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Danni opened the door slowly, looking out into the dark, damp little room with a look of trepidation on her face. No one was there and she wouldn't have been able to see if it wasn't from the light of the TARDIS behind her.
This was the longest the Doctor had been, almost three days now. They'd crashed landed into the beginning of the 13th Century and the moment he'd stepped out of the TARDIS, he'd been accosted by monks. The only reason she was still there was because he'd slammed the door shut behind him, almost smacking her in the face and she'd been left the wait in the console room for him to return.
Four hours later and he had, grinning from ear to ear, bragging about how he'd found the perfect 'quiet place' and that he was going to fix everything. Apparently the little girl had told him the best place to have a think was to go to a 'quiet place' and think back on what you've lost. Which were his memories. He wanted to go over every single thing he could remember, trying to pinpoint anything that had been said or things he'd seen to try and figure out what had happened to her, while the TARDIS continued to slowly count down. They'd been there for two months now, and of course she had to stay in the TARDIS because the monks had a strict 'no girls allowed' policy.
She'd been very keen on this at first, but after spending so much time on her own, she was itching to leave, or to at least not be on her own anymore.
That didn't mean, though, that she was ready for what was currently happening. The phone on the front of the TARDIS was ringing, just calmly ringing to itself. The phone, that was no connected to any lines, that was there only as a dummy, was ringing.
The room was illuminated by a flickering light and a very confused, young monk appeared. He stared at her, torch out in front of him like it would protect him and she rolled her eyes.
"Go and tell the Doctor the phone's ringing, would you?" She asked him, her tone not hiding the annoyance she felt at the fact she couldn't go tell him herself.
"W-Woman aren't allowed on the sacred grounds." He stuttered out, still brandishing the torch and she felt her hands tensing in irritation.
"I'm not on the sacred grounds, I'm in the TARDIS." She pointed out slowly, "Go tell the Doctor the phone's ringing."
"The phone?" He repeated, confused and she nodded, pointing at the TARDIS.
"Yes, this thing here is called a telephone." She told him, talking like she was explaining it to a child, "It's ringing when it really shouldn't be and the Doctor needs to know about it." She was sure she used to be more patient about these things, but the gormless look on his face was really getting on her nerves. They were supposed to have been heading to their crystal moon where he'd proposed to her, and yet somehow she'd ended up stuck underground trying to explain modern technology to someone who was confused by her just because she was a woman.
"Do you mean the Mad Monk?" He asked her timidly.
"Yes, I do." she snapped, "But please, please, don't let him know you call him that. Last thing he needs is another nickname." The monk nodded, but didn't move until she made shooing motions with her hands, "Go on, then." He turned and dashed back up the stairs, letting her fall back into darkness.
She closed the door, leaning against it and closing her eyes, letting out an angry breath. The sooner they were out of there, the better. Turns out she wasn't much of a fan of the past, these days. Give her the future any day. At least they'd have the bloody internet.
~0~0~0~
The Monk told the Abbott exactly what was happening before he'd headed to the Mad Monk, which was the practice that had been repeated explained to them. The Mad Monk was not to be disturbed while in his sanctuary, he was doing important spiritual work and he needed solitude unless it was deemed necessary. His wife was always deemed necessary.
The room he had taken residence in had been a place to store some of their excess scriptures, except he was using it to paint. One painting was off his wife, smiling shyly, which seemed odd to see on her face, considering the few times the young monk had met her. Next to that was a picture of a brown-haired woman, with the words 'Run you clever boy. Take your Danni-Girl and remember' just underneath her. The young monk looked at her, wondering if the mysterious woman would have been nicer to him.
The Abbot cleared his throat to get the attention of the Mad Monk, who was sat at his table, deep in thought, "I'm sorry to intrude." The Mad Monk looked up, "Your wife requests your presence. The bells of Saint John are ringing."
The Mad Monk stood up, walking over to the Abbot before removing his hood and revealing his rather mad hair, looking at the Abbot with a stern look on his face.
"I'm going to need a horse!" He told the other man firmly, with no room to argue before he exited to the back chamber to prepare to leave again.
The moment the Doctor entered the back room, a smile broke out on his face and he did his own little jig on the spot. This was the first time Danni had requested him to come back from the monastery since they'd landed, which meant she'd not only stepped out of the TARDIS, but had spoken to someone else who hadn't been him. He'd heard the younger monk talk about his wife, stating how abrupt she'd been with him on the other couple of occasions they'd spoken, but this was her actively engaging in the world around her again.
