Danni took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves before closing her eyes. The Doctor put his fingers on her temples, pressing lightly against her so he didn't startle her. The couple were both sat on the TARDIS console room floor right next to the centre controls, both with their legs crossed as they sat opposite each other. The Doctor's jacket was draped over the pilot seat, but otherwise he was wearing his normal attire while Danni sat in her comfiest pyjamas. That had been the Doctor's idea, to be completely comfortable. Apparently it led to a clearer mind, and she was always looking for an excuse to lounge in her pyjamas so she'd agreed. The Doctor had tried to get her to wear her red pyjamas she had used to keep in his room when she was still jumping, but she knew nothing would get done if she wore them, so it was just a simple joggers and t-shirt combo for her.
"Okay, just keep focus on the memory." He told her gently, brushing a little of her blonde hair out of the way of her temple before resting against it once again, "Remember as much detail as you possibly can, and if you feel yourself starting to deviate, pull yourself back into it, okay?"
"While also trying to keep any other memories behind those doors, right?" She asked, trying to make sure she was getting it right. He nodded, opening his eyes to take a look at his wife.
"Yes, that's right." He reassured her, smiling at the look of concentration on her face. She'd come to him shortly after dropping Clara back off again, saying she had wanted to strengthen her psychic abilities, at least so the next time they were cut off from each other she might have a chance of finding him again.
He'd thought it was a great idea, being able to share that with her was just another way they could be closer. They were starting simple, memory sharing helped strengthen your own mental bonds rather than ones between two people. He knew she had some strength, having kicked himself and the Master out of her head at different points in her life, so this was merely an exercise on separating what you wanted to share from what you didn't. He had a feeling this was going to be a relative easy task for her, which would build up confidence and there was a good amount of self-belief in being able to transmit thoughts to another person - if you didn't think you could do it, then the connection would waver and prove you right.
"On the count of three, I'm going to enter your mind, okay?" He explained, speaking as calmly as he could, "Just keep your focus and this should be just fine."
"Okay." She agreed, and he slowly counted before pressing himself into her mind. He was quite impressed, actually. Her barriers weren't exactly rock solid, it wouldn't have taken him much effort to break them down, but they were all there and directing him down a very specific path. He followed it, smiling as he came across the memory of a little red-headed girl playing with a ball outside a large static caravan wearing a little blue dress. She was passing it back and forth to a man who had to have been her father. He had a sweater vest on, even though it had to have been summer, black hair and glasses. They both were having a great time and he just stood in the sunlight watching them play catch.
"Oh, this is weird." He heard his Danielle state from outside the bubble he was in, "I know you weren't there, but it seems like you were." He pulled out of her memory and her mind, watching her fondly as she blinked her eyes clear. She pushed her glasses up her nose slightly as she smiled at him.
"You get used to it. Your mind isn't used to outside influences being in your memories, so it's trying to compensate for it by rearranging what you remember to wedge me in. It'll fade." She nodded, "Ready to try again?"
"Of course!" She cried excitedly and he chuckled, settling back to dive in again. She closed her eyes, obviously trying to think of something to show him. They were sticking to simple, clear memories for now, again just to ease her in. They'd be able to explore anything else at a later date.
"Remember, you can just kick me out if something goes wrong and you don't want me to see something." He reminded her before closing his eyes, "One," he counted slowly, "two, three." And he was in. Once again those barriers were there, so she wasn't having trouble putting them up at all. That would probably be their next exercise, building them up stronger. She needed a lot more strength in her own head before even attempting the other way around.
He smirked inside and out when he found the memory, watching himself push Danni against the door of the TARDIS. The red-head was wearing a short white dress he hadn't seen her wearing in a while, trapped between the door and himself as he hungrily kissed her. Ah, their wedding night. He stood still for a moment, revelling in the feeling of her adoring his attention on her. Of course she would choose something like this, she could be rather cheeky when she wanted to be.
"Do you think about this often?" He asked her out loud, trying to not wish he was in Memory-Doctor's place at that very moment. He had to go look for that dress.
