Danni stretched as she woke up, before grumbling slightly as she rolled over into the gap between her pillows and the ones her husband should have been sleeping on. She had managed to land face down as well, the pillows closing around her like they were sucking her in. This was what happened when she was left to sleep in the bed for too long on her own. After a couple of weeks her body learnt that there was no one next to her to take up the room, so it stretched out when she was asleep, taking up all of the bed. It was a complete contrast to the normal ball she would sleep in when the Doctor was there, so she never expected it. And yet, there she was, face down with a mouth full of fabric.
She rolled back onto her pillow, glad of the ability to breathe, and opened her eyes to greet the day that had no right to creep up on her like this. She wasn't sure why she was so tired, it wasn't like they'd done anything exciting over the last few weeks, but she didn't have any energy at all.
Maybe it was because they weren't doing anything. Even on Christmas she had job and friends to see and things to take up her time. She'd just spent most of her time recently just lounging around the TARDIS, trying to get the Doctor to spend any sort of meaningful time with her. A lot of that involved sitting in the console while he tried out different places to think. Apparently it was very hard to think in the TARDIS, although Danni had found plenty of time to worry about their relationship while he'd been moving around, grumbling in that delicious voice of his.
She hadn't expected that, to be honest. He could purr just a couple of words and she could feel herself turning to putty. If they ever got back on track, if they ever made it to a point where they were sharing a bed again, she could see him putting that to great use. And that new nickname of her – 'my pet' – just made her shiver. Of all the things that could have come out regeneration, the sexy voice had taken her completely by surprise.
She sat up and blinked, jumping slightly as she saw him stood by the doorway, a mug of what she assumed was tea in his hand. He can't have been there long because the steam was still coming from the hot liquid, "Er… Hi?" She asked lamely, "What are you doing there?"
He lifted the mug slightly, indicating to her tea, before walking over, "I thought you would appreciate a hot drink before starting the day." He told her, "Although I hadn't expected you to sleep so much." He held it out to her and she took it carefully.
"No, you never seem to." She replied, "And yet, every time I still sleep." She shot him a smile, "Thanks for the drink, sweetie."
He nodded once then turned, "Take your time." He replied, "We're not picking up Clara until tomorrow."
"Wait!" She called as he opened the bedroom door. He turned, a quizzical look on his face, "Aren't you going to join me?" She asked, nervous butterflies in her stomach. Which was ridiculous, but it wasn't unpleasant either.
"Join you?" He asked slowly, like he didn't understand and she nodded. She shifted her mug to one hand and patted the bed next to her.
"Yeah, just sit on the bed." She suggested, "We've not just sat in bed together since you regenerated, it'll be nice."
The Doctor would freely admit to himself – just not anyone else – that he'd brought the cup of tea in for her as an excuse just to spend some time with his wife. It wasn't that they were actively avoiding each other, but they just didn't seem to be spending a lot of the day with each other anymore. While the purple jacket that hung on the bedroom door reminded him that she still grieved for the man he once was, he was becoming more and more certain that she was accepting his new body and was still as in love with him as she had been. And to even suggest that he didn't love her anymore was beyond idiotic. They were just struggling to reconnect, and he missed her.
"I don't have a cup of tea." He pointed out, like it was a requirement of getting onto the bed and she giggled.
"You can share mine." She offered, which he took as an acceptable offer. Her hearts sped up as he walked over; she hadn't expected him to actually take up the offer, but he had and she couldn't be happier.
Then her smile turned to a frown as he climbed onto the bed, on top of the covers next to her. She batted his arm, "No shoes on the bed, Theta." She scolded and he rolled his eyes.
"They're not dirty." He protested, but he did as she said, chucking each boot over the side of the bed.
"It's not the point." She retorted, "If you wear shoes in bed, one day they'll be dirty and the TARDIS will have to clean up after you."
"I'm sure a couple of dirty bed sheets aren't exactly going to stretch her cleaning capacity." The Doctor replied.
"It is not the point. You're being rude again, Spaceman." She warned.
Was he? He didn't feel like he was, but then again Danni had always been better at spotting it than he had, "My apologises." He offered and she nodded her approval. He then reached over and snatched the tea out of her hand.
"Oi!" Danni exclaimed as he took the first sip. She'd not even had a chance to try it to see if he'd heaped in the sugar like he had the last few times.
