Doctor Who: The Time Child

If you want to help me financially, you can do it on

https://ko-fi.com/neverluckysmile

Amy, Rory and River stared at the pair in shock as the Doctor grinned and pointed them out to Danni. She nodded and waved at them, not speaking a word between them but both knowing what the other was indicating.

"This is cold. Even by your standards, this is cold." River spoke up first and the Doctor frowned in confusion for a moment, looking down at Danni.

"Or, 'Hello', as people used to say." He told her. She replied with a shrug, chewing on the straw absent-mindedly. She had only just appeared in the TARDIS after a lovely afternoon with Martha and Ten chasing some escaped mamoths in 72nd century America. The Doctor had told her he had found a blue envelope on the console and asked whether he should follow it or not. She knew what it was, co-ordinates to America for The Impossible Astronaut, and he had to go so she advised him to follow it.

"Doctor?" Amy asked in disbelief, how could he be there?

"We just popped out to get my special straws." He waved his straw at them.

"Apparently they add more fizz." Danni added, "Although he won't tell me how."

"They just do, you shouldn't be so sceptical." He tapped her on the nose and she giggled at him, batting his hand away from her face as he began to play with her hair. Amy walked slowly over, staring in wonder as she slowly circled him. He followed her around, his smile dropping at her expression, suddenly coming very concerned by her behaviour.

"You're OK." She whispered, touching him on the chest and feeling his hearts beating, "How can you be OK?"

"Of course I'm OK, I'm always OK," He pulled her in for a hug, Amy clinging to him tightly, "I'm the king of OK. Oh, that's a rubbish title, forget that title." He let her go and rushed over to Rory, testing his reaction as well, "Rory the Roman, that's a good title. Hello, Rory!" He hugged Rory who tensed before slowly patting him on the back. He let go of Rory and walked up to River, grinning at the sight of her, "And Dr River Song... Oh, you bad, bad girl, what trouble have you got for me this time?" River's face hardened in fury and she slapped him hard, sending his head to one side. Danni winced at the sound, sucking on the straw as the Doctor flexed his jaw.

"OK. I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet." He stated, turning back to the woman who stared at him, wide-eyed in her anger and sadness.

"Yes, it is." She whispered and he nodded slowly.

"Good, looking forward to it."

"I don't understand." Rory declared and the Doctor turned to him, very confused by everyone's reaction to him, "How can you be here?" Rory poked his chest in the same manner the Doctor had done to him by the Pandorica, the Doctor even rocking slightly like he had done at the time.

"We were invited." The Doctor replied, snatching his envelope out of River's hand, "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume, otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence." He tossed it onto the table next to them where Rory had spotted it.

"River, what's going on?" Amy asked.

"Amy, ask him what age he is." River replied, never taking her eyes off the Doctor.

"That's a bit personal." He protested.

"Tell her. Tell her what age you are." River insisted firmly.

"909." he replied quickly, worried at the way everyone was fixated on him.

"Yeah, but you said..."

"So where does that leave us?" River interrupted Amy, "Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?"

"Who's Jim the Fish?" The Doctor asked, intrigued. Danni skipped over to him, taking his hand.

"Oh, do I do Jim the Fish? I want meet Jim." She asked River excitedly, she had always wanted to see who Jim the Fish was.

"I'm sure you do." He reassured her. She beamed up at him before replacing the straw in her mouth.

"I don't understand." Amy said slowly, looking between the two. How could he be alive? And Danni looked fine, and she certainly hadn't been okay when they were at the lake.

"Yeah, you do." Rory told her.

"So do I!" Danni piped up.

"I don't! What are we all doing here?" The Doctor demanded. Amy and Rory just stared at him, at a loss as to what to say. Should they tell him about what they'd seen, or was that the point of them being there? So they could change it before it happened. River looked between the two couples, seeing their uncertainty before swallowing.

"We've been recruited. Something to do with space, 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware III." She explained as the Doctor started walking away, pulling Danni with him as he chewed on his straw.

"Recruited by who?" He asked lowly, becoming slightly annoyed at the fact people were hiding things from him. It had taken him so long to get over Danni not telling him about the future, but he was not about to allow his friends to do the same.

"Someone who trusts you more than anybody else in the universe." River replied. He turned them both around, staring the blonde woman down.

"And who's that?" He asked and River smiled apologetically.

"Spoilers."