'The Bells of Saint John are ringing' was a bit confusing, but whatever it was had to be holding her interest if it meant she'd called from him. He could only hope it kept her attention long enough for her not to notice how enticed she'd become.
~0~0~0~
The young monk led the Doctor down into the underground cavern where he'd parked the TARDIS; away from the prying eyes of any locals who may have come across it. The existence of the Doctor and his blue box was only entrusted with a few monks, those who were held in the highest regards and even then only a couple had been allowed to see where the Mad Monk had come from.
Yes, he knew about the nickname, and he loved it. It was why he was still wearing the robe.
He could hear the phone ringing as they headed down the staircase, and positively beamed when he saw Danni leaning in the doorframe, an irritated frown on her face.
"Well," she drawled, "You took your time. Did you get lost on the way to my husband?" The monk ducked his head and she rolled her eyes, amusing the Doctor slightly with her grumpiness. She was getting frustrated, which was a good sign, "It's been ringing for ages."
"Why didn't you answer it?" He countered, walking over and leaning on the door next to her, a flirty smirk on her face.
She shrugged, "Not my phone." She turned to head back into the TARDIS, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her back against him. The young monk turned away, embarrassed by the show of affection as the Doctor opened the hatch in the door, pulling out the handset and placing it against his ear. He placed a kiss on the small bit of her neck he could reach, causing her to squirm in his arms.
"Hello?" He asked before repeating the action, shushing Danni teasingly when she squeaked.
"Ah, hello. I can't find the internet." A female voice asked on the other side and the Doctor frowned, his other hand coming to a stop on Danni's hip.
"I'm sorry?" He asked.
"It's gone, the internet. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it?" The woman replied.
"The internet?" He repeated.
"The Internet?" Danni asked and he nodded, pointing to the phone as if it made all the difference.
"It's 1207." The Doctor protested.
"I've got half past 3:00." The woman replied, sounding slightly worried, "Am I phoning a different time zone?"
"Yeah, you really sort of are." The Doctor agreed, looking around the dank, cold cavern they were stood in.
"Will it show up on the bill?"
"Oh, I dread to think." The Doctor muttered to himself before shaking his head, "Listen, where did you get this number?"
"Woman in the shop wrote it down." The woman explained, "It's the helpline, isn't it? She said it was the best helpline out there. In the universe, she said."
"What woman? Who was she?"
"I dunno, the woman in the shop. So why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it just sort of... be there?"
"Look, listen, I'm not actually... this isn't... You have clicked on the Wi-Fi button, haven't you?" Danni rolled her eyes as he actually started to help the woman on the other end of the phone. Never mind the fact she managed to ring a phone that wasn't actually a phone, the Doctor had to start to give her advice on how to fix her computer?
Danni reached up, about to rip the handset from his grasp and tell the other person to bugger off when his eyes went wide and he let her go.
"What did you say?" He asked loudly, startling Danni slightly as he stepped away from her. He turned and put the handset down, throwing the little hatch door shut and grabbed her hand.
"TARDIS, now." He told her, almost breathlessly which she didn't really like. The woman on the other side of the phone had obviously said or done something the completely pull his attention away from the reason that they'd been stuck there for the last two months, something Danni had been trying to get him to do from the moment they'd landed.
They didn't even land on their crystal moon, instead they were outside some suburban house and the Doctor pretty much dragged her out of the TARDIS, despite her protests, and up to the front door.
She yanked her arm away, her eyes narrowing as she felt herself becoming even more annoyed at him by the moment, "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed, "Where are we?" He just pulled her up for a kiss, infuriating her further before patting her on both cheeks and leaving her stunned.
Suddenly he started ringing the doorbell incessantly, banging on the glass panes in the front door along with it.
"Stop it!" She cried, "Doctor, what's going on?"
"Oh, just you wait." He replied, sounding completely ecstatic, "Wait and see, you'll be so happy. I did it, I can prove everything is going to be okay." He looked down at her, hands pausing their movements for a moment, "told you I would, didn't I?"
"Told me what?" She asked, hearing a female voice calling from inside the house. He didn't answer, just continued to bang impatiently on the door, "Stop ignoring me, you- !" The door opened and whatever insult was on her lips died at the sight of the woman who was stood there, looking at the two, obviously confused.
"Hello?" Clara Oswald asked, looking the two peculiar people up and down. The woman had short blonde hair, a pair of skinny black jeans on and a white shirt, which wasn't odd in itself. It was mainly the look on her face; stunned but also like she was about to cry.
The man was wearing some sort of all-over brown robe, but he looked infinitely happier to see her stood there.
