It was Thursday, which was quite an odd day for Clara to have the Doctor and Danni visiting her, especially since they'd been there the day before. Not that she was complaining, but to have the Time Lord couple with her when she was being an average everyday person seemed to be having it's perks. She'd decided today was the day she would start looking for a place to live, or at least start that process, and that involved going through her little room that she'd been kindly given when she'd first moved into the Maitlands and getting rid of anything she didn't need to save on moving space.
"What about this?" Danni asked, holding up a handbag that Clara didn't remember buying. With a shake of the brunette's head, it went into the pile of things to chuck away. It was becoming quite a sizeable pile, but nothing too drastic. Clara didn't have as much rubbish as she thought she had.
"I've just got a good feeling about this job." She explained, folding up a dress she didn't wear very often and putting it in a box marked 'Clothes', "The pay's good and I get mid-week off, so I can still travel with you two."
"We could always bring you back after you've slept." Danni pointed out, holding up another bag. Oh, that one was quite lovely. Danni chucked it over, and in the box it went, "And we can help you move whenever you get a date."
"I know, I just don't want to put you out." Clara replied, "You've got your own stuff going on around me, who's to say you're even going to be free on that date?" She busied herself with folding more clothes up, chucking a t-shirt in the garbage pile.
"We've got a time machine, remember?" Danni told her with a bit of a laugh in her voice, "What I'm hearing it 'I'd love to ask for your help but I don't think you'll be here on time'."
"You turned up three times last week aiming for Wednesday, and not actually on the Wednesday at all." Clara offered as reasoning, "His flying's getting worse."
"It's his old age." Danni replied, standing up off the floor and walking over to help her fold the rest of the clothes that had been deemed too nice to throw away but not needed in the immediate future, "He's started falling asleep with his glasses on, it's downright adorable." Clara shot her a smirk.
"And how old are you these days?" She teased, "Hitting the big 5 0 soon?"
The truth was Danni didn't know how old she was anymore. She used to track her birthday, back before she regenerated, but now it seemed a bit redundant. She'd always teased the Doctor over never knowing how old he was, but it seemed too much of a hassle these days to keep a track of her own age. She paused, shirt half-folded in her hands as she thought on it. She remembered talking to him about their 20th anniversary just before they'd headed to Hedgewick's, but she actually didn't know how long ago that was, now. They spent so much time exploring between visits to Clara, it could have been months, it could have been decades.
She smiled to herself as she thought on all the things he'd shown her. All the beautiful planets, all the wonderful people they'd met together. There was one planet where the people had been brainwashed by a classic villain, hell-bent on taken over the world and having everyone as their slaves. They'd had to run from the police force, hand in hand. She'd looked up at him as they'd been turning a corner and she couldn't remember seeing him so happy.
"Let's just stick with mid-40's for now." She told Clara, "Don't want to age myself prematurely, after all."
"Yeah, I bet." Clara scoffed, "You're just feeling old. 49 for another few years, eh?" Danni chucked the shirt she was holding at the brunette, who laughed at her reaction.
"I can leave you to pack on your own." Danni warned.
"No you wouldn't." Clara replied factually as the door opened and Angie stepped in.
"Post!" She declared in a tired tone, like it was physically hard for her to bring the letter she had in her hand up to Clara. Danni smiled at her.
"How's the new phone working for you?" She asked, "Better than the old one." Angie shrugged as Clara took the letter off her.
"It's alright, I suppose." She replied.
"Be nice, Angie." Clara told her offhandedly as she frowned at the obviously very old envelope with incredibly beautiful writing on the front, stating her address.
"Sorry." Angie sighed before turning back to Danni, "I suppose it's not too bad."
"Not too bad, that's what we always strive for." She replied. Clara turned the envelope over 'Open Alone with Danielle'.
"Alright, go do your homework." Clara told the teenager, passing Danni the letter as she ushered Angie out.
"You're very welcome for me bringing up your mail!" Angie replied pointed.
"Yes, thank you. Homework." She commanded before shutting the door.
