Previously,

When they'd both finally calmed down, when she'd wiped every tear off his face, and he'd pressed kisses to her skin until she'd giggled, he'd whispered, "I love you, Cassie."

"Luna," she'd responded, speaking in a language only the two of them could understand now, a language he hadn't heard in years. Pressing their foreheads together, cupping his cheeks, she continued, "My name is Luna, and I'm your tether."

Theta chuckled wetly, still in slight disbelief that she was real, before pressing their lips together, kissing her as passionately as he had the first time they'd done this, this time around, feeling everything she was through their bond.

But they'd had to pull away when an angry voice yelped behind them, "What?"

They turned around, mouths dropping open at the sight of the redheaded bride standing by the door, Cass whispering, "I'd forgotten about this," while he merely gaped, "What?"

"Who are you?" The bride questioned in disdain.

He shook his head, still not understanding what was happening, "But.."

"Where am I?"

"What?!"

"What the hell is this place?!"

"What?!!!"

——Now——

The Doctor was floundering around, in complete bewilderment, not really understanding how this woman in a wedding dress could have ended up on the TARDIS.

Cass, or rather, The Oracle, meanwhile, was smirking lightly, small chuckles leaving her as she observed her tether's open jaw.

Finally, he stuttered, "You can't do that, I wasn't... we're in flight! That is... that is physically impossible! How did...??"

"Tell me where I am." the woman demanded, "I demand you tell me right now, where am I?"

He stared at her, still in disbelief, "Inside the TARDIS."

"The what?" She squeaked.

The Oracle shook her head, smiling lightly and repeating, "The TARDIS."

"The what?" The woman had aimed the question at her, this time, rather aggressively too, which explained why the Doc had glared, immediately tugging his tether behind him.

No one got to yell at her, ever.

The redhead giggled lightly, pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder, before peeking above it, and smiling gently at the bride, gesturing around, "It's called the TARDIS, where we are. T-A-R-D-I-S, or Time And Relative Dimensions in Space."

The bride stared at her incredulously for a second, before scoffing derisively, "That's not even a proper word. You're just saying things."

The Doctor turned to her, asking, "How did you get in here?"

"Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it."

"Who the hell is Nerys?!" He shouted, still so, so confused at her presence. It wasn't supposed to be possible, no one could just...teleport into the TARDIS! It was impossible.

That tends to happen when you're around, his tether's laughing voice resounded through is mind. His eyes closed, almost involuntarily at how...clear she sounded, at how he could feel her so completely.

A deeper connection they could have never achieved when she'd still been human.

A gentle kiss was pressed to his neck, and he could feel his Cassie's, no, his Luna's, love flowing through him, as the bride yelled, in reply to his earlier question, "Your best friend."

"No, that's her," he shook his head, tugging the redhead back into his arms, her back to his front, before frowning, realising something odd about their impromptu visitor, "Hold on, wait a minute... what're you dressed like that for?"

His tether chuckled slightly, shaking her head at his obliviousness, as the woman drawled sarcastically, "I'm going ten pin bowling." Before yelling, "Why do you think, Dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle!"

He turned back to the controls, fiddling with them, as the woman began walking around, ranting to no one.

The Oracle couldn't help but smile happily, excitement filling her at Donna's presence, even though she knew, the ginger woman wouldn't join them just yet.

But she'd been one of her favourite companions, back in the other Universe, and she couldn't help but squeal a little internally at meeting her.

Even if she was too busy ranting to notice.

"I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away! And then you... I dunno, you drugged me or something!"

"We haven't done anything!" The Doctor yelled, indignant.

"We're having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're gonna sue the living backside off ya!"

He didn't respond, turning back to continue fiddling with the controls, as the woman noticed the doors and rushed over to them.

"No, hold on!" The Oracle yelled, running after her, cursing the fact that she'd been a second too slow.

It seemed, as her memories settled along with her true essence, her reaction times had decreased slightly. She really hoped it wouldn't be permanent, because traveling with her tether...she needed to be quick on her feet.

But she had been too late , as Donna had already thrown open the doors and was now looking upon the super nova, her mouth falling open slightly.

Joining her, the Time Lady quietly explained, "You're in space. Outer Space. This is our... space-ship, my tether and mine's. It's called the TARDIS."

