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The cages were old and rusted, which meant that it wasn't hard to get the trio out and drag them up to Mr Halpen's office. Halpen, who was a balding man who Danni remembered for being absolutely awful and for his rather poetic ending, looked positively furious at their very existence. After seeing the horror of the Oods first-hand rather than on a screen she was glad they were causing more stress for him.
They were handcuffed to some of the pipes in the corner of his office. Donna cried out angrily as the cuffs were snapped roughly around her wrists. She shot the guard doing it a hate-filled glare, actually surprising the man. The Doctor and Danni had met her before; neither of them were surprised.
Mr Halpen, owner of the Ood Sphere, was perched on the edge of his desk across from them. He had his faithful Ood servant by his side, and Dr Ryder, who Danni remembered as the good guy from the episode and would have been happier to see him had she not been currently handcuffed to a pipe, tightly squeezed between the Doctor and Donna.
"Why don't you just come out and say it?" Halpen began. "FOTO activists."
"Oh, most definitely, you bald git!" Danni snapped back at the horrific man. He reached up to touch the back of his head self-consciously, feeling the bald spot he obviously hated. She smirked and he pulled his hand, and a few bits of hair, back down as he realised what he was doing.
"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes," the Doctor added, struggling slightly with the handcuffs. He was normally better about getting free, but for some reason he just couldn't quite get into his pocket.
"The Ood were nothing without us. Just animals roaming around on the ice," Halpen defended.
"That's because you can't hear them," the Doctor snarled through gritted teeth. The horrors of humanity never ceased to surprise him.
"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight," he pointed out with a laugh, as if their lack of aggression was pathetic, amusing even.
"You idiot!" Donna said, disgusted. "They're born with their brain in their hands, don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."
Danni turned and smiled at her. "Nice one."
"Yeah," the Doctor agreed with a nod.
"Thank you," she whispered and together as if they were always in sync, the trio glared at him.
He seemed unnerved by the anger, like part of him, just for a moment, agreed with Donna's words. This angered him and he stormed over. "The system's worked for 200 years," he told them, becoming more and more impatient. "All we've got is a rogue batch." He smiled arrogantly because he knew he was in charge. "But the infection is about to be sterilised." He raised his wrist to his mouth, pressing a button on his wrist communicator to active it. "Mr Kess, how do we stand?"
"Canisters primed, sir. As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks... and counting," Mr Kess replied.
"You're going to gas them?!" the Doctor exclaimed.
"Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution from the olden days. Still works," he explained calmly and coldly. He really didn't see the Ood as anything but a commodity and it was horrid. Danni started to struggle against her handcuffs.
"You can't just kill them!" she exclaimed. "They're just scared!"
"Why not?" he replied smugly. "It's not like they're human."
She stopped her struggling, meeting his gaze with a hard one of her own. "No, they're not," she agreed. "And if this is the way we treat them they are so much better that us!"
As Halpen rolled his eyes, the Doctor couldn't help but smile at her own passion. Just like Donna, she wasn't going to stand for the injustice around her without, at the very least, shouting at the people responsible.
"Typical activist," Halpen muttered. "Getting worked up over something with no feelings."
"That's because you remove them!" Danni said with a loud, high-pitched voice. "You have to stop it!"
She could tell that he was going to taunt her some more, and she had some choice words for him in return, but the alarm rang out to signal the next part of the episode. She looked up at the ceiling at the same time as he did, but not because she was annoyed at the interruption. It wasn't an episode, was it? She was on a planet, in space, where this was really happening. Those Ood were really suffering. She looked over at Ood Sigma, eyes suddenly stinging with unshed tears.
"What the hell?" Halpen exclaimed angrily before rushing out of the room with Ood Sigma and Dr Ryder in tow.
"Emergency status! Emergency status!"
"Oh, that's never good," the Doctor commented.
"The Ood are rebelling," Danni explained to him.
"Do you blame them?" Donna retorted. "They're going to kill everyone if we don't help!"
Halpen quick returned to the room, pacing in front of the trio, his eyes darting around for a moment. "Change of plan," he declared, as if he knew what his plan was.
"No reports of trouble off-world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere," Dr Ryder explained. The balding man nodded along.
"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads," he decided.
