If you want to help me financially, you can do it on
https://ko-fi.com/neverluckysmile
The Doctor pulled the blanket around Danni, smoothing her hair as he pulled back before placing a kiss on her head, "Now, the tea will keep at that perfect temperature all day." He promised. He'd found his old teapot, making sure he gave it a good clean before making her tea just how she liked it.
"Theta." Danni started, amusement already in her voice.
"And I think I got enough Skittles to last throughout a good few movies."
"Theta." She tried again, the amusement slowly disappearing as he rambled along. Rambling was not a good sign in either of them.
"Although I'm not sure about the crisps. I'll go get you some more-"
"Theta." She barked, stopping him as he started towards the door. She shot him a smile, seeing the worried look on his face, "I'll be fine. If I need more crisps, I can get them myself."
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" He asked her, "It'll be fun. Elvis?"
"I'm sure Elvis will put on a fantastic show." She replied, "But I think I can handle one day on the TARDIS on my own." He didn't look too convinced, and she knew he was having trouble leaving her behind. But after seeing Martha again she really didn't want to be around Clara just yet. Seeing a companion she trusted, one she knew all about and knew that she'd been nothing but helpful and honest with the pair of them, just reminded her of how much she didn't know about Clara. She wasn't used to this, everything that was happening to her now was new and exciting, but it also brought the risk of that she couldn't stop it if anything went wrong. And with the added mystery of the multiple Claras, all across the Doctor's life just worried her too much. Danni couldn't stop him if he wanted to take her places, but perhaps taking a break would ease her worries a bit.
"I know." He replied, walking over and placing a kiss on her lips, "If you need anything, I've got my mobile." He patted his jacket pocket for emphasis, "Just call me, okay? No matter what it is, and I'll come right back." She nodded.
"I'll be fine." She promised, "I've got my blanket and my films, what more could I want?"
"A Time Lord to keep you company?" He retorted and she rolled her eyes, pulling her hand out of the cocoon he'd wrapped her up in the wave him away.
"Go on, Elvis is waiting." She scolded and he smiled, feeling better about leaving her as he turned to walk away. Her hand shot out, grabbing his and surprising him, "Just, make sure you do come back, okay?" He nodded, placing a kiss on her palm before letting go.
"Cross my hearts, Danni-Girl." He made the movements, two crosses on his chest and she beamed at the promise and the use of her nickname before turning back to the screen. He watched as the film started, 'An American Werewolf in London', making sure she was happily watching it before heading out.
The only reason he was leaving Danni at all was because of how intriguing Clara was, and his curiosity would always get the better of him in the end. He had been convinced for a while that each Clara was completely separate from the others, but now he wasn't so sure. There had to be a central point where they were all connected, perhaps one Clara controlling the others. Or, perhaps, they were all related, like Gwyneth and Gwen. Spatial genetic multiplicity, where a descendent would pretty much replicate the original, and that maybe this Clara wasn't the original.
The fact was, he had nothing to go off and in his opinion, keeping her close would at least help him work it out. And, admittedly, she made a great friend to travel with. Lots of questions and quick acceptance of everything around her, it was qualities like those that attracted him to every one of his companions.
And to his wife, who had them and so much more. The difference between them was that when he'd found out the reason she was all over his time line, he hadn't cared, he'd just been incredibly grateful for it.
He shook his head, chuckling at his own sentimentality as he quickly landed outside Clara's home. It must have been his old age, he was sure he never spent this much time thinking.
As the door opened, Clara coming in wearing a silver dress, gushing about Vegas, he caught sight of the Gallifreyan on the monitor. The symbols seemed to yell at him, telling him yet again that the tests were done, the results were ready, like they were taunting him to do something about it. With a glare, he turned it off, pushing it away from him and he turned, clapping his hands together and forcing a smile on his face as he regarded his companion.
