And here's the Runaway Bride!
Next up will be another Donna episode - Turn Left!
We only have four more chapters left to be updated and then updates will likely slow as I have to start writing them again (instead of just rewriting the script), but I'll also start taking requests for chapters again, and try to figure out how I want to do the 14/15th Doctor situation (more to come on that when I'm caught up)
Enjoy!
The group took the brief moment of quiet without a video playing to take a breath. The last set of videos had been a major emotional rollercoaster, and they were nervous to know what the Tardis was going to show them next.
The peace was broken by the screen lighting up with the newest title.
"The Runaway Bride." Amy raised an eyebrow, "Interesting title."
Donna groaned, having a strong suspicion about what this video was going to be about, the Doctor shot a look at her.
"This one of yours Donna?" Martha asked, Donna's reaction very telling.
"I think it might be." Donna replied, returning the Doctor's gaze, "Which means we get to see Pinstripes again."
"This will be fun." Mickey remarked, hoping for once it would be true. Or at least, if not fun, less of an emotional mess than the video they'd just watched.
At a church, the father of the bride has his arms linked wrong with the bride (Donna) and she changes it, Geoff (the father) apologises
"Dad." Donna blinked; she'd almost forgotten that her dad would be there. It'd been so long since she'd seen him like this. She offered a weak smile at the concerned look that the Doctor sent her way.
The wedding march starts up on the organ, the bride and father move down the aisle before there is an odd sound and the bride screams, zooming through the roof and away in a golden sparkle
"Well, that's a way to escape a wedding." Clara remarked, confused by Donna's disappearance.
"I wouldn't really call that runaway." Yaz argued, the disappearance didn't exactly look planned.
Someone asks where she went
"Good question." Rory muttered with a curious look at Donna.
Elsewhere, the golden energy flies into the Tardis and solidifies back into the bride, the tenth Doctor is stunned asking what?
"For once I'd say that's a fair question." Jack chuckled at the completely bewildered expression on the Doctor's face. A random woman in a wedding dress appearing in the Tardis in a golden sparkle was odd even for them.
Donna demands to know who he is and where she is as the Doctor is still stunned on the word what
"Loquacious Doctor." River teased her wife, grinning widely at the continuously bamboozled expression on the Doctor's face. This was already a nice change of pace from the last few videos. The Doctor just rolled her eyes.
She asks what the hell the place is as the Doctor argues she can't do that as they're in flight and it is physically impossible
"Cleary it's not." Bill grinned, enjoying how off-kilter the Doctor was by Donna's appearance; just like the rest of the group.
Donna demands he tells her where she is right now
"You get him Donna!" Martha grinned, glad to see her friend hadn't remotely changed; she was as fiery as ever. The Doctor really had met their match in Donna Noble.
The Doctor says they're in the Tardis, Donna doesn't know what that is no matter how many times he repeats it
"That really doesn't explain anything, Doctor." Rose shook her head fondly at her old Doctor.
Donna says that isn't even a real word and he's just saying things
"We're all just saying things." The Doctor crossed her arms, a pout on her lips (though she'd absolutely deny it if asked).
The Doctor asks how she got in and Donna replies obviously, he kidnapped her. She demands to know who is paying her, is it Nerys finally getting her own back?
"You vanish into a golden sparkle of lights and end up with a stranger in a weird place, and you blame Nerys? Just makes me want to know what Nerys has done." Mickey chuckled.
"Oh, don't get me started!" Donna threw her arms up in the air in frustration.
The Doctor asks who the hell Nerys is, Donna replies his best friend
"I'd argue against that." The Doctor protested.
"Well, I know that now Spaceman!" Donna huffed.
The Doctor notices her clothes and asks why she's dressed like that
"Only just noticed, really?" Amy asked, shooting the Doctor a look full of disbelief.
The Doctor put her hands up in surrender. "In my defence, I was more distracted by how she got into the Tardis!"
Donna asks what he thinks, idiot, she was halfway up the aisle which she's been waiting all her life for and he drugged her or something
"Never change Donna, never change." Jack chuckled, shaking his head fondly.
The Doctor protests he hasn't done anything
"For once." Clara grinned teasingly.
The Doctor huffed, "Is this video just an excuse for everyone to bully me?"
"Nah Doctor, we don't need a video for that." Martha countered, the rest of the group chuckling away beside her.
Donna declares she is calling the police on him and her and her husband, when he's her husband will sue him! She runs down the ramp to the doors
"That may not be such a good idea." Ryan winced at seeing Donna run for the doors.
The Doctor calls after her saying not to and wait a minute. She ignores him, opening the doors to reveal a pretty nebula
"That's a bit harder to explain away." Nardole said.
The Doctor tells her they're in outer space, and this is his space ship the Tardis. Donna asks how she is breathing
"Important question. You've got your priorities straight." River nodded approvingly at the redhead.
He says the Tardis is protecting them. Donna asks who he is, he introduces himself, and she introduces herself to
"Good, a civil conversation might get you answers quicker." Rose said, it was rare for these things to be in a situation that wasn't immediately dangerous (excluding however Donna got into the Tardis).
The Doctor asks if she is human, and Donna says yes, is that optional? The Doctor admits it is for him, Donna realises he is an alien
"I don't think this conversation has ever gone this calmly." Rory mused.
Donna says it is freezing with the door open and he shuts the doors before going back to the console. The Doctor says he doesn't understand, this can't happen, there is no way a human can lock itself onto the Tardis and transport itself inside
"You don't know everything Doc." Jack countered. The Doctor just waved him off, very aware of that now; Pinstripes was just like that, struggled with humility a bit.
He grabs an ophthalmoscope and looks in Donna's eyes. He says it is impossible, thinking of different options like something pulling her into alignment with the chronon shell, something macro mining in her DNA maybe, maybe genetic. She slaps him
"Seems appropriate." Martha conceded with a happy nod at Donna, ignoring the Doctor's protests in the background.
"Only way to get him to stop blabbing science gobbledygook and get me home!" Donna agreed with a grin. It was a bit fun reliving some of the glory days of her time in the Tardis, and entertaining to see her first encounter with the Doctor and how far she'd come, but she was also aware this video didn't stay so low intensity and cheerful.
The Doctor asks what that was for and Donna demands to be taken to the church. The Doctor agrees but says he doesn't want her there anyway, where is the wedding?
"You're like a pair of toddlers." Graham shook his head fondly.
Donna gives the address, right from the church to the solar system
"Very specific." Amy remarked with a growing grin, "Not sure you're going to end up there though, with the Doctor's driving."
Donna grabs a blouse hanging over the railing
Rose's eyes widened at the sight of her old blouse abandoned on the railing. "Hey! That's my shirt." She glanced at the Doctor who was suddenly avoiding eye contact, she narrowed her eyes. "Doctor, when is this video set?"
The Doctor bit her lip and mumbled something under her breath.
"Doctor." Rose pleaded, staring at the side of the Doctor's head until she met her eyes. "When?"
"Right after I said goodbye to you." The Doctor admitted. "For what I thought was the last time."
Rose's expression saddened, despite having kind of expected something like that it didn't make it any easier to hear. "No rest for the wicked." She muttered. Apparently, the Doctor didn't even get a chance to grieve her leaving, he was immediately thrown into something else.
Donna's own expression had fallen; a lot more of the Doctor's actions and attitude that day making more sense. "Doctor …"
The Doctor offered her a small smile, "It's okay Donna."
She declares she knew it; he was acting all innocent but she's not the first is she, how many women has he taken?
"Technically she's not entirely incorrect Doctor." River teased her wife, "There has been quite a few."
The Doctor spluttered, "You all choose to come with me!" The group chuckled at her but didn't disagree.
The Doctor says it was his friends, and Donna demands to know where she is then, he tells her she's gone
Donna winced. She'd really pushed the Doctor down a path that was very open and painful. While maybe she'd been right to worry at that point, seeing as she'd ended up in an unknown place with an unknown man; she hadn't known what she was getting into.
Donna pushes asking gone where, and the Doctor says he lost her
"Doctor…" Rose protested, shaking her head unable to verbalise anything else.
Donna tells him to hurry up and lose her to, asking what he means by lost. The Doctor takes the blouse and throws it through a doorway, turning his attention to getting Donna to the wedding
"You have a wedding to crash." Yaz grinned, glad for the change of topic.
Ryan frowned, "Isn't it more like saving a wedding, as they're returning the bride?" Yaz just waved him off.
