CHAPTER 4

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AN UNEARTHLY REUNION

Clara stood her ground and continued to stare down the Doctor as he refused to look at her. He went to the console instead and began to pretend to be pushing buttons and turning knobs.

"Come on, Doctor. We need to talk about this. I just found out that you married a person who was a part of me. I'm practically Susan's grandmother. You can't just ignore that and act like it's no big deal," Clara said in an angry voice.

The Doctor remained silent and continued to pretend to be working on the console. Clara silently fumed nearby and refused to just let things go.

Amy noticed that he was shaking and immediately became protective towards him. She liked Clara and considered her a close friend, but if she had to pick between her and her best friend then the Doctor would win every time.

She put a comforting arm around him as she said, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything."

"Oh, yes he does," Clara said.

"Leave him alone," Amy said in a warning tone.

"Look, I'm not trying to make him upset, Amelia. It's just that I'm upset too. I need to know why he didn't tell me," Clara said.

"I imagine it's not something that he felt comfortable bringing up. 'By the way, Clara, I found out that my dead wife was a part of you.' Yeah, that wouldn't be awkward at all," Amy said.

"She's not dead," the Doctor said in an emotional voice.

"She's been missing for centuries is what Susan said," Amy responded.

"Missing doesn't mean dead. There's a difference, Pond. Don't talk about her that way, and stop talking about me like I'm not here," the Doctor said in a voice filled with cold fury.

"Hey, I'm on your side," Amy said in a hurt voice.

The Doctor immediately felt sorry and hugged Amy apologetically as he said, "I'm sorry, Amy. I just don't like to talk about her. I . . . can't talk about her."

Clara knew that those last comments were more meant for her than Amy.

"Look, I didn't mean to upset you. I just . . . This is important. How do I know that you didn't just bring me along to travel with you because you miss her? What if you really don't care anything about me as a person at all?" Clara said.

How do I know that you really love me for who I am and not just because I look like her? That was the unspoken question that now hung in the air between them.

The Doctor could see the worry on her face and for once he knew exactly what was bothering her. He put his arms around her and then drew her close to him. To both Clara and Amy's surprise, he then proceeded to give Clara a long passionate kiss.

Amy smiled and looked away to give them some privacy. She was so happy for both of them. She thought that it would take the Doctor forever to admit how he felt about her.

This was going to be really problematic if River ever came back for good though. It's not like Melody would have never expected the Doctor to move on, but it would still hurt her to see him with someone else. She idly wondered if they would still be considered married since Melody technically did die. She still felt like she was married to Rory however even though he had been gone for a long time.

It would definitely be a thorny issue if she ever did return, and Amy was very hopeful that she just might after the Doctor's remark about Rory. She still wanted to know just what he had in mind, but she knew that he probably wouldn't be getting to that any time soon.

She was very torn about that too. She needed to know and she was dying with impatience to find out more the whole time that the Doctor and Clara kissed.

After what seemed to be ages, the Doctor finally pulled away from Clara and said with absolute love in his eyes, "I love you, Clara. Not just because you're like her but because of how special and wonderful that you are all by yourself. You may look identical but I love you both in different ways. She was so much like you and yet not like you so it's not because you're like her because in some ways you're nothing like her. I'm not sure if this is coming out right or not."

He looked to her for a response with a fearful expression on his face and she couldn't help but smile at him as she said, "I understand what you're saying, Doctor, and I love you for it. I just didn't want to be loved because of who I reminded you of instead of for who I am. I was afraid of that from the moment you turned up looking for the governess version of me."

"You were already in love with me then?" the Doctor asked with a smile.

Clara blushed as she said, "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I didn't want to start a friendship based on what you felt for the other me."

The Doctor nodded even as he said, "You never said it back."

"What?" Clara asked confused.

"I just told you that I loved you but you didn't say it back," the Doctor said looking worried.

"Oh. Of course I do. I didn't mean to scare you. I love you too," Clara said.

"You know she does, Raggedy Man. Now stop playing games and let's get back to Rory," Amy finally said impatiently.

"Well, someone's not much of a romantic are they?" Clara said with a frown.

"I'm sorry for being such a buzz kill but I really would like to get my husband back pronto if you don't mind," Amy said.

The Doctor gave her a sad look as he said, "Amy, I didn't mean that I could bring him back completely. I just meant that I had a plan to put him in the Library like River."

Amy didn't seem to be surprised by this at all though as she said, "That's what I thought that you meant but having Rory around in any way is still better than nothing. It also means that there's hope that you could give him a body someday. I still don't see why you couldn't give him and Melody Flesh bodies like the one that I have."

