Chapter 7: Dr. Doctor
'Curiosity killed the cat', that was how the expression went, was it not? Certainly in her case it was what always got her into trouble, her curiosity. She'd had it all worked out since she was a child: grow up, pass all her exams and then join a starship and see the stars. It was a common dream for many people with her level of curiosity, and intellect, but now she found herself somewhere… not nice, and that was putting it mildly.
She was wandering down an almost pitch black corridor. The only source of light was coming from the small yet powerful torch in her right hand. It was quite a cold place, for the first time in ages she was actually thankful for her white spacesuit and overcoat with the big thick fur collar.
It didn't take long for her ears to pick up sounds, sounds which were slowly increasing their way towards her. She couldn't even describe exactly what there were. There were no voices, no breathing, nothing that sounded alive. It was more like a remote-controlled toy, or toys, things which she could only describe as 'robotic'.
"Where am I?" she questioned aloud.
The noise increased, more and more of whatever they were joined the approach. They were getting closer…
In the corner of her eye she could see movement but by the time she looked around, it was gone.
"Where am I?" she questioned once again.
Suddenly, shapes appeared in the darkness, closing the distance between herself and them. All that could clearly be seen were bright electric-blue circles all at the exact same height. That's when her body tensed. She had a horrible feeling she knew what these things were now…
Part of her didn't want to raise her torch so she could see them but she felt compelled to. After doing so, the lot of them advanced toward her, increasing her fear in the process. She knew exactly what they were now… creatures of pure hatred confined in a moving metal cage. Everybody who travelled in space knew about them and everybody knew that they weren't merciful… she was as good as dead.
"Where am I?!" she cried, her mind not wanting to understand what was about to happen to her.
She soon found herself pinned against the cold metal wall and she wasn't afraid to admit it, she was petrified. There were dozens of them enclosing around her and she knew they would kill her sooner or later; after all, it was in their nature…
As quickly as it happened, it suddenly changed. She soon found herself lost in total darkness. The figures faded but her fear did not. The air around her began to thicken and somehow the darkness increased.
Her breathing was shallow; her nerves making her entire body shiver. She tried to speak, call out for help, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. She was alone and scared. Her eyes no longer worked, she couldn't see…
"It's coming…" a voice whispered, "The Darkness is coming!"
The voice itself wasn't sinister, not like it normally was. It was much friendlier, actually quite childlike but still unrecognisable. For the first time ever it didn't sound like a threat, it was more like a warning; however the concept still scared her to death.
As quickly as her surroundings had changed, so did the voice. Instead of remaining as the nice, new, friendly voice, it transformed into the usual petrifying one.
"It's coming for you! It's coming to get you…" it tantalized, "The Darkness is coming… The Darkness will rise!"
Clara awoke with a major jolt, her fear escaping in the form of a scream. The Doctor, who had been relaxing with his nose in a book on the other side of the bed, immediately dropped it on his lap and began to comfort her in the best way he could.
"Hey, hey, hey…" he soothed as he began to stroke her hair.
Her breathing was rapid and it took her a few moments to realise that she was now safe.
"Its okay." the Doctor assured her as he stroked the side of her face, "It was just a dream… It was just a dream."
Clara's breathing slowly began to normalise as the Doctor continued to comfort her. He had to admit that her dreams were beginning to worry him. She had insisted that she had never had nightmares before meeting him yet she had experience dozens since travelling with him. Also, the ways in which she squirmed while having one showed him how just much the images she saw frightened her. That was something what not many things could easily accomplish…
x-[]-x
The Doctor was aimlessly messing with the console, randomly flicking switches, clicking buttons and listening to the tunes produced, turning dials and flicking through the databases while Clara was still getting ready. The reason he had to keep himself busy was because he couldn't take his mind off his 'little discovery' from the day before.
As he was so lost in thought, he failed to notice her enter the control room a few minutes later. She happily skipped up the stairs, quite concerned when the Doctor failed to turn and face her like he usually did.
"Doctor?" she questioned.
The sound of her voice suddenly caught his attention and he turned to face her.
"Hey." he greeted with a weak smile.
Clara frowned slightly. "Are you okay?" she queried.