"This is off Vastra." Danni told her, recognising the writing almost instantly, handing it back to Clara, "Why she's sending you post 100 years in the future instead of just contacting the TARDIS?" Clara shrugged, opening the envelope and pulling out another one along with her own letter. She passed Danni the other one, which was addressed to her, and started reading hers while Danni quickly opened her own.
My dearest Danielle,
I know it may seem odd for me to contact you in such a fashion. Unfortunately an emergency has arisen and I'm in desperate need of your assistance. I have enclosed a candle within the envelope for Clara that will induce a trance state and enable us to communicate. While I have no worries that you will follow my instruction, I am also under no illusion that she will light it. So, I have written these letters to allow the same soporific embedded in the fabric of the paper to take effect.
Hope you are well, my dear. Please take care before falling into the trance, I would not want you to hurt yourself.
Clara dropped to the floor beside her as a grin spread on Danni's face. Oh, that Vastra, always so very clever.
~0~0~0~
Danni sat up with a smile, looking around the room she found herself in. The room itself was quite small, with windows that she couldn't see out of on some of the windows, while the others swirled and changed colour. She was sat at a six sided table that shone black and had a golden pattern on it, Clara at her side and Vastra, Jenny and Strax across from them.
"So glad you could make it." Vastra greeted the pair as she served them all tea in a very fancy looking tea set.
"I feel there could have been better ways to contact us." Danni replied, grinning as she watched the wallpaper change, "It is rather impressive, though. Just like a real dream." Vastra smiled as she handed Danni her own cup.
"Where are we?" Clara asked the blonde, taking her own cup of the lizard woman.
"Exactly where you were, but sleeping." Jenny explained.
"Time travel has always been possible in dreams." Vastra added as she finished pouring the last cup of tea, "Not all of us are blessed with a blue magical box."
"And I'm guessing there's a reason you didn't contact us through the TARDIS." Danni speculated, "One to do with my husband?"
Vastra nodded, "We are awaiting only one more participant."
"Who?" Danni asked at the same time Strax groaned.
"Oh, no - not the one with the gigantic head?" He lamented and Danni frowned - who could that be? Everyone was here, surely?
"It's hair, Strax." Jenny corrected.
Strax scoffed as if the word tasted disgusting in his mouth, "Hair!"
With a poof of smoke in the chair next to Danni, the last participant in their meeting appeared. Danni turned to greet their new guest but froze at the sight of River there, looking almost confused as she looked around before her gaze fell on Vastra.
"Madame Vastra!" She greeted, her usual smirk of a smile appearing on her face.
"Professor!" Madame Vastra replied in kind.
"What is she doing here?" Danni demanded. River had been absolutely brilliant during the time the Doctor had forgotten her, but it didn't mean that Danni had, for one moment, forgiven her for what she'd done. Under any other circumstance she probably could have ignored her presence, or even been absolutely fine with her being there, but knowing that something had happened involving her husband, her Theta, made her feel so much more defence.
"I know that your relationship with Professor Song is quite turbulent as of late," Vastra replied calmly, "but beyond yourself, she has the most knowledge concerning your husband." She turned back to River as Danni scowled at her, knowing she was right and hating it even more, "Help yourself to some tea." She offered.
"Why, thank you." River replied, however instead of reaching out for the last of the cups, a champagne flute was suddenly in her hand. Danni blinked in surprise, only noticing the cooler with the bottle in it after River holds it up as a toast to them all.
"How did you do that?" Jenny asked, amazed.
"Disgracefully." River replied in a tease, taking a sip. Danni looked down at her cup of tea, giggling in delight as it suddenly changed to a cola ice cream float without any indication of the change at all.
"Hey, look!" She cried, picking it up and taking a sip through the straw, "Oh, it even tastes right!" Just like the ones she and Ten had tried on Blackpool beach while Donna was visiting home.
"It's a simple matter of controlling your own dream space." River explained, leaning slightly closer, "Your telepathy skills are coming along nicely."
"Me and the Doctor have been practising." She explained, "After he forgot me, my nightmares came back. He wanted to give me control over them, I just didn't expect to be able to control a mass dream."
"Well, you've always had talent in that area." River praised, "You get that from me. I've always said that, even before we went to the Library." Danni's eyes shot up from her drink, meeting with River's as she smiled sadly at her daughter. She was so young and so blonde. Those brown eyes behind glasses hadn't looked at her for a long time, and held so much anger. A lot more than she remembered.