~0~0~0~
The TARDIS gave a small shudder, one that Danni barely felt at all but one that the TARDIS always gave throughout her halls as a sign that she'd landed. Danni quickly shed the blanket, climbing up off the sofa before heading for the door. She peered out, checking both ways before heading down the hallway, looking for the medi-bay.
It was nearing four years since she'd+ regenerated. Four whole years of consecutive time with the Doctor, of not being her ginger self and not jumping away. She'd surprised herself with how quickly she'd settled into her new body, but she guessed that living on a cloud for a few years and then underground for six months more really had helped with that. To think of herself with blonde hair and barely any chest to speak of really wasn't that big of a deal, now, even if actually showing it to the Doctor was still a bit too much for her to handle at the moment. Him missing her old self hadn't bothered her really, but the idea of him rejected her now because of it was still an issue she had to deal with.
He'd been so patient as well with her, which was something she was forever grateful for. Considering that regeneration really wasn't a new thing for him, he seemed to really understand that it was still new to her. He never complained, apart from the occasional disappointed groan when they were getting a little too into things, but she would make sure she showed him how grateful she was, it just didn't involve as much contact as he'd probably like.
She'd decided that night after she'd found him sat in her spot that she was going to sort that out, and the first step was to make herself feel comfortable in her own skin. On her arm was a pale but very visible and very large scar where her vortex manipulator had once sat. It had lasted through her regeneration, the Doctor had said something about fixed points, and he'd called it something stupid like a 'time scar', but either way he was sure that it'd continue to fade the more she regenerated. Sometimes it surprised her how she still expected the band to be there when she looked down, even after all this time, and lately she had been wondering if actually having the device back where it was supposed to be would help. She hadn't seen it since she'd been told to put it back on, back on Gallifrey but she'd used it to get back to the Doctor, so it had to be here somewhere. Right?
Was he hiding it from her? Was that why she couldn't find it? This wasn't the first time she'd looked for it, but this was the first time she could do so without fear of being found out. Although, what was she scared of really? Was it him finding out, or her having to explain why she wanted it back in the first place? Maybe it was just a general feeling of scared, that also wasn't uncommon these days.
She tore the medi-bay to pieces, emptying cupboards and smashing a vial or two on the floor. It wasn't the first time she'd done that, but the TARDIS had always cleaned up after her so she'd dashed out and to their bedroom next, going through every drawer and hiding spot she could find. Still nothing, no sign of the manipulator at all and as she stepped out into the hallway, looking both ways once again, she really didn't know where to look next.
She closed her eyes, tilting her head upwards, "Sweetie, where did he hide it?" She asked the TARDIS, opening them up to see the hallway had cornered itself off down one end. She beamed, patting the wall before dashing off, appearing in the console room.
"Here?" She asked, surprised. The TARDIS didn't give her any indication that she'd heard her, so Danni decided to start at the bottom and work her way up. There was a lot of storage underneath the platform, the console itself had a hexagonal base and each side had its own compartment. The first one had been full of wires, which she'd moved about but hadn't tried to remove in case they were something important. The second, though, had been full of clothes, so she'd happily chucked them behind her. Lining the bottom of the compartment were a bunch of wooden boxes, all neatly placed, like he'd done it on purpose. She picked one up, opening it to find a bow-tie. She shook her head fondly, putting it back. That's what she'd figured.
She paused, fingers hovering over the next one. This was all Theta's stuff, she didn't really want to go rummaging through it. Decisively, she started putting all the clothes back in, only stopping as she noticed one of the boxes wasn't like the rest. It wasn't obviously distinct, still wood and still carved with pretty images. This one, though, was much darker and she grabbed it, finding her manipulator and her black band inside. She quickly put the manipulator on, feeling a deep sense of relief as it covered the scar. Like a security blanket, she felt a lot safer just having it on her wrist.
