Journey to the Center of the TARDIS - Part 1

The Judge was sitting on one of the side chairs of the TARDIS console room, watching with barely a turn of her head left to right as the Doctor followed Clara around the console itself, the girl with her arms crossed, in a cutesy dress, seeming rather irritated, while the Doctor tried to reprimand her for something as he walked after her. They'd just been going through some of the security footage from the cameras outside the TARDIS, reviewing them as there had been a poster stuck to the TARDIS when they'd gone to collect Clara and the Doctor wanted to know who put it there. It wasn't a bad poster, it was for some sort of concert in the park event or something, but he was all pouty faced about someone sticking something to the TARDIS like that and wanted to know who it was. But it appeared the TARDIS had other things in mind and had shown them footage from when they'd been at the Caliburn house, how Clara had, after they'd gotten trapped in the pocket universe, run to the TARDIS, tried to break in…and then called a projection of the TARDIS a cow.

The TARDIS was rather cross about it, they could imagine, and Clara had instantly tried to defend herself, that she was under stress, that it was the situation, that she was sorry, but it wasn't assuaging the TARDIS and the Doctor was still trying to wrap his mind around how Clara could call something as cool as the TARDIS a human farm animal.

In this one case, the Judge could understand Clara snapping at the TARDIS, she did it often enough herself when it came to humans.

"You said..." the Doctor sputtered, still trying to understand it all.

"I know what I said!" Clara huffed, "I was the one who said it."

"You had to know we'd find out Clara," the Judge gave her a look, "Even if the box can't talk it does have other ways of communicating to us. How else would we know why she doesn't like you?"

"You said it was looking at you funny," the Doctor added with a frown, he still didn't know why the TARDIS seemed to think that Clara was a threat of some sort.

Well, to be fair, THEY didn't know much about Clara either, she very well COULD be a threat to them. Perhaps the TARDIS knew something that they didn't, perhaps she was trying to communicate WHAT Clara was to them through her hostility to the girl, but they couldn't be entirely sure. If she was THAT much of a threat…the TARDIS wouldn't have ever let her into the box in the first place.

"I was tired," Clara rolled her eyes, having repeated this defense near a hundred times by now, or so it felt, "Overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job."

"It's a pretty cool appliance," the Doctor gave the console a firm pat, "We're not talking cheese grater here!"

"Oh just apologize to her Clara," the Judge sighed, she wanted to get this adventure over with, wherever the Doctor planned to go this time. She just wanted to get out there, have it, and drop Clara off at the Maitlands again.

"You're not getting me to talk to your ship," Clara half-balked at the 'absurd' idea, "That's properly bonkers."

"You DO know he is a madman with a box, yes?" the Judge shook her head, wondering, at what point, the Doctor talking to the box didn't seem bonkers to Clara.

The Doctor, however, pouted at Clara's assertion and turned to rub the rotor comfortingly, as though trying to sooth some sort of slight to the box instead of realizing it was a slight against his own mental health, "It's ok, it's ok…"

"HE does it all the time obviously," the Judge gestured at the Doctor as though that were ample proof.

Clara just shook her head, pausing in her walk to spin and face the Doctor, eyeing him with a hint of amusement, "You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."

"No, no, not like that," the Doctor straightened, "One of the blokes that won't go out without his wife's approval," he winked at the Judge.

"That's because you NEED my approval to go out," she reminded him.

"What?" Clara looked between them.

"On Gallifrey," the Judge sighed, "It's customary for one spouse to gain permission from the other if they want to leave the planet for an extended time."

"What, you can't leave home without the wife's approval?" Clara blinked at that.

"I DID say spouse, didn't I?" the Judge stared at her, "Pay attention."

Clara rolled her eyes at that, "Fine, husband needs wife's sign off, wife needs husband's, yes?"

"Yes."

"And that is not the point of this conversation," the Doctor, for once, was the one to remind them of the topic, "Look, Clara, it's important to me you get along with the TARDIS. She's our home."

The Judge looked away at that, at how his focus was, once more on the TARDIS and the box's relationship with Clara. He knew, very well, that SHE didn't have the best one with the girl, but right now he was more concerned with their ship than her. She supposed it was because the box couldn't really communicate and, while she may not seem to want Clara there, SHE wasn't at risk of throwing Clara out the doors like the TARDIS very well could doo with a good shake.

"I could leave you alone together," the Doctor offered, not noticing the Judge's reaction.

"Now you're creeping me out," Clara warned, shaking her head and stepping back slightly, starting to walk around the console once more.

"Take the wheel," the Doctor called out with a smile, before wincing, realizing there wasn't an actual wheel to take, "Not the wheel. I'll make it easy, shut it down to basic mode for you…" he spun around and began to put some commands in as the Judge stood.

"Please tell me you're not actually about to let a human pilot the TARDIS, Doctor," she moved over to him, speaking quietly.

"Ok, I won't," he grinned at her, leaning in to give her a quick peck on the cheek, before focusing in on the controls once more, making her roll her eyes at that.

"Basic!" Clara almost sounded offended by that as she made her way over to them, "'Cos I'm a girl?"

"Just what gender do you think I am?" the Judge gave Clara a look that clearly said she was being dim.

Clara huffed, "Well I don't know, YOU're the aliens."

"Only on Earth," the Judge reminded her, "In HERE," she gestured around at the ship that was of THEIR world, "YOU are the alien. And you don't see me calling you a boy. I'm not Strax."

"Who?" Clara frowned at that, not sure who this Strax person was.

"Never mind," the Judge shook her head and moved to the other side of the console, helping get the controls for that side down to basic as well. If they were really going to do this, they needed to do it properly.

The Doctor had a small smile on his face as he watched them bicker, he was hoping that, maybe their little verbal spars might turn into just that, bickering, a playful bickering and not barbing, so far…not quite, but there was hope! He knew there were many more things that the Judge could have said in response to that but she'd just waved it off and gone to help him. He reached out and pulled a key from his pocket, sticking it into a slot on the console and turning it, dimming the lights slightly, shutting off half the controls so that only the ones that were of the most basic function would be illuminated.

"Here, here, come here," he gestured for Clara to come over, the Judge stepping past him to the side controls to help, "Now, to start the ship moving, you have to turn the coordinators on," he pointed, "That switch there."

Clara eyed him a moment and back to the switch before reaching out to flick it…

Only for the lights to turn off and then start flashing red, which she knew, in any Universe was likely NOT a good thing.

"What have I done?" she looked at him, frantic.

"For once, nothing," the Judge hurried over to the Doctor's side, moving the monitor to them to try and see what was going on, but there was nothing…the monitor wasn't operational on basic. She reached out and turned the key back, starting the monitor up once more, but it just began to crack, "Doctor!"

He rushed over, his eyes widening as he saw that, saw the screen that had only just started to display their position breaking down and going static.

"What's going on?" Clara frowned at their tense expressions.

