A/N: At first it looked like it would have nly around 700 words... and now it has much more. How did that happen?
Well, for the past few days a felt quite weird... and alone... and I don't know... I hope it didn't affect the fic.
Sink
They visited another planet. A fascinating one. No one lived there, yet it was very alive. Maybe even more alive than other planets. They were walking through a forest when it happened. There was quite a gap between - maybe ten feet - and the forest too advantage of it. All at once a giant and dense fern emerged between them, separated them. They still could hear each other and the Doctor even tried to break through it, but it was no use. He and Clara could just agree on going in the same direction, hope that they would meet at the end again... or that the forest would just leave them be at some point. They tried to talk, but later the forest isolated them completely, so they just had to stick to their agreement.
x
The impossible girl was guided by the green wall out of the forest to a place covered just with yellow moss – or at least she considered it as moss. It connected with a grey flat area that seemed to be endless. It was the only way she could go because the forest fortified itself with giant fern. Clara decided to go on the grey soil, walk for a while to get a better look on the forest from further away - maybe she would discover a way to get in... or the Doctor... or just something useful.
She stepped on the grey ground - rock solid under feet. It was like walking on concrete, except this probably wasn't. Maybe it was rock. Maybe. She kept on walking and looked round - the body of hard soil seemed to be infinite. Nothing was in sight. When she was far enough, her feet slowly started to sink. More and more with every step until the ground turned into liquid. Into a sea.
x
Her brown eyes were full of fear, unable to focus due to dark grey water that was splashing into them. Anxiety was tightening her chest and stomach as the waves tried to bury her.
Panic.
Fatigue.
Her head was tilted back as her limbs struggled to keep her mouth at water level. She tried to swim, but her body remained in place and her movement became more and more uncontrollable. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she was gasping for air. She wanted to scream, but her squeezed lungs and the lump in her throat didn't allow her to do so. She didn't know how much longer she could take and the waves kept on coming over and over again.
Suddenly her blocked ears heard something. Something else than the water's deadly whisper around her. She thought it was the Doctor calling her name. Clara. She adored the way he said it. All the different ways he could say it. But maybe her expiring mind was just playing tricks on her. However, her thought remained with him. This sea would be her grave and he wouldn't even know it. He'd spend ages searching for her, going round in circles. She wished he managed to find a way out and be safe.
She managed to take one last little breath before she disappeared from the surface. The cold water was merciless, pulling her down, forcing its way into her body. She had no power to fight back anymore. Her lips parted slightly - she saw a few bubbles escaping, ascending to the surface where only a few sun rays made it through the dark grey liquid.
Cramps.
More bubbles.
The cold water rushing through her nose and throat.
Dark grey getting a darker.
Going black.
Her consciousness was slipping away.
x
Shoes were lying on the shore, kicked off in a hurry. A black coat was lying further, closer to the water. Then, again a few steps onwards, a black jumper. All taken off during a fast and furious run.
The Doctor swam as quickly as he could to the place where he'd last seen her. When he was almost there, he took a deep breath and submerged below the surface. The water wasn't clear and he couldn't see very well, but he kept going until he saw a shadow. His Clara. He managed to reach her and approached her from behind. He pulled a small soft capsule out of his trouser pocket, placed his arms under her armpits and joined his hands, then he quickly pressed the capsule. It inflated at once and started rising to the surface where he eagerly swam with her to the shore that was covered with yellow, almost golden moss.
Once they had reached it, the Doctor quickly pulled her away from the water on the warm, soft moss and knelt down next to her. Her chest wasn't moving, he felt no pulse. The Time Lord began resuscitating her immediately.
Despite the blazing sun in the sky, cold embraced him and his hands were trembling as shivers were running up and down his spine. He was so worried about her, whispered that she was going to be okay.
After a while, he checked again for signs of life.
Nothing.
The Doctor thought it wasn't possible anymore, yet his hearts started to hammer in his chest with even more power than before while he was repeating the cycle.
