A/N: This is sort of exploring how I think the series might pan out, based on spoilers I've read. I also just really wanted to write something Danny/Clara related, since I adore them. Enjoy!
News travels through the school at an alarming rate. Really, it's to be expected, since there's not much else to do. The best gossip is always about the teachers; what they do at home, weird things they got up to when they were kids, and most importantly, who's snogging who in the supply cabinets.
So, naturally, Miss Oswald and Mr. Pink are the talk of the school.
Courtney was the one to predict it.
"His eyes get all soft when she's around, it's disgusting," she informed Maisie, in hushed, secretive tones. "That, and I heard her askin' him to take her out to drinks. Ozzie's got a crush!"
Indifferent, Maisie finished applying polish to her pink fingers, then gently blew on it. "Oh? Why do you care?"
"Dunno. They're both so… weird. Remember that other bloke Ozzie had?"
"Miss Oswald," Maisie corrected, "And no, I don't."
Courtney glared at her friend, insulted that her news wasn't being properly appreciated. "He didn't come around here very often, just once or twice. Ozzie - sorry, Miss Oswald chased him off every time, yelling at him to go home to his TARDIS. What do you think that meant?"
Maisie shrugged. "Dunno. But of course Miss Oswald would have all sorts of blokes after her, she's still young and pretty."
"Oooohhh, jealous?"
"Of the boys? Yeah, totally."
Courtney just rolled her eyes at that. "Just you wait, those two will get together. They're going to be disgusting and romantic all the time, snogging in empty classrooms while we're not looking."
She was right, of course; Miss Oswald and Mr. Pink grew very comfortable with each other over the next few months. He was still painfully awkward sometimes, but even Maisie admitted that Miss Oswald looked smitten. The problem was, there was no proof.
Then, during a free period in late March, she caught them.
Courtney had been wandering the halls, searching for Maisie and Leo, when she heard a soft giggle come from Mr. Pink's room. Silently, she crept up to the half-opened door, peering in.
Mr. Pink was standing close to Miss Oswald, smiling at her and running his hands through her hair. They were both flushed, like they'd been kissing moments before, and it took all Courtney's willpower not to say something. She was right! They'd gone for drinks, and now they were snogging while the students weren't around.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?" Miss Oswald asked.
Mr. Pink just leaned forward, kissing the very tip of her nose. "If I recall correctly,you were the one that came in here insisting that you needed me now."
"Yes, well… it was ridiculous of you to indulge me."
He grinned. "If we weren't on school property I'd indulge you in a lot more, believe me."
"Oh?" Courtney had never seen Miss Oswald smile like that. It was mischievous, daring, and sickeningly lovestruck. "Like what?"
That was one the bell rang, making them both jump. Courtney skittered away from the door, a triumphant grin on her face as she sought out her friends.
"I was right!" she crowed as soon as she caught sight of Leo and Maisie in the school garden.
"About what?" Leo asked.
"About Ozzie and her squaddie." Courtney told them. "I was walking around and I saw the two of them in his classroom. They both looked like they'd been snogging, and he said he'd do more than that if they weren't in school. Ozzie loves the squaddie!"
Both her friends attempted to act like it didn't matter much, Maisie more successfully than Leo. Maisie liked to pretend she was above all the gossip, and Leo liked Maisie so he did the same, but Courtney knew they both secretly adored it as much as any of the other students.
"Do you reckon they'll get married like Mr. Potts and Mr. Abbney did?" Leo asked. He glanced over to the hallways, where Miss Oswald and Mr. Pink were chatting. "They do look pretty cozy."
Courtney nodded. "Give it time. I'll bet you they either get married, or he gets her pregnant."
Things were normal enough the rest of the year. It wasn't long before Mr. Pink was labeling her a 'very disruptive influence' along with the rest of the school faculty. She guessed that it might have had something to do with all the nosy questions in class, but it never stopped her.
Then school was out, and for weeks she forgot all about the two other than a fleeting thought. It was more interesting to spend time with Maisie and Leo anyways, watching as Maisie burned through relationship after relationship and Leo silently pined after her. Courtney found the entire thing amusing, really; Leo wasn't Maisie's type at all, in the sense that he was the wrong gender. Still, it made for better entertainment than Ozzie and her soldier boy. After all, those two went about hiding behind classroom doors, while she got all of the details from Maisie.
When school finally started again, she found the two were even worse at hiding their affection. The first day Courtney wore a grin of smug satisfaction after catching the two of them arriving in the same car.
Oh, those two were getting married. They had to be.
Everything was normal until the funny caretaker came.
