She stopped him right before they entered the MRI room, looking at him with a confused face, "What was that about? Weren't you meant to do a DNA transfer?"
"Yep," he nodded, gazing at her with an intent look in his eyes, as he continued, knowing what she'd meant, "The only person I would ever kiss, really, truly, properly kiss...is you. I couldn't bear the idea of kissing anyone else, much like you couldn't either..."
Cass bit her lip, looking down bashfully, "Sorry, didn't mean for you to catch that. I knew it would just be for the DNA transfer, that it wouldn't mean anything."
Soft, warm hands cupped her cheeks, raising her eyes back to his own, "I told you, you can't hide from me." Leaning down lightly, he allowed their noses to graze, his lips barely touching her own as he finished, "Genetic transfer or not, there's only one set of lips I want to kiss...ever."
Pulling her in, he gently pressed their lips together, feeling her gratefulness and love and trust flood through him, before detaching himself, smiling happily at the flush of her cheeks, as he pulled them into the room, the door closing swiftly behind them.
They found Mrs Finnegan behind the controls, and Cass' eyes widened, as she spoke into his mind, she's raised the magnetic resonance to lethal levels! It'll kill off everything and everyone on this side of the moon!
He nodded quickly, weaving their fingers together, before coughing lightly, drawing the plasmavore's attention to them again, "Have you seen, there are these things, those great big space rhino things, I mean rhinos from space. And we're on the moon. Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon. And I only came in for my bunions, look." He wiggled his toes lightly, "They're all right now, perfectly good treatment, I said to my wife," he tugged Cass into his arms, smiling lightly, "I said Cassie, I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon. And did I mention the rhinos?"
"Hold them!" The plasmavore ordered, two slabs immediately grabbing onto the couple roughly, separating them.
He could feel the panic wafting through Cass, when the one holding onto her wrapped his arm around her neck. Her eyes had grown wide, terror unintentionally leaking from her, as a memory assaulted both of them.
—oo—
She stood by the wall, knuckles clenched tightly so as to not cry out in pain, as a large man rammed his forearm into her throat, choking her, as his other fist beat against her ribs painfully.
Behind him, she could see Rassilon watching dispassionately, a frown on his face when he noted she wasn't fighting back, when he realised she wouldn't fight back. He nodded to the man standing right by him, saying something.
He was too far away for her to hear him, but during her centuries of life, she'd taught herself to read lips, needing the skill when dealing with the Council and their love for secrecy.
Rassilon had given a command, a simple one.
"End her."
—oo—
Cass shook her head imperceptibly when she felt the Doctor's fury, his rage. She hadn't meant for the memory to slip through, hadn't meant for him to see it either.
But that death...it had been one of her more traumatic ones, after all, getting choked to death was never fun, even if one was to regenerate after.
She was, at the very least, thankful he hadn't witnessed the remainder of it, hadn't seen her actual death through her eyes, hadn't felt the life being squeezed out of her.
But he was still angry, fuming. And she knew, that if she didn't intervene, didn't try to force him to focus, he would do something reckless and potentially deadly to save her. And they couldn't have that, they had the entire hospital to save.
So inhaling quickly, she swung her head back, wincing lightly when she felt it slamming against the slab's, using her momentum to swing one of her legs above her head, feeling minute satisfaction when the hit landed, when the creature winced lightly.
And when she was grabbed roughly, she simply winkled at her tether, seeing the light flash of pain in his eyes as her own resonated to him, her last words in his mind right before she was slammed into the wall and lost consciousness being, I'm sorry about that. Save the day honey. I'll always come back to you.
He swallowed harshly, the flinch he'd given at everything that had just happened not needing to be faked, the stutter in his voice as he spoke being one of mounting rage, rather than fear as he knew Finnegan believed.
He'd talk to his tether later, about allowing herself to get hurt when he knew she could defend herself. He would hold her and kiss her and heal every bruise she'd incurred today, but for now, she'd been right. They had humans to save.
So he turned back to the plasmavore, stuttering, hands clenching and unclenching tightly at his sides, and continued, "That thing, that big machine thing, is it supposed to be making that noise?"
The alien scoffed, shaking her head but ignoring him, "You wouldn't understand."
"Isn't that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet? I did magnets at GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same." He tried again.
"The magnetic setting is now set to 50,000 Tesla."
"Ooh. That's a bit strong, isn't it?"
"I can send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brain-stems of every living thing within 250,000 miles. Except me, safe in this room."
