Chapter 10

As Clara spoke to him, Malcolm couldn't hear her.

One moment he had been falling into blackness, into an never ending void and suddenly he was back in his office, he was back in his job and had just insulted Ollie Reeder.

"Malcolm!"

He walked away from his desk and turned to Sam. Then he blinked, and realised he was looking at Clara.

"Why the fuck are you wearing Sam's clothes?" he demanded.

"Wake up!" Clara told him urgently.

And as the door was blown off its hinges in a burst of sparks and alien fire power, the Dalek entered the room, its eyestalk glowing.

"EXTERMIN-ATE!" it screeched.

As it opened fire Malcolm dived forward, throwing Ollie into the path of its blast, then he made for the shattered doorway and ran for his life.

Suddenly the corridor was impossibly long, more like...some other kind of corridor...some kind of alien vessel that reminded him of a blue box for some odd reason.

Malcolm was still running, and then he tripped, landing hard, looking up at a sky of fire and smoke as alien ships blasted each other. All around him the land was burning, people were running... Time War... More Daleks were heading his way, this time, from the skies.

"You fuckers can fly now?" Malcolm exclaimed, looking up, and then he scrambled to his feet, staring at the sight of the Daleks, zipping closer by the second, and as they combined their firepower towards ground and there was an almighty explosion in a flash of white, everything changed:

He turned over in bed and there was Clara...His Clara...

Their eyes met. He kissed her for the first time.

"I love you," she whispered as she held him in her arms.

He blinked , the scene changed and he saw the Christmas from hell, with the Sycorax invading the earth.

Then he was at Downing Street, telling Harriet Jones aliens did not exist.

He saw more flashes of his life at work, quarrels, then home and peace with Clara, the love of his life.

Then pain stabbed through his body and he recalled the years of uncertainty and despair as he fought to hold on, all bound together by Clara's arms wrapped around him to hold him tight and keep him here, in this world, with her...

"It's going to be alright, " she whispered as she held him, "I'm with you, Malcolm, we'll get through this together."

And as she held him, he felt the pain fade out, along with the sound of the battle on a far off planet that fell silent, as the glowing eye stalk of a Dalek disappeared.

"Malcolm?"

He heard her clearly and her voice pulled him back, out of the dream state and into reality as he opened his eyes and everything seemed too bright, blindingly so as he blinked, trying to focus as it felt as if he had been in the dark for a long, long time...

He knew that voice. It was Clara, but all he could see was the brightness of the room as he kept blinking, trying to focus.

"It's okay," he heard her say, and then he felt her gently squeeze his hand, and he held on to it, as the brightness faded out and the room came into focus clearly and he saw her sitting at his bedside. He looked around the room again: He was at home, he was in bed and Clara had just woken him from a very deep sleep...

"How do you feel?" she asked him, and he saw she looked worried. Then another stream of memories hit all at once... Not exactly memories that he could recall with images, more like facts that seemed to fit, and he accepted them immediately as true:

He had been away.

Seen a doctor who had given him an experimental treatment.

That was all he knew – apart from the fact that it had worked, and he was cured... That was all he needed to know.

"I just had a fucking crazy dream!" he exclaimed as he sat up, feeling sure now that he was definitely stronger, with no trace of pain. He felt great, better than he had in years...

"What happened?" Clara asked, smiling as she silently thanked the Doctor because it was clear he had been right – Malcolm was going to be just fine.

"I dreamt this thing called a Dalek burst into the office and tried to kill me – but I used Ollie as a human shield and got away!"

Clara giggled. Then her eyes suddenly filled with tears of relief.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

As she shifted close and embraced him tightly and held on for some time, Malcolm clung to her tightly, wondering why he felt like he was almost afraid to let go. It was as if he had expected some power beyond his control to rip him away from her, but what ever had caused that fear was long gone, just like his illness, it was gone now, it was gone forever.

"Clara," he said as he let go of her, "Stop worrying, I'm fine now, we both know that!"

"Of course we do," she agreed, remembering the Doctor had left some false memories in his mind to cover everything, "I'm just glad it's over. I'm glad we still have each other. Now we can look forward to the future."

Malcolm pushed back the covers and put his arm around her, pulling her down beside him as he looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes.

"I know I need to stay in bed and rest for a couple of weeks but feel that..." he grabbed her hand and playfully pushed it down to his groin, "Feel it! I woke up with enough wood to build a fucking fort!"

She giggled again as amusement danced in her eyes.

"After having a dream about chucking Ollie into the path of a Dalek?"

He laughed as his eyes sparkled again.

"No! After waking up and seeing your beautiful face! Come here, Clara...let me show you how much I've missed you..."

"Missed me?" she wondered.

He wrapped his arms around her as his eyes darkened with desire.

"I've been asleep," he replied, "That's long enough to miss you...I do love you, Clara..."

As he held her in his arms, Clara felt the strength of his embrace and knew for sure the dark times were over.

"I love you too, Malcolm Tucker," she whispered, and then she could say no more as he covered her mouth with a kiss that took her breath away, claiming her passionately, the moment a declaration of deepest love.

And while Clara was in Malcolm's arms as he made love to her, she was unaware that downstairs, she had missed a call on her phone that had gone to voicemail. When she played it back later she would get more than a few surprises as she heard what the caller had to say:

"Clara, it's me, Sam. Thank you so much for telling me to wait around in the Tardis and meet the Doctor! You didn't tell me about the running. There's been lots of that. And sometimes its scary but mostly its amazing...To you, I left a few days ago, but to me, three years have gone by...And he's still not a hugger. But he IS a great kisser. And he says I make great coffee too. We got married today. I'm so happy, Clara...I've got you to thank for that. Give my love to Malcolm...Got to go...All of space and time, you know...plus it's my wedding night...Anyway, thanks again...Bye!"

It would be a message Clara often played back, smiling as she heard Sam's words. But for now, that message stayed unopened on her phone, as Clara lay in the arms of the man she loved, knowing Malcolm Tucker would never vanish from her life again...

End

Author Note: Thanks for reading and I hope this fic was enjoyed.

Dedication:

This fic is dedicated to springburn - a fellow fan fic writer whose fics I thoroughly enjoy every single time - and highly recommend! ~ N.B.P.~