Danni smiled warmly at Brian and Steven, motioning to the two young lads to go join the Doctor and the other children in the middle of the square. Steven was a shy child, and with Brian being his best friend it meant neither of them were joining in the festivities as much as they wanted to. Danni had been able to tell straight away, though, that they wanted to be with the rest of their friends and her husband, so has convinced them to join the group.
"You've got to be the drunk giraffe, you've got to commit! Don't be cool, guys. Cool is NOT cool." The Doctor cried over the music and the chatter of the children, and Danni had to laugh at the cry they returned, all agreeing even if they didn't quite know what they were agreeing to.
She took the glass being offered to her by Jane, Steven's mother, with a nod of thanks and took a sip of the wine.
"You really can bring him out of his shell." She commented, "It's like he's a completely different boy when you're around." Danni shrugged, watching the children play with her husband.
"I've had plenty of time to get to know how to handle a shy child." She replied, "He's a good lad, just don't make a big deal out of it."
"Oh definitely not." Jane replied as the children all rushed in to give the Doctor a giant hug. He wrapped them up the best he could in his arms, but his head was up and his eyes searched the small crowd for his wife, "He's looking for you, how adorable."
Their eyes met and Danni sent him an incredibly happy smile as he did the same, eyes sparkling. This was where he was really in his element, they both were really. Surrounded by people and children, like one big happy family. They may not have had a little family of their own, but the people of the town had always taken them into their hearts and their homes and they had just come to accept that this was their family now. All the lives they had saved, all the people they'd watched grow and create families of their own, they were all their family.
She raised her glass to him before taking a sip. He'd aged a lot over the last hundred years or so, but she didn't care, not for a moment. He was still incredibly handsome, and she knew that he had gotten the hint from the wine she was drinking. Alcohol always had the same effect on her, after all.
The Doctor patted a young boy on the shoulder before walking over to his wife, using his cane once again. She was tempting him on purpose, he knew, because they couldn't exactly leave this party being thrown for them so early on. But she was so beautiful, he couldn't help but gravitate towards her. He held his free hand out and she took it, letting him pull her up against him.
"You're looking rather fetching today, my dear." He purred, "Perhaps we…"
"You know the rule, Spaceman." Danni reminded, "We spend an hour here, and then we can go home." She placed a kiss on his lips, one that made him groan in disappointment as she pulled away, "You'll just have to entertain yourself while I keep drinking."
She giggled as that seemed to perk him up and he spun around, about to encourage the children into a game – probably blind man's bluff – when they all heard it. The sound of the engine of a ship that hadn't graced Trenzalore in five hundred years. Both Danni and the Doctor spun on the spot, clutching each other tightly as the TARDIS finally began to materialise in the snow at the edge of the party.
"Theta…" Danni whispered in disbelief and he nodded.
"I know." He replied. He could feel how stunned she was, he had always thought that one day the TARDIS would turn up. It may have been after he was gone, but she would always come back for Danielle, but she had never thought the same. Danni had been convinced that the TARDIS would never come back.
"What is it? What's that noise?" Brian called from the group of kids, but neither Time Lord replied. While Danni stared in amazement, the Doctor raised his cane in anger, shaking it at the blue box like the old man he was.
"Where have you been for five hundred years?! Huh!" He demanded as, even now, she struggled to materialise.
"What's that?" Steven asked quietly.
"It's our home." Danni breathed.
"I thought this was your home." The little boy replied, wounded. Danni wanted to turn and reassure the boy, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the magical blue box. She was here, she was finally here. She could go home.
Her eyes, though, were suddenly drawn to the outline of a figure hanging off the front and she gasped, letting go of the Doctor's hand to run over, "Clara!"
The poor girl was stood on the very outer rim of the TARDIS, her key still in the lock as she shivered. She must have latched on the moment the TARDIS had started to fly away. Danni placed a hand over hers, gently removing it from the key and Clara looked at her, eyes wide with tear tracks still on her skin.
"It's okay." Danni encouraged gently, "Clara, you're okay."
"I... I was in space." She stuttered in a whisper. So much had flown by her, she'd not even been able to focus. It had all felt so… so big, and so much grander than she could even comprehend.
The Doctor appeared by his wife's side, eyes narrowed in anger. "Well, you were in the time vortex. She must have extended the force field. No wonder she's late, dragging you around." He snapped as Danni pulled the girl in for a hug.
"Oh, I missed you so much." She told Clara honestly. Clara didn't hug her back, but she didn't push her away either.
"You tricked me." She replied, sounded incredibly hurt and Danni nodded, pulling back slightly.
