"I'm sorry?" The Doctor asked after a long moment of staring at the Captain, trying to understand exactly what had been said to him, "The Time Child Army?"
The Captain nodded, "Yes, the army controlled by Danielle Fielding." She replied and the Doctor looked at Clara, who stared back expectantly. His mouth opened and closed a few times, as if he was trying to work out what to say before shaking his head, turning back to the Captain.
"No, I'm sorry, Danielle Fielding has an army?" He asked, "Blonde woman, brown eyes and glasses?"
"I'm not sure about the glasses, but she's definitely blonde." The Captain replied.
"But- Definitely Danielle Fielding? Is that her name?" The Doctor pressed. Obviously not being able to get past the fact that his wife suddenly had an army - which Clara could understand but the repeated questioning was getting them nowhere - Clara took a step forward, taking the Captain's attention off the Doctor. The woman looked a little surprised at her sudden decision to be included in the conversation, but then smirked at her, giving her a quick once over with a studying gaze.
"Sorry, he's just a bit..." Clara paused, waving her hand in the air as she tried to find the correct wording, "of an idiot." She settled on, "Imagine we've not heard of her before. I mean, of course we have," Like they would never believe, but there was a time and place to reveal that, "But, why would she need an army?"
"Is it really useful to recite history?" She asked, reaching out to take Clara's hand, "I've got a few other things that we could be getting down to Miss..." She trailed off, waiting for Clara to insert her name into the sentence.
"Oh, er," She looked up at the Doctor, wondering if she should give her real name, then decided against it, "Jenny." She lied, "And just pretend I don't know."
"The Time Child appeared on the eve of King Simon's birthday." She started, "Her golden hair enraptured him, and after only a day with her he decided he wanted to make her his queen. She refused, claiming to love another." Clara rolled her eyes as the Doctor straightened, smug in the knowledge that it was him she was in love him.
"That doesn't really explain why you-we're about to ambush them." Clara pointed out.
"The king, heartbroken, started to try and find someone to fill the void, someone with the same golden hair as the woman that he'd adored. Danielle, while not wanting to be with him, also didn't want him to have anyone else. She became overwhelmingly jealous and started to turn anyone who may have loved the king in return against him. We've been fighting it out for almost a week now." The Captain rolled her eyes slightly at the ridiculous story, "Personally, I think it's a bit much over a girl, but then again I am much more of a love the one your with type of person."
"Then why are you fighting?" The Doctor asked.
The Captain shrugged, "Cause it's my job." She replied, "And this ambush is the last. Once we win, we can take Danielle to the king and he can execute her as he wishes." She twisted on the spot, "Ready to win, lads?" The whole squad cheered and the Doctor nodded, clapping his hands together.
"Excellent. Let's get this Danielle to the king!" He agreed, surprising Clara by his sudden eagerness, "This war has gone on a week too long, it's time we ended it." He looked over the group, "We're going to battle!" He cried, actually acting like he knew what he was doing. The whole crowd cheered for him, the Captain automatically falling into her role and talking to her soldiers, making sure they all knew their orders. Clara grabbed hold of the Doctor's arm, pulling him down.
"What are you doing?" She hissed, "They want to execute her!"
"They know where she is." He replied, like it was obvious, "Once we're there we can save her."
"Which her?" Clara retorted, "The one who was taken, or the one leading an army?!" He shrugged.
"Both, either. I don't know, I'll work that out when I need to." He dismissed, "I'm going to gather a few of these soldiers together to get to Danni. Keep the Captain busy." With a little push of Clara towards the Captain, he headed towards the group, looking over them as he tried to work out which ones would work best for the plan forming in his head. Clara shot the Captain a shaky smile.
"So, anything I can do?" She asked, clapping her hands together to show she was ready to get to work.
"Been told to keep me busy while he interrogates my men?" The Captain asked bluntly in return and Clara started at how quickly she was confronted. She normally got a few questions in before that, "Don't worry about it," the Captain added with a grin, "I'm more than happy to have you keep me company, Jenny dear."
Clara didn't really know how to react to her obvious flirting, so just carried on, "What were your original plans, Captain..." She trailed off in much the same way the Captain had for her.
"Oh, Harkness." She replied with a smug smirk, "Captain Jack Harkness."
Clara's eyebrows shot up as she was, once again, completely flabbergasted by her answer, "Wait, what?"
~0~0~0~
Danni and Jenny just stared, mouths slightly agape as the woman in front of them stood proudly, a grin on her face at their reaction, "Yeah, I know, I'm fantastic." She agreed, mistaking their bewilderment for awe. She'd straightened, her confidence in herself growing slightly at their reactions.
