He waited for her.
"I'll be back in ten minutes," Clara had said. That was ages ago.
He acknowledged the irony of the situation as he stared up at the ceiling of the Tardis. He spent so long with The Girl Who Waited. He made her wait, and wait again. She told him how it hurt, how it tore her up.
And now he was waiting.
He'd never truly understood what Amy did for him. Sure he understood the concept of waiting but he seldom did it. Why bother when you could go have tea with Catherine the Great, or listen to a poetry recitation from Drax Dramus, and arrive back moments after you left.
But he didn't leave. Some part of him felt like that was cheating. All those years ago, Amy couldn't leave. So, neither did he.
He glanced over at the bookshelf, his eyes automatically finding the slim spine of Amy's book, or River's book, or Melody Malone's book.
He didn't think about her much. He didn't have time between Cybermen and P.E. teachers and running everywhere.
And there wasn't much to think about. She'd gone with Rory. They'd lived in New York. They'd grown old together. And then they'd died, like all living things do eventually. Other than that, he knew nothing about her life.
"But she lived it," he said aloud. A light on the Tardis console pulsed gently. He laid a hand on the panel.
"She lived it, and that's what counts. Right?"
The light brightened for three pulses and then dimmed back to normal.
He chuckled. "I'm glad you feel that way."
The Tardis was quiet, except for the gentle hum of the engines. He leaned back in his chair. The creak filled the room. He should find the oil.
He sat forward and tapped his fingers on the rail. The sound echoed. He stopped.
His breath sounded loud in the silence.
Then, the door to the Tardis opened and he rushed to meet Clara on the threshold.
"Where have you been?"
"What? I ran inside to pack an overnight bag. I told you." Clara looked at him like he was mad, a familiar look by now.
"You were gone for hours."
"I was gone for ten minutes."
"No, I waited and waited. It was hours."
Clara sighed and pushed up her sleeve. She showed him her watch.
"I left at 4:10. It is now 4:21. We've spent one minute standing here arguing. Therefore, I was gone exactly ten minutes."
He grabbed her wrist and inspected the watch. He tapped it. He ran to the Tardis console and hit a button.
"Oh," he quickly sent the number away. "Well…"
"Are we going?" Clara jogged to join him at the console. "You promised me a baby star, remember. Unless you'd prefer Greenwich. I'm sure they'll know what time it is."
Her tone made him look at her. She was trying to suppress a laugh. Her cheekbones were so high that her eyes would be hidden if they weren't so freakishly large.
He smiled. This was better. Demands and sass. Jokes and laughter.
"Greenwich can wait. The birth of a star, however…"