A Sky Without Stars: Chapter Three

[amberfocus]

                                                                        banner by mitashade

Title:  A Sky Without Stars (3/?)
Series:  The Zeppelins 'verse (Book 2)
Author:  amyo67, jeprdyfrndly
Summary:  A mysterious object falls to Earth, ejected from the newly formed Time Vortex, burying itself in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.  At first it seems harmless, but soon enough all hell breaks loose.  It's up to the team at Illuminate to try to figure things out before it's too late.  With Lumin still recovering from his last go around with the Vortex and Donna seven months pregnant, it's up to Rose and Jonathon, Martha and Tom, Renee Pascal and Captain Jack Harkness to save the day, with a little help from their alien friends and a precocious, sentient whale.  A sequel to A Sky Without Zeppelins.

Ch. 1:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/305751.html
Ch. 2:  http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/308750.html

Chapter Three

Rose decides that it is only slightly irksome that her boyfriend can slip into a tuxedo and spend all of five minutes on his hair and look drop dead gorgeous, when she has to spend the better part of a day getting ready for the wedding of Donna Noble and James Lumin. Jonathon is incredibly handsome and as much as she loves seeing him in his tux, her mind skips ahead to when she’ll be able to strip it right off him again. She drops the golden brown dress over her body and smoothes it into place.

“Zip me?” she asks turning her back to him. He bounds over and pulls the zipper up slowly, giving her shivers as he kisses his way up her back until the dress is fastened, then turns her around so he can lay a sweet kiss against her lips. He takes a few steps back to admire her. Judging from the look in his eyes he feels exactly the same way about her dress as she does about his tux.

“How do I look?” Rose asks.

“Beautiful. Like a toasted marshmallow,” Jonathon says.

“What?” She doesn’t know whether to laugh or be offended at being compared to food.

“The color. It’s like a perfect toasted marshmallow. Only you’re not all squidgy.” His hand reaches out to cup her breast. “Except maybe here,” he says. His other hand strokes down the rich velvet of the dress and lands on her bum. “Or here. And you look good enough to eat.” He gives her a dirty grin.

“Later,” she says with a promising smile. She walks over to the bureau and opens her jewelry case. She takes off Jonathon’s locket and places it inside for safe keeping then removes a silver chain necklace with a single garnet stone placed in a diamond-shaped setting. It was a gift from Donna for Christmas and it will complement her dress perfectly.

“Help me put this on?” she asks.

Jonathon takes the necklace from her, his large fingers fumbling a bit with the clasp. He puts it around her neck and carefully fastens it on, then smoothes his hands down her shoulders and arms. Rose lifts the stone in her fingers, making sure it’s there. “It’s so light after the locket,” she says. It feels weird without the accustomed weight resting just above her breasts. She’s so used to wearing it now it’s practically become a part of her.

“I have to admit, I’ve become accustomed to seeing it on you. Your neckline doesn’t look quite right without it,” he says. “But that one goes very well with what you have on. Ready to stand up for our friends?” he asks.

“Yeah, just let me get my shoes.” Rose steps into the golden high heels and then wraps herself up in the jacket Jonathon gives her. He shrugs into his own jacket then retrieves his mobile from the dresser while Rose collects her purse. His phone rings and he answers it, speaks briefly, and hangs up.

“The car is here,” he says.

As they make their way down to the car Rose thinks about the fact that this is the third time in a year that she’ll be in a wedding. She was her mother’s maid of honor, a bridesmaid for Keisha, and once again she will be maid of honor for Donna. She was surprised when Donna had asked her, they hadn’t known each other all that long, but Donna had explained how much Rose’s friendship had meant to her during the dark period when she’d thought James was dead and then while he was in a coma. “I wouldn’t have made it without you and Jonathon,” she had said. “You two are my best friends outside of James. I love you both fiercely, but don’t you dare tell him I said so.”

