Danni watched little Maebh disappear into the trees next to the TARDIS, hiding behind them as if they were protecting her. She smiled softly to herself. The girl wasn't a massive fan of all the people around her, it would seem. She didn't seem particularly shy, though, so maybe it was more of a case of being worried she was going to be told off. Danni knew that definitely was not going to be the case, but she left her to gain her confidence back.
Clara was really trying to be nice. Danni knew that leaving her behind would have shaken her confidence a little bit, but because Danny didn't seem too bothered about the two Time Lords being there, she had to take it as a win. Perhaps Clara had finally told him the entire truth and they could be friends again.
She hoped so. She really didn't want Clara to have to choose between the two lives. After all she would, and should, choose Mr Pink at the end of it. Danni would never stop her choosing her own life over one with them, but she wasn't ready for that moment left. And, sometimes, Clara just needed a little push to see what she could have. She thought herself the boss, but sometimes her view was just a little too narrow.
Danni frowned as Maebh suddenly disappeared from her little hiding spot, running off into the forest. Her eyes darted around the rest of the adults but no one else seemed to have noticed her run off. So, obviously being the responsible person she was, she dashed off after the little girl.
"Maebh!" she called after the girl, but she didn't slow down. "Maebh, wait up!"
Maebh's arms were up in the air as she ran, swatting around her as if she was surrounded by a bunch of tiny flies. That wasn't right. Luckily, Danni had plenty of practice of running fast and she managed to get herself in front of the schoolgirl, stopping her in her tracks.
"Maebh!" she cried out, stepping to the side as she tried to run around her. "Maebh, just wait a minute!"
"The thoughts, the thoughts!" she exclaimed, flapping her hands around her head. Danni reached out and caught them, holding them tightly to get her attention.
"Maebh, can you look at me?" she asked quickly, gently but firmly. The girl's actions ceased and she stared at Danni with wide eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Everywhere. They're everywhere," she rambled. "Everywhere I look there are thoughts. I want them to be my sister. I miss her so much."
Danni had absolutely no idea what happened to her sister, but as someone who had lost so many she knew how it was to always be hoping, always been looking just to see them again.
"I'm sorry about your sister, Maebh," she said honestly. "These thoughts, what are they telling you?"
"I can't hold onto them," she explained. "They're all too fast. I need to… I need..." She tried to pull out of Danni's grip but she kept hold of her tightly.
"If we head back, then the Doctor will be able to help," she said. "He's so smart, even if he is a little grumpy."
Maebh shook her head. "No, I need to… they're everywhere!" She struggled against the older woman, who still kept a grip on her. She couldn't just let the little girl run into the forest on her own. They had no idea what the forest actually was, or if there was anything lurking in it, waiting to lure little girls away. It reminded her too much of a fairy story, of something used to warn people away from playing in the dark forest. Like the Shadowmen she had dealt with.
"Okay, okay," Danni said. She couldn't just drag her back, could she?
No. That was a terrible idea. She was still struggling. She would just run away from the things that seemed to be flying around her head. "Can you see something, Maebh? Something everyone else is ignoring?"
She nodded. "They're going too fast, I can't grab hold of them."
That definitely wasn't normal. She glanced back the way they could, really not liking the idea of splitting up too far from the group. But Maebh wasn't going to stop until she had followed the thoughts that she could see.
"Can I come with you?" she asked. "Will the thoughts let me do that?"
Maebh stopped struggling for a moment as she saw that Danni wasn't trying to stop her. "Your thoughts are too loud, Miss," she explained. "They're everywhere."
Danni frowned in confusion. How were her thoughts too loud?
"Ah, that would be the whole 'psychic' thing, wouldn't it?" she murmured to herself. Once again she glanced back the way they came, a desperate look on her face. She could shut them off from the outside world, but that meant cutting herself off from her husband. She wasn't too keen on that idea, but he would understand. She couldn't let a little girl run off into a forest on her own.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and chucked up every wall Theta had shown her to over the years. She then opened them and smiled at Maebh. "Will that work? Is that okay?" she asked hopefully.
Maebh nodded slowly. "They're all gone, Miss," she commented, amazed. "How did you do that?"
"Lots of practice," Danni brushed off, letting go of her hands. "I'll follow you, okay Maebh?"
The girl nodded and, almost like she was in pain, began to swat at the thoughts again. A moment later and she was running away. Danni, with one last longing look back towards where her husband would be, took off after her. This was going to end so badly.
~0~0~0~
"Hold on," Danni hissed, holding her hand in front of Maebh to stop her moving any further. The girl looked ready to move around her, the thoughts compelling her to continue on. "No, wait, look," she whispered, nodding ahead of her.
Through the trees she could see a large London Underground sign standing in contrast to the greenery that was threatening to consume it. There were people stood around it in large, silver suits with what appeared to be guns. She held up her finger to her lips, signalling Maebh to be silent as they listened to see if they said anything.
They didn't, though, just continued whatever they were trying to do and Danni berated herself for not recognising the guns sooner. "They really are going to burn it down," she whispered sadly. The Doctor was, unfortunately in this case, quite right about humans. She found that when they didn't understand something they were very much inclined to destroy it.
Maebh reached into her bag and pulled out her pencil case, placing it on the ground before turning ninety degrees and running off to the right. She was leaving a trail of where they had been, one that had started with her phone and while Danni had thought that maybe keeping communications open would have been a better idea, she couldn't have faulted the logic of being able to find where they had been. She didn't have quite as many things on her as Maebh had, so she had run out of things to leave when she'd taken her jacket and her hairband out. She looked down at the box, and then her hand. She wanted to leave the Doctor something so he knew that she was okay as well. Just a little sign.
