A high-pitched ding rang out from the monitor. "Fascinating," the Doctor commented.

"What is it?" Clara asked. Though she tried, she couldn't make any sense of the flashing images and words.

"Something new," the Doctor replied.

Fear and excitement ran through Clara's nerves simultaneously. It was something brand new; something dangerous. Chasing after aliens never got old, not when you ran with the Doctor. Clara never wanted to stop.

"What do we know?" she asked.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the monitor, analyzing all the data. "It's large, reptilian, and dangerous."

An image of a dinosaur popped into Clara's head. "Not like a dinosaur," the Doctor quickly added. Clara chuckled softly. "I would guess they're related to the Slitheen somehow."

Ah, yes. The Slitheen. The Doctor had told Clara about them. Large, green, scaled monsters who wanted to reduce the Earth to rubble for their real estate business. "Bad news?" she asked.

"Of course," the Doctor answered, unable to keep a smile off his face.

"But where would a creature that large be hiding?" Clara mused.

"The Slitheen ripped humans apart and used their skin as a shell."

"Do you think that's what the creature was about to do to the women today?"

"No," the Doctor answered. "Or it would have done it." The monitor dinged again, causing him to furrow his brows and mutter something about odd readings.

"Well then," Clara said. "You keep doing whatever it is you're doing, and I'll go investigate."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

They were out of milk again. Why were they always out of milk. John sighed, contemplating how many jugs to buy. Twenty ought to keep them satisfied for a while, right?

John grabbed two jugs of the shelf. As he turned around, he bumped into a woman who had been passing behind him. "Oh! Sorry," he muttered.

"That's alright," the women said while dusting her pants off. "Hey, you were at that crime scene earlier, weren't you?"

John blinked. Then he remembered. "Clara Oswald."

"Yeah. And you are?"

"Oh, sorry! John Watson."

"Nice to meet you, John," Clara said, staring at him with interest. "I'm actually new to London, maybe you could help me?"

"Right, of course!" John replied. "Just let me pay for this." He held up the milk.

Clara followed him to the check-out. John watched her suspiciously from the corner of his eye. He knew Sherlock didn't trust her, and he was rarely wrong. His friend was at home now, trying to research UNIT, but apparently the organization was a huge secret.

He payed and grabbed his milk. Clara followed him out of the store. "So what is it I can help you with?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if there were any large, abandoned places around. Like, you know, something that could be used as a hiding spot. But it has to be pretty big. And really out of the way."

"There's an old, run down store on the far reaches of town," John said.

"Can you show me?"

John signaled a cab, and the two climbed inside. "Baker Street," he told the driver. As the cab started driving, John's phone buzzed.

You need to see this. Now. -SH

I'm investigating. I've the girl from UNIT with me. Don't scare her off. -JW

"That's just my friend, Sherlock," John explained. "Flatmate actually."

That sparked her curiosity. John could see it in her eyes. "Oh, he was at the crime scene too?"

"Yes. And yes, he's always like that."

Clara laughed softly. "I'm sure he can't be any worse than the doctor."

"Who? Oh, Doctor Smith?"

"Er, yeah," Clara replied nervously.

John eyed her suspiciously. "So what's with the interest in the abandoned store?"

"Investigating," she answered quickly.

"What exactly is UNIT anyways?" John pressed. "I've never heard of it until today."

"It's a pretty secretive organization. Special operations, stuff like that."

What was she hiding? John frowned. Hopefully Sherlock would have some idea. Just then, the cab stopped. He asked the driver to wait for them as he opened the door and climbed out. Clara followed him up to the flat.

"Sherlock?" John called out upon entering. "Sherlock, Clara's here."

He spotted him on the couch, staring intently at the screen of John's laptop. When he saw Clara, he closed it quickly. "Ms. Oswald," he greeted coldly.

Clara seemed not to notice. "Please, call me Clara."

"Clara, this is Sherlock," John said quickly before he could insult her. "I'm just dropping off the milk, then we're going to go investigate the abandoned store on the other side of town."

"Sounds fun," Sherlock said softly. John didn't have to look at him to know that he was analyzing Clara. He stowed the milk in the fridge and returned to the sitting room. "Tell me," Sherlock continued, "how did a school teacher end up working for UNIT?"

Clara looked up quickly, alarmed. "How did you know that?"

"Chalk," Sherlock said simply.

"Er, right," Clara stuttered, clearly uncomfortable. "It's, ah, more of a side job than anything."

Sherlock and John exchanged a glance. "I see," Sherlock said. "Well, I've got lots of work to do. We need to discuss the case when you get back, John."

"Of course," John answered. "Won't be gone long. Come on, Clara."

She followed him back out of the flat and into the waiting cab. John gave the driver the address, and the pair lapsed into silence. Finally, Clara spoke up. "Your friend seems very interesting."

"Oh, he's not all bad," John replied.

"I'm sure he's not. Neither is Doctor Smith."

John gave her a genuine smile. He knew he shouldn't trust her, but he was starting to like her. "I'm never bored."

"Me either!" Clara said, returning the smile.

We're a lot alike, John realized. This girl had an ordinary job, but abandoned her normal life at the first sign of danger. A school teacher, investigating a murder. "You don't really work for UNIT, do you?" John asked.

"What?" Clara asked quickly. The alarm was back in her voice.

"At least, not officially. You just follow Doctor Smith into danger."

Clara relaxed a little. "Something like that," she said with a slight smile.

"It's okay," John said. "I don't work for the police. I just follow behind Sherlock."

Clara laughed. "Yes, and we run. A lot."

"Tell me about it!" John exclaimed. Just then, the cab stopped. "Well, Clara, ready to investigate?"