Miss Oswald had always been a bit strange. Sometimes certain noises would make her look up in confusion or fear. Sometimes she'd come into school with a tan that'd appeared from nowhere, or she'd smell like smoke and burnt things, or she'd have dark circles under her eyes and and bruises on her cheeks. That was normal for her; it'd been going on ever since she'd started teaching, though now it was happening more frequently.
The caretaker seemed to drive her absolutely mad.
Of course, looking back, Courtney could see why. He was an alien, atime traveler. He even took her out to see some stars (even if all that space did make her feel a bit sick). It was too surreal for words.
The next day Miss Oswald stopped her in the halls.
"Courtney, about all this stuff with the Doctor…" she began, voice kind and level like she thought this might end in an argument. "You know you can't really tell anyone, yeah?"
Courtney nodded immediately. "Yes, Miss Oswald, I do. It's not like anyone would believe me anyone."
Miss Oswald just smiled wryly. "Oh, you'd be surprised."
"So you told Mr. Pink?"
"Mr. Pink?" she asked, voice practically a squeak. 'Why would I tell him?"
"'Cause you two are together, and the Doctor was grumbling about him." Courtney said. "You both think you're so discreet about it, but I've seen you snogging in classrooms more times than I can count."
Miss Oswald blushed then, holding back a frustrated sigh. "That's really none of your business."
"Maybe you shouldn't be kissin' him at school, then."
"Fair point." she said. "But, yes, I did tell him. So if you've got any questions about the Doctor, you come to me or him, okay? Something tells me the Doctor might be back for you someday. He doesn't show just anyone the stars."
It was the first time Courtney almost felt sorry for snooping in Miss Oswald's personal life. "Thanks, Miss Oswald."
"No problem. Get to class, okay?"
When she caught up with her friends later she was quiet. Leo pestered her a bit, but she didn't say anything. For once there wasn't any gossip, not about the two lovebirds. She was too busy thinking about space, about the stars.
It was October when the bad things started happening.
It was normal for Miss Oswald to come in with injuries sometimes - from adventures, she'd told Courtney. Saving worlds came at a cost.
The thing was, every day she looked haggard and exhausted. There were always plasters on her hands and arms, bags under her eyes, and something in the way she looked at her class every day was startling. Se looked at them like they were going to somehow disappear, like she'd look away for a moment and they'd be dead. It was horribly unsettling.
Courtney and Maisie were outside, watching Leo play chess with some of his friends, when they heard the funny noises.
It was a whirring, or a wheezing, almost. Courtney remembered that sounds from her trip to space; the blue box made those noises when it was trying to land or take off.
"What the hell was that?" Maisie, asked, glancing suspiciously at the caretaker's door. "What's he getting up to in there?"
Courtney shrugged. "How would I know? This caretaker's normal, not like Mr. Smith."
She wasn't surprised to see Clara emerge from the red doors a moment later. Something felt off about the way she was walking, holding her jacket tightly around her body.
"Come on," Courtney said, reaching for her bag. "I wanted to ask her something."
"You just want to snoop on her love life," Maisie accused.
"Do not!" Courtney said. "I talk to her sometimes, she's nice. I need to ask for an extension on the paper we're working on anyways, so come on!"
She hadn't been sure what she was expecting, but once they got to Miss Oswald's classroom it was worse than she'd thought. Miss Oswald was curled up on the ground, leaning against the wall as her tiny shoulders shook with sobs. There was an alarming amount of blood staining her dress.
"Oh my god…" Maisie gasped. "Miss Oswald, oh god, are you okay?! What happened?"
Courtney took a wary step towards her teacher, crouching so she was at eye level. "Miss Oswald, did someone hurt you? I can call 999 if you want - "
"No!" it was the first word she managed to get out, high-pitched and distressed. "No, no more doctors, please. No more."
Maisie was still in the doorway, wide-eyed. "But there's so much blood, Miss Oswald."
"It's not all mine."
Those four words shocked both girls into silence as Miss Oswald continued to quietly cry. Courtney could guess that this was the result of an adventure gone wrong, and she had no clue what to say. Did Miss Oswald want the Doctor back? Did she need her dad, maybe?
Mr. Pink appeared in the doorway then, taking in the sight and immediately going to Miss Oswald's side. "Clara? Clara, what did he make you do?"
Miss Oswald let out a broken sound, hiding her face against Mr. Pink's chest. "H-He… there was a rebellion, and all these children, and I-I…. god, so many of them died, and I couldn't save them. He wouldn't let me, we had to let that part of the t-town fall so we could win. There was one, though, that I…"
She dissolved into tears again, wailing like someone who had just had their heart shattered into a billion tiny fragments. Mr. Pink didn't even seem to notice the two girls staring in horror. He was too focused on Miss Oswald, shushing her and cradling her in his arms while she cried. When he finally looked up, he just looked defeated.