"We did." She admitted, "And I'm sorry. But you're here now, and I'm so, so glad to see you." Clara looked at her friend, into her big brown eyes that seemed so much older than they had been when she'd left them moments ago, but still shone just as brightly. The Doctor's words implied they'd been waiting for her, but she didn't know how long for. All she knew was, that after all this time, Danni was still incredibly happy to see her.
She hugged the blonde back tightly, enjoying the hug probably more than she should. She couldn't help but feel the way Danni clung to her tightly and she looked over her shoulder at the Doctor, who smiled back softly at her.
~0~0~0~
Clara pulled the fluffy coat around her as she looked up at the ceiling of the school hall. Everyone else was still at the party, but Danni had wanted to show her where she had been working. Clara hadn't believed for one moment that she'd had a job, so Danni had grabbed her a coat and they'd headed to the school. It was such a cute little place, incredibly rustic, just like the rest of the town but just like most schools, it was incredibly creepy after closing. Even now she was a teacher Clara never stayed at school longer than she needed.
"I can't believe you're a teacher." Clara told her, "Holding down a job like a normal person, it doesn't seem like you at all."
"Hey, I've been holding down this job for almost five hundred years." Danni retorted, hooking her arm through Clara's, "And I'm not a teacher, just an assistant."
Clara didn't know what to do with the casual declaration of how long they'd been there. So much time travelling they'd missed out on because she'd held onto the TARDIS, but it was also the time they'd abandoned her for. They hadn't seen her in five hundred years and Danni was acting like she couldn't have been happier to see her. Clara had to say that she loved being held in such high regard by someone for so long, and especially by Danni, who just looked so cute when she was this happy.
"You've been here for five hundred years and you're just an assistant? You're not telling me they didn't offer you a promotion in all of that time." Clara teased and Danni shrugged, leading her back out of the school.
"Oh, a bunch of times. They never stop, not really. I just didn't want to leave them in the lurch if the TARDIS ever came back." She explained, "Not that I thought she would, quite frankly, but I didn't want to put them out if I ever left again." She pulled out the Doctor's sonic, pointing it behind her and locking up as they stepped onto the newly fallen snow once again, "We'd better get back, the Doctor will wonder what's taken us so long."
"Still as protective as always over you, then?" Clara asked and Danni nodded.
"And more so." Danni replied, "We are technically in a war zone, after all. He's always scared I'm going to get hurt. We came to an arrangement a few hundred years ago, where I only fight if I have to, just so he's not distracted by me. But he still worries, he never really stops."
Clara looked towards the chapel they were heading towards. It was where the crack had been when they'd sent her away, but it felt like Danni was walking them to it, "Should he really be fighting? I didn't think Time Lords aged, but he's gotten a lot older. He looks like your dad."
"He's always been older than me." Danni replied shortly, "I don't care what he looks like, as long as he's still the Doctor. I don't know why people keep bringing it up."
"Sorry." Clara replied, startled and a little defensive at the slight attack. Danni sighed and shot her a smile that made her feel immediately better.
"No, I am." Danni told her, "It gets to him, though. I know it does, and I don't know why. He's still bloody gorgeous."
"That's one opinion." Clara retorted and Danni raised an eyebrow, looking at her expectantly.
"And what's yours?" She pressed.
"That he's always looked like a baby gazelle." She replied simply and Danni giggled, nodding in agreement.
"They're not mutually exclusive, you know." Danni corrected as she opened the door to their home. Clara stepped in, looking around, not exactly sure what she expected. However, the living room that met her was definitely not it. It looked like a normal, everyday, human living room, with a couch and a bookcase and an armchair. The only thing that indicated that it was where the usual couple lived was the walls, which were lined with pieces of paper with children's drawings on it.
"Yeah, well, I wanted to make it nice." Danni explained, blushing slightly at the surprised look on Clara's face. She knew that it seemed a bit mundane, especially considering the amazing life they'd shown Clara, and the look on Clara's face showed that.
"It's really nice." Clara reassured her and Danni shot her a little, proud of herself grin, "I'm guessing it was all down to you? I can't see the Doctor turning a chapel into a house."
"Well, the furniture was all gifts over the years." Danni explained, taking the coat off Clara and hanging up on the coat stand, "And, obviously, the pictures are all the children's. But I put it all together." She headed over to the fire to start it up, it was rather cold after all, as Clara slowly examined the drawings that lined the walls. A lot of them seemed to be of the Doctor, but Danni was definitely in her fair share as well. She lightly dragged her fingers over the pieces of paper.
"So, they just draw things for you?" She called over, "And you hang them on the wall?"
