Clara woke up gasping, the sky burning above her.
No. Not a sky, and not burning-at least not anymore
At least not anywhere but in her dreams. Or rather, dream. It was only ever the one, night after night, leaving her more exhausted getting out of bed than when she'd climbed into it.
She threw back the covers with a sigh, sat up and dropped her legs over the side. Judging by the soreness in her throat, she'd been crying out again.
The Doctor must have heard. He'd be worried when she made it to the console room- spend the day giving her second glances and trying to comfort her the only way he knew how. Awkwardly.
She smiled, despite the ache in her chest. At least she still had him. At least one world kept right on spinning.
Standing, she shuffled across to the bathroom. Clara made sure to avoid the mirror as she reached in for the shower handle and pushed it as far as it would go. Steam filled the room, and only then did she undress.
Clara washed as quickly as she could manage, letting the nightmare and tears rush off down the drain. She stepped back out better than she'd gone in. A little more human-more than ready for a new adventure.
She'd go anywhere. Everywhere. Do anything for a new sky and new air. Or trees. Or people. Anything to fill the hole Danny had left in her. Anything to forget, even for a just a moment.
Never, for all her trying, had she understood the Doctor's running as much as she did now.
She pulled her clothes on over still damp skin, and opened the bathroom door. Cooler air rushed in as she stepped out.
On the bedside table, she found a mug of tea sweetened to perfection. Next to it, a nutrition bar-the same kind the Doctor been trying to get down her for a week.
She glanced at the door, but he remained on the other side of it. Always just out of reach.
Clara took another sip of tea, put the mug down to grab the bar. They tasted awful- like cardboard and chocolate. Still...he'd taken the time to bring it to her.
It was nice to be reminded that he cared.
She peeled back the wrapper, took a bite and swallowed. Clara wrinkled up her nose, and forced herself to repeat the action.
The sooner she finished, the sooner they could go.
"My flat."
He'd actually done it- taken her back. In the middle of the night, too. Clara swallowed. Of anywhere in the universe she might have been expecting, it wouldn't have been here. Never here. Never again.
The TARDIS doors shut behind her. She waited, until she was certain she wouldn't hear the whirring of the engines, before turning to face him. Her nails dug into her palms, the pain keeping her on the edge of crying. She wouldn't give in, wouldn't let him see how badly shoving her off would hurt.
"You haven't been home in weeks, Clara," he said.
So soft, and unsure.
Guilty, maybe.
"Because I didn't want to come back, Doctor," she said, forcing air in faster.
She didn't feel right. Her vision darkened.
She took a few steps back. She needed space. They needed space. She couldn't think clearly. She'd gone too long without sleep, her head wobbled and she reached out for the closest solid object.
"Clara!" she heard him call out, felt nothing as the world went black.