She really needed to start carrying a pad and paper around with her. She slipped her wedding ring off and unzipped the fabric pencil case. She grabbed a good handful of leaves, placed them inside so that they would seem out of place, so it was obvious the pencil case had something in it. She then placed the ring inside so it would be the first thing that he'd see when he opened it. She trusted her husband to find their trail, and to see it when he did. She wouldn't take it off for anything in the universe except for him, so he'd know that it was a good sign.
Then she rushed off after Maebh, hoping the little girl knew where they were going.
~0~0~0~
The forest was a scary place. Clara could feel it in the same way the Doctor could. It was all natural, all made of wood and leaves and whatever else was growing, but to be inside it felt distinctly unnatural. The Doctor had said that it was because it was in every fairy tale she'd ever read, and she could believe it. As they pushed through the forest she kept expecting to find a wolf trying to eat her.
The Doctor was stalking in front of her, his hands clenched around Danni's jacket. He held it bunched up, with no care but he held onto it like it was the most important thing he had ever found. He was worried about his wife. She was too. At least Maebh was with her, so if anything bad was to happen then Danni would protect her to her last breath. But what about Danni? Who was going to protect them both if they were in danger?
"Doctor," she started slowly. "While we're alone, I thought that… I mean, about Bristol..."
He waved his free hand, shushing her before rushing forward, crouching to the ground by a pencil case. Maebh had been leaving them both little clues to where she was going, and Danielle had been adding her own little clues to let them know she was with her. She'd left her jacket with her phone, and a hairband with Maebh's water bottle. There had to be something with this pencil case that said she was still with Maebh.
He picked it up and the contents fell out, pencils rolling onto the floor, the leaves that were stuffed inside piling up as well. Clara joined him in a crouch, a frown on her face.
"Why were their leaves in the case?" she asked, worried for her student. He couldn't blame her. He'd been rather dismissive of Maebh, but that was only to protect himself. He should have listened to her more. Then they wouldn't have been in this stupid mess. That's what his Danielle had over him. She'd always been able to sense when she had to pay attention.
Maybe River was right. Maybe he'd make a terrible father now. He wasn't exactly father of the year before.
"Maybe she put them in there? A momento of the forest?" he suggested.
"And then leave it all behind?" Clara countered. She was right, so her ran his hand through the leaves, searching for something he may have missed.
He almost flicked it away, but the shine of the gold band caught his eye just before he did anything irreversible. He quickly grabbed it, holding it into the air to watch it sparkle in the little sunlight that could break through the trees. Oh, she was so very clever. She knew exactly what he would think when he saw the ring, and he was so glad that they knew each other so well.
"Is that a ring?" Clara asked, even more confused and the Doctor nodded.
"This is Danielle's ring," he clarified, much to Clara's surprise.
"That's not good, is it?" she countered. "Danni wouldn't have let anyone take that off her without a fight. Are they alright?"
He watched it sparkle for just a moment longer then turned to Clara, a grin on his face that made her double take. "They're absolutely fine," he replied before jumping off the floor. "There was no fight because no one took it off her. She left me this to say that they're absolutely, and completely, fine."
Clara felt herself sag in relief, letting herself enjoy that news for a moment before she frowned, her brows furrowing as she joined him back on her feet. "Hang on," she started. "If they're fine, then why are they running away from us?"
"I don't know," he replied, pocketing in the ring, using the small inside pocket to keep it close and safe. He couldn't lose it before he could give it back to her. "But we need to find them before that stops being the case."
He continued to stride forward, although his mind had been put slightly at ease by the little ring she'd left behind. He suspected that, should they come across anything else of Maebh's, that she won't have left anything behind after that. For whatever reason she couldn't let herself be open to him trying to find her mentally, but she was doing everything she could to reassure him. He'd thank her for it after telling her off for running off without anyone noticing.
That was definitely not going to happen again.
He and Clara pushed aside some branches to get them out of the way, only to be surprised by a person in a full silver hazmat suit.
"Get back!" the man inside commanded. "We're burning here. Stay back."
"We're looking for a little girl..." Clara tried but the man inside didn't really seem to care.
"Stay back," he repeated. "We're about to burn."
The pair stood back and watched the people aim a flamethrower at one of the trees. The heat from it reached them even at their distance, but it didn't make any difference to the trees, or the leaves, as they were left standing without any damage.
Before they were noticed, the Doctor started walking again. "Trees control the oxygen on this planet," he explained to Clara once they were far away from the hazmat suits to not be heard. "They withhold it, they smother the fire. What sort of forest is clever? What sort of forest has its own in-built fire extinguisher?"
"What do they want?" Clara asked, wondering if he had made sense of it yet.
"Why now?"
"What do you mean, why now?"
"The whole natural order is turning against this planet," he explained. "But why? Why now?"
"Well, what else?"
"How did she know this?" he replied, taking out the yellow workbook and flipping it to the right page. He practically shoved it at Clara, showing her the angry sun and the bolt it was sending towards the trees.
Clara just frowned at the children's drawing. "What is it?"
"This is a massive solar flare headed for Earth," he told her, tapping the sun with his finger. "Like the one that destroyed the Bank of Karabraxos. We've got an entire TARDIS and I didn't notice this." Clara closed the book and her eyebrows shot up at the name on the front. "But she knew. How?"
"This is Maebh's," she replied, showing him the front, almost accusingly shaking it at him. "Where did you get this?"
