Her leg shifted as she tried to ignore the vibrations from the table. Still the phone buzzed on, considering it too much of a temptation to even touch it she backed away, slamming the chair and bracing herself against the wall. Her hands felt the coldness, seeping in the cracks from outside, reminding her of the bitter cold she had inside of her, ever since he had vanished away in his mysterious blue box. As her mobile buzzed for the last time and stayed silent her head dropped as she sank to the floor, a tear running down her face. Their second chance, dashed to pieces, what had it been this time? Some silly argument, some stupid problem, some ripple... Some, tidal wave. Too proud to call the number back she waited, waited for the pain to subside, waited till she could feel nothing. However this did not occur, for the phone began to ring again, the faint vibration catching her ears, as she launched herself at the table and smashed the green answer button with intense desperation. There was a muffled, startled sound from the other side of the phone, before a protruding Scottish accent breathed, "Clara." She found herself mimicking his tone as she whispered "Doctor." Then there was silence, both unable to find the right words, be it out of pride, or fear. "Clara, I." He started, only to be interrupted by her own voice finding its place "miss you" she finished. His breath hitched on the other side of the phone, the disbelief that it was possible she could actually feel that way after what had happened. There was an audible click as the call disconnected, Clara stared at her hand in disbelief, had she said the wrong thing? Her eyes began to water at the prospect of almost catching him again, only for him to vanish like a wisp of smoke. Before the first tear could fall however, a familiar vworp, vworp sounded from behind her. Her heart lifted as she turned to see the tall blue box and a stick insect jump out and envelope her into an almighty hug. "I'm so sorry Clara... I almost missed our chance." The doctor held her so tightly, and as he let go a small smiled played upon Clara's lips. "I thought hugs were just an easy way to hide your face?" The doctors face was as solemn as ever as a hand rubbed across his eyes. "That's right, and it did it's job." He said as he made his way towards the kitchen. "Tea?" He yelled through, "Yes please." She responded, as her mind reeled over what just happened.
"Doctor, why did you come back?" She asked, his hand faltered as he stirred the tea but within a second it was back into a steady rhythm. "Like I said, you don't get second chances often, wasn't going to waste one, plus what was I going to do without my impossible girl eh?" He flashed a quick smile before bringing over the steaming mugs. A steaming mug was thrust in Clara's face as he plopped himself onto the sofa next to her. "Done anything interesting whilst i've been gone?" He asked, her face clearly answered without the need for words. "No, of course not, didn't think so.." He took a sip of his hot tea, almost scalding the back of his throat as the refreshing drink began to warm up his insides. "So, where to now?" Clara however didn't reply, she only stared, well, more studied. His face, his features, the way the light gleamed in his silver hair, the way his nose sloped sharply down his face, like his cheekbones and the way they met the arch of his lips. She was committing it to memory, in case this ever happened again, in case the outcome wasn't so favourable. Just the thought of losing him again after the last emotional rollercoaster caused tears to begin to form, only ever so slightly. But of course nothing went unnoticed by the doctor. "What are you doing, you're doing that thing with your eyes again, why?" She smiled to life his spirits and banished the thoughts from her brain whilst her hand dragged across her eyes. "I'm just happy to be back with you." She said, her voice still like a whisper, afraid the mere sound of it could cause him to flee running. "I'm not leaving you Clara, not again." He said, gripping her hand tightly. He was done with this game, the fights the leaving the returning, from now on he was staying, no matter what.
Within the tardis, the doctor was rushing round, pressing buttons, and slamming handles. "So where is it that we are going exactly?" Clara enquired for the third time. "I told you" he said. His resounding scottish accent making her smile "it's a surprise." And with that he flipped the final lever and the familiar vworp vworp sounded and sped them into the stars. "Ok, I want you to close your eyes" the companion obeyed as her delicate hand reached out to clasp the doctors, he breathed as she held on, and slowly led her through the doors into the new world that awaited her. "So, the planet is called Salipholis, home to the salipholarians of course, they lived here many hundreds of years ago and have now died out, however, their legacy and stunning scenery remains. And with that the doctor uncovered the eyes of his friend, and her face lit up as she saw the changing hues of purple, to red to orange, fading into the voidal blackness. But her eyes finally sparkled when the third sun hit the horizon and a sparkling city below them came into view, crystals imbedded into the architecture caught the dying light and scattered it in every direction. It was at this moment that the doctor smiled, staring at the content face of his beloved Clara.