Back at the church, the mother of the bride – Sylvia – is on her mobile phone saying Donna didn't run away, she literally vanished, she asks the person on the other end to check the house, and tells someone in the group to smarten up
"Yeah, I don't think anyone is going to believe that she disappeared in a golden sparkle." Mickey laughed, that would be a fun one to think.
"You have no idea how hard this whole thing was to explain to everyone!" Donna huffed.
Sylvia asks Lance, the groom, if there is any sign. He's looked around and can't find her, asking where the hell she went
"So, he's the lucky man, huh?" Clara grinned, though her expression dimmed at Donna's frown; and the confused glances that Martha was sending Donna. Martha knew Donna's husband, and Lance was not he.
"Not in the end." Donna grimaced, all for the best honestly with what was really going on but still. Despite the confused glances and questioning looks she refused to expand on her comment.
Sylvia declares she is showing off, her first day of school she was sent home for biting
Several people in the group didn't even bother to hide their laughter at that, it was a very Donna thing. Donna just rolled her eyes, not ashamed. It was typical of her mother to bring something like that up in the moment.
Geoff interrupts saying it is more serious than that as she has never disappeared before. Sylvia argues she didn't disappear and it is all one of her silly tricks, before asking what if she's dead
"Oh, so she is concerned really." Rory muttered more to himself, having struggled a bit to get a read on Sylvia.
Geoff says not to say that. In a courtyard, the Tardis has landed surrounded by buildings. Donna says she said Saint Mary's, where is this, what kind of Martian is he?
"Right, everyone. Check the Doctor can't steer the Tardis, and lands in the complete wrong place off your bingo cards." Bill grinned.
"Oi! At least I landed in London, and on the right day and time too!" The Doctor protested. Her words falling on deaf ears as the rest of the group laughed.
The Doctor says something si wrong with the Tardis, realising she is recalibrating and asking what she's eaten. He asks Donna to think really hard if there is anything that might have caused this
"I think she's a bit busy, Doctor." Jack smiled fondly at the familiar sight of someone really seeing the Tardis for the first time. Donna may have done it the opposite way round than normal, but she was still going to have a reaction; and knowing Donna it was going to be entertaining.
Donna is distracted making the traditional circuit of the Tardis, the Doctor continues asking if there is anything she's done or someone she's met. He rants for a bit, eventually asking who she is marrying and is he sure he's human. He finally notices her distraction calling after her
"Oh Doctor." River shook her head fondly at the Doctor's little rant, completely oblivious to Donna's little crisis going on in the background.
Donna is sensible and not coping with the reality of the Tardis, walking away
"Sensible reaction." Graham nodded in approval, glad to see another sane person.
He calls after her and she demands he leave her alone as she just wants to get married. He asks her to come back to the Tardis but she says no as the box it too weird
"I think Donna officially wins the most sensible reaction to the Doctor's nonsense." Mickey gave a little play bow to Donna who just snorted, it hadn't lasted.
The Doctor says it is bigger on the inside, that's all
"That's all, says the alien about the time travelling dimensional mess of a spaceship." Martha shook her head.
Donna checks the time and realises she is going to miss it. The Doctor tells her to phone them, Donna asks how she'll do that as she's in her wedding dress and doesn't have pockets!
"Major problem with al women's clothing, the serious lack of pockets." Rose nodded in agreement, grinning.
"It's terrible!" The Doctor eagerly agreed. Her current regeneration had certainly been enlightening on the state of women's clothing.
The Doctor asks who she is marrying, and when Donna tells him the name Lance, the Doctor wishes Lance good luck. Donna shouts at him saying no stupid Martian is stopping her from getting married
"You tell him Donna." Amy laughed, proud.
Donna runs away as the Doctor protests he isn't from Mars
"That's your only issue with that?" Clara just sighed, though it was tinged with fondness.
On the street, Donna tries to hail a taxi but it drives past. The Doctor comes to help but another taxi just drives past
"Your outfit may be a bit off putting." Ryan reluctantly pointed out.
The Doctor asks if she has that effect on everyone, why aren't they stopping? Donna explains they think she's in fancy dress and a driver shouts at her to stay off the sauce, then another one thinks she's in drag to her fury and annoyance
"It just gets worse and worse." Yaz grimaced.
The Doctor does a piercing whistle and a taxi pulls up. They climb in and she gives him the address telling him to hurry as she's getting married. The driver warns her it will cost her as it is double rates today
"Ooh, no pockets and the Doctor's useless. This isn't going to go well." Jack whistled lowly with a frown.
Donna asks if the Doctor has any money, he (as typical) does not, asking if she does, she reminds him of the lack of pockets. The taxi driver dumps them where he got them
"You're not getting back to this wedding any time soon." Bill grimaced in sympathy for Donna's plight.
Donna is shouting at the fleeing taxi, saying she has his number, she'll have him, talk about the Christmas spirit. The Doctor asks if it is Christmas
"Christmas eve 2007." Donna nodded, with a bit of a bittersweet smile at the reminder. It had been the start of everything.
Yaz, Ryan and Bill all shared glances at the reminder of how old some of the people in the room were – they'd all still been kids back in 2007.
Donna says duh, maybe not on Mars but here it is Christmas eve. She spots a phone box and says they can reverse the charge. The Doctor asks how she is getting marries on Christmas eve, Donna admits she hates Christmas so is planning their honeymoon to Morocco in the lovely sunshine. She asks what the phone operator is as she hasn't done it in years
"Strategic, but expensive season." Mickey mused.
The Doctor uses his sonic and they get a dial tone, Donna asks what he did, and he replies something Martian, telling her to phone while he gets money
"You're giving in to Donna's charm." Martha laughed.
He joins the queue at a cash machine as Donna begs her mum to answer the phone. At the church Sylvia's battery is dead and she asks if anyone has a charger
"This is a mess." Rose shook her head in fond amusement, but a much more fun chaotic mess than the last one.
Lance asks if they've tried the hotel, asking the Vicar if his phone is working as his is dead too. The Vicar is using his phone saying he has a wedding about to arrive and another refusing to leave so he does think it is a police matter
"He's not going to be much help." Graham chuckled.
Donna leaves her mum a message saying she doesn't know where she is, it is a street with a WHSmiths and it is definitely Earth
"She's just going to think you're crazy." Clara raised an eyebrow at Donna's phrasing.
Donna snorted, "More than she already did anyway."
The Doctor uses his sonic on the ATM to get money without a card. Donna accosts a woman in the street, begging for a tenner to borrow as she is getting married and is late, but promises to pay her back and it is Christmas
"Two very different approaches to getting money." Bill laughed at the pair.
The Doctor takes his money, spotting a trio of Santas plating God Rest Ye Merry on brass instruments
Donna and the Doctor shared a look, they hadn't realised the Santas had been following them for so long. It did explain how they found the wedding though with all their yelling about where they needed to go.
Rose and Mickey shared their own look, recognising the Santas from their own unfortunate Christmas adventure with the Doctor. "Doctor, are those ...?" Rose trailed off but the Doctor understood what she meant giving the pair a grimace and nod.
Donna calls another taxi, shouting to the Doctor thank you for nothing spaceman, she'll see him in court. She gets in the taxi which is driven by another Santa
"I'm getting the feeling they're not your normal jolly Santas." Amy raised an eyebrow at the Doctor and Donna.
The pair exchanged another look, "That's one way of putting it."
He shouts after her but Donna drives away. The Santas point their instruments at the Doctor so he zaps the ATM causing money to fly out and people rush to try and grab it as he runs away in the chaos
"Nice distraction." Rose nodded.
Donna promises the taxi driver she'll give him the rest when they arrive, taking off her veil as she calls it a mess and tells him to hurry up. The Doctor returns to the Tardis. Donna realises they have missed the turning, telling the driver they're going the wrong way
"Your day just keeps getting worse and worse." Martha sighed, shaking her head.
The Doctor starts the Tardis as the taxi pulls onto the flyover, barely missing another car
"Risky flying." River pointed out to her wife who gave an unrepentant grin.
Donna asks what the hell is he doing, she's late for her own wedding, demanding he turn around and asking is he is death or something. She tugs off the Santa hood and mask to reveal it is a robot. The Tardis is tracking her
"A very bad day." Rory muttered in sympathy.
Donna panics, trying to open a window and shouting for help, shouting she's being driven by a robot
"That's going to raise some eyebrows, but not sure anyone's going to be able to do anything." Clara reluctantly pointed out.
