she continues to laugh at him and their apparent guest. "You can't do that. We weren't… We're in flight. That is… That is physically impossible. How did you…" The Doctor sputters.

"Tell me where I am. I demand you tell me right now where am I?"

"Inside the Tardis." The Doctor tells her.

"The what?"

"The Tardis."

"The what?"

"The Tardis!" He says it louder thinking she had some hearing loss.

"The what?"

He sighs as if he was truly suffering. "It's called the Tardis."

"That's not even a proper word! You're just saying things!"

Layla is laughing so hard the Doctor and the woman both turn to her with different looks. Layla looks at the Doctor. "She's great. Can we keep her?"

The Doctor looks at her horrified. He didn't want a stranger on their ship, and certainly not one who was confusing the hell out of him. "No! We can't just keep random people." He turns back to the woman. "How did you get in here?"

"Well, obviously, 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."

"Who the hell is Nerys?"

"Your best friend." The woman sneered.

"Hold on, wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?" Layla looks at the Doctor exasperated that he couldn't see why she would be dressed in a wedding dress.

"I'm going ten pin bowling. What do you think, dumbo? I…"

"Alright miss. Please calm down. We didn't kidnap you. We were about to find a place to visit when the Doctor noticed you here. You're in the Tardis. A spaceship."

The woman looked at Layla with wide eyes, not believing a word she was saying. She turned towards the doors determined to leave them. "No! Wait a minute! Don't!" The Doctor rushes after her to stop her. She gets to the doors first and opens them wide. Her jaw drops and eyes widen as she looks outside to see a nebula. "You're in space. Outer space. This is our space ship. It's called the Tardis."

"Who are you two?" She stutters out as she watches outside in awe.

"I'm the Doctor. She is Layla. You?

"Donna."

"Human?" The Doctor asked her curiously.

"Yeah. Is that optional?"

The Doctor shrugged. "It is for me. Layla is human though."

"You're an alien?" Donna shivers and closes the doors. "It was freezing with the doors open."

The Doctor finally remembers that there is a total stranger somehow in his and Layla's Tardis. "I don't understand that and I understand everything. This can't happen. There is no way a human being can lock themselves onto the Tardis and transport inside. It must be…" He grabs one of his tools and uses it to look into Donna's eyes. "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…" His rambling stops when Donna slaps him across the face. "What was that for?" He looks at Donna mystified. He sends Layla a pout as he heard her laugh.

"Just like Jackie!"

"Get me to the church!" Donna cuts in with a demand.

"Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"

Donna had rambled off the address when she spotted a shirt on the rail. "I knew it, acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?" Donna turns towards Layla. "Did he get you too?"

The Doctor looks at her indignant. "No I didn't abduct her or anyone else." He grabs the shirt from Donna and stuffs it into a bin. "That is our friend's." He tells her curtly, wanting to move on and not make Layla sad by thinking of Rose.

"Where is she, then? Popped out for a spacewalk?"

"She's gone." He mutters through clenched teeth. He could see that Layla was starting to get upset and he wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her to him. "We lost her."

"Well you can hurry up and lose me!" Donna pauses for a second and looks at their faces and posture. "How do you mean, lost?"

The Doctor clears his throat. "Right, Chiswick."

Xxxxxx

As soon as the Tardis landed they exited out the doors. Donna looked around in disbelief. "I said, Saint Mary's. What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?"

The Doctor ignored her though. "Something's wrong with her. The Tardis, it's like she's recalibrating! She's digesting. What is it? What have you eaten? What's wrong?"

"What did you break now Doctor? You are always making our poor girl sick." Layla teased him while gently rubbing the Tardis.

The Doctor gives her an indignant look and then turns to Donna. "Donna? You've really got to think. Is there anything that might've caused this?" He watches as Donna ignores him as she does the usual circling of the Tardis that others have done. "Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off. What if you're dangerous. I mean, have you, have you seen lights in the sky or did you touch something? Something different, something strange? Or something made out of a box or 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? Donna!" He cries after her when he sees her quickly walking away from them.

"Smooth Doctor. You sure know how to handle women. She is overwhelmed and missing her wedding. She isn't going to think about what is happening right now that caused her to transmit." Layla says as she grabs his hand and follows after Donna.

"I know, but I just don't understand how she did it. Donna!" The Doctor calls after her.

"Leave me alone. I just want to get married."

"We know how you feel. We were on our way to ours too. But you have to come back to the Tardis with us." Layla tried to soothe her.

"No way. That box is too weird."

The Doctor waves her off. "It's just bigger on the inside, that's all."

"Oh! That's all?" Donna looks as a nearby clock. "Ten past three. I'm going to miss it."

"You can phone them. Tell them where you are." The Doctor gives her an option.

"How do I do that?" Donna looked at him, do aliens use phones?

"Haven't you got a mobile?" The Doctor looked at her with scrunched eyebrows. Don't all humans have mobiles now a days? Layla looked at him and looked to the sky as if asking for patience.

Donna looked at him incredulously. "I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets on their wedding dress? When I went to my fitting at Chez Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is to give me pockets!"

"This man you're marrying. What's his name?" The Doctor asked her.

"Lance."

"Good luck, Lance." The Doctor muttered loud enough for Donna and Layla to hear.

Layla slaps his arm slightly. "Not helping, love."

"Oi! No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married. To hell with you!" Donna takes off, affronted.

"I'm… I'm not… I'm not from Mars." The Doctor pouts.

Layla is laughing at him. The pain from losing her family is pushed to the back of her mind with this comical woman. "It's alright love. She'll come around. I am worried about her though and the sooner we solve this problem, the sooner we can bond." Layla trails her fingers down the Doctor's chest slowly. The Doctor purses his lips, torn between taking Layla back to the Tardis and going after Donna. But Donna shouting for a taxi makes his choice.

"Taxi!" Donna shouts but the car passes right by her without stopping. "Why's his light on?"

"There's another one!" The Doctor shouts and waves his arms frantically. Layla looks at both of them in severe amusement. This predicament is definitely helping me feel better.

"Stay off the sauce, darling!" A taxi driver shouts.

Donna's mouth drops open. "They think I'm drunk."

"You're fooling no one, mate!" Some men shout from their cars.

"They think I'm in drag!" Donna's face dropped and hurt shined through her eyes.

"Hey you wankers! I'll kick your arse!" Layla shouted at them, angry for hurting Donna. "Ignore them, sweetheart. They are imbeciles. You definitely look like a woman, and a beautiful one at that."

Donna gives her a grateful smile. Her mom was always so critical of her and it was nice to hear this total stranger compliment her. While they were talking the Doctor had continued to flag down taxis. Getting frustrated he stopped. "Hold on, hold on." He puts his fingers in his mouth and does a piercing whistle. A taxi does a quick U-turn and pulls up in front of them. The Doctor opens the door and ushers Donna in first. He gets in next and pulls Layla onto his lap, holding her tightly. He sighs as he touches her, but grunts as she wiggles. He pinches her side when he hears her giggle.

"Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road. It's an emergency. I'm getting married. Just hurry up!" Donna rushes out quickly while holding her dress close to her to keep from spilling over everywhere.

"You know it'll cost you, Sweetheart? Double rates today." The taxi drive mentioned to them as they started to drive off.

Donna's eyes widen and turns to the two strangers with her. "Oh, my god. Have you got any money?"

Layla bites her lip to keep from laughing as the Doctor stammers. "Er, no. Haven't you?"

Donna throws her hands up in exasperation. "Pockets!"

The Taxi driver hears them and slams on the brakes. "Get out, or I can give you a ride for a date with the white-haired cutie." He shoots Layla a wink.

The Doctor glares at him and tightens his hold on Layla. He opens the door quickly and gets out while still holding onto Layla. "Screw off! She's mine!"

Donna was also upset for Layla. "And that goes double for your mother! I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about Christmas spirit."

The Doctor hadn't let go of Layla but tilted his head in confusion. "Is it Christmas?"

"Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve." Donna looks around and spots something. "Phone box! We can reverse the charges!"

The three of them run over towards the phone. "How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" The Doctor asked her.

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas." Donna says as she thinks back to the awful Christmas's she has delt with. "Honeymoon, Morocco. Sunshine, lovely. What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?"

The Doctor, not wanting to admit that he doesn't know since he has never had to do it, uses his sonic on the phone. "Just call direct."

Donna tilts her head. "What did you do?"

"Something… Martian. Now phone. I'll get the money!" The Doctor grabs Layla's hand and they join the queue for the ATM.

"Christmas huh…" Layla mumbles softly. The Doctor hears the sadness in her voice and wraps his arm around her shoulders. He pulls her towards him and kisses the top of her head. "At least you're more awake and fashionable this time." Layla states in an attempt to cheer herself up.

"Hey, those grandpa jammies were quite fashionable if I do say so myself."

"You think everything you wear is fashionable. Didn't you tell me you once wore celery on your lapel?"

"Hey!" The Doctor shushes her as he sees the person in front of them look back with a look of amusement. "I told you that in the strictest of confidence."

The Doctor turns away with a pout and Layla giggles. She wraps her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry love." She grabs his tie and pulls him down and whispers into his ear. "I'll make it up to you tonight, anything you want."

The Doctor shivers as he feels her breath across his ear and his body heats up pleasantly. He grabs her hips and pulls them towards him so she can feel his burgeoning erection. "I'll hold you to that, love." It is finally their turn to use the ATM and the Doctor uses his sonic on the machine. Money instantly pops out and he grabs it before grabbing Layla's hand and running back to Donna.

"Oh! That's how you get money for your dates! Naughty, naughty, Doctor!" Layla teases him.

"You can punish me for it later, we have to deal with Donna first."

"Oh, I intend to, Doctor. I promise you that." Layla says back with a husky voice. The Doctor's hearts stutter in excitement.

"Wait a minute…" The Doctor mutters as he catches sight of familiar looking Santa's playing with brass instruments. He looks towards Donna as he hears her shouting for a taxi. "Donna! Wait!" He sees the driver is being driven by another Santa. His eyes widen as he remembers where he had seen them before, back right after he regenerated. They get to the taxi just as it pulls away quickly. "Dammit. Come on love, back to the Tardis."

They get back and the Doctor directs Layla on what to do with the console. Sparks fly up though and he hits the console with the mallet. "Behave!"

"Dammit Doctor, I told you to stop doing that! I'm going to hide that mallet from you." Layla sent a scowl to him. The Tardis grumbled but did what the Doctor wanted, even though he wasn't piloting right.

"You can add that to my punishment later Layla! We have to get Donna away from the robot Santas. I'll steer and you grab her. Here take this, you might need it. Be careful, love." He hands her his sonic.

She runs to the door, throwing them open as Doctor steers the Tardis as best as he could, using the monitors nearby to see what was happening outside. Once the Doctor gets close to the taxi Layla shouts to Donna to get her attention. "Open the door!"

"Do what?" Donna shouted back.

"Open the door!" She shouts again.

Donna tries to but remembers that the Santa locked her inside. "I can't it's locked!" Layla huffs but reaches out and uses the sonic on the door, unlocking it. Donna opens the window and sticks her head out. "Santa's a robot!"

"Forget that for right now! You need to open the door." Layla tells her.

"What for?" Donna asked in confusion.

"You've got to jump to me!"

Donna's mouth drops open in shock. "I'm not blinking flip jumping! I'm supposed to be getting married!" The Santa robot realizes that there is someone trying to take away his hostage and accelerates away.

"Doctor, speed up and get closer to it!" When they get closer to the taxi, she tries to convince Donna again. "Listen to me, you've got to jump!"

"I'm not jumping on a motorway." Donna looked at the ground and how fast they were driving and swallowed harshly.

"Whatever that is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now, come on!" She pleaded with her, worried for her safety.

"I'm in my wedding dress!"

"Yes, you look lovely! Come on!" Donna opens the door and Layla reaches out for her. "Can you get a little closer Doctor?"

"I'll do my best, but I can't risk crushing her so she will still have to jump." Sweat was beading on his forehead from the stress.

Donna looks down and it feels like she is about to get sick. "I can't do it. You aren't strong enough to catch me!"

"Trust us. I'll catch you!" Layla pleads.

"Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you two lost? Did she trust you two?"

A little too much in my opinion, the Doctor thought to himself as he heard her ask her question. He was still on the fence on how he felt about Rose. He knew that Layla missed her, but he honestly could say that he didn't really share that feeling. Rose caused him a lot of stress and he hated having to hide the bond, but at the time he also didn't want to hurt her feelings. Now he wishes it could have been different. He had wasted so much time he could have been with Layla to spare Rose's feelings in hope that Rose's feelings for him would go away and they never did, it only got stronger. "Yes, she did. And she isn't dead. She is alive. Now, jump!" Donna jumps out of the taxi towards her Layla grabs her and pulls harshly causing Donna to land on top of her. She flinches from having another person touching her and squirms out from under her.

The Tardis closes her doors and the Doctor pilots her into the air, but in doing so causes some of her circuits to overhead and spark. The Doctor rushes to land them to a safe spot on a rooftop. He grabs a fire extinguisher and starts to spray it on the fires on the console and ushers the girls out. "The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours. Are you two alright?"

"I'm fine love." Layla rubs the side of the Tardis, wanting to give her some comfort that the Tardis was always willing to give her.

Donna's shoulders slump. "Doesn't matter."

The time travelers look at her as she looks at the ground in dejection. "Did we miss it?" The Doctor asked her softly.

"Yeah."

"Maybe you could do it tomorrow on Christmas day and then go straight to your honeymoon?" Layla offered, wanting to cheer her up.

"Yeah and if not at least you still have the honeymoon." The Doctor jumps in trying to do the same.

