The Doctor wasn't looking for his wife. Of course he wasn't, he could handle a few hours on his own without seeing her. He wasn't that dependant; he was over 1200 years old, not a child. He knew that, at the end of the day, she would come find him and they could snuggle up in the bed and watch panel shows and movies and she wouldn't want to be anywhere else than by his side. So why did it matter where she was in the TARDIS? He had been busy, anyway, trying to get that damned Voice Interface to show his face when it was started up for her. At this point in time he was almost certain it was just the TARDIS and his wife ganging up on him. Danni laughed at him every time that pinstriped wearing Doctor appeared instead of his, much more stylish, self. Yes, that had to be it, they were ganging up on him.
He opened the door to the kitchen, smiling to himself at the other blonde who was currently staying on the TARDIS. His daughter, Jenny, had tried to get them to drop her off after Alfie's birthday party, but Danni hadn't been having any of it. She'd wanted to spend time with her step daughter, and he would never turn his nose up at the chance to spend time with his amazing daughter. They'd been shopping on a planet where the taller the shoe, the higher status you were. Danni had worn a pair that had people bowing as they'd walked past - she had almost been his height, and while it had made kissing slightly easier, he wasn't sure he liked not having the ability to rest his chin on her hair when he was hugging her. Then they'd headed to Kyran 7, where the sky was full of tiny birds that flew in groups of thousands together. There were so many, and had such an effect on the climate that they could be directed to fly in certain ways to control the weather. They'd been quite a few places, really, but like her father, Jenny was becoming eager to go back travelling under her own steam. So the next day they were going to drop her off at the planet she'd been heading to when Danni had called her - Jeneu, which wasn't somewhere the Doctor had been before so he was rather looking forward to going himself.
Jenny was reaching up into cupboard where the glasses were kept, but she turned her head to look over her shoulder when he'd opened the door, "You alright, Dad?" She greeted and he nodded as he stepped in. She was wearing a very modest bikini top in army green and a pair of denim shorts, "Danni wanted to spend some time in the pool before I leave tomorrow. We're having cocktails, apparently."
The Doctor tried not to think about Danni after a few cocktails while his daughter was in the room, "And she sent you to grab the goods?" He asked, walking over and taking the glasses she had chosen out of her hands, "Here, use these instead." He took two wine glasses down from the top shelf in the cupboard, "They're not cocktail glasses, but they'll make any drink you pour taste sweeter. Not overbearing, but even if you mess up the drinks will still taste fine." Jenny looked vaguely impressed at the glasses, turning them in her hands to see if she could see how they worked, "It's the glass," he explained, "it's not technically just glass, but is in fact fused with another element that turns everything it comes into contact with incredibly sweet. Too sweet, in fact, for anyone to eat. But with the tiniest amount in the glass, it's not overbearing."
"I think she's trying to get me drunk." Jenny told him, "So I have a hangover and stay a bit longer."
"That's sounds like her." He agreed fondly, "She really enjoys when you're here, we both do."
"I think it's more than that." Jenny replied, a frown on her face as she thought over what to say, "I think she's enjoying having her stepdaughter here." The Doctor's mouth fell into an 'o' of realisation, "And you saw how she was with Alfie. I think she may be feeling a bit..." She shook her head, "I don't know, I don't want to say, because she always seems to get on with kids and stuff."
The Doctor didn't reply straight away, because he had noticed it. Not just at Craig's, either, with the way she was loving how Alfie was with her, carrying him down the stairs even though he was seven and perfectly capable of doing it himself. It was the way she had insisted on bringing Angie and Artie along, even though up until that point she'd have thought it too dangerous. Or the way she blurted out that baby name - Elizabeth - without even thinking about it, like it had been at the forefront of her mind. Their little, non-existent, baby girl.
Instead of saying he agreed with his daughter, though, or telling her what he was fearing about it, he clapped his hands on the top of her arms, steering her towards the door, "Make sure you don't drink too much." He warned her with a smile on his face, "Be responsible, or I won't give you any hangover cure."
