Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, yadda yadda. I hope you enjoy!
"What could I have done to make you stay?" Clara asked Danny, voice cracking at the rare show of weakness.
"Nothing," Danny said coolly, without looking into Clara's eyes.
Clara straightened up, wiped her eyes. Cleared her throat. She spoke. "Okay then." She started to gather her things.
Danny sighed. "Don't do that."
"What, leave?" Clara said. "Like you have a leg to stand on on that front."
Danny finally met her gaze with a cold stare.
"I didn't mean…."
"I know what you meant," Danny said. "Don't go."
Clara stopped and turned to him. She didn't speak, though. She was waiting for him to explain himself.
"Clara, I had to go," Danny said. "I had to do this."
"You didn't have to do any of this!" Clara exclaimed. "You chose this. You chose to go. You chose to leave me."
"It isn't that simple…"
"Danny, I committed to you," Clara said. "I did what you wanted. I gave you everything, Danny! I was in this one hundred percent. You didn't have to leave this. You chose to. You chose to back out."
"You don't understand…"
"Of course I don't, because you never talked to me!" Clara said. "You up and left. You left me a voicemail telling me where you'd gone and that was it. Danny what the hell?"
Danny was quiet for a long while. "Please don't go," he said quietly. "Please."
Clara took in the heavy silence in the room. She knew Danny was looking at her, desperate for eye contact, but her eyes scanned the room. Blinds partially obscured the windows, but she could see through them into the dark London night. The machines surrounding Danny were beeping, proving that his heart was still beating. The fluorescent lights buzzed, even though it was so late that everyone else in the hospital wing was sleeping.
Clara took a breath and it hitched in her throat. "Danny what the hell were you thinking?"
"I don't know," he said, voice soft and pained. "But right now I'm thinking that I'm scared and hurt and so, so in love with you. I'm thinking that I know it isn't fair, but if I could I'd be on my knees begging you to stay. Please stay, at least for the night. Please."
Clara looked at him through teary eyes. She walked back up to his bedside.
"You're okay," she said. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around him as best as she could. She kissed his forehead and wiped his tears. "You're okay, Danny. It's alright."
He shook in her arms, full-on sobs unlike she'd ever heard from him before. She didn't care that she was tired, she didn't care that she was angry, she didn't care that she was uncomfortable. She stood there, holding him, until he fell asleep, and then for a little longer after that.
-DW-
Clara woke up to the blinds being opened completely and light streaming in.
"It's a sunny day, what a treat," a nurse said to Clara as she saw her waking. "You must be his wife."
Clara sat up in the uncomfortable hospital chair, nodding. "Yeah, I am."
"It took us a while to get in contact with you," the nurse said. "By the time we got a hold of you, he'd been here for three days."
"I was travelling," Clara said.
"Well, you're here now," the nurse said, smiling supportively. She nodded at Danny. "He got really lucky, you know. The injuries that come through here…I've seen a lot worse."
"I know," Clara said, watching the nurse take Danny's vitals.
"The doctor will be in soon for some post-op examination, then later we'll have a physical therapist start on some exercises."
"So soon?" Clara asked. "Is he ready for that?"
The nurse nodded. "Oh, absolutely. He'll be back on his feet in no time."
Clara gave her a look.
"I'm sorry," the nurse said sincerely.
Clara sighed. "It's fine. I did the same thing yesterday."
The nurse smiled appreciatively at Clara's graciousness. She finished taking Danny's vital signs. "If you need anything, hit the button," she said, bowing out of the room.
Clara watched her leave then refocused on Danny. She'd slept huddled awkwardly in the chair, hand in Danny's. Her hand was still in Danny's. She sat up, now unable to go back to sleep, and watched him as he slept.
-DW-
"Clara!" Danny called out in his sleep.
Clara sprang up. "Hey, Danny, I'm here." She squeezed his hand and with her other, stroked his cheek, which always helped to comfort him.
His eyes popped open and he scanned the room immediately, as if he was unsure of where he was.
"I'm here," Clara said in a soothing tone.
Danny took a few deep breaths to settle down. "I'm sorry," he said.
She tried to pick the right words to respond with, but settled on a supportive smile. "The nurse said that you're starting physical therapy today. That's good."
Danny made a not excited face. "Yeah, I'm thrilled."
"You're on the road to recovery," Clara said. "You can get out of here soon."
"Things won't be the same," Danny said.
Clara felt a heaviness in her chest. She knew that he wasn't just talking about the physical therapy. "Don't say that just yet," she said finally. "Work at it and see what happens."
