A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! I absolutely loved the Christmas special, especially how we got to see a little more of Twelve's soft side. I can't get over how much I love his and Clara's friendship so here's another short story about them...
Like I said, I am working on a much longer story with them but I'm trying to write some more before I post any of it.
Please review, follow, and favorite if you like it! :)
The Doctor ran to the console and set the TARDIS into motion. Though his lips were set as he concentrated, his eyes were alight with excitement. Clara watched him with a smile, feeling whole for the first time in months as she stepped into the real TARDIS.
It took a moment for her to remember that she wasn't dreaming. Even before the dream crabs attacked, her mind had often traveled to the TARDIS when she was asleep. This time, however, she was sure it was real. The dim lights and quiet rumbling of the engine sent a feeling of peace through her. And most of all, the Doctor had come back for her.
Clara shuddered as she remembered the last dream she and the Doctor had shared under the influence of the dream crabs. It still scared her because it could have happened so easily…and all because of a couple of stupid lies.
"So. Where do you want to go?"
Clara shook herself out of her thoughts to see the Doctor staring at her with his eyebrows raised. She walked to the console and narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't know if I like you being nice. It doesn't suit you."
The Doctor heaved an exaggerated sigh and lifted his arms in a hopeless gesture. "First you tell me to be nice, now you're saying you don't like it? Maybe I'll just stop trying then. I didn't have to invite you onto the TARDIS, you know."
A grin tugged at Clara's lips and she turned so that she could elbow him in the arm. "I think I remember you making sad eyes at me and saying 'please.'"
"I don't make sad eyes," he muttered, turning away from her to gaze at the console's monitor.
Clara stood on her toes and looked over his shoulder, though she knew she couldn't read the Gallifreyan symbols on the screen. "Where are we?"
"Deep space." He looked over his shoulder. "You didn't answer my question. Where are we going?"
The Doctor's eyes followed her as she stepped to the side of him. "Anywhere?"
He frowned at her. "I'll probably regret this but I suppose so, yes."
Clara smiled at him and walked to the TARDIS doors. Pausing for a moment, she inhaled a deep breath before pulling the doors wide open. She sighed as the sight of blackness dotted with endless pricks of light greeted her eyes. She had missed this scene so much because of its ability to take her breath away every time.
"Did you miss it?" His gruff voice sounded just behind her.
"Yeah. I missed all of it." Clara turned her head to see him very close with a solemn expression. "I missed you."
The Doctor stared past her and didn't answer. Clara looked back out into space and considered how small she was compared to the entire universe. And yet, she had been chosen to travel across all of time and space with the last of the time lords. To think, she might have never come back here, never seen this sight again.
"Why did you lie to me about Gallifrey?"
His shoes creaked in the silence as he took a step to stand next to her. "Why did you lie to me about Danny?"
She knew, of course. She knew why they both had lied, but it gave her a little satisfaction to argue with him about it. "I wouldn't have lied if you hadn't lied first." She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced up at his passive expression. "Doctor..." She sighed, but she knew she had to say it. "Even if I had been with Danny, I would have gone with you as soon as you'd told me. I wouldn't have let you be alone."
"Just as I would have let you stay here, even if I had found Gallifrey."
Silence reigned for a few moments as they both stared into the entrancing expanse of space. Clara looped her arm through his, feeling him stiffen at her touch, and leaned her head against his shoulder. For so long after the Doctor regenerated she had wondered if he cared about her like the other Doctor had. She had seen no evidence towards it until just recently, and now she was sure. He was her Doctor again.
"Clara?"
She looked up at him at the sound of her name.
His piercing eyes looked straight into hers, full of pain and regret. "I'm sorry. I should have known, I should have come back sooner. I should have made sure you were okay."
Clara sighed. Yes, he should have. He was her best friend; he should have known something was wrong. But, as he had himself pointed out, he was also an idiot.
"That dream," she said with a heartless chuckle. "The last one. It wasn't too far off from some of the dreams I've had recently. It was my biggest fear, you know. Growing old without you there, thinking you had forgotten about me."
"I never forgot about you," he said softly, "but I am sorry." He shook his head. "The one time I thought I was doing something good." His eyes met hers again. "What did you do all alone?"
Clara recalled her cheerless life without the Doctor or Danny. "I moved into a proper house. My flat was too full of memories." She raised her eyebrows at him, smiling a little as she remembered some of the crazy things he had done in her flat. "Did a lot of crying. Enough for a lifetime, probably. Ate a lot of chocolate too," she added with a chuckle.
"Ah, I thought you had put on some weight."
"Doctor!" She elbowed him in the ribs. "No I didn't," she mumbled in meager defense.
"Sure. Think whatever you want, but that's not important right now. What is important is where we're going."
Clara chuckled. "Doesn't matter, does it? As long as I'm with you we'll get into trouble anywhere we go."
The Doctor gave her an incredulous look. "I don't get us into trouble."
The TARDIS suddenly rocked forward. Clara reached out her hand and grabbed the side of the TARDIS to keep from falling and at the same time the Doctor crushed her arm to his side. Then the room tipped backwards, sending them sliding to the console on their backs. The doors snapped closed on their own, and a blaring alarm sounded as the lights began to flash.
Still on her back, Clara laughed and patted the Doctor's shoulder. "Yeah you do."
They sat up and grabbed the console as the TARDIS veered forward again. The Doctor's excited grin was contagious. "Clara?" He had to yell to be heard over the whining TARDIS.
"Yeah?" she called back.
For a rare moment, his eyes were soft and sincere. "I missed you too."