Jenny rolled his eyes, typical avoidance from her father, "I won't." She promised, "You're such a dad." She teased.
"And don't you forget it, young lady!" He replied, gently pushing her out of the door. The moment it closed behind her, he sighed, wondering what to do about his blonde beauty. She wasn't even acting sad, in fact the last couple of weeks she'd settled back into being her normal self after being so ecstatic that he had remembered her again. But something was there, she thought he couldn't tell but he could. He wouldn't press it, though, until after Jenny was gone. And if she didn't want to tell him, then, well, he'd just have to cheer her up again.
~0~0~0~
Danni sank into the water with a groan of delight, the warm water feeling wonderful on her skin. The TARDIS had made the pool area absolutely perfect for them, the pool being more like an oversized hot tub than anywhere you would swim. On the wall in front of them was a giant screen waiting for something to be put on it, the lights just bright enough to be able to see while not being too overwhelming. She smiled at Jenny, who was already in the water but was still at that stage where the TARDIS continued to surprise her. She was glad the girl was having such a good time with them, and even though she was going to be leaving the next day, Danni was still planning stuff they could do together.
She passed Jenny one of the two wine glasses, both now filled with a blue cocktail, "I was with your dad when he got these." She told the younger blonde, "They were given to him by this lovely mayor, who was impressed he'd managed to marry the Time Child." She took a sip of the drink, it was the cocktail that Jack had given her when he'd first met her, "I was quite the legend there, apparently."
"You're the Time Child?" Jenny asked with a frown and Danni nodded.
"Yeah, apparently it means something." She replied, stretching out into the water. Oh, it was just lovely in here, the TARDIS always knew what she needed.
"I've heard that name before." Jenny told her, "'The Time Child is coming'."
"Oh, that's new." Danni commented, wondering what to make of that. The Time Child was something that kept cropping up, in books and comments from people she really would rather not know about her at all. It was bad enough that every bad guy always seemed to have heard of the Doctor, which thankfully had died down slightly after he tried to wipe himself away, but it was downright worrying that they knew who she was. And that they cared.
She couldn't deal with that now, maybe she'd mention it to Theta that night. It wasn't that big of a deal, after all. She was heading to a multitude of places all of the time, that's what happened when you travelled across time and space. For all she knew the Doctor had set up something for her, or they'd already been there and were due to head back. It could be absolutely anything and she didn't want to worry him while she had some bonding time to spend with Jenny.
"Now, as your stepmother, I feel it is my duty to educate you on certain things." She declared, moving onto new things, "Have you ever seen The Lion King?" Jenny immediately shook her head, "Okay, what about Aladdin? The Little Mermaid?" Again, Jenny shook her head to all of them, "Well, I obviously haven't done my job at all."
"Are they movies?" Jenny asked.
"They are. Disney movies, in fact. Some of the best movies Earth ever produced." Danni explained before taking another sip of her drink, "We'll watch The Lion King first, I think. It's probably the best one they ever made. Then, if you want, we can move onto something a bit more grown up."
"Grown up how?"
"Have you ever seen The Shining?" Danni asked as the room darkened further, the lights inside the pool coming on to give them something to see by. The movie started with the drawing of a castle, followed by some lovely music and a sunrise. Jenny did her best to focus on it, wondering briefly before the singing started whether or not she should mention that strange woman who'd told her about the Time Child. She decided against it, after all everyone else who had been there seemed to have dismissed her, even when talking about the Time Child themselves. As if she would be trapped anywhere, her father wouldn't let his wife out of his sight for long enough anyway.
~0~0~0~
The doorbell rang incredibly too slowly for Clara to think that it might have been Danni. Her, almost trademark, ringing was a series of short presses that echoed the noise throughout the house. Much like the Doctor had done before she had met them for the very first time. The children were back at school, she was going to be moving out soon as they didn't need her anymore and her being here during the day seemed a bit redundant, but she knew that meant it couldn't be any of their friends. Maybe the post, Mr Maitland had been a bit of an ordering spree as of late.