"You're in the Library?" She asked quietly and River nodded, turning her attention to Clara.
"It's nice to see you again, Clara." She stated and Clara nodded, taking a sip of her tea.
"Well, I'm not sure I can say the same." Clara retorted, feeling angry on behalf of her two friends. Danni, who was still feeling so hurt by the actions of the bushy haired woman, and the Doctor who had been run half-ragged with the worry over his wife when she knew all along where she was.
River, however, didn't look offended, in fact her smirk grew at the snappy comment, "Ah, I can see why they like you." She commented, taking a sip of her champagne.
"And I can see why they don't like you." Clara shot back.
"Have you gone a darker green?" Strax asked, pulling their attention to Madame Vastra, who was looking slightly embarrassed. While she had known that Danielle and her mother did have their issues, she had believed them to have moved past them by this point in Danielle's time stream. Apparently she'd miscalculated, and with Clara also against the Professor, perhaps it might have been better to have two separate conferences.
"Perhaps we should get down to the business at hand." Vastra replied with a slight clearing of her throat.
"That might be good, dear, yes." Jenny agreed, slightly amused by her wife's embarrassment. Madame Vastra chucked what appeared to be dust into the air, a face of a man appearing in the air, made up of the particles. A bold man, with a stern look on his face.
"Clarence DeMarco. Murderer, under sentence of death." Vastra explained to the group and Danni frowned, wondering why they were being shown such a horrid man, "He offered us this in exchange for his life." She waved her hand through the image and it shifted, changing into a bunch of circular symbols floating in the air.
"Space time coordinates." River declared, looking them over as she tried to work out if she recognised the place they were pointing to.
"This, Mr DeMarco claims, is the location of the Doctor's greatest secret." Vastra replied.
"Which is?" Clara asked, taking another sip of her tea.
"We don't know. It's a secret!" Jenny replied, as if it was obvious.
"The Doctor only discusses his secrets with one person, I hope that you are not under the illusion of anything otherwise." Vastra told her firmly and Clara glanced at Danni, who was studying the coordinates closely, "Danielle, do you know what it could possibly be?" Danni shook her head.
"I can't read coordinates." She replied, "The Doctor did try and teach me once, but we got... distracted." She settled on, flushing slightly as Clara rolled her eyes. Of course they did, they were like a couple of teenagers!
"You two are ridiculous!" She exclaimed and Danni picked up her drink, as if she was hiding behind the glass.
"It just happened!" She moaned and Clara grinned at the flush in her cheeks.
"It better have not been in the console room!" She warned cheekily, "Some of us still have to go in there!"
"So what else did this DeMarco tell you?" River asked shortly, really not appreciating the talk of her daughter and her husband in such a fashion, "He didn't buy his life with some co-ordinates - how did he prove their value?"
"One word, only." Vastra replied.
"What word?"
"One I'd heard in connection with the Doctor before. Trenzalore." There was a crash, the sound of glass shattering and everyone turned from the conversation between Professor and Madame to look at Danni. Her glass was shattered on the table, the liquid spreading across its surface.
"It's Trenzalore." She whispered, hearts suddenly pounding painfully in her chest, "The coordinates are for Trenzalore." It was too early for this, their time couldn't be up already! She knew exactly what Trenzalore meant for her husband, for them. 'At the fall of the Eleventh.'
River could see the panic rising on her daughter's face, so with one hand on her arm to comfort her, she turned back to Vastra, "How exactly did he describe what he was giving you?" She demanded.
Vastra waved her hand down the middle of the coordinates, changing the projection back to DeMarco's face.
"'The Doctor has a secret, you know. He has one he will take to the grave. And it is discovered.'" River's hand suddenly fell through the air and she spun in her chair to find Danni gone, the chair empty and the mess from the float disappeared.
"Where did she go?" Clara asked.
"Her panic must have woken her up." River explained, "She's probably going to go look for him."
