ℭ𝔥𝔦𝔰𝔴𝔦𝔠𝔨, 𝔈𝔫𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔡, 𝔈𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔥
𝔇𝔢𝔠𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔢𝔯 2006
It was hard to know how Donna would react upon arriving at her own reception, late. She had already explained what would have happened, had she been there, and she assumed that everyone would feel distraught that she had disappeared. As soon as EJ heard Merry Xmas Everybody over the speakers, he knew exactly what was going to happen.
The entire reception was dancing when they walked in, and for a moment, they were able to just watch. Then, slowly, people began to notice that Donna, and two strange men, had arrived in the room. The music cut out, and there was a tension in the air that EJ didn't even know how to describe... thick, perhaps.
Donna's voice was gritty and furious. "You had the reception without me?"
"Donna, what happened to you?" A man stepped forwards, presumably Lance from the way he was dressed, concerned. Although, not so concerned that he was previously dancing with a skimpy blonde in a blue cocktail dress.
"You had the reception without me." She repeated, as it seemed her point was lost among them.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself with the intention of breaking some of the tension. There was a smile on his face. "This is EJ."
Donna turned to them, unimpressed. "They had the reception without me!"
"Yes," The Doctor nodded, like he was speaking to a child. "I gathered."
The blonde woman who had been dancing with Lance spoke up. "Well, it was all paid for, why not?"
"Thank you, Nerys." Donna snapped.
"Oh, this is Nerys?" EJ's brows raised, uncomfortably, sneering at her. "Oh, yeah, she looks like a pain."
"What were we supposed to do?" An older blonde woman stepped forwards; she looked vaguely like Donna, perhaps her mother. "I got your silly little message in the end. I'm on Earth?! Very funny. But what the hell happened?"
"You vanished!" A white haired man exclaimed, presumably her dad.
"How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick, cos I know it's an illusion..." Her mother continued, but it quickly became a conglomeration of voices all layered on top of one another, which was extremely overwhelming.
Every single thing said was directed at Donna, and she looked around, unaware of what to do. Then, with one look at EJ and the Doctor, she burst into tears. Loud sobs escaped her lungs like she'd been holding it in all day. Everyone fell silent as Lance embraced her, which was when they awed and clapped like it was a romcom in a cinema. Though, she did wink to her new friends when her back was turned on the crowd before returning to sniffling. It was quite the master plan. The Doctor seemed impressed, and a slight smile grew on his lips.
The way that everything moved on was so swift, it was like Donna had never disappeared in the first place, everyone was just keen to dance again. Donna had found herself in Lance's arms, slow dancing, amongst conversation which EJ and the Doctor were glad to steer clear of. Too many questions would make the whole thing quite suspicious.
As they leant with their backs against the bar, the Doctor had a smirk pressed to his lips which EJ could not stop staring at. It was only getting worse, the feeling that the Doctor was beautiful was so overwhelming that it was never not on his mind. There were more important things happening, usually, but for now, he could afford to admire. At least, in conversation he could, anyhow.
"Is that us done, then?" EJ asked, looking to the Doctor with curiosity. "We leaving Donna here and going somewhere else?"
"I'm not sure yet..." The Doctor trailed.
"Well, that's not really very helpful, is it?" The black haired boy raised his right eyebrow, the words were flooding from his mouth. "I know that you're very handsome, or pretty, or whatever it is that you prefer, and that usually gets you places. I mean, it would get you places with me, now's not the time, I'll shut up now. Actually, no, I won't. I just want to know what we're doing."
"Give me a minute." The Doctor seemed stunned by the amount of words leaving EJ's lips, and so he stepped down the bar a moment to borrow someone's phone. EJ's was in the Tardis, and it wasn't yet safe.
When he came back, he put his glasses on which really didn't help with how attractive the Doctor was looking. With the floppy hair and the freckles and the hands, EJ didn't feel like he would even be walking out of the reception room in one piece. However, he turned his focus to the phone where the Doctor had searched 'HC Clements'. He used the sonic to see as much information as possible. Then, the final result showed up.
