A/N: Quick A/N at the bottom about the updating for this story. It may take 2-3 weeks before we get the next chapter, why is below ;)

~8~

The Caretaker, the Dinner Lady, and the TA: Chaos

Clara wasn't sure if it had been the right call to request she and Danny go to his flat instead of hers to talk. On one hand, the Doctor always had the habit of popping in whenever he wanted to. The last thing she wanted was to be speaking to Danny and have the Time Lords show up and show just how casually they appeared in her home, how close they were. But, on the other hand, it seemed like Danny had read between the lines and worked it out for himself anyway. There was no other reason for them not to go to her flat unless it was because there were things there she wanted to hide from him or didn't think he could handle yet. And it probably had something to do with the aliens.

She hadn't wanted to risk him working out even more or making assumptions or even jumping to conclusions so she'd launched into it right as soon as his door was shut. Once she started, it felt like vomit. It just kept coming out. Everything. From how she'd first met the last Doctor, the current Angel and Tailor. How Tailor had been a child then. Their adventures, the time tunnel, her other lives, meeting the family. The Doctor's regeneration, the war on Christmas, how Tailor had jumped from child to teen. The dinosaur-named-Charlotte in Victorian London, being shrunk, meeting Robin Hood, robbing a bank, all her odd adventures before their dates.

She honestly wasn't sure if she even took a breath during it. She hoped she'd made some sort of sense and hadn't just rambled at a thousand words a minute like the Doctor did.

Danny didn't look confused…he didn't look lost or like he was struggling to follow…but he still didn't look very happy either.

"Well?" she asked, wringing her hands as she stood before him, debating whether she should have called in one of the family to help her talk him through it or not, "What do you think? Say something."

Danny let out a long breath, trying to see if he really had caught everything important, "So, there's a family of aliens. One that used to be a kid. One that can see the future. And one that used to look like Adrian but then turned into a Scottish caretaker and every now and then, when I'm not looking, you elope with him."

"Them," Clara corrected, "And I don't elope…"

"Do you love him?"

Clara gave him a look, "Did you miss the part where he has a Mate?" she asked, "And not like just a friend, basically a wife, who he'd die for, HAS died for," she left out the part that she didn't doubt the Doctor would kill for his Mate and daughter if the situation pushed him enough, "That he has a daughter with that Mate?"

"Doesn't mean you can't…"

"No," Clara cut in, crossing her arms, now feeling just a bit angry that THAT was what he was focused on. That he thought there was something between her and the Doctor, "He's my brother, I told you. So yes, I do love him, but like family. The same way I love Angel and Tailor."

Danny looked away, shaking his head, trying to remind himself of that fact. He'd seen it, he'd seen the Doctor and Angel together, even before he knew they were aliens, he'd seen the couple together. He'd seen their daughter, taught a class with her. (And seriously, the way the girl had explained how 2 plus 2 COULD equal 5 when Courtney Woods was trying to be disruptive was inspired. A play on words, using the plus sign as an equivalent to 'and,' which made 2 and 2, or 22, with the 22nd letter of the alphabet being V, which was the Roman numeral for 5. Genius.) He'd seen the family, but it was just…some women had things for married men. Not all married men stayed true to their wives.

Though he could admit it was an insult to Clara to ever think her that sort of woman. And it was an insult to the Smiths too, alien though they were.

"Danny…" Clara began, moving to sit down on his sofa next to him, but giving him some space, not sure if he'd be open to her being so close at the moment, "I love YOU," she reminded him, "I know I shouted it a bit, but that doesn't make it less true."

She tried not to let on how much her heart was straining when he didn't return the sentiment.

"Why do you do it?" he asked instead, "Why do you fly off in the box with them? The truth. Please, just this once."

Clara nodded, considering her answer before just blurting out something. She'd done so much of that, blurting the first thing that came to mind instead of giving him a truthful answer, she didn't want him to keep thinking every word out of her mouth was a lie, "Because it's amazing. Because I see wonders."

"Ok."

They fell silent for a moment, before Clara couldn't take the fidgeting she was doing any longer, "What are you thinking?"

"That's a good question," he scoffed to himself, looking over at her, "It's funny, you only really know what someone thinks of you when you know what lies they've told you," he pushed himself to stand, half pacing as he spoke, "I mean, you say you've seen wonders, you've seen amazing things, and you kept them secret from me. So what do you think of me, Clara?"

Clara winced at that, standing and reaching for his hands, but he stepped back, "Please, tell me how I fix this."

"I just want to know who you are."

"You know who I am."

"When you're with them," he countered, shaking his head, "I want to know who you are when you're with those aliens."

Clara nodded, but lifted her chin slightly, "'Those aliens' are also my family in every way that matters," she reminded him, "If you care about me at all, please, just try and be nice."

"You gonna ask them the same?" Danny countered, an edge of defense to his words, as though he thought he wouldn't rank high enough in her 'family' to be given the same courtesy.

"I won't need to," she said, a sureness in her voice that reminded him she knew the aliens better than he did, "Angel and Tailor will take care of that."

Danny just looked away.

~8~

As Clara stood before the storeroom door, waiting for Danny, she couldn't help fidgeting in place. She was a ball of nerves, and for more reason than one. Not only was she going to be leading Danny face to face with 'those aliens' again, but…the Blitzer was set to return that night as well. She wasn't sure if Danny had caught Angel's words to the Doctor that they had a little less than 24 hours before the murder-bot would be back, but she wasn't going to bring it up if he missed it. It just meant that the Time Lords had a lot of work to do to get everything ready, get a new plan in place, and enact it, and a very short window to do it in. She didn't want to ask how it was, she didn't want to interrupt them during the day, trying to give them as much time as possible to work on it.

Since it was parents' evening that night, the students hadn't had school earlier that day so the Doctor hadn't had any duties to distract him.

She probably should wait till after the Blitzer was taken care of for this meeting, but if things went even worse later today…well, she hoped that this might put Danny more at ease or make him less likely to just drop her later. The worst hadn't happened yet, so there was still a chance to redeem all of it.

"You came!" Clara gave Danny a tentative smile as she saw him approaching from down the hall.

"I said I would," he countered, the implication, the unspoken 'I don't lie', wasn't lost on her.

"Ok," Clara cleared her throat, "I think we've just got time before parents' evening."

"Right, let's get this over with."

Clara frowned at his tone, not needing him to say it to know that he was expecting something to happen. He was so sure that she was a different person when she was around the Time Lords, it was like he thought she'd walk into the doors and transform into a stranger, that he was sure it would happen and wasn't exactly thrilled to see it.

"You'll see me with them," she confirmed part of his fears, leading him into the storeroom and over to where the TARDIS was now parked, "The other me. The exactly the same other me. Ok?"

Danny just gave her a blank look.

She sighed and shook her head, before turning to knock on the doors, only for them to open just as she raised her fist.

Angel was there, smiling at her, "You never need to knock, Clara," the Time Lady remarked, glancing between the two humans, "Come in, please," she said, stepping to the side, if just for Danny's sake.

"Thanks," Clara murmured as she entered the box, Danny following.