~0~0~0~
Danni shot up into a sitting position, looking around, disorientated for only a moment. She'd managed to move herself onto Clara's bed just before falling into the trance state, but by the way Clara was passed out on the floor, she couldn't say the same for her friend. It didn't matter, though. Clara would be fine, she'd wake up soon and at most might be slightly bruised from the floor
"Angie? Artie?" The Doctor's voice rang out through the house and she scrambled off the bed, hands sweaty as she dashed for the door.
"Theta!" She screamed, rushing down the stairs, "Theta!" She found him at the bottom of the set of stairs that lead straight up to Clara's room. He had a blindfold over his eyes, but was holding it up so he could see her, a worried frown already appearing on his face. It wasn't like her to just shout out her, private, name for him in the middle of a house like that.
"Danni-" She ploughed straight into him, chucking her arms around her husband and holding onto him tightly. Her mind raced over everything that word meant, that terrible place and she shook with the fear that it meant the end. The end of her husband, the end of her life with him.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." He whispered worriedly, wrapping his arms around her in reply, holding her tightly as she shook, "You're okay." He looked up at the sound of more movement, and Clara had appeared at the top of the stairs, one hand on the side of her head like she had a headache.
"What's going on?" He asked Clara firmly but before she could answer his attention was back on Danni, who was shaking her head into his chest.
"No." She whimpered, "No, please." He placed a kiss on her hair, cradling her tighter against him.
~0~0~0~
Normally a grown woman curled up on the lap of her husband would have been a rather strange sight for her, but when it came to the Doctor and Danni, it actually was pretty normal. She walked into the front room where the two were sat on the sofa, Danni holding onto her husband like she was afraid he was going to disappear, the Doctor placing kisses on her hair every so often. Neither of them were saying a word, just holding onto each other and it would have been rather sweet if it wasn't so worrying.
She placed down their cups of tea on the coffee table in front of them before nipping out to get her own. It seemed a bit strange, having just dreamt about drinking tea to then actually have on in real life, but what else was she supposed to do in a crisis?
"Is she okay?" Clara asked gently, nodding towards Danni before heading into the kitchen for her own mug. The Doctor nodded, although he wasn't sure. She'd not said anything after hugging him, and she wouldn't let him go. He should be able to tell, work it out, but she wasn't even talking to him on a telepathic level. All she wanted was for him to hold her and never let go, and it was, quite frankly, frightening.
"She'll be fine." He replied, placing another kiss on her hair, "River asked Vastra for the exact words - what were they?"
She grabbed her own cup, heading back to them as she recited back what the floating head of the man had told them, "The Doctor has a secret he will take to the grave. It is discove-" She trailed off, stopping in front of them, surprised by the sudden look of sadness on the Doctor's face, the way the tears gathered in his eyes, "Doctor?" She asked, concerned.
"Sorry." He whispered, tightening his grip on Danni, now understanding why she wouldn't let him go. He thought they had years, millennia together, and while it was probably not as bad as Danni would be worrying about it, he knew what it meant. The start of the end.
"And it was Trenzalore?" He asked, voice breaking, "It was definitely Trenzalore?"
Clara gave a little nod, watching him break down, the tears falling down his face, "Yeah." She confirmed quietly. Danni lifted her head, looking up at her husband with big, devastated brown eyes. He quickly cupped her face, studying every part of it, smiling at her through his tears.
"It will be okay." He promised her gently and she shook her head, breaking out of his grip as she stared at him in disbelief.
"No, it's not." She replied firmly, "This is never going to be okay, and you know it, otherwise you wouldn't be upset too."
"Danni-" He started, trying to calm down but she jumped off his lap, backing away towards the door.
"You're doing it again!" She exclaimed, shaking with her tears, "Lying to my face, deciding that I can't handle it. I'm upset, doesn't mean I'm bloody stupid!" And with that, she turned and rushed out of the house. The Doctor leant back on the sofa, putting his hand over his eyes, trying to calm himself but unable to find it in him.
"Oh, dear..." He whispered so quietly Clara barely heard him at all. He shook his head, looking up and smiling at her. Their friend, their Clara, "Sorry." He told her before dashing out after his Danielle.
He found her underneath the console, in his little hiding space. Sat on the floor, ankles crossed but her knees pulled up against her chest as she hugged them. He walked over slowly, not wanting to startle her, sitting down next to her.
