The room that they were taken to looked like it had seen better days. It was made of rusted metal, arches lining the circular wall and a man sat in a chair in the middle facing away from the trio. Danni's hand laid limply at her side, ignored by her husband as they came to a stop, the seat they were strapped to jolting slightly as it hit the floor.
The Doctor didn't even seem to notice, he just turned to the man sat in the middle. "Hello? Hello, are you the manager? I demand to speak to the manager," he snapped angrily.
"So," Danni cleared her throat, hoping to get his attention. "So we've got, what, a guy using a diner to steal people?"
"Well... it's more a sort of automated organ collection station for the unwary diner," he replied and she grimaced at the thought. "Sweeney Todd without the pies."
"So, where are we now?" Clara asked.
"Well, I'm going to take a stab at some sort of spaceship?" Danni commented, looking around.
"Factually, yes," he confirmed, taking another look around the room, trying to spot it's weaknesses, where to escape from if and when they needed it. "Functionally... a larder."
Danni groaned, head falling forward as she struggled again against the bonds. "Oh, you had to say it, didn't you?" she groaned. "What do we do now?"
"Well we get out," he replied. "I'm sure you used to be better than this, but I guess it's been a while for you."
She stared for him for a moment, stunned into silence by his comment. "Excuse me, who was it who dealt with the Slitheen not two weeks ago, exactly?"
"The Slitheen?" he scoffed. "That was centuries ago, no wonder you're out of practice." The words came out of his mouth before he had really thought about them, evidently, because they both paused, staring at each other. Her hearts ached for them both; it really had been a couple of weeks ago for her, but for him that was centuries. Three hundred years ago he'd left her behind with Clara, and barely six hours later she was back at his side.
His cool grey eyes bore into her soft brown ones, he could see the pain in them at the reminder of what he'd done to them both. The hasty decision that foolish younger body of his had made what felt like a lifetime ago had cost them both dearly.
"Did you forget about me?" she asked, startling him slightly. She looked so desperate for him to answer but he couldn't, what could he possibly say? That he spent every moment of their time apart wishing she was there? That was for her to know, she should know that, but there were too many people around to hear him tell her that. It was their marriage, and he wasn't an foolish young idiot anymore. He had to act like an adult, and that involved being as dignified as possible. What happened between then was for them only, the universe had no right listening in.
So, instead of answering her with sappy words, he leant forward, shaking his screwdriver out of his new coat. "Are you ready, Clara?" he called to the other woman, who had also been waiting for an answer.
"Ready for what?" She asked.
"Well, Danielle can't do it, her feet barely touch the ground," he retorted and Clara couldn't help the glance at her friend's feet, watching them adorably dangle just above the ground. There was only an inch between the two, but Danni wasn't wearing heals like she was.
"Stop staring," Danni murmured, but her normal annoyance at being the 'small one' didn't come through the same. His lack of answer meant that had, didn't it? Otherwise he would have told her he hadn't forgotten her. Something had been off since the moment he regenerated, since those words that still echoed around in her head fell from his lips. It wasn't the words in themselves, although they weren't exactly the thing she wanted to hear from his mouth, but it was the fact that he hadn't been able to place who she was.
The Doctor shimmied in his seat before pausing, giving Clara a pointed stare. "Don't let it roll away," he warned.
"No," she promised.
"We've got one shot at this," he continued, like he expected her to fail and she glared at him.
"Next time, make one that doesn't roll," she snapped and he nodded – that wasn't the worst idea he'd ever heard.
"Go!" He shimmied a bit more, the sonic screwdriver becoming loose and falling to the ground with a clatter that was louder than any of them wanted it to be. It rolled towards her feet, but as she tried to reach it, she kicked it slightly away.
"Got it?" the Doctor asked and she shook her head, moving down in her seat.
"I can only just about reach," she whispered, the strain in her voice as well as in the way she arched her back.
The Doctor rolled his eyes; he did have to travel with two short people, didn't he? "Oh, it's at times like this I miss Amy."
"Oh, you remembered her then," Danni snapped as Clara's feet managed to roll the sonic close enough to actually work with.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked her.
"Oh, you know exactly what it means," she retorted. "Always remember the ginger ones, don't you? I bet you thought about her loads while I was waiting for you to come pick me up."
"Are you really arguing with me now?" he shot back, actually surprised by the anger burning on her face. "Don't you think we've got something a little more important to focus on?"
"No, actually, I don't," she exclaimed as loud as she could in the whisper she was talking in. "If I'm about to be harvested and turned into a human-Time Lord pie, I deserve some bloody answers!"
