The Doctor had been listening to D.I Bishop explain the situation to him rather thoroughly, when he'd felt a blinding pain in his chest.
Gasping, his hand rose unsteadily to rub at the tender spot, as he immediately tried to reach out to his tether, knowing the pain was from the bond itself.
Only, he couldn't feel her.
His eyes widened in fear, before squeezing closed as he tried to focus on her mind, on her ever constant presence in his chest, to send a message, any message, through.
Love, are you alright?
Except he got nothing back. He couldn't feel her. The space she occupied in his hearts, the bond that so strongly connected him to her was empty, cold.
His eyes snapped open when he heard a familiar voice crying, "No! Don't you touch her!"
A knock sounded at the door, and Bishop, who'd apparently been standing at his side worriedly, looked at it, as it opened and an officer said, "Found another one, sir." Rose was shoved roughly through the door, stumbling on her feet, chest heaving with sobs.
Immediately, he ran to her, grabbing onto her shoulders, "Rose? What happened? Where's Cassie?"
The blonde heaved, head shaking in desperation, "I tried, i tried to help but she pushed me away...she saved me...she saved me and i couldn't help her!"
He swallowed heavily, hearts dropping into his chest like boulders in a lake, before asking again, voice quivering, "Rose, where is my tether?"
Just then, another police officer entered the room, leading a blanket covered figure before him slowly.
A tall one, with skintight black pants and red, blocky heels peeking from beneath the blanket.
Bishop said something, but he couldn't hear him, as it felt like his head was plunged underwater.
Slowly, he made his way to the still figure, hands shaking as they reached for the blanket, before slowly removing it, eyes filing with horrified tears when he saw the smooth, faceless figure of his tether.
His Cassie.
Fingers shaking, he reached out and tenderly cupped her face, leaning their foreheads together as he so often did, trying to pick up anything from her.
A wayward thought, a feeling, a tug in his chest...anything to indicate the opposite of what he was seeing.
But all he got was static.
"Love..." the word was wrought with pain as it was whispered, disbelief fierce in his voice. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be his tether. His Cassie, with her beautiful smile, snarky tone and shimmering emerald eyes.
She was gone, and in her place, there was nothing but this pristine shell left.
He didn't understand how this could have happened, she had foreknowledge for Rassilon's sake! But as soon as that thought crossed his mind, realization followed; she had foreknowledge, and if his companion's cries of 'she saved me' were anything to go by, Cassie had known Rose would get her face stolen, and had somehow taken her spot.
She'd sacrificed herself to save the girl she considered her sister.
And wasn't that exactly what he'd told her he adored earlier? How fiercely she protected those she loved.
He'd promised her something else too, that day; something he intended to never break.
Heaven wouldn't be help enough to save whomever had hurt her.
"Do you know her?" Bishop's soft words finally reached his ear, but he didn't look at him, keeping his eyes on his tether's smooth face.
"Know her?" He whispered back, heartbreak and fury etched in every word, "she's my life. My tether."
He would get her back. Come hell or bloody high water, he would get his tether back, and no one would be able to stop him, because nothing else mattered. He was empty without her, a shell of who he really was, because she held everything good about him in her hands.
That was the reality of the tether. The truth of how the bond worked. Without the other, the world was nothing but pain. Pure, undiluted pain that pushed through his chest and stole his breath. And it would continue to do so until he got her back. He needed her here, with him. Needed her clever mind and her smart mouth he constantly wanted to kiss and her glimmering eyes that always seemed to pull him away from the dark. He needed her gentle touch, and her brilliant ideas and her sarcastic, snarky words that always warned him when he took something to far, or was too mean, or simply acted like an idiot.
He needed his beautiful Cassandra back. Not just her face, though he adored it as much as anything else, but her. Who she was, fully and completely. His other half.
His better half.
"They found her in the street, apparently," the other officer informed, "Over at Master Square. This one wouldn't leave her side, apparently she bit three of the officers when they tried taking her away."
