The Doctor could feel the blonde woman in his arms starting to stir, her breathing starting to rise from the soft almost-snore that it was when she slept, as she came out of her dreams and back to reality. His wife, his Danielle, his pet. Oh, how he'd missed this.
Clara had been rather reluctant to leave, even though she had a date that she'd complained about missing before he'd answered the phone what felt like an age ago. At this point in time he wasn't sure that she even saw her own jealousy, but he'd not had time for it. A quick goodbye to Psi and Saibra, and him practically pushing Clara out of the door into her flat, and he was finally on his own with her.
It had been a long day for the both of them. Confusion, followed by grief, then anger, then elation. It was very tiring to jump around emotionally from such highs, to lows, and back again. That was clearly evident on Danielle's face, because even though she was smiling softly at him, her eyes showed the beginning signs of exhaustion. He had flown them away into the vortex, where they wouldn't be bothered by anyone else. The alone time they had desperately needed to talk through what had happened, to tell each other what had gone wrong since he had regenerated, and finally get themselves back on track.
Unfortunately, all he was aware of was his wife dancing on the outskirts of his mind and how relieved he was that she was still alive. And of how beautiful her youthful body was, and how it seemed to compliment the more mature man he was now. He could feel the love she felt for him even though they were just and so connected, and how it had seemed to spike just by her looking at him.
He hadn't been able to resist, and after taking her to the bedroom to finally feel her for the very first time in this new body, they had drifted off to sleep together, beautifully exhausted for a completely different reason.
Four hours later he'd woken up with her in his arms, again for the first time as Twelve. She still slept on next to him but she had always slept longer than he did, it was the human part of her that caused that. It was never going to go away, so he was going to have to work around it. Plan around her eight hours of wasted time to make sure the time she was awake was the most enjoyable part of her day.
He still had to wonder if this was a little creepy. Watching her sleep without her knowledge had been common practice when he was younger, but as she never gave her consent for him to stare at her like a stalker, did it make her uncomfortable? He hoped not, because he was starting to remember why he liked it so much. Looking so calm and oblivious to the universe really suited her, almost as much as her excited awe did at the new places he took her.
He had been thinking about the date that never happened – showing her the Satanic Nebula – but then she had woken up and his attention turned to his deliciously underdressed wife. She opened her eyes slowly, stretching out her tiredness in his arms, then shot him a small, sleepy smile.
"I wasn't sure if you'd still be here." She told him sheepishly, although she couldn't express how happy she was that he was. So, instead of telling him, she gently wafted her happiness from her mind to his, letting him feel it instead.
He shifted from underneath her, lying her down on the pillow so he could hold himself over her, "I wasn't sure if it would make you uncomfortable." He admitted, watching her smile turn to a little smirk, "I'm glad to see that isn't the case."
"I'll never be uncomfortable waking up next to you." She replied, "After all, the day can only get better from there."
He shot her a look for her cheek, happy when she started giggling, "Oh, is that how it is?" He purred, dipping his head down, placing kisses on her jawline, "Boring old Doctor, eh?" He groaned into her skin. He realised quite quickly that some things never did change regardless of body, and when they had finally fallen the night before, he was almost instantly craving her once again. Completely addicted, and always would be.
And she was no better. The first gentle brush of his lips on her had her breath catching, her eyes fluttered shut, "You said it, not me…" She replied lowly as he rolled completely on top of her, one had either side of her head.
"Well, then, I'll just have to change your opinion, my Pet." He murmured lowly, nuzzling into the soft skin that joined her neck to her shoulder, "My Danielle."
"My Theta…" She groaned in reply.
~0~0~0~
It had been so long, too long, since Danni had made pancakes. The Doctor had always made them on her birthday, every year for five hundred years, but having them day to day wasn't something that had really happened while in Christmas. To be honest, while she did still like pancakes, her first body had liked them a whole lot more.
But she was just so happy. And while her husband and herself were definitely not out of the woods yet – a night of passion didn't fix everything – she could still appreciate the fact that they seemed to be working to a proper resolution. That was reason to celebrate and, as always, celebration meant pancakes.
His behaviour was just so erratic. One moment he was insulting her, the next he was telling her again and again that he loved her. One minute she was part Time Lord and mostly human, the next he was wrapping his mind around hers like she was fully Time Lord. To be frank, it was dizzying, and it was nice to have a break between all that.
