A/N: So, yeah, this features a little sliver into Rhea's home life and a very Indian slice at that. To all of the readers who have been requesting what I was going to do with this story at the end, honestly, it's a little easier if you ask me what I was going to with say specific plotlines/episodes or if you had any burning questions that I hadn't had a chance to answer in the last 78 chapters.

Warnings: Honestly, probably the tamest chapter I've written in a while.

The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday

Chapter 78

Kiss the Bride

Rhea's hand hovered, uncertainly, over the doors to the TARDIS. So overwhelmed by her thoughts, she barely noticed the Doctor approaching her warily.

"Rhea?" he called out. "Is everything okay?"

Shocked out of her stupor, she turned around.

She hummed. "Oh, yeah. Just… thinking," she said, absentmindedly.

The Doctor placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"She's your mother, Rhea." His voice was soothing and almost reproachful.

Rhea bit her lip. "You're right," she admitted. "I'm being stupid." She said, grimacing.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, not stupid. Wary, maybe."

Rhea looked up at him through her eyelashes. "How do you always know what to say to me?"

Her voice was awed and hopeful and it made the Doctor beam, his hearts clenching at the disbelief in Rhea's eyes – to him, it was practically sacrilege that Rhea had never been treated with kindness by a man before him.

"It's because we were made for each other." He winked and she couldn't help but laugh at the giddy look in his eyes.

"Are you planning on knocking on the door any time today?" A muffled voice came from behind the closed door.

Rhea laughed. "You know how creepy it is that you were just standing there, eavesdropping?"

The door swung open and Seraphina's sunlit smile was revealed.

"I'm your mother. It's my prerogative," she said, innocently.

She hardly waited for ceremony before she was throwing her arms around her daughter and squeezing her until Rhea was gasping for air.

"It's good to see you too, mama," Rhea rasped, patting her mother on the back and resting her chin on the curve of her shoulder.

Seraphina hummed. "My baby. How are you?"

Rhea found herself biting back a harsh sound of grief as she looked into her mother's guileless face, remembering that gunshot she feared would haunt her for the rest of her existence and her mother's lifeblood spilling out onto spick-and-span tiles on that Godforsaken aircraft carrier and no, no, she can't be dead, SHE CAN'T BE DEAD.

"I'm… good," she said, roughly, running a hand through her hair.

Seraphina frowned, as if she didn't quite believe her, but knew her daughter well enough to let it go (at least, momentarily). Her eyes flickered over Rhea's shoulder to the man standing behind her, her eyes widening just the slightest as she took in his tweed jacket, bow-tie and suspenders, but ignored it nonetheless.

"Who's this?" she asked, curiously, moss-green eyes glinting with interest.

"He's… the Doctor." Rhea sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "He's…" She chanced a look at him with a furrowed brow, unsure of how exactly to term his involvement in her life. "Let's just say he's important, okay?"

The Doctor cracked a smile, rocking back on his heels, before he offered a hand to Seraphina, taking hers in his and raising it to his lips to press a kiss on her knuckles.

"I'm important." He preened.

"You're an idiot, that's what you are," Rhea muttered under her breath.

The Doctor smirked and turned back to Seraphina, who watched the two interact with amusement, confusion and honest-to-God wonder.

"I'm the Doctor. And it's lovely to finally meet you, Mrs Adwani. I've heard much about you."

Seraphina frowned. "You're the one I spoke to on the phone?" She looked at Rhea for answers.

"Yes… yes, he is," Rhea said, firmly, shooting a bewildered Doctor a warning look, mouthing 'spoilers'.

The Doctor's eyes dawned with realisation. "Yes." His eyes were cheerful and trusting as he looked at Seraphina. "Yes, I'm the one you spoke to on the phone." He nodded, emphatically. "That was most definitely me."

Rhea rolled her eyes, which he took to meant you're not fooling anyone, but then again, it was Rhea, and if he couldn't fool her, she considered that tantamount to him unable to fool anyone. But Seraphina, albeit slowly, seemed to believe him, and moved aside, pressing her back against the door.

"Well, Rhea's friends, especially one important to her." Seraphina stared, pointedly, at Rhea, who looked away. "They are always welcome here. Come in."

"Yeah, well, that's just it-"

"Can we come out now?"

Amy popped her head out of the door of the TARDIS, which Seraphina only now realised was sitting abruptly in the middle of her lawn.

