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John used his thumb to smudge the area around the hair, adding the finishing touches to his newest pencil sketch. The sun would be going down soon, so he was trying to finish up the best he could before then, but it still didn't seem right. He frowned in thought as he looked up at his subject before back down at the paper in his hand.
"Have you almost finished, sir?" Danni asked, her back aching from sitting straight for so long.
"Yes, sorry." He muttered vaguely. Maybe it was the hair, "Thank you, again." After he and Joan had parted ways, he'd bumped into Danni on the way to his room. Quite literally bumped into her, he really needed to start paying attention when he was walking. She had seemed sad, like she had been crying only recently and he'd blurted out his request to draw her before she left the school.
"It's okay." She replied with a shrug, "All I was doing was packing, anyway." She paused for a moment, "I still don't understand why you wanted to draw me." She really didn't. He was supposed to draw Matron. They were supposed to kiss and Martha was supposed to rush in and interrupt their moment.
"You just..." He stuttered in reply, "You look just like a character I had a dream about." He explained quietly and Danni smiled to herself. She knew he had dreams about being the Doctor. Both she and Martha had heard about them in detail over the last couple of months, but he'd never actually mentioned her before.
John finished the changes he made to the hair, but it still wasn't right. He took another look at her, sweeping his gaze across her person before smiling in realisation. He'd forgotten her watch. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to overlook it, after all it was a rather large leather band that dominated her wrist. He quickly sketched it in place, and there. It was perfect.
"Can I see?" Danni asked, watching as he lowered the leather-bound journal slightly, indicating he'd finished. He nodded, moving over to the sofa she was perched on and he held the book out to her. She took it, her lips tilting into a smile as she laughed slightly in disbelief.
"Oh my, this is fantastic." She exclaimed, "Without risking sounding big-headed, it's beautiful. It looks just like me." He grinned.
"Well, it helps when I have such a good subject." He replied, rather proud of the picture himself. Her smile grew, almost too big for her eyes to stay open and he found himself memorised by it. He stared, heart beating slightly faster as she looked back at the book and the page preceding the drawing.
"What's this?" She asked lightly, pointing at the creature as she glanced up at him, gauging his reaction. She knew the reasons behind him hiding as a human, but the Family of Blood were onto him now, what was the harm in seeing if she could jolt his memory a few hours earlier? She wanted to see Theta, and any Theta at this rate would do. She missed him so much, anything was better than this. Him being so close and yet not there at all.
"Ah now, that was quite the fascinating creature." He told her, taking the book back and flicking a few pages previous to the drawings of all ten of his faces. He pointed at Nine, "That was with this gentleman and the blonde girl, Rose. It involved the Prime Minister, of all people." He chuckled slightly, "It could morph into any person it wished." She frowned slightly. He obviously couldn't remember everything, then, but the essence of the story was pretty much there.
"How fascinating, indeed." She agreed, "Which one's your favourite?"
"Which one?" He asked, confused and she nodded.
"Which dream?" She elaborated and he turned back to the book.
"I'm not sure, really." He admitted, flicking through and seeing all the creatures and friends he'd drawn. His hand fell still on a drawing of his control room, "I rather like the blue box." She smiled again.
"Me too." She told him, tilting her head to one side and causing her hair to fall out of place. Without thinking or realising, he reached over and tucked it back behind her ear, pausing only as his fingers hit her cheek. She stared at him, shocked at the sudden display of affection and for a moment neither of them moved, John just cupped her cheek. Then, he coughed and pulled back.
"Sorry, I'm not sure..." He stuttered, trailing off as he tried to think of an excuse as to why he'd touch her without permission, and so intimately as well.
"I suppose you just wanted me to be the same as the picture." She suggested and he nodded, grateful of the excuse.
"Exactly." He agreed, "The picture..."
"Anyway," Danni continued, taking another glance at the book, where a drawing of Rose sat, "I think you need to practice more. You've made me too pretty and her not pretty enough."
"Well that's how I see you." John replied instantly before blushing, shifting uncomfortably, "that is to say..."
"Maids aren't supposed to be pretty." Danni pointed out sadly, "After all, we're just supposed to serve the beautiful, not be among them, right?" She didn't think that, not for a moment but she wanted to know what he thought. All this time, she'd seen so little of the Doctor's personality, all she wanted was something. By this point, she'd been over the moon if he called her a 'stupid girl', just because that was something Ten did.
