The heat from the explosion burnt across everyone's skin. The force from it caused the basket of the hot air balloon to rock violently and all of the people currently in it fell to the floor. Screams filled the air as the sound of a second explosion echoed in everyone's ears.
Slowly, a couple of people tried to get up, and then a third explosion went off, closer this time. The basket swung again, jarring suddenly on one of the bridges that joined all the hot air balloons together.
Danni took her hands off her ears and opened her eyes to check on Meg. The other woman was clutching her baby daughter tightly to her chest, eyes closed as if it would protect her from the explosions. Danni had immediately brought her down to the ground with her with the first blast, and had stayed in front of her, as if trying to protect her from the head.
Marie was crying incredibly loudly as her mother held her close, also in tears. "Is she okay?" Danni asked and Meg looked down at her baby girl.
"I-I think so," she sobbed. "What's happening, what's going on?"
Danni smiled at her softly, smoothing a hand over Marie's soft tuft of hair. "I'm not sure," she admitted softly. "But don't you worry, you're fine and so is she. Probably just scared because of the noise, but she's not hurt. Keep her close, okay?" Meg nodded, because she obviously didn't have any plans to let her daughter go for even a moment before they were safely on the ground again.
Danni turned in her crouch to look at the rest of the passengers. There was a couple of teenagers and a woman she assumed was the pilot. "Stay down," she insisted firmly before peering over the edge of the basket.
She couldn't see any immediate danger, so she stood up slowly, holding on tightly in case something else rocked the basket. The netting of balloons was now in pieces, the balloon she currently in had lost two of its four bridges across. She turned slowly on the spot. A good few balloons had broken off completely and while not flying rapidly across the sky, the pilots weren't completely in control of the balloons either.
However, to her horror, she could see a couple of balloons on the ground below, with a mass of people obviously trying to help. People would have died from such a high, fast plummet. What the hell was going on?
She turned back to the people in the basket. "Okay, we're okay," she told them. "I think we've got to make our way into the more stable part of the balloon net."
"Move?" the woman she assumed was the pilot asked. "You can't be serious."
"We can't exactly stay here," Danni pointed out. "If something else explodes, we could be hit worse than we already have."
"If we don't stay here, who's going to fly the balloon?" the pilot retorted. "The balloons are positioned perfectly to keep each other steady. If we lose tension in even one, we could start tipping."
Danni frowned. That was an incredibly good point, and one she didn't have an answer for. She turned and looked back out over the web of bridges and brightly coloured balloons. The ones in the middle seemed fairly sturdy compared to the outer ones.
"What exploded?" one of the teenagers asked.
"It's probably another attack," the other one replied and Danni spun on the spot to look at them.
"Another attack?"
"You know, like the one that bombed the balloon station a couple of months back," the teenager replied. Danni nodded slowly, as if she knew what they were talking back.
"So this isn't the first," she replied. "But why now? People could die."
"That's the GFG for you," the pilot replied in a resigned tone. "They don't care who they hurt, they just want their voices heard."
Danni frowned as the teenager turned to the pilot, looking slightly outraged. "Who are the GFG?" the Time Lord asked.
"Ground First Guard," the teenager told her. "They believe that the government are purposefully building on the ground to stop us living down there."
"Why?" she asked and the teenager shrugged.
"Conspiracy theories, I guess," she replied.
"No, I mean why would they been stopping you living on the ground? Surely it's more expensive to keep you flying on the floating island all day."
"It's something to do with selling off land," the teenager offered. "Selling it off to the highest bidder and ruining the planet."
"But everyone knows that half the ground in uninhabitable," the other teenager replied and her friend shot her a look.
"I know Shawna," she drawled before turning back to Danni. "We had to do a paper on it for Politics and Ethics. I could see some of their points, but they're a bit too extreme for most people."
Danni nodded, looking vaguely impressed. "Nothing wrong with being informed," she replied as she looked around again. They were heading slowly towards the floating island that seemed to be causing so much tension between the citizens.
"What would happen if we hit the island?"
The pilot frowned, climbing off the floor herself to join Danni. "We shouldn't be moving towards it," she commented. "Our flight path should take us away from it."
"Well," Danni replied before turning to her, a frown on her face. "Sorry, I never asked you name."
"Nekia," she replied and Danni nodded.
"Alright, Nekia, I'm Danni," she introduced. "And we are heading towards it, look."
"If we hit it, we'll all go down," she replied, her panic obvious in her voice. "And if we hit even one of the anti-grav panels, we could take the island down with us!"
"That sounds like a lot of death for a group of people wanting to save the planet," Danni commented to herself. She wasn't getting anywhere speculating on the what and whys. She could do that as made her way to the centre, and the blue balloon that she and the Doctor were supposed to be aiming for.
"Right, I'm going to go across," she declared, her nerves incredibly shaky but resolute in her decision. "Nekia, do you think you can take the balloon down?"
"Not while we're still attached."