"Danni, not now," Clara told her. Even though she also rather wanted to know what had changed the man across from them so completely that he forgot about his wife, they really did need to focus on getting out of the so-called larder. Then she'd help Danni rant and rave at him; she had some choice words herself for the new man he'd become.
"Ready?" she asked the Doctor, screwdriver held between her booted feet.
"Don't miss!" he told her firmly and she did her best, aiming with tilted legs before kicking it upwards in the air. It landed in the Doctor's lap, causing him to groan and wince. Danni snorted while Clara grimaced apologetically.
"Sorry, did I hit... something?" Clara asked and he just shot her a look.
"Oh, the symbolism!" he muttered before picking the sonic out of his lap, now being able to do so with it in reach. He pointed it upwards and undid his own restraints, before using it on Clara's and then finally Danni's.
"You should make that thing voice-activated," Clara offered as a suggestion, causing the Doctor to pause as he stood, putting the screwdriver back in his pocket. Danni looked up at him, the look on her face echoing his – feeling completely stupid for forgetting such an important detail.
"Oh, for God's sake, it is, isn't it?" Clara replied and Danni nodded.
"He installed it about a hundred years ago," she explained.
"I don't want to talk about it," the Doctor replied, embarrassed as they slowly walked over to one of the many arches, where there was a man stood completely still and dressed in oriental clothing.
"What is he?" Danni asked as the Doctor stepped closer, ducking down so he could look up at the face of the man, who didn't stir at being observed so closely by three people.
"Dormant," he declared as he continued to look at him. He didn't seem to be breathing, like the rest of the droids in the restaurant above, and he really didn't seem to be able to sense any disturbance around him.
"How do you know?" Clara hissed, taking a quick glance around the room to make sure they were still safe.
"I don't. I'm just hoping," he admitted before turning around slowly.
"Nice to know there's still some of the Doctor I know in there," Danni replied, reaching for his hand. However, once again, he left her hanging as they slowly and cautiously walked towards the centre of the room.
"Hopefully not too much," he said, thinking back to the idiot of a body he'd just come from. Whether he intended it to or not, Clara couldn't tell, but his scathing comment caused Danni to hesitate in her step. Clara quickly took the hand she'd held out hopefully to her husband, giving it a quick squeeze.
"I miss him," Danni whispered forlornly and Clara pulled her hand up, placing a kiss on her palm while the Doctor wasn't looking.
"Just give him time, he's still breaking himself in," she promised before clearing her throat. "So... is it these guys that killed the dinosaur?"
"Well, if they're harvesting organs, a dinosaur would have some great stuff," the Doctor replied, holding in the blow he'd felt from his wife's whispered words. There had always been the chance that she'd be too attached to his previous body that she wouldn't be able to accept him, but he had hoped that she'd loved him more than that. But she'd been off since they'd sat down at the table together. He clung to the fact that she was still just grieving for the man he used to be, that she would move on in time and realise that she did still love him.
"Why would robots need organs? Burke and Hare from space?" Clara asked sceptically.
"No." He turned, going to point at Clara, impressed by her suggestion. His gaze fell on her hand clasped around Danni's protectively. He faltered, but only for a moment. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that, was there? No. "But that's a good theory," he offered before turning around, looking at the room again. Everything seemed so… so samey. "Droids harvesting spare parts. That rings a bell."
"It sounds like Cybermen," Danni offered, trying to be helpful, taking a step towards him. "It's not right, but it sounds like them. Maybe they're trying to repair themselves?"
He nodded. "Also a very good theory," he agreed, missing the smile that appeared on her face. That was the first nice thing he'd said to her. Her smile wavered; that wasn't very good, was it?
They all stopped in a line, the Doctor slightly in front of them, as they all turned to look at the man in the middle of the room, who hadn't moved from his chair since they'd landed.
"Captain, my Captain," the Doctor recited and yet again the man did not move.
"Can he see us?" Clara asked.
"Dormant," the Doctor replied.
"Hoping?"
"Yep," he told her happily before jolting forward, spotting the wires that came from the droid into the back of the chair. "Oh, look! He's recharging. He's asleep." He waved his fingers in front of the man's face. "Doesn't even know we're here."
"Look at his face," Danni said, leaning closer to the droid. There was a large chuck of his skin missing from it, his eyes floating in the middle of some metal caging not unlike what had been lying underneath the waiter's face. "He's not finished yet."
The Doctor pushed off the floor where he'd been looking at the wiring, walking over to his wife and casually slipping in between her and Clara so they had to let go of each other. "Oh." He let out lowly, looking him over and spotting everything that was wrong with the droid in front of him.