Bishop agreed, "That's unusual, that's the first one out in the open. Heaven help us if something happens in public tomorrow for the big day, we'll have Torchwood on our back, make no mistake."
"They did what?"
All eyes had turned to him, his cold, icy tone causing goosebumps to erupt over their skin. Only Rose stared at him knowingly, understanding, from what he'd explained to her of the bond, how painful this must be for him.
And it was. As painful as it could've gotten. He would rather choose dying a thousand times over than experience what he currently was, but he felt something else too. Anger. And in this moment, he held on to it, knowing fury and rage would help him get his tether back.
And anyone in his way would better pray to their higher provenance, because nothing could temper the oncoming storm but a fiery mind that was currently blank.
It wasn't just him. In the back of his mind, he understood enough to know that this blinding, icy rage rage he felt was a byproduct of the bond pushing him forward, demanding to get its other half back, insisting on being fixed.
But his love for her, all encompassing and soul-wavering as it was, played a large enough part that it didn't matter. Even if she hadn't been his tether, even if he hadn't been so tightly bonded to her, he loved her enough to tear the world apart to get her back.
Safe and whole and in his arms, where she belonged.
"I'm sorry?" Bishop looked at him in fear, not understanding what had come over the previously jovial man.
"They left her where?"
They all stepped back at his untempered growl, ferocious and yet, so, so, cold it chilled them to the marrow of their bones.
Only Rose stepped forward, eyes blazing with enough anger of her own beneath the sheen of tears, "They tossed her out into the street. I hid in an alley and waited, because i knew the coward wouldn't keep her. So i waited and he tossed her out and i grabbed her immediately."
"Into the street," he breathed heavily, his soft grip on her face, his tender stroking fingers a stark contrast to the rest of him. Tightly clenched with mounting rage.
"They left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street. And as a result, that makes things... simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why?"
He finally looked away from his Cassie, the ice in his eyes growing as Bishop slowly backed away from him, whispering, "No..."
"Because now, Detective Inspector Bishop, there is no power on this Earth that can stop me." He finally snapped, voice rising like a mounting hurricane. Turning to Rose, he ordered, tone softer yet still simmering with anger, "Look after her," before gently pressing his lips to where Cass' would have been, whispering a quiet, "I love you," into them.
And with that, he wrenched himself away, as though if he'd strayed a second longer, he never would have left her side, hurrying to the door, "Come on!"
—
Considering he hadn't managed to hear a single word Rose had said, his mind overtaken by static when he's seen his tether, he'd decided to head back to the only other person who knew what was going on.
Which was why he currently stood on the Connelly's doorstep, a furious glint on his otherwise blank face, and a twitching Bishop beside him.
Clenching his fists angrily, he waited impatiently as footsteps neared the door, before it opened, revealing an angry-looking Tommy.
Immediately, the Doctor stared at him, seriousness all over his face, "Tommy, talk to me."
He'd tried to temper his anger, tried to speak as calmly as possible so as to not frighten the poor boy, but he didn't know if he'd succeeded.
Normally, he wouldn't have cared. He knew himself enough to know that he would do anything to get his tether back. But he'd remembered Cassie's fondness for children, and so, for her, he tried his best to not scare the poor boy.
Tommy nodded, stepping outside the door, and closing it behind him, eyes still on the curious Doctor.
It didn't take long for the boy to realize he'd lost someone, perhaps his wife, Cass, who'd been nothing but nice to him earlier.
And that knowledge alone was enough for the boy to make up him mind immediately. The redhead had been nothing but sweet to both him and his mother, she didn't deserve to have her pretty face stolen.
And besides, if he helped her get her face back, perhaps he could also get his gran's face back...
"i need to know exactly what happened inside your house," the Doctor ground out form between clenched teeth, trying to push the pain that filled his chest away. Trying to keep his focus on the blinding anger he felt, rather than the heartbreak that made his knees want to buckle.