"Told you!" Tailor called from a small table near the console, where she and the Doctor were working on some sort of backpack-like thing, "Bigger on the inside!"

Danny absently nodded as he looked around at the enormous space, trying to take it in without showing how uneasy he felt about it all.

"Afternoon," the Doctor greeted, not looking up from his work soldering away as Angel moved to the console to run a scan before he could open his mouth to ask her to do it, "Thanks for keeping out of our way."

Tailor rolled her eyes, "He means thanks for giving us time to work on this first."

"And this is…" Clara moved up the stairs and over to the table, eyeing the black backpack but not sure what it was.

"Our best chance to stop the Blitzer," Angel answered, "Codes are downloading, my love," she added to the Doctor.

"You haven't brought Dave with you, I hope," the Doctor spoke to Clara.

"If you'd look up, you'd see him standing next to me, Doctor," Clara deadpanned, crossing her arms, "And his name's Danny."

"I made a promise to my Mate and daughter to be polite," the Doctor said, as though it explained everything.

"He's still cross about the Blitzer," Angel moved around the console to look at Clara, "This is his way of 'not insulting the pudding brains,'" she used air quotes for that.

"You asked him to be nice?" Clara's lip quirked into a smile, lowering her arms. She knew it.

"He's your boyfriend," Tailor spoke up, "Of course we asked him to be nice, he's important to you Aunt Clara."

"Have you explained?" the Doctor called.

"Yeah, er, I explained it all to him," Clara nodded, glancing over at Danny who was being a little too quiet, the man moving to walk around the console, eyeing it as though it were a beartrap about to latch onto his limb, "He gets it. He took it really well."

The Doctor snorted, not needing the faint niggle in his mind that was Angel knowing Clara wasn't being entirely truthful to know that the girl was lying through her teeth, "Pass me that synestic."

"Zig-zag plotter," Angel said, causing Clara to look over at her as Tailor moved to pass the object to her father. She could see the Time Lady had moved beside Danny, gesturing at one of the controls of the console, "Astrolabe," she pointed to another object, "Brakes…"

"I…um…" Danny struggled to find words for a moment, honestly not expecting the woman to talk to him, much less try to explain her 'spaceship' to him, "It's fine…I…I don't really care."

Angel, contrary to the glare the Doctor shot the man and the harrumph-like hum the TARDIS gave, just smiled and nodded, "Piloting isn't for everyone," she said simply, "Isn't that right, my love?"

"Oh, ha, ha," the Doctor huffed, rolling his eyes at the tiny jab at his own piloting abilities.

"Dad's great at teaching me how to pilot," Tailor defended her father.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"He's shown me loads of what NOT to do."

"Oh, what is this, pick on the Doctor day?" the Doctor asked, sounding more fondly-exasperated than angry.

Clara gave Tailor and Angel a small odd look, the two Time Ladies were sending conspiratorial looks at each other. It wasn't till Angel winked at her from behind Danny's back that she realized they were trying to put the man at ease by showing them just being normal.

…well, as normal as Time Lord aliens could be.

And now it was time for HER to show Danny she could be normal around them too, even when talking about alien things, "So, when the Blitzer comes back," she began cautiously, wanting to show Danny it wasn't all about her diving into adventures, but being responsible too, "Are you going to catch him with that?"

"The best way to deal with the Blitzer," the Doctor agreed, "But it's going to take at least twenty four hours even with my girls helping," he jerked back slightly as the pack sparked.

"It's going to be close," Angel warned her.

"But if anyone can do it, it'll be dad," Tailor smiled, earning one from her father as well for her faith in him.

"And once that's all sorted, we can go somewhere fun," the Doctor finally glanced up from his work, handing the solder to Tailor to work on her side of the pack, "What do you say?" he turned to Clara, doing his best to ignore the other human in the room, "Do you want to see the Thames frozen over? Oh, those frost fairs."

"They were lovely last time," Angel smiled.

"I still can't believe you got Stevie Wonder to sing," Tailor snorted.

And, just like that, the Doctor's smile faded entirely, recalling exactly who ELSE had been there. The damned River Song. It had been just after they'd lost the Ponds to the Weeping Angels. Angel had felt wretched that they'd 'stolen' River's parents from her, to the point where she'd somehow managed to talk him into breaking the woman out of Stormcage on her birthday to go to the Frost Fairs, something Rory had always wanted to see but they hadn't been able to get to before everything fell apart.

"You know what, who needs to see that again?" the Doctor huffed.

Angel laughed, moving over to his side to put a hand on his shoulder, sliding it up his neck to his hair, brushing a hand through it, "Thank you," she told him softly.

She knew he loathed River, but the fact he'd agreed, had gone on the trip, allowed it, meant the world to her.

"Anything for you," he gave her an equally soft smile, tugging her to sit on his lap with a laugh.

Clara smiled at Angel for her efforts. Never let it be said that the Time Lady didn't know how to calm her Mate down. He'd gone from tense the second Danny entered, to smiling softly at his family in just a few minutes. Now if they could just keep him calm and not insulting, Danny should be the same. And really, it should go better than she was fearing. She was there to show Danny that she was the same person he'd always known, but she was realizing now that it wasn't just showing Danny herself but showing him the Time Lords too. Angel was doing an outstanding job showing Danny that they weren't just 'aliens' but people too, with lives and families and soft spots.

"Will you come too, Aunt Clara?" Tailor asked.

"You're more than welcome to join us, Mr. Pink," Angel offered, noting how the man tensed at Tailor's question.

"And if he won't, we can get you back straightaway," the Doctor added, jumping in too quickly for Danny to answer, "Like we always do on your dates. Just make sure you don't get yourself a tan or anything, or lose a limb."

"You really think you're being clever don't you?" Danny gave the Doctor a hard look at the implications. Clara had already told him about the most recent string of adventures and how it had caused the tan and the seaweed and the way she'd nearly keeled over after their short jog.

"Actually, I think I'm being a Time Lord," he countered, "We're naturally clever."

"Oh ho, ho," Danny scoffed, "Time Lord? Might have known."

"Might have known what?" both the Doctor and Tailor spoke, genuinely seeming confused as to what their species had to do with anything.

"Well, the accent's good, but you can always spot the aristocracy. It's in the…the attitude."

"Danny…" Clara frowned at him.

"Now, Time Lords, do you salute those?"

"Definitely not," the Doctor spoke, tightening his arms around Angel and trying his level best not to react as he wanted to.

He had promised his girls he would behave, that he would 'be kind' to this Danny Pink. Apparently he was Clara's boyfriend and important to her and she loved him and, as her brother, he should be supportive and polite. But weren't brothers supposed to watch out for their sisters? Make sure their partners were good enough for them? How was that supposed to work when he had to be nice?

"Ah, Sir!" Danny snapped, jumping to a salute.

The Doctor was on his feet in an instant, feeling a flash of anger and fear from Angel. He didn't need to ask her why she felt it, he just needed to know she felt it in the first place before he would be there to defend her, moving her somewhat behind him as he faced down this impudent human, "You do not call me sir."

"As you wish, sir. Absolutely, sir."

Angel moved a hand to her left heart, feeling an odd string of emotions warring in there, hurt, fear, anger, and a desperation to protect that…that she was sure wasn't coming from her…but neither was it the Doctor.