The Doctor sighed and turned around before falling back and leaning on the console.
"I'm fine." he replied.
Clara raised her eyebrow. "You don't seem it." she pointed out.
The Doctor bit his inner lip and tilted his head slightly, his eyes never leaving Clara's face which displayed a rather confused and slightly worried expression.
"Clara, we need to talk." he stated.
Clara frowned once again before leaning back on the other console she was stood next to.
"Okay…" she agreed, "What about?"
The Doctor sighed and looked down at his feet before reaching into top inner pocket. Clara's frown grew until his hand emerged holding a small, thin device.
Clara looked away and towards her feet. "Oh…" she realised.
"Yeah…" he trailed off.
Clara began to shuffle on the spot before folding her arms and looking back up at him. His eyes were soft and calm but full of something she couldn't recognise…
"Why didn't you say anything?" he queried in an almost whispered tone, "Clara, I've been worried sick about you."
She gulped and bit her lip. "I… I didn't know how to tell ya." she admitted, "Anyway, it doesn't matter."
The Doctor frowned slightly. "Doesn't matter?" he quizzed, "Clara, I'm your husband. I'm here for you… I thought you knew that."
Clara nodded adamantly. "I do know that." she confirmed, "But it seriously doesn't matter, it was a negative result."
The Doctor nodded. "I know." he verified, "But you should have told me that thought you were pregnant."
Clara shook her head. "I didn't know if I was." she told him, "That's why I went to get the test… I'll admit with how I've been feelin' lately I thought I was, but I'm not."
The Doctor sighed to himself. "So this was the reason you really wanted to go home yesterday?" he attempted to confirm, "Not to see the sights, to get the test?"
Clara nodded a little which made the Doctor laugh slightly.
"Did you honestly think I didn't know something was up?" he asked, "You can't hide much from me…"
It was at that point that she slumped down on the sofa.
"It… scared me." she confessed, "The idea of being pregnant."
The Doctor frowned as he made his way over and sat down on the edge of the sofa next to her.
"In what way?" he questioned.
"For starters, the baby wouldn't have been human so there's no idea how that would have affected me." she began, "Then there's the lifestyle we lead… Is it fair to raise a child in such dangerous circumstances? And then there was you…"
"What about me?" enquired the Doctor.
Clara shrugged her shoulders. "Would you have had any interest in becoming a father?" she continued, "I mean, I wouldn't want to do it alone but… would you happily give up all the travellin' and help me raise it? How would we manage? How would it work? There were just so many unknowns…"
The Doctor sighed and nodded in agreement. "It's a scary adventure." he admitted, "Trust me, I've been through it before. However, what I can tell you about parenthood is this: the rewards you get outweigh all the fears by miles and miles and miles…"
Clara smiled softly up at him as he pushed a piece of fallen hair back around her ear.
"Clara, you should have told me." he said to her.
Clara sighed. "I-I didn't know how to." she explained, "If it had been positive then I would have told ya but… it wasn't."
Clara once again looked away from his gaze and down at her hands in her lap.
"I'm sorry…" she apologised in a whisper, "I really am…"
The Doctor wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her towards him before kissing the top of her head.
"Just promise me one thing." he requested, "Next time you have a problem, tell me. I'm always gonna be here Clara. I'm your husband, you're stuck with me whether you like it or not."
Clara giggled slightly before sitting up straight. "I promise." she guaranteed.
The Doctor smiled and rubbed her cheek with his hand. That was one thing he had learnt that she loved when he did.
"There's just one other thing which worries me now." he confessed.
She frowned slightly. "What?" she asked.
"If you're not pregnant, why are you feeling so ill all of a sudden?" he queried.
Clara shrugged her shoulder. "I dunno." she said, "Probably some weird space flu or something. I suppose ya gotta take the good with the bad when travellin' with you."
The Doctor laughed slightly before pushing himself up of the chair and pulled Clara up with him.
"Whoa, what ya doin'?" she asked as he pulled over to the console.
"Put your hand on that." he demanded, referring to a small square block on part of the console.
Clara frowned slightly and visually examined it. It was smooth and the same shade of silver as the majority of the console.
"What is it?" she queried.