"What's happening?" the Doctor demanded. Halpen turned to him, once again smiling with the smarmy smile that Danni was really glad would eventually be wiped off his face
"Everything you wanted, Doctor," Halpen explained. "No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilised so I can't risk a bullet to the head." He looked incredibly displeased that he couldn't kill them all, but the anger passed and the smugness reappeared again. "I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."
He turned and began heading out, the guards following him. "But, Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there?" the Doctor called after him. He paused and turned to face the trio. "Something we haven't seen."
"What do you mean?" Donna asked him.
"The Ood have two brains, which means that that they've got two centres of control. Imagine two of you trying to control the one person," Danni told her. "There has to be something else. Something hidden that helps manage that fight."
"She's right, isn't she?" the Doctor asked Halpen.
"Again, so clever."
"It's got to be connected to the red-eye," the Doctor reasoned. "What is it?" Halpen stormed up to the Doctor and looked him dead in the eye.
"It won't exist for very much longer," he taunted before grinning. "Enjoy your Ood." Even as Halpen led the guards and Dr Ryder out of the room, the three started to struggle against their handcuffs.
"Come on!" the Doctor encouraged, desperate to get them all out safe and to save the Ood from slaughter.
"Well, do something!" Donna exclaimed as they struggled. "You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!"
The Doctor upped his efforts. "These are really good handcuffs!" he replied with a bit of a grunt in his voice.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm glad of that," she retorted. "At least we've got quality!" Danni laughed at her sarcasm as they continued struggling.
"Where's your screwdriver?" Danni asked. "Can't you just use it and unlock us?"
"It's-It's in my top pocket," he explained. "I can't reach it."
"Maybe-Maybe if you slide down, me or Donna can reach it," she offered. "They're going to be here any minute and I know they won't hurt us, but I'd really rather be free!"
"I'm not being killed by an Ood, Spaceman," Donna warned. "Get down!"
"You're not going to be killed," the Doctor snapped.
The door slid open and the all paused their arguing to see three Ood entered, all red-eyed and angry. They began advancing and the three doubled down on their efforts to get free.
"Doctor, Donna, Danni, friends!" he began to explain to them, quickly and with panic in the hopes that the Ood would listen.
"The circle must be broken!" Donna chimed in and the Doctor nodded in encouragement.
"Doctor, Donna, Danni, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!" Danni said, joining in with Donna, really not wanting to be murdered by an Ood when she'd barely been in the universe a couple of days. She knew, logically, in the episode the Ood realised they were friends and stopped before the Doctor and Donna were hurt. She was starting to see, though, that being there was a lot different. Her heart was racing, her hands were getting sweaty from the panic and she faintly wondered if she had gigantic wrists and hands because the handcuffs did not want to come off!
"The circle must be…" Donna trailed off, panting in her own panic as the Oods' translator balls all turned off at the same time. They held their heads in their free hands, seemingly in a lot of pain, before they looked up again. The red-eyes were gone and they looked like regularly, friendly and not blood-thirsty at all.
Danni let out a small whimper in relief. "Doctor, Donna, Danni, friends," one of the Oods repeated and the Doctor nodded eagerly.
"Yes, that's us!" he crowed. "Friends! Oh, yes!"
"Let us out!" Danni urged. "The Doctor can help. We can help!"
~0~0~0~
The snow seemed to be falling faster than ever, but then again Danni was reminded of the Christmas Invasion. Was it really snow, or was it mixed with ash from the Oods attack on the people who had hurt them so terribly? She wouldn't have been surprised from all of the shouting and gunfire if that really was the case. The noise was so loud and terrifying that, really, Danni wasn't too scared of it at all. It felt so loud and consuming that she couldn't really conceptualise what was happening. So, she focused on helping save the Ood.
The Doctor was running wildly, expecting the pair to keep up with him. Both of them were glad when they pulled into a secluded area.
"All-All the running," Danni panted, bending over at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. "Where-We are we going?"
"I don't know where it is!" the Doctor replied, his head moving to side to side as he tried to find his bearings. He glanced down at Danni, watching her closely for any tell. She tried so hard to keep her knowledge to herself but sometimes little tells would come out. He wasn't sure where it came from, or even how far in advance she knew it, but she would occasionally glance, or say something without thinking and it really helped. He could never encourage it, but he needed to get to the Ood and fast.
She didn't seem to be doing that this time, though. In fact, she looked a little shell shocked. Her eyes were wide and vacant, his jacket slipping slightly off one of her shoulders. She straightened and he reached out and pushed it back on. "How long have you been here?" he asked gently.
