In the past, the Doctor was safe and sound. He was probably looking after the two people he had taken with him into the past to stop the ghosts and save everyone.
In the past the Doctor was walking through a town that wasn't underwater, probably giving stupid orders and being all clever and rude. That's what he would be doing. That's what he would always be doing.
Until he died, obviously.
Danni didn't really know how to take it. On one hand, she was barely convinced that she was actually on Earth and underwater being chased by ghosts so it wasn't exactly the worst thing she had ever come across. Then again, on the other hand, her whole being was screaming out in agony at the fact that her husband had died. That he was now a ghost, doomed to float in the water, silently mouthing the coordinates until someone finally heard them.
He'd promised to come for her again, and once again he never had. He'd leave her behind and she would go find him. That was always the case, wasn't it?
Well. She'd found him.
She couldn't even cry. She couldn't find it in herself, and she knew that even if she could there was no way she could let it out. This hadn't been the first time the Doctor had died. Missy always would find a way to break her. She had to keep a hold of that feeling. None of this was real. Her husband wasn't dead, because he wasn't real.
She pulled her phone out and quickly dialled the TARDIS. He'd replaced her old phone shortly after she'd made it back to the TARDIS, but it was only programmed with the TARDIS's number. She suspected that was on purpose, to stop her calling anyone else. Once again just another piece of proof that it was Missy; keeping her out of contact with everyone else.
Or it could just be the Doctor being forgetful and not adding the other numbers.
Or the Doctor being kind and not giving her the numbers so she didn't feel guilty about not contacting anyone else.
The TARDIS rung out and the phone fell to the floor, a small cracking noise indicating she'd smashed the screen. Oh well. It was just a screen. Screens could be replaced.
"Is that- is that the Doctor?" Lunn asked and Danni nodded.
"It would appear so," she replied softly. He didn't seem to want to come through the glass, instead staying in the water. Maybe he didn't know they weren't in Day Mode. Maybe he was waiting for the day to cycle through.
The Doctor was a ghost who had a concept of night and day.
That was just like him.
She watched his mouth, unable to look where his eyes should have been, as he mouthed the four cryptic words that told the universe where they were. It was almost like the message the crack in the universe had proclaimed to everyone who could hear it, but on a much smaller and much more… death filled way.
"Cass?" Danni asked out loud, expecting Lunn to translate for her. "Is he saying the same thing?"
Cass appeared at her side, head tilted slightly as she watched the ghost's mouth move. She shook her head.
It's something new.
The thoughtful look on her face said that she wasn't sure what, though. Danni left her to try and translate what he was saying, picking up her phone off the floor. She didn't have a picture on the lock screen. She'd not really taken any pictures. That used to be a thing she liked, didn't it? If she could save the Doctor, perhaps she should get one of him.
She shook her head, clearing her head. She was being bloody stupid again. Missy would have a field day with that. Last time she'd suggested a picture Missy had taken her to see her past self getting photos taken with her husband again and again.
No thanks.
She sat down across the room, one leg crossed over the other and she watched Cass trying to decipher what the Doctor – the ghost Doctor, obviously – was saying. With the distortion of the water and the rather fast way her husband seemed to be talking it was no wonder she wasn't quite getting it the same amount of time she had with the other ghosts.
Danni tapped the bottom of her phone against her chin, thoughtfully watching her husband. He must have died in the town because otherwise why would he be in the water? What triggered him now, though? The mole-Victorian-man had appeared when they'd pulled the ship in from outside. Moran had appeared the moment he had died. It had to mean that the Doctor was changing the past… future… damn, she still wasn't fantastic about tenses. She needed to read up on that. Maybe Missy would let her back in the library so she can read some language books.
She was more convinced than ever that she wasn't where she thought she was, but she couldn't say anything yet. She had to make sure that this wasn't another dream they were both having. She needed to know if the Doctor was real or not, even if he wasn't with her.
She must have looked rather troubled, because Lunn slowly made his way over to her, smiling kindly. "You've been here before, in situations like this before?" he asked her before crouching down.
"A million and one times," she replied. "Me and the Doctor seem to attract…" She glanced at him. He seemed nothing but friendly. It made her slightly suspicious. "Well, some not nice things."
"So you've had to deal with people who are scared. What do you say to them?" he asked her. "I'm asking what I should say to you."
