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Amy stopped to let out a particularly large yawn that had been threatening to leave her since she had left her and Rory's bedroom – she really had to talk to the Doctor about the bunk beds, they had reappeared a few nights ago and she had a feeling he had something to do with it – before pushing the door open, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to be blinded by the unexpected level of lighting first thing in the morning. Danni was by the stove, dancing and singing along to some song she had never heard of as she poured a white liquid into a frying pan. She looked over her shoulder and beamed at Amy.
"When did you turn up?" Amy asked, surprised because Danni usually woke her, and by extension Rory, up the moment she appeared.
"A couple of hours ago. Want a pancake?" She asked, motioning to the pan as she rolled the liquid around, spreading it across the pan.
"You're making pancakes?" Amy asked slowly, confused as she sat down at the table. Danni couldn't cook, she always had been very open about that so she never attempted it. Danni nodded, biting her lip in concentration.
"Well, trying to." She admitted, "I'm not very good at it." She pointed at a pile of mush on a plate on the side before stepping back from the stove, frying pan handle clasped firmly in both hands, "Ready?" She flicked the pan firmly, the pancake flying in the air and landing on the edge of the pan, splitting in half. Most of it fell onto the floor by her feet, a little landing in a lump in the pan, "Oh damn it!" She exclaimed, tipping what was left onto the pile of failed attempts before carefully scooping the rest off the floor, "I really thought I had it that time."
"Why are you trying to make pancakes if you're so bad at it?" Amy asked with a laugh.
"Because it's tradition." Danni replied simply, making some more pancake mix in the jug she had been using, stirring more vigorously than was probably necessary.
"Tradition?" Amy prompted when she realised she wasn't getting anything else out of her.
"Yes." Danni stated, "Every year for as long as I can remember my mum made me pancakes and golden syrup on my birthday. She'd bring them to me in bed. Then, when I went to Uni she rang Claire and told her to do it so Claire has done it for the last two years." She explained, pouring the mixture into the pan and spreading it around again.
"It's your birthday?" Amy asked, surprised, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I missed it." Danni replied, "I was crossing out days on the calendar so I knew where I was in relation to my universe and it was over two weeks ago. So, I decided to celebrate it this morning by making my own pancakes." She tried to flip it again, this time it landed in the pan but in a large pile. She growled and chucked the pan down on the stove angrily, "All I want is a bloody pancake! I cannot be this useless!" She shouted, "Why is this so hard?!" Amy shot off her seat and pulled her in for a hug as she started crying.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Amy asked gently as the girl trembled in her arms, "You should have woken me and Rory up, he makes excellent pancakes." Danni sniffed.
"I'm sure he does, but the Doctor would have wanted to take me to inventor of pancakes or... to some little café in France he loves. All I want is a pancake with syrup on like my mum makes me." Danni sobbed. Amy nodded, understanding completely. The Doctor had a way of taking an idea and taking it to the extreme, which was brilliant most of the time but if you craved normality then it was a bit of a nuisance.
"Do you want me to try?" Amy offered, "I'm not very good, but I'll give it a shot." Danni shook her head, pulling back and wiping her eyes.
"Nah, it's all right." She replied, "The moment's gone now anyway. I'll just clean this up and we'll go watch cartoons, yeah?" Amy nodded, shooting her a sad smile as Danni turned to clean the mess up.
It was so easy to forget she wasn't just the girl who appeared in a flash of light during random adventures, happy and smiling and taking her hand to run. She was someone who had been torn from her friends and family and chucked into a situation she hadn't asked for, a completely different universe where she had no idea if the people she loved even existed, and they certainly wouldn't know who she was. That before she came here, she was someone's daughter, someone's friend. She could have had a boyfriend, Amy had never asked and Danni hadn't mentioned anything of the sort. She was torn out of one universe and shoved into another with very little warning and most of the time she was fine with it. As long as Amy had known her, Danni had always been very grateful for being brought to them and that she wouldn't trade meeting the Doctor in for anything.
