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Danni gave the blank wall one last smack before stepping away, turning around and burying her hands in her hair. No door meant no escape. No escape meant death. Or trapped forever in a TARDIS keeping her away from the Doctor for no other reason than she thought she was keeping her sage. Her breaths came out in panicked pants, her eyes darting around the room, "What do we do?" She asked Clara, "What do we do?"
"I don't know." Clara replied, just as at a loss as Danni was. All she knew was that the doors were gone, and that was their only way of getting out of the broken time machine. Danni growled, looking up at the ceiling.
"Why are you doing this?" She shouted at the box, "I don't understand!"
"Is it because it's broken?" Clara suggested, "Maybe a failsafe or something?" Danni shrugged.
"I don't know how she works." She explained, "I'm not very good at that sort of thing, the Doctor thought it was dangerous if I tried to fix her." She glared at the console, "Fat lot of good that does us now, though!"
"Okay, hey, it's okay." Clara replied, rubbing the other woman's arm gently, "We just have to go find the Doctor, yeah? He'll get us out."
"How?" Danni pointed out, "I've been walking around the TARDIS for ages and you're the first person I've come across." She reached up, pushing her glasses back up her nose and paused for a moment. She pulled them off, looking at them with blurred vision. The TARDIS had given her new glasses. They'd just fallen from the ceiling when she'd needed them. She'd used a lot of power when she needed not to showing her Ten, trying to keep her safe and in the Library. She'd been trying to help her all this time; why had that changed?
"It hasn't..." She whispered out loud, realisation dawning over her as Clara's brows furrowed.
"I'm sorry, what hasn't?" She asked. Danni shoved the glasses on as she looked back at Clara, her friend coming into focus once again.
"She hasn't stopped helping me." Danni explained, "All this time the TARDIS has been trying to keep me safe. She gave me new glasses so I could see better, and sent me a message to try and keep me safe-" She pulled out the pen from in her pocket, "this fell off a desk, so I could leave the Doctor messages. And she's still helping me." She waved to the room, "The safest place on the TARDIS is the console room, that's a basic that everyone knows. Maybe she's taken the doors away so we can't get out. Maybe this is where we need to stay."
Clara wasn't convinced, "The TARDIS is in a mess, why would it keep us inside?"
"She's very clever." Danni replied, pointedly correcting Clara but not saying anything more about it, "Maybe she knows something we don't. The Doctor knows I'm heading here, this is where he'll be heading too. We just need to wait it out and he'll save us."
Clara looked around the console room again, it seemed to be in the same state at the rest of the TARDIS. Danni was right, this was the safest place, but only because it'd had a door. A way out. Now it was just a room with a lot of equipment to go very wrong very quickly.
"Fine." She agreed reluctantly and Danni grinned, "But first sign of trouble, and I'm out of here."
"Agreed." Danni replied, heading over to the pilot chair and sitting down. Clara sighed as she headed to sit down next to her, Danni scooting up to give her some more room.
"This is going to be incredibly boring." Clara pointed out.
"I lived on a cloud above Victorian London, I can do boring." Danni explained before chucking her arm across the back of the chair, "So, how are Angie and Artie?"
~0~0~0~
As hard as they tried, neither Tricky nor Gregor could get in touch with Bram, and the Doctor was not surprised. As soon as the scream of agony had rang through the halls, he had assumed the worst. Normally he would have felt bad, but they were trying to take apart his ship, keeping him from his wife and his companion and so he found it very hard to feel any sort of remorse. He knew that would come back to haunt him later on, but later didn't matter when they were still in the depths of the TARDIS being lead in circles.
He pulled out his screwdriver, scanning the immediate area. If he could follow the sound, then maybe he could get back to the console room.
"Channel's dead." Gregor declared as they tried to get hold of his younger brother.
"We've got to help him. Gregor, do something." Tricky cried, obviously distressed by Gregor just walked off towards another hallway. He spun the man around, his voice box breaking once again, "Do something!"