A warmth engulfed her back, and she relaxed against it, as the Doc's arms weaved around her waist, his eyes soft with understanding as the bride gaped, "How am I breathing?"

"The TARDIS is protecting us." He replied.

The woman turned to them, "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor," the redhead replied, "And I'm the Oracle..." her nose scrunched, a grimace forming on her face, as she quickly shook her head, "never mind. He's the Doctor and I'm Cass."

Frowning lightly at her refusal to adopt her title, he let it go for now, choosing instead to focus on the bride, asking, "And you?"

"She's Donna Noble." Cass replied smugly, winking at the woman's aghast expression, before explaining, "I'm a precognitive. Sort of can see the future, sort of knew you were coming...ish."

Donna shook her head, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like "I'm not gonna ask," under her breath, before focusing back on the Doc as he questioned, "Human?"

"Yeah. Is that optional?"

"Well, it is for us." He smiled lightly, tightening his hold around the redhead in his arms.

Donna couldn't help but smile softly at the sight. They clearly loved each other, very, very much. Married, if the comfort and safety they seemed to give each other was anything to go by...much like she was supposed to be, if she hadn't ended on two aliens' ship...

Wait a minute, her eyebrows furrowed, and she breathed in shock, "You're aliens."

"Yeah," Cass murmured softly, before reaching over and tugging the doors closed, "You're gonna freeze if we keep them open for any longer."

His arms left her, only for his hand to wrap around her own, and she found herself tugged behind him to the console, as he yelped, "But I don't understand it and I understand everything!"

"That's a bold-faced lie and you know it." She smirked, "I understand most things...you just pretend to until I explain them to you."

He huffed, though she could feel his amusement curling inside her chest, before continuing, choosing not to answer her little remark, "This... this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be..."

He quickly grabbed an ophthalmoscope and used it to look into a bewildered Donna's eyes, all the while muttering art break-neck speed, "Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell."

Cass could see the mounting fury in the ginger bride's eyes, but chose not to stop him. It wouldn't kill for another woman to figure out some way to cut his rambling off, and besides...it was funny.

"Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic..." he continued, until Donna's palm met his cheek with a resounding smack, and the only sounds floating in the clever machine after that were those of his tether's giggles.

Looking at her, he noticed how she was rubbing her cheek lightly, having felt the sting herself, and he couldn't help but drawl into her mind, you couldn't have stopped her?

She needed to let off some steam, and honestly, you kind of deserved it. Mumbling techno babble this quick when the poor woman's clearly an inch away from a panic attack. She responded, her amusement drifting to him, warming his chest up, as did her smile.

He turned back to Donna, crying indignantly, "What was that for??"

"Get me to the church!" She yelled back.

He huffed, throwing the ophthalmoscope back onto the control board, before tugging Cass back towards it, seeing as he still hadn't let her hand go, and beginning to input the necessary commands, mumbling, "Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway!"

Slapping his hand away before he could reach for a lever, Cass turned back to Donna and gently asked, "Could you tell us where the wedding is?"

From the corner of her eyes, she could see him lightly smacking his own forehead at having forgotten to ask, but ignored it, in favour of continuing to smile reassuringly at the woman, who replied angrily, "Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System."

Cass nodded, turning to plug the coordinates in, nudging her tether out of the way teasingly with her hips. He grinned lightly, wrapping his arm back around her waist from behind, chin resting lightly on the top of her head as he watched her work.

She had a feeling he'd be keeping her very close for the foreseeable future. Not only had they just lost Rose, but she'd changed...In a way, he'd lost her too. The human her, the one he'd fallen in love with.

She didn't want to admit it, but a part of her, a rather large one, was terrified that he wouldn't love this version as much...or at all really.

That once the dust had settled and her memories had fully registered in his mind, he'd understand exactly who she was, what she'd done...and he'd hate her.

That he'd regret the tether, reject it even.

Never ever, he whispered soothingly in her mind, kissing the top of her head.

Cass smiled sadly, shaking her head, never say 'never ever'.

Before he could reply, however, Donna gasped loudly, forcing them to turn their attention back to her, and the garment she was holding in her hands victoriously, glaring at them.

The redhead's hearts dropped at the sight of the purple vest, knowing who it belonged to. After all, she'd helped her sister picked it out from a flea market on Arcadia.