"Hey!" Tailor stood, a frown on her face, "No shouting at my dad."

"Oh, yes ma'am!" Danny snapped, though he remained rigid at a salute with his gaze on the Doctor despite speaking to his daughter.

The Doctor did NOT appreciate that tone aimed at his child, "And you can get out of our TARDIS."

"Immediately, sir."

"Doctor, this is stupid," Clara cut in, trying to get between the two men, looking between him and Danny, warning them both, "This is unfair."

Angel swallowed hard, feeling tears welling in her eyes at Clara's words, knowing she was speaking to both men, and…for some reason that was just making her feel even more hurt, more alarmed and worried…

"One thing, Clara," Danny scoffed moving out of his salute to face her, his expression hard, "I'm a soldier, guilty as charged. You see him? He's an officer."

"He is NOT," Tailor defended, the same time the Doctor shouted, "I am not an officer!"

"I'm the one who carries you out of the fire. He's the one who lights it."

Angel winced, feeling the breath leave her, hearing that. There was so much pain, such a familiar pain, such a deep fear and desperation for safety…

"Out!" the Doctor growled, seeing Angel out of the corner of his eye growing more upset and not ever wanting her to feel that in their home, not when he could help it, "Now!"

"Right away, sir," Danny saluted once more, glaring at him, "Straight now?"

Angel looked over at Danny, her heart pounding, before glancing at the others and back to him…couldn't they see it?

"Yes."

"Am I dismissed?"

"Yes, you are!" the Doctor snapped, his hands clenching into fists as he felt a deepening sorrow and grief rising in his Mate.

"That's him," Danny turned, pointing at the Doctor as he spoke to Clara, "Look at him, right now. That's who..."

Danny's tirade was abruptly cut off by what could only be the oddest thing the Doctor, Tailor, or Clara had ever witnessed...

Angel had lunged forward to hug him.

Danny seemed completely and utterly stunned by the turn of events, thrown off so much he didn't seem to know what to do. Clara was sure, had the situation not been so tense only moments ago, she would have found the fact that Danny was standing there stock still with his arms in the air and his eyes wild to be quite humorous.

"Is…is this an attack?" Danny asked, though it was clear his question was directed at Clara, "Am I being attacked right now? Is this how they fight?"

Clara could only shake her head, truly at a loss for words and not having a clue what was going on either.

"Um...mum?" Tailor tried for words, but she honestly was as thrown as Danny was. Of all the reactions from her parents, she had not anticipated something like this, not even from her mother.

"Angel, what are you doing?" the Doctor had to ask, befuddled. This was NOT what he thought would happen do after the maelstrom of emotion he'd felt from her only moments ago.

But Angel ignored both for the moment, slowly pulling away from Danny until her hands were resting on his shoulders, smiling at him with tears in her eyes, "Thank you," she spoke quietly to him, sounding grateful which only served to confuse the others even more.

"Uh...for...for what?" Danny shook his head, still standing in his same frozen position, still not fully sure this wasn't some sort of alien attack.

"For getting so upset."

Clara blinked, shaking her head, "Hold on...you're HAPPY he just shouted at you?"

For a brief moment, she wondered if Angel's 9th self had somehow resurfaced, the naive girl who didn't really understand human ways. Not many people would be happy to be yelled at the way Danny had been.

Angel let out a tearful laugh and turned to face them, keeping one hand on Danny's shoulder, "Can't you feel it?" she asked them, "Don't you see why he's shouting?"

"We're not all like you, mum," Tailor reminded her.

"It's not about really feeling it," Angel shook her head, her gaze turning to the Doctor, "YOU, of all people, should understand my love."

But the Doctor was just frowning, his brows furrowed into one long caterpillar across his forehead, "I'm not sure I do."

Angel let her hand fall from Danny's shoulders, the confused man slowly lowering his arms though his attention was on Angel as she spoke to her Mate, "What are you like when I'm in danger?"

It took Tailor only a single moment to grasp what was said, her eyes widening, hands flying to her mouth as she gasped, "No!" she breathed, though she sounded pleased, which only served to confused Clara and the Doctor more.

"Still not following," the Doctor shook his head.

Angel gave him an amused and fond smile, before turning to Clara, "Clara, what is the Doctor like when I'm in danger?"

"Right insufferable," Clara answered, "Grouchy. Inconsiderate. Callous..."

"Shouty," Angel cut in, "Single-minded, driven to extremes to see me safe. Now WHY is he like that?"

"Because he loves you!" Tailor shouted, actually throwing her hand in the air as though waiting to be called on in class, bouncing on her toes she was vibrating so much with the excitement of working it out.

"What's that got to do with anything?" the Doctor asked.

Angel let out a sigh, turning to Danny instead, "Thank you," she repeated, "For caring about Clara as much as you do."

Danny seemed stunned, as did Clara (who was now starting to make the connection between what Angel and Tailor had said and how it related to Danny), the Doctor still seemed confused though.

Angel reached out to take one of Danny's hands, "You wouldn't be yelling so much or so loudly if you didn't truly care about her and fear for her. And because of that I know you would do anything to keep her safe. So thank you, because now I know she'll be safe here on Earth. When we can't be with her to watch out for her, YOU will."

"Always," Danny murmured, "Yeah."

Angel smiled, squeezing his hand, "I know you're afraid for her, when she travels with us, as you should be. It IS dangerous..." Danny seemed about to latch onto that and pick up his earlier tirade, but Angel continued on, "As is living on Earth," that seemed to startle Danny for the moment, "You could trip over a rug on the stairs and fall," she couldn't help but think of poor Mickey's gran, "Or cross the road without looking out for cars," and poor Pete Tyler, "There are so many dangers and you've no idea how much I worry for Clara, for all of our family," she finished, "So really, thank you, it means the world to me to know she's got you looking after her."

Danny slowly started nodding, "Seems a bit more dangerous in your neck of the woods though," he said, more calmly than Clara thought he would given how he'd blown up before.

"And we do our best to look out for each other," Angel spoke, agreeing without outright saying it, "How about we pop off to the lounge for a nice cuppa and I can tell you some of the ways we do that?"

Danny let out a breath, feeling like something had unclenched around his heart at hearing there were actually a number of ways that they tried to keep Clara safe, and then feeling a well of guilt rise in him for how he'd acted only moments ago. It was just...hard. He cared about Clara SO much, he...he really felt like he might love her, and to see her in such a dangerous situation? To hear about all the other times she'd done the same? Part of him had been furious with her for putting herself in such a scene, but another part was equally mad at himself for not being there to protect her. HE was a soldier, meant to guard and protect and fight for safety, and he'd been useless. Angel...he realized it now, SHE had kept them all safe and if she did that in this one instance, maybe there were more of them.