She was just plating it up as he came into the room. Unlike her, who was still in her pyjamas, he'd spent the time getting dressed into his normal outfit, "You're cooking?" He commented, sounding like he wasn't sure whether to be pleased or not.
"Mmm." Was her only reply as she separated the pile of pancakes she had made onto two plates, "I really fancied some pancakes."
"I could have taken us somewhere for them." He pointed out, looking at the plates with uncertainty because, even after five hundred years to improve her cooking, he still wasn't sure if she had improved enough for him to willingly eat her food, "There's plenty of places in the universe that could have made us pancakes with none of the mess."
"Yes, but I didn't want to go out." She replied patiently as she walked over with his plate, sitting down across from him at the dining table, "I thought we could just spend some time together."
"We could spend time together elsewhere." He pointed out, "Do you remember our discussion on the Satanic Nebula? Well, on Luptus there is a…"
She picked up her fork, pointing at him before either of them had taken a bite, "Nope." She cut him off, "We're celebrating, eat your pancakes."
"Celebrating?" He asked with a frown, "What, exactly?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. Us, I guess. Me not being dead, us finally… you know…" She flushed deliciously pink and the Doctor smirked, leaning across the table to her.
"Oh?" He teased and she flushed even more, "Us, what, exactly?"
"Stop it." She moaned, dipping her head to try and hide her flushing cheeks, "You know what I mean!"
He chuckled, but leant away again, "Of course, my Pet." He replied, "You humans do like to celebrate everything, after all."
Her brows furrowed and she felt herself tense up at his playful words. Once again he'd gone straight for the humanity factor. It was new for this body, but it always sounded like an insult. Like a part of her that he had to put up with.
"Yes, we do." She replied with a snap, reaching forward to grab his plate, "And it's for humans only." She pulled the pancakes back to her, "And you've made it clear you're not one of us."
He frowned, "Of course I'm not." He replied, "What has that got to do with anything?"
"I don't know, you're the one who keeps bringing it up." She murmured angrily, placing her fork back down on her plate without taking a single bite of her pancakes. She stood back up again, grabbing the two plates, "Come on, we'll just go somewhere."
He watched her get up, completely baffled by her sudden change in demeanour. One moment she was happy and making pancakes – probably dancing about if he knew her at all – and the next she was in a bad mood for seemingly no reason.
"What's wrong?" He asked, standing up to take the plates out of her hands to place them back down. And that was it, the moment that snapped in her head. Even now he still didn't see what he was doing to her and it exploded into anger.
"Why do you keep doing this?" She exclaimed.
"Doing what?" He asked, sounding genuinely perplexed, which just fuelled her anger even further.
"Keep insulting me!" She retorted, "Keep telling me what an idiot I'm being. I don't understand, what did I do to make you hate me so much?"
"Of course I don't keep insulting you." He scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous." She pointed at him.
"There, you did it again!" She exclaimed, "You call human's pudding brains then keep insisting I'm one of them! I am part human, so that means me, right?"
He rolled his eyes, "Oh, stop it." He snapped, "You're being…"
"Being what?" She interrupted, eyes blazing in anger, "A stupid little girl? Go on. Say it."
He reeled slightly at her throwing the insult at him, one that he had been rather fond of when he'd been too proud and stupid to see what had been in front of him. When the Danielles he had been seeing were just young and scared and doing amazingly at not destroying the universe by ensuring that everything ran the way she knew it should. When he couldn't handle her knowing more than he did. It was a spiteful action on her part to remind him of his own past, but just by the way her hands had clenched again by her sides, the way she panted without having shouted, he could tell just how angry and hurt she was.
"No." He replied softly, "You're not a stupid little girl, and you never were." He watched her relax slightly, as if she had expected him to throw it back in her face. Not out of some latent fear of his anger as well, that had all but gone as far as he was aware. This was something new, and he came to the grim realisation that it was something he had done.
"Then why do you act like I am?" She asked in reply, her voice softer this time, "You keep telling me I used to be better, or cleverer. You used to be impressed when I got it right, now you just insult me when I get it wrong. Because I'm 'only human.'"
