Danni's eyes snapped open and she shot up into a sitting position. She felt like she'd done it before, but she wasn't quite sure. Her mind felt blurry, and when she reached out to find Theta to get her bearings, she found nothing.

Her bedroom was still wrong. She was still in the dark room she'd originally woken up in, and a quick, panicked pull on her arm said that she was still chained up to the bed. She growled, this time she felt angry rather than terrified, and started struggling against the chain. It didn't budge, but she felt a lot better than she would have if she'd just sat back, waiting for Missy to reappear.

When the door opened, though, she jumped and turned around, glaring at the figure in the doorway and scrambling to her feet. "Stay away from me."

Huh, she was Scottish now. Amy would approve.

"Oh, Danielle, there really is no need for that," Missy replied and Danni had the horrifying notion that, maybe, that was where she'd gotten the accent from. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Danni let out a bark of laughter. "Not going to hurt me?" she repeated in utter disbelief. "You fucking killed me!"

"Hey now." Missy placed her hands on her hips. "I won't have swearing in my house. That is definitely something we're going to have to work on. Honestly, and I was bringing you a gift as well."

Immediately Danni was suspicious. She didn't know a lot about this version of the Master, although as her memories currently included being snogged and then killed by her, but she suspected that her gift wasn't going to be something that she would actually want.

"What is it?" she asked.

Missy looked positively overjoyed that Danni was playing along. A grin spread on her face. "I know you're going to love it," she said confidently. "Honestly, I think it's the best gift I've ever given anyone. And I give fantastic gifts. I actually once took over an entire planet to give to a friend of mine." She turned to the doorway, looking out. "You can come in now."

A million different people ran through her head, all making her hearts race in hopeful anticipation. She doubted it was the Doctor just by the way Missy had spoken to them. Perhaps Clara, or someone else like Jenny, or Jack, or even River. Any of them would be welcome right now. Two heads were better than one and they could work out how to escape together.

She didn't expect Missy's exact double to step in, looking over her with a look of surprise. "Well, I didn't think we could pull this off, but you actually did it," she commented, sounding incredibly impressed with herself. "How did you manage that?"

"Oh, you'll work it out," the original Missy said offhandedly, trying to be modest. "You know I can't give you too many hints."

"It wouldn't be any fun if you did," the new Missy agreed before looking back over at Danni. "Was it easy, though?"

"So easy," the original Missy promised. "It was a little embarrassing, to be perfectly honest."

Danni looked between the two. They were dressed pretty similarly, their ways of talking were the same. They were definitely the same woman. The way they were talking about her, though, was incredibly alarming. She felt like she was in a glass cage and they were watching her from a distance. It was almost like she was some sort of animal they were going to experiment on.

"Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have my own Danielle to get back to," the original Missy stated suddenly. She turned and started out of the door. "Keep your eye on this one," she warned herself. "She's quite slippery."

"Wa-Wait a minute!" Danni cried after her, but the door was shut behind her and she was left with the younger Missy. She slowly turned back to look at her. Missy seemed to be observing her, head tilted slightly to the side and Danni backed up slightly.

"There's no need to be scared, my Pet," Missy told her, walking over slowly. Danni couldn't help but feel like she was being preyed on, and that was definitely something to be frightened of.

"She said that too," she replied. "And yet I'm chained to a bed. I think I really should be scared."

Missy stopped where she was, nodding with a thoughtful look on her face. "You were always very smart," she told Danni, who didn't really know what to do with that particular piece of information. It sounded like a compliment but it didn't feel like one. "Of course you're going to be scared. Any sane person would be. But I'm going to show you there really is no need to be. That's why the future me dropped you off; to give me time to make sure you're not scared anymore."

"Just let me go," Danni begged. "The Doctor won't stop looking for me."

"Oh, he will," Missy promised in return. "I know he will. He'll find something bigger and better to keep his attention. You'll realise that soon enough. I've known him longer than you, after all."

Danni looked back down at where she was chained up. She didn't have any way of escaping it unless someone let her out, and while she had complete faith her husband wouldn't leave her to Missy's mercy, she didn't know how long she could be trapped with her. Days? Weeks? Oh, hopefully not months…

"Why are you doing this?" Danni asked her softly. "I don't remember much about Gallifrey but we were working together. You tried to save me."