"Danielle Fielding?" Jenny asked slowly, double checking because that couldn't be right, there was no way that woman was the same person as her step-mum. Sure, some of her speech patterns were the same, but the situation they were in was all wrong. Still, the woman nodded.
"You're lucky, we're a bit short on troops at the moment." She told them, "King Simon's army ambushed one of our platoons a couple of days ago and we need all the help we can get."
Danni shook her head, dumbstruck. The woman was looking at her with absolutely no recognition. She was a later regeneration of herself, the first proper indication that she was going to regenerate again, but the version of her in front of her had absolutely no idea who she was. What could have possibly happened for her to forget who she was?
"Where's the Doctor?" She asked, dreading the answer. There was no way she would be the apparent head of an army if he had anything to say about it, he hated when she got involved in fighting - not that it happened very often.
The confused look that appeared on the other Danielle's face broke both her hearts, because the fact that she could have forgotten him implied that he wasn't there anymore. That this was after the fall of the Eleventh, and she would be on her own without remember any of their time together. Then her face broke out into a grin, "Oh, you mean my dear physician?" She asked and Danni shrugged.
"Sure." She replied.
"King Simon has him." She replied simply and Danni's hearts almost ached in relief, maybe he could explain to her what the hell was going on, "We're going to free him after the fight later on today. Everything is going as it should be."
Danni's hands clenched at her sides, "Don't you think you should be getting him now?" She snapped angrily, Danielle's answer not being good enough for her, "If he's trapped, how are you not out there saving him?"
Jenny laughed nervously, seeing the surprised look on Danielle's face at the smaller blonde's outburst, "Sorry, it's been a stressful day. As you can imagine, Danielle." She said the name unsurely, still not quite understanding what was happening. Danni didn't like being called Danielle by anyone but her father, but the woman in front of them didn't even look peeved at the name, "You said there was a fight later today?"
"Ah, yes!" Danielle exclaimed, looking like she just remembered what she was supposed to be doing, "I'll go grab you some basic armour, then we'll get you placed into the squad you're best suited for. I'm sure you'll be a great help when we win this war." She started to head for the front of the tent, "I won't be a moment, sweethearts." And she disappeared out into the base. Danni turned to Jenny, eyes blazing angrily.
"I don't say sweethearts!" She snapped, in full rant mode, her hands waving through the air as her blood boiled, "I say sweetie. I've always said sweetie, it's like- it's like my trademark term of endearment." She pointed the way the woman had left, "I don't know who she is, but there is no way that's me! I wouldn't just leave my 'physician' to be held in by some king while I played soldier!" Jenny nodded, agreeing completely as she headed towards the maps Danielle had been looking at when they'd first been marched in.
"Nothing about this is right." She replied, running her fingers over one of the maps, "This is just printed on paper. It's like someone has scanned one in a book and made a copy. And, no offence, she's not good enough to run an army. We were marched in after being caught with two of the alleged enemies and she's just accepted us into her army. We could be plants, or anything, but she just went along with it. A proper general wouldn't just accept two random people into their army."
Danni waved off the comment, because she agreed. No version of her was going to be a good leader, she wasn't one to be leading an army to war, "But why else would she claim to be me?" She asked, "And how come I don't recognise myself?" She wandered around the edge of the tent, looking on the tables that lined it. Honestly, for a war scene, it all seemed so incredibly clean. There were books scattered on the tables, but almost in an organised way. She reached out, picking one leather-bound book up and tried to open it. However, while it looked like a book, it had no actual pages, "What the hell?" She asked, turning to Jenny who had looked over at her exclamation. She held the book up, "It's not real." She explained and Jenny's brows furrowed as she walked over.
"What?" She picked up another one, trying to open it, but to no avail "You're right, none of these are real." They both tried another few, Danni knocking her fist on one.
"I think they're cardboard." She said, utterly perplexed at everything that was happening, "I don't understand, what is going on?"
Jenny picked up another book, which was in the same similar old style as the one Danni was currently holding, except this one actually had some contents unlike the ones they'd already tried. The pages were glossy, like they were magazine pages rather than the ancient paper pages that would be expected in their place, "This one looks like a brochure for the planet." She told Danni, flipping through a few pages before holding it out, showing her an aerial shot of the gardens they had landed in, "This has nothing to do with a war, why have it? Their maps have clearer details than any of these."
"Sorry, we've only got robes left." Danielle told them as she walked back into the tent, carrying a dark blue robe and a deep red one, "These look about right, but we've got an excellent seamstress who can alter them quickly before the battle."
Danni, having had quite enough, turned to face her, "What the hell is going on?" She demanded, surprising both Danielle and Jenny, who looked up from the book she was holding. It was rather interesting, telling the history of the family who owned the garden, she was certain that it had this bizarre situation had something do with them.
