Rose stumbled into the console room, her hands immediately shooting out either side of her to gain her balance. The hallway had been nice and stationary, so much so that she'd not known anything was wrong at all. Instead, she'd just been about to enter the room to ask what they were doing because she was getting rather bored.
Danielle was by the Doctor's side, and by the looks for it she was just trying to hold on for dear life as well. Rose took another step into the room.
"What's going on?" she cried as the room tilted to one side as she almost slammed into the wall. She fought against the force to stumble to the console.
"An emergency," Danielle replied for the Doctor as he fought to get the TARDIS under control.
"What's the emergency?" she asked back, using the console to get to the Doctor's other side. He had the monitor in front of him with an image of a cylindrical object spinning around in the space outside.
"It's mauve," the Doctor replied, as if it answered her question.
"Mauve?" she repeated.
"Apparently it's the universal colour for danger," Danielle explained. "Our letter got lost in the post, it would seem."
Her nose wrinkled up in confusion. "What happened to red?"
"That's just humans," the Doctor replied as he flicked a very large switch. "By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing," he glanced down at Danielle and they both shared a cheeky little smile. Rose rolled her eyes. Now was not the time for the flirting, no matter how innocent it was. "It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."
"And that's safe, is it?" she asked and he nodded, moving around to more controls.
"Totally," he promised just as the console exploded into sparks. She and Danielle both cried out at the same time, shielding their faces as the Doctor jumped back around.
"Safe my arse!" Danielle exclaimed. He nodded in agreement.
"Okay, reasonably," he compromised. "Should have said reasonably there."
The screen changed and the red head nudged him in his side. "What's it doing?"
His eyes widened and his efforts increased to keep behind the vessel outside. "No, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us."
"What exactly is this thing?" Rose asked.
Danielle shrugged, a grin on her face. "We have absolutely no idea," she said happily.
"Then why are we chasing it?"
"It's mauve and dangerous," the Doctor said as if it explained everything. He then met her gaze. "And about thirty seconds from the centre of London."
The TARDIS swerved again as the Doctor fought to keep on the unidentified items tail. Danielle could tell he was struggling, and the TARDIS was reacting violently because of it. Both she and Rose had a very tough time just standing up straight so neither of them were much use.
"Ah ha!" he cried suddenly and, with a shake, the TARDIS landed on the other side. "Got it." He turned to the two, who were both panting from their efforts. "What's wrong with you two?" he asked, sounding rather confused as he headed for the doors. "Come on. We haven't got all day."
Danielle shared a look with Rose but they both followed him out. "I think he just pretends he knows how to drive this thing," Rose told the ginger, who had to agree.
"Oi, I can hear you, you know?" he pointed out.
"Yeah, but you're not denying it, are you?" Danielle teased back and he shot her a look.
"I'll send you right back in there," he warned and she shook her head, grinning at him.
"Nah, you won't. You like me too much," she replied happily as they started walking down the dark alley he'd landed them in. There was barely any light at all and the area was dank and full of discarded rubbish.
"Must have come down somewhere quite close," he explained to them, not acknowledging that she was right. "Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."
Rose looked at him, incredulous. "A month?" she exclaimed. "We were right behind it."
"It was jumping time tracks all over the place," he replied, defensive. "We're bound to be a little bit out."
"And what month is it, exactly?" Danielle asked, looking around at the old buildings. "It doesn't seem contemporary, does it?"
"Contemporary?" Rose asked.
"Well, I wouldn't say we were from here, would you?" Danielle replied. "I mean, look at this spot. When have you seen London this quiet? And this tidy?"
Rose took another look around and had to agree. The area wasn't exactly screaming cleanliness, but she'd seen her own estate in a much worse state than this alley. "When are we, then?" she asked the Doctor.
"Oh, er," he replied, speeding ahead slightly as he turned down another alley. "You know. London, sometime."
Rose and Danielle shared a look and a little smirk. "You didn't check, did you?" the ginger teased.
"Sorry, I was busy trying to stop something rather large and out of control getting away," he pointed out a little grumpily. Danielle nudged him.
"I know, and you did very well," she replied and he grinned. "Only a month or so out of the way."
His face fell and she giggled, which made him feel slightly better. She wasn't being mean, and he didn't feel like she was picking on him, but he just wanted them both to enjoy themselves.
"What's the plan, then?" Rose asked. "Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?"