Missy smiled warmly, as if she remembered their brief time in the Time War together fondly. "Why?" she repeated before reaching out. She grabbed Danni's face, squeezing it hard and her fond look fell away to an anger that actually scared Danni again. "Because you left me," she bit out. "I helped you escape but you didn't wait for me, did you?"

Danni pushed her away, using all the give in the chains to push herself backwards and onto the bed, where she bounced slightly. "I don't remember," she exclaimed. "I barely remember being shot, or dying!"

"Oh, of course you don't," Missy scoffed. "Why would you? Forgot all about me, didn't you?"

Danni's eyes narrowed. "Of course I bloody didn't," she retorted. "Believe it or not, you're pretty unforgettable."

Missy seemed to like the compliment and she backed off slightly. "I know," she said modestly. "That's why I realised that it wasn't you. The Danielle I knew would have found her way back to save me. She always was so weak to the plight of others. She wouldn't have left me to Rassilion's mercy."

Danni shifted slightly as she stood back up, making sure to keep as much distance between them as she could. It wasn't much, and she was still trapped, but it was enough. The worst part was that Missy was right. Especially when she had been that young, and confused, she wouldn't have left the Master to die in the Time War had she thought that she had a way back in.

"If I could have, I would have returned the favour," Danni reluctantly agreed and Missy smiled. She reached out, but instead of grabbing her face she ran her fingertips down her cheek.

"I know, my Pet," she replied. "I know that you and your silly little husband didn't have any clue on how to get back in. I'm bonkers, not an idiot. But… I also know all those tales that people have been telling you about me. All those hundreds of years you've had with them twisting our… well, our time together. I've brought you here, my Pet, to keep you safe from all the noise of the universe."

Danni's brows furrowed. "Hang on," she started, slowly. "Have you kidnapped to, like, de-program me?"

Missy continued to touch her face, stroking her hair back and off her face as she looked over her, like a parent looking over a child. "That's it exactly," she praised. "We'll sort you all out, my Pet. Then, when you're by my side again, I can rule the universe properly."

Danni tried not to flinch as Missy leant forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. "You're safe now," Missy promised tenderly.

"I'll never stand by your side while you're trying to take over the universe," Danni replied firmly. "The Doctor will save me."

Missy didn't say anything. In fact, she seemed to turn away to walk out. It was show of power, Danni could tell. She didn't need to answer Danni, after all she was the one in control. She was the one who currently had the newly ginger woman chained to a bed.

Danni was more shocked than hurt when she turned back around, backhanding her. She fell onto the bed and Missy sighed, like it had been an inconvenience for her to do it.

"Danielle," she started. "You'll understand soon enough. You'll even thank me for this."

Danni's lips pulled into a snarl. "I'm not staying here," she promised. "The Doctor is going to save me. He's always coming for me."

"My Pet, you haven't learnt, have you?" Missy replied. "You're mine. The Doctor doesn't want to come for you."

She locked the door behind her as she left Danni on the bed, a loud clunking sound letting Danni know she was well and truly being held captive.

She slowly reached up to her throbbing check, cradling it in her hand. The Master hadn't hit her last time. On the Valiant he had gone to hit her, but he'd not been able to bring himself to. Even when he'd hurt her just before he'd sacrificed himself and had been sucked into the Time War he'd been almost apologetic about it.

Her hearts raced, her predicament washing over her so much she felt like she was being suffocated. She instinctively reached out for her husband but he wasn't there. Until he came for her, she was well and truly on her own.

What was Missy going to do?

~0~0~0~

The Doctor looked over the group of people he'd gathered. He held his hands clasped behind his back, looking over them like the general that everyone in the universe seemed to think he was.

Inside he wasn't. Inside his head he was grabbing at the very last strings of his calmness, trying to put himself together quicker than he was falling apart.

"If Danielle was here, she would be thanking you all," he started authoritatively. "She's always been polite like that. We don't have time for pleasantries. There's a few things that you need to know." He took a step towards them. "The Master was dangerous. Some of you will remember him." He glanced over at Martha and Jack, whose expressions had hardened at the mention of him. "Most of you won't. To go in believing Missy has calmed since then would be foolish. You cannot underestimate the planning that she would have put into taking Danielle."