In the Tardis, sparks are flying so he hits the console with a hammer telling her to behave
"Be nice to the Tardis, Doctor!" River playfully nudged the Doctor who raised her hands in surrender.
The Tardis swoops down and bounces of the tarmac, weaving through traffic by the taxi as the Doctor ties a piece of string around a control leaver. Donna mutters you have to be kidding her, as the Doctor open the door, holding the other end of the string in his teeth
"This would have been a sight to see." Ryan pointed out, just trying to imagine what the people in the other cars must have been thinking.
The Doctor shouts to open the door, Donna can't as it is locked. He uses his sonic as Donna gets the window open
"The two of you are such a chaotic duo." Jack shook his head, chuckling fondly. It was always entertaining watching the pair interact.
Donna tells him Santa is a robot. He tells her to open the door again, saying she has to jump. Donna protests vehemently, saying she's not jumping, she's supposed to be getting married
"You've mentioned." Mickey grinned teasingly, earning a roll of Donna's eyes in return.
The robot accelerates and the Doctor pulls on his string causing bangs and the Tardis to give chase. The Doctor tries his sonic on the robot driver who clamps its hands on the steering wheel. The Doctor tells Donna to listen to him, she has to jump. She refuses to jump on a motorway
"Love the reasoning." Rory chuckled; the whole situation would be unbelievable to anyone that didn't know the Doctor.
The Doctor tells her whatever the thing is it needs her, and that can't be good, so come on! She protests she is in her wedding dress; he tells her she looks lovely but come on. She opens the door and the Doctor reaches for her as the kids in the car ahead shout jump
"See Donna! Even the kids were saying to do it!" The Doctor grinned.
Donna huffed, "A group of kids shouting aren't exactly a good reason to jump out a bloody car!"
"But a killer Santa driving you who knows where is!" The Doctor argued.
Donna says she can't do it; the Doctor asks her to trust him. Donna asks if he said that to his friend that he lost, did she trust him. The Doctor says yes, she did and she is not dead, she is very alive, now jump! Donna jumps, launching herself out the taxi and on top of the Doctor, the children cheer and the Tardis closes its doors and zooms upwards
The group in the room also cheered as Donna trusted the Doctor enough to finally jump, safely making it away from the robotic Santa and into the Tardis. Rose only winced a little at the mention of her, feeling that it was going to come up a few times if it was so recent for the Doctor.
Later, the Doctor is using up a fire extinguisher on the Tardis door where a lot of smoke is coming out as they stand on a rooftop. The Doctor shares it is funny, for a spaceship she doesn't do much flying so they better give her a couple of hours. He asks if Donna is alright
"Ooh, she won't have liked that." River winced in sympathy for the Tardis, that had been some rough flying from the Doctor, necessary given the circumstances, but rough.
Donna says it doesn't matter, the Doctor asks if they missed it, Donna says yeah
"I'm sorry Donna." Graham offered apologies; the sight of the normally fiery red head so sullen not one anyone enjoyed.
"Don't be. It worked out for the best." Donna gave him a small smile. Graham was reminding her more and more of Wilf, they'd get along if they were ever introduced.
The Doctor tries to reassure her they can book another date, she agrees, he adds they still have the honeymoon, and she counters it is just a holiday now
"Still a pretty good one, and it just means you get another holiday soon." Amy tried to offer, looking on the bright side. Donna just shrugged, not wanting to spoil the events about to ensue on screen.
The Doctor apologises, Donna says it isn't his fault, the Doctor says that's a change. Donna wishes he has a time machine so they could go back and get it right
Several people chuckled at the Doctor's reaction, with Donna just rolling her eyes. She understood why it would have been a bad idea (for several reasons looking back), and if he'd told her then she wouldn't have been reasonable about it, but still it was the principle of the matter.
The Doctor says yeah, but even if he did, he can't go back on someone's personal timeline, apparently
"You're not fooling anyone Martian." Donna shook her head exasperated. The Doctor just gave her a grin, not even having to say anything for Donna to know what she meant.
Donna sits on the edge of the roof looking out at the city view, the Doctor takes off his jacket and puts it round her shoulders. She comments on how skinny he is, as the jacket wouldn't fit a rat. The Doctor offers a gold ring saying she better put it on
"I'm hoping there's an actual reason for the ring Doctor." Martha gave the Doctor a pointed look, it was a bit too insensitive if not. The Doctor threw her hands up in surrender, nodding to the screen to answer for her.
Donna asks if he has to rub it in. The Doctor explains the creatures can trace her and it is a bio-damper so should keep her hidden. He says with his ring, he thee bio-damps., Donn adds for better or worse, asking what the robot Santas are for
"I mean if you're involved in the mess, you may as well know what's going on." Clara grinned, understanding Donna's train of thought (minus the misery over the missed wedding).
The Doctor shares they're a basic robo scavenger, the Santa part is just a disguise, they're trying to blend in, and he met them last Christmas
"What a fun time that was." Mickey snorted, earning an elbow to the side from Rose.
"It wasn't that bad." She protested.
Mickey gave her an incredulous look, "Seriously, the Doctor spent most of the time in a coma after regenerating, we were hunted by robot Santas and then the Doctor had a sword fight with aliens for the planet, in which he lost a hand. What about that wasn't bad?"
Rose pursed her lips as the rest of the group's eyes widened at the summarised tale from Mickey, "Okay, I'll give you this one."
Donna asks what happened then. He mentions the giant spaceship hovering over London, didn't she notice. Donna says she had a hangover. The Doctor points out the Powell Estate where he spent Christmas with his friend and her family, but they're gone now. Donna asks who his friend was, the Doctor deflects asking what the robots want with her and how did she get inside the Tardis. He doesn't know, asking what her job is
"Bit too sensitive, Doctors not going to talk that easily." Bill shook her head. It may be a different face, but she could easily recognise the deflection tactics for what they were. Donna had hit a sensitive topic and the Doctor clammed up.
Donna says she is a secretary. He scans her with his sonic, saying it is weird as she's not special, or powerful, or connected or clever, she's not important
"I'm sorry Donna." The Doctor immediately spoke up, turning an apologetic face onto the red head before anyone else got a chance to interrupt.
Donna just offered a slightly bittersweet smile, "It's alright. I'll let you off this once." They'd both grown a lot in their adventures together.
Amy couldn't help but glance at the Doctor thoughtful. Her Doctor had been so pushy about everyone being important; maybe Donna had something to do with that. Regardless if she did or not, it just went to show the Doctor could still grow and learn just like any of them.
Donna asks if his friend punched him in the face before she left, stop bleeping her! The Doctor asks what kind of secretary and she shares she is at HC Clements, temping and that's where she met Lance
"I'm getting the feeling Lance is behind some of this." Yaz narrowed her eyes at the screen, her police raining at the front of her mind.
"Five points to Yaz." The Doctor awarded, less cheerful than normal. It was enough that Yaz didn't protest the return of the point system.
Donna remembers it, saying it was a bit posh really as she'd spent the last two years at a double-glazing firm, and she thought she was never going to fit there but Lance made her coffee, and like, that doesn't just happen, no one gets the secretaries coffee. She adds Lance is head of HR and didn't need to bother with her but he was nice and funny
"Sounds like a nice guy." Rory smiled.
Amy narrowed her own eyes suspiciously, "Or he was planning something."
Rory sighed a little about how cynical travelling with the Doctor made them sometimes, but didn't disagree.
Donna continues it turned out Lance thought everyone else was really snotty too, and that's how it all started, one cup of coffee. The Doctor asks when that was, and Donna says six months ago
Nardole blinked, "Blimey, that's a bit quick is it not?"
Donna shrugged, frowning. "I thought it was love." No one commented on that, sharing concerned looks. Maybe this video wouldn't be so cheery after all.
The Doctor remarks it is a bit quick to get married, Donna claims he insisted., kept nagging her Then we see flashbacks of Donna doing all the nagging
A few people chuckled as they watched the complete opposite happen in Donna's memories to what she was saying. Donna blushed slightly, but the Doctor only offered a gentle smile, understanding how this video was going to be difficult to relive again even if she'd moved past it a long time ago.
The Doctor asks what HC Clements does, and Donna says security systems – entry codes, ID cards that kind of things, a posh name for locksmiths really. The Doctor mutters about keys
"That's hit something in your memory, hasn't it?" Clara asked, recognising the look on their face.