"I used to, but we ran out of wall." Danni replied, "Now I try and rotate them. Some of them are ancient, some of them are brand new. It's due for a change, really."
"Well, you won't have to now, will you?" Clara pointed out. Danni paused, poker in hand as she poked the fire to get the flames going. She wouldn't, would she? The TARDIS was back, that meant they could finally go home, didn't it?
The door opened and the Doctor walked in, still with a cane which Clara hadn't really noticed until then, "The beef isn't done yet." He told the pair and Danni stood up, trying to hide her hopeful thoughts from him by brushing herself down.
"Of course not, she's barely been cooking it." Danni replied, "You have to give her a chance."
"She's just being awkward." The Doctor replied, walking over to the side table, where a Cyberman head sat. Handles, their little friend that Danni hadn't been too keen on was sat on their side table, like he had pride of place. Things really did change over five centuries, didn't it?
"Come along, it's almost time." He told the pair, picking up the head. Danni turned to Clara, looking excited, which confused Clara more.
"What for?" She asked.
"The sun rise." Danni told her, "It's glorious, you really have to see it." She rushed over, grabbing the girl's hand as they headed towards the stairs. Out of the corner of her eye, Clara spotted the crack that had started everything, the only piece of blank wall in the entire room.
"Is it still asking the question?" she asked the pair and Danni rolled her eyes.
"It never bloody stops." She grumbled, "You think it would have given up by now."
~0~0~0~
The bell tower above the chapel had been decked out like it was somewhere they visited often. There were two chairs with a small fire pit in between them, then a small basket in prime position behind it. Danni took the Cyberman head off her husband, placing it down on the blankets there were there.
"How is this a warzone?" Clara asked the two Time Lords, "Everything is so peaceful?" She picked up a blanket that sat on one of the chairs, wrapping it around her shoulders before sitting down.
"Well, it's a standoff. They can't attack in case I unleash the Time Lords. And I can't run away, because they'll burn this planet to stop the Time Lords." The Doctor explained.
"So we stayed to stop it. A lovely little town called Christmas." Danni continued, "It always was my favourite time of year." She shifted the Cyberman head slightly, "How's that, Handles? Comfy enough for you?"
"Comfort is irrelevant." The head replied, his voice cracking up like sound from a broken computer. Danni rolled her eyes and readjusted him.
"Better?" She asked.
"Affirmative." The head replied, this time sounding like he was actually comfy. Danni smiled and placed a little kiss on what would have been his forehead.
"You'll be fine, sweetie." She told the head, "Just enjoy the sunrise, then we'll take you back inside." With that, she moved over to the Doctor, who had sat in his chair. He pulled her onto his lap and held her in half a hug. Clara watched them with a soft, fond smile. They still loved each other so much, that was very clear. That definitely hadn't changed and the part of her that was from the Doctor cheered in delight. They should always be together.
"Would you like some marshmallows?" Danni asked suddenly and Clara's brows furrowed.
"Oh definitely, marshmallows are always called for." The Doctor replied for her and Danni jumped up, placing a kiss on his lips before heading to the other side of the tower. Next to Clara, which she hadn't noticed, was a large brown bag with two sticks. Danni took out two marshmallows and placed one on the end of each stick, holding one out to Clara after she was done. Clara shook her head in mild disbelief but took it. Of course, middle of a war and the Doctor and Danni were roasting marshmallows. What else would they be doing?
She held hers over the fire, toasting it nicely while Danni sat back down on the Doctor's good knee, doing very much the same thing, "Where do you get these?" She asked the pair.
"I have a supplier." The Doctor replied and Danni nudged him with her shoulder, "Sorry, we have a supplier. The pinks ones are best."
"No, the white ones are, aren't they Handles?" Danni asked the Cyberman head in a debate that had been raging on for centuries.
"I have developed a fault." The head replied, his voice cracking even more.
"We know, sweetie. You'll be okay, though. We're all a bit faulty." Danni replied, offering her marshmallow to the Doctor.
"I have developed a... fault. I...I have developed a fault." The head continued, voice stuttering like he could have been in pain. Danni shared an concerned look with the Doctor before getting off his lap and picking up the head.
"Hey, you're okay." She told Handles gently as Clara watched the Doctor close his eyes, almost wincing. He'd hoped he would have been able to keep this from his wife.
"I… I…" The head stuttered again and Danni shook her head. Handles had been slowing down for a while now, but this wasn't right, was it? Something was really wrong with the head, the blue flashing that signalled he was talking even looked like it was sparking.
