It's a day early, but I didn't know if I could wait to post this chapter. I don't know if I should apologize in advance for this chapter, considering how evil it is. It wasn't easy to write. I hope that I've pulled it off adequately. Like I said, the chapter is evil. Don't worry, though. Things will get better in future chapters.

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Chapter 10: Hurtful Words

Week 27

It had been a bit over a week since Clara had agreed to go on a date with Alex Chang. Now, the time had come for her to go to a movie with him. Clara didn't want to come across as a lazy slob, so she decided to dress up a bit. She was wearing a knee-length blue maternity dress and a pair of black flats with little bows on top. She would have worn heels, but her pregnancy would have made the heels more painful to wear. She wore light makeup and a charm bracelet as well. Her look was completed with her hair formed into beachy waves by a curling iron. Clara examined herself in the mirror. She was the size of a whale, but other than that, she looked good. Whipping her mobile out of her handbag, she sent a text to Amelia, who had by then moved into her girlfriend's flat. Clara asked for a ride to the cinema and Amelia, of course, said that she would give her a ride. So, Clara waited outside until Amelia's girlfriend's sub-compact pulled up. When Clara walked over to the car, a woman with tan skin, dark hair, and dark eyes stuck her head out and gave a wolf whistle. "Damn, Chickie! You look good enough to eat!" the American said with a grin.

"I don't look like a beached whale?" Clara questioned.

"Hell no." Amelia replied. "You are drop-dead sexy. Why, if I weren't in a committed relationship with a neurologist, I'd ask you out."

Clara gave a nervous smile and walked around the car to let herself in. When she closed the door and buckled herself up, she asked, "How is Pavarti?"

"Busy as usual." Amelia said with a shrug as she started driving.

"When the three of us have time, maybe we could all go out for lunch to catch up." Clara suggested. She thought that Amelia and Pavarti made an incredibly cute couple.

"That sounds nice, but I'd have to talk to her about it." Amelia replied. "Hopefully, we'll all be able to get together soon. You'll need those last few weeks of freedom before you become bound by the chains of parenthood."

"I hope I can be a good enough mother for him." Clara said, a hint of insecurity in her voice. "And what about Alex? If we do start going on dates, what happens when the baby comes? Would he still be interested in a woman with a newborn?"

"Chickie, you're almost seven months pregnant and he's still interested in you." Amelia pointed out. "Maybe he won't mind helping out a girlfriend with a baby."

Immediately, Clara's thoughts went to the Doctor. He said that he would help out with the baby, that he would help raise him. What would he do if another person were to take his place in that role? Clara decided that she'd cross that bridge if or when she came to it. "So," Amelia asked, "are you planning a baby shower?"

"No, not really." Clara admitted.

"Well, then," Amelia said with a grin, "I'm going to throw you one. Gifts, diapers, baby swings, tequila, the works."

"Amelia, I'm pregnant." Clara scolded her friend. "I can't have alcohol."

"The tequila is for me." Amelia said, her grin becoming even wider.

Clara couldn't help but laugh. For some reason, the idea of Amelia bringing tequila to a baby shower seemed very believable. The American had an amazing work ethic, but she really knew how to party. Amelia claimed that this particular combination of work and play flexibility was a result of her Mexican heritage. That and what Amelia called her 'fiery Latin temper'. "So," Clara inquired, "What do you think of the UK?"

"I love this country." Amelia joked. "Unlike back in the States, people here actually have a legitimate reason to believe that I wasn't born in their country."

Amelia would make jokes about that kind of thing, but Clara knew that it was to hide the fact that she was a bit touchy about it. Amelia's mother, who had entered America illegally, had been deported when she was twelve. Amelia, who had been born in the US, had to be raised by an aunt. It wasn't really fair, but that was just another part of Amelia's past and Clara felt priviledged that the American woman had trusted her enough to tell her. Clara felt bad about snickering at Amelia's comment, but she couldn't help herself. "You're always so satirical, Amelia." Clara said with a chuckle.

"You know it, Chickie!" Amelia said cheerfully. The American then grinned and said, "If you and your date decide to get freaky, don't forget to use protection. I know that it may not seem to make sense with you already being knocked up, but you have to remember about diseases and stuff. You never know, right?"

