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With one member of the Family holding Martha and the other holding Danni, all John could do was look between them in horror. His immediate instinct was to reach out and grab Danni, but he couldn't just let Martha die in her stead. Something deep inside him, beyond the servant-master bond had him wanting to save her almost as much as the redhead.
"Make you decision, Mr Smith." Jenny challenged, pressing the gun into Martha's temple harder and Danni, of all things, started chuckling.
"Oh, please." She laughed harshly, "At least make it hard for him. Jesus, you'd've had much better leverage with anyone else but me."
"Danni." Martha hissed, alarmed but Danni just looked her her, exasperated.
"What? 'His lover', indeed. I've never heard such nonsense." She looked up at Clarke, "You want the Doctor, right? The Doctor hates me, and if he really is the Doctor then it stands to reason that he hates me too."
"So you admit he's the Doctor?" Baines asked and she shook her head.
"No, he's John Smith. But feelings can't just be taken away, and somewhere in there he'll hate me as much as the Time Lord inside does. You really are stupid, aren't you?" Clarke jolted her harshly.
"You want to watch your tongue." He warned her and she rolled her eyes.
"And you want to watch who you're paying attention to." She replied, glancing over at Tim, who held the pocket watch in his hands. One small nod from the red-headed woman he vaguely recognised and he opened it, memorised by it's whispers of 'Time Lord'.
"It's him!" Baines shouted as the four were distracted by the scent of the Time Lord consciousness. Using the distraction, Martha managed to wrestle the gun out of Jenny's hands and turned it on them, holding Jenny hostage just like she had been a moment previously. Danni rolled her eyes, she should have got out the way herself. She was getting slower.
"One more move and I shoot." Martha declared, holding the gun steady as she pointed it at the other three,
"Oh, the maid is full of fire!" Baines taunted and Martha's eyes narrowed in anger.
"And you can shut up!" She told him firmly before shooting up at the ceiling, showing them all how deadly serious she was about her threat.
"Careful, Son of Mine." Clarke muttered, "This is all for you so that you can live forever."
"Shoot you down!" Baines cried manically, pointing his own gun at Martha, who became more determined in her aim.
"Try it. We'll die together." She challenged and he tilted his head.
"Would you really pull the trigger? Looks too scared." He mocked and she nodded.
"Scared and holding a gun." She agreed, "It's a good combination. You wanna risk it?" Baines looked away from her, checking out Mr Smith, who looked so completely out of his depth he knew the human would be no use to them. He lowered his gun, Mr Clarke following his lead and even as John held out his hand to Danielle, she rushed to Martha's side.
"Doctor, get everyone out." Martha commanded, "There's a door at the side. It's over there. Go on!" John looked around, still out of his depth.
"John!" Danni chided and he looked at her, eyes wide and pleading, "She means you, out the door."
"Do what they." Matron coaxed from his side, turning to the rest of the occupants, "Everybody out now." She ran into the fray of people, hand on another gentleman's arm, "Don't argue, Mr Jackson. They're mad. That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you!" As the occupants all left, shaken and screaming as they got away from the crazy group with the strange guns, John finally joined in and tried to help.
"Move yourself, boy." He told Tim, one hand on his back, as he just seemed to be staring at him in wonder, "Back to the school, quickly." Another glance at Danni, who nodded once, and the boy rushed outside with the rest.
"And you." Martha told John, "Go on. Just shift." He rushed over to Martha and Danni.
"What about you?" He asked, looking between the pair in fright.
"Don't you think you should escort your date back?" Danni snapped, becoming more and more annoyed at him. He was so useless. Nothing like the Doctor. Nothing.
John looked at her, opening his mouth to contradict her but her attention had already been drawn back to the group of four. He nodded, running out after Joan. A moment later, with a bit of a struggle, Martha and Danni joined the pair outside the village hall. Danni pulled Martha to a halt even though the companion had just wanted to keep running.
"Take them back to the school." She panted, "Keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Wait one moment..." John started and she turned to him, eyes wide in fury.
"Don't you 'wait one moment' me, you stuck up snob!" She shouted, "I'm sick and tired of everyone's superior attitude! For once in your 900 years you'll bloody listen to me and head to the school!" She turned back to Martha, "Keep an eye on him, yeah?"
