Vastra and Jenny seemed rather startled when Danni burst into the room, the light shining behind her like she was some sort of superhero. Her hand immediately went to the wall where, as she had suspected, there had been a light switch. There was no way that a man such a Milton was going to have any of his rooms lit by anything but what he was used to.
"Thank goodness," Jenny breathed.
"You are alone?" Vastra asked. Danni nodded.
"Don't get your hopes up," she replied. "I've still got to get you out of there."
Vastra pointed out the control panel on the wall by the window. Danni dashed over and frowned at all the different buttons and switches inside it. "I should have gotten the screwdriver," she grumbled. "Every time."
She started flicking things, keeping an eye on her friends. "Did you get tricked by the man with no face too, then?" she asked as one switch made the lights brighter.
"He pretended to be one of my own kind," Vastra explained. "And Jenny saw a young man not unlike herself. It is a clever weapon. It's very creative, and immensely dangerous."
"He's also not doing it out of his own free will," Danni replied, her brows furrowed. "It's the crystals. Get rid of the… ah ha!" She punched the air as the bars disappeared. "The crystals are controlling them. If they come, try and remove it without hurting them too much."
Vastra nodded. "What is the plan?" she asked the Time Lady.
"We stop Milton," she replied. "There's this weapon. It's going to release this giant cloud of pure anger over London unless we get to him first."
"To what effect?"
"Chaos, destruction," Danni rattled off. "Imagine all the humans in this city pumped as high as they can be with pure rage. They'll rip each other apart."
"Why's he doing that?" Jenny asked.
"Why else? For money," Danni retorted. "He's showing off."
"He's trying to re-establish his business as an arms supplier," Vastra reasoned. "But he has to be careful. If the Shadow Proclamation locate him, I image from what he has told us that they would execute him."
"Execute him?" Danni asked.
"Apparently 'e's been less the proper with his arms dealing," Jenny replied. "Ma'am said 'e is on the run."
"Why am I not surprised?" Danni drawled. "Right, we need to find his ship. He says he's going to activate the weapon remotely, but he won't want to be too far away. We'll have to search the house."
All of them knew that splitting up at this point in time would have been a grave mistake. If they were accosted, there would be strength in numbers. Luckily the Doctor had, at the very least, led Empath away from the house.
The study was the best place to start. Vastra managed to easily hack into the small tablet that Milton had used to read the results of the Doctor's analysis on and found the feeds to the cameras that seemed to be in every room. One showed a view of a sleek spaceship at the end of a sloping ramp, and another showed the trio in the study. But then they found Milton in the library, checking the swirling gas inside the glass sphere.
Danni's hands clenched by her side at the mere sight of him. "Let's go," she growled before catching herself, blinking in surprise. Maybe she was that angry after all.
Milton seemed rather surprised when they burst into the library, but the look was wiped away by a small of affable greeting.
"You're just in time," he told them. "If you wait just a few minutes, you'll see the tank empty and clear as I vent the cloud into the air above London."
"You will do no such thing," Vastra replied firmly.
"We're going to stop you," Danni replied confidently. "As long as you don't leave this room, you can't set that atrocity off."
"And you're going nowhere," Jenny added.
Milton frowned, reaching into his pocket. "How tiresome," he murmured. He pulled out a watch, checking the time quickly then returning it. "I'm am on a schedule, I'm afraid. Several prospective buyers are watching on long-range sensors to see what happens when I release my friend here." He patted the sphere.
"Then they'll be disappointed," Vastra replied.
Milton seemed to ignore her. "My transmissions may have alerted the authorities to my general location. They won't have an exact fix, but I do have to be a bit careful for the next few days. Did you know," he went on, as if recounting a particularly amusing anecdote, "that the Shadow Proclamation arranged to have me tried in absentia? Apparently I'm to be executed on sight. So you'll forgive me if I leave you to indulge your fantasies while I press on with more important matters."
Danni shook her head as Jenny adopted a fighting stance. "You aren't going anywhere," she reiterated. "We're not letting you go."
"I beg to differ," Milton replied. As if on cue, from two armchairs that had not been facing them, two figures arose. One was Silhouette, and the other Affinity.
"Oh, great," Danni grumbled. "Jenny, you ready for this?"
She nodded, cracking her knuckles before returning to her previous stance. "Of course," she replied. "You ain't stopping us."
"Not quite right, I'm afraid," Milton said. "It's you that isn't stopping me."
