Diana and David wed with friends and family present, on Darillium. But the Singing Towers soon turn the meant-to-be magical night into hell, turning the emotions against the Doctor and his friends...
"What the hell is this place?" a woman shouts at the Doctor, who is trying to fly the TARDIS, amazed by the incredible dimensions of it, but is amazed in his personal space, as well.
The Doctor takes a second to stop piloting the TARDIS to turn around and look at the woman. "Think about the coolest thing in your life. Think about how amazing it is and how incredible it makes your life." The woman nods. "Now forget about that because this place is a lot better," he says, turning back to fly the TARDIS.
Diana taps her mother on the shoulder, making her turn around. "Mum, please. Stop pestering the Doctor and let him get us there on time. Sometimes he can't get the landing right." The Doctor puts his thumb up in the air in response.
"That would be nice, thanks Mrs Walker," the Doctor says, continuing to pilot the TARDIS with a forced smile on his face. "If you want, go and sit with the rest of the guests."
The Doctor gave Diana and David a pleasant 'surprise' after their skirmish with the Sontarans and the Rutans on planet GalSac in the far future. Well, a surprise for Diana, as the Doctor had already told David in Paris after a dispute between the trio. As part of the present, the Doctor agreed to take ten selected family and friends of both Diana and David in the TARDIS to witness the wedding on the planet Darillium. He never gave himself a plus one, as Diana and David were the only real friends of this incarnation. Luke, Clyde, Rani and Sky were unable to attend as friends of the Doctor's, something about the Slitheen. The Doctor trusts them enough to deal with them themselves. And bringing Ace and Tegan, who he met again briefly at Yasmin's funeral, would be a bit odd, seeing as they had never met Diana and David. He was sure they would do, in the future, when they inevitably decided to retire back to life on Earth as normal.
David's ten friends and family had already been transported to Darillium by the Doctor's TARDIS, much to the annoyance of the Time Lord. Not being from Earth, the Doctor struggles to understand the point of the groom not seeing the bride until the wedding. Sometimes for Time Lord marriages on Gallifrey, the bride and groom would both regenerate or otherwise change their appearance to consolidate their love for each other, in an 'extra regeneration' allowed by the Time Lords. However, after growing accustomed to the way things work on Earth over his many lives, the Doctor is used to the tradition - even if he cannot see its point. Having gate-crashed enough of his companions' weddings, including Donna Noble's first one, amongst others.
"Are you married then?" Mrs Walker asks the Doctor, flirtatiously. "A handsome man like you must still be a bachelor."
The Doctor looks over to Diana uncomfortably, with a look enough to get her to move her mum away and to the rest of the travelling friends and family of the soon-to-be Mrs Redgrave. "Come on Mum. He's older than he looks."
"Oh, so he's in my age range then?" she asks.
Diana chuckles. "Not quite, sorry."
The Doctor pulls the materialisation lever, as the TARDIS makes her well-known noise caused by the brakes being left on. He gathers Diana's ten guests around, in order to go over some ground rules and describe the planet of Darillium to them.
"So, basic stuff first. NO LEAVING THE RESTAURANT," the Doctor commands, with all ten of Diana's guests nodding in agreement. "We've got the entire restaurant, for some of the night. A night on this planet lasts for twenty-four years, but we're not staying for that long. Not even close. We overlook the Singing Towers, arguably the most fantastic piece of planetary physics in the galaxy. But, other than staying in the restaurant, I don't have any ground rules. Make sure you enjoy this trip."
With that, the Doctor opens both of the doors of the TARDIS to allow the ten guests out one by one. First, Diana's mother, at the Doctor's behest, as she was extremely irritating and in his face. Following that, her grandfather, her auntie, uncle, and five of her friends from the hospital she works at exit the TARDIS. Lastly, is Elizabeth Jago-Stewart, head of UNIT, who the Doctor hasn't seen in person since the very start of his current incarnation. Diana and Elizabeth have been friends ever since the Ice Warriors skirmish. Elizabeth shares a flirty smile with the Doctor, who replies with a broad smile. She exits the TARDIS and the Doctor watches her, keeping his broad and awkward smile.