The Doctor shook his head and quickly began to try and turn some of the knobs, hit the switches, move the levers, but they weren't responding, "All the electrical impulses are jammed. I can't get the shields back up," he tried to push another lever down, struggling to do so, grunting before he gave up, looking at the Judge for help, "She's completely vulnerable!"

"I swear I just touched it!" Clara cried as the Judge moved to the lever as well, the two Time Lords trying to shove it down and only just barely managing.

But all it succeeded in doing was sending sparks up and making the TARDIS jolt painfully, throwing them all into the controls and the rails and the floor.

The Doctor hissed as his back hit the railing, before using it to push himself off it, back to the console, glancing over to see that the Judge had landed on the floor by Clara's feet, the human half falling on top of the side controls but still standing, "Judge!" he shouted to her over the sound of the alarms going off and fires erupting, explosions going off around them, "Magnetic hobble-field. We're flying right into it."

The Judge nodded, pushing herself up, "Clara assume the position!" she grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her towards the back of the console room, near the stairs but by the edge of the side controls, pushing her down to a crouch just below the rim of the controls.

"Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this!" Clara called to them as the Time Lords rushed to get everything back in order or at least calm.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor yelled over the din, "Big friendly button."

"You're lying."

"Of course he is!" the Judge sounded nearly at a snapping mood.

"To stop me freaking out?" Clara chose to focus on the Doctor instead.

"Is it working?" he glanced over.

"Not so much," Clara winced as a small explosion went off nearby, looking down when she heard a clatter on the ground to see what looked like a grenade roll over to her. She quickly picked it up, dropping it nearly just as fast when it burned her hand. She looked up only a split second before a massive explosion went off between the Time Lords, sending them all flying back as their worlds went dark…

~8~

The Doctor winced as he slowly came to, his hand flying to his head and holding it as he struggled to open his eyes against the bright lights of…wherever he was now because it certainly wasn't the TARDIS. For one, even though he didn't know every single room the TARDIS had to it, this room didn't feel like it. There was also the pile of rubbish and scrap he appeared to be lying in, none of it metals that were common for a TARDIS. And then there was the fact that he could hear three men speaking off to the side that he KNEW hadn't been in the TARDIS nor would the TARDIS allow in without him knowing.

He groaned to himself and pushed himself up, blinking slightly as he opened his eyes to see that he was in what looked like a large hanger, truly lying on a pile of rubbish and scrap as he'd thought, and he could see it. The TARDIS was a few feet away, lying on her side, and the three men, three large black men in the uniforms of scrapers, were standing just before it, arguing in what he was sure they meant to have as quiet voices, but he heard them.

"…crew were still onboard when we dragged her in!" the one that appeared to be the youngest of the trio stated.

"We did nothing," the not-quite-tallest-but-clearly-in charge of the lost hissed at the two others, "If anyone asks, that ship was already busted. You got that? And you," he glared at the younger boy, "Make sure you keep your oily-mouth shut."

The Doctor shook his head and pushed himself up, quietly making his way down to the three men, making sure that they wouldn't hear him coming till he was right behind them, "It's rude to whisper," he whispered to them in the same mock-quiet voices they had used, before smiling and speaking normally, "Hi. I'm the Doctor," he shook the taller man's hand, the only one that he hadn't heard speak yet, "And you are..." he squinted at the nametag logo that was sewn into the men's uniforms, "Van Baalen and...Van Baalen," he shook the leader's hand as well, "Van Baalen and Van Baalen. That's going to get confusing later. It's bad enough when the Judge and I both use Smith for our surname…and speaking of her," he frowned and turned to look back at the box, at the scrap, taking a step towards it to try and see if he could find her.

"We found you drifting," the leader said quickly, making him turn back, his frown deepening.

"Your ship was junked-up pretty bad," the taller man agreed.

The Doctor gave them a look that he was sure the Judge would have been quite pleased with, the look that clearly told the humans that they were being rather dim if they expected this to work, "What broke my ship was a magno-grab," he held up a device, a grenade-like device, for them to see, "Found this remote in your pocket. Eh? What are the chances? Outlawed in most galaxies. This little beastie can disable whole vessels unless you have shield oscillators…" he paused a moment, closing his eyes in realization as he slapped his forehead, "Which I turned off so that Clara could fly," he huffed, "Damn it!" he looked up the men, realizing that he was now missing two women, "Where are they?" he demanded.

"Who?" the leader frowned.

"Clara and the Judge? Brunettes, bout ye high," he gestured between two heights, "Brown eyes. One in a dress, the other in a green plaid shirt with brown trousers? One feisty, the other, well, judgey?" he shook his head, not sure why they weren't answering him, why they were staring at him like they hadn't a clue what he was talking about, why he couldn't feel the Judge's presence outside the TARDIS…

His eyes widened as he spun around to stare at the turned box in horror, the answer to that last question (well to all the questions) dawning on him.

"They're still onboard!"

He paused a moment, not sure if that was a good or bad thing that they were both onboard at the same time. It was good because the Judge would know what to do, she'd be able to keep Clara safe. But it was also bad because the Judge was bound to be short tempered, even more if she were injured (he winced to think of her hurt), and to leave her with Clara too long might mean that she'd kill the girl. Well, not really kill, but she might certainly demand that he leave her on earth after all this was over if she reached the end of her rope with Clara. He really DID have to talk to her about this, about what made her so testy about that particular human. She'd been just fine with Oswald and the other Clara…

But he had to get them out first and make sure they were both alive to HAVE that discussion, so he started to run for the box, only for the younger man to grab him and hold him back, "No, wait, your pod is leaking fuel. If they're still in there, they're dead."

"Um…" the Doctor spun around, feeling his hearts starting to race, a desperation to get back into that box and make sure they were alright, hitting him, and breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted storage lockers with boxes of useful items scattered around it, useful items such as, "Respirators!"

"We can open the doors for a split second," the leader nodded as the Doctor raced over to the devices and began to check them, "Reach in and grab them."

The Doctor scoffed at that, feeling a sense of irritation rising in him, wondering if he was just channeling the Judge even through the psychic shields of the TARDIS, or if she was rubbing off on him, he HAD noticed that in very stressful situations he DID have less tolerance of humans, and remarks like that, even when the humans truly didn't know the situation, were grating his nerves, because they were so wrong and to even answer it was to waste time, "Trust me, we can't. Now, please, help me get them out."

"I'm telling you, they fried..." the younger tried to speak.

"Shut it, tin-mouth!" the leader snapped, not even looking at the boy as he kept his gaze fixed on the Doctor, "What sort of fee are we talking?"

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his head, feeling a headache setting in, this was wasting time, but if it got them to help him and saved time later, he'd have to put up with the humans, "If you help me get the Judge and Clara out," he moved towards the TARDIS, "You get the machine, all the scrap, eh?"

The taller man shook his head, nearly sneering at the size of the box, "It's not worth the risk. Four feet of metal? Nah."

"What if I can guarantee you the best haul you've ever had?" the Doctor asked, desperation in his voice.