"I knew it. Acting all innocent." Donna strode over to them, the shirt held tightly in her fist as she waved it in front of their faces accusingly, "I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?"

The Doctor's smile dropped, sadness flooding him instead, mingling with his tether's grief as he whispered, "That's our friend's." He quickly strode over to the woman, snatching the vest from her hands as she asked sarcastically, "Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?"

"She's gone."

"Gone where?"

Cass cleared her throat lightly, green eyes focused on the controls as she tried to temper the guilt flooding her, "We lost her."

Her voice had been small, grief-laden and oh, so guilty. Because in essence, she could have stopped it.

Screw the universe and the timelines collapsing, she should have stopped it, should have done anything and everything to keep her little sister by her side.

Donna didn't notice though, not at first, as she'd yelled, "Well, you can hurry up and lose me."

It was only when the Doctor had walked back to his tether, only when she'd noticed how tightly he'd clutched her to him, as though afraid to lose her too, that she realised what they'd meant by loss, and voice more gentle, asked, "How do you mean, 'lost'?"

They ignored her, the man only cupping the redhead's cheek gently, raising her face to press their lips together for a second, before pulling away and breathing, injected levity in his voice, "Right! Chiswick."

———————

The second the TARDIS touched down, Donna ran out of the doors, leaving the Time Lords inside. Cass opted her head out quickly, observing their surroundings.

She'd hoped, that by piloting the clever girl herself, they could skip this next bit, but judging by the fact that they were no where near a church, it seemed that her efforts had failed.

She sighed, walking back inside, right as Donna shouted, "I said: Saint Mary's. What sort of Martians are you? Where's this?"

The Doctor ignored her, simply rolling his eyes tiredly, before murmuring to his tether, "Something's wrong with her..."

His palm was laid over the console, indicating her was talking about the TARDIS, and Cass nodded, her own hand reaching out to stroke the metal gently, "she's recalibrating."

"She's digesting." He nodded, before whispering to the machine, "What have you eaten? What's wrong?"

Cass smiled softly at the sight, before calling out to the bride loudly, "Donna? Can you remember anything at all before you got here? Anything weird...or out of the normal?"

"Anything you might've done?" He continued, "Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off in case you're dangerous. I mean, have you... have you seen lights in the sky? Or... did you touch something? Something... something different? Something strange? Something made out of a sort of metal or..."

"Maybe it's the person you're marrying," Cass suggested, stepping closer to her tether, unable to keep from smiling happily when he instinctively reached for her hand, tugging her closer.

"Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?" He finished curiously.

When all they received in answer was the sound of slapping footsteps, Cass groaned, "Fuck me, I also forgot about this bit..." before tugging the Time Lord behind her, both of them exiting their clever machine, just as Donna came to a stop.

Running to her, they stopped when they reached her side, the Doctor calling her name softly, "Donna?"

"Leave me alone. I just want to get married." The woman sniffled lightly.

Cass reached over, laying a gentle hand on the woman's arm, hoping to reassure her, "Okay, we'll get you back to your wedding, I promise. Let's just step back into the TARDIS, yeah?"

"No," the bride shook her head, "That box is too... weird."

The Doc chuckled lightly, "It's... bigger on the inside, that's all."

"Oh! That's all?" Donna scoffed, before looking at her watch and sighing, neat tears, "Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it."

"You can phone them. Tell them where you are." He suggested.

"How do I do that?"

"Haven't you got a mobile?" He asked, frowning lightly. It seemed that since their advent, humans carried the devices with them everywhere...

Donna scoffed, as beside him, Cassie chuckled happily, looking at him with an adoring grin, "Honey, she'd wearing a wedding dress. In all of your experience, have you ever encountered one of those with pockets? Pockets where she would keep her cell phone?"

"Yes!" The ginger woman crowed, before adding sarcastically, though she couldn't help but smile lightly at her fellow redhead, enjoying her snark, "Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting, do you think I said 'Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets'?!"

Cass giggled happily, "I like you, Donna Noble. It's about time I got someone else who understands the fragile art of sarcasm."

The Doctor, meanwhile, shook his head at her, a smirk on his face, before looking back at Donna, "This man you're marrying, what's his name?"

"Lance..." She breathed, voice suddenly filled with love.