"I'm sorry?" Danielle asked and Danni nodded, storming forward slightly towards her.
"Yes, you will be." She snapped in reply, "I am Danielle Fielding. I am the bloody Time Child. There is no way in hell that I regenerate into someone who just leaves the Doctor with some pissing king to fight a war!" The woman rolled her eyes as Jenny's widened at the next page. Oh, now that was interesting...
"Oh, I see, you're a Danni and Doctor shipper." She replied, "Look, I know they're a popular couple, but that's not how I play her. I specified that when I signed up."
"Why the hell would people sign up to be me?" Danni scoffed, "This is ridiculous! Tell me what's going on!"
The woman sighed angrily, like she'd had conversations like this before, "Look, I know a lot of people wanted to be Danielle. It's a highly coveted position, but I won it fair. If you have a problem with the casting, take it up with Marie."
"I didn't sign up to be anything." Danni insisted, "I am Danielle Fielding!"
"She is, actually." Jenny piped up, walking over to Danni and showing her the pages she'd landed one, "Look, here's photos of you with this King Simon guy." She held it out so the book was in between the two of them, Danni supporting the other side. There she was, still her current body, next to a rather handsome man in a black suit and a crown. The Doctor was there, thankfully, stood behind her with his arms around her waist, but the King didn't look even remotely perturbed by the close embrace. She took it as a sign nothing had happened to her husband and she calmed down somewhat.
"I've never seen that guy before." She told Jenny, looking at the rest of the photos. Apparently they had been collected together just for the book they were in, all of them with her in it. She ran her finger across the glossy page - 'The Visit from the Time Child', the whole section was about her! It was rather peculiar, is this what the Doctor felt like when people knew who he was? Flattered yet still rather worried?
"It won't have happened for you yet." Jenny reasoned, "Apparently he did propose to you, but the fighting is all a myth. You were turned into a bit of a legend, because shortly after you left there was a string of blonde queens."
"So, none of this is actually real?" She asked Jenny, who shook her head.
"I don't think so." She said, taking the book back and heading over to 'Danielle'. She held it out to her, making sure the woman didn't feel threatened by her, "You see, she's not some warrior, she's just a woman." She explained to the other blonde, who held the book up in front of her like she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Oh my Mum, it's you." She breathed, looking around the book at Danni, "It's actually you."
~0~0~0~
Clara made her way through the crowd of soldiers, heading towards the Doctor, who had already seemed to have gained quite a little group of his own. Around 15 of the 50ish people who had originally charged at them were gathered around him, looking eager to please the 'General', but Clara knew this was more important. There was no way that in a fight being fought against Danielle Fielding anyone called Jack Harkness would be a coincidence. Something incredibly wrong was happening and the Doctor needed to know about it.
"... once we've managed to split off her guards, us four-" he was saying, motioning to three people all with swords, "will be going straight for Fielding. The king wants her bringing back unarmed, so only fight to defend yourselves."
"How good of a fighter is she?" One of the men asked.
"Better than you've probably been told." The Doctor replied, "But we're still better." The group began cheering and the Doctor nodded.
"But that doesn't mean that you can go in expecting to win." He told them, "You have to be on guard. If you don't try and defend yourself, they will win." Clara stepped a bit closer to him.
"Doctor..." She muttered but he waved her away. Her eyes narrowed slightly, not appreciating being dismissed, "Doctor, this is important."
He shot his new friends a smile, "Back in a moment, talk amongst yourselves." He told them before taking hold of Clara's arm, pulling her off to the side. She yanked her arm out of his grasp, shooting him an annoyed look.
"Just cause you drag Danni around doesn't mean you can do the same to me." She snapped, "Look, something really strange is going on."
"Yeah, I had noticed." He snapped in reply. Clara tried to remember that he was just worried about his wife and daughter, "I'm trying to get my wife back from people who think she's leading an army! Everything is a bit weird."
"I don't think that's the biggest issue." Clara told him, "Your captain friend is called Jack Harkness!"
"Really?" He asked, surprised, and she nodded, "Explains why she was flirting with you."
"I'm surprised you recognised that." Clara retorted, "Apart from Danni, those things tend to pass you by."
"But why would Jack be on the opposite side to Danni?" He asked thoughtfully, pointedly ignoring her comment.
"And where are you in all this?" Clara continued and he clicked his fingers a couple of times.
"Oh, apparently this King Simon has Danielle's 'Grand Physician' locked in a dungeon somewhere." He replied excitedly.
"Explains why she's fighting him." Clara agreed, rolling her eyes at the smug look that appeared on his face, "What's the plan?"
