trans_9 | The Day. The Drama. The...love, we hope.

Who: Ronnae, Billy, and various wedding guests!
Where: In Light's Hope Chapel, with party to follow at the Drunken Dragon Tavern.
What: Two are getting married. Will someone faint from shock? Will anything break? Will it be a happy night? Stay tuned!

After preparation, anticipation, and vivid memories of nights they won't soon forget, Ronnae and Billy are finally ready for a little ceremony.'Little' was what they had in mind, but there was a chance it could end up being a relative term.

The location was the Light's Hope Chapel in the City, a tiny little place with enough memorial statues and open space to give a majestic, hopeful atmosphere. There were no singing birds or bright skies, just a little shelter from the world in which to have a dedication as lifemates. That would be more than enough for them.

What were the right words to say? The ins and outs of dancing? The foods on the table? Theyd' find out soon enough, creating a day to remember. Whether that remembrance was fairy-tale sweet or a simple overcoming of the odds would remain to be seen.

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The Doctor wasn't very good when it came to weddings. Largely because most of the weddings he'd been to had involved an attempt to take over the world, followed by a dramatic rescue that saved the planet but spoiled the celebrations. He'd enjoyed this one, though. He liked Billy. And it seemed to have gone off without a hitch.

With a bright grin on his face, he bounded over to the groom to greet him with a hug.

"Billy! Congratulations!"

"Doctor!"

Billy was rather surprised by how gregarious the Doctor was. His past experiences had shown him a man who was happy to work alongside the others, curious about all thing, but not really...friendly in a human way. But he wouldn't complain.

He had to stand on his toes slightly to return the hug, but he wouldn't complain about that either. "Thank you for coming. I almost can't believe it's going so well," he laughed. Clearly he'd had nightmares along the same lines.

The Doctor had his moments - this incarnation more than others - and, after their shared experiences on the catchily named AST994-III, the Doctor had no qualms about considering Billy an honourary companion. And he always hugged his companions.

"Thank you for the invitation."

He was actually sure if he'd received one or not, but he'd turned up anyway. That was what he did.

"Oh, things will get back to normal tomorrow. Just enjoy today."

"It's not a problem. I thought everyone would want to get out and about---it's been gloomy for a while," he thought, remembering how much rubble he'd been passing on his trips to the chapel over the past few weeks. Most of it was cleared now, but they'd been through quite a lot.

"Why, have you seen tomorrow already?" Well, some people could do that. And there could be some fantastic time travel going on under his nose! Had to check for that.

The Doctor laughed at the suggestion, only a touch of wistfulness entering his voice when he replied. He wasn't used to being stuck in one time and place, but the ship was so busy and so unusual that he had more than enough to keep him occupied at the moment.

"Nah," he said with a shake of her head, "It was just a lucky guess."

Probably more accurate than he wanted it to be, too.

"That's what I'd guess too," Billy sighed, conceding defeat. "But I'm ready to fight whatever comes at us now. Or I will be."

He reached down, fondly patting the weapon he'd carried with him from the ceremony. It still needed a name, he thought. "You're not the sort of person to do all this, are you?"

"To do what?" asked the Doctor, giving Billy a quizzical look. "Fight in a war? I can be."

He had been, in the past. This wasn't the first time that he'd found himself press ganged. It wasn't even the first time that he'd fought for the fate of the universe.

"I prefer to use words as weapons, though. People always seem to underestimate them."

"I suppose we all have to be," Billy realized. None of them had had a choice in being enlisted. Young or old, big or small, everyone had a role to play.

"They do, don't they? We haven't had too many chances to negotiate yet, but the more I think...it might be possible. It'd be preferable to the alternative, anyway."

It took a second or two to find the conviction behind that. Sometimes Billy thought he was becoming a war-craving monster. Being a soldier changed people, and he didn't like how quickly his mind jumped to violent solutions sometimes.

The Doctor had been a soldier once. The Time War had certainly changed him and, although the effects grew dimmer with every day and every year that passed, they were still there. They never went away. He'd never be able to stop fighting against the part of him that had been a good soldier.

He opened his mouth to ask a flurry of questions.

Then he closed it, thinking of the other weddings he'd been to and ruined over the years, some deliberately and some accidentally.

"We shouldn't be worrying about this today. The war will still be there tomorrow."

Billy noticed that questioning look. Weird things were going to happen, weren't they? He would prepare in the back of his mind.

"That's easier said than done, but...I'll try. I'm sure you will too."

Right?

"Of course I will," said the Doctor exclaimed, clapping Billy on the shoulder. He sounded a little too cheerful - the sort of cheer that could only be forced - but most of his smile was sincere. "Of course I will."

He wouldn't leave if he could help it. He had far too much to do.

The Day. The Drama. The...love, we hope.

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