Cass was grinning as she stared at her tether.
"You're the one who decided to play sick honey, you can't pout about it now."
They'd found some plasma coils placed evenly in a human hospital, and as per usual, the Doc had immediately jumped at the opportunity to investigate, having her admit him as a patient.
Only to now pout that she wasn't spending every waking moment with him.
"Yes, but I thought you'd remain by my side, fawning over my needs. That's what a human wife would do, no?"
He'd decided to introduce her as his wife, arguing that as the closest next of kin, she'd be allowed by his side at all times. Hell, he'd even managed to produce a diamond ring, with a beautiful White-Point star at its centre, slipping it over her ring finger with a mischievous smirk while murmuring, "'till death do us part, love."
The redhead rolled her eyes, leaning down to press a tender kiss to his pouting lips, jokingly, "It's a good thing I'm not human then, isn't it? Gives me free range to wander around as much as I wish."
"I see you didn't argue the wife point," he remarked with raised brows, a knowing grin on his face, which turned into chuckles when she huffed, "You and I both know that we're as good as married, by our standards. We're tethered. Plus, I really didn't feel like dodging your comments if I'd said something about it, because I know you'd have made them." She looked at him knowingly, and he just shrugged, unapologetic as he tugged her to him, leaning their foreheads together, "I'm not going to deny it. You're mine."
Cass chuckled softly, cupping his cheek, "Jealous, possessive Time Lord."
"Always," he whispered back, before kissing her softly, pulling away only they heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
She took a seat beside him on the bed, his hand wrapped around her own, before smirking secretively, "Pay attention honey, we're about to meet someone really important."
"Was that a spoiler?"
Cass just shrugged teasingly in reply, ignoring the annoyed pleading look he shot her in return, and simply looking at the curtain as it opened, a senior doctor, Mr. Stoker, flocking in, followed by his group of residents.
"Now then, Mr Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?" He greeted with a polite smile, looking at the Doctor.
The Time Lord shrugged in reply, "Aw, not so bad, still a bit, you know. Blah." He pushed his tongue out, miming slight discomfort.
Cass nodded, adding, "He was still complaining about his stomach this morning."
"John Smith," Stoker explained, "admitted yesterday by his wife, Cassandra Smith, with severe abdominal pains." Looking at a lovely, black woman, he raised his brows, "Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."
The redhead smiled politely at the woman, Martha Jones their next companion as she knew her, watching as she approached her husband, murmuring with amusement, "That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?"
"Sorry?" The Doc titled his head curiously, not understanding. He could feel the amusement wafting from his tether, and sighed, knowing she wouldn't tell him why.
"On Chancery Street this morning." The young woman explained, perplexed by his lack of memory, "You came up to me and took your tie off."
He smiled, "Really? What did I do that for?"
"I don't know, you just did."
"Not me. I was here, in bed. Just ask my lovely wife, she kept me company." He grinned, raising his tether's ring-bearing hand and placing a soft kiss on it, warmth filling him when he noticed the slight blush rising on her cheeks as a result.
Martha smiled softly at the gesture, before continuing, "Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?"
He shook his head, guilt filling him at the memories, as Cass tightened her hold on his hand and answered, "No, not anymore."
Stoker sighed, drawling, "As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones."
"Right," she nodded quickly, pulling her stethoscope out, and placing it on the Doc's chest, expression growing puzzled, as she quickly moved it to the other side, hearing his second heart beating. Looking up at him in confusion, she was only given a sly wink in response, as Stoker once more muttered, "I weep for further generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?"
"Um, I don't know," she mumbled quickly, "Stomach cramps?"
"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart." He huffed, reaching down to pick up the chart by the bed, only to drop it with a small hiss as he got chocked.
"That happened to me this morning." Martha told him.
Another young man added, "I had the same thing on the door handle." Follow by another resident echoing the statement.
Stoker nodded, "That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by, anyone?"
"Benjamin Franklin." The Doctor replied.
"Correct!"