"You said we were going to share." He commented calmly, "Now who's being rude, Danielle?"
"Still you." She retorted, crossing her arms, "I'm the one who's just woken up."
"And I'm the one who's been waiting eight hours for you to do so." The Doctor pointed out, "Life is particularly dull whilst waiting for you, my Pet, I deserve the tea first."
Danni couldn't help the little, giddy spark of happiness that rushed through her at his words. She didn't really like the idea of him waiting around for her, but the fact that he would and that he thought it better when she was there was enough to bump her ego right up.
"I'll try and do better next time, then." She promised, "How about we try for seven hours next time?" He just raised his eyebrow, like he didn't believe she would wake up an hour earlier, before taking another sip. She crossed her arms, pouting slightly, "Fine, wait another hour for me." She grumbled.
"I waited three hundred years for you." He reminded and Danni's hearts suddenly felt very heavy at the reminder, "An hour is child's play, my Pet."
She shifted slightly on the bed. She tried not to dwell on it, especially after he regenerated, because there was nothing she could do about it. He'd waited for so many years as she had jumped around his life, but nothing compared to Trenzalore, "Was that dull too?" She asked quietly and he shook his head.
"It was agony." He corrected quietly and he watched as her eyes started shining.
"You're the one who left me." She whispered.
"No." He bit out angrily, "He left you. That moron, who thankfully has had his time." He held out the cup to her, "I will not be making the same mistake again."
"Good." Danni agreed, taking the cup gratefully. She glanced into the mug to see he hadn't really drunk much at all, "I'm not allowing you to do that again. You're completely forbidden to abandon me anywhere, understand?"
"Duly noted." He replied, watching her take a sip. He'd put sugar in it, just like he knew she liked, but she still tried to mask the grimace that appeared on her face when drinking it. Maybe he didn't put enough in. He filed that away from tomorrow, when he would try this again.
Danni placed the mug down on the bedside table and leant on his arm, "What are the plans today, Spaceman?" She asked, "We off anywhere exciting?"
"I was thinking of this little planet I went to when I was young." He told her, "They had the best waffles I've ever tasted. We could have a wander around, look at some of the architecture, it'll be a nice day out."
"Sounds excellent. I'll grab a camera." She replied, although she made no move to stand, or to stop using him as a pillow at all. They hadn't snuggled for a while, and while he was letting her take some physical comfort from him, she was going to take it. He reached around her slowly, wrapping an arm around her waist like he wasn't sure if he was allowed, then pulled her slightly closer.
"Are you not even going to ask the name of the planet?" He asked, "You're normally terrible at trying to spoil a surprise for yourself."
"I am not!" She protested, "I just get excited! You never answer any of my questions anyway!"
"That's because it's a surprise." He retorted, "You're not supposed to know about it until it happens. It makes buying you gifts incredibly difficult."
"You've not bought me a gift in years." She said, "You just tend to do things."
"That's because you kept searching the chapel for them." He reminded, "Then I found you rummaging through the neighbours shed. I had to put a stop to it."
"You could have just told me what you had gotten me." She pointed out, "I wouldn't have to go snooping if I knew what it was!"
"Again, if you knew what it was, it wouldn't have been a surprise."
~0~0~0~
Danni frowned as she stepped into the console room, where she'd expected to find her husband, and yet there was no sign of him. She knew she'd taken a little longer to get ready for their trip, but it was like a proper date! She had to look her best, right?!
She didn't know why each little trip out with him felt like a date, or why she felt like after 600 years or so she still felt like she needed to impress him. They'd been married for so long now, through two of her faces and now two of his, and yet she felt she had to make a little bit more effort with him. Was this how Eleven had felt when she had first regenerated? Did he miss being with her when she'd been so distant? Maybe she'd mistaken something completely natural for a Time Lord reaction after regeneration for fear? Maybe it just took a while for Time Lords in relationships to get back to that point.
Of course, that didn't really explain how touchy-feely Eleven had been when Ten had regenerated, but how many regenerations came from being… She paused mid-step. How did Ten regenerate again?
She remembered when she jumped around she'd started to have trouble remembering the stuff from the show to be able to help when she landed in the episodes. And now what she did remember was purely from her own memories, but as she aged and lived she found it incredibly difficult sometimes to recall memories.