"Handles, you're okay." She reassured the head once again, her voice cracking as she started to panic. She'd seen so much death, she knew what was happening, "You can do it. Just wait until after the sunrise, then we'll fix you up. Just one more."
"Attention! Emergency! Atten..." He tried, his voice trailing off and Danni smiled softly.
"What is it, sweetie?" She asked in a whisper.
"Urgent action required! You must patch the telephone device back through the... console... unit." And with that, his lights flickered and died. Their friend, their only constant friend over five hundred years died in her hands. She stared, devastated, at the head, wondering what to do now. Handles had always been there for them, never leaving, always slightly sarcastic. She turned to look at the Doctor, looking for an answer, for some direction but he just shot her the saddest of smiles. She turned back to the head and gave him a slight shake.
"Handles?" She asked weakly, knowing she wasn't going to get an answer. She didn't, so she tilted him so she could place a last kiss on his head, "Thank you so much, sweetie. You did so well." She placed the head down before turning away, unable to look at either Clara or the Doctor, "Sorry, I… sorry." She turned and dashed down the stairs without looking back.
Clara, who could feel herself crying over the pain Danni showed, turned to the Doctor, who hunched over in his chair, once again showing his incredible age. Neither of them said anything for a while.
"He's not even the original Handles." The Doctor admitted lowly, rubbing a hand across his forehead, like he had the most incredible headache, "He stopped working centuries ago. I found another one, told her I was fixing him up, and did a transfer of memory to the new head I scavenged." He chuckled hollowly, "I guess I did too good a job, not very often I can say that. He shouldn't have remembered the phone."
Clara swallowed the lump in her throat, "Why did you do that?" She asked quietly, "Why not let him go then?"
The Doctor sighed, "Because people die, Clara." He replied bluntly, "And for five hundred years I've watched every death break her just a little more. I just…" He squeezed his eyes shut, "I didn't want another one. I thought, just once, I could save her from that." From above a bird chirped, a dawn chorus and the Doctor pushed up slowly off the chair, "Stay, watch the sun rise, it only lasts a few minutes. See what we've been saving. I won't be a moment."
Clara took him up on his offer, no matter how desperately she wanted to go check that Danni was okay. It clawed at her chest as the Doctor slowly made his way down the stairs after his wife, but she ignored it, pushing off the chair herself and heading over the concrete barrier so she could see over the little town.
They really had been there for 500 years, hadn't they? Never leaving, never jumping from one place to the next. She knew that it was never a week between the times she saw them, that sometimes it could be years for the pair, but she never saw them just sat there, living out the year like an old married couple. They had lives here. The whole town was their family, they'd learnt to live in a straight line, and from Clara remembered of the Doctor, that was the most baffling thing of all. And it was her fault, wasn't it? If she'd not hung onto the side of the TARDIS, reacting in a panic rather than with her head, then they probably would have been able to come and go as they pleased. Because they had stayed, they'd grown attached and Danni was hurt because of her. She hadn't meant to do that, not for a second, but she would make it up to the blonde somehow.
She smiled to herself as the sun slowly came up, illuminating the little town with a light that seemed to make it shine. She could see why they had managed to stay; it was such a charming little place. Danni had a job, apparently the Doctor fixed things like the town's caretaker. They were happy, if not older than she thought she'd ever see them.
She leant her arms on top of the barrier, looking out across the landscape. She really did see some amazing things.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor opened the door to their bedroom, knowing before he'd even stepped in that she would be sat on the edge of the bed, hands clasped on her lap, staring at blank wall as she tried desperately not to think of anything. She'd blocked her thoughts off from him again, as she did when she was grief stricken. She'd told him it was because she was embarrassed by how upset she got, but he knew it was her way of protecting him from the sorrow that drowned her. She didn't want him to know just how much it affected her, but he could see it. After seven hundred years of knowing her, he could always tell the difference between her being sad and her crying out for it to stop.
He lowered himself down on the bed next to her, making it lower just slightly towards him, "Clara's watching the sun rise." He told her gently, "I bet she'll enjoy it." Danni nodded.
"I'm sure she will." She replied in a whisper and they fell silent, both staring at the wall. The Doctor gave her a moment, seeing the shine in her eyes of the tears she didn't want to let fall, before reaching out and taking her hand in his. He held them clasped between them on the bed, "He did well. Five hundred years without a proper body, he gave Jack a run for his money." Danni said and the Doctor gave the remark the chuckle it deserved.
"Don't let Jack know that, he'll be positively jealous." He replied and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips before falling away.