Danni nodded. "Alright, we need to detach you, then," she replied. She looked between the two balloons, a yellow and a pink one. Both would lead the way she wanted, but it was after them that she was unsure about. Either way, she needed to get to her husband and she had to hope she'd choose the right way.
With a nod, she pointed to the pink balloon, deciding on her course. "Alright, when I make it across, detach this bridge. Can someone go across to the other balloon and tell them to detach as well? We need to slowly get you all back on the ground."
Nekia looked over the edge of the balloon. "I'm not sure we're going to have enough room to," she replied. "We're supposed to land where we set off, and if we all go down at once, we're going to cause more damage."
"Well, tell them to wait until you're on the ground," Danni replied like it was obvious. "Spread the word."
She climbed up onto the bridge, suddenly feeling a lot less confident than she did before they'd flown up into the air. She had enjoyed walking across and looking at the ground below, it felt like she couldn't fall down.
She paused, turning back one last time. "If this was all going to plan, what would stop me falling off?" she asked.
"There's a net field around the entire construct," the teenager, the one Danni still didn't know the name of, replied. "You fall, and you'll be caught until someone could get a ladder to you."
"You are such a study wort, Carina," Shawna teased.
Danni smiled, feeling slightly more secure once again. "Excellent. Look after yourselves…"
"Wait!" Meg called and she was up and over by Danni. "I'm coming too!"
"You can't, you have a baby," Danni reminded her.
"My wife is out there somewhere, I'm coming too," Meg insisted.
"What about Marie?" Danni challenged. "You can't risk her, she's not safe up here!"
"She's coming, and so am I. I don't need your permission," Meg retorted. For a few moments Danni glared down at her, but the shy woman didn't waiver.
"Fine, wait until I'm across," Danni conceded. Meg shook her head, knocking her back into the basket.
"And wait for you to detach the bridge? Not a chance," she climbed up onto the bridge where Danni had stood moments ago, looking a lot more fearless than Danni felt. "I'll see you on the other side," and she started across, cradling her baby close to her chest.
"That's mother power for you," Nekia commented. "You've got no chance against a terrified mother."
Danni nodded slowly, watching the other woman closely, as if she could do anything should she fall away.
"Definitely not," she agreed softly.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor was up off the floor the moment the basket stopped swinging dangerously, his eyes scanning the area and assessing the damage. Two explosions, both in different areas, it looked like their new friend Michelle wasn't working alone.
His mind immediately went to Danielle, who was with the woman's wife, however the other woman had been carrying a baby so he was certain that she would be fine. He just had to get to her, to make certain that she was.
This was definitely not how he expected the day to go, and he cursed himself for not fighting for their private balloon. Even though the people would have still blown themselves up regardless, at least they would have still been together.
"The Guard…" he repeated to himself slowly. The damage seemed to be quite wide-spread. The balloon he was in, along with quite a few others, had been broken off from the main net, with only maybe one or two still connected.
Who were the Guard, though? And why were they trying to kill so many people?
He shook his head; one thing at a time. He needed to find his wife again, but how was he supposed to make it over to her if they were all separated from the main group?
He turned back to the people left in his balloon, which was the pilot and a young man with blonde hair. "We need to get back to the main net," he told them. "We'll be more stable if we can join back up, and I can get to my wife."
"We've already flown off course," the pilot replied. "We're too high to join back on, and if we hit the main net then we're going to knock it straight into the island."
The Doctor looked where the pilot was nodding towards, and saw them floating steadily towards the residential island. He'd planned to take Danielle for a walk around it before he took her back to Clara's. Now he just wanted to get them both back down on the ground without any issues. He once fell from a pylon and regenerated; he really didn't want that happening again.
He bent over the edge of the basket, looking at the ground below. They were currently above quite a built-up area, with a few rather tall buildings and not a lot of ground space. People had stopped moving, probably looking at the commotion above them. Landing down there would be difficult at best. There was another small park ahead of them, though, that a few balloons would be able to land in. Probably the five or six that his was now a part of.
"Plan, plan, I need a plan," he muttered to himself. He needed to somehow make his way to the main group and to Danielle, whilst also getting the message to as many balloons as he could to land down on the ground below.
Then there was also the issue of the balloons floating slowly towards the residential district. If they collided together, anything could happen from hitting one of the many engines holding the island up and breaking it, all the way to knocking it out of the containing gravity field and causing it to crash to the ground, killing everyone on and under the giant land mass.
He turned back around to see the rest of the small chunk of the balloon construct they were still connected to. He could, at the very least, get some of the balloons to land. They were slowly floating in the opposite direction of where he wanted to be, which was the main balloon mass.
"Why are we moving so slowly?" he asked himself out loud. Hot air balloons weren't exactly known for their speed, but the gap between the two lots of balloons didn't seem to be increasing.
"Because we're still attached," the pilot replied and the Doctor glared at him.
"I'm not talking to…" he started to snap, but then actually heard the words the man had said. "Wait, yes I am. Where are we still attached?"