Donna says that is enough about her CV, and it is time to face the consequences, worried about how shaming it is going to be but adding he can do the explaining, Martian boy. The Doctor protests he isn't from Mars
"Priorities, Sweetie." River laughed.
Donna adds she has a great reception all planned and everyone is going to be heartbroken. We cut to them entering the reception where everyone is bopping to Slade under a disco ball and having a great time
"Never mind then." Jack winced at seeing everyone so happily celebrating despite not knowing if Donna was okay. That can't have gone done well with Donna herself.
"Well, that's just rude." Martha crossed her arms, offended on Donna's behalf.
People notice Donna's entrance and the fun stops. She is stunned they had the reception without her
"This isn't going to be pretty." Mickey winced, kind of excited despite himself to see Donna deal with her family.
Lance asks what happened to her, Donna is stuck on them having the reception, and the Doctor introduced himself
"Not the time Doctor." Bill muttered.
Donna tells the Doctor they had the reception without her, and he gathered. Nerys argues it was paid for so why not, Donna thanks her sarcastically. Slyvia chimes in what were they supposed to do, and she got Donna's silly message, I'm on earth was very funny (not), what happened? How did she do it, she'd love to know the trick
"I think we all would." Ryan pointed out. Donna's incredible appearance in the Tardis still hadn't been explained.
They all start talking at once, and Lance asks where she was the whole time. They all shut up as Donna bursts into tears, Lance hugs her and people applaud, except Nerys. Donna winks at the Doctor, later, Donna and Lance dance together, all happy again
"Oh, that's clever!" Martha grinned approvingly at Donna. They'd all panicked briefly upon seeing Donna burst into tears, but her little wink to the Doctor revealed the perfect act.
The Doctor gestures to a man holding a smart phone and borrows it to look up HC Clements, finding its sole proprietor - Torchwood
Jack perked up at that, raising an eyebrow and glancing the Doctor's direction. That was suspicious and likely in no way a coincidence. So far, they had Donna's teleportation, HC Clements and Lance, and the robot Santas, and Jack was betting they were all connected. How, he wasn't sure yet.
The Doctor hands back the phone, watching the dancers and remembering happy times with Rose, then he spots a man videoing and asks about the wedding. The camera man shares he tapped the whole thing, and everyone' looked and they said to sell it to You've Been Framed, he said he thought more like the news, he shows it to the Doctor
"The Doctor's in full investigation mode." Rose smiled; a bit softer as she saw her Doctor back to their normal antics.
He watches the replay of Donna flying off in golden energy, he says it can't be and asks him to play it again
"You recognise it?" River asked curious, she'd been going through her own memories and mental library but couldn't work out what it had been or what has the ability to send Donna to the Tardis like that.
The Doctor just nodded with a grimace, waving to the screen in answer.
The camera man says it was a good trick; the Doctor is shocked as it looks like Huon particles. The camera man asks what that is and the Doctor explains it is impossible, Huon energy doesn't exist anymore and hasn't for billions of years, it's so old it can't be hidden by a bio-damper
"Which means they can still find you." Clara immediately recognised, sitting up a bit straighter in concern. It wouldn't be hard for the robot Santas to track them down.
He runs outside to see robot Santas approaching
"Time to run." Amy exclaimed with wide eyes. So much for a peaceful wedding reception, Donna really wasn't catching a break.
The Doctor shouts to Donna they've been found, she protests he said she was safe, he explains the bio-damper doesn't work and they need to get everyone out. Donna is worried about all her family present
"Fire alarm." Ryan immediately suggested, "Always works."
Graham raised an eyebrow at his grandson, "And you know that how, son?"
Yaz grinned as Ryan rolled his eyes, "I mean it does in movies, I've not actually done it before!"
The Doctor points out the back door but the robots are there
"You're surrounded." Nardole commented.
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious Nardole." The Doctor rolled her eyes, earning an elbow in the side from her wife.
The Doctor says maybe not, they look through the windows and Donna realises they're trapped. One robot has a remote control
"I'm scared to ask what that does." Rory muttered with wary eyes on the screen. The look Donna and the Doctor exchanged was in no way reassuring either.
The Doctor remembers Christmas trees shouting to get away from them as they kill, Donna joins in the shouting to get away from them
"They're going to think you're mad." Rose said.
Donna huffed, "Madder than they already thought we were."
Sylvia calls the Doctor an idiot, asking what harm the trees are going to do. The plastic baubles fly off the trees and zoom at people, exploding when they hit something. It's chaos in the room, Donna and Lance hide underneath a table; the Doctor is near the DJ booth as he looks at the six Santas lined up by the bar
"Quite a bit of harm actually." Mickey winced. These Santas weren't any friendlier than the ones from last year, though what they wanted might be different.
He shouts to them, offering some advice, about not letting a man with a sonic screwdriver near the sound system. He jams the screwdriver into the deck and the resulting sound waves shake the robots to pieces
"Time to get out of there." Jack nodded, "They likely have back up on the way."
Everyone checks on everyone, Lance asks what they were and Donna tells him to stop wittering and help people. The Doctor finds the remote control for the decorations and a second for the robots, realising some has taken possession of them
"So, question is who's in control?" Bill asked the question they were all thinking.
"And what do they want?" Yaz added on.
Donna says never mind all that he's a doctor and people are hurt, he brushes past it saying they want her alive and showing the baubles aren't active now. Donna says he could help, but he says he has to think of the bigger picture, finding a signal
"Doctor!" River exclaimed disapproving. She understood it, but that doesn't mean she necessarily agreed with it. The rest of the group was also giving her disapproving looks.
The Doctor winced, holding her hands up in surrender. "There wasn't much I could do! Actual medics were on the way, Donna was still in trouble, and we were running out of time to track the source and work out what was going on!"
Sylvia asks Donna who he is. The Doctor and Donna leave as he says something is controlling the robots, Donna asks why is it her, what has she done? The Doctor tells her if they find the controller they'll find out, he spots something in the sky
"Always is." Mickey sighed, once again thinking back to their own Christmas adventure.
In the spaceship, the Empress watches the Doctor on a screen, calling him clever and talking about eating him as he and the bride will come to her, she will descend this night and shine. The spaceship is a seven-point star with spider web accessories, the Empress is a giant red spider
"A giant alien spider?" Ryan asked, eyes wide and expression grossed out. He groaned, "Oh come on, I thought our own spider mess was bad enough!" His comment on spider adventure drew a few glances but most knew better to ask at this point – if it was important, it would be shown eventually.
"Doesn't sound like they're friendly either." Rory grimaced, not liking the sound of the alien-spider wanting to eat them.
Ambulances arrive at the reception, as the Doctor says he's lost the signal. He turns to Donna and says they have to go to her office as that is where it all started, he asks Lance for a lift
"I still think Lance is involved in this." Clara crossed her arms, only getting more suspicious of Donna's former fiancé. The look Donna and the Doctor shared only made her more confident in her theories.
They arrive at the HC Clements office, as the Doctor declares it might be just a locksmith to them but it was bought by the Torchwood Institute twenty-three years ago
"Torchwood? Jack?" Martha turned her attention to Jack, very aware of where he worked (or used to).
"Not my branch." Jack shook his head, eyes on the screen wary of what Torchwood were up to this time. He wasn't blind to their mistakes by any stretch.
Donna asks who they are, the Doctor explains they were behind the battle of Canary Wharf – the Cybermen invasion and skies full of Daleks. Donna says she was in Spain, he protests there were Cybermen in Spain, she adds she was scuba diving
"Water. Only place safe from them." Yaz conceded.
Rose gave Donna a considering look, "How do you keep missing everything? It feels too off for it to be a coincidence."
The Doctor and Donna shared a look, "Long story."
He says she keeps missing the big picture, Torchwood was destroyed but HC Clements survived, so he thinks someone came in and took over
Jack shook his head, "Torchwood wasn't destroyed. They just took some time to recover, and used the cover to stay hidden."
"Annoyingly." The Doctor muttered; she wasn't exactly Torchwood's favourite fan. Jack's old team may be the only exception to that, even if she didn't always approve.
Donna asks what they want with her, and he explains she'd been dosed with Huon energy somehow which is a problem as Huon energy hasn't existed for a long time, and the only place you'd find it now is in the heart of the Tardis. He picks up a coffee mug and pencil to demonstrate how the particles activated and brought her to the Tardis – she was the pencil in the mug
"Like calls to like." Amy summarised her understanding, nodding at the explanation for Donna's amazing teleportation finally, "The Tardis was the closest source so the particles took her to the Tardis."