Before the boy could respond though, the door opened, Eddie stepping out and rounding on his son angrily, "What the blazes do you think you're doing?"
"I wanna help, dad." The boy replied bravely.
The Doctor breathed, before hissing out warningly, "Mr. Connolly..." this was it, this would be the only warning the man would receive before he lost his control.
Nothing would keep him from getting his tether back, least of all an insignificant, little, human.
"Shut your face, you...Whoever you are. We can handle this ourselves." The Doctor's fists clenched even tighter, preparing to round a pounce to the idiotic man's face, as he turned to his son, seething, "Listen you, little twerp. You're hardly out of the bloomin' cradle, so I don't expect you to understand. But I've got a position to maintain. People round here respect me. It matters what people think."
The Time Lord tried to even his labored breathing, impatience and anger running through his veins like icy water. His head was filling with static again, only the image of his tether's smooth, blank face running through it, as well as the pinching, awful pressure he could feel in his chest.
The bond was angry, raging furious. It was going against every primal instinct he hand, every single cell and fiber in his body, to stand her and wait as the humans fought it out. To wait here, as his Cassie stood without a face...without a soul.
"Is that why you did it, dad?" Tommy rounded on his father, eyes glaring furiously at him. He could feel how tense the Doctor was behind him, and for everyone's sake, knew they had to get this over and done with quickly, before the tall man erupted.
"What d'you mean? Did what?"
"You ratted on gran. How else would the police know where to look? Unless some coward told them..."
"How DARE you?! You think I fought a war just so a mouthy little scum like you could call me a coward?"
"You don't get it, do you? You fought against fascism, remember? People telling you how to live, who you could be friends with, who you could fall in love with, who could live and who had to die. Don't you get it? You were fighting so that little twerps like me could do what we want. Say what we want. Now you've become just like them. You've been informing on everyone, haven't you? Even gran. All to protect your precious reputation."
"Eddie...is that true?" Rita's furious voice asked, having joined them from the open door.
The Doctor gritted his teeth, aware of exactly how much time his tether was passing without a face, while the humans argued with each other. He didn't have time for this, he needed to save her, to hold her in his arms and kiss her and hear her melodic laugh in his ear as he gently pressed his lips to her neck and tickled her.
"I did it for us, Rita!" Eddie defended, "She was filthy. A filthy, disgusting thing."
"She's my mother. All the others, you informed on all the people in our street, our friends..."
"I had to. I did the right thing..."
"The right thing for us... or for you, Eddie?" She turned back to her son, gesturing towards the men behind him, "You go, Tommy. You go with the Doctor and do some good. Get away from this house. It's poison. We had a ruddy monster under this roof, all right, but it weren't my mother!" Before twirling back into her own home, door slamming loudly on Eddie's face.
"Tommy?" The boy turned back to the Doctor, finding him even tenser than he'd been minutes earlier, before nodding, and hurrying after them down the street.
—
"Tommy, tell me about that night. The night she changed." The Doctor nearly pleaded as they walked, his hand rubbing harshly at the middle of his chest, where his tether's presence usually laid.
"She was just watching the telly..."
He came to a stop, eyes moving up to the TV aerials, "Rose said it. She guessed it straight away, and Cassie, she'd nodded, because she'd known it was that all along! Of course she had." Looking at the boy desperately, he pointed to the aerials, knowing the answer would be the key to everything, "All these aerials in one little street, how come?"
"Bloke up the road, Mr. Magpie. He's selling them cheap..."
He hadn't even finished his sentence, only getting the words 'up the road' out, before the Doctor had taken off on a run in that direction.
The two took off behind him, knowing that perhaps every answer they needed laid with Magpie himself.
—
His fist rammed through the store window, not even flinching when glass broke the skin f his knuckles, when light rivulets of blood ran down his fingers.
It didn't matter. Pain didn't mean a thing if it couldn't measure up to the one seizing his chest.
And nothing ever would.