He'd let his fear and anger get the better of him and he'd shouted at a woman, something he was disappointed in himself for. But...as strange as it was...Angel had seen right through it to the heart of him and seen WHY. He'd made it seem like he had a problem with the Doctor being bossy when really it was his fear that the man didn't care enough about Clara to keep her safe, and he'd yelled at two women in the middle of it. And here was one of them thanking him for it? Angel had hugged him and thanked him for caring enough about Clara to reach that point of yelling and standing up to THEM for the girl. He should have handled it better, given them time to really talk because in just mere minutes, Angel had turned all his emotions on their heads. That Doctor bloke might be an officer through and through, but this woman...she was certainly anything but. She, at least, wasn't anything like he expected.

And so...he nodded.

"Well, then," she beamed at him, such a contagious smile he couldn't help the quirk of his lips, "Come along, Mr. Pink."

Clara, Tailor, and the Doctor could only watch, stunned, as Angel and Danny left the TARDIS, Angel's arm linked through the crook of Danny's elbow.

"...what just happened?" Clara could only blink at the turn of events.

"I've no idea," the Doctor mumbled, rubbing the side of his face in confusion.

Tailor just giggled and dashed off after the duo, leave it to her mum to win the man over, or at least start to.

The Doctor and Clara glanced at each other, before moving to follow the young Time Lady, stepping out of the TARDIS just after Tailor left the storeroom, just as the infamous Courtney Woods entered.

"Why is she here?" the Doctor muttered to Clara with a frown.

"Parents' evening," Clara hissed back, some parents brought their children to it.

"What's in the box?" Courtney eyed it oddly, "It's not really a policeman, is it?"

"You want to know what's in that box?" he huffed, wanting to get out of the room and find his Mate, but the reminder of the parents' evening brought his mind back to the Blitzer that was likely imminent to arrive within hours. He needed to get that pack done. There wasn't much left to do, but it still had to be done and the sooner he could get back into the box, the sooner it would happen, "I'll tell you what's in that box. It's a time machine. It also travels in space. And it usually contains a man who just wants to get on with his work of preventing the end of the world, but keeps being interrupted by boring little humans."

"Oi!" Clara glared at him.

But Courtney just laughed, "Cool. So, that's really a spaceship?"

The Doctor reached out as the girl tried to dash past him and check on the inside of the box, grabbing her by the collar of her jacket and tugging her back, "I'm serious. I'm trying to save this planet."

Clara had to snort at the parallel in his statement to what was going on with his Mate. HE was trying to save the planet, and Angel was trying to save her world. Not that her world revolved around Danny, but the part of her world that was normal and human and on Earth, Danny represented a large part of that.

"End of the world for me tonight, whatever you do," Courtney sighed, "Parents' evening."

"Is your name really Disruptive Influence?"

"It's Courtney," Clara answered, "And you should be off with your parents right now," she gave the girl a look, subtly telling her to get out of the storeroom.

"Can I go in space first?" the girl looked at her with wide eyes.

"If your parents don't ground you after tonight," Clara compromised instead, moving forward to usher the girl out, "Now, come on, he's got work to do saving the world."

The Doctor let out a long breath, glancing between the door and the TARDIS, "Two hours," he muttered, Angel had warned that the Blitzer would be there in that time, he hadn't thought it prudent to bring it up around Clara or the other one, but that wouldn't stop it coming. He could only hope they'd be busy with the parents and the plan he and Tailor had created would keep them unawares of the danger till it was over, "I can do it," he took a breath and moved into the TARDIS to work.

~8~

Clara hesitantly tried to approach Danny as she found him in the gymnasium where the other teachers were setting up tables in preparation for the night. She'd wanted to barge into the teachers' lounge and see what Angel was saying to Danny…but Tailor had stopped her. The girl had offered her an apologetic smile and told her the door was locked and she was neither her mother, with Vortex abilities, nor her father, with a sonic, to open it. So the two had wandered back to the TARDIS, Tailor helping her father with the pack while she sat in one of the chairs, fretting, before she had to make her way back to the gym for parents' evening. She may have tried to swing by the lounge once more, but the door was unlocked and open and no one was there. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. It felt like no time at all had passed but she knew it had been almost two hours since Angel had pulled Danny out of the room. Was it good or bad that it had taken all that time for Angel to speak to him? Was she even finished or had they had to cut it short for parents' evening?

"Right, are we quorate?" Armitage was calling out, gathering the teachers to him, preventing Clara from getting a word in to Danny, "Time to admit the hordes," he moved to the doors, glancing through the glass panels and sighing, "And look who's at the front of the queue."

"Who are they?" Adrian asked.

"Courtney Woods' mum and dad," Clara answered, recognizing them from numerous chats she'd already had, having had to call them in to discuss Courtney's behavior. She glanced at Danny, knowing he, too, had had chats with them, but the man was silent. He didn't look upset, or put off, or angry…but he also didn't look overjoyed or like he wanted to just sweep her into his arms and shout his love for her either…

Angel had, sadly, not worked as much a miracle as she had exceedingly hoped.

Adrian shifted, having put off calling the parents for Courtney as he knew many other teachers already had and it must not be great for them to be in such a position, "Can someone else do them first?"

"No problem, Ade," Danny finally spoke, nodding to himself, "I can cope with anything tonight."

Clara wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing…what had Angel said to him?

"Oh, happy days," Armitage took a deep breath and opened the doors to let the parents in.

~8~

Angel, who had been watching the hordes of parents entering the gymnasium, feeling like there was something she should wait there for…slowly began to frown from where a soft smile had once been on her face. She turned slowly, looking over her shoulder towards where the auditorium was, seeing in her mind the swirling time vortex reopening and throwing a chair out of it. Her eyes widened, knowing what would follow shortly after, before she disappeared in a flash of gold, a shout of 'Doctor!' in her mind…

She left so quickly and suddenly, she didn't see a woman with brown hair watching her go, before pulling out a stick of lipstick from her purse and rushing down the halls…

~8~

If it hadn't been for the bond he shared with his Mate, the Doctor was quite sure he would have jumped a mile out of his skin when Angel appeared in a flash of gold before him and Tailor in the TARDIS, calling out, "The Blitzer's coming," a split second before the alarms in the box began to go off, the scanners having picked up on the return of the time vortex.

The Doctor grimaced, "Tailor," he turned to his daughter.

She nodded, understanding, they still had a few more things to do on the pack, they needed to finish it, but they also needed to be out there distracting the Blitzer till it was done, "I can do it," she promised them, focusing on the pack as her mother reached out and took her father's hand, the two disappearing in a flash of gold.

~8~

Danny offered a strained smile at the Woods, trying very hard to focus on the situation and not the lengthy conversation he'd had with Angel before. There was…so much to process, and it wasn't fair to the Woods to not listen to their concerns about their daughter.

"I would say yes," he cut in, "I'm afraid Courtney IS a disruptive influence."

"Yeah, but last year you said she was a very disruptive influence," Mr. Woods tried to find the silver lining.

"So, I suppose that counts as an improvement?" Mrs. Woods looked so hopeful he wasn't sure how to respond.

He tried to find the words…when he saw a flash of gold through the doors, in the hallway, and the Doctor and Angel appear. He let out a loud cough, earning Clara's attention and directing her gaze to the door where they could see the two Time Lords rushing off.

"Excuse me," he heard Clara say, "I think the caretaker wants me," she offered to the parents she was speaking with, before getting up and hurrying away.