~0~0~0~

Amy stared out into the TARDIS, her back to the console as she leaned on the railings. River watched the Doctor rush around the console, Rory just staring at him still dumbfounded by the entire affair. Danni sat on the pilot chair, her legs dangling in the air as she continued to chew on the straw. She didn't know why, but it was very comforting and while it was amusing to watch everyone trying to deal with a death that never takes place, she was becoming quite concerned at the looks Rory and River were shooting her. Rory looked amazed at the sight of her, something he should have been reserving for the back-from-the-dead Doctor, while River couldn't seem to make her mind up between being furious or relieved.

"1969, that's an easy one." The Doctor rambled as he typed on the old-fashioned keyboard on the console, "Funny how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches." He rushed over to Amy, before pushing back off the railings, "Now then, Canton Everett Delaware III, that was his name, yeah?" Amy, unable to handle him being alive and acting just like his normal self, pushed off the railing and left to go underneath the console, the Doctor watching her out of the corner of his eye, "How many of those can there be?"

"Three." Danni replied and he grinned at her.

"I suppose so." He twirled past her, placing a kiss on her forehead as River followed Amy down the stairs, "Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?" He asked the man. Rory's mouth opened and closed a couple of times.

"I'll find out." Rory followed the two women down the stairs, the Doctor watching him over his shoulder, concerned. Danni jumped off the chair and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she leant on his chest.

"I'm sure everything's fine." She told him reassuringly and he wrapped his arms around her, leaning on her head.

"They're all acting like they're scared of me." He replied.

"Who wouldn't be with that chin?" She teased and he looked down at her, a mock-shocked look on his face.

"How dare you? I love this chin." he showed it off proudly and she stood on her tiptoes, placing a kiss on it.

"So do I." She promised.

"It's not as nice as yours though." He bent down and kissed her in the same place. She giggled but batted him away.

"If you're that bothered, why not just ask them?" She told him, bringing him back to the situation at hand. He nodded and, reluctantly, let her go, walking over to the edge of the platform and sitting down, ready to jump over the side. He then seemed to think better of it, lying down on his stomach and sticking his head over the side.

"I'm being extremely clever up here, and only Danni's up here looking impressed. What's the point in having you all?" He asked them before pulling himself up. He began piloting the TARDIS as the three joined them on the platform, getting more and more irate the more he thought about the fact they were hiding something from him.

"Time isn't a straight line, it's all bumpy-wumpy." He told them as he walked around the console, "There's loads of boring stuff," He pushed a particularly stiff lever upwards, "like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then there are Saturdays, big temporal tipping points when anything's possible." He walked over to Danni, leaning over her with a smirk, "The TARDIS can't resist them, she loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, cos that's space in the '60s," He poked her on the nose them walked over to the scanner, typing the details in the keyboard underneath, "and Canton Everett Delaware III, and this is where she's pointing." Everyone joined him around the monitor as he turned it on, revealing the date and place the TARDIS had homed in on.

"Washington DC, April 8th, 1969." Amy read off, "So why haven't we landed?"

"Because that's not where we're going." The Doctor told them lowly.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked, sensing a change in the atmosphere around them.

"Home! Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies." He turned to River, stroking her cheek with finger, "Dr Song, back to prison." He walked off, past Danni to flick some more levers, "Me, well me and Danni are late for a biplane lesson in 1911, or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes, one or the other."

"Knitting, please. I've always wanted to make a scarf." Danni piped up, leaning on the console as if she had been expecting him to change direction. Which, to be fair, she had.

"Knitting it is then." The Doctor told her, flopping into the pilot chair and rubbing his forehead, the anger from their secret building up into a headache. The three shared a concerned look and slowly approached him. The Doctor looked up to see them staring down at him, "What? A mysterious summons? You think I'm just going to go?" He snapped, annoyed, "Who sent those messages? I know you know, I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."

"You're going to have to trust us this time." River told him gently.

"Trust you? Sure." He stood up and walked over to River, leaning over her intimidatingly, "But first of all, Dr Song, just one thing... Who are you? You're someone from my future, getting that, but who?" River stared back at him, silent, "OK... Why are you in prison? Who did you kill? Hmm? Now, I love a bad girl, me, but trust you? Seriously?" Amy stepped forward.

"Trust me." She told him quietly. He spun on the spot.

"OK." He stalked over to her.

