Star smiled as she sat opposite the Doctor, both wearing monks' robes, a chessboard before them. Behind the Doctor was a painting of Victorian Clara, her phrase she'd called both times as she died. They'd come to Columbia 1207, to a monastery for some peace and quiet, and they got through a lot of chess games.
They'd been searching for Clara for a while, but with no luck, so they'd taken a break, some peace and quiet to help them think it through.
"Im sorry to intrude." The Doctor looked up hearing the Abbott, Star smirked under her hood, taking the opportunity to make her move, "the bells of Saint John are ringing."
The Doctor, being ever so dramatic, threw his hood back, "we're going to need a horse!" he made his final move on the chessboard but frowned, "you cheated!" he accused, pointing at Star.
"I won!" she corrected.
"Cheated."
"Won. You're just a sore loser!"
"Yeah, well…" he stuck his tongue out at her.
"Come on lets go get Kimmy," She grinned, grabbing his hand, running out of the room to get the horse, her hood flying off her head at the action.
~.~
They rode through the woods on Kimmy the horse, Star holding on to the Doctor, the monk who had told them the news followed them.
They dismounted outside a stone doorway with another monk holding a torch waiting for them, leading the way into an underground cavern where the TARDIS was hiding.
"That is not supposed to happen," the Doctor frowned hearing a phone ringing, not from the console but the phone behind the instruction panel.
Star shrugged and answered the phone, "Hello!"
"Ah, hello." A cheery voice, with a hint of annoyance, answered, "I can't find the internet?"
"What?"
"It's gone the internet. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it? Why don't I have the internet?"
"Its 1207."
"I've got half past 3:00. Am I phoning a different time zone?"
"Yeah, you are. Hold on, let me pass you on." She handed the phone the Doctor, "im confused."
"Will it show up on the bill?" the woman on the phone asked.
"Oh, I dread to think." He muttered, pacing, making Star duck under the cord. "Listen, where did you get this number?"
"Woman in the shop wrote it down. It's the helpline, isn't it? She said it was the best helpline out there. In the universe, she said."
"What woman?" Star shook her head, "who was she?"
"I dunno, the woman in the shop. So why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it just sort of...be there?"
"Look, listen, I'm not actually…this isn't…" he sighed, "You have clicked on the wi-fi button, haven't you?"
"Hang on, erm…wi-fi?"
"Click on the wi-fi. You'll see a list of names. Is there one you recognise?"
"…it's asking me for a password." She replied after a moment.
"Is it ok if I go and see Nina?" the heard a voice in the distance, a young girl, "you can call her mum."
"Sure." The woman replied to her, "What's the password for the internet?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes as the woman pulled the phone away from her ear, "is it an evil spirit?" the monk asked.
"It's a woman." He told him, shaking is head as the monk crossed himself.
"Hang on." The woman came back on the phone, "just a mo. Run. You. Clever. Boy. You. Insane. Girl. And. Remember. One."
The Doctor and Star stared, wide eyed, at each other remembering what Oswin had said.
"Two."
And then what Victorian Clara had said.
"Three!"
"What did you say?" the Doctor shouted into the phone.
"Don't shout, you made me type it wrong. It's thrown me out again. What do I do, how do I get back in?"
"Let's go!" Star hung up the phone, grabbing the Doctors hand, "lets go find Clara!" thy ran inside the TARDIS and dematerialised.
~.~
As soon as the TARDIS had materialised they ran outside and to the door at the house in front of them. Star excitedly ringing the doorbell. There was something about this regeneration that seemed to love pressing buttons.
"Hello, yes I hear you," the heard someone getting closer, it sounded like Clara, "yep. Uh-huh." the door opened an they stood their, grinning in their robes, facing Clara, the girl staring blankly at them dressed in a dark red modern dress. "Hello?"
"Clara?" Star asked, beaming widely, "Clara Oswald?"
"Hello?"
"Clara Oswin Oswald!" the Doctor cheered.
"Just Clara Oswald," she shook her head, "What was the middle one?"
"Do you remember us?" Star cut in, jumping on the balls of her feet.
"No," she eyed them, "Should I? Who are you?"
