* Hi there everyone, another day another chapter. This time tomorrow, the story should finally be finished. I'm going with a three part ending, full of cliffhangers and possibly an epilogue. It'll be 26 chapters, maybe 27 depending on how long the epilogue is. I might stick it on the end of 26 or give it a chapter in its own right. The next few days will see me kickstarting an AU Whouffle I'm writing called "Damaged" so keep an eye out for that. This chapter is a shorter one I'm afraid but there's an overload of fluff, and I absolutely adore it myself but I may have overdone it a touch. So I really hope you enjoy it and as ever peeps, thanks for reading and any reviews, follows or favourites are greatly appreciated. Until next time. TPD*

Clara hadn't expected to find him in bed when they awoke. She'd expected him to be already off, fussing over her, making her breakfast, fetching her flowers from some century in the distant past or chocolate from the distant future. She'd been expecting him to be manic, all of the place, excited. Instead, she woke to him lying next to her, staring at her with that same intensity he always did. Like if he blinked for a second, she'd vanish. Clara did what she did every morning, when she saw that look on his face. She blushed furiously and kissed him on the cheek.

"Morning Chin-Boy!" she giggled.

"Good morning Clara," he replied, kissing her forehead. "Happy birthday."

"Why thank you Doctor," she supressed her fit of giggles for the time being but her smile was wide in anticipation. "What's on the agenda?"

"First thing we need to do," he winked. "Is start the day the way we mean to end it. In this bed, doing something that would make your father throw me out the window."

"Well then," Clara whispered, kissing him deeply and pushing him down onto the bed. "It's a good thing my father isn't here…"

An hour later, they were on the TARDIS and the Doctor was his usual, brisk self as he hammered levers and switches.

"Breakfast!" he yelled. "I know just the place. Paris. 1856. Best breakfast in the universe I say."

Clara was inclined to agree with him after she'd tried the crumpets. It was the start of a truly magical day. After breakfast, he took her ice-skating on the frozen lakes of Dumfair, a whole galaxy away. He then took her star-gazing across the coral plains of Fratinqua, before they went to lunch. Lunch consisted of fish and chips in Blackpool, 1984. The Doctor was quick to make sure that they ran into Clara's parents and Clara managed to refrain from crying, but punched the Doctor on the arm afterwards. They spent a few hours at the Pleasure Beach, before they went for cocktails on the Moon mid-afternoon. The Doctor laughed as Clara squealed with delight at the zero gravity and then he took her back to Pligh. This time, she shoved him out the TARDIS before followed, and as the thrill of her original sky-diving experience all came rushing back in one fell swoop she remembered how much she loved it.

After Pligh, the Doctor told her their next destination was a surprise, so she closed her eyes and took off her shoes as the Doctor asked. She found herself stumbling, but he guided her onwards, out the TARDIS and she opened her eyes on instruction. Her jaw hit the floor. They were on Gallifrey. The grass was red and soft beneath her bare feet and there were trees, swaying in the gentle breeze, silver leaves glistening under the light of twinned Suns, burning at the heart of Gallifrey's orange sky. There was a city in the distance and there was nobody around but them. The Doctor guided Clara out a few steps as she turned to face him, her face electric.

"How?" she asked, her voice almost breaking. "How did you find it? How are we on Gallifrey?"

The Doctor smiled sadly. "We're not on Gallifrey Clara," he told her quietly. "I didn't find it, at least not yet. This is something far more special than Gallifrey." She shot him a look of pure disbelief. "Well, at this moment it is. What we're seeing are memories. My memories. We're still on board the TARDIS Clara. This…" he paused for dramatic effect. "Clara, this is my bedroom."

Clara gasped. All the time she'd spent travelling on the TARDIS, he'd never talked about his bedroom, only hers. They'd only ever slept together in her room or in one of the spares. She hadn't even realised that he had a bedroom, he never seemed to sleep. I mean she'd assumed he'd had a bed somewhere, but never anything like this. He'd showed her his bedroom. She hugged him fiercely and he grinned.

"1200 years of time and space and I never thought I'd show anyone my bedroom," he chuckled and Clara shot him a look of pure confusion.

"Never?" she whispered. "Not Rose? Or River? Or…"

"Never."

