They pulled over into a well where a ladder led down to the new tracks down below. Clara placed her hands on her hips, trying to catch her breath as she looked down the tunnel. The creatures were mobile, but they didn't seem too fast.
"Maybe if I ask them really nicely, they'll fill you up again," she snapped back.
"There must be a way we can..." Danni started as Fenton reached forward. Surprised, she stepped backwards as he tried to snatch the TARDIS from her arms.
"Give me that machine! Hand it over!"
"Hey!" Danni shouted, pulling it back. The two fought for a moment, and Danni watched as, in slow motion, the TARDIS fell from her arms and down the hole where the ladders led.
"Theta!" she screamed, leaning over the edge, watching the TARDIS be eaten up by the darkness underneath. Her hearts froze as she heard the alarms blaring in her ear. She'd dropped him. The TARDIS was compromised, the shielding might not have held up. Something was attacking their home and she'd dropped it down into the dark abyss. "Theta! Answer me!"
She pushed up onto the railings, trying to climb over. Clara grabbed her arm before she could go over the edge. "What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded.
"I'm going after my husband," Danni snapped. "Let me go, Clara. He's down there and he could be hurt and I'm not leaving him!"
Clara stared at her as the sound of static echoed down the dark, damp tunnel. The creatures were closing in, but at least they knew where they were. Danni going down could be suicide. At least the Doctor was in the TARDIS.
"No," she declared firmly. "I'm not letting you."
She pulled Danni back and the blonde yelped as she fell to the floor, skidding on the few stones and concrete. She glared up at Clara, angry beyond belief.
"You're not letting me?!" she exclaimed and Clara nodded.
"The Doctor will be fine," she dismissed. "We, on the other hand are not, and I'm not letting you be stupid and get flattened because you can't control yourself!" She pointed down the tunnel. "Now do as you are told and run!"
Danni looked ready to hit her, but Clara didn't back down and for a too long a moment the pair stared each other down. Suddenly Clara realised just why they fought so much over this; the Doctor would only ever try and save her, and no matter what she would always try and chuck herself in the path of danger. But not under her watch.
Danni's eyes filled with tears and Clara almost relented because she looked so heartbroken. But then she nodded. "Fine," she snapped.
Still, Clara didn't want to take any chances, so she took a tight hold on Danni's hand and they all continued running away from the creatures.
"Theta, Theta, please answer me," Danni panted as they ran, glancing over her shoulder back. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please answer me."
"Danielle, I'm alright," he replied and her pace sped up.
"Where are you?" she asked. "I-I couldn't see you, it was too dark."
"I don't know," he said and she whimpered as she cried. "My shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that and I've had it."
"I'm going to come back for you," she promised him. "The moment I can get down I will."
"Um," he replied and she skidded to a stop, pulling Clara with her.
"Um? What's um?" she demanded.
"I'm on the train lines," he said lowly and her hearts skipped painfully. "And there's a train coming. Of course there is."
"Then get off the train line!" she screamed. She glanced back down the tunnel where the shadows of the creatures following them flickered on the walls, the emergency lighting giving everything such a creepy feel.
"Short-term re-materialisation? Not enough power," he listed off. "Teleport? Not enough power. Re-route the heart of the TARDIS through – not enough power! Not enough power!"
Danni shook her head. "No, there has to be a way," she whimpered. She needed to get back down to the track to save him, to save her husband and her home. She'd allowed Clara to pull her away when everything had screamed that she should have been by his side.
She tried to run back but Clara kept a firm grip, stumbling forward as she pulled her to a stop. "What the hell are you doing now?" she demanded.
Danni spun, eyes wide and full of tears. "I'm going back," she snapped. "Let go of my hand." Clara opened her mouth. "I've got to save him, Clara!"
"He can save himself," Clara retorted. "I'm not let..."
"You don't have a choice!" Danni screeched. "Neither of you get to decide what I do to save my husband. Now let me go!"