Donna sighs heavily. "No, the plane leaves for Morocco early in the morning so I couldn't do it then. Just a holiday now."

"Yeah. Sorry." The Doctor apologizes sincerely.

"It's not your fault."

The Doctor's brows rise up. "Oh? That's a change."

Layla giggles because he is always getting blamed for things. She pats Donna on the shoulder. "We somewhat know what you are going through. We were on our way to get married but then you popped up. But it was just going to be the two of us, so we can do it whenever."

"I wish you had a time machine, then we could go back and get it right." Donna says miserably.

The Doctor and Layla share a look and Layla understands to keep quiet about their Tardis. The Doctor looks towards Donna. "Yeah, yeah. But even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline… Apparently."

Donna sits on the edge of the room, looking over the city. The Doctor takes off his jacket and lays it across her shoulders when he sees the goosebumps rise along her arms. He sits on one side of her and Layla on the other to give her some comfort. Donna takes the jacket and tries to pull it on her shoulders more. "God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat."

The Doctor scowls but Layla laughs. "It's alright Donna. Where he may be super skinny, he is compensated elsewhere to make up for it." She sends Donna a wink who gives her a smirk as the Doctor chokes on his spit.

"Any…anyways, you better put this on." The Doctor hands her a gold ring. He looks towards Layla. "Don't worry love, it's not your ring."

"Oh, do you have to rub it in?" Donna scrunches up her face.

"Those creatures can trace you. This is a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden. With this ring, I thee bio-damp." He slides the ring onto her finger.

"For better or for worse. So, come on then. Robot Santas, what are they for?"

"Ah, your basic robo scavenger. It was their attempt to blend in. We met them last Christmas."

"Why, what happened?" Donna asked with her head tilted to the side in curiosity.

Layla and the Doctor look at her surprised. "Great big spaceship hovering over London? You didn't notice?"

"Or the people all lined up on the roofs as if they were about to jump?" Layla questions but sees that Donna has no idea what they are talking about.

"I had a bit of a hangover."

"We spent Christmas day just over there, the Powell Estate, with Layla's family and our friend. Well, they were. Gone now."

"Your friend, who was she?"

The Doctor looks over towards Layla to see how she was with the way their conversation was going. She looked at him with slightly pained eyes, but they were free and clear of tears. He doesn't want to drag out the conversation anymore and cause her to cry though, so he moves on and ignores the question. "Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? How did you get inside the Tardis? I don't know. What's your job?"

"I'm a secretary."

The Doctor takes out his sonic and starts to scan her with it practically shoved up her nose. "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."

"Doctor! That's enough and none of it is true! You're being an arse!" Layla snaps at him angrily.

"This friend of yours. Just before she left, did she punch you in the face? Stop bleeping me!" Donna scowled, fully insulted.

The Doctor looks contrite at the scolding from his Promised One and realizes she was right. "Sorry. I spoke without thinking of what I was saying. What kind of secretary?"

"I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping. I thought I wasn't going to fit in there. But 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. That's how it started. Once cup of coffee. That was it."

"He sounds lovely, you look like you really love him." Layla tells her softly.

Donna gives her a beautiful smile. "I do; I really do."

"When was this?" The Doctor asked as he subtly continued to scan her.

"Six months ago."

"Bit quick to get married." The Doctor said amused.

"Well, he insisted."

"Hey you can't really say that, love. You asked me to marry you after one week of unofficial dates." Layla smirked at him.

He looked at her indignantly. "Our situation is a bit different though. Besides we knew each other far longer than six months." He turns back to Donna. "What does HC Clements do?"

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

"Keys…" The Doctor hums.

Donna hands back his coat and works on trying to stand in her puffy dress without stepping on it. Layla quickly stands up and helps her stand before quickly letting go. Still not used to not being able to touch people yet without feeling uncomfortable. "Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is going to be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian boy."

The Doctor ducks his head down in exasperation and pinches Layla's side causing her to giggle more than she already was. "Yeah. I'm not from Mars."

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

Xxxxxx

When they are close to the church the three of them could clearly hear music being played loudly. Donna's face starts to darken at what she is thinking is happening. The Doctor looks at her awkwardly while Layla looks at her sadly. She seems like a good person and she was so anxious and excited for her wedding and it doesn't seem like anyone missed her or was worried about her.

Donna marches up the stairs and slams open the doors. Her entrance causes the music to stop and everyone turns to look at her in surprise. "You had the reception without me?" Hurt fills her chest and she looks at everyone in betrayal.

A man, who is clearly the groom, steps away from his dance partner and comes forward with surprise clear on his face. "Donna, what happened to you?"

"You had the reception without me?" She asks again, still hurt and in disbelief that they would do that to her.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor. This is Layla." The Doctor steps forwards slightly with his awkward introduction.

Layla steps on his foot and hisses in his ear. "Not the time, love!"

Donna turns to them though. "They had the reception without me."

The Doctor tugs on his ear. "Yes, I gathered."

Layla reaches out and grabs Donna's hand, ignoring the feeling of wanting to let go. She squeezes it gently and Donna sends her a grateful look. "Yeah only arsehole's have a party while they are unsure if the bride is hurt or not when she goes missing." Layla looks at many of the guests pointedly and sees with satisfaction some of them ducking their heads with guilty looks on their faces.

"Well, it was all paid for. Why not?" The groom's dance partner sneers. Layla glares at her angrily and is pleased when the woman seems to pale slightly and look away from her.

"Thank you, Nerys." Donna sneered back at her.

A woman who had to be Donna's mother stepped forward. "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."

"Where were you the whole time?" Lance asked. Soon everyone in the room was talking all at once. But they all shut up when Donna bursts into tears. Lance comes forward and hugs her and everyone applauds, except Nerys of course. Layla and the Doctor look around in confusion wondering why they were applauding and why they hadn't shown any concern for Donna. Donna turns her head slightly and winks at the two of them and they bite their lips to keep from smiling.

The party starts back up and Donna and Lance start to dance together. The Doctor grabs Layla's hand and pulls her towards the dance floor. He holds her to him tightly as they sway. "Are you upset that we won't have a reception like this for our bonding?"

Layla runs her hands through the back of the Doctor's head. "No. We were planning on leaving Rose behind to do it anyways. And I doubt she would have welcomed us back. Jackie might have done something, but it doesn't matter now. As long as I have you then I am fine with how we do things. Besides…" She tugs on his hair semi gently and pushes her hips up against his. "I'm looking forward to the honeymoon part and a reception would just delay that." She bites her lip and looks at him with a small smirk.

The Doctor inhales sharply and he can feel himself start to harden at the images and feeling of her hips against his. "You're not playing fair, love."

Her smirk grows bigger. "I know." She continues with her soft touches and she shudders as she feels him harden against her.