"My mate Ben, that was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked..." he continued, drifting off into thought.
"Quite..."
"... and then I got electrocuted."
Noticing the looks he was receiving, Cass chuckled, quickly cupping his cheek, and murmuring, "That was a dream darling. Remember? You had it right after we watched that documentary on the Discovery Channel a couple of weeks ago."
"Ah, yes, right." He nodded, following along.
Stoker hummed, "Moving on." Whispering to one of the residents, as he led them back to the curtain "I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric. And next we have..."
The second they were gone, the redhead turned to her tether with a raised brow, grinning, " 'My mate Ben', really honey?"
"I got lost in thought," he whined, smiling at the fond look she was giving him, before throwing the blanket off his legs and standing, grinning conspiratorially, "Now, how about you show me what you found?"
She weaved their fingers together, smiling in excitement, before leading him out of the small room, making sure no nurses were around to stop them as she led him deeper into the hospital, exploring.
—
They'd been heading back to their room when the hospital ground had shook so harshly, Cass had nearly been flung into a wall.
She would have too, if her tether hadn't grabbed her at the last second, tugging her to him as he'd grabbed onto a nearby pipe.
Hurrying to the room, they watched from the open curtain as Martha, the resident who'd been checking over him earlier tried to calm the patients with confidence she clearly didn't feel, "All right, everyone back to bed, we've got an emergency but we'll sort it out."
Cass nodded with a small, proud grin, before tugging the man behind her into the room, snapping the curtain shut as she handed him the spare suit she'd gotten him.
"Blue?" He questioned with a curious look as he unfolded it.
She shrugged, smiling teasingly, "What? I thought you'd look really hot in blue."
He smirked, fingers reaching for the buttons on his pyjama top, unravelling them slowly, teasingly as he watched her face flush further, her teeth biting into her bottom lip as she whispered in their native tongue, "Theta, don't tease. We really don't have the time, and I, unfortunately, have no self-control when it comes to you."
And she didn't, not at all. His Luna was uncharacteristically out of control when it came to him, and he loved it. Which is why he teased her on every opportunity he got.
But she was right, at the moment, they really didn't have time. So he made haste, quickly pulling the new suit on, slipping the tie over his head only to stop when her fingers reached for it, and she smiled bashfully, shrugging, "It's something I always watched couples do on TV as a human. Always looked so loving, and I love you, so..."
"Then from now on, you get to knot every tie I ever wear." He promised softly.
"Even a bowtie?"
His brows scrunched, "When the hell would I ever wear a bloody bowtie?"
Finishing her knot, she smoothed the material in place, rising on her tiptoes to press a small kiss to the tip of his nose, smiling when he laughed, before winking secretively, "spoilers."
From beyond the curtain, they could hear Martha saying, "But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?"
They shot each other happy looks, before the Doc ripped the curtain open, his hand wrapped around Cass' as he grinned, "Very good point! Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?"
"Martha Jones," the redhead supplied, winking at the woman teasingly when her eyes widened in shock.
"I...yes, Martha."
The Doc rolled his eyes fondly at his tether's shenanigans, "Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?"
"We can't be!" Another resident sobbed out desperately.
Cass raised a brow, drawling, "We very obviously are though, so maybe just keep quiet for now." Turning back to Martha, she asked, "Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or...?"
"By the patients' lounge, yeah." The young resident nodded.
"Perfect!" The Doctor grinned, "Fancy going out?"
"Okay."
"We might die," Cass added, only to smile happily when Martha simply shrugged in response, "We might not."
"I like you," the redhead said conspiratorially, as she was tugged after her tether, who'd begun walking away, announcing, "Good! C'mon. Not her, she'd hold us up."
The second they reached the lounge, Martha pushed the doors open, leading them to the balcony. As they stepped onto it, she gaped, "We've got air! How does that work?"
"Just be glad it does." The Doctor commented, as beside him, Cass narrowed her eyes at the view.
"I've got a party tonight." Martha began, joining them by the landing, "It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really... really..."
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Sure?"
