A/N: I'm backkkk! Ahhh I'm so so happy for your response! Thank you all for all the love you've given me!
Without further ado, off the chapter 3!
I'll keep you safe
Try hard to concentrate
Hold out your hand
Can you feel the weight of it
The whole world at your fingertips
Don't be, don't be afraid
Our mistakes they were bound to be made
But I promise you I'll keep you safe
- Sleeping at Last
The Doctor delicately placed her on one of the infirmary beds and brought a status monitor close to him. Clara looked relatively OK... Some bruises and cuts yes, but she was physically relatively stable,
Well... except for her mind.
It was jumbled up pudding, memories in the wrong parts of the brain, constantly fired up, moving from one part to the next, her brain active with surges of energy between neural cells; hence the headache. She needed time to settle after the neural mix up during the dalek telepathic connection.
So that's why she could remember who Oswin was. Or more importantly, how she could relive every single detail of her echo's life.
He (his previous incarnation, actually) had suppressed her dreams and echoes. But now they had resurfaced, and it will take time for her brain to restabilise.
The Doctor connected her to an IV to stabilise her and fight off any nanobots that could effect his companion. As he was delicately covering her with a blanket, wrapped around her torso, Clara stirred and groaned.
"Hey, hey, Clara. Don't move, it's fine." As he smoothed her hair. But Clara soon pressed her IVd palm against her forehead. "My head hurts." She mumbled, her eyes closed tight, trying to numb the pain.
"I know, Clara. I know." He breathed before pressing a small kiss on the back of her hand pressed on her forehead. The Doctor sat near his companion at the edge of the bed, trying his best to calm her and sooth her.
She gradually got temporarily better. "It needs time to heal. I can't do anything but to help you sleep. The mind's still confused by the dalek telepathic connection. But I'll help you." The Doctor continued. "I have a duty of care."
Clara smiled. "I have a duty of care too Doctor." He shook his head. "You don't understand." She smoothed his hand. "Yes. I do." He looked into her eyes. "I was never going to leave you alone, especially when you looked so heartbroken. You thought you were going to die but admit it.." she smirked. "I actually saved your arse." The Doctor breathed a laugh as did Clara. But his smile faded as soon as it had come.
"I'm sorry, about what happened." Said the Doctor as he continued drawing random shapes and lines on her palm. His eyes were as broken as his hearts, and held his companion's hand for comfort. "I was so angry... i was going to kill you." "You had no idea, Doctor." Clara tried to reassure him. "It wasn't your fault. It was anything but." "I still hurt you." His eyes were broken. Her hands slithered to take his rough hand. "You didn't, Doctor. Missy did. She tried to hurt us." The Doctor's patterns slowed to a halt, before he just stood gazing at his companion's palm. A horrible silence took over the room. The TARDIS's engines continued humming, the ECG continued pulsing but neither the Impossible Girl or the last of the Time Lords talked. Clara just gazed at the Doctor, hoping what his next move would be. After such a deathly silence of what seemed went on for hours, the Gallifreyan simply mumbled, "I know."
"And you're still giving her second chances?"
"I can help her become the compassionate person she once was, Clara."
"But you cannot do the impossible."
"Well..." The Doctor smiled. "Unlike you." They giggled.
"Shut up and stop changing the subject, Doctor." Clara breathed a laugh. The Doctor joined.
"I promise Clara," Pressing a kiss on her forehead. "I will make you feel better. All you have to do is rest. I promise you, you'll wake up much better." His thumb brushed her cheek. "Then we can go to... wherever you want." He said. "Your choice."
"And don't go changing my choice like you always try do." Clara smiled, as did the time lord. "Thank you Doctor. For everything."
"Anything, my Clara." He snugged her under the quilt in medbay. The time Lord lowered himself and pressed one last kiss, before starting to smooth hair to sleep.
It was such bliss being near his companion. The TARDIS had dimmed the light only slightly so that it would not disturb Clara's sleep, but at the same time he could notice every move she made; every breath, every twitch. She was just there; lying so still... So beautiful... He smiled. The time lord took the opportunity of speaking to her in Gallifreyan, now that her echoes were once again temporarily exposed.
He delicately began to engrave Gallifreyan words on her forehead, leaving weak traces of gold light.