"Eyes front soldier," Diana jokes, clicking her fingers in front of his eyes and bringing him back into the room. "You might be a Time Lord but you are still a bloke."
The Doctor smiles at her. "Your dress is in the third dressing room to the left in the bottom right of the TARDIS. Chop chop, better get ready. The TARDIS will help you change into your dress." He pretends to be very formal in this regard, but Diana's expectant look at him makes his acting fail and the Doctor brings Diana into a warm hug. "I am so proud of you. Now go, we don't have an awfully long time here. And my favours don't extend forever."
"Hah. Sorry, I know it's really late, but I thought I would leave it late because you really don't understand human weddings because they are different on Gallifrey or whatever," Diana starts with. "But I need someone to give me away, and whilst my mum is a lovely woman..."
He isn't following. "Mhm?"
"Oh you idiot. Will you give me away, down the aisle?" she asks, nervously.
The Doctor is taken aback by this. But, after a second to think, he places his hand on his mouth, stroking his face and leaving it with a smile. "It's my honour."
Diana grins, running off to go and get changed in the dressing room the Doctor told her to go to. He watches on with a smile for his best friend, emotional at how he is to give her away.. Initially worried about the wedding as it may drag them away from him, the Doctor has grown to be accepting, and happy for the couple - regardless of what it means for their future in the TARDIS.
A woman covers her boyfriend's eyes as they walk to witness the Singing Towers in person. It had been something he has wanted to do for a very long time, and when he had told her his bucket list of places to visit throughout the cosmos, she began saving up for a romantic trip to Darillium, the planet for love. She removes her hands from his face and allows him to listen and watch the towers in person. The towers sing. And the couple cry. They are renowned for their emotional impact on the people who witness them.
"They are beautiful," the man confesses to his girlfriend. She reaches for his hand, and holds it with a giggle. "They really are... beautiful..."
The man's grip on his girlfriend's hand intensifies, which she thinks at first is a gesture of love. But the grip from his hand on hers gets stronger, and she looks into his eyes, before herself locking onto his hand stronger.
"Yes... they are so... wonderful..." she agrees, as their eyes blacken and they fall to their knees. The grip on each other's hand breaks as they release a violent and bloodcurdling scream, and their brains begin to decompose, and melt.
The man goes first, and falls to the floor, lifeless. The woman follows shortly after.
Til Death Do Them Part. And it did.
The Doctor strolls around the restaurant on Darillium, enjoying the nostalgic visit to a place that means an awful lot to him. The official wedding is soon to start, but the Doctor is compelled first to check out a special place. Eventually, he strolls up to that table, with the perfect view of the magical Singing Towers. He looks on, sombrely. It was there where he and his beloved wife River Song spent their final night together before she went to the library to save his past life. The Doctor closes his eyes, reminiscing about the twenty-four year long night, allowing the Singing Towers to sing and for him to hear it. He thinks for a second, and pictures his twelfth incarnation and his wife on the balcony, and holds back tears, continuing to simply look on in remembrance.
Bells ring - the wedding is soon to begin. The Doctor's deep concentration and hallucination of his past self and River Song on the balcony is broken, as he sadly smiles on. The noise from the towers, for a split second, hit a frequency causing a sharp pain in his head for a brief moment, however. The Doctor disregards this, thinking it may just be an intensely emotional note for a moment so emotional to him. The towers do act on the emotion and willingness of the individual, and sing at different frequencies for each person. When the wind is blowing, and the Sun is in the right place, you can just hear it. He turns his head and begins to walk to the main reception to find someone to talk to, before he is to give Diana away, as she asked.
Everybody is wearing tuxedos or tidy dresses. And yet here is the Doctor, wearing a three piece burgundy tartan outfit, with no tie and the top button of his shirt undone. He can't help but stand out with his dress sense, but Diana and David would have their Doctor no other way. Moving to sit in the front row as a family member in the eyes of both Diana and David, the Doctor is seated next to David's father, who fervently shakes the Time Lord's hand.
"I've heard a lot about you, Sir. Thank you for being a wonderful friend to my son, and my daughter-in-law," he begins, and the Doctor holds up his hands in a gesture of 'no problem'. "He did also mention your apparently outlandish dressing style, but I do very much enjoy your suit."