"Um, about two days," she offered with a shrug.
That sounded about right. He glanced at Donna, who took her own turn on making sure that the younger ginger was wrapped up warmer. "What are we looking for?" she asked.
"Might be underground, like some sort of cave or a cavern, or…" he trailed off, trying to decide which way to go. Danni was so sure that they were supposed to still be running, but she held the long jacket closer. She was shaking even though she didn't feel cold. Everything was so loud.
"We need-We need to find Ood Sigma," she explained. "He can help us."
"Ood Sigma?" the Doctor repeated. She nodded. "Any idea where?"
"You-You just keep running," she replied. "I don't know where." She wished she could have offered more, but the TV show didn't exactly offer floor plans and details descriptions of the base. Even if it did, she wasn't sure she would have been able to remember. Was this what her life had become? Was she just a walking cheat sheet? Should she have even told him? As the Doctor grabbed her hand, pulling her along she realised that she had absolutely zero idea what she was doing. The Doctor's companions were chosen because they could see a wider universe than their own and he wanted to show them. They were strong and capable. She was just a girl from North England, with a little bit of an obsession over a television show. The only thing strong about her was her immune system. She was going to die, wasn't she? The moment she landed somewhere she didn't know, outside of an episode, she was going to die.
She screamed as a rogue bullet hit one of the groups of canisters they seemed to be continuously run past and it exploded, sending them all to the ground. Smoke flooded the area, more fire burning around them.
"Alright?" the Doctor asked Donna, who nodded. He looked to Danni. "Danni-Girl?"
She shook her head, but the Doctor could see that it had nothing to do with the fall. He wished he could have given her a little more time, and had he realised she was so new and young he might have tried harder earlier, but he couldn't now. He reached out, rubbing her shoulder in comfort as he looked over his shoulder. "You're alright," he promised gently. From the smoke behind them, the Doctor saw a figure and his eyes widened in panic.
As the smoke cleared, Ood Sigma looked down on them with friendly eyes, like he had been waiting. Danni smiled weakly. "Told ya."
The Doctor grinned at her. A big wide, wolfish grin that she recognised from the television and gave her a strange sense of comfort. If she truly did jump around his life – and survived – she was happy that he wanted her there. It already felt so hard, it would have been so much worse had he hated her.
He jumped off the floor, leaving the two women to get up themselves, rushing over to Ood Sigma. "Where is it?" he asked. "The third element. Take me to it." He motioned between the trio. "We're friends," he insisted. "We can help."
"This way, sir," Ood Sigma said through his communicator, as polite as he always was. "It is in Warehouse 15. I will show you."
"That's a good Ood," the Doctor praised as they started hurrying to the warehouse. The door was locked but, much like the Ood Conversion area, the Doctor broke it open with a quick zap of his screwdriver. The Doctor rushed down the stairs, taking two at a time, which was very easy with his gangly legs. Donna followed him, and Danni followed her, taking more care with the Doctor's coat billowing behind her. She paused on the stairs before she reached the bottom. She could already see into the cavern where the third element, the shared Ood brain, laid trapped between electronic fencing and more security. It seemed like a giant brain suspended in the air should have been rather disgusting, but once again Danni just felt her heart break. Those poor Ood, all suffering, in pain, because someone wanted to make money from them.
Could she prevent this? Could she, if she jumped back to an earlier Doctor, tell him all about the Ood and he could save them sooner? She'd seen enough time travel in television and media to suggest that it wasn't the best idea to interrupt the flow of time like that. If she told him, then there would be nothing to save, and then she would never tell him. Paradoxes like that were never good. Would she have to just sit there, on her knowledge, and not let a single person know? Did it all become her fault? All the bad in the universe and she couldn't do a thing?
"Now it all makes sense," the Doctor declared, looking over the area as he tried to work out just how the brain was trapped. "That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic centre. It's a shared mind... connecting all the Ood in song."
A gun was cocked and Danni rushed down the remaining stairs to the Doctor's side. The one piece of knowledge she did know and was prepared to use was that being by the Doctor's side was the best place to be in most situations.
Halpen stepped out from the shadows, gun in hand and pointing it at them. The Doctor shifted on the spot, moving until he was stood slightly in front of Danni, like he was trying to shield her. She frowned slightly. That didn't make any sense, did it?
