This is my first attempt at Whoufflé Fan Fiction (Or any Fan Fiction for that matter) It's not overly shippy, I'm trying to write it as though it was an episode of Doctor Who, so hopefully people can enjoy it even if they don't ship Clara and Eleven. I'm going to shut up now and get on with it.
Set between Cold War and Hide. A multi-chapter fic with Susan, just because I wanted Clara to meet her. (Please review :) Thank you.)
Whirring as it materialised, the Doctor managed to land the TARDIS almost perfectly. Near the Maitland's home yet tucked round the corner, out of the way from prying eyes. The doors opened and out stepped Clara Oswald.
"So…" The Doctor hesitated fumbling with his fingers, "I'll pick you up again same time next week." He wasn't used to this, normally his companions would stay with him, but not Clara. Clara was something new, something he didn't understand, and not just because he'd seen her die twice.
"Hah, how do to know I'll want to come back after spending so long cramped in that submarine with you, I might just be beginning to get a bit sick of you!" Dejected, the Doctor's face fell, his frown lines becoming more pronounced.
"Oh." The doctor was stunned, he looked down at his feet, his brain struggling to process what his ears had just heard.
Instantly Clara realised her mistake. "Hey!" She said ducking and positioning herself so that the Doctor could see her face beaming up at him. "Only joking, of course I'm not getting tired of you." she pinched the Doctor's cheeks, moving his face up so he was looking at her as she returned to her natural stance.
"Ah, yes of course…I…I knew that." His companion raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "I'm a thousand year old Time Lord, I know everything that has ever been and ever will be" The Doctor boasted, straightening his bow tie and defending his statement.
"Right, Mr Time Lord, sure you know everything." Clara walked away towards the house and away from the TARDIS, smiling and bouncing as she moved.
"Oi" The Doctor moved one foot out of his TARDIS, pointing at the girl. "I can tell when you're being sarcastic. You know, you're not very good at it!" Clara smiled, her back still facing the Doctor she waved her hand as though dismissing him. "They say sarcasm's the lowest form of wit!" The Doctor shouted down the road to Clara.
Clara turned around and let out a small giggle, "Goodbye Doctor, really. I'll see you next Wednesday." She waved towards the Doctor as the groaning sound began and the TARDIS disappeared.
As she got to the front door, Clara rummaged through her bag feeling for her keys. I really should clean this thing out, Clara thought to herself, struggling to find her keys. It didn't matter the door opened for her.
On the other side was Angie, she opened the door with one hand, and in the other she held her carer's keys. "Looking for these?" The teenager rattled the keys in front of Clara's face.
"Angie!" Clara exclaimed with surprise. "You're not meant to be home for another hour." Clara hoped what she was saying was true, but with the Doctor she never knew if she was going to arrive on time or not.
"What are you talking about," The girl said with a slight hint of distain in her voice, "It's Wednesday, you know I finish school at two on Wednesdays!"
"Sorry, I completely forgot! I was just busy with…" Clara paused, she struggled to think of a way she could describe her travels with the Doctor. "…Stuff." Clara walked inside the house, shutting the door behind her.
"Is that what you call it when you go off with your secret boyfriend?"
"I'm sorry? My what?" Clara felt more than a little awkward as she followed Angie through the living room and put the kettle on.
"Oh come on." Angie smirked. "You keep disappearing off in the middle of the day, whenever I try and where you've been you blush and try to deflect the question. You're obviously hiding something, and it doesn't take a genius to work out what."
"Okay, s'pose I am hiding something," Clara decided to play along with Angie's idea. "Which I'm not!" she added quickly, before the girl got the wrong idea. "What makes you think I've got some sort of 'secret boyfriend'?" She mimed quotes with her fingers as she said it.
Angie made a mock laugh "Goodbye Doctor, really." She imitated Clara's voice rather convincingly. Irritated, Clara didn't say anything, she just gave Angie a cold glare. "So who is this "Doctor' guy then, why do you call him Doctor, what's his real name?" Angie interrogated Clara with rapid questions, none of which Clara knew the answer to.
"Don't you have some homework to be getting on with." Clara growled at the teen through gritted teeth.
"No." replied Angie innocently. "And you have to tell me about your boyfriend."
Clara let out an exasperated sigh. "He's not my boyfriend, he's just a friend who takes me out to places and we have fun."
"Like a date? Yeah, he's definitely your boyfriend."
The kettle had finished boiling, Clara poured the boiling water into her mug. "You want some tea?"