"But... hold on, hold on, I did geography for GCSE, I did pass that one, doesn't that distance include Earth?"
"Only the side facing the moon. The other half will survive. Call it my little gift."
"I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunions. Why would you do that?"
"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape."
"Now, that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of an alien."
"Right-o," she grinned smugly.
He had to physically keep from rolling his eyes, choosing instead to widen them comically and gasp, feeling his tether beginning to rouse, the bond inside his chest ceasing its merciless squeezing, "No!"
"Oh, yes."
"You're joshing me."
"I am not."
"I'm talking to an alien? In hospital? What, has the place got an ET department?"
"It's the perfect hiding place. Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment I'm ready to arm myself with should the police come looking."
"So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?"
"Yes. But I'm hidden."
"Oh, right," he nodded, still feigning the role of an ignorant human, mumbling, "So maybe that's what Cassie meant when she said she heard them say they're increasing their scans."
"They're doing what?" Finnegan gasped, finally turning to look at him.
He shrugged, tilting his head towards his Cassie, knowing she was fully awake now, through still groggy. He could feel her mind weaving with his own again, the pain in her temples beginning to throb through his own, "Cassie, my wife. She said she heard them talking, said that big chief rhino boy, said, no sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans... up to setting two?"
"Then I must assimilate again."
"What does that mean?"
"I must appear to be human."
"Well, you're welcome to come home with Cassie and I. She'd be honoured. We can have cake, she makes the best."
"Why should I have cake?" She smirked, reaching into her purse and pulling out a straw, "I've got my little straw."
"That's nice. Milkshake? I like banana."
"You're quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Steady him!"
Suddenly, the slab that had been beside his tether joined, grabbing onto his shoulder roughly, the first one moving to the other side, mimicking the move.
The Doctor began sputtering in faked fear, as through is mind, Cass, who was finally conscious enough to grasp onto his plan groaned, God, I just got rammed into a wall, now you're willingly letting yourself get drained. This day is the absolute worst!
Keeping the grin from his face, he sent her a mental kiss, watching as Finnegan approached him, "What are you doing?"
"I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember."
And just before she stuck the straw into his neck, Cass whispered, remind me to kill you later.
—
The plasmavore was slurring contentedly from the straw in the Doctor's neck, humming lightly at the taste, when the door slammed open, Martha rushing in, followed by a Judoon.
Gasping, she let the man drop to the floor, yelping in a frightened tone, "Now see what you've done. This poor man just died of fright."
Martha had run to Cass, and was just helping her up when the Rhino ran his scan over the Doc's limp body, and announced, "Confirmation: deceased."
"No, he can't be!" She gasped in disbelief, not noticing how Cass had moved away from her side, stumbling her way to her tether, legs swaying and faltering beneath her just as she reached him, dropping on his chest.
That hit to the head had definitely given her a rather bad concussion, at the very least, but she needed to focus. Pulling his head onto her lap, she quickly put her fingers to his temples, focusing on the wells of regeneration energy inside of her, as behind her, Martha argued with the Judoon.
"But it was her. She killed him. She did it. She murdered him." The human yelled, pointing toward Finnegan.
"The Judoon have no authority over human crime."
"But she's not human."
"Oh, but I am.." the plasmavore smirked, "I've been catalogued."
"But she's not! She assimil... Wait a minute." Martha's eyes widened, "You drank his blood. The Doctor's blood." Reaching behind her, she quickly grabbed a scanner from one of the Judoon present, aiming it at the old woman, who shrugged, "Oh, all right. Scan all you like."
"Non-human," the chief Judoon announced, reading the results.
"What?"
"Confirm analysis."
"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely. I'm human. I'm as human as they come."
"He gave his life so they'd find you," Martha whimpered, but a voice echoed through her mind, sounding strangely like Cass'.
'Not quite. He's fine, I'm healing him, but you gotta keep the ruse up.'
Her eyes quickly snapped to the pair, noting how Cass seemed to be sprawled over her husband's upper chest, his head in her lap; the prefect image of human grief.
But she could notice the very small wisps of orange-looking energy around his temples, and assumed that must have been what Cass had meant by healing him.
"Confirmed: Plasmavore." The chief Judoon stated, "I charge you with the crime of murdering the princess of Patrival Regency Nine."
Finnegan sneered, "She deserved it! Those pink cheeks and those blond curls and that simpering voice. She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore."
"Do you confess?"
"Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!"
The Slab raised its hand to shoot, only to disintegrate as the Judoon shot it first.