HC Clements. Sole proprieter: Torchwood.
They should have guessed, really. The Doctor's face dropped dramatically as he closed the flip phone and returned it to the original owner. EJ could see that the Doctor was hurting, and what made it worse was how he didn't know what to do. They observed the dancing, and that someone was filming the whole event which would come in handy later, but the Doctor looked like he was going to be sick.
"I know that you love Rose." EJ blurted, only thinking after he spoke. "And I will never take that away from you."
The Doctor look to him, expectantly. "But?"
"But she's not here anymore. I am." He spoke with a sadness in his tone which could have easily been missed. "And I don't want to feel second best to a person who's not here."
"You're not second best." The Doctor replied, taking EJ's hand in his own and squeezing it, tightly. "EJ, look at me. Ezra."
His head tilted upwards to look at him properly, though he still found himself attempting to avoid direct gaze. "What?"
"You're not second best. Not to anyone, not ever, okay?" The Doctor never lied to him, and yet, this felt so very hard to believe. "You couldn't be."
"Fine," EJ said, biting his tongue. "Just this time, just this once, okay?"
He wasn't one for letting things go lightly, and he knew that this would be the only time that he ever let the Doctor say anything of the sort. If he had to speak like that, EJ needed the reassurance that it was true. After all, there was much that needed to transpire between them, and not enough time.
They approached the man who had been filming the wedding in the hope that he might be able to help them. That being, the Doctor pushed EJ forwards, despite being in his pyjamas, to see how he would fair on his own. It didn't last too long. They were both selfish and wanted to be apart of the conversation.
"Hello, I'm EJ, this is the Doctor." He greeted, hardly stopping to chat. "You didn't happen to film the ceremony, did you? Or, you know, the disappearing thing?"
"Oh, I've taped the whole thing." The cameraman replied, nonchalantly. "They've all had a look. They said sell it to You've Been Framed. I said, more like the news! I said, more like the news! Here we are."
The small monitor was turned towards the two of them, which allowed them to see exactly what had happened. Thank God for modern technology, if it had been someone from the Victorian era, it wouldn't have been such an easy fix. They saw as Donna walked down the aisle, arm in arm with her father, before she started to scream. Golden particles surrounded her skin before she seemed to shoot into the sky.
"It can't be..." The Doctor hummed. "Play it again."
"Clever, mind." The man said as he rewound the footage. "Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping."
"But that looks like... Huon particles."
"What's that, then?"
"Took the words right out my mouth, mate." EJ sighed.
"That's impossible." The Doctor replied as he removed his glasses. "That's... ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist anymore not for billions of years. It's so old that... it can't be hidden by a biodamper."
One look to Donna and Lance dancing together was enough for them to go running. The Doctor and EJ together sprinted to the main foyer to see if there were any exit routes, however, already they could see the pilot fish approaching, disguised as Santa Claus. There was nothing else to do than to warn her, because they needed to find a way out.
"Donna!" The Doctor called to her as loudly as he was able. "Donna! They've found you!"
The redhead ran back over to them, afraid. "But you said I was safe."
"The biodamper doesn't work. We've got to get everyone out."
Her body seemed to freeze for a second before it dawned on her. "Oh my God, it's all my family."
"We'll do our best." EJ soothed.
"Out the back door!" The Doctor ran to them, only to find more pilot fish there too. "Maybe not!"
They spent only a moment longer checking the exits, to find that they really were stuck inside the room. However, these two pilot fish appeared slightly differently; one of them had a remote control in hand.
Donna whispered, lowly. "We're trapped!"
The Doctors eyes were flitting around, before they focused on the centrepiece in the room, towering high above everything else. "Christmas trees."
"What about them?"
"They kill." His sincerity was blinding. "Get away from the trees! Get away from the Christmas trees! Get away from the Christmas trees! Everyone get away from the Christmas trees!"
The Doctor was calling for others to listen, but Donna was only focused on her sort-of-husband. "Lance!"