Circles which together, meant something so special to the Doctor that he couldn't bring himself to say it through direct words... Hoping that the fact that her echoes had resurfaced, her subconscious could reveal what he had expressed, and she would hold it in her heart. For he was too scared to tell her, or even engrave when she was awake.
He continued to caress her hair, when Missy soon entered the room.
"The -"
"Shhhhhhh..." The Doctor whispered.
"Hokae... Sorry Mr. President." Missy whispered cheesily.
The time lady immediately noticed that Clara was cocooned by the soft blankets that surrounded her. The time lord had sat down near her and continued to smooth her hair, feeling at peace seeing Clara out of her pain again. The latter seemed so peaceful, and the Doctor hoped it would last as long as his companion's mind needed to restabilise.
"Seems like the puppy's asleep at last." Missy mumbled. The Doctor looked at her, panged with pain and the inevitable guilt; where he could have taken care of Clara and he hadn't let his friend do whatever she liked with his companion. But he didn't want to turn down Missy; he was determined to bring some goodness into her heart, maybe slowly, but surely, her heart would soften and kindness would win her over. But for now, she was the same old Master he always knew. And he had to protect Clara, and the Universe, from her. "Why would you do this to us, Missy?" He breathed.
"Oh... You know I like to play with your pets every so often or when I pop back to life." "She's my friend." He breathed. "Even a wee more than that, I suppose." Missy murmured before she continued to speak normally. "Being your friend only makes it better, Doctor. Don't you see? I just want to play a bit with you too, like we used to do... Chase each other from one corner of the Universe to the other." "The problem is you've taken your game to far, Missy. You're endangering everyone else." Said the Doctor. "Oh... But that's the fun of it all! I deserve it, don't you think?" She smirked.
His teeth were clinched tight together, still very angry for Missy, both for what she said and for what she had done to Clara. "Go to hell." He said.
Missy laughed. "Oh... I'm already in-"
Clara stirred slightly, and the Doctor's harsh look softened as he smoothed her hair, calming her down. "Go back to sleep, Clara." He purred delicately. She moaned as the companion nuzzled her nose further into his shirt, smiling slightly before falling back into oblivion. "Oh you two look like lovebirds." Missy smiled. "You should start-" But the Doctor stopped her. "Shut up and get lost." "As you wish... Mr. President." Missy chuckled and left the room.
"Don't you worry about her, Clara." The Doctor breathed in Clara's hair and pressed a wet kiss. "I'll keep you safe."
After a while, the Doctor exited the Infirmary. Clara looked to be quite stable, thank goodness. He headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. He brought the electric kettle to a boil and prepared the tea. But he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened on Skaro.
"Compassion then."
"Always."
"It grows strong and fierce in you, like a cancer."
"I hope so."
"It will kill you in the end."
"I wouldn't die of anything else."
After what he had done to his home, a burden he thought he would need to carry the rest of his life, even through his aging years before being granted the regeneration cycle. But Clara... Always Clara... She had to be the one who stood up to everything. If it hadn't been for her, he would have burned Gallifrey yet again that day there were three of him. Yet, he had saved it... What he thought was once a fixed point in time, he had changed.
All he needed was to find Gallifrey.
And Missy had given him some kind of hope. But it was horrible. He thought he was so so close to achieving what he truly wanted... And all that hope was taken away from him.
Now, maybe... When he would found it, he would show Clara what life on Gallifrey is, it would be an adventure on its own. An adventure he sought to have once again for so so many years.
He would show Clara the fields of Gallifrey, the Capital...
And then... The Hybrid. Why was Davros, father of the Daleks, so obsessed with a Gallifreyan prophecy? Did he really think that the Hybrid would come from his side? Because... After all... The Daleks sought to be pure... Pure hatred. They would never accept such a thing as half-timelord, half-dalek.
What about what he had done to Clara? It was unforgivable... Clara should have-
A weak scream echoed through the corridors. A scream only his sharp ears would have heard.
He left the mug on the bench and ran through the corridor.
Clara!
A/N: Too many cliffhangers xD (sorry not sorry) I'm feeling so evillllll. Kudos and feedback fuel my motivation, so please feel free to comment (constructive criticism also accepted)! Hopefully will post next Tuesday or Wednesday! Till then take care!
