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The Doctor was a lot more subdued as they landed on the other side of their journey. He didn't comment on how Danni was comforting Donna even though she had no idea who she was, or that she didn't believe that any of this was real in the first place. Instead he just watched them for a moment, appreciating how much of a comfort Danni could be.
"We've arrived," he declared, causing the two women to look up at him. "Want to see?"
Danni gave Donna a gentle rub on her back. "You should," she encouraged gently. Donna nodded in agreement before wiping her eyes.
"I s'pose," she replied, reluctant to do anything at all. She'd been poisoned, repeatedly, by the man who she loved. She'd thought he'd loved her back. She'd supposed to have been getting married. She just wanted to curl up in bed.
The Doctor made a show of looking at his monitor, pulling it over to him before frowning. "Hold on, that scanner's a bit small," he told them both before heading over to the doorway. "Maybe your way's best." He headed down the ramp towards the front door before pausing, turning to them. "Come on."
Donna shot him a look that suggested that she couldn't believe he expected her to move but sighed before following him.
"No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first," he continued, hoping to cheer her up.
"All I want to see is my bed," she replied sadly. He didn't reply, knowing that she would change her mind when she looked out. He glanced over at Danni, who had moved to the scanner to look out on the monitor instead. He'd expected her to follow Donna.
"Danni?" he called over.
She looked at him, surprised that he was paying attention to her. Donna was the one who needed cheering up, after all. She had always felt so terrible for her during this part of the episode but she hadn't expected to feel so sad when experiencing it first-hand. After all, something much worse than Lance would happen to her in the future. She hadn't followed because, even though she knew the sight outside was spectacular, she'd just wanted Donna to feel better.
"Yeah?" she called back.
"Come on. First humans and all that," he encouraged. She smiled and the Doctor felt a little twinge of guilt at how surprised she was that she was being included. She skipped over to his side and he gently moved her forward to stand by Donna.
"Donna Noble, Danielle Fielding – welcome to the creation of the Earth." He opened the doors towards them, revealing the creation of the Earth outside. Rocks spun around in brightly coloured dust and gas clouds, all being illuminated by the sun in the distance. Donna stepped forward involuntarily, staring out in awe.
"It's beautiful," Danni breathed, amazed at what she was seeing. It looked nothing like she remembered on television. The colours were so vibrant, and it felt like the universe was stretching out around them. She supposed it was, really. She had the urge to reach out and see if it was actually in front of her but she could barely move. No wonder he never stood still; this was stunning. If only it hadn't been a dream then she could truly be happy seeing the universe like this.
He smiled. That was more of the reaction he'd expected from her. "We've gone back 4.6 billion years," he explained to them both. "There's no Solar System, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas." He startled them both as he pointed out. "That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn."
"Where's the Earth?" Donna asked. The Doctor looked down at her, trying not to grin as she became more and more involved in what was happening. He loved this part.
"All around us," he explained. "In the dust." Donna looked up at him, a little stunned, but he didn't correct himself. She looked back out at the mass of rocks around them.
"Puts the wedding in perspective," she commented. "Lance was right. We're just... tiny."
"No, but that's what you do," he nudged her. "The Human Race. Make sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars." He glanced down at Danni, who was watching out of the door like she wasn't even listening to him. He knew she was, though. He was the one to introduce her to all of the wonder of the universe and he knew she was taking in every little piece of information she could. "This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed." She looked up, meeting his eyes and they shared a grin. It didn't quite reach her eyes, though, and he made a note to ask her about it later.
"So, we came out of all this?" Donna asked.
"Isn't that brilliant?" the Doctor replied.
"Yeah," Danni whispered in reply whereas Donna just made a noise of agreement. A large chunk of rock floated lazily passed and Donna nodded towards it.
"I think that's the Isle of Wight."
They all let out a little laugh at the thought, showing that even though Donna was hurt, she was going to be okay.
"Eventually, gravity takes hold," the Doctor continued to explain. "Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the..."
"The Earth," Donna finished, almost as excited as he was. He nodded happily.
"But the question is; what was that first rock?"
"I'm going to say that one," Danni said, pointing out at the star-shaped rock that was emerging from behind one of the gas clouds.
"The Racnoss…" the Doctor breathed, everything coming together in his head. He turned and ran to the console, spinning one of the wheel controls. "Hold on – the Racnoss are hiding from the war!" he cried as the universe outside began speed up, like a video being fast-forwarded. The Racnoss ship flew in front of the TARDIS, where the rocks around it began to stick to it. "What's it doing?"
