Until We Burn | Dr Who

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Runaway Bride

"The Tardis is protecting us."

Her gaze darts back to me. "Who are you?"

I manage a weak smile and dare to come a little closer. "This is the Doctor. I'm Inara. What's your name?"

"Donna."

He takes in her appearance and, with a wary edge, says, "Human?"

Even with her back facing me again I can see her awkward sway. "Yeah. Is that optional?"

"Well, it is for us."

The part of me that has grown accustomed to state secrets and non-disclosure agreements tenses at his answer, frustrated that he could be so careless with such sensitive information. That is until I remember where we are. There is no use in keeping it a secret. Meeting Donna's scrutiny, I send her a small wave. "You're aliens?" she asks after some time.

"Yeah."

We wait, anxious, for her response. Then, shoulders sinking slightly, she scowls once more. "It's freezing with these doors open."

He brushes aside his surprise at the comment and shuts them, racing back to the console with enough speed to send me stumbling. "I don't understand it, and I understand everything."

"Sure you do," I sigh.

"This? This can't happen. There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the Tardis and transport itself inside. It must be—" In an instant he is back beside her, peering at her through an opthalmascope. "It must be some sort of subatomic connection, something in the temporal field."

Swinging one of the screens towards myself, I poke a button at its side and squint at her body scan. "Well, Donna's not lying, she is human. And my Gods, man! What did you to to her while I was gone? These visuals are awful!" With a gentle pat on the console, I add, "Sorry, Old Girl."

"Oh, of course you find something to pick on. She's fine! Now, maybe there's something macrobinding your DNA with the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic—" He is cut off by a sudden slap to the cheek. An indignant shout rises as he staggers back, "What was that for?"

"Get me to the church!"

There is not point arguing. Huffing, the Doctor stomps over to me and starts the Tardis back up. "Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?"

Donna follows after him with just as much of a heaviness in her steps, her glare never leaving us. "St Mary's, Haven Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System."

I watch her until she seems to give up, pacing away once she knows that he is doing something that appears close to inputting coordinates. The second she passes behind the pistons and out of sight, I lean over his shoulder to get a quiet word in. "No vortex manipulator or any visible devices. Are you sure it's not a malfunction?"

"Can't be. I've checked."

"Come across tactile holograms before. Maybe she's an illusion, a— a side-effect from something."

Again, he shakes his head. "Nothing here can produce an illusion to this effect."

I raise an eyebrow. "Right. Have you checked your tinker cupboard? Maybe you made something wrong."

"I don't 'make things wrong'. This isn't me. I'm not checking the tinker cupboard."

"But if you just checked the tinker cupboard."

"Inara, I'm not checking the—"

"I knew it. Acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?"