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Usual disclaimer: I don't own any of this

Chapter 4

Clara woke up the next morning feeling more well-rested than she had in a long while. She had slept for some ungodly amount of time, almost fourteen hours, so by the time she woke up it was nearly noon.

She got out of bed and stretched out, and, not for the first time, she felt how sore her muscles were. She wasn't even thirty years old yet but travelling had taken its toll on her.

She opened up the curtains and saw that it was sunny. She couldn't remember the last time there was such a beautiful day but she took that as a sign that leaving the Doctor was the right decision. She couldn't remember beautiful weather on earth because she never had time to.

It was her first day back being just Clara Oswald, no one's companion and no one's girlfriend, and she was enjoying it. She walked into her kitchen and started making a pot of tea. She had a lot of marking to do and needed a lot of tea to catch up on all of it.

Thinking of things to catch up on, she checked her calendar. It was her grandmother's birthday.

Grinning, an idea came to Clara. She practically skipped back to her bedroom and got changed. She ran back into the kitchen as the kettle went off. She grabbed a travel mug from the cabinet and made herself tea in that vessel.

She went to where she kept her school stuff and packed it all up. She grabbed her work bag and her coat and her mug of tea and hastily went out the door, smiling.

-DW-

Clara found herself on a train making the familiar trip north. She was already in a good mood but she could feel herself getting happier as she got closer and closer to Blackpool. She had about three hours to get all her marking done, which would have been very easily managed, but she kept getting distracted by the view out the window of the train.

Clara had spent so much time seeing incredible views on other planets or even on Earth in other time periods, but she hadn't lately appreciated the view of her own time and place. It reminded her of when she was young and she'd come down to London with her mum.

She sat back in her seat and took in the view, which was blurry with the speed with which the train was running. It had been a while since Clara had been on a train, as well. At least, it had been a while since she had been on a regular, non-space train on Earth. It was nice.

-DW-

Clara arrived at the very familiar house and rang the doorbell. She waited impatiently for a few moments until the door opened.

"Clara!" her dad said, surprised. "Hi!"

"Dad!" Clara grinned, pulling him in for a hug. "How are you?"

"Good," he replied, clearly a bit shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I come up for a surprise visit?" Clara asked. "I did it all the time when I first moved to London."

"Yeah, but you haven't done it in almost two years," Dave Oswald replied.

Clara's face visibly fell. She hadn't realized how long it had been and how much she had neglected her family.

She quickly recovered, though. "Yeah, I'm sorry, it's been hard for me to get up here."

"It isn't really a great time, I'm just about to run out for a second to do some errands."

"I can wait here," Clara said. "Gran's here, yeah?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I usually don't like to leave her here alone but I'm only running out for a second."

"I'll stay with her," Clara said. "I haven't seen her in a while, it'll be nice."

"Clara's it's been a long while," her dad said.

"I know," Clara said, seeing that her dad was becoming angry. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"A lot has changed," Dave said. He saw the confusion and hurt on Clara's face and sighed. "Mum's sick."

"What?" Clara asked.

"It's been developing for a while but it recently took a turn for the worse," Dave said. "She's getting older, these things happen."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Clara asked, feeling tears prick her eyes.

"Clara, you're never around," her dad said. "You haven't been up here in years, you always have some excuse for when we offer to come to you. You rarely answer your phone when we ring you."

"I'm sorry," Clara said, meaning it.

"You're here now," her dad said. "That's good."

"Can I still see her?"

"Of course," Dave said. "Just…be careful, yeah?

Clara nodded and stepped out of the way so her father could leave the house.

Dave stopped and hugged Clara before he went.

"It's good to see you," he said. "It really is."

Clara mustered up a sincere smile. "You too."

She watched him walk to his car, then walked into the house.

-DW-

Clara put her bag and coat away then walked nervously into the lounge.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"Hi, Gran," Clara said. "It's me, don't worry. It's me."

Gran smiled. "Oh, come sit with me, dear."