"Clara?" The woman breathed, so quiet that Clara could barely hear her at all.
"Hello?" Clara asked again in reply.
"Clara Oswin Oswald?" The man exclaimed, motioning to her with both hands and Clara shook her head.
"Just Clara Oswald." She clarified, "What was that middle one?"
"Do you remember us?" He asked excitedly, looking at her expectantly. She looked him over again before shaking her head.
"No." She told him, "Should I? Who are you?" The man took a step towards her, not in an intimidating way, but almost like if he moved slightly closer her memory would jog and she'd remember the two people at her front door. Well, not her front door, but where she was currently living.
"The Doctor." He replied, motioning to the woman, "Danni." Clara shook her head slowly, neither of them ringing any bells. And she'd remember the man in the robe, "No? Not even Danni?" Strange, how could anyone forget Danni? He leant in, looking at himself in the mirror on the wall. He hadn't changed recently, had he? His hair was still a bit flat, he supposed. It was those bloody robes, the moment the hood went up, his hair went down. And using any of his normal product had been completely out of the question, apparently.
Something occurred to Clara, "Doctor who?"
"No, just the Doctor." The Doctor looked back into the mirror, smiling to himself as he actually heard what she'd asked. He did like that question, "Actually, sorry, could you just ask me that again?"
"Could I what?" Clara asked, perplexed.
"Could you just ask me that question again?"
"Doctor who?" She repeated the question slowly, looking at the woman for confirmation, but she was now just staring at the Doctor in disbelief. Oh good, Clara had thought she'd missed something, but no, that was just him apparently.
"OK, just once more." He commanded, still grinning like an idiot.
"Doctor who?"
"Oh, yeah." He stepped out, turning to the blonde woman, "Oh! D'you know, I never realised how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud." He turned back to Clara as the blonde woman shook her head slowly, "Thank you."
"OK." She shut the door and the Doctor jumped, stepping forward to bang on the door again when Danni grabbed him, pulling him down so they were eye-to-eye. He was surprised by the anger burning there.
"We need to talk." She snarled, pulling him away from the door and towards the parked TARDIS.
"I thought we might." He muttered before holding his hands up in surrender, "but, in my defence…" She spun, chucking her arms out to the side.
"This is what you've been doing?!" She shouted, "I've been stuck underground while you've been waltzing around, trying to replace Clara!"
"I'm not trying to replace anyone." He reassured her, "I think," he started, lowering his voice when he saw her hands clench, "she's the original point. We can work out what happened, what went wrong."
"What?" She scoffed, "Work out why two versions of the same girl died around us? How? By bringing a third in?" She stepped closer, looking like she was about to slap him, raising her arm before thinking better of it, "Had you not thought for one second that maybe it's not a good thing? That the fact that there's another woman jumping around your timeline has already happened twice and neither times have ended well for you?"
"You are not a danger to me." He promised, taking her hands in his and placing a kiss on her palm, "I know you're scared, but we might be able to stop it happening again, or at all." Danni shook her head.
"Do what you like." She told him, "I am having no part of this, Spaceman." She pointed to the house, "That girl is bad news. Whatever is happening here cannot stem from anything good." She stared up at the house again before sighing sadly, "But when have you ever listened to me?"
"But she's your companion." The Doctor pointed out, hurt that nothing was happening the way he'd planned it.
"No, she's not." Danni snapped, "My companion was Clara Oswin Oswald. She saved the world from snow and she died. I don't know who that is, but she's not my Clara." She pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried desperately hard to calm down. She opened them again to see him staring at her, his eyes so sad and she had done that yet again. She wanted to comfort him, instead she bristled against it.
"Do what you like, Spaceman." She told him before turning to leave him stood outside. She leant against the doorway, sliding down onto the floor as she listened to see if he followed her, but she couldn't hear a thing.
It wasn't like she didn't want it to be Clara. Part of her was hoping beyond all hope that it the girl behind the suburban door was Clara, that perhaps that being here they could save her from the fate waiting for her in Victorian London. She'd been feisty, and inquisitive and pretty both times she'd met her, and by being there when she shouldn't have, Danni had killed her. That wonderful girl hadn't stood a chance.
Now she'd turned up again, seemingly ignorant to who they both were and Danni wasn't sure if that was good or not. If she was in the future compared to her Clara, then why had she also been her Clara, and Oswin as well? The same girl dying twice in different parts of the universe, with only the actual girl and the Doctor linking them together in any way. Anything that closely linked to the Doctor never turned out well, especially for him. What happened to them being together and alone?
