Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: Well folks, here we are! The beginning of the end…Just to be clear, the sentences in italics are the flash forwards to the volcano.

Dark Water – Part One

Danny was strolling through a park in London when his mobile phone began to ring. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID – it was Clara. "Hey, sis!" he said jokingly as he answered the call.

"Hey. So, do you want to hang out today? I mean, neither of us have work, so…"

"Yeah, sure, sounds great. I'll meet you there".

"…Meet me where?"

"Uh – no, I mean, I'll meet you wherever you are, so we can go do…something" he finished lamely, hitting himself in the forehead with his other hand. Clara giggled on the other end of the line. "There's that pesky foot in your mouth again" she teased him. Danny rolled his eyes a bit and replied, "Yeah, yeah. So what did you want to do?"

"Oh, well, we could go to Ancient Rome, or we could go and meet Pythagoras; ooh, or Mary Shelley? We're studying Frankenstein in my class, it'd be interesting to meet the author in person, don't you think?"

"Okay…let me rephrase that. What normal thing did you want to do today?"

"Oh ha, ha. Come on, Danny, where's your sense of adventure? I am friends with a family of time travellers. They can take us anywhere and any when we want to go. There must be somewhere you've always wanted to visit".

"There are plenty of places I'd quite like to visit; and maybe one day I will take another trip in the TARDIS, but for now, I just want to experience the present. They call it that because it's a gift, you know".

"Wow. That was so incredibly cheesy, I feel like buying some crackers to go with it".

"Ha, ha, very funny".

"I suppose you do have a point, though. Okay, so, normal, normal, normal...nope. Sorry, I can't do it. I cannot think of any normal, mundane, predictable things to do".

"…No offence, but sometimes I think you need help".

"Shut up. What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Nothing!" Danny said quickly as he approached the park gates, "It's just…well, you are a bit of an adrenaline addict".

Clara gave an indignant gasp. "What?! I am not an adrenaline addict, I just like adventure, there's nothing wrong with that!"

"I never said there was".

"Good. So, I'll leave the thinking of normal things to you, and err, I'll throw something together for lunch…or I could just order a pizza" Clara suggested, "What do you"- The screech of car wheels came over the phone, cutting off Clara's question. Her brow furrowed in bewilderment and worry. "Danny? Hello? Danny, please talk to me" she pleaded. There was no reply.

"Danny, are you there? Now look, this, this isn't funny. Danny, please, say something!"

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice spoke up, "Hello, is someone there?"

"Hello?" Clara said, puzzled, "Err, yeah. Who's this?"

"I just picked up the phone, I'm sorry. I found it" the woman on the other end explained apologetically. Clara's brows drew together even more.

"Oh. Err, okay. Err, can you please just put me back on the phone to Danny? I was talking to Danny".

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry".

"Okay, err, what are you sorry about? Could you please just pass the phone back to"-

"He was crossing the road. I found the phone; it must have just got thrown. The car, it just came out of nowhere".

Clara's eyes went wide as the pieces fell into place, and a terrible picture formed before her. With a trembling voice, she asked the woman who had found Danny's phone which street she was on. The moment the woman told her, Clara dropped her phone unthinkingly and ran out of her apartment. She pelted through the streets, but by the time she reached the crash site, they were loading Danny into an ambulance and the police were marking off the area.

/

"By now, I'm sure you've heard the rumours, and it is with great sadness that I must confirm them to be true" Armitage gave a speech at assembly, the day after news of Danny's death had been verified. A small shrine had been made at the park entrance, and Clara stood staring at it solemnly.

"I have gathered you all here today to say that Mister Pink, that Danny Pink has sadly passed away. I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing his family and friends our sincerest condolences. Mister Pink was an inspiration to all of those who knew him. A soldier, a teacher, a friend…it is no secret that he was close to Miss Oswald, and our thoughts and prayers are with her too…"

The TARDIS sat beside a volcanic caldera; the Time Quintet lay unconscious before the doors.

/

Clara's kitchen was filled with vases of Calla lilies and sympathy cards; from her family and friends, even from her students. There was a card from Courtney, a card from Maebh...there were no cards from the Time Quintet, but that was alright. They didn't need to give her sympathy…they just needed to help her set things right.

Her gran came in whilst Clara was trying to phone the TARDIS; she'd already tried phoning Emily, but only gotten the answerphone message (which, incidentally, was "Hi there! I'd like to chat, but I'm probably busy running for my life right now, so I'll get back to you. Leave a message!").

