Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story and left a comment! You have no idea how much every single one means to me and how happy it makes me to see that you all love and appreciate the writing I deliver.
Speaking of which - I have good and bad news about this. The good news is that I got accepted for a training and media designer and will start the new job in August. And it's full time. This is where the bad news comes in. With work and school I will not have time to write and update like I have the past few months and I'm sure you will all understand that. BUT (and this part is good news again) I won't stop writing altogether. I have already started writing the next fic - a mafia AU - called "Heart of Steel" and I will start posting once I've got a bit of a headstart. It might not get daily updates, but regular ones and I hope you will enjoy this fic to come because I think it's going to be great :D
Chapter 21
The waiting area looked clean and modern and on her way inside Clara bumped into a young woman obviously on her way out.
"Oh, sorry," Clara apologized immediately.
"It's okay," the woman smiled at her, "You must be Clara?"
For a moment she was more than a little taken aback until it dawned on her that John might have told his colleagues about her. And then she remembered that he had no colleagues, only a replacement named Martha Jones and it made little sense for his replacement to still be here.
"I'm Martha," the woman explained, still smiling, "And thanks to you Dr Smith just extended my contract."
It seemed her confusion would only grow. "Thanks to me?"
"I have a lunch date to catch now, but I guess I'll see you around?" Martha said as she took a couple of steps back until she had reached the stairs.
"Yeah," Clara breathed in reply, still entirely baffled by what Martha had told her and finally stepped inside the practice.
John was already waiting for her by the counter and he smiled when he saw her.
"Hello Clara," he greeted her happily and spread his arms. Clara walked up to him, greeting him with a short peck on the lips.
"Is something wrong?" John asked her, "You seem a bit. . .distant?"
"Not distant," Clara replied, still frowning, "Confused. I ran into Martha Jones and she said you extended her contract? Because of me?"
John still smiled at her and reached out to take her hand in his own. "Well, mostly because of you. Martha did a great job here in my absence and my sister was right about one thing: I'm working too much. So I asked Martha if she would be willing to stay indefinitely so I would have a little more time to spare. For you."
Clara stared at him and for a moment she didn't know what to say. The fact that he had hired someone just so he could spend more time with her was something Clara had never expected. So instead of saying anything she went up on her toes and kissed him again.
"Wanna see my practice?" he asked her excitedly after they had parted lips and before Clara could even reply he had taken her hand again and started leading her around.
John showed her the waiting area they were standing in, followed by the three examination rooms, the staff kitchen, the small office and finally his own. His office was the only room that didn't look modern and sterile. Instead it was fitted with a dark wooden floor, wooden bookshelves and a lot of plants that framed his large desk.
"Nice," she commented with a smile before she turned around, leaning against his desk, "I'm relieved to see that you've got style."
John smiled at her but Clara didn't miss the way his eyes wandered down on her body and back up and suddenly her own thoughts started to go there, too.
She only winked at him. "What are you waiting for?"
He didn't even hesitate. In one swift movement John swept the paperwork off his desk and lifted Clara up to lie on top of it. His mouth met her own within seconds, kissing her eagerly and Clara could feel a tingling sensation rising up between her legs. She wanted him, she always wanted him and John was doing a very good job at putting her in the exactly right mood. She parted her legs, wrapping them around his arse to pull him closer, the front of his trousers already pressing deliciously against her own knickers. If only it wasn't for those clothes.
She gasped when his lips wandered along her neck, the hint of a beard he had grown over the weekend scratching her sensitive skin. For a brief moment she wondered what it would feel like on the insides of her thighs and the thought alone caused her to moan out loud. The sound made John rub his body against hers more eagerly and she could already feel the rising heat of his erection so close to her own sex.
He groaned on top of her. "We shouldn't," he mumbled as he continued to cover her neck in kisses, "We'll miss the appointment."
Somehow Clara got the impression he had no intention to stop at all.
"Make it quick," she keened and pulled him closer against her with her arms and legs.
John's hand left her and instantly went to his own belt, unbuckling it before he freed his erection. The excitement shot through her body and straight to the core of her arousal when Clara saw him and she leaned forward to wrap her hands around him. John responded like he always did, closing his eyes and giving himself to her touch so completely that she shuddered upon hearing him moan. Clara stroked him gently, wiping her thumb over his tip just like he loved it and the sounds he made, the way he rocked into her palm made her juices pool between her legs.
Suddenly he was on top of her again, pinning her down on the table right before he ripped down her knickers and plunged inside of her, making her gasp at the sudden impact. His thrusts had her moaning and Clara clawed onto his back, pulling him down until he kissed her roughly and she was running out of breath.