"It fell out of you bag when you decided that our TARDIS was your dumping ground," he dismissed. She rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to protest but he had already starting walking away. "How did she know this? She even put the date on it!"
Clara shrugged, following him through the trees. "I always make them date their homework."
He turned to her, giving her a look like she should have known better. "It's today's date!"
She paused in her step, looking down at the pages to see that he was right, and Maebh had dated it in the future. Not just in the future, but the day the trees had appeared. That was impossible. How could she have possibly known what was happening. "Well, there must be a way?" she said hopefully.
The Doctor looked up at the tree coverage, knowing he had so many of the parts of the puzzle but he still couldn't see the answer. "They want something," he told her. "They're saying something. If there is a way, the way is Maebh Arden." He said it with such confidence that Clara instantly believed him. Perhaps Maebh knew something that they didn't, which was why she ran off. Danni, naturally, would have followed because she'd never leave a kid in danger. Clara smiled just slightly at that. The woman had a heart of gold.
She shook her head. There was more important things at hand. The Doctor had confidence in his answer, but just as quickly as she had found herself believing him, she found herself doubting them. She knew the children well, after all. "Okay, you know they're not really gifted and talented, don't you? I just tell them that to make them feel good."
"She's lost someone," the Doctor shot back. "People who've lost someone, they're always listening, always looking, always hoping. So, they notice more. They hear more."
He knew that from experience. After he'd lost his family, he'd spent his time listening and hoping and begging to somehow find them again. Even in more recent memory, he'd spent a lifetime on Trenzalore seeing his wife when she wasn't there. Granted, he had sent her away, but he'd always hoped that he would see her again, even when it looked so impossible. He heard her voice, he saw her face, and so saw so many things he would have missed because he hoped it was her instead.
He started walking forward again, determined not to lose her a second time, when a noise echoed through the forest. He turned to look back the way they had come, and Clara did the exact same thing.
"Was that a howl?"
~0~0~0~
Danni grabbed Maebh by the arm, although she didn't seem to need to slow the girl down at all as she had also fallen to a stop. The sound was very obvious. A growl and a crunch in the bushes that surrounded them alluded to something very not nice indeed.
"Shh," she said softly as she slowly looked around, checking the bushes that surrounded them. Nothing seemed amiss straight away, but the yellow eyes caught her gaze and she realised that whatever animal it was, they were surrounded by them.
"On the count of three, run," she instructed. "Alright, Maebh?"
The little girl nodded but didn't say a thing. She was probably terrified. Danni coudln't blame her. Animals were dangerous. Animals would attack without a moments notice, and could do damage but it was never malicious, but could be absolutely deadly. She didn't have to be brave, though. She just had to save the child.
She slowly turned Maebh on the spot, looking for the clearest way out from the bushes. The snarling increased and, from the bushes, the head of a very angry wolf appeared. It snarled, and snapped, and Maebh screamed in fright.
Danni grabbed her hand, screaming just as loudly. "Run!"
They both did and the wolves gave chase. Danni made sure that they weaved their way through the trees in the hopes that it would slow them down long enough for them to find somewhere safe.
Maebh was doing a good job keeping up with her. Danni's grip had to be hurting her, but she was smart enough to know now was not the time to complain. All Danni could focus on was getting the little girl to safety. Luckily there seemed to only be three of them.
Luckily? How was that lucky? Three wolves was still three wolves too many!
She reached into her top, rummaging around for her sonic screwdriver before cursing to herself. It was still by her bloody book, wasn't it?! She'd been using it to control the music she was listen to.
"Oh, I'm such an idiot," she groaned to herself.
They reached a fence, one that ran both ways into the forest and Danni could have kicked herself. She'd run them straight into a dead end. Maebh reached it, grabbing hold of two bars, as if she could pull them off and Danni placed herself in between the girl and the wolves. They'd have to tear her apart first before she let them hurt a hair on Maebh's head.
"Maebh!"
Clara appeared on the other side of the fence, the Doctor next to her. "Danni! Pick her up! I can pull her over!"
Danni turned but Maebh was already running away. Or, in fact, to a gate that both she and Clara had missed. She opened it and ran through and Clara ran to her. Danni was quick after her, shutting the gate and rushing to her husband, who quickly scooped her up into his arms.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" he scolded as she pulled away from the hug.
"She needed to go, I couldn't let her do it on her own," she replied. "We need to leave. There's wolves coming!"
He didn't want to let her go. Instead he pulled her in for a quick kiss, one that was full of relief that she really was alright. Maebh, on the other hand, didn't seem to be alright at all. Her hands started swatting at the thoughts that were now coming in thick and fast.
"Doctor, the wolves!" Clara called as the three wolves all gathered at the gate, snarling and snapping at the four.
The Doctor let his wife go, handing her the jacket she had left behind. She was quite surprised at the state of it and gave it a quick shake out to get it back into shape.
"These are zoo wolves. They're not even used to hunting," he brushed off, turning his attention back to Maebh.
"Doctor!" Both Clara and Danni shouted and he looked over at the wolves, who did seem a little more aggressive than he was hoping.
"All right, okay," he agreed and they all backed away. Clara and Danni told hold of Maebh on each side, while the Doctor made sure to be on Danni's other side. "We've just got to look as if we're too much bother to eat, right?" he explained quickly. "So, stay still. Stay together. Look big. Look big like a big four-headed, eight-legged scary thing!"
They all held their arms out, but all stood very still as the wolves took a running jump, making it over the fence. Then, it became very obvious that they weren't going to attack, and they all ran away, whimpering in fear.
