A/N: Inspired by a tumblr post that's stuck with me for a while now, although I can't remember who wrote it. Set before the season 8 finale. First time writing Oswink so I hope I do it some justice! As always, please review so I can improve my writing and I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or its characters.

The world was silent but Clara's mind was screaming.

All around her, smoke rose and quietly drifted away. She lay alone as even the remnants of conflict left her. She did not move.

Her ears strained, searching the silence for the familiar wheezing sound of the TARDIS. She had been wrong when she'd said that that sound brought hope. She had hope now, even if it was the tiniest shred so deep in her heart that she didn't even notice it. The TARDIS didn't create hope. People create hope. The TARDIS brought relief to people who'd held on to hope for too long.

Somewhere deep down, Clara knew that the Doctor wasn't coming. He'd been carted off to god-knows-where some time ago now. He wouldn't even know what they'd done to her until it was too late. She wasn't coming home from this adventure. She wouldn't even get to say goodbye.

Suddenly, a shrill note pierced the silence and Clara felt something move beneath her. The vibration tore through her in a wave of agony and she groaned softly. Now it wasn't just her side that was hurting, her entire body was burning. It seemed to be pleading with her. Please, just let go. There's nothing left for you. But Clara's will had always been stronger. She was determined to read that last text message even if it was the last thing she did. And with the recent turn of events, it probably would be.

After taking a moment to gather her courage, she began to reach for her phone. It's funny how in desperate moments such as these, you have to use strength that you never knew you had to do tasks that you never thought you'd need strength for. She cringed as she felt her fingers trail through something warm and wet. Fortunately, her phone was only half under her, and she could reach it easily. Less fortunately, it was wedged under the gaping wound in her side and she was going to have to pull. Taking a deep breath, she thought of 101 places to see and wrapped her fingers around the phone. She thought of Akhaten, of Merry and all the beautiful things she saw. She thought of Vastra and Jenny and Strax, and their adventures in Victorian London and Yorkshire. She thought of Sherwood Forest, of the laughter she shared with Robin Hood and his merry men. The Orient Express, the forest that sprung up in London overnight, all the stars she'd seen and the places she'd been, she held them in her head and clung to them tightly. And then she pulled.

It was over in an instant but lasted an eternity. Clara bit her lip to hold back the scream that balanced on the tip of her tongue. She tasted blood, but that's all her world was now: a sea of red and the last message. Slowly, she opened her eyes. She didn't remember closing them. After wiping her hand across the screen and only managing to smear the blood around a bit, she forced her eyes to focus on the screen.

Danny: 'Clara, where are you? I've been waiting half an hour!'

Danny Pink. In all her panic, Clara had forgotten that there were people at home waiting for her. It was obvious now that she wasn't returning. The Doctor had a time machine. If she was going home she would have been there half an hour ago.

For some reason, it wasn't this that frightened Clara. It was the people she was leaving behind. Her father, her gran, her work friends. Danny Pink. She was going to leave Danny Pink behind and she never told him that she loved him.

Not if I can help it.

The thought snuck up on her, already in her mind before she acknowledged it. After all, she did still have her phone in her hand, still displaying what didn't have to be Danny's final message. She took as deep a breath as she could manage without making herself dizzy before tapping the phone icon.

The sound of ringing once again broke the heavy silence. It pounded into Clara's throbbing head and she gasped in pain before composing herself once again. Please pick up, she thought, repeating it over and over as if it would make him answer faster. I need to talk to you, it's important, please.

"Hello?" Danny's voice boomed out of the phone and Clara flinched. She tossed phone away from her a little and it made a quiet squelching sound as it landed in the wet sand. I hope Danny didn't hear that.

"Clara? Are you okay?"

Clara tried to keep her voice even as she answered. "Hello, Danny"

"Where are you? It's been almost an hour!"

"I'm sorry, I got caught up and I can't make it." Which each word her body shuddered in protest, but she had to do it for Danny. He was the one who would be left with the pain of losing her. She knew that pain. After her mother died, it never really left. She just learned how to survive with her heart missing a piece. And if she lost Danny, she couldn't begin to imagine what extremes the grief might drive her to. "I really am sorry. Maybe another time?" Tears threatened to spill over as she lied to him yet again, but she didn't want their last conversation to be tainted by his knowledge of her current state.

"Yeah, okay. Are you sure you're all right? You sound a little quiet."

It was getting harder for Clara to force out comprehensible words now. "Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to make her voice sound as bright as possible. The lies made her heart ache, but she needed to finish this. "Look, I'm sorry, but I really have to get back to this."

"Okay, see you later then." Danny sounded a little hurt, but there was nothing else Clara could do.

"Danny?" There was one last thing she had to say.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

And then she hung up. She couldn't bear to hear him say it back. She'd never say those words again. Not to anybody else, ever. Those words, from her, were his now. She couldn't accept the same from him, not when she was going to leave him forever. She really did love Danny, and he was the last person who was ever going to hear her say that.

The tears were flowing freely now, streaming down her face and mixing with blood on the ground. She wondered how they could just disappear like that when they were still so fresh in her memory. Gone, but not forgotten.

Clara let her eyes flutter shut. It's almost time. She felt so tired, so weak. It was like she was fading. Her thoughts became quieter and quieter, her breathing slower and slower. Darkness crept through her mind, and she welcomed it.

Goodbye, Danny Pink.

The Doctor found her an hour later, exactly where he'd left her. Her hair shielded her face, but he knew she was dead. She lay on the sand in a pool of red. A pool that extended too far for there to still be hope. He pocketed her phone before gently picking her up and carrying her back to the TARDIS. He glimpsed her still tear-stained face as her tangled hair fell back. "I'm sorry," he choked. "You died again, and it was all my fault." He laid her down gently, stroking away the bits of her hair that clung to her forehead. "Time to go home, one last time."

The Doctor didn't find any relief in the sound of the TARDIS.