"The Doctor!" he grinned, stepping inside, "And Star." She waved but Clara stared at them blankly, "No? The Doctor? Star?"
"Doctor who?"
"No, just the Doctor. Actually, sorry, could you just ask me that again?"
"Could I what?"
"Could you just ask me that question again?"
"Doctor who?"
"Ok, just once more."
"Doctor who?"
"Ok," he did a little dance, "oh! D'you you know, I never realised how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud," he smiled at Clara, "thank you."
"Ok," Clara closed the door on them.
"Hey! No!" Star huffed, "Clara, open the door. We just want to talk, please."
A moment later there was a buzz and Clara face appeared on a small monitor of the security system, "Why are you still here? Why are you here at all?
"You phoned us," the Doctor reminded her. "You were looking for the internet."
"That was you?"
"Yes it was!" Star grinned.
"How did you get here so fast?"
"We were nearby on our mobile phone," she gestured to the TARDIS in the background.
"When you say 'mobile phone' why did you point to that blue box?"
"Because it's a surprisingly accurate description," the Doctor remarked.
"Ok, we're finished now." Clara turned to monitor off.
"Oi, no, look."
"Maybe it's the monks' robes?" Star suggested.
"Yes, that must be it." the Doctor agreed, grabbing her had and leading back to the TARDIS, "Come on."
~.~
Star leaned against the door of the TARDIS, her monk robe gone and back in her usual attire. She'd been sent outside as the Doctor decided to get changed under the console instead of the wardrobe or his room. She was the clever one who wore the clothes underneath.
"Ta-da!" he grinned stepping out, spinning around to show her his new attire, "What do you thing? Cooler isn't it?"
He was wearing a buttoned shirt, lavender/grey vest, a longish dark purple coat, black trousers and his usual boots, complete with bow tie.
"Much better than tweed." she winked running back to the door and doing a small rhythmic knock.
"Really?" the Doctor looked at her.
"What?" she pouted before calling out to Clara, "Hello! Clara!"
The Doctor moved to the intercom, "Clara?"
"Hello?" Clara answered
"See? Look, it is! De-monked. Sensible clothes."
"Cool bowties," Star added. "So, can we come in?"
"I don't understand," Clara muttered.
"It's easy, you just open the door and we come in."
"I don't know..."
"Yeah you can!"
"...where am I."
Their grins faded, knowing something was wrong.
"I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me, where I am! I don't know where I am."
Star threw her hands out and blasted the door open, thankfully still intact, they hurried inside seeing Clara lying unconscious on the floor at the stairs.
"I don't know where I am!" Clara continued.
"Clara!" Star dropped to her knees, at the girl's side as the Doctor scanned her with the sonic, "Clara!"
"I don't understand!" Clara continued, but it didn't come from her body, "I don't know where I am! Where am I? I do t know where I am. I don't know where I am!"
They turned to see a little girl standing on the stairs, but it wasn't a girl, her head was backwards with a large dish of some sort with Clara image on it.
The Doctor soniced the robot and the image changed to show basic Humanoid shape of a robot.
"Base station," Star stated.
He nodded, "A walking wi-fi base station, hovering up data. Hovering up people!" he realised how it had gotten Clara, the Internet. He ran upstairs as Star turned back to Clara, holding the girls hand.
The Doctor came back downstairs with Clara notebook and quickly typed away in the keyboard. "Oh no, you don't. Oh no, you don't."
"Don't worry Clara," Star comforted the girl, "Not this time, we promise you. You'll be fine." a moment later a light shot from the dish and onto Clara's fact, she gasped and coughed rolling onto her side. "See your fine." she smiled up at the Doctor, "You did it! You're brilliant!"
"One more thing," he remarked, typing away again and showing her a message he sent.
Under our protection- the Doctor and Star.
~.~
That night, Clara was tucked up in her bed, Star pulling the duvet over her, tucking her in as the Doctor pour water from a pitcher into a glass and set it on the bedside table, with a vase of flowers and set some jammie dodgers on a plate and took a bite of one before setting it back on the plate, half eaten. Star rolled her eyes and took the half eaten biscuit of the plate, she doubted Clara would want a half eaten biscuit when she woke up, if she was even hungry, not many people were hungry as soon as they awoke, thirsty, but not hungry, although she always was, the Doctor always made sure there was a banana next to her bed for when she woke up.