The Doctor laughed as he watched them run off. "Told you they were rubbish," he boasted, before realising that, with even four of them, those wolves were a bit too frightened. They shouldn't have run off whimpering, they should have just decided they were too much bother. He pointed after them as he looked to the other two grown-ups. "Those wolves are terrified."
"What are wolves frightened of?" Clara asked lowly, and rather frightened, in return.
A growl answered her. They all turned slowly and saw that a rather large, rather angry looking tiger had replaced the wolves on the other side of the fence. Even the Doctor felt his hearts skip a beat at the sight as it roared.
"There are very good solid scientific reasons for being really quite frightened just now," he commented and Danni nodded in reply. She was terrified as well. She reached out and threaded her hand through his, her mind remarking lightly on how she could tell that her ring was missing.
"What do we do?" she whispered softly.
Nothing, it would seem. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bright light was shone into the tiger's face. It winced in pain, backing up and away from the rather strange attack, until it turned and left.
From behind one of the many tree coverings came Mr Danny Pink and the rest of the Gifted and Talented group, all cheering at their victory. Danni immediately relaxed against her husband as Clara could only stare in surprise.
"Mr Pink!" she exclaimed, catching herself before calling him his first name. They had rules, after all.. "Why, thank you very much."
Danni nodded in agreement, running over to the fence just next to the gate and holding onto the bars. "That was amazing," she told him. "Absolutely amazing. You saved us, again!"
"Ah, it was no problem," he said modestly, looking up at Clara, who looked very much impressed with his recent heroics. He didn't like chucking himself into danger, but he'd always have her back. "Just decided it was best not to leave you alone, looking for her."
Clara frowned. It sounded like he was talking about her looking for Maebh, but she knew differently. It was Danni, who was stood looking at Danny like he was their hero. Even if – if – she had feeling for Danni, then he should know now that she loved him a hell of a lot more. And that she'd never put a child in danger just to save someone she fancied. She thought they were past this.
"They've worked well together," he continued as if he hadn't noticed her change in mood. "Noticeable increase in confidence levels and energy."
"Well done," Clara replied shortly. "And for saving us from a tiger, too."
He frowned then caught sight of Maebh, who was starting to wave her hands in the air again. "Er, has she had her medication yet?"
Clara sprung into action, feeling rather guilty that she hadn't already thought of it, although she had almost been eaten by a tiger as well so it could be forgiven. She reached into her pocket.
"Oh. No, I…"
The Doctor pushed her away from the little girl. "No, no. Not her medication. We don't want to shut her up. We want to know what she knows," he snapped before crouching down to her level. "Maebh, what's the... Maebh, what is this? What is this?"
He imitated her but Danni grabbed his hands, stopping him. "It's thoughts," she told him. "Maebh can see them, she says there's too many. It's why I had to shut myself off."
He turned to look at her, eyes wide in realisation. "That's what you were following," he guessed and she nodded. "She can hear the trees."
"Whatever Maebh can see, only she can see it," she agreed. "But there's too many of us here and I think it's just going to make her..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Maebh ran off into the forest again. They all followed, calling after her, but once again she seemed to know exactly where she was going. All they could do was follow her deeper into the trees.
"You won't find your sister out there!" Ruby called after Maebh. Danni had to smile at other girl's assumption, although it was pretty obvious at this point that she wasn't searching for her sister.
It did bring another question to her attention, though. Danni looked over her shoulder at Danny. "Where's River?" she asked.
"River?" he asked, confused before he realised who she was talking about. "Oh, your mum. Yeah… She's… she's something, isn't she?"
Danni sighed deeply. "What did she do now?" she asked tiredly, like she was used to hearing her mother's exploits.
"Oh, oh, nothing too bad," he dismissed, not wanting to bring up her words about his girlfriend in front of a bunch of students.
"She said she didn't want to come because there were too many children and we grossed her out," Ruby said factually as she stepped over a rather large root. "I said that she should have detention for name calling, but sir said no."
"I can't put someone into a detention who isn't a student, Ruby," Danny told her. "We've been over this."
"But she was so mean!"
Danni didn't giggle, no matter how much she wanted to. River really didn't like to be around children. It did make her pause for thought, though. What if she and the Doctor did, eventually, decide to adopt a little baby from somewhere? Would she just not see her mother for eighteen or so years?
Maebh stopped at the edge of a circle of tress, where a mound of dirt surrounded them as if to keep everyone out. From the middle shone a blinding light. They all came to a stop just behind the little girl.
"Is… Is that the start?" Danni asked her husband. "Is that where all of the trees came from?"
"Miss? What is it, miss?" Ruby asked her teacher, who could only shake her head.
"It's coming. It's coming for everyone, and I can't unthink it," Maebh cried, distressed so much she couldn't stand it. Danni quickly moved from Clara's side, over to the little girl. She knelt in the leaves and dirt around her.
"Maebh," she said gently. "You know these thoughts you can see? The ones that you can't unthink? They're from the forest. You're the only one on the whole planet who can hear them. That's how special you are." Maebh slowly turned to look at her, furrowed brows and sad eyes and Danni just wanted to pull her in for a hug.
The Doctor joined his wife, kneeling next to the little girl. "No technology can hear what it's saying, but you can," he confirmed. "Tell us what it wants. Where it came from. Just tell us who did this."
Maebh didn't look like she wanted to answer, but she did. "It was me. I did this. I did these trees."
Danni's hearts broke for the little girl, who held so much guilt. Without thinking, she placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze and a kind smile. "Of course you didn't," she reassured her. "How could you do all this? It takes a lot more than thoughts to grow trees."
