Chapter 20: Injury Time
Clara re-entered the control room after popping down to the kitchen and making her beloved soufflés. She held one proudly in her hands because after hours of baking, she'd finally made one worth living. However, to her disappointment, the Doctor didn't notice her enter the room. His eyes were still glued to the monitor, the exact same place they had been ever since she disappeared off to the kitchen four hours beforehand.
She rolled her eyes and smiled as she headed over to him. Still completely unnoticed, she glanced over his shoulder to see what it was he was so transfixed on. Just as she suspected, it was the woman who they had just encountered for the third time earlier that day.
There were three images of her on the screen, three from their previous encounters. The only visible difference was the outfits. The women themselves were all definitely identical.
Underneath each of the photos was information about each version of the woman. Firstly each version's name was written underneath, followed by the year they met her and then a small paragraph about their general history.
Clara sighed. "Starin' at that screen for four hours ain't gonna help ya get any closer to knowin' who she is, ya know?"
The Doctor was startled as her words sounded through his eardrums and as a result he jumped slightly before turning to face her.
He smiled before ending the display on the screen. "Yeah, you're right." he admitted, "She's just… really got to me, you know?"
Clara smiled weakly. "I can tell." she told him.
The Doctor was about to say something when his eyes fell on the freshly baked soufflé in her hands. He looked up at her and smiled.
"Another one?" he asked.
Clara nodded rapidly. "It's only Attempt Number 5." she said, "Or was it 6?"
The Doctor laughed and looked down at it. "It looks… delicious."
Clara raised her eyebrow as he began to examine the dish closely. She knew for a fact she couldn't make soufflés very well, to be honest, the only reason she made them was because she liked too. However, deep down she felt flattered that the Doctor was lying to her by saying that it looked nice even though it clearly wasn't edible.
She still hadn't mastered the art of cooking them correctly. If she didn't burn them they usually ended up undercooked. This one in particular was certainly undercooked. It was warm as you could see the heat rising off it, but the milk sauce was still slightly runny and she knew for a fact that she had put far too much sugar into it.
"Do you want some?" she asked.
The Doctor looked up at her and his heart melted when his eyes met hers. He couldn't offend her by saying 'no', no matter how much he didn't want to taste what she was holding. He looked back down at the dish once again.
"Um…" he hesitated, "Yeah okay."
Clara smiled and handed him the dish. He took it off her and brought his eyes down to it, closely examining the texture by looking at it from the side. Clara then got a spoon out of her apron pocket and handed it to him. She could tell that he didn't like the look of it but was honoured when he slowly began to dig the spoon into it.
He cautiously brought it to his lips and sniffed it. He could smell the sugar on it already. He then proceeded to blow it, cooling the heat that it was emitting. He smiled up at her before placing it in his mouth and tasting it for the first time.
Clara watched with a smile as he attempted to contain how much he didn't like it. He could taste the sickly sugar sliding down his throat, making his stomach turn slightly. However, after the main piece had made its way out of his mouth, he smiled.
"Lovely." he commented.
Clara bit her lip as he looked away to hide his remaining disgust as the sweetness faded from his mouth. She had a strong feeling that men, even alien men, would lie to someone they liked in order not to hurt their feelings and unknown to the Doctor, he had just unwillingly let that information slip.
"Do ya want anymore?" she asked.
The Doctor looked up at her and then back at the dish.
"Um…" he paused, "I'll… save it for later."
Clara took the dish from his lap and smiled as she turned away.
"Okay." she said with a smile before disappearing back to the kitchen.
x-[]-x
The Doctor had found the silence of the control room quite unsettling after Clara had left so not long after, he decided to head down to the kitchen. He wasn't use to venturing to the kitchen but it wasn't hard to find as all he had to do to find it was follow the sound of Clara's playlist of classical music blasting along the corridor.
When he reached it, he stopped at the door and leant against it as she paraded around the kitchen, futilely attempting to make yet another soufflé.