"Where are you going?" Danni grinned, grabbing part of the ridiculously long skirt of her dress and hitching it up slightly.
"Where I always go." She replied, "After the Doctor. I'll meet you up at the school soon." And with that she turned and ran down the street, away from the school and towards the forest. After reaching a small dirt track lined with low walls she slowed down, unable to run much further.
"Tim!" She called, "Tim, it's me! I'm safe, I promise!" She pulled to the left and hung over one wall, her legs waving in the air unnecessarily, "Tim? You down there?" Looking both ways and unable to see the boy, she jumped back up and placed both hands on her hips. This was going to be a lot harder than she first thought.
She turned back around and looked into the other side of the woods, trying to spot Tim in the dark, but he could have been stood right in front of her and she doubted she could see him in the darkness.
"Tim?" She called again, deciding on walking at a slower pace deeper still, "Tim, I know you're scared. The Doctor can be terrifying, especially in such a intense... dose, I suppose. But he won't hurt you, and neither will I. I'm here to help, I promise." She stopped midstep, listening out for him, "Please, Tim. I just want my husband back, I swear. I'll look after you." She carried on walking, "I promise no harm will come to you while I'm around. Which, if I'm honest, may not be very long but the sentiments still there, isn't it?" Silence, "Right?"
She screamed as something grabbed her arm and she spun, ready to attack whoever was attacking her. Tim stood there, obviously frightened and she smiled gently at him.
"Are you okay?" She asked him warmly and he nodded.
"It's you, isn't it?" He asked her and she nodded once.
"I guess." She replied, "Have you still got the watch?" His hand went to his pocket, reaching in to pull the fob watch out, "No, keep it. I don't think I could keep him in there." She held her hand out to him, "But I need your help. Will you help me, Tim?" The boy stared at her, trying to work out what to do. The visions of the Doctor had scared him, but the red-head in the middle of them had reassured him that the man wasn't as dark as he first feared. He reached out and took her hand.
~0~0~0~
The school children were being rounded up to fight, despite the protests of both Joan and Martha. They were being given guns and lead out onto the front field, ready to fight the Family and their scarecrow army. Danni and Tim were right down the bottom, watching this happen over the school's parameter wall.
"We need to get inside without being noticed." Danni muttered, eyes darting around, "But, chances are, if they're protecting the front, there will be students at the other entrances as well." She turned to Tim, a thoughtful look on her face, "What do you think, Tim?" She asked, "Any ideas?" He was temporarily stunned, no one had every cared about his opinions before. He wasn't old enough yet to be of importance.
"Well, the older boys always leave through the windows." He offered, "There's no outside doors on the right-hand side, maybe we can get in through there." Danni beamed and squeezed his hand.
"Oh, well done, Tim!" She cried before wincing, shooting him an apologetic look at her loudness, "Oops." She whispered, "Come on, then." They both ducked, keeping behind the wall as they headed around the wall, Danni peaking up occasionally to see if she could see John or Martha. She trusted Martha to look out for the schoolteacher, but that didn't mean she didn't trust him to not get into trouble. He was still the Doctor, after all, and he had a knack of getting himself hurt or trapped just when they didn't need it.
"Why do you follow him?" Tim asked quietly, "He's always in danger. He always is the danger, I don't understand." She stopped and looked him dead in the eye, smiling.
"Because he's worth it." She explained quietly, "His beauty and his goodness are worth the monsters, sweetie. I don't know what I'd do without him in my life." She bit her lip and headed off again, "Which I'll find out sooner than I was expecting." She muttered.
"You mean with the stone angels?" She blinked, surprised.
"You know about that?" She asked and he looked away, ashamed because he'd spoken without thinking, again.
"You think about them quite a lot." He said tentatively, testing the waters.
"All the time." She confirmed, "You're quite perceptive, aren't you?" She smiled brightly and he couldn't help but reply with a small smile of his own. She had a calming affect on him, much like he'd seen in the pocket watch. The Doctor he'd seen might have been mean towards her, but she always managed to keep him from losing his head by giving him something else to focus on. All the times he could have gone dark, he didn't because of her.