"Don't tell me it will be okay." She started before he could even open his mouth, "None of this is okay."
"I know." He replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer, "But it will be. It's just the grave, it's already there."
"Like the linear passage of time has ever meant anything to you." She retorted, "We met out of sync, who says you can't-" She trailed off, her voice hitching as the tears came back, "You can't die, Theta, not yet." He closed his eyes, pulling her up close as he did. He hated the idea of her being alone, not just alone, but upset and alone. He was supposed to be the one who comforted her, not the one who made her feel that way.
"I'm always here." He whispered into her hair, "The dead, they don't leave us, not really. They leave trails of laughter and tears in their wake. The love that they held for us never goes away. We carry that forever with us in our hearts, mixed with our own. And I have a lot of love to leave behind for you, Danielle."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She asked, "It's still not you." He knew. Oh, how he knew when it came down to it, those words did not make a difference. When he'd killed her, any and every piece of sentimental nonsense had gone through his head and none of them mattered, because none of them were her. But, before he could reply, Clara appeared at the top stairs leading down to them. Danni looked away from him and smiled sadly at the brunette. Clara walked down slowly arms crossed until she was at the bottom of the stairs, where she sat down so she was on their level.
"Well?" She asked gently.
"Trenzalore." The Doctor snarled, the name disgusting on his tongue, "I've heard the name, of course." He placed a kiss on Danni's hair again before standing up, "Dorium mentioned it, a few others." He pulled out his screwdriver, pointing it at the wires above his head.
"On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a Question will be asked, a question that must never, ever be answered." Danni recited from memory.
"'The fall of the eleventh'?" Clara repeated and the Doctor nodded.
"Always suspected what it was, never wanted to find out myself." He pocketed his screwdriver, motioning for Clara to walk over, "Right, come here, give me your hand." He commanded and Clara did as he asked. He pulled a cable down, taking hold of her hand in the other, "Now. The coordinates you saw will still be in your memory. I'm linking you into the TARDIS telepathic circuit, won't hurt a bit." He explained before jabbing the cable into her hand.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, offended at the pain she felt shooting from being stabbed.
"I lied." The Doctor replied shortly.
"Danni saw them too." Clara pointed out crossly, grumpy because it had hurt, "You could have done the same for her."
"I know." The Doctor replied.
"OK." Clara stated shortly, "What is Trenzalore? Is it your big secret?"
"No. " The Doctor replied, rummaging through the wires once again, getting everything in place that he needed to be able to follow the coordinates.
"OK, what then?"
"It wasn't the secret that's been discovered," Danni murmured, pushing up off the floor and wrapping her arms around her husband, "It was his grave. By fall it means die. The fall of the eleventh is the-" she paused, taking a shaky breath, "It means the death of the eleventh. His death."
"When you are a time traveller, there is one place you must never go." The Doctor explained to Clara, "One place in all of space and time you must never, ever find yourself. Trenzalore is where I'm buried." He shifted Danni's grip, taking her hand in his, fingers linked, before walking her up the stairs to the controls.
"How can you have a grave?" Clara demanded, following them up, because he looked very much alive to her.
"Because we all do - somewhere out there in the future, waiting for us." The Doctor explained, flipping a few switches to pull the coordinates out of the telepathic circuit and into the console, "The trouble with time travel, you can actually end up visiting..."
"But you're not going to." Clara cried, joining the pair on the other side of the Doctor, "You just said it's the one place you must never go."
"Of course he's not." Danni replied certainly, "He's just dropping us off, aren't you?" She turned to her husband, looking for confirmation. They both knew that they couldn't just abandon Vastra and Strax, that didn't even need to be said. He would be planning to stay on the TARDIS, giving her instructions, like he had with Rory when she and Amy were stuck in Two Streams. That way he was still in control. Knowing him, his plan was already forming in his head.
Then why did he look so apologetic, "I have to save Vastra and Strax." He told her gently, "Jenny too, if it's still possible."
"You can't be thinking of going out there!" She exclaimed, "That's your grave! Me and Clara will be fine, won't we sweetie?" She turned to Clara, who nodded her agreement, not even considering protesting the idea. The Doctor appreciated it, from both of them, their love and loyalty meant more to him than he could ever say.
