If anything, this whole endeavour was an exercise in the Doctor's mental sharpness. On one hand he was constantly worrying about Danielle, who he couldn't contact unless it was completely necessary because he couldn't risk her getting killed by a ghost just for leaving the Faraday cage.

On the other hand, he had the whole 'keeping people and himself alive' thing. That was the part he was struggling with. Both Prentice and O'Donnell had been lost to that. Those were his own failings and he'd have to live with that, but as his death crept ever closer so did Danni's. He couldn't save her if he was dead to begin with, could he?

Bennet's judgemental gaze wasn't helping. Or maybe it was, because he was right. He could have tried harder to stop O'Donnell. He could have mentioned why she should have stayed in the TARDIS. He had assumed that because his ghost had appeared and hers had not, though, that the list had to have been something else. But all it did was prove that time was always fluctuating, and now there was another ghost in the future who was most likely tormenting his wife.

What was going on? Ghosts that create more ghosts to broadcast a signal out… for what? For the Fisher King? That seemed rather likely. And the fact that whatever the Fisher King was had dragged the suspended animation chamber into the church said that it was planning on waiting for rescue. It had put the writing on the wall, it had impregnated everyone's minds with the coordinates. It was killing people for its own gain.

However, like always, he felt like he stood a fighting chance at changing the future until he ripped his shoulder. There was never a fight against the future, not really. The future always came, it always won. He was next, which meant that Danni's final minutes were coming up. If he couldn't stop his own death, she would be next.

If she had been next he would have been a lot less careful. If he'd chucked himself in the line of fire then the future would have been altered and she would have had a chance. She was stuck in the underwater base, which meant that if he died then so did she.

"Oh. I need more time. It's too soon," he muttered to himself as he absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder. "I haven't saved her yet. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock." Bennet was watching him as his mind raced. He'd hoped to change the future and he couldn't. His only choice now was to face the present and hope to skew the outcome. "I've got no choice now, I have to face the Fisher King," he told Bennet before walking off. "You, back to the TARDIS."

Bennet did as he was told, which the Doctor wasn't expecting. Although that might have been partly down to the fact that he blamed the Doctor for the death of the woman he loved. He could understand that, after all he still was so angry at Clara for the pain she'd caused both Danni and himself.

His hands clenched as he walked around the small fake town. Even the thought of Clara made his blood boil. It was purely Danni, who loved her best friend as much as she always had, that was stopping him embracing that need to punish his old friend for what she'd done. The rage that, now Danni was back and safe, kept him up at night. The rage at Clara, at Missy, and at himself.

He was going to make it right, though. As he walked around the empty town, he plotted. He plotted, and he planned, and he went over every single way he could disrupt the time line. He thought of dark things – like rearranging the order of the list – and he thought of just jumping in the TARDIS and running as far away as possible. Danni could, after all, be saved by UNIT eventually.

What took him longest to understand, though, was the fact that his ghost had appeared before O'Donnell's. She had died first so she should have been in the base before he had appeared. Maybe she had been but they'd just not seen her?

No, that wasn't right either. The ghosts found the living, they weren't exactly trying to hide.

So all he had to do was work out why he'd appeared before O'Donnell, why he wasn't saying the same thing and why he'd let the other ghosts out and given the living people an easy way to safety.

He paused in his step; he needed to stop not noticing how much he'd noticed.

His frown slowly, surely, turned to a grin. His worries slowly started to turn into hopes. And, finally, being trapped in the past suddenly turned into a way of getting back to Danielle.

He just had to face the Fisher King.

~0~0~0~

"Stop pacing."

Danni said it tiredly, her head resting against the door, rolled back so she was looking upwards. Cass couldn't hear her, and she probably wouldn't have cared at all about what she said even if she could. It was more for her own benefit because she really, truly, couldn't stand the impatient pacing anymore.

She understood the need completely. She'd done her fair share of pacing backwards and forwards whilst being trapped in a small room, waiting for someone to come find you who never did. Missy used to go on and on about how she was going to wear a hole in the carpet. Danni had kinda hoped that she would because she'd never really seen that before. She'd never been trapped in one place long enough to create friction to actually destroy something. Had anyone ever been in that position? Hammering away until something solid gave way?