"But was that on purpose?" Rory asked, "Or an accident?"
Donna and the Doctor shared a knowing look but didn't offer any answers.
The Doctor asks what HC Clements is working on, anything secret?
"Why dose a secretary with the particles though?" Mickey asked, "No offense Donna."
"Maybe it's a result of something HC Clements was doing?" Martha offered a theory. The whole group was in full theorising mode, trying to piece together the clues they had.
Lance claims he doesn't know as he's in charge of personnel not a project manager, he then asks what the hell they're even talking about. The Doctor works on a computer and finds a plan of the building, they're on the third floor as the Doctor says they make keys, that the point
"And that makes sense because …?" Bill raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, not understanding what the Doctor was getting at yet.
He points out underneath the reception is the basement, so why is there a button marked lower basement on the lift – there's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans, so what is down there?
"Secrets." Ryan declared, confident. If there was a floor not on the plan, then HC Clements was definitely hiding something.
Lance asks if he's saying there is a secret floor, the Doctor replies no, he's showing him. Donna says it needs a key, the Doctor counters he doesn't
"Any excuse." River smiled fondly; the Doctor loved their sonic.
He sonic the button, then thanks them and tells them he can handle this, see them later. Donna says not a chance, he's the one who keeps saving her life so she isn't letting him out of her sight
"You tell him Donna!" Martha grinned, glad to see Donna step up instead of focusing on the horrible day she'd had. Though she couldn't deny she was curious what happened, because if this video happened when they said it had, it was before she'd met the Doctor but she knew she'd travelled with the Doctor before Donna. Things weren't quite adding up in her mind.
They get in the lift, Lance suggests maybe he should call the police, hesitating, Donna tells him to get inside
"Weak willed." Yaz shook her head with narrowed eyes at the screen. She didn't trust Lance remotely, and he seemed very weak willed, and not a great match for Donna in general.
He gets in. The Doctor says to honour and obey and Lance replies to tell him about it, Donna protests
Donna shot a playful glare at the Doctor, while River nudged her in the side.
On the spaceship, the Empress watched the lift saying the bride approaches and she is her key
"That doesn't sound good." Nardole muttered.
They exit into a corridor bathed in eerie green. Donna asks where they are and what goes on down there, and then does Mr Clements know about it? The Doctor says he's likely part of it, and they should find out the other answers. He finds transport
"Everything's a big conspiracy." Graham rolled his eyes.
Ryan shrugged, "To be fair it usually is, remember Jack Roberston?"
"Hard to forget!" Graham conceded.
The use the segways to travel down the corridor, stopping at a bulkhead door labelled Torchwood. The Doctor turns the wheel and opens the door revealing a ladder. He tells them to wait there and not do anything, he needs to get his bearings
"When has anyone ever listened to that?" Amy snorted, fully anticipating Donna to blatantly ignore the Doctor's words.
The Doctor sighed, "I can dream."
Donna says he better come back, he replies as he starts climbing that he couldn't get rid of her if he tried
The Doctor and Donna couldn't help but share an almost bittersweet smile, both thinking back to the better days and then their unfortunate separation.
Lance asks Donna if she's seriously thought about this, what the hell are they going to do? Donna was thinking of July
"Not quite what I think he means." Rory offered quietly.
The Doctor reaches the top, opening another door to reveal he's on one of the Thames Barrier blocks. He reports back where they are when he climbs back down, saying Torchwood must have snuck in and built this place underneath
"Lots of space, little traffic." Jack mused, "Perfect secret base. Sounds about right for Torchwood."
Donna asks there's a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark? The Doctor replies, sarcastically, he knows, it's unheard of
The group all turned raised eyebrows and narrowed eye on the Doctor, very suspicious about how he'd said that.
"I'm guessing you've seen a lot of that?" Martha queried.
The Doctor grinned, "Like you wouldn't believe." Aliens often liked showing off (like humans) and nothing was better than a secret base under a key landmark. Rose snorted, thinking of her first adventure with the Doctor and the aliens under the London Eye – another great example.
They enter a laboratory with bubbling tubes, the Doctor is impressed calling it stunning
"Not what I'd call it." Bill argued.
Donna asks what it does, and the Doctor explains it is particle extrusion, they've been manufacturing Huon particles. He adds his people got rid of Huon as they unravel the atomic structure
"Oh lovely!" Rose's voice was higher in pitch than normal, full of sarcasm and a bit startled at the causal way the Doctor mentioned that. These things really weren't good.
Martha's eyes widened, darting to Donna in worry, "What about Donna?" That didn't sound like a good thing to have in you.
The Doctor smiled at the concern and shook her head, "All okay, no lasting effects."
Lance asks about his people, asking what company he represents. The Doctor says he's a freelancer, turning back to the particles saying they're rebuilding them using the river to form Huon particles in liquid form
A few people smirked at the Doctor's evasion of Lance's question. In a way he wasn't really lying, though he certainly wasn't saying everything.
Donna asks about that being inside her. The Doctor turns a knob on the container and both the liquid and Donna glow gold
"A regular lava lamp." Jack grinned teasingly at Donna who crossed her arms with a glare at the man.
"Oh, don't you start, Mister!" Jack just laughed in response to Donna's annoyed words.
Donna is shocked while the Doctor is impressed, saying the particles are inert so need a living catalyst and that's Donna. He jumps backwards, realising something, her wedding, she got all excited a chemical war inside her body and caused the particles to reach a boiling point like in a pressure cooker. She slaps him again
People didn't even bother containing their laughs and snorts of amusement at Donna's very understandable response at the Doctor's excited realisations.
"Okay, I may have deserved that." The Doctor offered; hands raised in surrender.
"May have?" Donna raised a pointed eyebrow. The Doctor's sheepish smile depended.
The Doctor asks what he did to and Donna asks if he's enjoying this? She then demands to know if the particles are dangerous and is she safe. He says yes
"Which question are you answering?" Clara asked with a raised eyebrow and suspicion clear in her voice. The Doctor just turned back to the screen.
Donna asks why his lot got rid of the particles, and he admits it was because they're deadly
"Not the best way to break the news." Mickey grimaced, glancing in concern at Donna despite the Doctor already telling them she was safe (and her being in the room okay). Things really could only get worse and worse for poor Donna today.
Donna is understandably shocked but he promises to sort it out, and he'll reverse what's been done as he's not about to lose someone else
The group was silent, all exchanging looks at the stubborn declaration from the Doctor. They had lost many people, and were likely to lose ore in the future, regardless of what they did.
They hear the Empress saying she is long lost. The wall in front of them slides up to reveal a hole descending into the earth. The Empress continues she's waited so long, hibernating until the secret heart was uncovered and she was awoken. Lance runs away and robots turn their guns on the Doctor and Donna (now dressed in black robes)
"Troubles finally arrived." Bill frowned.
"It's been here for a while." Ryan countered.
Bill shrugged, "You know what I meant."
Several people glared at Lance who had immediately made himself scarce at the first sign of trouble; even if he didn't turn out to be evil or involved in this plan directly, he was still a weak-willed coward and underserving of Donna.
The Doctor comments that someone has been digging, quickly realising it was Torchwood using a laser and asking how far it goes down. The Empress says it goes all the way to the centre of the Earth
"Impressive." Amy reluctantly admitted with a frown.
"And dangerous." Rory grimaced, he didn't want to imagine what the creepy and clearly evil giant alien spider wanted with a hole to the centre of the Earth. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure they were about to find out.
The Doctor asks seriously, what for? Donna suggests dinosaurs
"Dinosaurs?" Martha blinked, confused at Donna's declaration.
The Doctor asks what she's on about, Donna mentions the film about dinosaurs under the Earth and she's trying to help
Donna's comment was successful in undercutting the tension building in the room, a few chuckles escaping various people as she was eager to help with limited success.
He says it isn't helping. The Empress declares them a sweet couple, mockingly. The Doctor declares only a madman talks to thin air and she doesn't want to make him mad so where is she, the Empress replies she is high in the sky, floating high on Christmas night
"Riddles. Typical." Nardole commented. What was it with evil masterminds and riddles?
The Empress is still watching on her screen as he demands to look at her, she asks who is he to make such a command. He introduces himself as the Doctor and she tells him to prepare his best medicine as he will be sick at heart
"She doesn't know you then." River remarked in consideration, "Probably for the best."
"Oi!" The Doctor protested, not quite sure what that meant but feeling offended anyway.
