oOo
Chapter Two
Doctor Who?
oOo

We ran down Oxford Street, hands clasp tightly together, weaving left and right, going through the crowd of people. My breathing was ragged and heavy and it felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest, my Oxford booties pounded hard on the pavement and I prayed that the heels wouldn't break.

Despite all the pitfalls, I had never felt so exhilarated and free.

The Doctor quickly glanced behind us to see if the guards were still chasing us. His face was damp with a fine sheet of sweat from the running but the way his mouth quirked at the corner in a secret smile and his eyes sparkled with mischief, he was as happy as I felt. Our eyes met for a brief moment and I felt my face flush even more. He gave me a large grin and an impish winked, which made a laugh escaped my lips.

We ran for another block before the Doctor took a sharp right down one of the many alleys. I followed close behind him, keeping a death grip on our sweaty hand. He took another right and seconds later he came to an abrupt stop, only then did he let go of my hand.

The Doctor bent forward and put his hands on his knees; he panted hard, his chest rapidly heaving up and down with his labored breathing. With his head lowered he let out a chuckle which came out as a snort as he tried to catch his breath. I sank against the wall and tried to regulate my shallow breaths.

"Do ... you ... think ... we ... lost them?" I asked in between pants.

"Oh, I think it's safe to say yes." He laughed again, obviously feeling giddy from our escape.

We had easily run a mile and I doubted that any of those guards were in any sort of shape to have kept up with us, even though I had been wearing heels.

"I will never be able to go back to that store." I heaved myself off the wall and attempted to straighten my short floral Parisian dress, which clung to my body thanks to the marathon we had just run.

We had had turned down a typical London alleyway, it was narrow and even though it was late afternoon and the sun was still high in the sky, the alley had a dark, dreary look to it. The Doctor smiled and straightened up to his full height and towered over me with his six-foot two frame, reminding me just how short I really was at five foot three.

His face suddenly became stern and his eyes bore over me, making me feel self-conscience. Keeping his eyes on me he took a step forward, but as he did so, I couldn't help but notice that something swam underneath the surface of his calm gaze. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but it was almost like the look a predator had when he watched his prey. It was chilling and unnerving.

I couldn't help but take a step back as he took his forward, suddenly feeling very trapped.

"Do you make a habit of taking jumpers from shops?" He asked his face serious.

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous." I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to be intimidated by this man.

"Well ... It's just a little ... odd." He took another step towards me. I matched his step and went backwards but there was nowhere left for me to go, my back hit the wall. "You were all the way inside that little shop, and somehow you were quick enough to spot the danger and save me."

I furrowed my brow at his statement. I couldn't tell him that I had noticed him before and had been watching him, that was simply too embarrassing. Refusing to back down, I tilted my head up defiantly as he stopped inches from me.

"I didn't know saving someone's life meant I would be interrogated." I glared up at the stranger and couldn't help but notice his soft, brown eyes looking at me curiously not accusingly like his tone suggested. I also noted the dusting of freckles on his cheeks and nose and thought how incredibly attractive he looked.

What the hell is wrong with me? I scolded, annoyed at myself. "Who are you anyway, you said Doctor, doctor who?" I snapped, irritated with my silliness of noticing the strangers appearance.

His eyes sparkled with humor.

"Oh, it's just the Doctor."

"Just the Doctor? What sort of name is that?"

"It's mine." He grinned and leaned in even closer. "And who are you?" His breath tickled the side of my neck.

"Clara." I swallowed thickly, all too aware of him. "Clara Oswald."

"Well, Clara, thank you, for saving me."

I gave a single curt nod, finding it hard to concentrate on anything but the strange man in front of me. I usually wasn't a tongue-tied ninny around men. I had always been at ease, but the Doctor was giving me the strangest feeling. I felt this undeniable pull to him and it was very unnerving.

Unintentionally, my body started to lean forward and closer to him. Annoyed at my impulsive behavior, I side stepped around the Doctor, I had to get away from him.

"Who was that man anyway, the one who pushed you?" I hurried and asked, trying to keep my brain busy with something other than the Doctor.

He spun around and faced me. His expression turned thoughtful.

"I have no idea. I didn't see him, only you did."

"Oh ..." I paused for a moment, recalling the creepy man. "He was dressed in dark clothes, and they were Victorian like, as if he was on his way to a play or something. He looked broody, angry ..." I trailed off noticing the Doctor didn't seem to be listening and I was probably sounding like an idiot.

The Doctor's expression was absent. He started to mumble in a low voice.

