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Rose clung to the Doctor's hand as the corpses rattled the gate separating them. This was something like a horror movie, yet here it was, happening in front of her eyes. In Wales, of all places. This night just kept getting worse and worse, and she couldn't see it ever getting better. She was going to die in a dungeon and then become one of them.
"Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth." The Gelth stated together as the Doctor glared angrily from his place next to her.
"I trusted you. I pitied you!" He snarled, glancing over Rose's head at the red-head, Danni, who was next to the blonde. She was relaxed, reassuring Mr Sneed who was shaken from his brief brush with death. Her calming presence helped the old man calm down slightly, not much but enough, and she rubbed his arm in sympathy. They were about to die. Why wasn't she bothered?
"We don't want your pity!" The Gelth roared, as if they all were insulted, "We want this world and all its flesh."
"Not while I'm alive." The Doctor swore.
"Then live no more." Rose shook her head, pressing against the wall, trying to get away from the zombies.
"But I can't die." She stuttered, looking up at the Doctor for reassurance, "Tell me I can't! I haven't even been born yet, it's impossible for me to die! Isn't it?!" She was slightly startled by the other hand that slipped into hers, Danni on the other side trying to comfort her as the Doctor stared back on her, not speaking, with a look of pure guilt on his face. She squeezed Danni's hand back, her stomach dropping.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor told her sincerely.
"But it's 1869, how can I die now?" She demanded.
"Time isn't a straight line." He explained quietly, "It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the 20th century and die in the 19th and it's all my fault."
"Oh, stop being over dramatic." Danni scolded.
"Why aren't you scared?" Rose asked her in a panic, "Who isn't scared at a time like this?" Danni shrugged with a smile.
"Because I have faith in one of the greatest minds in the universe." She replied.
"But I can't save us." The Doctor told her, "I saw the fall of Troy! World War Five! I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party, now we're going to die in a dungeon, in Cardiff." He looked horrified at the thought, being distracted by the direction his mind went.
"I wasn't talking about you." Danni told her and he actually pouted slightly, "There's an author upstairs who is about to come save us." The Doctor looked sceptical.
"How is Dickens going to save us?" Rose hissed, "He was more terrified than all of us put together."
"Spoilers, sorry." Danni apologised, "I don't want to steal his moment of glory. All I can say is that we're all going to be fine, including Mr Sneed here," She motioned over her shoulder, "Who, in fact, was supposed to die." She turned and smiled brightly at him, "You're welcome, by the way."
"You're mad!" Rose exclaimed and Danni nodded.
"Oh, most definitely." She agreed, "Don't you forget it, Rose Tyler." The zombies continued to rattle their way through the lock, each shake moving the gate more in it's place, the hinges groaning in protest.
"You can see the future too?" Sneed asked her and Danni nodded, "Are you like Gwyneth?"
"No, she's much better than me." She replied gently, "The girl's a hero." Silence fell over them again, none of them having anything to say in the face of death. Or, like Danni, waiting for Dickens to come save them all.
"Spoilers?" The Doctor suddenly exclaimed, "What the hell does that mean?!"
"It means I can't tell you." Danni replied, "You'll hear it a lot, get used to it."
"Oh, how very helpful." He mocked, "You know the future but can't do anything about it."
"Hey!" She yelled, defensive, "I saved Mr Sneed, didn't I?"
"Not Gwyneth, though." He pointed out and she growled, turning to face the corpses crying out to kill them.
"You never did bloody understand!" She ranted, "You go on about fixed points in time, but when I don't change something I can't change, you get all righteous!"
"Will you two stop arguing?!" Rose interjected, "We're about to die, don't you think you have bigger things to worry about?" The pair grumbled but fell silent, Danni settling down to wait for Dickens to come save them. There was a pipe behind them she was sure was full of gas, but why take the moment from the author?
"Really, though." The Doctor started, "What's the point of going over the past if you can't save anyone?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Spaceman." Danni retorted as Dickens burst back into the room, startling the other three. They all looked at Danni, surprised she'd been right all along, but she just smirked smugly.
"Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!" Dickens declared and the Doctor frowned, confused.
"What're you doing?" He asked.
