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Chapter 26

Finally, they were getting along. Clara had been close to giving up hope she could ever get the Doctor to like her real self, but as he led her towards the dancefloor and placed his hand on her waist, she could tell that he was nervous – but this time, in a good way. Not the babbling kind of nervous with the urge to flee, but the curious, insecure kind. Clara felt the same way. She had come to know the Doctor quite well, but this was like getting to know him once more from the beginning.

"Sorry, I'm not really a good dancer," he mumbled after he had briefly stepped on her foot.

"I've had worse," she reassured him with a smile. Damn, she had to stop smiling at him like that or he would grow suspicious, but the truth was that she hadn't seen him in a week and she had missed him. Still, she shouldn't make it so damn obvious.

The Doctor uttered a nervous laugh. "You're smiling," he remarked and Clara quickly tried to get her emotions under control, but she was dancing with the man she was in love with and she was loving it. "Why are you smiling?"

"I like dancing," she replied.

In return, the Doctor smiled at her as well. "You're hard to make sense of, you and your sister," he admitted after a while, still leading her across the dancefloor. Clara hoped that his daughter was too busy having fun to pay attention to them.

"How so?" Clara enquired.

He replied with a soft shrug. "For one, you look identical," the Doctor explained and she could feel his gaze on him. Normally, it made her nervous when people stared at her, but not him, especially not when he was smiling. "I couldn't tell you apart if my life depended on it. There's not a single difference."

"It comes in handy every now and then," Clara replied.

"Like the summer fête?"

Clara chuckled and she could feel the Doctor's hand firmly on her waist. He was gaining confidence. "Yeah, like the summer fête."

Suddenly, the Doctor blew his air out between his teeth. "I wish I had a twin," he remarked. "I'd send him to deal with my ex-wife."

"She seems like a handful," Clara said. She had to be careful what she was saying because officially, she had only met Missy once. "I mean, I only met her that one time at the parent-teacher evening, but-"

"Once was enough?"

"Yeah," Clara confirmed, laughing.

The Doctor gave her a little twirl before he pulled her back and this time, she landed a little closer to his chest than she had been before. Not that she minded, quite the contrary, but she shouldn't show how much she was enjoying this.

"I'm sorry she had such a go at you that evening," the Doctor said.

"It's okay," Clara reassured him. "I've seen worse."

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Clara saw something move and she turned her head just in time to see one of her students, Justin, rush outside. He slammed the door shut behind him and that was when Clara knew that their beautiful dance had come to an abrupt end.

"I'm sorry," she said and nodded towards the door. "I should see if he's okay."

She didn't wait for the Doctor's response when she let go of his hand and headed out of the gym through the side entrance and when she stepped outside, Clara noticed that the Doctor had followed her. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't mind either. Outside, she instantly heard the boy cry.

"Justin, are you okay?" Clara asked carefully.

The boy turned his back on her and sniffed. "Go away."

Slowly, Clara stepped a little closer. She couldn't just leave him out here, no matter what he said. Cautiously, she placed her hand on his shoulder when she had reached him, but the boy stepped away.

"I said go away!"

Suddenly, the Doctor appeared next to her. In passing, he whispered something to her. "Let me."

Then, he turned towards the boy. Clara decided to step back and give him a chance. Still, she would watch their conversation closely.

"Hey buddy, it's cold out here. You should have brought a jacket."

The boy shrugged.

"Yeah, you're right," the Doctor said. "We men are tough and we can stand a little cold, can't we?"

To her surprise, the Doctor took off his jacket and placed in on the ground in front of the boy before he sat down and patted the empty space next to him, indicating for Justin to sit down. Even though the night was mild, it was still October and she would bet that the Doctor was actually quite cold without his coat. Yet the boy didn't seem to mind talking to him as he sat down a few moments later.

"Is it a girl?" the Doctor asked carefully. "Cause I happen to be an expert on girls. I'm sure I can give you some advice."

Clara had almost snorted in the background and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but it was too late. The Doctor had already turned around and shot her a dark look. She quickly grew silent.

"It's not girls," Justin admitted reluctantly.

"Then what is it?" the Doctor wanted to know, his deep voice unusually soft and gentle. Clara could only imagine how many times he had used it to comfort his own daughter and she was quite certain that he had become good at it.

Justin hesitated. "I asked Tobias to dance with me," he admitted.

"Oh." There was a hint of surprise in his voice. "Well, what did Tobias say?"

No reply.

"Did he say something mean?"

Justin sniffed again and from the distance, Clara could see him nod. Next week, she would have a word with Tobias about that.

"Well, he's an idiot, that's for sure," the Doctor determined. "Not liking someone is fine, but there's no need to be rude about someone's preferences."

Again, the boy remained silent.

"Tell me," the Doctor began, "is there a girl Tobias has a crush on?"

Justin nodded. "He fancies Rosie."

Clara wasn't sure what the Doctor was going to do next, but she dearly hoped that he wouldn't go back inside to beat up a teenage boy. The Doctor didn't seem like thattype of father, but what if it was about his precious, little girl?

"Okay, here's what you're gonna do," he said to Justin. "You will go to Rosie and ask her to dance with you."

The boy seemed a little confused by that suggestion. "But I don't like girls," he argued.

The Doctor shrugged. "It's just a dance," he said. "But you know what? It'll really piss off Tobias, knowing that you get to dance with the girl he likes because you're a nice, decent boy. And one day, you'll find another nice, decent boy who is gonna want to dance with you. In the meantime, there's nothing wrong with petty revenge. I'm sure Rosie wouldn't mind teaching that idiot a little lesson."

Finally, Justin chuckled and Clara knew that the Doctor had managed to cheer him up and he had done it better than she could have imagined. Clara would never have thought of that, but it was brilliant.

"Now go back inside and ask her!" the Doctor prompted him and the boy didn't hesitate before he jumped up and darted past Clara and back into the gym. When Clara looked at him, the Doctor had already pulled out his phone and he was texting someone.

"Just a sec, I'm giving Rosie a little warning," he said and a few moments later, he slid his phone back into his pocket and picked up his coat. "There, all done. And I think Tobias will think twice before insulting him aga-"

Clara didn't think. It was as if her brain has momentarily switched off and she was no longer in control of her own body, but she just couldn't help herself. The Doctor was likely the best man she had ever met in her entire life and she was so much in love with him already that she just stepped forward, went up on tiptoes and pressed her mouth against his, forgetting that she was Clara Oswald and she wasn't supposed to kiss her student's father.