"Turn the music off." He forced them to pause, thought it wasn't well received. "Listen to me- stay away from the trees. Stay away from the trees!"
"Oh, for Gods sake, the man's an idiot." Donna's mother scoffed, rolling her eyes. "What harm is a Christmas tree gonna...?"
Suddenly, she was gasped, pleasantly surprised. The baubles began to levitate from the tree, and gravitate to different corners of the room, like it was some sort of highly choreographed dance. It caused everyone to pause in their wake, forgetting that there was danger surrounding them. Of course, they were only in awe of it until they began to soar with deadly intent.
When they crashed, fire and sparks came with it. That was when the screaming started, along with the panic, and the hysteria. There was a pain in the back of EJ's head, and he found it hard to concentrate, but people would need their help. However, some of the baubles exploded, and threw people backwards, which would only cause them more injury. It was a mess, and it just seemed to be impossible.
The Doctor grabbed a hold of EJ's hand as they ran towards the stage where the sound system was. Many people were in hiding behind upturned tables, but they couldn't. The Santa's were in the room, stood in a line, waiting.
"Oi!" The Doctor called. "Santa! Word of advice; if you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver..." He paused, only to speak into the microphone. "Don't let him near the sound system."
He plugged the sonic into the machinery, and within seconds, the feedback caused agony. It was the highest squeal that EJ had ever heard. He wasn't sure if ears could really bleed, but that was exactly the way they felt. The guests began to cover their ears in the hope that it might provide some protection. It did its job, however, and the Santa's sparked and collapsed into nothing as their faces fell apart.
When the noise stopped, EJ was torn. Donna was frantically running around the room with the intention of helping as many people as possible. Although, she had no medical training, so it would be interesting to see how far that would help. Whilst he wanted to help her, the Doctor needed him too. They took the remote control from the pile of clothes, just in case.
"What is it?" He could just about hear Lance ask Donna. "What were they?"
Naturally, she took control. "Just stop wittering, just help 'em."
"Look at that, remote control for the decorations, but there's a second remote control for the robots." The Doctor mused from his position crouched on the floor. "They're not scavengers anymore. Someone's taken possession."
"Who's got that kind of power?" EJ asked, looking to the Doctor, who shrugged. "Or is this, like, an easy thing?"
"No idea..."
"Never mind all that." Donna fretted as she approached them. "You're a doctor. People have been hurt."
"Nah, they wanted you alive, look. They're not active now." He missed the point as he threw her a bauble, gently.
"All the same, you could help."
EJ gulped. "Give him a moment."
"You've got to think of the bigger picture." He replied, holding one of the pilot fishes head to his own, listening. "There's still a signal!"
The Doctor ran, and with no second thoughts, and no questions asked, EJ followed him. It wasn't like there was ever going to be another thing he could do. The Doctor had taken over his entire life. There was no one else he ever wanted to be with; EJ was sure that no one could compare to this... this skinny, alien. Although, when worded so frankly, it was a wonder he had any friends at all.
They ended up outside, as the Doctor attempted to trace the signal, beside a fountain. When Donna joined them, the ambulances had started to arrive, so the Doctor could use their residual noise to hide what they were saying. That was, just in case whoever was on the other end of the signal could hear them.
"There's someone behind this, directing the roboforms."
"But why is it me?" Donna asked, almost defeated as she looked to him. "What have I done?"
"Find the controller, and then we'll find that out. Ooh." The Doctor was easily distracted.
EJ raised his eyebrows. "I know that ooh. What, ooh, tell me what."
"It's up there." He lifted the sonic as high as he could to face the clouds. "Something in the sky."
He kept staring at the sonic, and scanning as much as he could, but nothing definitive was coming of it. Donna decided to go and be with Lance for a short while, and the gaggle of people were leaving the reception. When things began to change, they found her again.
"I've lost the signal!" The Doctor announced, wide eyed as he sprinted to the couple. "Donna, we've got to get to your office. HC Clements. I think that's where it all started. Lance! Is it Lance? Lance, can you give us a lift?"