"Right, this seems about right." She said, pulling him out of his thoughts as she looked over the wall. She used all her strength to pull herself upwards but her feet slipped on stones and she fell back to the ground, "Right, that's it." She quickly pulled the laces apart and pulled her boots off, chucking them to the floor, "That's better." She wiggled her toes, "No shoes, Timmy. Always the way to go." She pulled herself up and over the wall with ease, landing with a thud. He looked at the boots, baffled then up at her as her red hair peaked up over the wall, "Coming?" She asked and he laughed slightly, following her lead.
~0~0~0~
Danni squeezed into the nook in the wall next to Tim, making sure he'd gone in first so that she could look after him. He held the watch in both hands, staring down at it solemnly as he clung to it.
"So, this is his mind?" He asked her quietly and she nodded, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"He had to hide from the Family, so he took everything that made him Time Lord and put it in that watch." She explained, "He turned human and while his body walked around none-the-wiser, he is in there, waiting."
"It called to me." He admitted, "Told me to take it." She gave his shoulders a squeeze.
"That's because you're very special, Tim." She explained gently, "Some humans are born with a higher awareness to psychic abilities than the rest, like you, so you could hear him when he was calling out. He's not happy to be in there."
"Who would be?" Tim replied, providing a very good point, "What do I do?" He asked, slightly panicking as he felt like a lot was riding on him at that moment.
Beware...
"Beware of what?" He asked the watch, Danni frowning in confusion.
"Beware of what?" She echoed.
Her...
Tim leant over her and spotted the little girl from the Village Hall before just as Danni looked out to see her. She stepped out first, calmly letting Tim out to confront Daughter of Mine. Watching the little girl sniff in a predatory fashion was rather worrying to see.
"Keep away." Tim stated firmly.
"Who are you?" The little girl asked.
"I saw you at the dance. You were with that family. You're one of them." He shot back but the little girl didn't look fazed at all.
"What are you hiding?" She asked.
"The Doctor's mind." Danni replied over Tim, "He's ours, though."
"Give him to me." The little girl commanded and Danni shook her head.
"Not a chance, right Tim?" She looked down at the boy, who was stood straight.
"I reckon whatever you are, you're still in the shape of a girl." Tim reasoned, "How strong is she, do you think? Does she really want to see this?" He opened the watch, shining the Doctor's light onto her face. Unable to take the sight of the Doctor, she turned and rushed off, terrified. Tim looked up at Danni, whose head was tilted to one side, "Is that what you wanted?" He asked and she nodded.
"You're doing marvellous, Tim." She promised, "We're nearing the the end of the episode, I think."
"Episode?" He repeated, confused and she nodded, not explaining herself further.
"Where are we next?" She mused. Eventually they'd need to get to the little girl's house, but what before then? She moved over to the window, looking down at the children below them, fighting the scarecrows. She needed to buy them more time, "We can't leave yet, they're still fighting, we can't get past all of them." Tim moved over, looking down as well at all his classmates shooting at straw.
"We need to lure them away." He replied, playing with the watch between his fingers, "They'll follow the Doctor's scent, won't they?" Danni nodded, looking at him curiously.
"Have you got a plan, Tim?" She asked and he smiled. A knowing smile she'd seen on Nine, Ten and Eleven's faces before.
"We need to go up." He replied.
~0~0~0~
They couldn't kill the scarecrows, they really were just made of straw. The headmaster was dead, there was nothing left to do but get the boys to safety. John, making that decision, turned and began ushering the boys back through the school as the army advanced on them. The boys were in a mess, rightly terrified and unable to keep themselves organised, he had to do it for them. He lead them through the back of the school, Martha and Joan helping him as they rushed out. The scarecrows were coming and it was his fault these lads were in the line of fire.
"Let's go! Quick as you can!" He ushered urgently, glancing behind him again.
"Don't go to the village! It's not safe!" Martha called after them, making a very good point. They continued on until the last trickle of the boys that had followed had ended and he then turned to the two woman.
"And you, ladies!" He instructed but Joan shook her head.
"Not until we get the boys out." She insisted firmly and he knew there was no arguing with her. She was right, there could be more boys in the school and they had to find them.
"Martha..." He turned, ready to command her to leave with the lads when his heart caught in his chest at the sight of only one maid. How had he not noticed before? She'd said she'd meet them at the school, but in all the mad rushing around he'd forgotten all about her. Now she was all he could think about, "Martha, where's Danielle?"