"The Doctor, call me Doctor. No need for Sir. But, thank you," the Doctor says, laughing with him. "What does David know about fashion?"
"Oi! I can hear you two!" an irritated David, dressed in a wonderful black tuxedo himself, chimes from the altar, evoking a humorous reaction from the Doctor and his father. The Doctor then rises from his seat.
"As much as I would love to banter you more David, and trust me I really would," the Doctor starts. "The Doctor has a nurse to give away for marriage to an ex-army man." David rolls his eyes with a quiet tut, as the Doctor runs over to behind the scenes to take Diana's arm, and lead her down the aisle.
A reception has also been arranged for a while after the wedding itself, and as it's due to get underway straight after the wedding, the receptionist has a duty to check the areas set for the reception. She moves over to the balcony where the Twelfth Doctor and River Song spent twenty four years together, and the one that the Sixteenth Doctor had saw a very brief moment ago. Taking a moment to tidy it up, and clean the area, she hears the Singing Towers. And they sing. And it is beautiful. She acknowledges the wonderful music, but continues her job of ensuring the area is clean and tidy for the reception. The music loudens, however, and it becomes strong enough to induce a trance-like state, removing her from her own personal agency as she listens to the music.
"Oh... it's beautiful..." she whispers. The towers' singing intensifies, and the frequency of the sound waves rapidly rises, increasing the pitch too. A similar effect to earlier begins to occur, as her pupils blacken and her muscles tense.
She falls to her knees, as her brain begins to melt. The receptionist moves her hands to hold her head, as she remains entirely aware.
'Here Comes the Bride' rings out loudly in the hall. David turns his head to see the Doctor in his burgundy blue, but more potently, Diana in her long, stunning white wedding dress. He can hardly contain his joy and smiles, as the Doctor and Diana continue to walk down the aisle.
But just as nothing could ruin their perfect night, a bloodcurdling scream is heard by the Doctor. At first he tries to ignore it, taking a lot of focus as he can't easily ignore screams like that, but as the scream loudens and becomes louder than the music, the Doctor knows something is going wrong. All twenty guests, the bride and the groom are confused, but the Doctor immediately jumps into action - when there is danger, he does not hesitate.
The Doctor lets go of Diana's arm, and runs towards the source of the scream at full speed. Now, all twenty guests are really confused, and chatting away in panic. Diana is left halfway down the aisle, and herself and David exchange a look of worry. Of course, not even on their wedding night can they avoid something wrong happening. David storms over to Diana.
"I knew having a wedding on an alien planet was the stupidest idea ever," Diana moans, which she immediately regrets, and David knows she doesn't really mean that. They've both been excited to be the first human couple to wed on an alien planet. "Sorry. You know I don't mean that. Just, I don't want this being ruined."
"Should one of us go and help him?" David asks.
Diana shakes her head. "No. We have twenty people in this room, all of which have never been on an alien planet, and only Elizabeth has any damn experience with aliens!"
Speaking of the devil, Elizabeth notices a slightly panicked Diana and David conversing in the middle of the aisle and rushes over to them. Wearing a modest red dress and shoes that still allow her to be mobile, she opens conversation.
"Look, I'm just a girl who runs a big military group. I have no idea how to talk to these people. They're your friends and family. Don't worry, I'll go and follow that lunatic," she says.
"You are a life saver, and you probably will be quite literally. Thanks Eliza," Diana replies, hugging her, before Eliza runs off to help the Doctor.
Diana and David know that the Doctor may be slightly offended that it won't be them that turn up to help him, but they're also aware that the Doctor will be awake to the fact they have panicked friends and family on a foreign planet, with those two being the only two, including Eliza and excluding the Doctor of course, who have seen any sort of extraterrestrial life.
The Doctor is known for running head first straight into danger, especially when there are lives on the line. For every life in danger, he runs that little faster and with more purpose. The sound of the screaming from the woman is providing the Doctor with a beacon to locate the source of danger. But the sound stops, and so does the Doctor's running. While he continues to locate the source of the screaming, Eliza finally catches up with him, by now having changed her shoes into a pair of black trainers.