"Ever since Annabel went missing, I look for her everywhere," Maebh explained. "I don't find her, but I find thoughts. The big forest was one. I thought everyone would love it."
"You see?" Danni replied. "You didn't think this, something else did. You're just a girl who misses her sister deeply. You looked so hard you find everyone else's missing ideas, that's all. You've done nothing wrong."
Maebh didn't seem to believe her. Instead, she started batting around her head again, trying to knock the thoughts away that seemed to be bombarding her.
Clara, who had been watching from the sidelines, took a couple of tentative steps closer to the three. "Maebh, can you see something that we can't see?" she asked.
"Nearly. Too fast. Everywhere," she replied, although it was as if she couldn't hear Clara at all. Danni looked up at her husband.
"We need to help her," she told him. "Can we chuck up some mental walls for her as well?"
He shook his head. "No, she needs to do it herself," he explained before slowly standing up. He pulled out his screwdriver. "Everything's subject to gravity. If I can create a little local increase..."
Danny Pink had sat back and watched the two aliens fuss around Maebh. Danni had seemed to be rather kind to her, but she had also let her run off into the forest without any idea of what was going on in her life. The Doctor, on the other hand, had just prodded and saw her as something that would get him to the end of the puzzle. He'd seen that behaviour before, yet again in his officers while in the army.
He needed to say something, though. This was getting too much. They weren't helping the little girl, they were just making it worse. "No. You're not experimenting on..."
As he set off the sonic screwdriver, little gold points of light appeared all around Maebh. Both she and Danni gasped in unison at the sight of the tiny little thoughts that had actually appeared from nowhere. The Doctor grinned, not just at being one step closer to working out the forest, but at the twin looks of amazement on their faces. She really would have been an excellent mother.
"Oh, Maebh, they're beautiful," Danni breathed as the girl smiled in delight.
"They're lovely!" she agreed before listening, then frowning. "They don't like it when you're holding them. They want you to let them go."
"Who are they?" the Doctor asked, because that wasn't normal thoughts. What Maebh had been picking up in her never-ending search for her sister, and the little flecks of light were definitely not the same thing.
Maebh straightened, arms by her side. As she spoke her voice echoed with a deep, disembodied voice from all around them. "We are Here. Here, always, since the beginning and until the end."
Danni took hold of her other arm. "Maebh? Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. The Doctor could understand her panic, but he didn't let the beings go.
"Here? That's it?" the Doctor asked them.
"We are the green shoots that grow between the cracks, the grass that grows over the mass graves. After your wars are over, we will still be Here. We are the life that prevails."
"Why now? Why are you here now?"
"We hear the call and we come, as we came before to the great North Forest, where we lie still in a great circle. As we came to the vast Southern Forest."
But that still didn't make any sense. He hated when creatures spoke in stories and riddles. Why couldn't they just give a proper answer?
"Who is calling you now?"
"The sun that creates. The sun that destroys. You are hurting us. Let us go."
He didn't want to hurt anyone, least of all the beings that had created an entire forest overnight. But he still had one more question. One that he was always worried about. How did they know about his wife?
"You sent for my wife," he told them. "The little girl came looking for her. Why her?"
"We did not send...Pain. Did not send for anyone. We don't know you. We were here before you and will be here after you."
That wasn't the answer he was looking for. But he couldn't keep the little girl in the trance state forever. She was trapped by them in the same way he was trapping them. But they were obviously not giving up any more information. Nothing to help him save the planet. A giant solar flare was going to burn up the entire earth, and there was nothing he could do.
With a grunt of pure frustration, he let them go. The small flecks slowly disappeared from view. Then, with a grunt of her own, Maebh fell to her knees. Danni caught hold of her as Danny Pink came to her side.
"You're okay, sweetie," Danni reassured her. "You did so well."
The Doctor crouched back down in front of her. "Maebh, you came looking for Danni. Think. Who sent you to Danni?"
Maebh shook her head. She wasn't sure. "It was just a thought. It was just a thought that came. I think it came from Miss."
Both Danny and the Doctor looked over at Clara, both men knowing why Clara had been thinking of Danni, even if the woman herself had zero clue.
Maebh looked around. "They've gone," she realised. "Why does everything have to go?"
No one had an answer for that. Instead, Danni finally wrapped her up in her arms, giving the little girl the hug she really needed. "It's okay," she promised again. "We'll work it out. Don't you worry about anything."
The Doctor, on the other hand, didn't have the hope his wife had. He walked away from the little girl, hand by his mouth, as his brain tried to think of something, anything, he could do to stop a solar flare. There was nothing, though. The trees had taken over the planet for no other reason than to kill it with fire. It made no sense, but he didn't have anything else! They were all looking to him, and he didn't have an answer.
Clara walked over, catching the look on his face and she realised that he couldn't help. Not that he didn't want to, like on the Moon, but that he couldn't. Her own panic flared again. All this time she had always had faith the Doctor would save them all from anything that came that way. But he couldn't. Not this time. It was shattered.
"This really is going to happen, isn't it?" she asked lowly, so the children couldn't hear.
"Stars implode. Planets grow cold. Catastrophe is the metabolism of the universe. I can fight monsters. I can't fight physics," he bit back. He wasn't angry at her, he was just angry. So angry. It was times like these he remembered why he had stopped letting the universe in. Because it hurt when he let it down. He had opened up because Danni had wanted him to. But he should never have.
"Why would trees want to kill us? We love trees," Clara countered.
"You've been chopping them down for furniture for centuries," he said. "If that's love, no wonder they're calling down fire from the heavens."
