Clara gasped sharply and her eyes shot open. Gentle hands restrained her, and a blessedly familiar voice murmured reassurances. Gradually, her befuddled wits focused on the fact that she was in her room, in the TARDIS, lying partly on her bed, but mostly on the Doctor. His coat was draped over her and his arms were wrapped securely around her. The beat of his two hearts was a steady and reassuring rhythm against her cheek.
"I've got you, Clara. You're safe, I promise. We're home now."
"TARDIS?" she mumbled.
The Doctor cursed his clumsy tongue. "Yes, Clara, we're aboard the TARDIS. Slip of the tongue…when I say home…"
Clara reached up and laid her hand over his mouth. "When you say home, you mean the TARDIS. I know. Even when you still had Gallifrey, this was home." She laughed softly at his bemused expression. "I was there, remember?" Her hand slid tiredly away from his face, coming to rest on his chest.
"How much do you remember, Clara?" the Doctor asked curiously.
"There's so much…it's sort of jumbled. Little details seem to bring things into focus. Like this," she said, rubbing her hand against his velvet waistcoat. "I remember you wearing a velvet coat in San Francisco. It was meant to be part of a fancy dress costume, but it…well, it just sort of suited you."
"I remember it well," he chuckled, idly running his fingers through her hair.
"Where are we?"
"Earth. Cardiff. A couple of years in your past."
"Why Cardiff?" Clara asked, wrinkling her nose adorably.
"It's a good place to refuel the TARDIS. There's a -"
"Rift in time and space," Clara supplied.
"Exactly. Rift energy is what TARDISes eat for breakfast. And I have friends here, in case we need help."
"A devilishly handsome friend who likes to wear a World War Two army surplus greatcoat?" Clara asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Everything you saw in my time stream, and you just have to recall Jack Harkness?"
"Can I meet him?"
"No!"
