Chapter 10- Brave heart, Clara
"Goodbye, Miss Oswald!"
"Goodbye, Timmy!"
"Have a nice summer holiday, Miss Oswald."
"You too, Rebecca."
Clara stood at the door of her classroom, sending off the students with little hugs and gentle words until at last only one student remained.
A little girl sat at her desk, staring blankly at the chalkboard.
"Tegan? Aren't your parents waiting for you?"
The girl jumped at the sound of Clara's voice, clearly having been lost in her own little world.
"No ma'am, just an aunt."
She appeared to be on the brink of tears, and Clara wasn't one to just sit around and do nothing when children cried.
She motioned for Tegan to come over to the teacher's desk.
"What's the matter sweetheart?"
Usually, Tegan was full of chatter and sass but at the moment she just stood before Clara, looking down at her shoes.
Unexpectedly, the little girl burst into tears and threw her arms around Clara.
Without a moment's hesitation, the young teacher returned the hug, rubbing soothing circles on the girl's back until her wracking sobs subsided.
"I-I- don't want to-go," she said.
"Go where?"
Clara looked up at the sound of the Doctor's voice.
A bouquet of roses lay in his arms, deep red in colour to match that of the crimson that now bloomed in her cheeks.
It was their six month anniversary, and the Doctor had brought her roses. She longed to leap from the desk chair and full on snog him, but knowing that it would be inappropriate in the presence of a seven year old, she resisted.
He set the flowers down on her desk, his eyes inquiring on the situation.
Clara shrugged.
Cautiously, he got down on his knees and outstretched his hand to touch the young girl's shoulder.
"Hey," he said softly.
The girl buried herself further into Clara's chest, refusing to let his comforting gesture win her over.
"Tegan," Clara said, shaking the girl ever so slightly, "Tegan, would you please tell us what's wrong?"
The girl slowly pulled away from her teacher, wiping frustratedly at her eyes.
"I'm moving back to Australia with my aunt. And I don't want to! I like it here in London! My friends are all here, my favorite teacher is here!"
Eyes tightening, bottom lip trembling, Tegan let out an anguished wail. Sorrow radiated off of her in steady waves, emphasized by the tears slowly soaking through Clara's blouse.
Hating to see any child so distressed, Clara took the girl's small hand in hers.
The Doctor took the girl's other hand and offered a small smile, "What's your name?"
"Tegan Jovanka," she said, her voice barely a whisper,"You're Clara's boyfriend aren't you? You're the Doctor with no name?"
"Yes," he said, shyly looking at Clara through his eyelashes.
Clara felt a flutter in her stomach, a flutter of giddiness, a flutter of something so powerful and endearing that it made her heart beat twice as fast. His free hand softly trailed up and down Clara's arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
They held eye contact for a few seconds before the Doctor returned his attention to the little girl in Clara's lap, "Did you know that your teacher isn't really from London?"
Tegan looked to Clara, "Yes, because her voice is different from everyone else's."
"Clara is from a place called Blackpool. Do you know where that is?" He continued.
Tegan said she did.
"She had to leave behind the places and the people she loved in order to do her job. And look at all the things she's accomplished because she was so brave. She's a fantastic teacher, she was a great nanny, and she's an absolutely brilliant girlfriend. Just look at her! Tell me you haven't seen a greater beauty in all your life. I dare you!"
"Doctor," Clara muttered, smiling in spite of herself.
Tegan tilted her head to the side, "Is that true, Miss Oswald?"
Clara nodded, "The moving part yes... Not so sure about the last bit."
"Oh quit being modest," the Doctor exclaimed.
"Well it's better than thinking of myself as queen of the world now ain't it?!"
"I don't want to go," Tegan interrupted, once again hugging Clara as though she were a lifeline.
"Do you wanna know my advice?" The Doctor said, licking his lips.
The girl emerged slightly, the merest shift of her head to show that she was listening.
"I think that sometimes in life we have to do things that we really don't want to do. But it's the way we take these situations that counts. Clara has had to go through them, I've had to go through them, and you're going to have to go through them too. But you have to be brave."
Tegan slid off of Clara's lap and gave him a watery smile.
He playfully nudged her cheek, "Brave heart, Tegan."
After wishing them a good summer holiday, the girl left with her head held high and a new view on her move to Australia.
Clara lifted one of the roses from her desk and breathed in its fragrant aroma.
Her eyes slid shut without permission as the Doctor came up behind her and hugged her from the back. His arms wrapped around her waist, and his lips pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her ear. She exhaled shakily, and leaned back into him. His lips continued to linger on the sensitive spot, and slowly trailed a few more kisses down her neck, rendering her temporarily speechless.
"Roses eh, Doctor," she said nonchalantly, finally finding her voice.