He strode purposefully towards them after scooping up a pile of paper that presumably had the plans for his 'masterpiece' on. Affinity and Silhouette stepped aside to let him past, but the trio closed in to block his way. As he approached, Silhouette opened her arms, fingers extended.
Danni cried out in surprise as something hit her on the back of the head. She raised her hand to touch where it had impacted, turning to look behind her as Vastra and Jenny made similar noises at being attacked. From across the room, Danni caught sight of a book leaving the shelves, flying towards them like a bird.
"Oh, not again!" she cried out in annoyance as it flew straight for her. "It's the books! Duck!"
The books were quick to surround them as Milton made his getaway. Danni and Vastra struggled against the books, Jenny putting up a better fight than her wife and friend. The books were relentless, beating against them like they really had wings.
Vastra managed to tear one book in two, but the parts just made for more attackers. Danni could feel some of her cuts opening as new ones were made by the swirls of paper around them, but she had a feeling that Strax wasn't going to be jumping in any time soon.
"Stop her," Vastra cried through the noise the books were making. "You have to stop her Jenny!"
Jenny began forcing her way through the books, fighting with every grunting breath against the attack.
"Her necklace!" Danni reminded as Jenny tackled her to the ground. There was a struggle, but Jenny managed to rip the necklace from around her neck, hurling it across the room. Nothing changed, but Danni didn't expect it to. She dropped to the floor, crawling over towards it, bowing her head to keep her face protected. She grabbed the necklace tightly and brought it down to the floor with force. One, two, three times and it shattered.
At once all of the noise and confusion stopped. Affinity was not happy that his fellow comrade had been freed and attacked Silhouette, who was too stunned by her sudden freedom to fight back. Quickly, the other three women were on him and with a stamp of Danni's foot, his ring was smashed and he was free as well.
He stepped away from them all, sagging as the relief flowed through him. He flickered between all of the faces that they recognised, and some they did not, before finally settling on a blank, featureless face.
"My head," he said slowly. "I can… think."
"We are free of him," Silhouette said. She enfolded Affinity into an embrace, before stepping away. "Thank you," she said to Danni, Vastra and Jenny.
"Not yet, no time," Danni replied. "Where is he? Where's Milton?"
"He has gone to his vessel," Silhouette said. "This way."
They were stopped in their tracks by the sound of hissing. They all turned to look at the sphere as the smoke began to drain. Danni grabbed Silhouette's arm. "It's started," she exclaimed. "Quickly, take us to Milton!"
~0~0~0~
The way down into the underground chamber had been protected by a metal shutter with no way of moving it out of the way. Their only chance was the computer in the study, so they all rushed up and Vastra set to work hacking into the system.
"It's useless. The data is all gone," she declared with an exasperated sigh. "He must have erased it remotely."
"Makes sense," Danni replied as the screen flickered. Milton appeared on it, obviously in his ship.
"You really cannot be so naïve as to think I would leave you any way to stop me, can you?" he asked. "I'd say come and join me, but as you can see I'm a little short of space. Just as you are all a little short of time."
Danni pushed in front of Vastra, glaring at the man on the other side. "Stop the weapon now," she demanded. "Or we will stop you."
"There is no way to stop me," he replied. "The weapon has already released the gas. Is that Silhouette and Affinity I see behind you?" He waved at them, as if he wasn't bothered at all by the fact that they were working with the people trying to find him. "I'm so sorry, but you will also be affected by the cloud. Very soon, I expect. You are in the eye of the storm, as it were, so you might have a little more time before it permeates the whole of London's atmosphere."
Silhouette stepped closer to the screen. "You have made us do terrible things," she said.
Milton smiled sympathetically. "I made you into a weapon, my dear. Weapons do terrible things. That is rather the point of them."
"It is a mistake to turn your own weapons against yourself."
"I think I'm quite safe down her, thank you. Oh, but there is one thing you could still do for me." He leaned forward slightly. "Leave the screen on. I would like to see you all when the anger cloud does reach you. I'd like to watch you kill each other in rage and fury."
Danni growled, swiping her hand across the screen and making him disappear from view. "He's an arse," she declared.
"He makes me so angry," Jenny agreed, her hands bunched into tight fists.
"Let us hope that is the only thing making you angry," Vastra pointed out. "How long do we have?"
"Not long," Affinity said.