"Whenever my nose hurts." She replied back and he chuckled, getting ready to remove himself, watching them for just a little bit longer. The memory flickered and he paused, watching himself and his new wife being replaced, just for a moment, by her being pressed against a wall, facing away from the brown haired man who was holding her there. Then he was shoved out, seeing a terrified Danni staring back at him, brown eyes welling up. She rocked away slightly, as if she'd physically pushed him out of her head and he pushed up onto his knees, pulling her in for hug before she could pull away.
"I-I was thinking of when my nose hurt." She whimpered as an explanation, clinging to him tightly, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Theta."
"It's okay." He promised, "It's why we're doing this, isn't it?" He placed a kiss on her hair as he held her close, feeling her shudder in his arms, "Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for, Danni-Girl."
"I don't want you to see it." She told him, "I don't want to see it anymore. I want him to stop coming for me." The Doctor ducked his head, catching her eye and smiling softly when he caught her gaze. Red-rimmed eyes hiding behind glasses, staring at him in a slight trepidation.
"He's never coming for you." He promised, "He's trapped in the Time War, and even if by some terrible miracle he escapes, I'll never let him near you. You don't have to be scared of him, I will stop him."
"Until you leave me too." She whispered and he shifted on the floor, sitting down so she could curl up into his side. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tightly in the awkward position.
"If he comes, and I'm no longer here, you come find me." He said firmly, "No matter how long it's been. You fly the TARDIS and you fly her straight to me, and I will make sure he can never hurt you again."
"But..."
"Danielle." He snapped shortly and she looked up at him, surprised by her first name. He had a serious look set on his face, one he tended to use when talking to his companions when they could potentially get into some sort of danger.
"You come find me." He insisted, "Doesn't matter when or where I am. If I know that you can regenerate or not. You find the nearest version of me, and you make me listen to you." He smiled, his face relaxing, and he placed a kiss on her nose, "You are always so good at that." A shaky smile, but he managed to draw one from her and it was a start. There was no way the Master could get out of the Time War. The fact she had managed to get drawn in and out was an impossibility she had managed to break by being such a random series of events that it still seemed entirely impossible. He was trapped, she had no reason to fear that monster of a man anymore, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try and reassure her every moment she was scared. However, the look on her face showed that maybe she was starting to listen to him.
"I do have a lot of good things to say." She replied and he laughed, nodding.
"That you do, Danni-Girl." He agreed readily, "Now, do you want to try again, or do you want to go somewhere awesome?" A beaming smile this time, excellent.
"Somewhere awesome." She replied and he helped her up, spinning her around. She yelped in surprise as he pulled her up against him, placing a kiss on her lips before skipping to the console.
"Absolutely tonto." He cried before flipping the switch, sending them both flying.
~0~0~0~
Danni threw the doors open with a wonderful amount of enthusiasm, gasping in delight as she hopped out in the bright green grass the TARDIS had landed on. She adjusted the black headband in her hair slightly as she took in the sights. Larger than life trees stretching up high above her, looking like they'd been carved into strange shapes but also obviously very natural. Gigantic flowers shining throughout the area, an impossibly blue sky above them.
"Come on, we haven't got all day!" She called back into the TARDIS. Oh, it was beautiful, absolutely stunning. The greens around her looked like a colour she'd only seen on crayons, and a fly flew past her face that was in the shape of a tiny horse. She laughed in pure delight even as she batted it away. How did a place like this actually exist?!
"Ah, we have all the time in the universe." The Doctor replied as he stepped out, looking absolutely dashing and she took a moment to appreciate just how good looking her husband was. He'd dug out his suit from Victorian London, complete with top hat and cane, just for the occasion. It was amazing how much he suited the Victorian look, his coat with lace accents and the golden chain from his pocket watch sitting nicely on his waistcoat, he always looked so good in it.
He smirked as she looked him over, stepping out closer to her, "Danielle, do have some self-control." He teased in a purr and she stuck her tongue out.
