It had started snowing unexpectedly just before eleven in the morning and Clara sighed as she looked out the window at the flurries steadily dropping from the afternoon sky. Of course it would be snowing, she considered. He loved when it snowed, told her it was nature's magic and he enjoyed frolicking with the children through the piles in the yard making snowmen and then destroying them in somewhat interesting ways. John didn't like the snowmen, and Clara had to admit – thanks to a few snippets of memories from an echo that occasionally surfaced – she didn't particularly care for them either.
"Don't worry, mummy – daddy says he's taken care of everything," Olive declared from where she sat on the bed watching Liam, who was on his stomach in baby slacks and a dress shirt, bow tie hanging at his neck. The boy raised his head to grin cheekily at Clara staring at herself in the mirror, trying to judge if her make-up was just right.
"Why does that frighten me more than reassure me?" Clara teased as Olive laughed, plucking at the hemline of the blue dress she wore.
"Mummy, dad says they're almost ready," Henry told her from the doorway and when she turned to look at him, he'd frozen, eyes wide as he stared at her, his mouth slightly open in shock before the corners tugged up into a surprised smile. "You look beautiful," he gasped.
Clara grinned at him, straightening, turning for him to get a look at her dress. It had been her mothers, something Dave told her she'd hoped Clara would wear someday, and Clara now ran her hands over the intricate patterns that hugged at her torso and then flowed out over her legs in waves of satin from her waist. She raising her arms towards Henry and he walked into them, giving her a quick hug before she touched the edges of the bow tie that matched Olive's dress and tapped his chin with her forefinger, "And you look handsome, just like your father."
His cheeks went pink as he asked, "Should I tell them you're ready?"
"Look at you," Dave breathed as he stepped into the bedroom and Clara could see the tears brightening his eyes. "My baby girl, getting married."
"Mum looks like a princess," Henry shifted back to tell him. "I think dad'll like it."
The look Dave offered made Clara chuckle and she nodded, looking to Olive, "Would you take Liam to gran? Then come right back, you have flowers to throw, little lady."
Olive giggled, slipping down and carefully picking Liam up into her arms to leave as Henry leaned on the bed, picking up the pillow on which their rings sat. Dave watched the girl go before turning and grinning at Clara, "Your John is cool as a cucumber out there."
Henry made a face and repeated, "Cucumber," under his breath as Clara smiled.
"How are you holding up?" Her father asked her quietly, moving around Henry to stand in front of her, hands at her shoulders.
Clara swallowed and admitted, "Bit nauseous, but otherwise fine."
"We should be heading out," he told her, nodding to the door as Olive returned for her basket.
With a tranquil smile, Clara told them, "You head to the kitchen; I've got one last bathroom stop."
Dave ushered the children out and Clara grabbed the edges of her dress, carrying it into the bathroom where she picked up the purple and white stick that sat perched atop the sink and she nodded at it, dropping it into the basket beside the toilet and telling her reflection on a sigh, "Well, that's that." She moved quickly down the hall and when she reached the door, Dave locked his arm into hers and then lifted his other to help her pull the veil over her face.
They stepped out through the kitchen door and Clara instantly shivered against the cold, but she laughed when she caught sight of the stripes that crossed in the sky over their yard. So the birds wouldn't crash into the dome. And as Henry and Olive headed out onto the aisle ahead of her, she watched the snow falling gently against the outside of the oversized and oddly shaped environmental stabilizer that covered their yard.
"He would…" she started with a grin and a shake of her head.
Dave whispered, "Said he'd let nothing ruin your wedding."
They moved to the edge of the curtained off area just outside and Clara sighed, "Priority one."
"What's priority one?" Dave asked her.
"His only priority," she smiled, then nodded and took the first step with a simple, "Me."
Clara moved through the curtains and locked eyes with John at the end of the aisle, Henry standing at his side proudly and she smiled, then laughed, feeling her eyes welling up as she tried to calm her feet from rushing to him. He sighed and nodded to her, then glanced up and raised his eyebrows and she shook her head, smirking at him as she made her way towards him. Dave handed her over and John took her arm as she smiled down at Olive, who threw a handful of red rose petals at her and gave a hop of delight.
It hadn't been what they'd planned, but it was exactly what they'd wanted.
All of their friends, even a pair in the back, discretely hidden from the prying eyes of Clara's relatives, behind Jack Harkness and Jenny Flint, gathered to share this moment with them. John raised her veil, tossing it back behind her and they stared at one another, grins devilish as the ceremony started, listening and reciting on cue and she laughed when John slipped her ring onto her finger with a whispered, "Are you sure this won't get lost amongst your overwhelming collection?"
She shook her head, taking his ring into her palm and looking up as the man to her left offered, "Clara would like to say a few words before we make this unofficially officially official."
