A/N Hello! Thanks to RandomW for the review AND TheLovelyWhouffle for the follow/favorite! This chapter's a bit shorter than the last one, so...sorry about that. Disclaimer: I do not own DW. Thanks to everyone who's tried it so far!

Nearly Day 2: What Will Follow

She had no contact but for a few texts with John until three days later. It was around ten thirty when she gave up and decided to shower...or maybe binge–watch Next Gen? Oswin was asleep, so she couldn't make snarky comments, and Picard wasn't going anywhere...so. Both. definitely both.

Before she did either, however, she was distracted by a low brrring brring sound. Her phone. She ran out of her room and picked it up, answering without looking at the person who was calling.

"Hi?"

"Fangirl here?"

"Doctor there?"

"Damn straight. How's your day been?"

"Pretty good, I guess...mostly work stuff." Clara shrugged. "Tried to make a soufflé again, but...well. It didn't work out too well."

He laughed. Clara decided that she very much liked his laugh– it was sweet, and kind of melodious in a way that made you want to hear it again.

"Where do you work?"

"This little computer business out by where Rose lives...not much to do there, just building up a resume for college. Why?"

"Just curious, I guess."

She decided to change the topic. "How was your day, then?"

He sighed, and she imagined him running his fingers through his hair. "Mnemh."

"Not too great, then."

"No day where I've got classes is good."

Classes? He never said that he was in school before. As far as she knew, Neptune Creek didn't have a community college– or anything besides the K–12 Oswin was enrolled in

"You like talking at night a lot." It wasn't a question. He had texted her the past few nights as well- but barely ever during the day.

He sighed. "You're absolutely right."

"Why?"

"It keeps the darkness away, I guess. Less fear."

Clara frowned. She knew that he couldn't be fearless- all lonely boys have to cry at some point in their lives. But the darkness?

"What are you afraid of?"

"Tomorrow," he said simply, "and what will follow."

Then he hung up.

She went to sleep that night feeling confused and a little bit hopeful- but of what, she wasn't sure.

Day 2: Gallifrey Landing

"WAKE UP, CLARY! UP, UP, UP!"

"Oswin Elizabeth Oswald, you will get off my bed this instant- OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES." Clara groaned, reaching for the rather heavy pillow she left near the side of the bed specifically for such occasions. However, the pillow was nowhere to be found, and Clara was forced to lift her gaze to her sister's eyes, which currently looked highly caffeinated and therefore terrifying.

"Mr. Smith's come to visit you. Clary, do you have a boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend, Os. And why is he even here? How did he get my address?"

"Rose gave it to him."

"UGHHHH." She dropped back down onto her bed and pulled the remaining covers around her tightly. Then something clicked. "Wait, you called him Mr. Smith. Why?"

Oswin shrugged. "Isn't that what you're supposed to call teachers?"

Teachers? Clara tried to shrug, but it was too much work.
"What time is it?"

"Around one."

Allowing her mind to wander a bit, she began to drift off to sleep again– but suddenly she sat bolt upright. "Oswin, it's not the fifth, is it? August fifth?"

"Yeah, it is. Why?"

"Oh, crap." The Doctor Day.

"Clara?" she recognized John's voice. He poked his head around the door and her face began to feel flushed. "Nice hair, Clars."

"You're one to talk." she grumbled, trying in vain to comb down her ridiculously puffy bedhead with her fingers. She finally gave up.

John looked around her room, from the Star Wars poster above her bed to the Green Lantern designs scattered about the walls. There were at least three bookshelves, and the top of one was lined in video games. He caught her veritably murderous gaze after a full scan of the room.

"I swear, if you judge me, Doctor boy, you're dead."

He held his hands up. "Haven't said anything."

"Os, Chin, get out. I'm getting dressed."

"Chin?" Oswin asked. "You call my theater teacher Chin?"

Clara looked at John, who shrugged. "What?"

"You're her summer theater teacher?"

"I've got to have a job, don't I? And I'm not the actual teacher. I'm the 'creative studies' director. I show kids how to write skits and stories and stuff."

Clara was impressed. "Learn something new every day. Now shoo."

John closed the door and Clara leapt up from her bed, muttering curses under her breath. She'd forgotten that the fifth was a Doctor Day. She pulled a dress from her closet and began to pull it over her head. "Is today the day of Snog?"