"Doctor, it's" she gasped, staring at the indescribable wonder "incredible" he whispered, staring at her, watching how the dying light instead bounced off of her face, and shone through the individual hairs on her head. She turned to see him staring, to which he quickly moved away and braced his hands on a nearby stone whilst peering out into the growing darkness. "So the salipholarians, were a noctu..." His sentence was interrupted by a shrill sound emanating from the city. Both travellers turned to face what appeared to be thousands of scuttling creatures in the dark. As the light faded their visual aid deteriorated, but the sound was ever moving. Grasping in the dark for the hand of his companion a small portion of him relaxed when he caught onto her. She could not see his smile, but felt the warm presence he always brought. Slowly they began to step backwards towards the tardis, careful not to make any sudden movements. However thanks to the absence of the light, several of the natives had crept behind and awaited the two friends metres away. Right before they hit the waiting attackers, the Doctor stopped still, halting his friend. "Clara," he whispered "there's something behind us" and with that the salipholarians closed in, roughly pulling apart the duo and handcuffing them with strange, organic like cuffs. Scuffling in the darkness the two were led by their captor, towards the strange city which had a moment ago been a beautiful marvel, but now bore an eery appearance.
The Doctor knew there was no point trying to reason with them, there had been some logic in trying to bring her here years after the extinction of this race, they didn't take kindly to tourists. However the tardis, had once again landed him in this awful mess. Whilst he could be glad that the salipholarians hadn't executed them instantly, it could only mean they had something much worse in mind. After what seemed like hours of being apart from Clara, the Doctor was shoved into what seemed by the feel and resonating sounds to be a cage, although his analysis was cut short as a body promptly fell on top of his own. "Clara is that?" "Yeah it's me" she huffed, relieved to be reunited he attempted to sit up, but colliding with her own efforts they only managed to bump heads. "You know you're not being very helpful" the doctor remarked, trying to keep a light air amongst all this certain doom. "Well i'm just trying to get up", she retorted back, as her hand pushed against his inner thigh as she thrust herself upwards, whilst he gave out a cry of pain at such pressure slamming his leg into the floor. "Thanks for that," he said, whilst slowly moving next to her. Trying to be as comforting as possible before he broke the news that, no he didn't have a plan, and chances were even if he had one, in this situation it wouldn't work. "So these Saliphalriens then" "Salipholarians," he corrected, "and I though you were supposed to be the english teacher." He snorted at her. "Anyways these whatever they are, aren't exactly a friendly bunch are they?" She asked, already knowing the answer. "No, they are not..." The doctors arms began to fold as the following questions rolled in. "They're into some quite likely immoral or nasty habits aren't they..." "Um, yes." "Which are going to involve us?" "Most likely." "And you don't have a plan?" "Um, no", his head dropped slightly in defeat, as he wracked his brain, desperate to get her out of here safely. "So as of right now, we are pretty much doomed." With that the doctor leapt to his feet. "You know you could try being a little more positive or better yet productive, you have just got to let me think." And as he finished his sentence with a flourish he began to pace back and forth, while Clara sat, watching, as much as one could in the pitch black and admired that despite this time it being almost certain they were going to die, he was still giving his best shot at an escape plan.
"Can't you just sonic us out of here?" The doctor sighed, "you've been with me long enough to know it doesn't work like that." He said, clearly exasperated. His sighing grew louder until suddenly it stopped. "What?" She asked, waiting for an explosion of words. "I could sonic us" he said, sounding almost mystified for a moment before jumping to what they presumed was the edge of the cage. "What are you doing" Clara enquired as the doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began to aim it at the cage bars. "Im breaking us out" he stated matter of factly, as though there weren't deadly aliens on the other side, itching to kill them. "Well, I can see, or rather hear that, but what about after that?" He looked at her, or rather where he thought she was before saying "what about after that, oh, you mean the Salipholarians, well you see, being nocturnal means they have an acute sense of hearing, which also means it is highly sensitive, so a piercing noise from a super sonic instrument may render them, I don't know, incapacitated for enough time for say two beings to run out and back to their time machine." He said with a grin, happy to have figured out a solution and then show off about it. Having the desired effect she only laughed at his genius before gripping onto his arm, ensuring she wouldn't lose him in the darkness. Then her laughter was lost in the night as he yanked her away and they raced down the many long passage ways of the city. The only way that they knew they had escaped the tunnels was the chilled air that hit their faces. As refreshing as it was, it concerned both parties that the temperature had dropped a substantial amount. At least ten degrees in the past hour, which was roughly how long they had been within the city walls, however the temperature was still dropping rapidly, and although the air was only around 12 degrees, there was still a significant trek back to the tardis. Which left the doctor incredibly concerned for his companion. "Clara, are you alright?" He said, gripping what he thought were her shoulders and trying to look into her eyes, or at least their general direction. "of course" she said, trying to gauge what he was getting at. "Not feeling woozy at all? Dizzy?" He said, gesturing wildly as he always did. "Well no, I mean I feel a little giddy, or woozy as you say, but thats just because of all the running right?" She said, fearing that something worse was at hand. "Well, the Salipholarians, with their acute sense of smell, developed glands that set off distinct scent to label each and every Salpholarian," he said, pausing for effect. "Like pheromones?" She questioned, catching on. "Yes, exactly like pheromones, however much stronger. Now your underdeveloped and to be honest in my opinion highly un-functioning lungs can't properly handle the toxins from the smells within the air as well as my Galifreyan ones can." Clara promptly slapped him on the arm at the clear insult of her species, although she was aiming for something quite else. "What? It's merely scientific fact. Anyhow we need to get you back to the tardis to cleanse the toxins from your respiratory system. However, there is a bit of a hike back to the tardis, and the temperature is dropping rapidly, and this wooziness" he said gesturing at her "isn't going to help." Her face scrunched up at that, although he couldn't see it. "Listen it's not my fault you took us here a hundred years or so too ear..." His hand reached towards her face trying to make her mouth quiet. Whilst a hoarse "shhhhh" came out. "We must move quickly, they will know we have escaped soon, no need to provide any more hints as to our whereabouts." He whispered, before dropping his hand, with that he grasped her hand and led her into the darkness.