"Don't tell me you don't appreciate the blue dress." She retorted, motioning downwards to the blue dress she had spent hours looking for. The TARDIS had offered her so many that finding the right shade of pale blue had been a nightmare, "You used to love me in blue dresses."
"I still do." He murmured in her ear before offering her his arm. She linked hers through it happily and he held his other hand in the air, clicking his fingers. He smirked smugly as the TARDIS doors closed behind them, he would never get over how cool that was.
"You think you're so clever." She teased and he looked slightly insulted as he glanced down at her.
"I am so clever." He retorted, leading her into the forest. Her attention kept being pulled to every minute detail; to the weird shaped leaves and the impossible green colours that they were, to the tiny animals that made absolutely no sense whatsoever as they dashed past, "You love this place already, don't you?"
"I do." She admitted freely, "This can't be Wonderland, though, surely?"
"Of course not." He agreed, "However, it isn't statistically impossible for there to be a planet with the same physical attributes as said imaginary land. Hence, when you come here, you see Wonderland and when they read about Alice and her adventures, they don't quite understand why you humans think it is strange."
"So, we're not going to come across the Cheshire Cat any time soon?" She asked, slightly hopeful that he would tell her otherwise, but he shook his head.
"Afraid not, Danni-Girl." He admitted before pausing for a thought, "There's a Red Queen, though."
"She won't chop off our heads, will she?" Danni asked, actually becoming slightly worried but the Doctor shook his head.
"Definitely not. I've heard she's quite lovely." He reassured her before stopping, pointing at a large toadstool with white dots over its red skin, "See? Everything is like a fairy-tale." They watched as a caterpillar began winding its way up its stalk, coming to rest on top like the caterpillar in the movies always did.
"Will he start smoking?" She whispered, as if she was going to scare it away by talking too loud.
"No, it's a caterpillar." He replied, sounding like it was a stupid thing for her to ask and she shot him a slightly annoyed look.
"Well, I don't know, do I? You're the clever one." He turned her around, smirking as he pulled her up against him.
"That I am, Alice." He replied lowly, dipping his head closer to hers, "My beautiful Alice." He gently pressed his mouth against hers, and the comment about how kinky he was left her mind. She pushed herself closer to him, hesitatingly opening her mouth against his, and the groan he let out at her response had her clinging to him tightly as he pulled her even closer.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor balanced the camera on the tree branch, peering through the lens again at his beloved wife, making sure she was lined up perfectly in the frame. He needed the perfect shot for this to work, and every centimetre one way or the other made a huge difference to the final product. He smiled as he watched Danni hop from foot to food impatiently.
"Come on, it doesn't take that long to line up a shot!" She called from across the small clearing and he looked over the top of the camera at her.
"Do you want the mushroom in shot or not?" He replied teasingly and she stuck out her tongue at him, squeezing her eyes shut as she did and it was just adorable. He could run onto a Dalek ship with nothing but a Jammy Dodger in his pocket without a thought, yet lining up this photo had taken at least five minutes of him minutely twisting the camera from one side to the other.
"I'm sure that it's fine." She moaned, "Come on, I want to go the village and see the Queen!" He chuckled at her behaviour, sometimes them hints that she was still such a child came through, "I want a castle!"
"So impatient." He commented before pressing the timer button. He dashed over, falling into place next to her, pulling her close by her waist, "Three, two..." He whispered along with the countdown and the 'click' the camera let out to signal it had taken the picture rang out. It began counting down again and she frowned.
"Why's it doing it again?" She asked, forcing her smile back onto her face ready for the next picture.
"So I can do this." He replied, smirking as he grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off the ground. She shouted in surprise, gripping onto his arms for balance as the camera took another picture, then another as he spun her around on the spot. His hands were on her waist and he was holding her incredibly too high and she felt like she was going to fall as he held her above his head. He put her down on the last click, grinning from ear to ear before running over to look at the camera. She stood, stunned by the sudden assault before walking over to his side. He'd already turned the camera over, turning it to viewing mode so they could see the photos they'd taken.