Rhea grimaced and spun around. "I said I'd give you the signal," she hissed.

"Yeah, well, it's been twenty minutes," Amy retorted, Rory just visible over her shoulder.

"God, do you have any patience at all?" Rhea threw her hands up in the air.

"Let me guess, more of your friends?" Seraphina asked, dryly. "And why is there a 1950s British police box standing in my front yard?"

Rhea's face twisted. "Yes, and it's a long story. But I'll explain."

"Oh, you will," Seraphina said, firmly. "Now, maybe you all should come in. I'll make some coffee."

"So, firstly, someone may want to explain the phone box on my lawn," Seraphina offered, taking a seat opposite the four who were squeezed onto the couch together.

"It's complicated," Rhea said, gulping down the coffee.

"Yes, I got that. Why don't you uncomplicate it?" she said, sternly, flashing her eyes in a way that Rhea understood to mean business.

"Fine." Rhea huffed, rolling her eyes somewhat fondly. Her eyes brightened. "It's a time machine," she said, cheerfully.

"Rhea!" There was a collective hiss from the other three on the couch.

"What?" Rhea shrugged. "We were going to have to say the words sometime," she said, pointedly.

"Yeah, but you could've been a bit subtler about the whole thing." Rory muttered.

Rhea snorted. "Subtlety doesn't really work with her."

Seraphina narrows her eyes. "Are you on drugs?"

"Dear God," Rhea moans.

"What? Like I didn't know you used marijuana in high school."

"Wait, you did drugs?" Rory asked, bewildered.

"That surprised you?" Amy muttered, incredulously.

Rhea shot her a look.

"It's called the TARDIS." the Doctor straightened, determined to make a good impression. "That's Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Seraphina takes a deep breath, her hands shaking as they settle on the ear of the teacup. "So, where did you get a time machine from?" she asks, surprisingly patiently.

"Well, I'm actually an alien," the Doctor said, brightly. "And it's not just a time machine. It's a spaceship too. It can take you to any point in time and space."

"You're an alien?" Seraphina choked out, a little hysterically.

"A Time Lord to be exact, from the planet Gallifrey," the Doctor replied, promptly.

Seraphina swallowed hard and turned to Rhea. "He one of your patients?"

Rhea cracked a smile, patting the Doctor's thigh when she saw his offended look. "He definitely seems like that, but no. No, he's actually telling the truth."

Seraphina cleared her throat. "So, assuming I believe this, are you both aliens too?" She looked at Amy and Rory with interest.

Amy laughed and shook her head. "No, no, we're not. We're actually from Leadworth. It's a small town in England. We're just… tagging along for the ride." She grinned at Rory.

The Doctor frowned. "You don't seem too bothered by the fact that I'm an alien, or that your daughter's been travelling in my TARDIS the last few… weeks?" He looked at Rhea for confirmation and she nodded.

Seraphina made a face. "Well, that's actually pretty typical of her. In any case, should I be bothered?" Her eyes glinted with something fierce and wary.

"Is this the part where you ask him what are his intentions for me?" Rhea asked, dryly.

Seraphina's mouth quirked up at the sides. "Should I be?"

"No, Mother. Please. Just no."

"Very well." Seraphina's hands tightened on her thighs. "Should I be concerned?"

"No."

The Doctor's fingers threaded between Rhea's.

"Fine, I'll drop it then." Seraphina sighed.

"Wow," Amy murmured. "My mum would never drop it just like that."

Seraphina couldn't help but smile. "You think I'm unaware that my daughter keeps her secrets?" she asked, curiously. "I am her mother. There is nothing about her that I don't know. But I trust in the fact that she is an adult and she is more than capable of making choices in her life, knowing that I am always here if she needs me." She slid to her feet with all the grace of a gazelle and the Doctor, Amy and Rory could see so much of Rhea in this sweet woman with lioness eyes. "I'll get the guest rooms ready."

"Mrs Adwani, it's fine, we can always sleep-" Amy protested.

"Call me Sera, and we have plenty of room in this house. In fact, it gets a bit lonely, just myself rattling around. And I would be no host if I didn't put you up."

"You know, I've never been to an Indian wedding before," Amy commented.

"That doesn't surprise me," Rhea said dryly.

"Do they really go on for days?" Rory asked, curiously.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. But not the whole day, not really."