She opened the door to find a young blonde woman, roughly her age, stood there with a smile on her face, "Hello, are you Clara?" She asked and Clara nodded, looking back at her with a suspicious look on her face.
"Yes, who are you?" She asked in reply.
"Jenny, I'm the Doctor's daughter." She replied and Clara's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She'd heard of her, but she never actually expected her to be real, "Danni sent me out to come get you."
Clara frowned, "Why couldn't she come out herself?" She asked, "She always does." Jenny sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Why else wouldn't she come out?" She countered.
"Snogbox?" Clara asked and Jenny nodded.
"Yep." She replied, popping the 'p'. Clara grimaced in sympathy, stepping out of the way to let her in, "Are they always like this?" She asked as Clara reached onto the coat hooks to grab her jacket.
"Usually, yeah." She replied almost apologetically, "Was there a reason this time, or did they just start going at it?"
"I think it was her dress." Jenny replied, "He just said 'yowzah' and suddenly she was running over to him." Clara pulled the door closed behind her, locking it up as she was the only person in, "I gave them a moment, then reminded them that we were here to pick you up. What I got in reply was Danni telling me to go meet you."
"Oh, and that's your Dad as well." Clara declared and Jenny nodded, "Gross." They quickly made their way up to the TARDIS door, Jenny reaching out to open it and let the companion in. Clara, though, stuck her hand out to stop her. She then let out a series of loud, sharp knocks on the door, "There's children here!"
There was nothing for a moment, then the Doctor shouted out, "Well, don't just stand out there all day!" So Clara stepped in, Jenny trailing behind her. The couple were still standing close together, hand in hand as always, but there was a definite sense that they were standing further apart to compensate for whatever they had been doing beforehand.
Danni frowned, "Where are Angie and Artie?" She asked.
"Oh, they're at school." Clara replied.
"But you said there were children here." The Doctor pointed out and Clara nodded towards Jenny.
"She's you're daughter, she doesn't need to see you two sucking face." She retorted and Danni flushed an impressive colour of pink while the Doctor looked everywhere but at them. Jenny leant in closer to Clara.
"Wow, you're good." She whispered and Clara nodded.
"I am." She replied modestly, "Oh, and thank you for introducing us!" She told the two Time Lords with her 'nanny' voice, the one she knew would kick start the Doctor.
"Ah, yes, Clara, this is Jenny." He rambled, waving his hands at the other blonde, "She's my daughter." Clara rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I got that." She replied, walking up to the console, "Next time, maybe not send the total stranger out to come get me." Danni nodded, leaning over and pulling her into a small hug.
"Sorry, sweetie." She said softly and Clara nodded once, patting her on the back and stepping away.
"Good." She declared, "Now, where are we off to?" Danni's face suddenly pulled into a giant grin.
"Oh, well, Jenny is insisting on going back to travelling on her own." She rambled off, heading over to the other blonde and taking her hand, "So, we're going with her! It sounds so nice; 'Ophela'." She was obviously trying to repeat what she'd been told.
"Aphela." The Doctor corrected lightly, "It's a garden planet, absolutely stunning in the summer."
"A garden planet?" Clara asked with a wrinkle of her nose.
"Bits of the land are owned by different, normally rich, people." Danni explained excitedly, "Then they landscape it and it's covered in gardens and nothing else! And there's competitions and some of the gardens have little food outlets!" Clara couldn't help but grin with her, her friend's enthusiasm was always so contagious, and so different to how she remembered her being back at the start.
"That's good, cause I'm starving." she replied. Danni looked over her shoulder at the Doctor.
"You heard the girl!" She told him, "Hurry up, Spaceman!" Jenny, knowing what was going to happen next, grabbed onto the console next to Clara.