The once glistening scenery that had awed Clara was now the bane of her existence. The dusty ground fell beneath their feet as they trudged ever upwards. Sliding them one step back every two they took forward. In this way an hour passed as they continued upwards, stopping for nothing. But the chill was beginning to get to her, and the doctor began to notice her shiver from the shaking hand he was holding. For the first time he stopped, grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, and with an arm around her whilst her teeth chattered away, his arm rubbed up and down her back as they kept on marching. There were no words passed between them. Clara focused on walking, as even though everything was dark, she felt like everything was spinning beneath her with every breath she took. Not long after the Doctor had for the second time shifted his position around her they heard a noise coming from behind them, from the city. Quiet at first but ever growing louder, like a horn bellowing an alarm. "They've found us, they have our scent" he exclaimed. "Run!" He shouted next, as he went back to pulling Clara along by the hand to the tardis. Just as the reached the crest of the hill the doctor could hear natives in the distance, getting closer with each step. Being used to this land they were much more effective when travelling through the desert and were catching up quickly. However the doctor had thankfully parked not far from the hill crest and the blue box was just becoming visible with the rise of the first sun on the horizon. "Clara look, we are so close." He said kindly, trying to encourage her to keep going. But the eyes of his companion ad flickered shut and a minute after that she collapsed to the ground, struggling to breathe. "Clara, Clara come on, get up, we're almost there." But she did not respond, merely lay on the ground, barely moving her chest up and down. "Clara even I did not think you were this weak.." But insults did not inspire her to move. So at last he resorted to his final option. Digging his hands into the sand beneath her and scooping up her legs and head. "For goodness sake" he humphed as he ploughed on, acutely aware that the Salipholarians were very close behind.
Just as the Salipholarians were quite literally an arms length away the doctor stumbled through the tardis doors, Clara was effectively tossed into a heap by the tardis mainframe as the doctor rushed to close the doors. An arm of one of the natives got haphazardly trapped as the doors closed and the doctor had to quite inelegantly push it back out before he slammed the door shut and slumped against the wall, catching his breath. As he opened his eyes again he realised that Clara wouldn't last much longer in a heap on the floor, and rushed over whilst throwing her over his shoulder. The old timelord was much stronger than he seemed and was able to sprint with Clara in tow as he raced down the halls to find the medical bay. In his hurried state the doctor was less than gentle as he plonked her onto the metal table, before running around to grab breathing masks and hook up various wires and equipment. Clara was barely breathing by the time an oxygen mask was strapped to her face, and was about to release her final breath as the machine whirred into her life, drawing out the toxic air flooding her lungs and pumping clear oxygen into her. Her body surged upwards as the machine forced her to breathe properly and deeply. The doctor however stood by, fiddling, itching to help but knowing he was powerless until the machine had done its work. Ten minutes turned into half an hour as her chest continued to fall and rise. And the doctor had resorted to pacing the room, not willing to leave her side.
Just when he had begun to think that maybe he was too late something stirred beside him, a hand, moving ever so slowly to touch his arm. "Clara" he breathed, pulling her hand against his cheek. "Still here doctor" she chuckled gently, then stuttered as she gasped for more air. "Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?" She whispered, a smile on her face. It would take some time for her body to fully recuperate, as her entire respiratory system had virtually been emptied, flushed out and then pumped full again, it was a draining procedure to say the least. All the doctor could do was smile, and thank whichever God it was out there that she was alive. "Come on, lets get you into a comfortable bed." He said gently, scooping her up again and carrying her to her room.