"What are you doing here?" the Doctor says in frustration. "And how the hell did you change your shoes so quickly?"
Eliza laughs. "I'm very good." The Doctor smiles, knowing that whilst Diana and David may have bigger fish to fry for themselves, someone is able and willing to help him out. "Come on, what's going on?"
"I don't know. Someone's in danger, I don't know where, but I know that there are multiple people at risk if something is loose," the Doctor begins. "But no one is screaming anymore and I can't track where it was coming from."
Eliza immediately points in the direction in which she was running. "I was running directly at it because you were, and I literally ran directly at it. So, come on!" She grabs his hand and starts running, so the Doctor does in kind.
"I'm the hand grabber, this isn't fair!" he shouts.
"You got any brighter ideas?" she replies. The Doctor doesn't respond, and so allows Eliza to continue leading the running.
Eliza leads the Doctor to the balcony he visited earlier, where he spent twenty-four years with River. Turns out, that was the right place to end up. The Doctor spots the receptionist laying lifeless on the floor, and instinctively runs over to her. He checks her pulse in futility, crouching down at her side and rubbing his eyes - she's dead. He continuously slaps himself on his head in order to get him to think.
"Think Doctor, think," he whispers loudly. "Her head is oddly shaped, and her hair is in chunks. Eyes blackened and wide open. And some weird and wet gooey substance is running from her nose."
The Doctor scoops up the substance and smells it, causing Eliza to urge as it drips from his fingers. Unfazed, the Doctor comes to a conclusion. "Her brain's melted, and based on the fact her head is sort of spoon shape now, certainly a bombardment of some sort of high frequency waves." In order to simplify what he's said, the Doctor looks at Eliza with a sorry face. "Brain soup. And it was painful."
Eliza raises her eyebrow. "Painful?"
"Because of the screaming," the Doctor says with an obvious tone in his voice. "And I don't think it was someTHING that caused this, with a bit of help from a peed off individual."
"Then who?" she asks.
The Doctor rises to his feet and starts to continue walking around the restaurant on Darillium, taking Eliza's hand as he walks past her in order for to walk with him.
"Bombardment of high frequency waves, like I said. And where is a hub for waves?" the Doctor poses the question. Eliza realises almost immediately. "Don't go outside..."
The room continues to chat, and it has been a few minutes since the Doctor and Eliza ran off to investigate the screaming. Given that none of the guests know what they're doing or what to do on an alien planet, panic ensues. The Doctor told David of the time he was stuck on the planet Midnight, the planet which the diamond for his ring for Diana was source from, and how him being non-human led to him and everybody aboard dying.
"Okay guys, can we all just be quiet for a second?" Diana asks, with nobody listening. David sighs. "QUIET!" she shouts.
The entire rooms falls dead silent, pretty impressively controlled by her. The room quietens, as Diana and David stand behind the altar to take control of the situation.
"Thank you. Right. The Doctor and Elizabeth know what they're doing, they're professionals! Just please, stay calm," Diana says, trying to help calm down their friends. "They will sort everything out. And we will get married here." She cuddles David as she tries to inspire the room.
"I knew that this was the worst idea ever!" one of David's friends, Jacob, shouts. "What the hell were you guys thinking having a wedding on another planet?"
Diana seems extremely offended and was on the brink of saying something she knew she would regret. David chirps in before she does. "Well, it did say on the invite that it would be on another planet."
"We didn't think you were serious you moron!" he shouts back.
David rolls his eyes. "When you walked into a little blue box that was bigger on the inside, surely then you realised we weren't joking?"
His friend seems like he doesn't have a reply this time. "I could have you two done for kidnapping!"
"Shut up Jacob," Diana growls.
"Yes, please Jacob. Shut up. Whoever you are. Can hear you gobbing off down the hallway," the Doctor bluntly says, ignoring the stood up Jacob. Taking to the front of the room where Diana and David are, the Doctor jumps on top of the altar to deliver his message and rubberstamp his authority. "He's right, you know." The Doctor points at David whilst having his eyes locked on the room. "Me and Miss Stewart are professionals at this. But so are the soon to be married couple. These two are my second in commands. You should be listening to them, and trusting them. Because they trusted you with a trip and a privilege like this. You are to respect them, and their authority." The Doctor jumps down from the altar as Eliza walks into the room. "I may be the Doctor, but these three are the real three wise men."