"She's going to be okay, girls, I promise." he told them. "I'll get her home, alright? Everything will be fine. Can one of you run to the office and tell them Miss Oswald is sick?"
Maisie nodded wordlessly, scurrying out of the room. Courtney hung back for a moment, watching the couple with concern.
"I think maybe he's to dangerous for her, Mr. Pink," she told him quietly.
He nodded in agreement. "I know."
"It was too much," Miss Oswald said suddenly. Her crying had finally slowed, just barely enough for her to speak. "He pushed me to far, it was too much for me to handle."
"I know, Clara, I know, but you're telling me and that's a good thing, okay? I'm going to get you home, patch you up, and then we'll talk about this."
Courtney stepped aside while he helped Miss Oswald to her feet, wrapping his jacket around her to hide the bloodstains. She knew she should've been excited; if anyone wanted proof that the two were going to end up married someday, this was it. The thing was… it was private. Courtney just felt sympathy for her English teacher.
As the two started to leave, Miss Oswald leaning heavily against Mr Pink, Courtney said, "He's good for you, you know."
"What?" Miss Oswald asked.
"Mr. Pink. The Doctor's too dangerous, but Mr. Pink… he's really good for you. You've got this special smile that's just for him, and my mum says people only smile at each other like that when they're in love."
Despite the situation, Mr. Pink chuckled. "I think you're onto something. Run along to class, okay? I'll take care of Miss Oswald."
She didn't see either one of them for days when the silver men came to Earth.
Cybermen, people said, and there was talk of an attack that she was too young to remember. There were things on the news about it, bits and pieces of the battlefield. People recorded bad videos on their phone, and her heart nearly stopped when she saw Miss Oswald and the Doctor there. She saw glimpses of someone who she thought might be Mr. Pink, too, and at night she found herself fearing for the lives of her teachers.
It wasn't a week until school was opened again, and when she got there neither one of her teachers were anywhere to be found.
They both showed up a few days later, battered, exhausted, and alive. Mr. Pink walked with a limp now, wincing when people hugged him too hard or grabbed his shoulder to get his attention. Miss Oswald nearly fell asleep in class, and she was so tired that she didn't even seem embarrassed about it at all.
It was different, though, when Courtney saw the two in the hallways. They held hands openly, smiling at each other the way long-lost lovers would, and when they had to part Mr. Pink leaned in for a quick kiss.
Courtney finally caught up with Miss Oswald in the school garden, too curious to be tactful. "Miss Oswald, what happened? You were there, weren't you?"
Miss Oswald sighed wearily. "I was, Courtney, and it wasn't an adventure. I'd rather not talk about it."
"What happened to Mr. Pink?"
Her face fell at that question. "He nearly died," she said. "The Cybermen, they tried to turn him into one of their own, but I made the Doctor reverse it. He owed me."
"He's not coming back anymore, is he?" Courtney asked.
"No." Miss Oswald said. There was something in her voice that was almost nostalgic and bittersweet. "In the old days, it was just me and him. Sorry, Him and I. But now… he's different, it's too dangerous, and I don't think I could lose Danny again. You know, I did love the Doctor. I still do, but it's a different kind of love than what I thought we'd had, and it's time I let him go." she glanced to Courtney, realizing how riveted the girl was. "… buuuut I shouldn't be telling you any of that, because it probably doesn't make sense."
"I don't mind." Courtney said, grinning. "It's the most interesting thing I've heard all day."
"Ah, yes, school gossip can get very boring, can't it?"
"Gossip? I don't know what you're talking about."
Miss Oswald just smiled at her, leaning in and lowering her voice. "Tell you what, I've got the best gossip that will ever go around in this school. After the battle with the Cybermen… well, let's just say that Danny asked me a very important question, and I said yes."
Courtney's face lit up at the news. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. Go on, then, you've got class to go to and your school friends to chat with! Don't let me keep you."
She nodded, turning to go. "Congratulations, Miss Oswald! Oh, thought I suppose I should start calling you Mrs. Pink now…"
Courtney fled then, giggling at Miss Oswald's halfhearted attempts to explain to the students nearby that Courtney was just teasing, but she didn't seem all that bothered.
By the end up that period, everyone had heard about how the maths teacher and getting engaged to the English teacher. Even Maisie was mildly impressed.
"Look at that," she said, passing the bottle of pink polish to Courtney as they sat outside, leaning against the school's old brick walls. "Nearly two years together and now they're engaged. Funny how that works, isn't it? You were right."
"I suppose so."
"Do you think they'll be happy?"
She just smiled in an all-knowing way, the kind that irritated Maisie to no end. "Yeah, I think they will."