He paused, looking over his friends again. They were all stood waiting for their instructions, all serious and willing to just drop everything to help save his wife. He knew he'd look back on this fondly. There were times when he felt like he and Danni were always going to be alone, but then memories like this – of their friends all together – reminded them both that they still had a family out there.

"What's going to happen is this; Perkins here," he nodded to Perkins, "is going to give you times and places Danielle has been spotted, or mentioned. I'm going to drop you off and then you're going to ring me when you've either found something or haven't."

"What will you be doing?" Jenny – his daughter, that was going to be confusing – asked.

"The same," he replied. "We've got Kate and UNIT on Earth searching around whatever Missy got her grubby hands on. Wilf and his band of merry old biddies are combing their neck of the woods. Jack managed to even get an Emperor to send an army out to scour a galaxy. There's people all over looking for her. We are going everywhere else."

"What I don't understand is how she got close enough to Danni to get her," River stated. Clara winced slightly as the Doctor's eyes darkened at the statement. It was all her fault, she knew that. Whatever was happening to Danni right now was her fault, and even if it wasn't the Doctor was going to be blaming her. Hell, she was blaming herself. Lord only knew what Danni was going through and whatever it was, Clara knew her actions had led to it.

"One of our friends thought that instead of asking for our help, killing her would be the best option," he bit out. "I lost focus and Danielle was hurt. Blaming will get us nowhere until we find her. Perkins!" He turned to the engineer. "I hope you've got something good for us."

He stepped forward. "I've got a bunch of different sightings," he explained. "And stories that I think are to her. I thought we should start with the ones that sounded most like your wife, sir, and move on from there." He held out a handful of paper and the Doctor snatched it off him.

"Excellent work," he praised offhandedly. "Right. First is the 51st century. Jack, that's you..."

~0~0~0~

It felt like Danni felt her whole time jumping these days. Whenever there was a loud noise, whenever the door opened, whenever something changed she felt like she was jumping into action. With each new perceived threat, she felt like she needed to be on her guard, turning defensive and ready to attack.

She had been allowed to stay in the bedroom without the chain on over the last week or so, which was a major improvement on her life so far. Missy hadn't been particularly bothered with her, which was slightly worrying but it also gave her time to just sit and relax. The Doctor was coming for her. She just had to wait until he found her. A month of so out of her life wasn't exactly much of anything. She just missed him terribly.

So, when the door opened and he came rushing in, she relaxed and could have cried. "Doctor!"

He looked her over, frowning. "Sorry, I was looking for my wife," he told her. "Don't mind me. Go back to your… well, whatever you were doing."

It took her a moment to wonder why he didn't recognise her, but when it hit her that she'd changed, she just shook her head. "Theta, it's me," she said. This time he looked over her as if he was trying to work out if she was lying.

"Danielle?" he asked slowly and she grinned, nodding. His frown broke away for his giant grin and she ran over to be caught in his arms.

"Oh, I have missed you," she told him happily as he hugged her tightly. "I didn't think you were ever coming."

"You were quite hard to find, my Pet," he replied. "I had to gather a group of our friends just to look for you. The fact that I have taken such a short time is simply marvellous."

She nodded, agreeing. "You are wonderful, and clever, and we all know that," she promised him. "Who did you gather?"

"Oh, that's not important," he told her, backing her towards the bed slowly. "We've got plenty of time, and I've missed my wife."

She giggled as he dipped his head, nuzzling against her face. "We really don't have time for this," she said.

"Of course we do," he replied. "We have all the time in the universe." He pushed her back onto the bed. "Tell me you love me."

She frowned. She was always happy to say it to him. It very rarely needed prompting, and she loved to hear it in return. But the way he asked sat funny. She didn't want to say it, and she really didn't like the fact that she didn't.

Instead she shot him a cheeky smirk. "Why should I?" she retorted. "You have to earn it."

The flash of anger on his face startled and scared her. Even when they had been struggling with their marriage that look had never been sent towards her and she was so glad it never had. It was only on his face for a second, but it was enough to chuck her out of the moment.

"Tell me you love me," he repeated again, his voice smooth but firm. She shook her head slightly.

"No," she told him. She slipped out from underneath him. "Let's go. You said people were helping you and they'll be waiting."