She yanked as hard as she could and Clara's grip faltered. She let her go and Danni, who hadn't actually been expecting to be let go, fell to the floor again with a large thud that took all the wind out of her. Clara stared down in surprise as the blonde coughed, curling up slightly as she tried to catch her breath.
It wasn't a lot, but it was enough time. Clara took a slow, deep breath, pushing down the panic and the anger that was threatening to overwhelm her. How could the Doctor let it get this bad that she was willing to risk herself for him? Didn't he know how precious she was?
Clara raised her hand to her ear. "Can't you move the TARDIS?" she asked.
"Clara, there is no power. The TARDIS couldn't boil an egg at the moment. Listen, do what you can to get Danni out of there..."
"No," she interrupted, looking over to see the lights of the train speeding towards where the TARDIS fell. "I mean you move the TARDIS. Like..." What was the best way to describe it? "Addams Family?"
There was no reply, just the sound of the TARDIS alarms going off. She quickly helped Danni up just as the sound of the Doctor grunting reached their ears and they both knew that he was trying. Danni held onto her best friend tightly as they both looked over the edge, the sound of the TARDIS in their ears being drowned out as the train zoomed past, blowing up dust and wind from the level below.
The train disappeared but all that Danni could hear was static. She didn't wait for him to tell her he was alright, she quickly swung over the edge and onto the ladder that led down below. Clara didn't stop her this time, instead she motioned to the two men to go down first before following.
"They'd be here if they were coming," Rigsy pointed out. "Where are they?"
Danni shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "But I'm not waiting to find out."
Clara's biggest mistake was letting Danni go down first. She screamed after her as Danni took off down the tunnel, running as fast as she could as she headed down to the next set of ladders. "Danni! Come back!"
"Oh, no," Fenton breathed as he spotted just what Danni was running into. From the other end of the tunnel bright white light shone, and from the light stretched jerky shadows of the things coming towards them.
She honestly didn't care. All she was getting from the earpiece was static and she didn't have time to stop and fix it. She tried to remind herself that they'd been in worse situations than this, but it was hard to think of any when the TARDIS was in danger and unable to protect the most important thing in her life. If the train and hit the tiny blue box, was there even a chance that they'd both survive?
If the Doctor could tell her he was okay, he would have. She knew that and so his silence just made everything that much more terrifying. It didn't matter that her earpiece obviously wasn't working, it didn't ease her panic at all. She just wanted to know he was okay.
The ground started rumbling, the gravel that covered the floor shaking as another train began to approach them. She pushed herself harder, ran even faster, her eyes constantly looking out for the flash of blue she expected to see on the floor. If she could just see the TARDIS was alright then she could open the doors and check on her husband. She'd worry about them all being flattened then. Once she knew he was alright.
She stopped at the set of ladders where the TARDIS had fallen, holding onto the cold metal bars as she caught her breath. She couldn't see the TARDIS anywhere. Maybe she got hit further down the tunnel by the train? With the gravity off and the shielding down that was very much a possibility.
Her eyes scanned the area again, just in case she'd missed the brightest of blues when her eyes fell on a little silver box. She frowned, walking over to it because it definitely looked out of place on the train tracks.
She crouched down to pick it up and her tears welled up again. She didn't know a lot about Gallifrey, but she recognised Gallifreyan writing when she saw it. The little silver box, that could sit on her hand nicely, was the TARDIS with no cloaking. There was no doors, no way of getting in or out.
"No, Theta," she whimpered, turning the box over and over in her hands as if it would suddenly reveal the secret to getting her husband out. She sat on the floor, crying softly as the sound of the train seemed to die away. "Theta, answer me, please."
She sobbed, raising the box to her head and pressing it against her forehead. The metal was cold against her skin. If the TARDIS was this badly damaged that her disguise just had faded away and she'd shrunk so small Danni probably could have fit her in her pocket, then was there any hope at all?