"Hey, you can't do.." Bishop began in a chastising tone, only to quiet down when the Doctor turned his icy murderous glare his way, "Nevermind."
The Doctor turned around, hurrying towards the counter with intent stepped, before slamming his bleeding fist over the bell, "Shop?!" When he received no answer, he continuing ringing the small bell, the top of it bruising the side of his hand from the strength of his slams, "If you're here, come out and talk to me! MAGPIE?!"
"Maybe he's out..." Tommy's nervous voice said from behind him, hoping to calm the furious man down.
But the Doctor just tensed, muttering, "Looks like it," before running behind the desk, riffling through the various drawers and papers strewn there, a dark, menacing expression on his face.
And it kept darkening as he found nothing, until he opened one drawer in particular, and pulled out what seemed to be a portable television device.
"This isn't right," he murmured, looking at it, "This is very much not right." Raising it to his lips, he licked it quickly, face dropping even further when he didn't hear his tether's admonishing tone, reminding him that 'licking things isn't exactly the best way to discover something, dipnugget!'
"Iron. Bakelite." He muttered, placing it back on the counter, before pulling his sonic from his pocket and scanning it, needing it to reveal something, anything, that would help his get his tether back.
"Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself...hmmm, simple."
It hit him then, how truly...uninterested he was in the device itself. While normally, he would have been running around, excitement thrumming though his veins at having discovered something so out of time here, he could only feel mild curiosity now, the constant stream of savecassie, savemytether being the only thought worth holding onto in his mind.
"That's incredible," Bishop's awed whisper reached him, "It's like a television, but portable. A portable television!"
He ignored the man, his sole purpose once more taking up the forefront of his mind as he raised his sonic in the air, mumbling, "It's not the only power source in this room..." he began to follow the signal he found, hurrying the two with him impatiently, "come on!"
"Show me where you are..."
As he got closer to the walls of TVs, the sonic's signal disrupted whichever wavelengths they were on, revealing instead, the truth behind.
Faces, in various states of distress, were yelling out silently from behind the glass, each one occupying a different screen.
He could hear Tommy yelling out for his grandmother in fear, but his eyes had landed on the one face he treasured above all.
"Cassie..."
She was on one of the middle screens, her face set in its casual state, a small, polite smile on her face, though her eyes seemed to tell a different story.
They were pained, shining with tears that couldn't fall. Glistening with so much regret and sadness he felt it like a punch to the sternum.
Slowly, his wounded hand rose to her screen, fingers reaching gently for the curve of her cheekbone, breath gasping from his throat when he finally realized what she'd been mouthing;
"I'm so sorry, honey."
He swallowed heavily, guilt that he hadn't saved her, that he'd left her alone with Rose in the Connelly's apartment filling him up, stifling the oxygen in his lungs. Running his finger over her image, he steeled his back, determination lighting a fierce fire in his bones.
"Hang on, love. I'm coming." He promised softly, before wrenching himself away, needing to fix this.
To get her back.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The sound of Magpie's voice reignited the fury in his veins. It felt like a bucket of ice water was dropped over him, as his heartbeats calmed and steadied, his thoughts clearing apart from one thought, one goal.
Whatever creature the slimy human was helping, he needed it dead. Now.
So he turned to the man, watching with sadistic j'y as he stepped back in fright at the emptiness in his eyes, before asking him, voice low, yet filled with terrible promises, "I want my tether restored and I think that's beyond a little backstreet electrician so tell me, who's really in charge here?"
"Yoohoo!" A screen turned on behind Magpie, revealing a woman who was waving her fingers at him merrily, "I think that must be me. Ooh, this one's smart as paint."
He approached it slowly, face set in a mask of thunderous fury, as behind him, Bishop gasped, "Is she talking to us?"
"I'm sorry, gentlemen," Magpie stammered, "I'm... I'm afraid you've brought this on yourselves. May I introduce you to my new... friend."
"Jolly nice to meet you," the woman waved again, this time, her eyes set on the D.I and Tommy.