"What do you think off this?" the Doctor called, holding up a book '101 place to see', on the first page 'property of Clara Oswald' was written with her ages crossed out from 9 to 26. On the page opposite was a pressed leave. The Doctor, being the weirdo he was licked the leave, before putting it back in the book and putting the book on the shelf heading out the room.
~.~
The Doctor sat outside the TARDIS on a folding chair, working on the robot as Star sat on the ground as his feet on Clara's laptop.
"Hello?" they looked up to see Clara leaning out of her window.
"Hello." The Doctor smiled. "Are you all right?"
"Im in bed."
"Yes you are." Star laughed at the random statement.
"Don't remember going."
"No."
"What did I miss?"
"Oh, quite a lot, actually," the Doctor pulled out a small notebook from his coat pocket, "Angie called; she's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do, for gods sake, get off her back." He flipped the page, "also your dad phoned. Mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them, I've gotta several pages on that," he flipped a few more pages, "I said I'd look into it. I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, indexed the kitchen cupboard, optimised the photosynthesis in the main flowerbed and…"
"And we assembled the quadrocyle!" Star cut him off, very excited about that.
"Assembled the what?" Clara frowned.
"We found a disassembled quadrocycle in the garage…didn't we?"
"I don't think you did?"
"Whoops." She shrugged.
"We invented the quadrocycle." The Doctor whispered in awe, "Hear that," he nudged Star, "we invented the quadrocycle."
"We rule!" she grinned, giving him a high-five.
"What happened to me?" Clara asked after a moment.
"Don't you remember?" the Doctor asked.
"I was scared. Really scared. I didn't know where I was."
"Do you know now?"
"Yes."
"That's what matters," Star smiled, "because you're safe now promise." She crossed her hearts, "night-night, Clara."
They went back to their work as Clara closed the window…only to open it again, "are you guarding me?" she wondered.
"Well, yes." The Doctor nodded, "yes, we are."
"Are you seriously going to sit down there all night?"
"Yes, promise. We won't budge from this spot."
"Unless I get hungry." Star countered, when she got hungry, she GOT hungry and it was best she ate before her stomach growled.
"Well, then. I'll have to come to you." Clara closed the window again, leaving Star and the Doctor confused to what she meant.
A few minutes alter Clara exited the house, carrying a tray of mug in one hand and a chair in the other. There was barmaid Clara peeking out.
"I like your house." The Doctor commented.
"It isn't mine, im a friend of the family." She remarked, giving them their mugs of tea and setting her chair down.
"So you look after the kids?" Star asked, sipping her tea, "you're a gov…nanny." She corrected herself; governess was too old fashion, if she called her that she'd wonder why.
"Just like…" the Doctor trailed.
"Just like what?" Clara frowned, sitting down.
"Just like…" he took a sip of his tea.
"Just like we bet," Star supplied, "I won! He said maid I said nanny."
She eyed them, not quite believing them, but shook her head, "are you going to explain what happened to me?"
"There's something is the wi-fi. The worlds swimming in wi-fi. We're living in wi-fi soup!"
"Suppose something got inside it." the Doctor continued, "suppose there was something living in the wi-fi, harvesting human minds, extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the World Wide Web, stuck forever, crying help." He looked down at that, thinking about how he had saved River to a computer.
"Isn't that basically twitter?" Clara joked. The Time Lords looked at her, "what's that face for?"
"A computer can hack another computer. A living, sentient computer…maybe that could hack people. Edit them. Rewrite them."
"Why would you say that?"
"A few hours ago you knew nothing about the internet," Star reminded her, "but you joked about Twitter."
"Oh. oh." she blinked, just realised that she had, "that's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did that come from?"
"You were uploaded for a while." The Doctor tried to explain, "wherever you were, you brought something extra back. Which I very much doubt you're going to b allowed to keep."
Star stood up, seeing a figure across the street under the lamp, knowing it was it was one of those robots, "we should get inside the box."
"What?" Clara blinked.
"Please…in…now…"
"The three of us?"
"Trust us, you'll understand once we're in there." The Doctor remarked, unlocking the door.