"Yeah?"
"Want to go back in?"
"No way." She shook her head, eyes wide with wonder, "I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same, it's beautiful."
"You think?"
"How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are!"
Cass chuckled softly, looking at Martha with something akin to pride in her eyes, "Standing clear beneath the earthlight."
The resident turned to her, "What do you think happened?"
"What do you think happened, Martha Jones?" Cass countered, as she quickly knelt and picked up a stray pebble.
"Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded man, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things. I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home."
The Doctor frowned, tugging his tether closer to his side as they both remembered the events, "I'm sorry."
"Me too," the redhead added, "We were there. In the battle."
"I promise you, Mr and Mrs Smith, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way."
"It's not Smith," the Doctor said, "that's not our real name."
Beside him, he could feel his tether's amusement as she spoke into his mind, not gonna mention that we're not married either?
Hush Luna, he whispered back, you said it, we might as well be.
She shook her head, the smile she reserved only for him twisting her lips softly as she chuckled, jealous, possessive Time Lord.
From beside them, unaware of the mental conversation they were having, Martha tilted her head curiously, "Who are you, then?"
"I'm the Doctor," he introduced, before nudging his tether softly and adding, "And she's the Oracle, but if you call her that, she won't answer, so just stick to Cass."
The resident blinked quickly, shaking her head, "Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it, then, Doctor Smith?"
"Just the Doctor."
"How do you mean, just the Doctor?"
"Just... the Doctor." He huffed back.
Martha shook her head, "What, people call you 'the Doctor'?" Turning to the giggling redhead, she added, "And the call you 'the Oracle'?"
"Fuck no," Cass groaned, "I mean yes, they call him 'the Doctor', fucking no one calls me 'the Oracle', I'm just Cass."
"Well, I'm not." Martha said firmly, looking at the man, "As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."
He nodded, impressed, while Cass smirked, "Well, then I guess he'd better get a head start on it." Tossing the pebble in her hand gently up, she caught it, before lobbing it towards the moon, nodding in confirmation when it hit a forcefield of sorts, "Fucking knew it. They always erect a shield around things."
"If that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?" The human questioned.
The Doctor didn't answer, asking instead, "How many people in this hospital?"
"I don't know, a thousand?"
"One thousand people. Suffocating."
"Why would anyone do that?"
Noticing the three, very large ships landing, Cass drawled, "Heads up my love, we're gonna get to ask them ourselves." Shaking her head, she muttered under her breath, "Fucking Judoon."
"Aliens." Martha gasped in shock, watching as the troops left their ships and began advancing towards the hospital, "That's aliens. Real, proper aliens."
"Judoon," the Doc repeated, confirming his tether's earlier words.
—
The three hid behind some potted plants on the mezzanine level, watching as a group of large, rhinoceros-like aliens walked to the humans, one of them barking, "Bo sco fo do no kro blo co sho ro!"
Cass rolled her eyes at their dramatics, as one of the residents walked up to it, hands raised in a gesture of innocence, "We are citizens of planet earth. We welcome you in peace..." only for the Judoon to push him up against a wall, shining a bright light in his face.
The human's eyes scrunched shut, and he quickly whimpered pleadingly, "Please don't hurt me, I was just trying to help, I'm sorry, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."
The alien replayed the words back on his portable machine, before saying, "Language assimilated. Designation Earth English. You will be catalogued." He shone a blue light in the resident's face again, before marking the back of his hand with a black cross, "Category: human. Catalogue all suspects."
The rest of the Judoon followed the ordered, shining their light in people's faces, marking the backs of their hands as they identified them as human.
Still hiding, the Doctor squeezed his tether's hand, sensing her growing impatience with the bureaucratic procedure, "Oh, look down there, you've got a little shop. I like a little shop."
Cass chuckled at the seemingly random thought, as Martha turned to him with wide eyes, "Never mind that! What are Judoon?"
"Galactic police," he began, stopping when the redhead snorted, correcting, "At this point, they're more like intergalactic mercenaries for hire. Not really doing all that much independent policing these days."