He had never meant his words to hurt her. He'd seen it as encouragement, because she would always prove herself when someone thought she couldn't do it. She had been like that when she was young and ginger – it was how they'd found out that she could control the TARDIS by command alone – and it hadn't really changed now. She wasn't as confident or outgoing as the ginger version of herself, but she hated people feeling like she was less than capable. "It's because I know you can do better." He explained, "You're brilliant, Danielle, and much smarter than you give yourself credit for." She flushed slightly at his compliment, "But sometimes you just need a push to show it. The last thing you could ever be is a pudding brain."
Once again she didn't reply, forcing down the wince at the insult, "But I was human, and I still am." She replied, "And do you know who else is? Rose, and Martha, and Donna and Jack. Amy, Rory and Clara. Even River to an extent as well! They're all human. Every time you insult humans, you insult them and they don't deserve that."
And she did it again. For a moment she felt herself fuming that Eleven wouldn't have. He treasured his extended family, and the human race for giving him it. Eleven wouldn't have called them all pudding brains. Just the ones who deserved it, based on an individual basis.
But he wasn't Eleven and she sagged under her own guilt, "Just like you don't deserve being compared to Eleven." She replied regretfully, meeting his eyes. Hers shone with every emotion, and yet his were so guarded, "I'm sorry, Theta. I'm really trying not to keep doing that. I'm getting better, as well. I know I am."
"I know you asked to go see him." He told her and while she had thought him finding out would cause her panic, the fact was that she didn't even feel surprised he knew.
"I thought it would help." Danni replied with a shrug of defeat, "And it did. I said goodbye, and it helped. Because he wasn't you and I missed you."
"I don't remember it." He admitted, "I don't remember meeting you and River together. That whole time has completely disappeared." He knew that it would hurt her, and he watched the realisation wash over her.
"You forgot me?" She asked quietly.
"No, never." He quickly replied, taking a step towards her, "I admit, I have forgotten a few things. I don't always understand you anymore, but I could never forget you." He took a deep breath, steeling himself for her response, bearing himself to her fully so she could feel his sincerity, "I asked for help. But from the wrong person." He reached out, taking her hand in his, "Help me, Danielle." He beseeched, "I know I'm asking a lot. I'm still finding myself, but I need you to help me find you as well. Please, don't give up on me."
She looked at his hands, holding hers between them tightly. As always, hers was dwarfed by him. Maybe one day she wouldn't be so short.
She looked back up at him, seeing the emotion finally on his face. He hid it from the universe, whether that was by design or just his personality, she wasn't too sure. But he never hid it from her, and he needed her help.
They had both gone wrong so far, but they both knew that now. They could move on from this, couldn't they? Or, at least, try. Her Theta needed her help and she was never going to say no to him.
"Forgetting things?" She asked with a bit of a smirk, "Old age will do that to you, Spaceman."
"Oh, you…" He trailed off, pulling her up close, "Don't tempt me, my Pet."
"Promises, promises." She tutted, "Can't have you throwing your back out." She squealed, laughing in delight as he picked her up bridal style and holding her off the floor even as she kicked her legs, "Put me down!" She demanded.
"Never." He purred, walking over to sit her on the table, sending the plates to the floor with a crash, pancakes and all, "I am never letting you go." He told her firmly, bending her backwards.
~0~0~0~
The TARDIS had an infinite amount of rooms, some which existed all at the same time, and some which only seemed to come into play when she felt like sharing them. It made finding the woodworking shop rather difficult if he also needed the metalwork shop, but that had only happened a couple times in the last thousand years, so that hadn't been much of an issue.
It also meant that there were rooms that shouldn't have been. Rooms that appeared from different universes, different timelines that may have once played a role but now never will. Full of fake memories and promises, and every so often he tried to do a clean-up of these rooms. Delete a few from the TARDIS to make room for the bedrooms and nice walks and other things that would be much more useful to them.
However, he hadn't done that in over eight hundred years. So, he wasn't surprised to find Danielle in a room that shouldn't have been. When she was thinking too much she would walk through the hallways, opening doors and peeking inside. Check each new room out and smile and move on from rooms that she'd seen a hundred times before. The TARDIS kept her busy until he could find her and they could talk about what was bothering her.
The room itself came as a shock while also being incredibly unsurprising to him. The pale yellow wasn't to his taste, although it complemented the white cot and changing table perfectly, while the rocking chair on the other side of the room only held his attention because Danielle was sat in it. She wasn't rocking the chair; in fact, she was sat so far forward to stop the chair from rocking as she looked around the room. There were a few animals dotted around, and a mobile above the cot with little stars.