~0~0~0~
Tim lead them to his bedroom, a small room full of metal cot-beds, much like the servants' quarters. Danni always scowled when she saw them. All that money and they couldn't house their children in decent rooms. Tim was worrying his hands again, eyes darting around the room. He was somehow managing to be calm yet panicking at the same time and Danni couldn't help but feel proud of him.
"It's okay to be scared, you know?" She told him gently.
"It's not right to be cowardly." He remarked.
"Tim." She sighed, "Tim, Tim, Tim. I'll tell you something I've learnt over the last five years." She clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Being scared and being cowardly and two completely different things. It's always okay to be scared. Being brave is doing something right even when you're scared."
"Really?" He asked, looking slightly sceptical and she nodded.
"Of course." She replied brightly, "Now, if you don't want to do this, that's fine." He looked at the watch, turning it over in his hand once, slowly. All the things he'd seen the Doctor do, all the flashes of the alien's memories ran through his mind.
"No, it's fine." He told her before holding the watch aloft, opening it. A large stream of golden light went shooting upwards.
Lord of Time...
Tim held it open for only a few seconds, but they both knew it was enough and he quickly snapped it shut as Danni dashed to the window, throwing it open.
"Time for a quick escape, I think." She told him cheekily.
"It's a couple stories down, will you be able to get down?" He asked her and she show him a smirk.
"I'm a master of escape." She boasted before frowning slightly, "Okay, maybe more of an enthusiastic amateur." She corrected before grinning wildly, "Geronimo!" She cried, cheering herself up with the flair of Eleven as she dropped down, her skirt floating upwards as she did.
~0~0~0~
The last of the boys ran out as quick as they could once the Family was distracted enough by the emerging Time Lord consciousness. John ushered them the same way the rest of the children had run before turning to Martha, in a full blown panic.
"Where is she?" He exclaimed and she held her hands out to him, trying to calm down.
"If she was still here, she'd be with us." Martha explained as gently as she could, "She doesn't always make it to the end."
"What does that even mean?" He snapped, "She might be hurt." He glanced back at the school, wondering if the red-headed maid was in there somewhere, hiding from the monsters that seemed to have taken over the village. Making a bold decision he pushed past both Martha and Joan, heading towards the entrance into the building, "Now, I insist. The pair of you just go." He instructed, "If there are any more boys inside, I'll find them as I look for..." He opened the door forcefully, coming to a standstill as he was confronted by a group of scarecrows. With no way past them and his courage fading fast he slammed the door shut and locked it, "I think...retreat." He turned and ran away, the two women trailing him,
~0~0~0~
Tim and Danni ran practically side by side as they made their way down the country lanes that made up the roads in the village. Danni held her skirt hitched up and was beaming through her pants, Tim looking more serious but amused by how happy the woman next to him was.
"It's been too long since I've run from monsters." She told him, as if she could tell what he was thinking, "I was made for this, Tim!" She skidded to a halt, looking both ways into the woods, trying to work out where to go from there.
"The machine, that's where he'll head." Tim offered but she shook her head.
"No, we need to go to the little girl's house." She said slowly.
"You speak like you know what's going on." Tim pointed out and she shot him a look.
"And you speak like you know what is going to happen." She retorted knowingly, "We all have our uses, Timothy. Now, do you know where the little girl lives?" He glanced back at the school, then down the road. He knew there were a couple of cottages that littered the roads outside the village, but he didn't really know who the little girl even was, never mind where she lived.
"No." He replied sadly and she frowned.
"They'll be heading there." She muttered thoughtfully, glancing down at him, "Maybe the Doctor knows, he might be able to sense where his body's heading." She reached into Tim's pocket without asking and pulled the watch out, holding it with a soft smile on her face. She then handed it back to Tim, "Ask him."
"Why me?" He asked.
"Because I can't hear anything." She replied sadly, "Ask him."
~0~0~0~
Using the watch, Tim and Danni slowly made their way to a small two-story white cottage, dark on the inside as the night outside. Danni bent at the waist, trying to catch her breath.
"Is this it?" She panted. They'd been to three other houses, all quite far apart on the road. Apparently the Doctor's sense of direction hadn't changed since removing himself from his body.
Inside, inside.