He took both of Danni's hands in his own, making her look at him, "They cared for us during the dark times," He explained slowly, "They looked after you when I couldn't, when I was selfish and they never questioned me, never judged me, they were just..." He pulled her hand to his mouth, placing a kiss on her palm, "kind. I owe them. I have a duty." Danni sniffed, her eyes watering.
"They'd understand." She told him weakly and he nodded.
"I know." He replied.
"But I would go too." She admitted, "Just... Just don't leave my side, yeah?" He let go of one of her hands to cross over his chest twice.
"No point in telling you this is too dangerous." He stated, turning back to Clara who shook her head.
"None at all." She agreed, "How can we save them?"
"Apparently..." He straightened, placing Danni's hands on the console so she could hold on tightly, "by breaking into my own tomb!" And he flipped a switch, sending them into an incredibly turbulent flight. Danni's grip on the console didn't help at all and she quickly fell onto her backside as the Doctor struggled to control their ship.
"What's that?" Clara exclaimed, falling forward to grab hold of the console.
"She's not happy with you!" Danni called, struggling to get back onto her feet, so she settled with wrapping her arms around the railings.
"I didn't think she would be!" The Doctor yelled back, trying as hard as he could to force the machine to follow his commands, "I'm about to cross my own time line in the biggest way possible - the TARDIS doesn't like it."
"None of us like it!" She replied.
"She's fighting it!" He explained, hand on one lever as his other held down a button, overriding the new directions the TARDIS had put in place, forcing her to head to the coordinates he'd given her, "Hang on! Hang on!" And they did. The Doctor held onto the lever, Clara onto the console and Danni onto the railings as they were thrown backwards and forwards in time. The console sparks, Clara yelling in surprise as Danni squeezed her eyes shut. The TARDIS was resisting, she hadn't fought back this hard for a while. The console exploded, sending smoke and the force sent both Clara and the Doctor flying from the centre, Clara grabbing the top of the railings just in time as the Doctor slammed into Danni. She let out a loud groan as he wrapped his arms around her, steadying himself as the room went dark.
"Are you okay?" He asked her and she nodded.
"Let's not do that again." She replied and he placed a kiss on her hair, scrambling up and over to the console once again. The TARDIS seemed to have settled, the violent rocking having halted but nothing else seemed to be happening either.
"She doesn't want to land." He explained as they all coughed through the smoke, "She's shut down." He tried flipping a few switches, hoping to get them back online and flying once again, but it was no use. The TARDIS wasn't taking them anywhere else.
"So we're not there." Clara surmised. The Doctor shook his head, trying another lever before giving up. He glanced at the door.
"We must be close." He replied. He started to rush over to the door, only to stop next to Danni. She looked up from the floor at him, his hand outstretched for her. He looked terrified, solemn. He was about as happy about doing this as the rest of them, probably less so because it was his grave. She knew how he felt about endings at the best of times, this had to be absolutely awful. There was no comfort in your own gravestone, even if it gave thousands of years for them, it still meant he really was going to die.
She smiled softly at him, taking his hand and he helped her stand, pulling in for a quick kiss she knew would have been longer if he'd not been so nervous. He led them both to the front door, opening it off to show the burning planet they were orbiting around. It looked dead and horrible and thought of her Theta buried down there, burning away with everything else that might have been there had a lump building up in her throat, devastation flooding her. It was so horrible, not what she wanted for him at all. He deserved better.
He pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist so she could hold onto him tightly and so he could remind himself that it wasn't yet. He wasn't dead yet, he was still alive and still fighting, his wife at his side, who's pain was a bittersweet reminder that she loved him dearly. He knew, one day, she was going to have to walk away from him, that she didn't have the luxury of being dead like he would have, she'd have to feel that loss after already losing everything else that had been hers as well. At least she'd still have the TARDIS. She'd still have the TARDIS.
"Always thought maybe I'd retire." He declared sadly as Clara joined them at the door. She wasn't too fond of the view, either. How could either of them end up on such a terrible planet? "Take up watercolours, or bee-keeping, or something."