"Exactly what you said," Donna replied. He ran back over to the door to have a look for himself.
"They became the centre of the Earth," Danni explained softly.
"The first rock," the Doctor added. The TARDIS suddenly shook violently, the sound of an explosion ringing out from the console. Danni and Donna grabbed onto the TARDIS doors as the Doctor fell to the ground, only to quickly jump back up to his feet.
"What was that?" Donna exclaimed.
"Trouble," he replied as he slammed the doors shut. They all ran up to the console as the TARDIS shuddered and shook. Donna took hold of the console but Danni fell to the floor before she could make it. Instead she took hold of the railings on the ramp, staying on the floor as the TARDIS rocked.
"What the hell's it doing?" Donna cried over the noise. The Doctor, after stumbling himself, ran to the opposite side of the console from the would-be bride.
"Remember that little trick I pulled - particles pulling particles," he replied. He kicked a leaver and the TARDIS shuddered again. "It works in reverse. They're pulling us back!"
"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?" Donna asked angrily as the Doctor tried to fight the TARDIS back under his control.
"Backseat driver," he grumbled before jumping at his own idea. "Oh! Wait a minute!" He reached over and pulled out a big circuit board attached to the console by wires that buzzed as it came into life. He balanced it onto the console in front of him. "The extrapolator!" he cried, like they all should have known what it was. "Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!"
He waited for a moment before grabbing his trusty mallet. "Now!" He whacked the extrapolator and the TARDIS shuddered one more time before settling as she landed on the other side of the trip. "Come on!"
He helped Danni back onto her feet before the trio ran out into the tunnels underneath H C Clements. It was still dark, but this time with a blue light.
"We're about 200 yards to the right. Come on!"
"But what do we do?" Donna asked, scared as they followed down the hallway to one of the metal doors that led to the Thames above them.
"I don't know! I make it up as I go along!" he replied before looking over his shoulder. "But trust me, I've got a history."
Danni nodded as he pulled out his stethoscope. "He does," she confirmed. "Usually it hits him just at the right moment, wrapping up an episode in a neat little bow."
The Doctor frowned as he put the end of the stethoscope against the metal door. "Episode?" he repeated.
Donna shook her head. "But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles, but what for?" she asked.
"There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck," the Doctor rambled as Danni frowned. Something was going to happen now. But what? He got through the door, so why was it taking so long?
Her eyes widened as something cold and metal covered her mouth, pulling her back and away from the Doctor. Of course. The robots. The robots that took Donna and strapped her to the ceiling with Lance. The pair struggled as they were dragged away, but neither of them could make a sound and soon they were attached to the ceiling of the laboratory along with Lance, who looked just as annoyed as they felt.
The Empress appeared underneath them, looking incredibly pleased with herself. Danni glared down at her. "Let me down!" she shouted. "You can't keep me up here! I've got a dream to continue with! Let me down!"
The Empress didn't seem too fussed, though, as she scuttled around underneath them. Donna turned to Lance. "I hate you," she snapped.
"Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart," he replied nastily and she glared at him.
"Oh, do shut up," Danni snapped. "You're lucky we're up here otherwise you'd be getting a slap."
He let out a snort of derision. "I'd like to see you try."
"I don't have to try," she retorted. "You're an absolute bloody idiot thinking you're better than her. You deserve everything that's coming to you."
Underneath them the Empress hissed happily. "My golden couple," she called as she finally turning her attention to them. "And their witness. Together at last - your awful wedded life." She laughed and Danni really hoped that she never had to see that again. She'd never look at this episode the same. On the television she'd looked like a woman dressed in a cheesy latex outfit with prosthetics and makeup. Now she looked like a giant spider, with all the teeth and legs included, and it was terrifying.
"Tell me; do you want to be released?" she asked them all with another cackle.
"Yes!" the three called down and she looked up at them angrily.
"You're supposed to say 'I do'," she snapped.
Lance looked at Donna before shaking his head. "Ha. No chance."
The Empress roared. "Say it!"
He shook his head, turning to Donna. "I do," he said reluctantly.
"I do," Donna shouted down. She had supposed to have been saying those words in an incredibly different setting. Now she was dangling over a giant pit, covered in spiderwebs and about to face her death.