In the middle of it, she abruptly jerked as her eyes flew open and she started to breathe and choke.
"Clara! Breathe, breathe!"
She rolled on her stomach, coughed a bit of water out and panted for air with a stinging pain in her lungs. She felt the Doctor's hand rub her back gently and she calmed down again.
"You're okay now, Clara."
Breathing heavily, she rolled over on her back again and realised he was stripped just to his trousers and dotty socks. Her eyes wandered shyly from his torso up where they found his face bowed down, his blue concerned eyes looking at her. His fluffy hair was tamed by the water which made her smile.
"Thank you, Doctor," she murmured and coughed a few times more.
The Doctor pulled her into a hug.
"I almost thought I'd lost you," he whispered into her neck and tightened the grip around her.
"No… I'm here – you've saved me… It's alright," she assured him, brushing her nose against his skin.
"Wait here," he said suddenly and ran back toward the water.
Clara was confused at first, but then she saw him just collect his jumper, coat and shoes.
"You should get out of these wet clothes," he said and sat down in front of her.
"Yeah, I should..." she agreed.
Slowly she started undoing the buttons of her blouse. Her arms seemed to weight a ton - she was tired.
"Doctor, could you please..." she asked with a faint smile and gave a gesture with her hand.
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Of course," he replied and turned around, a bit embarrassed just as her.
Clara giggled and took off all her clothes and then put on his jumper that was warmed up by the sun. The Doctor was much taller than her, so when she stretched the jumper out, it covered her to the middle of her thighs. She left the coat on the ground next to his shoes and her wet clothes.
"Okay, you can turn around again," she said and he did so.
"How are you?" he asked and took her hand.
"I've been better," she smiled.
"Come here," he tugged at her hand, pulled her close again until she sat in his lap.
Clara rested her hand on his ribs, making the Doctor's hearts skip a beat. He was surprised at the contact because he completely forgot that he was naked from the waist up, nevertheless, it felt simply wonderful. He cupped her face with his hand, caressed it with his thumb and then leaned forwards. It just seemed so right in the moment. Their lips met for a brief and gentle kiss that flooded them with warmth.
They both smiled softly at each other and Clara rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.
The Doctor whispered, "Rest for a while now, get warmer... When your clothes are dry again, then we can return to TARDIS where you can rest properly."
"Where is the TARDIS, anyway?"
"Good point. No idea," he replied and watched how the waves from the sea started to disappear until the surface of the water turned into a solid material again.
She giggled into his neck.
"Probably on the shore where we left her," the Doctor added.
They kept on sitting in the sun for a while and Clara started to feel better. The Time Lord then carefully lied down with her, used his coat as a pillow and let Clara dosed off for a moment.
About ten minutes later, the familiar sound of the TARDIS filled their ears, as the machine materialised behind them. They turned around only to find out that blue box was partly overgrown with the golden moss - mostly on the right side.
"Time to leave, I'd say," the Doctor frowned as he sat up, put his shoes on and slipped into his coat. The red lining felt surprisingly good on bare skin.
"That would be best, yeah," Clara agreed and slowly sat up too.
He went to his box to get rid of the golden "coat". Meanwhile, Clara took her dry clothes in her arms.
"Okay, let's go," he proclaimed and Clara went in.
The Doctor scuttled to the console and pulled the lever to take off.
"Are you okay?" he asked her again.
"Do you want to your flat or...?"
"I'd like to stay in my room here for now," she smiled at him and couldn't wait to get there and slip into her pyjama trousers, rest… She was exhausted.
"Yes, good - I wanted to keep an on you anyway. Just in case," he said softly.
"Will you stay with me?" she asked.
"Of course, Clara – if you want me to," he gave her a shy smile and Clara nodded.
"Go ahead, I'll join you in a minute."
A/N: Thanks for reading!
Hope you liked it and will continue to chapter 2 & 3. :)