"Everyone always dies." She declared, because there was no point beating around the bush, "I can't get away from it. When I watch the children play, all I see is headstones. I wonder how they're going to die, whether they'll be young or old, if they'll have families to leave behind." She started shaking again, "I'm already so old, Theta, and it's just going to get worse, isn't it? I don't want to live my life wondering when you're going to die."
"Hey." He scolded lightly, pulling her closer so her head rested on his shoulders, "You can't think like that. Do you think I got this far wondering when everyone is going to die?"
"No, you ran away from it." She replied bluntly and he couldn't fault her for that.
"Only until I found you." He replied softly, "I spent a lot of time wondering when you were going to stop jumping to me, there was a few incredibly long periods where I thought I'd forgotten your face. It's such a…" He paused, trying to think of the best way to describe that feeling. He was much older than her, and even with his brain it became hard to remember everything, but that crushing feeling he remembered from all those times she never came. That forty seven year gap when he was waiting to go to Lake Silencio was full of it, he had felt like he was drowning in it, "a heavy feeling. But there was such wonderful times as well, and I didn't want to remember you not there, I needed to remember you being there. All those children, they've got lives to live, and you'll remember that as well. All the cut knees, and drawings, and teaching them to read. The bad times try to, but they never outweigh the good times, not in the grand scheme of things."
She didn't reply, and he didn't push her for one, just placed a kiss on her golden hair and whispered how much he adored her, "Do you remember that time on Enthro?" She asked timidly and he smirked slightly, the trip immediately coming to mind.
"I don't think Amy ever forgave you for telling her what really happened." He replied in a teasing tone.
"We should go back." She told him, "I think I still have that bikini."
He nodded, "We should definitely go back." He told her firmly and she laughed outright.
"You are such a pervy old man." She teased, snuggling into him and feeling slightly better. No less sad, after all Handles had become their friend over their years on the planet, but better. She didn't feel like she was losing herself to the despair anymore, and that was the Doctor, "I can't believe Clara rode her on the outside of the TARDIS."
"I don't think she handled going into the Time Vortex as well as you used to." The Doctor replied and Danni tilted her head back to shoot him a look.
"Of course not." She replied, "I was a pro. Me and my space hopper,no one travelled unaided and unwillingly through the Time Vortex like I did. I even did it naked on occasion."
The Doctor smirked again, a vision of a ginger in a white bed sheet coming immediately to mind and he shifted, pushing her back onto the bed. He ignored the twinge of his joints as he leant over her, "I remember, Mrs Doctor." He purred.
"That's Mrs Fielding." She retorted, "You took my last name, remember?" He nodded, capturing her lips.
~0~0~0~
They were curled up together on the sofa when Clara came back inside. She had watched the sun set again; he had been right, it had only been up a few minutes, but she had stood there long after it had gone down. Still, it had been rather beautiful and she was glad to see the pair looking in slightly higher spirits than when Danni had first run away.
She didn't really want to think about why that was the case. Nope.
"It's lovely here." She told them, sitting down in one of the armchairs, "Still, you didn't need to send me away."
"Yes we did." Danni replied, "Because you wouldn't have died long ago, and I don't really want to bury you too."
Clara shook her head, "You wouldn't have had to." She insisted, "I would never have let you get stuck here."
Danni looked up at her husband, who still held her so close, after all this time, "This is where he's buried, Clara. Where we both are. We were going to get stuck here eventually."
"Not you two." She dismissed, "You'll be travelling around in the TARDIS long after we're all gone. You're never stuck anywhere unless you want to be."
"We have to stay, Clara." Danni replied gently, "These people have done nothing wrong, they've been brought into a war that they have no part in. If we leave, even for a moment, then they all die."
"Can't someone else do it?" Clara asked, "For a little while, isn't it someone else's turn?" She gestured to the Doctor, becoming increasingly frustrated by the way they both seemed to be happy to stay here. She understood they felt guilty, but what about their lives? "So what if he's buried here? He still has two more faces yet! Come back when his time is up! You have a time machine, no one even has to notice!"
"Clara," Danni replied softly, "This is his last face." She felt the Doctor tighten his hold on her just slightly, reassuring her that he was still here.
"You're always calling him Eleven, because he's the eleventh Doctor." Clara pointed out.
"Are we forgetting Captain Grumpy, eh?" The Doctor asked and Danni smiled at the images of the Doctor she met and forgot he projected into her head, "I didn't call myself the Doctor during the Time War, but it was still a regeneration."
"And then there was the time with Ten, when he refused to regenerate and shot it all into spare hand." Danni continued.
"I had vanity issues." The Doctor offered as an explanation, but Danni scoffed at him.