"It's too late. He's gone! Let's just worry about the salvage!" Gregor replied, obviously saying the wrong thing as Tricky turned on him, shoving him once.
"You care more about the circuit than you do about him!" He accused and checked his scan, his eyes widening. That's not good, because that definitely was not Danni and Clara.
"Your concern for your brother is really touching." The Time Lord snapped, walking over and forcefully pushing the pair apart, "The android is more cut up about it than you. Now will you two stop bickering and listen!" He stepped closer, lowering his voice, "There is something else down there." He whispered. They all froze and a hissing noise came from down the hallway. The Doctor scanned again, stepping away from them as he tried to work out just what the thing was.
"We've got to get out of here!" Tricky exclaimed decisively, jumping on Gregor's back and grabbing the circuit, "Gregor, give it back. Give it back to her." The Doctor let them fight, as much as he needed Gregor to give the circuit back, it was be pretty pointless getting access to Danni if he was dead. He stepped into the opening to the hallway in front of them, screwdriver buzzing in front of him. A flick and the end of the screwdriver was out, giving him even more bad news.
"Fellas!" He shouted, the pair stopping their petty fighting to look over at him. The Doctor backed away from where he was stood, "Multiple life forms on board the TARDIS with us. I am getting a massive signal."
"Where are they?" Tricky asked.
"Oh, you're not going to like the answer." He replied, whispering again, "About two steps away." A deep, wheezing breath reached them, "One step." In unison, they all turned their heads, looking over their shoulders and spotting the advancing creature. Bright red eyes burnt as it approached them and they all screamed, running in different directions. The thing that attacked Gregor had two heads, smacking him to the ground. They all dove down different turnings, and before the Doctor knew it they had both run off in different directions.
"No! We have to stay together." But Gregor was long gone. Cursing the loss of the man, he joined Tricky, ushering down the hallway, "Come on. Tricky, run!" The android didn't need to be told twice, dashing off and leaving the Doctor to get a proper look at the creature following them. It didn't have two heads, it had two bodies, joined together at the hands as it approached him. His hearts clenched, feeling like he'd been hit in the gut as he realised exactly what the creature was - or, as was case, was going to be.
"Oh, Danni." He breathed and one tilted its head, as if it had understood him. That confused him, but its friend didn't seem to want to wait for it to reply, swiping at the Doctor and he turned, following Tricky wherever he was heading.
~0~0~0~
Clara was restless, and they hadn't been there long. Five minutes tops, but she felt like she was just waiting around to be killed. Danni was right, there was no point leaving the console room because it was where the Doctor would be heading, but that didn't make the waiting any less painful.
She stood up, putting her hands in her pockets - a dress with pockets, this box really did have everything - and was confused for a moment as she found something in one. She pulled out the picture from before, turning the Danni and holding it out to her, "Who's this?" She asked and Danni frowned, taking the picture off her. A couple with a baby? She shrugged, shaking her head.
"No idea. Where did you get this?" She asked. Wow, the man really looked grumpy. And those eyebrows, his wife/girlfriend must have really loved him.
"I found it in a nursery." Clara replied, nodding slowly in agreement as Danni's eyebrows shot up, "It was really nice. Pale yellows and white furniture. I didn't know you let babies on here."
"Neither did I." Danni agreed, "It must be a past companion, or a future companion. The TARDIS stores every room she has ever or will ever need. Maybe you found one that hasn't been used yet. Maybe we get companions who have a baby." A baby they could keep, and raise as well. That would be nice, she still hated how Melody ended.
Not that she wanted to think of River at this moment in time.
"So, none in your future?" Clara teased, sitting next to her once again with a teasing grin on her face, "No baby Doctor-Dannis running around the TARDIS?" Danni shook her head, a sad smile appearing.