She leant her forehead on her knees, squeezing her eyes closed as she hugged her knees.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor entered the TARDIS slowly, looking around to see if he could see Danni. He'd tried again to talk to Clara, perhaps if she showed Danni she was normal and nice, she'd believe it too. It wasn't like he'd not thought of all the things she was worried about, without being too big headed he was extremely clever and so a million different outcomes had flown through his gigantic mind and he still came to the same conclusion; that this was worth investigating. Never mind the fact that he had to prove to Danni that what had happened wasn't her fault, but, really, a girl scattered across time and space, dying at least twice from what he knew and yet still existing? How could he not be drawn to a mystery like that?
He found Danni leaning against the base of the console, glasses sliding off her nose slightly as she held a book in one hand, dozing slightly. He'd never been able to resist a mystery, that's what had drawn him to his wife. He knelt down in front of her, running his fingers gently through her blonde hair. She actually seemed to be having a trouble less sleep, which was nice but she couldn't sleep there.
"Danni." He whispered gently, stroking her face to try and wake her up.
"No." Her eyes shot open and she blinked back into the waking world, pushing her glasses back up, "Theta?" He nodded.
"You'll get a crick in your back." He scolded lightly, helping her stand up.
"I'm sorry." She told him, "I didn't mean to get angry, I'm just worried that she's going to get you hurt." He nodded, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"I know." He promised, "I can't get her to talk to me. I'm not sure why, I'm quite charming." She giggled.
"It might be the monk get-up." She broke to him in a teasing tone. He looked down at his robes, pulling at them sadly. They were good while they lasted.
"You might be right." He agreed, "They're not very current, are they? I can fix that. I can be quite stylish when I put my mind to it."
"Really?" She asked, "Then why the bow tie?" He gasped in fake offense, hand on his chest where his hearts were.
"Bow ties are cool." He insisted before looking down at his outfit sadly, "Monks aren't cool, are they?" She shook her head.
"Sorry sweetie." He reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her down to the underside of the console. He stopped, pulling off most of the outfit and chucking it to the side before opening one of the hatches on the base. Danni moved to his side to avoid the discarded pieces of clothing and other items he was chucking behind him, looking for the perfect piece.
"Ah-ha!" He held his fez aloft happily before placing it on his head. Danni immediately reacted by taking it off him and chucking it with the rest of the clothing behind them. It didn't stop his frantic search, but he did pout until he found two jackets. He pulled them out, presenting them to her. One was his classic tweed, one he'd rocked since he'd regenerated and pulled off quite nicely if you asked Danni. However, she recognised the other one. It was the deep purple-ly grey one she'd seen on him the first time she'd met Clara, one he wore with an all-purple suit and one she'd adored the look of even before she regenerated.
She shrugged, not really replying to his expectant look and he dropped his old jacket, like he'd decided that he wanted to new one. She beamed, nodding enthusiastically, secretly glad he'd chosen that one and jumped up, turning and searching through the clothes he'd already discarded, picking out a pair of trousers, a shirt and bracers.
She watched with a small smirk on his face as he completely stripped and got dressed, she was only part-human after all and god he was bloody gorgeous. He smirked at her as he pulled on his trousers, knowing she was watching and walked over, pulling her against him and dipping his head for a quick kiss that turned into a longer one.
He could tell something was missing as he finished buttoning up the shirt, his throat felt slightly bare so he dipped into the compartment one last time, pulling out a wooden box. He opened it up to show Danni the bowtie stored inside, one of his favourites and she nodded in approval.
"Bow ties are cool." He told her factually and she sighed in defeat.
"Yes, they are." She agreed and he slipped it on.
~0~0~0~
"Clara?" The Doctor knocked on the front door, even though it was quite obvious from their earlier encounter that she wasn't going to answer him there, "Clara?"
"Hello?" Her voice came from the intercom and he dived around to the little speaker, pulling Danni with him.
"See? Look, it's me!" He slapped his face a couple of times, "De-monked." He spun on the spot and Danni couldn't help the little roll of her eyes at his childish behaviour, "Sensible clothes, and I've brought Danni back!" He pulled his wife against him, "So, because I have this beautiful woman with me, can we come in now?" He rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"I don't understand." Clara replied unsurely.
He pointed to the door with a frown, "Could you just open the door?"
"I don't know..." She started.
"Of course you can!" He told her impatiently.
"…where I am." Her voice was tinged with fear and he backed away from the intercom slightly. Something was wrong.
"I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me, where I am! I don't know where I am." Clara cried, terrified and he turned to the door to see Danni slam into it, breaking the lock with the force of her shoulder on the wood.