He was sure the Judge would kill him for offering the TARDIS in exchange for this, but…he'd lost her once, and…as much as he loved the TARDIS, he'd quickly realized in having her with him, she was his home. They'd lost their planet and he knew that the TARDIS was the last possible means of having a Gallifreyan home, or as close as they could have at the moment, but…the TARDIS or his wife? He was quite sure even the TARDIS would tell him to pick the Judge, even if his hearts had already decided.

He closed his eyes at that, it had taken him…so long, so very long to get to this realization, to this sense of peace that he had with the Judge, to realize he'd ALWAYS had it with her. It had taken losing his planet, losing his home, having her back, having her and the TARDIS with him to realize where he truly felt his home was.

And it wasn't a box, though he wished to not lose the box at all…he didn't want to lose his wife even more.

"Bram," the leader glanced at the taller man, "Open the bay doors."

Bram nodded and started to walk off to do just that, when the Doctor dashed to them, "No, no, please, stop!" he begged, "Listen, listen. Right behind those doors is the salvage of a lifetime."

He watched their faces closely, kept his gaze on them, wanting them to know he was telling the truth, and nearly sagged with relief when the leader gave a short nod to Bram, silently telling him to come back as the three men turned to suit up.

He let his eyes drift closed as he turned and put a hand on the TARDIS doors, just a few more moments and he'd be in there and be able to get them both back out. He could only imagine the damage that had been done, the sooner he could get them back the better.

~8~

The Judge groaned as she slowly woke to find herself lying on the floor of the red lit halls of the TARDIS, curled up on her side, facing the wall, what appeared to be a sheet of metal resting at an angle against the wall, making a small crawlspace for her. She blinked a few times to clear her vision before she tried to wiggle her way out of the space, not willing to risk trying to shove the metal away and have it crush her or hit her. But she winced, letting out a hiss of pain as a searing feeling raced up her left arm.

"Damn it!" she cursed, realizing she could hardly move her arm without pain shooting through her. It was probably broken from falling on it or from being slammed against something in the explosion.

She froze at that memory, she'd been standing nearer to Clara than the Doctor and, given that she couldn't hear the Doctor, it had to mean that he wasn't in the TARDIS at the moment. She grit her teeth and forced herself out of the small space, needing to see if Clara was nearby, if she was still in the box or outside it. She needed to know if she was going to have to waste her time trying to find Clara or if she could focus on getting somewhere safer. That explosion, granted she wasn't an expert on TARDISes, but she knew enough to know it had damaged things terribly. She pushed her way out of the space, knocking some small tubes to the side as she did so, grunting and wincing as she tried to stand, nearly stumbling into the wall as a wave of nausea and vertigo nearly leveled her. The pain in her arm was radiating through her, making her arm both tingle and throb.

She was just about to look around for something to help stabilize her arm, knowing she'd be no use to anyone if she was constantly distracted by her pain, when she spotted Clara's legs sticking out from under a piece of metal.

"Clara!" she called, rushing over to her, squatting down as much as she could, trying not to sway as the dizziness hit her again, and gripped the metal with her other hand, shoving it to the side and shaking Clara, "Clara!" she felt for a pulse and nearly sagged with relief when she felt one, "Clara wake up!" she shook the girl once more, eyeing her face and body for any signs of injury, but she appeared just knocked out, "Sorry for this," she muttered, before slapping Clara across the face.

It did the trick for Clara gasped and sat up with a start the second it happened, "Ow!" she cried, glaring at the Judge, "What was that for!?"

"I need you awake," the Judge nearly growled, her hand coming to grip her limp arm, that sudden motion from the slap had shaken her body and jolted her arm.

"Oh my stars!" Clara gasped, seeing the state the Judge was in. Her clothes were singed on the front, which made sense as she'd been nearer to the explosion, her hair was all a mess, and she could see bruises dotting the woman's skin, her arm especially looked rather painful, "What happened?! No!" she added quickly after, seeing the rather irate look the Judge was sending her, "Explosion, I know, sorry," she winced, realizing that was probably one of the stupidest questions she'd asked the Time Lords, even SHE thought it was stupid, "What can I do to help?" she offered instead.

"I need you to help me get my button up off," the Judge told her, and Clara's fingers flew to the buttons of her green plaid shirt, starting to undo them, knowing that the Judge wore a small tank top under it, and helped tug it off, "Now…we need to wrap my arm in it, and use the sleeves to tie it around my neck like a sling, ok?"

Clara nodded and went to work doing just that, "Funny," she murmured as she went, "My mum used to do this to me when I'd hurt my arm, made me a sling out of her shirt once."

"Yes, because a broken arm is so funny," the Judge grumbled, a hiss in her voice that was more from the pain of moving her arm than what Clara had said.

"Sorry," still Clara apologized.

The Judge bit the inside of her cheek hard as Clara tied the ends of the sleeves around her neck, securing the sling, "Thank you," she offered once it was done.

"No problem," Clara smiled a bit at that, at the genuine thanks.

The Judge took a deep breath and looked up and down the halls, they were covered in debris, broken panels, metal bits, wires exposed and sparking, the red emergency lights the only thing allowing them to see, "We need to find somewhere safer," she told Clara, "The console room, the medbay, just…somewhere with less rubble."

Clara nodded and reached out to help her stand, "Is the Doctor here?" she asked, looking around, "Is he ok?"

"He should be fine," the Judge murmured, "But I don't think he's in the TARDIS like we are," she glanced up as the cloister bell began to echo softly, as though the TARDIS were trying to communicate to her that the Doctor wasn't there, but it could mean any number of things, that bell, "Come on," she nodded to the side of the hall that appeared to have less debris. It might not lead exactly to the console room, but they'd be better spent taking the long way with less debris than going the other way and getting caught in sharp ends and jagged metal.

Clara nodded and moved to follow her, wincing as she looked down at her hand, seeing angry red burns on it from where she'd grabbed that thing before. She hadn't even noticed it had been burned till just then, too filled with shock and adrenaline at seeing the Judge hurt to notice. But now she did, and there wasn't much that could actually be done for it though. If the Judge had to fashion a sling from her shirt, then there was likely not much that could help her with a burn on her hand. So she took a breath and gently blew on it to cool it down, walking after the Judge a foot or two behind the woman.

"Judge?" she called after a moment, seeing a doorway, a shut doorway, with a red blinking light above it, "What about through here?"

The Judge glanced back, her eyes flickering to the lights and back to Clara, "Don't open it Clara," and continued on her way.

But Clara paused and looked at the door, "But what if it's a shortcut?"

"Blinking red light Clara," the Judge called back, not even turning this time, the answer should be obvious enough.

Clara looked up at the light, "Red flashing light...means something bad," she murmured to herself, "Get out of here fast? Or don't open this door?" she glanced back at the Judge, nearly out of eyesight and back at the door, what if it was a beacon that this was where you needed to go? Like a lighthouse in a storm? What if there was someplace safe behind the door? It may not be the console room, but maybe the console room wasn't the only safe place? The Judge was clearly in pain so she couldn't be thinking that straight, probably subconsciously wanted to find the medbay first.