"He says so." Tim replied and they slowly headed up the walkway to the wooden front door. Danni looked at him, but he didn't know if she should just walk in either. She took a deep breath then knocked four times. There was mumbling on the other side and then the door opened slightly, Martha peering around cautiously. She then smiled in relief, flinging the door wide open.
"Danni!" She cried, so happy to see her and the two girls embraced tightly, "Where have you been? I thought you'd jumped." Danni let her go, shaking her head.
"Nope! I was looking after the Doctor, where I always am." She reached over and pulled Tim closer still, "Show her, Tim." She encouraged.
"I brought you this." He pulled out the fob watch and held it out to Martha.
Martha.
Without saying a word, Martha took it off him, flipping the familiar object over as if she didn't believe it was really the right one. Danni stepped inside and over to the table, smiling at the other two occupants. Martha quickly joined them and held the watch out to John.
"Hold it." She commanded and John jumped off his chair, pacing slightly before shaking his head.
"I won't." He declared, shaken because how could this even be happening? He was John Smith. The Doctor was an imaginary image he saw when he slept. Nothing more.
"Please, just hold it." Martha begged him.
"It told me to find you. It wants to be held." Tim added.
"Please, John." Danni tried and he looked at the red-head, who was looking at him in such hope. She wanted him to hold it? He turned away, unable to see her wanting someone else who wasn't him.
"You've had this watch all this time?" Joan asked Tim gently, "Why didn't you return it?"
"Because it was waiting." Tim explained, not caring how strange it sounded, "And because I was scared of the Doctor."
"Why?" Joan pressed quickly as Martha dropped her hand, seeing he wasn't going to take the watch from her.
"Because...I've seen him." Tim replied, "He's...like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."
"Stop it." John begged as Tim walked closer, hands clasped behind his back.
"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe."
"Stop! I said stop it." John exclaimed, hands clenched by his side.
"And he's wonderful." Tim and Danni finished together and his gaze jumped back to Danni again. She walked to Martha, taking the watch off her.
"The Doctor..." She started, pausing for a moment, "The Doctor isn't even his real name, he chose it when he left Gallifrey."
"Gallifrey?" Joan asked, standing up and pulling out the leather-bound journal from her coat pocket, "I looked that word up, because I'd never heard of it until you mentioned it, John." She held the journal out to him, "So I looked through here, and there it was. It's the Doctor's home."
"Those are just stories." He beseeched, trying to hold onto something as his world, his whole life fell apart.
"Now we know that's not true." Joan scolded lightly, flipping through the journal, "Perhaps there's something in here." A bright light flashed from outside, illuminating the room as the ground shook violently.
"What the hell?" Martha exclaimed as they all made a mad dash to the window. Outside bombs were being dropped on the unsuspecting village, smoke billowing from the impact.
"They're destroying the village." Joan breathed in horror as another bright ball smashed into the buildings on the horizon.
"Watch." John whispered urgently, ripping it out of Danni's hands and heading to the other side of the room.
"John, don't." Joan told him tiredly.
Come closer.
"Can you hear it?" Tim asked him tentatively and John looked up, lost and so scared.
Closer. Closer.
"I think he's asleep." He explained, confused, "Waiting to awaken."
"Why did he speak to me?" Tim wondered.
"Oh, low-level telepathic field." The Doctor said, coming through John much to Danni and Martha's excitement, "You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing-" He trailed off, tasking a deep breath in to stop himself talking, "Is that how he talks?" John asked.
"That's him!" Danni cheered, "Once you open the watch, you'll remember it all."
"You knew this all along?" He asked Danni, eyes hurt and devastated, "All this time, you and I..."
"I had to do what he said." She replied gently, "He said just let you be human, so I did."
"But I have a life!" He exclaimed, "A job, a home! Did he not think about that?" She shrugged.
"That's not what the Doctor does." She admitted, "Domestic life doesn't occur to him."
"What sort of man is that?" He demanded, "And now you expect me to die?" They fell silent for a moment as more and more explosions rang through the village.
"It was always going to end, though!" Martha argued, "The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan. That's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."
"So your job was to execute me." He accused her, breaking down into tears.