"That's not fair at all." John retorted, his brows furrowed as he turned, sitting so he was now turned towards her, "You're beautiful, you must know that?" She blushed much like he did, looking down at her hands. What was she supposed to say to that? 'Yes, I am beautiful, thanks for noticing'?
"You sentimental old fool." She settled on instead, bypassing the statement completely. He reached out again, tilting her face so she was looking at him again.
"Danielle," He started, suddenly nervous, "I need to tell you something..." At that moment, his hand still on her face, the door opened and Martha appeared, looking slightly panicked.
"Sir, have you seen Dan..." She trailed off as John jumped away from Danni, almost glaring at the other woman.
"Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?" He snapped, embarrassed and annoyed in equal measure. Danni stood up, brushing her dress down with shaking hands.
"It's okay, she's just worried." She rambled, "She offered her help with my packing, she was probably just worried. We'll just be leaving, sir." She bowed her head and all but ran out of the room, dragging Martha behind her until the two girls were a sufficient distance away for Danni to collapse against the wall, letting out a shaky breath as she tried to calm down.
"I'm so sorry." Martha apologised, "I didn't realise he was going to try and kiss you." She winced, "Oh, you must be so angry at me."
"This isn't right." Danni exclaimed, worried, "The Doctor doesn't feel like this yet, something's gone wrong." She was quite surprised by how unsettled she felt by his actions. She thought the day that she met a Ten who was even beginning to feel for her the way she did about him, she would have been ecstatic. But it felt wrong, because it was another thing coming full circle. The moment Ten started to genuinely care for her was yet another first being ticked off, another step closer to Manhattan and her parents. It was all happening too quickly, and she still wasn't sure what Gwyneth had meant by the fact she'd see her parents again, but it couldn't be good. It was never going to be good.
"What do you mean?"Martha asked, concerned, "Is he all right? Is it something to do with him being human for too long?" Danni regarded her for a moment before smiling fondly. Martha Jones, always asking questions.
"He tried to kiss me." She said quietly, taking it away from the Doctor and back to her, "Maybe I'm just being self-deprecating." Martha relaxed slightly as she rolled her eyes. Sometimes Danni was bold and flirty, bigging herself up to anyone who would listen. And sometimes, she really didn't and no amount of reassuring would change her mind.
"Did you get a dress?" She asked, switching topics entirely and Danni nodded as she pushed off the wall.
"A blue one." She replied excitedly and Martha laughed, because what other colour would it have been?
"Come on then, you have to model it for me." Martha commanded, holding her arm out. Danni linked through it and they quickly scurried back towards the servants quarters.
~0~0~0~
Martha ran through the woods as fast as she could. The watch was gone, all he had to do was look after the bloody fob watch and he'd actually lost it. When she'd realised the Family had landed, Danni had told her to, no matter what, make sure the Doctor remembered. It seemed the ginger had a lot more faith in her than Martha had in herself, but she was going to make sure that it wasn't misplaced. Danni was keeping an eye on John at the Village Dance, just in case the Family turned up unannounced where there were civilians.
Martha knew it was because, at the moment, John was with the Matron, ready to walk down to their date and she was feeling abandoned. It didn't matter, Martha could let her have the time to see that the Doctor wasn't in love with anyone else but her. Martha could see it, it was about time they did too.
~0~0~0~
The night was crisp and clear, the stars shining down on the village as John placed his donation into the veteran's collection tin and lead Joan into the village hall. Danni hid behind one corner of the building, waiting for... Ah, there he was, Tim Latimer, the boy with the Doctor's Fob Watch. Her and Martha, doing what they do best: Martha saving the Doctor and Danni protecting him.
"Hey, you boy. Schoolboys aren't allowed..." The veteran called angrily as Tim tried to sneak past him into the dance. That'll be her cue.
"It's okay, he's with me." She replied, stepping out and walking over, linking her arm with his, "My date, as it were." She reached into her small handbag and pulled out a handful of coins, slipping them into the collection tin with a sly look.
"Why, thank you very much ma'am." The man declared, obviously delighted with the large donation.
