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The one thing Danni really had been enjoying about this trip was how bizarre it was for Rose-Ten to be so nice to her. He'd listened to her, and he hadn't called her useless or stupid at all since they'd met up. It was disconcerting, because she'd been so used to expecting him to insult and belittle her, but it wasn't a bad feeling. She could get used to this, actually. Seeing him so calm, rather than wound up at her mere presence was lovely.
"He's been nice to you." Lisa whispered and the Doctor and Yvonne continued to discuss the 'ghosts'. She seemed to be coming around to his way of thinking, which was nice, if not slightly too late.
"He's always nice to me." Danni lied immediately, not liking the image Lisa had in her head of this villainous Doctor who liked to be cruel to her. Danni was sure he didn't like to be that way, it always seemed to be such hard work for him to say such mean things to her.
"No he's not." She protested before grimacing, "It's weird." Danni couldn't help but chuckle at the distasteful look on her face and the Doctor spared a glance at the pair before going back to his conversation. He knew they were talking about him, about his change in behaviour since the last time they had seen him with Danni. He'd really been trying to not let his anger rage out at her as of late, especially since the incident with the Wire. She had put herself on the line for Rose, had her face taken away so that the blonde could stay by his side. Even he couldn't deny that she had put herself in danger to save Rose. Maybe he'd been wrong about her after all, so he was doing his best to let his anger go.
"You've not let go of Jackie's hand, have you?" Danni asked Lisa, who looked at the two clasped hands by her side.
"Nope." She replied, "Why do I have to keep hold of Jackie?" Jackie tilted her head, leaning closer to the pair.
"It's going to be hard to keep hold of her all the time." Jackie pointed out.
"Soon something wonderful is going to happen to you, Jackie." Danni told her gently, "And if you're not together for it, then you'll be separated for life. So you have to stay together." Jackie frowned, obviously confused and disturbed by her ominous words but the laptop Yvonne was one let out a high-pitched beep and it pulled all their attentions to it, even though only Yvonne could see the screen.
"Yvonne? I think you should see this." A male voice came over the speakers, and she typed on the laptop, bringing up the webcam feed, "We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor." Danni and Lisa shared a look as the Doctor barely made any motion of acknowledgement. Yvonne pursed her lips in annoyance before turning the screen, showing Rose and another man on the other side. Rose was peering at the screen guiltily, as if she'd been caught with her hand in a cookie jar.
"She one of yours?" Yvonne asked. The Doctor frowned comically as he shook his head, ready to deny any knowledge of the woman on the screen when Lisa interrupted him with a joyful wave of her hand.
"Hi Rose!" She cheered, the Doctor wincing and Danni laughing at how bad her timing was, "Look, we found the Doctor." Rose cautiously waved back as Yvonne frowned, tilting the screen to look at the woman before turning back to the Doctor.
"She's Rose Tyler?" She exclaimed and the Doctor nodded with a sigh.
"Yes, she is." He admitted.
"Sorry." Rose apologised over the webcam, but the Doctor waved it off.
"It was going to come out eventually." Danni told Rose, stepping forward slightly. The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"Oh, here was go, Miss Know-it-all's back. How about you let me know before it happens?" He grumbled and Danni shoulder's sagged slightly. Oh well, so much for a 'nice' Doctor.
"Hey!" Lisa shouted angrily, "Stop being so mean to her. She's just trying to help!" They all turned to face her, surprised at her outburst but the young woman obviously wasn't happy with the Doctor's change in attitude anymore than Danni was, "She's always so nice and she doesn't say a word, but you're a bully and you should stop it!"
"Lisa." Danni snapped firmly, scolding her slightly, "That's enough. He's not being mean." Lisa turned to her.
"Yes he is!" She shouted, frustrated, "He shouldn't be mean to you, you're his wife!" Well, that silenced the room. The Doctor paled, Danni's mouth fell open and Rose was suddenly pushing herself closer to the screen as if she was trying to climb through the screen.