She took a breath and hit the button, the doors sliding open…only to reveal an explosion on the other side, the fires of it heading right for her now that the door was open, "Bad decision!"

Suddenly she was shoved to the side, tackled really, by the Judge as the fires blasted out, the woman half covering her from the heat of the flames that weren't touching them but the warmth of it could be clearly felt. The Judge let out a strangled scream as she rolled onto her back seconds later, her hand coming up to clutch her slinged arm and Clara stared in horror realizing that, in tackling her, the Judge had basically landed on her broken arm. The pain would be excruciating.

"Oh my god," Clara scrambled to her side, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, what do I do?!"

"Don't TOUCH me!" the Judge nearly hissed at her, panting, sweating from the pain as she forced herself to sit up, cradling her arm to her as she gasped for breath, trying to control the pain, "And when I tell you NOT to open a damned door, you DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR!"

"I'm sorry!" Clara repeated, tears in her eyes, "I just…I thought…"

"Gods!" the Judge snapped, more to herself as she turned and struggled to use the wall to stand, resting her back against it, her eyes closed from the pain of moving so suddenly, "Clara, if I tell you not to open a door. You don't do it. You are a human, you are not a Time Lord, you don't know this ship, so if I say leave it, you leave it! God you humans, I don't understand how he thinkg's you're WORTH this."

Clara tearful look morphed into one of anger now, all of it, everything just getting to her at that last remark. All the snipes by the Judge about her and humans, all the danger of the situation, all her trying to help and the Judge getting cross with her for it, and now this? She could put up with a lot, but she would NOT allow someone to say that she wasn't worth anything, "Then why'd you save me?" she snapped right back, "Why not just let that fire burn me then? If you're SO angry with me being here, why not just have let me die then? That would solve all your problems wouldn't it? That would make you happy to have me gone wouldn't it?"

"You have NO idea why I don't want you here Clara," the Judge glared right back.

"Cos I'm a human," Clara rolled her eyes, "And humans are worthless to you, aren't we? And if I'm not worth anything, you coulda just let me die."

"I couldn't," the Jude nearly growled, her hand clenching into a first.

"Why not?" Clara shook her head, half-shouting, not understanding this woman at all, "You clearly hate me. Hate me being a companion!"

"Whatever the cause, I can't let you be hurt."

"YOU hurt me all the time with your little digs!"

"But you're not physically harmed Clara!" she shouted, "I cannot let you be harmed like that! Why do you think I make those digs?! Because you, as the Doctor's companion, you need to be better than that! Better than the other humans! The only way YOU seem to want to do it is when I insult you, you improve to prove me wrong!"

"Why?!" Clara frowned, not actually realizing that she DID tend to push herself more to sort of 'stick it' to the Judge and prove her assumptions about humans wrong, she knew the Judge said what she did to her to push her away, to make her leave, but she wasn't one to back down from something she wanted, she pushed harder and stayed to prove the woman that she couldn't just get her to quit that easy, "Why do I have to be better?"

"Because you HAVE to survive!" the Judge yelled, "You, Clara Oswald, you need to be different than the others, you need to live! And that's on ME."

"What?" she scoffed, "You have to protect me?"

"Yes," the Judge gave her a hard look.

"But you don't even want me here!"

"No, I don't."

"Then why not just drop me off on Earth and leave me there?!"

"Because I can't!"

"Why not?!" Clara was near tears again, this was so confusing, she didn't want her there but she didn't want her gone? How did that work? It didn't, in any universe, make sense, "Why keep me here when you don't want me here!?"

"Because I promised to keep you safe and I can't do that when you're on Earth!"

"Well I'm sure the Doctor would understand breaking that promise."

"I didn't promise HIM that!"

"Well then who?!" she demanded, "Who could you have possibly promised that you'd keep me safe when you don't even like me and…"

"Your mother!"

THAT made silence fall, the corridor they were in now dead quiet save for the faint sound of the cloister bell in the distance. Clara stared at the Judge, her eyes wide, her mouth open as she gaped at the Time Lady for what she'd said in the middle of their yelling.

"You…you don't know my mum," Clara whispered, shaking her head.

"I do," the Judge nodded, inwardly cursing herself for having let that slip, "I did."

"But…" Clara blinked rapidly, "How? When?" she frowned, "Was it…was it the park?" she asked, vaguely recalling seeing the Judge and Doctor in the park when she was a child, just a little girl. She'd been thinking of it more and more ever since Akhaten, when she'd realized they'd been at her mother's grave, she'd recalled seeing them a few other places as well.

"No," the Judge swallowed, glancing down the hall, "We need to get to the console room and…"

"No," Clara stated firmly, stepping towards her, "You don't just get to bring up MY mum and then change the subject. Tell me."

The Judge looked at Clara a long while, biting the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to have this conversation, she didn't want Clara to know, but…this was partly what Emma had been speaking of. The truth about her issues with Clara and humans would come out one day, and…it seemed like this was the start of it. She hadn't been fair to Clara, at all, she knew it, she wasn't fair to most humans, not willing to give them a chance, like most of her people. But she was especially hard on Clara.

Because Clara was the only one of all the humans, of all the companions, that she had double the issue with.

"Your mum died on the 5th of March, 2005," the Judge rubbed her head, "In the Shop Dummy attacks."

"Yeah…" Clara frowned at that, "She was shopping and…"

"She wasn't shopping Clara," the Judge sighed, "She was investigating."

"What?" Clara nearly laughed at that, "No, she was shopping. Dad said…"

"You father didn't know."

"Didn't know what?!"

"That your mother was an operative of Torchwood," the Judge stated, looking Clara right in the eye so she would know she was telling the truth, "He knew she was a desk worker there, but he didn't know what Torchwood was, he didn't know she'd just been made into a field operative."

"She wasn't…"

"She was," the Judge nodded, "She'd just been promoted to it when my ship was shot down and I was seized by Torchwood. How else would I know about this?" she tugged at her sling, Clara's eyes widening as she realized the reason that the Judge had thought to use her shirt was likely because her mother had done something similar to it, "Your mum was one of the two assigned to help patch me up from the crash site and transport me to Torchwood. Your mum was gushing about how she'd been promoted, how I was her first assignment," she shook her head, probably wasn't a brilliant thing for an operative to do, blab all of it to the alien they just basically arrested, but the woman had been SO excited and proud of herself, she couldn't help but gab about it, "But when we got to Torchwood there were reports coming in about low energy fluctuations and signal readings near the shops. They assigned your mum to go with a few other agents to investigate," she let out a breath, closing her eyes, "I told them NOT to send anyone, that it was alien and dangerous. But they thought that, just because the energy was weak, that the enemy would be too, they didn't listen to me when I told them it was the Nestene."

She looked down at the floor, it was one energy signal her ship had picked up just before being shot down, that and the sonic. She'd been trying to find the Doctor, the current Doctor, not a future one that she'd managed to glimpse here and there. She'd tracked his sonic, found it in the middle of the Nestene energy before she'd been shot down.