"We can still do that." Danni whimpered from his side, looking up at him with a forced smile on her face, "I could finally learn to knit." He chuckled hollowly, appreciating her attempt to cheer him up. She'd once said it was her job to cheer him up when things were bad, but it wasn't. She didn't have to do anything of the sorts for him, but she always did.
"So. How do we get down there?" Clara asked, "Jump?"
"Don't be silly!" He replied with a scoff in his voice, "We fall." He turned, Danni closing the door behind them as he headed to the console, "She's turned off practically everything, except the anti-gravs." He stopped, pulling out his screwdriver, "Danni-Girl!" He called and she rushed to his side.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Guess what I'm turning off?" She grinned, wrapping her arms around his waist and he soniced the console. Suddenly they were plummeting, the g-forces pushing them to the floor. Clara was screaming as they fell through the atmosphere, but the Doctor and Danni laughed with each other as they laid on the cold metal together. He met her gaze, saw the warmth and the love in them, and knew that at least if he died, he'd die happy.
The TARDIS landed with a painful thud, and after waiting a moment to see if there was going to be any more movement, the Doctor was on his feet once again. He dashed to the doorway, not waiting for the two women to find their bearings, instead opening the door to look outside. Clara watched Danni hesitate and shot her a reassuring smile.
"It's going to be okay." She promised the blonde, who nodded, but didn't look convinced.
"I know." She whispered and Clara rolled her eyes, walking up to her and linking their arms.
"I'll just stick here until I can believe you mean that." She said brightly, squashing down her own trepidation at the events that were unfolding. Danni let out a little breathy laugh.
"Have I ever told you how much you remind me of me before I regenerated?" She asked Clara, whose brows furrowed in confusion.
"Why's that?" She asked.
"By being the happy one when everyone else is sad." Danni explained as they joined the Doctor at the doorway. He'd already stepped out onto the planet outside, taking in the desolation, the grey dust and the thousands upon thousands of tombstones that lined the area. He turned around, looking at the two, his heartbreak at his own end clear on his face.
"Doctor..." Danni whispered hopelessly and he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze.
"You OK? Visiting your own grave - anyone would be scared." Clara asked.
"It's more than that. I'm a time traveller. I've probably time-travelled more than anyone else." He explained.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning... my grave is potentially the most dangerous place in the universe." He took a deep, shuddering breath to steal himself, "Shall we?" He reached out behind him, looking for his wife, and with a quick nudge off Clara, she took his hand. Clara closed the door behind them, and they set off into the graveyard.
"Gravestones are a bit basic." Clara commented in a low tone, one that she always found herself and other people using when they were in a graveyard.
"It's a battlefield graveyard, my final battle." The Doctor replied in the same low tone.
"Our final battle." Danni corrected firmly, "I may or may not be buried here too, but you're not telling me I didn't fight by your side until the end, Spaceman."
"No, there was probably no stopping you." He murmured in reply. He'd not even considered that, what if she was buried here too? Seeing his own grave was one thing, but hers as well? Knowing that he'd failed to keep her safe, that even if she'd been brought back to be buried here, it still meant that she had died...
"Why are some of them bigger?" Clara asked as they made their way through the stones.
"They're soldiers, the bigger the gravestone, the higher the rank." The Doctor explained as they came across a clearing. On a hill, right in front of them, stretching out into the sky was the silhouette of the TARDIS, stretching high up into the sky.
"Oh no." Danni whispered in horror, recognising the statue for what it was. The Doctor, on the other hand, tightened his grip in frustrated helplessness at the sight.
"Well. Bright side - it's a helluva monument." Clara offered.
"It's the TARDIS." The Doctor bit out and she nodded.
"I can see that."
"No. When a TARDIS is dying, sometimes the dimension dams start breaking down." He replied, almost shaking, "They used to call it a size leak, all the bigger-on-the-inside starts leaking to the outside. It grows. When I say that's the TARDIS, I don't mean it looks like the TARDIS - I mean it actually is the TARDIS. My TARDIS from the future." He let go of Danni, storming off ahead of the two women. The TARDIS would have moved to Danni on his death, she should have taken it and flown away. The only reason the TARDIS was there was because his Danni-Girl would have died before she could have taken the blue box. It was just proof, undeniable proof that she had died first. He was going to have to live through her dying, he was going to fail to save her, again.
