Note: Again, sorry for the short chapter. After this one, the chapters should be longer.
Chapter 3: CLARA
She still couldn't believe it. Even though he was skipping along with her, hooking arms with her, laughing along with her, she still couldn't believe that her Doctor was back in her arms. Quite literally, too. It was like meeting a best friend that went out of contact for a while then suddenly crossing paths in a crosswalk. It was like a dream, and she was afraid that she would wake up from it.
They reached the bottom staircase of her flat, and suddenly, the Doctor picked her up, bridal style.
"Oi!" Clara gasped and immediately grabbed the back of his neck on reflex. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Carrying you!" He exclaimed with a smile from ear to ear. She clearly wasn't the only one pleased on the current state of events. Then suddenly he jolted up to his toes, in pain. "Okay…! Okay… Settling down. Not good. Still cooking…" He stumbled, but managed to twist himself to fall on his bum, having Clara secured tightly in his arms.
"Doctor!" the woman exclaimed as he pushed herself from his grip onto his lap. She cupped his massive chin and caressed it gently. "See Doctor… This is what you get for being emotional… You get hurt." She kissed his forehead… She can't remember the last time she did that to him.
"Ah to be fair, however, this was a good occasion, eh?"
"You've gone bonkers, Doctor," she said with a wry smile on her face.
"What's wrong with bonkers?" he retorted playfully.
She definitely missed this… These playful banters of theirs are much more preferable than what she had with… Well him. The previous him. Or is it the next him? That piqued her interest quite a bit.
"So, Doctor…" she said as she jumped off his lap and helped him up. She put his right elbow over her shoulder, but it didn't do much since he was almost a foot taller than her. "What number of Doctor does this make you?" She decided to take him to the stairs instead because she knew that she would not be able to take on his weight all the way.
"Huh… Oh interesting question…" he said whilst slightly spitting out golden specks of dust. "Can I think about it later? Thinking is literally making me tired right now…"
She giggled at the comment as they entered the elevator. "You lazy arse… This is the only time I'm letting you sleep on me. We have some catching up to do."
"What…?" He said lazily. "Sleep on you? Okay." He then suddenly dropped all his weight.
"Oi! Not literally!" She complained as she slowly lowered herself. She sighed, but not off exasperation, but of relief. He really is back… But that's just not fair to her after she'd just let this persona of his go. But then again, she could never truly let him go. She'd experience getting tricked by him twice in Trenzalore, seen a glimpse of how he'd look when he grew old, and seen him change into a different face, but never has she lost hope that he'd still be in there.
The thought made her feel guilty. She was overly expectant of the old man to be exactly like the Doctor she grew accustomed with. He tried his best, for sure. He'd taken her to the planet Bitrahpicalz, which despite having scenery that switches from every hour, was a pain in the lower posterior due its bipolar climate that also changes every hour. Their inhabitants looked like a penguin combined with a walrus and top hat. As ridiculous as it sounds, their manners reminded her off the old British movies that she used to watch as a child.
Then he revisited Victorian London to reintroduce himself to Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax with his new face. Madame Vastra did not take his new attitude of gambling very well, but she found it relieving that he was still alive. They then had to fend off Strax' fellow Sontarans that decided that it would be a good idea to start turning humans into mini-Sontarans. Apparently they had an odd craving for having little potatoes running around as their children, and at the end of the day, blamed humans for their "vulnerability."
The elevator dinged as they arrived on her floor, but Clara kept thinking about the old man. There were a lot of good things that happened, really… But to her it was never enough. It wasn't the same, and it was around four months after his regeneration that the arguments started. They were small things at first. For example, he'd ask whether she'd like to go to the Variusima, the largest intergalactic Casino every now and then or back to her flat. She'd say the latter every single time, and he always grunted. It just escalated from there to the point of no return.
But now, she wished that she'd gone with him. At least just once would have sufficed.
When she finally came about, she dragged the Doctor's asleep body on the ground. His peaceful face calmed her, but she thought that he was ridiculously heavy. She thought of getting a wheel barrel, but that would be too much effort. With a grunt, she continued to drag him until they reached the front door of her flat. She tried to settle him down gently, but he ended up slightly banging his head on the wooden frame.
"Sorry!" Clara silently exclaimed as she turned the key and opened the door. She attempted to lift him up from his shoulder, but he was still far too heavy. She decided to drag him on his bottom, which she sure was red by now. She managed to settle him on the sofa, and with a sigh, she sat next to him.
She rested her head on the Doctor, and usually at this time, he would reciprocate by leaning his head on hers. But he was asleep, currently trying to rest his regenerating body. She didn't mind. As long as it means that she was getting her Doctor back, she could wait a few days.
And she did. She waited. And waited. She waited two weeks. Then a month.
But the Doctor has yet to awaken.