"Oh?" Danni asked and he nodded.
"Look at the hands," he instructed lowly and they both did, Danni grimacing. Sometimes she really hated being right.
"What about them?" Clara asked.
"Look at them," Danni told her and Clara shot her a look; she was always more annoyed when Danni didn't just tell her what was going on than when the Doctor did it, because it was the Doctor who always did it.
"I'm looking," she snapped in reply. The Doctor reached forward, picking up the two hands and showing them off much more clearly.
"They don't match," he explained. "These hands don't belong to the same body."
"I don't understand," Clara declared.
"Danielle was right," he replied, placing the droid's hands back down on his lap. "They're repairing themselves. Or, in fact, repairing him. Using human parts. This is a robot turning himself into a man, piece by piece."
"That's what the restaurant's for," Clara breathed in realisation.
"To keep up with demand," Danni said, a grimace still on her face. All those people who would have walked unsuspectingly into the restaurant, only to be ripped apart for little parts. Or, most likely, turned into some of the droids on standby around the room, or the patrons that were making the restaurant look it was functioning normally.
"It would need a constant supply of spare parts," the Doctor continued. "You can tan skin, but organs rot." He leant in closer, taking another look at the cogs and frame that made up the inside of the man. "Some of that metalwork looks Roman. Wonder how long it's been around, how much of the original is even left." He moved back, taking a look at the human part of the machine. "The eyeballs look very fresh, though." He continued to peer into the workings of the robot, taken completely by surprise when it raised its hands, the cogs inside starting to whir as it came to life. His hand shot back, firmly pressing onto Danni's chest and he pushed her away.
"Did we wake him up?" she asked him.
"I think so," he offered as a reasonable reply. The three looked between each other, before Clara motioned away from them, suggesting that they leave. The Doctor and Danni shared a look, making sure they both agreed with her before the Doctor nodded. "Okay, let's go."
They very slowly, and very gingerly, made their way towards the arch that looked most like a door, it opening with a louder noise than Danni would have particularly liked. They quickly darted out into the empty hallway outside. It seemed to be in better condition, and had better lighting, so it can't have been used as much as the other room.
"Oh, that was scary," she whispered to Clara, who nodded, although both of them were smiling at each other. Danni had missed this, having a companion to share in the adrenaline.
Then the Doctor turned back, walking back into the room, obviously not finished. "I've seen this before. I'm missing something!" he murmured, jabbing his head and Danni rolled her eyes.
"Oh, for God's sake," she grumbled, rushing back after him. She'd be glad to get this regeneration period over with, although she wasn't sure she could blame his behaviour entirely on it.
"It's the brand-new head, rebooting! Come on! I've seen this before!"
She stood in front of him, pushing him backwards. "We need to get out of here," she hissed, pushing him through the doorway and about to join him when the man in the middle of the room moved again. She turned, making sure that they hadn't been spotted when the door shut behind her. She spun around, pushing up on her toes to look through the small grated hole. The Doctor used his screwdriver on it to get her out, but the door only lifted part way.
He looked over at the man in the chair, who was slowly unplugging himself from the charger he was connected to. It would take longer than he had to get the door open fully, and he looked down at his terrified wife, who was trying to see out of the door with wide eyes. He couldn't get her free with endangering all of them.
"Sorry, too slow. There's no point in them catching us all," He told her lowly and she blinked, her breath catching in her throat.
"Doctor?" she said weakly, a hitch in her voice as she could feel herself starting to cry. Instead of replying, he used the screwdriver to close the door. She glanced behind her to see the man standing up in his chair. He'd notice her any second. She turned back to her husband. "Theta, please," she whimpered. "Not like this, please." She was shaking, holding onto the edge of the little round hole. They stared at each other, Danni crying and the Doctor looking horrified at what was happening. Then, he turned and left her there, grabbing Clara by the arm and dragging her away.
"Let me go!" she exclaimed but his grip just tightened. "Stop right now!" She pulled at him and he quickly fell to a stop.
"We don't have time for this," he told her in a sharp tone.
"I don't care!" she snapped back. "What the hell happened to you? She's going to die if we don't go back for her!"
"No, we'll all die if we do," he retorted. "At least if we leave her there she has a chance."
"A chance?" Clara exclaimed incredulously. "Since when was 'a chance' good enough for you? What the hell happened to you when you regenerated for you to just keep disregarding her?"
He straightened, glaring down at her fiercely but she stood her ground. "I know you think you know how I feel about my wife," he snarled at her. "But a glimpse into my head isn't going to give you anything. We don't have time for this, move."