"I think this might have been ours." Danni told him wistfully, "One day. Maybe." She stood up, the chair falling back into a gentle rock as she walked over to a shelf. On it was a picture in a frame, and this is what she picked up. A picture of his current self, a woman with brown hair that would have been her, and a little baby. The yellow theme followed through to the picture as the little baby in her arms was in a yellow baby grow, "My next body, maybe?" He took it off her, staring at the little baby that was pulling such a bright smile from her face. Even he looked besotted, the baby holding onto him for dear life.
"I'd happily give up my memories again to save any creature." She continued, "But, but I did genuinely, just for a moment, think that maybe that was going to be a reality. That we'd found a way to have that little baby girl, but we didn't, did we? And we never will."
The Doctor continued to stare silently at the photograph, at their little family that never was, "I looked." He told her, tearing his eyes away from the picture to put it on the shelf where it belonged, "I spent a hundred years before Christmas looking, and three hundred years on my own. While you slept, I travelled the universe looking for the best of the best. And when I was trapped, I read up on everything I could. I thought that if I found a solution, I might be able to leave you something behind of me."
She looked at him, completely shocked, and rightfully show, "You never said." She replied softly.
"I didn't want to break your hearts when I failed." He replied bluntly, "You were better off oblivious. You always were more hopeful than I."
She didn't reply straight away. Her thoughts turned to imagined memories of Eleven, by candlelight, aging more and more by the day as he read through the TARDIS library. Him begging for help and then pretending he'd done nothing of the sort, pretending that he hadn't come to a dead end once again just so she never lost hope that it might happen for them.
"Why tell me now?" She asked him softly.
"Because, once again, his half-baked attempts to protect you didn't work." He all but snapped, not at her, but at the man who hadn't told her, "Your hope is just hurting you." She nodded softly, looking away from him because he was right. Because she had been hurt by the disappointment at the answer not being at the end of the heist. Every time she felt a twinge in her stomach, whenever she felt ill, it was the first thing that came to mind and every time is wasn't the answer.
"And because I want you to know it hurts me to." He added and she looked back up at him, her slight bewilderment on her face, "I told you that it didn't, but it does. I may be rude, but I would love a family of our own." She looked away from him again, this time with a small amount of shame because it was her fault. She was too human, and now that there was a chance that the Time Lords could come back to the correct universe, he could have it with someone else, "But my point will always stand. If I can't have it with you, then I don't want it."
She smiled at her husband, who seemed to be able to both break her hearts then build them back up within a single moment with great ease. To know that he was hurting as well, because of her, but he would choose that over anything else was so bittersweet that the smile quivered as tears appeared in her eyes. She looked at the shelf, at the picture of them together, trying to suppress the overwhelming urge to cry. It was never going to happen for them. She had always known that, but knowing that her Theta, the Doctor, had also tried and failed to find an answer just made it seem so much more final.
Her eyes fell on the picture of the little girl in their arms, who can't have been more than a couple of months old, "She would have been beautiful." Danni whispered as her attempt at stopping her tears failed and with one blink they began trailing down her cheeks.
"Just like her mother." The Doctor added and Danni laughed, a wet, horrid laugh that did nothing to hide her crying. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tearing her gaze from the photo and walked her out of the room and away from the pain he could feel rolling over her, threatening to drown her. With one last look over his shoulder at the room that should never have been, he made a mental note to delete it.
~0~0~0~
It had taken him what it seemed to have been a couple of days, but he finally had manged to take her on the date he'd planned the moment Clara had suggested it. Luptus itself wasn't anything extraordinary. It didn't really have a tourist trade, just your normal 'people dancing between cities to have a bit of a change' type affair. It didn't pull crowds from around the galaxy looking for a good time or to see fantastic sights. It's main source of income was exporting the minerals and metals found underneath the planet's surface, and was a rather good lay over for some of the longer distance journeys, so there were boarding houses in the major docking zones for workers, but nothing out of the ordinary for your standard level 6 planet.
They both preferred these types of planets, the Doctor more so. Ones where it wasn't a struggle to walk around the streets, or find a table at a nice restaurant. Ones where places to view the beauty weren't crammed with people in every single available nook and cranny, talking too loudly and too wrongly about things that weren't important. He and his wife could observe the universe around them and still be able to pay attention to each other.