Clara shot Danni an apologetic look, sorry that they all were having to go through this, even if it wasn't their fault. Danni shot her one in reply, and Clara set off after him.
"Danni." A voice called and she spun around, gasping in terror, only to see River stood behind her. The same River who had been at the conference call, the one who was in the Library and very much dead, "Don't speak, don't say my name – he can't see or hear me, only you can, and Clara if I decide to let her in." River quickly explained.
"Danni!" The Doctor called, suddenly realising that his wife wasn't following them, and in fact was staring the opposite direction to where they were heading.
"We're mentally linked, it's the conference call. I kept the line open." River quickly explained, obviously aware the Doctor was right behind her, "Before you shove me away, I can help." She begged, obviously seeing Danni's intention to shove her out of her head.
"Why should I let you?" Danni hissed, "You're the one who didn't want me, remember?"
"Who are you talking to?" The Doctor asked, appearing at her side, "I know it's horrible, but we need to get..." He trailed off and staring straight ahead in surprise, "River?" Danni opened her mouth, ready to explain that she didn't intentionally bring River along when he strode forward, stopping at a grave that had the archaeologist's name carved into the stone.
"That can't be right." Clara declared, joining him at his other side.
"No, it can't." He agreed.
"She's not dead."
"Oh, she's dead, I'm afraid." The Doctor replied, running his fingers over the name, "She's been dead for a very long time."
"Does he have to stroke me like that?" River declared, "It's weird enough with the console." Danni snorted and the Doctor looked over his shoulder in confusion. Not really knowing what to do, she wiped her eyes, pretending she was crying rather than laughing and he turned back to the grave, pulling out his screwdriver.
"But I met her!" Clara protested. Danni glanced up at River, who was smirking smugly.
"Always could make you laugh, couldn't I, Danni-Girl?" The projection asked and Danni nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Hush, Melody." She whispered before the two shared a look. One they perfected over their time together back when she was a red-head, like they were sharing an inside joke.
Clara turned around, hearing Danni talking to herself, but started at the sight behind the blonde. Men in suits with very white faces and angry-looking mouthed moved together in a group and towards them, "Doctor!" She exclaimed. The Doctor turned around and started in horror at the men approaching his wife.
"Danni!" He cried and she turned to see them as well. She screamed, rushing over to him, letting him pull her closer. He quickly pushed her behind him, pulling out his screwdriver and tried to scan the creatures.
"This man must fall as all men must The fate of all is always dust." Their voices echoed in the air, all as one.
River flickered into existence next to Danni's side once again, "If it's not my gravestone, then what is it?" She asked the blonde.
"I don't know." She snapped lowly, Clara frowning again as she turned to her friend who was seemingly talking into thin air, "It can't be your grave, you don't have a grave! You burnt up."
"Danni, are you okay?" Clara asked her and she nodded before gasping, grabbing Clara's arm with both hands.
"It's a false grave!" She exclaimed excitedly as River nodded.
"It's a false grave." She agreed, "Why would I have a false grave?"
"To hide something!" Danni cried, "Doctor!" He turned around, "It's a false grave!"
"Yes, I got that." He replied, a bit shorter than he intended as they were advanced on. He smacked the screwdriver against his hand, it couldn't pick up anything from them!
"Maybe it's a secret entrance to the tomb!" River suggested offhandedly and Danni jumped up and down, still clinging onto Clara's arm.
"Maybe it's a secret entrance to the tomb!" She exclaimed excitedly. The Doctor smacked his forehead with his screwdriver. Once again he was too busy worrying about Danni to actually work out the situation. He was getting sloppy in his old age.
"Yes, of course, makes sense." He replied, turning around and running to her side, "River wouldn't have a grave, she doesn't die here?"
"Wait, she is actually dead?" Clara asked and Danni nodded.
"Do keep up, sweetie." She replied as the Doctor soniced the grave. They all yelled out as a trap door appeared underneath them and they tumbled down into the false grave.
"The man who lies will lie no more When this man lies at Trenzalore."