The black band though was something else completely different. She picked it up and her stomach immediately began to feel uneasy. It was from the Valiant, from her time with Koschei, and it reminded her that she'd left him behind with no way of getting back to him. No way of saving him from his fate at the hands of Rassilon, and yet she didn't feel as bad as she should have about that. Her feelings on the other Time Lord were still a jumble in her mind. She'd not spoken about him since her early morning realisation on their complicated relationship. But she still felt awful for blaming him for what had happened. She could have fought him off, she was sure of it. If she'd not made that first deal, it wouldn't have got that far. She was in love with the Doctor, and yet she'd still let him do all those things to her. She must have felt something for him, right? Then why did the sight of that band make her stomach churn?
Then the TARDIS engines set off with a wheeze, the time rotor groaning as she took off from wherever they were parked. A quick fire decision had Danni chucking the band into her pocket, scrambling up to the console.
"Hey, what you doing?" She cried, hands hovering in the air as she stared in utter confusion at the controls and levers, "I don't know how to fly you! You know that! Take me back!" She pulled the monitor over to see if there was any clues, but the Gallifreyan made as much sense as it always did, "Take me back!" She demanded, her voice high in panic.
The engines suddenly stopped and she stepped away, staring at the console suspiciously before turning and darting to the doorway. Hoping beyond all things that outside was Vegas, she slowly opened the door, peaking her head out. She frowned, chucking it completely open to be hit by the ice cold air that matched the snowy landscape outside.
"Where the hell are we?"
~0~0~0~
The submarine rocked slowly, coming to halt as it settled on the seabed. Clara tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but her heart pounding a million miles a second wouldn't allow her. For some reason, as she was looking around the control room, all she could think about was how her dress was ruined.
Some trip to Vegas this was. At least the Doctor had been as surprised as she was to be rocked out of the TARDIS and into a submarine.
"Descent arrested at...700 metres." One of the crew members declared and the whole room seemed to relax at once.
"It seems we owe you our lives - whoever you are." The man who was obviously the Captain declared, looking over the Doctor with a calculating look on his face. The Doctor smiled, glad to have his sunglasses back on.
"I'll hold you to that. Might come in handy!" He replied. Soviet submarine hadn't exactly been where he was aiming for, in fact he was sure it wasn't even the time he'd been aiming for, but you can't always win them all.
"Search them." Another man declared from just to his side. Both the Doctor and Clara looked at him, surprised as the rest of the crew shifted uncomfortably, "Yes, I know, it's a woman. Now search them!"
Clara let out a yell of surprise as she was pushed against a load-bearing pole in the middle of the room. As they began to pat her down, not giving her the search that the Doctor was getting thankfully, she turned her head to look at him.
"Are we going to be ok?" She asked him.
"Oh, yes." He replied and even she had to frown in confusion at the Barbie that appeared from his pocket.
"Is that a lie?"
"Possibly." He replied, "Very dangerous time, Clara. East and west standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion. Lots of itchy fingers on the button."
"Isn't it always like that?" She pointed out.
"Sort of." He agreed, "But there are flash points and this is one," He was rambling, he knew that, but the fact was that he couldn't see the TARDIS. There was absolutely no reason for Danni to be in any danger, but he liked to be sure. His hands flapped about, illustrating the points he was making, "hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It's the '80s. Everything's bigger!" The crew member searching him pulled out his sonic screwdriver, not dismissing it like the rest of the objects in his pockets like the Doctor had hoped. Instead he turned it in his hands, intrigued by it. The Doctor didn't like the look on his face as the man looked over his precious sonic screwdriver, "I'd like a receipt, please." He bit out, making a grab for it only for the man to take it out of his reach and hand it to the Captain
"What is this?" He demanded, holding in between his thumb and finger gingerly. The Doctor opened his mouth to reply when the submarine suddenly tilted to one side, causing Clara to fall away and into the water with a shriek.
"Clara!" He cried, stumbling himself as she tried to stand back up again. More water began pouring into the room, soaking them all even more.
