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The sound of the doors opening onto Floor 499 below them echo ominously as the Doctor added the final touches to the Delta Wave device.
"Open fire!" Jack's scream caused Danni to wince and the sounds of gunshots being fired at the Daleks stopped the Doctor in his tracks for a moment as he turned to stare at Danni, who watched the door biting her thumbnail with an anxious look on her face.
"Pass me that." He told her gently, pointing at a plug on the floor as he placed another one into the device. Anything to distract her, the device was almost ready and hopefully he could at least save her. Just one person, that's all he needed. She nodded and picked it up, rushing to his side and he took it off her.
"It's not working!" The male programmer shouted at Jack as the gunfire continued, almost drowning anything other sound out.
"Concentrate your fire!" Jack replied, "Eyestalk, two o' clock!" The Doctor squeezed her shoulder as he rushed past, fixing another piece to the device. Almost done, he just needed a little more time.
"He'll be fine." He reassured her and she shook her head sadly, staring back at the door again, being able to imagine what was happening. Both of the programmers were now dead, or were about to die. At least Lynda wasn't going to die, she had at least saved the sweet woman who had just wanted to help.
"No, he won't." She whispered and he stared at her, surprised at the certainty in her voice. Suddenly Jack roared with anger and she let out a sob, feeling utterly helpless. That's both of them, dead, leaving Jack on his own. She hadn't felt like this since Donna, but it was so much worse because Jack was heading towards so much sadness, he was destined to a life of dying over and over again, losing everyone he loved and finally dying without any of his family in the ruins of New New York. He had headed out with the very small army of people almost completely certain he was about to die.
"Last man standing!" Jack screamed from just outside the door, shooting his final bullets, "For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!"
"Finish that thing and kill mankind." The Doctor stopped, listening to the Dalek Emperor taunt him from the holographic screen before he carried on working frantically, almost there...
"Doctor, you've got twenty seconds maximum!" Jack shouted in from behind the door, the sound of his gun changing as he began to run out of bullets.
"I... I can't do this!" Danni exclaimed, in floods of tears, "I've got to stop them, I've got to save him." She began running for the door, slamming her hand on the touch panel but it didn't open.
"Danni, stop it!" The Doctor told her as she continued to hit the panel, trying to open it. She hadn't even seen either of them lock it. It hadn't occurred to her they would, because the Daleks would just break the locks easily.
"Let me out," She begged, "Please, he can't die. I have to save him!" He ran over and grabbed her hand, turning her onto him as she collapsed into a pile of sobs. She began to beat her fists against his chest, "Please, let me out." She whispered, "I can't let him die and die again."
"Exterminate!" The Dalek on the other side of the door said victoriously.
"I kinda figured that." Jack snapped back and there was the sound of a Dalek gun firing as they shot him dead. Danni let out a loud, heartbroken sob as the Doctor winced at the sound of the shot and dragged her over to the device, placing her hand on a lever attached to it. He smiled encouragingly at her and they yanked it up together.
"It's ready!" He whispered, amazed that he'd be able to complete it in time.
"We can't let them get away with it." Danni whispered, staring as the Daleks began filing into room through every door, surrounding the pair, "I wish Eleven was here." He looked down at her, surprised and slightly hurt at the fact she would want to be with another incarnation over his current one, she had never expressed the want to leave him. In fact, back in London she had practically glued to his side. Danni took a deep breath in through her nose, letting out a shuddering one as she tried to calm herself down, now was not the time to think about a Doctor who could comfort her. She wasn't angry at him, she was angry at the Daleks who ruin Jack's life.
"You really wanna think about this." The Doctor warned the Dalek Emperor, placing a finger on top of the lever they had just pulled up, "'Cos if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."
"I am immortal." The Emperor replied lowly. The Doctor grinned in disbelief and leant towards him slightly.
"You are tiny." Danni snapped, glaring at the mutant on the screen and interrupting anything he was about to say.
"D'you wanna put that to the test?" The Doctor added, taunting the Dalek hoping it would back down.
"I want to see you become like me." The Emperor told him, "Hail the Doctor, the Great Exterminator!"
"I'll do it!" The Doctor exclaimed angrily, placing both hands on the lever as a threat.
"Then prove yourself, Doctor." The Emperor challenged, "What are you - coward or killer?" The Doctor's hands tensed on the lever, ready to push it down, glancing at Danni out of the corner of his eye. She stood there, glaring at the screen defiantly as he could see her anger building higher and higher. This young girl, and travelling with him had turned her into someone ready to just wipe out her own species, just like he had. He deflated and let it go, he couldn't do it. He couldn't let her do it, no one should become like him.