While he'd tried to plan out everything before they left, some of the magic of life was in spontaneity. He'd chosen the perfect spot where they could properly see the Satanic Nebula, but the meal beforehand was going to be purely decided by what they came across first that looked nice.
He waited patiently for Danielle to get ready – although he was rather partial to her pyjamas, they weren't the best option when going out. The dress she chose, though, was perfect on her. She headed to his side, smiling softly, "I wasn't too sure how posh I needed to go…" She explained as if she was finding an excuse for the perfectly lovely black dress she had chosen.
"You look fine." He promised before offering her his arm. She giggled in that way she always did when he offered the same gesture, like she found it new and amusing, but took it all the same. He led her over to the door and remembered, just in time, to let her open it.
Her face lit up and she threw the doors open, revealing the rather mediocre outside. Not too tall buildings, all grey and concrete. Traffic wasn't heavy, but constantly moving. People walked the streets but with plenty of room to breathe. And yet, her eyes shone as she smiled brightly, "I like it." She declared, like she had final judge over the entire planet, "Where are we going?"
"I thought you might like some food first." He told her, locking the TARDIS behind them and heading out into the street, "As far as I'm aware there should be a few restaurants on this street. No pasta, though." He teased lightly and she faked a pout.
"Honestly, Spaceman, you should know not to take me somewhere without spaghetti." She sighed, "I guess I'm just going to have to settle for something else."
"I'm sure you'll find something to satisfy your appetite." He replied suggestively just to see her blush. She used to always do the same to him; make little comments that alluded to something a lot more private just to see him stumble over his words. Now, it would appear, it was his turn to do the same and it was long overdue, "After all, you've used quite a lot of energy today."
"Theta, stop it." She groaned as he pulled her closer to his side.
"That's not what you said this morning." He purred and she squirmed in his arms.
"People will hear!" She exclaimed and he chuckled, but let her go enough to be able to walk next to him.
"We definitely can't be having that, can we?" He agreed with all his smugness on show. She nudged into him, but then hugged his arm to tell him that she wasn't really mad at him.
The first restaurant didn't have much to offer in the way of food, and the second was fully booked. There was a buffet-style place that Danni had been rather eager to try, but the Doctor had vetoed it outright – 'Do you realise how many people are going to touch your food before you do?'.
"What about this one?" Danni suggested, pulling him to a stop outside what would have been an eat-in pub style place on Earth. People outside eating light snacks and drinking while the menu on the wall suggested much more plentiful meals were on offer to those who wanted it.
It wasn't as nice as he'd have hoped to take her. Too many people, and too many people drinking at that. She deserved something of a higher standard, but unfortunately those also seemed to be lacking in the area.
"If you wish, my Pet." He told her just as a rumbling sounded out through the air. Danni immediately looked down the road as the whole street fell silent for a moment, then exploded in murmurings over what had happened.
"What was that?" She asked, concerned.
"I would expect it has something to do with that." The Doctor replied, nodding at the sky as something fell very quickly fell towards the city, but its trajectory suggested it was going to hit a different part of time, "Inside, inside now." He commanded, nudging her towards the door. She didn't need to be told twice, neither did the people outside the pub. Just as the last person made their way inside, there was an almighty shake as the object crash landed into the earth, causing a quake that brought down the ornaments that decorated the establishment as well as some of the light fittings. The Doctor had the forethought to pull his wife up closer as people screamed, pulling her close and turning them both away into a corner, meaning the debris missed them.
"What the hell was that?" Danni exclaimed as the dust settled and it became apparent that the power had been knocked out by the impact.
"It looked like a ship." The Doctor replied, "The thunder was it breaking through the atmosphere. It probably wasn't even heading here. And, if it was going to crash, they would have aimed for somewhere less densely populated."
"You think it was brought down on purpose?" She surmised from his words.
"Could have been." He replied, "Then again, nothing of note is happening today. No public holidays, or national events. It's why I chose the date."
"The only way to find out is to go look, I suppose." Danni offered offhandedly. The Doctor nodded.
"Unfortunately we are on a date." He reminded her. Danni nodded solemnly and for a moment they both acted like they weren't going to investigate.
Then that grin he adored spread on her face, the one that showed her inquisitiveness and her eagerness, and she grabbed his hand, "Oh, come on Spaceman." She exclaimed, "Let's go have a poke about."
They both rushed out of the pub, leaving the idea of food back in its walls. After all, this was much more exciting than some date.