"Doctor!" She cried, finding it impossible to find her footing in the shoes she was wearing.
"Clara!" He cried again, turning to help her up. To the side of the room, the TARDIS began to make her normal wheezing noise, indicating that she was taking flight and his head snapped around. He tried to run over, slipping into the water with a splash, "No, no, no, no! No, not now!" He shouted, climbing up to try and make it to the doors in time. He reached out, ready to open the door but his hand went straight through it, "Danni!" He cried, "No, come back right now!" He called but the box didn't pay any attention, leaving him to stare at the wall. He ran his hand through his hair, grimacing at the water that soaked it, too cold for his liking. He had to calm down, so he took a moment, closing his eyes to focus on the problem. The TARDIS had taken flight, which actually was his own fault but he'd worry about that later. Danni was in the TARDIS, which was the safest place for her to be providing she didn't try and leave. His eyes opened, that was it! As long as he could tell Danni to stay inside the TARDIS, she would be fine and he could focus on everything else. His hand went into his trouser pocket, thankfully they'd not made it that far in their search, and pulled out the small phone. His hearts dropped as he tried as hard as he could to turn it on, but the water had completely decimated it and it wouldn't even switch on anymore. He spun around, taking in all of the surrounding equipment but nothing could help him without the time to make it work. He didn't have time, not with a stranded submarine.
Danni would be fine. She wouldn't even know the TARDIS had moved, she'd be too busy watching movies and snoozing on the sofa. She'd have no idea, so why would she leave the TARDIS, right? What he had to do was not worry about her being okay, but worry about how they'd get back to TARDIS. He turned again, seeing one crew member holding an unconscious Clara in his arms. He blinked in surprise, having completely forgotten about the girl and the water splashed around his ankles as he made his way to her.
"Screwdriver, where's my screwdriver?" He snapped.
"Screwdriver?" The Captain asked and he nodded.
"Metal? Green light on the end? You took it from me, and I still don't have my receipt?" He retorted but no one seemed to know what had happened to it during the rocking. He rolled his eyes, feeling her neck for a pulse before gently pulling her eyelids open to check her eyes. She was fine. Now back to their original problem.
~0~0~0~
Danni stared out at snow, still completely amazed that she had seemed to move so far away in the first place. Had the Doctor done this? Sent her away while he was in Vegas to get rid of her? The thought scared her, because maybe he had. Maybe he'd seen the opportunity to finally remove her from his life forever, like chucking her out of the TARDIS had supposed to do but failed.
She shook her head, silently berating herself as she pulled the door shut again. Even if that were the case - and it was a strong if, because he'd done nothing but be nice to her since she'd regenerated - then he wouldn't have sent her with the TARDIS. This was obviously something else. She walked over to the console, back to the monitor before looking down at the controls below it.
"Okay, so, I don't know how to fly you." She told the TARDIS, "Sometimes you take me places if I ask, though." She looked back up at the time rotor, "Which I'm very grateful for, by the way. I don't know if I've said thanks for that, but thanks." She shook her head, "Anyway, if you could just take me back to the Doctor, I'd also be very grateful."
Nothing. Okay, she tried flipping a couple of random switches, deciding on them for no particular reason. Nothing happened again, which was probably a good thing considering she had no idea what she did. She took a step back, looking upwards at the ceiling, "So, basically, I'm stuck here until the Doctor finds me?" She asked the box, "I'd really rather go see him, if that's okay." She tried again, but still nothing. Seeing nothing on the console that indicated anything useful to her, she turned around and let out a small scream, hand on her chest as she jumped back. Stood just behind her was a perfect hologram of Ten, down to his hands being in his trouser pockets while pushing his overcoat back.
"Are you the voice interface?" Danni asked timidly.
"Correct." He replied, "I was chosen from several billion images. I am programmed to find an image of a person who will calm you when distressed." Danni stared back in surprise. She would have chosen Eleven, surely? She looked over Ten again and smiled softly to herself. No, Ten worked just fine. Seeing him again was lovely, especially when it was obviously an older version, he would always be reassuring.
