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Danni flailed, her arms stretched in front of her as she tried, tried so hard to grab the Doctor's outstretched hand. He hung from the door frame, stretching out into the abyss he only needed to get a little further, he only needed another inch, tops. Her lips mouthed his name, begging silently for him to save her. He had to get closer, it couldn't end like this. Her red hair floated around her terrified face, her blue-grey eyes pleading for his help, for him to right the devastating wrong.
Then he was on the floor of his TARDIS, looking up as a hand outstretched and pulled her in, wrapping her up, holding her close even as she struggled against him. A twisted mouth pulled into a triumphant smirk, teeth bared as she begged for him to let her go. Blonde hair fell over brown eyes.
"She's mine." The Master crowed, victorious as she screamed for the Doctor to save her.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor's eyes shot open and he was instantly aware he was tangled up in the covers. His first instinct was to fight his was out of the trap, so he did. It was only as he sat up and the cold air fell on his skin that he realised how hot he'd actually been. His next thought, after being freed, was to check on his wife. She was still asleep next to him, surprisingly having not woken up considering what a light sleeper she had become. She was curled up in his direction, her head actually on his pillow and he smiled as he watched her sleep peacefully. He slowly climbed out of the bed, pulling the cover back over her and, after placing a quick kiss on her hair, left her to sleep.
He'd tired both of them trying to find somewhere to take Clara next. Danni had been open to seeing the girl again, but considering she'd chosen to get Danni's wedding ring back, that hadn't been too much of a surprise. Every place he thought of, he just ended up taking Danni instead. It was climbing up Mount Yahjuim, a mountain known for it's fantastic sandwiches in the little shop at the top, that had finally done them in. They'd even headed back to Space Vegas, to the very street where their chapel had been. It hadn't lead to the same night their first visit had, but he'd actually won a quad bike, so it turned out to be a rather interesting evening nonetheless.
Of course, he was just trying to make it up to her, even though she had no idea what he'd done wrong. In fact, because she didn't think he'd done anything wrong, she kept thanking him. She'd tease him by saying he was treating her too well, telling him he really didn't need to take her somewhere every day, because she was happy with just him.
Every compliment, every expression of gratitude made him feel absolutely awful, he didn't deserve any of them but the harder he tried, the more she gave.
He ended up in the garden, the sun shining and greenery as far as he could see. Even the TARDIS was trying to cheer him up, he didn't deserve any of it. He sat under a tree, letting Sebastian hop over and onto his lap. He ran a hand through his grey fur. Had Danni been here lately? Maybe he should take Sebastian back to the bedroom for when she woke up.
That was if she even still liked rabbits. That can't have changed as well, she seemed just as compassionate as she used to be. This would have been so much easier with the old Danni. He knew where he stood with her, and even though it'd been a good couple of years now, he felt like he was going to do everything wrong. And that wasn't surprising, considering she came into existence because of a mistake he'd made.
He scooped up Sebastian, holding him up so he could look into his eyes, "Listen to me, trying to find a reason, like an old fool." He told the rabbit. Sebastian to wriggled his nose so the Doctor put him back in his lap. The fact was, all of his guilt and blame-shifting was down to one thought he'd had in the depths of his despair on Akhaten, and that was that he missed the old Danni. She was the old Danni, and she was the new Danni. She was just Danni, and no matter how much he tried to rationalise it in his head, it was disgusting that he'd thought anything else, even if it was in the middle of a flashback to her dying. He didn't deserve her if he'd thought anything other than the best about her.
"Theta?" He looked up and saw Danni stood there, squinting at him slightly even with her glasses on. Her hands clenched the edge of her sleeves, she'd obviously caught sight of him after calling his name. A small smile broke out on her face, even though he could tell she was tired, and she walked over, sitting on the grass next to him, "Hello, Sebastian." She cooed gently, scratching behind one of his ears, "What are you doing here with my rabbit?"