Ah ha! She grinned to herself. Of course, he'd helped Wilf out of that box. Lots of radiation. Just after the Master had been taken back into Gallifrey. She skipped up to the console – no one could accuse her of having a terrible memory. It might take her a moment, but she always got there in the end.
She walked up to the monitor, giving it a tap as she decided to do something about not being able to find her husband, "Sweetie, could you…"
The phone rang and Danni frowned at it. What was Clara doing ringing now? Surely it wasn't Wednesday already? She picked it up and tucked it between her ear and her shoulder, "Hello?"
"Hello Mum!" The voice on the other side declared, all happy with a hint of sass. But not Clara. But who else would be ringing them and asking for their mum? Why would Clara call her mum?
"Er.." She replied, trying to place the voice.
The other person laughed, "I didn't wake you up, did I?" She asked, "Or interrupt you. You know Clara has the rule about answering the phone if you two are preoccupied."
"No… no you didn't interrupt us." Danni replied unsurely, glancing towards the hallway. Where was the Doctor? Perhaps he knew who was on the other side. If he knew, that is. There was always a chance that they just hadn't met yet. But it still didn't explain the 'mum' comment.
"Good." The woman replied, "I was hoping you could bring Dad to fix my transport? I only need it for one more planet hop and they I get a new one. Do you think he'll come?"
"Err.." Danni replied again. Oh, this wasn't good at all. Who would ring the TARDIS and call her and the Doctor mum and dad? They didn't have any children, and they definitely couldn't have any themselves. In fact, the only thing remotely close to children was Jenny and…
Jenny!
"Of course he will, Jenny!" Danni exclaimed, wondering how she had managed to forget the sound of her step-daughter's voice, "I'll get him to come right over. No, no don't worry, the TARDIS will find you. I'll just forget anyway, you know I'm no good at space time coordinates or anything."
"Good point-"
"Oi!" Danni laughed, "You're not supposed to agree!"
"You know it's true." Jenny retorted.
"Still! You're not supposed to point it out." Danni replied, leaning against the console. Oh, it was going to be lovely to see Jenny again. She was only starting to realise all the people she missed while stuck on Trenzalore. She'd not even thought to go find Jenny; trust the universe to sort that out for her instead, "I'm still your step-mother, I will teach you some manners."
"I'll see you in a few, Mum." Jenny replied teasingly. Danni grinned to herself as she put the phone down again. The Doctor could fix Jenny's transport – whatever it was – then maybe they could take Jenny with them for the day as well. If her husband agreed, anyway. He'd said he wanted to take her for waffles, but if it was as nice a place as he suggested, a picnic might be more appropriate. She still had to be bring it up with him.
The Doctor stepped into the console room with a walk that commanded the whole room's attention, even if there was only here in there. His eyes roamed the room for a moment, as if checking to see if anyone else was there, but then they fell on her. Her cheeks warmed up under his gaze but she kept her smile on.
"Jenny just called." She told him as he approached her, "She wants you to fix something, I said you would."
"Renting me out to family members now?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged, still smiling.
"It's been a good few hundred years since we saw her." She explained, "Plus, who else better to fix anything than the smartest Time Lord in the universe?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment, "You do make a compelling point." He agreed, "If she gets someone else to do it, it won't be fixed nearly as well as if I had done it."
She rolled her eyes, "Yes, Mr Smart Arse, you're fantastic." She agreed, "I always said you were."
"I just have one request." He replied, stopping in front of her, "Payment, if you will."
With Eleven she knew what that meant. It meant a snog, or even more, but Twelve had so far proven himself to not be that touchy feely.
"Oh?" She asked and he nodded, reaching forward. He rested one hand on her hip, pulling her closer as she let out a slightly surprised squeak. The other cupped her cheek before moving around to the back of her head. His fingers threaded through her hair and tilted her head back enough to press his lips to hers. She gasped at the kiss and he deepened it, pulling her closer still until she was firmly up against him. There was nothing for her to do but respond, to let him taste her and try and keep up in kind. But, he was completely domineering in a way Eleven never had been, it felt like he was kissing her but she was purely being kissed and absolutely adored it.
When he pulled away to see the dark look on her eyes, the swelling of those lips, and he chuckled lowly as she tried to follow him just slightly, "I think that will just about do it." He purred, delighted as she shook her head, taking hold of his jacket to pull him back into another kiss. She hadn't done that for such a long time, for hundreds of years if he wasn't mistaken, and he happily obliged. He backed her up to the console, crushing her between him and the cold metal, showing her that she didn't need that floppy-haired imbecile he used to be. That with just a kiss alone he could take her breath away and make her feel fantastic.