The Empress transports herself into the drilling sight. The Doctor recognises her as Racnoss, declaring it impossible
The Master blinked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. He'd been quiet the whole time, secretly curious to get the Doctor's side of the story on the Christmas star incident (as he'd been pretending to be Saxon back then and could only piece together so much of the picture). "I thought they were all gone?"
"So did I." The Doctor nodded, not really an answer but the video would explain.
She declares herself the Empress of the Racnoss. Lance climbs a ladder and runs. The Doctor asks where the rest of the Racnoss are there or is she alone. He realises she is the last of her kind, they come from the dark ages, billions of years ago, carnivores and omnivores that ate whole planets
"Friendly lot then." Graham grimaced. This just kept getting better and better.
The Empress states the Racnoss are born starving so is it really their fault? Donna asks about them eating people, and the Doctor asks if Clement wore black and white shoes
"Why's that important?" Rose asked warily. The Doctor just grimaced and gestured to the screen in answer.
Donna says he did as they used to laugh and call him the fat cat in spats. The Doctor points to a pair of feat wearing the shoes sticking out the web across the ceiling, Donna is horrified
Several people in the room echoed her sentiment, other grimacing as Mr Clements fate became very clear very quickly. Donna and the Doctor were in some serious trouble.
The Empress calls it Christmas dinner. The Doctor says she shouldn't even exist as long-ago fledgling empires went to war with the Racnoss and wiped them out. Lance is on a balcony above the Empress and makes a shush gesture
"Is he going to help?" Bill asked, still not quite trusting him but hopeful he was coming back to save Donna. Maybe they'd forgive him a bit if he at least tried.
In answer, the Doctor and Donna shared a knowing look. Donna was watching with a careful eye, trying to see the signs she'd missed the first time.
The Empress says except for her. Donna speaks up trying to keep her attention on her, asking how she fits in and why she got the Huon particles, demanding the Empress looks her in the eye. The Empress declares she is feisty
"Oh, that doesn't even begin to describe her." The Doctor smiled fondly. None of them blinked an eye at Donna's courage, not doubting her for a second.
Lance sneaks behind the Empress with a fire axe, Donn keeps up her distraction, agreeing and declaring while the Empress may be big, she's still a spider, and an axe is an axe! She shouts at Lance to do it, and he starts to swing as the Empress turns ad hisses at him. Lance stops and laughs, the Empress joining in
"That -." Martha cut herself off with a scowl, not even able to find a good word to describe her feelings about Lance. "God Donna, I'm so sorry."
Donna shook her head, not meeting anyone's eyes. She hadn't anticipated quite how hard that would hit her even after all these years and finding her real happy ending.
"I guess that answers whose side he's on." Clara grimaced; it was the ultimate betrayal on an already terrible day for Donna.
Lance declares it was a good one, her face. The Empress agrees Lance is funny
"Lance is a lot of things." Amy glared, anger burning for Donna's sake. She wasn't sure any explanation from Lance was going to garner the room's sympathy after what he'd done to Donna. "But funny isn't one of them."
Donna is shocked, and the Doctor apologises. Donna refuses it, refuses to believe it, telling Lance to get her! Lance declares her thick, complaining about putting up with her for months, a woman who can't point to Germany on a map
"Ignore every word he says Donna!" Rose crossed her arms, a determined look at Donna. Others around the room all made sounds of agreement which warmed Donna's heart. She hadn't thought about Lance in a long time, happy with Shaun now, but it was nice to have so much support from the group. It made it slightly easier to watch the whole mess.
Donna doesn't understand. The Doctor asks how she met him; she reminds him in the office, and he adds he made her coffee
"Which is when he doused you." River sighed as she made the final connection.
Lance chimes in every day he made her coffee, the Doctor explains she had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months. She realises he was poisoning her, and the Doctor says it is there in the job title – Head of Human Resources
"Knew they were evil." Mickey tried to joke, but it fell flat with all of them still reeling from the betrayal and burning with anger for Donna.
Lance says it is personal this time, Donna protests they were getting married. Lance explains he couldn't risk her running off so had to say yes and get stuck with her, listening to her yap, he mocks her. He says he deserves a medal for putting up with the yapping and never-ending fountain of stupid trivia
"Well, he's just the worst." Yaz stated flatly with a scowl at the screen.
Donna was still not meeting the group's eyes, even as the Doctor tried to sneak her looks, worried.
The Doctor asks what the Empress has offered him, is he her consort? Lance declares it better than a night with Donna who protests she loves him
The group's hearts went out to poor Donna who'd had the absolute worst day imaginable. It made them slightly better to remember she was happily married now, to someone they'd seen (briefly) was a genuinely caring man.
Lance says that made it easy and it is like the Doctor said – the big picture. He explains the Empress will give him a chance to go out there and see it all, and he thinks the Doctor understands that
The Doctor scowled, she certainly understood that feeling but she didn't understand Lance's choices or hatred.
The Empress asks lance who the Doctor is, he mentions how Donna kept calling him Martian
"Might be helpful, them not knowing what you are." Martha sighed. Lance's lack of information might lend some favour to Donna and the Doctor.
The Doctor interrupts saying he's kind of homeless, but the point it what is down in the hole? The Racnoss are extinct so what is down there apart from the molten core of the Erath. Lance thinks the Doctor wants them to talk, the Empress agrees
"Well, your type typically loves to share their plans." The Doctor answered the pair on screen for their past self.
Lance says tough as all they need is Donna. The Empress demands the Doctor's death, and Donna shouts to not hurt him
"Oh Donna." The Doctor smiled sadly. She's still been willing to try and protect him despite having only met him that day and having to deal with everything she'd gone through. He missed all the companions he'd lost but Donna would always hold a special place in their heart.
The Doctor protests it is alright but Donna refuses to let them. The robots point their guns at the Doctor as the Empress tells them to take aim, the Doctor tries to say something
"Might want to think of something quickly Doctor." Bill muttered worriedly; things were getting a bit too tense for their liking.
The Doctor says he just wants to point out the obvious, the Empress interrupts that they're very good shots and won't hit the bride. The Doctor tells them to hold on, just a little tick, saying if they think about it the particles activated in Donna drew her inside his spaceship, so reverse it and the spaceship comes to her
"That's a decent plan." Jack grinned; it was a rare occurrence but occasionally the Doctor came up with a decent plan. The group all perked up getting more hopeful to see the pair escape unharmed.
River pursed her lips, "Can't they just reverse it to bring Donna back?"
The grimace that Donna and the Doctor shared was all the answer the group needed.
The Doctor turns the knob on the Huon container as the Empress shouts fire. The Tardis appears around the Doctor and Donna as he says off they go. They dematerialise as the Empress screeches about her key
"You're on limited time, Doctor." Rose declared, shooting concerned glanced at the pair. "Hope you know what you're doing."
In the Tardis, the Doctor reminds her about what he said about time machines earlier well he might have lied and now they're going to use it. He explains they need to find out what the Empress is digging up, and if something is buried at the planet's core it must have been there from the beginning, and he's always wanted to see this. He tells Donna they're going further back than he's ever been before
"The birth of the planet." Amy's eyes widened in a bit of awe. It was a terrible reason but she couldn't deny she was curious to see it.
The Empress declares if a key is lost, another must be cut. The robots turn their guns onto Lance with an order from her
"Turning on Lance." Rory sighed, "Can't say I'm surprised." Or that he didn't deserve it.
They arrive and the Doctor asks if she wants to see, she supposes
"Absolutely." Bill leaned forward, very eager to witness it even on screen.
The Doctor admits the scanner is a bit small so maybe her way is best, moving to the door and telling her no human has ever seen this so she'll be the first
Donna smiled softly, it had been one of the very few good moments of that day and something she'd thought back to on many occasions since that day (before she lost her memories).
All Donna wants is her bed
"Mood." Ryan muttered quietly.
He welcomes her to the creation of the Earth, opening the doors to reveal lumps of rock floating around a dust covered sun. He continues they've gone back four point six billion years, before the solar system where there is only dust and rocks, and the sun is brand new, just starting to burn
"This is incredible." Martha muttered, the tension in the room easing slightly as the group was distracted by the sight in front of them.
Donna asks where the Earth is, and he tells her all around them in the dust. Donna admits it puts the wedding in perspective, they're just tiny
"But incredible." The Doctor smiled at the group, taking time to glance at each person in turn.
"Annoying more like." The Master argued, promptly getting ignored.