Clara rolled her eyes and said, "I know, I know. I have condoms in my handbag."

"Better to have one and not need one than need one and not have one." Amelia said sagely.

As Amelia continued to drive towards their destination, she and Clara continued to chat about various subjects. Mostly, it was about Clara's impending due date. She wasn't due for a while, but the weeks seemed to be passing quickly. When they arrived outside the cinema, they could see Alex standing outside. When he spotted Clara, he wave happily at her. Clara waved back. When Clara got out of the car, Amelia smiled at her and said, "Good luck, Chickie, and have fun!"

When Clara walked up to Alex, the man cocked his head and inquired, "'Chickie'?"

Clara gave an embarrassed laugh and said, "It's Amelia's nickname for me. It's short for 'chiquita'. It means 'little girl', I think."

Alex laughed and said, "You're not that little."

"Thanks." Clara said with a smile.

Alex gave Clara an appraising look. He then smiled and said, "Clara, you look gorgeous."

Clara blushed a little bit and said, "Thank you. Shall we go?"

"Right." Alex said with a laugh. "On to the film."

With that, they walked into the cinema. They examined the options. "Definitely not a horror film." Alex decided. "Don't want you to get scared."

"I can handle a little horror film." Clara said with mock offense.

"How about a romance film?" Alex suggested.

"Too cliche." Clara replied.

Eventually, Clara and Alex settled on an animated movie. They paid for their tickets, bought a bucket of popcorn, and headed into the theatre to watch the film. As they watched the film, they shared the popcorn. On a particularly sad scene, Clara started to sniffle. Alex reached over and put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. For some reason, Clara's thoughts once again went to the Doctor. For the briefest of moments, she almost wished that it was him who was holding her and not Alex. When her date reached over to take her hand in his, Clara resolved to not think about the Doctor during her date. He wasn't interested in her romantically. Alex was potentially interested in her. Her mind made up, Clara let out a sigh and relaxed into Alex's hold. She spent the rest of the film in that position. When the film was over, they left with smiles on their faces, though Clara's was ever so slightly less entheusiastic and a tiny bit forced, but Alex didn't seem to notice. "What did you think?" Alex asked.

"It was pretty good." Clara replied. "The book was better, though."

"I've never read the book." Alex said with a shrug.

"You should." Clara said insistantly. "It's really good."

"I might do that." Alex said with a smile.

There was a brief silence before Alex said, "I know we split the popcorn, but are you still hungry?"

Clara shrugged and said, "I'm a little bit peckish."

"Maybe we could go out for something to eat." Alex suggested.

Clara once again banished thoughts of the Doctor from her head, memories of eating with him in the TARDIS' kitchen. The impossible girl smiled and said, "I'd like that."

So at that, Clara got into Alex's car and drove to a fairly nice resteraunt. They walked in and sat down at a table with a fairly nice view. One of the servers handed them each a menu. Looking over the menu, Alex asked, "What would you like?"

Clara thought about it for a while before replying, "I think the chicken parmesan sounds good."

Alex nodded and said, "I'll try the salmon."

The two of them ordered their dishes. When their dishes came to them, they both happily dug in. Clara let out a pleased hum and said, "This is really good."

Alex shrugged and said, "Mine isn't bad, but it doesn't have as nice a sear as I'd like."

"It still looks good." Clara said.

The two chatted over dinner, discussing various subjects. One of the things that was brought up was Clara's pregnancy. To her surprise and delight, Alex told her that he wouldn't mind dating a single mother of an infant after Clara had her baby. Once they were done, Alex paid. He offered to give Clara a ride home, but she decided that she wanted a ride from Amelia. She didn't know why. She just had the feeling that she should. When Amelia pulled up next to the cinema, Clara smiled at Alex and said, "Thanks. I had a nice night."

"A beauty like you deserves a nice night." Alex replied. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see you some other night."

Clara shrugged and said, "Maybe."

Alex smiled at Clara and said, "Think about it. That's all I'm asking."

Clara smiled back and said, "I'll think about it."

"Good." Alex said.

Alex then did something that surprised Clara. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was gentle but forceful. Again, for the briefest fraction of a second, Clara almost wished that Alex was someone else- someone who was very skinny, had curly grey hair, and dressed in a magician's coat. Almost immediately, Clara forced those thoughts out of her head and returned Alex's kiss. When they parted, Alex smiled and said, "Until I see you again, Clara Oswald."