The carpet changed a lot over the years, so Danni never really got a chance to find that out. Then, one day, she'd just stopped pacing.

Like Cass needed to do. It wasn't going to make Lunn turn up any quicker.

"Cass," she called again but all she got was a thigh in the face as the other woman leant over her to look out of the port hole. She leant to the side to get away from it, feeling rather annoyed that her presence was being ignored. Cass couldn't hear her, but she could see her. She hated rudeness.

Cass moved away again and Danni jumped up, catching her attention. Calm down, he'll be back soon.

He should be back now. He should never have gone out. This is all your fault.

Danni rolled her eyes. Sure. Blame the people who are trying to save you.

Some people were so ungrateful. She didn't take it personally, though, because she knew that Cass was just worried. She wasn't feeling particularly calm herself, especially considering the Doctor was in a different time zone. She had to remember to be patient with others. It was something she had to work on.

I am in charge here! You should never have suggested it! This is your fault. What good are you if you don't save everyone?

Her gestures were angry, her face was angry. Every piece of frustration was being directed at Danni, who for one really didn't appreciate it. She took a step towards Cass, her own gaze hardening.

"I get that you're worried, but don't think for one moment that you can talk to me like that," she both signed and snarled out loud. "Do you actually think I want to be here right now? Who knows if he can even get it off the fucking ghosts! But I can't die after just getting back to my husband, so this is what we're stuck with! Deal with it, because I am!"

Danni understood the few rude gestures Cass sent her way perfectly well and had to take a deep breath to stop herself getting even angrier. Still, she had never been one to keep her frustrations at bay very well – well, that's what she believed, whether or not it was down to the body she currently had she wasn't completely certain. "Fine!" she exclaimed, opening the door to the Faraday cage. "Let's go get ourselves killed. But you're—" she pointed at Cass then realised she hadn't actually been signing. "You're the one who's going to have to tell my husband that I'm dead," she warned. "And we stick together, understood?"

Cass didn't look particularly pleased by the suggestion, but nodded once to show she approved. Once again Danni had the want to roll her eyes, but she motioned for Cass to step out first into the hallway. "I really can't believe I'm looking after humans. Again," she grumbled to herself. "You're all going to be the death of me."

There was only one way to go, and that was straight. Cass walked ahead as she was in charge, but Danni kept behind because it seemed like the more sensible thing to do. Cass could call to get her attention, but Danni couldn't exactly return the favour. They both needed to keep within eyeshot if they were going to survive.

"You know, there was a time when I would have been happy to wait around for my husband to save me," she said. There was something rather therapeutic about being able to speak out load and have no one reply. She'd tried to whole 'writing-in-a-journal' thing. She'd even set up an email address that she could rant at, but it just wasn't the same. "I would have said something big and inspiring to keep you in that cage because the Doctor always comes to save me. Sometimes, though…" she pressed her lips together. "Sometimes you've just got to accept no one is coming to save you. Ultimately, in this universe, we're all alone."

They came to an intersection in the hallways, with a hallway straight ahead and one to either side. Danni joined Cass at her side, them checking out either way. Cass seemed to think one way was more appealing and started walking towards it as Danni was looking the opposite way.

Luckily she was paying attention and grabbed Cass's arm before she could get out of reach. Cass spun, alarmed, and Danni let her go. Probably was a bit mean, but what else was she supposed to do?

Sticking together, remember?

So they both headed down the hallway together, keeping an eye out for any sign of Lunn or any of the ghosts.

"This is such a bad idea," Danni continued to herself. "We're both idiots, do you know that? Absolutely bonkers. Honestly, this is how people in horror movies die. Wandering where we shouldn't. We really shouldn't be doing this."

And then she heard it. The dragging of metal on metal. Something was following them at a steady pace. She reached her arm out, stopping Cass in her tracks. Cass looked up at her and Danni kept quiet, her lips once again pressed together to keep her from speaking. With a shared look, Danni slowly looked around. Behind them was Moran, dragging an axe on the ground.