"Turn it all on!" Dickens ranted, running over to a lamp on the wall and turning it up, the flame going out and the gas flooding into the room, "Gas the place!" The Doctor grinned, seeing what the author was doing.
"Brilliant. Gas!" He exclaimed.
"What, so we choke to death instead?" Rose argued back as Dickens made his way to the last lamp in the basement, turning it up fully.
"Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous!" He called over before using his handkerchief to cover his mouth. Danni turned to Rose.
"The Gelth are made of gas." She explained quickly, "The more gas in the air, the more distributed they become until they are drawn out of the host. It's like spilling a drink into the ocean." The corpses, realising the plan, turned on Dickens instead. He stepped back in fright.
"I hope... oh, Lord. I hope that this theory will be validated soon." He told them, "If not immediately."
"Plenty more!" The Doctor replied, pulling a pipe from the wall and pouring even more gas into the room. The bodies screamed as the blue creatures were pulled out, the corpses dropping to the floor.
"It's working." Dickens cheered as the four rushed out of the dungeon into the main room.
"Gwyneth! Send them back! They lied, they're not angels." The Doctor told the girl under the archway. Her arms fell down to her sides, as if she was heartbroken by the knowledge.
"Liars?" She asked and he nodded.
"Look at me." The Doctor urged, approaching her slowly, "If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"
"Can't breathe." Rose chocked out from his side, and Danni had to agree with her. The hand she had over her mouth did little to protect her from the gas overpowering everything in the air, but she had to wait. She needed to talk to Gwyneth before it was too late.
"Charles, Sneed get her out." Dickens reached out and grabbed Rose's arm gently, but she shrugged him off angrily.
"I'm not leaving her!" She snapped before coughing.
"They're too strong." Gwyneth whimpered and the Doctor shook his head.
"Remember that world you saw? Rose's world? All those people - none of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift." He told her.
"I can't send them back. But I can hold them." She told him firmly and his face dropped at the implication, "Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out." She slowly pulled a box of matches out of her pocket and Rose darted forward, alarmed.
"You can't!" She cried out.
"Leave this place!" Gwyneth told them and the Doctor turned to his companion, grabbing her by the arms.
"Rose, get out, go now, I won't leave her while she's still in danger, now go!" He told her. She nodded once, darting out with Sneed and Dickens, leaving the Doctor and Danni stood there. The Doctor turned to her, "You too, get out." She nodded vaguely, stepping towards Gwyneth.
"In a moment." She dismissed before smiling sadly at the girl. Her one chance, she had to take it, "Gwyneth, when will I see my parents?" She asked and Gwyneth's gaze flicked to her, "What did you see?"
"After the stone angels take the Girl Who Waited." Gwyneth replied and Danni's heart skipped a beat, "They're waiting for you." Danni wanted to ask more, but her lungs were burning and she knew there wasn't much time left. She nodded.
"I'm sorry, Gwyneth." She told her and the girl shook her head.
"Thank you, ma'am." Danni pulled the bottom of her skirt up and ran out of the basement, through the hallway and into the snow outside. Rose started forward, hopeful it was the Doctor and Gwyneth but stopped at the sight if the red-head.
"Where are they?" She asked. Danni shook her head sadly as the Doctor dove out of the front door, the house exploding into flames. Dickens and Sneed stared up at the house in horror and devastation, whilst Rose fixed a hard look on the Doctor. Sneed then turned to the Doctor.
"Gwyneth?" He asked hopelessly.
"She didn't make it." Rose answered instead.
"I'm sorry. She closed the rift." The Doctor explained sadly.
"At such a cost. The poor child." Dickens stated sadly and Danni rubbed his arm in sympathy.
"She was so brave." She agreed with tears in her eyes. Another life lost, another one she couldn't save. A tragic end to her wedding night, and her husband wasn't even there to reassure her it'd be okay. Instead, he was busy pleading with Rose, trying to get her to understand.
"I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes." He tried, panting slightly from running. Rose frowned.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch." He told her sadly.
"But... she can't have, she spoke to us." Rose protested, "She helped us - she saved us. How could she have done that?"