"We're going to fight." He replied, "I've got the squad split up into different groups. Most are the distraction, but I've got three coming with me to get Danni. Or, at least, the Danni who is leading the other army." He clapped his hands on her shoulders, "You are going to be taking another five to go get our Danni and Jenny from wherever she's being held."
"Hold on, what?" She exclaimed, "You expect me to be able to fight my way through an army?"
"You'll be fine, you did well against the Cybermen after all." He promised, "The rest of us will be fighting, you'll be using the distraction we cause. At most there will be a few standing guard, but that's what the rest of your group is there for."
"I can't just go waltzing into a battle zone!" Clara hissed, "We've got no weapons, I haven't even been trained! Holding off one Cyberman was alright when I had a whole squad and a gun that disabled them!"
"Well, we don't have a choice!" He snapped in reply, letting his frustration at the situation filter through in his voice. He could go back and get the TARDIS, but he couldn't risk being followed by anyone. If they got their hands on the blue box, who knows what could happen? He needed to get to Danni and Jenny as quickly as possible. The only thing keeping him calm was the fact that at least they had each other. Jenny would do well keeping Danni calm and safe, the knowledge she'd been born with giving her an advantage in a military situation.
"This is serious!" Clara replied, how could he not see that? "People might die!"
"You seem surprised." The Doctor replied, seeming incredibly out of character with his dismissive comment. She was stunned into silence by his attitude, staring at him to try and work out if he was serious.
"You are unbelievable." She retorted, "How are you going to explain that to Danni? She's not going to forgive you getting people killed for her!"
"Look, I'm not happy about it." He retorted, "It's a horrible choice, but it's an easy one. You can all hate me later when she's safe." And with that, he stormed off, over to his new little squad of army men to make sure they all knew their orders. Clara's hands clenched by her side, frustrated at his behaviour. When he was worried about his wife, his sense of reasoning went out of the window, and she just wanted to smack it back into his head. She was sure there was a better way of getting them both back, but he was just too... she could handle herself for a few hours, and it wasn't as if she was on her own! The army wasn't necessary!
"Excuse me," She was tapped on the arm by a young man and she turned, surprised for a moment before smiling at him.
"Yes?"
"Are you Clara?" He asked and she stared, startled because no one here knew her name, "If you are, you're supposed to tell me."
"I am?" She replied and he nodded.
"You are," he confirmed, "But I'm guessing, as you didn't know that, you're not her." He looked rather disappointed, but she just shrugged.
"Do you think she's here somewhere?" Clara questioned, trying to sound like she knew what was going on. He was looking for her, she guessed as there was a Jack Harkness and a Danielle Fielding, but she didn't want to give too much away.
"The stories all depict her with dark hair, so I don't think they would have given her to Danielle's side." He reasoned, "I mean, with the AU Jack, canon seems a bit redundant, but I do think they'd try to keep some of it in tack."
Clara's brows furrowed, the sentiments of his sentence flying over her head, "Sorry, what's AU?" She asked.
"Alternate Universe." He explained, "Oh, you are a newbie aren't you?" She nodded, "Well, personally I don't think that Jack would be paired up with King Simon, but when the girl playing Jack is dating the guy who's playing Simon, you can't really get away from it." Clara looked him over for a moment. Nothing he was saying was making sense, and yet it also felt like she was only missing a single piece of information and she would have the entire puzzle complete in her head. He also seemed nice enough, so she linked her arm with his.
"Okay, you need to tell me everything." She told him friendly but firmly, leaving no room for him to refuse her request, "First, though, tell me all about Clara."
"Well, she was Danielle's best friend." He explained as they walked away from the Doctor, who watched her walk away out of the corner of his eye, "She's a secret role. One person was given a card telling them they were playing her at the beginning of the week. If you find her, you win a gift card and a trophy."
"And you thought it was me?" She asked, "Why?"
"Because you were talking to that general like you didn't care what he thought. Sounded very Clara to me." She grinned.
"I like you." She told him, "Now, why is anyone playing me - I mean Clara at all?"
~0~0~0~
'Danielle' gawped at Danni, looking absolutely stunned to see her. Her gaze kept going between the picture in the book at Danni, like she couldn't believe she was looking at her, "You're really her. You're really Danielle." She breathed.
"Yes, I am." Danni snapped, "And you're someone pretending to be me."
The woman looked surprised at her anger, then held her hands up to show she wasn't trying to offend her, "My name's Bryony. I'm just role playing you. That's what this is, it's a re-enactment."
"A re-enactment?" Danni repeated, "You mean like one of those things where people go around pretending to fight battles but not actually hurting each other?"