"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang," he replied with a little exasperation in his voice. "I'm going to ask." He pulled out his psychic paper and handed it over to her.
"Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids," she read out as they approached a wooden set of doors that looked like they had seen better days.
"It's psychic paper. It tells you…"
"Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember," Rose interrupted.
"Sorry," the Doctor replied. She leant against the door.
"Not very Spock, is it, just asking," she pointed out.
"Well, they're alien, aren't they?" Danielle reasoned as the Doctor pressed up against the doors, listening through them. "If they find out we're looking for them they'll probably go into hiding or sommat."
"What makes you say that?" he asked her, ingredient.
"Because they were flying through the… um..."
"The time vortex," he clarified and she nodded.
"Yeah, through the time vortex at a super stupid speed and very erratically. I suspect they weren't looking to get caught. If we go around all guns blazing they're just going to run."
He turned to Rose, nodding towards Danielle. "See, she gets it," he told her. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Door, music, people. What do you think?" he asked Danielle, who nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed and he crouched down to unlock the door.
"I think you should do a scan for alien tech," Rose interjected. "Give us some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?"
He looked up at her, but instead of countering her words, he nodded at her. "Are you sure about that t-shirt?" he asked her.
She looked down at the Union Jack t-shirt she was wearing. It was a bit bright and garish, but she'd liked it on the hanger in the TARDIS wardrobe. "Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin."
He took a look at Danielle, who was in a black skirt and white blouse. The two girls had similar taste in clothes, he'd noticed, but Danielle seemed to dress up a bit more for trips out while Rose went with the 'comfy and practical' look that meant she looked more prepared should they need to some running or fighting monsters.
Danielle saw him look her outfit over and started fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "I've had this for a while now," she told the pair as a counter to Rose's new t-shirt. "Since I started uni. It's one of my favourites."
"It's nice," the Doctor quickly told her and Danielle blushed.
"Thanks," she replied quietly.
Rose rolled her eyes, looking away. Oh Lord, it was borderline painful to watch sometimes.
"Mummy? Mummy?"
She frowned and stepped out from the doorway, listening to the voice neither of the other two seemed to have heard. She had a look around but the only way there seemed to be was upwards from where they came from. She could just see the TARDIS looking over them from the alleyway above – London really did have so many layers to its streets.
The Doctor smiled widely at Danielle when he unlocked the door. "There we go," he said happily and she grinned back.
"I need to get one of those," she told him. "Are they expensive?"
He looked down at the screwdriver. "Um, I'm not really sure," he admitted. "I sort of liberated this one."
She raised an eyebrow at him and he looked away, clearing his throat and saw Rose had wandered into the alleyway. "Come on if you're coming. It won't take a minute," he called to her so he didn't have to explain the origins of the sonic screwdriver to Danielle, before heading inside.
Danielle turned to Rose and saw that she was looking around, a confused look on her face and she stepped out towards the blonde. "What is it?" she asked.
"I could have sworn…" Rose started, still looking around before gasping as she stared straight up. "There!" she exclaimed.
Danielle looked up and gasped as well. "Oh my god, it's a kid!" she cried as she saw the silhouette of a child on the roof of the building above them. "It's dangerous up there. They might fall, come on!"
Danielle started jogging to the stone stairs that would take them up onto the upper level. Rose glanced back at the door where the Doctor disappeared. They couldn't just leave him. She turned back to Danielle. She couldn't let Danielle run off on her own, either, though. At least the Doctor knew what he was doing.
"Doctor?" she called into the building, hoping that he would hear her. "There's a kid up there!" She followed Danielle up the stairs, surprised by how concerned the red-head actually was about the kid. Rose could see how quickly she was running after them.
"Danni, wait!" she cried as she ran past the TARDIS and to the metal staircase that would take them up to the kid.
Danielle did slow down, but hopped from one foot to the other as Rose caught up to her. "Who would let a kid go up on the roof?" she asked Rose angrily.
"I don't know, but I'd like a word with them when we find them," Rose agreed heartily. The two rushed up to the top level and onto the roof. The child, inexplicably, seemed to have moved upwards without either of them noticing and was now on the metal box that sat on the flat roof.
Danielle turned to Rose. "Go get the Doctor," she told Rose firmly, in a tone that surprised the blonde. The normally shy and reserved young woman looked both determined and angry at the same time. "He can help. I'll try and get the kid down."