"Cargo," Halpen stated. "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock."
Dr Ryder followed him. "He's mined the area," he told them all pointedly and Danni's eyes widened. She remembered this. She remembered what happened to the man who found his way into Halpen's business. Friend of the Ood. She was going to have to watch him die because everything she knew said she couldn't interfere. Rose had saved her dad, and look what had happened. Marty McFly had almost erased himself from existence saving his dad from being hit by a car. What would happen if she saved Dr Ryder when he was supposed to die?
"They're gonna kill it," Donna whispered in confusion, looking back down at the brain, unable to process the very idea.
"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier," Halpen spat out in disgust.
"Those pylons," the Doctor murmured to them both. Donna nodded along.
"In a circle," Danni whispered sadly.
"'The circle must be broken,'" Donna repeated in realisation.
"Dampening the telepathic field, stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years."
"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better," Halpen said to his servant, whose translator ball shone as he held it up.
"My place is at your side, sir," he replied as it moved over to his master. Halpen chuckled darkly.
"Still subservient. Good Oo-" He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, as if something was stuck in his throat. Danni smirked at him and then blinked in surprise as she was sure that Ood Sigma had tried to smile knowingly at her. He knew she knew. She laughed slightly, even in her dazed state. She really did like Ood.
"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna asked, still confused.
"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt. The subconscious reaching out," the Doctor theorised.
"But the process was too slow, had to be accelerated," Dr Ryder said knowingly, surprising everyone but Danni as he turned to Halpen. "You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."
Danni closed her eyes, looking away. She couldn't watch this. She couldn't just watch a man die. Halpen smirked. "Yes. Yes, you did."
She didn't realise she'd made her choice until she was tackling Dr Ryder to the ground. "Oh no, you don't!" she cried, knocking him out of the way of Halpen, who stumbled as he tried to push Dr Ryder over the side and into the brain. Danni panted, scrambling up, looking around. Nothing seemed to have changed. No flying bat creatures looking to devour the universe. She grabbed Ryder by the arm. "Over here!"
She dragged him to the Doctor and Donna as he seemed too stunned to be moved. Danni, on the over hand, was stunned by how much better she felt for helping him. What was it that Donna had once said? Just save someone? Maybe they were wise words…
"You were going to murder him!" Donna exclaimed angrily. The Doctor pushed Danni back behind him, away from Halpen with a sharp shove that confused Danni slightly. He was angry at Halpen, not her.
"Very observant, Ginger." Donna glared at him, completely affronted and the Doctor did the same to her. Danni thought it would have made her relax to see him treating Donna the same, but it didn't. Maybe she was just too scared and tired to understand the situation completely, but the Doctor had shot her an angry look and she knew it was directed at her.
"Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before," Halpen started. He turned the gun in his hand, observing it with an air of amusement at the situation he'd found himself in. "Can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh," he pointed the gun back at them, "it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..."
Ood Sigma turned around to look at his master. "Would you like a drink, sir?" he asked with perfect timing. Danni smiled slightly.
Halpen, on the other hand, laughed in derision. "I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks." Ood Sigma stepped in front of the Doctor, Donna, Danni and Dr Ryder and held a shot glass of liquid out to him.
"Please have a drink, sir," he tried again. The Doctor placed a hand on Ood Sigma's shoulder, ready to move him if necessary.
"If—if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll… shoot… you… too." Halpen's words were slow and slurred, like he had something heavy in his mouth that he couldn't move out.
"Please have a drink, sir," Ood Sigma insisted. Halpen looked down at the drink then up at his faithful Ood in panic.
"Have—have you... poisoned me?"
"Natural Ood must never kill, sir," Ood Sigma replied with a tilt of his head.
"What is that stuff?" the Doctor asked.
Ood Sigma didn't even look back at the Doctor. "Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound, sir."
"What the hell does that mean?" Halpen demanded, hand on his head. He must have felt like his brain was trying to escape his skull. It was very hard to feel sorry for him.
"Oh dear," the Doctor said tauntingly.
"Tell me!"
"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes," the Doctor replied instead. "It came out in the red-eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then there was patience."
"Ood Sigma didn't need violence because he knew there was a better way," Danni added. "Death is quick. He knew your punishment was coming."
"How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?" the Doctor asked him happily.