Danni flopped into a chair, a thoughtful look on her face. "We can't stop the cloud," she commented. "We need to stop Milton. That's what the Doctor told me to do. Not stop the cloud, stop Milton."
"And how do we do that?" Jenny asked.
"We'll never get him out of his ship," Danni replied. "Even if the Doctor manages to save us all, he won't leave where he is the safest."
So what did they have? They had a tablet with no data, a ship with no entry point and two weapons who now had free will.
"He's not scared of us," Vastra replied. "The only way he will make a move that will help us defeat him is if he's scared."
"Then what is he scared of?" Danni countered.
"Getting caught," Silhouette replied. They all looked at her and Danni nodded slowly.
"She's right," she said. "He's scared of being caught for his crimes. Otherwise he wouldn't be hiding out in the basement."
"Are you suggesting contacting the Shadow Proclamation?" Vastra asked.
Danni shook her head. "No. It'd be impossible, and I think me and the Doctor might be wanted by them as well. I can't remember. Police tend to not like us, anyway."
"Then what do you suggest?" the lizard woman asked. Danni didn't reply straight away, staring straight ahead like the answer was dancing around in front of them. Then she smiled, and met Affinity's gaze.
"I think I have a plan," she declared, jumping out of her seat. "It's risky, but it just might work. Will you help us?"
Affinity seemed rather surprised to be addressed directly, but with a quick look at Silhouette, he nodded.
"What can we do to help?"
~0~0~0~
Danni paced back and forth, her anxiousness on her face as well as in her movement. If she was sat down, her leg would be bouncing. That was why she was pacing; to get all the energy out.
"Is this going to work?" Vastra asked. "He is a clever man, surely he will recognise his own creations?"
"I think he's too arrogant to," Danni replied. "I think. I don't know, but what else do we have to lose?"
"You make a good point," Vastra agreed. "Then maybe we should let him talk first. There is no need to address him yourself."
Danni shook her head. "We need to give him the choice," she explained. "The Doctor taught me that, he's taught us all that. He still may choose to do the right thing." She nodded to herself. She still had to believe the best in people, even when they showed the worst. Milton might still be able to help them. "Are we ready?"
"Ready," said Affinity from the other side of the communications. She walked over and took the tablet from Vastra.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked the man on the other side of the screen. "He might not choose to help, which means he's going to die."
"We have to stop him," Affinity replied and Danni nodded in agreement.
"We do," she agreed. "Alright, keep listening. When he doesn't change his mind, then you message him, alright?"
She took a deep breath, then touched the screen, calling the ship underneath the house. She watched the screen turn black, then Milton appeared. He shot her a smile and her blood boiled again.
"Stop this," she demanded. "Stop this right now. People are going to die."
"That is sort of the point, actually," Milton told her. "Was there anything else?"
His smugness was so infuriating, and she forced herself to take a small breath to calm down. "I'm giving you the choice, Milton. Stop this now, or you will be stopped."
"Not really, I'm afraid." Milton leaned back in his command chair. "I assume you've been trying to find a way to open the security door and get down here. I did see that it registered an attack with a blunt instrument as well as a crude attempt to hack the locking software."
"You can't blame us for trying, can you?" Jenny called over her shoulder.
"Oh not at all. I applaud the effort." He clapped his hands together to make the point.
"Fine," Danni snapped. "Is that your choice, Milton? To do nothing?"
"I'm afraid so," he replied as if he really was apologetic about it.
"Then I'm going to have to stop you," she replied. "And I'd say I was sorry, but I wouldn't mean it," she smirked, leaning in closer. "I'm going to really enjoy it.
"Ah, it seems the cloud may have already started to reach you," he commented, like he was noting it down for further evaluation. Danni, however, couldn't feel the difference in herself. She was angry, but that was how she'd felt the entire time, isn't it?
"There really isn't any way to get to me or stop the cloud. So…"
He trailed off and Danni took a tiny glance at the bottom of her screen. Affinity was calling him. Milton had made his choice, and there was nothing else she could do.
"I'm so sorry," Milton said. "I'm going to have to put you on hold just for a minute. Have a nice day."
The screen went black and, with a flick of the switch, Affinity's feed now took up the whole feed.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked, now with a pale face and red eyes, his voice now more feminine.
"Of course, Senior Deputy Shadow Architect," Milton said hastily, obviously trying to sound calmer than he was. "I must apologise for the abrupt end to our last conversation, but as you will recall I rather fancied escaping before you could have me summarily executed on the spot."