"Everything is a fucking horror movie," she snarled. "I hate horror movies!" She grabbed Cass's hand. "Run!"

Cass couldn't hear her, but her signals were pretty clear. They both began running as hard as they could away from Moran.

A few turns in the corridors and they landed at the Mess Hall where they both could see Lunn through the glass door. Cass opened it and he shook his head, looking positively panicked.

"No, no, you've got to get out of here. The ghosts locked me in. It's a trap!" he explained as quickly as he could.

"Oh, of course it is!" Danni ranted. "Of course is fucking is!"

The ghosts phased through the walls and started their slow advance towards them. Danni shook her head, but couldn't help but let her gaze fall on the ghost Doctor. In some twisted way just seeing him gave her a little comfort, a little hope, but she pushed it down before she could smile. Instead she let the bitterness at the thought fill her.

"Oh, real original!" she called up. "You've never killed me with the Doctor before, have you? Come on Missy, give me a challenge!"

"What?" Lunn asked her.

"Just run!" she retorted. "The Faraday cage, now!"

Cass grabbed Lunn's hand and they all started running down the corridors, away from them ghosts. If they hadn't been running for their lives, Danni might have found their hand-holding sweet. But she didn't have time for that. She had to keep redirecting them every time a ghost magically materialised just where they were heading. Detour after detour meant that they ended up back in the hanger with the space ship and the suspended animation chamber.

"Where the hell is the exit?" she asked Lunn as they continued to back away from the ghosts. They'd grouped up now, four of them heading towards them. "We need to keep moving!"

The trio turned around, walking backwards and away from the ghosts. Danni felt her legs bang into the chamber, which suddenly made a clunking noise. She spun around, alarmed.

"Oh, that's not good. That's so not good!" she exclaimed. "I need to- we need…" She turned back again, reaching into her pocket for her gun. It was missing. Of course it was, the Doctor had made her leave it behind. Her panic skyrocketed. How was she supposed to survive without her gun? She froze. She wasn't. This was it. She'd escaped only to die.

There was a loud hissing noise as the suspended animation chamber released its locks. The lid split and opened and the three couldn't help but watch in horror as the thing inside was released.

The Doctor sat up, sunglasses on, a grin on his face. He looked to his side and saw three stunned people, and one incredibly stunning woman he called his wife.

"Don't kiss me; morning breath," he told her as he jumped to his feet.

"What the- what the hell are you doing in there?" Danni exclaimed.

"Oh, you know, just waiting around," he dismissed. He climbed out of the chamber then reached over it for her hand. "Follow me."

Danni didn't hesitate. She grabbed his hand and let him practically drag her out of the room with the other two on their heels. "Why were you in the box?" she demanded anyway. "What happened to the body? Are we going to encounter a really angry – where are you- the Faraday cage is that way!"

"I know," he replied. "But that's not where we're going." He looked over his shoulder at her and shot her a giant grin. "I'll want that kiss later," he warned her cheekily.

She just shot him a look that told him that, even though she was trying to be serious, she was considering it. "Once you've brushed your teeth, sweetie."

She saw the glee on his face as he turned around and felt herself close up even more at it. The Doctor surviving his death was nothing new, but it all felt a bit too… well, a bit too easy. Everything just happily fell into place. One minute she was about to be killed by his ghost, the next the ghost had disappeared and he was trying to save the day again. There was no bit in between where the plan seemed to come together, it had all happened away from her. Off screen, almost. Like a dream, where the gaps were filled in before she realised they even existed.

She swallowed heavily as they entered the control room. The Doctor let go of her hand to rush over and shove one of the legs of his sonic sunglasses into a socket on the controls that just happened to be the right size. If she asked him about what had happened and he answered with the ever-damning 'It's a long story' she might just break.

A roar came from the speakers, one that was obviously filling up the entire base. "What's that noise?" Lunn asked.

"It's the call of the Fisher King. The call of their master," the Doctor explained to him. The group were all huddled around the monitors, watching the ghosts turn away from their pursuit and head away from them.

