Chapter 2: Help!

Clara was sitting in the morning light of her newly furnished living room, of her new apartment, which she had rented with money from her new job, she was very happy. She was rereading the list of ingredients she needed for her mother's soufflé and checking to ensure her grocery list was entirely complete. Then, she heard the groaning sound of the TARDIS, with a sigh, she stood and watched as it materialized inside the rather small living room.

The Doctor stepped out, and boy did he look awful. His bow tie was crooked, he only had one shoe on, his shirt was untucked and his jacket was missing. His hair was a mess and the large purplish bags under his eyes only served to emphasize the look of exhaustion that covered his long face.

"Wow," Clara said, "You look…"

"Awful. I know. I haven't slept in 18 days, I haven't eaten in 4 and I haven't even left the TARDIS in a month." He rubbed his eyes and gave a mighty yawn, looking like a little boy as he did.

"Why? What happened?"

Before the Doctor could respond a baby began to cry, the Doctor's head slumped forward and his face buried itself in his hands.

"Not Again, I just fed her an hour ago then I burped her then I changed her and sang her a gallifreyan lullaby and she was sleeping so why is she crying AGAIN?!" He sounded like he was ready to cry. He turned and stepped into the TARDIS, returning with a small white cot floating in front of him. It was beautiful. It floated at the Doctor's waist and was engraved with constantly changing gallifreyan symbols. Above the baby's head floated a lovely silver mobile that contained stars and planets and comets. Clara approached the cot, lying inside was a small, red-faced baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket and capped with a small pink cap.

"She's Beautiful." Clara said as she lifted the baby out of the cot. "Aren't you beautiful, yes you are, you're the most beautiful baby I ever saw." She cooed. The baby calmed instantly as Clara rocked her slowly back and forth. The Doctor smiled then walked over to the sofa and sat down with a sigh.

The haggard Doctor spoke from the sofa where he drooped with exhaustion, "She gets a little less beautiful after she's been crying non-stop for 10 hours and you haven't slept in a more than a fortnight."

"Where did she come from?" Clara asked ignoring the Doctor's comment and cooing to the child as she lay quietly in her arms.

"I have NO idea. I was working in my workshop a bit more than a month ago when I heard her crying. She was in the Zero Room. I don't know how she got there or who left her. I did take her to the Medical bay to check for injuries and to run her DNA. I am a paternal match for her DNA but there's no maternal match in the TARDIS database. She's my daughter, I just don't know who her mother is." Clara nodded. "I'm sorry to drop by like this but she won't stop crying, I feed her, change her, rock her, sing to her, burp her, clean her but just continues to cry. I can't handle it. I NEED HELP." The Doctor came to the shocking revelation that he had never asked anyone for help. He always phrased it like 'The Universe needs you' or 'you owe me' or 'So-and-So needs saving', sometimes he would say "Help ME." but never "I Need Help.' He didn't really know why he figured Clara was his best choice for help but he was glad she was the first person he'd ever asked for help from. "Clara, if anyone could calm a crying time tot, it would be you. I mean, after all you were a nanny and I just didn't think…er...hoped...you...uh...wouldn't mind me dropping by… with a baby. Please Clara, I need help, I've never asked for help before but I'm scared and confused and sleep deprived and I need you Clara, please, help me."

"Doctor, I am always willing to help you." Clara smiled, "She won't stop crying because she needs a bath, I'll go take care of her. Take a nap Doctor." Clara spoke forcefully, though the Doctor didn't really need much encouragement.

Clara carried the baby into the bathroom, the cot following her, where she undressed the baby. Clara was going to bathe her in the sink but quickly noticed the cot had filled with water and was now the perfect bath tub. She lowered the baby in carefully washing her gently with some of her favorite body wash, being careful to avoid the baby's eyes, then the cot dried her, and provided Clara clean clothes for the infant, which Clara dressed her in. After her bath, Clara held and rocked her for a few minutes, until she was happily sleeping then placed her back in the cot. Clara walked back into the living room, the cot following behind, to see the Doctor asleep on her sofa. He was on his stomach with his left hand under his face and both his right hand and foot hanging off the side while his left leg was bent so his foot touched the top of the sofa. Then he let out a loud snore that made Clara giggle. Grabbing a pen and piece of paper, she wrote him a note saying she went grocery shopping and she had the baby and would be back by 2:00 that afternoon. As she walked out the door, the cot transformed itself to a stroller and Clara pushed it along. She turned when she heard the Doctor whisper something. His word made her smile ear to ear, even if it wasn't a word.

But her name.