It turned out that HC Clements was not as fancy on the outside as Donna had suggested it was on the inside. In short, it was just another tower block with a company logo written on the side to make their wealth known. Also, it was ugly. As a vain person, EJ felt the need to comment upon how genuinely horrific it seemed to be.
"This is awful." The Thompson boy announced as they ran up the floors to the first set of offices. "I mean that, by the way. This is organised shit."
"Ezra..." The Doctor warned, sort of lowly and gravelly, and it made the black haired man stop in his tracks.
He whispered. "Sorry."
"Now, to you lot, this might just be a locksmiths, but HC Clements was bought up 23 years ago by the Torchwood Institute."
He ran over to the first computer he could find, and typed quickly, urging EJ to do the same to switch on the system, but Donna looked to them blankly. "Who are they?"
"They were behind the Battle of Canary Wharf." His heart panged when the Doctor spoke. It was only made worse by the complete ignorance the redhead was showing. "Cyberman invasion? Skies over London full of Daleks?"
She shrugged, with excuses. "I was in Spain."
"They had Cybermen in Spain."
"Scuba-diving."
"That big picture, Donna, you keep on missing it." The Doctor replied, sceptically, running from screen to screen. "Torchwood was destroyed but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation."
She only wanted his attention. "But what do they want with me?"
The Doctor sighed as he faced her. "Somehow, you've been dosed with Huon energy. And, that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the Tardis. Y'see, that's what happened." He picked up a mug and a pencil, describing them respectively. "Say, that's the Tardis and that's you. The particles inside you activated, the particles magnetised and whap! You were pulled inside the Tardis."
"I'm a pencil inside a mug." Donna retorted, horrified.
"Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up."
Curiously, EJ interjected. "What am I?"
"4B." The Doctor replied, easily.
"Aw," The boy smiled, his cheeks flushing pink. "You sweet talker."
"Lance, what was HC Clements working on?" The Doctor hummed. "Anything top secret, special operations, do not enter?"
Immediately, the groom froze. "I'm in charge of personnel, I wasn't project manager... Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?"
"You make keys, that's the point- and look at this! We're on the third floor. Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" The Doctor pulled up a 3D plan of the building before walking as fast as he could towards the lift, waiting for it to open. "How come on the lift there's a button marked lower basement? There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. What's down there?"
EJ took a look for himself, joining the Doctor in the glass box. "Oh, I love this."
"Are you telling me this buildings got a secret floor?" Lance queried, partially in disbelief.
"No," The Time Lord replied, bluntly. "I'm showing you this buildings got a secret floor."
From outside the lift, Donna observed the panel. "It needs a key."
"I don't." The Doctor pointed the sonic at the lift, unlocking it. "Right then, thanks you two. We can handle this. See you later."
Donna wasn't having any of it, naturally, and stepped into the lift with them. "No chance. You're the man who keeps saving my life. I ain't letting you out of my sight."
"Going down." He said, reluctantly.
"Lance."
Unconvinced, he tried to resist his sort-of-wife. "Maybe I should go to the police."
"Never go to the police." EJ sneered at him, judgingly. "Unless we're not here, then always go to the police."
Donna just sent him one look. "Inside!"
Begrudgingly, Lance joined them in the lift, facing outwards towards the doors. Beneath his breath, the Doctor mumbled. "To honour and obey."
"Tell me about it, mate." Lance scoffed, and EJ could help but chuckle slightly.
"Oi!"
It was a short journey, thank God, because, there was very little space and privacy. When they came to the under basement, EJ realised exactly the kind of place this was. It was like the underside of a tunnel, with concrete walls seeping with watery discharge. They took a second to all step from the lift, and because Donna was first, she took the first few steps and queried.
"Where are we?" She seemed confused. "What goes on down here?"
The Doctor took a deep breath. "Let's find out."
"It's kinda cool." EJ hummed as he took a swift look up each end of the corridor. "Could have a whole secret base down here and no one would know."