Jonathon hadn’t seemed at all surprised when James had asked him to be his best man. They’d developed a fast friendship, Jonathon being one of the few people that knew all of his secrets, and had spent many an evening in deep discussion since he’d awakened from his coma. Friends are rare for James Lumin. Donna says he has never taken to anyone the way he has to Jonathon. Martha and Tom are also in the wedding party along with one of Donna’s old school chums and Frank the Talamangan cleverly disguised as a human.

Once in the car it is a short drive to the Illuminate campus. The wedding is being held in the arboretum there, under the full supervision of Illuminate’s security force. It is invitation only, the invite as well as photo I.D. being required to enter the premises tonight. Neither Donna nor James wishes to have the evening spoiled by paparazzi. Enough information has already leaked out about their hastily arranged wedding that if they hadn’t locked down the campus it would have been swarming with reporters. James Lumin is the richest man in the world and the interest in his marriage is ridiculously high.

The car drops them off by the entrance to the tall, domed arboretum. The trees have been filled with fairy lights, little drops of gold that lick at the branches they are entwining. They are relieved of their jackets and one of the ushers leads them to the changing area where Donna and James are waiting. They kiss good-bye and go to join their respective charges.

The first thing Donna does is send Rose off to find crackers. “I am not spewing on my wedding day,” Donna informs her. Her hand rests over her belly. “I haven’t had morning sickness in months, and what does this child decide to do today? As if playing footie with my bladder isn’t bad enough. You’d think he didn’t want his parents to get married.”

Rose makes her way to where the catering staff is set up for the reception and is given a small box of oyster crackers. Not exactly ideal but with the fancy food being served later, it isn’t as if she’s going to find graham crackers or saltines lying around. Donna isn’t picky, practically flattening Rose in her haste to take the box from her.

Martha shows up a moment later, and then Donna’s old friend Holly makes her appearance. Once Donna’s stomach is soothed they help her into her dress. Her hair has been professionally styled, swept off her face, but kept long and down the way that James likes it best. Rose attaches the veil to the top of Donna’s head and Donna turns to look in the mirror.

“Look at you, you’re gorgeous!” Rose gushes. She’s never seen Donna look so luminous.

Donna smiles for a long moment then her expression darkens. “Rose, I have to pee.”

Rose can’t help it. She starts to giggle. Donna glares at her for a few seconds until she finds the humor in the situation as well. “Well,” says Holly, “there’s two ways to deal with this. Either you take off the dress and go or someone will have to hold it up for you while you pee.”

“Yeah, no,” says Donna. “I’ll take it back off.”

Fortunately the elaborate row of pearl buttons on the back of her gown is simply there for show and to hide the zipper. Rose pulls it down and helps Donna back out of the gown. She runs into the bathroom in her strapless bra and slightly puffy slip. A few minutes later Donna remerges and they go through the process of having to get her back in her gown all over again.

Donna looks a little green so Rose hands her the box of crackers again. “You feeling sick?” Martha asks.

“Just nauseated.”

“I can give you something for that. You’re far enough along now. It should get you through the day and won’t harm the baby,” Martha says. She picks up her doctor’s bag which she had set in the corner when she’d arrived.

“Yes, please,” says Donna. “I really don’t want to spew on James when it comes to the in sickness and in health part.”

Martha gives her a tiny white pill. “This should calm your stomach for the next twelve hours.” Rose hands Donna a bottle of water. “Is this the baby or are you just nervous?”

“I don’t know, Martha. I’m excited about marrying James, but I don’t think I’m nervous. I haven’t felt like this since the first trimester, though. Just all over queasy,” Donna replies.

Martha frowns. “Holly, can you go find out when they’ll be ready for us?” she asks.

“Sure.” The older woman slips out the door and Martha pulls a small, handheld scanner out of her bag. She runs it over Donna’s stomach and then presses it to Donna’s hand. A tiny prick makes her squeak in surprise. The device seals the tiny hole in Donna’s skin as if it had never been there. Martha looks at the readings from the machine.

“You have a higher level of HCG than I’d like to see in your bloodstream. It’s probably what’s making you feel ill. I’ll do a full work up on this before I go to bed tonight. We can adjust your meds tomorrow if need be before you take off on your honeymoon,” Martha tells her.