"The Flesh needs something to copy in order to create a body, and they don't have anything of their original bodies left. In your case, we still had your original Flesh body that the TARDIS was able to reconstruct," the Doctor said.

Amy nodded as she said, "Alright, I get that but couldn't you give him a robot body or an Auton one? That worked before."

"Auton technology is notoriously difficult to control, Amy. We'd probably wind up with something that was more Auton than Rory. An android though? Now that might be a very cool idea. It might just work. I'll look into it. I might know a bloke who knows a bloke that could help us in that area. Of course my plan to save Rory's consciousness would still have to work first though," the Doctor said.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's put it into action," Amy said impatiently.

"Alright but I can't guarantee that this will work," the Doctor said as he called someone on the TARDIS' phone.

As the Doctor talked to whoever it was in private, Amy said to Clara, "Sorry if I ruined your moment, Clara. It was just killing me not to know what he had planned. He can't just drop a bomb like that on me and not follow up on it."

"I understand, Red. You do have a terrible sense of timing though. I think he was beginning to open up to me about Kore," Clara said.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that he'll tell you more about her sooner or later. As pushy as you are, I'm sure that you'll drag it all out of him in no time," Amy said with an evil grin.

"I am not pushy," Clara protested.

"You so are, Shorty. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I've been accused of being a bit demanding myself from time to time. Of course that usually stopped as soon as I gave the Doctor a piece of my mind. Rory never complained about it at all though as far as I know so I think Mr. Grouchy was just overreacting," Amy said.

"I imagine he was probably too afraid to say anything," Clara said with a chuckle.

"Very funny, Short Stuff. You should go on tour," Amy said with a frown.

The TARDIS finally picked that moment to land and since the Doctor was still on the phone Clara decided to take Amy on a tour of Coal Hill School. She just hoped that no one asked too many questions about what she was doing there on her day off.

At least she hoped that they had landed here on her day off. She really would create a fuss if another version of her was teaching class there at the same time as she was walking around in the hallways.

"Clara, what are you doing here? I thought that you had taken a day off to see your doctor," The secretary in the front office said as she went inside.

Amy laughed at that as she said, "She saw her Doctor alright."

"I did and I got a clean bill of health," Clara said.

"She certainly did and he did a very thorough examination of her throat and mouth. You can believe me on that," Amy said with an evil smile.

"Oh, did you have something wrong with your throat?" The secretary asked with a suspicious smile.

"Yeah, it was bothering me so I went to have it checked out," Clara said thinking quickly.

Amy started to make another comment but a death glare from Clara quickly shut her up. She couldn't stop smiling though even as she did her best to suppress her laughter.

The secretary ignored Amy as she said to Clara with a grin, "So you decided to just come here on the rest of your day off? Why? I'd enjoy myself if I was you."

"Oh, I will. I just decided to bring my friend here to see where I work first plus I was kind of hoping to see Mr. Chesterton. Wasn't he supposed to be here today for a special meeting? I would really like to ask him about something," Clara said.

"He is here for a meeting of the board. He should be getting out of it at any minute now. You can wait outside if you want but I don't know if he'll have time to see you or not. He's pretty busy today," The secretary said.

"I'm sure he'll see me once I get to ask him about something. I'll just wait. Thanks," Clara said as she started to leave.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Clara. So was this 'doctor' that you saw handsome?" The secretary asked with an evil smile.

"It wasn't like that," Clara said in frustration.

"Of course not. Don't worry. I can keep a secret," The secretary said with a wink.

As soon as Clara and Amy got out of earshot of the office, Clara said, "Thanks a lot, Red. Now she'll have that spread all over the school by tomorrow."

"So what? You worry too much, Shorty. I've never worried about what anyone thought of me," Amy said.

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious," Clara said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amy asked.

"Nothing, Big Red. Absolutely nothing," Clara said with a triumphant smile.

"You should be very glad that I like you so much or I'd be giving you a fat lip right now, Oswald," Amy said with a snarl that quickly turned into a smile.

Neither woman could stay mad at the other for long. They both cared about each other too much.

It was at that moment that Ian Chesterton appeared. He had obviously just gotten out of his meeting and was now walking straight towards Clara and Amy with a tired look on his face.

Clara hated to bother the old man after what she knew much have been a long day for him, but she had to do this for Susan.

Clara stepped forward and said, "Mr. Chesterton?"

"Yes, Miss Oswald?" Ian asked with a smile on his face.

It was obvious to Amy that Ian liked Clara from the way that he looked at her. He beamed at her like a proud grandfather. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when he found out about Susan.

"You haven't been entirely honest with me have you? You didn't just hire me because of my wonderful teaching skills did you?" Clara asked in a low voice.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Ian said even though they all knew that he did.