~0~0~0~
There had always been a rule that, if they ever landed on a new planet, that Danni would be allowed to look out first. She'd always loved being the first anywhere and the Doctor loved to see the look of pure wonder on her face, one that should have faded over time but didn't. Long ago, a girl with a name like a fairy tale had told her to live one moment at a time, treat everything as new and exciting even if, at the time, she had known what was coming. She had taken it to heart. Every planet was the first new planet she'd landed on, every new alien was her first new alien.
Of course, that meant when the Doctor seemed to forget this, she couldn't show how much it hurt. Opening those doors onto the newness on the other side wasn't just an act to her, it was him showing just how much he knew her. But if she let it come through that it hurt, she'd have to explain exactly why she was sad. And, well, it sounded stupid to say out loud.
And it wasn't like it was particularly exciting on the other side. The Doctor had parked them in between two large, concrete buildings in a dank alley, just behind a dumpster and up against another wall. Not exactly forests or mountains, just a suburban city with cars driving past the alleyway opening. People beeped their horns, and there was that background noise of people talking and doing things where you couldn't actually make out anything that was going on.
"This reminds me of London." She commented, looking around, "I think it's London, anyway. Or New York. You know, some Earth city."
"It was most likely modelled off one." He replied, "The architecture is very Earth. Tall buildings to fit as many people in as possible, too many people on the streets." He quickly locked the doors behind them, "Come on. Quicker we find Jenny, quicker we can leave."
"Don't sound excited to see her." Danni grumbled, following him onto the street. The rest of the street was much like the two buildings they'd parked in between, punctuated with large glass structures that seemed to be doing a fantastic job not reflecting the light. Danni tilted her head backwards, following the lines up the buildings until her gaze reached the sky.
She gasped, "Oh, they've got flying cars!" She exclaimed happily, spotting the vehicles flying in the sky in two lanes like on the ground, "How very Back to the Future!"
"You live in a time machine." The Doctor pointed out, baffled at her amazement at the cars above them. They weren't anything particularly special, and yet she looked so pleased with them. He had to wonder what her face would have been like when they'd landed on Ka'rin, before they'd been interrupted by maintenance work.
"So?" She retorted, but pulled her gaze from the cars all the same. They even had the wheels that folded upwards to allow them to fly. Maybe they were modelled after the ones in the movie, after all it was such a big movie, it might have lasted however long into the future they were now, "Jenny must be around here somewhere."
"We'd find her quicker if you'd just taken down her location." The Doctor pointed out, looking down both ways of the street, trying to spot the blonde woman.
"You know I would have gotten them wrong." She said, "You never finished teaching me about them. You kept getting distracted." It had become a bit of a thing for them. She had tried and tried to get him to teach her how to at least read them but he would get distracted, and they'd end up spending some very different time together. After a while it almost conditioned him, and so they always fell into bed together instead. Eventually she just stopped trying to get him to teach her.
"Well, that's not going to be an issue now." He promised. He wasn't going to be libido-driven like his previous self. He could control himself enough around her to actually teach her something useful, then they could get… distracted. No matter what she wore – or didn't wear, like that one time, where she'd come into the console room in only that short negligée…
He spun on his heel, determined to not allow himself to wallow in memories of her, and instead focusing on his plan to seduce her himself. And that involved helping their daughter and inviting her out with them, show Danni what a good father he could be. That was always a sure fire way to get her attention, "Ah, there she is." He spotted her coming out of a coffee shop, red cup in hand, "Come along, Danielle."
"Sure…" She murmured as she followed him. So much for kisses against the console, apparently she couldn't distract him anymore. Excellent. Just the stab her self-confidence needed. And she'd started to feel so much better this morning.
Jenny noticed them the moment they fell into her eye line, and she moved through the crowd swiftly, grinning when it became acceptable to. She carefully pulled Danni into a hug, making sure not to spill her hot drink down her back, "Hello again, Mum." She greeted purposefully to see the frown that appeared on Danni's face.