Clara grinned and sat next to her. In the light of the lounge she finally really saw her grandmother. She was smaller, and more frail looking. She was wrapped in a knit blanket.

Clara's smile faltered a bit as she saw this, but she quickly recovered.

"How are you?" Clara asked.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me," Gran said. "Do you like this blanket? I knitted it myself."

"You knit?" Clara asked.

"I'm a grandmother, of course I knit," Gran said pointedly.

Clara laughed a bit. "Okay."

"So how are you?" Gran asked.

"I'm good," Clara said. "I'm happy to be up here. It's great to see all of you."

"You see us all the time," Gran said. "You live here, don't you, Ellie?"

Clara's face immediately fell.

"Gran," she said after a moment. "It's me, Clara."

"Clara," Gran said, confused.

"Ellie and Dave's daughter, Clara," Clara clarified. "Ellie's not here."

"Right," Gran said quickly.

"I'm Clara," Clara said. "I live in London, I'm a schoolteacher."

"Yes, of course," Gran continued. "And you're dating that nice boy."

"Not anymore," Clara said. "We broke up."

"You broke up with the Doctor?" Gran asked. "Did he have to go back to Sweden?"

Clara laughed. "No, I was dating Danny, remember? He was a teacher at my school, but before that he was a soldier."

"Oh, yes! Danny!"

"Although there is something I need to tell you about the Doctor," Clara said.

"What is it?"

"The Doctor wasn't my boyfriend," Clara said. "He was a friend of mine who travelled through the time and space. We used to travel together and that's why I haven't been around much."

"A time traveler?" Gran asked. She laughed.

"I know, it's a lot," Clara said, laughing as well. "I just wanted you to know. I love you, Gran, and I'm sorry that I've been lying these past few years. And I'm sorry I haven't been around."

"Clara, dear," Gran began. "You could be gone for ten years and we'd still be happy when you came home."

"I'll be around more often, I promise," Clara said. "I'm not travelling with the Doctor anymore. I'm here, I'm on Earth now, and I don't want to miss any of this."

Gran made a face. "So your father has told you."

"Told me what?"

"I know I'm getting old, Clara," Gran said. "And I'm not as sharp as I used to be."

"Gran, no," Clara started.

"It's fine, dear," Gran said. "But you're young. You have your whole life ahead of you."

"Gran, I love being up here and spending time with you."

"I love it too," Gran said. "But your life is in London."

"Part of it is," Clara said. "But part of it is here. The last few years I haven't been around. I want to fix that. I want to be here, I want to be around."

Gran was quiet for a moment. "What are you going to do about this boy, Danny?"

Clara chuckled nervously. "What do you mean?"

"You love him, don't you?"

Clara nodded wordlessly.

"So how are you going to fix things with him?"

Clara shrugged. "I don't know. It's been weeks since we broke up. He's been seeing other people. I want to be with him, but I want him to be happy more."

"It'll work out," Gran said. "If you love someone, it always works out."

"Yeah," Clara said softly, not quite believing it but not wanting to argue the point.

"So the Doctor," Gran continued. "Wherever he's from, are people always naked there too?"

Clara looked up in shock for a moment, then laughed. She finally felt home.

-DW-

Clara ended up staying the night. It was weird to sleep in her childhood bed but otherwise it was nice to be home. She had really hurt her family by basically being unavailable for the past couple years, but she had started the process of fixing it.

The next morning, after breakfast, Clara's father drove her to the train station.

"It was nice having you this weekend," Dave said. "Maybe next time you could call ahead, though."

"Yeah, sorry," Clara replied. "It was sort of a last minute thing. Things have been hectic for me lately and I…I needed this, Dad."

"I know," Dave said. "And when you need us, we'll be here. Me, your gran, even your stepmum."

Clara smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend," Dave said. "He's missing out on a great girl."

Clara exhaled deeply. "I don't know about that, but thanks."

They were quiet for a moment, then Dave spoke again.