"They must really like you." She murmured to Clara as the Doctor pulled Danni over to where he would be standing. Holding her in front of him, pressed between the console and himself, he set them off into flight.
"They do." Clara replied with a smirk, "That's why they do what I say." Jenny laughed as the Doctor and Danni seemed to forget they were there, the Doctor nuzzling into the crook of her neck as she giggled.
Theta, behave. She told him off, that little smirk on her face she always got when she tried to talk to him through her mind. He groaned just enough for her to hear, he adored it when she spoke to him telepathically, pressing a kiss against the soft flesh he could reach.
Never. He replied, pressing against her slightly more as they went spinning through the Vortex.
~0~0~0~
Danni had managed to dress perfectly for the weather, which even now always surprised her. The dress itself was light and flowing, whereas the waterfall-style cardigan she wore over the top of it was keeping her nice and warm in the shadier places of the garden they'd landed in. Trees were scattered around, the grass was a delightful mustard yellow colour, and the flowers were simply stunning. Jenny and Clara walked just ahead of the married couple, doing what every companion of the Doctor did when meeting another - compared stories. Danni and the Doctor walked at a more leisurely pace behind them, hand in hand, just enjoying the sights.
"You know," Danni started as they walked past a deep green bush with small, red flowers dotted within its leaves, "You're adventures lately have been much calmer than they used to be. Even the Cybermen was just supposed to be a trip to a theme park."
"Hmm," He frowned in thought as he reached into the bush, picking out a little flower, "I suppose they have." He turned back to her, tucking the flower stem behind her ear so it sat just against her face, "Does it bother you?" She shook her head.
"No, not really." She promised, letting him lead them on once again, "I thought it might bother you. You've always liked running and saving people, but lately you've been taking us to lovely, but calm places."
He had noticed that he hadn't been taking them to such unknown places as he may have done, but he wouldn't have said it was a conscious decision. He'd just been enjoying spending time with his wife in such wonderful places and sharing it with their extended family, "I'm sure it'll pick up again soon." He told her, "We'll be running together in no time, my Danielle."
"I think it's just your old age." She commented lightly, "Can't keep running with a bad back, can you?"
"Oi, you little Dalek." He said, looking down at her cheeky innocent look, "I can keep up with the running just fine, thank you."
"Really?" She asked and he nodded, "Catch me then, Spaceman." And he watched her dash off forward, dress flaring around her as she ran. He would have been able to keep up with her easily, but he watched her catch up to the two other women and push her way between them, linking arms with them. She was just so beautiful, not just outside but in her view of the universe. She saw everything, even now, with the same awe she had when she had first arrived from her other universe. Even this garden was amazing to her, and they had been to much more grander places, saw much more unique things that the yellow grass couldn't even touch. She loved spending time with everyone, she loved to learn about everything the universe had to offer. And she still came back to him. She was his Danielle.
He jogged to catch up with them, but instead of tearing her out of their arms like he wanted to, he fell into step next to Jenny, slowing down so he didn't overtake them.
"I was not that scared!" Danni was protesting as Jenny laughed. He frowned, concerned slightly at what they were talking about.
"Yes you were!" Clara replied just as insistently, "You were curled up on the front of the bike. You were terrified!"
"We were going to crash!" Danni replied, "You were scared too, I remember you screaming!"
"There's nothing wrong with being scared, mum." Jenny joked and Danni shot her a glare, "Not everyone is cut out for this life."
"I've been travelling longer than either of you!" She retorted, having given up correcting Jenny, who only called her that when she was teasing her, "You wish you were as cut at for this life as I am!"
Clara and Jenny shared a look the Doctor knew was only to wind Danni up further, "Of course we do." Clara replied and Danni turned to her husband.
"Spaceman, tell them!" She moaned, sounding like a teenager and he pondered on whether or not to join in on the teasing. Instead, though, he reached out for her hand. She shot the pair of women and smug look and took it, letting him pull her up to his side.
