It was no hidden secret from herself that Clara Oswald still got a bit of the flips in her stomach when that old, blue box landed. Whether she knew exactly where they were, or even more so when she didn't know where they were, it was still something that made her jitter with an odd excitement. The kind that mixed with subtle hints of curiosity, wonder, and maybe a little bit of fear. But the good fear. Clara Oswald had faced so many things in her travels with that pinstriped suit-wearing, sticky uppity-haired man, all so very different and beyond her possible realm of imagination. If she'd never met the man, that good kind of fear may have very well been the wrong kind. But facing down so many challenges and becoming the Impossible Girl made that damn near, well… Impossible. This was the good kind of apprehension.

First came the creak of that blue laden door, the wood running familiarly along her small fingertips, and then… The reveal. But what kind of reveal was this? Suddenly the excitement, the good fear, and every little bit of emotion in-between faded as before her sat what looked to be a small, sleepy town. Lining each side of the olden paved road were rickety and lovingly kept shops, no more than a story tall. Maybe two, at best. The quaint plot of civilization had small signs of life along the sidewalks that lined the shack-like establishments, people coming and going about their day and none the wiser about an alien and his companion parking a space and time ship nearby.

"Doctor," Clara began, her tone halfway caught between a question and a statement. "When I said I wanted to go somewhere exciting for my birthday, I don't really think this is what I had in mind."

Stepping out farther from the TARDIS, Clara wrapped the leather of her bolero jacket tighter around her form, now a bit regretful that she hadn't dressed a little more appropriately. Her mini skirt and button-up blouse didn't provide much protection against the obvious fall weather. Then again, had she any idea they were going to be landing here…

The Doctor bounded, excited and lively as ever, out the TARDIS, dragging the door closed behind him with a creaky click. He took an audible sniff through his nose, "Ahh, smell that fall air!" He paused beside a less than impressed Clara, hands jammed within his pockets. "Ooh, it's very fall. Think I can smell pumpkins. You like pumpkins, eh Clara? Ever tried to make a pumpkin soufflé?"

"Where are we," Clara nearly demanded, definitely growing less pleased about this place. She was expecting something awesome. A place that she could get that high and excitement from almost like when they'd gone to Akhaten, the very place that some even believed was the origin of all life in the universe. How could this place even begin to compare?

"Look; just over there," the Doctor gave a small nod toward a sign to their right.

Attention turning to the, quite frankly, obnoxiously green-coloured sign, the brunette girl took a few steps closer, the letters becoming clearer.

'WELCOME TO ALEGNA, ILLINOIS
Perfect town, perfect vacation.'

"Okay," Clara began, clear uncertainty in her voice. "So I asked you to bring me somewhere exciting for my birthday, my birthday…" She suddenly turned to the Time Lord, brown hair swishing freely around her face as she did so. "And you bring me here."

The Doctor's face screwed up into a concoction of confusion and offense, "What's wrong with here! You read the sign yourself, didn't you? Perfect town, perfect vacation, perfect birthday!" A toothy grin spread his lips, his recently gelled hair bouncing along as he stepped past her. "Come on! Let's check it out."

"Hold on!" Clara took several steps forward, her short gait barely catching up to his long one before she grabbed at his arm. "Seriously? Here?"

"Seriously," the Doctor said with raised eyebrows, converse-covered step halted for the moment as Clara dropped his arm. "Here."

There was something he knew but she didn't… Clara could tell. The way he went about this town like he knew what it was about from the beginning raised some odd flags. She could understand if maybe they'd landed here by accident, and that maybe he'd meant to land them somewhere in New York or even San Francisco. She did say she wanted to go somewhere in the States. It'd always been in her book of '101 Places to See'. America was a place she'd wanted to visit someday, somehow, some way. And ever since meeting the Doctor, it was easier to tick each and every checkbox of places to visit. But some small town she'd never even heard of until all of about two minutes ago, and here the Doctor was so ready to visit it…? Didn't exactly sit right with her.

A sigh, "Why can't we go somewhere, I don't know… Better?"

"You haven't even seen any of the town," the Doctor interjected, his eyebrows furrowing together very slightly. "Can't just give it one look and brush it off. Take the TARDIS for example: look at it once, and you're just like 'ehh, it's a thing; a boring, blue, boxy thing'. But it's infinite inside and the best ship in the universe!"

Clara paused a moment before looking back toward the town, the sun hitting the area to give it a lightly golden glow. She had to admit, it looked like one of the postcards you'd get in the mail. Picturesque and, well… Perfect.

The Doctor moved his left hand to grasp onto her right one, squeezing it encouragingly. As she turned her attention back up to him, he smiled at her, "Just a quick look around then I promise we'll leave, alright? It can be your birthday for as long as you want it to be with me. Got a time machine, remember?"

The way the Doctor's smile widened then sent a warmth through Clara she couldn't explain. One that made her slowly smile back and return the grip of his hand around hers. "Fine," she gave in, knowing the Doctor was probably having a small and silent moment to himself about his little victory. Just like him to do something like that. "But I'm holding it to you to make it quick, Sideburns. Not sure I made the right fashion choice for this weather."

[[ I'm hoping this chapter will be the shortest of the rest of the chapters. I do apologize for it being a bit short, but I wanted to get this fic underway and give myself a motivator to keep up with it before I get my hands on Pokemon Y. Soon as that happens, there's no hope I'll go near this fic until I'm fully done and satisfied with that game. Can't promise steady updates, but second chapter should be on its way soon.

Reviews help my motivation to finish a lot! Thanks for reading! ]]