Danni sat down in the chair behind the desk, closing her eyes and handing the tablet to Vastra. "He's fallen for it," she told the woman. "Now we have to wait."
"For what?" Jenny asked.
"For him to accept the offer to sell his weapons to the Shadow Proclamation," Vastra explained. "Which he will, I should suspect."
"And then he'll come out of the ship?"
Danni shook her head. "No," she replied lowly. "Then he'll fly up into the atmosphere and probably get killed on sight."
Vastra glanced at their friend, who looked terribly conflicted in her chair. Her brows were furrowed, and she was chewing on her thumbnail. "You gave him a choice, Danielle," she reminded. "This was his choice."
"Doesn't make me feel any better about it," Danni retorted. "No one should have to die, not even arseholes like Milton."
"And yet?" Vastra prompted. Danni sighed.
"I feel like I should care more," she admitted slowly. "I don't want him to die, but I don't care as much as I normally do and I don't like it."
"It'll be that cloud," Jenny told her. "I can feel it an' all."
Danni nodded slowly, but she didn't believe it. She still felt the same, but she should be bothered that he was going to his death. An eye for an eye never worked when it came to murder. The perpetrator was never punished because they were dead, and everyone else just remained that way. Their losses were never fixed.
"But am I to take it that the Shadow Proclamation is interested in coming to some sort of understanding? You did sentence me to death, as I recall."
He didn't sound too convinced, but the fact that he was asking follow up questions said that he was, at least, somewhat believing that Affinity was the person he was expecting.
"Oh, please," Affinity replied. "A misunderstanding. Forget all about it. The sentence has been rescinded. Or at least, postponed."
"Postponed, I see. And what do I need to do to ensure it is lifted permanently? I hope you don't want me to stop the cloud from consuming London, because I have to admit that I can't. It's too late for that."
Danni squeezed her eyes shut. She only had to hope that the Doctor had an idea of what to do next, because that had been their last chance with Milton. He would have traded one measly weapon for his life.
"We suspected that was the case," Affinity said. "Clearly there as some enhancements that can still be made to the weapon."
"It is a project that is very much under development," Milton agreed.
"Then our proposition is simple. Come and work for us, finish the development of this and perhaps other weapons under the auspices of the Shadow Proclamation and you will also be assured our protection. Along with a full pardon for any past misdemeanours."
Milton, obviously, was very happy to agree if it meant his life was spared. There was only the matter of sorting out the final details, and he would join them in their work.
Danni stood up, motioning silently to the other two women and they headed out to the Library. She quickly opened the curtains and shutters, looking out onto London outside. Already the cloud was clearing, the sun shining through the dark cloud of fury that had threatened the city.
She smiled to herself, a swell of pride filling her as she pushed the old window upwards and open. She stuck her head out, taking a deep breath and, even though she didn't feel her inner turmoil didn't fade, she still felt much better.
"You brilliant man, you," she said softly. How did she end up with such a brilliant husband?
"I'm guessing he's done it?" Jenny asked and Danni came back in, nodding with her bright smile never fading.
"He's so clever, isn't he?" she gushed and Jenny and Madame Vastra shared a look.
"No surprises there, then," Jenny added and Danni shook her head.
"No whatsoever."
"Which just leaves us Milton to deal with," Vastra said. "I rerouted the communications feed to the study terminal here, so I expect we'll hear from him soon."
Milton did seem to be in a good mood when his face appeared on the screen a few moments later. "My congratulations," he announced. "It seems I did indeed underestimate the Doctor."
"You are not the first to make that mistake," Vastra told him.
"What are you going to do now?" Danni asked. "You're trapped down there and your weapon is a failure."
"What would you suggest, my dear?"
"Come up here," she replied. "We can take you somewhere else. Somewhere with no one to hurt, where you can live the rest of your life quietly."
"No, sorry, not an option I like at all, actually," he dismissed. "And if I may so say, I think perhaps you are overestimating the extent of your little victory."
"If you stay down there, you will eventually starve," Vastra replied. "If you leave in your ship, the Shadow Proclamation will immediately spot the engine signature. It would seem Danielle's offer is the best you have."
"Actually, I have had a better offer. So if you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my way."
"Oh? And what would that be?" Danni asked.
"I should have mentioned it earlier. But well, one doesn't like to boast. The Senior Deputy Shadow Architect has just been in touch. Offering complete immunity. A pardon. In fact, the Shadow Proclamation would rather like me to go and develop my horrible weapons for them."