The pilot pointed out towards the end of their little chunk, where there was one lone bridge still attached to the whole. He clapped the man roughly on the arm.
"That is just what I need," the Doctor told him. "Stay here, keep the balloon level, and don't do anything stupid."
"Wait, you can't go over there," the pilot protested. "If another bomb goes off, you might fall off!"
The Doctor shot him a look. "Thank you for stating the obvious, Mr Pilot," he drawled. "My wife is over on the main group, as is the answer to why we're all being blown up."
The pilot bristled slightly at his words. "Forgive me for worrying about you falling to your death," he snapped back.
The Doctor, who had already climbed on the bridge he'd decided to go across, rolled his eyes. He could hear Danielle in his head, telling him he was being rude. He'd missed her correcting him in that fond way she would.
He turned back. "When I am across, remove the bridge. One of you needs to go across to the other balloon and tell them to do the same. Then, when you reach the park, you need to stop and try and land in an orderly fashion. Do you think I can leave you to complete that task?"
His voice was incredibly patronising, and neither the pilot nor the young man were incredibly impressed with him. However, the young man made his way to the other bridge.
"I'll do it," he volunteered reluctantly and the Doctor nodded in thanks. He then paid them no mind as he walked across the bridge, his eyes scanning the main balloon mass once again. She had to be in there somewhere, otherwise she was in the ones that he had seen on the ground below. She couldn't have died on what was supposed to be a date, he wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't survive it.
His hearts managed to slow down their anxious beating when he spotted her blonde hair moving between two other balloons. She'd had the same idea as he did. He held onto that as he made his way across; they still thought the same. Another point for their marriage.
~0~0~0~
In every balloon they walked to, Danni and Meg came across a lot of scared people who didn't know what was going on, or what to do next. The pilots were all turning out to be fantastic in a state of panic, and the ones that were struggling were being helped by the people in their balloons. It really illustrated that the 'human spirit' wasn't necessarily restricted to just humans. People were scared and panicking, but they were pulling together regardless.
"I still don't understand what happened," Danni commented as she and Meg took a quick break in a pink and blue balloon. "I mean, even if it was the Ground… Guard people, why are they trying to kill everyone?"
"I don't think it's about killing other people," Meg replied, rocking her little girl to keep her asleep. "I think they're just trying to get people's attention. This is definitely a way to do it."
"There are better ways," Danni grumbled. "Hurting people is only ever going to hurt your cause."
"The bombing at the station killed seven people," one of the men on the balloon, Jaden, told her. "It was all over the news. The leader denied that it had anything to do with them, but there were conflicting statements from various members."
"Doesn't mean anything," she dismissed. "I once knew of a whole movement within the church that broke off and started killing people, doesn't mean they did it in the name of the church, does it?"
"Well, it depends," Meg replied. "Michelle had had quite the interest in the over the last few weeks. She says that they're getting more desperate to get people's attention, that's why they're becoming more violent. She said that there was a sale of some green land last week and that there were rumours of protests, but she didn't mention anything like this."
"Is living in the air that bad?" Danni asked. She had lived in a time machine that sometimes only existed inside the time vortex. She really didn't see an issue of living in the air.
"It's not great," Jaden replied. "Ever tried to commute in a hot air balloon? There's quite a few of them, but unless you're there early you can be waiting up to an hour for a ride."
Danni had to admit that sounded terrible. And, not being from the planet, she couldn't comment too much on the living conditions of the masses. She'd not even been up to the island. She glanced over the edge of the basket. They were getting closer to the residential district; she was going to see it pretty soon.
She stood up, stretching the kinks out of her back from sitting on the floor of the basket. She looked back the way they had come and grinned as she saw one of the balloons slowly began to descend from the sky. "Hey, it's working!" she exclaimed.
"Look," Meg replied, having too climbed off the floor. She was pointing out to the side, where another balloon was also sinking down slowly to the ground. "They've had the same idea as us."
Danni smiled knowingly. "That'll be the Doctor," she replied. "This isn't the first time we've done something like this. We'll all be on the ground in no time."
There was a sense of small relief off the people in the hot air balloon basket, because a little bit of good news is excellent news when you're scared. "Just hang tight," Danni continued as she motioned Meg to climb across the next bridge before her. "Your turn won't be long now. Just keep her flying steady."
She smiled at the little girl sleeping against her mother, once again feeling the yearn for something similar herself. Meg had gained a bit more confidence as they walked from balloon to balloon, and made it across the bridge very quickly. Danni hoped up quickly and followed her across, jumping off the edge into the new balloon.
They were immediately bombarded with questions from the people waiting for them, three older women all with three eyes.
Danni held her hands up, using it to calm them down. "Okay, okay, okay," she started. "I know you're very scared, so is everyone. But you are safe and there is a plan to safely get everyone back down to the ground."
The oldest looking woman, with curly white hair and blue eyeliner lining her three brown eyes, stepped forward, clinging to a pot with all her might. "We only came up here to say goodbye to our sister," she explained, her panic in her voice tangible. "She used to love the balloons."