Please, Theta, she begged in her head. He didn't reply, but she didn't actually know if he'd be able to reply to her anyway. She just hugged the box closer, all of her hope falling away as she cried.
The ground began rumbling again and she looked back to see the train barrelling towards her. She stood up, moving to the side of the tunnel, clutching the box to her chest and keeping a tighter hold than she ever had done before. She bent over it, curling up into a tight ball and keeping her back out towards the train. She wouldn't let either of them get hurt, not again.
She looked over her shoulder as two bodies fell out of the carriages, just in time for the train to be flattened. It turned into a painting on the wall of the tunnel, looking worn, like it had always been there. The creatures weren't even that close and their abilities were able to reach up the tunnel towards them. No wonder the TARDIS hadn't stood a chance.
She jumped as a hand fell on her other shoulder and her head snapped to the other side. Clara was stood over her, looking a bit windswept but no more worse for wear.
"Are you okay?" she asked and Danni shook her head. Clara took hold of her elbow and helped her off the ground. She frowned at the little silver box in her hand.
"Is that the TARDIS?" she asked, amazed. Danni glanced down at it, then nodded slowly.
She pulled the box closer, protecting it from both Clara and Rigsy. "Yeah, it is," she whispered.
"Can you..." Clara started. "Is the Doctor okay?"
"I don't know," she replied, just as quietly. "I can't hear him. There's just… nothing."
Clara swallowed, her own upset rising for a moment until she realised she didn't have time to mourn him. For a start, they didn't even know he was dead. Secondly, they really needed to start moving if the ever-increasing sound of static was anything to go by.
"We need to run," she told the pair. "Now."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor pulled his jacket closed, raising the collar before rubbing his hands together. The room was already plummeting in temperature. He couldn't turn up the heating, though. The console was all but dead, with only enough power to keep the lights on to make sure he was illuminated as he slowly froze to death.
"I don't know if you can still hear me out there," he called, hoping for some reply. There was none. "The TARDIS is not in Siege Mode. No way in, no way out."
He made his way to the monitor, willing for some sort of signal but there was nothing. He really was out of touch with everyone and everything. He didn't even know if they were alive out there. He didn't know if she was alive…
"I managed to turn it on just before the train hit," he continued because he didn't want to think about what could be happening. He needed to know that Danielle would be okay. He needed to believe in Clara's want to be just like him, because if it came through then she would do everything in her power to save his wife. "But there's not enough power left now to turn it off."
He continued around the console, arms wrapped around him. That dark, selfish, part of him that made him question if he was a good man just wished that his wife was in the dying box with him. They may have perished, but they would have perished together and he could have kept her warm until the last moments. Together or not at all had always been her mantra. Would this count? He would have said yes if their roles were reversed and she was trapped in the TARDIS. She'd want to be by his side. It was a solice he held onto as he tried to keep himself warm.
He headed over the small bridge to where the doors out should have been. Instead there was just a silver wall. Still, he pressed his forehead against it. "Danni," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please, answer me."
He stayed still as long as the cold would allow him, then he started moving again. He needed to keep his body temperature up. If anyone could save him now, it was his Danielle and Clara.
~0~0~0~
The office looked like it hadn't been used for a long time, but it was the best place to stop and regroup so Clara directed them all in. It was dusty, but it was enough and she walked Danni over to a chair while the men explained to the train driver just exactly what was happening.
The way Danni let herself be moved without complaint was deeply worrying. It was like all the fight had just fallen out of her, and Clara couldn't blame her. If they couldn't find a way to bring the TARDIS and the Doctor back, that was her husband and her home in one swoop, just gone.
And, just like the last time, when she'd walked away from them both, Clara would be there for her. She'd welcome her into her home with open arms. She'd heal her as she broke apart, she'd be there to hold her while she cried. They'd mourn together. They'd move on together.