"The veterans do need taking care of." She replied before tugging on the young boy's arm, "Come on, Tim dear." She lead the bewildered boy into the room, "Right, keep a hold of the Fob Watch and only open it at the opportune moment."
"Ma'am?" He asked, confused and she ruffled his hair.
"Oh, you'll know what to do, Tim." She promised, "You always do."
Across the room, Joan and John were sat at one of the many tables, waiting for the festivities to begin. The pair were laughing with each other over little, mundane things and were fairly oblivious to the world around them until John happened to glance up at the door, catching sight of Danni shooing the Latimer boy away and into the crowd. She was wearing a deep blue dress with no straps, hugging her torso tightly as a black shoal was draped over her shoulders, protecting her from the autumn cold. Her bright ginger hair cascaded in waves down her back and she was slightly taller than normal in brown high-heeled boots. Her eyes were darting around the room until they landed on him and she waved, smiling happily. He fluttered his fingers in response, stunned at the sight of the maid looking so beautiful. Joan turned in her chair and saw what he was staring at, suddenly feeling inadequate.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Please take your partners for a waltz." The announcer declared and John turned back to Joan, smiling apologetically.
"I'm afraid I did promise her." He reminded, "Do you mind if I keep it?" Joan shook her head, forcing a smile onto her face even though she was anything but happy with it.
"Of course not." She told him, "Go, she's waiting." He nodded, standing up and walking over to Danni, who was waiting at the edge of the dance floor. He bowed, looking more nervous than she'd ever seen Ten, and then held his hand out to her. She took it gratefully and as the music started playing the pair began dancing. John held onto her hand tightly as his arm rested respectfully around her waist, keeping them both a step apart. Danni was watching him with a slight amount of amusement, which after a moment he queried.
"You can dance." She explained, "I wasn't expecting that, sir."
"I've surprised myself." He admitted as he waltzed them into another pair of dancers, "Sorry." He apologised as Danni giggled in delight. Now that was the Doctor. Every movement that seemed alien on him was counteracted with one that was so typically 'Theta'. Not long now.
"I see I spoke too soon, sir." She retorted.
"John." He blurted out and she frowned, "Call me John."
"That wouldn't be proper, would it sir? Not with Matron..." She glanced over at the table where the woman was patiently waiting, looking everywhere but at them. Danni suddenly felt a bit guilty, John was supposed to be hers.
"Just for this song. Please." He pleaded and she studied him for a moment, his almost desperation startling her into a nod and a soft smile.
"Of course." She agreed, the smile breaking into a grin, "John."
~0~0~0~
Joan watched the pair spin around the room, one song becoming two, and then three. The gap between them seemed to close as John talked animatedly and Danielle nodded in agreement, seemingly asking him questions as he twirled her around the room. They were far from graceful, banging into couples almost regularly but neither of them seemed to care, or even notice. It was silly of her, really, thinking such a handsome man might have been attracted to her, but seeing them with eyes only for each other squashed any hope she had.
At first she thought that he might have had a crush on her, but Danielle wore a wedding ring so it obviously couldn't have gone anyway. But with no sign of a husband, perhaps she'd been widowed herself. She was only maybe in her mid-twenties, but tragedies happen, she knew they from experience.
A shadow fell over her and she felt herself cringe at the sight of Martha standing over her. Flashbacks of the encounter earlier in the evening flashed through her mind, she wasn't in the mood to deal with all the strange stuff the poor confused girl had been spouting.
"Please, don't. Not again." She muttered, tired.
"He's different from any other man you've ever met, right?" Martha asked instead, sitting down calmly and clasping her hands on the table in front of her. She realised before that ranting and raving wasn't the way to go about this, so she had to be cold and logical. And, evidently, the Matron agreed with her.
"Yes." She replied reluctantly.
"And sometimes he says these strange things, like people and places you've never heard of, yeah?" She could see she was getting through to the older woman and leant closer, "But it's deeper than that. Sometimes when you look in his eyes you know - you just know that there's something else in there. Something hidden. Right behind the eyes, something hidden away. In the dark."
"I don't know what you mean, I..." She stuttered, defending herself because Martha was actually making sense and she didn't like it.