"Some warning would have been nice." She scolded.
"Then it would have been set up." He replied, flicking through the pictures, watching her surprised look change in every photo as he held her aloft, "In the moment photographs are always better, they show instant reactions. Emotions you just can't fake." He showed her one, with her skirt slightly blurred as he held her as high his he could, her hands on his biceps like she was afraid she was going to fall. She smiled with a little breathy laugh to herself; he was looking up at her like she was all he could see, even under the tree-sized toadstool that hung over the pair like a gigantic umbrella.
"That would look nice in the bedroom." She commented, conceding to his point. They did look lovely, and she knew that he would have only dropped her had he slipped and fallen himself. And, quite frankly with the way he'd been lately, he would have found a way to land underneath her and cushion her fall.
"To the Red Queen?" He asked and she grinned as she looked up from the camera.
"Only if you tell me you love me." She teased, taking the camera off him and wrapping the cord around her wrist.
He leant down, brushing his lips against hers before linking their fingers together, "I love you, Danni-Girl." He promised, "Now come along, she'll be waiting." Danni's brows furrowed as they walked off from the amazing mushroom, into the mixing bushes and flowers that sounded like they were singing when the faint breeze blew through them.
"Are you sure she won't chop off our heads?" She pressed, because it really was a concern for her at this point.
"Of course I'm sure." He replied, "At least 97%." He paused, "Better make that 87, just to be on the safe side."
She snorted, "Is that your final answer?" She murmured and he shook his head.
"85. Definitely 85." He settled on then nodded confidently, "Yes, I am definitely 82% sure she will not chop off our heads."
"Oh, I'm glad you're that sure." She frowned, picking up on something he said as they'd started walking again, "Wait, why would she be expected us? I thought we'd just dropped in."
"Well, about that..."
~0~0~0~
The butler handed Danni the cup of warm liquid and she shot him a soft smile as he headed to the Doctor. She wasn't sure what the purple liquid was, but it smelt very fruity so she took a sip. She tried to hide her grimace as she put the cup back down on the small saucer. Definitely wouldn't be drinking that again. Somehow the Doctor had actually managed to set up tea with the Red Queen, and now it was all she could do not to fangirl at the very regal looking lady sat on a single armchair across from them. She was wearing a red dress accented with gold panelling on the bodice, very much in an Earth Medieval style with a golden circlet sat on her brown hair. It wasn't the dress, though, that gave the Red Queen her nickname, rather the bright red her eyes glowed. They were mesmerising and Danni had to continuously force herself to look anywhere but directly into her eyes.
The Doctor, however, had no such issues and was talking the Queen's ear off like he did everyone he met. It was quite adorable, really. Something about the flowers in the woods they had walked through to get to the castle. The Queen, to her credit, did look vaguely interested but at the first lull in the conversation, the royal turned to Danni.
"And who are you to the Doctor, my dear?" She asked kindly and Danni blushed slightly, completely intimidated by the slight woman. She just oozed the air of a ruler and Danni had quickly fallen underneath her intense aura.
"His wife, Ma'am." She replied timidly, "Danni Fielding."
"Ah, so you're his Danni-Girl?" She questioned with realisation in her voice, "I did wonder if he was going to bring you for a visit."
"He's told you about me?" Danni asked, shooting the Doctor a surprised look. He just continued to sip his cup of fruit goo like she shouldn't have been surprised, like it was obvious he would have told the Red Queen from Not-Wonderland all about her.
"I did think it would have been before he'd changed faces." The Queen admitted, "However, both he and his ginger friend could not stop talking about you."
Ginger friend? "Donna?" Danni asked and the Queen nodded.
"That's the woman. Such a big heart, she was very insistent that I did not try and interfere with your courtship." Danni giggled as the Doctor choked on his drink, obviously that piece of information was new to him as well.
"Well, I cannot say that either of them mentioned you to me, Ma'am." Danni apologised, "However, Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite childhood books, I can see why he thought to keep you a surprise."