Danni, on the other hand, kept back and near the door. Over the course of her running to find the Doctor she'd developed the sense of when to stay and when to run. It was a heavy feeling deep in her stomach, one that settled and rarely left while she was still in the situation. The Doctor saving the day, people surviving, the ghosts heading to the Faraday cage where they'd be trapped – all this should have been reasons for her to feel safe.

All she wanted to do was turn and run. But she couldn't even do that. Her legs had frozen. The panic rose in her throat. She was terrified. She couldn't wake up again. Seeing Missy's face again…

The Doctor quickly locked the door on the Faraday cage and instantly felt himself relax. It had worked, he'd saved them all. He'd saved himself and he'd saved Danni.

He turned to look at his wife, ready to brag like he always did, but found her wide eyed and at the door. She looked ready to bolt. He frowned. Instantly a million reasons she could be hurt, or scared, or things he'd missed ran through his head. He walked closer.

"What is it?" he asked her lowly. She looked at him with wide eyes. "My Pet, what's wrong?"

She swallowed again to force the lump down. "Did-Did you stop it?" she asked instead. Her voice sounded weak, she sounded weak, so she cleared her throat with a cough. "This Fisher King? Did you stop it?"

He watched her closely but nodded all the same. "Unfortunately he didn't know how to swim," he explained. "Which is a little strange, considering his name."

He watched her hand go to her pocket, as if she was looking for a gun. She obviously didn't find it but she kept her hand in there. She was looking for comfort from it instead of him and it wounded him more than he'd ever be able to tell her. He understood as well, but it was just another sign of his own failure.

"So we're all safe now?"

"Ah, yes, about that…" He rushed back over to the console and pulled out his sunglasses. "There's just one more thing I need to do…"

~0~0~0~

Bennet watched the ghost of O'Donnell walked around, forever repeating the coordinates even though no one would ever hear them. Moran was there as well, and Prentis, and Prichard but he found it very hard to care when the woman he loved was dead and trapped for the rest of time.

He heard the footsteps of the rest of the survivors approaching – it was hard not to when the entire structure was made of metal. Everything echoed except what O'Donnell was saying.

"What will happen to them?" he asked.

The Doctor looked to Danni, who had made the phone call to the surface. She seemed to have a lot more swing in UNIT than he did. He rather liked it. She just shrugged, giving him the permission to explain. "UNIT will cut out the Faraday cage with them inside and take it away. Then the space-hearse will be destroyed, so the writing doesn't infect anyone else."

Bennet barely responded to his words. "What do I do now?"

The Doctor didn't know what to say. Losing the woman he loved had been devastating, but he got her back. Somehow the universe would seem so cruel except when it came to them. No matter what came between them he could always guarantee that, somehow, she'd always be by his side. He'd never believed it before, but he was starting to now. What comfort could he offer a man with no hope of that?

Danni watched the Doctor look away and rolled her eyes, assuming it was because he didn't want to get into the 'feeling' side of the adventure. He'd always struggled with offering comfort to anyone but her because she was the only one who could see his comfort for what it was.

She had to admit, that was pretty spot on as well.

She stepped forward instead and joined Bennet at the port hole. "You live," she replied simply.

"Is that it?" he asked like it was the worst advice he'd ever been given.

Danni nodded. "Yes, that's it," she confirmed. "The thing is… The universe is full of things that want to kill you. Nothing is kind, nothing is fair, nothing will want to help and no one comes when you cry." The Doctor's hearts ached at her words, but more at the ease at which she brought them up. She'd obviously thought about this a lot. "It wants to see you suffer and will stop at nothing to take that last little bit of you away. The best thing any of us can do, the best thing you can do, is fight it. Honour her memory and, in the process, you'll show the universe where to shove its cruelty. The best way to beat the sadness is to live and to live well." She looked up at him and offered him a tight smile. "That's all any of us are ever doing. We're just surviving because the universe wants us to fail. Don't let her death be in vain, and don't let it beat you."

With a pat of his arm, she walked over to the Doctor's side once again. She didn't look sheepish, or uncomfortable. Her words were just that; hers. How many times had she comforted herself? How many times had her attempts at survival been thrown in her face? How many times had she cried and he'd not come?