He frowned, glancing at the Woods, before taking a breath, "Sorry, Mr. Woods, Mrs. Woods, I think the caretaker wants me too."

He hurriedly got up and moved after Clara, hearing Armitage reassuring the parents that they'd be back in a moment as they went.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Clara hissed to him as they got through the doors, running in the direction they'd seen the Time Lords go.

But Danny was silent.

Clara shook her head, not about to ask again, and instead focusing on what might be a serious danger they were about to run into, "Doctor!" she called out, seeing him and Angel pausing at a corner ahead, up from the auditorium, "Angel! What's happening?'

"Clara, what are you doing?" the Doctor spun to face them.

"You should be at parents' evening," Angel reminded them both.

Clara shook her head, "What's happening?" she repeated, more firmly.

The Time Lords looked at each other before the Doctor sighed, knowing they didn't have time to argue with her, "The vortex is opening."

"What?!" Danny gaped.

"The second the Blitzer comes through it's going to scan the area," the Doctor warned, "If it gets to parents' evening, it'll kill them all."

"We've got to evacuate!"

"Shut up!"

"It will sense any large movement and head for it," Angel shook her head, "It's another reason why we went after it invisible."

"Then what do we do?" Clara asked

The Doctor just held up the sonic, "We get to the hall and use this to lure it off."

Clara frowned, "You can't," she reminded him, "It scanned you and Angel, it'll kill you on sight you said!" she shook her head, "I can do it."

"No," Angel shook her head, "You were in the room too, it scanned everyone."

"Think, think, think," the Doctor hit his head, trying to come up with some way to do it without endangering everyone. Oh why couldn't the pudding brain just have left well enough alone!? If they could just find someone, one person the Blitzer hadn't scanned, they would be fine.

Angel blinked, hearing his thoughts, when a slow smile came to her face, "There might be a way…"

"What?" the Doctor looked at her.

But it was a voice behind them that spoke instead, "Maybe I can help?"

The Doctor froze at the sound of the voice, the familiarity, and slowly turned to see none other than Sarah Jane Smith standing there, her arms crossed, sonic lipstick in her hand, open and ready, a grin growing on her face.

"Miss Smith!" Danny spoke quickly, looking from the Time Lords to Skye Smith's mother, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an explanation, feeling as though he was getting a taste of what Clara had been doing for weeks on end, "We were just…"

"Sarah Jane?" the Doctor cut in, not seeming to notice he'd interrupted.

Danny did a double take at the fact that the Doctor knew her name.

The woman beamed, "Look at you!" she laughed, "You've got eyebrows!"

"Oh, funny, isn't that so funny," he huffed, rolling his eyes, but he opened his arms for a hug as Sarah Jane threw herself into the now-rare embrace. It wasn't just any human, it was Sarah Jane!

"Oh, Angel!" the woman cheered, quickly moving to hug the Time Lady as well, "Oh, you haven't changed, thank goodness. I don't think I could handle the both of you."

"Hello Sarah Jane," Angel smiled.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked.

"Never mind that," Sarah Jane brushed it off, "What's this I hear about a Blitzer?" she asked, pulling away, getting right to business, "Doesn't sound friendly."

"It isn't," the Doctor agreed.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Sonic," the Doctor began quickly, handing her his own sonic, wanting to be sure she'd have a way to defend herself with her own if anything happened, "Give it some squirts of helicon energy, setting number 41. No more than three seconds each, random pulses. Distract it."

"Where should I lead it?" Sarah Jane asked, nodding along, keeping up with his rapid speaking so well Danny wasn't sure what was going on.

"The storeroom," Angel spoke, "He and Tailor will need two more minutes and then we…" she held up a finger as the Doctor opened his mouth to argue that she was NOT going to face the Blitzer, "Will lead it right to the TARDIS."

"Angel…" Sarah Jane frowned. She'd heard enough as she'd approached to know that this Blitzer was dangerous and already knew Angel enough that it would attack her.

"Either we go together or no one goes," Angel shook her head, "It should be more focused on the sonic as a 'weapon' and not me, unless I use the Vortex. Which I would only do to get us away in the worst case."

"It could kill you…" Danny, surprisingly, was the one who spoke, recalling how it had been said the Blitzer would blow itself up if the girl tried to use her power on it.

She looked over at him, "Would that stop you?" she asked, so simply that Danny could only look at her like he was seeing her for the first time. Angel gave him a small smile and turned to the Doctor, "Or you?" she added, stopping any argument he was going to make.

"Angel…" the Doctor reached out to take her hand, squeezing it, knowing she could feel how much the Mating instinct was kicking in, pulsing in him with a need to keep his Mate safe. He was fighting it, knowing that Sarah Jane's life could be on the line and there was no one he trusted more (than himself) to be with the woman and keep her safe than Angel. But it wasn't easy to LET her go into danger without him beside her to protect her.

Angel lifted the hand holding hers to press a kiss to his scarred knuckles, "We'll be fine," she promised.

"Smith and Jones," Sarah Jane agreed, "No better team."

Angel nodded, "You'll have two minutes, my love."

He swallowed hard, squeezing her hand again, and nodding, trusting her like she always did him.

"Ooh, it's been a while since I've been the decoy," Sarah Jane remarked.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?" Clara looked between the Time Lords and Sarah Jane, knowing Angel had the advantage even with the Vortex, knowing the woman would stay far enough away to not be noticed by the Blitzer, not wanting to endanger Sarah Jane, but close enough to get the woman out if there was danger. She was cursing herself for rushing in when she and Danny had, she would have never been scanned. Sarah Jane was safe because it would follow the sonic and not immediately notice Sarah Jane as a threat. If SHE had been the one going, she was sure it would have fired at her for being a threat and holding a weapon, instead of trying to scan what weapon it was.

"Or me?" Danny offered, shifting uncomfortably at the thought of the two women, one of them his student's parent, running into danger and him being forced to stay behind.

The Doctor looked between the two humans, glancing at Angel as she nodded before rushing off with Sarah Jane, "Yes," he decided, hearing something slightly different in Danny's tone...the human wasn't seeing Angel as another officer or an alien or an aristocrat, but someone risking her life to protect other people and someone who deserved protection and help in return, that was enough for him, "Come on."

~8~

Angel and Sarah Jane came to a stop just outside the auditorium, looking through the window at the vortex within, moments before it dropped the Blitzer onto the ground.

"Disrupt temporal lock," they could hear it through the door, "Disengaged. Scan."

"Ready?" Angel looked at her.

Sarah Jane laughed, "Just like old times," she held up the Doctor's sonic and flicked it on.

"Incoming, stop. Identified: Helicon," the voice of the Blitzer grew closer, "Helicon. Commence: retargeting."

"Come on," Angel took Sarah Jane's hand, the two running down the hall and around the corner to set off the next burst as the Blitzer followed.

"Target acquired. Destroy."

They ran through the doors to the playground, taking the shortest route to the storeroom, but also the one that would keep it the farthest from the parents, sending off bursts of the energy.

"Target within range. Problem solution: destroy."

"Almost there," Angel reassured Sarah Jane as they ran through another set of doors, sending a warning to the Doctor in her mind, nodding to herself at his response, "They're ready."

