Okay, so I've been kicking this idea around for a while. 12 doesn't seem to get enough love. Also, I haven't gotten to write any Doctor Who fics yet, so here goes my first shot at it. Let me know what you all think!
Dobby's Imaginary Sock
The Human Spirit
"The human spirit must prevail over technology." - Albert Einstein
Chapter One:
Life Forms
He was staring again. Clara wasn't sure if the Doctor realized that she noticed his eyes following her around the TARDIS control room. He had been doing it since they'd returned from almost being eaten alive by giant zooplankton on Zarya IX. She had ignored it at first, thinking that he'd just go ahead and say outright what it was that was bothering him as he usually did. However, he seemed to be biting his tongue for once. Sure, he'd been nicer to her since they'd decided to give each other a second chance, but he was still the rude, unpredictable alien she'd come to know. It was really starting to bother her that he wasn't just saying whatever it was that he wanted to say.
"What is it?" she finally asked him.
The Doctor, not taking his eyes away from the console, began fidgeting with one of the knobs. "It is hardly a specific word, Clara."
"You know exactly what I mean," she stated. Clara walked down the stairs to join him by the console. He refused to make eye-contact. "Something has been bothering you ever since we got back, so just go ahead and say it."
He paused for a minute, staring straight ahead at the time rotor. "Are you certain you don't want me to take you home?" inquired the Doctor, walking around the console. "It has been a while since you saw your family. They could be sitting down for turkey right now, wondering where you've gone off to."
So that was it. Clara rolled her eyes. "I'm not homesick, if that's what you're wondering," she told him. She pulled out her phone and waved it at the Doctor. "I can call my dad anytime that I feel like it. We can keep going."
The Doctor finally walked back over to Clara and faced her. His gaze very stern. "Are you sure?" asked the Doctor.
Clara met his gaze, her face just as serious. "Yes," she replied, "I'm sure. I've got all the time in the world to get back for Christmas. No need to rush it."
The Doctor smirked. "It has been three months in your time, Clara," he stated. "I think we're beyond the point of rushing Christmas."
Clara brushed past him, ignoring his argument. She knew it had been a while since they'd left Earth, but not that it had been that long. Normally she would freak out over a detail like that, but at the moment she just wanted to forget all about home. "Where are we going now?" she inquired, finally looking back at him. She smiled mischieviously at him, placing her hand on one of the many levers on the console. "Is it your pick or mine?"
The TARDIS jolted to life, its engine churning while the lights blinked angrily. Both Time Lord and human stumbled about, the Doctor grabbing onto the central column while Clara gripped a railing for dear life.
"What's happening?!" yelped Clara.
"It appears the TARDIS wishes to remind you that she's also party to our adventures," shouted the Doctor in reply. "You pudding brains always seem to forget that."
"Hey! Don't call me a pudding brain!" yelled Clara, glaring at him indignantly.
"It's only a fact," responded the Doctor nonchalantly. He turned away from Clara and attempted to turn a knob somewhere, failing as the TARDIS rocked him in the opposite direction. "If it makes you feel better you're one of the better ones."
"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," protested Clara, although she couldn't help but smile at the the Doctor's back. The TARDIS then ground to a sudden halt. Clara and the Doctor both tumbled to the floor. They laid there for a moment, listening to the faint whirring of the TARDIS.
"We've stopped," the Doctor finally said from the other side of the console.
Clara massaged her temples. "I know that," she groaned. "Where are we?"
The Doctor pulled himself up and started up the stairs to the door. "I'm not sure. Care to find out?"
"Aren't you going to check the scanner?" questioned Clara.
"No," answered the Doctor, looking at her quizzically. "Why would I do that?"
Clara fixed him in a blank stare. "Planet Maracanda? Remember that one? Didn't check the scanner that time and do you know what happened? We ended up in chained up to rocks. In the desert. Left to die."
The Doctor waved a hand dismissively. "We survived that one," he reminded her. "Scanners are boring. I've got eyes and ears anyways. Now, come on! Let's go have a look."
She shook her head, chuckling a bit as she followed him to the door. Before he opened it, someone knocked once.
"I don't understand," said a girl's voice from outside. "It's really made of wood. How could it have just appeared here?"
Clara exchanged a glance with the Doctor. His eyes were bright with enthusiasm, like a child about to open a gift. He grasped the handle and swung it open.
From the looks of things they had landed inside the lounge of someone's flat. The TARDIS had managed to squeeze herself into a corner next to a large fern in a ceramic pot, probably to show off her superior piloting skills. Apparently the TARDIS had found the only clear spot in the room. Clara wouldn't exactly call the place messy, but there was more clutter lying around on the coffee table, the shelves, and even on the couch then she could tolerate.
"Hmm," mused the Doctor as he stood examining the lumpy leather couch. "It seems that the individuals who live here do a lot of sitting. Not too surprising for 32nd century Earth. A rather dull time period, in my opinion."
"Excuse me," said the girl's voice again. Clara turned around. The girl appeared to be younger than her, but definitely older than most of her students. She was dressed casually in grey jogger bottoms, a long navy cardigan, and a white crop top with some logo that Clara didn't recognize printed across it in graffiti-style lettering.
"Ah, our local knocker," said the Doctor. He also turned to face the girl, his hands clasped behind his back. "Your flat would benefit from a thorough clean-up, but besides that I don't think there's anything else for us to see here. Let's go Clara."
"Doctor-" she started to admonish him. The girl didn't seem insulted by him, but that was most likely due to the fact she was still trying to understand how a police box appeared in her lounge.
"Life forms detected," declared an electronic voice. Clara jumped and started looking for the source of the voice. She didn't see anyone else in the room.
"Life forms?" inquired the girl. She looked back and forth between Clara and the Doctor, her short, brown corkscrew curls bouncing around her face. "Wait, you two are real?"
"Yes, we're real," responded Clara. The Doctor had stopped his retreat and also turned to look at the girl. "Why wouldn't we be real?"
The girl swallowed, moving her hands in a kind of nervous twitch. "I've never met anyone else in my life," she admitted.
Thanks for reading! Please review!