But sometimes, like today, the hurt she was feeling came through. She was a girl without a home, or a family. With no one to remember it, her birthday wasn't celebrated unless she celebrated it because she didn't have a day of birth. She might not even ever land on the right date, or she might land in the middle of an alien invasion that the Doctor was stopping and there simply wasn't time to celebrate, and just like she had done it was forgotten by everyone, even her.
"Should I go get the Doctor anyway?" Amy asked her, wanting to do something to make her feel better, "I won't tell him it's your birthday." Danni shook her head, shooting her a smile.
"No, it's fine. I don't want him to worry." She grabbed the red-head's hand, pulling her gently towards the kitchen door, "I'm thinking Fairly Odd Parents today. That was always one of my favourites. I used to love watching it before I went to school, you know? There's this one where the men and women are separated by a giant wall. There's a song and everything, I think we should watch that one first." Amy frowned in concern at her sudden change in attitude before nodding in agreement, allowing herself to be dragged towards the television room without the cup of coffee she had originally gone into the kitchen for.
"Yeah, sounds great." She replied.
"Then we'll go find the Doctor." Danni added, "Although, I'm sure he'll appear while we're watching anyway, he said he loved it last time we watched TV together." She flopped down on the couch, tucking her legs underneath herself, "Fairly Odd Parents, please Old Girl!" She cried and the large scree turned on, playing the theme tune to the show.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Amy asked her, still concerned.
"Yeah, of course I am." Danni told her, sounding like she was confused as to why Amy thought she'd be any other way. Amy sighed then settled down for the show.
~0~0~0~
Danni stepped into the kitchen, much like Amy had done the day before, mid-yawn as she went to get her morning cup of tea before heading off to watch cartoons. She was thinking of some Rugrats, she had woken up feeling rather nostalgic and really fancied watching the baby cartoon. She blinked at the sight of Rory, Amy and the Doctor all stood around the table with pointy hats on, all grinning at her. Above them hung a banner and there was a blue and white cake in the middle of the table.
"Happy Birthday!" They all cried at the same time, Amy and the Doctor popping a party popper each and letting the streams fly through the air. Danni stared back at them silently before turning to Amy.
"I thought you weren't going to say anything?" She asked. Amy shrugged.
"I lied." she replied. The Doctor walked over, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
"Sit down." He told her gently, moving her to the table and sitting her in one of the chairs in front of the cake. He sat down next to her on one side and Amy sat on the other, both grinning as he presented her with a fluffy pink tiara boasting 'Birthday Girl'.
"You should have said something." He scolded her lightly as he placed it on her head, brushing her hair out of her face as he did.
"I didn't want a fuss... oh Rory." She groaned lightly as a plate of pancakes was placed in front of her, "Thank you."
"No problem, I make a lovely pancake." He told her as he moved back to make more for the rest of the group.
"I know, Amy told me." She replied, spreading some golden syrup on it and rolling it up. She cut a bit off with a spoon and took a bit, nodding in agreement as she did, "And she was right. A sexy Italian who can cook? You've got the whole package, haven't you?" He looked over his shoulder with a smug smile.
"I'm glad someone appreciates it." Amy stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, placing a kiss on his cheek from over his shoulder.
"I do too." She told him. Danni watched them fondly as Rory tried to turn and give her a kiss without burning the pancake he was making. She took her last bite and turned to the Doctor, motioning at him with her spoon.
"What about you?" she asked with a swallow, "I know you can make an omelette, what about a pancake?" The Doctor shrugged, munching on the pancake Amy brought over for him.
"Never tried. Don't suppose it'll be that hard." She nudged him.
"Go on the, Mr I-Can-Do-Anything. Try making a pancake."
"What's the point?" He replied, "Rory's making them now." Danni looked up at Amy, who was stood next to her watching her husband at the stove.
