Disclaimer I own nothing. Doctor Who belongs to the BBC
She was still getting used to this new Doctor. And it hurt. It cut her deep to the core-to her very soul- to see this man (who she was starting to accept as her best friend with a different face) in pain...and it was all her fault. She knew that her trouble accepting this "new" him hurt him deeper than he would admit. He changed right before her eyes-she saw it happen, and yet she still struggled to accepted it. He was different in both looks and personality, but he claimed to be the same man deep inside. It was like her mom always said "a soufflé isn't a soufflé; a soufflé is a recipe". That thought brought her up short : a soufflé isn't a soufflé; a soufflé is a recipe.
Clara didn't think it possible but she felt even worse. Her mom was right all along it was never about the soufflé (or in this case what the Doctor looked like or his temperament), but rather the recipe (the thing that made the Doctor, THE DOCTOR).
it wasn't that she didn't know about regenerating, she had been a Time Lady before and she understood the concept. But understanding the fundamental idea of something and seeing it happen were two completely different things. She knew that the Doctor could change his face (she had seen all of his past selves in his time stream), she understood that if he didn't change he would die, but she was finding it difficult to wrap her human mind around it.
That's when she realized she had looked at this all wrong. She was Clara Oswald- The Doctors Impossible Girl. She had lived and died a thousand times. She had been a Time Lady and a dalek. She had been different in each life. A governess/bar maid in Victorian London. An entertainment manager on an intergalactic cruise ship in the future. And now a teacher in the 21st century. She had lived more lives than the Doctor (so far at least, seeing as he hadn't reached the end of his time stream in which she had been scattered) and even though she had the same face throughout her scattered existence, she had been completely different people. The only link connecting her many lives was the one goal of saving the Doctor. The Doctor, even with his twelve (technically thirteen faces) was the same man each time. He had (most of) the same memories and experiences. He had the same hopes and dreams. He may have had a different personality, but it was with a shock that Clara realized that he had more in common with his past lives than she had with hers.
She knew that her past lives were mere echoes of her current self. But they were all good people, the few memories she could access reaffirmed the fact that every version of her was in the grad scheme of things a reflection of herself. While the Doctor wasn't merely a reflection of himself, he was himself-The Doctor in every way that mattered.
Clara turned to this "new" Doctor with tears in her eyes and threw her arms around his neck.
The Doctor for his part awkwardly brought his arms around her, just so they wouldn't fall.
"I-I'm not much of a hugger this time around," he said.
Clara made a sound like a cross between a snort and a sniffle before she tighten her grip on The Doctor and put her head on his chest. A small smile graced her face as she listened to the beat of his dual hearts.
She had (in a way) met every version of the Doctor. They were all different no matter what face they wore, no matter how they spoke, no matter their personality, they were all the same man in the end,and this time was no different. He was still The Doctor. And that was all that mattered.
A.N.- If you read any of my other stories, I would like to apologize for not updating in forever, but after 2 computers I think I've finally found one that will last for a while and stop deleting my documents. I hope to update my existing stories soon as well as put up more one shots and hopefully begin a new series or 2 (after I finish the ones already started).