"Coward." He replied, resigned, "Any day."
"Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness." The Emperor proclaimed on the screen and the Doctor nodded, pulling Danni towards him protectively.
"And what about us? Am we to become part of your angels?"
"The female shall join us but you are the Heathen. You will be exterminated." The Doctor pushed her behind him protectively. He was about to be killed, and he wasn't afraid of that but he wouldn't be happy unless he at least tried to save her.
"You leave him alone!" Danni shouted, glancing over her shoulder at where the TARDIS was last parked. Where was she? Maybe her memories of the episode were wrong, cause she was sure Rose should have been here by now. The Doctor shushed her gently then faced the Emperor, unresisting and ready.
"Maybe it's time." He replied sadly, closing his eyes as he prepared himself.
"Come on." Danni urged quietly, looking back over her shoulder. She grinned, cheering to herself as the sound of the TARDIS materialising filled the room. It began to appear exactly where it had been parked before it had left and the Daleks all turned as one to stare at it.
"Alert! TARDIS materialising!" One Dalek exclaimed and the Doctor's eyes snapped open. He spun on the spot to stare at the box in shock.
"You will not escape!" The Dalek Emperor commanded. The doors on the TARDIS flew open and the blinding light of the Time Vortex poured out into the room, tendrils of energy stretching into the room. The Doctor and Danni both shielded their eyes to stare at Rose stood in the doorway, her eyes glowing with the same light.
"I knew she could do it." Danni whispered, the Doctor's head jolting to stare at her, suspiciously. Rose stepped out towards them, the Vortex teleporting her in front of the pair instantaneously. The Doctor stumbled backwards in surprise, falling to the ground and taking Danni down with him.
"What've you done?" The Doctor cried, scared for the blonde in front of him. Rose looked down at him, eyes blinding as tear tracks ran down her cheeks.
"I looked into the TARDIS." Her voice echoed with the power inside of her, "And the TARDIS looked into me."
"You looked into the Time Vortex - Rose, no one's meant to see that." He urged.
"This is the abomination!" The Dalek Emperor decreed.
"Exterminate!" The Dalek fired at Rose, who held up her hand and sent the bolt straight back into the gun. The Doctor watched the action in amazement before gazing back up at Rose.
"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words..." She waved her hand and the words 'Bad Wolf' on the wall behind them began to fly around the room, "I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here."
"Rose, you've got to stop this." The Doctor begged, "You've got to stop this now." He turned to Danni as Rose stared straight ahead, unable to hear him, "Did you know she would do this?" He asked her and she nodded.
"Rose was always going to be Bad Wolf." Danni explained, "It's how the Daleks are defeated." He glared at her, unable to believe she would do that to Rose. He always thought that she would protect Rose, the only reason he had decided to put up with her was because her knowledge of the future could keep Rose safe.
"She's got the entire vortex running through her head!" He shouted, furious as he pointed up at the blonde, "She's gonna burn!"
"She'll be fine!" Danni insisted.
"You took a bullet for her before, why couldn't you do this for her as well?" He demanded.
"Because this is important!" Danni replied, "Don't get angry with me because you didn't think this was a possibility."
"You think I'd ever think of this?" He cried, "All I wanted was Rose to be safe!"
"I want you safe." Rose stated suddenly as Rose stared intently down at him, her eyes now back to normal, "My Doctor. Protected from the false god." He blinked at her choice of words, it was exactly what Danni had said to the Dalek Emperor earlier. Maybe Danni had told her to do this, they had been talking to each other quietly before he had sent Rose home.
"You cannot hurt me. I am immortal." Her eyes snapped to the Emperor.
"You are tiny." Rose snapped in reply, again echoing Danni, "I can see the whole of time and space - every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She raised her hand in the air and as her eyes glowed once again the Dalek in front of them began to disintegrate into golden dust, "Everything must come to dust..." He voice choked up as she saw the whole of time in her head, saw everything perish, "all things. Everything dies." The rest of the Daleks began to dissolve into nothing as she stared, "The Time War ends."
"I will not die. I cannot die!" The Emperor exclaimed in fear as it screwed up it eyes before dissolving into nothingness. The screen closed down and the Daleks were no more. Rose continued to stare forwards, hand raised as she shook in pain.
"Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go." The Doctor told her.
"How can I let go of this? I bring life..." She replied calmly and blissfully as her hair blew from the Vortex.
"But this is wrong! You can't control life and death!" The Doctor exclaimed, terrified of what was becoming of her, and all because of Danni.