He grabbed her arm again, storming forward and she had very little choice but to follow him, glancing behind her. She didn't want to leave Danni behind, every part of her screaming to go back for her friend, but there wasn't much point. Clara couldn't save her, all that would happen was that she'd get them both killed. He was right about that; at least on her own she might stand a chance.
~0~0~0~
Danni watched her husband run off out of view, her hearts aching and the tears running down her cheeks. "Theta, please!" she called after him, too scared to do anything but whisper after him. He didn't hear her, or he didn't care, she wasn't sure which and she doubled over as she sobbed. This couldn't be happening, not again. He hadn't meant to do it last time, he'd just wanted to scare her, she knew that, but all she could think of was when Eleven held her out of the TARDIS, taking pleasure out of her being terrified before he'd been forced to let go and she'd floated out into the universe. And now he was leaving her to the mercy of an organ-harvesting droid.
Theta, please.
She called out to him in her head, begging him, pleading with him to just come and save her. But there was nothing. Where she should have felt that familiar presence of her husband was just hollow emptiness. He'd cut her off completely, leaving her to her terrible fate. She was going to die, and she had to do it knowing he didn't love her anymore.
The only thing stopping her from offering herself up as a sacrifice and crying loud and heavily was the fact that Clara was still with the Doctor, and she needed to make sure that Clara got home safe for the rest of her Christmas Day. In the same way that he'd loved Danni before he'd regenerated and that seemed to have floated straight out of the window, she honestly couldn't say if the Doctor still would keep Clara safe above everything else. Until she could prove otherwise, that was her job now. So she quickly scanned the room as the droid made its way to the booth they'd been kidnapped in, obviously puzzled to why it was there but there was no one sat on it. There was one archway with no other droid in it, so she dashed over, pressing herself up against the wall before realising it wasn't going to give her much space to hide.
What were her options? She needed to hide, but she had nowhere to go. So she just had to go unseen, which was also not exactly an option in a room where the droid in it probably knew each and every thing that should or shouldn't be in it.
Why would he do this? How could someone regenerate and just not love you anymore? He just left her to die, breaking her hearts…
No! Now was not the time to do this. She glanced around, looking at all the stationary people in each arch. Maybe she could blend in, be one of them?
Oh, that's never going to work, is it? But, what else did she have? She stood in the middle, arms limp by her side.
"Something else they're not doing," the Doctor said, reaching over and plucking another one of Danni's hair out. "Breathing."
Oh great. Danni took the deepest breath she could before holding it. There was no way this was going to be able to last very long, was there? They already seemed to have noticed, each stationary droid looking in her direction. The man with half a face walked towards her, standing right in front of her and looked her over, watching her, waiting for her to breathe.
What was the point? He'd left her to die, hadn't he? Her husband had left her to die, to be butchered. What did she have if not him? Six hundred years and all to be abandoned when he knew he wasn't going to die anymore. Maybe that's why he'd kept her around; so he wouldn't die alone.
Her head fell forward and she started sobbing, hands going to her face. She was going to die, and it was going to be alone, knowing that he didn't love her anymore, didn't even care about her at all anymore.
The droid grabbed her tightly by the arm, pulling her stiffly over to the middle of the room, where he let her drop to the ground. She continued to sob, not just terrified, but devastated. He walked over to his chair, sitting down once again on it with all the grace of a crudely articulate robot.
"Where are the other ones?" he asked her but she didn't answer, just continued to cry. "There are two more of you. Where are they? Where are the other ones? There were others. Where are they? Where are the others? You will tell us... or you will be destroyed."
She looked up at him, tears burning her eyes but suddenly she felt so very angry. Angry at the Doctor, angry at Clara for making her believe for a moment that her marriage would be okay. But neither of them were here. The droid was, though. The one who'd threatened the two people she cared about most in the universe. Who had probably killed countless others.
Who killed the poor, scared, out-of-her-time dinosaur!
"No," she replied firmly. "I won't."
"You will tell us," he repeated and she tilted her head.
"No, I won't," she repeated. "I'm never going to tell you where they are."
"If you do not tell us then you will die," he explained and she nodded, pushing herself up off the floor.
"Yes, most probably," she replied. "But I have eleven more bodies to go through, I bet you'll get tired before you kill them all."
The robot looked down, as if he couldn't work out what to do next, but then turned back to her. "You will tell us where the other ones are," he repeated again.
"No, I really won't, and there's nothing you can do to me to change my mind," she told him bluntly. "So kill me."