The Doctor argues that is what humans do, make sense out of chaos, marking it with weddings and Christmas and calendars. The process is beautiful but only if it is observed. Donna says she came out of all this then?
"We all did." River muttered in awe. Despite having done all of her own travelling and seeing everything she'd seen, things like this was still awe inspiring to witness.
The Doctor says isn't it beautiful. A block of rock drifts past and Donna jokes about it being the Isle of Wight. The Doctor explains gravity takes hold eventually and one big rock pulls in others and everything, the dust, gas, elements, get pulled in until you get – the Earth Donna chimes in
"A beautiful mess." Jack smiled fondly; it may not have been his original home but it had come to be one of his favourite places. He could understand all too well why the Doctor kept coming back to the Earth time and time again.
The Doctor says the question is what was the first rock. A seven-point star spaceship comes out of the dust cloud and Donna points it out – the Racnoss
"They've been here the whole time." Yaz realised, the thought a bit terrifying. It wasn't a nice thought that a giant spiders web of carnivorous aliens lived at the centre of their planet.
Back in the present, the Empress force feeds Lance Huon particle water, telling him to drink and become the key
The group grimaced at the sight, as much as they hated Lance, he didn't deserve the fate they were all anticipating. The Empress wasn't a friendly alien, and wasn't going to give him any mercy.
In the past, the Doctor say the Racnoss are hiding from the war so what is it doing. Donna realises it is exactly what he said as rocks and dust are attracted to it. The Doctor realises they didn't bury something at the centre, they became the centre. There is a bang and Donna asks what it was, the Doctor replies trouble
"Right on time." Amy sighed. They'd run out of time.
The Empress is happy with her new key as Lance glows. The Tardis throws the Doctor and Donna around as the latter asks what it is doing. The Doctor reminds her of his trick with particles pulling particles as it works in reverse and they're pulling them back
"I hope you have a plan." Rory said, concerned. "The viewing was stunning but doesn't help you escape."
Donna shouts can't he stop it? Reverse or warp or beam or something? The Doctor comments on backseat driving before remembering the extrapolator
"So, I was right." Donna gave the Doctor a smug grin at the reminder her so called 'backseat driving' was actually helpful.
He brings out the surfboard from 'Boom Town', saying it can't stop them but should give them a good bump
"What kind of bump?" Mickey asked curious how a bump may help them.
The Doctor grinned in response, waving to the screen in answer.
In the present, Lance is ensnared in the web as the Tardis appears. The Empress declares the bride shall join her groom, and what a wedding it will be
"This is twisted." Martha grimaced, shaking her head.
The Doctor shouts now and the Tardis dematerialises again, reappearing about two hundred metres to the right which he tells Donna, saying come on!
"Ah, okay." Graham nodded, realising what the Doctor had managed to do. Not being exactly where they were expected to be could be helpful, they just had to be quick and smart as it wouldn't take them long before they'd be found out.
The Empress knows they are close by and tells the robots to find them. Donna asks what they do, the Doctor admits he doesn't know as he makes it up as he goes along but to trust him as he has a history
Jack snorted, "That's one way to describe it." The Doctor's tactic of not really having a proper plan till last moment was famous between the group.
He uses his stethoscope on the Torchwood door as Donna says she still doesn't understand, why is she full of particles? The Doctor explains the Racnoss web is at the centre of the Earth but his people unravelled their power source and the Huon particles were destroyed and the Racnoss trapped
"They want to use the particles to bring the web out of the centre of the planet." Rose summarised as she made the connection. She wasn't entirely against that, but the trouble wouldn't be worth it.
A robot grabs Donna from behind
"Donna!" Several people exclaimed worried at the sudden attack.
The Doctor continues talking, ignorant. He says they've been hibernating for billions of years and Donna is the new key, new living particles so they need her to open it, he realises she is gone as she's never been so quiet
"About time, Spaceman!" Donna huffed playfully. It had taken him some time to stop jabbering and realise she was gone.
He sonics the door open to reveal a robot pointing a gun at him
"More trouble." Rory sighed.
At the drilling site, Donna is ensnared in the web next to Lance right over the hole. She declares her hatred for him
"Understandable." Martha muttered. That was putting it lightly after everything he'd done.
Lance says they've gone a bit past that now. The Empress declares them her golden couple, together at last, then asking if they want to be released. They both shout yes, and she complains they are supposed to say I do
"She's really invested in the wedding thing." Mickey grimaced; the reminder can't have been nice for Donna after the day she'd had.
Lance says no chance, but the Empress demands they say it. They both do
"Threats of death make you do things you wouldn't think you normally would." Amy snorted.
The Empress declares she doesn't, ordering the particles to be activated. Donna and Lance start to glow as she orders their release, the particles zoom straight down into the hole
The group got tenser and tenser as the Empress's plan was coming into fruition with the Doctor nowhere in sight and without a plan to stop it.
The Empress says they will be woken from their sleep of ages, Donna asks who will as Lance asks how thick she is. The Empress explains her children, the long lost Racnoss will be reborn to feat on flesh, the web star will come to her
"Lat thing on my Christmas list, a space ship full of hungry man-eating spider aliens." Rose commented.
Bill raised an eyebrow at that, "It's not even on my list."
The spaceship moves towards the Earth as things start to climb up the hole. The Empress declares her children will be hungry and need food, so perish the web. Lance shouts to use Donna and not him
"Slimly little snake." Jack glared, still trying to save his own skin.
The Empress calls him funny but says she doesn't approve of how impolite he is to his lady friend; the web releases Lance and he falls into the hole as Donna shouts after him
The group winced, Lance was a horrible man who's betrayed and hurt Donna but that was still a rough fate to have. Donna glanced away from the screen, unable to watch it twice.
Above surface, people spot the spaceship coming to the city, shining like a star and a little girl points it out saying its Christmas
"Not a friendly one." Rose frowned, the star was free to cause trouble and destruction.
The Empress orders the humans to be harvested, reduced to meat
"Please don't." Rory asked frowning.
Energy shoots out of the spaceship, wreaking havoc in the streets, the little girl is snatched out the way of a beam. The Empress says her children are climbing and none shall stop them
"I'm pretty sure the Doctor's going to disagree with that." Amy raised an eyebrow, hopeful that it was true. The longer they didn't have a plan, the more destruction the Empress rained down on London.
A robot walks up the steps, and the Empress continues he might as well unmask, clever little doctor man. The Doctor removes his robot mask and robe
"Ah, the old dress up as the robot." Jack nodded in approval. Despite it not working, it suggested the Doctor actually had part of a plan, "Classic."
The Doctor admits it was a nice try, shouting he has Donna. He points his sonic at her and the web starts to give way. Donna is scared as she's going to fall, he tells her to swing as he has her
Rose watched the screen, unable to help thinking back to her own first adventure with the Doctor which had also taken place under a London landmark and involve swinging on a rope like object.
Donna screams as she swings across the hole, past the Empress and to the landing where the Doctor is, she drops to the ground by him as the web is too short. He apologises and she says thanks for nothing
"At least you're not still hanging from the web?" Ryan offered in consolidation.
The Empress finds the Doctor amusing
"And me, honey." River snorted.
The Doctor offers the Empress one last chance, he says he can find her a planet and her and her people can co-exist in the universe. He tells her to take the offer and end this, she is entertained and declines his offer
Several members of the group, especially those that had travelled with Pinstripes, shook their head in disapproval of Empress' choices. This Doctor was not the most merciful, and with Rose's recent loss this was bound to go darker.
The Doctor declares what happens next is her own doing. The Empress counters she'll show him what happens next, telling the robots to take aim, the Doctor tells them to relax and the robots slump
"You have a plan." Yaz grinned, glad to see it even if it had taken a while. The Doctor didn't offer their normal grin though, expression a bit more solemn as they recalled what they'd done.
Donna asks what he did, and tells her guess what he has? Pockets – he shows her the robot remote control from his pocket
"You don't have to rub it in Spaceman!" Donna huffed for her past self.
"I miss those days." The Doctor sighed fondly, "This coat is great but most woman's clothing is ugh." She shook her head.
Donna asks how it fit in his pockets and he shares they're bigger on the inside
The group all spoke in time with the Doctor on screen, laughing fondly as they realised what they'd done. The Doctor just smiled fondly despite the teasing.