Donna questioned. "D'you think Mr Clements know about this place?"
"The mysterious HC Clements. Oh, I think he's part of it." The Doctor began, before musing only a few steps down the corridor. "Oh, look. Transport!"
At first, EJ was dead set against it. They ran down the corridor towards a set of segways which had been left for another purpose, but he didn't want to use it. However, very quickly down the corridor after finding his balance, EJ began to chuckle. There were shared smiles and laughter, and soon they were all involved. That was, everyone apart from Lance. He didn't seem sold on either the Doctor or EJ yet.
When they came to the end of the tunnel, they abandoned the segways in favour of a locked door. There was a sign on it, embossed with a Torchwood logo, for authorised personnel only. There was a wheel in the centre which the Doctor moved and opened with ease. The door swung in, so the Doctor leant forwards and looked up, momentarily.
"Wait here, I just need to get my bearings. Don't do anything." The Doctor pointed an accusing finger at them, before turning to the Thompson boy, more softly. "EJ, make sure they don't do anything."
Donna seemed almost scared that he was leaving. "You'd better come back."
He smirked. "Couldn't get rid of you if I tried."
As the Doctor disappeared, climbing up the small metal ladder, Lance seemed nervous, though there was little reason to be. "Donna, have you thought about this properly? I mean, this is serious! What the hell are we gonna do?"
"Oh, I thought July." Donna said to him, absently smiling.
"You two seriously are the couple from hell." EJ groaned, throwing his head back, partially wishing he had followed the Doctor. "You two don't do a thing, alright? All good? Now shut the fuck up."
They were startled slightly by the reappearance of the Time Lord. "Thames Flood Barrier! Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."
"What, there's like, a secret vase hidden underneath a major London landmark?" Donna's eyes widened.
The Doctor scrunched his face up, sarcastically. "I know. Unheard of."
"Is this about the Nestene again?" EJ rolled his eyes like a petulant child. "I wasn't there! That's not fair!"
"You're being quite tetchy today." He observed, quietly, as they stepped along towards the next door. "Are you alright? I mean, really?"
"No." The boy scoffed, the words catching in his throat. "Course I'm not, but we've got no choice, really."
"Ezra-"
"Later," He replied, firmly. "We'll talk about it later."
Then, he was glad that they walked into another room, because it completely took the Doctors attention away from him. It was this lab, with tubing and pipes all over the space. It wasn't something that EJ himself would have found to be beautiful, once upon a time, because it partially reminded him of his fathers workshop. And yet, now, with the Doctor's eyes so wide and wondrous, there was something comforting about the whole thing.
"Ooh, look at this." The Doctor marvelled at the work before him. "Stunning!"
Donna looked to him. "What does it do?"
"Particle extrusion. Hold on..." He ran to some thin, blue pipes and rapped his knuckles against the glass. "Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. Cos my people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure."
"Your people?" Lance scoffed. "Who are they? What company d'you represent?"
"Oh, I'm a freelancer." The Doctor shrugged it off. "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 result... Huon particles in liquid form."
He held a sort of perfume bottle filled with particles in his hands that Donna seemed frightened by. "And that's what's inside me?" If only to answer her question, he twisted the top, and she began to glow. "Oh my God."
"Genius! Cos the particles are inert. They need something living to catalyse inside, and that's you! Saturate the body, then..." He came to a loud conclusion. "Oh! The wedding! Yes! You were getting married! That's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle, oh? Your body's a battleground. It's a chemical war inside- adrenaline, acetylcholine, wham go the endorphins. Oh, you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven, pressure cooker, microwave, all churning away. The particles reach boiling point, shazam!"
Donna slapped him, again, and he looked genuinely offended as EJ complimented her. "Nice."
"What did I do this time?"
"Are you enjoying this?" The Doctor didn't want to meet her gaze, and tried not to make his excitement too obvious. "Right, just tell me, these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"
"Yes!" EJ could tell that he was lying. There was a thing in his voice when he lied; it was just something that he could feel.