She turned back to watch the Doctor float outside. His eyes were the worst part of the ghost. He had such expressive eyes, now they weren't even there. "I used to say nice things," she replied. "About how the Doctor would save us. Now, though," she drew in a breath through her teeth, "I'd just say it was every man for themselves." She looked down at her cracked screen. "No one comes if you cry."
"You're not crying," he pointed out and she nodded slowly.
"That's because no one comes. It's a waste of energy."
"When you used to say the Doctor would save us, did you believe it?"
She couldn't take her eyes off the floating apparition. "With every part of me," she admitted.
"What changed?"
She smiled to herself, but even Lunn could see the sadness in it. "Not him," she replied before clearing her throat. "You're good at that."
"At what?" he asked, confused.
"Getting people to talk," she explained. "You know how many people would have killed to hear something like that from me? Do you know how many people have died for that?"
They both looked over at Cass who was smacking on her chair to get their attention. The moment they were both looking at her she started signing.
"Cass says she thinks she knows what he's saying," Lunn translated as they both jumped up, walking over to her. "He's saying Moran Pritchard Apprentice. No, Prentis, O'Donnell, Doctor, Danielle, Bennett, Cass." Danni frowned.
"And he keeps repeating them?" she asked Cass. "In that order?" Cass nodded. "So, who's Prentis? Is he one of you?"
Lunn shook his head just as her phone started ringing. The TARDIS was calling her, which meant that the Doctor was calling her. Whatever he was going to do in the past to get himself killed, he hadn't done it yet.
She answered it using the camera. She hadn't really thought about it, but the moment he came on the screen she felt the lump appear in her throat. He wasn't dead yet. Real or fake, that was always good news.
~0~0~0~
"Doctor?" she asked softly, like she expecting him to rip his face off and reveal himself to be someone else. He knew exactly who as well, but he didn't address it. There wasn't time and he knew just being himself would help convince her more and more that Missy wasn't coming.
"Yes, hello," he greeted swiftly. He wanted to offer her more, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "The spaceship, it's a hearse."
"So we're not just missing a-a pilot, but also a dead body?" she asked. He nodded.
"Something large, as well," he continued, his frown deepening. She didn't look happy, and although he couldn't blame her as she'd been left behind, something still didn't seem right. If it was that she would have just said something. She was holding something back. "Danni, what is it? What's happened?"
"You tell me." She turned her phone around and away from her, pointing it out so he was looking through the window. At himself. His ghost was on the other side of the window, in the lake, and he suddenly understand why she wasn't relieved to see him. He was dead.
His knees felt weak, and he expected to feel like he was devastated, but it all felt a little numb. He should have been focused on the where and the hows that would lead to him dying, but instead he just saw what he'd failed to do. Danni was going to be stuck in the base until UNIT could get it and free them. He'd failed to save her. He'd left her to die. He should have broken through the doors and brought her with him, at least then she'd have the TARDIS.
The camera turned back around and he saw her face set in anger. "Want to tell me what you're planning?" she asked, her voice eerily calm. That must have been her angry voice. He'd not expected to see her angry face so soon, and not pointed at him.
He didn't like it. Not one bit.
He also didn't really have an answer for her. "Well, nothing yet," he replied.
"Don't lie to me," she told him. The fact she wasn't shouting, just speaking rather calmly, really was a little unnerving. "Tell me."
"I'm not- I'm not planning anything," he promised softly. She watched him for a little longer before he saw her believe him. "I wouldn't… Not when I'm coming for you."
"Then you stop it," she told him firmly. He would have normally protested, but she cut him off even before he could open his mouth. He was glad because he didn't want to have to explain the rules of time to her. She knew better, but like he would in the same situation she just didn't care. "You said it was a hearse, which means you've seen a body, yes?"
He looked to his two travel companions, neither of who looked particularly comfortable, before nodding. "A mummy of sorts," he agreed. "The undertaker is also still alive."
"Is that Prentis?" she asked and he frowned.
"How do you know that?"
"You're not saying the same thing as everyone else," she explained, much to his surprise. "You're just saying a list of our names. Moran, Pritchard, Prentis, O'Donnell, Doctor, Danielle, Bennett, Cass. Not Lunn, though, which I've also just realised as well." She looked off screen, probably towards the man in question. "That's very interesting, isn't it?"
The Doctor nodded, although he already had a theory on that. Something to work on later. He still had to work out what exactly what was going on before the next two names on that list were met. In fact, if his suspicions were correct, he had to stop his death to save his wife. Nothing new there then, but it suddenly gave him a rather large kick up the arse. Danielle always did that. She could always get him working again.