When Clara got into Amelia's car, the American woman grinned at her and said, "Way to go, Chickie!"

Clara smiled back and said, "You know what? I think I will go out with him again."

"You'd better." Amelia said. "That way, you can snag yourself a boyfriend."

When Amelia said 'boyfriend', Clara's thoughts once again went to a certain man who really hated the word 'boyfriend'. She shook her head. Once she went on a few more dates with Alex, she wouldn't ever think about the Doctor at inopportune times again.

Had Amelia known about the situation between Clara and the Doctor, she would have told her friend that her plans were easier said than done.

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Week 28

Clara was extremely relieved. Sure, she still got cranky, bloated, sore, constipated, and she had to pee every hour on the hour, but at least her morning sickness finally seemed to have gone away. She's only had to wait for her third trimester to begin for it to happen. In her opinion, that was too long to wait. Still, over meant over. She hadn't vomited in three whole days. She could now eat normal food! Well, she could keep it down, anyway. Sort of normal. She still liked that alien snack that tasted like chocolate and bacon. Unfortunately, she had run out of them, which was why she was sitting on the sofa in Alex's flat, watching the telly and eating actual bacon and chocolate. Alex wrinkled his nose and said, "That's gross, Clara."

Clara swallowed a bite and said, "Don't complain about my chocolate and bacon. I actually have a friend who ate snakes."

Alex frowned and said, "Ew."

There was a brief silence before Alex asked, "Clara, why won't you invite me to your home?"

Clara shrugged and said, "I don't know. I just like my privacy."

Well, that and the fact that the Doctor showed up unanounced every other day. The Time Lord actually didn't know about Clara's boyfriend. There was that word again: boyfriend. It felt so surreal to use it, but she and Alex were officially seeing eachother. No, the Doctor didn't know. For a second, Clara felt guilty, but then she told herself that her love life was none of the Doctor's business. It helped, but not quite as much as she'd like. She was developing strong feelings for Alex. He said that he wouldn't mind dating a woman with a child. She could actually see a future with him. Unfortunately, that future would have to be extremely normal. Normal meant no adventures, no TARDIS, no Doctor. The idea of a life without those things made Clara's heart ache, but some part of her felt that her baby deserved a safe, normal life. Another part of her, however, wanted to go on adventures, to carry her baby around with her as the Doctor showed her amazing things. Unfortunately, that left Clara with painful truth. One day, she'd have to choose between a safe, normal life with Alex and an exciting but often dangerous life of adventure with the Doctor. She wished that she wouldn't have to choose, but she knew that she would probably have to. Clara held back a sigh and sat there in silence. Once the thing that they were watching was over, Clara stood up and said, "Well, I'm going home."

Alex smiled and said, "See you next Wednesday."

Right. They were going out on a date the following Wednesday. The Doctor showed up every other day. She could catch him some other day. She would still spend time with him. Until she had to make her choice, that is. It wasn't fair, but it was how life seemed to go for her. She just wished that she didn't have to choose. She glanced back at Alex, who had stood up from the sofa. He smiled at her and asked, "Are you sure that I can't take you home?" Alex's voice turned sultry as he winked at her and said, "We could have a little fun."

Clara grinned awkwardly and said, "Sorry, Alex. I'm going to call a friend for a ride."

Clara could tell that Alex was disappointed when he said, "Oh. Well, there's no harm in asking, right? But one of these days, you are going to say yes."

Since they had started dating, Clara and Alex had not had sex, and it was not for lack of him trying. It was just that, whenever he brought it up, some part of her screamed, 'not yet'. He acted calm, but Clara suspected that Alex was getting frustrated. She didn't know why he, or anyone else, would want her anyway. She was the size of a house, for goodness' sake! Clara said, "I'll think about it."

Clara wanted to be in charge of if or when Alex came to her flat and when they had sex. This was probably due to her control freakishness. She knew that the Doctor was sometimes frustrated by it, but he was used to it. Alex seemed to be having trouble getting used to it, but he seemed like he was willing to wait to go to her flat or have sex. Still, Alex brought it up almost every time he saw her. With him, sex would be planned. With the Doctor, sex sort of just happened. Over the past few months, he had even held her afterwards. She wondered if Alex would hold her afterwards. Clara frowned. Why was she comparing Alex to the Doctor again? It made no sense. She saw a shadow flicker across Alex's face, as if he knew what she was thinking, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. "Well, have a nice day, Clara." He said.