He watched her, completely amazed as she waited for an answer but lighting up at the sight of the rabbit, scooping him up and giving him a quick hug before letting him sit on her legs. It was so strange, after all regeneration wasn't anything new to him or any other Time Lord, but he realised he still couldn't relate it to her. She was supposed to be human, and yet here she was, a new person and yet still the same.
And he loved her still so completely that he shook his head as a reply, reaching out to cup the back of her head, pulling her closer so he could place a kiss on her hair, "I love you, Danni-Girl." He told her sincerely. She beamed back, a faint flush in her cheeks.
"I love you too." She placed Sebastian on the ground then, with a cheeky grin, leant forward and whispered a word in his ear that made him growl in the back of his throat and slam his lips against hers, drawing a gasp from her that just encouraged him.
~0~0~0~
Danni didn't think she'd ever not be amused as the Doctor rushed around the console, skipping and jumping as he did his thing. This body might have been a better pilot, but so far he'd not wanted to take that chance so she still had no idea what he was doing when he changed settings, or spun things around.
"Anywhere, any when!" He cried, coming to a stop in front of the blonde, clapping his hands together, "Ladies choice!"
She held her fingers to her lips, it was always such a hard choice. Given the entirety of time and space, it was almost too hard to narrow it down, "Can we go see Shakespeare?" She asked him and he frowned.
"But we've done that before." He pointed, "Anywhere, any when, surely you want to go somewhere new?"
"I never went to see Shakespeare." She pointed out, "That was you and Martha, if I remember correctly." She smiled her sweetest smile and batted her eyelashes, hoping it'd convince him, "And he's one of my favourite authors. Please."
He sighed, like it was such a chore, "Oh, fine." He replied, placing a kiss on her lips, "Only because you asked so nicely." She giggled and grabbed his arm before he moved away, placing her own kiss on his lips.
"You're the best!" She exclaimed and he shot her a half-smile, hoping she didn't see through it.
"You always say that." He teased, putting a hand on the small of her back, "Go on, get changed. We'll go watch a play, grab a bite to eat, then decide what to do with Miss Clara next." Danni nodded enthusiastically, jogging out of the room. He watched her go, hoping she didn't see through him.
~0~0~0~
Outside the door was not the 16th century London, like they'd been expecting. Instead, they seemed to be in a field, a few sheep of to the side, not even remotely startled by the magically appearing blue box and the two who stepped out. Danni pulled the black shawl around her shoulders a bit tighter, it wasn't exactly cold but the sky was grey. They must have landed in Britain, then. At least they weren't too far out, that was quite good for him.
"Where are we?" She asked him, trying to spot something she recognised on the horizon.
"I'm not sure." He replied with a thoughtful frown. He bounced up and down on the spot a couple of times, "Definitely Southern England, though."
"How can you tell that?" She asked and he bounced on his heels again.
"Ground's springy." He told her, "Try it." She looked suspicious for a moment before shrugged, bouncing up and down in her heeled boots. She'd chosen black boots with a brown dress that had sleeves that sat on her upper arms rather than her shoulders, a black shawl over the top.
"I can't feel any difference." She told him bluntly and he smiled, placing an arm around her shoulder before obviously deciding that wasn't enough, turning her to face him.
"You'll get the hang of it eventually." He told her, leaning in to brush his lips against hers.
"Doctor!" They both pulled back, confused looks echoing each other.
"Was that..." Danni started.
"Can't be." The Doctor replied. They let go of each other's hands to look around each side of the TARDIS. Sure enough, there was Martha Jones - Smith - jogging towards them with Mickey following at a slower pace.
"Oh no..." Danni whispered worriedly to herself as the Doctor stepped out, waving happily as Danni stayed where she was. She wasn't ready for this. Clara was fine, Clara didn't know she'd changed at all, but Martha? Martha was kind, and understanding but she'd regenerated after being thought of as human by everyone, including herself. There was no way Martha was going to believe that she'd just regenerated out of the blue. She didn't want to lose Martha as a friend, and then there was Mickey! She pushed herself against the side of the TARDIS, maybe they'd not seen her, then she wouldn't have to explain.