"Can't, I'm not fully Time Lord." She explained, "I'm still part human, we're not 'compatible'." She made the quotation motions in the air. She had hoped that it might have been on the cards eventually, definitely not now but eventually, but the Doctor hadn't said anything to indicate otherwise. And he suddenly hadn't become worried about birth control or anything, so she assumed it hadn't changed. For the most part, she could ignore the fact they could never have a family, but that didn't mean she hated the fact any less.
"You're telling me you can't go pick up a space baby or something?" Clara asked and Danni chuckled, shaking her head and sitting up slightly straighter.
"It's for the best, really." She reasoned, "Can you imagine trying to live like this while dragging a child with you?" She wrinkled her nose, shaking her head, "No, this is for the best." Clara watched her for a moment, seeing her stare off into space in front of her.
"You don't believe that for a second, do you?" Clara scoffed and Danni shook her head.
"Not even a little bit." Danni agreed, "But it's no life for a baby. Even a space baby."
~0~0~0~
The Doctor and Tricky came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs up to the console. Or, at least, a console. The Doctor looked around the room, immediately sensing the differences between this console room and the main one they were trying to find.
"Back where we started." Tricky declared, and he would have felt relieved if he had been capable of feeling the emotion. The Doctor shook his head.
"No. It's an echo." He replied before dashing up the stairs to the echo console. He circled it, flipping a couple of switches to test its functionality. It wasn't the real console, but if it worked even partly like the actual thing, he might just be able to use it to find Danni, "The console room is the safest place on the ship. It can replicate itself any number of times. It's trying to protect us." He explained, coming to a stop in front of the monitor. It seemed to have some power, but not a lot. However, was that because it was an echo, or because the TARDIS was injured?
"Because I tried to give back the circuit?" Tricky asked and the Doctor shot him a short but grateful smile.
"Team TARDIS." He confirmed, giving the android - although at this point, he wasn't convinced on that fact - a pat on the cheek before going to clear the console top. He needed the controls under the rubble, which was doing an excellent job at echoing the rubble in the original console room. A piece fell to the floor, but the clatter that should have followed it never came.
"Where did... where did that go?" Tricky asked as they both tried to locate the item.
"There's more than one echo room." The Doctor breathed in realisation. Of course there was. She was trying to protect them all, there was always going to be multiple rooms. If one had been created for them, then perhaps one had been created for Danni as well. He looked up again, searching the room for any joins or gaps he could use to get to the other room when a shadow with no owner passed over one of the console tops.
"Hey, look, look!" He pointed at the shadow. It wasn't Danni, but he could tell the shape of his friends anywhere, "The TARDIS has got Clara safe. That was her. That was her there." He exclaimed happily, "There could be one for Danni. Danni could still be around here somewhere." He kissed the tips of his fingers, placing them against the column in the middle, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Then a scream echoed through the room.
~0~0~0~
Danni and Clara both looked up at the same time as a piece of metal fell from absolutely nowhere, landing on the ground with a clatter that echoed through the empty room. They both turned to look at each other in unison, and saw that neither of them knew what it was or where it came from.
"Time to leave?" Danni asked and Clara nodded.
"Thought you'd never ask." They both stood up at the same time, scrambling from the seat when there was a loud click, like a large switch being flicked. Danni's hand shot out, grabbing Clara's.
"I think there's something here." She whispered and Clara nodded.
"I think you're right." She agreed. Suddenly the door into the console room shut and they both jumped, Danni squeaking as Clara gasped, "We're not going anywhere, are we?" She asked and Danni shook her head.
"This is where the TARDIS wants us." She replied, "I don't think she understands what'd happening any more than we do." She nudged Clara to go one way around the console, "See if you can find a switch, or a phone or something." Clara nodded and they both started to slowly circle the console. A loud bang echoed through the room and they both spun, gasping in unison again.
"Danni, what's happening?" Clara hissed.