~0~0~0~
Gun fire echoed down the street, shouts from the people in charge telling the soldiers to catch them followed Danni and the Doctor as they darted down into an alleyway, panting heavily as they hid in the shadows.
Danni's dress had seen better days, scorched from the explosion the Doctor had accidently set off whilst trying to get into the crashed spaceship. Suddenly they were the prime suspects of whatever had brought it down into the, thankfully, relatively empty industrial area. It could have been so much worse than it was, but they didn't really have time for that as they'd searched the wreckage for the little black box that the Doctor had needed. Then they'd just needed to shake off the authorities.
"I think they're gone." The Doctor whispered as the trail of police officers seemed to taper off.
"The front door." Danni panted, relaxing somewhat, "Why did you have to… to blow up the front door?"
"It was jammed; what else was I supposed to do?" The Doctor snapped in reply.
"I don't know. Not blow it up!" She offered as her solution, "They're going to notice the box is missing."
"Most likely." He agreed, "But they wouldn't have done any good with it. This may be a level 6 planet, but they would have just hidden it like everyone else would. Best not stir up panic until it's too late to do anything about it."
"You don't know that." Danni retorted but the Doctor shot her a look, to which she nodded, "Alright, we both know exactly that. What do we do now?"
"We get back to the TARDIS and play whatever footage is on this." He replied, holding the box aloft in case she didn't know what they were being hunted for, "Find out if there was anything untoward about the crash, fight the bad guys, save the day, then get something to eat. I saw what appeared to be a little fish and chip shop down the road, that looked delightful."
"Fish and chips?" She replied, "I thought you wanted somewhere a bit fancy?"
"I think that went out of the window with the giant crashing ship, don't you?" He retorted and she had to agree. Plus, she wasn't in any state to be let into a posh restaurant. Neither was he, to be fair. His hair was a mess, and the singe marks that were on her dress also smattered his jacket.
"So, we've got a crashed ship, in the middle of an industrial site, with very few known casualties and all we have to go on is the little black box that we can't watch without the TARDIS?"
"That seems to be a summation of the situation, well done." He replied.
"Hey, don't get sarcastic with me." She snapped, "We don't have much to go on, I was just trying to see if anything stood out as odd."
"The whole situation is odd." He retorted, the sarcasm still heavy in his tone.
"If you're going to be arsey with me, you can do this on your own." Danni warned, like she had any intention of leaving him on his own, "I've warned you about…"
"Sarge!" A voice shouted and the two fell silent, suddenly on the alert as someone appeared in the alleyway's opening. The Doctor grabbed her, pulling her closer and deeper into the shadow, one arm around her stomach and one resting on her chest.
Her hearts were pounding as they both held their breaths, trying to keep from being spotted. She tried to focus on something else, so went back to recounting what little they knew. The ship crashed into an industrial zone, which had a few factories on but only minimal staff because it was evening and people were at home. Most of the damage was done to the buildings, in fact one factory. And even then, it was just a building. An expensive building, but a building nonetheless. It caused a lot of noise, but not a lot of serious destruction.
It was very strange that, if deliberate, the people in question hadn't aimed for somewhere that would cause a lot more devastation. The city wasn't exactly small, to fall from such a height and not hit anywhere more built up was a blessing, but also seemed rather unlikely. The news would call it lucky, or fortunate, or a miracle. People who knew better would call it deliberate.
The man who'd called for his Sarge didn't direct them down the alleyway, and moments later they were running away again. The Doctor let go of Danni, who quickly spun around.
"I think they aimed for the factory." She said with barely a pause between words, "Think about it. Big city, lots of people, but from the sky and no one was hurt."
She saw the same thought go through his head at a much faster rate, obviously calculating possibilities and statistics that she couldn't even begin to understand. She grinned, because she had been on to a winner and it was always nice to know she'd sparked something in that giant brain of his.
He smirked at her, "It was deliberate." He stated, coming to the same conclusion. The pride she was feeling made her stand taller, back straight and the sexiest smirk appeared on her face, "Good girl."
"Good girl?" She echoed as he closed the gap between them, "Theta, we don't…"
"It was deliberate." He repeated, "They won't make a move for a while now. And you are incredibly sexy when you're being smart, my Pet." He turned them both, pressing her up against the wall and she laughed at his cheek, but didn't try and get away.
"What have unleashed?" She asked in a fake exasperated tone but he didn't bother replying. She would never deny him a snogging session; she wasn't an idiot after all.