The Doctor clears his throat and gives her a rough kiss. The song ends and he is grateful to have an excuse to pull away. Much more of that and I won't be able to control myself. Time for distraction. He grabs her hand and walks over towards the bar. He sees a guy playing with his phone and decides to look more into Donna's work. "Hey, can I borrow your phone for a moment, please?" As he looks more into Donna's work his face grows grave and his body stiffens.

Layla feels him tense and looks at him worried. "What's wrong, love."

"Torchwood." Was the only thing he said and her eyes widen. I thought we were done with them. The Doctor gives back the phone to the owner and his eyes catch the camera man showing the video to some of the guests.

They walk over to the camera man and asked if he had captured what happened. He nods excitedly. "Oh, I taped the whole thing. They've all had a look. They said see it to You've Been Framed. I said, more like the news. Here we go."

They watch as he plays through the video and their eyes widen as they see Donna turn into gold energy and seemingly fly off. "Can't be. Play it again?" The Doctor was hoping he was wrong about what they had seen.

"Clever, mind. Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping."

The Doctor continued to look at the video with a frown and his mouth twisted. "What is it, love? What's wrong?"

"It looks like Huon Particles."

"What's that then?" The cameraman asked.

The Doctor ignores him but still didn't look away from the golden glow of Donna on the video. "That's impossible. That's ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist anymore, not for billions of years. So old that it can't be hidden by a bio-damper!" He grabs Layla's hand and runs towards the windows. They see the robot Santas approaching building.

The Doctor and Layla took off towards Donna and pulled her to the side. "Donna! Donna, they've found you!"

Donna pales. "But you said I was safe."

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

"My god, my family."

"It's alright Donna. Stay calm. We'll get you out of here." Layla grabs her hand tightly, ignoring the wrongness, and pulls her after the Doctor as they head towards the back door. When they get there they see the Santas are already there waiting for them.

"Maybe not." The Doctor muttered. They look over towards the French windows and see more. "We're trapped." He hones in on the lead Santa and sees that it is holding a remote and remembers what happened last time. "Christmas trees."

Donna's brow furrows. "What about them?"

"They're dangerous, we need to get everyone away from it." Layla looked over towards the trees in the room and her heart stutters when she sees a lot of children around it. She takes off towards them to get them away.

The Doctor takes off after her with Donna following him. "Get away from the tree!"

"Don't touch the trees!" Donna doesn't hesitate with trying to get everyone cleared of the tree. It seemed silly that the tree could harm them but the panic on the Doctor and Layla's face convinces her of their sincerity.

"Get away from the Christmas trees! Everyone get away from them! Everyone stay away from the trees!" The Doctor is helping Layla gently guide the children away from the trees.

"Oh, for god's sakes, the man's an idiot. Why? What harm's a Christmas tree going to…Oh." Sylvia sneers starting out but her mouth drops open towards the end. The plastic baubles are floating off the trees. They start to zoom at the people and start exploding when they hit something. Everyone starts to panic when they see a guy fly through the air and land on the wedding cake.

Lance and Donna hide under a table. Layla is guiding the children around her under another table, trying to calm their tears. The Doctor sees six Santa's all lined up in front of the bar. He passes Layla and gives her a warning before quickly makes his way to the DJ's table. "Oi! Santa! Word of advice. If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don't let him near the sound system." He jams his screwdriver into the equipment and vibrations cause the robots to shake into pieces.

People are going around helping each other up and addressing the wounds that need tending to. The Doctor and Layla go to the Santas and squat down to look at the pieces. "Look at that. Remote control for the decorations, but there's a second remote control for the robots. They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."

Donna comes up to them. "Never mind all that. You're a doctor. People have been hurt."

"Nah, they wanted you alive. Look." He throws a bauble to Donna. "They're not active now."

"All I'm saying, you could help." Donna protested.

"There is a bigger concern Donna, you. Those people are being helped, but we are the only ones who can help you." Layla told her gently as she sees that no one was severely hurt.

The Doctor nodded his head in agreement. "Got to think of the bigger picture. There's still a signal!" He grabs Layla's hand and takes off outside with Donna following after having dismissed her mother. "There's someone behind this, directing the robo-forms."

"But why is it me? What have I done?"

"If we find the controller, we'll find that out." He takes his sonic and starts to scan the area. He raises his arm into the air at the readings it is giving off. "Ooo! It's up there. Something in the sky." The signal cuts off and the Doctor huffs in irritation. "I've lost the signal. Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started." He spots the groom as he walks over towards them. "Lance! Is it Lance? Lance can you give us a lift?" Lance gives him a hesitant nod and they all pile into his car.

Xxxxxx

The car ride to Donna's work is quiet and slightly awkward. The Doctor is bouncing his knee up and down in an anxious fashion. Layla puts her hand on his thigh rubbing it slightly in an attempt to help calm him down. Lance and Donna are in the front just as nervous. Donna is biting her lip in worry and still upset that the day she has been looking forward to for years has been ruined. Lance has tried to get information out of the three but they were being tight lipped about it.

When they finally pull up the Doctor immediately jumps out and pulls Layla with him. Donna is quickly on his tail while Lance lags behind slightly. "To you this is just a locksmith, but HC Clements was brought up twenty-three years ago by the Torchwood Institute." The Doctor tells Donna.

"Who are they?" She asks in confusion.

Layla and the Doctor gain a pained look on their faces. He grabs her hand holding it to give her comfort as he talks to Donna. "They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf. Cyberman invasion. Skies over London full of Daleks?"

Donna shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh, I was in Spain."

Layla looks at her with scrunched eyebrows. "Donna the Cybermen were all over the entire world that day."

Donna tilts her head. "It must have been when I was scuba diving."

The Doctor huffs slightly in amusement. "That big picture, Donna. You keep missing it. Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation."

"But what do they want with me?" She asks with worry.

The Doctor looks uncomfortable. "You've been doused with Huon energy. That's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the dark times. The only place you'd find Huon particles now is a remnant in the heart of the Tardis. Say that's the Tardis." He says while picking up a mug. "And this is you." He refers to a pencil. "The particles inside you activated. The two sets of particles magnetized and whap, you were pulled inside the Tardis." He shakes the mug and pencil and then drops the pencil into the mug.

Donna still didn't really understand where he was going with his explanation. "I'm a pencil inside a mug?"

The Doctor looks exasperated with her response. Layla giggles slightly but doesn't have another way she could explain it to make better sense. The Doctor just nods his head in agreement. "Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up." He turns to Lance to get a move on. "Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"

Lance shrugs awkwardly. "I don't know. I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager. Wait why am I even explaining myself. What the hell is going on?"

The Doctor ignores this and goes to a computer. Once he gets it to work he looks at the layout of the building. He leads them over to the lift as he explains. "They make keys, that's the point. We're on the third floor, but underneath reception, there's a basement, yes? Then how come when you look at the lift, there's a button marked lower basement? There's a whole floor which doesn't show on the official plans. So what's going on down there?"

Lance looks at him skeptically. "Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?"

