*Sup guys. Covering a lot of ground in this chapter, as I really wanted to get a lot out of the way. There's so much happening in the Whouffle world but I really wanted to get to the core of the pregnancy. There's also some smut in this chapter, which makes a nice change. Anyway, I really hope you guys like it and as ever, thanks for everyone who's read, reviewed, followed and favourited! TPD*
The Doctor was sat in bed, poring over his laptop, whistling and gasping every now and then, his thoughts escaping him far quicker than he would like as he hissed: "No way!" At one point, he looked like he was going to violently throw the laptop across the room before Clara snatched it off of him, laughing as she did so. She felt baby Tom kick her stomach and she squealed, the Doctor shooting her an instant look of concern, which she waved off. He seemed to relax but he was looking at her like he needed the laptop back. Clara rolled her eyes and handed the giant baby his toy. The Doctor had got another three lines before he shouted: "Fucking hell!" and Clara swatted him.
"No swearing in front of the baby!" she scolded and the Doctor threw up his arms in exasperation. "You can finish it tomorrow!"
"But Clara…" he whined. "I promised Annabelle I'd finish reading her first draft tonight and I'm almost done! And it's really good. Annoyingly addictive. I mean there are a lot of mistakes, ways she could improve it sure, but it's a first draft. The core idea, a man who travels time and space in a little blue box…it's so original, so daring, it's incredible. And the plot twists Clara, oh you wouldn't believe!"
Clara rolled her eyes. The Doctor had been super supportive of Annabelle ever since she decided to delve into the world of science-fiction. Now, six months later, Annabelle had finished her first draft and it was the Doctor's pleasure to be the first person to read it. Once he'd given her his input, she'd look at finding an editor. She'd spent the time she wasn't writing or working at Donna's over the past half a year networking, pulling all her writing contacts, desperate to find herself a way back into the world and with a chance of being able to get published again. The Doctor's support had been invaluable to her, with his knowledge of quantum physics and his love of literature. Clara had been desperate to read it, but both Annabelle and the Doctor were keeping it away from her, stating that as Annabelle's biggest fan (though somehow Clara doubted that, the Doctor probably owned that title), Clara would get the privilege of an advanced copy once it was set to be published, but not until Annabelle had worked out all of the kinks and problems with it.
So much had changed in the last six months. Annabelle had been focusing on her book, but she'd also had to find a new flat, as Rose had moved out and she needed to find somewhere smaller and more affordable. Rose was gone. Flat out gone. Since Ten had broken her heart, she had moved to a different part of London, away from Annabelle and Ten and the Doctor and Clara, all the people that she blamed for what had happened. Clara assumed and hoped that Rose was still working on her degree in psychology, but at this stage, the Doctor had convinced her, there really was nothing more that they could do.
With Rose gone, Ten had hoped that Martha would be able to find it within herself to forgive him for what had gone down and hopefully, they would move forwards. Alas, that had not been the case and after a month in the Doctor and Clara's spare room, Ten had had to accept that there was no going back and he had got his own place. He had spent a lot of time in that month in Donna's tea house and Clara had learned that Ten had struck up a friendship with Donna herself.
The month that he had stayed had been an interesting one to say the least. Clara constantly felt like this would be what it was like when she was a mother; having to cook for three, constantly being interrupted when she wanted to get intimate with the Doctor, always having to be there for a third party emotionally and constantly resorting to checking in on Ten, who had become somewhat a shadow of his former self in that month. It hadn't shaken Clara's resolve that the child in her belly would be the best thing that had ever happened to her except perhaps the Doctor himself, but she wasn't relishing when her child grew up to be a teenager.
Ten moved out just before Christmas and the Doctor and Clara had him and Clara's father over for Christmas dinner. By this point, they'd already told everyone about the baby. Ten had found out about a week after Martha had left him; Dave had been told on that Sunday as they'd planned. By Christmas, the Ponds had also managed to find themselves a state of relative calm, and they had been told just before Christmas themselves. That Christmas had been one of the best. Laughing and joking and the Doctor had finally had some decent help in the kitchen, which he'd been sure to mention to Clara multiple times as she rolled her eyes and did what little the Doctor and Ten allowed her to do.
Dave had never been happier to spend time with his daughter and they gushed over everything. Dave was planning on moving to London he announced, so that he could be close to his daughter and grandchild. Clara had been so excited, they nearly knocked over the Christmas tree, as she hurled herself into her father's arms, sending him staggering backwards. Luckily, the Doctor and Ten had managed to stabilise the pair before the whole group went tumbling to floor, laughing hideously.