"We're... I'm not married to him." Danni told her in disbelief and Lisa shook her head.
"You are." She replied earnestly, "You showed me the ring and everything."
"You two got married, and you didn't tell me?" Jackie exclaimed in outrage, "That's my daughter..." Danni shook her head, holding her hands up in defence at the onslaught she knew was coming her way.
"We're not married!" She exclaimed hastily, "We're not married." She turned to the Doctor, who was eyeing her strangely and she shook her head, "We are not married. Look, no ring." She showed him both her hands, trying to calm him down before motioning between the two, "We are not married." He stood up, strode over to her and stared intimidatingly down at her.
"What have you done?" He snarled and Yvonne shot up from her chair.
"Doctor!" She snapped firmly, "If you do not step away from her, I will be forced to have you physically removed. My orders are clear, you are not to harm a hair on that girl." The Doctor stared down at Danni, who forced every bit of sincerity she could find inside of her into her expression.
"We are not married." She promised and after a moment he nodded, deflating and returning to his chair. Danni sighed in relief, even though her mind was racing a mile a minute. Lisa would not have just made that up out of thin air, which means at some point she was going to interact with a Danni who was, indeed, married to the Doctor. Her first proper, actual proof that she and the Doctor would get married.
She was going to marry the Doctor.
Marry the Doctor.
Marry him.
She moved away from him, towards Jackie who now believed her and pulled her in for a hug with her free hand. Rose was her daughter, and of course she'd want the man she loved to love her back, but she also had a special place for Danni in her heart for helping Rose when she had been so far away from home, and for bringing Lisa into her life. She had grown to love the woman, maybe not like a daughter but more like a very close niece. She'd be forever grateful for that.
"Right, if we can get back to business," Yvonne started authoritatively, "If she is Rose Tyler, who's she?" She motioned to Jackie.
"I'm her mother." Jackie declared proudly, annoyed that she'd asked the Doctor and not her. Who was she, the cat's mother?
"Oh, you travel with her mother?" Yvonne laughed, highly amused by this turn of events.
"He kidnapped me." Jackie corrected and the Doctor groaned, looking at Yvonne pleadingly.
"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother..." He begged and Jackie bristled angrily.
"Charming." She exclaimed and he spun in the chair to face her.
"I've got a reputation to uphold!" He exclaimed just as angrily.
"Ignore him, Jackie." Danni told her, rubbing her arm in sympathy, "You don't want to travel with him, anyway." Jackie nodded.
"You're right, I don't." She declared, as if this meant she won and the Doctor rolled his eyes. The sounds of something turning on filled the room with a loud clunk and Yvonne shot out of her chair, heading towards the door to scold her staff, but it was no good.
The ghost shift was starting.
~0~0~0~
Down below the sphere had activated, Rose and Mickey watching it with morbid fascination, wondering what it was holding inside it's deadly black exterior. However, Danni didn't have time to worry about that. In fact, she had actually forgotten Mickey was even there. The Doctor had believed her, the moment he realised they weren't going to be able stop the Ghost Shift he began searching for the Cybermen's transmitter. He may have been angry at her, but Cybermen were dangerous and he wasn't going to risk anyone else because of his stubbornness. Jackie and Lisa had stayed behind while he, Danni and Yvonne went to find the transmitter, but it was in vain, really. They were quickly marched back, hands on their heads, to the main office.
"Get away from the machines - do what they say, don't fight them!" The Doctor shouted as they entered the room, making sure he was stood in front of Danni, who motioned urgently for Jackie and Lisa to join them in the line. The two women rushed over as one Cyberman used it's arm laser to shoot a scientist who was working on the Shift program, the man falling to the floor dead. Lisa cried out in terror and Jackie pulled her up against her, the fierce need to protect her coming into action.