The Doctor shakes his head. "No, I'm showing you this building's got a secret floor." While they were talking, Layla was sending uncertain glances at Lance. Something seems off about him. First he wasn't concerned about Donna disappearing. Not acting like a lost one was missing. Second, it seems like his skepticism is a little forced. He doesn't want to be here, trying to figure out what is wrong with Donna. Almost like he doesn't care that there is something wrong with her.

"It needs a key." Donna noticed.

The Doctor smirks and gets out his sonic. "Don't worry, I don't." When the lift opens the Doctor and Layla go inside. The Doctor looks at Donna and Lance with a cheery smile. "Right then. Thanks, you two. We can handle this. See you later."

Layla pinches his side. "Donna needs to come with us. There might be more Santa's around and you have the means to protect her. Besides this is happening to her, she deserves to see this through and we need to make sure we can help her.

"Right. No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life. I ain't letting you out of my sight." Donna agrees.

The Doctor huffs in amusement. "Going down."

Donna gets into the lift with the Doctor and Layla and looks at Lance questioningly as he has yet to enter the lift. "Lance?"

Lance looks around shiftily. "Maybe I should go to the police?" Layla narrows her eyes slightly, torn. She wants him to leave because he rubs her the wrong way but also wants him to come to keep an eye on him.

"Inside." Donna demands. Lance timidly shuffles inside the lift.

"To honor and obey?" The Doctor jokes.

"Tell me about it, mate." Lance agrees.

"Oi!" Donna huffs.

"Doctor!" Layla pinches his bum in reprimand.

The Doctor jumps slightly, startled but looks at Layla sheepishly. "Sorry love. Just trying to relieve the tension." He leans down towards her ear and quietly whispers. "I'll obey you anytime you want, of course." He lightly nips her on her ear and sends her a smirk as her breathing increases and she looks at him with slightly dilated eyes.

Going down the lift doesn't take long with the Doctor's sonic and Donna is the first to step out of the lift. "Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?" She asks as the Doctor as they walk through a huge hallway.

The Doctor shrugs as he walks hand in hand with Layla. "No idea. Let's find out."

"Do you think Mister Clements knows about this place?" Donna wonders.

"The mysterious HC Clements? Oh yeah, he is apart of it." The Doctor gets a look of glee on his face. "Oh look, transport!" He drags Layla over towards the segways against the wall.

Layla helps Donna onto one where she wasn't standing on her dress. The Doctor then 'helps' Layla onto hers. "Doctor, now is not the time to grope me." Layla says dryly before giving him a smirk. "Later though." She looks at Lance who seemed to be lagging behind slightly and narrows her eyes. He seems very reluctant to be here.

Once they are all on their segways they take off down the hallway. They get to a door the is label for authorized Torchwood personnel. The Doctor opens the door and inside is a ladder. He looks at the three others. "Wait here. Just need to get my bearings. Don't do anything." He starts to climb up the ladder with Layla looking after him, admiring the view.

Layla hears Lance whispering to Donna about what they are doing and she chuckles as she listens to Donna distractedly talk about their wedding and not the situation they are currently in. She watches as the Doctor climbs back down and closes the door. "Thames flood barrier is right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath.

"What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna questions curiously.

The Doctor gives Layla smirk. "Oh, I know. Unheard of."

They continue down the hallway into another area and come upon a huge laboratory. The Doctor's eyes widen in appreciation. "Oh, look at this. Stunning!"

"What does it do?" Donna asks.

"Particle extrusion. Hold on. Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Course, my people got rid of Huon's. They unravel the atomic structure."

"Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?" Lance butts into the conversation.

"Oh, I'm a freelancer. 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 results. Huon particles in liquid form. Oh? What's this?" The Doctor gets distracted and walks over to an incubator that is housing several large sized blue eggs in it.

"Are they experimenting with the Huon particles on the eggs?" Layla asks questioningly.

"No. I'm not sure what kind of eggs these are, but they are kept separate from the particles. I'll take them back to the Tardis with us when we are done and see what kind of eggs they are.

"Wait these Huon particles they are making are what is inside of me, right?" Donna asks, getting them back to the situation at hand.

Layla kind of tunes out their conversation while she walks around the lab and thinks. Something about this situation is rubbing her wrong. Donna has these Huon particles in her. Torchwood is making liquid Huon particles. Donna has been poisoned, but how? And by whom and why? She is distracted from her thoughts as she has a loud slap. She looks over and sees that Donna looked upset and the Doctor was cradling his face and she snorts. Of course. What did he do now?

"Are you enjoying this? Right, just tell me. These particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"

The Doctor slightly hesitates. "Yes."

"Doctor. Don't lie to her." Layla snaps at him. She could tell he was trying to keep Donna from freaking out, but this wasn't the time to coddle her.

Donna looks at Layla gratefully. She hasn't believed him either. "Doctor, if your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?"

The Doctor looks at her solemnly. "Because they were deadly."

Donna's face crumples. "Oh my god." Layla looks to Lance and sees that he makes no move towards Donna to comfort her. She sends him a fierce glare and wraps Donna up in a hug, ignoring the wrongness of it. She rubs her hand against her back, giving her the comfort her loving fiancé was denying her.

"I'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. We aren't going to lose you." The Doctor promises and Layla's heart clenches, hoping that he was successful.

"Oh, she is long since lost." They all hear a sinister voice echo around the room. The wall in front of them slides up to reveal a tiered hole descending into the earth. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!" Layla watches as Lance runs away and sneers. She cradles Donna to her while the Doctor steps in front of her to shield her from the black robed robots with the guns on them.

The Doctor leaned towards the hole trying to see down it. "Someone's been digging. Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far does it go?"

"Down and down, all the way to the center of the Earth!" The voice echo's harshly.

The Doctor's eyebrows raise up high. "Really? Seriously? What for?"

"Dinosaurs." Donna cuts in seriously. Layla snorts at her matter-of-fact tone.

"What?" The Doctor looks at her with a 'what the hell' look.

"Dinosaurs?" Donna says again but more as a question than a statement.

"What are you on about, dinosaurs?" The Doctor asks her bemused.

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

"That's not helping." He shakes his head.

Layla giggles. "I don't know, love. I think she is helping with the tension quite a bit. Usually that's my job."

"Such a sweet couple." The voice continues mockingly.

"Oi! He is mine!" Layla shouts.

The Doctor's lips curl up into a small smile at her claiming. "Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"

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

"We didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom. Come on, let's have a look at you!"

"Who are you with such command?" The voice hisses.

"I'm the Doctor." He shrugs casually.

"Prepare you best medicines, doctor man, for you will be sick at heart." With that said a giant red spider teleports into their view.

Layla squeals and grabs the Doctor's arm. "Gah! My eyes!" She whispers out.

The Doctor stiffens. "The Racnoss? But that's impossible. You're on of the Racnoss?"

"Empress of the Racnoss." She preens. Behind her the Doctor, Layla, and Donna notice that Lance had returned and was climbing up a ladder behind the empress.

"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or, are you the only one?" The Doctor questions.