The room settles down as the Doctor establishes some control of the situation. He looks over to Diana, David and Eliza. "Right then. You three stay here. Carry on without me." Eliza scoffs and Diana and David immediately shake their heads to signal no, as the Doctor goes to walk out of the room.
"As if," Eliza starts. The Doctor stops walking to face Eliza. "No way are you going out there, somewhere you don't know alone."
"That is exactly why I'm going alone. A sharp pain caught me in the head earlier when I was walking around there. And I've already told you, that she was turned into a spoonhead full of brain soup," he argues, with the description irking the happy couple. "None of you three are going to come with me on this one. Too dangerous."
"Doctor, you've literally thrown us in the middle of Dalek and Cybermen invasions," David says.
"I have fought them more times than I can remember, I know about them. And I told you, I know nothing about what's going on here," the Time Lord replies. "Stay. Here. And that is an order."
The Doctor begins to walk off to confront whatever is going on in the Singing Towers. But now, his plan is to leave the restaurant and confront the Singing Towers head on.
"Where the hell are you off to?" Diana asks.
Continuing to walk to the exit of the restaurant and the surface of Darillium, the Doctor speaks. "No going outside. At. All."
With that, the Doctor exits the restaurant at the front to walk towards the Singing Towers. A few seconds after he's left the room, Eliza shares a look with Diana and David.
"Go on. Go. We know what we're doing," David relents. "He doesn't like to let on that he could do with a hand sometimes."
"Or when he's scared..." Diana chips in. Eliza notes what both Diana and David say about the Doctor. They are both clearly worried about their best friend. Nodding, she heads out of the door to follow the Doctor, as Diana and David continue talking to their guests.
Clasping his hand, the Doctor walks steadily towards the Singing Towers, wary of the threat they pose. When he can hear the towers sing, he stops, and clears his mind, before continuing to approach them. Whilst he continues to pace slowly towards the danger, he can hear the repeated and hasty footsteps of someone. He turns around to see Eliza running over to catch up to him; and whilst his face communes his absolute anger, he can't maintain that anger.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" the Doctor shouts, in fury that his instructions have been ignored, but not enough fury to hear the towers singing.
"Shut up, you think I'm leaving you on your own out here?" Eliza says, with a confusion that the Doctor even thought nobody would follow to help.
Knowing that there was no point to actually arguing with her as she is already too far out of the restaurant, the Doctor relents. "Fine. Pace slowly. Focus your head on something that isn't emotional, like I've been clasping my hand. These towers play on your emotion, and I think something's going on here. Someone finds it funny."
Eliza decides to start humming in order to numb her brain of considering her emotions. Annoyed, the Doctor gives her a look, but begrudgingly allows her to continue with the humming. Until, Eliza and the Doctor spot a pair of bodies laid on the floor, in similar states to the receptionist they saw earlier. The Doctor does not speed up and continues to clasp his hand, as they approach the pair of bodies. When they reach them, the Doctor crouches to examine the pair.
"Exactly the same state as the receptionist we saw before. Brain soup," the Doctor announces, causing Eliza to look away before she begins to exhibit the emotion of disgust. Looking down at the pair's grimly deceased bodies, he apologies. "They looked like a couple. Coming to see the towers for romance. I know that feeling."
"Sorry to interrupt the emotional moment here, Doctor, but if we could keep going before I urge looking at a melted brain coming out of noses?" Eliza asks.
The Doctor rises to his feet, and motions for Eliza to start walking again with him. "Come on."
It takes the Doctor and Eliza a few more minutes to reach the Singing Towers, but with each step it grows harder for the pair to suppress their emotions and continue to move towards the towers unfazed. They are at the eye of the storm, perhaps, and are able to exhibit their emotions slightly more than they could before. But not too much...
"Tell you what, it's a good thing you're wearing trainers and not the heels you were earlier," the Doctor jokes for a moment. "We've got a bit of climbing to do."
Before he's even finished his sentence, the Doctor notices Eliza isn't stood where she was a moment before. Instead, she already figured that, and had climbed a good distance already up the towers.
