Stitches In Time
By Laura Schiller
Based on: Doctor Who
Copyright: BBC
"Clara … "
"Danny?"
The front hallway of her flat had become a shining, golden-white portal through which she could hear Danny's voice. Was she dreaming, or had she died in her sleep and was about to follow him to heaven?
Neither. "It's the control bracelet. I figured out how to let it take me back."
"So c'mon," said Clara, breathlessly, hardly daring to hope.
The portal wavered. A dark figure appeared inside. She squinted. Was it Danny? It didn't look right, taller and wider than one person should be, but the more it advanced, the more she could see clearly.
"Er … it's supposed to be good for just one person … but I met someone in there who helped me make some adjustments. Friend of the Doctor's."
"Adjustments? What – oh!"
It was Danny, smiling, healthy, whole. He wore the same black jacket he had left his house in. His hand was on the shoulder of a young Middle Eastern boy in a blue sports T-shirt.
With a sob of delight, Clara ran to throw her arms around them both.
(Note: The friend who helps Danny could be anyone – Strax maybe, since he would have been long buried by 2014 and is good with technology, as we saw in "The Snowmen" when he kept Clara alive longer than should have been possible. Or Romana; I know she stays behind in a pocket universe, but she could have gotten out since. Maybe it was a River who escaped from the Library, or Donna with her Time Lord DNA restored. For all we know, Missy made a collection of dead companions' souls, which would be both gruesome and in-character.
It would have been so easy. If Moffat can bring Rory back to life over and over again, why not Danny? Either death is the end, or it isn't, but for goodness' sake, at least be consistent