"People are dying out there!" She urged, "They need him and I need him. 'Cause you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him . It wasn't even that long ago, but he is everything to me, my life amazing because of him and Danni falling into my life." Danni smiled, giving her a side-ways hug, "He's everything to her." John looked to Danni for help, who was stood looking calm but very sad. Another explosion rocked the house.
"It's getting closer." Tim pointed out and John started.
"I should have thought of it before-" He held out the watch, "I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am!"
"You can't do that!" Martha snapped, irritated and stressed.
"If they want the Doctor, they can have him." He retorted.
"No, you won't." Danni snapped, "I won't let you."
"If they get what they want, then—then-" He tried to argue.
"Then it all ends in destruction." Joan breathed as they turned to her, holding the journal, "I never read to the end but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer. War across the stars...for every child." John looked between the group, lost and feeling pressured and totally alone. What was going to happen? What was going to happen to him?
"Maybe you could give us both a minute?" Danni spoke up, holding her hand out to John. He lurched forward and took it, clinging to her and Joan sighed, her last hope flickering into darkness.
~0~0~0~
Danni and John sat in silence, side by side as the village was turned to dust behind them. The watch sat on the table in front of them and they both stared at it, John deeply afraid and Danni sadly.
"You know," She started suddenly, reaching out and placing a hand on top of it, "I don't blame you for not wanting to be the Doctor. Half the time I don't think he wants to be himself, either." She gave it a stroke then let it go, "But I wouldn't change him for the world."
"I... I don't understand." John stuttered.
"I'd be concerned if you did." She retorted, trying to reassure him.
"I don't understand." He repeated, turning to her in the chair, "Out of everything that has happened I just don't understand why you think I hate you." Her eyebrows shot up as she blinked, stunned.
"Sorry?" She asked, bewildered. What was he talking about?
"At the dance, you said that I hate you." He insisted and she sighed.
"I never said you hate me, John." She corrected lightly, "The Doctor hates me. You can fake feelings, that must be inside you somewhere. It would explain why you've favoured Martha over the last few months. I just annoy you."
"Yes, you do." He admitted, "You're much more opinionated than your station permits, and you talk back when you shouldn't." He listed off, "You have this wild imagination, talking of people and places that don't even exist because I have checked. But, what annoys me the most is the fact you're my maid, and that as such it would be inappropriate for me to feel the way I do about you."
"Wait, what?" She exclaimed as he took her hands in his, grasping at them pleasingly.
"I don't want you to think for one moment that I have ever hated you." He continued, "I fell for you the moment I saw you, and that has never changed. He won't love you like I do." She stared at him, amazed and so... stunned. This didn't make any sense, why was he saying all this stuff?
"I... I don't want him to." She stuttered out, taking her hands back, "He's still getting over Rose."
"Doesn't that just prove that I am not that man?" He picked up the watch, waving it at her frantically and she shook her head again.
"No, it just proves that without Rose, it would've been me." She replied, quite heartbroken at that little revelation. His feelings were there, it had to be deep inside Ten, but they were there and so early on. She missed out on being loved by Ten by being the second female he travelled with after the wall, not the first, "But there was Rose, and she was beautiful and fiery and stubborn and I want her always remembered."
"She's dead!" He cried, realising quite quickly that it had been the wrong thing to say as her eyes narrowed angrily.
"How dare you?" She snarled, "Rose is alive and always fighting!" She sighed, relaxing slightly because he didn't know what they did, "That's why I don't want you, I want the Doctor. You are not the man I love." She wanted to tear the Doctor from his hands, furious that someone who thought so little of him and her friend was holding his consciousness and so she reached out to tear it away from him, only for their hands to connect. In both their minds, images flew through, of their wedding day, their first child, their life together. They grew old at the same time, experienced all the things an ordinary life would do until, at the end, John died first.
"Did you see?" John breathed in desperate hope and she nodded, letting go of his hand.
"That's something the Doctor can never have." She replied.
"And yet I could!" He exclaimed.