"You think I know?" Danni whispered in reply, pushing her glasses up again. Her eyes scanned the room, hoping that she could spot something and at the same time hoping nothing was there. She screamed as she saw a flash of something, running the rest of the way around the console to grab Clara's sore hand, "Out, out, out!" She cried and they ran to the door. Clara hammered the red button that would, hopefully, open the door before joining Danni to keep an eye out for anything attacking them.
"What about the Doctor?" She asked Danni.
"He'll find us!" Danni replied, panicking again, "He's clever, he has the screwdriver and we've become sitting ducks. Oh, I'm so bad at this!" They turned around as the doors opened, revealing one of the creatures. They both screamed, dashing up the stairs once again to the console. It began to chase them around it, like a game of cat and mouse. They would change direction, but so would it, trapping them behind the console with no way of escape.
"Danni, what do we do?" Clara cried, glancing over at the door. A beeping rang out through the room, seemingly without a source and adding to the atmosphere.
"I don't know!" Danni shouted back, "I'll go one way, you go the other. Try and get to the exit, find the Doctor!" Clara nodded, agreeing very much with that plan. She took a step to the side, the creature following her as Danni went the other way. It noticed and tried to block her off as well. Each time one of the women moved, the creature would try and stop them escaping.
Clara caught its gaze, its bright red eyes burning into her and she frowned. It was like it could see her, but the burning eyes suggested otherwise. Clara tilted her head to one side, and so did the creature.
"What are you?" Clara whispered, but her hesitation was to her disadvantage. The creature swiped at her, Danni grabbing her just in time and pulling her towards where the doors out should have been.
"Come on, open the doors." Danni screamed at the TARDIS as they were backed against the cold concrete, "Please open the doors!" It advanced on them, snarling like it had a mouth and the two women clung to each other.
"Danni, what do we do?" Clara asked again and she shook her head.
"I don't know." Danni whimpered, "I don't know how to save you, I'm so sorry, Clara." Another Clara was going to die, and it was all her fault. She was useless at saving her Clara, and now she couldn't come up with a plan to get her out of harm's way. She tightened her grip on Clara, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Clara."
Then, Clara flickered, disappearing from her grasp and she stumbled slightly, "Clara?" She cried, "Clara!"
~0~0~0~
Clara screamed as something grabbed her arm, something that wasn't the creature in front of her and pulled her sharply forward. She stumbled, fighting off whatever had hold of her, only to find herself looking straight at the Doctor.
"It's all right. Clara," He told her and she shook her head, pointing to where she was just standing.
"Danni!" She cried, "Danni was right there, it's going to get her!" Without another moment of hesitation, the Doctor scanned the area again, looking for his wife. When Gregor had appeared, he'd set his hand scanner to look for human, which is what it would have done. It had found only human, which was why it didn't pick his wife up. He would have smacked himself on the forehead, but he knew he only had seconds to spare. It was a stupid oversight, but no matter. Just like before, Danni slowly flickered into existence, arms in front of her face, trying to protect her as she screamed. He reached forward, grabbing her and pulling her up against him. She screamed louder, pushing against him but he wrapped his arms around her tighter.
"Danni, Danni, it's me!" He told her and she stopped struggled, gasping for air as she looked up at him. He laughed in pure relief, turning the grasp he had on her into a hug she gladly returned. She was okay. Well, she was wearing some smashing glasses and her arm was rather red, but she was okay and she was with him. He held her at arm's length, looking her up and down. She hadn't burnt to a crisp like the version of her he'd seen in the hallway, she was alive and right in front of him.
"I'm so, so sorry. Please, please forgive me..." He begged, only to be cut off by her taking his face in her hands and pulling him down into a kiss. He flailed for a moment, taking completely by surprised before pulling her close and responding just as eagerly.
Clara rolled her eyes, the smile creeping onto her face despite the annoyance she was trying to betray. She and Danni were about to be killed, she could allow them a little snog. Just a little one, mind.