"Step-mum." Danni corrected, although she did really like Jenny thinking of her as her mum. When she'd first been created back on Messaline Danni had only been young, in her early 20's and she'd not felt old enough to even be her step-mum, what with her being a fully formed human and physically the same age as her. Not that she hadn't loved Jenny – who wouldn't? – but it had been hard to adjust to the man she loved suddenly having a kid that she actually had to take into consideration. She'd done it happily, but under the proviso that she was her 'step-mum'. Especially when it just reminded her that she'd never have children of her own.
But she was older now, and she was just happy for anyone to see her in that light. The pain of being unable to mother any of her own children, especially with the man she loved so dearly, was dulled by the knowledge that they both had Jenny.
"Yes, yes." Jenny chuckled as she pulled away, looking around with a frown on her face, "Dad not with you?" She asked, confused. After all, she was incredibly happy to see Danni, but she knew that she'd not be able to fix any sort of engine.
Danni winced, sending the Doctor an apologetic look, "This is him." She told Jenny, nodding towards the slightly miffed-looking Time Lord, "He regenerated."
Jenny looked him over for a moment then shrugged, "Sorry." She offered, "Nice to see you again, Dad." She leant in to hug him but he just patted her awkwardly on the arm.
"You could have told her." He berated Danni, who rolled her eyes.
"About what?" She replied, "She might have known, she might have met future you. It's very hard to pin down, you know?"
"Not even a warning?" The Doctor countered before turning to his daughter, "Where is your transport?" He asked her, taking her by surprise with his bluntness. She glanced at Danni, who had gone from seeming incredibly happy to see her to staring at the floor. Something had obviously happened between them and she was going to get to the bottom of it.
"It's at my friend George's house." She replied, reaching out and taking Danni's hand. The moment she did Danni clung to her, like it had been too long since someone had held her hand, "This way." She said cheerfully, filing it away for another moment. The Doctor didn't try and snatch his wife away, just fell into step by his daughter. Jenny was under no illusions about their relationship. They were family, but they barely saw each other and she expected him to feel more towards his wife than to her. The fact that he wasn't even trying to keep her attention on him was very out of character for the Doctors she knew.
"Who's George?" Danni asked, swinging her hand happily, "Should I do the whole 'mother' bit and ask about wedding bells?"
"You can." Jenny replied, "However you'd get more answers if you ask his girlfriend, who he is going to propose to any day now."
"Good. I'm entirely too young to have a step-daughter who's getting married." Danni retorted.
The Doctor let out a little snort, "You're six hundred." He declared and Jenny looked to her friend, eyes wide, "You're old enough for your descendants to be watching their children get married if you'd actually had any."
"Wait, you're six hundred?!" Jenny exclaimed, "I haven't seen you since you were a hundred."
"We were planet-watching." Danni replied, keeping her eyes off her husband, who's comment had felt like a sharp stab in the stomach, "A planet called Trenzalore was under siege, we were protecting it."
This time Jenny's eyes lit up in eager happiness at the notion of having another story to hear about her dad and Danni, "What happened? Why was it under siege? Why did you have to stay? How long were you there for? Who was on the other side?" She quickly asked, shooting the questions at the pair.
Danni laughed, "Woah, let me tell it properly!" She said, "Otherwise you're going to get everything out of order."
"Now you know what it feels like." The Doctor grumbled, although he couldn't help but study the two carefully as Danni told an abridged story of their time in Christmas. From his position next to Jenny he could see both of them perfectly. He could see the happiness on his wife's face, the way talking about their life without the TARDIS had helped her grow and just made her hearts even bigger. The way she talked about people long since dead, about the fights they had endured, about the time she'd lost him in the snow. Every moment triggered different expressions, sometimes only little changes, and he was trying his hardest to memorise them.
If he was honest with himself, he'd only barely recognised Jenny. It wasn't that he had forgotten about her, but her face had just been a blur with everyone else's. The same happened with Clara to a lesser extent. He could tell when she was angry, or when she was particularly leering over his wife, but the rest of the emotions people tended to show washed right over him. He hadn't noticed it straight away, only after they had spent time with Robin and he'd realised just how happy his wife had been, and how he couldn't tell with anyone else. He refused to let the same fate fall upon her and he wanted to relearn her properly, and this was the right moment to do so.
