Clara jumped up from her seat on the bottom step as soon as she heard the door bell ring accompanied by three knocks on the door in quick succession. She tried to dull down her facial expression so it didn't look too excited before opening the door, smiling warmly.
"Chin." She acknowledged, nodding her head at him.
"Hello Clara!" The Doctor greeted her cheerfully, giving her a big child like grin. Unable to contain herself, Clara's smile widened as the doctor pulled her into a hug.
"So," Clara spoke as they pulled out of the hug, "Where are we off to today?"
The Doctor grinned and trotted off towards the TARDIS. "Well," he began as he paused to open the door. "I thought we could pop down to Manhattan in the late 40's/ early 50's sound good?" He suggested.
Clara grinned happily and nodded her head. She'd always loved that time period as they showed it in films and what not, and she couldn't wait to take a look first hand. "Sounds brilliant, Doctor." She replied.
The Doctor smiled warmly at her, pausing for a moment before throwing the TARDIS doors open and stepping inside towards the console. Clara followed excitedly after him, a small smile on her face as she watched him dart around the console, flicking different switches and pulling levers and pushing buttons, making the TARDIS whir to life.
"Have I got something on my face?" The Doctor asked, touching his cheek self consciously, noticing Clara looking at him.
"What? No!" Clara hastily replied, before smiling. "It's just that I've always wanted to go America in the early 50's, ever since I was a little kid, I just love the way they dress and the dancing." She explained a faraway look in her eye.
The Doctor grinned. "It's always been the dancing for me." He said, before turning away and flipping the last switch, making the TARDIS shake and whir as it took off. In the seconds of stillness, Clara looked over at the Doctor who smiled excitedly at her, before they were flung against the railing as the TARDIS landed.
The Doctor jumped up and clapped his hands. "Right! We're here!" He pulled the screen towards him and checked the information on it. "Just outside Manhattan, 1948." He read aloud, turning to look at Clara and putting his thumbs up as she laughed. "Right, there are some 50's style clothes in your wardrobe already prepared, so, let's say, 15 minutes?" He asked, checking his watch. Clara grinned and nodded, starting to head towards the door, before stopping and turning around again.
"Wait, the TARDIS doesn't like me." She said, turning to the Doctor.
"Yeah...?" He asked, not quite getting what she was saying.
"I don't know where my room is, she's probably moved it since I last found it, seeing as she did dump me in the swimming pool." Clara explained.
"Ah..." The Doctor agreed. "Yes. Well, if I go with you she might be good, but I went in there earlier to check the clothes were there so..." He walked past Clara into the corridor, turning around when he noticed she wasn't following him. "Well come on, then!" He said, exasperated, nodding his head down the corridor.
Clara nodded and followed him as they turned down about ten different corridors. Eventually, though, they stopped, and the Doctor gestured towards a metal door. "Ta da!" He exclaimed. Clara grinned and pushed the button to open the door, standing in the doorway, facing the Doctor.
"How will I know how to get back?" Clara asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, my bedroom's just next door so I'll wait until you've done if you'd like." He suggested, smiling warmly at her.
She nodded, satisfied, and stepped inside her room. "Don't be too long!" She heard the Doctor shouting after her as she shut the door.
15 minutes later the doctor was waiting outside Clara's door, fidgeting with his sonic screwdriver impatiently. He began to pace up and down the space between the rooms, tapping his fingers against the back of his hand behind him as he walked. After about 5 minutes of this pacing, he stopped and walked up to Clara's door and rapped sharply on it.
"How much longer are you gonna be?" He whined, pouting. He heard Clara's light laugh from inside the room.
"Hang on a sec I'm nearly done. I'll meet you in the console room." She replied, her voice muffled by the metal door between her and the Doctor.
"Are you sure you'll know the way?" The Doctor asked uncertainly.
"Oh I'll be fine chin, I'll meet you down there." Clara assured him, amusement clear in her voice.