"Knew it." She bragged, "He can't do it. You owe me a fiver."
"You bet on me making pancakes?" The Doctor exclaimed, offended.
"No." Danni told him, "I bet on you not being able to make pancakes." Amy smiled, seeing what she was doing, and nodded.
"I thought you'd make one to show off." Amy explained, "But I wasn't sure if you'd actually be able to make one. You are a bit like a baby giraffe sometimes, don't forget." The Doctor stood up, straightening his tie at the challenge.
"I'll think you'll find I'm rather graceful, Pond." He strode over to the stove, shoving Rory out of the way. Amy looked down at Danni out of the corner of her eye and they fist-bumped silently as they watched him mix the ingredients together.
"You are aware they just played you, aren't you?" Rory asked him. The Doctor turned to look at the women who were grinning innocently back at him. He eyed them suspiciously before turning back to the stove.
"Danni-Girl wants pancakes." He stated simply. Danni beamed, he just knew exactly what to say to make her feel loved.
~0~0~0~
Danni munched on the pancake thoughtfully as the Doctor watched on anxiously.
"I like it." She told him and he beamed, relieved.
"Is it better than Rory's?" He asked. Rory looked suitably outraged and Danni shrugged.
"They're about the same." She replied, "They're just pancakes." He pouted and she leant over, kissing him on the lips, "but thank you."
"It's not over yet." The Doctor pointed out, reaching under the table and pulling out a box wrapped in shiny paper. Amy grabbed another one and placed it next to the Doctor's one on the table in front of her.
"You got me presents?" Danni exclaimed, "When?"
"Time machine." The Doctor replied as if it was obvious, which she supposed it was, "And of course we did. It's your birthday."
"Open ours first!" Amy exclaimed excitedly and Danni laughed at her enthusiasm.
"Okay, okay." She picked it up and ripped off the paper, revealing a hard-backed pad of paper. It was covered in pictures of the foursome as well as others such as Rose and Jack.
"You said you wanted a way of remembering details from your universe. I thought you could use a diary, like River does." Amy explained, "I took some of your photos, hope you don't mind." The Doctor smiled as Danni ran her finger over the pictures.
"Hey, remember that?" Danni turned to the Doctor, pointing at a picture in the middle of the front cover, "That's when you finally took me to that Madame Tussauds by Arthadia." He nodded as she stared at the picture of the pair sat in the middle of waxworks of the Two Ronnies, behind their legendary desk. The Doctor had pulled her up against his side, both of the smiling but Danni having a faint pink tinge on her cheeks at the contact. Even though she'd met the twosome in person she had insisted on a picture with the replicas. She had been pleasantly surprised to find they had lasted that long and travelled that far. She turned to the back to see a picture of herself and Amy on karaoke.
"When was that?" Danni asked the other red-head. She didn't remember going to any bar with Amy, or singing on a karaoke machine. Which was a shame, because she rather liked karaoke.
"Just after we went to see Vincent." Amy replied, "You were adamant that we went. You said..."
"Open my present now." The Doctor interrupted, pushing his box in front of her to take her attention off Amy.
"Okay, okay..." She laughed, pulling the big bow around it off and then unwrapping it. There was a plain brown box underneath and she opened it up. It fell open, just like in cartoons, to reveal a tatty-looking brown bear in a little tweed suit with a red bow-tie. Her mouth fell open as she took in the very familiar bear.
"I hope you don't mind, I had the TARDIS extract the memory of a childhood teddy and create it. I didn't look at anything," He defended quickly, "But it's from when you're about 14. I put it in the outfit so you would always be with me, even when you're with an earlier version of me." Amy smiled at his cuteness as he blushed slightly, he hadn't realised he would have company when he gave it to her, he just remembered her wishing he was there and wanting to make sure he was in some form. Danni didn't reply, just continued to stare as she reached out and felt the worn but still soft fur covering the bear, "It should even smell the same." He boasted, feeling slightly apprehensive at the fact she hadn't seen anything. She hadn't even picked it up.