"Leave her alone." He told the girls, "She can't help it if she gets a bit scared sometimes." Her mouth dropped open slightly in surprise as Clara and Jenny laughed.
"Doctor!" She scolded, "You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am." He promised, placing a kiss on her hair, "You're just too adorable when you're scared. Plus," he gave her hand a squeeze, "It means I can hold your hand."
Clara groaned, "Oh, why do you always have to turn everything so sappy?"
"Because-"
"Get the blondes!" They all turned, surprised at the scream as what appeared to be an army of people burst from the bushes and trees around them. All clad in black and silver armour, with masks covering the lower half of their faces, they ran over to the group of four. Some had swords, some had shields but they seemed very intent on what they wanted.
"Hey, get off me!" Danni shouted suddenly from his side and he felt her hand being ripped from his. He looked down to see her struggling against two of the soldiers, "Let me go!"
"Hey!" He shouted, both terrified and furious that someone was trying to take his Danielle away from him. He reached out, only to be held back by two soldiers of his own, "Let her go!"
"Get off me!" He heard Clara demanded and he spared a quick glance at his friend. She was also being pulled back by some soldiers. Jenny, who was much more trained then they were, was doing rather against them, meaning that she had more of the surprise army trying to get her. Even as she was also overwhelmed as well, he felt a surge of pride that his daughter was holding her own against them.
"Doctor!" Danni screamed and he turned back, struggling against whoever was holding them. She was already being dragged away from him, the panic she was feeling visible on her face as she tried to get back to him.
"Wait, wait, you can't do this!" He protested, "Please, I'm the Doctor, I can help, just let us go and we can talk about this."
"We know who you are." One of the two holding him snapped back, a deep male voice with an accent he couldn't quite place, "I know your orders, but you'll have to go back as failures." He turned his head, "Take the blondes!"
"Doctor!" Danni screamed again at his words, "Let me go!",
The Doctor shook his head desperately, they couldn't take her, "No, you don't understand, just wait-"
"Get them!" Another voice cried out and another army charged at them, this time in blue and silver, all wielding weapons of their own as well.
"Take the blondes and retreat!" The man holding the Doctor ordered and he was chucked to the ground, vision going white for a moment as his head slammed against the solid floor as both Jenny's and Danni's shouts of protests echoed around him. The moment he could focus again he found himself looking up at Clara's worried face.
"Doctor, they took-" She started but he was already scrambling up onto his feet, looking around for any sign of the army in black. However, all he saw was the blue army and his hearts almost burst out of his chest. They had his wife and his daughter, and he had no idea where they could have possibility taken them to.
"Hey, are you alright?" Someone asked and he turned to see one of the soldiers stepping towards him. He guessed straight away they were in charge and he pointed at her aggressively.
"Where did they take them?" He demanded.
"Probably back to the base." She replied, taking her helmet off. She shook her brown hair out, "Well done capturing a couple, it's a shame they got to you before we did." She was obviously trying to be nice, but Clara knew even before he'd reacted that she wasn't doing herself any favours. The Doctor reached out, looking ready to grab the woman in front of him, before his fingers clenched.
"That was my daughter and my wife!" He snarled, "I need to get them back, where did they take them?"
"Well, we're ambushing them in a few hours." The woman told him, looking slightly confused, as if he should know that, "You were briefed about it, weren't you?" The Doctor nodded, reaching into his pocket.
"Of course I was." He replied, pulling out his psychic paper and flashing it at the woman and she immediately saluted him. Usually he would have told her off for it, but he just used it as a sign that they would do what he said.
"I'm so sorry, sir." She told him, turning to the rest of her men, "Guys, we've got a general here! Show some respect!" Immediately the group fell into line, standing to attention and Clara had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. She could never understand why people fell for it, if they'd only met him for a moment, they'd never follow the orders of such a child. Instead she scanned the line of soldiers, a frown appearing on her face.
