Thank you guys so much for the reviews :) Now, we're heading towards date number two, I assume? But in the meantime, there's more trouble ahead. . .

Chapter 9

It was almost dark when the Doctor parked his car in front of Missy's house and this time, their daughter was a little happier about spending some time with her mother after not seeing her for almost two weeks. He assumed that Missy felt the same enthusiasm even if she didn't show it because he remembered all too vividly what it was like to be separated from Rosie for that amount of time. When Missy opened the door, their daughter jumped out of the car and instantly went to greet her mother while it was up to him to unload the boot and carry her rucksack after her.

"Any exciting plans for the weekend?" the Doctor asked when he reached the steps. He didn't feel like coming inside, so he decided to remain at the foot of the stairs so as not to give off the wrong impression.

Missy shrugged. "That's up to Ambrosia," she replied. "But she might be able to convince me to see a movie tomorrow if she tries hard enough."

When he glanced towards his daughter, the Doctor realized that she was torn between looking happy at the prospect of going to the cinema and cringing at the use of her full name. She couldn't quite decide what to do and the Doctor couldn't blame her for that.

"Alright," Missy said. "Say goodbye to your father and then we can have dinner."

"Actually," the Doctor cut her off, "can we have a word before I leave?"

His ex-wife blew the air out between her thin lips and that look of annoyance crossed her face for a brief moment before she gestured towards Rosie to step inside. Once they were alone, the Doctor cleared his throat, preparing for the conversation he had already practised in his head a couple of time over the last week. It wasn't going to be an easy one and he knew it.

"So," she remarked and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "what is it that you want to talk to me about?"

He inhaled deeply before he spoke. "Rosie mentioned you had your boyfriend over for dinner the last time she stayed with you."

"Ah," she breathed in reply, but when the Doctor had assumed she was going to elaborate, he was wrong.

He frowned at her lack of reply. "Aren't you going to say anything else?"

Missy shrugged. "What else do you want me to say?"

The Doctor scoffed. She was still as unbelievable as ever. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was youwho said that bringing partners into the home while Rosie is present is a big no-no. Our daughter is only twelve. She doesn't need to be dragged into your new relationship," he complained, raising his voice just a little before he remembered that Rosie was still inside and that the walls weren't as thick as he had often liked them to be.

"I didn't drag her into anything," Missy replied defensively. "I wanted Ambrosia to meet Seb, so he came over and made us dinner. That's it."

"You still should have talked to me before you did it! You can't just bring home strange men, not with our daughter around!"

"Seb is not a stranger," she remarked. "We've been dating for months and he was very happy to finally meet her. And if you're worried that he spent the night, I can assure you that he didn't. But just so you know, we do have sex. Often."

In response, the Doctor merely raised his eyebrows at her.

"You're not the least bit jealous, are you?" Missy asked, her shoulders dropping while it became obvious that she felt some disappointment over that. "Damn."

Right now, he was happier to be rid of her than anything else, but that wasn't what he had come to talk to her about. "Please, just don't push him on our daughter unless you know it's something serious. Rosie needs a bit of consistency right now, especially since she just moved and changed schools. If you like him enough to let him into your life, that's fine, but at least ask Rosie how she feels about it before inviting him over for dinner."

Missy exhaled sharply and she took a moment before she replied. "Fine," she said eventually. "I will in the future. But Seb is good for me, you know? He might be good for Ambrosia as well. At least she'll have someone to play with Monopoly with."

Again, the Doctor frowned.

"Well, Seb still likes these silly board games. Blame it on his age."

The frown only deepened before he decided to ask about it. "How old is Seb exactly?"

His ex-wife shrugged. "35 or so," she replied, but it was obvious from the tone of her voice that she really wasn't sure about his age.

A part of him should have been angry and maybe even jealous that his ex-wife was dating someone younger than herself, but if he was completely honest, it only made him feel relieved because he was about to go on a date with someone significantly younger as well and he took it as confirmation that it was okay, that he was allowed to do it.

"Fine," the Doctor said. "Just be careful when it comes to Rosie. Don't bring someone home unless you know he's trustworthy."

"I won't," Missy promised and it sounded sincere enough to him.

"Good," he concluded. "Now, I've received a letter about the parent-teacher evening-"

"I'm cold," Missy interrupted him. "Let's discuss that when I drop Ambrosia off on Sunday."

The Doctor glowered at her and he hated being cut off, but he couldn't help but admit that discussing the school event on Sunday would be enough.

"Good night, Doctor," she said and then turned around on her heels and closed the door before he even had a chance to say goodbye. He really was glad to be rid of her. And he now had a free pass to go on a date with Bonnie. All in all, it was going well.


"I passed a little shop on my way home from school and look what they had," Clara announced happily as she stepped into her sister's flat and held up the present she had brought, or rather the bribe. "I saw this and I instantly thought of you."

Yet Bonnie only raised her eyebrows in response, seeing through the ruse in an instant. "What do you want?"

Clara lowered the carefully chosen gift basket containing all types of cosmetics and frowned at her sister. They were twins. Of course, she would see right through her. Bonnie knew her face too well to be fooled by a present.

"I want to be you tomorrow night," she said, knowing that it was no use beating around the bush.

"Sorry, but I have plans already. We can switch next week," Bonnie remarked as she made her way into the kitchen, obviously busy and right in the middle of something.

Yet Clara wasn't so easily deterred. She had to try. "Please, Bonnie, I'll love you forever," she begged. "Just tomorrow night."

Her sister opened the fridge and continued to prepare herself a meal, only casually glancing at Clara every now and then. "Why does it have to be this Saturday? Can't it wait until next week?"

Clara lowered her gaze, knowing that Bonnie would tell her how silly she was and how she should tell her date the truth. "I kind of made plans," she admitted, "in your name."

"How?" her sister wanted to know. "I mean, you're not seeing the guy from last time again, are you?"

She bit down on her lip and suddenly, Bonnie dropped the salad she was preparing on the counter and looked at her properly for the first time since she had stepped into the flat. "You are totally seeing the guy from last time," she realized.

"Yes," Clara replied carefully.

After a moment of consideration, Bonnie blew the air out of her lungs. "I have a date on the other end of the city. I mean, if you pretend to be me, I don't think anyone would notice two of us running around."

"Thank you!" Clara instantly blurted out, the gratefulness showing in her voice.

"But you can't have the flat because I have every intention to take him home afterwards."

"That's totally fine," she replied and then raised her eyebrows hopefully. "What about your car?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, but Clara already knew that she had given in. "You're a parasite, not a twin."

"Thank you!" Clara said sincerely and grinned at her sister in response. Tonight, she would assess the situation and maybe even tell the Doctor who she really was. Everything was going to be fine, Clara was sure of it.