"Hello, love" Mrs Oswald greeted her only granddaughter, "You alright? Oh, of course you're not. Sorry. Of course you're not all right. You know what you should do? You should cry. Let go" she suggested gently. Clara looked at her blankly, as if she wasn't seeing her gran but something, or someone, else. "Of what?" she asked hollowly.

"It's a terrible thing. Just a terrible, terrible thing" her gran commiserated. Clara shook her head, staring into space. "It's my fault" she murmured quietly; so quietly, that Mrs Oswald thought she had misheard. "Clara?"

"It wasn't terrible…it was normal. It was ordinary. People just kept walking with their iPods and their shopping bags. He was alive, and then he was dead and it was nothing, like stepping off a bus".

Mrs Oswald placed a hand on her granddaughter's arm in sympathy. "He deserved better, and so did you".

Clara shut her eyes and turned away for a moment. "No, I don't deserve anything. Not after…" She sucked in a breath and opened her eyes, looking back at her grandmother with determination blazing in them. "But it's alright. Everything's going to be fine. I'm going to make things right" she declared. Her gran looked at her with a confused expression. "Make what right?" she inquired. Clara was saved from answering by the Doctor finally answering the phone.

"Clara! Clara?"

Pasting a smile on her face, Clara picked up the phone. "Hey!"

"Sorry, we were busy. What's happening?"

"Oh, nothing" Clara lied, "You know; same old, same old".

"Well, you're only human. So what can we do for you, Clara?"

The Doctor groaned slightly as he stirred awake; his first action was to check on Romana, and then Emily. They were both alive, and began to rouse. He looked up, and his thick brows drew together in consternation. "Clara?"

Clara walked into the TARDIS, exuding a confidence she didn't truly feel. "Start her up" she encouraged, taking note of where everyone was in the room. "Is everything alright?" Flavia inquired in concern; something seemed off about Clara, her inflections, the way her smile didn't reach her eyes...

"Of course; I just want to get away".

"From…?" the Doctor prompted. He too had noticed that not all was as it seemed with Clara. She shrugged and vaguely replied, "Just away".

"Well, normally you say work or kids or dishes or dullness. So what's happened?" the Doctor pressed. Clara moved over to Romana and gave her a hello hug. "A volcano" she replied as she pulled away, not noticing Romana eye her worriedly as she hugged Emily. The Doctor raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I'm sorry?" he asked, as Clara released Emily and made to hug Flavia. The dark haired Time Lady seemed rather reluctant to return the embrace at first, but Clara didn't seem to notice.

She crossed the console room to give the Corsair a hug as well. "I've never seen an active volcano" she explained to the Doctor as she passed him, "Do you know one?"

"What's so great about seeing a volcano? It's just a sort of leaky mountain".

"I've never seen lava" Clara replied, as walked over to him with a mischievous grin on her face. The Doctor sighed in resignation, and grudgingly allowed her to hug him. "It's rubbish" he warned her. Clara pulled away and leaned against the console. "Prove it" she challenged. The Doctor looked around at his co-pilots, and one by one they moved to help set the TARDIS in motion.

"They're on your necks" Clara calmly informed the Time Quintet.

Clara wandered about the console room as the TARDIS flew through the Vortex; unheeding of the others worried, or suspicious gazes following her. "Do you still have those sleep patch things?" she inquired. The Corsair replied, "They're actually rubbish. Believe me, I know".

"I'm having trouble sleeping".

"Have a glass of warm milk before bed then" the Corsair advised with a shrug. Clara ignored him. "Can I have one, Doctor?" she asked.

"No, you can't have one" he replied bluntly. Clara took a handful from the box in a set of drawers.

"So, volcano" the Doctor remarked, "What's so good about lava?" he questioned. Clara came up behind him and pressed a sleep patch to the back of his neck.

/

The Time Quintet scrambled to their feet, watching their honorary family member warily. Clara held out her palm. "You told me once what it would take to destroy a TARDIS key. That's what's so good about lava" she revealed, as she held up one of the keys she had pick-pocketed from them all, plus a spare that she knew was hidden inside the compartment for the outside phone.

"Clara, listen to me" Romana said cautiously, "Whatever this is about, we can talk about it rationally…but first, give me those keys" she ordered, taking a step forward. Clara wordlessly threw the key backwards into the volcano, and Romana stopped in her tracks. She drew her right foot back slightly, and only then did they notice that it rested atop the Corsair's blaster.