"But we saw the future. Lots of futures. Earth's futures," she reminded him. He couldn't look her in the eye. He just continued to chew on his thumbnail as he fidgeted from foot to foot.
"They're about to be erased," he whispered. He hadn't wanted to admit it out loud, but what other option was there?
Clara's brain froze for a moment at the confirmation of the devastation she had been hoping would be fixed. She looked away from him, eyes almost unseeing as she realised that if the Doctor didn't have a plan, then she needed to think of one.
They were all going to die. Even the Doctor and Danni, who would never leave her or the children on their own. A quick glance over at Danni, who was smoothing down Maebh's hair and talking to her with a smile that was only meant to reassure the girl, told her exactly that. But they didn't have to die. They had a time machine. They could live on.
"If you can't save them all, save who you can," she declared and the Doctor looked down at her, confused. "The TARDIS," she clarified. "It's a lifeboat, isn't it? Not everybody has to die."
She walked off before the Doctor could say anything. She headed to her children, her boyfriend and her best friend, and told them to look lively. The Doctor watched her. Maybe she understood him better than they all had thought.
~0~0~0~
They were greeted by River when they made it back to the TARDIS, who was leaning against a vine-covered TARDIS. She had managed to clear her way out, and still had her tablet in hand when they appeared in the clearing.
"Nice to see you were concerned," Danni called over to her. The woman shrugged, turning the screen off.
"I knew you were fine," she replied. "I saw you follow the child into the forest. I knew you were going to be fine."
"That's not it," Danni countered. "You just didn't want to have to help Mr Pink take care of all the children."
River didn't confirm or deny the accusation, which obviously meant that Danni was completely correct.
Bradley turned to his teachers. "Can we take another selfie, sir?" he asked. Danny nodded and nudged the children towards the lion again.
"Yes, of course," he agreed, following them. Danni smiled, watching them mess around, laughing and taking pictures. Clara grabbed hold of the Doctor's arm tightly and dragged him over to the TARDIS and River.
"You need to get in your box and go," she said lowly once the three were huddled up. The Doctor nodded in agreement.
"We're all going. We're taking the kids," he reminded.
"Why are we taking the kids?" River asked. "I didn't think you were a daycare."
"The planet is about to be burnt alive," Clara snapped. "The whole planet. Every person is going to be turned to ash because of that solar flare."
"And we're going to get away," the Doctor finished for her. "The TARDIS is a lifeboat, remember? We're going to take the kids..."
"Take them where?" she shot back. "What are you going do with them? Leave them on an asteroid? Find a space academy for the gifted and talented? They just want their mums and dads," she looked away, feeling that sentiment very deeply. "And they're never going to stop wanting them."
His eyes widened slightly as he realised just how made up her mind was. "I can save you and Danny," he offered desperately and Clara shook her head.
"Danny Pink will never leave those kids so long as he is breathing," she told him. She took a look at her boyfriend, who was overseeing the kids, telling them not to climb too high while still letting them have their fun. He was so good in his heart. She should have done better, she shouldn't have lied so much. But, she could do this. She could stay with him until the end.
"You don't want him to save you either, do you?" River asked and the Doctor looked sharply towards River as Clara shook her head. "Danni is never going to leave you behind," she pointed out. "She'd rather die here with you."
"She will," Clara corrected. "Because she'll go with him."
She nodded towards the Doctor, who pointed at himself. "Me?!" he replied. "What? And you think I'll just leave you to die?"
Clara nodded again. "Yes, I do," she replied sincerely. "Because between anyone else and Danni, you will pick her. You will respect my wishes because it will keep her safe. You will pick Danni, just as I pick mine."
He blinked, a bit stunned. She loved his wife, anyone with eyes could see that, and he would have always thought that she would have chosen his wife over everything else. It was why he had always trusted Clara to keep her safe when he could not. Why he hadn't protested too much when she had moved in with their companion. But to see her deciding to stay with her boyfriend, with the PE teacher, suddenly took that worry of her trying to steal Danielle away from him.
He straightened slightly, giving her a little bow of his head. He could appreciate that. To be with Danielle for a little while, or live well past her, well… He'd die any day.
"Very well," he replied softly.
"Hey, is everything alright?"
Danni appeared next to her her husband, her brows furrowed as she looked between the solumn trio. "Why aren't we leaving yet?"
The Doctor just stared down at her, not knowing how to tell her what was going to happen next. He didn't want to have to break her heart so deeply, he didn't know to even begin wording that. He would comfort her, they would move on, but it was going to hurt her so hard.
Clara didn't give him the chance, though. She reached forward, grabbing Danni's hands so she was holding one in each of hers. Danni's head tilted to one side slightly, the way it always did when she was slightly confused. It was adorable. Clara was going to miss it terribly.
"I love you," she stated firmly, trying to keep her emotions in check. "So much. You're my best friend and I am so glad that I met you."
Danni stared for a moment, the words not really meaning anything until the reason she was saying them hit her with full force in the chest. Tears gathered in her eyes and she swallowed the lump that appeared in her throat. "You're- You're not coming, are you?" she whimpered and Clara shook her head.
"No, we're not," she confirmed with a little smile. Danni always knew her so well. "The children don't belong in that world, and Danny won't leave them and..."
"And you'll never leave Danny Pink," Danni finished for her. "But you two could still come. We can save you."
"I don't want to be saved," Clara replied and Danni let out a little sob. Clara felt herself crying as well. "I know you don't want to leave us, but..."
