It would take Clara several weeks to realize that there was nothing the Doctor could have done. He tried. Of course he tried. It was what made him… the Doctor. He looked at her with his angry eyebrows. He raised his voice. Even after she'd betrayed him, even after she'd believed that she'd thrown away all the Tardis keys and cut off his connection to the rest of the universe, he still tried.

The Tardis didn't like it. The Doctor was playing games again, more of his dangerous games with time. The old machine had just about enough of paradoxes and explosions and his dangerous habit of bringing the impossible within reach.

Clara sat on the steps, watching the Doctor hurry around the console. He moved in straight lines, all urgency and precision, unlike his past self. At that moment, Clara would have given anything to see her first Doctor spinning around the console, laughing like a child. It would have made her laugh, and she'd have forgotten about Danny for a few seconds. That was all she needed: a few seconds, to clear Danny completely from her mind, and she knew that she'd start forgetting. She didn't want to. She didn't want to lose everything they'd had, but when the alternative was spending the rest of her life staring at the wall of her bedroom…

They landed more times than Clara could count, and each time, both Clara and the Doctor's shoulders sagged a little bit more. They'd landed in a cave, on the moon, in the middle of London, outside the school. On about the twelfth try, the Doctor dashed out of the doors and hurried back in, slamming the doors shut and taking off again before Clara could step outside. That hadn't stopped her from seeing out, though, and the sight of pale headstones dotting a green hill had sent her off to find a chair to sit down in.

Hours must have passed before the Doctor finally slumped against the console, looking more tired than he'd been since Christmas. He slammed one fist against the Tardis console, sparks flying dangerously close to his head.

Clara knew. She knew what this must mean, and the carefully constructed wall, the thin barrier that had kept her empty for the past few days, shattered. A heart-wrenching sob tore out of her chest, and Clara had just enough time to be surprised at the noise before she started sobbing, finally letting everything out. She'd been so terrified, her brain scrambling as it finally realized what the lady who'd picked up the phone was saying, and then there was the shock, seeing Danny sprawled out in the middle of the road. There was barely enough time for the guilt to set in before the nurse in the hospital had taken her aside and told her that it had been too late. She'd shut down as soon as she'd heard that, dialing the Doctor over and over on the way home, and now with this, this failure, this… confirmation that Danny was well and truly gone.

The Doctor's head whipped around, and he stared at Clara, looking devastated. "I'm sorry," he whispered, fingers flexing around bits of the console before he began to approach Clara. "I thought I could do it. I thought I could find him, bring him back."

There was a slight moment of hesitation. The Doctor reached out his arms, ready to pull Clara into his side, but Clara stood up abruptly. Without a word, she turned around and scurried down the stairs. It was a miracle that she didn't bump into something. she could hardly see through her tears, and she was completely distracted by the Doctor calling after her. It was almost as though the Tardis were guiding her down the hallway, keeping her from bouncing off the walls in despair.

That seemed to be all the goodwill Clara would be getting from the Tardis, at least that day. The Doctor and Clara had tried to rewrite time (again), which always frustrated the ship. That had to be the reason why she'd moved Clara's room.

"Come on," Clara shouted, her voice hoarse from having not spoken in hours. She banged her hand into the wall where her bedroom door had been, grimacing as pain shot through her fingers. "Please, you stupid old machine."

There was a loud smashing sound from the general direction of the console room. Without another thought, Clara fled down the hall, inexplicably terrified. She didn't know how she could face the Doctor now, or anytime soon. Not after all that he'd done for her.

And not after she'd repaid him by attempting to knock him out and destroy the Tardis keys. No, Clara was sure that she didn't deserve the Doctor's help at all.

The library was still where it always was. Clara cried a little bit harder in relief, sending out apologies and thanks in equal fervor to the Tardis. She wasn't entirely sure where she and the old ship stood, but all Clara needed was for her hair not to be set on fire while she slept. The Tardis was welcome to hide anything else that Clara needed. She didn't care.

A large, comfy couch was still tucked away in a corner behind a large shelf, full of books that Clara'd already tried and failed to read. Clara collapsed onto the couch, grabbing the blanket off of the back of the couch and pulling it over herself. Bringing her knees to her chest, Clara closed her eyes. The light dimmed against her eyelids, and Clara held her breath, listening. The soft, mechanical hum of the Tardis, the only sound to be heard outside of Clara's breathing, lulled her gently to sleep.

Clara woke when her watch started digging uncomfortably into her cheekbone. She spent a moment rubbing at her face before Clara realized just how thirsty she was after crying herself to sleep. Standing up, Clara pulled the blanket around her shoulders and stretched, wincing as the kinks in her back straightened out.

Danny.

Clara's heart clenched, but it another painful sensation elsewhere immediately followed it.

Water.

The floor of the Tardis was cold. Clara couldn't remember taking her shoes off. Thinking about it now, though, she hadn't been remembering much that week. She shuffled along the corridor, trying to keep her feet on the ground for the shortest time possible.

"Please just let me find the console room," Clara whispered. She ran her fingers along the walls as she walked. It was her little way of trying to keep track of her location in the Tardis. The last thing she needed was to spend the next half an hour walking in circles around the library.

The Tardis seemed willing enough to oblige to this request. Clara found herself looking up at the console within the minute. Not bothering to look for the Doctor, she headed straight for the corridor where the kitchen should be. Clara was praying again that it hadn't moved when there was an angry shout and a loud, mechanical whine.

Clara froze, her mouth forming the word "Doctor", although nothing came out. The loud sounds came again, and Clara could tell what it was. It was the Doctor smashing things into the Tardis console. Just under it, Clara could hear soft noises of the Tardis's distress.

"Land!" the Doctor shouted. "One park! A few minutes! It's not exactly New York and the Ponds, you stupid excuse for a ship. Why won't you land?"

There was a snapping sound. Clara grew ever more still as a familiar lever flew down the stairs.

The furious pounding continued. It muffled Scottish curses and the sound of the Doctor getting more and more careless with his precious Tardis with every time he tried to land.

Clara had no desire to get caught in this scene, but the Doctor seemed almost as distressed as her. Because of her, because of her and Danny. Clara raised her foot, ready to go join the Doctor. She wanted to try and get him to calm down, but the throbbing had started up in Clara's throat again. With one last remorseful look, Clara turned away in search of her water.

Hi guys! I've been writing for a while, but I haven't really written any Doctor Who fanfics. I was having a conversation with my friends a few weeks ago, and they kept insisting on talking about ways Clara could leave the show. I hated having to listen to it, but I had this good idea and I just wanted to try it out (that doesn't mean Clara's 'leaving' in this story, it just means I got an idea for something that could be completely unrelated). And, I mean, now that they've announced that Clara's leaving and also pretty much confirmed the way she's leaving (I'm going to be vague here just so people who haven't already had this spoiled for them can still enjoy series 9 safe from this knowledge), I figured there's going to be heartbreak anyway, so why not add to the pile?

I haven't picked a day to update this, but it'll be at least once a week, probably around the weekends. This story is almost definitely not going to include anything from series 9 (which starts tomorrow, oh my stars yes), and it will pick and choose certain bits from series 8. Danny did indeed die, but I'm completely cutting out Missy and the Cybermen and etc. just because they don't fit with the direction I want this story to go.

So... yeah. Let me know if you have any questions. Everyone enjoy series 9 tomorrow! I'll see you all soon with a new chapter. :)