He calculated the day, but he'd gotten the time a bit wrong. Stepping out into her bedroom, the Doctor called her name and quickly realized she was still lying in bed, thick comforter bunched up around her head, a fluff of brown hair the only visible bit of his companion. With a grin, he moved around the bed and glanced at the clock, watching the number click to 4:39 in the morning and he brought a hand up, shifting the covers back to watch her sleep.
"Hey," he whispered, fingers of his right hand landing at the side of her head, stroking her hair away from her face before settling at her cheek, thumb brushing over it lovingly. "Clara?"
She opened her eyes and the smile she gave him made his hearts thump faster because it was genuine – the unfiltered reaction to his presence – and she nuzzled up into his palm slightly before shifting and asking him hoarsely, "What time is it?"
He laughed quietly and admitted, "Early."
"Is everything ok?" Clara asked, and he could see her eyes widening, concern beginning to truly wake her from slumber and he shook his head, hand stroking her hair.
"No, Clara," he told her honestly, "I just wanted to take you somewhere special…"
"Got the timing a bit off," she interrupted, and they shared a chuckle.
His hand drifted to her shoulder and he gave it a rub, nodding and telling her, "Come on."
"Sleep," she replied simply.
"You'll love it."
"I love sleep," Clara told him.
Small nod, he allowed, "We can do both."
Curling the sheets underneath her, he found the outline of her legs and slid an arm under them before moving the other just under her head and he lifted her off the bed as she sighed and said gently, "Doctor?"
"It's really special," he assured, carrying her into the Tardis, sheets and all, and lifted a foot to kick a lever and then knock a knob, smiling when her hands came up and clasped onto him as they were flung into the time vortex. He turned, chuckling at how she stared up at him, tired grin on her face dissolving into giggles of exhausted delirium just as they stopped and he turned back to the console, sending a single thought.
The doors opened and he slowly lowered himself to the ground, legs extending out of the Tardis and into space and he shifted Clara so she could lay comfortably against his shoulder, forehead nudging his cheek as she smiled out at the dark planet. She thought she recognized it and he watched that silent recognition work at her mind as he waited, but she remained quiet, blinking lazily down at it.
"Where are we?" She asked.
He nodded, "Earth."
Clara laughed, "You said this was special."
"This is special."
"It's Earth," she repeated, voice croaking.
The Doctor smiled and leaned slightly to get a better look at the smirk on her lips and the way she breathed steadily against him, still seemingly half asleep as she looked out at the darkened planet and he explained, "This is Earth, exactly twenty six years ago."
She straightened slightly, "Why would you bring me to Earth twenty six years ago?"
"Because down there, there's a woman whose spent the last nine months carrying a child and imagining every magical bit of her, from her tiny toes to the dark hair on her head. Down there, there's a man anxiously standing next to her just waiting to get his first glimpse at a baby he never knew he wanted so badly. Down there, together, they're holding hands and they're moments away from the most wondrous part of their life, about to begin." He watched the knowing grin slowly spreading on her face as he continued, watching the golden sphere beginning to illuminate the planet beneath them as the Tardis rotated along its axis, "And up here is a man, well, up here is a Time Lord who's grateful to know that as the sun rises, that baby girl is coming into the world at this exact moment in time because he knows who she'll become."
Clara dropped her head back on his shoulder and chuckled.
"Happy Birthday, Clara."