Fate's Game: Snippets
The Doctor was nervous. He had never felt so anxious before. The last time he felt this way was when he tried looking for a job at Cambridge and maybe some other situations far too insignificant to remember but meeting Clara's family was a completely different thing.
He had every right to be nervous – he was over twenty years older than Clara, probably the same age as her father or maybe the Doctor was a few years younger but, it didn't matter. He was still old. Aside from that, John was clearly a socially awkward man. How was he supposed to have a decent conversation with her family when he was sure he was going to act like a fish out of water?
Clara had told her family about the Doctor and her grandmother was the first to react, hugging her and happy that her granddaughter had finally found someone. Her father on the other hand, was a little skeptical. When she had told Dave Oswald she was being courted by a professor, he was thrilled. However, when he found out about John Smith's age, his face fell. Dave tried to hide it but Clara could see it in her father's eyes clearly. She assured him that she loved the Doctor and didn't care about his age and informed him they will get to meet each other in the near future.
Now, Clara and the Doctor were on their way to Blackpool.
John was lost in his thoughts, looking at the countryside the train was passing by before he felt a hand grasp his. He glanced at the person next to him, granting her a smile. He knew Clara could probably tell what was going on in his head.
"Doctor, there is no need for you be nervous. You're just meeting my family," she reasoned, squeezing his hand.
"And that's exactly the reason why I'm nervous," he replied, biting his thumb before Clara swatted his hand.
"If it makes you feel any better, my nan was over the moon when I told her I was in a relationship."
"Thank you, Clara, you've told me that before," the Doctor said and regretted it almost immediately when he saw how upset she looked. "Sorry… I… this isn't something I've ever done before."
She couldn't blame him for feeling the way he felt. A large part of his life was spent with numbers and equations and he barely interacted with anyone outside his short list of friends and not to mention, students.
"It's alright, Doctor. Just be your self and everything will be fine."
The couple arrived in Blackpool an hour later and took a carriage to Clara's home. The journey lasted for about 10 minutes before it came to a halt in front of a two-story house.
"Are you ready?" Clara asked and the Doctor merely nodded as a response.
They looked out the window before he stepped out of the carriage, holding out his hand for her to grasp onto when she hopped out.
She then noticed that the Doctor's tie was crooked to the side. "Your tie isn't straight," she murmured and straightened it.
"Thank you."
The coupled walked up the steps and stood in front of the door before Clara wrapped one arm around the Doctor's and was about to knock when suddenly, he spoke. "I think I left something in -"
The warning look she gave him made him stop talking. "Never mind," he uttered before she knocked on the door.
It swung open a few seconds later and they were face to face with Clara's step-mother, Linda. "Oh, you're here. I will go get Dave – come in," she said in a neutral tone.
The Doctor could see the loathing expression Clara and her step-mother exchanged. She wasn't kidding when she said she didn't get along well with her father's wife.
"Clara…" John said as they stepped inside.
"I'm fine," she said quickly and changed the subject. "Welcome to my humble abode."
The house itself wasn't small, but not big either. It seemed large enough for a family of three.
"Where is my lovely granddaughter and the gentleman who has managed to capture her heart?" the couple heard a woman say as they walked into the living room.
Clara turned around and beamed at her grandmother who emerged from the hallway. "Nan!" she chimed and hugged her.
"And this must be the Doctor," she said after they had parted. "Clara has been raving about you non-stop when she came home just two months ago."
John blushed before he kissed her hand. "Thank you and it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Right, why don't you two have a seat while I check on the food," Clara's grandmother said and winked at Clara.
The Doctor took a seat next to Clara on the sofa. "See, it's not that bad. Nan loves you already."
He granted a shy smile and nodded before they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A moment later, Dave Oswald emerged and the couple immediately rose from the sofa.
"Clara," her father said with a smile as she hugged him.
"Dad," she uttered once they parted. "This is the Doctor. Doctor, this is my father."
Dave's smile faded as his facial expression became neutral.
"I'm John Smith," John said as he shook hands with her father.
"Dave Oswald."
The Doctor could feel the awkwardness in the air and he was sure everyone else could too. It was made even worse when Linda joined in but they were saved by Clara's grandmother.