"Clara!" She cried, having been filled with a panic-fuelled terror the moment Clara had sounded scared. The girl was on the floor past out and she fell to her knees next to her, feeling for a pulse as the Doctor pulled his screwdriver out, "No, not again!"
The Doctor quickly scanned her, "She's not dead." He promised, as Danni leant down to hear her breathing.
"Clara, can you hear me?" Danni asked.
"I don't know where I am! I don't understand. I don't know where I am! I don't know where I am!" Clara's voice continued to exclaim, but it was clearly obvious it wasn't coming from her body. They both looked up slowly to see what looked like the body of a small child stood half-way up the stairs, its face replaced by a dish which showed a projection of Clara, the woman looking around, terrified.
Danni grabbed onto the Doctor's arm, "What the hell is that?!" He placed a kiss on her hair, standing up slowly as Clara continued to beg for information. He set off the screwdriver, pointing it at the thing on the stairs. It shimmered, the image of the young child disappearing and showing the frame of a robot.
"A walking base station. A walking Wi-Fi base station, hoovering up data. Hoovering up people!" He turned to Danni, "Stay with Clara." He told her and she nodded, stroking the woman's hair as he dashed upstairs.
"I'm sorry, Clara." Danni whispered, "You'll be okay, I promise." The Doctor was quick, coming back down with a small, blue laptop and he knelt by Danni, typing wildly on the keyboard, "Is she going to be okay?"
"Someone's trying to upload her onto the Wi-Fi." He told her, "If I can stop it…" He growled slightly as whatever he was fighting against began to fight back, trying to stop his attempts at cancelling the upload, "Oh, no, you don't. Oh, no, you don't."
The Doctor dropped the laptop suddenly, reaching forward to see if he could feel any pulse on Clara's neck, only to pull away when a blue beam of light shot from the dish on the robot's head. It landed on Clara's face, the robot sparking slightly just before Clara took in a deep breath, rolling over as she coughed at the burning sensation in her lungs.
"Woah, it's okay." Danni cried, rubbing her back gently, before rolling her over, "You're okay, Clara. I've got you." Her eyelids flickered slightly, like she was about to wake up, but she slept on, "You're safe now." She looked up at the Doctor, "What the hell was that?" She asked.
"I don't know." He muttered, "But I have an idea." He frowned slightly, "Well, not so much an idea as an inkling. Or, at least, the start of an inkling." Danni stared back with a confused look, eyebrows furrowed and he smiled gently, brushing over it, "Let's get this one to bed, then I'll start on the inkling."
~0~0~0~
Clara woke slowly, incredibly too comfortable to be leaving anywhere but the comfort of her sleep. The sound of someone heading down the stairs briefly hit her consciousness, but she dismissed it as she tried to focus on the plate on her bedside table. There where biscuits sat on it, which was nice. And some flowers, with a glass of water waiting for her. What had she done to deserve this?
What had she done to deserve this? She sat up, hand hovering on the top of her head. Why was she in bed? Why did it feel like she'd had such a strange dream, but yet she couldn't grasp at it? She looked down at the biscuits again. Chocolate digestives? Her favourite.
~0~0~0~
"She's going to be disappointed!" The Doctor called into the open TARDIS door, typing on the laptop balanced on his knee, the robot propped up on a work bench, "We should have left Jammy Dodgers!" Danni stuck her head out, now wearing her red pyjamas but she still had her glasses on.
"I told you," She replied, the sigh in her voice, "When I spent the afternoon with her, after you'd had your wicked way with me, we spent a lot of time watching the Simpsons and eating chocolate biscuits. If they're supposed to be the same girl, she'll like them more." He stood up, putting the laptop on his chair and pulled her up against him.
"I don't remember you saying that." He said with a purr, "Tell me about the 'wicked way' part again. Was I still as handsome and as magnificent as I am now?"
"I'm not sure." She retorted, "I think you might have slowed down with age." He pretended to be outraged, only able to pull it off for a few moments before dipping his head to kiss her, to give her something to compare the memory to.
"Hello?" They both turned to see Clara leaning out of the upstairs window, looking slightly amused at their display. Danni immediately pushed away from him, blushing deeply while the Doctor just looked proud at the position they'd been caught in.
"Hello." He replied with a small wave, "Are you all right?"
"I'm in bed." Was her reply.
"Yes."
"Don't remember going." She explained, sounding very confused and looking slightly suspicious at the pair.