"So what's this your Gran tells me about the Doctor?" he asked. "He's not just your ex, he's a time traveler?"

Clara laughed. "Yeah," she began. "It's a long story. We met when I was still with the Maitlands, and I travelled with him once a week. He was like a hobby, until he wasn't. Travelling became…something I couldn't stop doing. It was incredible. But then it became more harm to me than good. It broke up me and Danny. It hurt my relationship with my family. So I don't travel anymore."

Dave looked like he was in shock.

"I know," Clara said. "And I'm sorry I never told you this before. To be honest, I didn't think I ever would but I don't want to be a liar anymore. Me lying hurts everyone around me. I don't want that."

"No matter what, you'll always have us," Dave said.

Clara smiled. "I know. Thank you. I'm going to come around more, too, and answer my phone when you ring me and I'll ring you when I have the chance. I'll come up for Christmas."

Dave smiled. "That'd be nice."

Clara grinned in return.

"Where'd you travel?" Dave asked. "With the Doctor, where did you go? What did you do?"

"We went all over time and space," Clara said. "We helped people."

"Were you safe?"

"Not always," Clara said, earning a wince from her father. "But I'm safe now. Not everyone who travels with him can say the same."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"I've always wanted to travel and see the world," Clara said. "You know that. With the Doctor, I got to see loads of worlds. And I got to help people. It's quite hard to say no to that."

Dave looked away from the road and at Clara. "You're so much like your mum sometimes."

Clara smiled softly. "Thank you."

They pulled in to the drop-off lane at the train station.

"Well, thanks for the ride, Dad," Clara said, getting out of the car.

"Anytime," Dave replied.

Clara stopped by the driver's side door and leaned down to talk to her dad through the window.

"I love you, and I'm really, genuinely sorry I haven't been here."

"You're back now, that's what matters," Dave said. He got out of the car and gave his daughter a proper hug. "I love you, Clara."

Clara smiled into her father's shoulder.

She pulled back after a few more moments.

"I'll call you when I get home, okay?"

Dave nodded and watched Clara walk into the train station before getting back in his car and driving off.

-DW-

A few hours later, Clara was walking into her flat with her phone to her ear.

"Yes, Dad, I made it home alright," she said. She put her keys on the counter and put her bag and coat away.

"Good," Dave Oswald said.

"Yeah," Clara said. "So I'll ring you tomorrow, okay?"

"Wait," Dave said.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked.

"The Doctor," Dave said. "He stops aliens, right?"

"Yeah, usually," Clara said.

"Was he there when your mum died?"

Clara, who was in the process of taking off her shoes, stopped in her tracks.

"What?" she said.

"Did you ever ask him?"

"No," Clara said. "Do you want me to?"

"Well, if you're done with him now, there's no matter whether if I want you to or not."

"Dad."

"Clara he seems dangerous," Dave said. "I'm proud of you for helping people when you traveled with him but I'm also proud of you for stopping going around with him."

"Dad I don't want to talk about this."

"Okay," Dave said. "Sorry for bringing it up."

"Look, Dad, I've got to go, but I'll ring tomorrow."

"Alright, bye," Dave said. "Love you."

"Love you too," Clara said, then hung up the phone. She took off her other shoe and calmly put them away.

-DW-

Later that night, Clara was sat on her couch with the telly on as background noise while she read a book. She got up when she heard a knock on her door.

"Danny," she said when she opened the door. "Hi."

"Hi," he said. "I came by last night but no one answered, I guess you were out."

"Yeah, I went up to Blackpool for the night," Clara said. "It was my Gran's birthday and she's ill, so I wanted to see her."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Danny said.

"Thanks," Clara said. "So, why'd you stop by?"