"Such a sharp mind." The empress mocks.

The Doctor snaps his fingers. "That's it, the last of your kind." Here the Doctor feels some empathy with the empress, but not enough to let her continue with her plan. "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?" She snarls.

"No, but it is your fault as their empress for failing to make sure they didn't gorge themselves and regulate their hunger. There is a thing called control." Layla grits out as she thinks of the implication of the empress being here on earth and what might happen to it.

Donna's eyes widen. "They eat people?"

The Doctor nods and goes to reply when something catches his eye and he redirects. "HC Clements, did he wear those, those er, black and white shoes?"

Donna laughs. "He did. We used to laugh. We used to call him the fat cat in spats." She watches as the Doctor reaches up and points towards the opposite wall. There she sees a pair of feet sticking out of the web across the ceiling, wearing black and white shoes." Donna's stomach clenches harshly and she raises her hand to her mouth as bile rushes up her throat. "Oh my god!"

The empress looks at them with amusement. "Mmm. My Christmas dinner."

"You shouldn't even exist. Way back in history, the fledgling empires went to war against the Racnoss. They were wiped out." The Doctor was working on piecing things together and trying to form a plan of escape.

"Except for me." The empress shrugs.

Donna had seen Lance sneaking around in the background and wanted to try to stall, hoping he was going to be able to help them. "But I got that Huon energy thing in me. Oi! Look at me lady. I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles? Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."

The empress snickers, highly amused. "The bride is so feisty."

Donna sees Lance creeping up behind the empress with an axe and tries to keep her attention on herself. "Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big thing, but a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!" Lance starts to swing the axe. When the empress twists around and sees Lance she hisses. Lance drops the axe and starts to laugh while the empress joins him.

"That was a good one. Your face!" He chortles.

"Lance is funny." The empress coos.

Donna looks stupefied. Layla grips her hand tightly, ignoring the flinch and glares heatedly at Lance. The Doctor turns and looks at Donna with pity. "I'm sorry."

Donna had yet to piece together the problem. "Sorry for what? Lance, don't be stupid! Get her!"

"God, she's thick. Months I've had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map." Lance scoffs in derision.

Donna's eyes start to burn and her breath hitches in pain. She grips onto Layla's hand tightly. "I… I don't understand." She didn't know why Lance would do this to her.

"How did you meet him?" The Doctor asks softly.

"In the office." Donna says blankly, having a hard time thinking straight with all the hurt bubbling up in her.

"He made you coffee." The Doctor tells her gently. "You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months."

"He was poisoning me." Donna says while her heart quietly breaks. "But we were getting married."

"Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavor Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap, yap, yap. 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. I deserve a medal." Lance groans as if his life with her had been truly horrible.

"Oh, is that what she's offered you? The empress of the Racnoss? What are you, her consort?" The Doctor says in disgust and anger.

Lance shrugs. "It's batter than a night with her. Of course, I wouldn't mind taking your white-haired friend out for a good time."

The Doctor snarls in anger and Layla scoffs in disgust. "If I had a dick, this is where I would tell you to suck it! Donna is a fantastic person and you missed out on a chance to have a wonderful relationship with her. You do realize that spiders eat their mating partner right?" Donna snorts in reluctant amusement. And looks at Layla gratefully for standing up for her.

Donna's lip trembles. "But I love you."

Lance cackles. "That's what made it east. It's like you said, Doctor. The big picture. What's the point of it all if the human race is nothing? That's what the empress can give me. The chance to go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that. Don't you, Doctor?"

"Sure, you could probably leave earths atmosphere before she decides to have a snack and then you'll be gone." Layla sneers.

"Who is this little physician and his paramour?"

Lance points towards Donna. "She said Martian."

The Doctor shrugs a shoulder. "Oh, we're sort of homeless. But I have a question. Why did Torchwood help you dig this hole? What did you give them in exchange?"

The empress snickers. "Something that I plan to take back very soon. I had no intention of letting them keep my gift regardless of what they thought."

The Doctor nods his head absently as he tries to think of what the empress valued. A slightly horrifying thought pops into his mind and he pushes I back to think on later. "But the point is, what's down there? The Racnoss are extinct. What's going to 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 snickers in amusement and the empress agrees with him. Lance stops laughing and looks at them arrogantly. "Well, tough! We only need Donna."

The empress waves her hand casually. "Kill this chattering little doctor man and his paramour."

Donna quickly steps in front of the couple with her arms spread out. "Don't you hurt them!"

"No, no, Donna. It's alright." The Doctor soothes.

She shakes her head. "No! I won't let them!" Layla looks at Donna softly and pulls her back beside her and behind the Doctor.

"At arms!" The empress screeches. "Take aim!"

The Doctor holds up a finger trying to get her attention. "Ah, now. Except. Well, I just want to point out the obvious."

"They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots." The empress waves off his concern.

"Just, just, just, just, hold on. Hold on just a tick. Just a tiny little. Just a little tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So reverse it, and the spaceship comes to her." The Doctor turns the knob on the container holding the Huon particles that he had grabbed from the lab earlier. The Tardis materializes around the three before the Doctor takes off towards the console and pilots them away. "Off we go!"

Donna doesn't pay attention to what is happening around her as tears slide down her face in heartache. Layla gathers Donna in her arms and squeezes tightly to avoid letting go and gently comforts her. "It's okay sweetheart. You're strong and will get through this."

The Doctor of course is oblivious and more focused on the problem at hand. "Oh, do you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're going to use it. We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet's core, 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." The shaking of the Tardis stops and the Doctor turns towards Donna. "We've arrived. Want to see?"

Donna sighs softly. "I suppose." She starts to walk towards the Doctor when she feels a pull on her arm and turns towards Layla. She sees Layla giving her a mischievous smile and goes with her as Layla tugs her hand towards the door.

The Doctor watches with a smile, glad that Layla had the same idea as him. He gets to the girls and smiles at Donna. "Come on. No human's ever seen this. You two will be the first."

Donna sighs dejectedly. "All I want to see is my bed."

He looks at her with sympathy but continues with what he wants to say. "Layla, love, and Donna Noble, welcome to the creation of the Earth. We've gone back four point six billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. That's the sun, over there. Brand new. Just beginning to burn." He tells them softly as he watches the look of awe on their faces before focusing more on Layla. He wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her towards him tightly.

"Where's the earth?" Donna asked while looking around in awe.

"All around us in the dust."

"Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just tiny." Donna says softly.

"No, but that's what you do. The human race makes 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. I love human beings. One of my favorite species. Always making the most out of life." The Doctor leans down and brushes his lips against Layla's forehead.

"So, we came out of all this?" Donna questions while pointing towards herself and Layla.

The Doctor beams happily. "Isn't that brilliant? Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others. It 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 finishes for him.

The Doctor looks around. "But the question is, what was that first rock?"

Donna spots something and points off to the side. "Look."