"This is your last chance, Milton," she replied. "Come out now."
"Not very tempted, I'm afraid. So if it's alright with you, I'll just say my goodbyes and be on my way. Oh, and it actually is 'goodbye', I'm afraid. You see, I really can't let any of you live after this. I suppose it's to do with pride."
"Of course you can't," Danni replied with a sigh. "Don't say we didn't offer you anything."
"I never would, my dear."
The screen went black and Danni made her way back to the window. Instead, this time, instead of happiness and pride brought on by her husband's actions, it was instead sadness at what was about to happen. She had tried so hard to stop it, but as he flew up she was sure he may have actually deserved it. He didn't care about the lives he had taken, nor about the ones he'd planned to take. And, at the end, maybe no one would care about his either.
A moment later, Milton's flew into the sky. "There he goes," she replied quietly. A moment later, small stripes of fire and trails appeared as missiles were launched after him. "He brought this on himself."
The communication screen flickered on and Milton's slightly anxious face appeared. Affinity shot him a smile. "And what can I do for you, Orestes?"
"You can get these torpedoes off my tail," Milton said, a strain in his voice as he tried to steer away from the missiles.
"Ah, I'm afraid I can't help you there."
"If you give me the command access code, I can disable them myself," Milton told him. "There's a standard protocol, you must know it."
Affinity's smile grew. "I'm sorry, I don't know the code you mean."
"You must!"
"In fact, I have no idea what you're talking about. Who exactly do you think I am?"
There was a moment on Milton's face, a confused look that took over before he realised what had happened. "Affinity?"
"I'm flattered that you remember me," Affinity said. "But really, you should have realised sooner. Did you actually think anyone would offer you a pardon?"
"I saw who I wanted – saw what I needed to see," Milton realised as Affinity's face flickered.
"There is someone who wants to speak to you," he told the other man. Danni walked over, stepping in front of Affinity.
"I believe I may have underestimated you as well as your husband," he told Danni, who nodded.
"Most people do," she agreed. "I gave you a choice. Multiple times. You chose weapons over life. This is what happens."
"I have to admit, I am surprised by your hypocrisy. I truly thought you meant your words of peace."
"I do, normally," she replied. "However, I always keep my word. You hurt my husband," she leant forward, a smirk on her face. "You're going to burn Milton, for hurting my husband. Remember, always, that the Time Child is always coming for the ones who hurt her Time Lord."
Somewhere in the back of her mind she remembered a time when the Doctor had done something very similar to a man who thought he could sell her to the highest bidder. A man who had killed thousands and stolen some dinosaurs. She had been frightened by the protectiveness and the love he had showed her at the time. She had been young, and naïve and she hadn't understood.
She did now, though. No one hurt her Theta without consequences. No one.
"You'll forgive me, but I am rather busy right now," he replied. "Rest assured, though, that as soon as I have dealt with these torpedoes I shall launch my own missiles at you. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to concentrate, so if you've quite finished your gloating."
"Oh, I'm not gloating," Danni replied smugly. "I was just keeping you talking so she could finish her work."
"Who?" Milton asked and Danni nodded over her shoulder.
"Silhouette," she replied. "She says goodbye."
~0~0~0~
Milton zoomed through the air, dodging missile after missile as his computer's countdown to impact continued to near zero.
What did she mean 'finish her work'? It made no sense, and he didn't have time to waste on it. He needed to concentrate.
She says goodbye.
His froze his moments for a moment, and it almost cost his life. "Oh no. Please no."
In his rough movements, his papers and notes that he wanted to show the Shadow Architect had fallen to the floor. However, one glance showed him that all but one had disappeared.
He swerved another missile, with the 'time to impact' dropping down to 17 seconds.
Another glance at the floor and he saw the writing on the paper flicker and move, smudging and spreading together into a mass of ink that made no sense.
Time to impact: 13
He leant down, staring closer. The words swam into focus.
Remember the Time Child. Remember her always. You do not harm the Doctor.
He glanced up in time to see the rest of the paper shot around the cabin, causing a blizzard of white around him. They cut his skin, they stung his eyes, and they distracted him long enough for the time to drop to zero.
Then the world exploded into light and fire.