"Urgh, No." Angie looked at Clara as though she had just suggested she drink from the toilet bowel.
"Suit yourself." Clara finished making her drink and sat down in the living room next to Angie. "Turn the TV on, see if there's anything decent on." The TV flashed to life.
"Are exams getting to easy? We talk to the Education Secretary - Michael Gove - next."
"The news? Boring!" Angie crossed her arms and slouched back in her chair.
"It'll only be on for a bit, I've got to go pick up Artie soon anyway. Besides, you don't have to watch it." Clara took another sip of her tea, but almost spat it out again when she saw what was on the news next.
"But before that we have an exclusive interview with the last surviving crew member of the Firebird, a soviet submarine that almost started a Nuclear war."
"Quick! Change the channel!" Clara shouted at Angie.
"What? Why?"
Clara had to quickly think a reason. "Just change it! I'll pay you a tenner."
Quick as a flash Angie changed the channel "Done! Why'd you want to change it so bad?"
"Because" Clara's non-answer seemed to half satisfy Angie's curiosity.
"Whatever, you're really weird. I'll grab a tenner from your bag." Angie left the room and Clara breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, there's some weird metal thing in here!" there was an alien electronic sound, and Clara knew exactly what Angie had discovered.
Clara ran over to Angie, and snatched the screwdriver from her grasp. "Hey." Angie moaned at her Nanny. "That's not fair, I was looking at that!"
"How'd the Doctor's screwdriver get in my bag?" Clara murmured to herself.
"What was that?" Angie teased Clara. "Did I hear something about your boyfriend?"
"You… just, Shut up." I'm even beginning to sound like him now! "I'm gonna go and pick up Artie from school, and when I get back, you're going to forget we ever had this conversation. Alright?" and with that she slammed the door before Angie could dispute the situation further.
A week passed, the first few days went quickly for Clara, Angie had stopped asking after the Doctor and life went on as usual. But life couldn't, not after everything she'd been through with the Doctor. One day she'd be fighting a living sun God, the next she'd be siting at the Maitland's trying to perfect her Mum's soufflé. How does someone go back to a normal life? Was it even possible?
But the nearer Wednesday it got, the harder it became to carry on. She wasn't just missing the adventures, the planets or even the aliens, well… Maybe she did miss one alien in particular. The Doctor, she never had a friend quite like him, he was clever, so clever and funny and he really needed and cared about her as though if he didn't have her traveling with him, he might just break apart into a thousand pieces. She missed when he got all awkward and flustered, his big chin, even his bow tie. And despite the fact that he was 1,200 years old and from another planet, another race, it was simple. Just two good friends, best friends even, no strings attached.
This is stupid, Clara. She thought to herself, You hardly know the man! It's hardly been a month, less for him probably, he can just fast forward Wednesday to Wednesday. How can you say he's your best friend! Clara didn't have many friends, she had a group that she used to be close to during University, they'd planned to go off and see the world together. But a week before she left Angie and Artie's Mum passed away. Clara knew what it was like to lose a Mum, she couldn't just abandon the kids.
So while her friends spent the year going all round the world, Clara was stuck here, as a permanent babysitter. Now it was her turn to see not just the world, but the universe and the was no one she'd rather see it with than the Doctor.
The sun just started to peak over the horizon, the deep dark blue of night had turned into light blue with lines orange. Into Clara Oswald's Bedroom rays of light burst through her curtains, shining onto her face. But it wasn't this that woke Clara, it was the loud moaning like sound of the TARDIS that woke her.
"Hello!" The Doctor announced his arrival from beyond Clara's window.
Clara turned over in her bed. Groaning as she slowly she moved her head to face her clock. 5:32. Clara quickly moved over to the window to talk down to the Doctor.
"Hello, are you there Miss Oswald?!" The Doctor called up once again flailing with his arms as Clara pulled the curtains aside.
"You mind now waking me up?! I was sleeping!" Clara shouted as quietly as she could trying not to disturb the kids.
"Why on earth were you doing that?" The man sounded genuinely confused. "Anyway, never mind, I'm here, just like I said I'd be."
Clara pushed her bed hair out of her face as she drearily replied. "Okay three things." she counted on her fingers. "Firstly, It's half five, of course I'm gonna be sleeping. Secondly could you mind keeping it down, Mr Maitland may be out, but the kids are still asleep. And finally," she added "Why did you have to park the Snog box in the back garden?"
"She's not a Snog Box!" The Doctor protested, "How do you expect her to like you if you keep calling her names like that!?"