Bryony nodded, "Yeah, it's LARP. I'm a LARPer."
"But none of this happened." Jenny pointed out and Bryony shrugged.
"It's just for fun." She explained, "We were all brought up with the story of King Simon and Danielle Fielding. How he never got over her, and all of his wives looked like her because of it. She bewitched him, it was like a fairy tale. We just took that and made a story out of it."
"So I don't end up leading an army into battle?" Danni asked and she shook her head.
"No, that was all us." Bryony promised and Danni felt herself relax. She hadn't become some war-hungry general, and she hadn't forgotten herself. She didn't just abandon the Doctor to some terror-reigning King. Everything was okay, and now she knew that she was rather amused by the entire affair.
"A fairy tale, you say?" She asked.
"Well, you were wooed by a king and still chose your physician over him." Bryony explained, "True love over riches, it's a classic story." Danni turned to Jenny, a smirk pulling at the corners of mouth.
"You hear that?" She told the other woman, "'A classic'."
"That's my father." She reminded her and Danni shrugged.
"Don't care." She teased in reply, "People are playing me! Can you believe it?" She looked so happy, so amazed that anyone would even consider playing her that Jenny couldn't help but smile back at her.
"Hang on," Danni turned back to Bryony, "You said that you didn't ship me and the Doctor." Bryony nodded, "But you know that I left with him, that I chose him?" She nodded again, "Then why don't you think we should be together?"
"Oh, I always thought you were better with Jack Harkness." She replied and Danni's happy look fell to one of horror while Jenny burst out laughing, "What? King Simon said he was always flirting with you, and that you got on with him so well. Plus, look at him!" She flipped a few pages before turning to a picture with just Danni and Jack in a very elegantly decorated room. Jack had picked her up, carrying her bridal style and she was obviously laughing at it, "He's so hot!"
"Ew!" Danni exclaimed as Jenny took the book away from Bryony, holding it out to her.
"Yeah, look how hot he is mum!" She teased, waving the picture in front of him, "Look at him!"
"Stop it!" Danni cried, smacking the book away, "Jack is... technically my dad." She explained to Bryony.
"But you flirted with him!" Bryony protested, "King Simon said he only had eyes for you!"
Danni shrugged, looking slightly sheepish, "We always flirt. It's just what we do." She explained, "Definitely not 'together' though."
"Really?" Bryony asked, sounding terribly disappointed and Danni nodded, giving her an apologetic look, "Damn, it's always my ships that never end up being canon." She stepped up to one of the tables, leaning against it, "So, you and the physician?" Danni nodded, "And she's your daughter?"
"No, just the Doctor's." Jenny replied, "She's technically my step-mum, I just tease her by calling her mum. Even though she is now old enough to be mine."
"Oi!" Danni protested and Jenny giggled, closing the book on Jack and Danni as the door flaps to the tent opened and someone in full armour rushed in.
"Sorry, ma'am!" She greeted, saluting her and Bryony shook her head.
"Don't do that." She told the soldier and Danni smiled again. She was playing her, and actually doing a rather good job of it. Not only had somebody thought her interesting to tell stories about, people were acting her out in stories of their own.
"Sorry, ma'am." She apologised again, "The king's army is approaching, ma'am. Looks like they're going to ambush us now." Bryony frowned.
"But the ambush isn't supposed to be for another couple of hours!" She said, "We're not nearly ready for it! I know Janice needs another hour at least to finish repairing the robes."
"I don't know what to tell you, ma'am. Their main squad is heading over now." Danni held her hand up, stepping forward.
"Hi, Danni Fielding, Time Child." She introduced to the new person, who's mouth dropped as they actually did recognise the person they were basing an entire weekend event around, "Is this the same squad that attacked when we were taken?"
"You're Danielle?" The woman breathed and Danni nodded.
"Yeah," She replied, "Is it the squad?"
"It is, ma'am." Danni shook her head.
"Don't call me that." She scolded gently, "Danni's fine." She turned to Bryony, "That'll be my husband. You took us from him, he won't be happy. Even if he's realised none of this is real he's going to be coming for us."
"Is it the physician?" The new woman asked eagerly.
Danni shot her a smile, "He's called the Doctor, actually, but yeah. What's your name, sweetie?"
"I. C. it's Sarah, but I'm Katie, ma- Danni." She replied, "I'm a massive Danielle and Physician shipper, are you really married to him?"
"I am." Danni confirmed and Katie looked so happy, "But he will be leading an army to come get us, so you might want to get your troops together." Katie nodded, turning back to Bryony.
"What do you want us to do, ma'am?" She asked and Bryony shrugged.