"I mean a certain Doctor that we both know . . . and his granddaughter," Clara said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Susan?" Ian asked in disbelief as he suddenly dropped his pretense of innocence completely.

"Yeah, that's her. She's been asking about you. Would you like to see her?" Clara asked.

"Of course I would. Where is the TARDIS?" Ian asked.

"Just outside. Follow us," Clara said with an eager smile on her face.

"I'm sorry for not saying anything about the Doctor before, but it just seemed as if that part of my life was over and that it should stay that way," Ian apologized as he slowly walked behind the two women.

"I'm Amy Pond by the way. I travel with the Doctor too," Amy said as she turned to smile at Ian.

Ian shook her hand but looked at her oddly as he asked, "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Amy looked at him for a moment as she searched her memory and said, "I'm not sure. You do look familiar, but I can't quite place your face. I guess it'll come to me sooner or later though."

Ian laughed as he said, "You're very young to be having memory problems already."

"I'm a lot older than I look, Mr. Chesterton. Don't let my incredible beauty fool you," Amy said with a grin.

"Or her incredible humility either," Clara teased.

"Shut up, Souffle Girl," Amy said.

Ian suddenly stopped walking as he said in surprise, "Amelia Williams? Is that you?"

"That's right. I know it's hard to believe but it's really me. I still don't remember you I'm afraid. Sorry," Amy said.

"You're so young though plus you're supposed to be dead! Of course if you suddenly became this young again then I suppose you would have to fake your own death wouldn't you? I still can't get over it. I know that you were at least fifty when we first met at that writers' conference in New York back in the 60's. I was there with my wife Barbara to see you because we were huge fans of Summer Falls. We always thought that it was much more than a coincidence that the story of that book was so similar to the kind of adventures that the Doctor would have and one of the characters in it even reminded us of him. Now I can see why. How did you regain your youth, Amelia? Did something happen to you on some planet somewhere?" Ian asked in amazement.

"It's a long story that I'll have to tell you sometime, Ian. I do remember you now. Ian and Barbara used to be two of my biggest fans, Clara. They used to come and see me all the time whenever I traveled to London to promote my books. I always used to think that they knew the Doctor because of the way that they acted when we talked about Summer Falls but none of us was ever willing to come out and admit the truth. I guess I was right after all though. I can't believe that I forgot that. Then again it was a long time ago. How is Barbara these days?" Amy asked with a grin.

"She's back home. She's retired now and doesn't get out much. Her health isn't what it used to be so she doesn't like to travel. Unfortunately we can't all suddenly regain our youth again like you and the Doctor," Ian said with a chuckle.

"Thank you so very much for making me feel guilty just for existing, Ian," Amy said with a grimace that caused Ian to laugh even louder.

Clara looked at Amy and Ian with more than a bit of disbelief. She knew of course that Amy was actually older than Ian, but it was very easy to forget that because she was still so young in spirit. She could only hope that she was half as youthful and full of vitality as Amy was when she was older.

After a few minutes of walking back towards the TARDIS in which Ian and Amy continued to talk about their shared past with one another while Clara eagerly listened, the three of them finally reached the time ship at last. Ian looked at it with a huge smile of anticipation on his face and more than a bit of nervousness as he momentarily hesitated before its entrance.

In the very next moment, Susan came out of the doors saying, "Clara, Amy, where are . . .?"

She suddenly stopped short as she stared at Ian in surprise. Then she smiled from ear to ear and embraced him tightly.

"Hello, Ian! I'm so glad to see you again. How are you?" Susan asked in a joyful voice.

"I'm doing just fine now that I can see you again. I always used to wonder how you were doing back on that other Earth. Barbara and I were always half afraid that the Daleks might return there someday," Ian admitted.

"No, they never returned. Not there anyway," Susan said in a voice that suddenly went from extreme joy to instant sadness.

"Are you alright, Susan?" Ian asked as he noticed this.

"I'm fine. So tell me what you and Barbara have been up to since I last saw you. I know that you got married. I'm almost certain of it," Susan said.

"Of course we did. I think that was in the cards for us as soon as we were . . . brought along on the TARDIS with you and your grandfather. Being together so much and surviving through one dangerous situation after another the way that we did made it almost inevitable that we would bond and fall in love I think. Not that I've ever being sorry about that," Ian said with a fond smile.

"I'm so happy for you. I knew it of course. I always knew that you two were meant for each other. Tell me more," Susan said eagerly.

As Susan and Ian started to talk about the past, Clara and Amy went inside the TARDIS to give them some privacy. They saw to their surprise that the Doctor was still on the phone.