January had passed quickly. Clara had January exams to deal with, so the Doctor helped Dave with the moving when he had the time, between work and helping out Annabelle. They had been having bi-weekly lunches now and Clara felt a bit upset that her fiancé was spending more time with her best friend than she was. January was also a big month for the Ponds, as Rory finally moved back into the main bedroom, having spent the previous couple of months since the fight sleeping in the spare room, saying that he needed time and space to try and work out how they went on from there. Amy also finally managed to secure a position at a fashion magazine, which resulted in a titanic night out, ending with Rory, Amy, the Doctor and Annabelle all nursing their biggest hangovers for years, with an annoying cheerful Jack Harkness there to remind all of them how pitiful their drinking habits were and Clara there to sulk that she wasn't allowed to partake.
Jack himself made a big step in February when he asked Ianto to move in with him. By this point, Dave was over every other weekend, busying himself in Clara and the Doctor's plans for the rest of their lives. Clara's bump was only just beginning to show as she entered her second trimester and when they had their ultrasound, they discovered that they were going to have a little boy. The Doctor had burst into tears and Clara had smugly informed him that she was right. They had decided almost immediately that there was nobody they'd rather name after than Tom. After all, without him, baby Tom wouldn't even be possible. Thomas David Oswald, after both Ten and Clara's dad. The Doctor had been adamant that the child have Clara's last name, as he didn't want his own name, let alone to have to pass it to his son. Vastra and Jenny had also finally finished all the adoption procedures and had a little girl of their own, little Gemma. She was the most adorable child that the Doctor had ever seen, but rudely informed the three month old that his son would be cuter. She had merely gurgled at that.
March was the biggest month of Clara's life, as she and the Doctor made two very big decisions. The first was the decision that they needed to move to a more child friendly house. So they packed all their stuff up into boxes and found a gorgeous, three bedroom house in Tunbridge Wells. They had a crib in their bedroom and the smaller bedroom would be the baby's room when it was old enough. The Doctor had spent a good few weeks painting and then re-painting the bedroom a multitude of colours, before Clara finally, at four months pregnant, painted the entire room a pale blue and told the Doctor that if he put another paint brush within a foot of any of the walls, she'd shove it so far up his arse that it would take a real Doctor of incredible skill to remove it.
Clara had also had to deal with Henry reaffirming his crush for him in no uncertain terms that month, after he had broken up with his girlfriend. She considered that really a secondary issue to the whole pregnancy thing that she had going on, so she told her supervisor and just figured that it was a problem that would resolve itself as she got progressively bigger and he got progressively closer to exams, with only three months left until his term ended anyway.
The other major, life-changing event that occurred in March really happened quite suddenly and took Clara quite aback. They were sat in the kitchen of their new home. The Doctor had made a cup of tea for her as she had just got back from work and he looked at her, with a serious look in his eye and said: "Marry me."
Clara had spat out her tea, choking with laughter. "I'm already marrying you, you dolt!"
He looked crestfallen and Clara wiped tea off her arm as she took a deep breath and tried to clear her sinuses of the amber liquid. "I meant, I want to marry you. I want to plan a wedding. By the end of the year. I mean, if that's alright with you. A Christmas wedding with our new child."
"A Christmas wedding with our new baby boy?" Clara smiled at the thought. "That sounds magical. Anything Doctor. Anything for you. I love you so much."
"I love you too."
And that was that. Suddenly, they had a child to prepare for and a wedding to plan. With 9 months to plan out the wedding and only 5 to prepare for their latest arrival, Clara suggested that they focus on the latter first. The Doctor had agreed wholeheartedly. Clara was so relieved that she'd have to take at most a few weeks maternity leave in July, at the back end of term, after exams, as she was due in early August, meaning that the month after the baby was born, she could focus on it and then, hopefully, go back to work at the school and leave Tom in the Doctor's care. She was nervous about leaving her child alone with him after just a month, but the Doctor said that if the shoe was on the other foot and he was the one returning to work, nobody would bat an eyelid. They would find a way to make it work.
March became April and things were looking rosy in their little world. Amy and Rory seemed to be getting on better terms by the weekend and even hosted a little dinner party for the Doctor and Clara, Mels and Kyle, with River and Annabelle also invited. At first, Clara had been apprehensive about seeing River, but everything went smoothly and it genuinely seemed as though River was comfortable in the Doctor's presence, as he was in hers without it being awkward.
Ten, meanwhile, had finally found himself in a good place. He threw himself into his work, making the Doctor's company run smoother than ever and when he wasn't working, he was spending a lot of time with Donna, who was successfully keeping his ego in check. They had become great friends and Donna was soon being invited to a lot of events as Ten's plus one. At almost every event, they were called a cute couple, and at almost every event, they flat out denied it, shooting each other and the people odd looks. Ten pointed out that Donna was old enough to be his mother. Donna slapped him.
Clara, for what it was worth, loved Donna. She thought it was great that Ten had someone he could talk to and confide in, someone that he was comfortable around, with the air of sexual tension that was always present with Martha or Rose. The Doctor always seemed put off by Donna, in a good way, like he never knew quite how to react around her. Clara loved having someone around that could keep the Smith boys on their toes.