~0~0~0~
Danni offered the Doctor a quiet 'thanks' as he laid his jacket on the grass for her to lie down on. Her feet were very thankful for the rest, because even though she'd had the smarts to wear flats, they still hadn't been made for running so much.
He joined her on the floor, legs out in front of him as he used his arms to prop himself up. Her hunch had been spot on, and after working out that it had been a stunt by an angry family member of the people who had owned the factory, there really hadn't been much to clean up. In fact, by stealing the black box when they did, they'd just prolonged the investigation and before they'd managed to show someone in charge their proof, the whole planet had been put on mauve alert.
Danni had been rather glad that, while they'd had a lovely little adventure, it hadn't been particularly stressful. Her emotions were still all over the place as she mourned the loss of their baby that never was, and yet another change in their relationship, and she felt rather exhausted by the day.
But she knew the real reason that he'd brought her to Luptus, and the sight he'd wanted her to see, so when he suggested a stroll in the park she hadn't objected. And she was glad she wouldn't. Above them in the sky was the most beautiful nebula she'd seen. Purples and reds twisting together, swirls of gas and debris in the night sky that lit up the planets it spanned. People were walking past the couple like it was an everyday occurrence for them, like they'd grown used to it and it no longer held any beauty to them and it just baffled her.
The Doctor couldn't focus on the sky, or on the look of almost pure happiness on her face as she studied it with wide eyes and an open mind. He saw the people walking past, getting on with their nights for the most part, but the occasional look in their direction. The bewildering disapproval they sent their way, like they had a say in the two Time Lords' relationship at all. He didn't understand it, but it made him uncomfortable and so he couldn't quite enjoy the time as much as he would have liked. They glared at the pair like they were doing something wrong, when all they were doing was watching the stars go by.
He tore his mind of the multitude of reasons that the people felt like they deserved to stick their noses into his and Danielle's business and rocked onto one leg, lifting himself up enough to access his jacket pocket. He pulled a pair of binoculars out and rested back down, shifting over to be closer to his wife.
"Here, look through these." He told her and she took them eagerly, "Your eyes will take a moment to adjust to them, just bear with it."
She nodded before holding them up to her eyes, placing them on her glasses so she could actually see through them. He was right, for a moment her eyes went terribly out of focus and she winced as her brain anticipated a headache.
When it cleared she gasped. Now she could see the nebula up close, see the red dominating the purple and see the different strands interweaving with each other. She pulled them away to look at him, "Is that why it's the Satanic Nebula?" She asked him, "Because it's red."
He nodded, "From a certain angle you can see a face in the gasses, it was said to be the devil watching and waiting for the galaxies to sin." He explained, "But look closer."
She did as he said, her eyes going out of focus again, "Oh." She breathed, seeing that the stories he'd told her had been true. That within the little piece of the nebula that she was looking at alone she could see specks drawing in towards a centre, "Is that a star forming?" She whispered, like she was afraid she might disturb it.
"Not quite." He explained softly, taking a moment to brush her hair behind her ear, "It's planets. Much like we watched with Donna. The rocks pulling together to form new balls of rock. New planets, new civilisations, new homes." He gently moved her head to the side, showing her some of the more formed parts, "In a few billion years that will be a galaxy called Burnstein 3. Seven planets and one sun. A race called the Burnettes will reside there, and they look a little like those strange alien figures that you…" he caught him, "that some humans seem to think all aliens look like." She tilted her head to look at him, "You know, all green with big eyes." He motioned to his eyes, imitating them stretching out, "Spindly arms. Honestly, completely way off. Humans never encounter the Burnettes. I have no idea where they came up with that idea."
"We should go have a look." Danni suggested, "Find out the reason that they decided that was an 'alien'." He was sure that it probably wasn't an exciting reason behind it, he nodded his agreement.
"Whatever you want, my Danni-Girl." He replied in such a soft tone that she looked at him once more. He'd said it, he'd called her that little name that he'd always called her until he had regenerated, the one that meant so much to her. She couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Promise?" She asked him just as softly and he nodded.
"Oh, you silly human." He replied with a complete tease in his voice that didn't offend her at all, "You'll always be my Danni-Girl." She giggled, then moved closer, leaning on his arm as she looked out to the stars again.
"Then where to?" She asked, "We find out where the image came from, then go see them for real?"