"I don't know! This isn't what was scheduled at all!" She exclaimed, "Er, get everyone together at the front of the base. Tell Janice to finish whatever she's working on then leave the rest. The mages will need to get their phys-reps replenished, so get George on that. Make sure everyone knows this is not a drill, everyone needs weapons and armour. Just because they've decided to push it up doesn't mean we're just going to fall to them."
Danni took a step forward, "What can we do?" She asked.
"You want to fight now?" Jenny asked in disbelief.
"It sounds fun!" Danni replied, "And no one actually gets hurt, do they?" She turned back to Bryony, who shook her head.
"Not on purpose."
"See?" Danni told Jenny, "There's a story being played out about me leading an army to victory and I want to be part of it."
"Why don't you play you?" Katie spoke up timidly.
"No, I couldn't." She replied, "I have no idea what I'm doing, plus Bryony here's doing a great job." Bryony blushed in happiness at the praise, "I could be a mage, or something. Jenny here is great at hand to hand combat," she clapped her hands on Jenny's arms, pushing her forward slightly, "maybe you could find something like that for her."
Bryony looked thoughtful, biting on her thumbnail as she looked down at the ground, "We could be the first army to be actually led by Danielle Fielding." She commented lowly.
"But I don't know what I'm doing!" Danni protested, "You're doing an excellent job, don't go mixing stuff around for me, sweetie."
"It would get back at them for taking Jack." Katie pointed out as the two women seemed to ignore Danni's protests, "We all know that was just James pulling rank. We could be sticking to the canon when they don't."
"It would be pretty awesome." Bryony agreed.
"I'm sure we've got a spare sword in the armoury, but I'm not sure about any plate." Katie exclaimed happily.
"Go get it, we'll see if we can rustle up some proper armour." Bryony instructed and Katie dashed out.
"Hang on, I haven't said yes." Danni insisted, "I just wanted to do some magic! You know," she threw her hand out in front of her, "I could send fire or something. I can't give orders to people!"
"Don't worry about the orders." Bryony reassured, "Everyone knows the roles they have to play. You can just lead us all over the hill. Give out the call to charge then just get into the fight."
"I don't want to lead anyone into anything!" She exclaimed, "It's not my thing, I just follow, I can't-" Katie came back in, carrying what looked like a rather intricate made sword, with beautiful swirls carved into where the blade joined to the hilt, "Oh, that is very nice." She declared, walking over to Katie, who passed it to her. Instead of being too heavy for her to hold up properly, like she had been expecting, the sword was incredibly light weigh, "This isn't metal."
"No, it's laser cut foam." Katie explained excitedly, it was one of her favourite things to talk about it seemed, "It means it's incredibly LARP friendly. If you accidently hit someone too hard with it, it's not going to do a lot of damage." Danni ran her finger over what seemed like paint on the blade, maybe with a varnish on top.
"That's so clever." She breathed, turning to Jenny, "Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"
"You'll do it?" Bryony asked hopefully. Danni twisted slightly to look at her.
"Will you still give all the orders and stuff?" She asked.
Bryony nodded, "All you have to do is lead us over the top of the hill and give the charge order." She turned, looking at the robes again, then held the sword out at arm's length.
"The Doctor's mine." She declared, a grin on her face.
~0~0~0~
The army was ready. The Doctor stood at the front, with Clara on one side and 'Captain Jack' on the other. Behind them stretched the men and women who were all getting ready to battle for what they thought was the King's cause, but in fact were helping him get his wife back. They'd offered him a weapon, but he'd declined, screwdriver in his hand ready for- well, for whenever he could use it.
She had to be scared, that's what was driving him. With Jenny there, at least she wouldn't be on her own, but there was no guarantee that she was still with his wonderful daughter. He didn't worry about Jenny like he did Danni, while he tried to reassure himself that Danni could look after herself, he couldn't never stop himself thinking that she was hurt, or upset, or scared. Jenny could look after herself easily.
And then there was the other Danni. The one leading the army, the one he was going to have to confront any moment now. He was terrified for her as well, what had become of his Danni-Girl to have her actually go into battle. How could she possibly still be the beautiful soul he knew, who wouldn't wish any sort of pain on anyone, when she was going willingly leading people into battle?
He'd have to stop her. However that happened, if she really was planning on doing this, he'd have to be the one to make sure it didn't get too far. And he wasn't sure he could do that. One look into her eyes…
"So, we're just going to stand here?" Clara asked him, leaning to her side so she could talk slightly quieter. She had become much more open to the fighting after their little argument. Maybe she'd seen the fact that he really didn't have a choice, that he had to use what was at hand to get them back.