"And they brought us to the moon?" The human questioned in confusion.
Cass nodded, explaining, "It's neutral territory. According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, so they've isolated us." Pointing casually at the window behind them., she continued, "That rain? That's them failing to use an H2O scoop properly. Never thought anyone could fail to use an H2O scoop, but that's the Judoon for ya, all bulk, no brains."
She could feel a hint of impressed pride from her tether, and she smiled happily, glad she could still surprise him with her knowledge.
Cass was back to who she'd been after all, and as the most inspired Time Lady in Gallifrey's recent history, she knew quite a whole lot. More than him, theoretically speaking, at any rate.
You always surprise me, impossible girl, he whispered in her head, having heard her thoughts, Foreknowledge or not, brilliant-ness or not. You will always be the single most impressive thing in my universe.
She pressed a happy kiss to his cheek, knowing her own were flushed with colour at the compliment, before looking back at Martha who'd gasped, "What's that about 'galactic law'? Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?"
The Doctor shook his head, chuckling, "No. But I like that. Good thinking. No, it's more simple. They're making a catalogue, it means they're after something non-human, which is very bad news for us."
"Why?"
When they both turned to look at her meaningfully, with raised brows and small smirks, she gaped, "Oh, you're kidding me." Cass chuckled, raising an elegant brow as the human continued in disbelief, "Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that."
"Come on, then," he finally said amidst a smile, standing up, his tether's hand in his own as he led them away, eager to find out more.
—
The Doctor sat before a computer with his sonic screwdriver, examining it, as Cass leaned over his shoulder, watching him work.
There was something incredibly attractive about it, seeing how absolutely focused he was on his task, how his fingers seemed to fly over the keyboard.
She flushed, remembering exactly how talented those fingers were, and quickly tried to shove the feelings away, knowing they had bigger fish to fry. Especially when she felt his smugness hit her, his reaching behind him to tug her into his lap, lips grazing the shell of her ear teasingly as he whispered, "You don't need to hide from me, love. I know exactly how crazy I make you."
Cass cleared her throat, aware of how hot her face felt, murmuring, "Bigger fish to fry, honey."
He grew serious, eyes gazing intently into her own, "Nothing's more important than you." He promised.
She smiled softly, cupping his cheek, pressing their lips together quickly before pulling away, explaining when he pouted, "We're about to get a visitor. Patience, my love."
He huffed, turning back to the computer, as sure enough, Martha ran into the room, announcing, "They've reached third floor." Noticing his sonic, she pointed to it, "What's that thing?"
"Sonic screwdriver." He replied.
"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly!"
The redhead turned to look at her, smiling wide, "No, it really is a sonic screwdriver. That, he's not lying about. I've got one too." She pulled her own red-tipped one from her pocket, buzzing it jokingly at the other girl, who chuckled, "What else have you got? A laser spanner?"
"He did," Cass grinned, before nudging his shoulder jokingly, "But he left it unsupervised during a trip, and Emily Pankhurst," she'd growled the name lightly, remembering exactly how flirtatious the woman had been with her tether, "that dumb woman stole it."
When she felt his smugness growing, his hold around her tightening happily, she huffed, "Stop it! It really isn't funny."
"I love it when you get jealous," he joked back happily, "makes me feel wanted," he finished, pressing a small kiss to the tip of her nose, before smacking the computer, explaining to Martha, "Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon." Looking down softly at his tether, he joked, "Fist time for everything, eh love?" Before continuing to the human, "Cause we were just travelling past, I swear, just wandering, we weren't looking for trouble, honestly, but we noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's plasma coils, been building up for two days now, so I had Cassie check me in, we thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above."
"But what were they looking for?" Martha questioned.
"Something that looks human, but isn't."
"Like you two, apparently."
The redhead nodded, smirking at her, "Exactly, like us. Except not us, obviously."
"Haven't they got a photo?"
"Might be a shape-changer," the Doc mused, grinning when his tether groaned, "Please no, I don't need that headache again."