"You will be destroyed," he warned
"Fine," Danni snapped back. "Destroy me, then you'll never find out where they went, and they'll escape and tell the world about you. But, by all means, destroy me."
He didn't reply for a moment but Danni could see the cogs still turning in the open part of his face. "Humans feel pain."
"Good thing I'm not human then, isn't it?" she snapped back in reply.
"The information can be extracted by means of your suffering," he clarified and she shook her head.
"No it can't," she replied. "Just because I'm afraid of dying doesn't mean, for one moment, that I'll give them up to save myself. I'll suffer through a lot of pain before I give up those I care for, how long have you got before they escape?"
He paused again, obviously calculating his next move before pushing up on his chair. Instinctively she backed away, but her gaze stayed hard despite her tears. "I may look scared, that's because I am," she told him. "But not of you. I've fought a lot bigger and a lot badder guys than you in my time."
Silently he took his right hand in his left, removing it and placing it against his lapel where the hand took hold. She shook slightly but stood firm. "You're out of options, aren't you?" she taunted. "I'm never going to give them up. He's my husband and she's my best friend, I'm prepared to go through anything and everything you can throw at me to keep them safe." Her eyes widened as he attached a new device to the stub where his hand had once been. With a spark of a flame it started burning like a torch and she took a deep, shaky breath. That didn't look too good, did it?
"You will tell us where the other ones are," he told her and she shook her head.
"Not a chance," she swore. "Burn me, just like you did the dinosaur."
"You will tell us!" he snapped, becoming irate at her defiance.
"No I won't," she snapped. "I'm never going to tell you. You can threaten me all you like, but I will not let you harm those I care about."
He stepped towards her again. "You will tell us where they are," he insisted and she shook her head, closing the gap even more between them. She could feel the heat coming from the torch, it already burning her skin slightly.
"I will never tell you where they are," she snarled. "Kill me, burn me, use me for spare parts like I bet you did the dinosaur. I have nothing to lose and I am so very angry." More droids started moving, two approaching her but she never took her eyes off the man in front of her.
"We will be kept secret, we will reach the Promised Land," he told her firmly and her brows furrowed, her head tilting slightly in her confusion.
"The Promised Land?" she repeated. "What is that? An amusement park? An island?"
"Where are the others?" he demanded.
"What's the Promised Land?" Danni retorted, knowing she was just stalling at this point. She couldn't even offer them up even if she wanted to. The Doctor had run and Clara had done the sensible thing and run after him. Clara may have been their Impossible Girl, but she wasn't stupid, she wouldn't just run in and save her.
The problem was that whilst they had an escape plan, Madame Vastra and Jenny were more than likely making their way to them as she hesitated, Clara was the one wearing the broach. Which meant that Danni couldn't call them in to save her.
"Where are the others?" he demanded again and she shrugged, a smile appearing on her face.
"I have absolutely no idea," she told him honestly. "Far away, I should hope, but I know better than that. The Doctor will always do the right thing. He will always fight off the monsters," she shot him a look. "That's you, by the way, and he made a promise that he will never break." She tried not to start crying again as an image of him came to mind. Floppy hair, bow tie, a grin that could floor anyone and anything. "He promised me he would always hold my hand," she reached behind her, pretending for a moment that he was there. "And he will always be there to do so."
A hand grabbed hers. She hadn't been expecting it, and her hearts flared up in hope as she was spun around. Maybe he had come back for her. Maybe his regeneration had finally calmed down and he'd realised what he'd done to her. Maybe he'd apologise, hold her close whilst also stopping the monsters.
Her smile though fell though at the sight of the small droid that had grabbed her, eyes widening and she opened her mouth to scream. She guessed that they were there to hold her while the man with half a face burnt her alive.
Then they let her go, reaching up and tearing their face off, chucking it to one side. She stared, both so relieved to see Clara pulling the most disgusted face, and absolutely broken at the fact that the droid tearing it's head off across from them was the Doctor, who wasn't even looking at her twice. He'd promised to always hold her hand, and he'd left her to die, sending his companion to do his 'dirty work'.
"That is disgusting and I'm never doing that again," Clara declared bluntly, wondering if she'd ever not feel the inside of the face on hers. It had been such a haphazard plan, the Doctor quickly stripping two droids and giving her one as a disguise as he took the other. And yet, with all the focus on Danni, it worked perfectly and they'd managed to sneak in and wait for the last possible moment to spring themselves on them. Clara still didn't understand why he couldn't have just told Danni that plan – after all, she knew they could talk telepathically, so why bother hiding it from her?