"You just didn't want to regenerate into the man that made me cry." She teased, "Marrying my mother…"
"I didn't really marry her." The Doctor moaned in protest, "It was in a redundant universe and it was just to get her to touch me. You should be angry at her for saying yes."
"So, that's thirteen?" Clara asked, "Is that all you get, thirteen?"
"You say that like it isn't enough." The Doctor pointed out.
"It's not." Danni grumbled and he placed a kiss on the side of her head.
"So, that's it?" Clara pressed, "You're just going to stay here to die?"
"You saw the future, remember? All those graves, and one of them was ours." The Doctor reminded sadly. He hated thinking about that grave, about how it felt like their time together was rapidly shortening, or about why the Danni that had been buried there had been so much older than she was there but was still spinning next to him.
Clara shook her head, tearing up at the idea of either of them dying, "Change the future." She demanded.
"We can't." Danni replied sadly, "Once you know what is coming you become directly involved in that time line. You only change it because you know what's coming, but if you change it, you won't know it's coming to change it. A paradox."
"I thought the universe sorted them out!" Clara protested, "You've got the TARDIS back now, can't someone else have a go?"
"There is no one else." Danni replied, "We're it."
"It won't be you forever. It'll end the same way, whatever you do."
"Every life we save is a victory. Every single one." The Doctor interrupted before she upset Danni too much. She took every death as a personal blow, her reaction to Handles was just one in so many, but he had at least managed to convince her that they were only alive in the first place because of them. That each old age with a victory, because she had helped keep them there.
"What about your lives? What about your wife?" She snapped, "You're happy to die here and leave her on her own!"
"No he's not!" Danni snapped and Clara realised her mistake as Danni's eyes burnt in anger, "I may not be much, Clara Oswald, but I am loved." Clara nodded, slinking back into her chair slightly, retreating from an argument she had just made a lot worse.
"Sorry." She said sincerely, because she hadn't meant to offend her, "That came out wrong. We shouldn't be having an argument."
"Clara, we've been having that argument for the last five hundred years." The Doctor admitted, linking his fingers through his wife's.
"How we could just get up and run away, like we used to." Danni continued, "Never looking back, not thinking of the people we left behind."
"But you didn't have your TARDIS." She pointed out and the Doctor nodded, placing yet another kiss on Danni's hair.
"Ah! Yes, well, that made it easier to stay." He agreed as a loud crash shook the chapel, like thunder was rumbling through the ground and Clara looked upwards.
"What was that?" She exclaimed and Danni stood up, moving out of the way so the Doctor could get up as well. He immediately took her hand again.
"Company." The Doctor replied as Tasha's voice rang out through the air, calling for the Time Lords on the planet.
"Let's go visit the neighbours!" Danni declared happily.
~0~0~0~
Tasha pushed the small wooden box over to the Doctor, who sat across the long table with his wife by his side. Clara sat roughly in the middle, looking between the two ends with a confused look on her face.
"What is this?" The Doctor moaned, picking up the crate and lifting it up, looking underneath it like he was expecting more, "It's half the size it was last time."
"Danielle told us that you weren't to have too many E-numbers." Tasha replied, "You're hyper enough as it is." He shot his wife a look akin to a rather annoyed five year old before reaching into the box and pulling out a marshmallow, popping it into his mouth.
"So this is sweet. Middle of a siege, and you three have little chats?" Clara asked and Danni nodded.
"What else can we do? We're in the middle of a stale mate. We won't ever leave and they won't stop trying to destroy the planet." She explained.
"This situation cannot continue." Tasha replied.
The Doctor nodded, "It can't end either."
"Why did you ever come to Trenzalore?" Tasha tried, changing direction and the Doctor shrugged, handing his wife the box to hold in her lap.
"Well, we did come to Trenzalore, and nothing can change that now." He raised his cane, jabbing it in her direction, "Didn't stop you trying, though, did it?"
"Not me." Tasha reminded, "The Kovarian Chapter broke away. They travelled back along your timeline and tried to prevent you ever reaching Trenzalore."
"And drove my wife insane." He snarled, remembering her with that horrific drumbeat in her head. Even she looked down, images of Midnight burning through her memories. Clara's gaze shot to Danni, wondering if he was right, and realising from her shamed look that he was, "I should have burnt them down where they stood."
"Stop it." Danni murmured and he sat back in his chair, looking relaxed but still feeling the rage in his veins.
"They blew up your time capsule," Tasha added, "created the very cracks in the universe through which the Time Lords are now calling."