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Even for you, Doctor." Dickens declared and the Doctor shot him a look that showed he very much agreed with him.
"She saved the world. A servant girl. No one will ever know." Rose declared sadly as they all watched the house burn.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor hadn't questioned her when she'd pulled her key out for the TARDIS, just stepped out of the way and let her unlock the door. They'd left a very surprised Charles Dickens in their wake, having opened up his mind to new, exciting experiences in the last year of his life. Another genius the Doctor had helped add something to their pile of good things. He'd offered Mr Sneed a lift in his carriage to his sister's house, which the old man took with a heavy heart at the loss of his own home and the young girl who had been in his care.
Rose quickly and quietly excused herself to her bedroom, tired and emotionally drained from the death of such a young girl. Danni knew what she felt like, however she'd become numb to the large amount of death in her life. She only got by on the reassurance that she was still saving lives that may have been lost if she hadn't been there. She dangled her feet into deep space and had a little cry for Gwyneth. Despite what Rose had said, they would know and she would be mourned.
But she couldn't even dwell on that for too long. Gwyneth's last words to her floated around her head. 'After the stone angels take the Girl Who Waited.' That had to mean Manhattan, but that would mean that the Doctor wasn't only losing Amy and Rory, but her as well. That wasn't fair, that... that can't be right. They'd only just got married in his time line, the Angels Take Manhattan can't mean he'd lose her as well. She didn't want to go back, this was her home now. He was her home...
"Who are you?" She looked behind her and the Doctor was stood looking over her imposingly. Still all northern and tall. She had hoped she had hopped somewhere else without noticing. It would have been the first time it had happened in quite a while, but she could always hope, "And what is wrong with your arm?" She frowned at that, looking down to see if she could see anything wrong. On her right arm sat the black bracelet she had gotten from the Year that Never Was, and her left was her Vortex Manipulator. Where it always was. He sat next to her and grabbed her left arm.
"Oh!" She exclaimed in slight surprised, having forgotten he had no idea who she was or what the device meant, "You mean that? It's my Vortex Manipulator. Pain in the bloody arse, it is."
"It's a fixed point in time." He corrected, "On your arm. If you cut your arm off, the manipulator would just continue being there. Your arm would live on forever."
"You can't cut the arm off." She told him, yanking it back, "Believe me, I've tried."
"You've tried to cut off your own arm?" He asked, surprised and she nodded, shooting him a slight look of annoyance.
"It's not that unbelievable." She retorted. That had been one of her worse days back when she... she was ill. She'd stumbled into what had turned out to be a tool closet and her eyes had been caught by the shininess of a small saw. She smiled wistfully, "It was with your Tenth self. Although when you caught me you had such a hissy-fit. I hate jumping around all the time. I mean, look at today! One minute it's my wedding night, the next you've never even heard of me." She sighed and looked out into the universe again to cheer herself up.
"You've met me before?" He prompted, realising she was actually more upset then she had been letting on during their trip in Cardiff.
"Loads. I jump around your personal time line. If I don't land right where you are, like today, I tend to land somewhere near. Never in order, never of any use. That's me." She sighed and turned to him, "Sorry I landed all naked this time. That's never happened before."
"Why me though?" He asked her. She shrugged.
"We never worked out why. I don't even know why I'm here in the first place. I'm from a different universe, none of this existed where I'm from." She explained, "My friend Claire gave me a toy Vortex Manipulator for Christmas and when I typed in the date it sent me to the TARDIS on that date. With your Tenth self. And he knew all about me." She laughed humourlessly to herself, "I thought it was all a dream, but you never made fun of me. Which worried me for a while, if I'm honest."
"That seems..." He trailed off, a small frown on his face, "very unfair." She laughed slightly.
"So, so unfair." She agreed, "But I met you, and I have done so many amazing things since I came here, I'm happy it happened." She turned slightly, looking him up and down. Nine was such a rarity for her, more than anyone else in her life. In her head he was this mystical Doctor who she knew very little about. He was too early to hate her, and way too early to like her. Somehow she had to make a good impression on him today, so that she'd settle in his mind for the next 300 years.