"Good luck Lance..." he muttered sarcastically, only to flinch when Cass's hand reached the back of his head, slapping it, "Hey, rude!", as Donna cried, mood shifting back to anger and indignation at terrifying speed, "Oi! No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!"

And with that, she ran off again, the Doctor mumbling in confusion, "I'm... I'm not... I'm not... I'm not from Mars."

Cass shook her head, sighing, "You're hopeless baby, absolutely hopeless."

She ran after the woman, tugging him behind her by their still joined hands.

They reached her on a busy street, just as she was trying to hail a cab.

"Taxi!" She yelled, only to get ignored.

"Why's his light on??" She huffed in frustration.

Cass nudged her lightly, before pointing, "Here's another one."

"Taxi!" She yelled, running after it, the Doctor following her, dragging Cass behind him.

When they kept being ignored, he finally turned to the bride, huffing in aggravation, "Do you have this effect on everyone? Why aren't they stopping?"

Donna rolled her eyes, mumbling, "They think I'm in fancy dress." Just as a nearby driver yelled from his window, "Stay off the scotch darlin'!"

"They think I'm drunk!"

Another one followed, yelling, "You're fooling no-one, mate!"

"They think I'm in drag!" She cried, angrily.

Cass rolled her eyes, "Alright, hang on," before flipping her head over and fluffing her hair, tugging her shirt down slightly as she righted herself, and whistled, a car immediately coming to a stop in front of them, the driver staring at her appraisingly.

She could feel her tether's irritation at the move, and as they clambered into the backseat, Donna yelling their destination, he reached over, tugging her shirt back up to its original position, as he said through their mental bond, was that really necessary?

Cass chuckled lightly, reaching over and grabbing his hand, fingers weaving together, They wouldn't have stopped otherwise. I lived in New York for a bit, kind of used to getting the attention of uncooperative drivers.

Yes, but...he was pouting, really rather irritated by the attention she'd gotten, and the fact that she'd used it to her advantage, purposefully.

Pulling him down, she laid her lips over his own, smiling cheekily when she pulled away, does it really matter if they look, when you know you're the only one who can touch...kiss?

A fierce blush lit up his cheeks, and he coughed lightly, his desire flooding her, before shaking his head and saying, a light pleading quality to his voice, yes. I'm the only one allowed to look and enjoy, love. For the sake of my sanity, please don't attract the attention. Think of the situation in reverse.

She chuckled happily, leaning her head against his shoulder, knowing she was not as possessive as he was, but understanding his point anyway.

Pressing a small kiss to his neck, she couldn't help but whisper jokingly, jealous, possessive Time Lord.

Always, he replied, pulling her closer, his love and possessiveness and desire floating between them.

"You know it'll cost you, sweetheart?" The driver said suddenly, drawing their attention back to him, "Double rates today."

"Oh, my God!" Donna cried in rising frustration, before turning to the aliens, "Have either of you got any money?"

"Um... no. And you?" The Doctor replied, causing the ginger to groan in aggravation, and Cass to roll her eyes fondly, saying, "Where would she put it, honey? Her nonexistent pockets?"

The taxi slammed to a halt, gesturing for them to leave, before speeding away the second Cass had slammed the door open.

"And that goes double for your mother!" Donna yelled after him, "I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas Spirit."

The Doctor glanced around curiously, finally noticing the decorations and the snow, as Cass huffed, "Huh...it's Christmas."

Donna turned to them incredulously, "Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve." But suddenly, her eyes widened, having spotted something in the distance, "Phone box!" She yelped, hurrying to it, the Time Lords after her, "We can reverse the charges!"

"How come you're getting married on Christmas Eve?" The Doctor asked.

"Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco. Sunshine, lovely." She huffed, slipping inside the box the minute they'd reached it, putting the receiver against her ear.

As her fingers hovered over the keypad, she turned to them, chuckling lightly in disbelief, "What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial? 100?"

Cass smiled, pulling her sonic from her pocket and buzzing the machine, motioning for Donna to go ahead, "Just call direct. I did a thing."

"What did you do?" She asked, insisting.

The Doctor began tugging his tether towards an ATM, answering before she could, "Something... Martian. Now, phone. We'll get money!"