"Verdict: guilty. Sentence: execution."
Behind them, the sign above the MRI machine flashed ominously, MAGNETIC OVERLOAD, and he plasmavore grinned, "Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell!"
She screamed as they disintegrated her, Martha rushing over to the alien couple on the floor, dropping to her knees beside them, "What did she mean, 'burn with me'? The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something."
The chief remained in place, "Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse."
"Well, do something! Stop it!"
"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate."
"You can't just leave it. What's it going to do?"
They ignored her, yelling out one final command to withdraw, before teleporting away in a flash of bright, white light.
The second they were gone, Cass raised her head, Martha's eyes widening at the sight of the gold swirling in the normally green irises, as the redhead said softly, "You need to unplug the machine. I...I'm too weak to move, think I've got a concussion, and he's being stubborn."
Martha stood up, but swayed on her feet, the lack of oxygen finally hitting her, only to steady when a golden cocoon wrapped around her body, giving her a boost of energy.
"Go, I can't hold it for long," Cass warned, before turning back to her tether and hissing, "And you, just take the fucking energy! I have plenty to spare, trust me!"
When he still refused to accept her regeneration energy, mumbling, not worth it, in her head, Cass growled, pulling even more of it out, before laying her glowing hands over his temples, forcing her regeneration energy, completely compatible with his own, to heal him whether he accepted it or not.
They were tethered, and while normally, he'd have to consciously allow her energy to enter his system, to assimilate with his own, it wasn't necessary in this case and she'd finally run out of patience.
She understood why he was refusing, after all, Time Lords normally had a limited number of regenerations, and using that energy, wasting it...it could lead to entire regeneration lost.
But she wasn't a normal Time Lord, never have been, really.
As Martha unplugged the machine, and he steadily rose to a seated position, Cass smiled ruefully, leaning her head on his shoulder, energy finally drained.
Standing up, he picked her up in his arms, carrying her bridal-style, motioning for the human to follow them outside.
Coming to a stop before a window, he shook his head lightly, mumbling, "You just had to drained yourself huh, Cassie?"
Cass groaned lightly, chuckling in exhaustion, "You just had to let a plasmavore almost drain you huh, honey?"
"Touché," he grinned, moving his eyes back to the view, as Martha joined their side, looking down at the redhead in concern, before sighing and chuckling in relief when she reassured her, "I'm okay. Just drained myself. I could walk, but he really seems to enjoy carrying me around, and who am I to argue against that."
He pressed his lips to her head softly, mumbling, "Come on, come on, come on. Come on, Judoon, reverse it."
They watch as it begins softly raining, Cass whispering in slight awe, "Look at that Martha...it's raining on the moon!" Right before a white flash of light blinded them, and they found themselves staring once more at the earth.
—
They'd waved at Martha, right before jumping back into their clever machine, the Doctor immediately pulling his tether into his arms, hugging her tightly.
Cass chuckled, running her fingers tenderly through the tendrils of hair at the back of his neck, "I'm okay, Theta. Just tired. That wall slam gave me a bit of concussion, but it's fading now."
He nuzzled into her, pulling away to lean their foreheads together, mumbling warningly, "Never give me your regeneration energy again. Especially when you know I'll heal. Don't waste it, please Luna."
"Honey..." she began, smiling softly at him, knowing what she was about to reveal would shock him, "I'm not wasting anything. I don't have a cap on my regenerations."
"What?"
He'd pulled back, staring at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes, and she shrugged, biting into her lip bashfully.
It felt weird to talk about this, to discuss what her nature, her abilities and her connection to the vortex allowed her. But she would, for him.
It was only fair for him to know exactly what it was he'd signed up for, tethering himself to her.
"I'm connected to the vortex, to the schism itself. It swims through my veins...the council had theorised that I wouldn't have a cap on my regeneration, that I would be able to do it an infinite amount of times if I had to."
He frowned, something in her words catching his attention, "Theorised? But you said said you knew...the only way to know would be..." he stopped, hearts breaking when he realised exactly how she knew her regenerations weren't capped.
Feeling his pain, his hurt for her, she cupped his cheeks, smiling bashfully, "It's okay. I'm here, with you, and I have a feeling I won't be changing bodies anytime soon."
"How many?"
"It doesn't matter, Theta."
"Luna, how many bodies have you been through already? How many times did they kill you?!"
His volume had risen, eyes growing darker in anger, muscles tensing beneath her hold. If the council still existed, they wouldn't have for long.
He would have killed them all for this alone.