"Well come on!" she shouts down to him, and the Doctor smiles at her instinctiveness to face whatever is going on head on. He joins her, starting to climb up the towers himself. "So what do you mean, you know the feeling of coming here for a bit of romance?"
The Doctor is a faster climber than Eliza, so by now has already taken the lead in the race to climb to the top of the towers first. Sighing, he answers her question. "Don't UNIT have a file on me? I don't know if I need to answer that question."
"So it was her?" is her follow-up question. The Doctor's lack of response is enough to confirm the answer that she thought. "I'm sorry for poking."
"It's fine. Just, the first time I've been to this planet since. Never expected to be climbing up these things, though," he says, and prepares to quickly change the subject. "I've been thinking of a plan whilst we have been climbing."
Eliza groans. "So we've been climbing up these stupidly big towers and you didn't have a plan until you started?"
"That is usually how it works, yes," he responds. "Anyway, wind waves. That's how these things sing. Well, they aren't called wind waves. Just vibration of particles in the air. The waves blowing here are longitudinal, and my sonic sends out wave signals, that's how the thing works. If I send out waves from this thing of exactly the same wavelength and frequency, but in exactly inverse phase, they cancel each other."
"That isn't exactly a very long term plan. You kinda have to have this sonic on for it to work," she correctly points out.
"Step two, it has to be something in these towers directly, not to do with the wind itself. The wind is fine, I'm climbing on the side it is blowing, and nothing is wrong. No change in density, and no change in frequency," the Doctor explains. "So, we get digging. Maybe we could've done with your heels."
Eventually, the Doctor reaches the top of the right hand tower. Eliza isn't too far behind, and soon also reaches the apex. And being of a similar height to the Doctor, a little shorter at around five foot ten, she pulls out her heels to meet him at eye height. "It's a good thing a woman never goes anywhere without a second pair of shoes."
A bemused Doctor can only look at her in disbelief. "Where the hell have you kept them whilst we've been climbing?"
"A magician never reveals her secrets," she flirtatiously responds, with a little smirk from the Doctor the reply she gets. "Anyways, aren't there two towers? What if we've got the wrong one?"
The Doctor smiles awkwardly. "Well... let's just hope we've climbed the right one first." His awkward reply does not fill Eliza with confidence. He pulls out the sonic screwdriver from the right pocket of his burgundy tartan blazer, and sets its strength to maximum. Activating the sonic, the towers cease singing almost immediately, and Eliza starts chipping away at the top of the tower. "Hurry up!"
"Alright!" she angrily responds, but does speed up hacking at the top of the tower. And after a while, she can feel a softer section of rock, and starts digging with her hands, pulling out a box with circular patterns all over it. "Doctor! I've got something!"
The Doctor stops what he was doing with his sonic, and puts it back into his pocket. "Guess we did climb the right..." he begins, before seeing the pattern on the box, and recognising it. "...tower..."
He hastily snatches the box out of Eliza's hands, recognising Gallifreyan writing all over it.
"What is it?" she asks.
"That's... Gallifreyan writing. My home," the Doctor admits. "This was the work of another Time Lord. I've met two recently, but both wouldn't act as sneakily as this. And wouldn't know where I am. This is definitely a personal thing," he says. A tear runs down the Doctor's cheek, as he knows that the two - or possibly three - last individuals of his species are out to make his life miserable. Eliza notices the Doctor is upset at the fact it is Time Lord writing; UNIT is aware of the disappearance of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. But the towers begin to sing once again, uncorrupted by what ever Gallifreyan device was tampering with the song. The Doctor's expressing of emotion has allowed the towers to sing once again, as Eliza relaxes to listen as well.
"And there they go again," Eliza quietly chuckles. The Doctor smiles.
"The science behind these things is absolutely amazing," the Doctor says, as the lone tear drops off of his cheek. "When the wind blows though the caves by the Singing Towers, they harmonise with the layer and cause a song to be produced."
"But even then, why the songs are as they are isn't certain. I used to think that it was because of the exact distance between the two towers. No, probably not after what we've done today," he explains, as Eliza watches on the sunset. "And like I said to 'her', when the wind stands fair and the night is perfect, when you least expect it... and always when you need it the most... there is a song."