"Do I have your attention, Time Lords?" she asked coldly. Romana slowly stepped back to her husband's side; her daughter stared at Clara with a confused, hurt expression. "Clara? What…why are you doing this?" she asked plaintively. Clara did not – could not meet the young Time Lady's gaze. She stared straight ahead, her voice level, but her eyes betrayed her pain. "Danny Pink…is dead".

Emily let out a gasp of horror. "Oh, Clara; we are so sorry" Flavia tried to offer sympathy.

"Don't be. Everyone is sorry, and no-one more than me. It's…it's my fault that Danny is dead".

Once more, Romana attempted to reason with her honorary much younger sister. "I really doubt that's the case. I know you, and I know you wouldn't have caused harm to Danny. Just like you don't really want to cause harm to us" she said pointedly. Clara ignored her, and explained, "We were talking, on the phone. I called him just to take about trivial, pointless… nonsense". Her voice broke, raw guilt flickering over her face. "He was crossing the road. I distracted him".

"It was an accident, Clara. It wasn't your fault" Romana said firmly. Flavia nodded solemnly, and added, "We know it must be painful for you, but there is no reason for this whole mess".

"Clara, please. You're…you're starting to scare me" Emily confessed. Clara's jaw tightened as she struggled to hold onto her resolve.

"Okay, so your friend is dead" the Doctor said unconcernedly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Romana give him a raised eyebrow, and added, "That's bad. What, precisely, do you expect us to do about it?"

"Fix it" Clara ordered immediately, "Change it. Change what happened. Save him. Bring him back". She held up another key. The Doctor met her agonised gaze head on, and bluntly replied, "No".

The second key was tossed into the fiery depths of the caldera. "Five left. Every time one of you says no to me, I will throw another key down there" Clara stated. She looked sharply at the Corsair and warned, "If you try to stop me, I swear I will kick your precious blaster over that ledge and into the lava. Do all of you understand?"

"We understand, we're just not sure if you do" the Corsair remarked. Clara swallowed. "Time can be rewritten" she argued firmly.

"With precision" the Doctor replied, "With great care…and not today. But you know that of course, otherwise you wouldn't be threatening us".

"Did you just say no?"

"Clara, think about it. Use your head!" Romana urged her, "If we save Danny, you won't have a reason to try and coerce us into saving him. You will cause a paradox loop and your timeline will disintegrate. So yes, we are saying no".

"I will throw this key" Clara threatened, holding another one up. Her voice was wavering.

"Do it" the Doctor challenged her, "Throw away the key".

"You have to save him. It's my fault he's dead and I can't fix it without your help. I…I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye".

"And that isn't fair" Flavia agreed, "But Romana has explained why we can't change these events. Clara, please, just stop being selfish and listen to reason".

"I have seen you guys change time, I have seen you break any rule you want".

"We know when we can, and when we can't" the Doctor replied, before adding, "Throw the key".

"I know what you're doing, Doctor. You're trying to take control".

"I am in control. Throw away the key. Do as you are told".

"No!"

"Well, either you do as you're told, or stop threatening me and my family. There really isn't a third option here".

"Do you know what, Doctor? When it comes to taking control, you really are out of your depth". Clara tossed the five remaining keys in her other palm, into the volcano. "One last chance; I don't care about the rules, I don't give a damn about paradoxes. This is the only way I can make things right, and I will do whatever it takes. Help me, or I swear none of you will ever step inside your home again".

The Doctor stared at Clara; she stared back unflinchingly. After a long pause, he finally answered, "No".

"Do as you are told".

"We'll do what you say the moment you stop being a presumptuous control freak – so, never" the Corsair said flippantly, and Clara glared at him. She shoved her right foot back some more, threatening to kick his blaster off the edge. "Don't test me, Corsair. I am not in the mood!"

"Neither are we" Flavia retorted, "You're behaving irrationally, Clara, and we are getting tired of it!"

"I'm getting tired of waiting for a yes! I will throw this key!"

"Fine" Romana said shortly, "Don't let us stop you".

"I will do it!"

"We don't think you will" the Doctor provoked her; Clara twisted round, threw the key out into the lava, and even shoved the Corsair's gun into the volcano as well. The enormity of what she had just done hit her like a freight train, and she staggered a bit as the air left her lungs. "Oh my God" she gasped, "What have I done…what have I…I'm sorry…"

She broke down, falling to her knees and sobbing. Emily swallowed back tears of her own, and looked up at her father. "Dad…please can we stop now?"

"Yes. I think she's had enough. Clara, look at your hand".

"There's…there's nothing in my hand" she sniffed. Emily took a tentative step towards her. "Um, there is. Just look at your palm" she prompted. Clara shook her head, hugging herself. "There's nothing there. The keys, they've gone".