She had never been more thankful for her sensations before. Knowing the Blitzer was coming in less than 24 hours, they had all been working as quickly as possible to get the pack ready. She was sure, if they'd thought the Blitzer was going to return when the Doctor initially thought, they'd probably have taken more time and been scrambling, maybe even forgot to transfer the command codes into the backpack too.

But now…now they were prepared.

They burst through the doors of the storeroom, the Blitzer repeating, "Destroy. Destroy," behind them.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane called out, quickly dashing to the side of the door and out of the way, moving along the wall, seeing Tailor before them, in front of the doors to the TARDIS, helping her father put some sort of black pack on his back, "It's coming."

"20 more seconds," he mumbled, struggling to input a code into a device in his hand.

"Destroy!" the Blitzer called as it entered.

"Now!" Clara shouted from one side of the room, Danny on the side Sarah Jane had ended up on as the two began to hurl objects at the creature, each lobbing something as it turned to the other, keeping it from attacking. A tiny laser fired near the Blitzer as well, stinging it, as MK9 trundled over, defending his Mistress

"Am I green?" the Doctor asked as Angel ran over to help secure the pack to him, knowing she couldn't risk using the Vortex as a shield lest it trigger the Blitzer to explode, "Am I green?"

"Green," she confirmed.

The Doctor quickly lifted the device to his mouth, speaking into it like a microphone, his voice slightly distorted as it resonated from some sort of speaker in the pack, "Stop!" he ordered, "Skovox Blitzer!"

The strange group held their breath, waiting to see what would happen, releasing it only when the Blitzer halted, turning to the Doctor.

"Awaiting orders."

Clara nearly sagged with relief, moving towards the Time Lords with caution, not wanting to set it off.

"Superior Skovox Artificer," the Doctor continued, "Analyze: stop. Analyze: stop."

"Superior recognized," the Blitzer agreed, "Pattern 110: orders. Orders."

"Why's it listening to him?" Clara whispered to Tailor as she reached the girl, standing half behind Angel.

"Dad and I programmed the pack to copy the codes from a superior officer," the girl answered, "A rough job, but it looks like it's working…"

"Affirmative!" MK9 agreed, scanning the Blitzer as it stopped.

Sarah Jane let out a little laugh as she heard, as she realized, "It thinks the Doctor's its general. Brilliant."

"Initiate input," the Doctor took a step towards the Blitzer, not caring how closely Danny was watching, or how much he sounded like an officer as the man kept accusing, right now needs must, "Commence shutdown protocol. No conflict…" he glanced at Angel hearing her warning in his mind about the input codes she'd downloaded in the TARDIS earlier, and nodded, quickly tapping the final input code to shut it down, "Confirm stop. Override final input code. Conclusion?"

It was a long moment before the Blitzer lowered its weapons completely, "Code accepted. Orders accepted. Stop. Stop. Stop…" slowly but surely the words grew softer and more slurred as the machine finally powered down.

"Mission accomplished!" MK9 announced.

"Oh, yes!" Sarah Jane cheered.

"Oh, my god," Clara breathed.

"That was amazing!" Tailor beamed, turning to hug Clara.

Sarah Jane smiled as she watched the Time Lords cheering and hugging after the defeat of the Blitzer, glancing over at Danny Pink who was watching with a furrowed brow but his body language radiated thoughtfulness, "It's never easy to watch them do this," she commented, "Watching people you care about throw themselves into danger," she watched him closely as he nodded, though his gaze was on Clara. It didn't take a genius to work out that the man cared a great deal for her, she wanted to make sure he realized that it wasn't JUST Clara in danger, that SHE wasn't the only one worth caring about. While he feared for Clara, Sarah Jane Smith and the rest of the family feared for the Time Lords as well. Clara wasn't the only one in danger. Sometimes...sometimes the Time Lords were in even more, because they had regenerations to help them and it made them a little more willing to risk their lives at times, especially if it meant keeping Clara safe. She took a breath and continued carefully, having been around people just learning about the madness that was the Doctor's life she could see the man was very on edge about all this, "They put themselves in more danger than anyone I've ever known, and I know Torchwood and UNIT. But you know why they do it?"

Danny shook his head.

Sarah Jane just nodded over at where Tailor was high-fiving Clara, "For their daughter," she told him, "For MY daughter. For Skye, for Clara, for you, for all the teachers and all the students in this building. And more. They do this so that other people won't have to, so they won't be in danger if THEY handle it first. Sound familiar, soldier?"

Danny glanced at her sharply, seeming about to ask her how she knew his past, when he remembered Skye was in his classes and all the students knew he was a 'squaddie' as they were so fond of calling him. He let out a long sigh though, "I still don't like that they brought the danger so close to the students."

"Ah, but THEY brought it," Sarah Jane remarked, a tone of complete assuredness in her voice that spoke of a total faith in the aliens, "Which means they had a plan to never let it near the others. Believe me, Mr. Pink, if they weren't sure they could handle it, if there was even a hint that someone besides them could get hurt, including Clara, they would have brought it somewhere else. Children are an especially soft spot for them, they would do anything to keep them safe. It didn't seem like they had much choice in it coming back this time."

Danny flinched at the unintentional reminder of the role he'd played in that. Even if Sarah Jane hadn't been around when it happened, he knew the woman was an investigative journalist, she was good at observing.

"I have to admit though, the Doctor's gotten much better since he's met Angel, since they found Tailor," she glanced at Danny, "He's helped and saved more people than ever because of Angel and her gifts, she's got her own army now."

Danny frowned as he looked at her.

She laughed, "No, no, not like that. Sorry, it's...sort of a family joke," she felt so light that they could all joke about that awful time now, now that Angel and Tailor were safe again, "Speaking of," a thought struck her. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out her business card, then a pen and scribbled some numbers on the back of it, "Here."

He looked down, seeing numbers next to names for a Martha, Donna, and Jack, and gave her a questioning look.

"The family," she repeated, "All of us, past companions of the Doctor. We meet up for holidays," she smiled, "But, if you have any questions, about the Doctor, about the travelling or the danger, give any of us a call. We don't often get to talk about what we've seen, but it might help to get a few other perspectives."

Danny was silent a moment, "You're all past companions, what Clara is now."

"Yes."

"And you're all..." he didn't seem to know how to finish.

But Sarah Jane knew, and nodded, "We're all still alive and well, not all of us in the same time period, but fine in the end. Better than we were for having known them."

Danny considered it a long while, before he put the card into his pocket.

Sarah Jane smiled.

A moment later she let out a laugh, "Come on," she reached out to tug on his arm, half dragging him with her.

"What?"

"There's a hug going on," she remarked, and he noticed that the Time Lords had merged together with Clara in a group hug, "And if I know Angel..." not even a second later, Angel's hand was sticking out of the group towards Sarah Jane, a crack opening in it, which earned a hearty laugh from the woman.

"I don't think I'll..."

"Clara's vouched for you," Sarah Jane told him quickly as they neared, not wanting to bring up that it was Skye who had told her who 'Ozzie' loved, "Which means you're as good as an honorary family member, for the moment. And Angel never excludes anyone from a group hug."