And as May rolled along, Clara had her six month scan and was told that everything was normal. The Doctor had managed to avoid crying this time, but had informed the OB nurse that Thomas David Oswald was anything but normal. He was perfect. Clara was stressed however. She was working herself into the ground during exam season and the stress was not helped by the fact that she now had a considerable baby bump and all of her students kept asking annoying questions about the Doctor and baby Tom and various other bits and bobs completely unrelated to the fact that they had exams in mere days and they weren't ready. Clara ended up losing her temper on more than one occasion and from then on, even her usually raucous Year 10s kept their mouths shut as she prowled around the classroom, snapping at anyone who even breathed too loudly.
Clara wasn't the only one stressed. The Doctor was panicking over every little thing now that Clara had entered her third trimester. Every slammed door, every angry comment, every pained moan had him on edge, as though the entire world was out to get Clara Oswald. She would normally appreciate his overprotective and overly caring stance, but one morning she ended up snapping at him for making her a cup of tea in bed screaming that just because she was now over six months pregnant did not mean that she was entirely incapable of making her own tea, as he seemed to think. He hadn't said anything, but slunk out, looking like a forlorn puppy. It got to the point at one stage where almost everything he did pissed Clara off. He was either being too caring or hanging her out to dry and she spent almost three days straight screaming at him constantly, for almost anything.
After that, things calmed down a bit. Annabelle had finally finished the first draft of her novel, and exams had hit. There was nothing more that Clara could do and she reached the blissful two week period where she had some year groups turning up to lessons sporadically and some not turning up at all. She had been there; she knew how stressful that it could be.
The Doctor was desperate to finish reading Annabelle's manuscript. Clara watched him try to slip over her and get to the laptop and she lifted her bump up ever so slightly, knowing that he would flinch and avoid banging it at all costs, which he did, twisting and falling back against her legs, groaning in defeat. Clara giggled and playfully plucked his head off of her ankle and dragged it willingly to her own face, their lips colliding. Clara snaked a hand down his back and pulled him closer so that he was lying parallel to her again, only inches away. She could feel the heat leaving his body as his thighs brushed against hers, the contact making her shudder.
"You know what we haven't done in far too long?" she asked seductively, although she appreciated that it was difficult to feel sexy when she felt so bloated and pregnant. He was still staring at hungrily, like he wanted to devour every inch of her, but he was still tentative and she kissed him again, fiercer this time, informing him that she was going to get exactly what she wanted from him and that there was nothing that the Doctor could do to resist her, even if he tried.
He didn't try. He gave in to the kiss, pulling Clara onto her side despite the bump and she gasped as his hand slivered up and down her inner leg. She clawed at his back as his fingers slipped into her and she bit down onto his shoulder, causing him to grimace and stop pleasuring her for half a second before he continued his movements. Their kissing was ragged and Clara's left hand shot down his trousers. The Doctor groaned as she tugged and Clara moaned as he rubbed. Suddenly, he'd shifted, positioning himself in front of her and he pulled out of the kiss, long enough to whisper harshly: "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Get the fuck in me!" she growled, in a ragged tone and then he obliged and Clara's world rocked. She felt herself dissolve into a million little pieces at his touch and as he grunted, the noise was music to her ears. She thrusted back at him, influencing his momentum and twisting the pleasure so that she felt like there was no part of her that wasn't him. She squealed and then shouted his name as he ploughed onwards, alleviating any pain and turning to all to a gushing, unstoppable rapture. She felt the Doctor explode within her and her name was all she could hear in her ears, ringing like an echo and then he fell back and she was gasping for air, for life. She felt as though she had died and the real world was coming back to her in jigsaw pieces that she had to put together. She breathed deeply and found herself shooting back to reality as Tom kicked her again. She sat up sharply and the Doctor, panting beside her, was onto it in an instant, sitting up and pressing a calming hand on the shoulder that was connected to the hand Clara had furiously pressed to her stomach.
"Clara," he said gently and she turned to look at him with a warm smile.
"Doctor," she replied teasingly, before exhaling sharply. "For goodness sake, I'm fine. He's just kicking. I don't think he liked the ruckus."
"That's a shame," the Doctor chuckled. "Because I loved it." He kissed again, softly this time and Clara wanted to moan in joy just at the small touch. His eyes were blazing. If he never said the words "I love you" to Clara again it wouldn't detract from how his eyes blazed and his heart thudded and his smile grew when he saw her. The words were superfluous. But he still always said them anyway and that was one of the many things that Clara loved about him. She stared at her Doctor. Her fiancé. The father of her child. And Clara Oswald knew that the day was coming when they would be a family. And it couldn't come soon enough.
*And tomorrow: Clara eats some chicken, the Doctor drinks some lemonade and Ten does something stupid. Oh and it's a cute Whouffle one, so bring your feels.*