The Doctor laughed as Martha pulled him in for a hug, "Look at you!" She cried happily, "You're a child."
The Doctor looked affronted, pulling at his bowtie, "I'm 1200 years old, young lady!" He replied before smiling, "Look at you, though. And Mickey!" He held his fist up to bump it awkwardly with the man, who just smiled, amused, "What are you two doing here?"
"There caught wind of some rumours about there being a Dalek somewhere around Nanpean. Turned out to just be an empty case, but we took it anyway." He explained.
"While we were here, we thought we'd go for a nice walk." Martha finished.
"Then we heard those engines of yours, and we were debating on whether to hide or not." Mickey teased. Martha nudged him in the side.
"Behave." She scolded, in a tone that said she had to remind him on a regular basis before they shared a look at the lack of ginger woman by his side.
The last time they had seen Danni, she'd been doing her 'farewell' tour, visiting everyone she could before she died. They'd not really believed her, there was no way the Doctor would have allowed her to just die like that, not so soon. However, there had always been a chance that it was going to happen, and with the Doctor's change in clothes it was obviously after that, so it was with trepidation that Martha asked, "Where's Danni?"
"Just around the corner." He replied with a silly smile and both of them relaxed.
The Doctor fought the urge to rub his hands gleefully. This was better than seeing a stuffy playwright! They could go for tea and cake! Danni would like that, she and Martha used to always do the 'afternoon tea' thing. He spun on the spot, darting around the TARDIS in what he liked to believe was a smooth motion. He was surprised to see her hugging the other corner, most of her body hidden behind it. She shook her head anxiously, eyes wide and he frowned, walking over.
"What's wrong?" He asked lowly, dipping his head down so he was close to her ear.
"She won't like me." She whispered back, "She probably won't believe it's even me. She'll start shouting, Mickey won't be happy..." He held up a finger, shushing her gently and she pressed her lips together.
"One moment." He promised, darting back around to Martha and Mickey, clapping his hands together, "Right, she's a bit different and she's worried." He explained, "So, I'm going reassure you now that yes, she is Danni, and yes we're working on it."
"What do you mean 'different'?" Martha asked, "Does it have something to do with the Master? The New Year's Eve..."
"No." He reassured them, "Well, yes, kind of, but not that..." He waved it off, "Just, she's worried, so be nice." He nodded once before diving back, holding his hand out to her, "I'll always have your hand." He promised again and her lips turned up in a small smile. Reassured, she took his hand and he led her around.
Martha's mouth dropped open, while Mickey's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the blonde-haired stranger who appeared, wearing an old-fashioned dressed and looking incredibly unsure of herself.
"Hi." Danni muttered, a wave of her fingers as she stepped closer to the Doctor.
"Danni?" Martha asked sceptically, because that was not Danni, before looking at the Doctor, "Are you sure..."
"I was there." He promised, interrupting her before she could upset Danni further, "She regenerated. We don't know why, but I am working on that." He looked down at Danni, "I am, but I couldn't care less why." She smiled softly, blushing lightly and she squeezed his hand lightly.
"Wow." Mickey breathed, "You really weren't going to let death get in your way, were you Danni?" She giggled at his teasing, shaking her head.
"Definitely not, Mickey." She replied, quietly but she didn't feel so worried anymore, "You can do anything if you set your mind to it, even change species."
"I can't believe it." Martha declared, "I mean, seriously, I just can't believe it."
"You can poke me, if you like." Danni offered, to which Martha shot her a confused look, "People seem to do that when they don't believe it's the Doctor." She looked up at him, "Remember when Rory poked you in America after they thought you'd died? You rocked like a weeble."
"I did no such thing!" The Doctor protested, "I reacted with all the grace I always do."
"I was there, you rocked." She retorted. Martha nudged her husband, who replied with his eyebrows raised, convinced but very surprised. If they'd not been satisfied by the explanation, seeing the two argue playfully back and forth was enough to change anyone's mind. They'd been at the wedding, they'd seen the way he looked at her as she did absolutely anything and Martha had been so happy that Danni had finally gotten that look in return.