"Oh really," the Doctor huffed as the two joined in, though Danny stayed wedged between Sarah Jane and Clara, far away from the Doctor, "I'm NOT a huggy person."

"Still don't get a say in that, Doctor," Clara teased, just taking this moment to enjoy a job well done, everyone safe and sound, and having Danny beside her.

"Honorary family member?" Angel whispered to Sarah Jane, low enough that only she could hear.

"Well I didn't want to assume another title," the woman winked at her.

Angel shook her head, knowing exactly which title Sarah Jane was thinking of, it was one she was considering as well...

She HAD asked the Doctor what would happen if her next companion was a soldier.

And Danny did NOT carry a gun anymore...

Time would tell.

With that in mind, Angel looked over at Danny as the hug came to an end, "You alright?"

Danny gave a stiff nod, but an answer nonetheless.

"Something you'd like to say to him, Doctor?" Clara turned to the Time Lord, standing there with his arm around Angel's shoulders, seeming far more relaxed and in better spirits now that the Blitzer had been dealt with.

"Yeah," his expression grew harder as he turned to Danny, "Next time don't touch things if you don't know what they are."

"Doctor," Clara sighed, "A thank you for helping would be nice."

"It's fine," Danny cut in, "He doesn't need to thank me. He doesn't even need to like me. I just need to do exactly one thing for him. Don't I Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced at Angel, it had taken him a while, but he was starting to understand why she'd been happy about Danny's yelling. And he couldn't lie and say he didn't feel the same. Not about the yelling, but about WHY it happened, "Yes."

"What?" Clara frowned, looking between the two men, a little more confused when Tailor started to smile and moved to put her arm around her father's waist in a hug, "What one thing?"

"I need to be good enough for you," Danny said, turning to Clara, "That's why he's angry. Just in case I'm not," he hesitated a moment, glancing at Angel and her soft smile and back, "That's what brother do for their sisters."

Clara began to smile at that, hearing not quite a full acceptance in Danny's voice but an acknowledgement.

"Well, as far as approval goes," Sarah Jane spoke up, "He DID just help save the world."

"Oh who says the world was in danger?" the Doctor scoffed.

"You're here," Clara and Sarah Jane said as one.

Sarah Jane chuckled, "You have to admit, Doctor, when you get involved the world usually IS in danger."

"Speaking of worlds," Angel looked over at Clara and Danny, "There's a young girl who's quite afraid her world's about to end tonight…"

"Oh my god, Courtney!" Clara gasped a moment later, "Parents' evening!"

She quickly turned and hustled Danny out of the room, both to get them back to their jobs but also so as not to risk the Doctor insulting him again.

Sarah Jane laughed, "I should go as well," she remarked, "Skye goes here now."

"Ah," the Doctor nodded, understanding now how and why Sarah Jane Smith had shown up in the school.

"I will expect a visit from you lot," Sarah Jane pointed a warning finger at them, a pleasant feeling welling inside her. It was…nice, to be able to have some sort of odd adventure and danger with the Time Lords and NOT feel that aching sorrow when it ended, to just reminisce but feel fond afterwards. She'd come, she'd saved the world, and she could go home to her daughter and son without regretting having to say goodbye to the aliens.

"Of course," Tailor promised for her parents, though they all crossed their hearts to seal it.

Sarah Jane shook her head and headed out the door…right as Courtney entered, the poor girl looking gloomy as anything.

And a sad child would never do.

~8~

Tailor kept an eye on both Courtney, who was leaning out the doors of the TARDIS as it floated in space, and the Blitzer they'd just cast adrift. Her parents were behind her, keeping the old girl steady in the micro-meteorite shower they'd appeared in the middle of.

"Farewell, Skovox Blitzer," she could hear her father call out, "Have a nice war. So," he moved to the doors behind them, trusting Angel's piloting, "Courtney Woods, impressed yet?"

"Actually," the girl spoke, softer than they'd ever heard, gripping the doorway for dear life and looking rather pale, "I'm feeling a bit ill."

"Oh, come here, sweetheart," Angel moved away from the console, gesturing Courtney to come away from the door and over to her, sitting her down on one of the comfy chairs.

"It can be a bit overwhelming," the Doctor nodded to himself as Courtney walked off, grinning at his daughter though when he turned back, "Look! The Olveron Cluster. A million stars, a hundred million inhabited planets."

"Can we go there next?" Tailor smiled at her father, "AFTER we stop by Aunt Sarah's?"

The Doctor nodded, turning around to head to the console and pilot them back, smiling at the sight of Courtney, curled up against Angel, her arms wrapped around the woman's middle as she sat on the armrest, one hand running through Courtney's hair in comfort as the girl appeared on the verge of being sick all over the place.

Right, best get back before there was a spillage.

~8~

Clara was still unsure even as she sat on the sofa of Danny's flat, snuggling up with him as they watched the television. He hadn't said much to her about anything since parents' evening ended, just basic things, nothing about the TARDIS or Blitzer or Time Lords and it was eating away at her.

She took a breath and went for broke, "So, what do you think of them now?"

"Who?"

"You know who. Angel, Tailor, the Doctor…"

Danny was silent, unable to stop thinking about the conversation he'd had with Angel before the Blitzer appeared. It had been weighing on him all night.

"I mean," Clara continued, not sure how to interpret his silence, "They're alright, you know."

"Suppose," Danny murmured, tensing. He didn't want to admit it. He'd been so set to hate them all for the danger they put Clara in and then…he let out a breath, and then he sat down and talked with one of them and now he just wasn't sure about anything.

"Ok," Clara turned off the telly, turning to face him, "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I know men like him," Danny said carefully, speaking only about the Doctor, he was, probably, the one he had the most issue with, "I've served under them. They push you and make you stronger, till you're doing things you never thought you could. I saw you tonight, you were willing to step in their place, to just run off, probably would have done exactly what he told you to do. Even when that Blitzer thing crashed through the doors, you weren't even scared. And you should have been."

He'd been terrified, terrified for HER.

And all it did was bring up things he never wanted to think about again.

"I trust them," Clara shook her head, "The Doctor and Angel have never let me down."

"Fine," Danny could give her that. Clara wasn't one to trust blindly, they would have had to prove they knew what they were doing and that she'd be safe for her to follow them the way she did, "But…if he ever pushes you too far, if...if you're ever in a real and serious and true danger, I want you to tell me, because I know what that's like. You'll tell me if that happens, yeah?"

"It won't," Clara gave him a smile, "Angel and Tailor…"

"Won't always be right next to him," Danny cut in, ignoring Clara's scoff at the thought of the man ever letting his girls more than a foot away from him if he could help it, "And if they're not there, if he's not...promise me, Clara."

"It's a deal," she gave in.

But he shook his head, serious, "No. It's a promise."

"Ok. I promise."

"And if you break that promise, Clara, we're finished."

Clara frowned at him, "Don't say that."

"I'm saying it because if you don't tell me the truth, I can't help you," he told her, "And I could never stand not being able to help you. We clear?"

He needed her to promise him. Right now his mind was in chaos, two parts of him warring against each other but the only thing he felt was wretched.