"I..." She started before pushing the chair back, yanking the tiara off her head, "Sorry, I need to go." She ran out of the room leaving the three to stare after her in shock. The Doctor turned to the bear, picking it up.
"Didn't she like it?" He asked, sounding like a child whose well-meaning present had been rejected.
"No, I'm sure she did." Amy reassured him, patting him on the arm, "I'll go talk to her. You two tidy up." She followed Danni before Rory could protest about having to clean up yet again and knocked on Danni's bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Danni called a bit redundantly, it was only going to be one of three people after all.
"It's Amy." She replied, opening the door before Danni could tell her to go away. She was sat on the bed, staring at the wall. She wasn't crying, but was teetering on the edge of falling into a ball of tears and sobs. Amy sat next to her, "So, what was that about?"
"I wasn't expecting that." Danni explained quietly, not taking her eyes off the wall, "Of everything he could have possibly given me, that had to be the farthest from my mind. It's really freaked me out."
"I'm sure he didn't mean to." Amy told her gently.
"Oh, I know that." Danni told her, "But the moment I saw it all I could think about was my mum. Just before I went to Claire's I packed my suitcase because I was getting an evening train home, and she was packed in there." She smiled sadly at the memory, "My Moo." Amy frowned.
"Moo?" She repeated, "As in cow?" Danni nodded.
"I was young and couldn't say much." She retorted, "If they remember me, which I'm still not sure I want them to or not, then my mum would have had to unpack my suitcase and find Moo in there. She always insisted on me taking Moo everywhere, because when I was a kid I didn't feel safe without her. She'll see that bear and..." She trailed off with a sniff, rubbing her eyes before the tears started to fall, "I guess I just miss my mum." Amy studied her, a question popping into her mind as she took in her hunched shoulders and her sad-looking features.
"Why don't you ask the Doctor to take you to see them?" She asked slowly, "I'm sure he would."
"Oh, there's no doubt he would." Danni said, "But I don't want him to. I don't want to see them."
"Why not? You say you miss them all the time."
"And I do." Danni insisted, "I miss them all the time, even if I'm not thinking of them at the very moment. But even if there is a Martin and Elizabeth Fielding exist here, then they'll have their own Danni. She'll have ginger hair, and go to university and have a friend called Claire but she won't be me. She'll be her. And she's the one they'll love, not me. And if I can talk to them, they'll think they're talking to her and it won't be me. Or, they won't." She shifted to face Amy, tucking one leg underneath her, "You know Rose? His old companion from his earlier regeneration?"
"The blonde girl?" Danni nodded.
"Yeah. Well, they accidentally crossed universes to one where her dad was still alive, but she was never born. When she told him he was her dad, he rejected her. And they'll do the same, because who would believe some random girl who said she was their daughter? I can't handle that. To see them, with the same faces and the same voice, telling me I'm not their daughter? I'd rather not see them again." Amy nodded, understanding completely as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug.
"Do you want me to go get the Doctor?" Danni nodded slowly, an apologetic smile on her face. Amy placed a kiss on the side of her head then stood up, "I'll send him down. You two do whatever it is you do together without telling me what." She warned and Danni laughed even as she blushed, "Then we're going out. It is still your birthday and we're still your family, however mismatched we are." She turned and stormed out, her mission firmly in her head.
~0~0~0~
There was a knock on the door and the Doctor peaked his head into her room. She smiled shakily at him, he looked nervous and there really was no need for him to be.
"Can I come in?" He asked quietly and she nodded. He pushed to door opened and entered holding the replica Moo bear, "Amy said I should try again with the bear." He sat next to her and held it out. She took it with a smile.
"Thank you." She whispered, hugging it close and smiling, it really did smell familiar, just like the old bear would have done. He watched her closely as she placed it down by her pillows then took his hand, "Lie with me?" He nodded and they laid down together, her head on his chest as he stroked her hair. They stayed in silence for a while, Danni just listening to his hearts beating. It was such a... different sound, she could listen to it for hours.
"Did I upset you?" He asked eventually and she propped herself up, shaking her head.
"No, you didn't." She promised, "I upset myself. I love the bear, I promise." He smiled, "I was upset because I don't think I miss home as much as I should, but I'm okay now."
"Then why are we still in your bedroom?" He asked, confused.
"Because it's my birthday." She stated simply, "And I didn't think Amy and Rory would appreciate me snogging your face off in front of them."
"Snogging my... oh!" He smirked and pulled her down, "I think I can do that." She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her, laying her down as he kissed her. It always surprised her how he could take her breath away so quickly, even with a just a quick brush of his lips he made her want more. As his tongue darted out to brush against her lips, his fingers danced against the base of her spine, causing her to gasp at the almost ticklish sensation. He deepened the kiss, their tongues dancing as her grip tightened on the top of his arm, as if she was scared he would disappear if she let him go.
"We should stop now." He breathed as the kiss broke, their lips still touching, "Because otherwise I won't." Her hand ran down his front and he groaned as she brushed against him.
"Good. Don't." She whispered, "Don't ever stop, Theta." She watched his eyes darkened, knowing hers reflected the desire in his. He pressed his lips against hers again, this time forceful as he rolled her on top of him.
The Doctor smiled as he watched Amy and Danni enter the TARDIS before them, skipping and chattering energetically. Both were wearing dresses, Danni a deep blue and black tights and shoes, Amy wearing a similar outfit but a deep red, a white headband standing out proudly in her hair.
"I wanna hold your hand! I wanna hold your hand!" The girls sang together as Rory followed the Doctor in, wearing a simple grey suit with black shoes. Danni swung Amy's arms as she danced to the music they had been listening to.
"Oh my god, the freakin' Beatles!" She shouted, "The freakin' Beatles on Ed Sullivan! Best birthday present EVER!" Her and Amy jumped up and down, squealing at what they had just seen before Danni let her go and ran over to the Doctor, launching herself on him just as he was shutting the door. He managed to catch her, laughing as she clung to him, "Thank you, thank you." She repeated and he chuckled.
"No problem, Danni-Girl." He told her, "It's not over yet though."
"What do you mean?" She asked, "What could possibly be better than the Beatles? Seriously?"
"Fair enough. I'll just have to tell our Captain that you don't want to see him." He told her with a fake sigh, shrugging as he walked over to the console.
"Captain?" She frowned then gasped, "Jack? We're going to go see Jack?" He didn't reply and she squealed again, "We're going to see Jack!" She rushed over to the console, "We're going to see Jack, right?" He nodded and she looked at Amy, "Have you met Jack yet?"
"Cute American guy?" Rory shot her an annoyed look.
"Yeah, that's him." Amy caught then look Rory was shooting her and shook her head with an innocent smile.
"Nope. Not once."
"Nice save." Rory told her, "Almost believe you there for a moment." She mock-pouted at him and wrapped her arms around him.
"Oh, you know I think you're gorgeous." Amy told her, to which he grinned, "Plus, Danni's the one who kissed him." The Doctor frowned, while Rory looked at Danni, intrigued.
"You?" He asked and she nodded, sitting on the pilot chair and swinging her feet.
"It was a while ago, and he was about to go to his death. It didn't mean anything." She explained, "Now, enough with this nonsense!" Danni cried with a regal tone, "I want to see Jack!"
"Who made you the queen of everything?" Amy teased. Danni sighed dramatically.
"Do I have to point out the tiara again?" She sighed, pointing with both hands to the 'Birthday Girl' tiara perched on her head, "And as designated birthday girl, I want to go see my Captain!" The Doctor, amused by the three humans and very happy they were now focusing on something other that the kiss, flicked a lever and the TARDIS went flying through the Vortex.