Clara kissed him then, fiercely holding him close to her as her lips wrestled with his. All she could think was how amazing this moment was and how she'd never be able to forget that day. Then he shoved her gently and they tumbled backwards onto the Doctor's bed. She hadn't even seen it there, but as she opened her eyes and looked around, she saw that the room was now plain and black, with stars above her. Real stars, not flimsy stars that parents painted on their children's ceilings. They made love under the stars in the Doctor's bedroom and Clara had never been happier.

The TARDIS landed and Clara ran towards the door, only for the Doctor to stop her. He shook his head, a playful smile on his face and Clara pulled a face.

"Last stop," he warned her. "As much as I'd love to take you everywhere in the universe today, I've been very time conscious. We've been gone the exact amount of time we've been in the TARDIS. It's now nearly 7pm back home. Go and get changed, but be quick. We have a schedule to keep to." She nodded and skipped off to her bedroom, giggling with anticipation. "And Clara?" She heard him call her and swivelled. "The dress on your bed," he indicated. "Consider it a birthday present."

A few minutes later, Clara stepped out to meet the Doctor, wearing the most gorgeous dress she'd ever worn in her entire life. It was a deep crimson and moulded perfectly to her body in every area. It was unbelievably soft and she couldn't believe how beautiful she felt in it. The Doctor smiled warmly at her, unable to take his eyes off her for a second. He had changed into a new suit, complete with bow tie.

"So where are we going?" she teased. "And which famous designer did you go back in time to steal this dress from? Or forward in time? Is it someone I won't have heard of because they're not born for a few hundred years?"

"Me," the Doctor said simply and Clara furrowed her brow. "I made it," he informed her and her jaw dropped. "A little help from the TARDIS sure but I made this dress for you Clara. I can be quite the seamstress when I need to be."

"Doctor," she whispered. "This is too much. You've taken me to Paris for breakfast, ice-skating, star gazing, to see my mum…You've taken me home, you showed me your bedroom, the Moon, our first date as a couple…and now this? What next? What can you possibly do next? How are you planning on topping this?" she was imploring him, tears falling, her voice breaking. But she was in dreamland. "Doctor, this is the single greatest birthday I've ever had." She snorted with laughter. "Hell, this is the greatest day I've ever had. It's probably the best birthday anyone has had in the history of the universe!"

"That was the point," the Doctor smiled. "My target. What I was aiming for. This Clara Oswald is the greatest birthday of all time. My gift. To you. My Clara. And you want to know what's next? I may have cheated a bit." She raised a tearful eyebrow. "I was a bit rushed for time," he admitted. "About an hour short. So I called all your friends and told them we were meeting at 9 instead of 8. I told them I was taking you to dinner first."

"Oh?" Clara asked, feeling weak and giddy with joy and delirium. "And where are you taking me? Let me guess," she laughed hysterically. "The finest restaurant on Earth in the year 5252? The Savoy Hotel?" He pulled a face at that. "Come on Doctor?"

"Clara Oswald," he whispered, taking her hand. "I am taking you to the finest restaurant in the universe." He opened the door and stepped out of the TARDIS. He slipped out of the alleyway he'd parked in and they rounded a corner. Clara gasped and threw herself at him, another hug in a day that had seen too many for her to count. The Doctor had outdone himself. Again. They were at Fialli's.

Clara had never felt more loved in her entire life as the Doctor sat her down at their table, promising not to set his bow tie on fire this time. Clara giggled at this, managing to regain her composure as they ordered food. The meal was low key and playful and everything she loved about their relationship. Until it came to pudding. The Doctor ordered a bottle of champagne and Clara rolled her eyes. Talk about dramatic. He pulled out a small wrapped present and she watched him curiously as he handed it to her. The waiter brought the champagne and Clara unwrapped her present. It was a box. Curious, she slipped it open. Inside was a necklace. She smiled warmly, tears streaming down her face. The necklace was made of diamonds and at the bottom was a golden locket. Inside were two pictures. One was of Clara's parents on their wedding day. And the other was of them. Her and the Doctor. She couldn't even remember when it was taken, her mind was a blur. The front of the locket was engraved with a C made of rubies. She had never been given a more beautiful gift in her entire life.

"Doctor," she breathed. "This is…"

"Nothing," he promised her. "I picked it up at a lovely little place in Blackpool, 1985."

"No," she whispered. "Doctor no."