Emily approached Clara, and knelt down in front of her. "We're not talking about the keys, Clara. Let me show you" she said, gently tugging on Clara's arm, and turning her palm up. The sleep patch was stuck to her skin.

"Did you really think that whole charade was going to work?" the Doctor inquired, as Clara stared at the patch in confusion. Emily peeled it away from her palm, and explained "These aren't actually for sleeping, they induce a dream state. We were just playing along with what you were imagining".

"Because it's a dream, you don't notice inconsistencies so much" Romana continued, "Such as the fact that we still had our sonics, and we can open the TARDIS doors by snapping our fingers" she pointed out, helping Clara to her feet. The Corsair moved to pick up the keys and his blaster from where Clara had tossed them. "Mind you, your plan was doomed from the start. I mean, did you seriously think we wouldn't notice you pick-pocketing us? Hey, I'm the one who taught you that trick!" he pointed out. The others stared at him. "You – why in Time's name would you teach her to pick-pocket?" Flavia demanded.

"So she could nick the keys off a guard in case she ever had to get out of a dungeon, obviously…Don't look at me like that, how was I supposed to know she'd use it against us?"

Clara flinched at that. "So…so what now?" she asked hesitantly, "What do we do now?"

"Go to hell" the Doctor replied brusquely. Clara sighed; it hurt, but it was no more than she deserved. "Fair enough; absolutely fair enough" she agreed despondently, walking towards the doors, expecting to step out into her flat. She had only taken a few steps when Emily called out, "Clara, he wasn't finished".

Confused, Clara paused and turned around to look at the Doctor. "You asked me what we're going to do, and I told you" he said simply, "We're going to hell. Or wherever it is people go when they die, if there is anywhere. Wherever it is, we're going to go there and we're going to find Danny. And if it is in any way possible, we're going to bring him home. Almost every culture in the universe has some concept of an afterlife. I always meant to have a look around, see if I could find one".

"You're going to help me?" Clara asked in disbelief. Emily nodded and replied, "Of course we're gonna help you. You're family".

"But…but what about what I just did? I – I wanted to"-

"You wanted to betray us all; betray our trust, betray our friendship, betray everything we stand for, just to fix your own mistake. It was selfish, and cruel…perhaps you've been spending too much time around me" the Doctor sighed regretfully. Romana reached across to take his hand, ever supportive. Don't say that, she told him, If you were truly selfish or cruel, I wouldn't have married you, now would I?

The Doctor gave his loving wife a grateful smile; he would have kissed her, but Clara interrupted. "Then why are you helping me?" she questioned. It didn't make any sense.

"Why? Do you think we – do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?" the Doctor asked rhetorically. Clara was touched, and a little surprised, but her wide eyed expression engendered little sympathy from him. "Stop it with the eyes" he insisted, "Don't do that with the eyes. How do you do that anyway? It's like they inflate. Cut out the whining while you're at it. We've got work to do. This is it, Clara, one of those moments" he declared.

"What moments?"

"The dark moments, when you almost lose hope, but you push on anyway" the Corsair replied as he keyed in commands, "The moments that test what you're really made of. Okay, safeguards are switched off, the nav-com is offline – we're going to connect you to the telepathic interface again. The last time we did that, we ended up in Danny's time-stream".

"But that was just because I got distracted" Clara protested. Romana guided her over to the interface panel and told her, "Well, try not to get distracted again. You and Danny were developing a close bond, and if really is out there in some form, your thoughts should be enough to find a trace of him".

Clara looked around at the Time Quintet, and wondered how she'd ever thought of coercing and betraying them at all. "I don't deserve friends like you" she admitted, ashamed of herself. The Doctor shook his head emphatically and warned her, "No, no, no. None of that mush. Put your hands in, like last time. Come on, we don't have all day. Oh, and Clara?" he added as she stuck her fingers in the telepathic interface section.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Just so we're clear, if you ever actually put my wife, daughter or friends in danger for whatever reason, you will never travel with me again. Is that understood?"

"Yes, completely" Clara gulped. The Doctor nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Now, think about Danny. Think about the friend you lost" he instructed. Clara closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and focused. The Doctor went on, "Let it hurt. Let it burn. But don't bleat. Don't ask, why him? Why me? Forget all that. Ask one question, just one. Ask, where is Danny Pink now? Where is he now?"

A few moments later, the Time Rotor began to wheeze into life, and Flavia remarked, "Well, apparently, he's somewhere out there".