Danni rested a hand on top of the pot and her other on the one cupping the bottom. "You're safe," she reiterated calmly. "I'm sure your sister would have appreciated the thought."
"What's the plan?" the youngest of the three asked.
"We're going to go down one at a time," Meg explained. "As soon as the balloon we have come from reaches the ground, it'll be your turn to descend. There's not a lot of room, so we can't all go down at once."
"Just try and maintain your height for now," Danni finished.
"But we're moving toward the district," the youngest replied. "What if we crash into it?"
Danni glanced at Meg. "There's nothing much we can do about it," she explained. "However, you should be going down before we reach it."
"And what are you two doing?"
"Spreading the word," Danni replied. "And trying to get back to my husband."
"And I'm looking for my wife," Meg added, sharing a look with Danni. Both were worried about their significant others. They had to have been near where one of the blasts went off, neither of them were sure if they were alright or not. That was the main driving force for the pair of them.
"Oh, but dearie, you have a baby," the oldest woman fussed and suddenly Meg was surrounded as they cooed over the little girl.
"She's-She's just sleeping," Meg stuttered out, looking like she really wanted some help to get out from the gaggle of little old ladies. Danni tried to not laugh at the sight.
"She's so darling," the third woman said. "Not a care in the world…"
"We've," Danni started with a bit of a giggle. She cleared her throat. "Sorry, ladies, we're going to have to leave. I'm sure Meg would love to see you after this whole ordeal is over."
"Oh, that would be lovely," the oldest woman declared as Meg shot Danni a look of pure alarm. Danni just stuck her tongue out at her.
"We'll-We've got to get going," Meg replied, pushing her way over to Danni. "You're quite cheeky, aren't you?"
Danni shrugged at the whispered accusation. "I do what I can," she replied airily. "We can't get them to climb across, so if you go left, and I go right, we'll meet up…" she trailed off as she looked out into the balloons, frowning as she saw someone standing up onto the bridges. "What are they doing?"
Her eyes widened slightly as she realised what was happening. "Everyone down!" She shouted, placing a hand on Meg to push her to the floor. The old ladies all screamed out in terror as another explosion rocked the basket, knocking them all down.
"Is everyone okay?" Danni asked over the ringing in her ears and the crying of little Marie, who had been woken up by the force and the noise. A murmur of frightened confirmations reached her ears and she turned to Meg. "How is she?"
Meg was bouncing the little baby to try and calm her down. "Scared and hungry, I should think," she replied. "What the hell is wrong with people?"
"Sometimes it's the only way they can see working," Danni replied with a frown. "But why now and now when the rest exploded?"
Meg looked at her as she attempted to nurse her screaming daughter. "What, do you think it was a second attack?" she asked.
Danni shook her head. "No, I think it's all the same attack," she replied slowly. "I'm just curious to know why they're attacking again. What's changed?"
"Maybe it's not that anything's changed, maybe they're trying to change something," Meg suggested. "We were pushed off course with the first three attacks, maybe they're trying to steer us in the right direction?"
"Maybe," Danni agreed, because it seemed like a valid reason to her. She slowly pushed herself up to look out at the net of balloons again. "We've been broken off from one side again," she commented, her eyes scanning over for any more damage. "We need to be quicker, get to the middle before anyone else decides to play driver."
The latest explosion didn't seem to have done too much damage. This time no balloons were falling out of the sky, for which she was very thankful. Then she spotted someone moving far across the skyline from her. Someone standing up, but not in such a dramatic way as the bomber had. A smile spread across her face, and she raised her arm as high as she could, waving at her husband. There was a long moment where he didn't reply, but this his arm also raised into the air. He didn't wave it like she did, but she knew the sentiment was there. He had seen her; he was coming to meet her.
For some reason that thought made everything a whole lot better. Like, up until this moment, she had known that he was making his way to meet her somewhere within the large number of balloons, and yet it felt like some part of her had been doubting it. Like, despite being so far up in the air, she still expected him to leave her behind to fend for herself.
But now was not the time to wonder if she thought that would ever go away. She didn't want to consider the probability of either of them walking away from their marriage whilst slowly moving towards a large land mass they might bring down on the people below. For now, they needed to continue.
"Meg, are you sure you still want to come across?" she asked the other woman. "With Marie…"
"No, I'm coming," the other woman interrupted before Danni could finish her sentence. "My wife is out there somewhere; I want to find her."
Danni nodded and turned back to the lovely old ladies. "Stay down if you can," she told them. "When it's your turn, head down as quickly as is safely possible and you'll be fine."
With a nod to Meg, the two women climbed up off the ground and Meg pulled herself up onto the bridge, one arm still around her daughter.
~0~0~0~
The Doctor wasn't sure how to feel as Danielle left the balloon he had spotted her in and made her way to the next one. On the one hand, it was fantastic that she was taking her own initiative and finding a way to get to the middle, where it would be most safe. On the other, though, he wanted her to stay exactly where she was until he could get to her and keep her safe himself. It was a very confusing way to feel, and yet a set of conflicting feelings he was used to feeling on an almost daily basis. He wanted her safe, and yet to shine, and neither of those went hand in hand.
