Hi everyone!
Welcome to the side story for Echoes, my AU of the Time Child series (that I also write :P)
Anyone familiar with the Time Child series will know about the Outtakes story, where I post little stories about Danni that don't fit into the original story, or any sort of plot bunny that comes my way that may not go anywhere at all.
That's what this is. Little excerpts for Echoes that may not fit into the main story. There will be spoilers, they won't follow a particular time line. They may also be few and far between, but I wanted a place to put them all.
But, for now, enjoy!
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Danni reached out and threaded her fingers through the Doctor's. Sometimes her life still felt so strange, but there she was, lying in apple grass with a mythical man from outer space. She'd been so happy with her life at university that it has almost been enough to turn him away. She didn't, though, and it had been the best decision that she had ever made.
Across the water, away from the hill, was a city with a ridiculously long name, with a hospital sat just on the outskirts. Apparently, there had been cat nuns running it, and doing horrid things, until the Doctor had shown up and saved the day. She'd never tire of him telling her the stories of his life before they met. It reminded her that she was now part of it. That the adventures that he'd tell in the future would include her and she loved the idea of being immortalised with him.
Above them the light pollution spread from the city to cover most of the sky with a haze. The Doctor had parked them just far away enough that the stars above them were visible, though, which she did appreciate greatly. Space always felt so vast and looking up at it was no exception.
Her taking his hand didn't make him stutter as he explained the constellations above them. She loved that, sometimes, he just couldn't help but fall into a teacher role because it meant that she got to learn more than she ever thought that she would. Her life had turned into fairy tale, full of wonder and excitement, all down to the bow-tie wearing alien who held her hand tightly back.
Across the sky a streak of white appeared, moving over the sky in an arch that caused her to gasp happily. "Look, look," she interrupted, tugging on his hand before pointing upwards with her free one. "A shooting star!"
He turned his head to look at her. "Actually, they're not stars at all. You see, small bits of space debris, such as meteor…"
She shot him a look before nudging him. "Oh, don't be a spoilsport," she scolded. "You know how this works. Make a wish."
He chuckled. "Make a wish?" he asked, amused.
"Oh, too grown-up to be a little childish now, are we?" she countered. She looked back up at the star before pointedly closing her eyes. She was silent for a moment before opening them again. "There. Your go."
The Doctor, smiling fondly at her, took a moment to think about his wish. Not that he needed to, of course. He only had one wish; it was the same wish he'd had for hundreds of years. Since the first Danielle Song had died in his arms, and the second had appeared and thrown his life into a strange chaos that he had quickly become addicted to.
He had hopes, this time. She seemed to be the original, the first, but he'd fallen for that before as well. He would work out what the mystery surrounding her was, he was certain of that. He just wasn't certain of how many times he would have to watch her die before he finally got his answer.
Until then, he closed his eyes to mirror her and made his wish; for her to stay safe, and by his side.
He then opened them to see her grinning at him. "See? Don't you feel better?" she asked him before settling back down into the grass. "Now, what about the stars next to it?" she asked. "Have you been that way before?"
"Ah, yes, actually, a long time ago," he told her, letting himself fall into a little bit of denial for the evening. "If you head that way, and about two thousand years in the past, you'll find a little colony that were not very happy to see me at all."