He could feel her trying to soothe him, attempting to send him love and reassurance and calmness through the tether, but it wouldn't work, at least not until she answered his question. And the fact that she refused to answer, that she hesitated in doing so really told him all he needed to know.
Her fingers skated lightly over his cheekbones, as she whispered, "Honestly, does it matter? It's in the past, so does it matter how many times I've regenerated, and how many of them were because of the Council?"
That was when he felt it, the pain, buried under centuries of pushing them down and building walls around them, the hurt she could still feel as keenly today as she did eons ago.
"So many years," he whispered, the words dropping on her skin, pained and tortured, "They hurt you time and time again, and no one did a thing." Reaching up, he cupped her neck, thumb running over her pulse as he nearly pleaded, "Please Luna, tell me. Let me carry some of that pain from you."
It wasn't just his anger anymore, but his love for her that drove him to get the answer. He could feel it, in his hearts, how much hurt she still carried, how many scars she bore from lives past. He could feel it, when her attention drifted, or when something frightened her. In the nightmares they never spoke of, or the flinch of guilt he felt from her whenever she thought of their planet, whenever she felt a second of gratitude at the thought of the council and the president being gone.
His Luna carried so much of it alone, but she didn't have to. She'd taken his burdens on her shoulders too, eased his own darkness from his hearts, and he wanted...no, he needed to do the same to her. It was part of his job, as her tether.
To carry some of the pain, to ease the guilt and light the dark, like she did for him. To love her in spite of everything she'd done, and everything they'd done to her.
Hearing all of those thoughts run through his head, she finally relented, sighing, "Fifteen. This body, it's my fifteenth regeneration. The one you saw in my memory? That was my eleventh."
He swallowed harshly, remembering how that one had died, before looking down at her and smiling, "She was ginger."
Knowing he was trying to make her laugh, to draw them away from the sad atmosphere they'd landed in, she nodded, smirking lightly as she scratched the back of his neck, "Oh yeah. All of my bodies seem to be red-heads."
"Not fair," he pouted lightly, smiling when she giggled, before drawing her lips up to his own, kissing her lovingly, hoping she knew exactly how grateful he was that she'd shared her memories with him, how grateful he was that she chose him, as he did her.
—
They found Martha coming out of a bar, following her mother as she stormed out.
The couple was standing by an alley, and when she noticed them, Cass shot her a wink, motioning for her to follow them, as they headed back to the TARDIS.
"I went to the moon today." She finally said as she reached them, eyes moving to look at the machine curiously.
The redhead chuckled, "A bit more peaceful than down here, I should think."
"You never even told me who you two are."
The man smirked, wrapping his arm around Cass' waist, tugging her to him as he said, "I'm the Doctor and she's the Oracle, but you can call her Cass."
"What sort of species? It's not every day I get to ask that." Martha chuckled.
"We're Time Lords."
"Right!" She snorted, "Not pompous at all, then."
"We just thought since you saved our lives," the Doc began, "and I've got a brand new sonic screwdriver which needs road testing, you might fancy a trip."
"What, into space?"
"Well..." he began, only to stop when she shook her head, "I can't. I've got exams. I've got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent, I've got my family going mad..."
She stopped when she noticed the redhead's smirk, turning to look at her curiously as she said, "If you'd let him finish...he'd have mentioned that we can also travel in time."
Martha gaped, "Get out of here."
"We can," the Doctor shrugged.
"Come on now, that's going too far."
"I'll prove it." He chuckled, running into the TARDIS and dematerialising it, only to reappear seconds later and come out, waving his tie victoriously in his hand.
The human gasped in shock and disbelief, "I know, but... that was this morning! But, did you... Oh, my God! You can travel in time!"
Cass laughed happily, blushing when her tether slipped the unmade tie from his hand and turned to her, motioning for her to do it for him, remembering what he'd promised earlier in the day.
As she tied it, Martha questioned, "But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn't you tell me not to go in to work?"
"Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden." He stated, only for Cass to snort, "Except for cheap tricks. And to show off, you love to show off."
"That too. Only to you though," he added, winking smugly when her cheeks flushed happily.
Martha smiled at them, heart warming at how much they very clearly loved each other, before motioning to the box behind them, "And that's your spaceship?"
"Yep," Cass grinned, patting the wood lovingly, "She's called the TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S, or the Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."
"Your spaceship's made of wood. There's not much room. We'd be a bit intimate."
