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The Doctor ran his hands through Danni's soft, red hair, a huge silly grin on his face. They were both in their bed. They'd finally fallen onto the mattress and were just enjoying being in each others company, covered only in a thin white sheet. She was his, after all this time it had finally happened and knowing that she'd chosen him for the above everyone else felt infinitely better than he thought it ever could be. Every time she'd appeared with the ring on, every time he tried to not notice it, he'd always wondered if it had really been him that she'd said yes to. Especially after the Valiant. For a while he'd managed to convince himself that he didn't want it to be him, but deep down he'd never meant it and now she was there, head on his chest as she studied the newly-placed ring on her finger.
"It's really beautiful." She told him happily, "Did Amy help you pick it out?"
"No!" He replied, mock insulted, "It was all my idea. No one knows about this apart from us."
"Really?" She asked, slightly surprised. She wouldn't have expected him to keep something like this to himself for very long, "I like that."
"I wanted it to be a compete surprise for you." He explained, linking his fingers through hers and holding them up so the diamond on her finger sparkled in the dim light of their bedroom, "You know how Pond is when she's excited."
"I know how you are when you're excited." She counted with a tease, "I'm quite surprised you didn't just blurt it out when you appeared in the bathroom doorway." He let out an exaggerated gasp, holding her hand to his chest when she could feel both hearts beating in rhythm.
"I'm hurt, Danni-Girl." He replied before kissing her knuckles, "That's the last time I ever propose to you."
"I should hope so." She retorted before looking at the ring again. She couldn't stop looking at it. The band was so delicate, and the diamond sat perfectly on top of it. She only had small hands and the ring looked just right on her slim fingers, "I've never had a diamond before." The Doctor shifted slightly, placing small kisses into her hair.
"It's not just any diamond." He explained, "That's a White Point Star." Her eyes widened in surprise and she tilted her head back so she could look up at him.
"As in the Time Lord diamond?" She exclaimed, "The one that Rassilon sent through to..." She paused before mentioning Koschei, unable to bring him up on her wedding night, "To prove the connection to the Time War?" He smiled, again almost proud of her knowledge of events he knew for a fact she hadn't lived through yet.
"The very same." She looked back at her hand and he could tell she was examining it in a different light now, like she was truly seeing it for the first time.
"How?" She asked.
"When I was going to regenerate I went on a little tour." He started and she nodded.
"To visit all your companions from Ten. Your reward." She finished, "I remember that, it used to make me cry." He gave her a squeeze and placed another kiss on her hair.
"Well, I went back for it." He told her, "Seemed appropriate. The last diamond from Gallifrey for the wife of the last Time Lord." His face dropped it's happy smile for a moment, "I can't ever show you what a truly wonderfully planet it was before the war turned it sour. I wish I could." He squeezed her hand gently, "You're the one person I want to take there." Danni really wasn't sure how to respond to that. The look in his eyes, suddenly showing all them years he'd lived, all the truly terrible things he'd seen, upset and frustrated her because there was nothing she could do to help him. She couldn't begin to understand the loss he felt, so she rolled on top of him, bringing the white sheet up and onto her back. He blinked, taken by surprise. He hadn't expected her to straddle his hips like that. His eyes wandered downwards, noting that her skin was no longer the pink it had been from their previous night's activities and he was overcome by the desire to put the colour back into it's place. With a smirk, he reached up with his free hand and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her down for a messy and forceful kiss that she moaned quietly into.
"That's enough moping around, Mrs Fielding." He purred, "This is officially the start of our honeymoon."
"Taking me anywhere nice..." She trailed off slightly with a frown, "Does this make you Mr Fielding, cause you don't have a last name?" He shook his head, kissing her again.
"Doctor Fielding." He corrected, "And I was thinking the bedroom." She rolled her eyes.
"We're already in the bedroom." She pointed out. He smirked and nodded. She was about to respond with something witty and hilarious when her arm began burning. She gasped, only having time to pull the white sheet around her before she was gone, leaving the Doctor very disappointed and rather exposed in the middle of their bed.
He should have known, really. He sat up with a sad sigh, running his hand over his face. That thing would never let them enjoy the good times, just wallow in the bad ones. She'd be back, though, he knew it. He reached to the floor, grabbing his trousers, he should really get back to the Ponds, help them with those little black boxes.
A shot of pure terror ran through him, his blood turning ice cold as he remembered that he'd promised Jack they'd come back five minutes later, together.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor ran out of the Victorian Theatre in Cardiff, which had not been the time and place he'd been aiming for but up until the very most recent events both he and Rose had been enjoying together. The crowd inside had screamed, a bit of danger, just what he liked and they'd gone in to investigate and found them running away from a bright blue swirling light. The man on stage had been protesting adamantly at it's existence as the audience had run away in fear, but the Doctor knew better than to be sceptical of anything he saw. When two people had kidnapped an old lady, Rose had chased them into the street at the Doctor shortly followed. He panted as his eyes darted around the dark, snow-covered street, just in time to see a young woman in a maids outfit pushing an unconscious Rose into the back of a hearse.