The Doctor tensed, "You don't like them?"
Clara turned around and put her hands on his chest, "Oh no, I like them, they're a nice bonus to my real present."
The Doctor's eyes widened, and he went pale, "Real present?"
Clara placed a hand on his cheek affectionately, "You. You're my present, you daft man! I haven't seen you in two weeks! When I asked Jenny, she just said you were away on business. No details. No anything. While you were gone Strax called me boy again. Is that just something he picked up in the army, calling everyone boy? Or can he genuinely not tell the difference?"
"Everything will soon be revealed," the Doctor said enigmatically, giving her a quick bop on the nose, grabbing her hand and attempting to pull her out of the classroom.
"Hey!" she said, pulling her hand back, "What's your hurry? I've just got to get my things."
Impatiently, the Doctor located her red satchel and handed it to her before attempting to take her away again.
"I still need to get-What are you doin-Whoa!"
He picked her up in a fireman's carry, ignoring her protests until they reached the parking lot.
"Put me down! Oi! Put. Me. Down. Doctor?! Are you listening? Doctor, I'm not a doll! Put me down, now!"
He finally consented to her shouting, but darted out of reach when she tried to land a blow on his shoulder.
"Now Clara," he began, holding his hands out in front of him, "Please don't be mad about what I'm about to tell you."
"I'm already mad," Clara said vehemently.
"Well don't get madder."
He tugged gently on her hand, and they walked a few more paces before stopping in front of a black motorcycle-right in the space where Clara's car had last been parked.
"What," Clara asked blankly, "Is going on?"
The Doctor clapped his hands together, "Do you remember how before I left you told me that your car was messing up yet again?"
"Yeah...," Clara said, her wariness increasing exponentially.
"Oh don't worry about your pile of junk," he said, waving a hand at her evident worry.
"Oi," Clara warned, "That's the pile of junk that saw me through the university."
"I took the liberty of having it towed..."
"YOU WHAT?!"
"...to the mechanic's so that they could replace the parts that had been acting up."
A breath of relief escaped Clara.
She pointed at the motorcycle, "So what's this then?"
Seemingly out of nowhere he pulled out two vintage helmets along with a red pair of leather gloves.
"This is our ride home."
She nudged the bike with her foot, "This wasn't in the shed when I left the shop this morning."
He smiled, but said no words.
"All will soon be revealed?" Clara asked.
"Yes."
"But my roses," she said, looking back longingly at the school.
It wasn't that she was scared of motorcycles, she just didn't know if she trusted her Doctor with one.
He looked like a toddler who was being threatened with the removal of his toy, "Clara! There are places to see, people to meet, things to do. In the great scheme of things those roses are unimportant "
She crossed her arms, and the Doctor did the same. A staring contest ensued, won (surprisingly) by the Doctor.
"Get on the bike," he said, and finally Clara did.
"So where have you been," Clara asked, making her voice louder so that it could be heard over the sound of the wind.
"Patience, impossible girl," he responded.
Her arms tightened around his waist as he drove around a bus on Westminster Bridge. Traffic slowed, and then came to a standstill
Big Ben loomed ahead of them, the hour hand pointing to four, and the minute hand pointing to the one. She turned her head to the side and saw the murky water of the Thames glittering up at her. Soon, her attention was diverted by an old couple on the sidewalk. They hobbled on hand in hand, bright smiles on each of their faces.
Clara half-smiled; some love really was forever.
With a twist to the gas, the motorbike sped off across the bridge. She tried to keep the old couple in sight but soon they became no more than a tiny speck behind her.
They arrived at the bookshop just when Clara was getting used to the bike. Much as she would like to deny it, she had enjoyed the ride.
As usual, they were greeted cheerfully by the shop assistants, but the Doctor hardly heard them.
He pulled a protesting Clara up four flights of stairs until they were at the front door to the flat she'd begun to rent back in January.
"Did you know," he began, his voice betraying no hint to the loss of breath she was experiencing, "That this building came with a secret room when I bought it?"
Clara's ears perked at his statement.
"Secret room?"
"Yes. And in the corner of the secret room there is a secret hatch on the floor that reveals a secret staircase that leads to a secret entrance to the shop. And the way in," he said, running his hands along the wall.
His fingers found a catch, and when he pushed, a part of the wall swung inward.
"Is right here."
"Am I going to get answers if I go in there," Clara asked, looking skeptically into the darkness behind the wall.
"Brave heart, Clara."
Clara walked into the room after only half a second of hesitation, the darkness swallowing her body like a huge maw.
The Doctor followed with a look of nervousness gracing his handsome face.
A/N: I apologize for last chapter (It really was terribly terrible ick.) Please leave me a comment or some constructive criticism, it would really be appreciated. Thank you! Next chapter should be up soon!