The Doctor sighed and just watched her since she was completely oblivious to his presence. Her long brown locks were tied up in a scraggy ponytail and her face and hair where covered in the ingredients of the soufflés. He laughed slightly at her innocence. That was his Clara…
The remains of burnt and lightly cooked soufflés where spotted over the counters and she continued to dance around the room, having what looked like the time of her life.
However, it didn't take too long for her to notice him standing watching her, displaying an enormous smile.
"Doctor?" she asked, "How long you been standin' there?"
He shrugged his shoulders and slipped his hands in his pockets.
"Not long." he confirmed.
"Aww…" she cooed, "Did ya miss me?"
The Doctor smiled and nodded slightly. "Yeah." he admitted, "It's quiet without you."
Clara grinned. "You've come for more soufflés, ain't ya?" she questioned with her cheeky smile that the Doctor adored.
"Um… no." he replied, "That other one filled me up."
Clara raised her eyebrow. "You had one spoonful." she pointed out.
The Doctor smiled. "And that filled me up." he objected.
Clara rolled her eyes just as the oven pinged. She smiled and bent down to it.
"This one's just about ready." she explained, "Sure I can't tempt ya?"
The Doctor fully entered the kitchen and pointed to the abandoned ones on the opposite counter.
"What about these ones?" he queried.
Clara looked over and laughed slightly. "Oh, they were too beautiful to live." she told him.
The Doctor smiled and sat down on a stool near to the door. His eyes didn't leave her as she popped on her oven gloves and began to remove her latest masterpiece. He couldn't deny that that certain soufflé actually looked edible and not only that, it also looked tasty.
Clara stood up and closed the oven door with her foot. She smiled up at the Doctor before making her way over towards him. Unfortunately for her, due to the mess on the floor, she slipped when she was half way over and she crashed to the floor.
The bowl containing the soufflé shattered and she hit the floor with her right knee taking the full blow as she fell. The Doctor dashed down to her side.
"You alright?" he asked, attempting to hide his amusement.
Clara laughed it off. "Yeah." she told him, "I'm fine."
"Here, let me help." offered the Doctor.
They both began to pick up the larger fragments. As they did, they both reached for the same one. When their hands met, they both froze for a moment. They both looked up in unison and as their eyes met; they both felt something, something neither of them could let themselves deny.
The Doctor's hearts began to speed up rapidly. He couldn't do this… It wasn't right to feel this way…
They both seemed to have the same thought at the same time and they both immediately pulled their hands away. Clara looked away and attempted to push herself up off the floor. However, a sharp pain in her right knee inhibited her from doing so.
She yelped out in pain and the Doctor's attention suddenly focused on her for that reason.
"What's wrong?" he asked, moving to her side.
"My knee…" she whispered, "It really hurts…"
The Doctor managed to sit her back on the floor and extended her leg out. Clara couldn't ignore the pain, especially as he moved it. It was like someone was tearing it apart.
The Doctor then began to lightly feel around her kneecap. Her moans when he touched it confirmed his initial diagnosis.
He sighed and turned to face her. "I think you need a Doctor." he said with a slight smile.
Clara smiled. "I've got one, ain't I?" she asked in attempt to ignore the pain.
The Doctor laughed. "Well, I think you need a proper one." he stated.
Clara sighed. "All this for a Soufflé." she moaned, "This certainly weren't one my to-do list today."
The Doctor smiled and slowly assisted her off the floor.
"Come on." he directed.
Clara tried to put weight on her right leg but that just intensified the pain. The Doctor noticed her struggling but unfortunately, there was nothing he could have done at that moment to help ease it. He knew that every step they took was agony for her but luckily the TARDIS seemed to understand that so the route to the control room was relatively short.
Once there, he sat her down on the sofa before piloting the TARDIS to their next destination.
"Where are we going?" Clara asked, trying to find a comfortably position to rest her knee in.
The Doctor dashed around the console. "The best hospital in the universe." he replied.
Clara's eyes widened. "Not Caremaine?" she asked, slightly worried that's where they were going to go.
"No." he replied bluntly, "No. I'll never take you there again."