"No." He agreed, "Danni did leave a note, did you get it?" She looked behind her, spotting a folded up piece of paper under the plate of biscuits. She hadn't seen that before, it would have been more helpful if it had been more visible.
"What did I miss?" She asked, turning back to look at the pair
"Oh, quite a lot, actually." The Doctor replied, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small notebook, "Angie called, she's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do, for God's sake, get ..." Danni reached up to put a finger on his lips, stopping him before he went into full-on ramble mode.
"Nothing important, sweetie." She called up, "Try and get some rest, you'll be fine." She placed a kiss on the Doctor's cheek, which he turned into a quick peck on the lips, "'Night." She hopped back into the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor to watch after her.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Clara asked and he smiled to himself, shaking his head.
"Wife." He corrected before a memory occurred to him, a distinct one from her Victorian alter ego. His face went stern and he turned around, pointing up to her like a teacher who might not have had the authority he once had, "While we're talking about that, there's strictly no kissing, is that understood?" Clara nodded, amused by how serious he seemed, "Only I can kiss her, keep your girly lips away from hers, is that understood?"
"Completely." She agreed with a laugh before going sombre, "What happened to me?" He stepped closer, looking up at her window.
"Don't you remember?"
"I was scared." She recalled, trying to think back on the afternoon, "Really scared. I didn't know where I was."
"Do you know now?" He asked.
"Yes." She replied instantly and he smiled.
"Well, then, you should go to sleep," He commanded gently, sounding a bit like a father and reinforcing the whole 'teacher' vibe she'd been getting from him since leaning out of the window, "because you're safe now, I promise." He bounced almost nervously on the spot, "Goodnight, Clara." With that, he turned on his heels and headed back to the blue box she'd noticed was still parked outside the house. He leant into its doorway, obviously checking on his wife before taking a seat in the chair, shifting it so he could see the window and the doorway better. Clara watched him before closing the door, pausing to try and work out how she felt about a strange man, with a blue box and a wife, sitting outside her house all night. She felt safer, strangely, but also just even more worried because it implied something might happen. She turned back and opened the window again, hanging out like she had been.
"Are you guarding us?" She asked. The Doctor looked up from the robot he'd decided to examine, nodding slowly to himself.
"Well, yes. Yes, I am." He decided.
"Are you seriously going to sit down there all night?"
"Yes. I promise. I won't budge from this spot." He chucked something she didn't recognise into the air, catching it with the same hand as he leant back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.
"Well, then. I'll have to come to you." She grinned at his surprised look, pulling the window closed again before he could argue. She practically skipped downstairs, feeling excited for the first time in quite a while.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor took one of the three cups of tea of Clara, placing it down on the work bench next to the robot before taking another. She'd managed to get outside with three mugs of tea and a chair for herself, which was quite impressive if she did say so herself.
"I didn't know if your wife wanted one as well." She explained, "Should I take it into your strange little box for her?"
"No!" He cried, startling her slightly with his alarm. He grimaced, realising his mistake, "She'll love one, but I'll take it in for her." He raised the mug, "Probably best for you to stay out here for the moment."
"Why?" Clara asked with a nervous laugh, "Doesn't she like me?" He shook his head.
"Oh, it's definitely not that." He said, looking wistful for a moment, "She's just... She lost her friend, I don't want her..." He shook his head, smiling again, "I won't be a moment." He headed into the TARDIS, taking care to close the door behind him before heading to the console. He balanced the cup of tea on surface before pulling the monitor to him. There she was, his Danni-Girl, curled up watching the Simpsons.
"Clara thought you might like a cup of tea." He called, knowing she could hear him by the way she looked up at the ceiling, "She thought you might like one. We'll be outside, in case you need us." He paused, feeling slightly awkward talking to himself, which was rather unusual as he never stopped talking, even when alone, "Love you, Danni-Girl." With that, he left her alone, heading back outside to talk to Clara.
~0~0~0~
It came to him like most of his ideas, very slowly and then suddenly he knew exactly what was going on. It was like it would slowly cook inside his brain then 'ping', the microwave was finished. He dashed to the side of the TARDIS, looking across the road at the man who was seemingly watching them. He'd saved Clara for a while, but he should have known that whoever was behind this wouldn't listen to his little warning.
"You and me, inside that box, now." He called over his shoulder, keeping a close eye on the man, motioning for her to do as he said.
"I'm sorry?" She asked, surprised and he dashed over to her. She jumped out of her chair, startled by his suddenly frantic demeanour but he just moved her vacant seat and headed to the door.
"Just get inside." He snapped, ready to push the door open.
