Clara watched Rose Tyler interacting with the past Doctor - the War Doctor, as the others called him, while her own Doctor looked on, a wistful smile playing over his face. She felt a pang of jealousy, which she tamped down ruthlessly. This was most definitely not the time to behave like a petty schoolgirl with a crush.

"She never stops loving me," a voice mused from beside her. "And I can't imagine a time when I'd ever stop loving her." The previous Doctor, the one in the pinstriped suit, smiled kindly at Clara. "But you…you're someone from my future, isn't that right?"

Clara smiled faintly. "Yes."

"But you seem a bit familiar, somehow." He studied her intently.

"It's…complicated."

"Story of my life! I'm sorry - we haven't been properly introduced. I'm the Doctor."

"Yes, I know," Clara said, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle a fit of the giggles.

"Is that a smile? Yep, that's a smile!" he crowed delightedly. "But you still haven't told me your name."

"I'm Clara."

"Ooohhh…why do I still feel like I should know you?"

"Like I said…complicated." Her gaze drifted back to Rose and the other Doctors.

The pinstriped Doctor slumped a little closer to Clara. "You do understand," he said conspiratorially, "the fact that he - I - we - will always love her, is completely separate from whatever he feels for you. Whatever has grown between you, from your shared experiences, and I suspect it's quite a lot, is in no way diminished or undermined by Rose, or anyone else we've loved before. Can you understand that?"

"Goes along with having two hearts and being a thousand years old, right?"

He nodded.

"I really am trying. It's just a lot to wrap my head around."

"Silly little human brains. Infinite courage and love and compassion, held back by tiny little human brains. Just you wait until your mental processes catch up with the rest of you…"

He became aware that Clara was staring at him rather crossly.

"Oh. That didn't come out quite right, did it?"

"Not so much," Clara concurred, a grumpy little frown turning into a smile in spite of herself.

The Doctor took her hand, and she responded automatically, lacing her fingers with his, just as she would with her own Doctor.

He smiled at her suddenly. "I'm so glad he met you. He needs someone to look after him. Even more than I usually do, it looks like. I know you're very scared right now, and this - all of this - is alot to take in, but I think he's going to need you, very much, when this is all over."

"And what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm the past," he said lightly. "He's the one who's got to go on, and he'll need you to keep him in line."

"That's a tall order," Clara said ruefully.

"You're up for it, I think," the Doctor replied, with a knowing grin. "Why do I feel like I should know you?"

"Because you do," Clara's Doctor replied. "Clara introduced us to the other great love of our lives."

"What?!"

"Think back. Further back!" he insisted, watching the play of emotion on the other man's face. "Oh, keep on. All the way back to the beginning."

The pinstriped Doctor stared at Clara in shock, then back to his counterpart. "No. But that's…"

"Impossible?" Clara asked, with a tiny little smirk.