"Later, that's later," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. He found himself pacing. "Go back to Ghost me. You've got a better view than me. How do I look? Any signs of trauma, any scars? Any clues as to how I die?"
Danni looked over her phone at the ghost in the water. "Your eyes are missing, like the others, but the only other difference is your right shoulder. You've ripped your jacket."
She turned the camera, showing him the ghost again. His jacket was indeed ripped on the right shoulder. His mouth didn't seem to be muttering, though. Maybe he'd transmitted everything he'd wanted to. A list of people, in order of how they were going to die. Trust him to be the morbid one.
Danielle suddenly backed up as the ghost came through the window. His view slipped as she almost dropped the phone – something he assumed she'd already done judging by the distorted line down the middle of his video feed – but she managed to point it back at him again.
"Great, just great," she rambled. "Are you going to attack us now?" The Doctor ghost didn't move, though. "No, actually, you're just stood there. Why can't you ever behave like expected?!"
"You want me to attack you?" he countered.
"Good point," she replied. The ghost turned, walking away and she followed it with a steady hand. "He's going to the controls. What are you… Oh, don't do that! Why are you doing that?"
"What? What am I doing?"
"You've opened the bloody Faraday cage. We need to talk about who you keep as friends when this is all over!"
That made sense, although it wasn't good news. The ghosts would all band together to continue to broadcast their message. He'd need the rest of them out to keep the signal alive. One big, happy, undead family.
"I need to talk to me now," he told Danni.
"Seriously?" she countered. "Fine!"
She turned the phone around and then on its side so he could see his ghost clearly. In response he turned the monitor he was looking it around, after all there was no need to have it crushed up horribly in the middle of the screen.
It was weird seeing his own ghost. There was something that was just awful about having two dark holes where his eyes should be. Danielle really couldn't be coping as well as she sounded seeing him like that. Knowing her obsession with proving reality false, in fact, he was sure she was using it as a reason to not believe she was free of Missy. She already found it so easy to feel like she wasn't home.
Once again he just resolved to be so much like himself that she couldn't deny that he was real. "Doctor. Such an honour!" he greeted jovially. "I've always been a huge admirer. This is really a delight. Devilishly handsome as always, of course. And also someone worthwhile to talk to. Sometimes I wonder how we landed such a beautiful wife, but from this angle it's rather obvious, isn't it?"
The camera turned and Danni was looking at him with a rather stern look on her face. "Halt the flirting, yeah?"
"Don't be jealous," he replied cheekily. "You've always said you wondered on the possibilities." She rolled her eyes and turned him back around. The ghost was staring at the phone screen. "But first, why are you here?" he asked the ghost. There was no reply from the ghost, who just turned away from the phone. "Danni? What's happening?"
Danni kept the camera on the ghost, moving to Lunn and Cass so they could both see his face. "Nothing, really," she replied. The ghost Doctor's face fell to a scowl before he started silently talking again. "Oh, he's talking. Is that the same?"
"No, his message has changed," Lunn translated for Cass. Danni turned the camera off his ghost and onto Cass. "He's saying…" They all waited with bated breath as Cass read his lips. "He's saying 'The chamber will open tonight'."
"Excellent. Very ominous. What does that mean, Spaceman?"
He couldn't let her die. Even in her new voice, with her new tone and her new way of thinking, that nickname just reminded him of everything they had been through together. She'd turned the camera back to herself and he couldn't help but smile softly. He may not have been there when she regenerated, but she was there now. She was in the future and underwater and trapped by ghosts, but she was there. He could deal with anything now.
"Now the ghosts are out, go to the Faraday cage," he told her. "They won't be able to get you in there."
"No, but neither will you," she countered. "I'm not being out of contact with you while you're wandering around with a death wish!"
"And you can't stay out in the open while there are ghosts trying to kill you," he replied just as firmly. "You'll have to put the phone outside and watch it through the little round porthole. When you see it ringing, if it's safe to do so, go out and answer it."
"And if it's not safe to do so?" she asked. "What if you need my help?"
He leant in closer, as if he was trying to reach her through the screen. He wished more than ever that he could offer her some sort of physical comfort that she wouldn't pull away from. "Danni, listen to me," he said. "I'm coming back for you, I swear. Keep an eye on the phone. I need to be able to reach you, and you need to tell me everything the ghosts do. But do not, under any circumstances, put yourself in danger. I am coming back for you."
