Clara

Can I Sleep On Your Floor?

"Artie, where's Angie?" asked Eleven seriously.

"She went to get pizza," he said.

"With what money?" asked Clara, knowing Angie had spent every last penny she owned the previous week, if it was the same day.

"Well, don't be mad, but it's your money. It's nine o'clock and you were supposed to be cooking us tea while Dad's away, so she just went out," explained Artie timidly. Clara didn't mind too much, she'd saved money for takeaway anyway, considering she couldn't cook anything at all in any shape or form.

"What day is it again?"

"Friday night, the same day you left. July 5th," said Artie.

"It is? Oh thank God," she sighed, relieved she hadn't allowed the Maitlands to starve in her absence. "You should stand back, there's a lot of us in here and we have to climb out." Artie did scramble away as Eleven gave Clara a leg-up, and she fell head-first onto the wet grass of outside. A place that was outside and not in the middle of a city, spaceship or casino. It almost seemed like a dream after the chaotic three days Clara had had.

"Take the kettle," said Eleven, passing the kettle out of the TARDIS.

"Is this you trying to get me to make you a cup of tea?" she asked as the took it.

"No, but on the subject of tea, I made you two coffees this morning," he groaned, pulling himself out and refusing help from anyone. "So don't you owe me something?"

"Certainly not," she said as Mickey aided Martha in leaving the ship. "George is away on a business trip until Sunday evening."

"George?" asked Eleven suspiciously. Clara raised an eyebrow at him as Martha hauled Mickey out after her.

"Mr Maitland..?" she said.

"Oh, right!" he said, looking relieved. "Well, that's good news, leaves us all free to invade your house."

"Right... Artie, go wait by the front door for Angie," Clara said to the ten year old. He nodded and left just as Amy and Rory managed to drag themselves through the doors.

"So! Always my favourite part, this - sleeping arrangements!" said Eleven happily.

"If you dare say bunkbeds..." threatened Amy.

"No, Clara doesn't have any bunkbeds," said Eleven.

"How would you know?" asked Martha.

"Just because things happen," said Eleven.

"Oh yeah? 'Things'?" she continued. Clara waited for Eleven to realise what was happening.

"Things involving wifi monsters downloading people," he said, "not..."

"Not what?" asked Clara, interested to see what words he'd come up with when prompted. He went red with embarrassment.

"Not what she's talking about," he pointed at Martha, who snorted at how much of a child he was. Soon enough all twelve of them had emerged from the TARDIS and had begun on the quest of lifting it up, which took quite a lot of effort but they managed it just as Angie arrived back home with two pizzas. She remained inside however, and just watched the group from the window with her brother while they ate.

"I'll sleep in the TARDIS," said Jack, "if you can get me some blankets."

"I'll sleep in there too," said Nine. Clara had her own room to sleep in, so she was sorted.

"There's a three man tent in the shed," she said, racking her brain, "there's the sofa that pulls out into a double bed. There's Mr Maitland's room with a double bed. And there should be some floor space."

"We'll have the tent," River volunteered herself and the Ponds, who both looked annoyed at this but agreed anyway. At least it was July.

"We'll go on the sofa bed," said Martha about her and Mickey.

"Suppose me and Rose will have the other double bed then," said Ten offhandedly, rubbing his neck and acting like this was no big deal (when Rose seemed to be slightly freaking out).

"So what, I'm left with the floor?" moaned Donna. Clara nodded sympathetically. "Well isn't that just... wizard."

"There's definitely some airbeds," said Clara, "you should probably all go raid the shed and divide it yourselves. The keys are under the flower pot." She waved her arm at the shed and they all started for it, she, Eleven, Ten and Rose staying back.

"Where's he gonna sleep?" Rose looked to Eleven.

"Oh, I'll sleep anywhere, me," he said. "S'long as I have pyjamas."

"Yeah, I'd quite like some pyjamas. Ones that don't have fruit in them," said Ten, grinning to Rose as he mentioned fruit. She grinned back.

"Well where are you going to get pyjamas from?" she asked, "at this time of night?"

"He's got no problem with stealing clothes," Amy commented as she walked past, carrying a tent with Rory. Eleven frowned at her.

"I've saved the Earth countless times, I think I can take some clothes, Pond," he said grumpily.

"We should go shopping," said Rose.

"Shopping? At 9 PM?" said Clara disbelieving her.

"We're in London, right?" said Rose. Clara nodded. "I know a place. 24 Hour Supermarket."

"Where are you gonna get money from?" Clara asked. Ten pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and waved it around.

"Fine! There's a bus stop about two minutes that way," she pointed. Rose nodded and walked off with Ten.

