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Chapter 9

After checking her reflection in the bathroom mirror a couple of times to make sure it wasn't too obvious what she had been doing Clara headed downstairs to the dining room where all of the students and the rest of the teachers were waiting. Ernie, their bus driver, was there as well and looking quite unhappy.

"We've spoken to the bus company and unfortunately they can't send a replacement until the early evening," Martha announced to the disappointed students, "We will have to postpone the trip to the castle until tomorrow. I suggest you all get your raincoats and we go for another hiking trip."

The children were groaning and booing when suddenly the Doctor rose from his seat.

"Can I make a different suggestion?" he asked carefully and Clara watched the kids and realized how their faces lit up. They liked him. They all admired him.

"Sure," Martha agreed and sat back down.

Th Doctor cleared his throat. "The weather is, excuse me, Courtney, shit! Do any of you feel like going on a hiking trip when it's raining cats and dogs like this?"

They shook their heads.

"Okay, then I suggest we just stay here," he paused and the children's disappointed was audible but the Doctor wasn't yet finished, "We are going to have a tournament. Each room is a group and the one that wins will get to stay up an hour later and they'll be provided with sweets and scary bedtime stories."

Clara couldn't help but smile as the excitement spread over the students. The Doctor might not have been a conventional parent but he certainly knew how to keep them all entertained and this time she didn't really feel like protesting his suggestion. Mainly because she couldn't think of an alternative.

"What kind of tournament?" Courtney wanted to know.

The Doctor shrugged. "We have kicker, we have billiard, we have several board games and the rain is supposed to stop in the afternoon so we can have a boat race as well and play miniature golf. And to make it a little more complicated for you – your teachers and I are going to form a fourth group that you will have to defeat. Any questions or protests?"

Suddenly the Doctor's eyes were on Clara as if he was expecting her to speak up against him but she said nothing at all.

When no one protested they all went downstairs into the basement together. The Doctor had written a list including all four teams and the different games they were going to play against each other and while he and Danny went straight for the kicker table to compete against the boys' room, Clara settled for a game of Ludo against Courtney and Melina, a girl from the other room, the rest of the girls rolled out the Twister mat and Martha kept an eye out so no one could even attempt to cheat.

The time passed quickly and when they headed to lunch Courtney's room, unfortunately, was on top of the leader board but Clara was confident that they would all behave even if they were allowed to stay up past their bedtime. For some weird reason the Doctor's methods worked and the children were all tame and friendly with each other, even the worst of them.

"So, when are you going to scold me for allowing them to stay up late?" the Doctor, who had suddenly appeared next to her as she was making her way to the dining room, asked.

Clara smiled at him. "Not at all."

"Really?" he seemed surprised.

"No, I think it was a great idea. The kids are loving it."

When she looked at him Clara noticed the big grin on the Doctor's face.

"Don't look so smug," she told him, "If the kids get nightmares from your bedtime horror stories I will hold you responsible for that."

"Responsibility accepted," he smiled and headed off to the dining room.

OOO

Even though Clara gave her best to beat Courtney's team at miniature golf the teachers only ended up second and when the Doctor returned from the shop around the corner with a lot more sweets than she had anticipated he announced that having only one team stay up later wouldn't be fair and asked all of them to come back into the basement to listen to his horror stories at 10.

Even though Clara had been glad to evade her duty of watching the children for the night when she was lying in bed with her book she soon realized that she was growing bored. Since everyone had already seen her kitty pyjamas she headed downstairs as she was and sneaked inside the barely lit room.

"The statues on the terrace behind them had moved. There was no doubt about it this time. The angel that had been weeping was now staring up at. . . Miss Oswald," the Doctor said in surprise when he looked up and noticed her.

"Don't mind me," Clara whispered and sat down in the back, leaving the Doctor to continue his story.

Now that her theory about him being a bad parent had proven to be wrong Clara found it a little easier to admit to other things as well. He was good with children, really good, maybe even better than her – or at least they all liked him more than her. She had never seen her class so quiet and focused on one thing, not even when they had watched Harry Potter before the holidays. And then there was the matter of his voice which Clara so far hadn't realized was beautiful and calming. She could listen to him talk for hours.

"Alright, kids," the Doctor said after finishing another story, "I am afraid the hour is over and I'm not so keen to get into trouble with your teacher again."

"Ohhhh, please," the children begged, "Just one more."

"I really can't," he smiled apologetically.

"You can tell another if you like," Clara suggested carefully, trying not to show how much she had enjoyed his stories as well.

Suddenly the Doctor looked a little uncomfortable. "I, erm," he hesitated, "I don't actually know more. Sorry. But I could ask Mr Pink to give you some maths equations? How's that for some late night horror?"

That convinced the children to go to bed instead of staying up further and after making sure everything was quiet the Doctor and Clara went back downstairs to the teachers' rooms together.

"So, were you impressed with my stories?" the Doctor asked and Clara was having a hard time placing the tone of his voice.

She frowned slightly. "I think it would take a little bit more to impress me," she replied, "But it wasn't a bad start."

Clara looked at him for a moment but he had his eyed fixed on his feet as he walked. He seemed almost a little shy. But it couldn't be. This was the Doctor. Clara doubted he even knew what the word "shy" meant.

"You weren't trying to impress me, were you?" Clara found herself asking.

Finally he looked at her, seemingly confused. "And why would I wanna do that?"

"I, erm, I don't know. Maybe because of what happened this morning."

"Yeah, about that," the Doctor paused, "Logan can't know."

She laughed. "Well, I wasn't going to tell him. Don't worry."

They came to a halt in front of his room and for a moment stood there in awkward silence.

"Would you. . .," the Doctor hesitated, ". . . like to come in?"

He looked up at her, his voice and gaze almost hopeful and Clara found herself at a loss. For a moment she had almost said yes immediately, thinking about how good it had been this morning and how she wouldn't mind repeating that. But this was the Doctor asking her and she didn't even like him.

"No," Clara said eventually, shaking her head, "I shouldn't. We shouldn't. What happened this morning was an accident."

The Doctor nodded and suddenly his entire posture changed. "Okay. I was only asking out of politeness anyway."

And then the door to his room closed in her face.