A/N: Hello, all! Sorry this took so long to post. Life is complicated.
Hope you enjoy this new chapter! Happy reading! - C.E.C.
As dinner finished, Clara headed out of the kitchen with the girls in tow.
It was Thursday, and the girls knew exactly what that meant: bath day.
Clara had the girls take baths and wash their hair twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays, and the girls knew the drill: first, eat dinner; next, help clean up the kitchen; then, go to bedroom & get a change of clothes; and, last, take a bath & wash hair, before having a bedtime snack and getting to watch one TV program each.
Bedtime would be promptly after those things.
One or both of the girls would not make it to the second program – it was almost guaranteed. (On the rare occasion that didn't happen, one or both would not make it through the entirety of the second program, and Clara would be left to take them both to bed, heavy of sleep in her arms). Tonight, however, would be different.
Tonight, Clara decided that if any of them fell asleep, they would be taken immediately to bed. No questions would be asked, nor would they be awoken for a second chance to see the program. The girls had a long day already, so she knew that this would occur; it would just be a matter of time. The three Oswald ladies swiftly made their way into a small 10'x12' bedroom that was bathed in shades of purple and grey. (Danny & Clara had both agreed long ago that any children with his surname 'Pink' wouldn't need the color around them all of their lives).
"Okay, my loves," Clara started. "Let's pick out your PJs, and then, its bath-time…"
"Mumma, I habe a sower…" Ellie piped up.
"Oh, really? And, why do you wanna shower and not take a bath with sister?"
"I a big girl now, an' sissy not…"
Both of them looked at Essie, who was busy looking through her bureau for something to wear, and not listening to their conversation.
"Oh, interesting…" Clara retorted to her daughter. "And, what does Essie think of this?"
"I dunno…" Ellie shrugged, before turning to her sister. "Essie, you wike baffs?"
"Yeah! I wike baffs! Wiff bubbles!" Essie responded. "I takes baffs, Mumma. Ellie not. We boff gets cleans. Okay?"
"Okay. Essie will keep taking baths with Mumma's help," Clara stated to her girls. "And, Ellie can take showers. But, Ellie, my darling, if you want to take showers, you'll have to wash yourself without my help. And, you'll also have to wash your own hair without my help. Think you can do all of that by yourself?"
"No helps?" The younger twin wondered.
"No help at all. Sorry, pal. You're a big girl, remember?"
Ellie looked at her mum in shock, before her bottom lip began to quiver. She wanted to try a shower (like her mum), but it wasn't fair that she wasn't going to help her. Suddenly, the floodgates opened, and Ellie was full-on sobbing. Clara picked her up and let her cry in her arms. She shushed her as she rocked Ellie back & forth, trying to calm her down. Essie looked at her sister with concern, before going to grab her favorite teddy bear off of her bed.
"Here, Ellie… take Rowbie," Essie stated, handing her sister her bear. "He make you happy…"
"Oh, Essie, that's very sweet of you…" Clara retorted with a smile, before turning to her other daughter. "See that, Ellie… sissy wants to let you use her bear…"
"Rowbie?" Ellie cried, not knowing what to do. "Essie, your bear?"
"He make you happy… I share…" Essie answered with a smile.
Ellie took the bear from her sister and hugged him close, crying again. Clara set her daughter down on her bed allowing her time to calm down, before turning to her older daughter, "That was a very nice thing you did for your sissy, Estrella June…"
"Tanks, Mumma. Can I wears my berry jammies?"
"Think that would be great… can you find them?"
"Yeah…"
Essie scurried over to her bureau and opened up all the drawers looking for said pyjamas, as Clara moved back to where Ellie was lying down, now asleep, still clutching Rowbie the Bear. She knelt down by the bed and was about to wake her up, when a familiar sound entered her ears. With a different ringtone assigned to everyone on her mobile, she knew exactly who was calling her at that moment. She smiled and swiftly answered the call, "Hello, Lady Me… long time, no speak, eh?"
"Clara, hi ya…" the other person responded softly. "Sorry, I haven't been able to call you lately. Been a bit busy..."
"Oh, same here… so busy with life, you know… the show and the girls…"
"Umm well, speaking of the girls, Clara, I uh, I need to tell you something…"
"Okay?"
"I… I, uh, sorta messed up…"
"Messed up? Messed up how?"
"Ishowedthedocaphotoofthegirls..." Ash mumbled in one breath.
"What? Ash, I can't understand you…"
"Ishowedthedocaphotoofthegirls..." She mumbled again.
"Ashildr King, are you being serious right now? Just tell me the truth, whatever it is."
"Okay, fine… I showed the Doctor a photo of the girls from your Instagram page, and he got upset. Then, Mrs. R found out what happened, and she wanted to know what the fuss was about, so I showed her the photo too. She got up and went outside to the Doctor and confronted him. They bickered back and forth, before they both ended up upset with each other about it. Now, I feel like I opened up a can of worms."
"Oh, no, Ash, why?"
"I didn't mean to show him. I mean, I saw a photo, and it made me smile. He asked me what made me happy, so I showed him. His reaction was so immediate that it scared me. Clara, I feel horrible that all of this happened."
"Ash, don't feel that way; it was going to happen eventually."
"I'm surprised you're so calm about this… I would be freaking my mind out…"
"Oh, trust me that I am not happy, and my nerves are a little frayed after this announcement, but like I said, things happen. How's Mrs. R right now?"
"In a bad way… Had to call Big Tom to bring her home..."
"Oh, Big Tom Rooney… how is he? I miss thee ol' softhearted man…"
"He's still the same, and he wasn't surprised by the reaction…"
"I bet not. I'm surprised the boys haven't been over here yet to give their brother an earful for making their mother upset…"
"Oh, they've been and gone… Stated their peace to the stubborn old man. They aren't very happy with me either, and I'm surprised that they haven't rang you yet…"
"I haven't spoken with Dougan and Dexter in months, Ashy. I'm surprised they even remember me…"
"How could they forget? They had such starry eyes for you…"
"Oh, stop, they did not…"
"They did so. You know Dougan would've asked you out on a date, if he could've…"
"That is not true, Ashy King, and you know it…"
"It is so true, Clara Oswald, and you know it…"
Both women giggled and continued to chat, causing Clara to forget to give her girls each a bath. When she was done with her call, she looked over at her girls to see them both asleep in their beds, snuggling under their blankets with their favorite stuffed toys. She sighed loudly, knowing that she would have to be up early to shower and get them showered as well.
With that, she turned out the lights in the room and in the home, finding her way to her own bedroom. She turned on the TV and laid in her bed, set on watching at least one of her favorite programs.
But it never came to be.
She too fell asleep almost immediately, still fully dressed from the work day, exhausted from everything that had happened.
A/N: What do you think of this new chapter? Let me know!