~0~0~0~
Now that the city was no longer under threat, the Doctor had to admit that the Frost Fair really did have a certain charm to it. Families having a good time, couples walking together, vendors shouting their wares. The happiness in the air was rather contagious, and he felt himself rather starting to enjoy himself.
The only thing that would have made it better was Danielle being by his side. He knew she would turn up at some point, but the sooner the better. Perhaps he should go find her, actually. She would be coming in the east entrance, so that was where he headed.
However, before he made it there, he spotted her in the crowd of nameless, almost featureless faces. She was zooming ahead of the rest of their little group of friends, skirt hitched up in her hand to allow her greater movement. Her head was turning, eyes darting around, most likely for the same reason he was now striding through the people to get to her.
When their eyes met, her eyes lit up and she jogged the rest of the way and he caught her in his arms. His body was still a little tired from the influx of anger – he'd definitely have to sleep tonight – but he still lifted her slightly off the ground.
"What did you do?" she immediately gushed. "How did you manage to stop the cloud?"
He kept her close as they made their way back to their friends. "It was quite simple, my Pet," he replied modestly. "I had Empath follow me here, where I showed him all the other ways you can enjoy life. Anger is such an overrated emotion, in my opinion. He sucked in all the good," he took a deep breath, "and shot it at the bad. Joy, love, they always win."
Her smile couldn't have grown any bigger. "You sentimental old fool," she teased him and he nodded, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"You know, my Pet, for once I think you're right."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor looked up from him book, glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He didn't particularly need them, he just thought that if he was going to read, he really should look the part. He was already tucked up underneath the sheets of their bed, dark blue pyjamas on.
Danielle had insisted on going back to the TARDIS, promising the Paternoster gang that they'd be back to see them again. Not that he was complaining, but he knew that she was planning something from that fact alone. However, for the evening, she had been very calm and not at all like she normally was when she had a surprise.
Now, though, as she opened the door he knew that she had stopped trying to be so coy. She looked fantastic enough in his shirt, with it sat half way down her thighs, her hair slightly tussled from the day's activities. She held both hands behind her back, and she was grinning, her eyes shining behind her own glasses.
"I've got something for you," she told him and he placed his bookmark in the book.
"I hope it involves whatever is under that shirt," he told her cheekily and she rolled her eyes.
"Always thinking about one thing, aren't you?" she replied, although she didn't sound too annoyed. "Close your eyes."
"Danielle, you know…"
"You make me do it all the time," she interrupted before he could protest too much. "Close your eyes."
He sighed, but took off his glasses, placing them on top of the book before doing as she said. He felt the bed dip as she climbed up on it, moving over until she was sat next to him.
"Alright, open your eyes!"
He did and found her holding a black-backed book out at him, the biggest grin on her face. "Merry Christmas!"
"I didn't know we were exchanging gifts," he told her as he took it off her. "Yours is in the console room."
"That's okay," she replied happily. He looked down at the book. There was no writing on the covers, so he opened it up.
"I do like a good book," he told her kindly, although he had just put one down and didn't really need anymore.
The paper inside was plain, with just a little bit of writing on it. He frowned as he read it. "Birthday number 1. We went to the Maldives for dinner. Theta was a little late, but Danni didn't mind. She got the best book in the universe, one she'll treasure always."
He looked up at her, confused but she nodded slightly, silently encouraging him to continue. He turned the page. "Christmas number 1. We saved London from being eaten by a giant anger cloud. Spent some time with the Paternoster gang, who were lovely."
He looked up at her again and she smiled shyly. "You gave me a book about all the times we never had together," she explained, shifting closer. "I adore it, but it's so sad. We have spent so long worrying about what might have been, I thought it was time we spent time thinking about what was. Everything we do, ever little memory that we can look back on and say we did it together." He looked back down at the book, his lips tilting up into a little smile. Hers just grew. "I hope you like it."
"I do," he said quietly, closing it and placing it on the bedside table. He reached out and she yelped in surprise as he pulled her in for a tight hug, rolling her onto the bed. "Best present I have ever received, I should think," he told her, placing a kiss on her lips.
"Well, there is one more thing I want to give you," she said. "Something I've been holding onto for a while."
She rolled out of his arms and towards her side of the bed. She opened the drawer in her bedside table and pulled out the pocket watch that sat in there. She ran her thumb over it, feeling the memories that it held, then turned over again and pressed it into his hand.
"I was going to give it to you after you regenerated, but then you traded the watch away and I was worried you would do the same to this," she explained a little guiltily. "I think it's about time I gave it back to you."