Stars were shining when Rhea, the Doctor, Amy and Rory landed at a beautiful, single-storey house in Anza Vista. Lights had been strung all across the lines of the house and when they approached the door, they could see designs painted across threshold in countless colours.

Rhea sighed. "Please don't judge me after tonight," she said, grimacing, as she knocked on the mesh door.

She surreptitiously examined her companions for the night, having taken great pains to make sure they were dressed in what her aunt was sure to find slight fault in, but wouldn't have too many scathing comments to say. There was no way she could eliminate the possibility of judgment from a woman who had never approved of her brother's daughter, but the least she could do was spare her friends the disapproving gaze of her aunt.

She had managed to wrangle the Doctor and Rory into button-down shirts of unassuming colours (despite the Doctor's many protests that it just didn't fit his fashion sense, to which she replied that he had no fashion sense, at least not one that would allow him to be seen in public in a tweed blazer and a bright red bowtie, to which he replied bow-ties are cool and she almost strangled him but Rory and Amy pulled her back) and black slacks. No ties, because with the Doctor, that was just asking for trouble. Amy, much to Rhea's surprise, had asked her to tie a saree for her, and Rhea was only too happy to do so, surprised at the redhead's easy compliance. But, all in all, if she had to rate the three of them, Rory would definitely come out on top for his cheerful adaptability, and the Doctor was definitely the whiniest of them all.

She had found Anusha's choice of bridesmaid (although there was really no such role in the wedding) dress, hanging in the wardrobe of her old room, having found out from her mother that Aniketh, on Anusha's orders, had dropped it off some time ago. The measurements had been done prior to the Doctor knocking on her door that night, so she hadn't imagined too many troubles with the fitting.

It was a pale pink-orange saree with a gold sequined border and matching blouse. Her neck was bare of jewellery, but she made up for it with a broad kundan nose ring that was chained by a strand of diamonds to the elaborate drop earrings that grazed the curve of her shoulder.

"I can't believe you're wearing a nose ring," the Doctor muttered. "Why don't you ever wear a nose ring with me?" There was an almost-pout on his face, as he tugged at the hem of his shirt.

She rolled her eyes, picturing him as a little boy who desperately wanted to strip out of the nice clothes that the big, bad adults made him away, so he could run around naked in the dirt (which she wouldn't put past the Doctor because he was certainly capable of it), but she was willing to risk one night of the Doctor's discomfort and endless complaining if it meant she wouldn't have to hear about how Sunehri's (never Rhea) gora friend was dressed like a head case.

"If I wore a nose ring around you, one, we'd never get anything done because you'd just want to screw constantly," she said, dryly. "And two, with our lives, the homicidal aliens that you tend to piss off would rip my nose wide open. Not taking that chance with you."

"I don't piss them off," he protested. "There's just a lot of… miscommunication involved."

"That results in them shooting at us with freaky alien weapons," Rhea muttered.

The wooden door behind the mesh finally swung open, revealing a handsome brown-skinned man wearing a navy and gold embroidered sherwani.

He laughed when he saw Rhea's face. "Took you long enough."

"Shut up, Ani," Rhea muttered, and when he opened the mesh door, she threw herself into his arms.

"Nush may just kill us before tomorrow ends, so I'd tread lightly, if I were you," he whispered in her ear.

"Gotcha." When Aniketh's eyes travelled over her shoulder to stare at her friends, curiously, Rhea rolled her eyes. "My friends. The Doctor, Amy and Rory."

Aniketh smiled, brightly, at the three. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Aniketh, Sun's cousin and unfortunate best friend."

Rhea pouted. "Unfortunate?"

"Well, it's not like your low maintenance, babe," Aniketh said, pointedly.

"Chup kar!" she said, sharply, but her annoyance was betrayed by the fondness in her eyes.

Aniketh smiled and shook his head. "You might want to come in, before ma starts shouting."

"How is she?" Rhea asked, curiously. "Still avoiding her like the plague?"

"If Nush hadn't come all the way to New York just to threaten me with castration if I didn't come to her wedding, I wouldn't even be here, yaar," he complains.

"At some point, you have to tell them." Her voice lowered. "You can't just keep dodging them."

"This coming from the chick who brought three goras to her sister's wedding?" Aniketh raised an eyebrow. He looked at the three. "No offence, of course. Unlike the rest of my family, I don't feel threatened by the presence of white people in my home."