"Are you okay?" she asked Danni, who didn't seem relieved at all that they'd saved her.
Danni shook her head, her voice barely audible over the Doctor's gloating. "He promised," she whimpered.
"Hello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time," the Doctor declared, now in a suit as he rushed around the room, like he had plan. "That's where you're from, isn't it? Using a dinosaur for spare parts?" He clapped his hands on Danni's shoulders as he skipped passed. "Five foot, crying and angry - you never stood a chance." He hopped up onto the platform, slapping the no-longer-flaming torch down. "Stop it!" he said warningly before turning his attention to the chair, sticking his screwdriver into a small outlet that Danni really hadn't noticed before – not that she was looking. He set it off before heading over to the chairs that had brought them down. "This is your power source, and feeble though it is, I can use it to blow this whole room if I see one thing that I don't like," he warned, pointing it at the man with half a face. "And that includes karaoke and mime, so take no chances." He chucked the face he'd been using to disguise himself over at the two women. "See, Danielle? That's how you disguise yourself as a Droid."
Danni didn't reply, she just stared at him with large, devastated eyes that held Clara's attention more than the Doctor did. When she turned her head back to look at the brunette, Clara pulled her in for a sideways hug. "I'm sorry we left you. The Doctor thought it'd be safer for all of us," she tried to explain in a way she hoped sounded reassuring.
Danni shook her head. "He didn't take my hand," she whispered. "He was right there, and he didn't take it." Clara frowned, confused by Danni's words, but the Doctor wasn't finished yet.
"Why did you invite us?" he demanded, one hand on the headrest of the droid's chair. The robot looked down as if trying to place the memory. "The message, in the paper... that was you, wasn't it?" The robot looked up, tilting its head to show its confusion and the Doctor quickly realised that he had no idea about the newspaper. "Oh," he breathed before waving his hands, rushing over to the two women. "I hate being wrong in public. Everybody forget that happened."
The robot advanced on them, his programming meaning he had to follow the Doctor the long way around the platform. The Doctor glanced down at the pair next to him. Clara looked annoyed, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but his Danielle didn't look as relieved as she should have been. Her eyes shone with tears and she wasn't looking at him with that smile he knew was just for him. He'd caught a glimpse of the man she'd envisaged in her head when she had thought she was about to die – his last body – but he couldn't be surprised at that. Since he'd regenerated they'd barely had an hour with each other. Eleven, as she called him, would probably be the first one that appeared in her head.
Still, she didn't look angry anymore – did she realise how incredibly alluring she was when she was angry? – so he took it as a plus.
"Clara, say the word," he demanded of their companion.
"What word?" Clara snapped back as they all slowly backed away from the half-face man.
"They never sent you in here without a word," he retorted. "And they knew I'd notice it on Danielle."
Clara shook her head, both annoyed at him for making her wear someone else's face and the way he still seemed to be ignoring the very upset Danni she was holding closer than he was. Since when would he let anyone nearer to his wife than he was?
"I don't want to say it."
He rolled his eyes, she had been contradictory all throughout his plan, why would that stop now?
"I've guessed already," he told her with a sigh and she raised her finger up, pressing it on the broach that sat on her neck. It beeped and lit up with a green not unlike his sonic screwdriver.
"Geronimo!" they both said in unison, in the same tired toned. There was the sound of metal opening up above them, and unravelling in silk sheets, both Jenny and Vastra dropped in from above, drawing their weapons, ready to attack.
"Remain still and lay down your weapons, in the name of the British Empire!" Vastra declared in a tone that suggested she expected victory. Then, from above, was a low yell of surprise and Strax landed in a heap on the floor.
"Strax!" Vastra scolded, incredibly embarrassed by their third party. He stood up, brushing the silk wrap from around him to the floor.
"Sorry," he replied quietly and, even completely broken by the events of the day, Danni still couldn't help the snort of laughter she let out. Strax may not have been the most elegant of creatures, but she did adore the Sontaran, he never failed to make her feel better.
The Doctor spun at the sound of laughter from his wife, seeing it light up her face just slightly before it disappeared. He had thought about her all day every day for three hundred years. He imagined her there with him, he imagined her away and travelling with someone new. Days would go by and he'd never leave their bed, lying on his side as he stared at where she should have been. And yet he still couldn't believe how much injustice his memory had offered her. She was beautiful, her laugh magical, and while once he may have been inclined to stop everything to give her the kiss she deserved, he now knew there was a time and a place for everything and this definitely wasn't it. He didn't just want to kiss her, either. The excess energy rushing around inside of him that had come from his regeneration was still powering him on, and she looked delicious in that purple dress.