The Empress says the robots aren't necessary and the children will feast on his Martian flesh. The Doctor counters he's not from Mars, and she asks where then. He tells her his home planet is long gone, but the name lives on – Gallifrey. The Empress is angry as they murdered the Racnoss
"She didn't like that!" Mickey whistled lowly. It was an occasional occurrence that they met someone that knew the Doctor for his species (and not themself) and was always a mixed bag of reactions.
The Doctor says he warned her and she did this. He takes some of the Christmas baubles from his other pocket as she screams no. He throws them in the air and uses the remote to control them, blowing holes in the corridor wall to let the Thames River stream in as others surround the Empress. Fire breaks out and water comes flooding into the lair and don the hole, screams echo from the depths
The group watched in silence; expressions grim. It was a cruel ending for the Racnoss but none of them could think of another plan, plus the Empress had denied the Doctor's offer. That's not to say they approved … more that they understood the Doctor felt pushed into a corner and was already in a darker place with Rose's departure.
The Doctor turned away from the screen, ashamed of her past decisions. River squeezed her arm in comfort. No one saying a word, unsure what to say. She also ignored the pointed look she knew was being directed her way from the Master, but thankfully he didn't make a comment.
The Empress screams for her children as Donna shouts that the Doctor can stop now
Several members of the group gave Donna thankful glances, very glad she was there to tell the Doctor enough and make sure they both got out in time. They didn't want to think about what would have happened otherwise. All Donna could think about, however, was what would could have happened. Along with her memories of her travels with the Doctor, came the memories of the alternative reality she had experienced. The memories had always been fuzzy but the Tardis had brought them to full clarity.
The Doctor tells Donna to come on as it is time he got her out, their both soaked to the skin as they climb the stairs, the Empress still screaming behind them before she demands to be teleported
"Can't just give up, can she?" Nardole muttered.
The Empress is beamed up to the spaceship declaring they will suffer and the planet scorched
"I say, no thanks." Bill muttered with a quick tilt of her head.
As they climb the ladder Donna asks about the Empress, and the Doctor says she's defenceless as she used up all her Huon energy. On the streets of London, an army tank rumbled down the street aiming at the spaceship. The commander declares orders from Mister Saxon, fire at will!
Martha and Jack both scowled at the mention of the Master as Saxon, sharing a knowing look. They were both dreading watching those videos, which they were sure would come up eventually. The Doctor glanced their way quickly, and couldn't help the quick glance at the Master.
The soldiers fire and missiles attack the spaceship which falls to pieces and explodes over Canary Wharf
"Well, that deals with that." Rose frowned, "Violently." Not that the Doctor's solution was not violent, but that was extreme.
The Doctor and Donna stand on gate 8 of the Thames border. Donna says there is just one problem – he's drained the Thames
"Not your problem." River grinned, "I suggest leaving before anyone notices."
Later, outside the Nobles' home, the Tardis is parked across the road. The Doctor tells Donna he told her it would be alright; the Tardis can survive anything. Donna replies more than she's done
"I'd argue the opposite Donna." The Doctor smiled softly at her old companion who managed a smile despite the wandering thoughts around alternative realities and Lance.
He scans her quickly with his sonic, informing her the Huon particles are all gone with no damage, she's fine
"Finally, some good news." Amy smiled with a thankful glance at Donna.
Donna says apart from that she's missed her wedding, lost her job and became a widow all in the same day, sort of
"Yeah, not the best day." Ryan grimaced.
Yaz raised an eyebrow, "That's putting it lightly."
The Doctor says he couldn't save him, Donna first says he deserved it, then corrects herself that he didn't. She adds she better get inside as they'll be worried
Martha glanced at Donna concerned, she'd gone through a lot in a very short time. She couldn't have been alright immediately, and even though it had been a while since then having it replayed on screen likely brought some old feelings back to the surface.
The Doctor says it is the best Christmas present they could have as they watch Sylvia and Geoff hug each other
Donna smiled softly; a bit bittersweet at the sight of her dad with her mum.
The Doctor then realises he forgot she hates Christmas, Donna says she does, and he asks even if it snows? He uses the Tardis to fire a bolt of energy into the sky and snow starts falling
"Ah, you're doing your best to charm her." River smiled fondly, recognising what the Doctor was trying to do. He wanted Donna to travel with him.
Donna can't believe he did that and he calls it basic excitation
"Show off." Donna was grinning despite herself.
Donna tells him merry Christmas, the Doctor says to her to, asking what she'll do now. Donna replies not get married to start, and she might travel, see more of Earth, go out there and do something
"Travel's certainly right." Jack laughed, thinking that Donna accepted the Doctor's offer here. Donna hid a little secret smile; she'd certainly travelled but just the normal way for a while until she found the Doctor again. She was a little surprised they'd forgotten her other adventure with the Doctor and the Adipose, but they had seen a lot since then, it made sense for it to slip their minds a little.
The Doctor says she could always come with him, Donna replies no
Half the group blinked at the immediate outright dismissal, not expecting it. They'd all thought this was how Donna had started travelling with Donna, but apparently not. Donna was stubborn, and unlikely to change her mind. Rose hid a smile, she'd said no immediately too, but the Doctor convinced her. He hadn't been able to do so with Donna though.
He says okay as she says she can't, the Doctor adds no, that's fine
Donna glanced at the Doctor; it hadn't been fine but it meant the Doctor had eventually found Martha which may have been for the best. Either way she'd ended up travelling with him anyway.
Donna says no really, does he live his life like this? With everything they did today. The Doctor says not all the time
"90% of the time." Bill countered with a raised eyebrow.
Donna counters she thinks he does and she couldn't. The Doctor argues she has seen it out there and it is beautiful. Donna adds it is also terrible, the place was flooding and burning and they were dying as he just stood there like a stranger, then he made it snow. She admits he scares her to death
"Then maybe you're the only smart human." The Master drawled from his little corner; expression dark. The group couldn't help but listen though, even as the Doctor's eyes were on the floor. "Then again, you ended up travelling with them anyway so maybe not."
His words left an unsettling feeling with the group, all turning back to the screen quietly.
Donna tells him to come for Christmas dinner though, he argues he doesn't do that sort of thing
"You're not getting a choice." Martha smiled fondly; the Doctor needed the break.
Amy couldn't help the little grin; she wasn't the first to drag the Doctor to Christmas dinner unwillingly then. Rose also managed a bittersweet smile, the Doctor had gone through a lot, she was glad he'd had someone after she was gone, even briefly.
Donna reminds him he did it last year, he said so, so he might as well as her mum always cooks enough for twenty. The Doctor says alright then but she goes first and warn then, and don't say she's Martian. He adds he just needs to park the Tardis properly and he'll see her in a minute
"You're running away." Clara shook her head in disapproval, recognising the behaviour in the Doctor for what it really meant immediately.
He goes into the Tardis and the engines start up, Donna shouts after him and he reappears saying blimey, she can shout
"And don't you forget it!" Donna huffed with a grin.
Donna asks if she is ever going to see him again
"Yes." The Doctor smiled at Donna. Donna had certainly seen to that. She grinned back.
The Doctor says if he's lucky. Donna asks him to promise her one thing – find someone. He protests he doesn't need anyone and she counters he does, as sometimes she thinks he needs someone to stop him
The Doctor couldn't help but glance at Martha, meeting her eyes as she'd also been looking her way. Martha was the first to look away, turning her gaze to Donna, she was the reason that she'd ended up travelling with the Doctor and she was thankful for that despite all the bad.
The Doctor says thanks then, and good luck, just be magnificent. Donna says she will
"You were and will continue to be." The Doctor smiled softly at Donna who nodded back.
She wants to know one last thing, what was his friend's name? The Doctor shares her name was Rose
Rose smiled at the pair; a bit unsure about why it mattered so much to Donna in the moment, but it certainly came in handy later.
The Tardis dematerialises
The screen faded to black, signalling the end of the video. People started stretching in their seats and faint mumbles started to be heard around the room.
"So that's how you met the Doctor?" Rose asked Donna.
Donna nodded, "Yes, though it wasn't a while later until I tracked him down and started travelling with him, which you've already seen." Several people in the group nodded along, now remembering the mess with the Adipose, things making more sense as they got more pieces of the puzzle.
"Before then, he found me." Martha summarised, more to herself than the rest of the room. The Doctor glanced at Martha with a mixed expression no one could interpret.
"Well, let's see what the Tardis has in store for us next." The Doctor finally spoke up, last expression fading to a grin (which was only half fake) as she clapped her hands and turned back to the screen. The rest of the group followed her lead.