"Yes, you do. I don't mean to be rude, but the awful thing is it doesn't even matter what you think." Martha explained as gently as she could, "Because look at them." She motioned over at John and Danni, who were still dancing, "Because whether I'm right or I'm wrong doesn't matter, because you know that's never going to end with anything but them together." Joan tore her eyes away from the pair, "But you're nice." Martha continued, "And you're lucky. And I just wanted to say sorry for what I'm about to do."
"Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave." John snapped, annoyed. He'd spotted Martha and Joan talking and had abruptly ended the dancing, pulling Danni back to the table with him.
"They're almost here, aren't they?" Danni asked before Martha could answer and she nodded.
"They've got Jenny." She replied sadly and Danni winced. She'd forgotten about Jenny in her haze of sadness and jealousy. Another life she'd failed to save. Martha stood up, pulling the sonic screwdriver she'd retrieved from the TARDIS out of her pocket and held it out to him, "Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it." John stared at it, like he almost recognised it. The strange item brought out some strange sense of longing, like he'd been missing it so much, but he didn't even know what it was.
"John, what is that silly thing?" Joan asked but he didn't answer, "John?" He took it off Martha, still staring down at it as he turned it over. It looked so familiar.
"It's called a sonic screwdriver." Danni explained gently, her hand on his arm, "You've dreamt about it, haven't you? With the blue box it goes with."
"You're not John Smith." Martha insisted, "You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's you." He looked down at Danni, who was staring at him in hope and he didn't understand. How could that man be real? How could he be anyone other than himself? And why did she want him to be?
"There will be silence! All of you!" A scream from the centre of the room pulled their attention to a large man with a young boy from the school, the Baines lad who had been so rude to Danni and Martha, and Jenny. Scarecrows- oh the bloody scarecrows! - filed in after them, "I said silence!"
"Mr Clarke! What's going on?" The announcer asked, approaching the large man who spun around, fired a gun and disintegrated him where he stood. Joan stifled a yell of terror with her hand whilst John immediately pushed Danni behind him. Danni looked over at Tim, over at where the Doctor was, and met the boy's eye. His hand was on his pocket and Danni shook her head once and he let it drop away.
"Mr Smith, everything I told you, just forget it! Don't say anything." Martha hissed quietly as he looked around, one hand still on Danni's torso, bewildered.
"We asked for silence!" Baines screamed over the commotion of the scared crowd and they fell silent, "Now then. We have a few questions for Mr Smith." His creepy, empty gaze fell onto the man, who opened his mouth to protest.
"No, better than that." A little girl with a balloon hopped over, looking up at the boy, "The teacher. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking." A disgusting smarmy smile stretched the young boy's face.
"You took human form." He declared mockingly, as if it was a cute move for him to do.
"Of course I'm human, I was born human!" John exclaimed, "As were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mr Clarke! What is going on, this is madness!"
"And a human brain, too! Simple, thick and dull." Baines taunted.
"He's no good like this." Jenny breathed, angry at the loss of pray.
"We need a Time Lord." Mr Clarke declared gruffly.
"Easily done." Baines said, taking one step away from the rest of the Family before drawing a gun and pointing it at the man, "Change back."
"I don't know what you're talking about." John almost pleaded, in over his head. He didn't understand what was happening, why all these people seemed to think he was something he wasn't. This man, this Doctor, was wonderful in his dreams, but in real life he was slowly becoming more and more terrifying.
"Change back!" Baines shouted.
"I literally do not know-" John stuttered, throwing his hands up in the air. None of them believed him, though. None of them knew that what made the Doctor the Doctor was over in Tim's pocket.
Jenny stormed over, grabbing Martha by wrapping her arm around her neck and pulling her close, pointing her own futuristic gun at her head.
"Get off me!" Martha demanded angrily, struggling in vain to get out of her grasp, "She's your friend, isn't she? Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?" Danni tried to take a step towards her, but John held her back.
"I don't know what you mean!" He cried, becoming more and more helpless.
"Wait a minute... The maid told me about Smith and the other woman... that woman, there!" She nodded towards Danni. With three long strides, Mr Clarke had her by the arm, pulling her close despite John's protests and pointed a gun at her head.
"Let's have you!" He muttered as she tried to struggle away, forcing the cry of 'Doctor!' down. It wouldn't help anything, and he couldn't save her, not like this.
"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human?" Baines asked with a smile, "Has it taught you wonderful things, are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Which maid do you want to save? Your friend - or your lover? Your choice."