"Yup, that would be today."

"'The day of Snog?'" Oswin was trying very hard not to laugh. Clara ignored her.

"Where are you going to be, Oswin?"

"Off at the library."

Clara snatched her phone from the charger and haphazardly stuffed it in her purse. Then she proceeded to drop to the floor and tug on her shoes. "Nearly ready."

"Okay."

She jumped to her feet, opened the door, and actually looked at John for the first time in a few days.

His purple bowtie was still there, along with the matching vest– oh god it was crooked. Would it be incredibly awkward if she reached up to straighten it? She didn't care, it was almost too haphazard to save but she tried anyways. For some reason, he was wearing a pocket watch, and the toothbrush thing that he had in his room a few days before was poking out of his pocket.
"What's the deal with the toothbrush?"

"Toothbrush?"

"Yeah, the electric one in your pocket."

"Clara, stop making innuendos." called Oswin from down the hall.

"SHUT UP, OSWIN. I MEANT THIS THING." She gestured at the toothbrush.

John gave her a look of disbelief. "It's a sonic screwdriver. Not a toothbrush."

"Sonic screwdriver?"

"Sonic screwdriver. Shall we go?" he said, offering his arm to her.

Clara smiled at him, slipping her arm through his. "Let's."

"Allons–y, then!"

"Hello!" John sang as he went into the house. Clara followed, looking around for changes– there was David,,waving at her, and one other person she hadn't yet who, judging by the information given would be Peter.

John swept his arm extravagantly, nearly hitting Clara. "This is Clara Eleanor Oswald, the very kind person who has chosen to help me brainstorm because someone–" he rather pointedly glared at David– "decided that kissing was better than having adventures."

David huffed and settled back into his seat. "Rose and I are just going on a trip, okay? I tried to tell her that there was a Doctor Day today, but–"

John put his hands up in mock surrender. "All I'm saying is that the Doctor Days were established for you to set up your snog sessions around."

Peter ignored the bickering pair and turned to Clara. "What'd you come up with, then?"

"A thing. With Cybermen. And Cybermites that convert the Doctor into the Cyber Planner. We changed the Cybermen so that they could convert Time Lords too. That way, you've got the Doctor being both the enemy and hero."

Peter nodded. "That's actually pretty good."

Clara smiled a bit, face feeling a bit warm. "Thanks."

"Have you taken her up to Gallifrey yet?" Chris asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Not yet...we could go. If you want to, after we've finished with the recording?" he turned to her, face slightly hopeful. Clara had absolutely no idea what Gallifrey was.

"Sure?"

"Then let's get started."

"Hello! This is the Doctor speaking, and here with me is the lovely Clara Oswald–"

"Hi!"

"–Who served as a companion (quite a good one, too)"

"Why, thank you!"

"–in my last adventure, which shall henceforth be known as–" he leaned in to the camera– "The Nightmare in Silver."

This whole Doctor business was a lot more 'video diary' and a lot less 'action adventure' than Clara had thought. However, she saw how his face changed, how his actions altered, how John sort of fell into the role. When he was like this, he wasn't John Smith, techie– he was entirely the Doctor, time traveller extraordinaire, and she wasn't sure what to think.

The Doctor turned to her, and she thought maybe they were finished, but he was only talking about the bomb subplot they had worked out. That was a pretty nice twist, and Clara congratulated herself for working it out. "Clara here knew that I needed the planet nice and NOT exploded, however, so.." Even his voice sounded more animated.

Finally he switched off the camera. The light that came in his window was that of the late afternoon, and again Clara reprimanded herself for sleeping in til one.

"Did I tell you about Gallifrey yet?"

He spun in the spinny chair to face her. She shook her head.

"What's a Gallifrey?"

And then, the second most surprising thing of the day happened. He took her hand.

Her skin tingled in that he's–touching–me–it's–only–our–second–date way, and she swallowed, trying to force it down.

"The question is not 'what's a Gallifrey.' The question is 'where's a Gallifrey'. And even then, it's not properly worded. Gallifrey," John said quietly, drawing her to her feet, "is a planet in the star system Kasterborous. It's the home planet of the Time Lords. And I want to show it to you."