They sprinted to the nearest cash machine. Unfortunately though, the man currently using it in front of them was being aggravatingly slow, causing the Doctor to hop from foot to foot impatiently.

Cass huffed, wrapping her arms around him tightly, causing his shifting to stop as he hugged her back, asking in concern, "You okay, love?"

"Yep, just figured this would make you stop squirming," she joked, smirking up at him.

He rolled his eyes, before repeating, "Are you okay? You're...apprehensive. And you didn't use your title, to introduce yourself to Donna. You called yourself Cass."

She smiled softly, "I'll explain later, I promise. But it's nothing bad. For now though," her head moved sideways, looking at the now empty machine, "ATM's ours."

She pulled him towards it, smirking when he looked around cautiously before buzzing the machine, grabbing the wad of cash that came out.

When he turned back to his Cassie, however, he noticed her staring with a frown at a row of Santas, explaining when he joined her, "They're not human. Robots. Seems to be a bit of developing pattern for Christmas, no?"

Recalling the Pilot Fish last year, he tugged her closer, shifting them so she was a little behind him, protectively, "We'll figure it out, we always do."

"I know," she chuckled, her faith and confidence in him warming his hearts, as she chuckled, pointing to something behind him, "In the meantime, our bride is running away, again."

He turned around just in time to notice Donna hopping into a taxi, the door closing behind her as she yelled jovially, "Thanks for nothing, spaceman, psychic! I'll see you two in Court."

They turned back to the Santas, noting how they all seems to be holding their instruments like weapons, and Cass sighed, aiming her sonic at the ATM, causing it cough out piles of cash. As the people scrambled around them, she tugged her tether's hand, running back to their machine, hidden from the robots in the pandemonium.

———————

"Did you just hit her?!" Cass yelled, shaking her hand from the mild burn she'd gotten, turning to glare at the hammer in her tether's hand, "You know she fucking hates it when you do that!"

It seemed that her proclivity for swearing and cursing had stuck around, even as she'd returned to her former self. It really shouldn't have been surprising, because she could distinctly remember how foul-mouthed she'd been to the Council.

Not that they didn't deserve it, mind you.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, huffing, "Got her to work, didn't it?"

"Barely," she muttered, keeping a hold of the controls, piloting the still recalibrating machine to the best of her ability.

"I've got this! You go get Donna, and don't you dare fall out, Time Lord!" She yelled, lurching lightly as the machine jerked, before righting herself, watching from the corner of her eyes as he ran to the doors, showing them open.

"You sure you've got this? We need to fly!" He shouted.

Cass giggled, "Yes, I've got it! I've actually passed my exams, dumbo! Now just shift!"

He huffed out a light laugh as he leaned over the open doorway, noting with pride that his incredible tether had actually managed to fly the TARDIS directly in line with the taxi below, from which Donna was staring at him, hands pressed against the window.

"Open the door!" He yelled.

"Do you what?"

"Open the door!"

"I can't!" She screamed, tugging on it, "It's locked!"

He pulled out his sonic, aiming it as the door, unlocking it, allowing Donna to roll the window down.

"Santa's a robot." She informed him, voice tinged with panic.

He nodded, "Donna, open the door."

"What for?!"

"You've got to jump!"

The robot driver turned his head slightly at this.

"I'm not bleedin' flippin' jumping, I'm supposed to be getting married!"

The robot put his foot down and the taxi overtook the TARDIS. Cass huffed, trying to speed up their clever machine, only for a sudden spark to hit her hand, burning her palm, making her yelp in more surprise than pain. Gritting her teeth, she pulled on a lever, bearing the slight sting as she tried to control the machine again.

The TARDIS banged the roof of the car of a distressed man before pulling itself back in line with the taxi, allowing the Doctor to regain his balance, and sonic the robot, disabling it.

"Listen to me, you've got to jump." He yelled back at Donna, impatience threading through his voice as he'd felt the sting on his own palm, and needed to check on his tether.

"I'm not jumping on a motorway." Donna yelled back, obstinately.

"Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good. Now, come on!"

"I'm in my wedding dress!"

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Yes! You look lovely! Come on!"

Breathing heavily with fear, Donna opened the door and positioned herself, ready to jump, the Doctor holding out his arms to catch her.

She shook her head, shaking in fear, "I can't do it."

"Trust me," he said calmly, looking her in the eyes.