Both Rhea and Aniketh chuckled.

"Aniketh, what's taking you so- oh, Sunehri, beti, you came." Rhea's aunt, Indira, came out of the doorway to the kitchen.

"Of course I did, bua." Rhea smiled, gently, and leaned over, pressing bare kisses to her cheeks before pulling away. "Yeh meri behen ki shaadi. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Even though she came pretty close," Amy muttered to the Doctor and Rory, who nodded emphatically.

Rhea shot them a warning look, but it was too late and Indira had already spotted them, her lips thinning.

"You brought guests?" she asked Rhea, sternly.

"My friends, bua. This is the Doctor, Amy and Rory." Rhea's smile turned sickeningly sweet. "They've never seen one of our weddings before, so I thought it'd be nice to invite them to see one."

Indira huffed. "Well, you could've informed us first," she said, sternly.

"Bua, I just got into San Francisco this morning." Rhea's eyes widened, innocently. "I barely had enough time to get ready."

"Well, then, Samir and his family will be here in half an hour. Go and check on Anusha and make sure she's ready."

Rhea bit back a groan, and nodded, pasting a tight smile on her face. "Of course."

"Your friends… can join us in the dining room, if they'd like?"

The way that Indira looked at them, it was clear that she didn't approve of their presence in her house, let alone the wedding. But suddenly Rhea was standing in between them and dragging them away.

"Come on, let's go meet Nush. She's significantly less of a bitch than my aunt is," she said, lowly, under her breath, as her hand fisted in the pleats of her saree and she dragged it up slightly so that she could walk up the stairs.

"And Nush is…" Amy trailed off, pointedly.

"Anusha is my cousin. The youngest. She's only like 2 or 3 years younger than me. And Aniketh – the one that answered the door – he's the same age as me. They have an older brother, Avinash, who's 29, married and already has a three-year-old," Rhea explained.

"You close to all of them?" Rory asked, curiously.

Rhea pursed her lips. "I used to be more. I mean, Ani and I are still really close." A smile flickered on her mouth. "Like he said, best friend. Practically twins. But Avinash and I grew apart years ago, and Anusha around the same time," she hedged, carefully, her mouth tightening just the slightest. "But they're still my family. She's still my cousin. And growing up, they were the only family I had. They're all I have left of my dad. I owe it to him to stay in touch."

Finally, they came to a door, from which they could hear furious chatter and the sound of a girl snarling. Rhea rolled her eyes at no one in particular and rapped her knuckles on the wood.

The door swung open to reveal an unidentifiable Indian female a few years younger than her, and they just stared at each other until annoyance began to prickle at Rhea's skin.

"Well?" Rhea said, impatiently. "Aren't you going to move over so I can come inside?"

"Who are you?" the girl asked, haughtily.

A woman, elaborately dressed, appeared behind her shoulder, her eyes darkening noticeably before the lines of her mouth settled into a frown.

"Well, you took your time," she said, dryly.

"God, Nush, are you going to let me inside so I can fix your makeup, or is this my punishment?" Rhea drawled.

Finally, Anusha cracked a smile. "Where have you been?" she asked, crossly.

"Traffic," Rhea said, shortly, pushing past the girl (probably Anusha's friend) and grabbing Anusha by the hand, leading her to her vanity.

"It's actually kind of interesting how her personality shifts from morally-ambiguous gunslinging psychologist to conservative Indian family girl in like a second," Rory commented, quietly. "I mean, we've seen her kill aliens and now she's doing her cousin's makeup before a wedding."

"And she's insanely good at both of them. I've known her for years and it's like I'm meeting her for the first time today," Amy agreed. "So, which is real and which is a sham?"

"Both." The Doctor said, shortly.

"Both are what?" Amy asked, confused.

"Both are real, and both are a sham," the Doctor said, firmly.

"I brought friends." Rhea knelt in front Anusha, running a thumb just under her eyes.

Anusha looked back and her eyes travelled between the Doctor and Rhea. She placed a careful hand on Rhea's bare arm.

Her voice lowered. "What about Damian?" she asked, cautiously.

Rhea felt her stomach twist and curdle at the mere mention of his name.

"What about him?" she asked, coldly.

"Do you think it's wise to be going around with other men when you have a husband, Rhea?" Anusha asked, disapproving.

"I don't have a husband, Anusha." Her voice was grim.

"He's still alive, didi," Anusha said, pointedly.