The Doctor sighed heavily, like he was annoyed, then grabbed her arm. He pulled her close, glaring angrily into her eyes. She yelled out but he held her tightly.

"Theta! Let me go!" Danni exclaimed, fighting against him.

"Tell me something nice," he demanded and she shook her head.

"I won't tell you anything! Let me go!" She stopped fighting and instead pushed against him. He seemed surprised and let her go, but she hadn't expected it to actually work so she fell back onto the floor.

She looked up at him, ready to argue and scream at him at him for being so out of character, but the words caught in her throat. The Doctor wasn't staring back at her, Missy was and suddenly she felt even more scared.

"I was going to let you out today," Missy told her, not sounding as angry as she looked. "But until you say something nice, you can just stay in here."

Missy stepped over her like she was a discarded piece of clothing, shutting the door behind her without a look back.

Danni didn't get up off the floor as she almost shook, terrified of what just happened and just what it meant. She and the Doctor had played with mental images before. There had been a wonderful night with Eleven where he brought out Ten for her for a little while. But she'd always known that it wasn't real. She hadn't suspected it wasn't the Doctor for a second. Missy had completely fooled her. What if she did it again? Would she fall for it? How was she ever going to know if the Doctor was really the Doctor?

She pulled her legs close, wrapping her arms around her knees as she stayed on the floor. She really was in trouble, wasn't she?

~0~0~0~

The air was warm with explosions. Alarms rang and guns were fired, but nothing seemed to stop the man in his tracks. His walk was confident, back straight with purposeful strides as he swiftly made his way to the main control room. The grey of his hair was deceiving, and he held himself as a man much younger than himself would.

The Sontaran ship he was currently one was under some sort of mass panic just at his presence, and he couldn't blame them. His anger burnt deep and he knew what was at the end of the corridor was one step in many to help him find what he wanted. He wasn't going to give up just because some short potato people had decided they didn't want to give up the information he'd so politely asked for.

He walked into a control room full of creatures with guns, but they didn't make him flinch. He'd lived too long, been through too much for them to even bother him. Instead he just raised his hand, pressing the button on the device he'd held so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Another part of the ship was sent into chaos as it was demolished from the inside.

"You will surrender!" the Sontaran exclaimed. Another push of the device and something else exploded somewhere else on the ship. It wasn't enough to break the outer shell, but it would be soon enough. They all knew it. They were scared. As they should be.

"I believe I asked you a question," Rory retorted in a snarl. "Where is my granddaughter?"

~0~0~0~

Danni pressed herself up against the wall, panting heavily as she tried to hide herself down the little hallway as much as she could. She had no doubt that there were cameras everywhere, but she didn't have much of a choice but to try and not get caught. She couldn't stay a moment longer. She needed to get out and to the Doctor.

Missy had not been kind. She'd decided that Danni just couldn't see how her husband just didn't care about her, so had taken to showing her times she had deemed proof that the Doctor was, in fact, showing her that he didn't care. All Danni saw was more proof of what she already knew; that the Doctor loved her dearly. She just couldn't wait for him to try and find her anymore. She needed to get out.

Missy had taken her down memory lane using a vortex manipulator that she kept locked up in an office room in… well, wherever she was being kept. Danni still couldn't get that information out of her because Missy was worried that she would leave clues that the Doctor would find.

She wasn't wrong, which was annoying.

But the second vortex manipulator was kept in the office and that was where Danni was running to. She wasn't the best driver, of either the TARDIS or of manipulators, but River had shown her a couple of things over their time together. And there was one set of coordinates that she did know off by heart. River had found them quite amusing, once, when she'd taken Danni back to see Eleven. They had represented the date that River had first met Danni, back when she'd been a child and Danni hadn't known anything about her true parentage.

She'd seen Eleven that day, and he'd once made her promise to find him if the Master had ever come back for her. Well, there was no denying that now, was there? He could help her get away and back to her own Doctor. He'd always help her. He loved her.

The moment she felt it safe to, she started running again. The office door wasn't far from here. She could taste freedom. She just needed to grab that manipulator and she could get his help and then she could go home.

She chucked open the door. She grinned. Missy wasn't there. She could just grab it and go. She rushed over to the cabinet where Missy kept the manipulator and opened it, frowning when she couldn't see it in her first once over of the shelves.