"What are they?" Jackie cried. Danni wanted to turn to her, reassure her that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn't. She was terrified, frozen in place. It was a wonder that she'd made it into the office, really. They were such much bigger than she was expecting, taller and wider, the black painted on eyes seemed to stare at her regardless of them not actually being eyes. They still could take her away, rip out her emotions and make her like them, and that chilled her down to her bones. Knowing not only were these cold, killing machines but they also were just like her at some point. Normal humans, with lives and homes and they could never go back.
"We are the Cybermen." One declared, obviously the leader, before turning back to it's comrades, "The Ghost Shift will be increased to one hundred percent." It slammed it's fist against the symbol on it's chest, the lever in control of the Ghost Shift rising once more.
"Online." The computer announced and the Doctor looked over his shoulder at the people behind him. Jackie was cradling a weeping Lisa, who's trauma at the hands of another robot race was flooding back to her in waves, and Yvonne was in tears at what was suddenly happening. He glanced down at Danni, who was hugging herself, not crying but shaking.
"If you know how to stop this, you have to tell me." He whispered harshly, "Don't keep this from me as well."
"I... I don't." She whimpered and he nodded once. She wasn't about to spring into action to save the day. Actually, if he'd tapped her she probably would've fallen down. She wasn't doing this to show him up, or make herself look better. The Ghost Shift was coming, and the other Cybermen were going to follow. They were already appearing, the grey outlines of something so much more horrifying than a ghost, marching in perfect unison as if they were coming through a door.
"Here come the ghosts." He muttered. The rift between the two worlds, between theirs and Pete's began to glow, the white light getting brighter and brighter until the Doctor had to shield his eyes from it's shine. Any moment now, they'd be here. His mind whirred with the million ways which he could think to stop it, none of the even remotely feasible. Jackie leant down towards Danni.
"These Zybermen - what've they got to do with the ghosts?" She asked the ginger girl. Danni swallowed, taking a shaky breath in before looking up at her.
"The ghosts..." She started shakily, "They're the bits that have bled through from the other universe. They're not ghosts, they're Cybermen. All of them." She let out a sob, hugging herself closer, "All those people!"
"Achieving full transfer." The leader declared in it's computerized voice as the ghosts began to take form, their silent marching turning into echoing footsteps.
"Millions of them. Right across the world." The Doctor added darkly as they stared at the lines upon lines of Cybermen, all waiting for their commands.
"They're invading the whole planet." Yvonne stated and the Doctor shook his head.
"It's not an invasion, it's too late for that. It's a victory." He replied. A computer started beeping to their side, the female voice declaring 'Sphere activated' again and again.
"Sphere?" Danni whispered to herself in confusion before her brain finally caught up and she gasped, "Oh god, Mickey!"
"Mickey?" The Doctor repeated, confused at her exclamation and she looked up at him, eyes wide.
"Mickey's down there!" She insisted, "With Rose, and the sphere! And the Daleks!" She ran hand through her hair, "How could I forget the Daleks. Oh, I'm such an idiot!"
"Daleks?" Jackie joined in as Lisa began sobbing harder, "Them metal things that, you know..." She nodded down at Lisa.
"Not my masters, not my masters." She repeated to herself, shaking her head as Jackie tried to comfort her, not really understanding what was going on.
"Yes, them." Danni replied grimly, "We need to get down there!"
"Hang on, one thing at a time." The Doctor demanded, "Mickey is down there?" She rolled her eyes.
"Yes, Mickey is down there." She snapped, "And so are the Daleks. And you know who else is there?" He frowned in confusion and she growled, forgetting her terror for the moment, "Rose. You idiot!"
"Silence!" The Cyberman commanded and Danni shrunk back from it, remembering where she was. The Cyberman marched over to them, it's joints squealing with every movement until it stopped in front of Yvonne, "You will come with us. You will broadcast our instruction." She looked at the Doctor, terrified, and he nodded encouragingly. She headed towards her office, keeping her cool.