Martha shook her head, "Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?"
Cass stood up, pressing a kiss to her tether's head when she felt his pout, explaining, as she quickly pushed him off the chair, taking his place, beginning to type quickly, "No can't do, I'm afraid. If the Judoon declare this hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution, like the barbarians they are."
"All of us?"
The Doc nodded, "Oh yes. If we can find this thing first..."
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" She groaned in exasperation.
He leaned down, noting the blank, red-flashing screen, "What is it?"
"Dumb rhinos wipe the servers." She huffed, fingers lying over the keys once more, trying to access the backup on the mainframe.
Hospitals always had a backup.
"That's clever," he hummed, impressed, only to chuckle lovingly when she mumbled, "No, it's fucking annoying. I'm hacking into the mainframe, because servers always back everything up. If we're lucky, I'll be able to piece the source-code of the admissions list again, provided it had time to backup properly."
His eyes widened, and he quickly turned her head, pressing his lips to her own, "You bloody genius!"
"I prefer impossible, but I'll take it," she joked back softly, turning back to the screen.
That you most definitely are... he said softly, voice ringing in her brain, as behind them, Martha asked, "What are we looking for?"
Leaving Cass to focus, he turned to the human, replying, "Any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Cassie's trying to hack into the mainframe to find a back-up."
The girl nodded, "Just keep working. I'll go ask Mr Stoker, he might know." Before turning to the door, grinning when Cass yelled after her warningly, "be careful out there!"
—
"Bingo!" The redhead cried happily, the backup data scrolling through the screen.
The Doc pressed a small, happy kiss to her neck, mumbling, "I'm gonna go get Martha, you find our alien."
"Don't get hurt!" She yelled after him, admittedly, distracted by the speed-scrolling list, eyes tracking every word, as she tried to find any patient with 'unusual' symptoms.
The second he'd stepped out of the door, he found Martha in front of him, and announced happily, "Cassie's restored the backup!"
"I found her!" The girl yelled back.
"You what?" His eyes widened, as he spotted the suited, gigantic man that followed her. Focusing on his tether, he yelled into her mind, Luna! Get out here!
Within instants, she was beside him, huffing slightly in exasperation, at least until her eyes landed on the other man, and she gasped, "Hold on, is that a slab? People actually still use the spandex gimp slaves?! I thought that had been deeming ethically and morally wrong eons ago!"
His hand grabbed her own, and he immediately tugged her behind him as they ran away, mumbling, "Not really the time for an ethics discussion, love. Just run!"
They ran down the stairs, followed by the Slabs, at least until they reached the edge where they were met with the Judoon coming up, and dodged out a doorway on the fourth floor, the Doctor hurrying to slam the door shut and lock it, right as a slab had approached.
Cass meanwhile, had headed straight to the X-Ray machine, fiddling with the buttons, setting it to the correct amounts, "When I say 'now', press the button." She instructed Martha as she pulled out her own sonic, coming to stand beside her tether.
"I don't know which one!"
"Find out!" The Doc yelled back, pushing Cass behind him, growling when she tried to move back to his side, "Just stay behind me."
"Honey..." she began, only to stop when she felt how truly tense he was, how the thought of possibly losing her, of her getting hurt in any way had caused his hearts to stutter with fear.
Sighing, she stayed behind him, though she very clearly stated through their bond, I'll stay behind you, for now. But we are talking about this once we're back home.
Alright, he murmured back, somewhat contritely.
He knew she could take care of herself, knew that his Luna was stronger than even him, with everything she'd endured and survived. But that was the whole point...she'd suffered enough, been through enough, survived enough.
He was her tether, it was his job to keep her safe and happy and radiant. Forever. And yet, all he seemed to do is put her in more dangerous situations.
Hearing the thoughts in his head, Cass bit her lip, sadness and so much love for him warring through her. They would talk about it, but later.
For now, if keeping her glued to him made him feel sane, if he remaining behind him, out of the direct line of fire kept him calm, then she'd bear it with a smile.