The Time Lady bit her lip, before pushing the doors open, gesturing for the human to enter with a knowing grin, "Take a look,"
They followed her as she entered, Cass leaning against her tether's chest, as he rested against the railing, watching with big smiles as Martha ran outside, only to hurry back in again, jaw dropping in disbelief.
"Oh, no, no. But it's just a box. But it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood." She knocked on it gently, shaking her head, "It's like a box with that room just rammed in."
"It's bigger on the inside," both Time Lords mouthed cheekily along with her, the Doctor adding sarcastically, "Is it? I hadn't noticed." Pulling away from the railing, he took his coat off, throwing it on a nearby beam, before weaving his fingers through his tether's again, and pulling them towards the console, announcing excitedly, "All right, then, let's get going."
"But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?" Martha asked.
"Just us," he replied, raising their joined hands.
"All on your own?"
He shrugged, "Well, sometimes we have guests. I mean some friends, travelling alongside. we had, there was recently a friend of ours. Rose, her name was, Rose. Anyway."
"Where is she now?"
"With her family. Happy. She's fine. Not that you're replacing her." He looked at the human sternly, ignoring the light glare his Cassie was shooting him at his tone. But he needed it to be clear.
Martha tilted her head, "Never said I was."
"Just one trip to say 'thanks', you get one trip, then back home. I'd rather just be with my tether." He continued.
Cass rolled her eyes, adding, "The tether disagrees, if her opinion counts for anything. I happen to think Martha, if she decides that she likes the travelling, will make for a wonderful addition."
The human grinned, winking meaningfully at Cass, so she'd know what she was about to say was a joke, before turning to the Doctor and scoffing, "You're the one that kissed me!"
Immediately, his eyes widened in panic, and he shook his head, not noticing the amusement flooding through Cass, "That was a genetic transfer."
"And if you will wear a tight suit..."
"Now... don't!"
"And then travel all the way across the universe just to ask me on a date..."
"Stop it..." he groaned, and she laughed, the sound of Cass' giggles mixing in.
Looking at the alien, she added, meaningfully, "For the record, I only go for humans..."
He nodded, tugging Cass into his arms, tickling her sides lightly for tricking him, smiling at her laughter, before saying, "Good, 'cause I'm already married." Pressing his lips to his tether's neck, feeling her shyness at him referring to her as wife, he turned around, reaching for a lever, "Well, then. Close down the gravitic anomalizer. Fire up the helmic regulator. And finally, the hand brake. Ready?"
"No," Martha breathed, excited, before chuckling when Cass slapped his hand lightly away, reaching for another lever, shooting the human a happy wink, "You better be, Martha Jones! It's always an exciting time here!"
Pulling on it, she laughed when the machine shook, entering the vortex, as the Doc turned to their newest companion and grinned, "Welcome aboard, Miss Jones."
Giggling, she grabbed onto the nearest chair to keep from stumbling to the floor, and laughed, "It's my pleasure, Mr and Mrs Smith."
—
Later that night, Luna woke up when she felt something slipping onto her finger.
Blinking her bleary eyes open, she raised her hand to her eyes, only to find the ring, the one he'd given her earlier during their married ruse, back on her left ring finger. Looking at her tether, she asked, "What?"
"It's yours," he simply stated, grabbing the hand and pressing his lips to the ring, "I had it made a while back, for you."
Chuckling, she ran the back of her knuckles over his cheek, "You do know there's usually a question involved with that, right?"
He raised a single brow, twisting so he was above her, leaning most of his weight on his elbows by her head. Leaning down slightly, he gently nudged her nose with his own, "Cassandra Oracle, my Cassie, my Luna, my impossible girl. My tether. Would you do me the honour of letting me be your husband? Even though we don't need to, because we're tethered and that already means more."
She smiled, wide and big and full of sleep-addled love, her arms reaching to wrap around his neck, "Of course. It would be my honour to be your wife, even though we're already tethered and that already means more." Pulling his head down, she was about to press her lips to his, only to add in an amused voice, "I also know that you want me to wear the ring so that everyone else, one every planet and every timeline knows that I'm yours."
"Hush, Luna," he murmured, cheeks flushing at the fact that she knew exactly why he wanted that ring on her finger.
They didn't need it. Their bond surpassed marriage rites, and to every planet except this one, the word tether alone would beckon understanding. But he liked seeing that ring on her finger, loved knowing that everyone who saw it, and saw the way he held her knew that they belonged, unequivocally to each other.
She pressed their lips together happily, as in his head, her chuckling, sleepy voice murmured, jealous, possessive Time Lord.
Always.