"Do they do this often?" Someone asked and she took a glance at the two men in overalls carrying tools. The kiss didn't seem to be ending any time soon and she nodded.
"More than is necessary." She replied, "Who are you?"
"Tricky, Gregor." The younger of the two told her, a slight bite to his tone as he motioned to the other one.
Danni pulled back, panting slightly before smiling at the Doctor. He looked slightly dazed from the unexpected assault but it just made him look adorable, "Hello." She whispered.
"Hello." He replied just as lamely. That was... that was nice, and very much missed. He stroked her hair, pushing it behind her ear, "I saw your messages, you clever thing."
"Labyrinth." She offered as an explanation, "Sarah leaves marks to tell herself where she's been." He nodded slowly, remembering watching the movie with her, "Doctor, what were those things?"
"Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one." Clara agreed, walking over and suddenly they were ganging up on him, "Basic storytelling."
"That thing almost killed the pair of us!" Danni added, "And there's more lurching around, trying to burn us! Why do we have zombies on the TARDIS?"
"Not in front of the guests." He told the pair, nodding towards the two men. Danni glanced at them, then turned back to her husband, ready to shout at him regardless. Those book-in-a-vial things had almost gotten them killed, she knew they needed to be properly stored and not just left on a shelf. Then, the reminder of the library brought back that book. All those names, floating in front of her eyes again and she pulled the Doctor in for another hug.
"Okay, more hugging." He stated, surprised because she had been so distant since they'd been to see Jack. Understandably so, but then to suddenly have her holding onto him like she was afraid to let him go was strange, "I'm all for the hugging," He told her, "but is there a reason?" She shook her head against his chest, just listening to his hearts beating. All those things he'd seen, everything he'd done...
The Doctor looked to Clara for help, because this was more than her normal hugging. Something was wrong, but she didn't want to tell him, "Any reason?" He asked her.
"Err, there was a book?" She offered, remembering how upset Danni had been to see it, "In the library. She was crying, proper crying, when she was reading it."
"What book?" He asked but Gregor had finally had enough. He stepped forward, pulling their attention to him.
"All right, all right," He stated, his tone tinted with annoyance, "a deal's a deal. You got the girls back. Now cancel the self-destruct."
"Ah, yes!" The Doctor exclaimed, remembering the little incentive. Just in time as well, there really wasn't much time left on the countdown. He forced Danni off him, taking her face in his hands and smiling encouragingly at her, "Tell me after we're safe." He told her, "Tell me everything, and we'll make it okay. But I need you to press a button for me, okay?" She sniffed, nodding. They were all in grave danger, and she was sobbing like a child.
The Doctor still smiled at her, though, like he wasn't ashamed of his pathetic wife. He stroked her cheek once, placed a kiss on her forehead then linked his fingers through hers. He led her to the console, hoping that the stripped down version would still have the functionality, otherwise they would be in quite the pickle. Luckily, it did, so he directed her to press a button before smiling at them all.
"Hang on, are you telling me you actually set off the self-destruct?" Clara exclaimed and the Doctor smiled sheepishly as Danni's brows furrowed.
"Why did I have to turn it off?" She asked him, "What did you do?"
He looked between the two women before waving his hands in exasperation, "I was angry!" He cried in his defence, "I didn't know where you were, they needed a gentle push."
He couldn't be serious! There was no way he put a self-destruct on the TARDIS while they were all on it, with only her who could have stopped the countdown, "What if you hadn't have found me?!" Danni cried.
"I could have stopped it." He promised and she rolled her eyes.
"You're unbelievable, Spaceman!" She exclaimed, "You can't go blowing people up because I'm lost in the TARDIS!"
"They'd hurt you." The Doctor defended. He reached out, grabbing her red arm just below the scold mark and held it up, "They did hurt you. I'd lost you, again, and they deserved to be punished!" She stared for a moment, her mind heading back onto the spaceship with the dinosaurs, all those years ago when Eleven had confused her with kisses and being terrified when she'd been hurt. He'd blown up a man, because he'd taken 'his queen'. He'd killed a room full of Silents because they had taken her. The Vashta Nerada had backed off because they'd looked them up in their forest full of books.