She crouched to the ground in front of Danni like she'd seen the Doctor do a hundred times before. "Hey," she whispered softly but encouragingly. "You'll be okay."
Danni's reply was to raise her gaze, silently meeting her eyes. They seemed so much duller than Clara was expecting, and she wasn't sure what she had been expecting but sadness. Whatever it was, the lack of belief Danni's face held actually cut her quite deeply and she placed a hand on her thigh, giving it a squeeze.
"We'll be okay," she promised again. "The Doctor may lie when he says that, but I'm not. I'll work this out. Just watch."
Danni watched her stand up, a thoughtful look on her face as she looked around the room. Clara really was trying, but her little mutterings as she wondered what the Doctor would do next were grating on her nerves. The Doctor wouldn't do anything next unless they could figure out a way to fix the TARDIS, and even then there was no guarantee that he would still be… That inside the TARDIS he wouldn't be…
She reached into her ear, pulling out the earpiece to sonic it again, putting every thought and feeling she could behind it. Think and point, that had always been the instructions for his screwdriver, so she thought and she thought and she popped the earpiece back in again.
"Theta, can you hear me?" she whispered, but there was no reply and Danni shook her head. That had been her last hope. Hoping beyond everything that fixing the earpiece would connect them again. It hadn't. He was still alone. The creatures had killed him.
Her blood burnt and she stood up, surprising Clara who had been pacing, trying to work out what to do next. She'd barely had any thoughts beyond making sure Danni was still safe, and the aftercare that was going to be needed if they couldn't fix everything.
"They killed my husband," Danni declared, storming over to Clara's side and slamming the silver box down on the table. She met Clara's gaze and the teacher was happy to see the passion raging in them again. "They won't get away with it," she told her friend with such conviction it kind of scared Clara. "They will burn for what they've done. We need to take them down."
"But how?" Clara replied. "All we know is that the TARDIS needed energy. The Doctor said if it gets energy, he can beet them."
"We don't know he's even alive," Danni snapped back. "We need to destroy them. We need to make sure they die."
"How?" Clara reiterated just as forcefully. "We tried to drive a train at them and they just flattened it into a drawing on the wall. Even if the… Even if he isn't alive anymore, if we can get the TARDIS up and running then we'll be able to use it to get rid of them."
Danni wanted to argue. She wanted to run out into the hallway, all guns blazing and just rip them down where they stood. However, even she wasn't stupid enough to think she stood a chance when a train hadn't. Clara was right. They needed whatever they could get on their side, and the TARDIS was the best weapon in the universe.
"Okay," she agreed and Clara relaxed slightly. For a moment she had genuinely thought that Danni was going to rush out into the hallway and she'd have to follow her again. Now she was being driven by her anger, she was actually a little less emotional. Who saw that coming?
The brunette looked around the room, searching for anything that could help. What did they know about the creatures? They could flatten things, and they could bring them back to their 3D form. It took energy, and the Doctor had wanted to use that energy to bring back the TARDIS.
But how to get it. What would the Doctor do?
What would Clara do?
She was spending so much time trying to be just like the Doctor that she was forgetting to be herself. Instead of trying to be one or the other, she should just try and be both. The best bits of the Doctor mixed in with the best bits of Clara Oswald. And what Clara did best was being the boss. She could boss anyone about. She could tell them to do something with such certainty that they would do as they were told she knew she'd never be in trouble. And right now, she'd tell the Doctor to get on with it and find the bloody answer.
A grin spread on her face and she turned. That's what she would do, and then what the Doctor would do slipped easily into place. She just needed… ah ha.
She picked up the large poster from a pile of discarded paper, rolling it out on the table in the middle of the room. She then turned it over, picking up the TARDIS smoothly with one hand and placed it on the paper to hold it in place. She then reached into Rigsy's backpack, pulling out the spray can she knew had to be in there.
"Clara?" Danni asked. "What have you got?"