Rose nodded and dashed off. Danielle turned to the kid. The metal box they were stood on looked incredibly rusty. "Hey, are you alright?" she called up to them.
"Mummy," they called out in a singsong voice, which was made all the creepier by the fact it seemed they were wearing a mask. Maybe it was Halloween or something. "Mummy."
"We can help find your mummy," Danielle promised, looking for a way up. "Just stay still, alright? I'll…" Her eyes scanned the area until she spotted the rope tied to the structure. It seemed to go all the way up. It seemed like a really stupid idea, but what else could she do? She couldn't just leave them up there. If they fell, she'd never forgive herself. "I'll be right up there!"
She took hold of the rope, giving it a couple tugs with all of her strength to see if it would fall down or not. It seemed fine. She took a deep breath, but knew that the kid had to be so frightened that it didn't matter. She pulled herself up until she got her footing on the box before climbing slowly.
"Mummy," the kid called and she looked up. They were pointing upwards, towards the sky. "Balloon."
Danielle's eyes widened as she spotted the barrage balloon that the rope was attached to, and shouted out in surprise as it began to float away from the box. She looked down. She was so far off the roof already, but she remembered where she'd come from. Or, rather, the two whole levels of buildings downwards she had come from.
She quickly let her grip go, sliding painfully down the rope a little way before it became clear that she had to drop or stay holding on. She fell down, landing on the small wall that made up the lip of the roof. She bounced, crying out painfully as she landed heavily on her arm, scraping it all along the wall before falling back onto the flat roof once again.
She looked up, cradling her arm close as the barrage balloon floated overhead. "That thing almost took me flying!" she exclaimed, outraged at the betrayal from the giant object. She looked down at her arm and hissed not just in pain, but at the blood that was pouring out onto her blouse. "Great, ruined," she murmured. The Doctor would heal her up. It was fine. The cut felt painful but her arm didn't, so she definitely hadn't broken anything,
She looked up at the box. "Kid, are you alright?" she called up before scrambling up in surprise. The kid was gone, there was no sign of anyone up above her. "Kid?!" she rushed over to the other edge of the roof, the only place they could have gone, and saw them walking down the bottom of another set of fire escape stairs that led down the street below. "Kid, wait!"
Around her a loud siren rang out and she winced in pain as it echoed through her head. There was no need for anything to be that loud. She looked up at the sky again and saw the silhouette of barrage balloons and bright spotlights shining. When did London have barrage balloons? And what was that…
"Oh my god," she whispered to herself, horrified. The obscured face wasn't just a mask. It was a gas mask. "This is a bloody world war!"
She quickly ran down the staircase after the kid. It didn't matter how creepy a child was, she couldn't let a kid run around when there was an air raid about to descend on the city. She held her hurt arm close as she landed on the street, but there was no child to be seen. However, there was no streets shooting off from it, so she started running down and away from the TARDIS. She just hoped the Doctor would be able to find them both before something truly terrible happened.
~0~0~0~
The air raid's were really starting to put a cramp into Jack's nightlife. He knew that it was just a matter of waiting and wasting time until he saw someone who could help him – those Time Agents that had followed his little ambulance through the time vortex would be rather nice. It had, so far, involved him bluffing his way into the officer's club and making himself quite at home. But, while he was there to have a good time before the business began, he really would rather the Germans took a few days off to allow him a couple of uninterrupted nights to relax.
He walked over to the window, looking out over London with a fondness. He did love a trip to Britain on occasion. Felt a little like going home. There was a certain charm that had him continuing to go back, and that made it easy for him to fool anyone he wanted.
He pulled out his binoculars and held them up to look out at the sky. He could see the planes heading their way a lot better than anyone else could in this time period, and he loved to watch the chaos fly by.
"Get those lights out, please. Everyone down to the shelter," he heard one of his fellow officers tell them all as his gaze fell on an untethered barrage balloon. That was going to cause some issues for the city later.
"Jack? Are you going down to the shelter?" asked Algy, another officer Jack had rather taken a fancy to, and who had definitely taken a fancy to him. "Only I've got to go off on some silly guard duty. Ah, barrage balloon, eh? Must've come loose. Happens now and then. Don't you RAF boys use them for target practice?"
The balloon lost his interest rather quickly, as did Algy, so he started to look around on the ground below. It was pretty empty, and almost lost his interest as well until he caught sight of something that really made his night. A young lass was wandering around, clutching her arm to her chest as she quickly headed down the dark street. She was wearing a short skirt and a blouse, both items that were definitely not in keeping with the war around them.