"Oh, look. The cavalry," he snarked at Clara. "Did you really expect this to be sufficient in protecting my Danielle?" Danni's head shot up, staring at him with surprised eyes he didn't understand. She should know better than to be surprised by his protectiveness.
"Yes, thank you for your vote of confidence, Doctor," Vastra replied shortly as her eyes darted around the room, finding all the weak points and their way out.
The half-faced man, obviously having had enough of them all, stormed towards the Doctor, Danni and Clara, his flame thrower pointed at them although thankfully not alight. The Doctor stepped in front of Danni, surprising her once again.
"I burned an ancient, beautiful creature for one inch of optic nerve," the droid snapped. "What do you think you can accomplish, little man?"
"What do you?" he exclaimed before glancing to his side. "Vastra!"
Vastra dove in, sword at the ready as she caught the droid's arm on it, pushing it away from her and the aim from her friends. "The establishment upstairs has been disabled with maximum prejudice, and the authorities summoned."
"Hang on, she called the police?" Clara exclaimed.
"It was my idea," Danni told her. "We never clear up after we leave, but they have to live here."
"We never do that," Clara agreed, looking up at the Doctor. "We should start."
"You see? Destroy us if you will, they're still going to close your restaurant," the Doctor taunted. The half faced man tilted his head, his lips turning into a snarl and the Doctor seemed to realise what he'd said. "That was going to sound better," he admitted.
"You always say that," Danni retorted.
"That's because I mean it," he told her and she grinned. This, this is what she had missed, and it had only been a day. The little back and forth they had always had. How was this the same man who had left her to die? Who refused to hold her hand?
"Then we will destroy you," the droid promised, his head turning and he motioned to the other droids that were in the alcoves around them. Each one of them took a step forward, raising their arm and showing the blades that were to be their weapons.
With a yell of effort, Vastra pushed the half faced man away as the door that the Doctor and Clara had escaped through opened and more droids entered. They all headed towards the little group of mismatched friends, ready to attack when they were close enough, the half faced man at the front.
"No, you won't," the Doctor reasoned as they all backed away, making sure to keep Danni behind him with every step. "You're logical. You have restraint. You kill to survive - you're not a murderer."
"He's not a what? This is a slaughterhouse," Clara hissed and he shot her a look.
"And how does that make it different from any other restaurant? You weren't vegetarian the last time I checked," he retorted harshly. "This is over. Killing us won't change that."
"Okay, you can stop taunting the robot, sweetie," Danni hissed but he just shushed her.
"What would be the point?" the Doctor continued.
"To find the Promised Land," the droid replied as Vastra raised her sword again, catching his flame thrower before he could get to them.
"You're millions of years old, it's time you knew - there isn't one," the Doctor snapped.
"I am in search of paradise," the robot insisted.
The Doctor let out a laugh of disbelief. "Yeah, well, me too. I'm not going to make it either. You've just got to make the best of what you've got." Angered, the robot shoved Vastra one way before hitting the Doctor on the side of the face, sending him to the floor. He didn't pay the Doctor any more attention, heading towards the seats that had brought them down into the rusted room,
"Doctor!" Danni cried, rushing to his side as he groaned. She placed her hands on his arm but he shrugged her off.
"Don't fuss, Danielle," he scolded. "It's completely unnecessary." She pulled her hands away again, reminded of his words in the carriage, about how he didn't want her to touch him. Maybe he still didn't.
"I will leave in the escape capsule," the man with half a face told his minions as she sat down on the red seats. "Destroy where necessary."
"Escape capsule?" Vastra scoffed as she, Jenny and Strax surrounded the Doctor, Danni and Clara, weapons drawn and ready to fight the horde of droids advancing on them. "This ship is millions of years old, it'll never fly."
"It has been repaired," the man with half a face replied.
"With what?" Danni asked, looking away from her husband to find Clara. She was safely behind their three combat-trained friends. Good.
"You," the incomplete droid declared in his victory and the seats started to rise again into the shaft.
"Doctor, how do we stop…" Danni turned back to him, eyes widening to find herself alone on the floor. "Doctor?" She asked in a whimper. Above her the droids still advanced, and he had left her there again to their mercy, only his sonic screwdriver waiting on the floor where he had been.
"Doctor! He's getting away!" Clara shouted, having not noticed anything but their foe escaping in the make-shift elevator.
"Your friend is intelligent," his voice echoed in the small space. "He'll know better than to follow me."