"It really could be anybody ... Although probably not a Dalek, it's not like them at all, and I don't see a Cyberman doing this." He started to pace and speak rapidly. "I wonder ..." He spun around on the heels of his maroon converses and marched by me several times. "It's possible ..." He ran his hand through his hair. "But no ... it couldn't be!" He suddenly just stopped and turned to me. "Well, yes, thank you for saving me." He gave me a tight smile and turned away to leave.

"Where are you going?" I called, absolutely confused.

"I have things to do. But I am sure I will be seeing you again Miss Clara." He waved his hand through the air, not bothering to turn back.

oOo

When I reached my small flat, I took off my shoes and let out a sigh of relief. Those shoes were not meant to be ran in that was for sure. I tossed them into the corner by the door, my keys soon followed onto the coffee table and my black vest took a flight on the couch.

I lived in a small flat right off the University campus. The space was meager, the neighbors were loud and there always seemed to be something broken but it was mine and that was all that mattered.

I sank into my old couch with a sigh once again unable to help the feeling of emptiness taking hold of me. I felt all out of sorts and I couldn't understand why, in fact it was worse than it had been before I had met the Doctor.

The hollowness I felt inside had me was so distracting I had trouble focusing. On the way home I had gotten on the wrong bus, twice. Something was nagging at my consciousness, keeping me from thinking clearing.

The Doctor.

The weird stranger I had met ... The man who, for a brief moment, had made me feel complete. With an exasperated groan, I was relieved no one could read my thoughts because I would sound absolutely mad, I had only been with this man for an hour. There was no way I could form any sort of feelings or attachment to a person in that short amount of time.

The sudden feeling of my backside vibrating brought me out of my thoughts. Realizing I was sitting on my phone I quickly grabbed my jumper from under me and dug the phone from one of the pockets.

"Hello?" I answered not bothering to look who was phoning.

"Clara Oswald! I should have you strung up naked and flogged!" Lara's shrill voice filled my ear with her scream. Damn. I had forgotten about her. "Do you know what I have been doing for the last three hours?"

I was afraid to ask, but as the silence stretched out, I knew she was waiting for my reply.

"What?" I croaked out, wishing the couch would swallow me up.

"Sitting in that bloody shop security office, answering questions about you and your accomplice!" She howled. I flinched, wishing I had remembered my best friend. "When they finally let me go, I spent the rest of the time looking for you, because I knew you didn't know that man, and thought you might have been kidnapped or bloody murdered! I phoned your mobile a hundred times and you never answered. I was worried sick about you!"

"I'm so sorry, Lara –"

"You better be bloody sorry because I am at your door and I think I might just murder you."

The sharp, angry knock resounded through the apartment. I quickly stood and rushed to the door to let Lara in, deciding it was best to not make her wait with the mood she was in. When I opened the door, her murderous gaze locked onto me.

"How could you just leave me like that?" She stormed inside, shoving her mobile into her purse.

"I – I forgot." I shut the door and turned around but could not bring myself to look at my best friend in the eye.

"Seriously? You forgot?!" She stomped to the kitchen and grabbed the half full bottle of wine from the refrigerator. Popping the cork angrily she took a long drink straight from the bottle and came back out to the living room. "You are lucky you are my best friend or I would never talk to you again." She snapped, sitting on the couch.

I said nothing, giving Lara a couple of minutes to cool off. I went to the kitchen to grabbed two wine glasses. I understood why she was so upset and frankly I couldn't blame her. But I really didn't have a valid excuse to give her. I could not justify the fact that I had totally forgotten about her.

When I came back out, Lara had downed a quarter of the bottle; I offered her a glass with a small peace offering smile. Reluctantly, she poured some wine in my glass than hers. I sat down next to her and waited for the question I knew she was going to ask.

Lara didn't disappoint, she asked as soon as I was seated.

"Who was that man?"

"I have no idea ..." I took a small sip from the glass, letting the tart, fruity taste linger in my mouth for a moment before swallowing.

Lara was silent for several minutes before speaking again.

"You just took off with him." It was more of a statement then a question. But I felt the need to nod in acknowledgment. "What happened after you two ran?"

"I don't know ..." I shrugged, "nothing, we just ran ..." I paused as the memories flooded back to me and I let myself basked in the feeling that for that brief instant everything had made sense in my life. "We ran down Oxford Street and turned down an alley after we lost the guards. He said thanks for saving him and he just left." I finished crisply.

Lara's eyebrow quirked at the sound of bitterness in my voice. "So you didn't know him?"

"No, he said his name was the Doctor ... and that was it."

"A doctor eh?" Lara took a long drink from her glass. "Well the world needs more doctors like him because he was certainly gorgeous to look at." Glancing at Lara, we both burst out laughing. This is why I loved her so much, she always forgave me, no matter what idiocy I did. Once our laughter died down though, Lara grew serious once more. "When you ran with him, with your doctor ..." She paused as if searching for the right words. "It was like ... your face, it was pure bliss, and you looked at him like he was the world, Clara. Like you had found home."