Clara just shook the can up, it rattling as she grinned at her friend. What would be the… yes, that was it.
"Leave her," Fenton told them all. "She's lost it." He turned and walked to the door, however he paused when he realised that no one was following him.
"Are you okay?" Rigsy asked her and Clara nodded with a little laugh.
"Yeah, are you?"
"I think I will be," he replied.
"Clara," Danni tried again, leaning in front of her to catch her eye. That glint, she'd seen it in the Doctor's before. Eleven would get that look the moment he had an idea that could save them all, and it was rather strange to see it on Clara's face. Strange, but strangely comforting. "What is it?"
Clara chucked the paint can back at Rigsy. "Come on, Graffiti Boy, I've got a commission for you," she said temptingly and Danni's mind went into overdrive as she started to see Clara's plan.
"Oh, you are good," she breathed. That was so clever it might actually work.
"Trust me, Danni-Girl," she told the blonde, shooting her a grin she only ever reserved for flirting. "I'm the Doctor."
Rigsy looked down at the can in his hand, then shook his head. "I'm flattered but I don't think this is exactly the time..."
"Well, fine, if you don't think you're up to it," Clara retorted in challenge. It was a cheap tactic, one she'd used on her students time and time again but one that always worked. In the face of being told he couldn't do something, Rigsy chucked the can into the air, decided that he could and would, just to show her up.
"What do you need, exactly?" he asked, moving to her side and looking over the back of the poster, ready to plan it out.
"We need a door," she explained. "A door that isn't a door. It needs to look as realistic as you can make it, and it needs a handle in the middle that has been flattened."
"A door?" he repeated, confused.
"We need to channel the energy out of them. It needs to look like it has always been there. Do you think you can do it?"
She looked up at him expectantly and he nodded. "Just watch me."
As he quickly outlined his plan on the paper, Danni held her hand out to Clara. "Earpiece," she demanded and Clara quickly popped it out of her ear, handing it over. Danni soniced it in the same way she had done with her own before handing it back. "If he's in there, if he can talk to us, then I want him to be heard," she explained to her friend. Her hand only shook slightly. "I don't want him dying and no one there to hear."
"He won't die," Clara promised. "This will work."
~0~0~0~
Clara stuck the fake door up, and Danni placed the TARDIS on a ledge that was just behind it, at what she hoped was the right height. She placed a kiss on the box, closing her eyes. "You better be alive in there, Spaceman," she warned. "You don't get to leave me like this."
She really didn't want to leave the TARDIS behind, but if this was the best shot they had then she had to take it. She rushed back down the tunnel and up the ladders to the old tunnel above. Clara, Fenton, Rigsy and Bill the train driver we all sat waiting and she climbed in front of them all, looking over the edge anxiously. From down the tracks came an army of jittery, broken images of the dead that the creatures had stolen.
"You're going to get us killed," Fenton snapped, once again the voice of pessimism. "This plan's insane."
Clara had seriously had enough of him. "You want to walk? Walk. You want to stay? Then shush," she snapped at him. To his credit he fell silent.
Danni clung to Clara's hand, taking what comfort she could from her. "Please work," she whimpered. "Please."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor moved away from the console, still trying to keep moving even as the air seemed to get even thinner. Had he been human, he would have been dead by now. Yet again being a Time Lord just stretched out his suffering.
There was no power, the emergency lights were dimming. He'd tried to bring up a picture of his Danielle but there was nothing that could be done. Even the hallways had disappeared as the TARDIS tried to keep what little energy she had remaining on the main console room. He had to use both railings but he made his way up the stairs. She took so many damn pictures, there had to be one somewhere!
He didn't want to die without her by his side, not again. Walking away from her on Trenzalore when he'd thought it had been the end for him had been the single most painful thing he'd even endured and knowing it was happening again was killing him faster than the TARDIS was. He just wanted to see her face. He just wanted to know that she was alive.