"But I don't want it." She told him firmly, "I want the Doctor, on the TARDIS, running for miles and miles. Trying to save the universe, maybe not every time but always, always trying. The domestic thing doesn't interest me. He does, and he's the one I love, not you." He looked down at the watch, heartbreak written plainly on his face. She sighed, hating every moment of this. It should have been easier, but it never was, "But," He looked up, eyes shining, "I would never, ever, force him to choose that and I won't force you either. Whatever you do is what the Doctor would do, and I trust you both implicitly."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor, the actual Doctor, walked towards Danni and Martha, who were stood in a field in front of the TARDIS. The night had ended, the Family had fallen and their Time Lord was back. It was hard to be happy in the sombre atmosphere, but the moment they'd been alone the two women had taken hold of each other's arms and jumped up and down in joy. John had been a good man, but the Doctor was who they both wanted. He'd wanted to sort out the mess he'd caused himself, and they'd let him, knowing it was something he had to do alone.
"All right. Molto bene!" He said unenthusiastically as he joined them, hands in his pockets.
"How was she?" Martha asked gently, referring to the Matron. In the end, the woman had helped them and it was a shame that they'd torn the man she had been falling for away from her.
"Time we moved on." He replied.
"If you want, I could go and-" Danni started but he reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her up against his side.
"Time we moved on." He repeated, another meaning settling on his words. She looked up at him, a curiously happy smile on her face and he couldn't help but reply. Bits from the watch were coming back to him, and he remembered her with Tim, making sure that he was okay. All she ever did was try and look out for them all.
"I never said thanks for lookin' after me." He declared, squeezing her against his side, "Both of you." He held his arm out to Martha with a cheeky grin and with a roll of her eyes she joined them in a three-way hug.
"Danni, Doctor, Martha!" A voice cried and they all looked behind them to see Tim running towards them in his school uniform.
"Tim-Timothy-Timber." The Doctor rattled off happily.
"Tim!" Danni cheered.
"I just wanted to say good-bye." He told them as he came to a halt in front of them, "And thank you, because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done. It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."
"You don't have to fight." Martha pointed out.
"I think we do." He replied boldly.
"But you could get hurt."
"Well, so could you, travelling around with him, but it's not going to stop you." He retorted and she nodded, conceding his point. Because travelling with the Doctor and Danni was worth the risk. The Doctor took out the fob watch, holding out to the young lad.
"Tim, I'd be honoured if you'd take this." He said proudly. Tim took it was a smile, holding it tightly in his hand, listening out for the whispers that never came.
"I can't hear anything." He told them with a frown.
"No, it's just a watch now. But keep it with you. For good luck." The Doctor offered and Tim pocketed it, knowing he'd keep it with him, always. Martha stumbled slightly down the hillside, pulling him in for a hug.
"Look after yourself." She warned him teasingly before heading back into the TARDIS. Danni was next and as she pulled him in for a hug of her own, he was amused to see that even though her outfit had changed, she was still barefoot.
"Oh, I'm going to miss you." She told him earnestly, pulling back and holding him at arms lengthm "Be amazing Tim, you deserve it." She skipped up the slightly slope and turned back as she reached the door, "And stay safe, otherwise I'm coming for you." She shot him a cheeky smile and dove in after Martha.
"Make sure you keep her for good luck as well." Tim said to the Doctor as he headed inside. The Doctor looked at Tim, who was staring almost challengingly at him, daring him to say something else.
"Oh, I plan to." He promised the boy, "You'll like this bit." And a moment later, the TARDIS de materialised, leaving Tim on his own.
~0~0~0~
Many, many years later. Oh so many, too many to count, Tim sat in his wheelchair in front of the War Memorial that commemorated all they had lost and all they had won. The vicar was reading a beautiful verse, fitting with the tone of the occasion as the young soldiers of today seemed to flank their predecessor, suitably revering the noble cause they had fought. He was an old man now, but he had lived a good life and he owed everything to the man and two women who had visited for three months when he was but a child. He clutched the fob watch in his gloved hand as he glanced to the side and saw them, not aged a day, standing to attention. The Doctor in the middle as Martha pinned a poppy to his lapel, and Danni at his side. He felt himself smile, tears spring to his eyes because he had never thought he'd see them again, he thought himself too smart to believe that.
"Granddad, are you okay?" A voice whispered in concern and he looked up at his ginger granddaughter, who was either 16 or 18, he could never remember these days. She held such love in her eyes, he'd never been prouder. He reached up and clutched her hand, and she let him without complaint. She'd always been a bit of a granddad's girl.
"Yes, Danielle. I'm quite brilliant." He whispered in reply.