"But I would have stayed on Trenzalore to the day I died if it meant I died with the Doctor," Danni told her. "I understand, I just… Oh, come here," she pulled Clara in for a tight hug, their last hug. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"I'm going to miss you too," Clara replied. Danni pulled back and leant her forehead against her best friend's. The friend she was never going to see again. The one who was willingly walking into her death because there was nothing else she could do.
"My Clara," she whispered softly.
"My Danni," Clara replied in kind. She let herself enjoy the hug longer, allowing that little part of herself that finally had acknowledged what she really felt to believe for a moment that the hug was for real. Then she removed herself and nodded once.
The Doctor placed a hand on his wife's arm. "Come on," he encouraged sadly. Danni nodded and moved from his grasp, running into the TARDIS before her resolve snapped and she dragged Clara on with her. He took a moment to look over his companion. They may not have always seen eye to eye, in fact they tended to squabble a lot, but ultimately Clara really was one of the very best of humanity. "Goodbye, Clara Oswald."
"Goodbye, Doctor," Clara replied and he followed his wife in.
"Well, I think you're being incredibly stupid," River told her bluntly. "But, it's your life to chuck away."
"Yes, it is," Clara retorted. "I'm guessing that's why you never followed us, because you knew what was going to happen?"
River shrugged. "Spoilers," she replied. "Enjoy your last moments on Earth."
She didn't say goodbye, nor did she really pay Clara any more attention. She never understood why people were so ready to chuck their lives away. The only person she would be willing to die for was sat on the stairs in the console room, sobbing to herself while her husband flew them all away.
Oh, if only they knew. Maybe she should tell them? She really hated to see Danni cry.
But then again, she really did love to comfort her as well. She walked over to the steps, sitting down next to her daughter. "You know, if she really is being this idiotic, there's no point crying over her," she said.
"Shut up, River!" Danni shouted, her voice loud and angry before she started sobbing loudly, chucking herself into River's arms. That was where she stayed for a long moment, mourning her friend, who had known death was coming for her. Clara deserved so much better. She didn't deserve to die. But she did deserve to choose her own path. If this was what she wanted…
The Doctor could barely look at her. His own grief was hurting him as well, but he hadn't done enough to save any of them, and her pain was his cross to bear as well. If he had just worked out why there was a flame-proof forest in the first place, maybe he could have saved them all. Maybe he could have saved Clara and Danielle wouldn't be in so much pain.
"Flame-proof forest," he repeated to himself before his brows furrowed. It wasn't a forest brining a solar flare, was it? The forest was flame-proof.
"Flame-proof forest!" He looked up at the monitor, at the solar flare and had to wonder what would happen if enough flame-proof trees were in the way of the blast. "A thousand atom bombs and no one hurt."
He looked up and towards his wife. "I am Doctor Idiot!"
"Generally, yes," River agreed. Danni lifted her head off her mother's shoulder and looked over at her husband.
"What is it? What have you worked out?" she asked, a little bit of hope growing in her chest. He just shot her a giant grin in return.
"That no one has to die."
~0~0~0~
Danni ran as fast as she could through the forest, towards the sound of movement and children, her lungs aching almost as much as her cheeks from the smile she couldn't squash down. She hadn't been ready to lose Clara, and now she didn't have to. Their family wasn't being broken up today.
"Clara! Clara! Wait!" she cried after them. "Please, Clara, just wait a minute!"
She didn't slow down. In fact, if anything, the group she could see seemed to pick up speed. She rolled her eyes. "Clara! He worked it out! The Doctor, he worked it out! We're all safe!"
The children at the back of the group turned, obviously a little confused as to why they weren't all safe to begin with. Danni nodded encouragingly at them, motioning them towards her. "Come on," she cried. "Quickly. Wait until we show you what he's worked out!"
Clara stopped in her track, turning around to tell Danni to just go back to the TARDIS. She knew that Danni was going to have a hard time with her walking away. Clara wasn't exactly thrilled with the hand she had been dealt but it was her future and she was happy to take it.
But the look on her face, the happiness in her grin and her eyes said that maybe she really did have an answer she would like. And Clara found it very hard to walk away from her again.
Luckily the children didn't give her much choice. They all started running towards the Time Lord, so the teachers had very little choice but to follow.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor had finally worked out what was going on, and that they were all going to be okay. Clara shouldn't have let her faith in him waiver, but she didn't regret her decision. Something inside her had felt the release of knowing that she would choose Danny. She didn't have to, but she wanted to and she had. She loved Danny Pink, even more than anyone else.
Although, she had to admit it was adorable to watch Danni laying on her stomach on the ground, helping the children with their assignment to write a message to the world. She really was in her element when kids were involved.
Maebh's little plea for her sister to come home broke all of their hearts. Clara remembered Annabel, she had been a good girl. No one really knew why she had run away or where she could have possibly gotten to. She just hoped that, wherever she was, she was safe.
Eventually, though, Clara found herself hovering above the Earth with her two Time Lords, will full support off her amazing boyfriend who kept proving himself more and more amazing, watching the solar flare hit the Earth and dissipating as the trees put it out. Even River had come out to see the spectacle, and as much as she had tried to pretend it wasn't spectacular, it really and truly was.
It felt good to get another hug off Danni, but she had stayed on the TARDIS with River as Clara and the Doctor made sure that the trees left no permanent damage. It was very beautiful, watching them disappear into the tiny little gold flecks that had surrounded Maebh.
"That is amazing," Clara breathed, because it truly was. "How will they explain this tomorrow?"
"You'll all forget it ever happened," the Doctor replied.
"We're not going to forget an overnight forest," Clara pointed out disbelievingly.