"I tried to tell them not to go," she scoffed, "But I was an alien, how could they trust me to tell the truth?" she looked up at Clara who was still staring at her, gaping, tears in her eyes, "Ollie went and…"

"Ollie?" Clara shook her head, "Her name was Ellie…"

"Ellie Oswald," the Judge nodded, "Nee Ravenwood," she had thought that seeing Ellie Ravenwood on the book Clara owned was familiar, but she'd only glimpsed that name on Ellie's files when she'd finally been able to get into the systems for Torchwood, when she'd finally been able to join them instead of be treated like a threat, "They wanted to call her Ozzy, but there was already an Ozzy there apparently so they called her Ollie instead," she swallowed, "I DID try to tell them not to go, Clara, I tried to keep them from sending her especially."

"Why HER?" Clara frowned.

"She was the only one with a family," the Judge breathed, "The others were all so new, new recruits, young men and women, none of them had children. Ollie did."

She remembered Mrs. Oswald gushing about her daughter, never knew her name, but just that she was a clever little bossy control freak even at a young age, wanted everything in order. But that woman had loved her daughter so much, had been a right chatterbox as well, told her on the ride to Torchwood how she'd joined to make her daughter proud, to protect her from the aliens, then apologized to her for that, claimed no offense to her for being alien, because she seemed like a nice alien. Apparently Torchwood had mixed feelings about Time Lords. She'd been something of a cross between enemy like the Doctor and potential leverage against him while also being a sort of secret weapon that they could use to counter what he did, like their own private Time Lord army to fight the Doctor.

Luckily only Jack had known she was really his wife. If Yvonne's Torchwood had found that out, she'd be leverage and bait, even more so than just a normal Time Lady would have been.

"She had a daughter," she murmured, closing her eyes, "I had a daughter," she whispered, that was the main reason she hadn't wanted the woman to go out on that mission, she had just lost her daughter, she didn't want that little girl to lose her mother either, "When she didn't come back…" she cleared her throat, "I promised myself that I'd make sure her daughter was safe," she looked at Clara again, "I had Jack check on you from time to time, find out who you were," he was more off the grid than she had been, less under Yvonne and Torchwood's eye, "Keep an eye out, make sure you were ok…"

She hadn't known that Clara was THE Clara Oswald, the daughter of Ellie Oswald, not till she'd gotten that text from Jack back when she and the Doctor had been investigating Clara. The moment she'd seen Ellie Oswald, her hearts had stopped, recognizing the woman from Torchwood. She'd contacted Jack right after that, wanting to know who Ellie's daughter was and he'd said Clara, had sent her a picture to confirm it.

It WAS Clara, THIS Clara right before her that was Ollie's daughter.

"I promised myself, I promised your mother's memory, that I would keep you safe," the Judge finally admitted, thinking of the woman that had made SUCH an impression on her, that had been lost so soon after. She knew, as a human, she shouldn't have cared about the woman if she survived or not, but she'd connected with the woman first as a mother, not in a species sense, "And then the Doctor got involved and now you're in danger all the time. Do you see now?" she looked pleadingly at Clara, "I want you safe Clara, but you're in danger all the time. I want you on Earth to be safe, but then I can't protect you! Just stepping into the TARDIS, taking one adventure with the Doctor, it makes you different, it makes you a target to his enemies! Even if you live your life out on Earth, never seeing us again, you'd still be a target to anyone that saw you with him. I can't protect you if you're not close by, but I can't have you close by or you're in danger! I lose, either way, I break my promise to your mum."

She let her head fall back on the wall, "I want you better than the other companions Clara. I need you to be faster, to be more clever, to be more logical," she eyed the girl as Clara looked down at the ground, "You ask stupid questions, I need you to realize WHY they're stupid. You do something daft, I need you to NEVER do them again. You put yourself in danger, I need you to be able to know how to get OUT of it. I need you to be better than the others…and maybe I do it the wrong way, but you get better, each time, each time I insult you or am hard on you, you don't do it again. You look more, listen more, think more…and I need that," she swallowed hard, "I need to know that you'll be safe, in the middle of all this, even when I can't be there. I NEED you to be safe, Clara, for Ollie."

Ellie Oswald had been one of the first humans she'd actually encountered on Earth, had been kind to her, had talked to her and not treated her like an alien. She had been…normal, she had been a mother, she had been a woman just trying to make her daughter proud. She could relate to that. In those few times she'd come to see humans as something other than their species, as a parent, she could relate. When the woman had died, she'd wanted to make sure the daughter would be safe and looked after. But SHE couldn't get involved, because she was dangerous, being a Time Lady, she was as much a danger and target as the Doctor was, she didn't want to risk Clara's life by popping into it and leading other enemies to her. So she'd sent Jack.

And then, of course, as fate would have it, Clara ended up as a Dalek and died. And she hadn't even REALIZED it was Clara then, hadn't known at all. Hadn't even reacted to knowing she'd died. And to see Clara the Governess? She'd never known what Clara Oswald, Ollie's daughter, looked like, hadn't wanted to risk seeing her on the streets and staring too long, or have a picture somewhere that others could trace to. But she had seemed so familiar, because, she realized now, she saw bits of Ollie in Clara, in her appearance, in her mannerisms. And then SHE had died too. And now with Clara, now knowing who she is, who she was to Ollie, she didn't want that same fate.

At first, dealing with the wi-fi, she'd been ok with him inviting Clara along, she'd been kinder to Clara, thinking her just another human that he'd want as a companion, and that was ok. That was normal. But finding out WHO she was, everything changed. She didn't want Clara travelling with them, because it was more danger to put Ollie's daughter in. But she didn't want Clara on Earth, because the wi-fi had attacked her so she was already a target, already not safe without them. She had been less nitpicking of Clara's human shortcomings because she would learn and it wasn't all that much an issue. But then to know she was Ollie's daughter, she wanted Clara to be BETTER than that, she HAD to be, because that was the only way she'd survive. She NEEDED Clara to understand what those shortcomings were and to work on them. It came across as snapping at her and degrading her, but she just…she needed Clara to realize her flaws and weaknesses and be better than that.

The Doctor always made the humans out to be awesome and amazing, made them feel that way. And she couldn't risk Clara thinking she was invincible just because the Doctor had inflated her ego, she needed Clara reasonable and aware.

She wanted to be kind to the girl, to be kind to the girl whose mother had been so kind to her, but…at the same time…she didn't want to get attached. For SO long she had thought of Ollie's daughter in the abstract, the child of a woman who had helped her, a child she didn't know, a child she'd never seen, didn't have contact with. She could think of the girl distantly, could imagine her life, could think of how proud Ollie would be of her. But having an actual face to put with it, actual interaction now? She had always had Ollie's daughter in mind, and now she was there. And she didn't want to get attached to Clara, because she was Ollie's daughter and that had to remain separate. She couldn't let on that Clara meant anything to her, because for so long 'Ollie's daughter' her safety had relied on not being anything to HER, on having nothing to do with the girl. She wanted to be kind, but she needed to keep Clara at arm's length. She tried to show it in other ways, in how she'd stay with Clara over the Doctor, even not liking humans. The one exception being when she and the Doctor had gone into the pocket universe. It was why she'd insisted the Doctor stay with her when she went in the café, why she'd allowed the Doctor to talk her into going with Clara back to Akhaten, why she agreed with letting her daughter talk to Skaldak instead of Clara, why she had tried to keep Clara safe in the console room back then…she tried to keep Clara safe, without letting on that she was doing it.