"Okay, well, I'm distressed because you seemed to have flown me to the North Pole." Danni replied slowly.
"Actually, it's the South Pole." He replied and it made her smile to hear him sound like Ten, a suck of the air through his teeth and everything.
"Sorry, you seemed to have flown me to the South Pole." She corrected, "Why can't you take me back to the Doctor?"
"The Doctor activated my Hostile Action Displacement System. Coming under direct attack will send me somewhere safe until it is deemed safe for me to return." The Voice Interface explained.
"So is it safe?" She asked.
"Not yet. I will return for the Doctor when it is safe for me to do so."
"And when is that, exactly?" She snapped, "If it's not safe for you, then it's not safe for him."
"When it's safe for the cargo I possess." He replied and she frowned, brows furrowing.
"The cargo..." She gasped, "Wait, do you mean me?" He shot her that wolfish grin Ten used to when she said something correct, not patronising, just enjoying her success.
"You thought anything different?" He challenged, "Once the threat has disappeared, I shall take you back. Until then, go build a snowman or something. Or ice-skating. You'll love the ice-skating." He frowned, shooting a slightly perplexed look at her, "Did love the ice-skating?" Danni nodded, "Oh yes, you went with me, didn't you?"
"You, me and Martha." She confirmed, "Right at the start."
"Oh, you were so young. Bless." He teased and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Like you can talk, Spacema-" She caught herself at the end, sighing, "I miss you, Spaceman."
"He missed you too, even if he would never admit it out loud." He replied before nodding towards the hallway, "Go get changed, then." He told her, "We haven't got all day." Danni beamed, turning and dashing out towards the wardrobe, feeling like herself for the first time in a long time as the Voice Interface flickered and died.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor sat at the control panel, fiddling around with it the best he could without his beloved screwdriver. Honestly, how did anyone get anything done with one? He'd never understand it. Clara sat next to him in one of the metal chairs, facing out into the room while the rest of the crew tried to find a way of making themselves a little bit more protected than they were against the Ice Warrior that the submarine was now under attack from.
She glanced to the side, seeing the Doctor stand up from his chair to mess with some of the higher up controls, a grim look set on his face that she was sure wasn't coming from the situation they were currently in. She could see it, anyone could. An urgency that didn't come from trying to stay alive, a desperation to get back to the surface that rivalled hers and she was pretty terrified of dying by this point.
"Danni doesn't like me, does she?" Clara declared and he stopped, freezing at the mention of his wife's name before turning to face Clara. Her hands were clasped together as she sat backwards in the chair, her wrists resting on the back, "I mean, she's welcome not to, I'm not saying that everyone should like me, but that's why she's not here, isn't it?"
"No." The Doctor replied and she shot him a dubious look, "No, it isn't that." He insisted before going back to work, "She just doesn't trust you, that's all."
"Oh, is that all?" Clara replied sarcastically.
"That's not your fault, though." He continued, distracted by the device once again. If only he could find a way to use the scanner to lock onto Skaldak. His screwdriver would really have been handy at this point, "It's mine. She'll come around, she always does."
"How was it your fault?" Clara asked, a scoff in her voice. The way he'd been worried about her on Akhaten, the way he held her hand and looked at her, it was like her Dad used to look at her Mum before she'd died. Her Dad would have never done anything to hurt her, to cause that loss of trust, "Did you cheat on her or something?"
"No!" The Doctor barked, obviously angered at the very idea before catching himself, "No, I killed her." He typed on the keyboard violently, "She died as a direct result of my actions, and now she's scared all the time. She thinks you're going to try and hurt me, but it's just because she's afraid that she's the one who's going to do the damage." He smacked the screen hard with the heel of his hand, like it would magically make it do exactly what he wanted, "But she's getting better, she starting to change her mind but she can only do that if she feels safe. I promised I'd come back to her, I can't stay stuck on this stupid submarine!" He snarled the last bit.