"For me, he died a very long time ago, Anusha," Rhea said, firmly. "Let's not ruin your day by talking about him of all people."

"What's Samir and his family going to think when they get here?" Anusha asked, her mouth twisting. "My sister's married, but she has no husband."

Rhea's teeth ground together. "I don't need a husband, Nush. I'm perfectly happy without one."

"But-"

"Stop." Rhea tugged on her braid. "There are more important things to do." Her fingers trailed over the necklaces that lined the vanity. "Which one do you want?"

Anusha hummed, thoughtfully. "I like that one."

"You're not going to join in?" the Doctor asked, curiously, approaching Seraphina, who stood off to the side, while Rhea and Aniketh danced together in front of the cheering crowd to a song that made him want to jump up and join them.

She looked so beautiful, there, on the floor, with that beam on her face, like nothing could touch her.

A wry smile was fixed on Seraphina's face. "I'm not welcome there, Doctor," she said, sombrely.

His brow knitted together. "But you're Anusha's aunt, aren't you?" he said, confused.

Her lips twitched. "I'm the white woman that her uncle unfortunately fell in love with and married, Doctor. To be an aunt, in this community, requires things that I don't have. Skin colour, for one. Heritage, another. Traditions, heredity, religion. All things that make me the other." She sighed. "When my husband was still alive, they – meaning my sister-in-law – made more of an effort. But once he died, it stopped being an obligation."

"But Rhea-"

"Rhea clings to the idea of a family that I could never give her, Doctor," Seraphina finished, bitterly. "When I married Nikhil, his family disapproved. His father was furious. His mother was strangely welcoming – I think she saw much of herself in me. His sister was miserable, and his brother was surprisingly kind. But my family? My father put me out on the street and my mother kept her mouth shut through it all. I haven't seen them in twenty-seven years, and what Rhea has faith in now is what was denied to her by the choices I made all those years ago." She wrung her hands. "They grew up together, you know. My sister-in-law's children and Rhea. They were close once, and now… well, Rhea's made decisions that haven't sat well with that crowd."

"I gathered," the Doctor said, dryly.

"I love my daughter very much, Doctor."

There was something in her tone that told him that she was expecting something in return from him.

"So do I," the Doctor said, solemnly, with the kind of seriousness that looked odd on his baby face (as Rhea called it).

"That's good, I'd hate for her to go through all that mess all over again," Seraphina said, quietly. She paused.

The Doctor wondered if she was aware that he probably knew much more about 'that mess' than she did.

"Rhea's always been less Indian than my niece and my sister-in-law pointed that out every chance she got. A blind person could see that Rhea doesn't depend on anyone for anything. And, well, my sister-in-law never liked that. To her face, Rhea treats her with the same respect she would me, but it's… hollow. She can't, in good conscience, allow herself to care about a woman who would rather I not exist."

"She's loyal that way," the Doctor said in agreement, smiling wistfully.

"That she is." Seraphina's smile matched the Doctor's. "Although, Rhea and Aniketh still remain close. They're like siblings, actually. Completely inseparable." She laughed. "I look at them and sometimes I wish that I could have given Rhea a brother or sister. Perhaps her life would have been different if she had that one person, who was like another part of her, to rely on," she murmured, regretfully. "My sister-in-law's eldest and her youngest began to see things her way as the years went on and Rhea married him. They took her marriage as proof that she was the other. But she loves them still. She wouldn't let the children pay for the faults of their parents, but then again, she was always quick to shut them down if they spoke ill of me or any of the choices she made in life. Whether they be right or wrong, good or bad for her, they were her choice to make." she said, deliberately.

"She's big on that. Having a choice." The Doctor's hand slid uneasily across his thighs. "She's safe now, Seraphina," the Doctor said, steadily. "No one will ever hurt her again. That, I swear to you."

Seraphina rounded on him, blonde waves flying about her face, her eyes slightly wild. "I hope I can trust you with that. She showed up on my doorstep at eighteen, in a white dress and red eyes, and the man beside her promised the same. But he ruined her. I need you to take care of her. Please. For my sake." She took his hands in hers. "When I die, I need… I need to know that she will be loved. I don't want you to promise that she will be safe, because I know you can't promise that – I'm guessing aliens and time machines aren't exactly built for a risk-free life – and I don't want you to promise that because she'd never forgive me. But… she has never felt loved by anyone other than my husband and I, and I suppose, Aniketh, and now you. But if you truly mean what you say she means to you, then I can be content with knowing that she'll be fine. No matter where her life takes her. I know she won't be safe with you. I-I care about her safety, but I'd rather her be loved… more," she said, firmly, a part of her needing to voice the words in order to reassure herself, rather than him. "If you can promise me that, then-then I can be okay with it. I will be okay with it." She finished, resolutely.