She stared back with wide eyes, lips pushed together, even as Cass tugged on her arm to make her leave the room they were in and head to the Faraday cage. He kept eye contact with her the entire time, letting her know the best he could that he was telling the truth. That his promise meant something. That he was her husband and that, no matter what, he was always coming back for her.
She nodded softly. "Alright," she replied softly. "Call me, Spaceman. You better not let me rot here."
"Never," he promised and the screen went dead as she ran for safety. With his hands on the console top he hung his head, squeezing his eyes closed for just a moment. He really hated being separated with her. If they were going to be in danger, he'd much rather they were in danger together. Being apart just reminded him of his long search for her.
At least this time he knew where she was. She was safe as long as she did as she was told.
It was with a sudden sense of panic that he realised he had absolutely no idea if this Danni would actually stay put in a crisis. He turned, heading towards the door. He didn't have time to lose. "Come on!" he called to his two companions.
~0~0~0~
Danni kept one hand on the door as she looked out of the porthole at her phone. The crack was really starting to bother her. If she just had some tape, or something, she could have tried to patch it together again. The shards were going to get lost. Not that she could actually repair the screen as it was. She'd need a new one. She could totally replace the broken one with a fresh new one. Maybe she could even look into building her own phone. There had to be a book about that somewhere. Or a website. Hell, a YouTube tutorial would have done. She'd worked off less.
Her leg bounced nervously as she kept staring straight out of the window. There was barely any space at all between her and the door, but looking out into the small room somehow felt infinitely worse.
"Are you okay?"
Lunn's voice startled her and she turned to look at him and Cass. While Cass looked worried, Lunn seemed more concerned about her than their situation. She guessed it came from being an interpreter. He would need to read body language as it was a large part of sign language.
"You seem a bit jumpy," he continued. "Which is saying something, since we're hiding from ghosts."
She pressed her lips together, considering her words carefully. He'd already got her talking once, she really didn't want to give him more information than was necessary.
She nodded. "I'm fine," she replied before turning back to the window. "I just don't like being locked in small spaces."
"Ah, claustrophobic?" he asked, signing along so Cass wasn't kept out of the loop.
"Experience," she corrected but didn't go into it anymore. If what Missy did to her ever got out, not only would the woman herself use what terrified her to her advantage, but there were plenty of people who would love to know the Time Child's weakness. Knowing about the Doctor was plenty. She really didn't need any more to contend with.
Which was why she felt rather annoyed at herself when a new ghost appeared at the porthole, scaring her into jumping back with a yell. "Son of a…" she started before trailing off. The ghost was O'Donnell, the woman who went with the Doctor into the past and to the TARDIS. O'Donnell was the next name of the list. The one before the Doctor's. "Son of a bitch," she whispered.
The ghost slowly stepped backwards, watching Danni through the window. The brunette walked closer, pressing herself up against the door as if it would help her see better.
The ghost stared for a moment, before looking to her side and at the phone. She slowly turned and Danni shook her head. "Oi, don't you… don't you dare!" she shouted as the ghost walked over and grabbed the phone off the little ledge it was sat on. She then turned and started walking away, down the hallway.
"Put that back!" Danni continued to shout, banging on the glass. "Put that phone back! It's not yours!" She growled, smacking the window one last time. "You better give me a receipt for that!" she demanded. "I want my phone back at the end of all this!"
She turned around, leaning against the door where she was met with two questioning gazes. "O'Donnell is dead," she broke to them. "Whatever is killing us is slowly moving through the group. We need a plan. We're just sitting ducks here."
She started pacing. Back and forth across the floor, chewing on her lip as her mind raced over what information they had gained so far, and any possible hint of what the Doctor was currently up to. For some reason sitting still when thinking never really helped her. If she couldn't pace, she had to be fiddling, keeping at least a small part of her body in motion. It helped her think more. Missy said it made her look like an animal at a zoo that was kept in a cage much too small for its needs.
She forced herself to a stop as the voice she could hear in her head told her to just stand still. Her hands kept moving, however.
"Right," she stated. "We've got three people – two people – in the past. We, on the other hand, are trapped in a Faraday cage that we know that the ghosts can open and can also come inside should they want to. But they're not because they're clever enough to know that if we can get out while they're in, we'll just trap them again."