Clara gave a forced smile and said, "I'll see you on Wednesday."

With that, Clara left. There were three men in her life: the Doctor, Alex, and Jack. Two of them were in a platonic relationship with her, one of them had sex with her a few weeks ago, two of them flirted with her, and one of them, she hoped that she was in love with. Both Alex and the Doctor were very important to Clara. One of them was her best friend and showed her the most amazing things. The other was her boyfriend who wanted to take things seriously with her. It wasn't fair to compare her best friend and her boyfriend, but she found herself doing it anyway. If only she knew why. Her heart secretly knew, but her mind was clueless.

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Week 29

It was the Wednesday where Clara would be going out with Alex. She had put her makeup on and done her hair. She was dressed up in her little black maternity dress and those cute flats with bows on them. She was looking so forward to going out with Alex. They had planned things ahead of time. She still wouldn't let Alex come to her flat. When her ride arrived, Clara sat there in silence. When she arrived outside the resturaunt, the car immediately drove away. Suddenly, her mobile went off. Clara answered it. It was Alex. "Sorry, Clara." Alex said. "I'm going to be a little late tonight."

"Oh." Clara said, a little disappointed.

"Sorry." Alex said once again before hanging up.

Clara let out a sigh and sat down on a bench outside the resturaunt. Suddenly, a familiar sound filled the air. It was the sound of the TARDIS materializing. Clara smacked her forehead. She had forgotten about the Doctor and what they did on Wednesdays. Normally, Wednesday was 'their' day, a day where the Doctor dropped Jack off somewhere and took Clara on a trip to see something. Since she had gotten pregnant, Clara's trips had been safe almost to the point of boring. The TARDIS' door was flung open and the Doctor popped his head out. "Clara!" He said gleefully.

The Doctor then grabbed Clara by the hand and pulled her into the TARDIS. The door closed behind them. The Doctor dashed over to the console and started pressing buttons and pulling levers. "After you got arrested, I've decided that you should go to a 22nd century spa. It'll be good for you and the baby." the Doctor said.

Clara let out a sigh and said, "I can't do it today, Doctor."

The Time Lord turned to his companion and asked, "Why not?"

Clara stood up straight, displaying confidence as se said, "I have a date."

"A date?" the Doctor questioned, his voice sounding oddly strained.

"A date." Clara confirmed. "With my boyfriend, Alex."

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The Doctor scowled. Boyfriend. Clara had a boyfriend and she hadn't told him about it. He had a right to know, didn't he? The Doctor felt an unpleasent, clenching feeling in his chest that was absolutely not jealousy. "You have a date." the Doctor said stiffly.

"A date with my boyfriend." Clara said with an awkward smile.

"What about..." the Doctor made a gesture towards Clara's bulging abdomen.

Clara smiled and said, "He said he doesn't mind dating a pregnant woman, and that he wouldn't mind dating a woman with an infant afterwards."

"So you're dating him." the Doctor said gruffly. "And he'll be an important part of our child's life."

"You'll be an important part of the baby's life, too." Clara replied, placing her hands on her hips.

The Doctor's frown deepened. He wouldn't play second fiddle to Clara's human boyfriend. He had so looked forward to raising his son with Clara. Now, she wanted to raise their son with her stupid boyfriend. A man who was completely unsuited and clueless wanted to raise Clara's child. The Doctor had planned for their son's human aspects to be attended to by Clara and his Time Lord aspects to be explained by himself. That wouldn't happen if Clara raised the child with her boyfriend and not with the Doctor. There was only one thing that he could do. The Doctor took a deep breath and said, "When the baby is born, he's going to stay with me."

"What?" Clara gasped, astounded.

"Your boyfriend is completely unsuited for raising a Time Lord's child." the Doctor explained. "It would be better for everyone, including my son, that he be raised by me."

"Doctor, I want to raise our son." Clara said with a frown.

"You can always have other children." the Doctor said bitterly. "Completely human children that you can raise with your boyfriend."