Of course, he didn't know the Doctor, no one did like Danni. And if the man who had left her on the floor had been the Doctor, she knew exactly where he'd be. She tilted her head to see him holding onto the bottom of the seats by a small handle that seemed all-too conveniently placed, not even giving her a second look. He hadn't even told her to wait, or that he'd be right back. He'd just left her sitting on the floor without a thought to how she'd feel, how she needed him to feel safe.
"Danni, get up," Clara hissed worriedly, reaching down to her friend, wrapping an arm around her torso, trying to pull her up. Danni reached out, grabbing the sonic screwdriver but she stood up next to Clara, clinging to her.
"He's left me behind again," she said, her heartbreak thick in her voice. "Why does he always leave me?" Clara didn't have an answer, not one that made any sense. She'd never understand how he could leave the side of the blonde in her arms for a moment, but if he was still anything like the men she had still floating around in her head, it was because he loved her. It was no excuse, but it was his excuse.
The droids pulled in ever-closer and the Paternoster Gang prepared themselves for battle. "It is our intent to leave," Vastra warned them all. "If it is your intent to stop us, perhaps we should get down to business." And the fight began.
~0~0~0~
Clara and Danni stayed huddled together in the middle of the room as they watched their friends fight off the droids that were set to destroy them all, the two women battled valiantly with their swords whilst Strax aided amazingly with his gun.
It didn't look good, though. There were only three of them and she and Clara were pretty much useless in this sort of fight. The thirty or so droids fought off every attack from the trio, each time they fell to the floor they just got back up again.
She could understand the Doctor leaving her behind. If he'd really fallen out of love with her, if he'd changed so much then maybe he would leave her behind to die just to rid himself of a wife he no longer needed. It was incredibly grim to think about, but Danni needed to try and rationalise it somehow and this was the only way her brain could think of it making any sense to her. He'd outgrown her, it wasn't the first time his actions had led to her death, although this time did seem a bit more… first hand than the other.
No, it was Clara she couldn't understand. Why would he not take Clara with him, save him companion whilst he was saving himself? It wasn't like Clara wouldn't be helpful, she'd proven to Danni since they'd met back up once again that she really was much more capable than Danni could ever hope to be. How could he just leave her behind?
Soon, though, it became very apparent that they were going to be overpowered. Strax, Jenny and Vastra were crushed up against them, the swords on the floor and the gun too powerful to use in such close proximity. They droids grabbed hold of either of them, ready to rip them apart just as they were commanded.
"Clara!" Danni cried, reaching behind her towards her friend. "Hold my hand!" Clara did just that, their fingers linking together. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Clara shook her head. They had to get out, the Doctor was saving them, they needed to stall. They needed more time. Her mind rushed over everything she knew about the droids. They were strong, they were single minded. She didn't really want to wear their faces again, and they didn't eat…
Or breathe! Her mind raced back to how the Doctor had retrieved the face in the first place! He'd held his breath before attack!
"Get ready with the screwdriver, head to the door," she told Danni lowly before raising her voice. "Hold your breath! They're stupid. Everybody hold their breath."
And they did. Everyone took a deep breath and the droids all fell to a stop, their blades still pointed dangerously in their direction, but they were no longer going to attack.
They all moved slowly at first, moving out of the way of any immediate danger, before realising that there was really no way of getting away from them apart from getting out of the room. Danni did as Clara said, dashing to the exit door and pointing the screwdriver at it. Pointing and thinking, it set off in her hand, but nothing happened. The door didn't raise, nothing did. She squeezed her eyes shut, her lungs already starting to burn because of how fast her hearts were beating. She smacked the screwdriver against her palm in the hopes of jump-starting it, but still nothing.
She fell to her knees, head bowed as she tried once again to reach out to her husband, feeling the void in her mind where he should have been. She'd spent five hundred years with him just on the peripheral of her mind unless he was too far away for her limited abilities. He wasn't there, he'd just left them to die.
Still, she couldn't helped it. She was scared, oh so scared and he was always where she wanted to be when she was frightened. She just wanted her husband, floppy hair or grey eyes, she didn't care.
Theta, please. She called to him, begging him like he could hear her as she took a deep breath, unable to keep it in anymore.
Clara watched the droids turn, obviously being drawn to the person who was now breathing when they weren't supposed to be. Clara had heard her take a breath from across the room and her blood had turned to ice. "Danni!" she screamed and half of the droids turned back, sights set on her.
Then they all stopped. Each droid made the whirring noise that came with a machine switching up. They all fell forward, powering down and then collapsed to the floor. Danni placed her head in her hand, sobbing loudly as Clara rushed over.