"Clara was here." She whispered, sounding forlorn at the prospect of him putting their friend in danger because of her.
"She knows the risks." The Doctor replied, not apologising for what he'd done, more the way he had carried it out.
"Actually, no she didn't." Clara snapped furiously, although she wasn't surprised. There was so many secrets on this ship, and she had seen how the Doctor was with Danni. Still, there was definite words to be had about that when they got out of this mess.
"Well, now you do." The Doctor told her sharply, barely sparing her a glance as he cupped Danni's face, "It doesn't matter, it's off, no more self-destruct. You stopped it." She just stared at him as Tricky took a tentative step towards them, trying to catch the Doctor's eye.
"So, are we safe?" He asked.
"Perfectly." He replied, "Danni turned the self-destruct off, the engines aren't going to explode." And, true to form, a loud alarm began sounding, pulling all their attention back to the console, "Ah."
"Let me guess, that's the 'engines are about to explode' alarm?" Clara asked. He quickly looked one of the monitors, which was telling him in no uncertain terms that the engines were overloading.
"Ah, that's not good." He replied, "Okay, don't panic." He told them all, trying a few switches but nothing changed, "or maybe panic."
"Doctor, what's happening?" Danni asked him.
"It appears the engine is damaged." He explained, placing another kiss on her forehead, "We're in trouble, Danni. Proper trouble. It needs fixing or we're toast." He ran towards the stairs, hand still holding Danni's until they reached the bottom level of the console room.
"So now would be a good time to use that big friendly button, right?" Clara asked as she and the two men followed the couple down. The Doctor nodded, pulling his screwdriver out. He aimed at one of the hexagonal panels on the wall.
"Yeah, sorry, I should have had one built in." He agreed as it fell open. They all looked down the black hole that appeared, like an air vent.
"Where are we going?" Tricky asked, sounding very nervous for an android.
"Detour." The Doctor replied, "The centre of the TARDIS." He nudged Danni forward slightly, "You first." He told her and she crouched down, pausing before she actually entered the tunnel. He would never allow her to go first anywhere, ever. She looked back at him suspiciously, catching him trying to look entirely too innocent.
She gasped slightly, realising just what he was doing but before she could protest, he motioned to the hole, "Come along, Danni-Girl. Time's a-ticking." She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to protest before sighing and climbing in.
"And you call me cheeky." She grumbled as she started crawling, "Bloody Time Lords."
~0~0~0~
"Run! Move, move!" The Doctor cried, pointing his screwdriver in front of them as he motioned the others to run through the hallway. They'd only been heading down the lower hallways of the TARDIS for a few minutes when they'd been found by the creatures roaming the halls. Danni was stood by his side, obviously not going anywhere without him, so he didn't wait long before chasing after them. Very quickly it became apparent that they'd lost the group and the Doctor pulled them both to a standstill.
"Theta, what are they?" Danni demanded, "You know, it's obvious."
He slowly turned around on the spot, scanning for the other people on his ship, "Trust me..." He started.
"Stop keeping things from me!" She shouted and he paused mid-step, surprised at the outburst, "You said you would stop lying to me. Tell me, what was that thing? What are they?" He didn't want to, he didn't want her any more scared than she already was, but she was right. He'd promised to tell her everything, yet it was almost second nature for him to keep things from her that he thought would upset her. He just didn't want her scared, but the way she was looking at him just told him she already was. That the only way she had a chance of feeling safe was for him to be honest with her.
He opened his mouth to tell her everything he knew but paused, his brows furrowing as a soft sound reached his ears. He held up a finger, "Can you hear there?" He asked quietly, recognising the sound almost instantly. Danni was going to tell him to stop changing the subject when she heard it as well.