"No, no," she whispered to herself, moving things out of the way, going as far as just chucking them onto the floor. "Where is it?" she bit out. "Where are you?"

She slammed the doors shut and turned around, rushing over to the next one. Missy had a lot of storage, none of which seemed to match. Again she pulled out everything, chucking it to the floor with no care at all. With each item that wasn't the manipulator her panic rose until she was scattering paper across the room.

"Where is it?" she exclaimed. "Where is it?"

"Are you looking for this?"

Danni spun to look at the door, where Missy was stood, leaning against it with the vortex manipulator dangling from her pinched thumb and finger. While her fear rose just at the sight of the other Time Lady, Danni's anger flared and she stormed forward.

"Give me it," she demanded.

"Not while you're not going to use your manners," Missy tutted at her. "I've been told that you're the polite one."

Danni's hands clenched by her side, and she had to resist the need to just pounce at Missy. She wanted to strangle her, rip her to shreds, but neither of these would do her any good. Missy was clever and if Danni didn't play along with her little games then she'd make sure that Danni got nothing she wanted.

"Please give me it," Danni demanded through gritted teeth.

Missy looked up, thoughtful for a moment. "No," she replied and Danni growled angrily.

"Give me the fucking manipulator, Koschei," she snarled. "This has gone on long enough. I'm going back to my husband."

As Missy started walking into the room at a steady pace towards her, Danni's fear flared up once again. She took a couple of steps backwards but with nowhere to go, Missy was in front of her before she could get very far.

"You miss him terribly, don't you?" she asked Danni. "For some reason you just won't let him go. I've tried positive reinforcement-"

"When exactly did you try that?"

"-And I've tried time outs, but it doesn't seem to be working. I guess I'll just have to try something else." Missy's hand shot out, grabbing Danni by the wrist and pulling her close. Danni fought back but Missy still managed to snap something around her wrist, it securing into place with a metallic sound that Danni knew she'd never be able to break open.

She looked at the black band on her wrist, one that didn't look dissimilar to the vortex manipulator she had been seeking, and frowned. "What is that?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well, how else do you train a dog that won't behave?" Missy asked in return. "Do you miss the Doctor? A simple yes or no will do."

Danni's brows furrowed as she looked over the band before raising her gaze. "Yes, I do."

She screamed as a large shock radiated from her wrist, shooting painfully through her whole body, warming up every cell it hit. Her knees gave way as the short electric shock ended and she panted at the adrenaline that was running through her.

"It's a shock collar, dearie," Missy explained with the voice of someone talking to an idiot. "Well, a shock bracelet. I tried to be nice, but now I'm going to have to be firm." She reached out and pulled Danni up onto her feet, stroking her hand through her hair to try and tame it. "I don't like doing this, you know?" she continued. "I remember a time when I could control you so easily. I could have made you forget all about the Doctor if I'd wanted to."

"Yeah, well, not all regenerations can be an upgrade," Danni bit out. "Sometimes you have to get a dud. Luck of the draw, I guess."

"You should be happy," Missy corrected her sharply. "He tried to force you to love him. I'm helping you learn it yourself."

"What? By trapping me and… and shocking me when I don't do as I'm told? Seems pretty forceful to me."

"Being trapped isn't all that bad, is it?" Missy countered as she nudged Danni forward to take her back to her room. "And if you behave, I'll take you somewhere nice tomorrow. For now, though, I think some time alone may help with your attitude problem."

Danni sighed as she saw Missy put the vortex manipulator into the top of her dress, hiding it from view. Her opportunity to leave was gone, and with it a little bit of her motivation left as well.

"Yes, Missy," she replied softly, dutifully following her into the hallway and back to the room.

It was strange. She really was starting to miss the Master. She never thought she'd see the day she'd wish to see his face again.

~0~0~0~

Clara really didn't want to enter another dingy hovel, but there she was, sat next to River as they waited on some person who apparently had information on the Time Child. That's what River had said, anyway. The Doctor had paired them off a while ago after picking Clara up from the 64th century after her lead had taken her to Danni and his tenth body, and not to anything useful.

"This is disgusting," Clara murmured with a little bit of a shiver, pulling her jacket closer around her. "I really hope that this is a dead end. God only knows what's happening to Danni if there's any connection to here."