"You have to do this, and you can't ask why." She told him sadly, wishing she could warn him away. All she wanted to do was tell him he was going to die so he could stop it, but River was right. Time was too fragile and the last time he tried to interact with himself the universe had ended.

"Are you being threatened? Is someone making you say that?" The Doctor asked, furious at the thought someone was trying to use Amy against him. She shook her head.

"No." She promised.

"You're lying." He decided and despite the situation she felt offended, how dare he say she was lying? If it wasn't so important that he believed her, she would have laughed.

"I'm not lying." She insisted.

"Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters." He commanded. She stared at him, trying to think of something big enough, something she knew mattered not only to her but to him as well. She swallowed, a memory appearing in her mind and she nodded once.

"Fish fingers and custard." He studied her, still not sure whether he should believe her or not.

"Trust me." Danni stated, pushing herself off the console. The Doctor walked over, taking her hand, "You have to do this, you can't ask why."

"Are they being forced to say this?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Oh god yes." She told him happily, smiling slightly.

"Will me going save them?" She nodded again.

"Yes, it will." He studied her smile for a moment.

"Does it all end okay?"

"Yes." She told him honestly, "Plus, you get to meet Tricky Dicky." She grinned as he face lit up at the thought.

"I meet Nixon?" He asked excitedly. She giggled, she loved how he could go from serious to childish in a matter of moments.

"Trust your Amelia, she knows best." She told him gently and he let go of her hand, turning around and walking over to Amy.

"My life in your hands, Amelia Pond." He declared and Amy smiled, nodding gratefully to Danni who shrugged it off. He would be okay, in the end. So was Amy and Rory to an extent, as for River she knew that by the end of her life she had lived it just like she wanted to. There was a worst day in all their lives and they were all on the slow path towards it. River looked over at Amy, who was stood in the middle of the floor looking devastated.

"Thank you." She told the ginger sincerely and Amy nodded as Rory pulled her in for a hug.

"So! Canton Everett Delaware III!"

~0~0~0~

Danni sat on the stairs out of the console room, watching the Doctor spin around the main console as he searched for any information he could find about Canton Everett Delaware III. He was still obviously warring with himself, on one hand he didn't want to walk into a trap set up by someone who was making his friends so scared, but then his curiosity wanted to make him walk straight in just to see what was going on. It was one of the reasons they hadn't landed yet. She smiled as he spun on the spot while flipping a switch, she could watch him work all day.

"You lied to him." Danni frowned as River walked up and sat on the stair next to her.

"When?" She asked, confused.

"You said that it would be okay, but it won't be. You know what happens on Lake Silencio. You were there." River replied. Danni smiled slightly, that was quite a big slip from River. Then again, River had been rather protective of her when she had first met her in the Library, maybe they were connected. Or, because she didn't experience the Doctor in the right order either, maybe River felt some sort of connection with her.

"I'm there? Oh good, I'd hate to miss that." Danni told her vaguely, watching the Doctor frown at the monitor. Had it been Ten, he'd have pulled out his 'I'm clever' glasses, judging by the thoughtful look on his face. That was something Eleven was missing; glasses.

"Why did you lie?" River pressed and Danni sighed, turning on the spot to look at her.

"I didn't. Going to '69 works out fine. So does everything else. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." River frowned angrily. She was brushing it away, just like she had done at the lake. Would do at the lake. Oh, it didn't matter, why was she acting like that?

"And you know that?" River snapped and Danni glared at her, not appreciating the attitude.

"You should know you're not the only one with spoilers. Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Melody." River paled slightly, her eyes wide. She knew Danni had known who she was right from the start, and she knew why. She just hadn't been expecting her to use her name when no one else did. Danni motioned with her head to the Doctor, "I suggest you go back over there and help him, because he's looking over and wondering what I said that made you go pale, and he doesn't find out for a bit yet, does he?" Sure enough, the Doctor was eyeing them suspiciously. River stood up, plastered a smile on her face and walked over to the Doctor.

~0~0~0~

"Right, Canton." The Doctor stated, clapping his hands together, "Who's he?" River pulled the scanner to herself, reading the information that appeared there.

"Ex-FBI, got kicked out." She summarized.

"Why?"

"He had attitude problems." Danni told them. She was stood next to Amy and Rory, holding the other red-head's hand and swinging it, "And he wanted to get married."

"They didn't kick him out of the FBI for that, did they?" Amy asked, a little disgusted. Although, she could see the FBI wanting to keep their agents single.

"Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting." River continued, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Ah yes, Tricky Dicky." He smirked over at Danni, who grinned in return.

"Told you." She teased.

"Richard Milhous Nixon. Vietnam, Watergate…" River listed off, "There's some good stuff too."

"Not enough." The Doctor added and River turned to him, faking outrage.

"Hippy!" She cried.

"Archaeologist." The Doctor instantly retorted.

"Flirting." Danni scolded lightly. She hated the idea of the pair flirting. Maybe with her here, they wouldn't end up getting married. The Doctor from way in this one's future was obviously mad about her, but still... She'd better discourage any flirty behaviour when she could. River was beautiful, clever and part Time Lord. She couldn't really compete with that.

"OK, since I don't know what I'm getting into, I'm being discreet, putting the engines on silent." The Doctor told Rory and Amy, flipping a switch and walking away. A loud screeching noise filled the room, causing everyone to flinch and River to flip another switch, silencing the horrid sound. The Doctor looked back around the console, a confused look on his face.

"Did you do something?" He asked the blonde woman, sure he hadn't touched anything.

"No, just...watching." She replied. He shrugged, maybe he had done something.

"Putting the outer shell on invisible. Haven't done this in a while, big drain on the power." He continued, walking over to a panel and turning a couple of dials.

"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Rory asked him, not quite believing it. The Doctor grinned and switched a lever on. Blinding spotlights switched on, bathing everyone in a bright light as he walked away ago. River leaned over and pushed the lever next to it, turning it off.

"Very nearly." She stated. Danni laughed despite the fact she was always a bit wary of River. The Doctor looked at her, still confused and she just shrugged, chuckling to herself. He turned to River as she approached him.

"Er, did you touch something?"

"Just admiring your skills, sweetie." She told him, a completely serious look on her face that Danni had to give her praise for.

"Good! You might learn something. OK." The Doctor whacked the side of the scanner, "Now, I can't check the scanner, it doesn't work when we're cloaked. Um, Just give us a mo." He ran to the door, stopping and turning to see the others following him, "Whoa, who, whoa, whoa, you lot, wait a moment. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow." He stepped out of the TARDIS, leaving the four stood around the console. Amy turned to River.

"How come you can drive the TARDIS but Danni can't?" She asked. River shrugged, turning away from the pair staring questioningly at her.

"I guess he's just not taught her yet." She replied vaguely. Danni nodded, seeing her discomfort. It's very hard to lie your way out of that question without giving too much away.

"He won't teach me because he's afraid I'll break her." Danni added, "Not that I blame him, my mum said I should never learn to drive because she was afraid I would crash into everyone." River spun to face her, eyes wide.

"Your mum?" She asked. Danni nodded, frowning at the surprised look on her face.

"Yeah. I get impatient when there's people in my way." She clarified, "Why?"

"I... I've just never heard you mention your parents in the other universe before." River brushed off, "It was always a sore topic, it's strange hearing about them."

"I suppose it isn't yet." Danni shrugged, "That's the issue of jumping between times isn't it?" River nodded slowly, everyone falling into a slightly uncomfortable silence, although no one really knew why. The TARDIS suddenly rocked, the Doctor walking into it. River rolled her eyes and the tension was broken.

"Every time!" She walked around the console, grabbing the monitor and swinging it over to where the four were standing.

"He said the scanner wouldn't work." Rory pointed out.

"I know." River replied, "Bless!" She grabbed a large bundle of wires and connected it to the back of the screen, causing a huge spark. She pressed a couple of buttons on the bottom and the screen turned on, showing an image of the Doctor being held to the floor with a group of agents pointing their guns at him. Danni snorted.

"For God's sakes, that man." River nodded in agreement.

"Not that! Ow!" The Doctor yelped, "River, have you got my scanner working yet?" Danni laughed at the look on River's face, a cross between outrage and not being surprised at all.

"Oh, I hate him!" River bit out.

"No, you don't." The Doctor called as if he had heard her.

"Get the President out of here! Sir, you have to go with them now!" One man cried, Canton Everett III who was pinning the Doctor's arm behind his back.

"River, make her blue again!" The Doctor shouted and River turned the clocking device off. The men on the screen let the Doctor go in surprise, staring open-mouthed at the TARDIS as it appeared in the middle of the room.