He'd found himself a time agent.
"Excellent chest," Jack leered openly as he zoomed in on her. The man behind him frowned.
"I say, old man, there's a time and a place," he scolded but Jack knew that he liked it really. Algy really liked it. "Look, you should really be off."
Jack turned, grinning at him. He definitely wasn't about to go hide in a shelter when he had something much better on the cards. "Sorry, old man," he said smugly. "I've got to go meet a girl." He walked past him, not even pausing as he smacked Algy on his arse. "But you've got an excellent bottom, she's just all on top."
He disappeared out of the doorway before Algy could even process what he'd said. Playing with stupid old-fashioned sensibilities was really a lot of fun.
~0~0~0~
This was such a bad idea. Danielle hurried down the shadowy street, clutching her arm to her chest like a wounded animal during the middle of an air raid that she could hear above her as well as in the distant causing destruction everyone.
And what for? Some kid in a gas mask who was playing hide and seek? It was absolutely ridiculous, and she should have stayed behind with the Doctor and Rose. That would have been the clever thing to do. Yeah, well, look where that had gotten her. She was going to get bombed.
"Oh, I'm so gonna get bombed," she groaned to herself. But she couldn't have just let the kid run around in an air raid, no matter how creepy they were. There was so many children out during the bombings, if she could just save one then she knew she'd done something worthwhile.
"Kid," she hissed, not willing to shout very loudly even though no one was going to actually hear her. "Kid, where are you?"
She glanced down at her arm and winced at all of the blood. It looked a lot worse than it was, but it still looked pretty damn bad. At least the Doctor will be able to help her heal it. He'd healed her up no trouble after Pete Tyler.
Did he think she was a clumsy little girl? She hoped not, even though it was true. Especially compared to such a grand, smart, clever alien such as the Doctor.
"Kid," she tried again. "You're not in trouble. I just don't want you to get hurt!"
She winced as something large flew overhead before darting into one of the shadows the buildings were casting on the ground. Maybe she should ring the Doctor? He'd given her mobile a rather lovely upgrade that she could use to call him. Did he even carry a mobile? She actually had no idea.
She stepped back into the street, squinting as she looked down. There really was no sign of the kid, now. How long did she follow a dead trial before giving up and heading back to the TARDIS? She knew her way back, but she was worried that going any further would get her well and truly lost.
Not that it mattered. She yelled out in surprise as a blue beam of light surrounded her, trapping her in much like something she would expect from Star Trek, and the next she wasn't on the street at all. She was in a very small room, made up of bolted together metal. There was a man sat in a chair in front of her who she guessed was the reason for her sudden shift in location.
She quickly looked around, looking for a way out, or something to help her escape. There wasn't much, though. There was a bed built into the wall, another chair screwed down onto the floor and that was about it. She looked down. There was grating on the floor. Perhaps she could rip it up and escape through it.
"Sorry about the abruptness," the man told her in an American accent. "But there is a war going on." He spun on his chair at the same time she bent down, threading her fingers through the grating. She yanked it upwards and saw that while a good sized panel had come off in her hand, there was just wiring and floor underneath. There was no way to escape.
So she held it up, wielding it like she was going to hit him with. Her injured arm shook as she had to use all of her strength, but she was sure the blood just added to the furious look on her face.
"Where the hell am I and who the hell are you?" she demanded firmly. He smirked, looking her up and down in a way that made her feel distinctly uncomfortable. She suddenly wished she could pull her skirt down.
"I'm Captain Jack Harkness," he told her like it meant something. She just stared back it him, expecting more of an explanation.
"And?" she pressed when he didn't give her one. "Where the hell am I?"
He seemed rather surprised by her question, like he was expecting more from her. He stood up from his chair and she raised the grating to let him know that she was ready to smack him with it at any moment.
He chuckled, holding his hands up. "Woah, it's alright," he promised. "I'm not here to hurt you. This is my ship," he waved his hands out. "I saw you wandering and thought you might be in trouble."
She narrowed her eyes. "Do you just beam random people up onto your spaceship?" she asked.
"Only the pretty ones," he retorted and she felt her cheeks flush even if her glare never wavered. No one had called her pretty before. William had flirted with her, but he'd flirted with everyone. He took another step closer and she gave the grate a warning shake to remind him that she was very much armed.
