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Chapter 12

Clara had fallen asleep against his shoulder and the Doctor had been tempted. He knew that she would be safer on Hiraeth, with her own people, far away from him. He knew that he probably could have found a way to return her son to her as well, but he was sure that this time Clara wouldn't forgive him for abandoning her again. He was selfish and he loved her – and he wanted her with him. The Doctor swept her up and carried the sleeping Clara back into the TARDIS where he carefully set her down on her bed. She mumbled something, but without waking up. Covering her with the duvet, the Doctor stepped away and looked at her for a long moment. She was so beautiful. Had she always been this beautiful, or had he just been blind before? Once again, he felt overcome by the desire to kiss her. To lie down next to Clara and just forget the world. But instead he just bent down and gently placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

Suddenly Clara's hand caught his wrist.

"Can't wait for you to meet him," Clara mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes.

"Meet who?" the Doctor asked back, his voice low.

"Eoghan," she smiled, "He'll adore you."

Eventually Clara had fallen back asleep and the Doctor walked outside, back to where Kate was standing next to the fire, just staring into the flames.

"Some part of me still can't believe it," Kate said without looking up, "That Earth really is gone."

"I feel the same way," the Doctor said, "But it's not just Earth. Many planets went down in the war. Some disappearing completely, some have just been reduced to rubble, waiting for someone to rebuild them."

"I shouldn't have attacked you like that earlier. I'm sorry. I know that you would have helped if there had been a chance."

The Doctor took a long, deep breath. And then he began to tell Kate everything. The Erebos, abandoning Clara, the war, how she had found her way back to him and Kate listened without saying a word. He waited for her to judge him, to tell him to leave this world and never come back, but Kate didn't.

"Don't let her go, Doctor," Kate finally said.

"I know. She would never forgive me a second time."

"That's not what I meant," Kate turned to face him, looking slightly angry, "You need her and you know that. That being said, I do hope you will check in on us from time to time."

"Of course," the Doctor replied before heading back to the TARDIS.

For a brief moment he considered checking in on Clara again, just to see her, just to spend a little more time in her presence, but eventually he decided against it and went to his own bedroom to catch a few hours of sleep.

"Doctor, I've been thinking," Clara's voice woke him up. Startled, he immediately sat up in bed.

Clara was standing in the door of the bedroom, looking a little lost and insecure, and holding the vial with the poison that she had brought here to kill him.

"Clara, what are you doing?" the Doctor asked warily.

"I don't think it's safe for me to carry this around all the time, Doctor," she finally said, looking at him, "I mean, we don't even know what it does. Vastra only told me not to touch it. We should put it somewhere safe."

The Doctor gave her a weak smile. "Clara, I don't think it could be safer anywhere than with you. I trust you. And we can't leave it lying around the TARDIS, not at the moment."

"I just wish I knew what it did," Clara replied as she sat down on his bed, "Maybe this could help us defeat the Erebos. Don't you think we should find out?"

He sighed and outstretched his hand. "Okay, give it to me."

Carefully Clara handed over the vial and the Doctor screwed it open and took a sniff, wrinkling his nose. He knew that smell. But he couldn't exactly tell what it was.

"I'm pretty sure I should know this," the Doctor said, smelling the liquid again, "But wherever I've smelled it before, that was a long, long time ago."

"Let me," Clara said, taking the liquid from his hand again.

It all happened too fast for the Doctor to prevent it. He could only watch Clara yank the vial from his hands, shaking it a little too much and a single drop of the poison found its way onto the skin of Clara's arm.

Quickly he placed the cap back on the bottle and used the sheets to wipe the drop off her skin, but it had already started spreading. Apparently, on contact with skin, it changed its state from liquid to something else. Clara's skin was beginning to shine like the shell of a soap bubble and soon it was covering her entire arm.

"Doctor," she said, panting, her voice obviously panic-stricken, "I can't feel my arm."

She looked up at him, her large, brown eyes pleading for help.

The Doctor was still in shock. He had recognized now. He knew what it was and he knew that Clara was lost. There was nothing that could help her now.

"Doctor!" he almost yelled at him as he only watched the poison spreading over her body, engulfing her breast, making it impossible for her to breath, "Doctor, what is happening to me?"

The Doctor inhaled sharply and jumped out of bed, pacing the room as if that could deliver an answer. He began tearing at his own hair, but nothing, nothing in this universe could help her. He wanted to cry, but somehow the tears failed to appear.

Finally he turned back to Clara, who looked frightened.

"Clara, I'm so sorry," he said, kneeling down next to her, "It's not a poison. It's a Time Lock. It will freeze you in time."

Clara started crying. She looked so utterly terrified. "Unfreeze me, then," she said with the last strength she could muster.

The Doctor shook his head and finally the tears started running down his cheek. "I'm sorry. I don't have the power. Maybe if Missy was here, we could, but I can't do it alone. Clara, I am so, so sorry."

A few seconds later the Time Lock had covered her face, leaving Clara like a statue. Not dead, but frozen in time forever. The Doctor bent down to kiss her lips that now felt cold before he slumped down next to her.