Lunn started to translate, but quickly noticed that Danni was doing that for him. It was like she didn't even notice the signs. Cass did, though, and was signing back.
"Why are they leading us out if they can just kill us in here?" Danni translated. "Good question. I like good questions. It's nice to be in a room where everyone isn't an idiot." She shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe they can't create the ghosts if we die in here? Perhaps even if they can the signal can't be transmitted from here. Maybe the Doctor has already worked that out." She glanced over her shoulder. "We need that phone."
This wasn't helping. "We've got ghosts transmitting a signal. A signal that we all knew the moment we heard it. Except." Her eyes lit up and she pointed at Lunn. "Except for you," she cried. "Cass wouldn't let you into the spaceship before. Did she do that the first time as well?"
He nodded slowly. "She said it gave her a weird feeling," he confirmed.
"Which means the signal isn't in your head," she continued. "Which is why the ghosts didn't care about you. No point in wasting time and energy on something with no payback. They need you alive so you can look at the writing, get your brain worm and then they'll kill you."
"So what you're saying is that I'm pretty much indestructible?" Lunn asked, looking rather pleased with the new knowledge.
"Well, from the ghosts," Danni corrected. "I mean, a rather large and heavy beam could fall on you right now and squish you dead. But, it does mean that you can go get the phone!"
Lunn's face fell. "What?"
Cass shook her head. "No," she whispered, giving him a look that said he was absolutely not allowed to go out of the room.
"I know it sounds crazy, but we don't have any other choice," Danni told them both. "We need to be in contact with the Doctor. If anything changes, even for a moment, we're going to be on the back foot and we won't survive. We need as much information as we can possibly know, and that comes from the Doctor."
Lunn was silent for a moment as he considered the options, and the risk he would have to take, before nodding. "Okay."
Danni smiled at him. "Knew you had it in you," she praised. "You'll be fine."
Cass grabbed hold of Lunn to get his attention, signing angrily at him. You're not going out there. No way.
"No, she's right. Neither of you can get it back," Lunn replied, signing along. He didn't sound pleased, his body language probably gave that away, but Danni had to admire his willingness to go out based on what was an untested guess.
Has traveling with the Doctor changed you, or were you always happy to put other people's lives at risk?
Danni straightened, her eyes flashing but Cass didn't back down. She stared at the Time Lord angrily, waiting for an answer, expecting one.
"No, travelling with the Doctor didn't change me," Danni told her, her voice low as she signed along. "The Doctor kept me kind, and he kept me safe and he kept me naïve enough to believe that taking these risks weren't needed, that there was always another way. I've learnt since then. If you have an opportunity to change a wrong, you have to take it, no matter what the cost." She glanced at Lunn before meeting Cass's gaze again. "He will be fine. The ghosts don't care about him. It's you who does."
Both of them seemed rather stunned by her last declaration, which was why she had said it. Both of them cared for each other but wouldn't say, so it made a great distraction to get her to the door. She unlocked it but didn't open it until she glanced over her shoulder.
"You'll want to be quick," she warned him. "They're not going to be happy that you're out. Grab the phone then come straight back. Don't dawdle, it'll get you killed."
~0~0~0~
A little short, I'm afraid, but it felt like a good place to cut it.
We've had a new one-shot written about Danni by someone else! It's called Those Left Behind: The Time Child by SuperPotterWhoLocked Okay. Go read and review! :D
Also if anyone feels like writing their own drabble or whatever about Danni, let me know but it'll totally be okay! I love to read other people writing about her. After all, it means I don't know what's going to happen XD
Reviews!
serenitysaiyan - Thanks sweetie! No, the water thing is just something Missy did to her. We'll find out more about that after this episode is complete :)
Daydreamerxo - Thanks sweetie! And thanks for picking it up when there's so much to get through! I hope you've enjoyed it so far and continue to do so!
Quinnmarie - Thanks sweetie! Sorry this one isn't particularly anything, but I hope you enjoy it none the less.
Chimmicherry - Thanks sweetie! I really do appreciate every single review, so this means a lot to me! I hope you enjoy what's to come.
bored411 - So far so good. I think she's still being rather logical about everything right now. She doesn't want to show Missy her feelings, so she won't let them out until she can either be assured she safe or she just can't hold them in anymore.
Authora97 - Me? No, never :D :D
AGBreads - Thanks sweetie!