Halpen reached up and pulled a large clump of hair out of his head. He pointed the gun at Ood Sigma but his hand shook wildly. "What have you done?" he sobbed, voice thick and slowing down again.
"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time," the Doctor told him harshly. "And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."
Halpen looked down at the brain in fright. "What have you-I'm... not-" He tried one last time to aim his gun but he was shaking so hard with what was happening to him that Ood Sigma very easily stepped out of the way. Halpen coughed, his tongue seemingly too big for his mouth. He dropped his gun before reaching up, gripping the back of head with both hands. He pulled downwards, tearing his skin away and revealing the new Ood head underneath. With one last cough the tentacles come out of his mouth, indicating that the process had worked incredibly well.
Danni felt the bile rise in her throat. The man deserved everything he got, but it was very hard to watch. His old skin was now just on the floor, two halves of a whole face. It was too gruesome, how had this ever been on television?!
"They—they turned him into an Ood?" Donna asked, stunned.
"Yup," Danni murmured, looking away from the floor.
"That's remarkable," Dr Ryder breathed out.
"He's an Ood," Donna pointed out, like no one else could see him but her.
"Absolutely remarkable," Dr Ryder repeated.
"We noticed," the Doctor replied to Donna as they started at him, dumbfounded. The new Ood Halpen coughed up his secondary brain and caught it in his hand, the process now complete.
"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him," Ood Sigma told them. Donna held her head, a massive headache growing.
"It's weird, being with you. I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore," she told the Doctor.
"It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen," he replied.
"We have to stop the bomb," Dr Ryder declared suddenly, just as a beeping started coming from the hole. The Doctor ran to the fence, reaching over to turn off one of the detonation packs, destroying the circuit and the bomb. "That's better!" he crowed before running over the controls. His hands hovered over them like an excited child, but he turned to Ood Sigma anyway. "Ood
A beeping sound began to come from the hole and the Doctor jumped, "Oh!" He reached over the fence and turned off one of the detonation packs, destroying the circuit and turning the huge bomb off, "That's better. And now..." He ran over to the controls before turning to Ood Sigma. "Sigma, will you allow me the honour?" he asked.
"It is yours, Doctor," Ood Sigma replied with a small bow of his head.
"Oh yes!" the Doctor cheered, grinning from ear to ear, as he typed on the controls. "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!" He flips a lever and the field around the brain was shut off.
The music was beautiful. Simply beautiful. Danni hadn't been able to listen to the Song of Captivity, but she had no choice to listen as the Oods all sang out joyously at their freedom, and she was so thankful that she could hear it. All the horror, and the questionable morals, were all worth it just to hear the Ood sing. For the first time it felt like, maybe, being stuck in the Doctor's universe wasn't such a terrible thing. The harmony, the peace, the love that surrounded them all… It was just… beautiful.
"I can hear it!" Donna cried out, elated and Danni could only nod along. She had tears in her eyes again, but this time they were very much because she was happy.
The Doctor pulled her up against him, her back pressed against his front as he wrapped his arms around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head. She tilted her head slightly to smile up at him, surprised at how comfortable he was with her, and how comfortable she felt when he hugged her. He grinned back and they all just stood there and listened.
~0~0~0~
It had been sad to leave the Ood, but knowing they were in a better place made it a lot easier. Plus, Danni knew that the Doctor would see Ood Sigma and his brothers again. Maybe she would get to see them again too. Of course, that would mean the Master. Did she want to meet the Master? Perhaps she would be better staying out of that mess. She'd probably end up on the Earth with Martha Jones, and to be honest camping had never been her style.
Donna decided that she was very much done with the day, so had headed off for a shower and some sleep. Danni felt like she really should have done the same, but her brain with still wired off the joy of the Ood and the excitement, so she sat on the pilot seat and swung her legs as the Doctor set them off away from the Ood Sphere.
"Doctor?" she asked.
"Mmm?"
"Were you mad at me before? When I saved Dr Ryder?"
He paused in his movements. Truth was, he had been, but he hadn't exactly wanted to be. And knowing that she hadn't been travelling along his time line for long made it both better and worse. He turned to lean against the console.
"Did you save Dr Ryder before because you knew he was going to die?" he asked. She nodded and he sighed. "You can't just change the future like that. Not because of knowledge you already have?"
"Why not?" she retorted. "He was trying to save the Ood. Do you just expect me to sit there and watch people die?"