"It locked me out!"
"Well you insulted her first." the Doctor paused for a moment, looking at his impossible girl, his mystery, who could she be, what could she be? "Well come on then, oh and bring that book of yours too."
Clara retreated out of the Doctors view. Once she reappeared she was holding a book in her hand, waving it out of her bedroom window. "The Amelia Williams one?"
The alien in the garden froze, his jovial smile fading from his face. He turned his head to face the ground, hiding the tears welling up in his eyes from sight. Just for a second the pain came flooding back to him. "No, no, not that one." Just as quickly he snapped out of his depression, wiped away his tears before returning to face Clara. Those dark times were over, Clara helped him get out of them even if she couldn't remember, and he wasn't going back there again. "Your one, the book with all the places you want to see."
"Oh, right" Clara called back, disappearing from the Doctor's sight again. "Got it!" she called from her room.
"Fantastic!" Said the Doctor in a mock Northern accent. "Come on then, hurry up!"
Clara's head appeared once again at the window. "Give me time to get changed! I'm still in my nightie!"
The Doctor gave Clara a puzzled look "So?"
Clara raised an eyebrow. "You want me to come and join you in that box wearing nothing but a nightie? Looks like someone's a bit eager, down boy!" She teased.
The Doctor gave Clara his best how could you even suggest such a thing face. His lips moved as though trying to form a retort, but after a few seconds, resigned in frustration.
Clara laughed. "I'll be down in five minutes, don't do anything while I'm changing, or you'll wake up Angie and Artie."
The Doctor gave Clara an elaborate military style salute, making her laugh again.
He retreated into his box for a moment, when he returned he held a foldable chair. The Doctor had leant a few things about women in his travels, and he knew that when one said she'd just be 'five minutes" getting changed it could take anything up to an hour. He set up his chair and got comfy.
Not even sixty seconds had passed before the Doctor started to get bored. He needed to be doing something, he frantically fumbled through his massive jacket pockets - which, like his ship they were bigger on the inside - realising he was missing something. "Clara!" He yelled, before remembering that there were others in the house. "Sorry." he whispered.
After about ten minutes of waiting, the Doctor heard the sound of a door opening then closing again. He rushed round the side of the house to get round to the front. "Clara! My Sonic-" Without saying anything Clara reached into her red bag and pulled out the Screwdriver, brandishing it in front of her face and flashing the Doctor a sly smile.
The Doctor rushed towards the screwdriver, snatching it from the girl's hand "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" the Doctor exclaimed rapidly, repeatedly kissing the device as a slightly bewildered Clara watched on.
"You're welcome?"
The Doctor looked ahead at Clara again. "Oh, sorry." the Doctor bent over and gave the impossible girl a peck on the forehead. "That better?"
Flinching slightly, Clara replied the Doctor, who had already folded his chair and was heading inside the TARDIS. "Someone's in a good mood."
The Doctor span round 180 degrees. "What can I say, it's just one of those days!" he stepped into the TARDIS, reappearing a few seconds later. "Come along Clara." he beckoned her to come inside.
Clara entered the box, shutting the door behind her. "So spaceman, what's put you in such a good mood that you have to come and wake me up this early?"
"You're lucky I even managed to get here today! Sexy really doesn't like you, this was the closest time I could land her."
"Sexy?"
"Oh that's just whaticallhersometimeswhenwe-" The Doctor's voice trailed off into nothing, mumbling in his embarrassment.
"Oh, so that's how it is. Should I give you two some space?" Clara teased the Time Lord.
"No it is not how it is!" The Doctor said defiantly. The TARDIS groaned upon the Doctor finishing.
"That's not what it's saying." Clara retorted.
"The TARDIS isn't an it, she's a thing of beauty." He stroked the console as he said so, seemingly calming the TARDIS. "and she should be treated with respect."
"So what's the news then? What're we doing today?" Clara was quick to move the conversation back to the more important and less awkward topic.
"Well seeing as I didn't have anything big planned today so I thought we'd have a look through your book and just go where you fancied." The Doctor paused.
"Buuuuut?" Clara stressed the word. "I'm sensing a but here."
"But, and here's the really good part, the TARDIS just got a message from the 22nd century!" The Doctor waved a piece of paper that looked like it was from an old telegram.
Clara sighed, lent back and folded her arms. "Right, and this is supposed to be exciting for me because?"
"It's not what was in it, it's just an invitation, it's who it was from."
Interested, she uncrossed her arms and leant forward. "Who?"
"It's from my Granddaughter."