"But I can." Rose replied, looking down at him as her eyes dulled again, "The sun and the moon... the day and night. But why do they hurt...?" She whimpered.
"The power's gonna kill you," The Doctor exclaimed before turning to Danni, "And it's all your fault."
"This isn't my fault!" Danni protested.
"Yes it is! She's going to die and it's because of you!" Rose held her hand towards Danni as the red-head scooted away from the Doctor, terrified of the burning anger in his eyes, "You're killing Rose, and I'll never forgive you!" Danni opened her mouth to argue back when her arm began to burn hotter and hotter. She grasped the Manipulator, yelling out in pain as she disappeared in a ball of gold, glowing light.
~0~0~0~
On her way to work at the Royal Hope Hospital in London, Martha Jones closed her phone with a sigh. She was always the go-between for every member of her family and she had just had to deal with her father's new girlfriend, Annalise, a woman she thought was superficial and vague at the best of times, but who her father adored. The crowd around her moved at its normal speed, oblvious to her family issues as a man stepped in front of her, with brown styled hair and in a long, brown jacket. Next to him was a ginger girl at least a foot smaller in a blue dress with an enormous grin on her face.
"Like so!" The man said, addressing Martha and causing her to stare at him bewildered as he took off his tie and waved it at her, "See?"
"Just go with it, sweetie." The ginger girl added, "It won't get any better." They both smiled at her and walked off, leaving her stood them completely confused as to what just happened.
~0~0~0~
Meanwhile, in the women's toilets in the Royal Hope Hospital, London, Danni Fielding materialised in a puff of gold energy. She was staring forward, still reeling from the accusatory glare Nine had been shooting her as she had disappeared. It hadn't been her fault, had it? And Rose would be fine, so there was no harm in letting her go and absorb the Vortex like she had done, right? She stepped out into the hallway outside the room and headed down in her own world; maybe she should have gone instead, but like he had said it was burning her up. No-one could say that she was stronger or indeed as strong as Rose, she might not have made it back to the Game Station. She stopped and leant against the wall, taking in a shuddering breath. No wonder Ten hated her, though, if that's what he thought. There wasn't any chance Nine wanted to regenerate, after all who would, so he'd blame that on her as well.
"Excuse me, love." Her gaze snapped to a female nurse with black hair and a gentle smile standing in front of her, "Are you okay?" Danni frowned then felt the trickle of tears on her cheeks. She reached up and wiped them away, she hadn't realised Nine had got to her that much, "Are you here with anyone?" Danni frowned and looked to her left and right.
"Er... I'm not sure where 'here' is, if I'm honest." She told the nurse. She had just walked out from the bathroom she had landed in without even checking where she was. That wasn't clever. The nurse chuckled slightly, she was obviously used to people getting lost in the moment.
"Royal Hope Hospital, love." She explained warmly, "Admissions ward." Danni nodded.
"Oh yes, I remember now." She lied, "I'm here with John Smith. He's my... friend." She settled on, not really comfortable lying to the nice lady. She nodded and placed an arm over her shoulder.
"Okay, we'll go find him together, shall we?" She nodded and smiled shakily as the nurse led her into a couple of rooms, none with a John Smith in before they found Ten in a bed, in his pyjamas, smiling widely at everyone.
"Here he is." The nurse said with a smile, "I found her on her own, she was a little upset but seeing as you seem to be okay I'm sure she'll cheer right up." She sat her down in a chair next to him as he tried to mask his surprise at Danni being there. The nurse left them alone, pulling the curtain around his bed to give them a bit of privacy.
"When did you pop up?" He asked her with a frown.
"Not too long ago." She replied quietly, "Why are you in hospital? Is that such a good idea with, you know, you having two hearts and all?"
"Oh yes, I knew I'd forgotten something." He exclaimed sarcastically, "I can stop one if I need to." She narrowed her eyes but as a flash of Rose's glowing eyes crossed her mind she held her retort back.
"Still doesn't answer why you're in a hospital." She pointed out.
"The TARDIS picked up some strange electrical readings around here." He explained, sounding reluctant to tell her, "Huge amounts of static, much more than what would normally be in the background." She nodded.
"Okay, so you're scoping the area?" He nodded.
"Yes, so you can go if you like. Probably something mundane."
"Or we could be taken to the moon." She snapped back, sitting back in her chair, "Well, Mr Smith, you could do with a sister, or a wife." She smirked at the startled look on his face at the suggestion, watching as his cheeks turned ever-so-slightly pink, "Is that you trying to fake a fever?" She pointed to her own cheek to illustrate her point.