"One wrong life saved in the wrong place and you could tear the universe apart with a paradox so huge nothing could save it!" he replied.
"By and large the universe sorts paradoxes out itself!" she defended firmly. He rolled his eyes. He hadn't realised that her stubbornness had been there for the entire time. He also didn't realise that he was going to have to be the one to teach her all this. Wasn't she supposed to have known it already?
His eye roll just annoyed her. "I'm not stupid," she snapped. "I know that if I try and change fixed points, big events, it could all go wrong and I'll crash out the universe, but I'm not going to stand there while someone's in danger, whether I know what happens next or not!"
"You don't know which points in time are fixed and which are in flux. You told me..."
She'd told him? It was amazing how much the prospect of her future self saying anything annoyed her. It had been the same when Amy had casually brought her up, and when she thought back later on to Eleven calling her young it would anger her too. But it frustrated her, and upset her, and she shot off the pilot seat and glared at him, hands on her hips. His eyes widened and she felt a bit smug; she'd obviously shouted at him before and he knew what was coming. Good.
"I haven't told you anything yet!" she shouted. "I've not had time! I was almost eaten by a giant spider, dissected, told I was never going home again and then almost killed by some Ood! I wish people would stop saying that! When the hell was I supposed to tell you anything?!" She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Look," she started again. "I saved him because I could save him. I'm going to save anyone I can. I won't change anything big, but I'm not sitting back and you can't expect me to jump around your time line and not try and make the universe better. Not everyone has to die. Sometimes you just have to save someone."
Her words hadn't been deliberate, but as he smiled fondly, she realised that he'd just been to Pompeii, which means that Donna had already had this talk with him. She kept her gaze firm and locked with his, though. She was trapped but she wasn't about to just roll over at every confrontation. She had a lot of anger inside of her, a lot of hurt and she was sure a lot of grief was coming her way. Unfortunately, he was just going to have to grin and bear it.
"Oh, Danni-Girl," he sighed before smiling. "You're right. Like always."
She grinned. "Glad you realise this, Spaceman. I've got a lot of jumping to do, it's nice to know you're ready to concede that fact."
"No changing big things," he warned her. "But I'll give you some of the small things. Sometimes, not everyone has to die."
She clapped happily and he laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She allowed herself to snuggle into his side slightly. "Are you tired?" he asked. "It's been a busy day for you."
She shook her head. "I'm too wound up to be tired," she explained. "I just- I just have so many questions, you know? This big ball of thoughts and feelings are inside of me and I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't find out the answers."
The Doctor could totally understand that. He gave her another squeeze before letting her go to sit back down on the pilot seat again. "I can't answer a lot," he warned. "Anything about your personal future I can't tell you. But I still might be able to help," he offered. "If-If you like?"
Danni pressed her lips together. "So no asking if I go to Pompeii, for example?"
"Just as I'm not allowed to ask how you know that I went to Pompeii at all," he replied. She nodded slowly.
"Alright," she said softly. A lot of her questions had been to do with where she would go, what order she would see him in. It already was completely out of whack so she couldn't even go off what she knew about each season. And this Doctor probably wouldn't know how far into his future she would go, anyway, considering he hadn't lived long enough yet.
"Okay," she said with a little nod. "Can you—" she looked over at him. "Do you know why I'm here?" she asked timidly. "Why I'm caught on your time line? Do you know what I did to… well, to deserve this?"
He took a sharp intake of breath through his teeth and she immediately thought that she'd asked the wrong question. "Nothing," he quickly answered, to her surprise. "You did nothing wrong. No one deserves what is happening to you." Once again her emotions got the better of her and the adrenaline was slowly fading away to emotional exhaustion. "I don't know why you're here," he replied bluntly. "I don't know why you, or why that manipulator, or if it was accidental or by design. I was always trying to find out, but…" He looked off to the side, guilty. "Well, things get in the way."
"Like Ood?" she asked, trying to be cheeky and he chuckled hollowly.
"Or Pompeii," he agreed. He walked over, crouching down in front of her and gave her that warm smile that had endeared David Tennant to her in the first place. And yet, coming from the Doctor, she genuinely felt like everything was going to be okay. It was rather amazing, to be perfectly honest.
"Don't worry," he told her. "I'm going to figure it out."
She nodded. "I know," she said sincerely. "You always do."