"I can't believe it. Who is he talking to?" Amy finally asked several minutes later when the Doctor still wouldn't get off the phone.

"It looks like we're about to find out," Clara said as the Doctor picked that moment to hang up.

"It's all been set in motion, Pond. I was talking to an old friend of mine and giving him details about your life in Manhattan and what you told me about where and when that Rory died so that he could make sure and be there at the right moment," the Doctor said.

"He's another time traveler?" Amy asked curiously.

"He used to be but not lately thanks to me. He deals with aliens in this time zone these days. He promised to help you if I fixed his Vortex Manipulator. I really hope that I don't wind up regretting that decision. He likes to flirt and get himself into trouble way too much for his own good," The Doctor said.

"He sounds like your type of friend alright. No wonder you two talked so long. You probably had a lot of stories to share. Who is he and what's he going to do though, Raggedy Man?" Amy asked eagerly.

"His name is Captain Jack Harness and I reached him at a point in his own timeline just before he was about to be stranded back in the past . . . again. I didn't tell him any of the details of where or when that would happen of course, but I did get him to agree that when it did happen again that he would wait until the date that Rory died and go pay him a visit at the hospital. He's immortal so he can do that. Once he visits Rory, he'll pose as a doctor and bring with him a special device that I made that I used the TARDIS to send to him through the Vortex that he'll make sure that Rory is holding at the right moment. Then he'll activate a button on the device as soon as its job is done, and it will be sent straight to the TARDIS a few minutes from now as it homes in on its signal. Cross your fingers, Pond, and hope that this works," the Doctor said in a somewhat nervous voice.

"I'll cross everything, Doctor," Amy said anxiously.

Moments later, a small device with a green light on it that was rapidly blinking off and on suddenly appeared in the Doctor's hand and he smiled in triumph. He quickly plugged it into the console before it was too late and sighed in relief as the computer registered that its contents had been safely downloaded into the TARDIS' memory.

"Did it work, Doctor? Please tell me that it worked," Amy asked in an upset voice.

The Doctor flipped a switch and a hologram of Rory that looked amazingly lifelike suddenly flickered to life. Amy gasped and tears of joy began to stream down her face as she watched him stare at her in surprise.

The Doctor has done it! He had saved Rory's consciousness just as he died.

"Amy? I was dead though. Is this Heaven? I definitely like it so far if it is. Will someone please explain to me what's going on?" Rory asked in disbelief.

"Shut up, Stupid Face. Just shut up and let me look at you. I've missed you so much," Amy said as she began to smile and laugh even as tears continued to stream down her face.

"Amy, are you alright?" Rory asked in concern.

"I'm wonderful," Amy said in a voice that clearly said that she hadn't been this happy in a very long time.

"Do you really think that you can give him and River a real body even if it's a robotic one?" Clara asked the Doctor in a low voice.

"I don't know but I'm going to try, Clara. I'd do anything for Amy . . . or you," the Doctor said.

Clara smiled at him as she said, "Tell me more about Kore then. I'd like to know about her because I honestly don't remember her, and I really wish that I did."

"You don't remember anything at all?" The Doctor asked in what seemed to be almost a hopeful voice.

"No, nothing," Clara said.

"Then she might be still alive and lost out there somewhere. You only seem to have the memories of the echoes who died after all," the Doctor said.

Clara's heart fell. It made her wonder now who that he loved more. Her or Kore? If Kore were to reappear tomorrow, would she instantly be out of luck?

She immediately felt guilty for even thinking such things. Kore was his wife after all, and she should be happy for him if he ever got her back. That didn't help her heart any though. She was beginning to wonder if there was any future to this relationship or was it doomed before it even started?

As the Doctor noticed this from the look on her face, he was instantly filled with guilt as he realized what he had done to her. He knew now what he had to do. He had to let Kore go. Clara was his future now.

"I'm sorry, Clara. I didn't mean to upset you. I never should have admitted how I felt about you. I just couldn't keep it in any longer. I - I doubt that I'll ever see Kore again anyway," the Doctor said in a voice filled with pain.

Finally admitting that painful truth to himself for the first time in his life had just ripped him apart inside, but he had forced himself to do it in order to make Clara feel better. He almost smiled at that. He had meant what he said. He really would do anything for her.

Even give up his last bit of hope for Kore's return.

Clara could see this in his eyes too. He knew that she could by her expression and in what she said next.

"I love you so much, Doctor, and now I know exactly how much that you love me," Clara said as she kissed him.

In that moment, the Doctor finally moved on.

Next: The Doctor visits someone who he hopes may be able to make a robotic body for Rory and possibly even River. Will this actually work however or is it ultimately doomed to failure?