He had to push down his own need to cry so he could even speak. "I need to erase that message from your mind, but it's fine, I'll do it later," he told Bennet quietly before motioning with his head. Danni understood and the pair started to walk down the hall and away from the group to give them their moment to grieve.

~0~0~0~

The TARDIS was waiting for them, their ever-loving home and the Doctor flew them away before UNIT appeared and could ask any questions. The couple were silent for a while. It was long, and felt a little drawn out, but the Doctor didn't know what to say and Danni didn't feel like it was safe to say anything at all.

"The ghosts…" the Doctor started to clear the air.

"UNIT's going to drag the cage into space," Danni interrupted quickly. "Get them outside the Earth's magnetic field. They'll be allowed their deaths. They'll just fade… fade away."

The Doctor nodded. He'd known all that, but at least she was speaking. She was stood by the bridge to the door looking like she wanted to run and stay absolutely still at the same time. One hand was on the railing and the other was in the pocket of her dress.

"Danni…"

"How did you not die?" she asked over him. She needed to know. She needed to know what she was seeing was reality and his explanation would be it. He'd either give her own, or he'd say those four words that would cause her to wake up. Either way she couldn't not know. The anxiety alone was going to kill her.

"I never was going to die," he explained. He slowly walked over to her, wanting to pull her in for the hug she desperately needed. "Those messages my ghost gave, they weren't for you, they were for me. That list. Everyone after you was random, but you being after me, that's what made me confront the Fisher King. It was what gave me the idea for the hologram. If you had been first," he held his hand out for hers and she hesitated before taking it. He smiled, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "If you had been first I would have been reckless and I would have died. Me being first told me I had time to think, time to work out what was happening. It gave me time to think of the hologram."

"And the chamber opening? That was your way of telling yourself that you had to get inside?

He nodded along with her. "And when to set it for," he confirmed. "But that's not why I said them."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I programmed my ghost to say them because that's what my ghost had said," he explained, watching her face to see if she understood. "And the only reason I created my ghost hologram in the first place was because I saw it here. I was reverse engineering the narrative."

Her brows furrowed. "That's pretty smart," she admitted. And it also sounded like a ramble from the Doctor. Once again she felt herself start to relax, to become comfortable and she was more relieved than anything.

He shook his head slowly. "No, it's not," he corrected gently. "When did I first have those ideas?"

"Well… You…" she started before her mouth fell into an 'o'. She then shot him a look. "A bootstrap paradox?" she accused him. "I thought you'd be better than that. That's cheap time manipulation, that is."

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm just an ancient amateur, after all."

She shook her head, but had a smile on her face. She had such a beautiful soul that, no matter how hard she tried to hide it away, it shone from that smile. It was the same in her previous bodies and he was so glad it was true now.

"So, what now?" she asked him. "We've been awake quite a while, but I'm not particularly tired, so…"

"There's something I need to do first," he told her. Immediately she straightened and he realised that, maybe, that springing it on her wasn't the best idea. "I have something to give you." He held out his other hand temptingly. "I say give to you, but it's not actually mine to give… Well, you'll see when I give it to you."

With an eyebrow raised, she took her hand out of her coat and took his. He walked backwards towards the console, stopping when his back hit the metal. He then realised that, maybe, holding both of hers wasn't the best idea, he'd just wanted to do it. He let go to slam his hand on the side of the console. A small hatch opened up and he reached in.

"I believe…" he said slowly as he rummaged around. "This is yours…"

He pulled out her gun, holding it to her by the barrel so she could take the handle. She frowned, looking at him in confusion.

"You're giving me my gun back?" she asked him unsurely. He nodded and she quickly took it off him before he could take it back off her. The sense of relief she felt from holding it again almost drowned out the fact that she really, really shouldn't have been given it back. "I thought you hated guns."

"I do," he admitted. "And I hate the fact that you have one. But…" He took in a long breath, his mind rushing over every sentiment he wanted to express, trying to jumble them together into one coherent thought. "You cried all on your own," he declared, much to her surprise. "The universe has not been kind to you, and you've had to deal with that on your own, and there is nothing I can do to make that okay again. I have a… I have a time machine and I still can't go back and fix that wrong."