Danny had a slight shine in his eyes. He looked the slightest bit hopeful.
"Your leg will get better," Clara continued, both proud of herself in that moment and ashamed. It was a weird mix. "These are the best doctors in Britain, the nurse said you'd be up and at it in no time."
Danny was silent for a moment, just long enough to be uncomfortable and a bit awkward. "I'm one of the lucky ones," he said. "Guys come home from over there with their legs blown off. I've got mine. Yeah, they had bits of shrapnel in them but they're there."
Clara looked away from him and stared at his hand in hers. "What was it like? When it happened?"
"I don't remember a lot," Danny said. "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was patrolling and there were these kids playing with a football. I stopped for a bit to watch them, and a few hundred meters up, an IED went off. I don't know…I don't know what happened to the kids. I was on the ground, bleeding out, and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to here."
Clara didn't know what to say, so she said nothing.
"I tried to ask about them, but no one knew who they were. They were just kids playing around, you know? We weren't meant to keep tabs on them," he said. "I think they're okay, though. I think I saw them run away. They were behind a wall, and I was on the other side of the street and there wasn't a wall on my side. I got hit but the wall could've protected them."
"You saw them run away…" Clara said, wanting Danny to believe that they were alright. She wanted to believe it, too.
"If I hadn't stopped to watch them play, I would have died," Danny said. "I was in a warzone and the only thing that saved my life was a group of kids kicking around a football."
"We can't question why people live and why people die," Clara said. "Trust me, I've seen it. There's no reason why."
"I know," Danny said. "I've seen it too. It's just hard."
"I know."
They sat in silence for a bit. Eventually, a doctor walked in.
"Okay, Mr. Pink, I'm going to take you down for physical therapy," the doctor said. He turned to Clara. "You're welcome to wait up here, Mrs. Pink."
Clara stood up. "I think I'm going to run home, have a shower." She saw the look that Danny was giving her. "I'll be back by the time you're done, though."
Danny smiled. "I'll see you then."
-DW-
Clara walked into their house. It felt like she hadn't been there in a while, even though she was there the night before.
The house felt empty, but it had for a while. It felt empty since Danny left all those months before.
She walked around, seeing the house through new eyes. Now that Danny was back, it felt different. Before he left it felt like their home. After he left, it felt like a hotel, somewhere Clara was only staying in temporarily and like she'd be home soon. Eventually it stopped feeling like she'd be home soon, and more like she wasn't going to be home for a while.
The house wasn't lived-in anymore. Before Danny left, it felt like a family house. Then he left and parts of the house became clearly untouched. There were corners that Clara didn't venture in, rooms that had more traces of him than her, and now just felt empty.
But now that Danny was back, the empty spaces had a weird atmosphere to them, they felt different. It didn't feel like home but it didn't have that hotel feel anymore. It was somewhere in between, like it felt like its fate hadn't been decided yet.
She went to the bathroom and got undressed, then went into a shower that was probably too hot to be comfortable. She stood in there probably longer than she needed to and tried not to think. She took deep breaths and tried to wash the hospital off of her, even though she knew that was pointless because she was going back.
-DW-
"How did physical therapy go?" Clara asked Danny.
"It went fine," he said.
Clara watched him as he ate his lunch. The hospital food did not look appealing.
"Do you want some?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, thank you."
"Come on, have you eaten at all in the past day?" Danny asked. "You should eat something."
"I said no," she said.
There was another silence then Danny spoke. "They want to do physical therapy four times a week but I should be out of here soon," Danny said. "A few days, they think."
"That's good."
"Yeah," Danny agreed. "Once I get walking, I'll be out of here."
"Is there anyone I can call?" Clara asked.
Danny gave her a confused look. "For what?"
"For you," Clara said. "Danny, I'm glad you're okay, I am. But I can't do this."
"What?"
"There is so much between us that isn't resolved and this doesn't change that," Clara said.
"Clara look at me," Danny said. "I'm in the bloody hospital."
"I know," Clara said. "And this isn't easy but I can't be here."
"Where are you going to go?"
"Home," Clara said. "I have work, I have a life. Life went on after you left, Danny."
"Where am I supposed to go?" Danny said. "I'll be out in a few days, where am I supposed to go?"
"I don't…" Clara struggled to say. "I don't know."
"I live with you, Clara," Danny said. "I'm your husband."
"Fine, then come home," Clara said. "Get better, get well then come home."
Danny looked at her for a long moment. "Call my mate, Tom. He's an old army buddy but he lives in London and he runs a sports shop. He'll come round."