"You can't have killed her." Clara reassured him, shifting around in her chair, "She's still alive. She's fine, she's in the TARDIS." He chuckled hollowly, look at her with devastated eyes.
"Remind me to tell you about regeneration." He told her before standing up and focusing all of his attention on the matter at hand. The quicker he got this sorted, the quicker the TARDIS would allow herself to come back.
He stormed over the Captain's side, Clara following with a hundred new questions floating around inside her head, "How many of us are left?" He asked the Russian.
"12." He replied, loading his gun before holding it at his side, "and we can't find Stepashin." The Doctor nodded solemnly, knowing that meant that they weren't sure he was still even alive. Chances were that Skaldak had already gotten to him.
"We split up and comb the sub." The Doctor explained lowly, not allowing himself to dwell too much on the people he couldn't save, "One team stays here to guard the bridge."
"That's it? That's the plan?" The Captain asked, not sounding incredibly impressed.
"Well, it's either that or we stay here and wait for him to kill us." The Doctor pointed out and the Captain gave a small nod in agreement.
"Ok." He walked off to give orders to his men. The Doctor looked over the room, his mind still trying to come up with a viable idea of how to get back to the TARDIS.
"Is it true," The Doctor started slightly, having not noticed Clara follow him over, "you've never seen one outside of its shell suit?"
"'Shell suit'?" The Doctor repeated, amazed by her disregard as she shrugged, not really knowing how else to describe it, "Clara! For an Ice Warrior to leave its armour is the gravest dishonour." He admonished, "Skaldak is desperate, he is deadly and we have got to find him."
"Will this help?" The Professor asked, holding up the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor double took before running over, shocked and so happy to see his old friend again.
"Ah!" He cried, "You saved it!" He grabbed it back, checking it over before giving it a couple of shakes to dry it off, glad it was more waterproof than the phone.
"No, no, it was on the floor with this." The Professor explained, holding up his barbie doll. The Doctor took it back, placing a kiss on her wet, fake hair before putting her back in his pocket.
"Ah, Professor, I could kiss you!" He cried happily.
"If you insist." The Professor replied seriously, standing there ready for the other man's show of affection.
The Doctor looked at him, wondering if he was serious and realised that he was, "Later." He replied slowly before looking at his screwdriver. One problem down, Danni was one step closer.
~0~0~0~
Danni smiled proudly at her masterpiece, a lovely three-tiered snowman wearing the Doctor's top hat from Victorian London. The fact that she wasn't scared stiff was quite surprising, really, considering what had happened with snowmen the last time she'd seen the hat, but she was actually having a good time, she didn't feel scared and she didn't feel particularly cold. The TARDIS seemed to have extended some kind of force field around herself, as while it was still cold enough to go along with the snow, it wasn't as cold as it probably should have been at the South Pole.
She pulled her phone out, ready to take a picture when she almost dropped it, fumbling with it with gloved hands as she realised she had a phone. The Doctor also had a phone, he'd told her to ring him if she needed anything. She'd not wanted to bother him, he deserved some time to enjoy himself away from the constant worry that was Danielle Fielding, but this had to constitute a good enough reason, right? Saving from the South Pole, he could do that, couldn't he?
Didn't stop her feeling bad about disturbing him as she held the phone up to her ear, but she didn't have to feel that way for long. It wouldn't even ring, just went straight to answerphone, so it wasn't like she could even contact him anyway. She sighed sadly, so much for that idea. Honestly, she had to become a bit more self-reliant. Almost ten years of living with the Doctor had turned her a bit useless on her own.
She paused as she held up the phone to take a picture of the snowman. Ten years? Was that right? She bit her lip as she counted. No, it was more like 8. But eight years, she was almost thirty. How had that happened?