Jack seemed to realise that he needed to take a different approach with her. "What's your name?" he asked.
She didn't answer him straight away. He didn't look particularly dangerous, but then again he had beamed her up into a spaceship without any warning at all. What if he flew her away before she could let the Doctor know where she was?
He'd probably do that whether she told him or not. And it's not like he could trace her from a name alone, right? She wasn't even from this time.
"Danielle," she replied shortly.
He paused for a moment to see if she would offer him her surname. She didn't, so he smiled at her. "Alright, Danielle," he started. "How about you put the grate down?"
She shook her head. "You've just beamed me up without asking into a spaceship in the middle of a war," she pointed out. "I'm keeping the grate."
He chuckled. "Spunky," he commented. "I like it."
She tried not to smile, but one broke through anyway. He seemed quite charming, really. And he didn't seem to want to hurt her. "What happened to the 'pretty ones'?" she asked, more curiously this time, without the edge to her voice that she'd put there to let him know she meant business.
"I don't kiss and tell," he replied smugly and her cheeks flushed darkly. He brought her up here to...
"I'm not doing that," she told him bluntly and he laughed.
"Oh, I got that feeling," he reassured her, just in case she thought threatening him wasn't enough. It wasn't, he wasn't easily deterred, but he wanted her to relax. "Don't worry, I just wanted to save you from the bombs, nothing else." She continued to stare at him, trying to work him out. Maybe he really did just want to save her, which was actually a little bit sweet, although she really didn't want him to know that.
"Alright, let's start again," Jack said. "I'm not from round here, and neither are you considering that I've 'kidnapped' you into a spaceship and you're only bothered by my intentions, as innocent as they may be."
Ah. He had her there. Damn. "Yeah, well, it's not my first spaceship," she replied.
"I got that," he said. He held his hand out to her. "Now, will you let me have a look at your arm?"
She shook her head. "I have a friend who can fix it when I get back to him," she told him. "It doesn't hurt."
"Well, that's just a lie," he scolded playfully. "And here was me thinking you were as innocent as you look, Danni."
She didn't correct him as much as she wanted to. Let him call her what he liked. She just wanted him to get her to the Doctor and Rose.
She slowly lowered the grate. "What if I'd just been some random person, though?" she asked. "How would you have explained all this to me?"
"Never been a problem before," Jack offered. "We're usually much more preoccupied."
Again, Danielle could feel her cheeks warming up. "Well, like I said, I'm not doing that," she replied with a bit of a stutter. Jack shot her a smirk.
"Give it time," he replied teasingly. "Will you let me have a look?" She was still a bit wary and she didn't want to admit that her arm was hurting a lot more than she was letting on. "I promise I won't hurt you."
After a pause she let the grate drop to the ground and reached out to him. He pulled her a bit closer and she hissed at the unexpected pain on her palm. He ignored it for a moment, instead he tilted her arm up so he could see the rather large gash on it.
"So, large cut and rope burns," he commented and she really tried to ignore how close his face was to hers. "You must have had one heck of a night."
She didn't appreciate the tease in his voice. "I fell from a barrage balloon onto a roof while chasing a kid," she quickly corrected him, looking away from the glint in his eye. Was everything an innuendo to him?
"A kid?" he repeated, pulling out a little light and shining it over the wound.
"Well, there's an air raid, ain't there?" she countered. "Couldn't just…" she hissed again as he gently pressed on the area around the area. "Couldn't just let them wander around and get blown up on their own."
"Pretty and with a heart of gold?" Jack asked in reply, moving down to look at her hand. He picked up the other one. "You're definitely one of a kind, Danni."
He pulled her a little closer and she couldn't help but blush again. "I do try," she said softly.
"Did you find the kid?" he asked, moving her hands together, keeping a grip on them as he reached up and took his scarf off.
"No," she replied, glancing back towards the cockpit of the ship. She couldn't see much out of the windows, it was too dark. "I hope they're alright," she whispered.
He wrapped the scarf around her wrists. "I'm sure they will be," he reassured and she frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"It's alright," he replied as he tied off the scarf end. "Just stand there."
He walked off behind her and a moment later a gold ball of light landed in her cupped hands. She laughed in delight as the ball pulsed for a few moments before spreading up her arm. It tickled lightly. "What is that?" she asked, amazed.
"Nanogenes. Sub-atomic robots. The air in here is full of them," he explained as the light disappeared. She laughed again, tilting her arm so she could see where the wound should have been.