"Do you patients know what you're doing on your desk?" she giggled breathlessly until a particularly deep thrust made her gasp when he hit her sweet spot.
John groaned as he pulled out only to bury himself in her once more. "Better not tell them that," he panted and his hands wandered to her hips, keeping her steady as he rocked inside of her.
Clara leaned back, moaning again and let him take her the way he wanted. The feeling of him inside of her was almost overwhelming and somehow he knew just exactly what to do and how fast to go and how to bring her straight to the point of no return.
She could tell by his pace and by his breathing that he was close and when his thrusts continued to hit faster and harder Clara couldn't help but cry out when he made her come and yet he kept going, riding out that last wave of her orgasm until he spilled himself inside of her. John threw his head back, a groan coming from his throat as his movements stilled and for a moment Clara heard nothing but their breathing and the blood rushing through her ears.
Once he had removed himself from her, Clara sat up on the table, looking at him as he buttoned himself back up. It was now or never. She had to ask.
"What if we don't do it?" Clara asked, looking straight at him.
John raised his head at her, seeming a little baffled. "Don't do what?"
"The annulment. What if we don't go through with it?" She swallowed hard as she waited for his answer and his feature suddenly turned a lot graver than they had been before.
John inhaled sharply. "We have to, Clara."
Clara cleared her throat and stared down at her feet. It had been a silly suggestion and she should never have made it, she realized that now. He didn't want to be married to her. He had never wanted that.
"Getting married on a cruise ship while being drunk out of our minds isn't how you should begin a life long commitment," John explained, "I don't want it to be like that. A wedding should be done properly with your family and friends present, with a white dress and a cake. You need music and weddings rings and all of that. Not to mention a proper wedding night and honeymoon. That's how we should do it."
It was the last sentence that made Clara look back at him and it brought a frown to her face. "Hang on, did you just-"
"Not right now. Not in the next few days or weeks or even months. I think we should actually get to know each other unless," his voice started to falter, "Unless you don't want that?"
Clara started to laugh. "You would actually marry me?"
John gave her a shrug. "If you want to marry me. But I insist on a proper-"
Before he had the chance to say or do anything else Clara jumped off the table and right into his arms, pressing her lips against his in a long kiss.
The employee at the divorce court eyed them suspiciously after John had handed him their marriage certificate and explained that they would like to apply for an annulment. His eyes kept wandering back and forth between the two of them and the piece of paper.
"Excuse me, there is something that I need to check," the employee excused himself and and left the office through a side entrance. Clara threw him a questioning look.
"Don't look at me, I have no idea what that means," he said and reached for Clara's hand, "Don't worry. It'll be fine."
And it would be, John was sure of that. Clara wanted to be with him, she would even marry him again and that was all that mattered, all that he needed to know. This time he wouldn't mess it up because he worked too much. For her he would make an honest effort.
A few minutes later the employee came back and he wore a strange smile on his face as he settled at the opposite end of the desk.
"Well, I have good news for you. You don't even need to get an annulment because this certificate isn't valid at all," he explained.
"What?" they both asked in unison.
Again the man smiled. "The captain who. . . married you, he has no licence at all to bind two people in marriage. This may look like a proper certificate, but my guess is that it was printed out to just look like one. It's not real. To confirm it I called the captain in question and he told me he just played along to get you two out of his office," there was a short snigger in the man's voice and John could imagine all too well how he would laugh about the story of the two drunk idiots who had fallen for a fake marriage certificate once they had left his office.
"Shall I throw this out?" the employee asked, holding up the certificate.
"No!" Clara immediately blurted out and leaned forward to take it from him, "We'll keep that as a souvenir."
"Does that mean we can go now?" John asked him, still a little baffled about the latest news. If they had never been married that meant they could begin their relationship with a clean slate. He had worried about nothing. And when they got married for real it would be so much better than this.
Once they had stepped back outside Clara was still eyeing the fake certificate and now she started laughing as well. "I bet they had a good laugh about us on the ship after this," she giggled, "Tell you what. When we get married for real we should definitely send the captain a picture."
John glanced down at her. "So we're really gonna do it? At some point?" he asked hopefully.
Clara smiled. "Yeah, I think so. There's no getting rid of me now and if you try I'll just puke on your shoes."
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Now it was you who brought that up again," he paused, "Hey, how about I'll leave the practice to Martha after lunch and we see what we can do with the rest of the day?"
"Sounds perfect," Clara agreed and John held out his arm for her to take before they walked back to his car.
The End