"My god," the inspector breathed in shock, "it's her, that woman off the telly."
"No," the Doctor muttered, eyes never leaving the image that had stolen his soul away, "it's just using her image."
Tommy stepped up bravely beside him, hiding his shaking hands in fists, as he glared at the screen and asked, "What are you?"
"I'm the Wire," she grinned maliciously, "and I will gobble you up, pretty boy. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow-kind denied me."
Slowly, the image became colorized, and although he could hear Bishop gasping once more in shock behind him, the Doctor ignored the man.
They were faced with an alien who'd stolen his tether's face, and all the silly human could seem to do was marvel at the technology?
"So your own people tried to stop you?" He chose to ask the Wire instead.
"They executed me," she corrected happily, "But i escaped, in this form, and fled across the stars."
His head tilted, a menacing smirk appearing on his face as her image faded to gray once more, "And now you're trapped in the television."
"Not for much longer."
"Is this what got my Gran?" Tommy asked, pointing towards the woman.
"Yes, Tommy," he nodded, eyes beaver leaving it for a moment, dark smirk growing on his face, "It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain, but it gorges itself like a great overfed pig. Taking people's faces, their essences, it stuffs itself."
That's what she'd done to his Cassie, to his tether.
And for that alone, any inkling of mercy he may have had was gone.
The Wire would perish, and he would make sure of it.
"And you let her do it, Magpie?" Bishop yelled angrily, turning to glare at the store owner accusingly.
"I had to!" He cried pathetically, hands raised in innocence, "She allowed me my face! She's promised to release me at the time of manifestation."
"What does that mean?" The boy asked, frowning in confusion.
The Wire grinned, before winking, "The appointed time. My crowning glory."
"Doctor! The coronation!" Bishop exclaimed.
"For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set." The Doctor approached her, tone gloating, though it still held its ever-present menace, "But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this!" He raised the portable TV triumphantly, continuing, "You need something more powerful! This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver."
The Wire simply smirked back, smug, "What a clever thing you are! But why fret about it? why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me, you'll be glued to the screen."
Suddenly, three red bolts flew from it, and latched onto their faces, slowly sucking them in...
"Doctor! Doctor!" Both Bishop and Tommy cried.
The Wire sighed, before groaning as though in pain, "Hungry! Hungry! The Wire is hungry! Ah! This one is tasty, almost as tasty as the ginger. Oh! I'll have lashings of him! Delicious! Ah!"
It was so focused on 'gobbling them up' as it had said, that it didn't notice the Doctor's hand slowly reaching into his pocket, and pulling his sonic out, brandishing it like a weapon.
"Armed!" It gasped as soon as it noticed it, "He's armed and clever! Withdraw! Withdraw!"
The lights retracted away, all three men dropping to the floor, unconscious. None aware that Magpie had stolen the portable TV device, and ran off, ready to execute the Wire's final mission.
—
When he came to again, it was with a groan, though the second his mental faculties had cleared, he'd sat up straight, eyes immediately going to his two companions.
Tommy was still passed out, laid on his back. Bishop though, Bishop had lost his face to the Wire.
Quickly, all the more aware of how little time he actually had, of how much of it his tether had spent without a face, he knelt beside the boy, shaking him, "Tommy, wake up! Tommy! Come on!"
Slowly, he blinked his eyes open, rising up before groaning in confusion, "What happened?"
"Where's Magpie? Where did he take it?!"
The words were growled, not spoken, the Time Lord's patience clearly having reached its end, the need to save his tether overtaking his normal countenance.
They both ran outside, the alien's head moving around vigorously as he looked for the electrician's van, only to growl in anger when he came up empty. Beside him, Timmy muttered, hopelessly, "We don't even know where to start looking, it's too late."