"Anyone who wants clothes come with me!" she called. Everyone dropped everything except River, who didn't need a change of clothes, and followed Rose. Eleven looked back at Clara on her own and waved guiltily. She waved back and sighed, having not the foggiest idea where they were going to go.

"I'll get this tent up," said River.

"Okay. I'd better go have a chat with Angie about stealing," said Clara, mooching off inside where it was slightly warmer.

Clara had argued with Angie that she shouldn't steal and Angie had argued they didn't know when Clara was going to come back. In the end Clara had to agree and go upstairs to get a shower before the others arrived back to hog the bathroom.

All in all, it took them about an hour to get back with full bags, and by then all the beds were just about set up and ready and there was a stack of blankets for Jack and Nine in the broken TARDIS and the two Maitland children had been bribed to be bed with promise of their nanny buying them takeaway for every meal for three days. Clara was sat in the chair in the living room watching TV and drying her hair when they got back.

"Where's your bathroom?" asked Martha, staring around, "I have first dibs."

"I have second dibs," said Rose.

"Third dibs," said Donna.

"Fourth dibs," said Amy.

"Up one floor, second door on the left," Clara said to them. Martha ran off instantly to start of the girls' night routine with Rose following close after.

"Is that my bed?" asked Donna, pointing at the airbed and sleeping bag on the floor, "that?"

"Yes," said Clara. "Could be worse. Jack and the Ninth Doctor don't even have an airbed. Just blankets." Donna just pouted and glared at the floor before going to sit on the edge of the sofa bed.

"I'll just shower in the morning, I think," said Ten.

"Yeah, they'll be at least two hours," Jack agreed. The pair of them and Nine left the house to go to the TARDIS and start work on the repairs, Ten would have to wait up for Rose though.

"Here you go," Clara tossed Donna the TV remote and turned off the hairdryer, letting Rose take the chair. She went off into the kitchen with hope of making a round of tea for all twelve of them (it would keep her busy at least since she had to wait for everyone else to go to bed to stop them trashing the house) in peace, but Eleven quickly followed.

"Yes?" she asked him as she went through the cupboards to find enough mugs, rinsing the one she had been using herself just half an hour ago. "I'm only making tea."

"You always have to care for people, don't you?" he asked, walking around to stand next to her as she gathered more mugs. Annoyingly enough, he didn't help her though, just stood and watched like a creep.

"It's just polite," she said guardedly, wondering why he was asking her questions anyway.

"It's more than polite, Clara," he said.

"It's really not," she said, "where are you planning on sleeping? You have pyjamas, but you don't have a bed."

"Well, you know, here and there," he said vacantly.

"'Here and there' is not a place," she said as she filled the kettle and set it to boil, turning to watch him. He was leaning on the table watching her. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said.

"I'm really, really sick of people not telling me the joke right now," she said, "so if there's something funny-"

"Nothing funny!" he said, annoyed at himself he seemed to have upset her.

"Then what? Oh, and get me the milk out of the fridge," she asked as she dropped teabags into all the cups and got a spoon out of the cutlery drawer.

"Here," he passed her a cold bottle, "There isn't a joke you're not in on."

"This is the wrong milk!"

"Well does it matter? It's all just milk," he said, waving his arms in dismay. She looked at him as she held the bottle up to his eye level.

"Ah," he said, starting to laugh. Chocolate milk. Clara laughed too, and soon they were both laughing loudly when Jack walked in, giving them a look when he saw how close they were (which Clara had not noticed - not that she bothered to move when she did).

"What're you two love-birds doing in here by yourselves?" Jack asked suspiciously, raising his eyebrow and crookedly grinning.

"Talking," said Clara.

"Oh really? You were 'talking'?" he made air quotation marks. Clara narrowed her gaze, daring him to go on down that conversation path. "So Doc, you asked her yet?" he nodded at Clara.

"Asked me what?" she asked, looking up at Eleven while he smiled nervously and sheepishly, but his eyes were angry and pointing at Jack.

"He wants to ask if he can sleep in your room," Jack said.

"You want to what?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Sorry," Jack mouthed at Eleven, taking that as his cue to leave and backing out of the room, forgetting whatever it was he'd come in for in the first place. Clara crossed her arms and stepped back from Eleven, looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" she asked him.

"Well what?" he said. She said nothing and merely kept looking at him until he gave in. "Alright, yes, that's what I came to do."

"...And?" she prompted.

"And what?" he asked, confused.

"And are you going to ask or not? Jack butting in here does not count," she said.

"Can I sleep on your floor?" he asked finally, after a few moments shuffling and awkward staring around and doing anything to keep meeting her expectant gaze. She started to laugh at him again. "What? What's so funny?" he asked seriously.

"You! Of course you can sleep on my floor, Chin," she said, trying to hide the fact her thoughts were more or less screaming, 'Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod,' in a tandem cycle.