The Doctor and Layla have a grim look on their face as they spot what she is pointing to. "The Racnoss." The Doctor murmurs. "Hold on. The Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?" He uses his sonic towards the console and speeds up time.

"Exactly what you said." Donna says as they watch the rocks and dust head towards the Racnoss."

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

"Oh no. There are Racnoss in that spaceship right? Would being the center of the earth kill them or put them in hibernation?" Layla asks as a horrified look crosses her face at the realization.

"…Hibernation. Oh no. That is what those eggs are. They are unborn Racnoss. The empress plans to use Donna to release the trapped Racnoss. Babies. Millions of starving babies." The Doctor looks at Layla grimly.

"What's going to happen when they come out of that hole?" Donna asked worriedly.

The Doctor swallows harshly. "Death." He turns Layla towards him and looks at her solemnly. "Racnoss or earth?"

She looks at him startled. "What?"

"If we allow the Racnoss to come out of that hole, they will devour earth. There will be nothing that can stop them." The Doctor has already made his choice and he knows what Layla will choose. But he wants Layla to understand the severity of what they will chose.

"We have to decide to commit genocide on babies, or allow the earth to be destroyed?" Layla asks with a hitched breath. "Why are they the only options?!" Layla cries out, her heart already hurting at the thought of what they would have to do.

The Doctor cups her face in his hands and rubs his thumbs along her cheek in a soothing motion. "Yes. The Racnoss babies will only listen to the empress. I'll give her the ultimatum to leave, but the chances of that happening are slim. I can't control them without her help."

A sob breaks free from Layla and her eyes cloud with tears. Donna looks on at their interaction and what they are saying and her heart stutters in fear at the options. The Doctor gently wipes the tears that come out of Layla's eyes and leans his forehead against hers. "We still have the eggs, love. We can take them to another planet that would have a better chance of controlling them and teaching them to survive on animals instead of gorging themselves on anything living. I understand how you feel, love. I had to make the same choice with my planet and the daleks to end the war and save the universe. The problem I had was that I was alone. No one there to support me. You have me, Layla. You are not alone in this. I will be here with you through this." He pulls her towards him and hugs her tightly as she cries. Donna gently runs her hand along her back in a soothing gesture.

When Layla is all cried out she pulls back and gives the Doctor a kiss. "What now?" She asks him quietly.

A loud bang reverberates through the control room and startles everyone. "What was that?" Donna asked worriedly.

"Trouble." The Doctor tells her as he runs towards the console. Before he can get through though the Tardis starts to throw them around. "Hold tight." He shouts to Layla and Donna as he continues his way towards the console.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna yelled out.

"Remember that little trick of mine, particles pulling particles. Well, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back!"

"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?" Donna questions rapidly.

"Backseat driver. Oh! Wait a minute! The extrapolator! It can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" The Doctor says giddily as he grabs the device.

"I still want to see Jack soon, Doctor!" Layla reminds him as she remembers when they got the extrapolator.

The Doctor pretends that he hadn't heard her as he navigates the Tardis. "Now we're about two hundred yards to the right. Come on!"

"But what do we do?" Donna questions their situation.

"I don't know. I make it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history." He replies absently as he uses a stethoscope on a door.

"Yeah Donna, the Doctor never has a plan and like I've stated before with others, if he says he has a plan then run." Layla snickers. The Doctor reaches behind him and pinches her side in retaliation and his lips quirk up as she giggles at the ticklish feeling.

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

"There's a Racnoss web at the center of the earth, but my people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist, but the Racnoss were stuck." As the Doctor continued to blabber as he deals with the door, he misses a robot grab Donna and wrap its hand around her mouth to muffle her. He also misses another one at the same time sneak up behind Layla and hit her on the back of the head. She collapse to the ground unconscious.

He sonics the door open and sees a robot pointing a gun at him. He quickly disables it and he turns around to make a funny quip when he realizes how quiet it is and his eyes widen as he sees that Donna is gone, but his face pales as he looks down at Layla. "Layla!" He cries out as he goes down towards her.

He runs his sonic along her and sighs softly. "A mild concussion. I'll be able to take care of that right now." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a first aid kit. He learned his lesson on making sure to have a well-stocked one with Layla around. He opens it and searches around. He makes a happy exclamation when he finds what he wants. He opens a small patch and puts it on the side of her forehead. When he is done he cups her face softly. "Layla, love. Wake up." He gently talks to her and coaxes her awake. She looks at him confused.

"What happened?" She rubs her hand against the back of her head where it hurt.

"Robots took Donna and knocked you out. I healed you from a mild concussion. You'll still have some tenderness where you were hit until the patch is fully used up. It repairs the most important things first."

The Doctor helps Layla stand up and gives her a hard kiss. When they pull back they are both slightly dazed and very heated. "D… Donna first, love. Then we can continue this later." Layla stuttered out as she tries to calm her heart down.

The Doctor nods grudgingly. He turns towards the robot and undresses it. "Stay behind me since we only have one disguise." Layla nods and grips the back of his robe and follows behind him as they enter the area where the empress and Donna are.

"Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat. My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them." The empress shouts in glee. The Doctor with Layla hidden behind him goes up a set of stairs. "So you might as well unmask my clever little doctor man."

The Doctor removes his mask and tosses it to the floor. Layla steps beside him and angrily shouts at the empress. "He is not your doctor man. He is mine, so back off!" The Doctors hearts stutter in happiness as the possessiveness Layla showed.

He grabs her hand and kisses the back of it while looking at her lovingly. He turns back towards the empress and his face falls flat. "Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Donna!" He points his sonic at Donna and the web holding her up starts to give way.

Donna feels the web loosen and panics. "I'm going to fall." She gulps harshly as she looks down towards the gaping hold that she had just watched Lance fall to his death down.

"You're going to swing! I've got you!" He reassures.

Donna grabs onto part of the web and swings across the hole, past the empress and stops under the landing where the Doctor and Layla are. She drops to the ground harshly.

The Doctor looks over the edge at the prone Donna and gives her a sheepish look. "Oh. Sorry."

Donna looks up and gives the Doctor a glare. "Thanks for nothing."

"The Doctor man amuses me." The empress says, not looking too upset that her meal has been freed.

The Doctor stands tall and gives the empress his full attention. "Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer and end this now."

Layla steps forward slightly and looks at the empress with a pleading expression. "Please, take the offer. Don't continue on this path. It will only end in pain and despair." She grabs the Doctor's hand and holds it tightly, trying to keep the tears in her eyes from falling.

The empress waves them off. "You two are so funny."

The Doctor looks at Layla quickly before looking back to the empress with a look that lacks any warmth. "What's your answer?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I have to decline."

The Doctor sighs and wraps his arm around Layla, pulling her towards him. His face hardens as he looks at the empress. Fury rising in him as he feels Layla shaking and hears her crying. How dare she do this to Layla! Why is it so hard for species to take the best route for everyone involved. Blood rushes in his ears, his nostrils flare, and a vein pulses at his temple. "What happens next is your own doing." He says menacingly.