Because Donna is carrying a baby that is part alien, Martha has had to keep her on a very carefully calibrated regimen of medication so that her body doesn’t see the fetus as an invader and try to expel it. Usually Donna goes in for a checkup every two weeks but because of all the last minute wedding planning she’d missed her last visit. Rose hopes that mistake won’t cost her friend for the baby’s sake.

“Is he in danger?” Donna asks, a protective hand flattening across her belly.

“No, he’s fine. Probably just had a growth spurt. It’s nothing to worry about.” Martha gives Donna a bright, reassuring smile and the bride relaxes.

Holly returns to the room and Martha hastily puts the scanner back in her bag before the other woman can see it. “They’re ready for us in five minutes.”

“Okay,” says Donna, grabbing up the box of crackers once more and shoving a few more into her mouth. She glances back in the mirror when she is done, redoes her lip stain and then slips into her shoes.

Rose passes out bouquets and they head for the area where the wedding it to take place. A huge archway is sown with the same red and yellow roses that they carry in their arms. The strains of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, chosen because of the place where James and Donna conceived their child, begins to play, the piano music echoing slightly off the high dome above. The wedding planner sends Martha down the aisle first, followed by Holly and then Rose, while Donna waits nervously with her grandfather.

Rose smiles shyly at the guests seated in white folding chairs as she passes them by, glances up at the altar and finds Jonathon’s adoring gaze focused solely on her. A year or so from now he’ll be in a slightly different position, closer to the officiant, and her dress will be white, but she hopes that that same look she sees today will remain in his eyes when he looks at her. She smiles at him and if anything his beaming grin gets larger. Rose finally gets to the end of the aisle and takes her place, turning around so that she can see Donna.

Donna has refused to use the wedding march, saying tartly that she’s already big, fat, and wide and doesn’t need a song pointing it out to people, so Beethoven’s music continues to play. Sylvia Noble rises first and the rest of the guests follow suit. Donna is a vision of loveliness in her simple, empire-waisted wedding gown. The floor length skirt swirls about her feet as she walks, the simple white silk sash under her breasts offering a slightly different shade against the ivory of her dress. A halter neck rises in a V from a large brooch covered in diamonds to attach behind her head. The veil falls about her shoulders, coming to rest midway down her back.

She glances over at Lumin who sits in his wheel chair entranced by the sight of his beloved. Rose feels tears prick at the corners of her eyes at the awe and wonder and pure love she sees flowing out of the groom. It is matched only by the shining eyes of Donna Noble as she meets his gaze and smiles. Her eyes flick back to Donna who is smiling madly. Wilf deposits his granddaughter with James and returns to sit with his daughter. Donna takes James’ hand and turns to face the clergyman.

The ceremony itself is brief and simple, the traditional vows are recited and the rings are exchanged. Holly sings a song and Jonathon reads one of Shakespeare’s sonnets, Rose fetches the unity candle and holds it in front of Donna and James so they can light it together then places it on the altar. The clergyman gives the usual spiel about love from 1 Corinthians 13 and says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Donna slips into James’ lap and gives him such a thorough snogging that Rose starts blushing. When they at last come up for air the rather embarrassed officiant says, “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. James Lumin.” The guests applaud wildly and James turns his electric wheel chair around and takes Donna back down the aisle. The rest of the wedding party follows, Rose’s arm tightly tucked into Jonathon’s. They are both beaming fit to burst.

Dinner immediately follows, Donna and James having elected to skip the receiving line. Professional photos were taken throughout the ceremony so there is no posing for pictures and making everyone wait. The wedding is small, only 50 guests, and everyone will have a chance to approach the newlyweds.

While eating the salad, Rose notices for the first time that Captain Harkness is one of the guests. He looks dashing in his tux, very James Bond. He’s seated at a table with Renee Pascal and Antonio De Luca, the head of Illuminate Italy. Rose smiles politely when he catches her watching him and he nods his head at her in acknowledgment. She has a feeling if he’d been wearing a hat, he’d have tipped it to her. He turns sideways in his chair to discuss something with Mr. De Luca and she sees the outlined bulge of a gun under his arm. Rose wonders if he’s part of the security team disguised as a guest. She knows Jack and James go way back, but she’s still not sure if there is a friendship there or not.