"I don't," the Empress cackled, like she'd made the funniest joke. Danni couldn't help but be a little annoyed she hadn't been asked. "Activate the particles. Purge every last one!" Next to her, Donna and Lance began glowing brighter than they had previously, so bright Danni had to squeeze her eyes shut. She didn't understand why she was up on the ceiling, she wasn't full of partials or anything useful. She was asleep.
"And release!" the Empress cried and she opened her eyes just to see the last of the partials zoom down the hole in the ground that was directly below them. She quickly looked up, away from the hole where the millions of tiny spider babies were currently sleeping. When she was probably going to get dropped. That would just be the way, wouldn't it? Her dream wouldn't end with the Doctor saving the day. No. This was a nightmare. She was going to get eaten alive.
"The secret heart unlocks. And they will waken from their sleep of Ages," the Empress cried victoriously.
"Who will? What's down there?" Donna demanded, still confused and scared.
"How thick are you?" Lance replied in disbelief.
"Oi! I warned you!" Danni told him angrily but he just glared at her.
"My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!" Donna looked over at Danni for an answer but she just stared back with the same pale look.
"What do we do?" the bride asked her. Danni looked down at the deep, dark hole then back at her. Donna looked terrified and hurt and emotionally drained and Danni shot her a shaky smile. This she did know. This she could help with.
"Just you wait," she said brightly as she tried to put as much conviction and hope into her voice as she could. "The Doctor will save you. The Doctor will always save you."
"The web-star shall come to me," the Empress crowed in delight. "My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web." The Empress motioned above her, a sickly grin on her face. Lance began panicking, trying to break away.
"Use them! Not me! Use them!" he tried, struggling in his little cocoon.
"Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve."
"Look away!" Danni told Donna before slamming her eyes shut. There was a slicing noise and then Lance was screaming as he fell. Donna cried out as well, watching her ex-husband-to-be fall to his dead, but Danni didn't open her eyes until the Empress began cackling.
Danni strongly began to suspect she was next as the sound of scuttling reached their ears from the pit below. Her heart began racing, her palms became sweaty and the dream did what it did best; tried to convince her everything was real. She was really hanging from the ceiling. She was really going to be fed to the spiders. She was really going to die in an episode of Doctor Who.
"Harvest the humans! Reduce them to meat," the Empress commanded her children as the scurrying noises began growing in volume. "My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!" She suddenly stopped crowing in victory and turned to look at one of her robots. "So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man." Danni grinned as the robot removed its mask and cloak, revealing the Doctor.
"Oh well. Nice try." He aimed his sonic screwdriver at the web. "I've got you, Donna!" he told her.
"I'm gonna fall!" Donna screeched as the web loosened around her.
"You're gonna swing!" the Doctor corrected, much to her horror. She grasped the web just in time and went swinging over the giant hole and towards the Doctor, who had his arms outstretched ready.
"I've got ya!"
Donna headed straight for the Doctor, over the pit, past the Empress and straight towards the platform the Doctor was on.
Or, rather, straight under it. She smacked straight into the wall. Danni grimaced. The Doctor grimaced. Even the Empress looked slightly pained as she dropped to the floor in true cartoon fashion.
"...Oh. Sorry," the Doctor apologised.
"Thanks for nothing," Donna snapped back. The Doctor turned his attention to Danni, who quickly began shaking her head.
"Oh, not a chance!" she barked out. "You are not swinging me into a wall, Spaceman. Just leave me here until later!" He rolled his eyes, ignored her wish, and pointed his screwdriver up the ceiling. She barely grabbed hold of the web in time, screaming as she swung towards him. She had been further away from him than Donna which aided in her descent as she landed in his outstretched arms instead of against the wall like Donna.
She clung to him as she shook from the adrenaline and fear. "Thanks," she murmured.
"That's alright," he replied quietly in reply. "Want to let go?"
She shook her head. "I-I don't think I can right now," she admitted. Her fingers were digging into his arms, but her entire body felt locked. That was absolutely terrifying. And incredibly fun. She wasn't sure how to feel but she was sure she should, at the very least, be able to let him go.
"The doctor-man amuses me," the Empress interrupted them and he turned to the giant spider, twisting his body she was stood by the stairs and he was closer to the Racnoss.
"Empress of the Racnoss - I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet. I can find you a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now," he offered and she hissed in amusement.
"These men are so funny."
"What's your answer?" he asked although he knew the answer.