"I bet I will," she murmured.
"Clara, please!"
"What is that box, anyway? Why do you have a box?"
"Clara!"
"Is it like a snogging booth?"
"A…what?" he stared at the absurd remarked as Star laughed.
"Is that what you do, you bring a booth? There's such thing as too keen," she sipped her tea, "you shouldn't snog in front of the kids."
"Clara, look around you!" Star gestured to the lights in the different house come on, too many to be natural.
Clara looked at their worried expressions and turned to look for herself, "what's going on? Is it the wi-fi switching on the lights?"
"The wi-fi is making the people switch the lights on."
"What is that thing?" Clara gasped seeing the figure across the street.
"A walking base station," the Doctor said, "You saw one earlier."
"I saw a little girl."
"Must have taken an image from your subconscious," Star shrugged, "thrown it back at you. Active camouflage," he smacked his forehead, "they could be everywhere!"
Clara turned around; the danger always came from behind. She didn't see a robot by she did see something strange, "Doctor!" Clara shouted, "Star! What's going on?" they turned to see the lights going out, except their street, "All our lights on, everyone else's off. Why?"
"Some planes have wi-fi," Star swallowed.
"I'm sorry?"
"We must be one hell of a target right now." the Doctor breathed.
There was an engine roar from the sky; they looked up to see a plane headed straight for them.
"Box now!" the Doctor took Stars hand and Clara's in the other, running into the TARDIS. The Time Lords rushing to the console as Clara grabbed onto the railing to steady herself, her eyes widened as she looked around the room, "Yes it's a spaceship. Yes, it's bigger on the inside. No, we don have time to talk about it."
"But...but...but...it's..." Clara stuttered, slowly moving around the room.
"Shh," Star hissed, "Short hops are difficult for us."
"Ha!" the Doctor cheered, "You just admitted that you're not the best pilot."
"You've had centuries of more practice than me. I have a good reason."
He opened his mouth to argue when Clara cut him off, "Bigger. On the inside. Actually bigger."
The Doctor pulled a lever and there was a small spark before they ran to the doors. "Come on"
"Are we going back out there?" Clara asked.
"We flew away." Star told her, "It is a spaceship."
"Away from the plane?"
"Eh, kind of."
The Doctor stumbled out of the TARDIS into and out into the plane, the turbulence making them struggle down the aisle.
"How did we get here?" Clara shouted above the noise of the plane. Still holding her cup of tea.
"It's a ship," the Doctor explained as they made their way to the cockpit, "it's all very science-y!"
"Is this the plane, the actual plane?" she noticed the passengers unconscious, "are they all dead?"
"Just asleep." Star assured her, "turned off by the wi-fi!"
"Star…" the Doctor began.
"Yeah, sure…" she swallowed, taking a breath, her eyes flashing red as she stiffened, knowing that their was now a shield around the outside of the plane.
Clara's mouth opened as she stared at her
The Doctor soniced the cockpit door, he tumbled in, followed by Clara.
"What's going on?" Clara cried, "Is this real? Please tell me what is happening?"
"I'm the Doctor," he answered, "this is my daughter Star. We're aliens for outer space. I'm more than 1,000 years old. Stars 613. We've got two hearts and I can't fly a plane, can you?"
"No!"
"We'll do it together!" he pulled back the throttle as far as it would go, Clara screaming as she held onto him, the plane getting closer to the houses before skimming past them.
The Doctor laughed in relief, "do you think a victory roll would be too show-off-y?" he asked her as she continued to cling to him. "Star!" he gasped, quickly sonicing the wi-fi off and running to Star as Clara stood in shock before she followed after him.
He gently shook her as she blinked her eyes back to their usual green, "good job!" he beamed, "how are you feeling?"
"Im hungry." She breathed.
~.~
Clara stood in the TARDIS, still in shook, sipping the last of her tea, it took a lot of still to be able to hold her tea after all that but she had managed it, impressing the Time Lords at that, "Ok," she watched the Time Lords run around the console, "when are you going to explain what the hell is going on?"
"Breakfast." The Doctor stated, flicking a switch making the TARDIS lurch. "Sounds good?" he looked at Star as she sat on the stairs.
"Sounds excellent!" she beamed.
