I don't own anything from Doctor Who.
They sat at a small table in one of the TARDIS' many kitchens. Clara had a warm cup of tea in her hands. She was sitting across from the Doctor, but she wasn't really there. He could tell. Her mind was somewhere else, and he didn't think it would be a good idea to bring it back just yet.
It hadn't been twelve hours since what had happened at Trenzalore. Clara was handling it surprisingly well, considering she was a human with memories of thousands of different lives roaming around in her head. The Doctor knew this was going to be very hard on her, and he was prepared to help her through it. That was why he sat across from her now. Whenever she snapped out of whatever she was thinking about, he was going to be there to comfort her and talk to her. Whatever she needed, he was going to provide it.
Suddenly she said, "I guess it worked then." Her voice was quiet and calm.
The Doctor looked up to see her smiling. "What worked?" He asked.
"This. You're safe, finally." She paused. "You helped though."
He sat up a little straighter as he asked, "How?"
She laughed quietly. "There are so many memories." She paused again, her thumb rubbing her cup of tea. "Not all of them good, not all of them bad. You're in all of them though. You helped me get through it all. Without you… Well, without you I don't know what would've happened." She slowly brought the cup up to her lips and took a careful sip.
He frowned in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"
She thought for a second, before saying, "I'll use one of the many times you've helped as an example. The dalek asylum." She frowned at that memory. "I... I was a dalek." Her lip quivered slightly. "I couldn't have been though, because I saved you. Daleks don't save people. They hate them, and they murder them." Her eyes were beginning to water.
The Doctor took one of her hands in his. He softly said, "You don't have to go on if it's too difficult."
She shook her head and squeezed his hand. "No, no. It's fine. Um…" She squeezed her eyes shut for a few moments before continuing. "You were there though. I was able to live long enough to save you, because you gave me hope. I didn't know who you were, but you helped me push away the feeling to give in. You helped me be human just long enough to save your life." The Doctor was smiling now, but his eyes were watering. "You delayed the process of me becoming one of those… those evil monsters." A tear rolled down her cheek.
The Doctor lifted his free hand to wipe it away. His hand lingered there for a few moments, and he felt Clara lean into it. He tried saying something, but he couldn't. The lump in his throat was blocking any sound from coming out. He tried to swallow it, but it only made it worse.
She suddenly frowned and looked down at her tea. "If… if I had become one of those… would you think of me any differently?" She paused again. "If I was a dalek in one of my lives, would you care for me less?"
He frowned and lifted her head up. A single tears escaped as he said, "Of course not." His voice was quivering. It pained him to hear Clara ask that question. "No matter who or what you were in your past lives, it wouldn't make me think of you any differently. You're still my Clara. My impossible girl."
She gave him a small smile, and more tears started trickling down her face. They were not tears of sadness, but of relief and joy. "Thank you." Was all she could manage to say.
The Doctor brought her in for a hug. He held her tight and nuzzled his nose into her neck. "No, thank you, Clara Oswald." It came out as a whisper, and he wasn't sure if she heard it or not, but he didn't really care. She knew, and he would make sure she would always know how grateful he was. As they pulled away from each other he felt more tears fall. He ignored them as he smiled wide at her, and she smiled back.