"Oh shut up." He groaned, blushing even more and they both laughed. He propped himself up in the bed more, making the pillows behind him more comfortable.
"So, go on then." He started, "Where have you come from?" Her smile fell and she looked away from him, feeling guilty.
"Game Station." She whispered.
"Oh." Was his reply, "Look, what I said..." The curtains opened, interrupting their conversation and revealing a bald man in a suit surrounded by medical students, all in white lab coats, Martha Jones stood to one side looking confused at the pair.
"Now then, Mr Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?" The bold man asked loudly, obviously in an attempt to show his class good bedside manner. The Doctor shrugged.
"Aw, not so bad, still a bit, you know. Blah." He stuck his tongue out to emphasise the 'blah'.
"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains." The bald doctor explained to his class, "Along with Mrs Smith, I presume, who I haven't yet met. It is always good practice to get to know your patients next of kin, it gives off a friendlier atmosphere which will help all the more when a patient is healing." He held out his hand to Danni, "Dr Stoker, nice to meet you Mrs Smith."
"It's Fielding, actually." She corrected, watching the Doctor visibly relax as she did, "Not wife, just girlfriend." His eyes widened again and she shot him a huge smile, "Well, not just yet, right sweetie?" Dr Stoker shot her a fake smile and turned to Martha.
"Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me." Martha immediately stepped up to the challenge, walking around the bed to the opposite side Danni was on.
"That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" She scolded him slightly, putting her stethoscope in her ears as she did.
"Sorry?" The Doctor replied, confused. He'd been here all night, and Danni had only just arrived.
"On Chancery Street this morning." Martha elaborated, confused by his confused look, "You came up to me and took your tie off. And your girlfriend told me it wouldn't get any better." The Doctor looked at Danni, who shrugged in reply. They would do that, but not yet but she couldn't exactly say that at that precise moment.
"Really?" He asked Martha, bewildered, "What did we do that for?" Martha shrugged, still confused why he was denying it.
"I don't know, you just did."
"Not me. I was here, in bed." He told her.
"And I was here with him." Danni added, making sure she had an alibi as well. It wasn't like Martha had time to look into it.
"Ask the nurses." The Doctor continued.
"Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?" She asked, needing an explanation. The man and woman who approached her that morning looked just like the two in front of her but both looked completely bemused by what she was saying.
"No, not any more. Just me." He replied, a sad edge to his voice that told her there was more to it than he was going to tell her. Danni reached over and grabbed his hand, happy when he squeezed back.
"As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones." Dr Stoker breathed in exasperation. Martha blushed slightly and nodded.
"Sorry. Right." Martha placed her stethoscope to the Doctor's chest and Danni had to hide her grin in a cough as Martha looked puzzled at the sound coming through. It sounded like... no, that can't be right. She moved the stethoscope to the other side of his chest, no, there it was. Two heartbeats. She looked up at him, hoping for an explanation but he just smirked and winked at her.
"I weep for further generations." Dr Stoker told her, "Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" She moved back from the Doctor, unable to think of anything else but the fact the man in front of her had two hearts and that was completely impossible.
"Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?" She threw out, remembering what he had told them at the beginning of the check-in.
"That is a symptom, not a diagnosis." He replied, walking to the end of the bed, "And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart." He picked up the chart only to receive an electric shock. He dropped it in surprise onto the bed by the Doctor's feet.
"That happened to me this morning." Martha told him.
"I had the same thing on the door handle." Another student added from the other side of Stoker.
"And me, on the lift." A third one piped up. The Doctor's eyes darted between the group, adding this bit of information to his growing pile.
That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by – anyone?" He looked around his students.
"Benjamin Franklin." The Doctor answered before anyone else had a chance. Dr Stoker looked mildly impressed.
"Correct!"
"My mate Ben, that was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked."
"Quite..." Dr Stoker replied, a grin suddenly plastering itself onto his face.
"... and then I got electrocuted." The Doctor finished, turning to Danni, "I'll take you to see Ben, he's a right laugh." She smiled and nodded, patting him on the arm as if she was humouring him.
"Moving on." Dr Stoker called loudly, turning to an orderly, "I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric." He said.
"I agree!" Danni called.
"Hey!" The Doctor exclaimed, offended. She laughed and placed a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm only joking." She watched the students walk away, "We'll see you soon, Martha Jones." Martha looked over her shoulder, shooting the pair a very suspicious look as she exited the room with everyone else, "So, what do we do now?" The Doctor shifted on the spot, crossing his arms, another pink tint on his cheeks.
"We wait."