"Rose!" He ran towards the hearse in the hope that he could stop them taking his new companion, but it drove off and he fell to a stop.
"You're not escaping me, sir!" He was swiftly followed by the man who had been on stage, "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hm?" The Doctor ignored him, instead watching the hearse getting away, planning his next move. His concerns had shifted from the blue ghost-like figures to getting Rose back safe and unharmed, "Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?" The man demanded and the Doctor rolled his eyes at him. He spotted a coach and horse and patted the man on the shoulder once.
"Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks." He dashed over towards it, "Oi, you! Follow that hearse!" He called up to the driver, climbing into the back of it as quickly as he could.
"You can't do that, sir!" The man exclaimed as he joined the Doctor, stopping the door from closing.
"Why not?" The Doctor demanded.
"Why not?! I'll give you a very good reason why not! This is my coach!" He exclaimed. The Doctor grinned and reached out, grabbing his arm and tugging him roughly.
"Well, get in then!" He exclaimed before leaning forward to address the driver, "Move!" With a yell, the driver set the coach in motion, following the hearse at a steady pace, "Come on, we're losing them!"
"Everything in order, Mr. Dickens?" The driver asked and the Doctor looked between the two, stunned as he instantly recognised the last name. It made sense, really. If the man had indeed been reading in a theatre in Cardiff, he would have had to have been quite famous to pull such a large crowd on Christmas Eve.
"No! It is not!" The man replied furiously.
"What did he say?" The Doctor asked and the man shifted in his seat, ready to tell this man, this 'doctor' exactly what he thought of him.
"Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour-" He started, calmly in his own opinion.
"Dickens?" The Doctor asked him, interrupting his rant and the man nodded, exasperated.
"Yes." He snapped.
"Charles Dickens?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes." He snapped again, exasperated.
"THE Charles Dickens?" The Doctor exclaimed, suddenly bouncing like a toddler. Dickens looked at him, baffled by the behaviour of the grown man.
"Shall I remove the gentleman, sir?" The driver asked over his shoulder as he continued following the hearse he'd been instructed to follow.
"Charles Dickens! You're brilliant, you are!" The Doctor raved, incredibly excited, "Completely 100% brilliant! I've read 'em all! Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"
"A Christmas Carol?" Charles asked, now not so angry at the man as he stroked his ego.
"No, no, no, the one with the trains..." The Doctor explained before grinning, "The Signal Man, that's it, terrifying!The best short story ever written! You're a genius!" Looking rather pleased with himself, Charles was about to thank the strange man for his kind words when a bright flash of white light filled the coach, almost blinding the two men and leaving a ginger woman in it's wake. She was wrapped in a white sheet but, judging by her bare shoulders she wasn't wearing much else. Charles' mouth fell open slightly at the appearance of a naked woman and even the Doctor was stunned enough to raise his eyebrows.
"Stupid bloody manipulator!" She exclaimed angrily, shifting the sheet so it covered more of her arms, which judging by the goosebumps the Doctor spotted must have felt the cold of the December evening, but it fell of her leg slightly, revealing her bare thigh, "I didn't even have time to get dressed!" She continued to rant, looking up and paling slightly at the sight of the man next to him, "...Are you Charles Dickens?" She asked quietly. Charles nodded but didn't verbally answer her, obviously too stunned by the magically appearing naked woman to be able to form any words. She tried to pull the sheet around her, turning as red as her hair, "Oh my god, I'm with Charles Dickens and I'm naked!" She groaned, "Please, just ignore me and continue." She begged him before turning to the Doctor, who was surprised by the angry glare she was shooting him, "You could have warned me this was going to happen. When I finally get back to the right you we're going to have a good chat about this!" She exclaimed. He frowned, looking her up and down, trying to work out how she had suddenly appeared before double-taking, looking at her in confusion.
"Sorry, who are you?" He asked her and she shook her head slowly, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.
"Please tell me you know who I am." She asked imploringly, but he just shrugged.
"You want me to get rid of them, sir?" The driver called back, also confused by the appearance of the woman but it wasn't his place to comment. Charles looked between the two before shaking his head. This 'Doctor' had praised him enough to change his mind and now he was curious as to why he was chasing a hearse. As for the woman... well, he was only a man himself.
"Er, no, I think they can stay." He told the driver who nodded and carried on.
"You must excuse the state of my undress, Mr Dickens," The woman told him with a bow of her head, "It's my wedding night, I was sort of dragged away without warning."
"That is quite all right, my dear." Charles replied and the Doctor frowned at the way he was practically leering at the red-head. Honestly, could humans not control themselves?