~0~0~0~
The Daleks declared war on the Cybermen. Danni had never known a Dalek to be so sassy, but there they were, taunting the Cybermen. When she'd watched it on television, it had been hilarious. Now it wasn't. Rose was down there with the Daleks, and she was up here powerless as Yvonne, Lisa and Jackie were taken off for 'Emergency Upgrades'. She was next, she tried to reassure them as they were dragged away, Lisa screaming for her to help as one grabbed her by the arm. She didn't resist, but the Cyberman stared down her.
"Female has significant levels of chronon radiation." It declared, to what can only be described as interest of it's leader. Her eyes widened in surprise as the Doctor's face contorted in horror.
"Chronon radiation is an indicator of time travel." It responded, "Female will be upgraded immediately to allow full access to time travel parameters." She shook her head, clawing at the Doctor.
"No, no please!" She screamed, clinging to the Doctor as two Cybermen took hold of her. The Doctor grabbed her with both hands, holding onto her tightly as his hearts began beating wildly.
"Danni!" He screamed, trying to hold on to her. Her eyes darted around, looking for something, anything when her eyes fell on the screen the Daleks had broadcast on. The Daleks. The Doctor had information about the Daleks...
"I know about the Daleks!" She screamed as loud as she could and the two Cybermen paused in their tracks, "I know about the Daleks." She repeated again with a pant, "Please, if you let me stay, I'll tell you everything. Please." The two Cybermen looked at their leader, waiting for instruction.
"Keep her contained with the male." It declared and she was thrust towards the Doctor, who wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling. She clung to him, shaking in relief and shame that she'd not gone with Jackie and Lisa.
"Oh, she'd better be worth this." Danni whispered and the Doctor frowned.
"Who?" He asked.
"Rose."
~0~0~0~
Danni sat on the window sill by the Doctor, the pair looking out at the world below. There was no detail, they were too high up for that, but there was no movement on the streets below. Cars weren't driving, there was no crowds. London had stopped, and it was horrifying. The Doctor, to his credit, had not pushed her away, although he wasn't holding her hand either. Eleven would be holding her hand. Eleven would stroke her hair, promise to save her and everyone else. He'd make a joke to make her smile.
"I wish Eleven was here." She didn't seem to realise she had whispered it outloud, but the Doctor did. His head snapped to face her, his mind immediately recalling the last time she'd said that. That had been with the Daleks as well, and as before he'd felt a twinge of sadness at the words.
"I'm sorry..." He told her quietly as a Cyberman approached them, stomping heavily on the high floor.
"You are proof." It told the pair. The Doctor took a deep breath, crossing his arms and leaning on the glass behind him.
"Of what?" He asked without feeling. Did it matter, did anything matter? He'd failed, Rose was as good as dead and Danni... he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the devastated woman next to him. She was dead as well, and it was his fault. Her whole life, everything bad was his fault.
"That emotions destroy you." The Cyberman clarified and the Doctor nodded once.
"Yeah, I am." The Doctor replied, taking it all himself. A fluttering noise caused his brows to furrow and Danni to sit up straighter. Something was happening behind the Cyberman, but what? "Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion. And here it comes." The air crackled with blue electricity, then a group of people in black with gas masks, all carrying enormous guns, appeared as if from no where. One of them shouted orders, the others ducked and took out the rest of the Cybermen in the area as they faced them. The Cyberman taunting them stormed out, but the leader of the group in black blew off it's head, the body falling to the ground with a thud.
The Doctor scrambled up, pulling Danni up with him as he pulled them out of the way of the exploding metal man. When the smoke cleared, he lead them both to the doorway. The leader let his gun drop to his side.
"Doctor - good to see you again." They declared, pulling off their mask to reveal a young, rather good looking, man. The Doctor's eyes widened, obviously knowing who he was. Danni hadn't met him yet, she couldn't remember his name but she knew where he was from.
"Jake?!" The Doctor exclaimed in shock and he nodded with a smug look on his face.
"The Cybermen came through from one world to another - and so did we."