"I promise," the Doctor said, his hand pressing against one of his hearts to show his sincerity. He paused. "But, may I ask, why are you so sure she'll be happy with me?" he asked, curiously.

"I've seen the way she looks at you." She shrugged. "I don't think I've ever seen her look at anyone the same way before. Not even Damian. Of course, you're an alien with a time machine. You're capable of giving my daughter much joy and much pain," Seraphina said, simply. "But that's the way of love. There's no joy without pain. There's no love without misery."

"She is worth that pain and misery," the Doctor said, earnestly.

Seraphina nodded. "I'm sure she'd say the same about you."

"Have you talked about this with her?" the Doctor asked, curiously.

Seraphina laughed. "You claim to love my daughter, Doctor. Do you believe, even if I asked her, she'd tell me?"

The Doctor's lips quirked up. "I guess you're right." He paused and chuckled to himself. "Twelve-hundred years later and I'm finally doing the 'meet-the-parents' talk. I can't say it was bad, though."

Brief shock widened in Seraphina's eyes and it was gone just as quick as it came.

"Twelve-hundred. That is painful. I'm pushing fifty and I find it difficult to come to terms with," Seraphina said, teasingly.

"I'm told thirteen-hundred is the real hurdle to cross," the Doctor joked, making Seraphina laugh.

She held out her arm for the Doctor to take. "Come on, we might as well give them all something to gossip about. I know it'll make my sister-in-law positively apoplectic if we keep reminding her that her beloved big brother's daughter is carrying on with another white man." Her lips twitched. "Like father, like daughter."

"Well, technically, I'm not a man," the Doctor protested.

Seraphina smirked. "Well, what she doesn't know will only make her speculate. And believe me, watching that woman just stew and stew and know she can't do anything about it… well, it's its own reward." She sighed, with a hint of wickedness.

Rhea threw her head back and laughed when her cousins and uncle lifted a giggling Anusha onto their shoulders as she reached out with the massive garland to throw around Samir's neck, who was hoisted on the shoulders of his own brothers and other male relatives. After a few lunges, Anusha finally managed to loop it around his neck, resulting in loud cheers from everyone gathered. The saying was that whomever got the garland around their significant other first was the person who had the upper hand in marriage. Rhea smiled to herself, knowing that it was only fitting that Anusha had gotten their first.

When the three dropped Anusha down, Rhea adjusted the voluminous drapes of her dress and her hands were braced on her shoulders as she helped her take her seat beside Samir on the mandapa, propping one of her legs up so that the knee was pointing towards the ceiling, while the other was seated Indian (pun unintended) style. She patted Anusha's shoulders and asked her quickly if there was anything she needed. When Anusha nodded in the negative, she adjusted the jadai that she had exhaustively attached to Anusha's hair, and moved away from the scene of the ceremony, finding her way to the Doctor, Amy and Rory, and slumping down in a seat beside them, her hand slipping into the Doctor's.

"Having fun?" Amy asked, teasingly.

"Oh, shut up," Rhea groaned. "You have no idea how painful it is to not strangle the Indian version of Bridezilla." She haphazardly threw the loose end of her saree over her shoulder again, as it began to slip. "I forgot how miserable she could be when she gets into a state. I almost snapped her neck like half a dozen times, I swear."

"Please tell me all we have to do is sit here and watch." Amy let her head lean back against the chair.

Rhea snorted. "I don't plan on getting up from this chair."

They watched in silence as the priest chanted in low tones, Samir tipping something or the other into the fire in front of him, with focused eyes, Anusha shooting him sweet smiles with lidded eyes every time he looked at her. Rhea supposed it was the perfect match. Her aunt had always wanted a doctor in the family (a real doctor, not one like her, with the right values) and now she'd be getting one. And Anusha did look quite lovesick, so for all she knew, it may end up well for them. At least, that was what she had prayed for. There had been enough misery and suffering and grief in her marriage that she would never wish the slightest problem with her husband on Anusha. She deserved to be happy, even if it were in blissful ignorance.