"Is that what you said to her? Your friend? The one you lost? Did she trust you?"

His hearts dropped at the memory, before a flood of love and warmth engulfed him, and he smiled, the memory of Rose's departure pushing into his mind, courtesy of his tether.

Looking at Donna, he nodded, "Yes, she did. And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now, jump!"

And so, Donna, with a scream, jumped and landed on top of the Doctor in a heap on the floor, the doors of the TARDIS slamming shut immediately after, as Cass zoomed the machine back in the skyline.

——————

The first thing he'd done, the second the clever machine had been parked on a nearby rooftop, was tug Cass into his arms, hugging her tightly, "You did it, love. Never doubted you for a second, but still."

The redhead chuckled happily, nuzzling into him, "it does pay to have at least one certifiably good driver on board, huh?"

Nodding, he pulled away, drawing her singed palm to his eyes, brows furrowing slightly at the reddened skin, before pressing his lips tenderly to it, mumbling, "Sorry about that."

Cass cupped his cheek, rubbing it lovingly, "S'all good, my love. It's just a singe, not even a proper burn, really." Leaning close, she kissed him softly, before adding, "But we really should join Donna outside, before the console starts smoking."

And so they did, walking outside, hands linked, the Doctor smiling bashfully as soon as he saw the ginger bride, pointing to the machine, "The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours." Noticing her disheartened face, he asked, voice gentle, "You all right?"

"Doesn't matter," she shrugged forlornly.

Cass smiled at her in sad understanding, leaving her tether's side to wrap a companionable arm around the bride, "Did we miss it?"

"Yeah,"

"You can always book another date? Right?" She tried, nudging the woman lightly.

But Donna just shrugged again, the same sad look on her face, "Course we can."

The Doctor joined them, standing next to his tether, his fingers twitching with the need to pull her back into him as he added with a hopeful tone, "Still got the honeymoon..."

"It's just a holiday now."

He awkwardly tugged on his ear, coughing lightly, "Yeah... yeah... sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Oh!" He chuckled, finally giving in and tugging Cass back into his arms, smiling at the knowing grin she gave him, "That's a change."

"Wish we had a time machine." Donna sighed softly, "Then we could go back and get it right."

"Yeah, yeah." He murmured quickly, "But... even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently."

The redheaded bride shot him a suspicious glance before going to sit on the edge of the roof, the couple joining her soon after, The Doctor removing his jacket and draping it around her shoulders.

Tugging it closer, she snorted lightly, "God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat."

Cass chuckled, "Right? It a wonder it covers everything on him."

She could feel his amusement at her words, as he pinched her side in slight warning, smile growing when she yelped in surprise.

"You've never complained before, love." He smirked, before looking at Donna, who was smiling softly at them, and handing her a golden ring, "Oh and you'd better put this on."

The bride groaned, "Oh, do you have to rub it in?"

"It's a bio-damper," the Time Lady explained in amusement, "Should keep you hidden from the robots, since they seem to have a trace on you."

Smirking, the Doc slipped it onto her finger, "With this ring, I thee bio-damp."

"For better or for worse," Donna chuckled, shaking her head at how absurd this situation was.

But he'd turned his eyes back to his tether. He'd felt a flash of longing from her when he'd put the ring on Donna. It had been quick, very quick actually, but he was so tuned to her that he'd still managed to feel it, and it had made a small idea in his head, one he'd had for a while now, grow.

"So, come on then." The bride brought their focus back to her, as she snorted in amusement, "Robot Santas, what are they for?"

"Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. We met them last Christmas."

"Why, what happened then?"

At that, Cass titled her head, looking at the woman curiously, smirking, "Exactly how hungover were you to not notice the spaceship in the sky, that was hovering ominously over London?"

"Very." Donna replied promptly, before giggling.

The Doc nodded, choosing wisely to let the subject drop, before pointing towards the horizon, a wistful, sad look in his eyes, "We spent Christmas Day just over there, the Powell Estate. With this... family. Our friend, she had this family. Well, they were..." he trailed off, shaking his head lightly when he felt Cassie tightening her hold around his hand, thumb rubbing over his knuckles soothingly, "Still... gone now."

The bride looked at them sadly, understanding that whoever this friend had been...she'd been very important to the pair, that they were still reeling from the loss.