However, Martha saw the look of uncertainty Danni shot the pair, unsure on their reactions. So, Martha walked over, linking her arm through Danni's.
"You know, I think I saw a little cafe in the village." She told the now blonde-haired woman, "Think they do scones?"
"Do you think they do pie?" Danni asked with a shy smile, "I'd love some pie."
"We can check." Martha replied, "Now, tell me everything. How did it happen? Why did it happen?"
"Well, remember Amy and Rory?" Danni asked.
~0~0~0~
There had been pie. Rhubarb, in fact, which turned out was Danni's new favourite flavour. The Doctor had been very grateful that she'd left the part out where he flung her out of the TARDIS, however accidently, but Martha had been full of questions about her time on Gallifrey. Danni couldn't really remember much, but the Doctor had put that down to a traumatic regeneration.
She remembered Koschei being there quite clearly, but details of conversations had been lost. Probably for the best, Martha had declared, no one needed more memories of that terrible man. Danni didn't fully agree, but she also couldn't bring herself to defend him like she once would. The feeling of dread that washed over her as the thought of him flashed through her mind was still something she wasn't sure she could process.
By the end of the day, though, she'd managed to relax and she was rather sad as she hugged Martha by the woman's car, thanking her for paying for the tea and pie, again neither she nor the Doctor had thought of carrying money.
"You have to come by more often." Martha scolded teasingly, "We could make a weekend of it. Pyjamas and binge-watching Scrubs, just like the old days." Danni nodded, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"That would be lovely." She agreed.
"And you'll have to bring the new girl, what's her name? Clara." Martha added, answering her own question and was surprised to see Danni's face fall somewhat.
"I'm sure she'll like that." Danni agreed, "But she doesn't travel with us like you do. She doesn't even have a room." She looked over her shoulder, trying see if the TARDIS was about to appear anywhere. The Doctor had left them to say goodbye, going to fetch the blue box so Danni didn't have to walk across the fields in her boots again. That had been hard work, "I didn't want her to."
"Really?" Martha asked, surprised. Danni had actually always been lovely to her, even when she'd not been well she always tried to keep her anger in check around her friends.
"I don't trust her." Danni explained, looking slightly guilty, "The Doctor thinks I'm being over-cautious, I know he does even if he doesn't say it, but I think I've good reason to. You see, I had a companion-"
"What, he let you?" Martha exclaimed. Sure, she'd not spent a massive amount of time with this Doctor, but her Doctor would never had shared that privilege with anyone, not even Danni.
"It was his idea." Danni replied, "She was wonderful, you would have loved her Martha. But, you see, pretty much straight after I asked, she died." She shrugged, "Her name was Clara, and she was a barmaid and a nanny."
"Clara?" Mickey asked, leaning against his car, "Like the new girl?" Danni shook her head.
"It isn't just a name, she's the same person." Danni explained, "Except my Clara was in Victorian London, and this Clara isn't her. We went back though her childhood, she's just a regular girl. But they're the same person. How can she be here, and in Victorian London, and the Dalek Asylum? How can that ever be a good thing?"
"You can't assume it's bad, though, can you?" Martha pointed out, although if Danni was right, it did sound a bit suspicious. The sound of the TARDIS engines roared through the street.
"When had anyone popping up randomly through his life ever been good?" Danni asked her desperately, hoping Martha could offer her up an example that would stop that voice in her head telling her to stay away from Clara, that nothing good was going to come from her. And it wasn't even that Danni didn't like her, and she was so grateful that Clara had chosen to get her ring back, even though Danni wouldn't have changed that decision.
"You were." Martha pointed out.
"Since when?" Danni retorted as the Doctor stuck his head out of the door.
"Ready to go, Danni-Girl?" He called over with a smile and she shot him one in reply, as if the last conversation hadn't happened at all.
