DoctorDonna

Chapter 16: Let's Be Clear

"Donna—" The Doctor held tight onto her as he said her name into the red hair his face had been buried in. She had dropped to her knees in front of him as soon as he asked the question, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace. But she had yet to say a word. "Donna, love, can I assume this is a yes? I don't want to assume—only you haven't put the ring on and you haven't said anything, and--"

"Well you know, brother, what they say on Earth—" James spoke up with a chuckle from by the console, "about making assumptions. It makes an—" The Doctor shot him a glare that stopped him in mid-sentence. But the grin that replaced his words said enough.

"Oh, Spaceman," Donna gasped out as she let go of her grip around his neck and leaned back on her ankles to look at him. She held her hand out and smiled, and he reflected her smile with his wide, toothy grin as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "Did you really doubt my answer?"

"Well, forever travelling with me, even loving me as you say you do, is one thing. Forever travelling as my bonded-wife, is a different thing."

"Explain it to me, then," she said quietly, matter-of-factly, as she adjusted her position so that she sat cross-legged right there on the floor, in front of him, taking both his hands in hers.

"Here? Now?" The Doctor only then considered their positions on the floor of the TARDIS. Door still open to the Medusa Cascade, his brother and daughter watching from by the console.

His head moved slightly as his eyes darted around. She could tell he was suddenly judging himself critically for his choice of the location of his proposal. "Yes," she whispered, moving one hand momentarily from where it held his up to cup his cheek, stilling his movement and capturing his gaze. "Here. Now. With the Medusa Cascade and our family as witness. You seem concerned that I don't understand the gravity of my decision, or that I'd change my mind if I understood properly. So, you explain it, we'll be sure I understand, and you'll know my answer for sure then. I'm not moving till you do."

He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning into her hand on his face a moment before steeling himself to continue. "Being my bonded-wife—" As he began to talk, she removed her hand from his face and took hold of his hand again. "It would mean we would be linked telepathically, we could communicate telepathically, sense each other's feelings, emotions, physical needs/responses. It wouldn't be a wide open gate unless we allowed it to be, we could control it, close off when needed, filter it down so that I'm not getting hungry when you suddenly feel the need for a snack. But the link would be there—and once it's there, the only way to totally remove it would be—death. And if one of us died without regenerating, there's a very good chance the other would as well." He paused, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Can I ask questions, or do you want to keep going and I'll wait till you're all done?" she asked.

The Doctor noted to himself that she was being very calm, quiet even. The Doctor could tell she was trying to be sensitive to his need to explain all this to her, and he loved her all the more for it. For all her loud, abrasive moments, it always amazed the Doctor how she knew when to be quiet and caring to him. "No, no, please. Ask your questions," he answered quietly.

"Is there some sort of distance issue?" she asked. "I mean, if I stayed in Chiswick one day and you went off in the TARDIS to save a planet, would there be problems? Do we have to stay close to each other for the bond to work? Will we be in pain if we're far apart from each other?"

The Doctor wasn't sure if he wanted to smile or frown. He was thrilled she was thinking through this so thoroughly, taking it so seriously. But he'd be lying if he said her question didn't concern him. His face settled into a frown. "Are you planning on staying in Chiswick while I'm off saving planets?"