"Oh - I'm afraid I have to decline," she laughed at the end and his face hardened.
"What happens next is your own doing," he warned her.
"I'll show you what happens next," she hissed, suddenly very angry at being threatened. "At arms!" The robots situated around the room raised their guns at the Time Lord and the human that clung to him like a scared girl. Danni even knew what was going to happen next but being surrounded by guns wasn't exactly comforting. Again, that had to be the dream taking over.
Right?
"Take aim!" the Empress cried. The robots cocked their guns as they aimed at them both. "And-"
The Doctor dipped his head closer to Danni's. "Relax," he said softly, to both her and the robots. Danni did, slightly, as the robots around them lowered their guns, going completely limp.
"What did you do?" Donna called up at them.
"Guess what I've got, Donna?" he replied as he pulled a controller out of his pocket. He looked down at her with a hint of a smirk. "Pockets."
"How did that fit in there?" she asked.
Danni couldn't let that go. She didn't let go of the Doctor – she was still slightly terrified and if TV had taught her one thing it was that being with him was the safest place to be – but she did look over the railings at her new friend. "They're bigger on the inside!" she cried before looking up at the Doctor. "Sorry; I stole your line."
"My line?" he asked, bewildered. All she offered was a shrug.
"Robo-forms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh," the Racnoss declared.
"Oh, but I'm not from Mars," the Doctor replied, going back to the matter at hand before he got pulled into another conversation when he'd ask Danni questions and she'd just reply with that stupid word.
"Then where?" the Empress demanded.
"My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on." He paused, if only for dramatic effect. "Gallifrey."
The Empress reared up and began hissing in fury. "They murdered the Racnoss!" she cried out.
"I warned you. You did this." He produced a handful of baubles from the trees they had encounter earlier.
"No! No! Don't! No!" She protested, panicking as he chucked handful after handful of them into the air. He used the controller to manoeuvre some around the Empress, while others flew out of the room, down the corridor. Another bauble flew into the piping at the Empress' feet, causing fire to explode around her. Water poured into to room from the corridor and pipes around the room and began flooding the giant hole.
"My children!" the Empress wailed as Donna and Danni watched on in horror as the torrents of water fell down the pit like a plughole, drowning the scuttling Racnoss heading for them. "No! My children! My children!"
Danni turned her attention from the horror underneath them and back to the Doctor. He was watching the scene in a stoic silence, eying the Empress with contempt and complete lack of emotion. The sprinkler system was set off by the flames around them and they were all becoming steadily soaked. This was when Donna told him to stop, where he needed someone to stop him. She knew where he had come from, what he had just lost. No matter how much he ran and pretended to be fine even the Doctor needed to grieve. Even he needed someone else to take the blame.
"Doctor," she said softly. "It's okay. You can stop now."
He turned to look down at the ginger woman who was still holding onto him. She wasn't looking up at him with fear or worry, she was shooting him the gentlest of smiles, as if coaxing him out of the darkness he was allowing himself to fall into. He looked back at the Racnoss. He didn't want to watch this. He didn't want either of them to see this. If they stayed any longer they were all going to die.
He nodded, looking over the railings at the bride below. "Come on Donna! Time I got you out!" She ran up the stairs to meet the pair, everyone shoving debris out of the way so they could escape. The water had begun spraying over them and all three were drenched as they ran up the stairs. Danni reached back and grabbed the red-head's hand as they headed upwards, a chain of three people.
"Transport me!" the Empress called to up above, but none looked back as they reached the ladders to escape. The Doctor ascended first, followed by Donna who was let past by Danni.
"But what about the Empress?" Donna asked, worried about what the Empress would do now.
"She's used up all her Huon energy - she's defenceless!" the Doctor explained to reassure her. They reached the top and he turned the handle, but the bright light and shuddering from explosions outside kept them all in for a moment long. Soon enough, however, they were let out, Donna first, then Danni, then finally the Doctor.
Donna cheered first, almost hysterical from the delight of surviving. The Doctor laughed, joining in, and Danni couldn't help it either. Looking out across London on Christmas Eve, finally being safe once again.
"Just... there's one problem." Donna pointed out, trying to sound serious but the giant grin on her face contradicted this.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked, confused.
"We've drained the Thames." They all looked out across the now empty Thames, then at each other before they began laughing with each other again.