"Right, a General," The Doctor took a look at the psychic paper, his eyebrows raising as her read it, "Oh, that's a lot of swearwords. Sorry, that doesn't usually happen." He pocketed the paper once again, "So, this ambush that's happening in a few hours is being moved forward."
"To when, sir?" The woman asked.
"Now. Right now." He replied, "I hope you're ready for it..." he trailed off, realising that he'd not asked her what her name was.
"Captain, sir." She replied with a smirk, "And we're quite ready."
"Doctor," Clara called and he turned to look at her, "They've all got brown hair." He opened his mouth to tell her that, while it was a wonderful observation, he was rather busy trying to get Danni and Jenny back. Then he remembered the cry of the other army - Get the blondes.
"You're all separated by hair colour." He realised, "Why did they want the blondes?"
The Captain looked like she was slowly becoming more and more sceptical of him, "Are you sure you've been briefed?" She asked and he rolled his eyes.
"Yes, I've been briefed, just tell me." He snapped.
"Well, it's their signature, isn't it?" She offered. He never usually became this annoyed at people, they didn't know he knew nothing about what was going on, and he wasn't really supposed to be showing that he really wasn't supposed to be there. But every part of him was worrying about the two blondes the other army had taken, thinking up all the things that could be happening to them at that very moment. At least they were together, but he wasn't getting anywhere with these half-answers.
"Signature?" He bit out.
"Yeah, of the Time Child Army." She replied and both he and Clara stared back in total shock, "I thought you were a General, how can you not know this?"
~0~0~0~
Danni had demanded that they'd be taken back, that the people dragging her and Jenny along should just let them go, because when her husband got hold of them, he'd go easier on them if they did as she said. Jenny, however, was a bit more skilled in this sort of situations and told her to stop struggling. They'd taken them either to be held somewhere or to someone who could actually answer their questions, so it was better to cooperate.
Danni wasn't pleased about this, but did as she was told, reluctantly agreeing that Jenny was probably right. It was annoying, but true, and at least she did have Jenny there. She could only imagine how much of a panic her Theta would be in. At least Clara was there to deal with it and calm him down before he became too emotional. She and Jenny hadn't actually been hurt, she didn't want anyone else to be either.
Jenny had been right, as well, which actually made Danni feel proud on her behalf. They were marched through the camp they'd been taken to. A multitude of different sized black tents were crammed together in a relatively short space, people hanging around them all in the same black armour but without helmets or masks on. Danni frowned, leaning closer to Jenny as she took in the rest of the army.
"Do you notice…" She started, trailing off as Jenny nodded.
"They're all blonde." She replied lowly, obviously having made the same connection Danni had. All different shades, length and on different species, but every single person had some form of blonde hair, "'Get the blondes'." She repeated.
Danni had a lot more questions, but they were quickly marched into the largest tent of the base. She guessed, rather correctly she realised as they entered, that it was where the head of the army would be. The room, with a large table in the middle and a few maps hanging off portable whiteboards around it, was obviously where the base of their operation was running from. At the far end stood a woman with long blonde hair up in a sensible ponytail, not unlike Jenny's trademark hairdo. She was roughly half a foot taller than both Danni and Jenny and turned around as they entered. The man at Danni's side saluted her.
"We found these with the King's men, ma'am." He told her, "They don't have any armour, so we brought them to you." The leader looked the two women over, obviously trying to figure out how they fit into their group. Danni turned to Jenny, who just shook her head slightly, telling her to be quiet. Always wait until spoken to, just in case your captor reacted badly to speaking out of turn.
"Well done." The woman praised, "Go prepare for the final ambush." The two who had marched Danni and Jenny in saluted her, then left. The woman smiled warmly at them, "Sorry about them, they can get a bit rough. We'll get you some armour then you can join us for the battle."
"What battle?" Jenny asked.
"Oh, you really are new, aren't you?" The woman observed before grinning, "Let's start with the introduction, then. I'm Danielle Fielding, and this is the base of the Time Child."