"Ok... well... hurry up." The Doctor replied, striding down the corridors and waiting by the TARDIS console quite patiently for him, counting down the seconds in his head.
148 seconds later the door opened to reveal a grinning Clara. "How do I look?" She asked, giving him a twirl.
She was wearing a pencil grey dress that flowed out down to her knees under a black belt that clinched around her waist. Her dark brown hair was down, wavy around her shoulders. She was wearing black heeled single strap shoes and her make-up was done carefully, her red lipstick contrasting with her largely colourless outfit to bring attention to her face.
The Doctor nodded in approval. "Brilliant." He answered, smiling up at her as she descended the steps.
"You don't look too bad yourself." Clara commented, nodding down to his attire.
He had replaced his usual purple tweed jacket and waistcoat combination for a white shirt under a pencil grey waistcoat with black buttons with a matching suit and trousers, and of course, a black bowtie. His hair was styled in the usual sideways swept quiff arrangement, and he was wearing sophisticated black shoes.
"Do you just have the same outfit in different colours?" Clara asked teasingly as she approached him. "You and your bow ties." She muttered, reaching up to straighten it for him. She stayed like that for a moment, her hands on his shoulders, she looked up at him and he gave her a small smile. She caught herself looking into his eyes for a small second too long, and took a step back.
"Sometimes I do vary things up a bit." The Doctor defended himself. Clara smiled.
"How so?" She asked, tilting her head adorably and smiling slightly, her dimples taking their rightful place on her cheeks. The Doctor caught himself smiling at the sight of them and snapped himself out of it.
"Well... I...err..." He stuttered, looking at his outfit for help. "Ah! Different shoes!" He declared; a triumphant smile on his face. "And sometimes," He added, reaching behind the TARDIS console. "A fez!" He finished, placing the bright red hat on his head and grinning childishly. Clara laughed and shook her head at his childishness and the Doctor chuckled, placing the fez back on the console again.
"Shall we?" He asked, holding out his arm and smiling. Clara grinned and took her place at his side, holding onto his arm.
"We shall." She replied, grinning up at him.
The Doctor smiled at her excited expression and nodded his head, leading her out of the TARDIS doors and into the streets of Manhattan.
As they were sat by the lake in Central Park, having a rather brilliant picnic, Clara thought back to the day's events. The Doctor had hired a motorbike, which they had ridden into New York on, reminding her of when they were going to the cafe to have breakfast the first time she met him. She recalled how they'd strolled down the streets lined with shops, acting like a proper married British couple, earning fond looks off the many passersby, and laughing at each other's accents.
And she smiled fondly in remembrance of when the Doctor had eagerly pulled her into an electronics shop, looking like an excited kid in a toy shop and telling her the progress in technology after the war, and how he had danced with her joyfully when a classic song was broadcast through the speakers and how he'd span her around and hugged her with delight when the song had finished, and how he'd looked at her in those few moments after with a smile and warm eyes.
Clara sighed, content, as she finished her picnic. She'd loved it all, watching the people go about their day to day lives in their outfits and words and hair styles and the after war spirit and hope, and all the shops selling all sorts of things that made her giggle, and that the time she'd seen in oh so many films, that she knew she could never go to, was right where she was. So all in all, Clara reflected, a very good day indeed.
As they were packing up Clara realised how grateful she was for the day, and how it would never have been possible without the Doctor. And then she realised how none of the travelling she had done in the past year would've been possible without the Doctor. She turned to him, smiling.
"Thanks, Doctor." She said gratefully, hugging him.
"For what?" He asked, slightly startled, dropping the basket and putting his arms around her.
"Just..." She paused, nuzzling into him and sighing contently. "For being you." She finished.
The Doctor chuckled happily, lifting her up and spinning her around as they both laughed, carefree, just enjoying the time they had.
Amy Williams was walking through Central Park holding hands with her husband, Rory, and watching their son John walk curiously in front of them, eyes wide at the lush green park he was in. As she strolled down the wide concrete path adorned with benches and trees on either side, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth, she let her gaze wander to her surroundings.