"I'm sure she can handle something much worse than this," River retorted. "But I can't help but agree. I don't think this will come to much. This doesn't seem to fit the Master's M. O. at all. Hopefully it won't take too long; if we're not careful we could be sold off to the highest bidder."

Clara stared at her, wide eyed and horrified. "Could that really happen?" she hissed.

River shook her head. "No," she replied and Clara relaxed. "Well, not me at any rate. I'm armed and I can fight. You on the other hand are fair game."

Clara glared at her before wrapping her arms around herself. "It's like he's trying to punish us," she muttered.

"Again, that'd be just you," River replied. "That's what you get for killing Danni." Clara's gaze snapped back to her, terrified for another reason. River rolled her eyes. "He wasn't exactly subtle, was he? A friend who killed her instead of asking for help? It was obviously you."

"I didn't..." Clara protested, but she couldn't finish her sentence. She shifted in her seat. "I was upset. My boyfriend, Danny, had just..." Again, that wasn't a sentence she could finish. Her throat tightened and the grief came back. "I just wanted them to bring him back, that was all. Danni said it was just a dream and that I wouldn't have done it in real life. The Doctor disagreed."

"What about you?" River countered. Clara couldn't meet her in the eye.

"I want to believe her," she replied softly. "But I was hurting so badly that I… I never wanted her to get hurt. I certainly never wanted that horrid woman to get her hands on her."

River nodded slowly, as if she was listening and processing what Clara was saying. "Let me tell you two things about me, Clara," she started. "One; Danni is the most important thing in my life." That wasn't news, but Clara didn't interrupt. "Two; Danni did not get her forgiving nature from me. I am armed pretty much all of the time and am more than happy to use it against anyone who has hurt her. I'll even use it against someone who had hurt the Doctor because that, in turn, would hurt her. Understand?" She looked out of the side of her eye. "You've hurt both of them, Clara."

Clara didn't like the look that was being sent her way. She suddenly felt a lot more unsafe, and not because of the people they might come across. "Then- then why am I still here?" she asked with the hint of a stutter.

"Do you think Danni would ever speak to me again if I hurt you?" River countered. "Plus, you're a good bargaining chip. I can sell you for a lot of information if the opportunity comes up." She sat a little straighter, nodding her head in greeting as a rather large… well, Clara didn't want to assume anything about the Cat person. Last thing she wanted to do was upset anyone else.

"Professor Song," he greeted in a purr. "I didn't think I'd see you around these parts again."

"Well, I don't normally like to lower myself to these standards, but sometimes needs must," River replied with a bit of a sneer. She reached into the jacket pocket and pulled out a small black pouch. Clara couldn't help but feel like she was in a movie as River chucked it onto the table in front of us and it jingled with the sound of coins. "Let's cut to the chase, Frank. I want information on the Time Child and I know you have it."

The Catkind picked up the back, giving it a little shake before opening the drawstring top. He peered inside, then up at River. "Last I heard, she was travelling with her husband about three planets over. They were on their own, from what I heard."

River deflated slightly, conflicted over the happiness that her daughter wasn't trapped in a sleazy place and the disappointment of finding yet another dead end.

"Are you sure?" Clara asked. "No woman dressed like Mary Poppins? Scottish accent? Completely insane?"

Frank ignored her question, turning to River to share a look that said 'Who the hell is this?'. River pulled out another pouch and chucked it at him. This time he didn't check inside. "Oh, her?" he asked them. They both looked at him sharply, hope rising. "She came on her own. Called herself Missy. She just wanted one of our restraints we use for our livestock."

Clara's stomach turned at the idea of what the 'livestock' could be. Perhaps, once they'd found Danni, they could come back and fix the state this planet was obviously in. "Restraints?" she asked instead.

"We use shock bracelets," he explained. "One touch of a button and it'll take even the largest animal down. They're to stop things running away." He put the two small pouches into his own pocket. "Anything else, Professor?"

"No, that's it. Thanks." River stood up and motioned with her head to Clara, walking off before she'd even had a chance to stand up. She jogged to catch up with her, pulling out her phone.

"Hey, Doctor, it's Clara..."

~0~0~0~

The little cupcake sat on the bedside table, one solitary candle stuck in the icing as it taunted her. Danni really was trying to not look at it, but yet she couldn't stop her gaze falling on it again and again.