He was still looking at her arm, doing what most people did, pawed at the straps to try and undo them. Neither budged, they never did, and she felt a surge of happiness at the frustrated, yet intrigued look on his face. Maybe that's how she did it, he loved things he didn't understand.
"I'm sorry you were sent here on your wedding night." He told her, sincerity clear in his voice as he dropped her arm gently.
"He'll understand." She promised him, "It's not like either of us have a choice. You're stuck with me, Spaceman." She pushed herself up, standing over him for once, "I'm going to see if Rose is okay. Poor girl's had a hard evening." He nodded and watched her leave without a word, a deep, worried from appearing on his face the moment she exited the console room.
He knew that diamond on her ring. He'd recognise it anywhere and it shouldn't have been there. So, the question was, how?
~0~0~0~
Danni knocked on Rose's door, cup of tea in hand. The door opened slightly and Rose stuck her head out, looking at her apprehensively.
"Hi sweetie." Danni told her gently, holding the mug aloft slightly, "I brought you a cup of tea. Milk, two sugars, just how you like it." Rose glanced at the mug. She had just wanted to be left on her own, but her interest had been caught so she opened the door to let the ginger woman in.
"How do you know that?" Rose asked her, letting her in and taking the offered cup, "How did you know Dickens was going to come?" Danni sat down on her bed, patting the mattress next to her.
"I have this device on my arm," She explained as Rose joined her, "it's called a Vortex Manipulator and it was a toy I got off my friend for Christmas. It brought me to this universe and now I jump around the Doctor's time line whenever it sees fit."
"That doesn't explain how you know anything." Rose pointed out, taking a sip of the tea. Perfect, just how she liked it.
"What I'm about to tell you, you must never tell the Doctor." Danni warned so ominously that Rose found herself nodding instantly, "Where I come from his life is a television show. A hugely popular one that I was a massive fan of. I know what is going to happen because I've watched the episodes. It's not clever, it's just television."
"So you knew Gwyneth was going to die?" Rose asked and Danni nodded, "Why didn't you stop her?" Her tone wasn't harsh, but Danni could tell she was angry.
"Because Gwyneth closed the Rift." She explained, "I wanted to save her, she didn't deserve to die."
"The Doctor might have closed it on his own." Rose defended, "You could have let him."
"I could have." She agreed, "But the Rift is dangerous. More aliens would have come through, with people who don't understand and they could destroy the Earth. I knew Gwyneth could do it, what happens on the show is the only way I can guarantee anything. I hate it, but the universe is more important." She smiled sadly at Rose, "No one will know her sacrifice in this universe, but there are millions and millions in mine who saw her bravery and will never forget." She ran a hand through her hair, sighing deeply and Rose felt bad for accusing her of not trying to help. After all, she said Mr Sneed was supposed to die, so she did save someone who would have been dead before. The Doctor had explained about how time was fragile and he couldn't change any of it. It must be hard trying to change what you can, knowing that you can't save them all.
"So, in your universe, there's a show where people find out how I like my tea?" Rose joked, trying to make her feel better. Danni giggled slightly and shook her head.
"Oh no, that's just me." She replied, "You told me, I remember."
"So, you've met me before as well?" Rose asked and Danni nodded again.
"Oh, loads. I always look forward to meeting you again, Rose. Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe!"
"What?" Rose laughed, bewildered and Danni shrugged, standing up.
"Spoilers." She replied cheekily, "Now, being your closest and bestest friend, I also know the best way to cheer you up."
"Oh yeah, what?" Rose challenged just as cheekily.
"Rom coms and ice cream." Danni told her and she laughed, nodding and standing up.
"You're right, that'll work." Rose agreed and Danni laced her fingers through the blonde's, leading her out the door with a half-drunk cup of tea in her hands.
"Knew it." Danni bragged, "But first, I have to show you a very special place. The one place I go when I feel sad. It'll make your worries seem insignificant, I promise." She explained, leading Rose to the doorway of the TARDIS, just like Rose had told her she would all those years ago.
Everything was coming full circle, Danni realised as she next to Rose, explaining the calming effects the universe had on her. Stories she'd been told she'd live through were finally happening, one by one. Her story was closing, which meant she was quickly heading towards New York.
She wasn't ready.