Her statement took me by surprise. The Doctor had felt like home, but I had not expected anyone on the outside to have noticed.

"When I saw him ... when I touched him ... It was like I was meant to be there, by his side." I whispered, staring into the glass of red wine.

"Then he must be the one you've been waiting for." She said firmly.

I glanced at Lara, wondering if she was right.

oOo

The next morning came much too soon. It felt like I had just collapsed into bed when my alarm started screeching. I crawled from beneath my covers, blurry eyed and cotton mouthed. Lara had ended up sleeping on my couch since we had finished the rest of the wine and neither one of us were in any shape to do anything except go to bed. I wasn't a big drinker so it hadn't taken much to get me tipsy.

Unfortunately though the alcohol did nothing to help me relax and even after Lara had turned in for the night I had not gone to sleep. Thoughts of the Doctor had kept me up half the night and when I had finally convinced myself to forget him because I probably would never see him again, the sun had started to rise.

I quickly got in the shower and turned the water on as hot as it would go, letting it rain over me until it burned and made me hiss with pain. I eased the cold water on and the temperature reached a relaxing point. I tried to wash away the long night I had.

It's not like the Doctor and I had exchange numbers or anything of the sorts. London was a huge city, there was no way I would ever see him again. But why did this one man make me feel like I had to see him again, as if my life depended on it?

When my skin was sufficiently pruned, I was no closer to any answers but I really had to get to class, so I got out and toweled off. I dressed in a cute little blue Skater Dress along with a light blue blazer that matched and hurried off to class before I ended up missing the whole thing.

oOo

I rushed on campus to my advance calculus class, which I despised and was struggling with. I passed several loitering students, all busy texting or furiously typing on their laptops and tablets, which gave me the idea to try and search up the Doctor on the internet later, I had to learn more about this man who I could not forget.

Arriving at the classroom I took a deep breath before entering. My professor was a stickler and he hated tardy people. He always enjoyed humiliating his students for being late. I mentally braced myself for the coming onslaught, and rushed inside the room. I did a quick scan, keeping my head low as if that would somehow camouflage my entrance. I spotted an open desk immediately and tiptoed my way in.

"Right then, I see everyone is here." The stern voice echoed.

I froze. It was not the monotone, droning voice of my professor. I slowly looked up and my jaw dropped. There, leaning lazily against the desk at the front of the class was the most enigmatic man I had ever met. His eyes locked on mine and he gave me a cocky grin.

"I'm the Doctor, and I am replacing your last professor ... just for the day. Apparently someone gave him an impossible equation to solve, and now he won't leave his office until he solves it." The Doctor nonchalantly scratched his chin. "I will give him the right answer later, but for now; let's just have some fun shall we."

I sat down, stunned. How had he gotten in here? The Doctor grabbed one of the volumes from the desk and opened the large book to the middle. His nose crinkled, and his eyes squinted as if what he saw was distasteful. He then dug into his blue blazer and pulled out a pair of glasses which he slipped onto his nose.

-"Right, then, let's see ..." He flipped through the book with displeasure and after a few moments he shut it with a loud clap and tossed it back on the desk. "So if you are traveling at four times the speed of light and your oscillating modulator is broken, where is the best place to stop?" The Doctor paused. "No wait ... early twenty-first century earth, no space travel yet ... Scratch that."

I watched him curiously as he had continued the strange argument with himself on what to do next, but after a few minutes my mind start to drift.

There was something I was supposed to do ... what was it?

"Miss, Oswald?"

The sound of my name being called brought me back. I quickly blinked and looked around the now empty classroom.

"Welcome back!" The Doctor said with a smile, he was crouched at the front of my desk.

I groaned and wished the earth would swallow me up. "I did it again ... How long ...?"

"Oh not to long ... I dismissed everyone early, I forgot how dull regular early twenty-first century mathematics was."

I furrowed my brow at his odd comment. "You say some of the oddest things ..."

He grinned widely as if that comment pleased him.

I tried to ignore the butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach that he was causing thanks to his close proximity to me. I tried to ignore them but it was rather hard when those butterflies felt more like a herd of elephants trampling around in there. What was it about this man that put me all out of sorts?

"How can you be teaching this class?" I blurred out, annoyed.