He pointed the screwdriver at the hill in front of them, scanning it quickly, checking for any traps waiting for them. He checked the results with a flip of his wrist, "Nothing." He told her, like she knew what he was doing, "You know what you have to do, Captain?" He asked their new friend.
"Leave it to us, Doc'." She replied, once again surprising him with how like Jack she was, "Over the top, lads!" She called behind her and there was a rumble of a small cheer from the group. Not too loud to pull attention to them, but enough to show their readiness, "Everyone's got their orders. Let's go!" With a large push, they began marching towards the hill.
"You sure you want me to go after Danni?" Clara asked him.
"I need to find out who this Time Child is, and if it's Danni then I need to stop her." He replied, dreading the answer to that mystery, "No one else can do that but me."
Clara shrugged, keeping her face straight. He really needed to start noticing more around him, "If you say so, Doc." She replied with a tease to her voice. He shot her an annoyed look that really just increased her amusement.
The Captain stopped in her tracks, throwing her arm out in front of him to halt him as well, "Can you hear that?" She asked as they army fell to a stop. The Doctor frowned, listening out and hearing the rustling and the chatter of a group of people being carried in the air.
"They know we're coming." The Doctor realised, "Get ready!" He called as the blonde haired enemy appeared from over the top of the yellow-grassed hill. They came to stop, every single one ready with weapons and varying armour, most themed in the black and silver they'd first encountered the Time Child army wearing, but other colours shone in the sunlight. They all posed, ready to attack on the command, except for the ones that separated to let their leader through. His back straightened, ready for whoever was going to step out into view. This 'Danielle Fielding'.
He started as, with blonde hair shining, his Danni stepped out in a deep blue robe that reached the floor, a sword in hand and a golden crown-like band on her hair. That wasn't some mystical Time Child that they'd been told about, that he was ready to find and stop, that was his Danielle. The one who'd just been taken over at most a couple of hours ago.
She stood in front of the group, looking down at them. Then she raised the sword, "For the Queens!" She screamed and the whole army roared in agreement before rushing down the hill at them.
"Attack!" The Captain screamed and a blur of blue and silver rushed past him. He couldn't believe it, they'd gotten to her, and so quickly as well! He left Clara behind, who was watching, unbeknownst to him, in complete amusement at how shocked he was. He'd really not worked it out, had he?
The moment Danni had noticed him, she'd pulled the bottom of her robe up off the ground, running towards him with her sword in her other hand. They met quite close to the top of the steep slope, her grinning happily at him as he stared, horrified at what they had done to her. She would have never picked up a sword, she would never let him have armour like that.
How cool is this?
Her voice rang out in his head, sounding gleeful, "Danni..." He breathed, not even knowing where to start. He'd have to find out what they'd done to her head and if it was reversible. Well, everything was reversible, it was just a question of scale and pain that came along with it.
Can you believe that it's foam?
She pointed the sword at him, startling him slightly, They all look so real! They're all really clever!
"Look real?" He asked aloud, confused and she nodded. He reached out, poking the sword and it gave way easily underneath his touch. He looked around, seeing people very obviously play-fighting rather than attacking each other with swords. There were people shouting out what damage they were taking, and dramatic people falling to the floor as they 'died'. None of it was real? How had he not noticed? Did they know it wasn't real?
He turned back to her and saw it in her face. She knew it was all pretend, she was having such a good time, he could almost feel it radiating off her. She was happy, she was safe, and she was leading a play army! He should have been angry at himself for not noticing, or at them for not letting him in on the joke, but he was just so happy that she was okay, that they were both okay that he laughed, "It's not real!" He crowed and her brows furrowed.
"You didn't know?" She asked him and then smirked, "I worked it out before you. Does that make me the smart one now?" She teased.
His eyes narrowed and her smirk on her face grew, "I can't believe you never noticed!" She cried.
"Aren't you supposed to be fighting?" He replied, taking a step towards her, "Stop the big, bad, King's Army, Mrs Time Child?"
She took the sword in her other hand, now grasping it with both hands at the grip. It was completely the wrong way to wield such a sword, but he didn't say anything, "I'm going to save my Physician." She told him, trying to be serious even as she smiled, "Don't think you will stop me."
"Oh, I think I will definitely stop you." He retorted before diving at her. He knocked the sword out of her grasp, wrapping her up in his arms as she squealed in surprise. They fell to the floor, him on top of her but his arms taking the brunt of the fall.
"What are you doing?" She cried out with a laugh in her voice, "I'm going to get the robe dirty and it's not mine!"
"You should have thought about that before fighting me, Danielle." He purred in her ear before throwing himself to one side, rolling them both down the hill, her laughing all the way down until they landed at the bottom. She was on top of him this time, panting slightly as he placed a hand in her hair, pulling her down for a kiss in the middle of the battlefield.