"Doctor." She tilted her head. "If your lot got rid of Huon particles, why did they do that?"
As soon as he spoke, he regretted it. "Because they were deadly."
"Oh my God."
"I'll sort it out, Donna." He promised, the way he always did. "Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I am not about to lose someone else."
"Oh, she is long since lost." A voice came over them, surrounding completely, and out of sight. Only, when they began to look, the large wall in front of them began to lift to reveal a pit in the ground, this everlasting pit. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken..."
"Someone's been digging." The Doctor taunted, lightly, as the wall lifted so high to reveal pilot fish with guns. "Oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser? How far down does it go?"
"Down and down. All the way to the centre of the Earth."
"Really?" He was surprised. "Seriously? What for?"
Donna stepped forwards. "Dinosaurs."
"What?"
"Dinosaurs."
"What are you on about, dinosaurs?"
"The film," Donna reiterated. "Under the Earth, with dinosaurs."
"Jurassic Park?" EJ shrugged, only being slightly serious. "Jurassic Park 2."
She retorted. "I'm trying to help."
"That's not helping." The Doctor retorted, exasperated.
"Such a sweet couple."
"Only a madman talks to thin air, and trust me, you don't want to make me mad." He reasoned, though there was a genuine undertone of malice. "Where are you?"
"High in the sky... floating so high on Christmas night."
"I didn't come all this way to talk on an intercom. Come on! Let's have a look at you!"
The voice hissed. "Who are you, with such command?"
"I'm the Doctor." His authority was astounding.
"Prepare your best medicines, Doctor-Man for you will be sick at heart."
Whatever it was they had been talking to then transported, and landed in the room with them. It was like a spider, only a thousand times the size. Red, with many beady eyes, and a ginormous thorax behind her. It was a grotesque sight, and yet, entirely and utterly marvellous. Of all the aliens EJ had seen, this one was the most abnormal.
"Racnoss." The Doctor whispered, and EJ made a note of the name. "But that's impossible. You're one of the Racnoss."
She corrected, with a slithy tone. "Empress of the Racnoss."
"If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss?" He stepped forwards, if only to command attention from her. "Or, are you the only one?"
"Such a sharp mind." She acknowledged.
"That's it. The last of your kind." It seemed easier to explain then. "The Racnoss come from the dark times, billions of years ago. Billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets."
Her head snapped towards them. "Racnoss are born starving- is that our fault?"
"They eat people?" Donna paused, partially startled, and partially disgusted.
"I kind of respect it." EJ shrugged, nonchalantly. "If I was an alien, I'd probably want to eat us too."
"HC Clements, did he wear those..." The Doctor turned to the redhead, quietly. "Those black and white shoes?"
"He did." She chuckled. "We used to laugh, we used to call him the Fat Cat in Spats."
His hand pointed towards the ceiling, where a large web covered an entire corner. EJ regretted not having noticed it sooner. Two shoes were dangling from the mess, a pair of spats as Donna had described.
Donna held her face in her hands. "Oh my God!"
"Hmm," The Empress chuckled. "My Christmas dinner."
"You shouldn't even exist." The Doctor accused. "Way back in history, the fledgling empires went to war against the Racnoss. They were wiped out."
She took immense pride in her response. "Except for me."
"You're the spider that doesn't drown, then." EJ kissed his teeth, rubbing his arms. "I don't like spiders, especially the ones that continue to climb up the drain when you've already bloody killed them."
Lance had abandoned the group, and his presence was hardly missed until he stepped in front of them. He was attempting to take the Empress of the Racnoss by surprise, which seemed like a stupid decision in itself. The creature was at least twice his height: there was no way he would be able to overpower her. He gestured to Donna to distract her, and keep the attention from him. She complied.
"That's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi!" She shouted, causing the writhing body to follow her. "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 eyes and tell me!"
Lance picked up an axe from the wall, and trotted on. "The bride is so feisty!"
"Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big... thing," Donna almost stuttered, struggling to keep her attention and an eye on Lance. "But a spiders just a spider... and an axe is an axe, now do it!"