He had to stop, though, as he made it to the top of the stairs, leaning against the railings. He panted, his own energy waning fast. He didn't have long. He was going to die in here.
"Life support failing," he called out although he knew no one was listening. "I don't know if you'll ever hear this." He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hand against his forehead. He didn't want to give up. He didn't want to end like this. "I don't even know if you're still alive out there. But Clara, you were good!" He took another deliberate breathe. "And you made a mighty fine Doctor."
He had to take another moment, but he had to get it out. If they ever fixed the TARDIS then she'd be able to find the recording and he needed to leave her something behind.
"And Danielle." He looked to the ceiling, wishing he was looking at her face. "My sweet Danielle." His whole body ached so badly. "You made me better. Your love made me an excellent Doctor." Again, he paused. He hated the idea of her on her own. Not just on her own, either, but stuck. No home, no TARDIS, no husband. "Please keep running, my Danni-Girl," he begged. "Run from the monsters."
He leant back against the rail, taking his last breath. He clenched his hand around the railing tightly, imagining he was holding her hand. His Danni-Girl, by his side. He didn't want to go like this.
He thought, for a moment, that he was imagining the sound of the TARDIS suddenly powering into life. But it was the feeling of being able to move, to breathe, to suddenly not dying that had his eyes shooting open. The lights were on and he spun around, dashing down to the console. Had they done it? Had they actually done it?
A couple of pressing of buttons on the console showed him that power was returning, and it was returning rapidly, almost too quickly for the TARDIS to handle. He quickly turned off Siege Mode and chucked the shields back up. They'd done it.
~0~0~0~
Danni's hand clenched on Clara's as the creatures stopped in front of the fake door, all turning in what felt like unison to face it. Arms outstretched, a visible trail of energy came from them all and his the flattened handle. They were falling for it. Their only experience of this universe had been flat things and 3D things. They couldn't tell the difference between what had been flattened and what was always flat.
Tears streamed down her face at the words that came in quietly through her earpiece, and she shook at the finality of what she was hearing. He wasn't dead, but he was dying. He was dying and she couldn't get to him. They were too late.
"Theta," she sobbed so quietly that Clara didn't even glance down. Her gaze was hard, watching the scene unfold in front of her with the certainty that it was going to work. She trusted her own instincts, and she trusted what she knew about the two Time Lords as well. The Doctor, when pushed, could be incredibly cruel and this twist would be exactly what he would bring down on the creatures that had hurt his wife.
"It's not working," Fenton pointed out angrily. "You've killed us all."
"This is going to save us?" the Train driver asked her. "Pumping energy into the wall?"
She shook her head without looking away. "No. Not into the wall, through the wall," she corrected. "Rule number one of being the Doctor; save your wife. Rule Two; use your enemy's power against them. I'm doing both. They can't restore three dimensions to a door that never existed."
Danni closed her eyes for a moment, Clara's words hitting her almost as hard as her husband's farewell, but it didn't last for long. The sound she had longed to hear, the sound that brought hope to everyone who heard it, echoed from down the tunnel and her hearts skipped a beat. The TARDIS was materialising, the TARDIS was coming.
And that meant so was her husband.
She watched from up high as the TARDIS landed with a thud in front of the creatures, a visible wave of energy sending the images back and keeping them away from the TARDIS and the ladder. A forcefield was in place to keep them away.
Around them, every speaker on the wall screeched into life and her whole being sang at the voice that came through them.
"I tried to talk," the Doctor told the creatures. "I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out, I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly. And I think you just don't care."
Without a word, and without warning so anyone could stop her, Danni was off the floor. She pulled herself over the railings onto the ladder and headed down.
"And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine."
Her feet landed on the floor as the TARDIS doors opened and the Doctor stepped out. His stance was strong and he stared down the creatures and Danni's breath caught at the sight. He was simply beautiful.
