The Doctor's face went white, the blood draining from his cheeks. He gulped, and then opened his mouth, only to close it again. This movement repeated for a while, and just when one of the others way about to interrupt, the Doctor spoke. "We haven't met yet."
"No, you haven't." Clara echoed, her eyes staring into space. "What are we going to do?"
The Doctor thought for a moment. "Well, we have to tell him sooner or later. We might as well get it over and done with."
The pair of them said quick goodbyes to Vastra, Jenny and Strax, before running out of the room and into the TARDIS. The Doctor sprinted to the console, Clara hot on his heels, and after the Doctor had typed in the familiar coördinates they both grabbed onto the railings as the TARDIS took flight. The bumpy ride was over relatively quickly, and when the shaking had stopped completely the Doctor and Clara met at the doors of the TARDIS.
"Ready?" The Doctor asked, gripping Clara's hand tightly. Clara smirked in response, before uttering the Doctor's signature word.
"Geronimo." The pair exited the doors swiftly, pulling them close behind them as they went. Clara glanced around the small living room, before turning to the Doctor with a frown. "I thought we were going to see my dad?"
The Doctor frowned and looked down slightly, clearing his throat. "Um, yeah, we were..." Clara rolled her eyes at the Doctor stepping forwards as Artie Maitland ran into the room.
"Clara you're back!" The eleven-year-old yelled, appearing around the corner and running up to his nanny. "Hello Clara's boyfriend!" He addressed the Doctor with his usual childish enthusiasm, before turning back to Clara "Where did you go this time?" Artie asked her excitedly, but instead of receiving answer he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. Clara's arms wrapped around him, and Artie simply hugged her back, before pulling away. However, when he saw the look in his nanny's eyes Artie frowned. "Clara, what's wrong?" He asked, suddenly extremely concerned. His nanny always seemed to be a pillar of strength, completely unfazed by anything scary or sad; or at least, never letting it show. But as he looked at her now, Artie noticed that Clara was on the brink of tears, and was shaking her head at him, unable to answer his question.
Artie's next thought was what could have caused Clara to be so upset, and he turned to the Doctor; for once his eyes not filled with amazement at what the alien was doing, but outright accusation. "What did you do to her? Why is Clara upset?" Artie asked, craning his neck to frown up at the Doctor. At this point, Clara reached out and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, bringing his attention back to her.
"He didn't do anything Artie. I promise. It's just been a while since I've seen you, and a lot has happened." Clara spoke softly, attempting to calm the child down, but Artie only looked more worried.
"What happened? Did something bad happen? Did you get hurt?" His eyes widened and his voice grew higher with every question, and Clara stepped forward and grabbed him by the hand, leading him the few steps to the sofa. He fell down onto it and she sat down beside her, looking at her with that small frown still fixed on his young face.
"Artie, some bad stuff happened, and it was a bit sad, but I'm alright, honestly." Clara assured Artie, looking straight into his eyes so that he knew she wasn't lying. The Doctor stood uncomfortably in front of the TARDIS, but soon walked to a nearby armchair and perched on the arm.
"I wouldn't let her get hurt Artie, you know that." The Doctor piped up, drawing the boy's attention away from Clara again. "Why don't you go find your sister?" He suggested.
"No." Artie said adamantly. "I want to know what happened." He looked quickly between Clara and the Doctor, the former sighing before answering him.
"Alright, go get Angie and then we'll tell you." Artie grinned, although his enthusiasm was more subdued than usual, before quickly getting up and racing towards to the stairs.
The Doctor looked questioningly at Clara. "How much are you planning on telling them?"
"All of it." Clara stated, and when the Doctor looked about to object, she continued. "They have a right to know."
Just then Artie reappeared, towing his older sister with him. "This better be good, I was doing something interesting." Angie complained, flopping down onto the end of the couch, whilst Artie sat next to Clara again. The woman turned to them, and glanced once more at the Doctor for reassurance before beginning her story.