The towers sing. And the Doctor acknowledges so much. The Time Lords, Gallifrey and its people, his late wife River, the impending marriage of his best friends, the Redgraves. Whether happy or sad, a lot of conflicted emotions are present, a struggle for him.
Eliza's phone rings, breaking the concentration of emotion for the Doctor. It's a phone call from Diana, presumably to ask where the pair are, and to confirm the safety of the song. She looks up at him, and she answers the phone.
"Diana, everything okay down there?" she opens the conversation.
"Everyone, and everything, is fine. Whatever you've done seems to have worked," Diana happily confirms. "How are you?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Alive, been a busy one. We're on top of the towers. It was something to do with a Time Lord. We don't know who, though," Eliza says.
"Oh. How is he?" she asks, knowing immediately that the mention of the Time Lords will have irked the Doctor.
Hearing Diana, the Doctor speaks up. "I'm fine. So fine." He jokes through his confusion of emotions. Diana senses he still is conflicted, but chooses not to press on.
"We've got a wedding to finish. And I need a Doctor to walk me down the aisle," Diana says.
The Doctor completely forgot he had to give Diana away. "Oh yeah! Sorry! Won't be long!" With haste, he starts to climb down the tower, without waiting for Eliza.
"Doc- ugh. Sorry. Gotta go. We'll see you in a tick," Eliza replies.
"Don't be too long. See you," is the final message of the call. The call ends, and Eliza begins to scurry down the tower to catch up with the Doctor.
"I haven't got all day!" Diana's auntie shouts.
"Sarah, leave the girl alone. It's not her fault," her husband, and Diana's uncle, responds.
Diana rolls her eyes as she knows she is going to have to repeat what she said about the TARDIS when they all first came to Darillium. "Auntie Sarah, the TARDIS is a time machine. He is probably just gonna drop us all off on Earth the second after we left."
"Girl's right. Just going to drop you guys back off when we left. No big deal," the Doctor says, leaning against the door. "Right then, wedding?"
Eliza comes into the room, panting in exhaustion. "Doctor... why do you... always... run..."
"Wonder where those two have been," one of the guests jests with another guest, about why the Doctor and Eliza might be panting.
"Saving your backsides on an alien planet, that's where we've been," the Doctor aggressively rebuffs, before realising he ought to remain composed and not take his frustrations out on the guests. "Wedding. Let's get it going again, eh?"
In the back room, where Diana, her mother and Eliza sit and talk before the Doctor comes to take her down the aisle. Eliza had just spent a while explaining what had happened up the towers. From the superposition of waves with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, to the digging at the top of the towers.
"...and there was something Time Lord put into one of the towers, tampering with the wind or something. I didn't really understand it," Eliza says. Diana laughs in sympathy, she's been confused by him a couple of time. "He was really emotional about it."
"I'm not surprised. Lately, we faced some guy called the Monk in Paris, and he said he met somebody else when David and I were on a break," she explains.
"Darling, what are you on about, 'Time Lord'?" her mother interjects with. Diana and Eliza look at each other and chuckle.
"I'm not even going to bother explaining," she says.
A knock follows that comment, and the Doctor shouts in. "You ready yet, Diana?" She grins, standing up from her seat and walking over to the door.
Take two.
'Here Comes the Bride' rings out, as the Doctor walks Diana down the aisle, locked in arms. David looks back and smiles at his fiancée, soon to be wife. Everyone wearily sits, in case something happens once again, stalling the wedding. Even the Doctor himself is weary about something continuing to happen, but they reach the altar without a fuss. He then moves to behind the altar to conduct the wedding. He's conducted one before in 1947's India, in his thirteenth incarnation.
"We are here gathered today for the first human wedding to be conducted on a foreign planet to your species. A joining in marital union for two of the most fantastic and wonderful people to have graced the planet Earth. Of course, I am talking about the man and the woman who stand before me," the Doctor begins. "A wedding is the special ceremony to unite two people who have committed to the promise of love together. They have proven throughout many a challenge that they have intense trust and faith in one another. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, blah blah blah. Won't be an issue for you two. If you two don't stay married for the rest of your lives, well, what chances does any other couple have?"