"The man that stops the monsters. I'm sending you back to your own dimension," he told them, his anger and his will to survive driving him on as the rest of the group joined his wife in the tunnel. "Who knows? Some of you may even survive the trip. And, if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here. This plane is protected. I am the Doctor."
He turned, making sure to keep Danni out his vision as he held his hand out to Clara. He didn't want to see her until this was over. Until he'd saved the day. Until he'd stopped the monsters. Luckily Clara knew exactly what he needed and she chucked his screwdriver at him. He caught it and swiftly turned back around.
"And I name you The Boneless!" He set off the sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the forcefield keeping the creatures at bay. Three pulses of the energy and they disintegrated, sapping all of their energy and sending them home.
He gave it a few moments, panting lightly at the effort of what he'd just gone through, before he slowly turned around, his eyes only for the woman who was waiting for him. She held her hand to her chest, her eyes were wide and she looked like she was barely breathing.
He remembered that look from long ago. Stood on top of a hospital when he'd just regenerated into his previous body, and he'd faced down the Atraxi, saving the world yet again just by being himself. She'd looked so different in every way except the look her face now held. Like she couldn't see anyone else but him. She had always liked a good monologue.
His lips twitched just slightly into a smile and Danni was running over to him before she'd realised she'd even moved. She chucked her arms around him, hugging him tightly as he gathered her up, squeezing her back just the same. She wanted to cry, she wanted to cheer. She wanted to jump up and down on the spot because he was alive and nothing felt better than that. Nothing in the universe could ever equate to knowing that he was safe and sound.
When he let her put her feet back on the ground, she pulled back just enough so she could see his face. The relief he felt was tangible, and hers echoed back just as loudly. He stroked his fingers down her cheek. "My Danni-Girl," he breathed and she nodded.
"My Doctor," she replied just as softly before they kissed.
Clara shook her head slightly, ignoring the twinge of jealousy she felt at the sight and allowing her happiness at the resolution fill her instead. She'd saved the day, she'd brought them all back from the brink of death and, yes, some people had died but most had not and that was all that mattered, right?
~0~0~0~
"You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara. Goodness had nothing to do with it."
Clara wasn't sure what he meant by those words, but he hadn't clarified further as he'd followed his wife into the TARDIS. She'd done well, she knew she had. She'd trapped the bad guys, she'd kept everyone she could alive, and most importantly her best friend was now holding her husband's hand instead of mourning his death. Everything was good.
Then why did she feel like she'd done something wrong? Like the Doctor was judging her on something that she wasn't entirely sure she'd done. Sure, she'd played up the 'wife' thing a bit much at the beginning, but that had died away when the danger had become worryingly real she had let that drop. All she had done from then on was make sure Danni was safe, wasn't that what he wanted?
"Here you go," the Doctor said from the console. "Right on time for your little lunch date."
She wanted to confront him for what was going on, but considering how close Danni and he were, she felt bad about interrupting that, even if normally she would have. They had thought the Doctor was going to die, after all. They all needed this to end on a win.
"Thank you," she replied. "I'm sure he hasn't missed me." She headed to the door before pausing, turning back around to look at the pair. "I'm glad that you're okay," she told him, making sure that she sounded as honest as she could. She really and truly meant it, but with the mood he seemed to be in she was worried he wouldn't believe her.
He nodded once, a little bow of his head. "Thank you. I'm glad you are too," he replied, also sounding sincere and it lifted her spirits immensely. She headed out the door and into the park outside. She wasn't too far from her and Danny's lunching bench, and hopefully they really were on time.
"Clara!"
She turned and saw Danni stepping out of the TARDIS, closing the door behind her. "Everything alright?" she asked the blonde. "I thought you two would be all over each other by now."
Danni nodded. "Oh, we will be," she replied offhandedly and Clara tried not to wrinkle her nose up at the thought. "I just wanted to thank you for saving my home and my husband."
She shrugged. "All in a day's work," she retorted, like it was nothing. "Go snog his face off and I'll see you next Wednesday."