"Both of us?" She asked, still sceptical, "And your wife? I saw her go in there." Confused for a moment, he turned and wondered why she thought that there was no room inside after seeing just how big the console room was. Then he remembered that this Clara hadn't seen the inside of the TARDIS at all.
"Trust me, you'll understand once we're in there." He brushed off.
"I bet I will!" She retorted, now completely convinced that something completely... well, completely not something she was into was going on.
"Clara, please!" He exclaimed, having picked up her tone and felt completely offended on both his and Danni's behalf.
"What is that box, anyway?" She demanded, "Why do you have a box?"
"Clara!" He walked over, pointing at her as if that would convince her to follow him. She'd been stubborn in Victorian London as well, must be a common trait throughout whatever these multiple Clara's were.
"Is it like a snogging booth?" She pressed and he glanced back at it, shrugging slightly.
"I suppose so." He admitted before turning back to her, looking alarmed, "Not for you, though. Never for you." He pointed at her again, this time more aggressively, "She's my wife; you keep your tiny hands off her."
"Tiny hands?!" She exclaimed, now the one offended.
"Yes, tiny hands and brown hair..." He trailed off, noticing how all the houses in the street were starting to light up, all the windows illuminating much too bright to be just the normal lighting, "Clara, look around you!"
"What's going on?" She asked, her anger vanishing as she began to feel that ominous sinking feeling that appeared just before something terrible happened, "What's happening? Is the Wi-Fi switching on the lights?"
The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, "No. The people are switching on the lights. The Wi-Fi is switching on the people." The man who he's spotted before began to turn his head, slowly going past the point a human could manage to reveal the dish that had sucked Clara in earlier that day.
"What is that thing?" She asked, amazed and disturbed in equal measure.
"A walking base station, you saw one earlier." He replied
"I saw a little girl." She protested.
"Must have taken an image from your subconscious, thrown it back at you." Suddenly he smacked his forehead with both hands, growling in frustration at himself, "Active camouflage!" He looked around, down the street. He couldn't see anymore, but that didn't mean they weren't there, "They could be everywhere!" He whispered, horrified. He looked at the door to the TARDIS, where Danni was. She was safe in there, he would have seen anyone trying to get to her and the TARDIS had stronger shields than the Wi-Fi could pass through.
"Doctor!" Clara called as he stepped towards the TARDIS. He had to check she was alright, though. She couldn't regenerate again, and he wasn't even sure she would if she was 'uploaded', "Doctor!"
"What?" He snapped, now completely terrified that something had happened to Danni while he'd been trying to look after Clara at the same time. Two people was too many, it took away his focus.
Clara grabbed his arm, pulling him over to where she was standing and pointed out behind the house she was stopping in, where the taller buildings of London were visible and where the lights were slowly going off, bathing the city in darkness, "What's going on?" She asked, a strange rumbling filling the air, "All our lights on, everyone else's off. Why?"
"Some planes have Wi-Fi." He replied, seemingly out of the blue and she looked up at him, again wondering why she was talking to this strange man.
"I'm sorry?"
"We must be one hell of a target right now." He told her, looking slightly panicked as she began to really listen to the rumbling. They both spotted it at the same time, the lights of what was definitely a plane coming closer to them, getting larger as they did so. The Doctor's hand shot out, taking hers and practically dragged her to the blue box, "You, me, box, now!"
Danni looked up in surprise as the TARDIS door opened and the Doctor and Clara ran in like they were running for their lives. The Doctor immediately dropped Clara's hand and rushed over to his wife, cupping her face in both of his hands. She'd only just come to the console room, deciding that the cup of tea was actually quite a good idea and she'd pulled the monitor around the go onto YouTube for a while.
"Are you okay?" He asked frantically, tilting her head up so he could do that thing where he checked her eyes, but would never really tell her what he was checking for. She suspected it was just to make it look like he knew how to be an actual Doctor.
"Of course I am." She responded and he kissed her quickly, obviously not the way he wanted to by the pained look on his face.
"Plane." He told her and she blinked in confusion, "Heading this way." He clicked his fingers, pointing behind Clara, "Yes, it's a spaceship. Yes, it's bigger on the inside. No, I don't have time to talk about it." He rattled off before letting Danni go to actually move them away from the street where they were parked.
"But... but... but... it's..." Clara stuttered out, rushing around, looking under the outer ring of controls as if trying to find out how exactly they were pulling it off. She'd thought it was strange that Danni had headed inside it, so at least that made sense, but nothing else did.