She paused her photography to draw an '8' in the snowman's stomach, hoping it'd come out in the photo before finally taking it, smiling to herself. They'd have to celebrate.
~0~0~0~
Clara dashed into the console room, the Professor trailing behind her to find the Doctor already trying to plead with Skaldak to not destroy the planet.
"...Because that's what you'll be if you send those missiles. Not a soldier, a murderer." He insisted, but Skaldak scoffed, turning around and placing a finger against the release button, ready to shoot the missiles and destroy the planet he felt had wronged him, "Five billion lives extinguished. No chance for goodbyes. A world snuffed out like a candle flame!" His finger hovered over the button and the Doctor grimaced, he had hoped that he wouldn't have to play this card, but the Ice Warrior was leaving him no choice.
"All right, all right, Skaldak, you leave me no choice. I'm a Time Lord, Skaldak." He shouted, pulling his screwdriver out and pointing it at the Martian, "I know a bit about sonic technology myself." Skaldak turned around, looking down at the small device the smaller man was pointing at him.
"A threat? You threaten me, Doctor?" He growled, sounding offended.
"No. No, not you... all of us. I will blow this sub up before you can even reach that button, Grand Marshal. Blow us all to oblivion." He threatened lowly, rocking back on his heels as he stared the Marshal down.
"You would sacrifice yourself?" Skaldak challenged.
"I don't want to." The Doctor replied, "I promised, I promised I'd make it back and I don't like breaking my promises. Not to her. She won't forgive me, not again." He held his screwdriver up, the end popping out and it started glowing red with its normal buzzing noise, "But, yes, in a heartbeat."
"Mutually assured destruction!" Skaldak snarled, turning and stomping back to the button.
"Look into my eye, Skaldak. Look into my eyes and tell me you're capable of doing this." He demanded, now just chucking things at the creature as his hearts pounded. He couldn't put her ahead of the Earth, he knew he couldn't but he wished more than anything he could just run to Danni. But he couldn't, so he had to stop him before it was too late and going back wasn't an option, "Huh? Can you do that? Dare you do that? Look into my eyes, Skaldak, come on! Face-to-face." With stomping feet accompanied with the mechanic sound of joints moving, Skaldak turned around again.
"Well, Doctor," He hissed, the helmet on his suit of armour lifting and revealing the reptilian face underneath, with sharp teeth and yellow, glowing eyes, "which of us shall blink first?"
The Doctor froze, amazed into silence by his first look of a Ice Warrior without armour on, he'd never thought he'd ever see that.
"Why did you hesitate?" Clara spoke up from behind him and the Ice Warrior looked over his opponents shoulder to the young human girl who stood up even though she was obviously terrified, "Back there, in the dark. You were going to kill this man, remember? I begged you not to and you listened. Why show compassion then, Skaldak, and not now?" She stepped forward slowly to the Doctor's side as Skaldak didn't reply, just hissed menacingly at her, "The Doctor's right. Billions will die... Mothers, sons, fathers... daughters. Remember that last battle, Skaldak? Your daughter... You sang the songs..."
"Of the red snows." He replied forlornly, the memory of his daughter and their last battle together causing him to hesitate.
The submarine began to shake, a large crashing noise echoed through the metal vessel and Clara dashed to the wall, taking hold of anything she could.
"What's happening?!" She shouted.
"My people live! They have come for me!" Skaldak declared, looking up at the ceiling. Across the room, the depth gauge began to rise, showing their assent from the water.
"We're rising. We're rising!" The Captain cried, astonished.
"600 metres... 550..." The Professor read off the screen as they made their way to the surface, breaking through the ice with a smash that rattled them all. Clara sighed in relief, watching as Skaldak was transported off the submarine in a red light.
"We did it! We did it!" Clara stated in shock, looking at the other people in the control room, wondering why everyone was still looking so worried.