~0~0~0~
They were all still rather damp when the Doctor landed on Donna's street, just outside her house. The Doctor let Donna out first, but Danni stayed in the doorway, watching the two with a small smile on her face. It had been some dream, she had to admit. Definitely a show to say that she really needed to watch less TV and get out into the world a bit more. But how could she resist watching the two together. The Doctor-Donna; even now they already had a great rapport.
"There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything," the Doctor declared, giving his brilliant blue box a once over anyway.
"More than I've done," Donna sighed sadly. The Doctor took his screwdriver out of his pocket and scanned her from head to foot.
"Nope! All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine," he confirmed as his placed it back again.
"Yeah, but apart from that..." Donna started with a sigh. "I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of."
The Doctor felt a little bad. Checking for physical injuries without even considering the emotions ones she would have to suffer. He seemed rather good at that. "I couldn't save him," he apologised softly.
"He deserved it," Donna replied quickly. The Doctor raised his eyebrows in response until she deflated. "No, he didn't," she conceded before looking back at her house. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."
"Best Christmas present they could have." They all watched her parents through the window, hugging each other in comfort. "Oh, no, I forgot - you hate Christmas," the Doctor teased.
"Yes, I do."
"Even if it snows?" He reached over Danni's head and she looked upwards, looking for where he was reaching. He caught her eager gaze and moved his hand, revealing a small switch for her, smiling as she beamed in delight. She had to jump, but she just managed to reach it, hearing the blast explode with a bang. Snow began floating downwards and Donna began laughing with happy disbelief, holding her hands out to catch the flakes.
"I can't believe you did that!"
"Oh, basic atmospheric excitation," he replied as if it was obvious, then shot her a grin. She smiled back.
"Merry Christmas."
"And you." They all watched the snow fall down towards the earth for a moment before he gathered the courage and asked. "So... what will you do with yourself now?"
"Not getting married for starters," she offered with a cynical smile. "And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno... travel... see a bit more of planet Earth... walk in the dust. Just... go out there and do something."
"Well, you could always..." he trailed off, unsure as Donna stared unwaveringly at him.
"What?"
"Come with me," he offered.
Donna smiled, but shook her head. "No," she told him quietly but confidently, as if she had thought about it.
"Okay," he shot out quickly, shuffling from foot to foot, uncomfortable.
"I can't..."
"No, that's fine," he interrupted with a false indifference. No one liked being rejected.
"No, but really... everything we did today... do you live your life like that?" she asked, sounding a bit concerned.
"Not all the time." Even he seemed unconvinced at his answer and she shot him a look that told them she felt the same.
"I think you do. And I couldn't."
"But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful," he tried to convince her but she shook her head.
"And it's terrible," she countered. "That place was flooding and burning and they were dying and you were stood there like... I don't know... a stranger. And then you made it snow - I mean, you scare me to death!" She looked over at Danni. "And you!" Danni blinked, surprised at being addressed. "He didn't scare you at all! You were only scared when you were going to die, but everything else didn't bother you at all." Danni opened her mouth but didn't reply. She had been scared. With the Racnoss she had been terrified, but ultimately her fear was unfounded. She was going to wake up. Claire would find her, give her a shake and this probably wouldn't even last as a distant memory. And that was a good thing.
Wasn't it?
"Well then," the Doctor stated after a short pause, eager to move on from the situation at hand.
"Tell you what I will do though - Christmas dinner." The Doctor suddenly looked scared at the thought and Danni giggled.
"Oh, come on," Danni moaned, knowing he would never actually agree. "I want to go!"
"I don't do that sort of thing," he reminded her.
"You did it last year, you said so," Donna pointed out as she motioned behind her at her house. "And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty." The Doctor appeared to deliberate on the thought, drawing his breath in through his teeth to show his reluctance.
"Oh, all right then. But you go first, better warn them. And... don't say I'm a Martian." He motioned to the TARDIS. "We just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. We'll see you in a minute." He grabbed Danni's arm and pulled her in, shutting the door and walking up to the console.
"I knew you wouldn't," Danni told him in a sing-song voice as he began taking off.
"Yeah, yeah, you know everything," he replied with a resigned sigh. Perhaps he should have stayed. But then, perhaps he made the right choice. He could fly away with Danni and see the universe with her. He didn't need anyone else.
"Doctor!" Donna's voice called through the TARDIS and he stared at the door in surprise.
