Author's Note: I ship Clara/The Doctor. This fanfic is set after Clara and The Doctor visit Trenzalore.
Show Me The Stars
The sheets were warm, tucked up beneath her chin. She was comfortable, drowsy with sleep, and the only reason she awoke was because she realized she was drooling. She woke up with a jump. She remained still but her eye lids were instantly rid of sleep. Clara swiped away the saliva and protectively pulled the sheets around herself. Yet again she had opened her eyes and not known where she was. Her eyes scanned the small room. The space was filled with normal things: a wardrobe, a lamp, some books, a desk, but Clara had no idea where she was. "Doctor?" She hissed from the bed. Nothing moved and there wasn't a sound. Clara could hear a pin drop in the silence. "Doctor?" She hissed again and slowly lifted the sheets from her body to allow herself to sit up. She was dizzy. Her brain felt like it had exploded and expanded all at once. There were memories in her mind that weren't there last time she checked. She also had a ear splitting headache she needed to hold her head to try and subside. She held her head for a while but the overwhelming feeling didn't change. "Doctor?" This time she heard footsteps. Coming from where, she wasn't sure but there was no longer the unbearable, eerie silence. Her ears began to pick up the hum of a motor and listen to the footsteps off in the distance growing louder and louder.
A messy brown mop of hair appeared in the doorframe. "Clara!" The Doctor exclaimed before entering the room with a skip in his step. "You're awake!" He was smiling and now sitting on the end of the bed. Clara took another look around the room for good measure before asking her question. "Where am I?" She asked quietly. "Oh! Just the TARDIS! That's all. When she's not making mazes she quite skilled at making comfy beds to sleep in." He swiftly patted the mattress with pride. "Got you a room. You've been sleeping for a while. After Trenzalore, you went out like a light. Passed out even before we were back in the TARDIS." He was very smiley today and was letting one of his hands reach out for her arm.
The Doctor had his spider like fingers lingering on her shoulder. His touch was comforting. His hand stretched to her other shoulder and pulled her close for a hug. Clara nuzzled into his side; her head was tucked neatly under his bold chin. "Chin Boy… Show me the stars…" Clara mumbled under her breath. Her breathing hitched suddenly when her headache returned and a jolt stunned her. It was almost like she had just remembered a dream, except a feeling in her gut told her it wasn't a dream at all. "Clara," The Doctor started, warily. His hold on her tightened when she began to coil up from her headache. "Clara, are you okay?" She shook her head and allowed him to hold her. She wrapped her arms around him and with all her strength squeezed his shoulders. His hands grasped at the small of her back; his palms wound themselves in circles to try and soothe her pain.
She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. These head aches and downpours of new information. It was like her brain was short circuiting; connecting and then quickly disconnecting but then starting up all over again. They remained intertwined like so for some time. The Doctor was lost mumbling "Oh Clara, my Clara.." over and over until he set her back down on the bed and proceeded to straighten his bow tie. "Up, up!" He exclaimed, his previous cheery mood had returned. "Come along, Clara. We're going on an adventure today. No more sleeping and dreaming and headaches for you. Let's get you out for some fresh air and exploring, eh?" A grin was plastered to his face and he presented to her an outstretched hand. His fingers wiggled about, waiting for her to grab them. She took his hand and let him pull her from the tangle of sheets. "Where are we going to go?" She asked. His smile was contagious and Clara had found that she was smiling now too. "Oh, who knows! Let's take a look, shall we?"
The Doctor pulled her along past the console and to the double doors of the TARDIS. He then grandly flung open the doors. Beyond the entrance of the TARDIS was thousands of galaxies. The Doctor had left the machine just hovering somewhere in space. Looking outside, Clara could see universes and planets, suns and stars, spread out before her in every direction. "If you have anywhere particular in mind, go on, point it out then but if not…" He crouched down beside her to be at her eye level. "I suggest a good old 'eenie, meenie, miney, mo" should do the trick." He tossed her an adorable grin. "Your pick." Clara stood there and smiled. Her mind raced, not from a cloudy brain but instead from all the adrenaline and excitement pulsing through her veins. "Oh this is a tough one, Doctor." She mused. "Well you did ask me once to show you the stars." He elbowed her playfully in the arm. "So I've been told," Clara chewed on her lower lip and took in the vast expanse of space and the great unknown. Everything she saw glittered with flame or a light of some kind, like a little gem. After much thought Clara closed her eyes tight and extended her hand. Her fingers stirred around in the open space until she pointed to a shiny cluster of specs to the right. "There." She chirped. "Let's go there!" She looked up at The Doctor who was gazing down at her with a warm smile. "Of course we can!" He took her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her nose.
The Doctor shut the doors and hurried over to the TARDIS console. He began pushing all kinds of buttons and activating all different sized levers. Clara wandered over into the console area to watch him work. "I've got the right coordinates set. All we have to do now is press this button." He pointed to a little green button at the top of the control panel. "May I have the honors?" Clara asked. "Certainly!" He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to the spot right in front of the button. "Ready?" Clara nodded, her hand hovered over the little green button. "3… 2… 1… GERONIMO!" Clara pressed the button and the TARDIS went off soaring into space.