Missy had brought it in for her. Said that, even though her attitude was still horrid, that it was a day to celebrate. Danni could understand why she would feel like that, but even thinking about why had her hearts clenching and her eyes welling up with tears.

One year.

It had been one year since she'd first woken up in the bedroom. One year since Missy had taken her hostage. She had been trapped with the madwoman for a year now. She'd not been home in a year. She'd not seen her husband in a year. She'd not been a free woman in a year.

She had thought that, should she have reached this milestone, she would be trying to break free herself. She'd tried more than a couple times over the last twelve months and she would have put money on her wanting to do it now. But she couldn't find the motivation.

Why hadn't he saved her yet? If he had been missing she would have been fighting so hard to find him, to bring him home. Was he even looking for her? Was Missy right? Had he just given up on finding her? Did he not care?

She didn't like to think like that. She didn't even know where or when she was, and the universe was infinite and time was practically so. If he had zero information as well, he'd have to find it, then follow it, and then find her. It was going to take time and effort and she knew she was being stupid wondering if he even wanted to find her anymore.

But if he'd found the information, wouldn't he come as soon as he could, even if he had to cross over his own timeline to do so? He'd always gone on and on about how he didn't care about rules when it came to her, but when it came down to it, was he just proving that it was all talk?

She leant her head against the back of the bed, her eyes streaming as she struggled not to cry.

"Theta, where are you?" she whispered. "Please, just find me."

~0~0~0~

"Hey, Doctor, it's Clara. No sign of Danni here, but Missy apparently came on her own. Something about an electric restraint. I don't think it's anything to worry about, but it may be a lead to look into."

Beep.

"Doctor, it's Mickey. We've got nothing. Martha was almost captured and worshipped as a goddess, but I managed to stop it. They're not happy. Pick us up now."

Beep.

"Doctor, there may be a sighting of her back in 21st century earth. Something about Cybermen taking over a department store. Come pick us up and we can look. Oh, it's- it's Rory. In case you didn't know."

Beep.

The Doctor leant his head against the console, eyes closed as the messages continued to play. It was the first time he'd stopped in months, but it was so needed as much as he didn't want to pause. He'd been so many places, to see so many people who had disappointed him and wasted his time. It was approaching a year without a single positive lead on his wife. It was like Missy had found every mention of her and wiped out anything remotely pointing to them both. He knew it was impossible, but he couldn't help but wonder how she did it.

He'd needed to take a pause. The hopelessness of the situation was threatening to overwhelm him, and he had taken to listen to old messages to try and find something he might have missed. As they searched more, the sightings became less and less solid. Hints of whispers, ones that were obviously not the Danielle he needed to find were starting to dominate the lists he received off Perkins.

He was sat on the floor, head against the console, arms resting on his knees and eyes closed because he was already running out of ideas and he'd only just started looking for her. He remembered seeing her when he'd thought she'd died in the Bank of Karabraxos telling him to keep running and to stop blaming himself. He remembered seeing her everywhere when he was alone on Trenzalore, telling him to go back for her because he was miserable on his own.

He wished that she was there to tell him to keep looking, to keep fighting. It would give him the strength and the will to get up and follow every single one. Just to hear her voice, to see her face, to be able to pretend that she was okay.

But he had none of those things. And he felt tired, and alone, and terrified about what was happening to her.

"Danielle," he whispered aloud, a broken man in a dark TARDIS. "I'm coming. I just don't know where you are. Tell me where you are."

~0~0~0~

Hope you liked the chapter. Please review if you read. It really helps, I promise.

Reviews -

whitedwarf - Thanks sweetie! Hope this chapter answers your question :P

Midnight Alley - Thanks sweetie! Hope you liked the little Rory moment :)

bored411 - I know. I think he was just trying to narrow down the search to the leads that were more likely to be Danni as to not waste time. I think, from now on, he definitely won't be dismissing small snippets of information.

serenitysaiyan - Oh yes, Wilf is behind the scenes. Hope you liked this chapter :) xxx

Quinnmarie - Thanks sweetie! Hope this answers some of your thoughts and gives you more :)

Erika - Yeah, well, he redeems himself here XD

AGBreads - Thanks sweetie! Hope you liked this chapter too :)