They'd had to stay the night on an alien planet for some reason or another again - the Doctor said it was nothing, but Clara knew him better than that by now - and for some reason, she couldn't sleep.

Or at least, she found it hard to sleep knowing that the Doctor was probably, right now, finding himself in a world of trouble. Again. Oh, she knew it was just him, there was nothing she could do about it, and she wouldn't change him for the world.

But Clara worried. About what they'd be up against this time, whether they'd survive-

The Doctor.

She groaned, and threw herself onto her other side, hoping to get even an hour of sleep tonight. The kids would notice if she looked like she hadn't slept.

….

"Doctor? Doctor! Doctor, where are you?"

He heard her calling for him from down the hall, and before he knew it, the gizmo (that was its actual, scientific name, a gizmo) was dropped on the plush sofa that bounced when you sat down on it, and he was rushing out to see what was wrong.

"Clara! What is it?" His hands on her shoulders, his eyes searching her face for any reason why she might be so worked up. "What's wrong?"

"…Doctor," she said, as if only just realising that he was there. "What-" Her eyes widened. "Doctor. I'm scared. Why am I scared?"

And she was. Not just scared - terrified. He did the only thing he knew for a fact would work in a situation like this, with nothing and no one after them (yet).

He gave her a long, hard Doctor Hug. One where he wasn't about to let go any time soon, because that would mean they were out of his arms, and when that happened the bad things could find them again.

Clara wasn't the first person to get such a hug, and nor, he thought, would she be the last. But right this moment, she was the most important.

"It's all right. You don't need to be scared. You did it. You saved me. You don't have to any more." He rubbed at her back, and kissed her forehead, before resting his own on hers. "You did so well, Clara. So well. You've got every right to be scared. But you know what? You don't need to be. Not while I'm around."

When Clara stopped holding onto him like he was going to fade away or disappear from her life as though she were one of her echoes, he allowed himself to let go.

It wasn't surprising he didn't expect the light punch she aimed at him once he did so.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"For not telling me what you were doing? I know you. And the last time we stayed overnight 'just because', we almost died, you almost got turned into a Cyberman, and we blew up a planet!"

"Moon."

"Whatever! Just. Tell me, yeah? If you're going to do something dangerous."

"Of course. Of course I will."

"And?"

"…I might be doing something dangerous."

The odd thing was, she looked far less scared at that than she had five minutes ago, coming into the room.