Doctor Who: The Time Child

Rose knocked on Danni's bedroom door, rocking slightly on her heels as she held a cup of tea in her hand. There was no answer, but then again there had been no response to say she couldn't go in either so she opened the door gently and stepped inside. She hadn't seen the girl since they had left the Vault and the Dalek but the Doctor had told her she was still on board. She was, in fact, curled up on the bed, half dangling out of the covers with a book next to her head. Rose placed the tea on the bedside table and shook her awake. Danni batted her away but her eyes opened. She blinked in surprise at seeing Rose hovering over her.

"Hello." Danni stated lamely as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Rose perched herself on the bed.

"I brought you some tea." She explained, "I haven't seen you all night and last time you came to find me, so I thought it was my turn."

"Where's Adam?"

"I left him in the library." Rose told her with a laugh, "You should have seen his face, it was like I'd shown him heaven or sommat."

"It is an impressive library." Danni replied as she sipped her tea. No sugar, just how she liked it. She breifly wondered how Rose knew that, but Rose had said 'last time' so they must have had tea together before. Rose picked up the book off of her pillow and turned it over in her hand.

"'Melody Malone'?" She read questioningly, "You don't seem the type to read crime books." Danni took it off her.

"Oh, it's just a memory." Danni explained and she placed it into her bedside table.

"Of what?" Rose prompted and Danni sighed.

"Of something I can't change." Rose studied the girl, who had become quiet and stared into her mug, blowing on it gently to cool down the liquid. The Doctor had told her of how she had spent the entire time trapped underground shouting at him. He even admitted that he should have listened to her, but the Danni she had met before didn't seem like the same girl. It was also obvious that the other Danni had been much later on in her time line than this one. Rose didn't quite understand how Danni's existence worked, she knew she was from another universe but not why she was there or why she was forced to jump around. The item on her wrist had something to do with it, but Danni hadn't wanted to talk about it last time and by the sad look on her face now probably wasn't the best time to ask either.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked her, shifting closer so Danni could lean on her arm.

"I'm not used to being around so much death." Danni admitted as she rested her head onto her shoulder, "I've never experienced it, not really. I was a bit of a surprise baby and my grandparents were either already dead or died when I was so young I don't remember them at all. I haven't got any aunts or uncles, and I'm an only child. It's all starting to get to me. And so many people died..." Danni closed her eyes with another sigh, "I guess I'm just really missing being at home."

"Tell me about it." Rose prompted, "I've never heard about your life in your universe before." Danni looked up at her, a sad smile on her face. It was nice to think about home, no one had ever asked about it before now. It was like she hadn't existed until she landed here.

"If I'd been at home, and following time like I should have been, last week would have been my mums birthday." She started, "She wasn't turning any particular age, 56 isn't much of anything is it? But, I'da skipped uni for the week with a fake stomach bug and gone up to see her. We'd've gone out for tea to a pub where my dad would order a meal he didn't really want and she's swap with him, even though it was her birthday. We might go shopping, but probably not and for the most part we'd have stayed in and watched telly. Then I would have gone back to uni and life would have carried on as normal. That's what I miss more than anything, the normality of everyday life. At one point I was worried about if I would get my coursework done on time, now I'm just worried I might turn up naked somewhere without warning."

"You were at uni?" Rose asked, surprised. It wasn't that she thought Danni wasn't smart enough, she couldn't talk after all, but she hadn't seen her as a student. But, then again, she didn't look like she worked either. To Rose, she looked like a girl who jumped around time, because that's just how she knew her.

"Yeah," Danni confirmed, "English Literature. I didn't really know what to take, and I got two A's in English at A Level so..." She trailed off with a shrug.

"What's your mum called?"

"Elizabeth. Liz for short, and my dad's called Martin. They both met after they'd gotten divorced. They got married on my mum's 30th birthday." She began wringing her hands nervously, "I don't think that I think about them enough. I didn't realise it would have been my mum's birthday until a few days afterwards. I'm worried I'm going to forget them." Rose took the mug out of her hands and pulled her in for a hug, seeing the girl was on the verge of tears.

"You won't." Rose swore, " My dad died when I was a baby, but sometimes I dream about him."

"I was told by Amy to live every day as it came, and I've been trying." Danni explained as she clung to her, Rose frowning at the mention of another girl but she didn't say anything, "But it's just so overwhelming sometimes. I feel like I have such a huge responsibility, but I don't know if I'm here to change things, or to keep things as I know them. Maybe I'm just here, and it's all a huge accident... How am I supposed to know what to do?" Rose let her go to stand up, holding her hand out to Danni with a smile.

"Come with me." Rose said firmly. Danni took her hand, they really did hold hands a lot in this universe, and the pair walked the short distance to the console room. The Doctor wasn't there, who knew where he disappeared off to though, so they were undisturbed as Rose led her to the doors. She opened them both, pulling them inwards and revealing the vastness of the universe outside. She placed both hands on Danni's shoulders and forced her to sit down, her legs dangling outside the box. She did the same, both just managing to fit inside the frame.

"Why are we here?" Danni asked.

"To look out." Rose replied, "On your first night here, we spent the whole night talking. I was upset because we'd been to Cardiff and the maid, Gwen, had died. You sat me down here and told me that no matter how sad I was feeling, it didn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things." Danni's eyebrows shot up.

"That's a horrible thing to say." Danni exclaimed in horror, "Why would I tell anyone that?" Rose motioned outside and Danni turned to look out.

"You said that looking at the universe took any problem you had and shrunk it into insignificance, and that sitting here always made you feel better because of it. I thought it was strange, but if it works in the future it might work now." Rose reasoned. Danni studied the mass of stars and far-away galaxies she could see. It stretched out all around them, hanging in their little blue box, and was illuminated by multi-coloured gas clouds much like the images you would see on the show. It wasn't making her feel much better, if she was perfectly honest. Everything was so far away, she didn't see how she could even begin to imagine anyone or anything happening. So many people with so many problems stretched across the stars. People with families, friends, jobs, boring everyday lives with boring everyday problems. Like... should I get skimmed milk because I'm on a diet even though it tastes like water? Or, which university course should I take? Boy, did she know about that one. In fact, up until now it had been her biggest decision, and now most of her decision-making had been taken away from her.

Unlike the people out there. They had huge decisions to make. After all, at the time, milk choice always seems like the hardest decision ever made, and there were people who had so much larger choices to make. Should they take that job across the country away from everyone they have ever known? Can I raise a child on my own? They all made her life seem so... easy.

She sat up straight, a small smile of realisation on her face.

"You know," She started, "I do feel better."

"I knew you would. That's why it's your spot." Rose replied with a smile, pushing herself up, "I'm going to go find Adam, then the Doctor. Have fun." She patted Danni on the head and walked off. Danni sighed happily, relaxing for the first time since she had been with Ten.

Maybe she'd be okay.

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