Danni sighed to herself, seeing that the Doctor wasn't going to help his new friend acclimatise to her new surroundings so she walked over, taking the cup out of Clara's hands. Clara stared at her, absolutely stunned as Danni smiled softly at her.
"Firstly, she's a 'she', not an 'it'." Danni explained, "She's called the TARDIS, she's supposed to be bigger on the inside." Clara shook her head slightly, barely moving it but showing she really wasn't comprehending it.
"Bigger. On the inside. Actually bigger." She muttered and Danni nodded, moving her over to the railings and placing both of her hands on it.
"He also likes to pretend he can't fly her." She whispered, "Hold tight." Clara's hands tightened as the console sparked, they jolted and the Doctor rushed over, taking hold of Danni's hand to drag her towards the door.
"Right, come on!" He cried.
"Are we going back out there?" Clara cried, following the two even as Danni protested.
"I'm not going out there!" She exclaimed angrily.
"We've moved." He told Clara, ignoring Danni's protests which annoyed her further, "It's a spaceship, we flew away."
"Away from the plane?" Clara asked hopefully and he shot her a sheepish look.
"Not exactly!" He opened the door and the moment each of them stepped foot into the plane he's parked them on, they began to fall about as the plan plummeted towards the ground
"How did we get here?" Clara exclaimed, falling against the galley wall as the turbulence shook her off her feet.
"She's a ship, I told you, it's all very science-y!" The Doctor dismissed, tightening his grip on Danni's hand. They'd not really tested out her ability to stand up straight during such terrible turbulence, after all he flew the TARDIS expertly, but her old body hadn't exactly had perfect balance. On more than one occasion he'd seen her appear in front of him and tumble to the ground, tripping over her own feet, or even just the air generally. He barely paid attention to the people slumped over in the chairs, he wasn't taking any chances.
"Are we crashing? Again?" Danni exclaimed, "Are these people dead? Are we on a plane full of dead people?"
"Asleep people, switched off by the Wi-Fi." He replied, looking over his shoulder to see her perplexed look, "The Wi-Fi gave Clara computer skills, now it's crashing into her neighbourhood to get them back." He pulled his screwdriver out, pointing it at the cockpit.
"Of course it is." Danni grumbled, looking back at Clara, "Has he asked if you're okay?"
"I'm sorry," The Doctor snapped, interrupting Clara before she'd even had a chance to reply, "I've been busy trying to figure out how to stop a plane crashing. I've not had time for pleasantries." He pulled her into the cockpit, falling in between the unconscious pilot and co-pilot.
"You dragged her onto the TARDIS, you know the rules!" Danni cried, "What do we do?"
"Well, the plan is to stop the plane crashing." He told her, looking at all the buttons and switches. Why was there never a 'don't crash' button? A big, red button?
"What is going on? Is this real? Please tell me what is happening!" Clara cried, almost hysterical in her panic.
"I'm the Doctor. I'm an alien from outer space. I'm 1,000 years old. I've got two hearts and this is my Danni-Girl." He looked over her shoulder, "And I can't fly a plane, can you?" Both Danni and Clara shook their heads.
"No!" Clara exclaimed.
"Oooh! Fine, let's do it together." He grabbed the two main controls and pulled them towards him, the three of them screaming as he struggled to pull them back into flight. Danni wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his back and felt him straighten, obviously getting some strength from her taking comfort in him.
The Doctor laughed happily as the plane levelled off, "Do you think a victory roll would be too show-off-y?" He asked Danni who nodded into his back.
"A little, yeah." She panted, "Jesus, Spaceman." There was a groan from his side as he turned to look down at Danni, placing a kiss on the top of her head before pulling her in for a tight hug out of sheer relief that they were all okay. He hadn't actually thought it was going to work, but it had. He should have more faith in himself, after all he was 1,000 years old and still kicking.
"You're actually 1,200." Danni whispered teasingly as she squeezed him tightly, her hearts slowly returning to a normal rhythm, "But I won't tell her."
"What the hell's going on?" The pilot demanded, coming around to see his co-pilot unconscious and three people in his cockpit. The Doctor let go of Danni with one arm, pointing his screwdriver at the ceiling and quickly setting it off.
"Well, I'm blocking your Wi-Fi, so you're waking up for a start." He told the man, "Tell you what," He patted the man on his arm before gently nudging Danni towards the door, "do you want to drive?" The pair headed out the door, leaving Clara to stare, completely stunned, out of the front window at the sky in front of them. Danni stuck her head back in, holding her hand out to Clara.
"Coming, sweetie?" She asked. Clara looked at the hand before taking it, clinging to it like a lifeline and Danni gently lead her out.