"What? I aint waiting till breakfast." Clara shook her head.
"It's a time machine. You never have to wait for breakfast!" The Doctor reminded her, stepping out into the daylight, Star and Clara following, to see a crowd over people applauding along the south bank, "thank you, yes, magic blue box," he pulled out a fez from his jacket, "all donations gratefully accepted," he passed it around to collect, "roll up, roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got." He handed Star the fez, "Have fun." He winked at her, "Just popping back to the garage." He went back into the TARDIS.
"Garage?" Clara spun around, but he was gone.
"Just you wait," Star grinned, before skipping off into the crowd, shooting them her best smile, getting them to dig into their purses and wallets for more money. Clara had to admit, it was a good plan to use Star to collect money, the girl seemed a naturally at showing off, getting people to like her to give them donation, not to mention, she was adorable.
"So, this is tomorrow, then?" Clara wondered, "Tomorrows come early."
"No, usual time. We took a short cut." She turned hearing an engine rev from inside and stepped out the way as the Doctor rode a motorcycle out, a small pod attached to it. She hurried back into the crowd, collected the last from pennies from the applaud of the motorcycle about to come out of the small box.
"Thank you," the Doctor waved, "thank you. Tomorrow is a..." he snapped his fingers at Star.
"A camel." She supplied.
"Yes! Tomorrow, a camel!" he handed Clara a helmet.
"Do you want me to ride in the pod?" She asked, hesitantly.
Star grinned, "please." She handed her the fez to look after as Clara sat in the pod, before she climbed onto the bike, behind the Doctor, securing her helmet.
"Right then," the Doctor smiled, "hold tight." He drove off and the headed to Westminster bridge.
"If you've got a flying time machine, why are we on a motorbike?" Clara shouted over the engines.
"We don't take the TARDIS into battle." Star called back.
"Because it's made of wood?"
"Wow, that's insulting!"
"Because it's the most powerful ship in the universe," the Doctor corrected, "and we don't want it falling into the wrong hands," he held up his hands before realising he needed them, "Ok?"
They drove past the Horse Guards Parade and under Admiralty Arch.
~.~
"So," Clara finished her drink as they sat at a table at a rooftop cafe, finishing their breakfast, the Doctor and Star across from her, her laptop in front of them, although it seemed more in front of Star, she was typing away on it, slapping the Doctors hand away when ever he tried to type.
"If we can't travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning? What's the point in that?" she asked them.
"Whoever's after us spent the whole night looking for us." the Doctor told her, "Are you tired?"
"Yes."
"Then imagine how they feel. They came the long way round. They've got to be close."
"Definitely London," Star nodded, "Going by the signal distribution. I can hack the lowest lever of their operating system, but I can't establish a physical location, the security...it just too good." she pouted.
"Really?" he blinked her.
"Are you aliens?" Clara cut in.
"Is that ok?" Star countered, silently telling her that her guess was correct.
"Fine, yeah. I think I'm fine."
"We're not evil aliens. Promise." she crossed her hearts.
"So what happens if you do find them? What then?"
"We don't know," the Doctor admitted, "We can't tell the future, we just work there."
"You don't have a plan?" Clara stared in disbelief.
"Oh, you know what I always say about plans,"
"What?"
"I don't have one."
"People always have plans."
"Yes," the Doctor trailed thinking of how Victorian Clara knew of their plan with the umbrella, "I suppose they do."
"So how long have you been looking after the children?" Star asked, changing the topic.
"About a year," she sighed, "since their mum died."
"Ok," the Doctor nodded, "but why you? Family friend. I get that, but there must have been others. Why did it have to be you? I mean, you don't really seem like a nanny."
Clara reached in for the laptop in front of Star, "gimme!"
"Eh?" Star pulled it towards her.
"You need to know where they physically are?" she tugged it back, "their exact location."
"Yes."
"I can to it."
"I need it!"
"You've hacked the lower operating system, yeah? I'll have their physical location in under 5 minutes. Why don't you and your old man get us a coffee."
"If I can't find it, you can't!" she stuck out her tongue.
"They uploaded me, remember? I've got computing stuff in my head."
"So do I." she tugged the laptop back, a tug of war starting.