They began walking out the door, through the hall. "How is that possible?" Clara asked as they stepped through the back door. "You just said that it's in an entirely different star system."

"You'll see."

They stopped when they reached a giant tree in his backyard. An orange leaf fluttered down and smacked Clara in the face.

"Lovely." she said, pulling it off. That was when she realized that John was gone, climbing up somehere above her.

"I don't usually climb trees, Doctor." she called up. There was a rustle of leaves and John appeared again.

"Wonderful day to start, then. Besides, there's no ladder to Gallifrey."

"You could stick that on a motivational poster," Clara grumbled, testing her shoe against the tree. A huge section of bark ceaked, groaned, and came off, sending Clara backward onto the ground. She looked up towards where John was it what was meant to be an accusatory glare, but he had already left the low–hanging branch he was on she finally found stable footholds, she began her ascent.

"There we are...up a bit, up a bit–perfect." John hauled her up onto this sort of platform thing in the middle of the tree. She stood unsteadily, and John caught her, hands on her shoulders, the inverse of the cafe.

"Now," he said gently, his pale green eyes lit with bright orange light, "I want you to look up."

Clara did, and her breath hitched in her throat.

The light twisted and warped around the vermillion leaves of August, making every cloud glow like an ember and every branch shine like metal. She reached out to one and was surprised when the wood was rough and sun–warmed, not cool and smooth.

"It was said that Gallifrey's sky was a burnt orange color, and the trees glowed silver in the sunset." John said quietly. "This was our secret hiding spot when we were little, Peter and I. This is where the Doctor was born."

"It's beautiful." Clara whispered. She was so awash in the dark and golden beauty of it all that she didn't hear John's reply.

"Gallifrey's gone."

John had to leave and teach his class–thing, so Clara was a bit surprised when someone caught her wrist on the way out the door. She turned and met Peter's gaze.

"Could I have a word with you?" he asked pleasantly. Clara noted the sharp set of his eyebrows and the difference from John's voice...Peter's accent sounded different. Scottish? Maybe. Come to think of it, David's sometimes fluctuated like that too...

"Uh, okay."

He let go of her wrist and coughed a bit.

"If the first few storylines are a bit rough, don't worry, it's fine. John's just a bit out of practice."

"Sorry?" He had done brilliantly earlier, though...and what did Peter mean, out of practice?

"Has John been acting..odd, in any way?" he said.

Clara frowned. "I've only just met him, I don't know what odd is for him. Why?"

"Because, Clara, you haven't known him long enough to know this fully but..." Peter raked his hand through his hair in a very John–like gesture. "He's scared. And he's got a very good reason to be."

"Scared of what?" Tomorrow. And what will follow. a voice whispered in her head. No, she told herself firmly. He hadn't meant it like that. Anyways, that really didn't mean anything.

"Ask Rose about Amelia Pond. And when you do, I won't judge you if you don't come back."

He turned and left her to walk home alone.

AMELIA POND, 20, OF NEPTUNE CREEK DROWNED – read more here!

Clara clicked on the link. A picture of John and a tall, laughing woman appeared on the screen. Clara gaped.

"That woman is made of legs! How is that even possible?"

The woman–Amy–was absolutely gorgeous. She had long, red hair and a wonderful smile. John looked happier than Clara had seen him.

She scrolled down.

Amelia Pond, age twenty, died last night in a tragic accident near Essex Creek. According to witness Jonathan Smith (pictured above with Amelia), she dropped a unknown prized possession into the creek. Against Smith's warnings, Amelia dove in after it and never came up.
Investigation and more to follow
–September 5th, 2013

So that was what Peter was talking about– Amy had been the last companion of John's Doctor. He was 'out of practice'– he hadn't played the Doctor since 2012. But Peter couldn't have just wanted to tell her to beware, that it was dangerous….it was about John. John and this Amelia Pond. Somehow, he was different now- that much she could see. His smile filled his eyes in the picture. Did she ever see them do that?

No. She hadn't.

But he was still bright, and lively, and so wonderful. He was still everything he was, Clara was sure of it. Ask Rose about Amelia Pond. And when you do, I won't judge you if you don't come back.

She printed out the article and stuffed it in her bag. And with that, she resolved to always come back.