Danni's soft voice caused her to pause mid-turn. "No, you probably won't."
She spun back around, thoroughly confused. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly and Danni's chest heaved with the heavy sigh she let out.
"I think we need to not see each other for a little while," she explained. "I mean, you're hiding us from Danny, and it's not good. We're not secrets to be kept, Clara."
Clara quickly nodded. "No, no, I know," she insisted. "I was going to tell him tonight, I promise."
"It's not just that," Danni replied and Clara could feel the panic rising in her chest. "You- You're supposed to be our friend, but today just proved that you don't know my husband at all."
"I don't understand…"
"People from the outside, they see this man who comes in, causes havoc and then runs away," Danni started, her hands clasped in front of her. "They see the man who lies, and who chucks away life in just a thought. But we who know him know that he's just not like that."
"Of course he's not," Clara agreed. "I never said I thought that."
"And he never gives me false hope," Danni continued pointedly. "He doesn't just save me and run. We may argue about him getting a bit over involved in saving me, but he will always save every single person he can as well. Just one person dying wouldn't be classed as a 'win'. I never thought that I'd hear you of all people say things like that."
Clara could see the upset in her face, but it was also joined with the conviction behind this surprise decision. Danni really was going to leave her behind and her heart and soul screamed at her to stop it.
"I'm sorry if I upset you," she said. "I mean that, I am. I was just doing what I thought the Doctor would do."
"I know, and that's what worries me," Danni broke to her gently. "If you think that man is my husband, then maybe you should really think about why you're not telling Danny that you're still travelling with us." She took another deep breath. "We'll see you in a few weeks, Clara."
"No, no, Danni, wait!" she cried after her but Danni didn't stop until she was in the TARDIS and by her husband's side again. He'd had the sense to fly away the moment Danni had reappeared and so Clara couldn't follow her in.
She leant on his arm and placed a kiss on his jacket. He replied with a nuzzle against her hair. "You're making a bigger deal out of this than is necessary, Danni," he told her softly.
"Probably," Danni agreed. "But she said she had chosen both of us. Both the Doctor and Danni, and Danny Pink. I don't think she has, and she's not going to be happy until she does. Hopefully this will push her into making the choice that will make her happy."
He placed another kiss on her hair. "That's not why you did that," he corrected. "You never liked to hear anyone say anything bad about me, even if it might be true."
She looked up at her husband and smiled at just the sight of him. He was her everything, and nothing was going to tear them apart again. "Well, yeah," she replied, a little sheepishly. "I've done a lot worse for a lot less to some people. I know she doesn't really mean it, doesn't mean I can't be angry for a little while."
He chuckled. "Well, my Pet," he purred. "While Miss Oswald waits for our return, where should we go?"
He reached out, fingers dancing temptingly over the controls. Danni, in return, caught them and held them where they were.
"Bed," she replied with a smirk.
~0~0~0~
On a spaceship, somewhere very far away and somewhere very safe, Missy sat with her tablet in hand. It was a rather old piece of technology, but sometimes there was nothing wrong with the classics. A good 21st century tablet worked just as well as any other one she could get her hands on. And she had hands everywhere.
On the screen was a link to a security camera, and on the camera sat a little stood of a woman, with blonde hair and holding a tiny blue police box. There was a hand stretching out from it, holding hers tightly and Missy could only shake her head at the sight.
"Oh, Danielle," she tutted. "He tried so hard to hold onto you. If only it had worked."
With a swipe of her finger the feed changed, to a clearer image of the same woman. She was unconscious, obviously, but she wouldn't be for much longer. Transporting her any other way had simply been out of the question.
"Don't you worry, my Pet," she continued, stroking the screen softly. "You're in safe hands now. I'm never letting you go."
She raised the tablet up to her perfectly lined lips, pressing a kiss onto the screen and the woman on it, leaving a pink mark on the screen.
"Never."