"Your friend... who was she?"

But no one answered her question, as the Doctor simply switched topics, asking instead, "Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know..."

He turned to look at her, pulling his sonic from his pocket, and she rolled her eyes, earning a knowing chuckle from Cass, as though she knew exactly how aggravating her partner could be.

"What's your job?" He asked suddenly, scanning her.

"I'm a secretary."

"That's weird," he mumbled, continuing to run the screwdriver over her, "I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important..."

"Honey..." his tether's warning voice caused him to trail off, looking bashful when he noticed the slight glare she was shooting him.

Donna scowled, "This friend of yours, just before she left, did she punch you in the face?"

"Well, I happen to disagree, vehemently at that." Cass stated, hooking her elbow through Donna's happily and adding, a knowing glint in her eyes, as though she was certain in what she said, "I have a feeling, someday, you're gonna be the single, most important woman in the Universe, Donna."

Donna grinned happily, smiling at the kind woman, before frowning in aggravation when she noticed the sonic still out, smacking it away lightly, "Stop bleeping me!"

"What kind of secretary?" He asked, putting the screwdriver back in his pocket, weaving his fingers back between Cass'.

"I'm at HC Clements." She began, voice becoming more dreamy as she continued, "It's where I met Lance. I was temping. I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought, I'm never gonna fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him, one cup of coffee. That was it." Looking curiously at the two, she gestured towards their linked hands, "What about you?"

"Sorry?" Cass smiled lightly, head tilting.

The ginger woman laughed, "Oh, come on! It's obvious how much you love each other, seriously, the constant touching alone...So where'd you meet? How'd it happen?"

"Well," the redhead smiled gently, remembering, "It was exactly one year ago, believe it or not. He just showed up, TARDIS and all, and literally fell at my feet. Had to carry him off to bed and everything." Both women chuckled, Cass squeezing the Doctor's hand happily, "And then aliens showed up, and he made a dramatic entrance, saved the day, really. And I haven't been able to let him go since."

He pulled her into his chest, his empty hand carding lightly through her hair as he added, "She's leaving out the bits where she kicked an alien in the face, stole a sword from another one, and basically figured out the entire bit by herself. If anything, she saved the day, I just did the muscle-work. And I just realised that there would be no one else for me, ever."

It was true, in a sense. He'd sensed the tether when he'd first woken up, for those couple of minutes. He'd felt his hearts tightening in his chest, had felt her name and image engraving themselves into his mind, forever. And he could hear her, the entire time, as she tended to him, and spoke to him, he'd heard every word.

They'd never really talked about it, about all the things she'd told him, but her candour and her humour in those instances, her ability to laugh at herself, and the way she'd been so sure he'd just leave her behind...it had made him want to hold on all that much tighter.

He'd known, as surely as he knew his own name, that there would never be anyone else for him but her.

"Aww..." Donna sighed happily, watching as Cass blushed red enough to match her hair, "And you've been together since?"

The girl nodded, smiling softly at her tether. It was technically true, they had been together, tethered for a year. But it was more than that.

Their bond...it transcended normal human relationships...it even surpassed marriage rites on their own planet.

Really, she'd been right when he'd first explained it to her, the closest human example available was the myth of the soulmates, and even then...that wasn't a deep enough description.

"And you and...Lance, was it? How long has that been going on?" Cass questioned, already knowing the answer, but figuring it was more polite to ask.

"Six months," Donna responded happily.

The Doctor frowned lightly, "Bit quick, to get married..."

"Well... he insisted. And he nagged... and he nagged me... And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in."

It's more like the other way around, Cass whispered into her tether's mind, laughing lightly, But, I mean...to each their own, right?

He chuckled, nodding softly, before turning to the bride and asking, "What does HC Clements do?"

"Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths'."

"Keys..." he murmured thoughtfully.

Donna nodded, before laughing, head beginning to shake, "Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy." Her eyebrows frowned for a minute, before she corrected, "Actually, best let Cass do that. I have a feeling she's more of a people-person."

"That, I am." the Time Lady grinned, being her lip smugly at her tether, who pouted, "Yeah. I'm not from Mars."

Standing up, he tugged his tether into his arms, before reaching down to Donna, helping her up as well, as she sighed sadly, "Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken."