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Donna bit her thumbnail as she waited anxiously for the shuttle to return, pacing backwards and forwards slightly. The staff had approached her shortly after a distress signal had been received, then had the unfortunate duty to tell her something was wrong with the ship once they'd lost contact with the driver. She had ranted and raved at them, screaming at them to save her best friend. They'd informed her that Danni was also on the shuttle, although they'd thought she knew and she played along because it was easier than explaining that trying to explain a time-jumping 23-year-old. She looked down at herself; she was still in her white robe, the thought of getting changed had only briefly rushed through her head, but she had just wanted to wait for them to come back safe and sound. Obviously the idea of being stranded on the leisure planet had worried her for a moment, but she knew the Doctor would be okay. He was always okay.
She froze on the spot as the Time Lord walked into the hallway with his arm wrapped firmly around Danni's shoulders. The way he held her to him, unwilling to let her go reminded her of the way Danni would describe his next self to her. Something had obviously changed between them, at least something good had come from the ship breaking down. His face was solemn, whilst Danni looked like she had only just stopped crying. She had blood smeared on her clothing and her eyes were darting about. She rushed over, ready to pull the pair into a giant bear hug when Danni flinched away.
"No!" She screamed, burying her face into the Doctor who shushed her gently, "Don't touch me." She sobbed. Donna stopped, pulling her hands back, hurt at the rejection. The Doctor caught her gaze and shook his head minutely before bending his head down nearer Danni's.
"TARDIS?" He asked her and she nodded. He turned to Donna.
"We'll meet you there. Get dressed." He commanded gently. Donna nodded silently and watched the pair walk off. The devastating air flowing around them was almost tangible and she would find out what had happened to do that. She nodded to herself and stalked off, determined to do what she did best and scream at the staff until she got some answers. And some freebies.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor had put Danni straight to bed, helping her fall asleep with a quick press of his fingers against her temples. It wasn't really sleep, she was just unconscious but it was also dreamless and the best he could offer her. He stroked her hair as he sat on the brown duvet next to her, watching her red hair rush through his fingers. He should have listened to her, he never did and this time it had almost killed them both. He'd been trapped in his body, trying to fight the thing inside him that had taken him over and all he'd been able to do was watch as she snapped. She would have killed Biff if they'd not pulled her off him, the one thing they'd done that he was grateful for. All the time he could see it in her eyes, practically hear that four-note beat pounding in her head, convincing her that what she was doing was a good idea. Then, when it was all over, it let her go and she had to deal with the consequence. Just like when she'd held the General at gunpoint for trying to shoot him, or when she'd sent Luke to his death with the Sontarans. He'd always wondered why she had been scared to leave the TARDIS, now he knew why. She was scared of herself, of what she was capable of. All them fleeting references made to 'Midnight' she made had hit him while he'd been frozen in place, watching her fall apart without him. He'd let her down, he'd done this to her because he thought himself much smarter than she was.
Never again.
He leant down and placed a kiss on her forehead, taking a moment to smell her hair. He then checked the cut on her head from when she'd fallen backwards after throwing Sky out of the shuttle. It was just a small cut, it'd heal much quicker than the memory of what she'd endured on that shuttle. He stood up, tucked her in again just in case, then left her to rest, heading to the console room where Donna was stood. She was waiting patiently, which was a worry in itself but he knew she could tell something very wrong happened on the planet. He quickly flew them away, wondering if ringing Jenny so soon after leaving her to help her home planet grow was a good idea. Jack might be the better option, Jenny's optimism might just upset her further and the immortal man seemed to have some sort of connection with her. He frowned to himself, a flash of jealousy startling him before brushing it away, along with the memory of her kissing him on Satellite 5. He'd wait until she was awake, then he'd ask her. If she wanted Jack, he'd hunt the man down if he had to.
"Oh Spaceman." Donna sighed sadly after the long, heavy silence. She strode over and pulled him in for a hug. He squeezed her tightly, "Don't you start sobbing on me, because you'll set me off and I don't even know why we're crying." The Doctor chuckled hollowly, pulling back and taking a deep breath through his nose, letting it out through his mouth as he rubbed his face with his hand. He smiled softly at Donna, who had a sheen to her eyes and he steeled himself.
"She killed someone." He stated lowly and she gasped.
"She what?"
"There was this... shadow." He settled on, "It possessed a woman called Sky and as a way of absorbing information it repeated what anyone said. I tried to reason with whatever was inside her but it possessed me. Danni chucked her into the sunlight." At Donna's confused expression he went into more detail, explaining how Danni had appeared and the shuttle had broken down. He then told her how the humans had reacted, and how Danni had reacted to them threatening him.
"She's mentioned Midnight before." Donna stated after overcoming the shock of what he told her. There had been times when Danni would mention the planet. At the time Donna had thought she'd meant the time of day, or she hadn't made the connection because Danni hadn't been there when they'd first landed. She could slap herself now, Danni had always tried to warn them about the spa, "What happened to her?"
"It's that noise." He replied instantly, "It drives her emotions and when people fan it, she escalates. I've seen it before with Martha, but I don't know why she can hear it." He had tried to work out why she shared the same noise as the Master. He'd first heard it when he'd looked into the Untempered Schism, but Danni hadn't had that experience. He did wonder if it was because she travelled unprotected through the Vortex so much, but that didn't help him work out how to stop it, "She tried so hard to get us off that shuttle." The Doctor murmured dejectedly, "I should have listened to her." Donna shook her head, pulling him in for another hug.
"None of this was your fault." She told him firmly. She felt him shake his head, "No, I mean it Doctor. You didn't ask to be trapped with a bunch of maniacs and you didn't deserve to be punished for trying to help."
"I don't want..." He trailed off, looking towards the hallway that lead to Danni's room, "Danni, she'll..." He sighed, frustrated at his lack of eloquence. He had been terrified, but he'd been so much more scared for her. Her sanity balanced on a thread, what if it was his fault she tumbled?
"She won't hate you." Donna reassured him, "That girl adores you, she always has. God knows why, you're just a lanky piece of alien." He chuckled slightly and Donna smiled, seeing him perk up again, "She came off that shuttle and she wanted you, not me or anyone else. You're the one who helps her out of this, we've met the Danni after this, we know she's fine."
"But how?" He leant against the console, crossing his arms across his chest. Donna shrugged.
"I don't know. That's up to you, Spaceman. I'm just here for the free travel." He chuckled again and Donna did as well, seeing she was getting through to him, "Was she asleep when you left her?"
"I put her to sleep. She'll be out for a couple hours. I'll go check on her in a bit, she probably shouldn't wake up alone." Donna nodded slowly, he was right.
"Okay. Well, there's nothing we can do about her until she wakes up. So, how are you?" Donna asked him pointedly. He shrugged, turning to the console and flicking some switches.
"I'm fine." He dismissed and Donna rolled her eyes.
"Fine? Or Time Lord fine?" She retorted. When he didn't reply she stepped towards him, placing a hand on his, "You've been shaking since you came back. You're allowed to be scared too."
"One of us has to be strong." He replied.
"Oh, and just because you're the bloke it has to be you?" Donna retorted, hands flying onto her hips, "You're all alike. Just because we're female you think we need looking after. Well, for once Spaceman, I'm going to be the strong one." She didn't actually believe a word she was saying, the Doctor wasn't like that. Sure he liked to be the hero, but sometimes he needed looking after. He'd been the same after they'd left Jenny behind. She could be there for the pair of them. They'd given her a new lease of life, given her purpose and she would do anything to repay the Time Lord and his red-headed best friend.
~0~0~0~
Danni didn't want to see Jack, or Jenny or either Donna. He'd been there waiting for her to wake up and watched her flash out of existence, appearing instantly hundreds of years away, the TARDIS alerting Eleven to her sudden appearance. She'd woken up and cried in relief at the sight of the future version of himself because she knew he wouldn't leave her side. He'd instantly recognised which version of his Danni-Girl was currently shaking in his arms, begging him to promise to keep her away from everyone and everything in the universe. He'd just squeezed her tighter before describing a place she'd wanted to go for so long, Akhaten Market.