The Doctor bit back another curse as he singed his fingers with the sonic again. That fellow that he used to be, with the big ears and leather jacket, would have made a much neater job of this, but he supposed it would have to do, and gave another touch with the sonic to ensure that the wire was firmly fixed. It wouldn't do for it to fall out and be lost.

"Doctor? Are you down there?" Clara's voice echoed through the control room.

"Stay right there - I'll be up in a moment," he replied, eyeing his creation critically and hoping she'd like it, and more - that she'd understand it.

"What've you been up to?" she asked, with affectionate suspicion.

"Me? Up to something?"

"Yeah. You're wearing your 'totally innocent' expression, which means you've been up to something."

"Something good, I hope," he said, gently taking her hand and depositing the contents of his own in her palm.

"What's this?" Clara asked, smiling delightedly as she examined the necklace. The delicate silver chain slithered through her fingers as she investigated the pendant. It was a simple river pebble, wrapped in silver wire. Except, simple river pebbles weren't brilliant blood red, at least not on Earth. "Gallifrey? It's from Gallifrey, isn't it?" she gasped, eyes widened with awe.

"Something from my past…and yours. Something to help you remember."

"Doctor," she whispered, overwhelmed, "this is a piece of your home. Are you sure you don't want to keep it?"

"I want you to have it. I want you to always be able to look back and see Gallifrey."

"All those beautiful colors…and a shining city under a crystal dome…"

"I want you to remember, too. I'm so, so tired of being the only one." He gently turned her around to clasp the necklace about her throat.

Clara turned back to the Doctor and looked up at him with shining eyes. "I don't know what to say."

"Strange as it may seem, coming from me, some things don't need words." He reached out to touch the pendant that nestled in the hollow of her throat. "I suppose a jeweler would have done a nicer, job, but I wanted to do it myself."

"It's perfect," Clara assured him. She felt the roughness of his fingertips and took his hand, turning it over and finding a couple of tiny burns and a small cut on one finger.

"Silly, old, clumsy Doctor," he murmured.

"You managed to do this to yourself, making a present for me?"

"You're worth it."

She smiled at him, then dipped her head to kiss his hand better.


It was just a few minutes past midnight, on Boxing Day, not really all that long after he'd given her the necklace. Not long for Clara, but a lifetime for the overly-tall, bowtie-wearing Doctor. A new Doctor lay stunned on the floor of the TARDIS. Clara knelt beside him, still shaking, with tears running down her cheeks, hoping that he really was all right.

Strange, new eyes slowly blinked up at her, and a strange, new face smiled. His hand reached up to touch her cheek softly. "My Clara." His gaze settled on the red, wire-wrapped stone at her throat and his fingers followed. "Home."

She wasn't sure if he meant her, or the TARDIS, or the tiny piece of Gallifrey that she wore around her neck, but it didn't much matter. They were together, and everything would be fine. No, better than fine…brilliant.