The Doctor's hand was warm when it squeezed Rhea's. "Alright there?" he asked, worriedly.

Rhea hummed in agreement, turning her head slightly so that her hairline brushed against his. She pressed a warm kiss to his cheekbone, a sultry smile curving on her mouth.

"Yeah, I am," she said, gently. "Where were you before? I was looking for you." she asked, curiously.

"Just talking with your mother," the Doctor replied. "She's a lovely woman."

"That she is." Rhea grinned. "What did you talk about?"

"You." The Doctor shrugged.

"Should I be worried?" Rhea asked, teasingly.

"Not at all." The Doctor shook his head. "We were just talking about how much we love you," he murmured, raising her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

Rhea laughed. Hearing him say love made her heart clench. "I know you don't exactly do the family thing, so thank you for putting up with everyone," she said, genuinely.

"I'd do anything to make you happy, Sunehri." The Doctor's voice was low with sincerity and she found herself hard-pressed to keep the blush down.

"You sweet-talker, you," she joked.

Drums rang through the air and the nadaswaram blared loudly. Rhea slipped to her feet, approaching the structure where Anusha and her husband-to-be was sitting. A thick gold thread glinted in Samir's hand as his arms moved over Anusha's head and he tied the ends behind his neck, dry rice and flowers falling on top of them like a shower. Rhea watched with a soft smile as Anusha beamed at Samir, fluttering her eyelashes at him and fingering the mangalsutra now vivid against her throat. Her eyes travelled across the guests gathered before they landed on a grinning Rhea, flashing her a thumbs-up sign, much to Rhea's amusement.

You go, babe.

When Rhea took back her seat beside the Doctor, she found herself curling up against him as much as she could amidst the plastic chairs, softening when his arm was thrown across her shoulders, his lips pressing swiftly against her temple.

"So, any comments about my driving this time, or…?" he trailed off, his eyes glinting with mischief.

Rhea rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. You getting lucky this time so does not make up for the mucho-gazillion other times you've totally screwed up the landing and set us back like a century or two."

There was a pause.

"You do know that mucho-gazillion's not really a number, right?"

"That's what you took from that?"

A/N: Okay, so first of all, there was a lot of lingo in this chapter that I probably should explain. I would've put it in English but some of those words lose their meaning with the English translation or just don't really have a proper one, so I used the original. But never fear, here's a glossary:

Kundan: specific sort of gemstone used in elaborate jewellery.

Gora: Indian slang for 'white man'.

Sherwani: clothing worn by Indian men that looks like a long coat over pants.

Chup kar: shut up.

Bua: aunt (specifically, father's sister).

Yaar: informal way of addressing people, like 'you' but only more polite and friendly.

Beti: daughter.

Yeh meri behen ki shaadi: It's my sister's wedding.

Didi: older sister.

Mandapa: like this platform in a hall where the bride and groom sit.

Jadai: the fake braid that brides wear in Indian weddings.

Nadaswaram: it's a really loud string instrument that's played at weddings.

Mangalsutra: a necklace (usually thread and then turned into a proper gold necklace, or it can start off as a necklace) that the groom ties around the bride's neck, which identifies her as a married woman.

Okay, so this chapter was mainly to give the Doctor and Rhea a break after the last couple of chapters, and to give you all an insight into what Rhea's home life was like. And to, you know, feature Seraphina personally instead of just hearing her on the phone. Oh, and considering how the relationship between the Doctor and Rhea has only recently reached a new stage, I thought it would be interesting to see how Seraphina (who knows pretty much the gist of what Damian did to her) would react to them together.

So, anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to leave a review!

Replies to Reviews:

Purplestan: I'm so glad you liked it and thank you so much! I haven't actually done the 12th or 13th Doctor yet, but I definitely had some ideas about them together.

djmegamouth: Yeah, I'm not finishing up just yet. I think I have around 12 chapters left to post, so, that should take us around 3 months before I finish up?

Kurosaga Kurugi: Thank you!

NicoleR85: I'm so glad you liked it! Definitely!

RandomFandoming: Thank you! I haven't actually watched it yet, but I've heard good things about it! Yeah, honestly, I don't foresee an end to this show and it's going to be difficult to continue it to an actual end.

Guest: Yes, she is! In the next one, actually, and for 4 chapters.

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