The Doctor rolled his eyes while his smile grew.
"Just put your hand on it!" he ordered.
"Aye, sir." agreed Clara as she saluted before placing the same hand on it.
"Oi, stop it!" he warned playfully, "You know I don't like being saluted."
"Duh! Why d'ya think I did it?" she said as her teasing yet adorable smile formed.
The Doctor laughed a little before looking away once he had hit a range of different buttons which controlled whatever he was looking at on the screen.
"Seriously, what are ya doin'?" she questioned as she couldn't see what was being displayed on the monitor.
"Seeing if you've got 'some weird space flu or something'." he replied with a wink.
Clara raised her eyebrow. "Are you mocking me?" she quizzed.
The Doctor smiled. "I'd never mock you." he guaranteed her as he used both of his hands to cross his hearts, "I know if I did that, I wouldn't have a bed to sleep in tonight."
Clara giggled once again. She never considered that before, not allowing him to sleep in the same room when he had annoyed her…
"I'll have to remember that one." she told him.
The Doctor rolled his eyes just as his scans came to an end. All the results seemed perfectly normal. There were no toxins, pathogens or anything sinister in her systems. Granted, she seemed to be more tired than usual and her energy seemed a little low but there was no apparent cause.
"Everythin' alright?" she asked him.
The Doctor nodded while he flicked through the more detailed results.
"Blood pressure: 141/90, a little high but nothing to worry about." he said aloud, "Pulse rate: 77, not too bad, Body Temperature: 36.6°C, a little low but that's probably due to it being quite cold in here, Pregnancy test…"
Clara frowned as he trailed off. "What is it?" she queried.
The Doctor smiled softly at her and shook his head. "Nothing, it doesn't matter." he told her, "You look fine."
Clara raised her eyebrow slightly. "What ain't ya tellin' me?" she asked.
The Doctor looked up back towards the screen. "Nothing." he promised.
"So why have I been feelin' ill?" she quizzed.
The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "It's probably just because you're not used to long-term space travel." he explained.
"Meaning?" she queried.
"Space sickness." the Doctor finalised as he looked over and smiled, "Happens to the best of us."
Clara laughed slightly. "I've been in space for ages but it's never been affected like this before." she pointed out.
The Doctor smiled. "Eleven and a half months tomorrow." he reminisced, "Another fortnight and a day and it will have been a year… a whole year."
Clara's jaw dropped slightly. "Has it really been that long?" she asked in a small state of surprise.
The Doctor nodded. "Time flies when you're having fun." he told her before tilting his head slightly, "You know, I've never understood that expression."
Clara rolled her eyes as he began to get sidetracked.
"Can I take me 'and off now?" she enquired.
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, sorry." he apologised, "Forgot about that."
"Thanks…" she expressed slightly sarcastically before taking her hand off the square.
The Doctor smiled softly as she repositioned her wedding ring on her finger. He then glanced back up at the screen while she was pre-occupied with that.
The results of all her scans were displayed before him. None of them looked alarming however when he saw them altogether, they all followed a very specific pattern, a pattern which all lead to one thing. The only thing which confused him was the pregnancy test results. He expected the TARDIS, which had one of the best scanners ever produced, to be able to collect results to a simple test but all that he got was 'inconclusive'. What did that even mean?!
The Doctor was about to say something when he suddenly felt something hit his chest from inside his jacket.
"Ow!" he exclaimed.
Clara immediately looked at him as he retrieved a small black wallet from the inner pocket. She could only remember seeing it once before and she hadn't a clue what it was.
The Doctor quickly opened it and saw a message displayed on it. Clara watched as his frown deepened.
"What is that?" she asked.
"Psychic paper…" he replied, his eyes never leaving it, "Someone's sent me a message."
"Oh, is that the thing Caven Trix used to call you with that time… at that museum?" she trailed off when her thoughts returned back to that particular adventure.
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah." he answered, "Although it's not him this time."
Clara was suddenly intrigued. "Well, who's it off?" she quizzed, "What's it say?"
The Doctor gulped and sighed.
"Sweetie, I need you…" he read.
Clara's face suddenly formed a frown in which her eyebrow was raised.
"Sweetie?!" she queried.