Her gaze flickered over the field to their right, seeing families laughing and playing catch and various other games to make the most of the time they had. Further towards the river, on the other side of the field, she spied what looked like a young couple packing up a picnic they had been having and chatting happily and she smiled.
Just as she was about to look away she noticed the male wearing what looked like a bow tie and a dark grey with tails flaring as he span around, gathering the last of the plates. She stopped walking suddenly, her heart skipping a beat.
"John!" Amy heard Rory shout to their son, telling him to stop. She didn't register anything, not even Rory tugging on her hand and asking what was wrong. She just stared at the young man, noticing the hair, the shoes, and most importantly, the chin.
It was like the world stopped, and the only thing in it was the young couple and their picnic. She stared as they hugged, remembering when she had freed a star whale from a lifetime of pain and she understood him, and how it felt to hug him like that. She watched as he picked the young woman up and span her around, memories of adventures that seemed like a lifetime ago flashing before Amy's eyes, like the world was going in slow motion.
She let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, and suddenly the world sped up again. "Doctor..." She mumbled, her heart beating faster. "Doctor." She stated more firmly, glancing at Rory. Desperation to see him again overwhelmed her suddenly, to hug him and fix his stupid little bow tie again, and before she knew what she was doing she found herself running across the field towards him.
"DOCTOR!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. A few of the families looked startled at the noise, turning to give her looks, but that didn't matter. He turned around and let go of the female, noticing Amy and smiling brightly. She didn't even look to see where Rory and John were, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that it was him; it was really him, her raggedy man.
The Doctor put Clara down when he heard a familiar Scottish voice shouting his name, turning to see Amy sprinting towards him like he was the finish line to a marathon.
"Is that Amy?" Clara asked from beside him. "It's Amy and Rory, isn't it?" She realised excitedly. The Doctor just looked at her and nodded, grinning.
"AMY AND RORRYYY!" He shouted as they got closer, throwing his arms out to hug Amy, who launched herself at him and he span her around.
"I thought I'd never see you again." Amy mumbled into his ear, tears beginning to spill out of her eyes.
"Neither did I." The Doctor replied, his voice cracking a little, pulling away and looking at her, a sad smile on his face. "Thankfully the universe was feeling kind today." He said softly. He pulled out of the hug and kissed her forehead before turning to the man next to her.
"Rory!" He exclaimed, giving him a bro hug and putting a hand to his cheek, smiling fondly. He looked at them both, smiling happily. "The Ponds, just as they should be, alive and together." He noticed a young boy standing behind Rory, peering out from behind his legs.
"Oh, this is John." Rory explained, holding his hand and leading him in front of him. "We adopted him from the orphanage when he was a baby, he's nearly 6 now." The Doctor looked between Amy and Rory, smiling happily with tear filled eyes.
"John Pond." He said approvingly, bending down to the young boy's eye level. "Hello." He smiled, ruffling his hair fondly.
"Hi." John replied, smiling a little, before running to his mum and hugging her.
"He's shy." Amy explained, laughing through her tears and ruffling her son's hair. She sniffed and John looked up, a look of concern on his face.
"Why is mummy crying?" He asked, turning to his dad.
"They're happy tears, John. Very happy tears." Amy answered, smiling.
They stood for a while in nostalgic silence, smiling happily at each other, The Doctor's hands clasped behind his back and smiling fondly at them.
Clara shifted her position slightly, a smile on her face. She knew how much the Ponds meant to the Doctor, and she knew how important it was that he got to say a proper goodbye after spending all those years in a cloud.
"Sorry... but do I know you from somewhere?" Amy asked Clara uncertainly, noticing her movements.
"Umm... yeah you do, but I didn't think you would from my appearance." Clara answered, smiling at her. A look of recognition flashed across Rory's face.
"Oswin!" He exclaimed.
"Nina." Clara replied, nodding and smiling.
"Oswin!?" Amy asked. "But you got blown up with the Dalek... thingy." She said, moving her hands about.