"Doctor-" Clara tried to say, but the Doctor interrupted her.

"Though he'll probably be your husband by then." the Doctor snapped.

"Doctor, I have the right to raise my son." Clara snapped back. "I'm his mother, for god's sake!"

The Doctor clenched his fists. Fury in his eyes, he shouted, "You could never be a good mother to him!"

Clara recoiled as if she had been struck. A wave of regret crashed over the Doctor. His companion quickly made her way towards the TARDIS' door. "Clara, wait!" the Doctor called out.

Standing right by the door, Clara gave a full body shudder. She then turned around and, in a voice as cold as ice, she said, "I hate you."

With that said, she opened the door, walked out, and slammed it shut behind her. The Doctor's shoulders slumped in defeat. She hated him. Clara Oswald hated him. The Doctor brought his hand up and ran it through his silver curls. He actually would have preferred it if Clara had just struck him. Instead, she had said words that hurt the Doctor more than anything else. Perhaps he had hurt her more. The thought of hurting Clara Oswald brought him more agony than he could describe. He didn't want to hurt her, he never wanted to hurt her because he loved her and-

The Doctor froze. He had just admitted to himself something that he had been denying to himself for over a year. Now that he had realized the truth, he knew that he could no longer deny it.

He was hopelessly in love with Clara Oswald.

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When Clara exited the TARDIS, she immediately buried her face in her hands and started to cry. She couldn't believe that the Doctor had said that, that she would never be a good mother to their son. She let out a choked sob as the TARDIS dematerialized behind her. Clara looked at the resturaunt in front of her. She couldn't go out with Alex now. Pulling out her mobile, she dialed Amelia's number. The American quickly answered. Amelia's Hispanic American accent brought Clara the ever so slightest sense of relief. "Hola, Chickie!" Amelia said cheerfully. "How's the date with Alex?"

Clara let out a choked sob. Immediately, Amelia's tone turned serious. "Clara, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I just want to go home." Clara whispered, her voice full of indescribable pain.

"I'll be right over." Amelia said before hanging up.

When Amelia arrived, she exited her car and walked over to Clara. Clara flung her arms around her friend and sobbed into her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Chickie." Amelia said, trying to comfort her friend. "What happened?"

"Please, Amelia." Clara said softly. "Please just take me home."

Amelia nodded and led Clara to the car. The two women got in and Amelia drove the car in silence. When they arrived at Clara's block of flats, Amelia put her hand on Clara's shoulder and said, "Look, if it helps, I'll stay over tonight."

Clara sniffled and said, "If that's not too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, Chickie." Amelia said, giving Clara's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

So, the two women headed up to Clara's flat. When they arrived, they saw that Clara's door was slightly ajar. Worried, Clara opened the door. She was shocked when she saw what was inside. Her furnature was knocked over, her couch cushsions slashed and her telly smashed. Everything was broken. Terrible things were spray painted on the wall. The wall read, 'whore' and 'tease'. That wasn't even the worst of it. Also written on the wall was 'next time' and 'I know your secret'. A look of utter terror appeared on Clara's face. She turned to Amelia, whose face was full of rage. Angrily, Amelia said in a tone that left no room for questions, "I'll call the police. In the meantime, you're going to stay with me and Pavarti for while."

Clara nodded mutely. That seemed like a very good idea. Her flat wasn't safe anymore and whoever had ransacked it might not know where she would be staying. Amelia pulled Clara into a hug and said, "Don't worry, Clara. I'll protect you."

Fresh tears started streaming from Clara's eyes. Amelia's words had sounded like something the Doctor would say. But she could never go back. Not when the Doctor was completely willing to cause her so much pain. Amelia took Clara's hand in hers and led her away. Clara had stopped crying by the time she had gotten into Amelia's car. A look of utter despair was on Clara's face.

Amelia, however, was burning with rage, but she had stony look on her face. She knew that Clara's ransacked home was not what had hurt her first. A person had hurt Clara. If Amelia ever found who broke her friend, her Chickie, she would beat the ever-loving shit out of them. This, she promised.

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Yeah, this chapter is evil. I had to brainstorm it for a while, but hopefully I did make it evil enough. Remember, this is a 12/Clara story. If you know anything about these stories, you will know that the characters' pain and angst won't last forever.