She held a plate of a whole chicken in her hand as she set in on the table. "Who's hungry?" she asked, oblivious of the awkward silence in the air.
Lunch was what John would describe as casual, making small talk about Clara's work, her current accommodation, London and finally, the Doctor.
"Clara tells me you work as a professor at Cambridge," Dave said, cutting a slice of chicken. "What is it like?"
John felt Clara place a hand on this knee and he coughed, taking a quick glance at her. "Well, my work consists of research and giving lectures about certain topics in Mathematics, ranging from Vector Spaces to Vector Calculus to algebraic logic."
Dave cocked an eyebrow. "Algebraic logic? I'm not familiar with that term."
"Algebraic logic has a number of subtopics but I specialise in two-element Boolean algebra. It involves two values, zero and one. Using those two values, we can add or multiply them and since the operation is binary, the outcome will always be either zero or one, depending on the arithmetic. One usually represents true and zero, false. I think the system would work great on machines."
Once the Doctor had finished his explanation, everyone stared at him in awe and Clara couldn't help but look down as she bit her lower lip, trying not to grin. Pride was evident on her face. John on the other hand, looked puzzled.
"Well," Clara's grandmother was the first one to speak. "I have a feeling my great-grandchild will be a genius if this is the sort of thing the Doctor works with."
At the mention of having a child, John nearly choked on his food before reaching over for a glass of water to clear his throat. Clara was just as shocked, eyes wide, staring at her grandmother.
"Nan!" she hissed.
Her grandmother merely huffed. "What? Nobody is getting any younger and I've always wanted a great-grandchild."
John exchanged looks with Clara before he stared at his plate of food. The idea of marrying Clara had already popped into his mind but children, it hadn't crossed his mind until today.
"So, Dad, how was your trip to Leeds last week?" Clara asked, changing the subject, gently patting the Doctor's thigh.
With lunch over and the women busy clearing the table, a one to one chat with Dave Oswald was inevitable.
"Clara told me that she met you in London."
"Yes, we bumped into each other at the train station and met again during dinner at my friend's home."
"Lord Lethbridge-Stewart, you mean," Dave queried even though he knew the answer.
"Yes," John answered and hoped the whole ordeal would be over soon.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Clara's grandmother was busy raving about the Doctor.
"I can see why you fell for him, Clara, dear," she said, washing a dish before handing it over to her granddaughter. "He's such a handsome man, wouldn't you agree, Linda?"
"Yes," Linda said in an automated tone, putting away the silverware.
"And not to mention intelligent. What a perfect combination," she sighed dreamily.
"Nan, don't speak too loud. He'll hear you," Clara giggled.
At around half past four, the couple decided to leave so they could catch their train back to London. Clara said her goodbyes to her family and left with the Doctor. They reached the station just in time and boarded the service to King's Cross.
John was unusually quite as they sat next to each other so she decided to speak. "It wasn't as bad as you thought it was, am I right, Doctor?"
He finally cracked a smile, reaching for her hand and kissing it. "No, it wasn't that bad at all," he replied, remembering the conversation he had with her father.
"Look, Doctor, I love Clara so very much. She is my only daughter, my only child and the last thing I want to see is her getting hurt," Dave explained. "But, if there is one thing I'm sure of now, it is that you wouldn't hurt her, not after what I saw today."
The Doctor nodded and said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"I thought you were just an old man trying to take advantage of a young woman and you have proven me wrong today and I apologise for thinking that way," he continued. Dave glanced at the kitchen, he could hear their muffled voices. "I know that you have been courting her for sometime now and ready to be committed."
"Mr Oswald-"
"No, let me finish. Clara loves you and I hope you will love her more. I want to see her happy and so, you have my blessing."
"Thank you," the Doctor said, beaming for the first time since he arrived at Blackpool.
"I certainly had a wonderful time meeting your family," he murmured as the couple beamed at each other.
Since I will not be able to post multi-chapter stories on a regular basis starting from October until June or July of next year (relies greatly on how jet-lagged I am), I've decided to write a multi-chapter story that consists of one-shots that take place after the ending of Fate's Game. I can't promise I will be able to post updates regularly but I will try to write one chapter each month since I do have other Whouffaldi one-shots in mind. I hope you will have a wonderful time reading this series.