He remembered the pocket watch vividly. She had bought it for him, trying to be so sneaky about it. He had loved it for that alone. "I thought I had lost this," he replied. "It was my favourite, I was so sad."
"You told me and Clara that the watch that you traded was your favourite," she said. "I was hurt, and then I just kinda… I kept it because it reminded me of Eleven, and I don't really have much from him anymore."
He flipped the watch open to see the time still ticking away. "I didn't want you to know that I'd lost the watch, so I said it to spare your feelings," he explained. "Quite wrongly, I realised soon after. Do you miss him?"
She nodded. "I miss all of you, every day," she replied. "Nine, Ten, Eleven; they all died, and I'll never see them again. But that doesn't mean that I don't love you, or that I'm not glad you're here. I wouldn't trade you back for any of them."
He met her gaze. "You'd choose me over the man you married?" he asked, suspicious because he didn't quite believe her.
The smile she shot his way said that she didn't believe he meant the question at all. "You are the man I married," she corrected. "Every man you are, every man you'll be, every man you were. I would never choose one over the other, because they're all you and you are what makes me happy."
She placed a kiss on his lips. "Plus, you're too good looking to give up," she teased. "And clever, and that voice… That was a good choice, you'll have to remember that."
He watched her for a moment, waiting for the point where she'd look away, where she'd show that she didn't mean it. But it never came, and she truly meant her words.
He pushed her, almost shoving her off the bed. "Up, up."
She giggled at his impatience. "What is it?" she asked.
He shot her a look. "Your present, of course," he said like she should have known better. Her face broke out into a grin; she'd always been a child when it came to presents. She moved around to grab his hand, to pull him along, but he beat her to it. Their fingers intertwined, and he practically dragged her to the console room.
"What is it?" she asked again, although this time she meant her present rather than his actions. "Are we going somewhere? Is someone coming to see us?"
He shook his head even as he typed into the console top. "Not dressed like that you're not, my Pet," he replied. "That's for me and me alone. Come here."
She skipped to his side, staring at the screen. Not a lot of it made any sense to her, but he always had kept her in the dark about the workings of the TARDIS. He nodded, then moved her two steps to the side, in front of the psychic interface.
"Put your hands in there," he commanded and she did, pulling a face at the squishiness.
"Is there not a better way for this thing to work?" she asked but he shushed her. "Should I be thinking of…" But he shushed her again. A few moments later, the console beeped and he moved over to her. He grabbed her hands, pulling them out, and dragged her over to the other side of the console.
"I've had this in the works for a while, just never got around to finishing it," he explained rapidly. "I just needed a couple of little things from you."
She looked down at the console itself. There were a few switches, a few buttons, and the port for his sonic screwdriver. Her eyes lit up in realisation and she turned to him. "No!"
He smirked and, from the port popped a new screwdriver. She screamed in happiness, grabbing it in one hand and yanking it out. It had come out bottom first, but she could tell straight away it was for her.
It looked like his. Gold ended, with white, then black, and then a gold and silver tip. It was smaller, though, made for her hands and not his. It felt lighter too, although that was probably down to the size. She was practically jumping on the spot.
"Oh my god, oh my god, it's mine," she gushed. She held it out in front of herself, her hand shaking in her excitement, just to test how it felt.
"Remember, think and point," the Doctor reminded her and she nodded. She looked around the room, looking for something, anything, to test her new sonic screwdriver on. In the end, she settled on the console itself.
"Think and point," she muttered to herself, although she had used his a thousand and one times. She took a deep breath, and set it off.
She was surprised by the blue light that came off the end of it, although it made a lot of sense. Her favourite colour had always been blue, even if she was less inclined to wear it in this regeneration.
The speakers sparked into life, music blaring from it loudly.
It started with a low light. Next thing I knew they ripped me from my bed.
She laughed in pure delight, hugging him tightly. "I have my own screwdriver!" she cried. They had always joked about her getting one, but she'd never thought it would have actually happened.
"Just don't go getting any ideas," he warned her. "I'm the Time Lord with the screwdriver. Yours is just more of a backup. No running into locked rooms…"
"I know, no running into locked rooms, I'll get hurt," she finished for him. He shook his head.
"No," he corrected. "No running into locked rooms without me." He let her go only to take her hand. "Let's get dressed," he told her, his grin wide and his offer enticing. "We need to go to test it out."