He quickly hopped up onto his own bridge, ignoring the way it swayed slightly as he made his way to the next balloon. At this rate, he only needed to cross maybe four more bridges, possibly five, to reach her. He was making good time, but he needed to be faster.
Of course, his main obstacle wasn't his own speed – he may have been older, but he wasn't any slower – but was the panicked masses he kept coming across. All full of stupid questions that he kept having to answer over and over. All wondering where he'd come from, what was happening, what were they to do.
"I'm the Doctor," he started the moment he set foot in the basket. Already they were starting to gain that murmur that was starting to truly annoy him. "You're all scared, you're all unsure of what to do. You're going to wait here until the balloon I have just come from lands on the ground, then you are going to follow suit. Stay on the floor, and try not do anything stupid."
He tried to pass over to the next bridge, but the people broke out into a giant cacophony of words and questions that he glared at. "No, shut up, I don't have time for your inane questions. Just stay on the floor and wait for your turn," he snapped.
"Now hang on a minute," a young man with three eyes stated loudly. "We're all scared here, you can't just tell us to shut up."
"Oh, can't I?" the Doctor snapped before glaring at the man. "Shut up. Balloons are already landing on the ground; all you have to do is wait your turn. You've got plenty of fuel, I don't know what your problem is."
The young man narrowed his eyes at the Doctor in a glare, but the Time Lord didn't miss the glance he made to the way he had come as if he was analysing what had just happened. Then, he glanced the way that Danielle was currently heading, back where the latest explosion had originated.
The Doctor didn't wait. He quickly grabbed the man as he reached into his jacket, catching his hand before he grabbed the small metal device with the red button on it. He quickly shoved him towards the other passengers, keeping the detonator away from him.
The man struggled. "The Guard need to be heard!" he exclaimed as the other passengers realised what had almost happened in front of their eyes, and they quickly restrained him.
"Yes, yes, the bloody Guard have been heard loud and clear," the Doctor snapped, looking over the detonator. "Oh, this is shoddy. I mean, you think if you were going to try kill innocent people, you would have something made with some craftsmanship."
"No one is innocent," the man snarled. "You are all destroying the planet and need to be stopped."
"Oh, will someone shut him up?" the Doctor snapped. The man on the Guard's left-hand side shrugged off his shirt and stuffed it in the man's mouth, using the arms to tie it around his head to keep it in place. It was crude, but it worked.
The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver, turning the detonator over and using it to completely destroy it. His blood was boiling, and his anger causing his hands to shake in a way that they hadn't in a little while. Not since he had thought Danielle was dead because of the Architect had he even felt anything remotely this fury-inducing and he tried to calm himself down.
He chucked the remains of the detonator on the ground and crouched down low in front of the man. His eyes blazed and, to his credit, the Guard's eyes widened a fraction. "My wife was on the balloon with me," he snarled lowly. "If even one hair on her head has been hurt, you will wish I let you blow yourself up."
He stood up. "Have we got anything to tie him up with?" he asked impatiently. One woman nodded, manoeuvring through them all to a small box on the other side of the balloon.
"I've got some cable ties in here," she told him and the Doctor nodded.
"Use a couple, put his arms behind his back," he commanded before quickly stripping the man of his coat, making sure to remove anything explosive from him. As the Guard was being restrained, he placed the bombs in the box that the cable ties had come from.
"I don't think I need to tell you to keep out of the box," he snapped, grabbing the Guard by the scruff of his collar. He pulled him off the ground. "You're coming with me."
"Let me go!" the Guard exclaimed and the Doctor shook his head, shoving him onto the bridge.
"Not a chance, mate," he snarled. "I'm not taking my eyes off you. Walk." The man obviously didn't want to obey his command, but without any other option, he was forced to walk across the bridge as well.
~0~0~0~
Danni was so happy when, finally somewhere in the middle of the balloon net, she saw the Doctor and someone else just one balloon away. Just one more balloon in between her and her husband. She couldn't help but be slightly proud of herself for having something to offer him when he came across. She could help him work it out, and the idea of working together excited her. She missed them working together, rather than her waiting for him to work it out.
"Where's Michelle?" Meg asked as she had also spotted the approaching Time Lord. Danni narrowed her eyes slightly and realised the person in front of the Doctor wasn't the other woman.
"Maybe he kept her on the balloon?" she suggested. "Sent her down to the ground?"
Meg shook her head. "No, she would have come across as well. She wouldn't have stayed without seeing Marie."
Danni didn't know what to say, because it was obvious that the other woman wasn't joining him as he made his way towards them with another person. All she could do was wrap her arm around her new friend, giving her a small hug as the Doctor and his new friend climbed up onto the last bridge that separated them.
Danni frowned. No, not climbed up. Danni watched the Doctor shove the man onto the bridge and all but march him across. Her eyes widened in surprise at the look of pure anger on his face and he pushed the man into the basket.