"You forgot the last time", he reminded. "You'll remember the fear and you'll put it into fairy stories. The human's super power: forgetting. If you remembered how things felt, you'd have stopped having wars. And stopped having babies."
They fell into another silence, watching the sun go down over London. "Doctor," she started softly. "I think I may owe you an apology."
He tilted his head so he could look down at her. "Oh yes?"
She nodded. "I never meant to be cruel," she explained. "When I was pretending to be you. I do think you give Danni hope, but calling it false is wrong. You just want to keep her safe, and you believe that you can always win. I know you do, because today I saw when you thought you lost, and I've never seen that before."
She looked out over the city. "And you don't delegate, and you don't like to use others. I tried to fill your shoes, and I failed, and I am so sorry."
The Doctor didn't reply for a moment, watching the sky darken for the night. "I thought you were trying to be like me so you could steal my wife," he admitted. "I was angry because you were using what you thought she was attracted to so that you could tempt her by your side and away from mine."
"I keep telling you. I don't..."
"You do love her," he interrupted. "No matter how much you deny it, Clara, even to yourself. You love her. But," Clara hadn't expected there to be a 'but', "today I saw that I, too, was wrong. You love her, but you love your Maths teacher more."
Clara smiled softly. "You called him a Maths teacher," she commented. He obviously had come so far. They both had.
"You're not trying to steal her," he finally acknowledged. "You just want her to be happy."
Clara took a deep breath. "I do," she promised. "I just want us all to be happy. I think we lost our way."
"I think so too," the Doctor agreed. "So as I owe you an apology, Miss Oswald, and you owe me one, shall we just call it even?"
Clara looked up at him, a smirk pulling at her lips that he was mimicking. For the first time in what felt like too long, she felt like they really were friends again. She held her hand out and he took it, shaking it.
"Agreed."
~0~0~0~
Danni was reading, her mother on one side and her husband across the console room in his own chair. Normally they would have sat side by side, but even in their improved mood, he didn't want to be too near River.
She loved to read. Horror was her favourite, but even in this body she still held a place for a good, old-fashioned love story. Much like her own. She looked over at the Doctor, who had a pair of glasses perched on his nose much like she did. Then she looked at her mother, at River, who was flicking through her notebook with a look of vague interest. She would be going back to Stormcage soon enough, they were all just delaying the inevitable.
But, for this moment, with Clara alive and following her own story at home, Danni realised just how happy she was. That the love story in her hands was nothing compared to the one that she was currently in.
She leant her head back on the chair, rocking her head so she could talk to her husband. "Did you find my ring?" she called over. "I hope so, otherwise we're going to have to go back for it."
The Doctor nodded. "It's in my pocket, safe and sound," he promised. "You can come and get it if you like."
She shook her head. "Nah," she dismissed. "You can give it to me again when you marry me."
Even River looked up at her, but she was staring across at her stunned husband.
"I'm sorry?" he asked. She nodded.
"Well," she drawled. "Eleven married me when I was ginger, and he married me again when I was blonde. But you? You've not married me at all, and that seems such as shame, doesn't it?"
She watched the smile grow on his face. "Yes, it really does," he agreed but said no more.
"So?" she shot over. "Will you marry me, Theta?"
He sighed heavily. "Oh, alright," he replied, sounding inconvenienced. There was another moment of silence and Danni giggled in delight.
"Oh Lord," River declared from her chair. "You two are insufferable."
Danni shrugged. "Fine," she said. "If you don't want to be the mother of the bride, we can just drop you off now."
River lowered her book, looking at her with one eyebrow cocked, like she knew exactly what her game was. Danni expected her to shoot the idea down.
"I could wear a hat," she said approvingly. Danni shook her head.
"No," she corrected. "You could rock a hat."
"Rock a hat?" River repeated. "How old are you?"
"You're never too old to rock a hat," Danni replied simply before she jumped off her chair. She chucked her book onto the soft seat then ran around the balcony to her husband. She leant down to hug him and he pulled her onto his lap, kissing her soundly.
They were all just so very happy.
~0~0~0~
I know, on time! Can you believe it? :P
So, a little admin. There's a new chapter of Wiped Out up, and the second part of the Anniversary drabble is up in the Outtakes. If you want some Season 9/Season 10 spoilers for Danni, I would really suggest reading the two parter. It's not smutty, but I have to say it's very good :D
Reviews :P
Hawthorn - Thanks sweetie! Hope you liked this one too :)
LilactheDryad - Yeah, she was. Her part was a bit bigger in the first half, unfortunately, but that's just the way it worked this time around. I'm sure she'll appear in other episodes she shouldn't. And no, Clara doesn't get over her crush, she just accepts she loves Danny Pink as well.
serenitysaiyan - Hehe good! Remember it :P River is good, but I really felt that she wouldn't interfere too much with the story, just be there to be a bit sassy. It's what she does best XD
Serena - Thanks sweetie! I do try and aim for realistic, which is very hard with time travelling aliens. But I'm glad you think so :D
Jojo - And more you got :P
whitedwarf - Thanks sweetie! I also felt like it was a bit much, too many characters in the pot, but River really wasn't there to run around with them. She was just there to throw a bit of sass about and prove that not everyone the Doctor knows is into all the running about. I feel like River would have worked it all out while waiting for them to come back, so she wasn't too bothered about the whole solar flare thing XD
bored411 - Thanks sweetie! I think the Doctor knows her feelings on most of the children stuff. More will definitely come to light, but not for a little while now. They're going to be busy for a little bit from now on ;)