"It's never too late, it's can't be too late." The Doctor muttered, hand grabbing onto his hair in frustration, "too late means I've failed her, too late means i couldn't save her, and that simply cannot happen. I will always save her, i will always come for her." Turning to look at the wide-eyed boy, he continued, voice growing more frantic, "But the Wire's got a big plan... so it'll need... Yes, yes, yes, it's got to harness half the population... millions and millions of people... and where are we?"
"Muswell Hill."
"Yes, Muswell Hill! Muswell Hill, which means..." his eyes darted to the sky, landing immediately on a large building, "Alexandra Palace, biggest TV transmitter in North London! Ohh! That's why they chose this place! Tommy?"
He'd run back to the store, calling out to the boy without even looking at him. Tommy followed him quickly, yelling, "What are we going to do?"
"We're getting my tether back!"
—
They'd gathered the supplies they needed at the store, before hurrying towards Alexandra Palace, the Doctor tinkering with a device as he ran.
When they reached the building, Tommy pointed at the top of the pylon, "Look! There he is!"
The Doctor growled, before trying to hurry through, shoving his psychic paper quietly under the nose of the guard who tried to stop him, not saying a single thing as he pushed past him.
He couldn't even think clearly enough to speak, the solution to his problem so close, he could almost taste it. All that was running through his mind, all he could think of, was his Cassie, and returning her back to him.
Placing the equipment on the floor in front of a large screen, he turned to the boy, very real desperation leaking into his voice, "Keep it switched on. Don't let anyone stop you, Tommy. Everything depends on it. You understand?"
Tommy nodded, eyes narrowed in determination, and he turned on his back, running past the confused guard again, until he'd reached the pylon, which he immediately began climbing.
Beneath him, a panicked voice yelled, "You'll get yourself killed up there! Your Majesty!"
But he ignored it, eyes focused on Magpie's figure. After all, how could he ever focus on anything, when his chest ached with emptiness.
When he'd nearly reached the top, Magpie yelled, "It's too late! It's too late for all of us!" As the sounds of screams and panic reached them.
"I shall consume you...Doctor!" The Wire shrieked maniacally, sending a bolt of red electricity his way, blasting him in the face.
He cried out in pain, flinching for a moment, before turning his ferocious glare back onto it, determination flooding his veins. He was so close. So, so, close. Nothing would keep him from getting his tether back, absolutely nothing. And no one.
Heaven indeed would find itself unable to help whatever poor soul attempted to stand in his way now.
"I won't let you do this, Magpie!"
The man's face crumpled, and he pleaded desperately, "Help me Doctor! it burns! It took my face, my soul!"
From beside him, the Wire grinned, gloating "You cannot stop The Wire. Soon I shall become manifest." A bolt of electricity shot form it towards the Doctor once more, but he hung on, refusing to let anything a stop him.
Magpie cried, shaking his head, "No more of this! You promised me peace!"
"And peace you shall have." It grinned, blasting him into particles, its laughter mingling with his screams of pain as he died.
The Doctor reached out to touch the portable TV, only to withdraw his hand when red sparks stung him. Shaking his head, he turned to the wire and tutted, "What a waste of energy. You've overextended yourself, killing Magpie." Reaching down, he picked up the TV, smirking darkly when a bolt landed on his feet, "Nice try." As he inserted a switch into the device, he grinned, "Rubber soles!"
But nothing happened.
Behind him, the Wire cackled, "Oh dear! Has our little plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?"
The Time Lord kept his eyes on the TV, willing it to work. He couldn't fathom the alternative, couldn't even begin to rationalize it, to think about it.
If this failed...there was no universe without his tether.
Until suddenly, it sparked back to life, and his shoulders slumped in relief, watching as the beams withdrew back into the Pylons, right down to the TV. His lips twisted no a dark little smile of satisfaction as he watched the Wire twist and scream in pain.
Pulling out his sonic, he aimed it at the TV, the Wire's screams growing as its own energy struck it instead.
There was no mercy in him, not for the Wire, not for anyone who dared hurt his Cassie.
"It's closed down, with no epilogue." He muttered, and as the Wire yelled out its last he made sure it could hear him as he uttered, "No mercy."