"Doctor, what's…" Danni started but he held his hand up to silence her. He grabbed the man by the scruff of the next, pushing him in front of his wife.
"Apologise," he snarled and Danni blinked in surprise.
"Doctor, what…" she tried again but the Doctor shook his head, shaking the man.
"Apologise for almost killing my wife!" the Doctor snapped, much to Danni's surprise and horror. What the hell was he doing? Was this really happening?
The man met her gaze, then lowered it, obviously quite scared of her husband. "Sorry," he murmured and the Doctor chucked him to the ground.
"Stay down," he commanded and Danni took a step towards him, looking at him in concern and slight fear.
"Doctor, what are you doing?" she asked gently. "You can't just treat people like that."
"He tried to blow himself up to kill people," the Doctor replied. "He tried to kill you."
"I'm not what's important here!" she replied. "You can't just go around ready to… ready to kill people for knocking me down! I never asked you to wage a war on the universe whenever I was in danger, I asked for you to be by my side when I was!"
"I apologise for being concerned, I thought it was what you wanted!" he retorted, confused and hurt at her anger. He had just wanted her safe, and the sight someone who had tried to hurt her had just boiled his blood until he couldn't think anymore. If she had been in one of the balloons that had been blown up…
She waved at the man on the floor. "This isn't what I wanted!" she almost shrieked before catching herself. This had always scared her. He had a tendency to overreact when she was in danger, to value her safety and only her safety when it came to choices. Memories faded over the years, but seeing him as Eleven, telling that man who had hurt the dinosaurs – the man she couldn't even remember the name of – that she was his queen before killing him, was still strong in her head. She never asked to be sacrificed for.
But they were arguing over something that should be saved for another time. She took a deep breath. "He is probably our best lead into finding out why the GFG are trying to kill us all. Do you think he's going to tell us anything now?"
The Doctor looked down at the young man he'd dragged across the balloon net with him, who was glaring up at him angrily. "Ah," he said in realisation and Danni nodded.
"You can be concerned for me," she told him. "But this wasn't concern, it was anger, and you can't let it rule you."
The Doctor nodded, taking her words on board, filing them way for another situation and another day. His concern was because she was his universe, not because she couldn't handle herself. And the smile that she then shot him just showed that she wasn't mad at him, which made him wonder if it was just concern.
Even after everything they'd been through, she still was concerned for him. Nothing felt better than being loved by her.
Danni turned to look at Meg, who was quite obviously anxious and Danni placed a hand on her arm, giving her a comforting rub. "Right, Doctor, where's Michelle?"
The Doctor frowned, wondering who exactly Michelle was. The name sounded familiar, and he was embarrassed that it took him a second to place a face to the name. The moment, he did, though, his full attention was on the woman with the baby in her arms.
"She blew herself up," he retorted, taking a step closer, making sure the other woman knew what trouble she was now in without getting overly angry himself. "Perhaps you could step over here and we can check that you're not going to do the same."
"I'm sorry?" Meg asked with a laugh of disbelief. "No, Michelle wouldn't blow herself up like that. Don't be ridiculous, where is she?"
"She was the first one to do it," the Doctor taunted. "You must be so proud of the mother of your daughter."
Meg turned to Danni, looking for help. She looked devastated and confused, and Danni couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She knew what it was like to have your life turned upside down by an unexpected change in a partner. Sure, hers had come from the fact that he didn't die, but she understood on some level.
"You did say that she'd taken an interest in it over the last few weeks," Danni pointed out gently.
"That-That doesn't mean that she'd just try and kill a load of people!" Meg protested. "Not my Michelle, she wouldn't do that to us. Not to Marie."
"Maybe she thought she was making the world a better place," Danni reasoned, although it wasn't like it mattered. Meg's wife, Marie's mother, was dead and had helped kill the few people who weren't lucky enough to stay in the air after the explosions. Meg was never going to be able to see past that.
Danni stepped forward. "I know you didn't know, sweetie," she told the woman honestly, because no one could fake that heartache. "I trust you, I know you're not into this. But," Meg's eyes narrowed slightly in anger. "If it was the other way around, you'd want me searched, wouldn't you? For Marie?"
Meg looked down at her daughter. "Her mum is always going to be a killer," she whispered sadly.
"No, she isn't," Danni replied. "Because you're still here. You're her mum, that's all she needs. How about you pass her to me, the Doctor will quickly check you over, and then we can get on with sorting this mess out, okay?"
Meg didn't look up from her daughter, rocking the poor little baby in her arms as she settled down to sleep once more. She was so precious, a little miracle in her life, she would do anything for her. So would Michelle, maybe that's what she was doing. Or maybe she was just insane, she guessed she would never know.
She raised her eyes and met Danni's. "I trust you," Danni reiterated, and the kindness on her face proved that. Meg nodded, lifting her daughter out of the sling that held her in place. She held her out to the blonde, who took her like she was the most precious thing in existence. Marie fussed, but settled as Danni gently shushed her.