"Ah, them darling books." The Queen replied fondly, "I bet I'm quite the surprise to you, indeed. I suppose that's why you've been staring." Danni blushed again at being caught out.
"I-I'm sorry, Ma'am." She stuttered but the Queen chuckled.
"That is quite alright, my dear." She promised, "It is quite a good lesson to be shown that not everything we read in books is to be believed. Would you like some more desen juice?" Danni started, looking down at her barely touched drink.
"No, I'm fine, Ma'am." She replied, shifting in her seat, "If you don't mind me asking, Ma'am, did you ever have an Alice? I know this planet isn't really Wonderland, but how much of the books are actually real? I love the Cheshire Cat, is he real? Is he pink and purple like the Disney movie?" As she continued to ask a million and one different question, the Doctor stretched his arm across the back of the regal sofa that they were sharing, playing with the ends of her hair like he couldn't not be in contact for her. The Queen didn't comment, just continued to take in Danni's stream of barely connected questions until she trailed off, realising she was firing too much at the Queen to even begin to answer, even if she wanted to.
The Queen placed her cup down on the small table that separated the trio, standing up and brushing down her dress, "How about we take a walk around the garden, and I can answer your questions somewhere nicer than this stuffy room?" She suggested to the eager woman, "Perhaps we can paint some of the roses while we're out there." She wasn't surprised to see the blonde woman's face light up in excitement, it was quite nice to see someone who didn't fawn over her like her subjects.
Danni turned to her Theta, eyes lit up with happiness as she almost bounced in her seat. He hadn't seen her so excited in such a long time, going back to their crystal moon with Clara had really brought something out in her and he adored it, "Can we?" She asked him, like she needed his permission. He sighed, like he was reluctantly going to say yes but she was out of her seat before he could say anything, heading off with the Queen. He grinned, watching her ask even more questions - 'Do the butterflies here look like they have bread for wings?' - and he couldn't have been happier.
He realised he was staring, so he picked up his pace and jogged to her side, taking her hand once again.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor quietly opened the bedroom door, expecting to find his wife asleep in the bed as she had headed off a couple of hours ago. He liked to check on her occasionally, especially if they'd had a bad moment during the day like they'd had that morning. He didn't want her having bad dreams, and if she'd thought of that evil man even for a little bit, they tended to rear their ugly heads. However instead of finding her curled up into a tiny ball and cocooned in their covers, she was sat reading. She looked up from her book, smiling brightly at him as she pushed her glasses up her nose.
"Coming to bed?" She asked, surprised and he shrugged, walking around the side of the bed so he could sit next to her.
"I was just coming to check up on you." He told her, "You should be asleep, young lady." She rolled her eyes.
"Says you, old man." She retorted, putting her bookmark in her copy of Alice in Wonderland before putting it on the bedside table, next to the vase of roses that sat there. The paint job on them was rather patchy, but apparently painting flowers hadn't been a simple a task as she'd first imagined and so she was rather proud of their deep red colour. She'd been overjoyed when the Queen had allowed her to keep a bunch, apparently they were a special breed that should last a couple of months rather than a few days like Earth flowers.
"Did you get that photo printed?" She asked him and he shook his head, taking her glasses off for her and putting them on top of the book.
"Something's wrong with the canvas printer. Kept letting out bees instead." She snorted in amusement and he beamed, placing a kiss on her forehead, "I'll fix it tomorrow. Now, sleep. I can't waste time while you're sleeping until you actually go to sleep." She pouted.
"You can't expect me to sleep now you've come in." She told him, "You're going to have to lie down with me." He faked being put out, but went around the other side of the bed and laid on top of the covers. She curled up against him, under the covers, and leant on his chest with a contented sigh, "You're just too comfy." She told him with a yawn as the lights dimmed by themselves.
"I am, aren't I?" He replied and she giggled lightly, "Now, did you have a good day?" He asked, like a parent asking their young child. She would have been insulted, but that was just him and she found it adorable how he felt like the parent of the universe.
"I can't believe Wonderland exists." She admitted, "I mean, I know it wasn't Wonderland, really, but it was! It was beautiful." She looked up at him, "You take me such wonderful places."