"Now, to the soon to be wed. Your vows," the Doctor continues.
David takes the lead, clearing his throat and pulling out a piece of paper from his suit jacket. "It's been a brilliant few years with you, babe. But when I first laid my eyes on you, I knew one day we would be here. Well, not exactly here. But stood next to the altar, with you. Ready to spend the rest of my life with you. And that starts now. I've even be throughout all of time and space with you and the man we chose to conduct our wedding tonight. It's been an insanely wild seven months with you and the Doctor, and whatever happens for us next, I'm glad it's gonna be with you. And don't think you're losing me any time soon. I love you."
Diana fights tears, and the Doctor bows his head with a smile. "Diana, you're next," the Doctor says, calmly.
"David, every day with you has been a struggle. A struggle not to try and make this day come any earlier. I love you too, and what I had scripted for this moment doesn't really seem like enough, so I'm just going to speak from the heart," Diana flusters, taking a second to breathe and collect her thoughts. "I thought we were drifting. I thought that you were at the end of your tether with me and that I was about to lose you. And then, we go travelling together, literally anywhere you could want to go, at any time. There was only ever one person I would want to do that with. But the real journey, the journey through my life, with you in the passenger's seat. Wherever we are, whether we are in the TARDIS or at home on Earth. I want you to be there. Forever, and together."
The Doctor takes command of the ceremony once again following the conclusion of the vows. "Please, to the groom. Take your bride's hand." David does so. "Do you, Mr David Jonathan Redgrave, take Miss Diana Sarah Redgrave to be your galactic lawfully wedded wife, and do solemnly swear that in sickness and in health, to take her care, and 'til death do you part, to spend the rest of your days with her?" the Doctor enquires.
David beams with a grin. "I do."
"And do you, Miss Diana Sarah Redgrave, take Mr David Jonathan Redgrave to be your galactic lawfully wedded husband, and do solemnly swear that in sickness and in health, to take him care, and 'til death do you part, to spend the rest of your days with him?" he asks.
She smiles in kind. "I do."
"Well, with no objections to the joining of these two in marital union, then with the power invested in me by the Prydonian chapter of the Gallifreyan academy, my degree in clothes folding at the University of Glasgow in the 22nd century, and the fact I have the best dress sense in the entire galaxy, I now pronounce the two wonderful individuals in front of me as husband, and wife," the Doctor rants, and looks down at the altar with his hands raise. "Groom, you may now kiss the bride."
The now wed Mr Redgrave cups the face of the now Mrs Redgrave and strokes it for a second. And with that, pulls her in for a passionate kiss as the rest of the room celebrate the wedding between David Redgrave, and the now Diana Redgrave. The Doctor smiles, as the kiss continues. He moves from behind the altar, and plumps down on the seat next to Eliza in the seats of guests.
"Bit much, don't you think?" she jokes to him through applause, as the rest of the room whistles and claps the kissing pair.
The Doctor chuckles. "Well, it is a wedding. Not much of a wedding girl?"
"Nope. Just an expensive way to say I love you," she says.
"Nah, they're great fun. Love them, ironically," the Doctor smiles.
After the kiss, and after everything has died down, the Doctor moves to pull over Diana and David to congratulate them on the success of the evening. But seeing them so happy, he relents, and simply smiles at their enjoyment of the night. Celebrating on Darillium is something the Doctor is looking forward to, but he will catch them in due time. In due time.
The shrouded figure that sent the Monk into Paris has been notified of the failure of his plan on Darillium. It does not please him. And it does not please him even more that the Doctor is now aware of a fourth Time Lord now in the picture, alongside himself, the Renegade and the Monk. Enraged, he brutally destroys the table where he was watching events on Darillium. The newly regenerated Monk enters the room, and sees the figure in anger.
"I see you have seen events on Darillium act out in favour of the Doctor," he says. The figure glances to the Monk, and doesn't say a word. The Monk breaks the awkward silence afterwards. "I'm sure that we will eventually catch him and his silly little friends out."
The figure breaks his silence. "We will." He returns to watching the celebrations on Darillium. "Oh, we will."