The Shadow

The Runaway Bride Part Two

" Oh, my God!" Donna cries out as she stares in shock at the robot in the drivers seat. Celeste breathed deeply as she tried to calm her racing heart.

"Donna it's okay, Alfie and the Doctor are on their way." It seemed to calm the panicking bride a bit but still, Donna pounded on the taxi windows to try and get the cars passing to help them. 

Pressing her hands up close, Celeste tries to focus the heat of the vortex energy at the cab door, the locks quickly melting under her touch. Donna watches with a mixed expression of horror and fascination as the cab door swung open. 

"Look out the back, can you see the Tardis?" Her voice was rushed, Celeste's eyes glowing brightly. 

"I can see it, it's almost here." 

"You need to get ready to jump. The Doctor or Alfie will be at the door, they'll catch you okay? You're going to go first and you need to trust us, we won't let anything happen to you." Celeste smiles softly at Donna and moves back as the Tardis pulls up alongside the taxi. 

"Donna jump!" Alfie yelled out, holding his hold open as the other held onto the Tardis door. The Doctor could been seen dancing around the console frantically, piloting the Tardis chaotically. 

Donna leapt from the taxi and yelled out in shock as she fell on top on Alfie in the entrance of the Tardis. Celeste smiled happily as she saw they were both safe.

Her smile was quickly wiped off her face when the santa robot sped up and she groaned in pain when she was pulled forward by a tight grip on her wrist. The robot tightened its grip, a small crack was heard as Celeste cried out in pain. 

"Feisty, can you jump?" Alfie's voice was panicked and Celeste feels fear flowing through their bond. 

"He's got my wrist, I think he broke it!" She yells back, grunting slightly as she strains herself trying to release herself from the robots hold. Sighing, she stops struggling and closes her eyes, allowing her whole body to heat up. 

Alfie watches as his bonded begins to glow brightly, heat starts to emanate off the taxi and he feels his eyes closing slightly from how bright it was getting. 

"Donna close your eyes, cover them tightly with your hands and go further into the Tardis." Alfie's voice was firm as he closed his eyes, reaching his arm out. Donna ran further into the Tardis, not disobeying the slightly scarier Time Lord. "Feisty I'm here." 

The taxi exploded a moment later just as Celeste leapt from the taxi, her hand tightly clutching Alfie's, as he pulled her quickly into the Tardis. Laying on top of her bonded, Celeste pecks him gently on the lips, a small giggle erupting from her lips when he pulls her face gently back down so he can kiss her again. 

"Never again darling, you scared the life out of me." He murmurs gently against her lips, nipping at them softly. 

"Sorry." Celeste grinned cheekily and kissed his nose before getting up, feeling impatience swarm her from a certain jealous Time Lord. "Hello love, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

"I wasn't jealous." The Doctor mumbled, kissing her gently in greeting. "I was just.....wondering if you wanted some coffee." 

"Mhhhmmm sure and I'm a cyberman." The Doctor laughed at his bonded's comment, a small blush on his cheeks. The blush quickly fades though as he looks down at her wrist, a dark look in his eyes. "You're hurt." 

Donna watches almost longingly at the pair, Alfie coming to stand next to her with a small smile as they watched the Doctor and Celeste talk quietly between themselves. 

"The bond between a Time Lord and their bonded is sacred, an almost black rage fills us whenever they've been hurt. We feel it's out fault that they are hurt and that we should've protected them better. Feisty keeps both me and the Doctor grounded, who knows how much damage we'd cause if anything were to happen to her. She's reason I keep on fighting, I almost broke when I lost my sister but Feisty kept me going. And the Doctor, he's like a brother to me, a piece of home that I didn't know I needed." Alfie took a breath, a small chuckle erupting from his lips. "The reason I'm telling you this is that, I have a feeling you're going to become a very important person in our lives, perhaps not straight away but I still have no doubt that we'll be seeing you again. I want you to know that you can trust us, we won't let any harm come to you."

"I don't know what to say..." Donna trailed off, warmed by the kind mans words. 

"You don't need to say anything, just keep in mind that you'll always be welcome here." 

**********************

"You had the reception without me?" Donna was heartbroken as she looked at all the people celebrating without her. Celeste fixed Lance with a disgusted glare, smirking slightly in satisfaction when he steps back with a small gulp.

"Down girl, you've made your point." The Doctor leaned down to whisper in her ear, his lips brushing against her skin. Celeste shivers, a wave of smugness flowing through the bond between the two.

"Donna, what happened to you?" Lance steps forward, a hand out towards his fiancé. Celeste just rolls her eyes and glares at him, earning a confused look from Alfie. 

"You had the reception without her? Right supportive family aren't you? Not even out looking for her." Celeste looked at the reception party with disgust, her eyes softening slightly at Donna's grandfather. 

"And who exactly are you?" A random member of the party snaps at Celeste and Alfie steps forward, his eyes darkening. The Doctor lays a hand on his arm, his eyes also dark.

"None of your damn business, go back to fixing your disgustingly bleached hair." Donna bit her lip at Celeste's words to stop herself from laughing. 

"Why you little-"

"I wouldn't if I were you, her boyfriend wouldn't like that." Donna tilted her towards Alfie, the Time Lord tightly holding Celeste to his side with an arm wrapped around her waist. 

"Well, it was all paid for. Why not?" Nerys spoke up, changing the subject swiftly. 

"Thank you Nerys." Donna sarcastically spoke up.

"Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end. I'm on Earth? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick, because I'd love to know." 

Everyone started talking over each other loudly, Alfie groaning as he felt a headache coming over him.

"Where were you the whole time?" Lance comes over to the group, a small grumble erupting from Celeste.  

Donna gives Lance one glance before she bursts into tears, making her fiancé immediately wrap his arms around her. The Doctor spots a man with a video recorder, a hopeful spark in his dark eyes. He places a small kiss on Celeste's head before going over to the man.

"Are you okay?" Celeste looks up at her boyfriend, who was unusually quiet.

"I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, that something's going to go terribly wrong."