—
Across town, in a police station, Cass felt disoriented as her eyes snapped open, voice groggy when she noticed her little sister's slumped form, calling out tiredly, "Rosie?"
The blonde's head snapped up, a league grin growing on her face, tears falling down her cheeks as she ran to her, burying herself in her arms.
Cass was confused for a minute, rubbing her back as she gently soothed her, before remembering, a tender smile growing on her face when she felt her tether's presence in her chest.
Pulling away, she smiled at Rose gently, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside, saying, "Come on, we better get to him, before he actually breaks the earth in half or something. He's been running around unsupervised for too long."
—
The Doctor found Tommy watching the coronation on one of the screens around, smiling lightly as he said, "What have i missed?"
"Doctor!" The boy gasped, turning and hurrying towards him, relief filling his chest when he noticed how much lighter the man's eyes seemed, and how he no longer seemed to hunch in pain, "What happened?"
"Sorted. Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form, that's me by the way. I turned the receiver back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here." He waved the home video in his hand around, "I just invented the home video 30 years earlier. Betamax."
His eyes moved to the TV, and he smiled, "Oh look! God save the Queen, eh?" Placing the video back in his pocket, he tenderly touched the centre of his chest, where he could once again feel his Cassie's warmth and presence, before turning to Tommy, "Now, how about we go and find mine?"
—
He noticed her immediately, how could he not?
Her hair was flaming red beneath the sun, as she stood beside Rose, eyes moving through the throngs of people furtively, as though looking for someone specific.
Looking for him, always him.
He felt Tommy leave his side, but he couldn't bring himself to care, his entire being focused on her. Taking off at a run, she barely had a warning before she was dragged into his arms, feeling his body shudder in relief in her arms, his breaths shaking into the crook of her neck, as his lips pressed hurried kisses there.
Cass simply ran her hands through his hair, kissing his temples softly as she spoked into his mind.
I'm here, Theta. I knew you would save me.
When he was finally able to pull his head away, aware of the tear tracks on his face, he dragged her lips to his own, relishing in the feeling of them, in the taste of her on his tongue, in the softness of her face beneath his palms.
From beside them, Rose smiled happily, hands pressed to her lips as she watched the reunion with tears in her eyes. They loved each other so much. And she knew, the relief they both felt at being in each other's arms could never be explained.
Could never be understood by anyone.
Needing to breathe, she unwilling pulled away, keeping their foreheads pressed together. She could feel her face flushing, but ignored it, choosing instead to smile happily, and joke, "I take it you've missed me, then?"
The Doctor chuckled happily, nodding gently against her, before pulling away, and drawing his companion into a tight hug, his murmured, "Thank you," filled with so much gratitude and relief, it nearly made the blonde burst into happy tears again.
Looking at the pair of them happily, Cass' eyes narrowed when she noticed something specific. Her alien hadn't been bleeding when a she'd left him, and yet now, it seemed his knuckles were hurt.
Sighing, she waited until they pulled away, before grabbing the injured appendage, fingers running softly over the cuts as she drawled knowingly, "Put your hand through the door, did you?"
He nodded, a sheepish smile on his face, and she sighed again, "Forgot you had the sonic?"
"Forgot i had the sonic," he confirmed.
Cassandra looked up at him, a warning clear in her eyes, "Next time, use your brain. Don't hurt yourself because you're panicking, because i know you'll always come for me, as I'll always come for you. But I'd rather find you in one piece when you save me, otherwise," her lips tilted int a smirk, and she took a step closer, her nose nudging teasingly against his own, "I'll be very cross with you, Time Lord."
"Done." He whispered, tilting his head down and pressing their lips together again, chest filled with so much warmth and relief at having her in his arms, safe and sound.
As it always should be.
—
Music played as the trio wandered through the streets, the Doctor with his arm resting naturally on the bend of Cass' waist, light giggles floating from her whenever he pressed his lips o her neck, tickling the sensitive skin there.