"While I was there, I met a lovely man named Dave Oswald," the Doctor chuckled. "Buying an engagement ring for his wife."

"Stop it."

"He helped me pick it out. Told him it was for my girlfriend for her birthday. Told him I was aiming for the best birthday in the history of the universe. He thought I was mad but told me this was a good start."

"Doctor," Clara's voice was firm but she was in floods of tears. "If you've got any more tricks up your sleeve, please reveal them now. I can't take any more of this. You…" she faltered. "I can never live up to this. I can never ever repay you for this. How can anything I can give you in my stupid human life, how can I ever match this? You've given me the universe in a day and my whole universe in a day. You've been more thoughtful, caring and loving than I could possibly be. Nothing I will ever say, ever do, will make you feel the way that I feel right now."

"Oh Clara," he smiled and what little remained of her resolve broke. "My Clara. You couldn't be more wrong. You've made me this happy every day since you stepped back into my life. I thought you were too good to be true, that there was no way that someone who made me so happy, so complete could possibly exist. It wasn't just your echoes that made you impossible, it was your impact on me. Your impact on my life. So when I learned the truth at Trenzalore, it was like a huge burden had been lifted. My Clara. You were real. What you did for me at Trenzalore…you saved my life a million times over, but more than that. You gave me belief and happiness. The real Clara, you. You were not a lie, a trick, or a trap. That was what you truly gave me that day. You gave me you. And you are perfect. I can give you every star in the sky and it won't be enough. Because you gave me you. And nothing I can ever give you or show you will match up to that. Clara Oswald, you are the greatest gift that anyone has ever given me."

Clara hugged him now and cried for longer and harder than before. She had never been happier in her entire life. And all because of the Doctor.

By the time they left the restaurant and changed (which took a long time as they took the scenic route to the Doctor's bedroom, via the swimming pool, Clara's room and twice in the library, they were running very late indeed, so the Doctor cheated again and jumped back a few hours in the TARDIS to ensure that they made it to the pub on time. Wearing casual clothes, arms linked, they stepped out of the TARDIS and made the five minute walk. Clara had managed to control the unbridled happiness threatening to spill over at any minute but she couldn't wipe the huge smile off her face and she was positively glowing. She was wearing the necklace that he'd bought her and as they entered the pub, she was terrified for an instant that the Doctor had something else to surprise her with planned. But, luckily, there were no more shocks, just Clara's friends waiting for her, insisting that they all buy her drinks, urging her to introduce them to her mysterious and illusive boyfriend. Clara had been nervous about this event the whole day, but she needn't have worried.

"Jenna," Clara was beaming like Jenna had never seen. "This is him. The Doctor. The one I told you about."

"Jenna!" the Doctor embraced her with a hug and air-kissed each cheek. "Clara's told me all about you! Well bits and bobs about you. Snippets really. Nothing too revealing. I think."

Jenna laughed, shooting Clara a smirk.

"You've got yourself an interesting boyfriend here Clara," she noted. "Cute though," she added under her breath and Clara blushed. Jenna then noticed Clara's necklace. "Holy crap!" she exclaimed. "Girls, get over here and take a look at this!"

The girls converged and oohed and awed at Clara's necklace. Poor Clara was caught in the maelstrom as the Doctor and Tom sat on the side-lines awkwardly sipping beer. The Doctor wasn't a fan of beer, he decided. But one of Clara's nice friends, whose name he couldn't remember (maybe it was Karen) had bought it for him and he knew it was important to Clara that they all got along. Billie was the first to join them, eyeing the Doctor suspiciously, but with more than a hint of a smile.

"You have that look in your eyes," she told him and he choked on his beer.

"Sorry what?" he asked, booze dripping from his nose as Billie chuckled.

"The look all guys get," she explained. "The hopelessly in love look that blokes get when they meet someone they can't live without. You can't take your eyes off her. Not for a second. It wouldn't matter what walked through that door or who walked in that door. You're doing it now. You're looking at me when I talk, because it's polite and engaging, but you've always got more than half an eye in Clara's direction and whenever you can, you shoot her the most longing look."

"Well," the Doctor stammered. "She's pretty. Clara. Very pretty. Bit short, bit bossy, never been a fan of the nose…but none of that matters. Because she's perfect. I mean, she's perfect for me."

Billie chuckled. "Take care of her Doctor. She deserves the best. But I think you already know that."