"Ah, yes, Oswin did, but this isn't actually Oswin you see." The Doctor butted in. When all he got were looks of confusion, he expanded a bit. "THIS," He said, putting an arm around Clara's shoulders and tugging her towards him, "Is Clara Oswin Oswald, the original Oswin, if you like."
"My middle name's not actually Oswin, though." She added, smiling.
"But... how come she's the original Oswin, if she's not called Oswin?" Rory asked, still confused, as was Amy, by the incredulous look on her face.
"Well... it's complicated..." The Doctor began, wafting it off with a flap of his hand.
"Basically we went to Trenzalore, bad idea, and The Doctor was dying and the only way we could stop it was if I jumped into his time stream and scattered myself along his timeline to save him." Clara explained in one breath, shrugging and smiling sweetly.
It took a moment for Amy and Rory to take in what she said, but they finally nodded; kind of understanding.
"So... Oswin Oswald was just a... Version... Of Clara Oswald, you, who was basically created to save the Doctor." Rory summed up.
"Yeah, basically." The Doctor and Clara both said in unison, nodding. They realised what just happened and looked at each other quizzically, the Doctor taking his arm away from Clara's shoulders and stepping away.
"But how did you know you'd survive?" Amy asked, stepping forward.
"Umm... Well... I didn't... It was kind of lucky, I guess." Clara replied, frowning.
"Lucky!? So, me jumping back into my own TIME STREAM just to get you out alive was LUCKY!?" The Doctor asked incredulously.
"Well, no, but even you didn't know if it would work, so it was a bit." Clara reasoned with him.
The Doctor was having none of it. "And you didn't even thank me for it." He turned away from her and folded his arms.
"Well, I thought we were even!" Clara protested. "I mean, I did save you at least a few million times, I didn't think I needed to say thank you."
"Well... you..." The Doctor stammered turning and squinting at Clara accusingly. "Oh, shut up." He finished, flustered, knowing she was right.
Amy giggled. "You're like an old married couple." She observed. The Doctor and Clara froze and turned, eyes wide, to face Amy. She took a step back with her hands up. "Ooh ok, touchy subject!" Clara shook her head, turning her face away, laughing and smiling.
"What's so funny?" The Doctor asked, fixing his bow tie angrily.
She peeked at him from under her hair and laughed again. "You're hopeless." She answered, fondly. The Doctor smiled, fixing his bowtie proudly this time and smoothing down his hair.
"She's right you know," Amy pointed out, "You really are hopeless."
The Doctor gasped, faking and offended look. "Hush, Pond." Amy giggled.
"Oh come here, you." She said, stepping towards him with her arms outstretched. The Doctor laughed and hugged her warmly, burying his face into her neck and swaying them gently from side to side. The Doctor put another arm out for Rory, pulling him to join the hug. Eventually, he pulled away, holding them at arm's length and looking at them affectionately.
"Listen, look after yourselves." He murmured, kissing them each on the forehead. "Have a good life."
"We will, Doctor." Rory said as they pulled away from the embrace, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you." He added, sincerely. The Doctor knew what he meant and nodded, smiling at him.
"It was nice meeting you again Clara." Amy called, waving and smiling at her.
"You too." Clara agreed, smiling and nodding at her.
Amy turned to the Doctor. "Bye." She said softly, kissing his cheek. "I'm glad you're not lonely." She paused to take one last look at him before walking away with Rory, John bumbling after them. The Doctor smiled and nodded, her words touching his heart.
Clara and the Doctor watched the Pond's figures getting smaller and smaller as they walked away, the Doctor putting an arm around her. When they were a safe distance away, Clara spoke. "Was this your plan, to hope you'd see them?" She asked. The Doctor nodded.
"I got to say good bye to them, to see that they're happy. That's more than I ever could've asked for. Looks like the universe was feeling kind today." And he watched the first face this face ever saw submerge into the New York crowd, along with her husband and son, knowing he could never ever see them again. "The universe was kind today" He repeated softly.