"I have insane hacking skills."
"Daddy tell her!" Star whined.
"She's from space, the future with two hearts and...27 brains..." the Doctor cut in.
"And I can find them in under 5 minutes, plus photographs," Clara insisted before blinking, "27?"
"Not really 27 but it works as fast and as clever as having 27 brains." Star remarked.
"Coffee, go get. 5 minutes. I promise." she took the laptop of Star, "thank you."
She crossed her arms, pouting, "The security is absolute."
"Its never about the security, it's about the people." She began typing away.
Star jumped up, dragging the Doctor up with her, "I want a cup of tea."
They got up to go and get the drinks, when the Doctor stopped and just stared at Clara, she couldn't exist, she was impossible, but Star seemed to like her well enough.
Clara looked up, feeling his eyes on her, "why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Sorry," he flushed at being spotted, "no, its nothing. It's just…you're a nanny. Isn't that a bit…Victorian?"
"Victorian?" she scoffed.
"You're young; shouldn't you be doing, you know, young things?" Star burst into giggles as he attempted to do the twist, "with…with…with…young people?"
"What, like you, for instance? Down, boy!"
"No, no, I didn't…shut up!" he stuck his tongue out at her and heading inside the café with Star.
"Two more cappuccinos and a tea over there, please." He called to the man behind the counter, smiling as Star admired the cakes and sweets on the counter top.
"One moment, sir." The man smiled, turning to get to work.
The Doctor picked up a scone and gave it to Star who grinned.
"You realise you haven't the slightest chance of saving your little friend?" the man turned back around, something different in his voice, making then stiffen.
"Im sorry?" Star paused, her scone in her hands.
There was a blue flash around the man, "I said one moment, miss," there was another flash, "I said, there is not the slightest chance you can save your little friend. And don't annoy the old man, he isn't, in fact, speaking." There was another flash and the man went back to work.
"Im speaking," a waitress came up behind them, "just using whatever's to hand. Oh, she's rather pretty, isn't she? Do you like her? I can make her like you too, if you want." There was another flicker and the waitress leaned back as the Doctor was in her face, "you all right, sir?"
"Um, yes," he nodded, "yes, fine."
"Im going to check on Clara," Star murmured, backing away outside, leaving the Doctor in the cafe. "You ok, Clara?" she asked her as she typed away.
"Sure," she replied, distracted, "setting up stuff, need a user name."
"Learning fast."
"Clara Oswald for the win! Oswin!"
Star stiffened, recalling how Clara the Dalek called herself Oswin. She shook her head and fixed a grin, "good name." she looked at the café to see the Doctor talking around to different people, the blue light around each of them. She looked back at Clara hearing her laugh, "What?" still continuing to work, Clara turned the screen slightly to show Star the photos of the workers who were following them, all of them working at the Shard. "High-five!" Star cheered, giving the girl a high five.
Done with her work, Clara sat back with a grin, "I did it. I really did, it did it. I found them."
"You found them." The Doctor said, coming out of the café.
"The Shard," she continued, not seeing Star stiffen, "they're in the Shard. Floor 65."
"Floor 65."
"Are you listening to me, Doctor? I found them!"
"That's not dad, Clara!" Star cut in.
"I am listening to you." the Doctor repeated, "you found them."
As the Doctors hand turned back like how it did earlier, or more yesterday, she stood up, stepping in front of Star. it was her job to look after the kids, and she would, the head finished turning and a beam shot out of the dish.
"Clara!" Star screamed as the woman slumped forwards; she quickly grabbed her and gently lowered her on the table.
The Doctor, the real Doctor rushed out of the café hearing her scream, "What is it?"
"They got her," Star breathed, "she stood in front of me…she protected me." She reminded her of someone else who did that, her governess form Gallifrey, that woman was very fun to have around, was afraid but was fiercely proactive of children.
"Doctor?" Clara called from the dish, "Star? Help me. I don't know where I am. I don't understand. I don't know where I am! Please help me. I don't know where I am! I don't know where I am. Doctor, please, please, help me, Star. I don't know where I am!"
The Doctor whipped out the sonic and used it on the robot, she protected Star, even though it would have taken her own life, she protected her.