Because he should BE there with her, beside her, protecting her…and he didn't think he could.

He'd become a soldier to protect people, and ended up killing one instead.

He couldn't trust himself with Clara's safety, he didn't have the skills to keep her safe. The Blitzer had been proof of that.

But he wanted to be, and he wasn't, and...he also didn't want to be, and he had to get over that, or it would destroy everything.

He couldn't help her as it was, he wasn't sure he ever could and that scared him more than he wanted to admit.

Until he could…he needed to know she'd guard herself, even if it made him feel like a failure.

He needed time, to think, to process, to decide what he could handle.

His conversation with Angel hadn't made that easier.

"Yes," Clara answered, "We're clear."

She slowly moved to snuggle against him again, turning the television back on, though neither of them saw a moment of the show, both lost in their thoughts.

~8~

It felt like the blink of an eye that Matthew had been standing in a building doing his job as an officer when some mad creature started firing at him, to sitting across a desk from a man in a pale grey suit, in a brightly lit white corridor.

"It was mad," he was explaining to the man who'd asked him if he was alright, "It was like in a film or on the telly like, with science fiction guns."

"Skovox Blitzer," the man was nodding, "Sounds like. We were scheduled to have a few in from that. Wouldn't feel too bad."

"If I hadn't…" Matthew began, thinking back to what could have been if he'd just stayed out of that building, "If I hadn't…hang on. That doesn't make sense."

"Makes perfect sense to me."

Matthew shook his head, "How did I escape? I…I don't remember how I got away."

"Well, I was coming to that. I'm afraid you really rather didn't."

"Then how did I get here?" Matthew demanded, jumping to his feet and looking around, not even sure where 'here' was.

"Well. Big question…"

"Where am I?"

The man gave him a sad smile, "What name would you like? There's a range. The afterlife. The Promised Land. I'm partial to the Nethersphere."

Matthew moved over to a circular window in the wall he was sure hadn't been there a moment ago and looked out it through the blinds, gaping at what he saw beyond, "My God…"

They turned, hearing a clacking of heels on the floor to see Missy walk in, glance at them, before walking off.

"Sorry," the man apologized, "She's a bit cross. We were supposed to be busier today…so, any questions?"

A/N: Just want to start by saying I won't be updating this story's next episode for about 2-3 weeks. As I mentioned at the start of this episode, I wanted to try to get through an episode of Angel and then I was going to finish up Calm Before the Storm for my OUAT Lyssa/Hook fanfiction. So I'm going to get that story squared away (about 5, maybe 6 more chapters), and then pick this story back up for Kill the Moon ;)

For this chapter though, SO much more I wanted to add to this episode lol, but there was already so much going on and it was already over 30,000 words already, I thought it might be too much. I was going to put in the conversation between Angel and Danny in the lounge, but given it was 2 hours long, I feel like it'll be better to come up in thoughts on Danny and Angel's end as the story goes. It's too much for him to absorb in one go, so having bits of it come back to him later will allow him to think and reflect on it more. I have a lot more planned for Danny before this story is over ;)

Oh Danny, I feel like in quite a number of my stories (both past and future) he's going to be really angry with Clara and shouty at the Time Lords and with most TLs, I could see them not caring or firing right back or getting upset which makes the Doctor upset. But Angel...with how she can feel things at times, it just made me feel like, if it only happens once where Danny gets thrown for a loop and calms down and reacts differently, it would be with her. She can see past the yelling to the WHY he's yelling. And, really, yelling at someone and out of nowhere they HUG you? I'd be a little startled into silence myself lol :) I hope it wasn't disappointing, how it sort of fizzled out of him lol. I just couldn't get it to a point where the Doctor was Oncoming Storm against Danny because Angel was there and I couldn't see her not trying to calm things down and be understanding, I couldn't see her NOT feeling Danny's pain and fear for Clara :( If Danny and the Doctor ever find themselves alone though...lol, who knows what sort of fight might break out }:)

As for Clara, I feel like as much as she loves Danny, she will be a little more defensive of the Time Lords. Because in this story-universe, she has a better relationship with them. She's not just a companion, she's the Doctor's sister. She's not just a human, she's Tailor's Aunt. She hasn't just been living two lives, she's lived 13 like a Time Lord and understands them more. And it wasn't so much having to choose between two worlds (travelling or teaching) as her own fear of them colliding and now it has and it wasn't TOO bad. It will change quite a few things going forward because she's got a better relationship, and Angel has handled the situation with Danny SO much differently than the show goes so he's a little less hostile and prejudiced. Can't wait to see how it goes ;)

As for Sarah Jane :) I really wanted to extend her role, but I also felt like she was at a point in her life where she could LIVE her life without having her adventures with the Doctor or missing all that travel hanging over her. She could show up for a normal parents' evening, help save the world, and return to the meetings without dragging it out. It was really a stroke of luck to run into the new him, Skye kept it a secret to surprise her lol, so I couldn't see her being there too early. It was lovely to see them and reconnect. With how many Doctors Sarah Jane has known, I think she takes regeneration in stride now ;)

Final note, not story related, but just...keep safe everyone, ok? My parents work for a hospital and for a company that deals with the public a lot and so it's basically been nonstop talk at my house about everything going on at the moment. So be careful, be smart, and be safe ok :)

Some notes on reviews...

Seeing 12 with a pregnant Angel would probably be a little healing for 12, given what happened with Tailor, to know he can protect his Mate and child and be a good Mate to his expecting partner, I agree. We'll have to wait and see if it'll happen or if the AU of Angel where 11 remembers her will be the only time we'll see her pregnant again ;) I'm sorely tempted to take the story into somewhat AU territory where one of the TLs turns into 13 and the Doctor becomes an 'original' 13th Doctor. There are some stories where I can see 12 becoming 13 and a TL turning male. Others where the TL says female to the female 13. And others where it goes the AU route to TL-13 and original Doctor. It's all about finding the right fit for a Tom-Hiddleston-Doctor lol :)

Thank you for the episode suggestions! I'll keep them in mind when I get to 13 :) It's good to hear Series 10 picks up a little bit more. I feel like Series 9 was so off because Jenna was set to leave at the end of 8 but changed her mind so they had to rework things :/ I feel like they have a bad habit of dragging things out too long. Like Series 6 was a wonderful place to leave the Ponds, but it was dragged out into Series 7. Clara leaving off where she and the Doctor hug after she loses Danny and he 'found' Gallifrey (but they're both lying) was a good place to end, to give her time to heal. But, again, dragged it out :/ I can see companions staying from one Doctor to the next, but I sort of got used to 1 Companion per series and I liked how we got to see them grow and then see another person get that chance :/ I've heard Billie was the fresh start 12 needed so I'm hopeful :)

I hope the Danny-showdown didn't disappoint too much. I originally wrote the scene where the Doctor was super-oncoming-storm about it, but it felt wrong? If that's the right word. It just felt like...why isn't Angel calming him down or diffusing the situation? And when I went into it again from her sort of POV, it felt more in line with her as a character to see what the others were missing and get to the heart of it :) There's still going to be Danny drama to come and a lot he needs to work on/admit/come to terms with though ;)