"Is that... Is someone crying?" She asked and he lead them down one of the never-ending hallways, coming to a stop at the sight of a blonde-haired woman on the ground, legs pulled up against her chest as she cried softly to herself, "Is that me?" She asked quietly.
He scanned the woman with his screwdriver, the end popping out as he read the results, "She was you. Time's leaking from somewhere, a tiny rupture spewing out the past." He nodded towards the echo of Danni, "When was that?" She shrugged.
"Err, a couple of nights ago, I think." She replied, shooting him a look, "After you told me to go see River."
"I'm NEVER going to see her!" They both jumped as another Danni stormed past, a Doctor trailing after her, "Stop asking or I'm going to slap you!"
"Danni, Danni just listen..." The other Doctor called after her as they disappeared around the corner.
"Okay, this is just freaky." Danni declared, turning back to see the other Danni gone as well, "Woah!"
"We've got to get to the engine." The Doctor told her, searching for Clara with his screwdriver, "This way!"
~0~0~0~
The Doctor hadn't been 100% certain about Tricky, if he hadn't been so focused on finding Danni then perhaps he would have worked it out sooner. He was human, he had always been human and they had tricked him into thinking he was a machine just because they were bored. The more he found out about Gregor, the less he liked the man.
Danni did feel sorry for the man, even the pole through the shoulder would have made her feel bad for him but she knew what it was like to be lied to about who you were. She could sense the anger radiating from him, the Doctor had been slowly showing her how to differentiate between emotions. It was a slow process, apparently, to learn from scratch but he'd been patient with her. It was just all so... frustrating.
She glanced back at Tricky while walking next to the Doctor. His arm was bandaged up, and he was refusing to be anywhere near Gregor. She squeezed the Doctor's hand to get his attention, the nodded back at the man trailing at the back. The Doctor looked vaguely confused, but instead of explaining, she just reached up to kiss his cheek and let go of his hand. He grabbed her before she managed to walk away, pulling her back for a little peck on the lips before spinning her around and sending her on her way.
She fell into step next to Tricky, not saying anything straight away in case he sent her away, but he didn't say anything, "If it's any consolation, I know how you feel."
"Really?" He snapped, his voice box crackling in his anger and she nodded.
"I was human, once." She explained, "Completely believed it. Grew up with a human mum and dad in different universe, then suddenly I was flung into this one." He looked like he didn't believe her, but she carried on, "Spent five years here still believing that until I found out I was from this universe. Not only was I not human, but my parents were two people I considered my best friends. They'd known all along and had lied to me." She smiled softly at him, "I know that it seems made up, but I cross my hearts it's true. I know what it's like to have people you trust lie to you about who you are, and it sucks."
"How did you get over it?" He asked her and she shook her head.
"I haven't." She told him bluntly, "I don't think I ever will. I'm just," she sucked her breath in through her teeth, "so angry. At them both. I don't think I'll ever forgive them." She gently placed her hand on his hurt arm, "You have every right to feel angry too. He did a terrible thing to you."
"I don't know who I am." He replied, "I only remember after the accident."
"That's something you're going to have to work out on your own." She told him, "You can ask him for help, if you want, but it's okay not to forgive him if he does." She shot the Doctor a small glance, because she was having a very different crisis with him. Her anger had gone, and she wanted to forgive him for lying to her. Being separated and almost dying had just reinforced that in her head, but at the same time he had lied to her! About something huge, as well. Something actually life-changing, surely she wasn't supposed to forgive that? But he was trying so hard to change, it had only taken a gentle reminder for him to try and tell her what those creatures were. She genuinely thought she had managed to scare him into not keeping things from her anymore. An open and honest relationship was worth that forgiveness, right?
She gave Tricky another rub on the arm, leaving him to his thoughts as she headed back to the Doctor's side. She took his hand and he shot her an adoring smile, one she happily returned. She'd work it out when they were safe. Just another thing to add to the list.