Rose is distracted from her musings when a waiter removes her salad bowl and a plate of food is placed before her; filet mignon, Bavarian potatoes, and a vegetable medley. Jonathon pours her a glass of champagne, but she barely sips at it, choosing instead to drink water until it’s time for the toast. The meal is delicious and she’s really glad she went for the beef instead of the chicken or fish.

Once the dinner is finished and the toasts have been made, Donna and James cut the cake and the wait staff brings around pieces. As stuffed as she is Rose isn’t about to pass up the exquisite wedding cake. She’d been with Donna the day they tested bakery cakes and the one that had been decided upon was pure bliss.

As with the last two weddings she’s been a part of, Rose discards her shoes under the table for the dancing. She and Jonathon treat the dance floor like their second home, sometimes lost in their own little world, sometimes watching as Lumin wheels his chair around in circles with Donna on his lap. They are laughing and giggling far more than she and Jonathon and Rose is delighted at the joy between her two friends.

“That’ll be us in a year or so,” Jonathon says in her ear, his accent catching the r in year and trilling through her body. The way he speaks can still make her go weak in the knees when she’s not on guard against it.

“Yeah,” says Rose. “I think I want a spring wedding, when the cherry blossoms and dogwoods are blooming. You think James would let us use the dome for our wedding?” she asks. “I’d like to have it outdoors but if we’re talking April we can’t rely on the weather. This would be the next best thing.” She pauses, counting the months. “April of next year, that’s sixteen months.”

“That’s when they’re launching the new exploratory sea vessel Rose. We won’t have time for a wedding then,” Jonathon reminds her.

“Oh, that’s right. Guess I forgot. I wanted us to be married before then.” Rose frowns. “I really don’t want a winter wedding.”

“We could get married this April,” he says.

“Are you crazy? You can’t plan a wedding in four months. I haven’t even begun looking for a dress yet and once I do find one they say it usually takes six months for the dress to be made, unless I luck out and find something on the rack. No, there’s no way this April would work, either. Hmm…maybe October then. When the leaves have all turned orange and gold and red,” Rose says.

“Donna got her dress in a couple of weeks,” Jonathon points out.

“Donna’s got all the resources of James Lumin behind her,” Rose replies. “And anyway, I think this April is just too soon. We’ve only just moved in together.”

“I suppose.” He twirls Rose around suddenly, brings her back into his body, and dips her.

Rose comes up giggling. “You’re a nutter.”

“I’m your nutter.”

Rose grins. “That you are.” She kisses him then right in the middle of the dance floor.

Their inappropriately long kiss is broken by Donna taking over the microphone from the band and announcing that it is now time for the fireworks and can the guests please exit the dome. Rose and Jonathon follow everyone else outside, retrieving their jackets first. Even with them they have to huddle together to share warmth until the outdoor heaters are turned on.

The display is spectacular, even more so than the New Year’s Eve display put on by the city of London the night before. Burst after burst of amazing pyrotechnics light the night. The show goes on for twenty minutes before it ends in a fiery golden heart covering the dark sky. As the guests applaud wildly, cheering and hooting out their happiness for the newlyweds, Rose suddenly glances up at the night sky again.

Jonathon immediately turns to see what she is looking at. “What is it?” he asks.

“I don’t know. Something…”

“I just felt all of the hairs on the back of my neck stand up,” he says.

“Maybe it’s the cold.”

“It isn’t the cold.” His eyes scan the sky, then he hears it, faintly, on the edge of his range.

“There,” Rose says pointing to a dark bulk high in the sky crossing over the stars. A high pitched whine is gradually becoming louder and louder and a shadow crosses over the moon, causing a sudden and unexpected eclipse. The scream penetrates deep into their skulls and Rose and Jonathon grasp desperately at their ears, trying to block out the noise. As the thing clears the moon a sonic boom shakes the night, then it’s gone.

Ch. 4: http://amberfocus.livejournal.com/369414.html