She'd do anything for him, after all.
Her focus returned to the situation when the Slab broke through the door, and she yelled to Martha, "Now!"
She was pushed out of the way, as radiation flooded both men for a bright moment, the Slab falling the ground, inert, while the Doctor grinned.
"What did you do?" The human gasped, as Cass ran back to her tether, glaring at him for pushing her away, as she tenderly cupped his cheek, checking him over.
"Increased the radiation by five thousand per cent. Killed him dead." He explained quickly, pressing a kiss to the redhead's palm, reassuring her he was fine, as she already knew.
"Isn't that likely to kill you?"
"No," Cass replied, turning to look at her with a smirk, "it's only radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery." Growing quiet, she added, "At least most kids did, I wasn't allowed."
A flash of fury and love coursed through her, and she smiled softly at the Doc, watching as he began bouncing in place, "It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it. If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it... " he began shaking his foot, bouncing lightly, "Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out, ah, ah, ah, ah. It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Ah, hold on." Removing his shoe, he threw it into the dustbin, smiling happily as he wiggled his toes, "Done."
Martha gaped at him, shaking her head in disbelief, "You're completely mad."
"Right." He nodded, looking quite serious, "I look daft with one shoe." Removing his other shoe, he threw it beside its twin, wiggling both of his feet on the floor, moving his eyebrows suggestively at his tether, "Barefoot on the moon!"
Cass chuckled, looking at him with an adoring smile, "Pretty sure she didn't mean the shoe, my love."
He tugged her to him, nuzzling into her neck happily, smiling when she giggled at the ticklish movement.
Martha was smiling softly at the sight, noting exactly how much these two loved each other. Instead of being put off by the display of affection, she found it heartwarming instead. Shaking her head, she returned to the issue at hand, gesturing towards the leather-clad man on the floor, "So what is that thing? And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?"
"They're called Slabs." Cass informed her, smirking lightly, as the Doctor wandered towards the X-ray machine, "Slave drones. Literally made of solid leather, all the way through. I wasn't joking when I called them 'spandex gimps' earlier, someone's got on hell of a fetish."
"It came with that woman, Mrs. Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant." The human added.
"My sonic screwdriver," the Time Lord moaned, taking whatever remained of his sonic form the machine, pouting when he realised it was blow to kingdom come.
"She was one of the patients, but..." Martha continued, but he ignored her, walking to his tether, showing her the device, "My Sonic screwdriver!"
"She had a straw like some kind of vampire."
"I loved my sonic screwdriver," he added, nuzzling into Cass, smirking when she ran her fingers through is hair tenderly, nails scratching lightly at his scalp, "I'm sure the clever girl will make you a new one, honey."
Noticing he was growing distracted by his wife, if the pleased smile on his face and the way he was nuzzling into her hands like a kitten was any indication, Martha rolled her eyes, yelling, "Doctor!"
"Sorry!" He jumped away, grinning slightly, which turned into a smirk when he noticed the blush on his tether's cheeks. Winking at the redhead, he tossed the sonic in the bin, turning to the human happily, "You called me Doctor."
"She did." Cass drawled casually, valiantly trying to the ignore how smug he felt at the sight of her blush, of her involuntary reaction to him, "She was also trying to tell you about the alien, honey. So maybe let her speak."
The human smiled at her, "Thank you," before continuing, "Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood."
"Funny time to take a snack." He hummed thoughtfully, grabbing onto the redhead's hand, fingers weaving together, "You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless, no..." his eyes widened, and he looked down at his tether, who nodded, a small, excited grin on her face, as she continued, "Unless she wasn't drinking it, she was assimilating it." Biting into her lip, she added in amusement, "You said it earlier, remember? Shape-changer."
"If she can assimilate Mr Stoker's blood, mimic the morphology, she can register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon." He finished, before tugging her towards the doors quickly, yelling to Martha,"Come on!" As he took off on a run.