"What the hell is that?" Nixon demanded. None of the men could answer him as the Doctor slid over to the desk without anyone noticing, sitting behind it and putting his feet up on the surface.

"We should probably go out there." Danni told the three.

"Shouldn't we wait for the Doctor to call us out?" Rory asked.

"They're Americans, and they have guns, and he is sat at the President's desk in the Oval Office." She rattled off.

"Come on." Amy cried and they headed to the door, River opening it and stepping out first.

"... You think you can just shoot me?" The Doctor finished.

"They're Americans!" River exclaimed, causing the Doctor to stand up hastily, holding his hands up.

"Don't shoot, definitely no shooting!" He stuttered out as Danni, Rory and Amy all stepped out of the TARDIS with their hands in the air.

"Don't shoot us either. Very much not in need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up." Rory told them as the men turned to aim their guns at the four people who had just come out of the blue box that had mysteriously appeared in the office.

"Who the hell are you?" Nixon demanded, flummoxed. Canton held his hand up to signal for him to stay where he was.

"Sir, you need to stay back." Canton, unlike the rest of the men, seemed to believe that they weren't a threat and was even slightly impressed by them.

"But who, but who are they? What is that box?" The President demanded, pointing at the TARDIS.

"It's a Police Box, can't you read?" The Doctor told him, "I'm your new undercover agent, on loan from Scotland Yard. Code name, the Doctor. These are my top operatives, the Legs, the Nose, the Eyes and Mrs Robinson." He rambled, motioning to the group with a smile.

"I hate you." River growled quietly, shaking her head.

"No, you don't!" The Doctor retorted happily.

"'The Eyes'?" Danni repeated. The Doctor winked at her and she grinned in reply, her cheeks turning pink. He liked her eyes.

"Who are you?" Nixon tried again.

"Boring question." The Doctor dismissed, "Who's phoning you, that's interesting. 'Cause Canton Three is right," He pointed at Canton, who didn't seem surprised the man knew his name, "that was definitely a girl's voice. There's only one place in America she can be phoning from."

"Where?" Canton asked.

"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr Delaware." One agent told him, his gun still aimed at the Doctor.

"You heard everything I heard, it's simple enough. Give me five minutes, I'll explain." He sat back down on the chair behind the desk, chucking his feet back up on the top and crossing them at the ankles, "On the other hand, lay a finger on me, or my friends, and you'll never, ever know."

"How'd you get it in here?" Canton asked, motioning to the TARDIS, "I mean, you didn't carry it."

"Clever, eh?" The Doctor boasted. Canton nodded.

"Love it." The agent looked over at him, gob smacked.

"Do not compliment the intruder." He exclaimed.

"Yeah, please don't." Danni called, "He'll never let us live it down."

"Five minutes?" Canton held up his hand in front of him to indicate the five. The Doctor smiled, he had him.

"Five." He confirmed.

"Mr President, that man is a clear and present danger." The agent told Nixon. Canton rolled his eyes and turned to the President.

"Mr President, that man walked in here with a big blue box and four of his friends and that's the man he walked past." He pointed over at the agent, "One of them's worth listening to. What say we give him five minutes, see if he delivers."

"Thanks, Canton!" The Doctor told him gratefully with a smile.

"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself."

"Not so thanks." The Doctor mumbled.

"Sir, I cannot recommend..." The agent started, but the President interrupted him.

"Shut up, Mr Peterson." He snapped before nodding, "All right."

"Five minutes." Canton clarified to the Doctor, who took his legs off the desk and pulled the chair closer. The men slowly lowered their guns and the four by the TARDIS lowered the hands in response. The Doctor look over.

"Danni-Girl!" He called. She beamed and skipped over, pulling herself up onto the desk and swinging her legs in the air, "Are you okay?" He asked her lowly, the thought of anything happening around them gone. He had almost jumped up and stormed over when they'd pointed a gun at her, but he had managed to calm down enough to convince them to trust him instead.

"Fine." She told him cheerfully, "I knew they wouldn't shoot us." Satisfied with her answer, he turned back to the group of men watching them intently.

"I'm going to need a SWAT team ready to mobilise, street level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, 12 jammy dodgers and a fez." He listed off, drumming his fingers on the desk as he grinned at the thought of getting another hat. Canton smirked, amused by the list.

"Get him his maps!" The Doctor deflated and Danni ruffled his hair. One day he'd get another fez.