"What's your name?" The Doctor asked her gently and she smiled sadly.
"Danni." She whispered, "Danni Fielding." She wouldn't look him in the eye, obviously hurt that he didn't recognise her. It was one of the issues with time travel, sometimes you met people who knew you already. It was rare because he didn't like to cross his own time line, but it did happen.
"And you've met me before?" She nodded.
"My life revolves around yours." Was her reply, "But we have to get to Rose, right?" He narrowed his eyes slightly, suspicious at how she knew about Rose, before silently cursing himself for being so easily distracted and forgetting they were trying to save her.
"Yes, of course, sorry." He replied with a nod before looking up at the driver, "Come on, faster!" The coach began moving slightly faster as Dickens frowned.
"Who exactly is in that hearse?" He asked as the Doctor who was worrying his hands anxiously.
"My friend. She's only nineteen, and it's my fault. She's in my care, and now she's in danger." He explained.
"Why are we wasting our time chatting?" Charles exclaimed, "This is much more important. Driver! Be swift! The chase is on!" The Doctor grinned and the red-head, Danni, settled back into the chair as the driver sped off.
~0~0~0~
Back on their wedding night, the Doctor had considered putting off going back to the Ponds for a little bit the moment he realised he'd have to confront Jack. However he'd promised not to put off anything to do with Danni ever again, even if she wasn't there, so after he'd put his clothes back on he'd flown straight back to the Ponds back yard. Jack and River hadn't moved from when he'd flown them both away and as he stepped out Jack's relieved look hardened and turned angry at the sight of him stepping out on his own.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The Doctor exclaimed in a panic, desperate to avoid another punch, "She jumped away before we came back!" Jack took a menacing step closer and the Doctor chucked his hands up in defence.
"You should have come back earlier then." He snarled and River rolled her eyes.
"Will you stop and think for one moment?" She scolded, "He can't help that anymore than she can." She turned to the Doctor as Amy and Rory rushed out into the back garden to join them. They'd heard the TARDIS engines from the front room and had thought the Doctor was flying away. They were surprised to see him still there, and were less surprised at Jack's furious face, "Where did she go?" River asked the Doctor.
"Charles Dickens." He replied, "In Cardiff, 1860's." For once he was incredibly grateful to have River there. Not only did she seem to be calming Jack down, but she was prepared to listen to him.
"And she's okay?" He shrugged slightly.
"Mostly, yes, considering..." He trailed off as River's eyes narrowed and he deciding being that honest hadn't been the best idea he'd ever had.
"What do you mean, 'mostly'?" She asked lowly and he wrung his hands together.
"Well, you see, she's kind of... I mean, we kind of got married and it was our wedding night and she wasn't completely dressed."
"Wait, your wedding night?" Amy asked, taken aback, "As in, you two actually managed to get married?"
"You married her?!" Jack roared, "Without any of us being there? You don't marry her without me being there, do you understand?!" He reached up and the Doctor winced as he balled his fist up, but River stepped between, placed a hand on Jack's chest and pushed him back.
"Calm down Captain Flash." She snapped, "What exactly are you going to do about it now?" She turned to the Doctor, "Let me get this straight. You two went off and got married and on your wedding night," She held up a finger as he opened his mouth, "Which I do not want to hear about," He nodded, slamming his lips together, "on your wedding night she disappeared and landed completely naked in front of Charles Dickens?"
"Not completely naked." He protested meekly, "She had a sheet on." To his surprise, and every else's, she burst out laughing. At their looks, particularly Jack's look of outraged disbelief, she shrugged.
"What?" She asked, "You've got to admit, it's hilarious." She looked over at Amy for validation and the red-head smiled fondly. She was looking at her for approval, because even though they weren't conventional, she was still River's mother.
"She's always been angry that she didn't get to meet Winston Churchill." Amy agreed, "She's just trying to upstage me again."
"She's never forgiven you for that." Rory agreed and Jack chucked his hands up in the air.
"You lot are unbelievable!" He exclaimed in exasperation before storming off inside. River started to follow him, sighing as she did.
"I'll calm him down." She told the group, pausing as she reached the doorway, turning back and pointing at the Doctor, "You owe us a wedding." She warned him and he nodded eagerly.
"The moment she lands again." He promised, crossing over both his hearts and she nodded in agreement, heading inside. The Doctor turned and opened the door, heading back inside.
"Wait!" Amy cried and he paused, "Where are you going now?"
"I've still got to skip ahead." He told her, "I'll be back." He stepped inside.
"When?" She asked him and he smirked at her.
"You'll see." He told her before shutting the door. The wind from the engines blew Amy's hair up and around her head and she and Rory were left standing on their own in their back garden.
"Well," Amy declared decisively after a moment, "I'm still going out with my daughter." And Rory was left on his own.