She told them about the dream first, with a few interruptions of why she was asleep and apologies (though only from Artie) about the kids going to the cinema without permission. She explained about seeing the three Victorians and River, and how the Whispermen had told them to go to the Doctor's grave. She said about them climbing through the future TARDIS and her being attacked by the Whispermen. This had made Artie lean forward and hug her, and the eleven-year-old kept his arms around her as she told them about the Great Intelligence had done to the Doctor. Artie's arms tightened around her when she spoke about going into the Doctor's time-stream, and when the Doctor took over to say how he'd gotten her out.
They took a break to make everyone a cup of tea, before Clara continues with her story. She let the Doctor explain about getting a message on the psychic paper, and he told the children about the Silence as well. They got to the point where they met Scarlett, before both adults stopped talking; neither willing to narrate this part of the story. Clara finally took the initiative – after some prompting from the Maitland children – before continuing. She told them about being imprisoned, and talking to the girl. Angie was listening intently now; she had been since she found out Scarlett's age. Both Maitland children looked shocked when the Doctor took over the narrative and told them of Clara being beaten. Angie began to yell at the Doctor that he should have done something, whereas Artie slipped his small arms around Clara's waist and buried his head in her chest, drying silently. Clara calmed the pair down using comforting words – patting Artie's curls softly - before the Doctor continued with the story.
Clara listened closely as he described the next part, as she had been unconscious for most of it. He seemed to pause slightly, before he continued with the story. He spoke of them running away and hiding in the storage room, and of them finding the control room. He looked conflicted as he told the children about turning off the airlocks, and from there both Clara and the Doctor voiced the events; each taking control of the story when the other ran out of words.
When they finished speaking about Scarlett's death, both adults looked very gloomy. Artie was still hugging Clara, and the woman's arms had gone around him too; both comforting and seeking comfort. However, Angie stood from the couch suddenly, her arms crossed.
"Tell us what you left out." The teenager demanded, gaze flitting between the Doctor and Clara. Clara's face betrayed nothing, so Angie turned to glower at the Doctor. He seemed to wilt under her harsh glare, his eyes searching for Clara's for help. The young woman sighed and released Artie from her grip, sitting up straight on the sofa and gesturing for Angie to focus on her.
"The girl that we met, Scarlett, she was the Doctor's daughter from the future." Clara explained, and both Angie and Artie turned to look at him. "But she was also my daughter." Clara finished.
Angie turned her head from the Doctor to stare at Clara, her eyes wide. She waved a finger between the two adults, and Clara nodded in confirmation. Artie simply looked confused.
"So you and the Doctor...?" Angie asked, raising an eyebrow. The Doctor's face went red, but Clara gave no visible reaction. Then suddenly Angie's face fell. "But you saw her die."
Again, Clara nodded, and smiled feebly. Then the Doctor seemed to think. "Well, she was our daughter... but she wasn't." Seeing the confused looks, he explained further. "You know how we said about all the lives Clara had? Well this girl was the daughter of a Victorian Clara." The children seemed to think for a minute, before they nodded in comprehension. Then Artie frowned.
"Does that mean you're going to have a daughter properly?" He asked innocently, looking up at his nanny. Clara smiled warmly at him, before addressing both he and Angie.
"That's something else we have to tell you." Clara said. "I'm pregnant."
"You're what?" Came a voice from the door, and the group of four turned around to see George Maitland stood in the doorway.
A.N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, again; I'm sorry for not updating for ages, and that this chapter probably wasn't what you were expecting, but I have to learn 5 minutes of French for my GCSE and I've not really had time. On top of that, I had some really bad writer's block, and I've been in a different country for part of this week. So yeah. Anyway, I've updated (as you can see) and I am planning to update tomorrow too if I can; just to make up for the lack of updates over the last two weeks. Thank you for those who've stick with me through this, and special thanks to the people who review my chapters; you honestly make my day.
Oh, and my writers block was mainly due to another idea screaming at me to the point where I couldn't think. It's a Doctor Who story called Sauvé (don't worry, only the title's French), and it's about Oswin. I also used it as an excuse to try out a new writing style, so if you're feeling nice go take a look and review it so I know how I went.
Anyway; as I said, there will be another update tomorrow, but please review and let me know what you think
-Weird :)