Danni, on the other hand, was enjoying the experience of being allowed to tell a story to someone. Jenny reacted just as she thought she would; worry at the Time Lords being back – she'd done her research over the last few years of her travelling and she wasn't sure them being back was a good thing. There was laughter at the funny parts, and of course she liked her hear about the strategies that Danni and the Doctor had used to keep the bad guys at bay.
"And then…" Danni trailed off slightly, swallowing the lump that appeared in her throat at the thought of Eleven in his last moments, "And then he got really old. And we thought he wasn't going to regenerate again." Jenny shot her dad a concerned look, but he didn't seem to be affected by the story like Danni was. In fact, if anything, he seemed rather annoyed at Danni's reaction, "He disappeared upstairs to ramble at the Daleks to try and delay them and I…" She glanced up at her husband. She'd thought he was going to die. She had come so close to losing him, "And I asked for help. And the Time Lords gave him another cycle of regenerations. He regenerated, we got eaten by a dinosaur, and that's about it really."
There it was again. Last time she'd mentioned bargaining with the Time Lords, but this time she had just asked for help. Did she just not remember it right, or was she hiding something from him?
"Who did you ask for help?" Jenny asked before he could question it further, but maybe it was for the best. He didn't think she'd lie to him, but there was a better chance of her being more willing to be open with their daughter rather than him.
"The Time Lords." Danni replied, "I asked them to help him, and they did. Honestly I was rather surprised, they've always seemed like arseholes."
"That's because people in power generally are." The Doctor drawled, "Now we've had a bit of a gossip, can we get back to the matter at hand?" Truthfully he just wanted to stop talking about his last body. Danielle looked upset at it, and he was torn between feeling rather touched that she'd been upset that he meant so much to her, and frustrated at the fact that she still seemed to be mourning that imbecile. The one who had killed her, had continuously left her behind, who had been too proud to just go pick her up and had forced himself to live through three hundred years without her.
"Yes, why worry about the past?" Danni agreed, forcing herself to not dwell on the smiling face with beautiful brown hair in her mind's eye, "What's wrong with your transport?"
"I'm not sure." Jenny admitted, following with the change in conversation, "It just won't start. The engines a bit advanced for the planet, so I thought I'd get my dad to take a look."
"What vehicle is it?" He asked as they turned off the main street down into a residential street.
"A mark 4 Freedom Star." She replied and the Doctor let out a low whistle, obviously impressed.
"This is a long way from home." He agreed, "Should I assume that you liberated it?"
Jenny smirked, "Took a leaf out of my old man's book." She teased in reply. Danni looked between the two of them, starting to feel better at the sight of father and daughter bantering.
"I'm guessing it's a good… ship?" She glanced at Jenny, who nodded at the choice of word.
"It's nothing amazing, it's just not from this galaxy." She explained, "They've barely mastered in-air driving, cross-galaxy transport is a bit too much for the mechanics."
"Do you think you can fix it, then?" Danni asked the Doctor, who shot her a look that told her that she should have known better, "Sorry, I should know not to question your big Time Lord brain."
He nodded, "Glad to see you're finally learning, my Pet." He told her as they turned up a drive to an what appeared to be quite the average house on the average street they'd found themselves on.
"George and his girlfriend live here with their two year old." Jenny said pointedly just to see Danni's eyes light up with the idea of seeing children. She knew that Danni's love of children would keep her out of the garage and playing with the, quite frankly adorable, two year old boy called Buddy. She wouldn't get anything useful out of Danni, who would always defend her father. No, she needed to talk to the man himself.
"Two year old?" Danni asked, trying not to sound delighted at the idea of a little child to play with. Jenny and the Doctor shared a look. This was going to go perfectly.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder and out of the garage, checking up yet again on his wife. She was on the front garden outside the very pedestrian house that his daughter had brought him to. He had to admit there was a novelty to fixing up a vehicle in a garage on a suburban street. It was like when he was young and he used to sneak into the TARDIS scrap yards to see the engineers work on the old parts, but a lot less impressive.
Danni was having the time of her lives. She currently was playing football with the little boy of the man and girlfriend who owned the house, and he wasn't sure her show of losing to him was entirely fictional. She cried out as if she had been tackled by a bear and let the boy take her down onto the grass. A moment to make sure that she wasn't hurt, and he was back taking a look at the engine.
"Did you really die of old age?" Jenny asked from her perch on a workbench just across from him. She had the perfect vantage point to watch him while he worked while keeping out of his way, which was exactly what he had wanted. He could pass on knowledge to his daughter without her being annoying.