"I've never asked you to," Danni quickly spoke up, sounding a little defensive.

"I know," he reassured. "But I want to. I want to go back and change the past, but how can I if it just collapses in on itself the moment I create that paradox? It's not just some cheap trick, is it? I can't fix it. I'm the Doctor and I…" He let go of her hand, turning away and rubbing his hand over his face. There were tears. He could feel them threatening to get out and he couldn't let one fall. "I'm the Doctor and I can't fix this."

His voice was small, and broken, and it was something he had wanted to keep away from her. But it was pointless. She'd see through him, she always did, and she'd say the same thing every time; she didn't need saving from his pain.

He turned back around. "I've been so worried about how you've been affected, about how I wasn't there to save you. But look at you," he waved a hand at her. "You've adapted. You always do. You get thrown into these impossible situations and you make them work for you. That passion, that strength, that will to not just survive but to live is what made you stand out. What made you… made you shine through everything else in the universe. And that gun is the symbol of that that. And I should never have taken it away." He reached out, cupping her face. She didn't flinch, not even as he tilted her head slightly so she was looking into his eyes. Her eyes were shining. He was pretty sure that his were as well.

"Until you don't need it again. Until you adapt past it, I won't bring it up again. And I'm so sorry that I tried to take your strength away.

That stupid lump was back in her throat. Tears were in her eyes, and she knew that if she didn't force them away they'd actually start to fall. The one thing Missy had never been able to reproduce was that glorious feeling he brought whenever he spoke to her like that. How he made her feel loved, and huge, and important and also so incredibly humble to have it all aimed at her. Missy's Doctors had always felt off in that regard. Now her hearts just sang and ached at his words.

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips as she looked down from his gaze. She put the gun back in her coat pocket and the weight felt incredibly familiar and reassuring. "Thank you," she whispered softly.

His reply was to lean forward and place a kiss on her forehead. She couldn't help but smile at it. "Before- Before we head out again, I'm going to make a coffee," she rambled. "Would you- you like one too?"

"No, thanks, my Pet," he replied gratefully, stepping back to let her go. She gave a little nod to him before heading towards the hallway. "My Pet?"

"Yes?" She paused, looking back at him.

"It may take me a minute, or an hour, or a millennia, but I'm always coming when you cry," he promised her. "Never believe for one second I'm not. For all those times you cried on your own, this here, right now, is me coming for them. I'll never leave you to cry on your own, Danni-Girl."

"Doctor…" she said softly, trailing off as she couldn't find what words she wanted to say. She didn't want to say the words she wanted to say, because putting them into the universe meant that they could be heard, and used.

He shot her a smile. "Go get your caffeine kick," he encouraged. "There's a universe out there to see and I've told you before; I'm not seeing a moment more of it without you."

She grinned. A proper, happy grin before turning and heading out of the console room with the coat flaring up behind her.

He had never realised how much he'd loved her in a coat before. He really did.

~0~0~0~

Sorry it's a little short but... well, that's just how it is XD

Don't forget to check out Echoes, I actually updated it. I mean, that's a thing that happened XD

Also, with next Monday being Christmas I can't promise that's when I'll update. But I'll keep you all updated on Tumblr. Go see - I'm DanniFielding :D

Reviews!

Guest - Thanks sweetie!

Jojo - Thanks! Yeah, she's picked up a bit of her mother's sass, it seems XD

Authora97 - Definitely not! I, personally, love the original Danni however this one is definitely growing on me! However, that's cause I know what's to come over the next couple of seasons :P

serenitysaiyan - She'll see it soon. Not yet, but very soon! Everything will start coming out very soon x

bored411 - I think the way she kind of freezes at seeing him was just as likely as her becoming furious at him. We will see both types of reaction at some point XD

Serena - Thanks sweetie! Yeah, she's had a lot more time to reflect on the Doctor, especially without him being there.

AGBreads - Thanks sweetie! Hope you liked this one too!