The TARDIS was as welcoming as ever, Clara noted, holding her hand up to stop the blue door from smacking her in the face.
A series of lights flickered as she entered the console room, giving voice to the TARDIS' blatant displeasure at having the impossible girl back within her walls.
In spite of Clara's best efforts, she could not help but feel happiness bubbling within her at the sight of the console room with all its silver panels, and its greenish-blue light. She had after all come to believe that she would never see it again.
"Eugh," she heard the Doctor say, an absurd hint of delight in his voice, "We're all wet!"
She rolled her eyes, "Thank you for stating the obvious, Doctor. I completely forgot."
"Well, we are," he said, clearly missing the sarcasm in her words, "Your mascara's run down the sides of your cheeks, your eyeliner has smudged, and ooh you look like a raccoon!"
Clara's mouth opened in indignation, and he quickly waved his arms, "A pretty raccoon! Very pretty! I didn't mean...oh bollocks-!"
His own hand clapped over his mouth, "Did I just say that?"
"Never mind your potty mouth," she said, unable to keep herself from smiling, "How do we get dry? I reckon you've got some towels lying around somewhere in your snogbox."
An angry hum came from the console.
"Hush, sexy," he said, keeping his eyes on Clara so that she flushed beneath his glare.
She looked away.
After a few seconds in which he murmured some inaudible words to his machine, he continued, "I'm glad you mentioned it though, because while I do have towels," he paused, "Somewhere in here. I actually installed a new feature into the console room last week in which a strong current of air blasts from the ceiling and dries the place in less than thirty seconds."
Clara raised an eyebrow, "Why exactly?"
"I was bored," he moaned, and then shot her a worried glance.
She didn't meet his eyes.
If you were that bored why didn't you come for me? Why did you leave me all alone? Why did you let me wake up screaming every single damn night? Why didn't you come back sooner?
She suddenly found herself unable to be in his presence any longer.
"If its all the same to you, Doctor...," she began quietly, looking down at her wet boots, "I think I'll just go change in the wardrobe room. I think I remember there being towels in there."
She turned to exit the console room, her heart heavy, and then remembered exactly what she was doing, "Date and Location?"
He looked at her, a tiny smile on his lips, "October, 1946. New York City, Earth."
Clara nodded, but stopped dead in her tracks once more, "You remembered?"
He ran a hand through his hair self-consciously, "Of course. You told me you wanted to go to the mid-twentieth century after we visited New Earth. You said that everything was way too perfect and clean for your taste."
Impressed at his memory, she gave him a slight smile then left, praying that the route to the wardrobe room had stayed the same.
The TARDIS must have been feeling just a tiny bit merciful, for while she did have to turn around a couple of times, in the end, she made it.
Of all the rooms in the TARDIS, this was the one she loved most (library not included.)
It was huge, about the size of a department store, and was organized into three separate floors. The first was for men's clothes, and the second and third for women's apparel. From there as far as Clara could tell, the only organization between clothes was: tops, bottoms, dresses, and erm, underthings.
She found a fluffy white towel lying on one of the seats, and dried herself off before stripping down.
Quickly pulling on a dry bathrobe, she looked around the place for 1940s appropriate clothes.
Twenty minutes passed and still nothing remotely close to 1940s New York appeared, although she did find a Greek toga, a strangely familiar red dress from the Victorian Era, and a gorgeous teal coat that fell below her knees and had apparently been made for a woman much taller than her.
"Any help from you would be greatly appreciated," she said out loud, pulling a long strand of flaming orange hair from the teal coat and letting it drift to the floor.
She hung the coat back with a sigh.
When she turned back around, something on the love seat caught her eyes.
She smiled widely, "Oh, you are just full of surprises."
At first, he wasn't really bothered by the amount of time Clara was taking to change, but soon ten minutes turned into twenty, twenty into thirty, and then he was running out of things to tinker with.
He'd long since dried himself thanks to the new feature he'd built into the TARDIS, but once half an hour had passed, he decided to go up to the wardrobe and change into some more time appropriate things too.
In the end he opted to wear what he wore when he traveled with the Ponds.
Fingering the familiar light brown tweed, he looked at himself in the mirror. He grinned, straightening his maroon bow tie. Pulling on his suspenders, he posed.
"I like it," a voice said.
"Clara!" He yelped as the suspenders slapped back onto his chest, "Blimey, you scared me."
"Sorry," she muttered, soft brown curls bouncing as she put on an earring.
"How do I look?"
"Yowzah," he breathed, eyes wide.
It was an appropriate description, he thought, gulping hastily, and looking at her up and down.
Her makeup had been re-applied, along with a coat of (and he didn't usually say this to describe anybody but the TARDIS) incredibly sexy red lipstick. Her hair had been done so that it fell in a cascade of soft brown ringlets, and her dress... Yowzah, indeed.
Powder blue with white polka dots and a sweetheart neckline; it was as though it were made for her.
"What was that," she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Tearing his eyes from her, the Doctor told her she looked lovely, and then exited the room at a brisk pace.
"Oi, hold on!"
He skidded to a stop in the console room and she ran into his back.
"Doctor! Ow!"
Turning around, he made to take her hand, but she purposely pulled it behind her back.
The rejection hurt, but he knew her reasons were valid, and pretended not to notice.
"Clara Oswald," he said pushing the door open, and walking out into an alley, "Welcome to-"
He was about to say the Big Apple, but just then a gunshot rang out, and somewhere close by a man's shout was heard.
Just like old times, Clara thought bitterly.