Worse yet, she was happy that Clara could travel the stars, see aliens, help save people, just like her mother had helped protect them from aliens in Torchwood. Clara would have the chance to connect to her mother in doing that. But seeing Clara every day was a reminder of how she'd failed to protect Ollie. It was a reminder of the guilt she carried that the first human she tried to protect, had died. SHE was responsible for Ollie's death, in her mind, because she should have done something more to keep her from going on that mission. She saw Clara and all she thought about was how she'd failed the girl in protecting her mother, she saw Clara and she thought about how she was failing Ollie to protect Clara. It really was a lose-lose situation for her and that was hard to bear.

It was just…a mess, and she was sure she wasn't going about this at all well, but it was the best she could do with all these...conflictions in her head about Clara. She was Ollie's daughter, she was also human, she wanted her there, but didn't want her in danger, she saw a girl making her mother proud, she saw the daughter of the woman she couldn't save.

And she didn't know how to handle that.

Because she DID have an issue with Clara being human, but that had more to do with the Doctor than Clara, and THAT was a conversation she needed to have with the Doctor first, because there were far more humans around than Ollie's daughters.

"So you…" Clara's voice broke slightly, "All this time you were just…trying to protect me?"

"Badly," the Judge admitted, "In the wrong ways," she could admit that as well, "But yes. You are Ollie's daughter, and I just wanted you safe…and now," she let out a breath, "I don't even know what that means, I don't know how to do it, and it…frustrates me," she swallowed, "This version of me…I don't know how to deal with frustration well."

"I'll say," Clara let out a small laugh with her words, offering the Judge a small smile, "I'm a big girl, Judge, I can take care of myself."

The Judge shook her head, "To a parent, you're always the child. And even if you're not MY child, Clara, I've thought of you as someone's daughter for…so long, I can't quite see you as something other than Ollie's little girl, a little girl that needs protecting."

"Well, I'll just have to prove myself more, won't I?" Clara started to smile at that. Looking back on all the comments the Judge had made now, she could understand why the woman had sounded so frustrated with the questions she would ask or the things she'd say, she was worried but she wasn't sure of how to express it, without revealing everything. She knew enough of Torchwood to know that secrecy was a big part of it, secrets kept them safe, the secret of her mother's profession had kept HER safe. But she would prove to the Judge that she could take care of herself, from now on, she'd prove that she was better than the others.

Her mother had dealt with aliens and danger, and she would make her mother proud too, she would prove she could do it.

The Judge gave her a small smile in return, "We need to get to the console room," she nodded towards the hall once more, though this time Clara nodded and the two started to walk that way, however, the lightness they'd felt from the truths that had come out only moments ago faded when they spotted something very wrong around the corner.

On the wall were five long, black, deep scratch marks that made them look at each other in concern as a realization hit them.

They weren't alone.

~8~

The Doctor turned a knob on the console, hitting a switch at the same time and looking up as the smoke and gasses that had filled the console room were sucked up through the extractor fans in the ceiling. He had finally managed to convince the trio of men to help him get back to Clara and the Judge, to get them out of the TARDIS and safe once more, but he knew better than to actually trust them with the life of his wife and companion. He had to be careful how he operated.

"Safe to breathe," he told them, pulling off the respirator he'd put over his nose and mouth, watching them do the same, even Tricky, the youngest of the group who was, apparently, an android…yet one that needed a respirator. Interesting, "Ok," he clapped his hands, moving around the console to try and look around, "Now. The last thing I remember, the Judge was right here," he moved to stand where the Judge had been, "And Clara was ducked down back there," he pointed to where the Judge had set Clara to hide for protection. He pulled out the sonic and scanned the space between where he was and where Clara had been crouched, "Come on dear," he murmured to himself, focusing more on his spot, "Talk to me."

He'd tried to call out to the Judge the moment he'd gotten into the TARDIS, but the box was a tricky old girl, he still couldn't hear her in his mind, couldn't even sense her. And if it were not for the pain he was absolutely certain that he'd feel if she died, he would have thought she were dead that was how little he could sense her. But he knew she was alive, he just had to find her and hope that Clara was with her.

"How big is this baby?" Bram eyed the room, coming out of the shock of how much bigger on the inside it was.

"Picture the biggest ship you've ever seen," he called, eyeing the sonic, "Are you picturing it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now forget it. This ship is infinite," he shook his head, frustrated with the sonic, it wasn't picking up even a particle of the girls, and moved to the console to try and scan that way. He hadn't wanted to risk using the console, using the TARDIS what with it clearly being damaged, but these were desperate times.

He was trying his level best to not allow himself to get worked up, to get frightened or angry or panicked, but…it was hard. Because he'd never seen the TARDIS THIS damaged before and it was worrying him. Not just because, if he couldn't fix it, he'd lose the box that had been with him for centuries, but because if it was truly as badly damaged as he feared, he might end up losing the woman that had been in his hearts for even longer. And that was not going to happen, not again, he was not going to lose his wife again. And not to the TARDIS.

He winced at that last thought, it wasn't fair to think that way but…it was an ironic twist. She had 'lost' him to the TARDIS when he went off through the universe, in a way, and now he was losing her to the depths of a broken TARDIS.

"It could take you hours to find the girls," Gregor, the leader of the trio, remarked.

"Days," he agreed, "Plus the whole place is toxic. Clara, at the very least, could be dead by the time I reach her. But the Judge wouldn't let that happen," he knew she wouldn't, despite not liking Clara, he was absolutely certain that she would still do everything in her power to keep the girl safe and alive, "So. Here's the mission. We're going to find them both in one hour."

"We?" Gregor gave him a look.

"You're my guys for this," the Doctor nodded, trying not to think of how he'd said the same thing to his boys whenever they'd plan a surprise for the Judge or his daughter. They were always his go-to guys for everything, except travelling the Universe. He knew how dangerous that was and he'd wanted to spare them that, he truly wasn't sure how Susan had managed to wear him down to allow her to go with him.

"That wasn't the deal."

"'Tis now."

"What makes you think we'll help?" Gregor challenged.

The Doctor seemed to have been waiting for just that sort of threat as he turned to the console and flipped two levers, pushing the monitor slightly to the side so that it was visible to all three men, a bright digital countdown starting to appear on the screen and tick down from an hour.

"I just activated the TARDIS self-destruct system," he told them, not sounding at all worried about the fact he was talking about blowing them all up, "One hour until this ship blows," he grinned as Bram tried to run for the doors only for them to slam closed, which did relieve him quite a bit that the TARDIS was still semi-conscious and trying to help, "Don't try to leave. The TARDIS is in lockdown. I'll open those doors when I've got my wife back by my side and when I'm sure that Clara's alright."