Rose rolled her eyes at him happily, before stating, "We could go down the mall, join in with the crowd."
"Nah," he shook his head, pulling the redhead tighter into his hold, his nose diving into her hair, smelling mint and sandalwood. "that's just pomp and circumstance. This is history right here."
"The domestic approach," Cass grinned knowingly, hooking her elbow through the younger girl's, drawing her closer with a happy chuckle.
Rose grinned, before looking at the Time Lord in slight fear, "Will it... that thing... is it trapped for good, on video?"
"Hope so. Just to be on the safe side though, I'll use my unrivaled knowledge of trans temporal extirpation methods to neutralise the residual electronic pattern."
"What?"
Cass giggled, shaking her head at him with an adoring grin, "He's gonna tape over it." Looking up at her tether, she smirked, "Honestly, must you over-complicate the simplest of things, and yet over simply the most complicated? You're a bundle of contradictions!"
His smile gentled as his eyes roamed over her features lovingly, before he whispered, "You love it, really."
"That i do," she agreed, a small blush lighting up her face at the look in his eyes; the infinite amount of tenderness and love she could see and feel from him.
Rose's happy laugh reached them, as the blonde held out her hand, "Just leave it to me. I'm always doing that."
Noticing Tommy leaning by a table nearby, the walked to him, the Doctor smiling happily at the boy, "Tell you what Tommy, you can have the scooter. Little present. Best... um... keep it in the garage for a few years though, eh?"
The boy grinned, before his smile dropped when he noticed his father walking out of the house, suitcase in hand. "Good riddance," he muttered.
"Is that it then, Tommy? New monarch, new age, new world, no room for a man like Eddie Connelly."
"That's right. He deserves it."
Cass and Rose exchanged a knowing look, both girls having heard the tiny tremor in the boy's voice, having noticed the unconditional love he would always have for his father.
Their relationship was strained, yes. But that did not mean it couldn't be mended.
It couldn't be saved.
The blonde nudged him gently, "Tommy, go after him."
"What for ?"
"He's your dad." Cass simply said, giving the boy a knowing look, and a soft, gentle smile. "He will always be your dad, no matter how much of an asshole he was."
His eyes narrowed in confusion, not understanding why they were telling him this, "But...he's an idiot."
"'Course he is," Rose nodded, "But like Cass said, he's your dad. And you're clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don't top there. Go on!"
Both women nodded at him happily, before Cass gently nudged him towards his father again, intention clear.
He thought for a moment, before nodding, leaving their side to hurry towards Eddie, smiling at him hesitantly as he picked up his suitcase and continued walking.
They watched happily from a distance, Cass holding onto her own family tightly, never wanting to let them go, before a glass of orange juice was brought under her nose, another beneath the blonde's and they both laughed.
All's well, that ends well.
—
Later that night, her eyelids fluttered open when she felt gentle fingers moving over her face, the Doctor's eyes sad as he gently touched her, as though to memorize the feel of her features in his skin.
Softly, she turned her head, lips pressing lovingly into his palm, kissing the warm skin, before murmuring, "I knew you would find me. And I'm here now, Theta. And nothing will ever keep me from coming back to you, come hell or high water."
He nodded, floods of emotions moving from him to her, filling her chest with his love. Cass didn't know why they still hadn't said it, why they were both still so afraid of speaking the words they already know to be true.
But they were.
Slowly, she moved over him, blankets settling around her waist as she straddled his own, hair falling like a burning curtain around their faces when she moved her lips to his, kissing him with everything in her.
And as they moved together, every inch of skin touching, she couldn't help but feel as though something in the universe had righted.
As though nothing would ever really come between them, separate them for too long.
Her head was thrown back, mouth open in ecstasy as he brought her down from her height with gentle hands and rough hips, before following her swiftly down, her name falling from his lips like a prayer. While his played like a symphony in his mind, his tether's soft, moaning voice all he could hear.
Theta.