He placed a kiss on her hair, "Well, that's because you deserve it." He replied, "It's only fun when you're there to show off too."
She nodded against him, snuggling down, "Are there any more planets like books? Like, is there a Hogwarts somewhere we can go visit?"
"No Hogwarts, I'm afraid." He broke to her with a chuckle, looking down to see her pouting once again. Books, it was quite a good segue really, but he still shifted slightly in his seat, "So, I've been meaning to ask..." He started, trying to act slightly cool about it.
"Is this about the book I read in the Library when the TARDIS was dying?" She asked him, looking up just in time to see his surprised look, "Oh, it totally is." She sighed heavily, "It was the History of the Time War." She felt him tense underneath her, just like she knew he would. They had never talked too much about the Time War, her opinion had always been that all it would do was upset her and hurt him, and as neither of them could change it what was the point? She knew of the choice he had to make, and that it tore him up inside that have had to be the one to make it. Neither choice had been good, she wasn't sure she would have been able to decide at all, and the universe would have burnt because of it. His terrible choice saved so many more people, but it was still a terrible choice that he had to live with.
"Ah." He replied, his arm wrapping tighter around her like he was afraid to let her go, "If you're uncomfortable-"
"I'm not." She interrupted, "I- Nothing's changed, I don't envy your choice, but I don't feel any different about you because of it. It was just seeing all those names, they've always been faceless people to me, you know? It made them all seem very real to me."
There was a long pause as the Doctor tried to gather his thoughts, trying not to give into the terrible panic that he was going to lose her because of that damned book. He had tried to destroy it, he'd chucked it out into burning stars and empty space more times than he cared to think about, but the TARDIS did not want him to not have a copy. So he'd hidden it in the Library, where no one else but him could find it. The TARDIS had been so damaged, though, that she must have not known what to do with it. He'd never wanted Danni to know about it, he was not that man anymore, but he had to carry that decision with him.
"What I did," he started slowly, "is my burden to carry, and to carry alone. I never, for one moment, want you to feel bad for the pain I caused, and to know that book made you cry," he ran his hand over his face tiredly, suddenly feeling very old, "I am sorry, Danielle. You know I never mean to make you cry."
"I know." She promised, "Have - um - Have you ever read it?"
"No, I've never had the pleasure." He replied sardonically.
"I'm in it too." She said quietly. He looked back down at her, having not been able to think about the Time War and see her face at the same time. Now, that was interesting.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"There was a few references to the Time Child in it." She explained, "How I'm supposed to 'save' Gallifrey from the Time War, crap like that. I think it's to do with what happened in Naismith's mansion, but what if it's not? What if I, somehow, am supposed to save that planet? What if he comes back because of something I do?"
"Danni," He sighed, shuffling down so he was lying on the pillow next to her, "Danni, Danni, Danni. I love you more than I could ever put into words, but you are just not that clever." Her mouth fell open in amused indignation and she smacked his arm as he laughed.
"How dare you?" She protested angrily, "Just because I don't have your big old Time Lord brain does not mean I'm an idiot." He chuckled and she went to hit him again, but he caught her hand just in time. He pulled her in for a hug, trapping her arms by her side as she struggled, "Hey, stop trying to hug me into submission, Spaceman!" She cried, her struggling dying down pretty quickly until they were lying in each other's arms, the sombre mood broken.
"I'm thinking of going to see Jack." She declared suddenly, "I think it's time I gave him a chance."
"If you want to." The Doctor offered, trying not to let on that he'd seen that coming. She had been thinking about the American a lot recently, he could tell by the way she would just jump out of her thoughts very suddenly, like she didn't want to be thinking at all. He suspected losing Clara again had brought on her change in hearts, but he knew better than to question it, "What about River?" He tried.
"No." She snapped, "I don't ever want to see her. Ever."
"Okay, no River." He quickly agreed, calming her down before she became too angry, "Get some sleep, and I'll drop you off tomorrow."