"Don't leave me" she whispered, as her hand grasped his, just as he was turning to give her some peace. "surely you don't want me around, you need sleep and rest, and the optimal situ.." As he went to continue her finger went to shush his lips. "All I need for my optimal recovery right now, is you, so please, sit down." With that he nodded and dragged a chair over to sit next to her. With that, still clutching his hand tightly, she closed her eyes, and fell asleep to his other hand stroking her hair. Hours passed, and even the doctor had one of his short power naps, which was caught by Clara, who had stirred before he. She smiled at his peaceful face. She caressed the crinkles round his eyes that creased when he laughed, and that bouncy hair that always perfectly caught the light. As she sat, well enough to push herself up, she was engrossed in her analysis of his sleeping face, when an eye opened, aware of what she was doing. "You know a picture would last longer." Causing her to jump back as he laughed. "I, I was just looking, because you never sleep, and" "It's alright" he stopped her smiling again. His face was beginning to flush as he noticed the look in her eye. The way he looked at her nearly everyday. "Did you really think I was going to die?" She asked, intently looking into his eyes, to try and gauge what he was feeling. His face darkened as he said "worst years of my life" she looked confused as she questioned again "but it could only have been a couple hours at most, how.." "I'll be the judge of time thank you." And with that he stood up and promptly walked out of the room. As soon as he was out of sight he was gripping his face, head in hands, wondering whether he had said he right thing, or if he had given away too much.
The next three days continued much the same as Clara slowly regained her strength. The doctor spent as much time with her before he became nervous and thought he was giving himself away. Unfortunately for the patient this didn't take very long and due to this Clara was becoming very concerned with the lacking presence of her Doctor. So she decided there was nothing better to do than address it the next time he came in. "Doctor" she began, her tone of voice sent a shiver down his spine, it was questioning time, and he knew it. "Yes?" He asked, whilst doing his checks on her pulse and breathing rate. "Why do you keep avoiding me." The Doctor stopped, choking back a quite strangled noise. Everything slowed down as he panicked, as though this was a life or death situation, as though he needed a way out fast. But this was Clara Oswald, and once she had you, there was no getting out. As he looked into her dark eyes he was absorbed into them and entered the his emergency room in his head, entertaining her with his genius and wit in the console room. "Don't be a coward, you're a clever boy, think." She said, almost mocking him. "It's not that simple, what if something goes wrong?" He retorted, clearly not happy with the situation. "What if, what if? What if indeed. But what if it goes right?" She said, twirling how she did around the console, she tormented him as he wrestled with his head in his hands, sat dejected on the stairs. As though she hadn't just been frolicking around the tardis she was in front of him, hands on his and looking him in the eyes. "Five seconds, five seconds of courage, thats all you need." And with that he was lost in her eyes again, and back in front of his real Clara, who was impatiently waiting for an answer. "Well?" She prompted, desperate for an answer. "Well Clara, it's because..." But he stopped, wringing his hands. Five seconds, five seconds, he repeated in his head, like a mantra, there was no way he would go through with it otherwise. "It's because I was worried I was letting on to much, giving away more than you were expecting, more than you were...wanting." He said, pausing to see how she was taking this. "Wanting what?" She asked, barely giving him time recuperate. "Well, wanting me." He thought to pause again but everything came tumbling out, this little thing, this ripple was now a tidal wave that was not going to stop. "Clara, ever since your round face and short body found its way into my tardis you managed to worm your way into my heart as well and blast me for saying it you won't get out. You're like a parasite, but no matter what I try, you won't get out." "Flattering" she muttered while he breathed and continued his spiel. "Frankly Clara Oswald, I love you, and unfortunately I can't do anything about it. And I know how ridiculous this is, I mean there is no way you could possible reciprocate the feeling because i'm an alien for a start and..." But his sentence never finished. No more words escaped his mouth as it was blocked by the mouth of Clara, covering his own. Her soft lips crashed into his own, forcing him to just shh for five minutes, and in his shock he nearly forgot how to breathe. Then she gently pulled back, allowing her lips to barely linger on his, and he felt her tingling breath against his own, sending shudders down his spine and fireworks into his head. Before he could ruin the moment with another comment she pressed back into him. Solidifying a million times over that this was what she wanted, that he was what she wanted. They had been waiting so long this was not going to end soon. And after the initial shock the doctor gained a realisation that his lips were not the only part of his body, and his hands snaked their way to her waist, pulling her in closer, eager to keep her close. With that he felt her small hands working through his hair, then down to his face, cupping his cheek in her hands as she often did. Pulling away Clara finally opened her eyes, and gazed into the ones of her beloved doctor, she noticed there was a new light, normally there was a sparkle, but now there was something else, something bright and new and beautiful that matched his smile perfectly. "You know Clara Oswald, I do believe I am chronically in love with you." He whispered, arching his eyebrow at her. "Well you know doctor." She started, straightening his collar. "I think you've managed to take my breath away again, and after all this time recovering." She joked teasing him as she ruffled his hair "if you aren't careful i'll need that machine again." He chuckled before adding "well if you do need it, we better make sure you really need it..."