The empress scoffs. "I'll show you what happens next. At arms! Take aim! And…"

The Doctor cuts her off. "Relax." His voice was flat, a pinched expression on his face. The robots slump forward, turned off.

Donna's eyes widen. "What did you do?"

"Guess what I've got, Donna?" The Doctor directs his gaze towards Donna with a smile that doesn't have any warmth and a flat look in his eyes. His face showing his displeasure at the empress and what she is putting Layla through. He pulls out a big remote from his pocket and hold it up. "Pockets."

Donna looks gobsmacked. "How did that fit in there?"

"They're bigger on the inside." The Doctor tells her easily.

"Roboforms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh." The empress cuts in with a sneer.

The Doctor looks at the empress with cold, flinty eyes. "Oh, but I'm not from Mars."

The empress tilts her head. "Then where?"

"My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey."

"They murdered the Racnoss!" She screeches.

"I warned you." He tells her quietly. Layla turns her head to hide her face against his shoulder. He holds onto her tightly wishing this had a different outcome. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out some of the Christmas decorations from the reception party.

The empress clearly recognizes what he holds as her face drops and she reaches forward as if she could stretch to grab them. "No! No! Don't! No!" The Doctor throws the decorations into the air and uses the remote to direct them. He detonates some to let the water from the Thames into the room and some surrounding the empress. What comes flooding into the area goes down the hole. Layla flinches as she hears the screams of the empresses children. The Doctor puts his hand on the side of her head and covers her ear with his hand and shoulder to help spare her the pain of hearing the screams. "No! No! My children! No! My children! My children!" The empress screams with a pained expression on her face as she feels like her chest has caved in.

Donna looks on startled at the scene in front of her. She knew that logically the Doctor would have to kill the Racnoss, but knowing and seeing it were two different things. She looked up and could see Layla was falling apart while the Doctor stood there motionlessly, an angered expression on his face. She looks over and sees the despair on the empress' face and feels a stab of sympathy. She was trying to be a good mother to her children. But Donna knows that the empress wasn't innocent. She looks back towards the Doctor. "Doctor! You can stop now!" Her voice snaps the Doctor out of his anger induced haze.

"My children!" The empress wails.

The Doctor looks down to Donna. "Come on. Time I got us out of here." The Doctor reaches down and picks up Layla in his arms as him and Donna head up the stairs and out the door.

Donna had heard the empress yelling about a transport and looked at the couple. "But what about the empress?"

"She's used up all her Huon energy. She's defenseless! Unit will take care of her ship."

They get outside and Donna looks around. "Just one problem."

"What's that?" The Doctor asks with his head tilted as he holds Layla tightly while she cries.

"We've drained the Thames."

Xxxxxx

The Doctor looks at Layla s he pilots the Tardis, keeping an eye on her with her being upset. The shaking of the Tardis stops as he lands and gives Donna a satisfied smile. "There we go. Told you she'd be alright. She can survive anything."

"More than I've done." Donna says depreciatingly.

The Doctor gives a scan with his sonic and reads the results. "No, all the Huon particles are gone. No damage, you're fine."

"Which I am glad for. You're a great person Donna." Layla tells her sincerely.

Donna gives her a smile. "Apart from that though, I missed my wedding, lost my job, and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."

Layla and the Doctor grimaces. "We couldn't save him." The Doctor apologizes.

"He deserved it." Donna says harshly. Then she sighs. "No, he didn't. I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."

"Best Christmas present they could have." He nods his head towards the window where they Donna's mom and granddad hugging. The Doctor purses his lips. "Oh, no. I forgot you hate Christmas."

"Yes, I do." Donna agrees.

"Even if it snows?" The Doctor makes the Tardis light turn yellow and fire a bolt of energy into the sky, instantly causing snow to fall down.

Donna and Layla's jaw drop in awe. "I can't believe you did that!" Donna exclaims in surprise.

The Doctor shrugs off the feat while watching Layla look up into the sky and a hand in the air catches the flakes. He admires the snow drifting around her. "Oh, basic atmospheric excitation."

"Merry Christmas." Donna deadpans.

"And you. So, what will you do with yourself now?"

"Not getting married, for starters. And I'm not going to temp anymore. I don't know. Travel. See a bit more of planet earth. Walk in the dust. Just go out there and do something."

The Doctor nudges Layla and tilts his head in question towards Donna. She looks at him with a beaming smile, the haunted look in her eyes from earlier lightening up. He turns back to Donna with a small smile. "You could always come with us?"

Donna shakes her head. "No."

Layla's smile falls and she grabs the Doctors hand. He holds it tightly as he gives Donna a sad smile. "Okay."

"I can't." Donna tells them but starts to have second thoughts as soon as the words leave her mouth.

"It's okay Donna. We understand." Layla tells her softly.

"It's just… Do you live your life like that? Everything we did today?"

The Doctor shakes his head. "Not all the time."

Donna looks at him skeptically. "I think you do. And I couldn't."

"But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful." The Doctor implores.

Donna nods in agreement. "And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying. A choice had to be made and lives were lost no matter what was chosen. That scares me to death."

The Doctor and Layla look at her with understanding. They got it. They really did understand why she would be afraid to travel with them. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt to be denied. Donna looks at their dejected looks and feels a bit of happiness that they liked her enough to ask her to travel with them. "Tell you what I will do, though. Christmas dinner. Oh, come on."

The Doctor's nose turns up. Ugh. Domestic things. Layla looks at his face and snickers as she guesses what he might be thinking. Layla nudges his side gently to get him to change his look. "Oh, alright then. But you go first. Better warn them. And don't say I'm a Martian. We just have to park the Tardis properly. She might drift off to the Middle Ages. We will see you in a minute." The Doctor ushers Layla inside and starts up the engines.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Donna shouts as she realizes that this might be the last time she will ever see this couple.

The Doctor pops out of the door with Layla under his arm. "Blimey, you can shout."

"Am I ever going to see you two again."

Layla looks at her with a gentle smile. "I sure hope so, Donna Noble. You're a great person and I am glad I got to meet you."

"Where will you go now?" Donna asks curiously.

The Doctor gives her a beaming grin. "Oh we are off to get married and travel the universe." He pulls Layla to him and gives her a kiss on the top of her head.

Donna grins at them happily. "Well at least you two are better suited than Lance and I were. Congratulations to the both of you."

They close the doors and look at each other in anticipation. The Doctor grabs her hands and squeezes them gently. "Are you ready, love?"

Layla gives a loving smile. "More than ready. Where are we going now?"

The Doctor gives her a mischievous smile. "I know just the place."

Xxxxxx

So here is the last chapter for this season. I'm sorry it took so long to get out. Life happened. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. On a disappointing note, I only have a few episodes for season three planned out with an original adventure thrown in there. What I would like from those who like this story is to give me some ideas of what you would like to see me write for the next season and I'll see what works with the ideas I have planned.