"I'm two thousand years old." He commented, "It was bound to happen eventually."
"Is that why you're older now?"
"No, that's just because I'm not a child anymore." He retorted, pulling out his screwdriver.
"Time Lords have twelve regenerations. Did you get twelve more?" She pressed. He hid his smirk as he scanned over the engine. Nothing immediately stood out to him as being wrong, so a deeper diagnostic was required.
"I would think so." He replied, "We'll give it a try some day." He had to admit he loved how inquisitive she was. It was incredibly childlike, much like Danielle, and even he could see the similarities between the two physically. If only.
Jenny tried to hide her frustration. He really wasn't going to give her much, was he? Unlike the man before him, who couldn't shut up once he'd started, this Doctor was keeping everything to himself.
"Did you really get eaten by a dinosaur?" She asked, going back to something smaller, "That's quite impressive."
"I wasn't aiming for the dinosaur. I'd just regenerated and my kidneys were giving me trouble." The Doctor stood up straighter, frowning at his screwdriver.
"Your kidneys?" Jenny repeated as the sound of laughter filtered into the garage. The pair turned to look outside, to see Danni lying on her back on the grass, holding the little boy above her as the boy giggled in absolute delight about flying through the air.
"She's going to get filthy." The Doctor grumbled, "She'll have to get changed before we go for lunch."
"She's having fun." Jenny defended, "Which is quite surprising considering how you took a swipe at her before."
"What are you talking about?" The Doctor retorted, looking bewildered at her accusation.
"Back on the street." Jenny reminded, "About her not being able to have kids. Quite frankly I'm surprised she didn't turn around and shout at you herself. That would have been more like her." She leant back against the wall the workbench was leaning up against, "Whatever happened when you regenerated must have been pretty bad."
"What makes you think anything happened?" He asked her, turning his attention from the small craft behind him and fully onto his daughter. She was looking over him with a critical eye, the solider in her that she'd never be able to remove analysing his every move.
"She's scared of you." Jenny commented, knowing just by his defensive stance that he knew that something wasn't right with his wife, "I don't think she means to be, but she's scared of your reaction to anything."
The Doctor scoffed. Of course his wife wasn't scared of him. People didn't seem to understand that these things took time. He couldn't exactly blame them, after all most of the people that they knew weren't exactly experts in regeneration. Quite frankly every single one was different and both him and Danielle were getting used to his new personality and the loss of the old. It didn't mean anything. It hadn't been long, especially in their lifetimes.
"This engine isn't broken." The Doctor pointed out, closing the hatch he'd been looking in, "In fact, it should run like it was brand new."
Jenny grimaced guiltily, "Yeah, that was a lie." She admitted.
"Why lie?" He asked, "We would have come anyway."
She jumped off the workbench, walking over to him, "A few weeks ago I got a call off a number I didn't recognise. It was a woman called River Song. She's Danni's mum, isn't she?"
"Why did she call you?" He asked, perplexed, "How could she even get in contact with you? How did she get your number?" He didn't seem to be asking Jenny, more musing out loud, which was good because she couldn't exactly answer him.
"She said that Danni had just been to see her, and that it wasn't looking good between you." She explained, "She wanted me to check up on her."
"And you believed her?" The Doctor asked her, "I thought you were smarter than that."
"Of course I didn't believe her." Jenny replied, like she was insulted at the thought, "In fact I was going to call you afterwards about it, but then she said something about the clock turning midnight or something."
That caught the Doctor's attention, "The clock striking twelve?" He asked, remembering the ominous words she'd once said to him in Stormcage, ones that had been echoed in the cracker Clara had brought with her to Christmas.
"That was it." She replied, "They seem rather ominous, like she was trying to warn me of something. So I did a bit of research, but didn't find much that I didn't know already, so I put it down to her trying stir things up. But, it got me thinking. I hadn't seen you in a while so I thought I'd give you a call."
The Doctor frowned in thought. The words did seem to not mean much of all, which was a relief, "Why did you lie about the Freedom Star?" He asked.
"Oh, well," she actually flushed slightly, "I panicked. I was going to suggest that you bring her here and we could do something like a picnic or go to the museum because for some reason she loves that sort of thing. I hadn't expected her to answer the TARDIS phone, she never does. It's not even my vehicle, it's George's. He's taking me to the next planet tomorrow."