"You crazy lunatic!" Bram pounded on the door, as though throwing insults at the man with the key would help.

"My ship, my rules!"

"You'll kill us all!" Gregor frowned, "And the girls."

"You underestimate my wife," the Doctor shook his head, but grew serious, "They may die if you don't help me. Don't get into a spaceship with a madman," he sighed, rolling his eyes as the men ran for the doors trying to help Bram break them down, "Didn't anyone ever teach you that? Ok," he sighed when the three of them ignored him to focus on the door, this wouldn't work at all, he needed their full focus, "A little gentle persuasion. Say 30 minutes?" he turned and hit a button, the screen of the monitor flickering down from one hour to only 30 minutes and clicking down.

"They'll die even quicker now!" Bram cried.

"We all perform better under pressure," the Doctor shrugged, though he really couldn't be sure about the Judge though, she was always rather calm when stress and pressure set in. She never really broke down about it till after she'd dealt with it all. If she didn't sleep in the process of dealing with it, well that was just her way, though he HAD had quite a lot of fun in convincing her to sleep when she was on edge about something on Gallifrey. Often it was something that he COULD help her with, but she never asked him, not wanting to burden him with it too. So he'd trick her asleep, tire her out, and then slip out of bed to go work on it in her place, making a fair dent in it before she even woke up. And she was always so grateful and appreciative for his efforts the reward for those small things was always very nice for him. He blushed and shook his head away from that, "Anybody want to go for 15 minutes?" he asked, turning to press the button again but the men all shouted for him to stop, all of them ready to work for their salvage this time, "It's your own time you're wasting," he reminded them, "Salvage of a lifetime. You meant the ship. I meant my wife."

~8~

The Judge slowly led Clara through the halls of the TARDIS, only seeming to need to pause once or twice to get her bearings, not used to the hallways not shifting around, and to take a moment to breathe, to focus on something other than the pain in her arm. Clara tried to help keep her thoughts off her pain by asking questions about Torchwood, what they did, how they changed, her adventures in it. She knew that the Judge had been a part of it when they'd met Jack, but she didn't really know much about it. The Judge was aware that it was meant to be both a distraction as well as Clara's own attempts to learn more about the organization her mother had died for, and she was actually feeling a little better about sharing that information. She knew that her adventures with Torchwood hardly every compared to the Doctor's but it was nice to be able to talk about it with someone.

She paused as they turned a corner though, hearing a faint growling coming down the hall from them, "Clara back up," she whispered to the woman, pushing her back slightly as Clara did so instantly, truly seeming to take to her 'do as she's told' and proving herself in that she could improve and pay attention and keep herself safe and, when with the Time Lords, that usually meant to exactly as they said, "In here," the Judge moved to a door and opened it, allowing them in and shutting the door behind her, remaining close to the door with her ear on it to listen for the growling she'd heard outside.

It was a storage room of sorts, the Judge was firm in keeping her gaze from landing on the small cot that the Doctor had kept, the cot that all their children had slept in at one point or another. Clara, however, had gasped and looked around the room, spotting quite a few odds and ends, a little model of the TARDIS, a magnifying glass, an umbrella, a creature with glowing eyes, a flute…

She stiffened at that, a creature with glowing eyes?!

"Judge?" she called, slowly backing up to her, "There's something in here," she whispered to the woman when she reached the door.

The Judge looked over, seeing Clara trying to remain calm, and glimpsed the creature lurking in the shadows. It was dark, humanoid, seeming to be made of some dark material, like ashes all clumped together, its hand stuck to its head. She stiffened, realizing exactly what it was from the sense she got off it, it was non-Time Lord, and the only other people in the TARDIS or who were ever really in the TARDIS, were humans. There was only one thing she could think of in that box that would do that to a human, "Very slowly move to the side so I can open the door," the Judge told her, nudging her slightly and Clara moved. She pulled the door open, Clara slipping out of the room, with the Judge close behind.

"Here!" Clara quickly hurried and picked up one of the pieces of metal scattering the floor, "Wedge it in!" she hurried to shove the metal through the door handle, the doors were odd, they could open different ways and, since this door had opened like a regular door, she was hoping that it would mean it would always open like that, the metal was long enough to keep the creature from being able to open it fully.

"Very good Clara," the Judge smiled at her, making Clara beam, "But this does leave one problem."

"What?" her smile fell.

"The reason I pushed us in there was because there was another creature out HERE."

"Then we need to run," she nodded.

"You're doing well at proving me wrong," the Judge told her as they turned to hurry down the corridor, "By the way."

Clara just grinned at that, happy that she was, happy that this might mean that the Judge was coming around to her.

"For a human," she added, though Clara could hear the smallest hint of a non-serious note in her voice before they focused on where they were going, "No," the Judge shook her head as they passed the observatory, "Not there," and the swimming pool, "Um…" she paused before one door though, before nodding, "Best bet for the moment," she pushed the door open to the library on the other side. They just needed a place to hide till the creature she'd heard following them had passed them.

"Now that's just showing off," Clara breathed as she got a good look at the room, it was near five levels of nothing but bookshelves!

The Judge started to smile, only for the lights to flicker above them, distracting her, a rather angry sounding groaning noise reaching her from the depths of the TARDIS. She tried to think of something that could have caused that noise. She'd heard loads of them, the creatures, the groaning of the TARDIS, but that noise had been more of the sound of a ship that was recovering from an explosion, as it was, and not purposefully angry. So what was it that had changed?

She looked over, fully intent to ask Clara if she'd touched something, more from a natural reaction that the humans must have done something wrong, than truly thinking Clara had done anything, when she saw the girl heading for a book on a shelf with a light shining down on it. She pursed her lips and hurried over, slamming the book shut just as Clara reached it, "No reading this book," she ordered Clara.

Clara frowned, glancing at the title, 'The History of the Time War,' and back at the Judge, nodding slightly, "Can I ask why?"

"It's private," the Judge said, reaching out to turn Clara away from the book and lead her back more towards the center of the library, "Like a diary. You don't read…" she trailed off as the growling noise sounded, right behind the door to the library, "Go," she whispered, turning Clara to the side, "Hide!"

The two of them ducked down behind a bookshelf as the door opened and a new creature entered. The Judge peered around the corner of the shelf, frowning when she saw that this creature appeared to be one armed, though there was a misshapen lump near the front left side of its body. Her frown deepened as she looked down at her arm in its sling and back at the creature as it began to wander around the room.

She looked back suddenly when she heard a clattering above her and quickly moved to her knees, grabbing one of the bottles of Encyclopedia Gallifreyae to keep it from toppling over, shooting Clara a look that said 'be careful!' that had the girl wincing in apology. She waited till she was sure that the bottles were balanced again before she turned and leaned around the edge of the shelf again.

But the creature was nowhere in sight.