She hugged Martha again, "Miss you, sweetie." She said honestly.
"Call me if you need anything." Martha told her firmly, not wanting to let her friend go. Danni crossed over both her hearts and Martha shook her head, "I don't think I'll ever get over that." She pointed out.
"That makes two of us." Danni agreed, hugging Mickey before she headed off back to the TARDIS.
~0~0~0~
The universe really was beautiful, the Doctor mused as he dangled his legs out of the TARDIS doorway. It had just been a flyaway thought really, one that went with the flash of red-hair that always made him feel so guilty. This is where she used to sit to make herself feel better, maybe it would work for her.
He always got so caught up in showing the universe to everyone, to her, that he sometimes forgot that despite the fact that he had seen so much, it didn't mean that it wasn't still just as beautiful as the first time he saw the stars.
"You're in my spot." He looked over his shoulder to see Danni stood there, wearing one of his shirts and a pair of pyjama pants. That was new, as well. Her old body used to love having matching pyjamas, it had to be a set otherwise she didn't want to wear it. Now as long as she wearing something comfortable, she wasn't too bothered.
She walked over, sitting next to him, crossing her ankles over each other and hooking onto his arm. His chest ached, she was anchoring herself to him so she couldn't fall out. That was him, he'd done that to her, "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing." He replied quickly, too quickly and he didn't blame her as her eyebrow raised in disbelief.
"Really?" She prompted, "Are you sure?" He smiled softly, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Don't you worry about me, Danni-Girl." He told her.
"Oh, it's about me, then." She retorted and giggled at his alarmed look, "Oh, it's so about me." She nudged him in the side, "Go on, then. Did you find out about my regeneration and are too scared to tell me?"
"No." He promised, "I'd tell you, you know I would." She nodded, she knew he would, really.
"Then what is it?" She pressed gently.
He turned on the spot so he could see her, smiling softly as he leant in and kissed her, slowly teasing her lips to respond to his. When he broke away, he stroked her cheek with the tips of his fingers.
"I love you." He promised, "I just want you to know it doesn't mean anything."
"What doesn't?" She asked and he sat back, looking out into the universe again.
"I missed her." He replied and her mouth fell open into an 'o' of realisation, "It was only for a moment. I just don't understand, you'd think I'd be used to regeneration. I know it's been a while since I had to deal with anyone but me regenerating. I just," He turned back to her, "I love you, that's not changed, I swear." She nodded slowly, shifting so she was facing him as well, leaning against the doorframe.
"Do you know how much I miss Ten?" She stated after a moment's pause. His brows furrowed, "A lot. Sometimes I want to cry because I'm never going to see him again, and it breaks my heart." She looked thoughtful, "Hearts." She corrected.
"It does?" He asked and she nodded.
"Does that mean I love you any less?" She asked before shaking her head, "Of course not. And I love the Doctor just as much as I always did. But he was a different man to you, and it's okay to miss him because each of you are different. And each of me are different, you can miss any of us."
"You're not mad?" He asked, perplexed because he certainly was feeling a surge of jealousy at that.
"No." She retorted, "She's me, I want you to miss me." She took his hand in hers, "So, do what I do. Don't think about her or me, think about her AND me." She shot him a cheeky smirk and he gasped, shocked.
"Danni!" He cried, flushing in embarrassment at the implication. She looked away from him, a silly grin on her face.
"Oh, you won't believe how many lonely nights the thought of you and Ten got me through." She teased. He stood up, brushing himself down before pulling her up with him.
"Come on, up, up." He told her as she giggled.
"What are you doing?" She asked and he pulled her up against him, this time kissing her with purpose, sucking on her bottom lip before taking her hand, pulling her towards the hallway.
"I'm not letting him replace me as your fancy man." He told her firmly, dragging her past the console even as she laughed happily.
The monitor was on, but Danni wasn't paying attention. Even if she did, she wouldn't have understood the circles and swirls that made up the Gallifreyan that was displayed there, declaring the countdown had ended, and the results were ready.