That question made his face grow serious. He stood up and straightened his jacket. "Why don't we go for a walk?" He offered.

oOo

Outside, it was an unseasonably warm day. Students all over campus were enjoying the early spring weather; some were lounging on the large grassy area, sunbathing, while others were tossing a rugby ball back and forth. The air was filled with the exciting chatter of students and the call of birds. Several happy couples walked by us, holding hands or arm in arm with each other. Spring was definitely in the air.

The Doctor and I silently strolled down the well-worn path until it became less crowded and only the sound of our feet crunching over the gravel was left around us.

"Clara ... Yesterday you saved my life." I turned my head slightly over to look at the Doctor and nodded. "I really am thankful for that ... Usually I am not so distracted, and when I am I typically have this woman with me, Donna ... she watches my back."

The Doctor awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. I wasn't quite sure where this was going, or why he telling me about his girlfriend ... "But see the man who pushed me ... the whole thing felt ... well off." He stopped walking and grabbed my arm. "I don't think that was ever meant to happen, but it did and I somehow think you are connected to it."

I looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean? I don't understand ..."

"I don't really understand either, but when I look at you, Clara Oswald, it's like I am supposed to know you, like I do know you, but I can't remember it for some reason." He rubbed his tousled hair as if that would somehow help him remember. "I looked into you, and you don't make sense."

"I'm sorry?"

"You are studying Astronomy, but you are terrible at mathematics and physics, how are you even still in this program? You have no family, it's like they never existed, there are no records, well there is of your mother and father dying years ago, but nothing makes sense about it." His grip got tighter on my arm. "So who are you Clara?"

I suddenly felt fear creep down into my spine. This was such a turn of emotions for him, he had been so nice and now ... Anger blazed in his eyes.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." My voice climbed in panic.

The Doctor leaned in closer to me, so close that his chest touched mine. All my senses came alive. He stared at me and we both remained unmoving for several minutes.

"Doctor!" His named being called from behind us made us both turn around. "Doctor!" A woman yelled, jogging towards us. She stopped a couple of feet from us, panting hard. "I saw him; he walked inside the campus a few minutes ago and he was headed straight for the science department."

"Fantastic!" The Doctor let go of my arm and clapped his hand together. "Now it's time to get some answers." He started to walk back the way we came, leaving me standing there gaping at him. "Come on, Donna, Clara." He ordered without turning.

I could have easily just walk away in the other direction. Ignored him and just strolled away from everything. His strange mood swings and accusation were almost too much for me. It was obvious this man had some sort of mental instability or something going on.

I should just go. Turn around and go home.

But I didn't. I turned and blindly followed the Doctor. The woman called Donna fell into step next to me, while the Doctor was several feet ahead of us.

"I bet I know what is going through your head right now." She said in a low tone.

"Oh I don't know about that ..."

Donna grinned.

"Oh I know ... Because I've been in your shoes." She glanced at the Doctor then back at me. "You are telling yourself you must be mad to follow this strange man. How can you want to follow him without questions? You think he is the biggest nutter you have met, and that there is something wrong with you for still wanting to follow him."

Taken aback that she was practically dead right, my eyes involuntary moved to the Doctor's back. Donna let out a sharp laugh.

"I've been there, oh hell. I still ask myself that same question every day." She smiled fondly at the Doctor's back. "He might not seem like it right now, but he is the most brilliant man you will ever met, and I would do anything for him."

"You must love him very much." I replied, having a bit of a hard time hiding the sudden onset of bitterness.

"Oh I do ..." Donna looked at me and shook her head. "Not like that!" She playfully slapped my arm. "We aren't like that. He isn't my type at all."

I nodded wanting to believe Donna. But truth was, I would have followed the Doctor without Donna's encouraging words. This man was connected to me somehow and I had to know more. We soon arrived at the science building where we had just been for my calculus class.

"What exactly are we doing?" I asked Donna.

The Doctor had abruptly stopped walking and turned to us. He answered my question. "The man who pushed me is here. I had Donna watching for him, I knew he'd show up here."

"What? Why?" I asked panicked.

But the answer didn't come from the Doctor.

"To look for you, of course, Clara. I should have expected you would be here."

We all turned to face the man who I had seen push the Doctor yesterday. He still wore his dark Victorian clothing, which looked a bit ridiculous, but it took nothing away from his hate filled expression and menacing glare.

"How – how do you know me?"

He took a step closer but the Doctor quickly moved in front of me, putting himself between the stranger and me.

"Who are you?" The Doctor demanded.

The creepy man ignored him.

"You have ruined every single chance I have gotten to change his past." He pointed to the Doctor. "I will not fail again; you have gotten in my way for the last time, Clara Oswald." He raised a gun which was aimed at me. "My name is Walter Simeon and I am the Great Intelligence." He gave us a sinister smile, "and I am the one who brings down the last Time Lord!"