"Clara," she reached back a hand to Clara, silently telling her to take it, which she did, the two pulling each other to their feet. The Judge gave her a short nod, one that Clara returned, before they bolted for the open door and into the hall, slamming the door behind them, Clara grabbing another piece of debris and using it to lock the creature in as well, buying them time, though they doubted it would be much time given the fierce thumping that sounded a moment later, as though the creature had been running after them and they'd only just escaped. Whatever it was, it was strong.

"Come on," the Judge nodded, "Console room is close," she told her, the two of them hurrying off at a much quicker pace, nearly a run, till they raced right into the console room around a corner.

"Oh, thank god!" Clara grinned widely, clapping, before she ran up to the console with a laugh, not noticing the Judge's small frown.

The Judge stepped back and turned down the one hall, walking towards it…

Only to enter the console room again just as Clara reached where the doors should be.

She stepped back and went the other way down the hall…

Walking right back into the console room yet again, to see Clara pounding on the wall with a cry of, "Where's the door gone now? You can't do this!"

"It's no use Clara," she sighed, moving up to the console, "This is just an echo of the console room, it doesn't have a door or," she flicked a switch on the controls, "Any power. It's like a dummy room."

"Then we have to find the real one," Clara turned to her, walking over.

"We can't, the TARDIS won't let us leave the room either," she nodded to the doorway, "It's put us in a loop."

"Why?" Clara frowned, "Wouldn't she want us to get out of here?"

"She would but…" she bit the inside of her cheek, her free hand absently rubbing her leg, "I think the Doctor might have gotten in, and not alone."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because the TARDIS wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't a safety protocol. And the only time I can recall THIS being used as a tactic is when someone's trying to steal something from inside the TARDIS. You don't have anything, the TARDIS would let the Doctor or I remove something, as Time Lords, so that means there's some other human here and they tried to take something. They must have come in with the Doctor, how else could they get inside?"

"Yeah, that door isn't easy to open," Clara mumbled, thinking of all the times she tried to get in but couldn't, "Um…do you think the TARDIS will ease up on me too now?" she had to ask, "Since we, you know, talked?"

The Judge let out a breath, "She might a bit, but…not entirely," before adding under her breath, "Not till the Doctor and I are all sorted at least."

They really had…quite a few issues to work out, didn't they? But the TARDIS, well, she knew that SHE and the TARDIS did have some issues to sort out as well. And it bothered her because the box was being kind to her, it seemed the TARDIS was trying to protect her from other female companions, to protect her from something like River happening again, where they got a bit too obsessed and romantically attached to the Doctor. The TARDIS wanted to make sure that Clara wasn't going to develop a crush on the Doctor and only then would she come around to Clara. And it made her feel terrible given her own thoughts of the TARDIS and how she felt about the box and...

Her thoughts were cut off when a piece of debris fell off of the console, no, not fell off, seemed to be knocked off...without she or Clara touching it.

"How did that happen?" Clara frowned, looking at the Judge.

She frowned and moved closer to the piece, squatting down to pick it up and examine it, "I…don't know," she looked at the rotor as it briefly flickered on and then off again and walked towards it, shivering a moment when a feeling swept through her.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked, seeing her shiver.

"I think I felt the Doctor," she murmured, holding out her hand and slowly walking around, slowing only when she shivered again, "I did," she nodded, looking at Clara "The Doctor's here, I can feel him, sort of, he's HERE though..."

"In the console room?"

"In A console room," she nodded, it would explain why she hadn't sensed him till now, if he was in an echo room like they were, "Hopefully the main one and…"

"Judge!" Clara screamed, reaching out to pull her back when she caught sight of another creature, a smaller one, petite, with both hands available, stagger into the room.

The Judge turned quickly, moving Clara behind her as she backed them up, trying to keep the console between the creature and them.

Clara eyed the creature from over the Judge's shoulder, tilting her head as she tried to get a better look at it, frowning when the creature did the same thing as her, "What is it?" she whispered to the woman as they backed up slower, trying not to provoke the creature to attack.

"You really don't want to know," the Judge told her, moving them more towards the doors as the creature reached out for them, smoke and steam rising from its hand, clearly the flesh and body hotter than it should be if it was producing steam. But if it was that hot…how could it be alive?

The breath left the Judge as she felt them back right into the wall of the doors, the creature seeming to sense that they were trapped as it lunged right at them…

A/N: Bit Doctor-lite here, but I wanted to focus on Clara and the Judge and them working on a resolution ;) So Mrs. Oswald was Torchwood }:) I really wanted there to be a connection between Torchwood and the Oswalds, mostly because the date that Mrs. Oswald died was the same day the Shop Dummies came to life and I was just thinking, why would she be there? I didn't want to make it an entire, she was an innocent shopper like Jackie, but more she was there for a purpose, and it cost her her life :(

So now we know why the Judge is a little harder on Clara than others, it definitely didn't come across in the best way and I tried to make it how her inner frustrations and conflicting thoughts on Clara made it hard for her to connect to her, to want her there but not want her there and more. BUT! I can say that this is only HALF the reason. There's a much bigger reason why she doesn't like humans in general and some particular humans in the next chapter ;) But I hope it sort of made sense why she was so torn about Clara. She doesn't want her there, because she made a promise to Ollie to make sure Clara would be ok and safe and keeping her in the TARDIS means danger...but if she sends her away means she won't be there to actually protect her :( Having her there is hard because she doesn't like humans (which we'll find out why tomorrow) and she doesn't want them there, but she has to have Clara there because of her promise. She has to see Clara, someone she doesn't want there, be around all that every time, because of her and the Doctor. She wants Clara to be smarter than other humans, to be able to protect herself, but she didn't want to reveal what she knew of Ollie, so she nitpicked the 'stupid ape' moments that Clara had, wanting her to realize things more so she'd be better able to keep herself safe later. She is glad that Clara's there, because she can connect to her mother even not knowing she is, but it's also putting Clara in the same situation and danger that Ollie was in, and she blames herself for Clara losing her mother. She wants to protect Clara, but seeing her every day is a reminder of the humans that she'd failed to save in her first go. She sees Clara as someone she needs to protect, while also knowing/feeling that SHE was the cause of Clara's mother dying and she fears failing to protect Clara :(

I can say that her promise to Ollie makes Clara being there hard for her, but Clara being human is also a part of it too. But that's much deeper and much longer festering for her than we know. We'll see exactly what it is about humans in the next chapter ;)

Some notes on reviews...

We found out half of what the Judge is hiding ;) The other half will be the next chapter }:)

That's cool :) I'm actually glad you feel that way :) It makes me happy to know that I can make the OCs so different that people have different ones they like over the others ^-^ She's definitely meant to rub the wrong way at first, she's definitely harsher with Clara than others, but I can say we'll see it lighten up more and more from here on out. A really BIG part is because Clara's human, but that will be a big resolution moment for the Doctor and the Judge in the next chapter that will enormously help her get over her more negative thoughts on them. It's something she's been holding in for a long time and once it comes out, I think she'll be able to start moving on ;) She'll still have moments where she doesn't see the impressive quality of humans, but she wont' be quite as open or biting in how it comes across ;)