"I'll call him," Clara said. She leaned in and kissed Danny's forehead. "I'm really glad that you're alright."
"I love you, Clara."
Clara didn't say anything. She just sort of nodded at him, then left. He watched her go.
-DW-
Clara walked in the front door and heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS. She walked through the house to the living room and saw the Doctor leave the blue box.
"Not right now, Doctor, I'm not in the mood."
"You look like you could use an adventure," the Doctor said.
"No, quite the opposite," Clara said. "I could use things being normal."
"I thought you might say that," the Doctor said. He extended his arm out to her, presenting her with a bottle of red wine.
Clara sat in the living room, glass of wine in one hand and phone in the other.
The TARDIS sounded and the box appeared in the room.
The Doctor walked out and took a look at Clara.
"Isn't it a bit early for that?" he asked. He looked at the bottle. "You've already gone through half of it."
Clara didn't speak, instead she played a voicemail for the Doctor:
"Hey, Clara, it's me. Danny. I don't know how to tell you this but I re-enlisted a little while ago
and I got called in to go. So, I'm leaving. I'm on the train now, going to ship out. I'll be back in
in six months. Clara…I'm sorry. I need to do this. I'm sorry and I love you. I love you so much,
Clara. Please try to understand that I needed to do this. I told the school that I'd be gone,
everything is set up. It's only six months, love. I love you. Alright. Goodbye."
"I don't understand," the Doctor said.
"Join the club."
"Why did he need to go?"
Clara shook her head. "A mate of his from when he was over there died recently…" she said. "I went with him to the funeral. It was hard but I thought he was okay. I guess I was wrong."
"When did he leave?"
"Today," Clara said. "I came home and he wasn't here, but I had this voicemail from him."
"What are you going to do?" the Doctor asked.
Clara shrugged. "I don't know. But for tonight, I'm just going to drink for a while."
"Do you want some company?"
Clara gave the Doctor a look. A few years prior, around the time Clara got serious with Danny, she decided to travel a lot less. Sometimes when she travelled, Danny went with them. Sometimes, the Doctor would just come over to hang out. Still, usually she had to ask him to come. He rarely offered.
"Yeah, sure," Clara said. "I'll get you a glass."
Clara went into the kitchen and got two glasses.
"So, I'm assuming you've heard about Danny?" Clara asked.
The Doctor nodded as he poured out two glasses.
"Thanks for coming."
"How are you?" the Doctor asked.
"Danny's going to be home in a few days, they think," Clara continued, ignoring the question. "He's going to need a lot of physical therapy for a while, but he'll be okay."
"He's coming here?"
Clara nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
Clara shook her head. "I don't know. I called one of his mates from the army, he's going to take care of him while I'm here. I just needed to get away. I need time to think about everything."
"Are you going to leave him?"
"What?" Clara snapped immediately.
"You know what I mean," the Doctor asked. "Divorce him. Find a new, younger, hotter guy, marry him."
"Of course not!" Clara said.
"Does Danny know that?"
"It's complicated."
"How is it complicated?" the Doctor asked. "The guy gets blown halfway to bits-."
"Stop."
"And you're stringing him along?"
"I said stop!" Clara yelled. "I know he's been through a lot but I'm not just going to forgive him immediately because he almost…because of what happened. That doesn't erase all of our issues from before."
"And what were those issues?"
Clara gave the Doctor an incredulous look. "Are you a therapist now or what?"
"I just want to help."
"I told you, it's complicated. I'm trying to figure it out."
The Doctor kept quiet, knowing that she didn't want him to talk.
"You know, I didn't know for sure that I wouldn't leave Danny until I said it just now," she said. "For the past few months, I've been waiting for him to come home and we could deal with it. I didn't know what would happen. I definitely didn't think that this would happen. But when he left…it just hurt. I thought it could be the end."
"But it isn't?"
"I don't want it to be," Clara admitted. "I love him, Doctor. He's my husband, I want to be with him forever. He's the man I'm supposed to be with, he's the man I'm supposed to have a family with. I don't know how it went wrong."
"It's not all wrong," the Doctor said. "Once I told a friend that life was a pile of good things and a pile of bad things. Just because the bad pile is pretty big, that doesn't mean that the good pile doesn't exist."
Clara lifted her glass. "Here's to the good pile, I guess."
The Doctor touched his glass to Clara's. "Cheers."
So this plot just jumped into my brain last night and I liked it a lot. I like Clara and Danny's relationship so I figured this would be a fun AU to kind of throw a wrench in it and see what happens. So, let me know what you think please!