"The destiny trap. You can't change history if you're part of it." He shot a look to Clara, who rolled her eyes at the very obvious hint. So what? That was the past, she was talking about the future.
"They engineered a psychopath to kill you." Tasha continued and the Doctor smirked.
"Totally married her daughter," He retorted, "She's saved me more than you'll ever be aware of. I wouldn't be here without Danielle, so I guess you could say I would never have made it here alive without River Song."
"She did well, in her own twisted little way." Danni agreed.
"I am not interested in changing history, Doctor." Tasha told him tiredly, like she was talking to a petulant child, "I want to change the future." She leant forward on the table, both elbows propped on it, "The Daleks send for reinforcements daily, they are massing for war. Three days ago, they attacked the Mainframe itself."
The Doctor and Danni shared a look. That didn't sound right, did it, "They attacked here?" The Doctor asked lowly.
"How did you stop them?" Clara asked.
"Stop them?" Tasha asked, the tone of her voice telling them all it was an impossible task, "It was slaughter."
"Why didn't you call us?" Danni asked, "We could have helped."
"I tried." Tasha insisted, "I died in this room, screaming for the Doctor." Both the Doctor and Danni straightened, both instantly knowing what that sentence meant. Danni immediately reached out for Clara, who just looked perplexed.
"Clara, come here." Danni demanded lowly as Tasha looked down, as if she'd just remembered that she'd left the kettle on.
"Oh... I died." She declared and Danni grabbed Clara's arm, pulling her towards her.
"Now, Clara!" She demanded harshly as Tasha looked back up again.
"It's funny the things that slip your mind." She gasped in pain before her head fell to the table. A horrid cracking sound filled the air as the trio shot off their chairs, backing away.
"What do we do?" Danni cried, looking to her husband.
The Doctor looked down at her, as horrified as she was, before turning back to the other woman. He leant forward as he called to her, but didn't get any closer, "Tasha, no, please, not Tasha, no. Fight it. Tash, fight it!"
Tasha raised her head just in time for a Dalek eyestalk to burst from it. The Doctor's hand was immediately on Danni's chest, pushing her backwards as the door opened and three Daleks rolled in through the door.
"Step away from the Dalek unit, Doctor!" The first Dalek entering called and Danni turned to her husband. She looked so scared, completely terrified and so much more than she had looked in a very long time.
"How do they know who you are?" She cried.
"Information concerning the Doctor was harvested from the cadaver of Tasha Lem." The Dalek replied for him. They were supposed to be safe. The Clara had erased him from the Dalek hive mind centuries ago, back on the Dalek Asylum. He was supposed to be safe, but if the Daleks knew who he was, they would just double their efforts to kill him.
"Bet she never told you how to break the Trenzalore force field, though. She'd have died first." The Doctor retorted.
"Several times." The Dalek replied, almost smugly and Danni glared openly at it. She wanted to scream at it, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. She didn't stand a chance against a Dalek, and if she was to put herself in danger, the Doctor would quickly follow.
"Well, you'd better kill me, then, go on." The Doctor taunted, "But before you do..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his screwdriver, pointing it into the air. Suddenly the room was filled with the Question, being repeated again and again in its translated form. The Daleks all looked up in unison, as if they were scared of the voice.
"I'm a tough old bird. I'll be ages dying." The Doctor warned, "Way enough time to answer a question. And, oh dear, what happens then, boys?"
Danni cried out, a shock running through her as a hand fell on her shoulder. Tasha clamped down on her, holding her into place.
"Oh, how did I not see that coming?" She grumbled to herself.
"You will die in silence, Doctor, or your associate will die." The Dalek threatened and the Doctor straightened.
"Go on then!" Danni retorted, "You think he'll die slowly? My last death was two whole days! He's not the only one who can say it. Try it, and I'll shout it to the heavens!"
"You see, Tasha, that's what I'm talking about!" The Doctor cried, spinning awkwardly on the spot, "That is a woman!" He walked over to the Dalek sleeper holding his wife, "I always knew you were a bit spineless, you and your pointless church! Why did I ever rely on you? Never trust a nun to do a Doctor's work."
Danni sighed in relief as Tasha let her go to slap the Doctor across the face hard, horrifically offended by his dismissal of her abilities. She then turned on the spot and shot the three Daleks. Danni cheered as the Daleks burnt in front of their eyes.
"That's my Tash!" She cried as the Doctor pulled her up close, away from the now dormant sleeper.
"Right," He declared, turning to Tasha, "get us back to the TARDIS. Can you do that?"