"They healed it all," she said. "That's amazing."
He walked back over, undoing the scarf. "You can stop acting now," he told her.
"Acting?" she asked, confused and he nodded.
"I know exactly who you are," he continued. "I can spot a Time Agent a mile away."
A Time Agent? Is that what she was called now? The Doctor was a Time Lord, maybe his friends are known as Agents. She didn't feel like an agent, but he seemed rather happy to be nice to her believing that she was one. What if he started asking her questions? She'd only been travelling with him for a little while, she didn't know an awful lot.
"I'm more of an apprentice?" she offered with a little grimace of a smile. "Not quite an agent yet."
He looked mildly surprised. "They're taking on apprentices now?" he asked and she shrugged.
"I guess so," she said vaguely. "I just go where I'm told to." Well, that was kind of a lie. That was how she'd ended up on his spaceship in the first place.
He smiled at her before walking over to the side of the ship with the bed built into the wall. "Shall we get down to business?" he asked and she looked at him sharply, eyes wide.
"I told you, I don't do that," she retorted and he laughed.
"Oh, Danni, I'd love to know where you mind is heading," he teased before pressing a button on the wall. The ceiling started to lower itself down and she had to back away slightly. There was a staircase leading up and she couldn't help but smile, amazed.
"That's so cool," she whispered and he nodded.
"Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" he asked, suddenly holding a bottle of something alcoholic, and she shook her head.
"I don't… I don't really drink," she said apologetically.
"Ah, one won't hurt," he replied, heading up the stairs. "Bring up the glasses." She looked around, confused before spotting two glasses sat randomly on the controls in the cockpit. Had they always been there? She picked them up, giving them a little inspection to see if they were clean, before heading up after him.
Her pace slowed as she neared the top of the stairs, noticing that there was nothing around or under them that suggested they were coming out of a spaceship. Jack was stood opening the bottle in the middle of the air without a care, so she slowly stepped out as well.
He turned to look at her. "Invisible ship?" she questioned and he nodded. "That's pretty cool."
"Just pretty cool?" he asked, acting hurt and she shrugged, walking over to him with only a little nervousness over falling down.
"I've seen cooler," she said teasingly, thinking about the TARDIS. He pulled out a little keyring and pressed a button on it. The ship shimmered into existence underneath their feet and he couldn't help but be rather amused at the smile that appeared at the sight.
"Still only pretty cool?" he questioned and she nodded.
"Sorry," she said. "I do have a friend, though, who would love this." She frowned, thinking on Rose. "Maybe I should let her know I'm alright." She turned and blinked in surprise, wondering how she managed to miss the giant clock face that they were parked up against. "Is that… Are we floating in front of Big Ben?"
"First rule of active camouflage. Park somewhere you'll remember," he offered before he started to pour her a drink.
"But aren't we a bit conspicuous?" she asked him and he shook his head.
"You'll be surprised what people miss when they're looking straight at you," he said. He raised his own glass up to hers, clinking them together before taking a sip. She followed suit, surprised that she didn't find it too unpleasant.
"The wine's nice," she offered anyway and he chuckled.
"It's champagne," he told her. "You really don't drink, do you?"
She shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a good girl."
"Oh, I very much doubt that," he shot back just to see her blush again. It was almost painfully obvious that she really didn't have much experience in certain areas of life, but he definitely didn't mind that. He was very skilled at bewitching men and women alike.
He sat down on the roof of his ship, motioning for her to join him. While he lounged back, she sat rather like she was in a chair, pulling her skirt down.
"So, what made you join the Agency?" he asked her, taking another sip.
"Oh, um…" She hadn't been expecting that question. "I guess… I guess my life was just really boring, and when I saw something more, I knew I had to take it. Plus my friend was really encouraging."
He watched her smile softly and knew exactly what that smile meant. "Your friend, eh?" he asked. "Should I be disappointed?"
"What? No!" she exclaimed, laughing slightly. "He's just… He invited me along, so I said yes. He's just…" She looked to her side at Big Ben. "I really should be getting back to him," she commented. "I don't want him to worry about me when I'm perfectly fine and safe."
"I'm sure he can wait five more minutes," Jack replied. "Finish your drink first."
She looked down at her glass, then up at Jack. He was smiling at her, encouraging her to stay and she grinned before lifting it to her lips.