The Doctor paid close attention to his wife and he quickly checked Meg over. She wasn't paying attention to anything but the baby in her arms, the biggest smile on her face as she smoothed over the soft fluff of hair that sat on top of the little girl's head. He'd never brought out a smile quite as bright as the one's she would get when with children. He had often thought of suggesting trying a human donor. Her wasn't compatible with her, but there was a chance that her human side would be with another human.
Of course, now was definitely not the time for that. Their relationship wasn't quite right yet, but it was in his pocket for when she was back on the TARDIS. He was pretty certain that she wouldn't go for it, but he wanted to offer it anyway. She deserved to be able to share that love that obviously wanted to burst out of her.
He nodded at Meg. "Thank you," he told her. "I'm sure we're all grateful to know you're not a bomber as well."
"You really aren't as nice as your wife, are you?" Meg replied.
"And you've got more of a personality when your wife isn't here," the Doctor replied. "Maybe it's a good thing."
He looked at Danielle, who didn't seem to have noticed that he was done. "Danielle," he called and she jolted slightly. "You can give the infant back, now."
She blushed slightly, handing the little girl over to her mum. "Sorry, I was having fun," she said apologetically.
"I still get lost in those beautiful eyes of hers," Meg replied to show she understood. She held her baby close. "What-What do we do now?"
Danni turned to her husband, hopeful that he had a plan. "The GFG are behind this," she explained. "They think that the development is destroying the Earth, and that they should be living on the ground instead of in the air. I think they're trying to bring down the residential island."
The Doctor nodded. "I thought as much. Mr Explosion over there," he motioned to the man he'd dragged with him. "Was going to blow up when he found out we were landing balloons."
"We have to stop the devastation," the man raged. "The pollution from the island is killing what is left of the wildlife! Selling off the ground is killing our natural ecosystem and-"
Danni turned to him. "Killing all the people on and below the island does not make any sense if you're worried about saving the planet. Shut up."
"You know, the balloons had only just started going down when that other bomber attacked," Meg pointed out quietly to Danni.
"So, they're trying to scare people into not landing the balloons, so that they'll crash into the island?" Danni asked.
"Bringing down the island would send out a pretty large message," the Doctor agreed. "'We're a bunch of murderous pudding brains.'"
"We're not the murderous ones!" the man protested. "The government is for building on the land. The people are for standing by while…"
Danni turned. "Shut up," she snapped angrily. "You're getting on my nerves, and as I'm the one standing between you and my husband chucking you out of the balloon, I would keep quiet."
"So you're allowed to get angry at him, but I'm not?" the Doctor asked.
"No, you're just not allowed to drag people around and threaten them to apologise to me when I'm not the biggest issue," she corrected. "Be angry at him all you like, he tried to kill people."
The Doctor smirked slightly, reaching out and grabbing her hand. He pulled her closer, hoping he wasn't taking too much liberty in doing so. "You always look so passionate when you're angry, my Pet," he purred just to see the blush appear on her face. Another time, he would have caught her lips for a kiss, but he shot a dark look at the man on the floor. "How many more of you are there?"
The man didn't reply and Danni sighed as if disappointed. "Oh, no one ever makes it easy, do they?" she grumbled. "We need to get the other balloons landing quicker. I'll head back and get them to pass the message across to start going down two at a time. You go and tell the rest and find the other bombers?"
"We'll go together," the Doctor told her. "There still might be some out in the net, while our new friend here," he nodded to Meg. "Gets us more information out of Mr Pudding Brain down there."
Danni frowned, obviously confused and the Doctor smirked. "It's because of people like him that her wife is dead," he reasoned and Meg's attention was suddenly off her daughter and onto the man. "I'm sure we can trust her to find out everything we need."
~0~0~0~
Meg did them proud, and the man was apparently very happy to tell them where the rest of the bombers were once they were back from their trip. Danni did love an adventure with her husband, especially one that would end happily, much like this one had. Down below the authorities had been working in full force to help clear space, and after a couple more hours all the balloons were on the ground before they had hit the residential island. Luckily, as Danni could have told them, hot air balloon really wasn't an efficient way to cause a lot of damage unless you were dropping them out of the sky.
During the commotion of landing, they had lost Meg and as much as the Doctor had wanted to leave, Danni had insisted on finding the newly widowed mother. And, well, he couldn't say no considering the mess their date had turned into.
Meg had found herself a lovely secluded spot for her and her daughter to hid in as they waited to be interrogated by the police. She assumed that they wanted to talk to her, and although she didn't have much to offer, she would give them everything they wanted. She wasn't about to hunt them out, however, so she had decided to wait until they came looking.
Danni sat down on the bench next to her, reaching over and smoothing little baby Marie's hair once more. "She's lucky to have you," she told the other woman. "You didn't lose your cool, and you didn't let her see you afraid even though she's only tiny. You'll be fine on your own."