The groom swung with the blade, but it never made contact. The Empress turned to face Lance, and within a second, they laughed together. It was familiar, and comfortable, and suddenly, EJ understood. Not the whole thing, not yet, but enough. There would be worse to come now, and more than enough to keep them occupied as the Doctor came to a similar conclusion. Unfortunately, it was Donna who was lagging behind.
"That was a good one." Lance pointed to the Empresses face. "Your face!"
She seemed amused, or as amused as she could be. "Lance is funny."
"What?" Donna half whispered, half shouted.
The Doctor turned to her, his face like stone. "I'm sorry."
"It's not going to be pleasant for you, this." EJ gulped, wiping his face with his hands.
"Sorry for what?" She shook her head. "Lance, don't be so stupid. Get her!"
"God, she's thick!" The man sneered directly to her. "Months I've had to put up with her, months! A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!"
Then, she was speechless. Donna looked around, attempting to grasp the very thing the conversation was about. "I don't understand."
When the Doctor was quiet and soft, it meant only two things. He was either incredibly emotional, or incredibly regretful. "How did you meet him?"
"In the office." She replied.
"He made you coffee."
"What?"
"Coffee." EJ reiterated. "Once a day. Every day."
Lance retorted, snootily, like he had won the grand prize at a fete. "Everyday, I made you coffee."
"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months." The Doctor explained to her.
Her mouth dropped there. "He was poisoning me."
"It was all there in the job title." It was harder with every word. "The head of Human Resources."
"This time, it's personnel." Lance smirked, and EJ gagged at him.
"Oh, you think you're funny." The Thompson boy scoffed. "Like, you actually think you're funny. The only funny thing about you is that you cheated on Donna with a huge spider."
"But.." Now, she was heartbroken, completely and utterly. "We were getting married."
"Well, I couldn't risk you running off!" He exclaimed. "I had to say yes, and then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle! Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap, yap, yap, ooh, 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."
"Is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss?" The Doctor was wholly unimpressed. "What are you, her consort?"
"It's better than a night with her."
Honestly, and completely, Donna replied. "But I love you."
"That's what made it easy." Lance sighed, unsympathetically. "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. And I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?"
The Empress was inquisitive. "Who is this little physician?"
Lance was nothing but a lacky, relaying information. "She said Martian."
"Oh, I'm sort of homeless." The Doctor wandered about slightly. "But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you, 4000 miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth. Isn't it?"
"I think he wants us to talk."
The Racnoss agreed. "I think so too."
"Well, tough. All we need is Donna."
"Kill this chattering little Doctor-Man." She commanded.
Donna surged in front of him, powerfully. A woman scorned was something to be feared. "Don't you hurt him!"
"No, it's okay." The Doctor promised.
"No, I won't let them." She insisted.
"I won't let them get you." EJ turned to him, in the hope that he was paying attention. "I just need you safe, alright?"
"At arms!" With one command, the pilot fish were directing their guns towards the small group. Though, it seemed that there were now many more than EJ had counted on the first glance.
The Doctor raised his brows, curiously. "Ah, now... except..."
"Take aim!"
"Well, I just want to point out the obvious."
"They won't hit the bride." She boasted as if they cared. "They're such very good shots."
"Just hold on... Hold on just a tick, just a tiny little... just a tick." The Doctor postponed for a moment. "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 particle bottle had been in the Doctor's hands for some time, and then, he began to fiddle with the top. Rather than Donna beginning to glow a golden colour as before, EJ could hear the Tardis begin to materialise around them. It didn't matter that the Empress was demanding the pilot fish to fire, because they were already safe.
He wasn't sure, at first, why he said it when he did. The Doctor was this marvellous creature, this beautiful being, and EJ was forever in awe of him. It came to him naturally, and suddenly, it came out.
"I love you."
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Disclaimer!!!
I do not own Doctor Who, it's characters and original storylines. The only things I do own are my own characters, my addition to the series and my own storylines. Any similarities to real life are purely coincidental.