~.~
The Doctor and Star rode the motorbike across the waterloo bridge, a look of determination on their face as they.
They stop across the street from the shard, looking up at it, when a man with fish and chips stiffened, "really, a motorbike? It hardly seems like you."
"I rode this in the Anti-Grave Olympics, 2074." He remarked, "I came last."
"I came first!" Star grinned very smug with that fact.
"You cheated!"
"You're just jealous that im better than you!"
"The building is in lock-down," the man interrupted them, "im afraid you're not coming in."
"Did you hear the word anti-grav?" Star countered and the Doctor slammed a red button on the control panel, twisting the throttle and driving towards the Shard, travelling up the side of the building!
Stars eyes flashed as they approached the 67th floor, a hand out, and the window shattered.
They landed inside, hopped on the bike and sat, cross-legged on the desk, Star mimicking him. An entrance like that should have people entering right about…
The door open.
…now.
"Do come in." an older woman with short hair remarked dryly.
"Download her." The Doctor stated.
"Sorry about the draft." She gestured to the smashed window.
"Download her back into her body, right now."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can."
"She's fully integrated part of the data cloud now. She can't be separated."
"Then download the entire cloud." Star rolled her eyes, "everyone you've trapped in there."
"You realise what would happen?"
"Yes, those still with bodies to go home to would be free." The Doctor stood.
"A tiny number," she waved them off, "most would simply die."
"They'd be released from a living hell. It's the best you can do for them, so give the order."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because im going to motivate you. Any second now."
"You two are ridiculous! Why did you even come here? Whatever for?"
"I came here," Star agreed, "but daddy didn't."
"What?" she blinked.
"Im still in the café," the Doctor said. "Im finishing my coffee. Lovely spot."
"What are you talking about?"
"You hack people. Me?" he unclipped his helmet, "im old-fashioned. I hack technology." He removed his helmet, "here's your motivation!"
He stiffened and his head spun around revealing the dish.
"No, no. no!" the woman backed away, "not me! Not me!" a beamed shot out from the dish.
Star picked up the tablet and used it to increase one of the workers obedience. "Back in a sec." she winked at the robot before teleporting back to the cafe, the Time Lords leaving just before Clara awoke…
~.~
They took the quick way back. They parked the TARDIS outside the Maitland home. As they finished making sure everything was fine. They'd contacted UNIT about the employees at the Shard.
When there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." Star called as she and the Doctor sat on the stairs, the Doctor reading a book, wearing Amy's glasses.
"So. They come back, do they?" Clara asked as she entered.
"You didn't answer my question." He replied.
"What question?"
"You don't seem like a nanny."
"I was going to travel," she sighed, "I came to stay for a week before I left and during that week…"
"She died," Star nodded, understanding, "you're returning the favour."
"You've got 101 places to see," the Doctor added, "and you haven't been to any of them, have you? That's why you keep the book."
"I keep the book cos im still going." She crossed her arms, leaning on the console.
"But you don't run out on the people you care about."
"Wish you were more like that," Star nudged him playfully.
"Oh, ha ha." He rolled his eyes at her.
"You know I love you," she pecked his cheek.
The Doctor remove Amys reading glasses and put them in his pocket, "you know, the thing about a time machine, you can run away all you like and still be home in time for tea," he stepped down and walked over to Clara, "so what do you say? Anywhere. All of time and space, right outside those doors."
"Does this work?" Clara laughed, "Eh? Is this actually what you do? Do you just crook your finger and people just jump in your snog box and fly away?"
"It's not a snog box!"
"Not for you." Star smirked, making him wag his finger at her.
"I'll be the judge of that!" Clara laughed.
"Starting when?" the Doctor asked, leaning against the console, trying at act casual.
"Come back tomorrow, ask me again."
"Why?"
"Cos tomorrow, I might say yes. Some time after 7:00 of for you?"
"It's a time machine," Star pointed out, "any times ok."
"See you then."
"Clara?" she called as she was about to head out the door.
"Uh-huh?" she turned back.
"In your book there was leaf, why?"
"That wasn't a leaf, that was page one." She waved as she left.
"Right then, Clara Oswald." The Doctor turned to Star.
"Time to find out who you are." Star finished as they ran around the console.