~0~0~0~
Danni couldn't believe how beautiful the TARDIS was. She'd missed the blue box so much, but the image in her head was nothing compared to the console room she stood in now. The warm hum that came from the TARDIS's continuous presence, the lights and the sounds, it was all perfect. She ran her hand across the metal console, smiling softly as the Doctor watched just how happy his wife was. He knew she loved him as much as he adored her, but she'd always felt like she'd been trapped on Trenzalore. The TARDIS wasn't just her home, she was her escape.
A bell ringed and Danni's hand immediately shot away from the controls. Had she already broke her? She used to be bad with the console, but really?
"It's done." The Doctor declared and she frowned.
"What's done?"
He nodded towards Clara, "Your beef." He told the young woman, "Either or that or it's woken up." She laughed happily, rushing towards the stairs.
"Do you want some?" She asked the pair.
"Go on, then." Danni replied softly, looking sadly at the Doctor. They both were so happy to be back on the TARDIS, but they also both felt like they'd abandoned the town that had been so good to them.
"Got any plates?" Clara asked.
"Do you know, I've even got Christmas crackers!" The Doctor replied, with a sardonic bite to his voice. Clara paused as she watched the Doctor pull his wife close, burying his nose in her hair. She had tried to ignore it, but the guilt radiating from the pair was tangible. She suddenly was hit with the fear that they would fly away without her again.
She walked over, smiling at them, "One thing." She commanded firmly before looking at Danni, "Give me those big beautiful eyes of yours, look at me so I know you're not lying, and tell me you will never send me away ever again." Danni smiled fondly. That was their Clara; straight to the point.
"Clara Oswald." The Doctor replied for her, "We will never send you away again."
"We promise." Danni finished. Clara, satisfied with their answer, grabbed Danni's hand and pulled her away from the Doctor. Danni laughed happily as they ran down the stairs to grab the beef. She never thought that happiness over a Christmas meal could be so contagious, but she could feel her whole mood lifting up as Clara grabbed the beautifully cooked beef out of the hatch.
"Oh, that does look lovely." Danni told her, "Perhaps we should cook with the console more often!" She called to her husband.
"Definitely. It smells delicious." He agreed. Danni rushed in front of Clara, heading up the stairs first.
"Why don't you go set the table, and we'll grab the crackers?" Danni suggested. Clara looked at them both suspiciously, but Danni had promised and she knew what that meant to the blonde.
"Okay, but don't be long!" She warned, heading to the door, "My aunt pretends she's on a diet, but she will eat all of this the moment it hits the table."
"We'll be right there." Danni told her as she disappeared out onto the grass outside. She turned to the Doctor, who still looked so sad, "We can always go back." She reminded him gently, "Whenever we like. We have our time machine back." He shot her a smile. She was so beautiful, with her bright brown eyes and smile that warmed both of his cold hearts. He reached out, cupping her cheek with his aged hands. His beautiful Danielle.
"You know, I think I might have to go back now." He told her, as if he was asking for her permission. Her brows furrowed and he placed a kiss on her head.
"But we made a promise." Danni reminded him, "We can't leave Clara." He nodded.
"Definitely not." He agreed, "Go grab her, then we'll head back. You can get her a job at the school if we need to stay longer. Maybe she'll actually be a teacher." She rolled her eyes, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips.
"You're ridiculous, Theta." She scolded teasingly, "I'll go grab her. Don't go anywhere." He shook his head but didn't say a word as she dashed out onto the grass. He clicked his fingers and the doors closed behind her.
Thankfully Clara hadn't made it too far away, so she only had to jog to catch up with her, "We're heading back to Christmas." She told the brunette, "The Doctor can't leave them like that, are you coming?" Clara nodded.
"Let me put this inside." She lifted the beef up, "I won't be a moment, but they'll be wondering where I've gotten to." Danni nodded.
"We might be a while, so that's probably a good idea." Danni agreed and Clara frowned.
"I didn't think the Doctor wanted me there, though." She pointed out, "Because then you wouldn't have to watch me if I, you know…"
Danni shrugged, "I know, but we made a promise." She reminded her, "We wouldn't leave you behind."
"I suppose not." Clara agreed with a nod, but Danni suddenly looked rather concerned. Her skin paled, her eyes widened.
"No." She breathed, her chest tightening in realisation of what had happened.
You know, I think I might have to go back now.
"We promised you." She cried, "Not him, we. And I'm here…" The sound of the TARDIS engines reached her eyes and she turned, running back to the dematerialising TARDIS.
"NO!" She screamed, "Theta, please!" But she was too slow. Her years of living a normal life had slowed her down. She reached the TARDIS just to watch her hand fall through the blue box, and he was gone.