"Alright," she conceded. She had to admit, she was loving the attention. Shakespeare had flirted with her, but he seemed to flirt with everyone and beyond that fact that he'd been William Shakespeare, she'd not really thought it had come from anywhere at all. Jack genuinely seemed to be interested. He wasn't bad looking, either. She wasn't interested but it felt rather nice to not be the overlooked one. "One more drink."
~0~0~0~
Jack poured another drink for himself, but Danielle pushed the bottle away before he could top hers up any more. The small talk between them was nice, but she couldn't stop glancing at the clock face they were parked against. She stood up, pulling her skirt down to make sure she stayed decent.
"This has been lovely but I really have to go," she told him. "They're going to be worried about me. So, if you could just… you know, beam me back down, I'd be very grateful."
"We're discussing business," he replied cheekily and she shook her head.
"No, you're trying and failing to get me drunk," she replied. "Although I'm not entirely sure why."
He watched her look down at herself under the guise of straightening out her clothes. Low self esteem as well? That always seemed like a shame.
He drank the last of his drink, placing the glass down next to hers. "I try never to discuss business with a clear head," he told her. He walked over, hands in his trouser pockets and he suddenly seemed a little less playful. "Are you authorised to negotiate with me?"
She stared at him a moment, actually feeling a little hurt. He'd just been buttering her up, hadn't he? Not that she was interested, but he didn't have to try and play her like that.
"Probably not, no," she replied bluntly. "Why?"
"I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy," he explained. Danielle shrugged.
"Well, I have no access to any money," she explained. "So maybe you can stop wasting your time on me and…"
Hang on, something time Time Agency would want? Would that be the thing they were chasing? Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked over the older man. He had a spaceship, he knew about time travel. The thing came through from the time vortex, hadn't it? That's what the Doctor had said.
"My friend might, though," she continued like she'd not been about to tell him off for trying to play her. "He's more experienced than I am." Jack cocked his eyebrow and she felt herself flush. "What-What I mean is… He's done this a lot more than… No, that's not what I meant either…"
She looked ready to stomp her feet in her own frustration at being unable to get her words out. It was downright adorable. Jack had seen her start to pull away from his unique charm, but he could reel her in very quickly.
"Do you like Glenn Miller?" he asked randomly. She pulled a face.
"Who doesn't?" she countered. He grinned and pulled out a little device. With one press of the button on the side it buzzed – much like the sonic screwdriver, she thought – and the mellow, beautiful tones of Glenn Miller started playing.
She giggled. "Is that Moonlight Serenade?" she asked and he nodded. He took a couple of steps closer to her and suddenly she found herself dancing to the music. He held one of her hands in his with his other arm around her waist.
Briefly she thought back to her prom, with lack of date and barely any friends to go with. Now she was dancing with an American captain on top of a spaceship during a German bombing. Times really did change.
"What- What are you doing?" she asked quietly.
"It's 1941, the height of the London Blitz," Jack replied instead. "The height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth." He pulled back slightly, his dipped head very close to hers. "And I know where it is, because I parked it," he boasted. "If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever."
Danielle stopped dancing, pulling back from him. "And let me guess? You're only going to tell us where it is if we can offer you a – how should I… - a reward?" she asked knowingly.
"Can your friend make payment?" Jack retorted and Danielle quickly nodded.
"I'm sure he can," she lied effortlessly. "Unfortunately, I've got a rather cocky criminal trying to get me drunk and trick me into dancing with him."
He looked a little sheepish. "Well, what's a little business without pleasure?" he shot back.
"Not something you'll get me to participate in," she retorted. "I'm young, not stupid." She sighed. "I don't even know where either of them are," she explained.
He grinned. "Oh, that's easy," he told her, pulling up his sleeve to reveal some sort of device strapped to his wrist. She really wanted to ask what it was, but doing so seemed a little unwise if she was trying to convince him she knew what she was doing. "I'll do a scan for alien tech."
Danielle couldn't help but smile. "Oh, Rose is going to love you," she said. He glanced to his side to look at her.
"Who's Rose?" he asked her.
"My other friend," she explained before smirking knowingly. "Blonde."
He paused his fingers. "Blonde, you say?" he asked, suddenly intrigued. She rolled her eyes.
~0~0~0~
Sorry for such a long break between chapters, but if you follow the main Danni story series then you're going to know why. For anyone who doesn't... well, you should. There's like, 250 chapters over five stories and it's getting really good.
Love you all very much xxx