~0~0~0~
Jenny had stayed behind, there was another event set for the week afterwards in one of the other gardens and she wanted to stay for it - apparently she'd gotten quite a taste for the re-enacting and had decided to pick it up as a new hobby.
Clara had had a good laugh at the Doctor's expense, finally he was the last one to work out what was going on. Danni had joined in on that when she realised Clara had found out about how it was all LARP before he had. Could he not tell a real sword from a fake sword, really?
He'd acted all offended, but really it was great just to see them all happy and together. All this fighting and working things out was really taking a toll on his hearts, he was getting too old for it. Maybe Clara could keep Danni occupied for a while and he could finally get to learn some knitting. He could knit her a nice hat, scarf and mittens combo. Something to match her eyes. Of course, neither of them really wanted to spend any time apart, but the thought was there.
He stepped into the console room, his hair still slightly damp from the shower he'd needed after rolling around on the ground, spotting Danni leaning against the console with a book in her hand, "How is our victor?" He asked, walking over and sitting next to her. She'd been so happy to have won. Her first act as the 'new queen' had been to free the fabled physician, and there had been a party to celebrate her, even if she'd only stayed to sign a few autographs. Now, though, as she read through the book that she had balanced on her knees, she looked like a sadness had fallen across her.
"You're just jealous cause I won." She retorted, but it was half-hearted. He shifted slightly closer, looking at what she was reading. It was the brochure from the planet that her friend Bryony had let her keep. It had the history of all of the gardens and their owners in it, which he knew she liked to know about, but she had it open on the pictures of them with King Simon, the mysterious man they hadn't met yet.
"Anything interesting?" He asked and she nodded, shifting it slightly.
"'He may have been affectionate with her, but when she turned away he would watch her like there was nothing else in the universe.'" She read out, "'She was so obviously everything to him, I knew I didn't stand a chance.'"
He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her up closer, "There is nothing else in my universe." He promised, placing a kiss on her golden hair. She smiled softly.
"He's talking about Jack." She corrected gently, "No one knew he was my..." She bit her lip, pausing for a moment and going over it again and again in her head, "If they didn't know, then how come they see him looking at me like that?"
He took a moment to word his reply, not wanting to upset her further, "Jack has always cared about you." He replied softly, "It doesn't mean that it was anything paternal that they were seeing." She looked up at him.
"But they were, though, weren't they?" She pressed, "Complete strangers could see how much he cares for me, that must mean something, mustn't it?"
"Yes." He agreed, "That doesn't mean you have to, though." He placed another kiss on her head, "Not unless you want to. No one is forcing you to think of him as anything more than Jack, least of all him." She nodded, looking down at the book again, the words a blur to her but the pictures standing out clearly on the page, "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" He suggested and she sighed.
"I thought I was pregnant." She broke to him and he just stared, surprised as his hearts skipped a beat, "Before we went to Hedgewick's, for about a day. It's never going to happen for us, is it?"
"You never said." He replied instead, because they both knew the answer to it. She shrugged.
"I wanted it to be a surprise." She whispered sadly, "I know I startled you at Craig and Sophie's when I mentioned the baby name. That's why I was thinking about it." She chuckled hollowly, "A baby on the TARDIS, what a terrible idea."
They sat in silence for a while, both lamenting how they could never extend their little family. They both blamed themselves for the loss of something they never had, the image of a little girl with no face running through the halls echoing in both their minds.
"I'm taking Jack's daughter away from him, aren't I?" She whispered and he turned to look down at her, shaking his head.
"No, of course not." He promised, "Danni, he-" Jack had given her up, and he knew what he'd done, "You don't have to accept him any more than you want to." He continued instead.
"If they didn't want me, that's fine." She replied, "I just can't see how I can forgive them as my parents for it." The Doctor didn't know what to say. He was sure there was more to it than they knew, but he'd not asked because she hadn't wanted to know.
"Then don't." He offered, knowing she was looking for reassurance behind her choice. He reached out, taking the book off her and placing it on the floor, "Why don't we take Clara to the theatre?" He suggested, "I'm sure I can find something full of bad music for us to go see."
She shot him a grateful, loving smile. He was trying to change the subject to help cheer her up, and she leant in and placed a kiss on his lips, "Thank you, Theta." He stopped her moving away, looking over her face, taking in every small detail as if it was all new to him.
Then, without any sentimental nonsense, he jumped up, holding his hand out to her, "Come along, Danni-Girl." He commanded, "Places to go and you're wasting your time reading." She beamed, taking his hand and he helped her off the floor.