"How can I be?" Meg replied. "Michelle had always been so calm and reasonable. How did I not see this change coming?"
"You don't always see it coming," Danni replied before glancing at her husband, who was looking distinctly uncomfortable. "And even if you do, it doesn't mean you can be prepared. It comes from nowhere, and it can scare you," she smiled at Meg. "Chances are, though, she thought she was doing what was right for you and your little girl. She wasn't always a bad person, was she? That's why you married her."
Meg nodded slowly, kissing her baby daughter. "Do you think they'll take her away from me?"
Danni shook her head. "Oh, I very much doubt it," she promised. "You'll be fine, you'll see," she stood up and Meg looked at her, her expression one of fear.
"What do I do now?" she asked the blonde woman with only two eyes that she barely knew.
Danni smiled softly at her. "Well, I know there were three old ladies who were very happy to see your little girl," she reminded. "I'd suggest going to find them, and go visit them for tea and cakes. You'd be surprised what the elderly can offer you when you need it most," she reached out and squeezed her arm. "Take care of yourself, sweetie."
She headed over to her husband, linking arms with him before he could offer it. He looked at her, surprised at the voluntary contact. "Time to go, Spaceman," she replied softly and he nodded.
"About time," he murmured, leading her off towards the TARDIS. "People are starting to get nosy, you know how I hate it."
~0~0~0~
Danni opened the door on her new bedroom at Clara's, switching the lights on and drowning out the fairy lights slightly. "This is it," she declared redundantly to her husband. "Jack helped put the furniture together, what do you think?"
The Doctor's eyes swept over the grey and white room. He hated it, but not because of her decorating skills. This shouldn't have been her bedroom, that shouldn't have been her bed. She had a room on the TARDIS, with dark blue covers and an infinite wardrobe. He shouldn't have been dropping her off at Clara's, she should be at home with him.
However, he nodded his approval. "You've done a much better job at matching the furniture than the last bedroom you decorated," he teased lightly and she nudged him.
"Oh hush, that was entirely different," she retorted. "That furniture was given to us, I just bought this from the shop."
The Doctor pointed over at the full-length mirror on the opposite wall. "You can actually see yourself in that mirror," he continued, a comment on the very old, very scuffed mirror that they'd had on Trenzalore.
She giggled, pushing him out of the room. "Alright, enough," she told him and they both found themselves stood outside the TARDIS, and the air felt heavy as they realised he was about to leave.
She smiled softly. "Thank you for the day out," she said honestly. "Even if it didn't go to plan."
He nodded his head once. "Thank you for coming, my Pet," he replied and they fell silent. "Will you come home?"
She looked away, guilt filling her up because she just wasn't ready yet. Today had been a wonderful step, but seeing the way he'd almost burnt with anger at the man for almost hurting her scared her as much as it always had done.
"Not today," she replied softly, which the Doctor both took as a loss and a win. She wasn't coming back with him, but it wasn't an outright 'no' either. She still could come home with him, he just had to be patient.
"Goodnight, Danielle," he said, bowing his head to place a kiss on her cheek. She turned her head, catching his lips in a soft kiss that surprised him. He didn't think she would kiss him yet, nor did he expect such an enticing kiss off her. She pulled away and he took a chance, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her in the way he wanted to. She gasped in surprise, then he felt her give into it, holding onto the top of his arms as she tentatively tasted him. He groaned very lowly, but then closed the kiss and let her go.
She blinked, her thoughts blank and her lips tingling. "Good-Goodnight, Theta," she stuttered and he smirked, turning and stepping into the TARDIS. She took a step back to watch the TARDIS leave, but then the door opened and the Doctor dipped his head out, a lovely wrapped present in hand.
"You forgot your gift," he told her, holding it out to her. She took it with a soft smile, holding it tightly.
"Thank you," she whispered and he ducked back in. A moment later the time winds filled the hallway, swirling around her and she was staring at a wall instead of the beautiful bluest of blues.
She couldn't move straight away. It was as if, as long as she stood still he was coming back. She wasn't ready to move back into the TARDIS, but her hearts broke watching him fly away. She loved him so much, but once again today had shown her something that had scared her, and when she wasn't sure how far he would go, she didn't think she could trust him.
With a shaky breath and tears in her eyes she turned to see Jack waiting in the archway into the living room, a comforting smile on her face.
"Do you want a cuppa?" he asked gently and she nodded before lifting the gift-wrapped box up.
"I'm going to open this," she whispered. "I'll be out in a minute."
With a quick nod, he turned and headed to the kitchen. He hated seeing her in so much pain, and when she'd turned around he had seen it all clearly on her face. She never could hide her emotions, and all he had wanted to do was take it all away. He knew she was more than capable, but he still saw her as the young red-headed woman who hugged him when she'd first appeared in his life. Who was so young, barely out of being a teenager, and he wanted to take care of her.
He was opening the door to the kitchen when she cried out. "Oh my fucking god it's a tiara!"
He chuckled, shook his head and headed into the kitchen. Of course it was.