—
A Slab walked down a hallway, past the Doctor, Cass and Martha, who were hiding behind a water cooler.
"That's the thing about Slabs." The Doctor informed the human girl quietly, "They always travel in pairs."
"What about you two?" Martha questioned, gaze moving to the couple's entailed hands, "Do you always travel together?"
He smiled softly, tugging the redhead closer to his side, "Yes. Always. She's not allowed to leave."
"He's actually holding me hostage," Cass added jokingly, winking at the now grinning Martha, "I can't find my way out."
The Time Lord rolled his eyes fondly at her, mumbling, "You haven't complained before, love."
"That's 'cause I couldn't leave you if I tried, and I never intend to." She replied, voice laced with so much honesty, he knew she wasn't joking anymore.
"But haven't you got back-up?" Martha continued, "You must have a team or something?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Humans. We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking personal questions. Come on."
He stood up, tugging Cass after him, as behind them, Martha grumbled, the eye-roll clear in her voice, "I like that. 'Humans'. I'm still not convinced you're aliens."
They stepped out into the corridor, right in front of a Judoon, who shone his blue light on the Doctor's face.
"Non-human." He announced.
"Oh my God, you really are!" Martha gasped, as Cass began running, tugging her tether behind her as she yelled, "And again!"
They ran down the hall, the Judoon shooting at them as they followed. Running up a flight of stairs, locking the door behind them, only to emerge into a busy corridor, filled with people gasping for breaths on the floor.
"They've done this floor. Come on." The Doctor stated, as he pushed through, "The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."
Martha knelt beside another resident, helping her administer oxygen to a person, "How much oxygen is there?"
The other woman shook her head despondently, "Not enough for all these people. We're going to run out."
Kneeling beside them, Cass looked at Martha worriedly, "What about you? How are you feeling?"
"I'm running on adrenaline." She chuckled slightly.
The redhead nodded, a small smile on her face, "yeah, that sounds about right. Welcome to our world, Martha Jones."
Helping her up, they turned to the Doctor, the human asking, "What about the Judoon?"
"Ah, great big lung reserves," he said, reaching down to wrap his hand around his tether's, "it won't slow them down. Where's Mr Stoker's office?"
"It's that way," she led them down the hall, to Mr Stoker's office, only to find it completely empty, "She's gone! She was here."
Cass knelt by Mr Stoker, examining him quickly with her sonic, before murmuring, "She drained him dry, like a human capri-sun." Looking up at the Doc, she added, "You were right, she's a plasmavore."
"What was she doing on Earth?" Martha shook her head, confused.
The redhead stood up, joining her tether's side once more as he replied, "Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro. What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."
He tugged Cass behind him, but both stopped when Martha shook her head, watching with proud small smiles as the human girl kneeled by Mr Stocker, gently closing his eyes, joining their side once more.
"Think, think, think." The Doc mumbled as they walked through the hallway, "If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?"
Noticing the sign above their heads, Cass chuckled, nudging him softly, before pointing up, towards the MRI sign, and he chuckled happily, squeezing her hand tightly, "Aah. She might be as clever as me, but no where near you, love."
"Thanks," she grinned happily, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, as down the corridor, a Judoon's voice echoed, "Find the non-human. Execute."
"Stay here," he turned to Martha, "We need time. You're going to have to hold them up."
The human looked at him, aghast, "How do I do that?"
He bit his lip, feeling a quick flash of painful resignation from his tether, as though she knew exactly what he would have normally done.
But he wasn't his old self anymore, everything had changed. She'd changed everything.
So giving his lips a quick lick, he mumbled, "Martha, forgive me for this. It's to save a thousand lives, it means nothing. Honestly, nothing." Before pressing them to her forehead, and running towards the MRI room, tugging his now confused tether after him.
Behind them, Martha shook her head, not understanding what had just happened, and why he'd been so adamant she doesn't misconstrue something as innocent as a forehead peck. Huffing in resignation, she quickly turned on her heels, running in the opposite direction, eager to give the Time Lords the time they needed.