"No. No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor muttered, looking over the control panel Skaldak had been stood at, "It's still armed. A single pulse from that ship..." Would destroy the planet. He couldn't let that happen, "I'll destroy us if I have to." He whispered, squeezing his eyes shut holding the sonic against his forehead, hand ready to set it off, "I will destroy us if I have to." He whispered again. She'd be okay, she had the TARDIS, she'd be safe. She was young, so young and she'd wouldn't be alone for long. The TARDIS would help her work it out, would translate the results for her eventually. He swallowed the lump in his throat, his other hand flexed, wishing she was holding it and he really didn't want to do this. He'd promised, he needed her to know that he'd tried, "Show mercy, Skaldak. Come on, show mercy." Behind him Clara quietly sung a song he barely recognised behind him. He laughed, knowing that it was some awful song from the 80's because he'd heard Danni singing it at the top of her voice from inside the shower.
"Hungry like the wolf." He whispered, and he almost sobbed in relief as the submarine was de-armed, and they were all safe.
Clara rushed over, chucking her arms around his neck and he hugged her back tightly before letting her go, clearing his throat, slightly embarrassed.
"Saved the world then?" She asked him and he nodded.
"Yeah." He agreed and she smirked, knowing that she had helped, that it had been her that had reminded Skaldak of what he'd lost, and to not allow anyone else to experience that loss.
"Would your Danni be impressed with that?" she challenged, deliberately bringing up his wife, and he nodded, beaming from ear to ear at the fact that they'd both get to see her again very soon.
"Very, very impressed." He replied.
~0~0~0~
The snowman had looked very lonely, so after making a few snow angels on the ground, Danni had decided to make him a friend. A crudely made snow rabbit now stood by his side and Danni had loved her attempt. She could just imagine a group of penguins approaching them, confused at the strange shaped snow and that had made her want to make snow penguins. She was on her third when the sound of the cloister bell tolling once rang through the barren land. She looked over her shoulder to see the light on the top flashing and the door open. Realising the TARDIS was trying to signal her, she picked up the top hat and dashed over, only stopping to take a picture of the snow animals she'd created.
The ride wasn't particularly smooth, but she couldn't blame the old girl for that, after all she was flying without any pilot. It landed with a thud and Danni looked towards the door, unsure of where they actually were.
"Is this Vegas, sweetie?" She asked as the door opened and the Doctor all but ran in. She smiled in relief, "Oh, thank-" She was cut off as he placed a hand on the back of her head, fisting her hair as he kissed her desperately. Her hands hovered out by their sides in shock as he used his other hand to pull her up against him, hand resting in the small of her back and her breath was taken away by just how much he needed to know she was there. His lips moved against hers hungrily and she closed her eyes, her hands placing themselves on his biceps until he pulled away. He smiled as he panted, delighted by the dazed look in her eyes. He let go of the back of her head to brush the hair on her face away.
"I came back." He whispered, "Like I promised." She nodded, not really knowing how he wanted her to respond.
"I thought it wasn't a snogbox." Clara called as she entered the TARDIS. When the blue box had appeared, he'd run off, leaving her to slowly follow. He'd obviously needed a moment alone with his wife, but she wasn't about to let it get too high-rated before they dropped her home.
"Not for you." The Doctor replied, but he didn't kiss Danni again, "Are you okay?" He asked her.
"You are soaking." She replied, looking him over and he nodded.
"Soviet Submarine. Ice Warrior, all pretty standard. Bit boring, if I'm honest with you." He looked her over, making sure she really wasn't hurt, although there was no reason why she would be, and frowned in confusion at her getup. Large, fluffy coat, hat and gloves, "You're very covered." He declared and was surprised to see her smile brightly.
"Oh, you have to see the snow rabbit I made!" She cried, pulling out her phone and holding it up to him. Dumbstruck at the fact she'd been making snow animals while he'd been worried about never seeing her again, he didn't say a word. She left him stood there, reeling as she ran to Clara to show her the picture as well, "See? And then I made some penguins..."