Danny took a deep breath. "When I was in the army, I killed a young boy," he said. He took a moment to gauge Clara's reaction before continuing. "We had orders to go into this village based on intel that a local terrorist leader was hiding there. I was tasked with doing a sweep of this one house that he might've been in. So, I did it. Standard protocol, lead with a grenade then go in shooting. I had never done a sweep like that alone before, but my commanding officer insisted I do it. He ordered me to. He told us that it was a definite thing, not a possibility, that the person we were looking for was in this village, possibly in my building. They told us there were no families in this village, no one but this one terrorist leader and his small group of followers. So, I threw my grenade then went in shooting. There were no terrorists. Just a scared little boy."

Danny took a moment to collect himself, as he started to tear up.

"Danny…" Clara said.

Danny ignored her and continued on, knowing he needed to get it all out then or he never would. "I shot him, I shot him more times than he ever could have recovered from. I went in shooting and when the smoke cleared he was on the ground, bleeding. He was coughing, too, choking on his own blood. But he never broke eye contact with me. I stood in the doorway and watched him bleed, and the last thing he ever saw was me standing there, holding my gun. I was standing there, in my helmet and bulletproof armor, and he was lying on the floor, defenseless, wearing a bloody football jersey. My commanding officer was calling for me to confirm the building as secure. I eventually did and I had to move on. We didn't find a single terrorist suspect in that village. It was all families, it was all parents and children and brothers and sisters who were under attack and scared."

"Danny, I'm so sorry," Clara said.

"I finished that tour and as soon as I came home I handed in my discharge papers. I went back to school. I decided that my life from then on would be spent helping children, not killing them."

"You were doing your job," Clara said. "You didn't know that boy was in there."

"Yeah, I didn't know," Danny said. "But I also didn't check. I went in shooting, like I was ordered to do. And a little boy died because of me."

Clara didn't know what else to say, so she just opened her arms and let him cry on her shoulder.

He cried softly at first, since he was trying to contain his tears as he explained himself, but once he was back in Clara's arms he just let go. His body shook as he let himself feel everything he tried to suppress since he left the army.

Clara held his large body as best she could, and stroked his back as he held her tight.

"It's alright, you're alright," she whispered in his ear. "You're safe with me, I promise. You're safe here."

After a while Danny had calmed down enough to reply.

"I need you, Clara," he said. "I need you."

Clara pulled back and looked him in the eye.

"I need you too," she said.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, then quickly rushed in and met for a kiss.

"I love you so much," Danny said when he could catch a breath.

"I love you too," Clara said. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into her flat. Danny managed to shut the door behind him and then he leaned his back against the wall, kissing Clara passionately.

"I want to get back together," Danny breathed.

Clara pulled back and laughed a bit. "Yeah, I caught that."

Danny smiled and went back in.

"Wait," Clara said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything that happened to you. I'm going to support you with that no matter what. I'm here, for good."

"Thank you," Danny said.

"And I'm sorry for everything I did," Clara said. "All the lying, all the running off, all the hiding. I'm done with it, and I am so sorry for how badly I hurt you. But I can't apologize for it anymore."

"Okay," Danny said.

"I mean it," Clara said. "I know I really hurt you and I'll happily spend forever making it up to you, but I'm done apologizing. Apologizing doesn't do either of us any good."

"Forever?" Danny asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," Clara said with a smile. "If that's alright with you."

Danny nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely."

Clara grinned and went back in for another kiss, which was a short one because she pulled back again.

"There is one more thing I need to tell you," Clara said.

"It can wait," Danny said.

"Are you sure?" Clara asked.

Danny nodded. "Yes, it can wait. Please, I've missed you so much Clara. I just want to be with you."

"Okay," Clara replied, letting herself get pulled back in to Danny Pink.

That's it for this chapter, y'all. Hope y'all liked it. There was no Doctor in this chapter, but it didn't feel appropriate to have him in because Clara just left him for good. He will be around at some point soon, though, don't you fret.

And sorry if it seemed like things were getting more…mature at the end. I don't write smut but at the same time Clara and Danny are adults in a relationship, and adults in relationships engage in certain activities. So while I won't expressly write anything, makeouts will happen and things will be alluded to.

Yeah so that's it please leave a review and let me know what you think! :)