"I was going to invite you to lunch." He told her, "Like you said, Danielle likes that sort of things." He looked out into the garden, where she was still playing with the little boy. It looked so natural for her to be doing so, almost as natural as her opening the door on a new…
He hadn't done that, had he? He'd opened the doors, he'd missed seeing that new look on her face. How'd he manage to forget that?
"I think that, perhaps, something may have happened when I regenerated." He admitted lowly to his daughter, "I'm not sure if I'm a good man anymore."
Jenny looked up at her father, who wore his trouble on his face for an instant before it disappeared, "You taught me that fighting wasn't always the answer." She told him, "I'm not sure if that makes you a good man, but you made me a better person."
It wasn't the answer he was looking for, and she knew that. But he hadn't expected her to give him any less than the honest answer she did. He needed to work it out soon, especially before his Danielle worked out that he wasn't. She needed someone with a good heart, not just playing pretend. But if he was helping others become better, that was a good sign, wasn't it?
"I feel like I should punish you for lying." He told her, "That's what parents do, isn't it?" Jenny watched him, amused, "I should make you stay behind, but picnics are a horrible experience and you shouldn't get out of it."
She forced a solemn look on her face, "Oh, the worst." She agreed.
"I'll go tell Danielle we're heading off." He told his daughter, "Try and act like I've punished you properly if she asks."
Jenny smiled, nodding, "Of course. I'm a fantastic actor." She promised, "I've just got to make a call to cancel my plans for tomorrow." She said it in a teasing tone and the Doctor shot her an exasperated look.
"I think you'll find I can fly the TARDIS properly now." He told her, but he left her to it, heading over to Danni and the little boy buddy. He had barking at her to put the child down before he'd even made it onto the grass in a tone that suggested that he was annoyed at her, even though Jenny was pretty sure that wasn't the case. In fact, even just from the brief moment they had together, Jenny could tell that he was happy for her to play with Buddy as long as she liked. He'd not been able to stop watching her, which reminded her a lot more of their relationship than anything else that had happened in the brief time they'd been together.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket – an oldie but a classic – and dialled the one number she knew would always work. It was always rerouted by the TARDIS, and soon the voice of Clara Oswald reached her eyes, "Hello?"
"Clara, it's Jenny." She greeted, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks." She replied, obviously confused at the fact that the Doctor's daughter was calling her, "Is everything okay?"
"Not really." She replied, "I think something's wrong with dad. What happened when he regenerated?"
Clara sighed, "You see it too, don't you?" She asked quietly and Jenny nodded.
"It's like he's trying to hurt her." She agreed, "I don't normally like to get into their relationship, but he's just shouted at her for playing with a little boy. Like actual angry shouting. I don't even think he realises what he's doing. I'm sure it's just the way he is now, but what if it's something deeper?"
"I don't think it is." Clara promised, "Honestly, he was a lot worse when he first regenerated. I think he's just lost himself."
"Are you sure?" Jenny asked, genuinely worried about her dad, "Because River Song said…"
"Oh, don't listen to her." Clara interrupted, actually sounding relieved, "She's always stirring trouble up between them. You can see that they're having trouble, but they'll be fine."
Jenny glanced out into the garden again to see Danni smiling at the Doctor like he hadn't shouted at her at all. It had been worrying her over the last few weeks. She'd heard a few things about the Time Child being missing, and being found again. Stuff she knew she shouldn't have a hand in just yet, but it made her incredibly suspicious when River had called. Maybe Clara was right.
"I'm looking too much into this, aren't I?" She asked Clara, who she could see nodding, "You know them both better than anyone."
"Trust me. They're just finding their feet." Clara promised, "Have fun with them, and tell them they're late."
Jenny smiled, "Will do. Bye Clara." She hung up and jogged outside, ready for the lunch date that she had been invited to.
~0~0~0~
Across the universe and further back into the past than Jenny had been in a very long time, Clara plugged her phone back into the charger. She hadn't seen Jenny in a while, but it was obvious that she was too early for an invite to her flat.
She turned around in the darkened room to look at her bed, where Danni was curled up, facing away from her. She'd cried herself to sleep again, hugging Clara's pillow close like it was a teddy bear. She honestly hadn't seen this coming, but there she was. Danni Fielding, ex-wife of the Doctor, sleeping in her bed.