"But we're in flight," he said, as if it shouldn't be possible. But, then again, nothing about Donna had seemed possible. He parked them back on the street and opened the door. "Blimey, you can shout."
"Am I ever gonna see you again?" she asked.
He smiled softly. "If I'm lucky."
"Just... promise me one thing;" Donna asked after a pause. "Don't let her go."
"I don't need anyone," he countered.
"Yes, you do," she corrected. "Because sometimes, I think you need someone to stop you." He glanced back at Danni, who just waved at Donna from the console. There had been no judgement in her eyes as she'd helped him stop. She'd just wanted to help.
"Yeah," he agreed as he turned back round to her. Donna was right. "Thanks then, Donna - good luck - and just... be magnificent."
Donna straightened in her damp wedding dress. "I think I will, yeah," she replied with a laugh in her voice. He closed the door again and turned to walk back to the console when Donna's voice echoed through the room. He rolled his eyes and opened the door slightly again.
"Oh, what is it now?" he asked in mock exasperation.
"That friend of yours... what was her name?" Donna asked gently.
His hearts hurt, but he smiled at the reminder. "Her name was Rose," he announced proudly. Danni could hear the tears in his voice as he came back in and flew them away.
~0~0~0~
Danni could have spent an eternity walking around the TARDIS. Everything felt so real and her mind was creating a multitude of rooms for her to explore. The Doctor had sent her into the hallways, directing her to the wardrobe to get some dry clothes but she had become distracted. And, while her brain allowed her to explore, she wasn't going to waste the opportunity. She couldn't help but be slightly worried that she had been rather badly injured in the real world. She really should have woken up by now, surely?
It was with that question in mind that she headed back to the console room and the Doctor. She was still surprised that this was the episode that her mind had conjured up for her to live through, after all she had become very much an Eleven girl as his tenure had gone on. But the Runaway Bride was her favourite Christmas episode so far, so maybe that was why.
She paused, watching him stare at one of the scanner screened around the main console, looking at the vastness of space outside. He seemed so sad and she knew exactly why. She just wasn't sure if she could help him, and she never wanted the Doctor to be sad, dream or not.
She walked over, hands in the pockets of the new dress she'd chosen. It appeared that the TARDIS really did have an infinite wardrobe and she loved the blue dress she'd chosen. It had white pockets near the bottom as well as pockets at the hips – actual functional pockets – and she'd topped it off with black tights, a black cardigan and matching blue flats. It was a look she was going to have to recreate when she woke up.
"She knows, you know?" she told him and he turned around to look at her. He looked surprised, as if he hadn't noticed her approach.
"Sorry?" he asked in reply.
"Rose," she clarified. "Even though you never said it, she knows. And she is so alive and fighting and just living. It'll be hard but that knowledge will help you. And wait 'til you see what's to come; it's magnificent." She shot him a grin and he stared back at her with a sad smile. He pulled her in for a hug, which she returned tightly. When he let her go, he looked her up and down and a look of realisation fell on his face.
"You've changed," he stated as he forced himself out of his despair and she spun around, the skirt of the dress flaring slightly around her legs.
"Do you like?" she asked when she stopped and he nodded.
"You look fantastic," he told her sincerely and she grinned. She pulled the screen down to her eye level, staring out at the stars. It really was remarkably beautiful.
"So, where are you taking me?"
"You're just assuming I'm taking you somewhere?" he asked, mock outraged.
"Yes," she replied simple. Her dream, her rules. "Where?"
"Where do you want to go?" he asked her and she rolled her eyes.
"Somewhere awesome, obviously." He grinned knowingly and began flipping switches, sending the TARDIS into turmoil and Danni into the railings with a groan. Her wrist whacked against a bar hard and a loud cracking noise came from the leather device over her arm. She hissed as it began burning, sizzling the skin underneath.
"Oww…" she moaned as she tried to undo the straps, but she couldn't get a grip on the buckle. Her fingers just glided over them like they were painted on, even as she felt the buckles raised on her skin. She looked up at the Doctor. "It won't come off," she stated confused.
He nodded. "It never will," he replied sadly. Her heart sped up, panic gripping her at the look on his face. That was his 'I'm Sorry' face. The one where he knew something terrible was about to happen and it was something he could never change. She saw it enough on TV but having it directed at her was really awful.
She couldn't ask anymore, though, as the force she had felt in Claire's front room slammed into her once again. It knocked the window out of her as her vision went white and she was thrown through the air.