John raised an eyebrow and tilted his head and she chuckled nervously, staring at his feet before straightening and smiling up at him. "I just thought," she started quietly, "I just thought – he always get a speech. Big moments; big battles – John, the Doctor, he always gets his speech and maybe I could get mine. Just this once." She narrowed her eyes at him and he blushed as the small crowd laughed.
She took his free hand and nodded, feeling suddenly shy, but he ducked slightly, telling her silently, "Don't think about them; tell me."
"The first time I saw you, you showed up dressed as a monk, and everything about you demanded being in my life and it felt like, for a while, you were always knocking, always asking and I thought – this could be fun, have a few adventures, a few laughs, and in a few weeks I could send you on your way and everything could go back to how it was. And I tricked myself into thinking that when you knocked and I answered, it wasn't to see that stupid grin on your face, or those big sad eyes of yours, or to laugh at your silly twirls, or listen to your voice going on and on about everything in the most beautiful ways. I tricked myself into thinking I just wanted to travel and you were just my tour guide. I wanted to see the universe. My 101 places. And you were the key to that. But somewhere along the way, you became so much more. You became that smell that wouldn't wash out of my clothes, that hand on my cheek I could feel hours later just closing my eyes, that first thought of every morning and the last of every night. And eventually you weren't knocking, you were casually strolling in, taking a seat, and making yourself at home."
Clara laughed, looking to Henry, who smirked, and then to Olive, who waved.
"The children asked you once, if love was travelling with someone and you told them it wasn't. You told them that love was knowing wherever you were, as long as you were with that one special person, you were home. I never realized before… You were making yourself a home in me. Of all the people in the universe, I was that unique set of bits that came together as the person who made you feel at home. And I came to understand, when you were gone, that you had become that for me. Every time you'd showed up with a story and an outstretched hand, you never had to ask if it was too dangerous, you never had to ask if I wanted to come along because I was already there. Right at your side. Wherever you were, wherever you were going, that was where I wanted to be because that's where I would be home."
With a shrug, Clara sniffled away her tears to smile up at him.
"We decided to do this on the anniversary of the day you came back, and," she shook her head, "Maybe, somewhere in my head, I thought – if you were still here on this day, then I could trust that you'd never leave again – because I know the life you gave up to be with me, I lived it with you long enough to know that the universe is a terrifying, but wondrous, place. It's full of scary things and magical places and I never imagined," she raised her hand back towards their house, "That this place would be enough, but I've seen it every single day since you've been back – there isn't a moment you don't cherish here. There isn't a word spoken, or a gesture given, or a…"
"A nappy change," he offered as everyone laughed and Clara touched her nose with her knuckle.
"A nappy change," she agreed, "That you don't revel in the same way you would a dying star or a diamond sky or a planet of poppies because this is your home." Clara held his ring tightly and nodded, "Henry and Olive and Liam are your heart, they burn like light in your eyes and your soul sings for them every minute of every day. And we're a home here with you." Clara took his hand and slowly slipped the ring onto his finger, smiling when he took her hands within his. "As long as we're together, we're a home."
He touched his forehead to hers and they turned slightly to the man beside them, who nodded slowly and raised his arms, "I've never been as honored to say… I now pronounce you husband and wife." Then he tilted towards them and coyly told John, "You may now kiss your bride."
Clara laughed as John pressed his lips to hers and she felt the rose petals that delicately fluttered over the back of her dress while their family and friends cheered. John held her tightly, fingers rubbing her back slowly just before they broke their kiss and he told her in secret, "As far as speeches go, I would say that was a good one."
She playfully slapped at his chest and he kissed her quickly again. "Speaking of our home, we may need to invest in some renovations."
"Renovations?" He asked as they turned and began walking down the aisle to head back into the house while the yard was re-organized for the after-party, Clara lifting Liam into her arms as they went. "Is something broken?"
"Nope," Clara shouted over the guests just before they slipped past the curtain, Henry and Olive trailing behind them, watching their parents exchange quixotic glances before Clara finished, "But this snazzy little pregnancy test I picked up today says I'm about five weeks along."
John grinned at her as he declared, "No," in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, turns out we really should have been more ca…" her words were cut off by a kiss, one that took Clara's breath away and when he pulled back, she could see the glow on his face as he took her in. The way he always did, as though she were sparkling, but she held his eyes instead of blushing and turning away and she laughed when Liam made happy noises up at them.
Shifting closer to her, John laughed when the twins lunged at them from both sides, cheeks lying gently against either of their hips, and he dropped a hand to each of their heads before kissing Liam's. "Another magical heart," he whispered.
"We've got a pretty good home for him too," Olive offered.
"I'm going to need a bigger room," Henry muttered before chuckling.
With a laugh, Clara shifted and they ushered the children back into the kitchen door. They settled themselves into the couch as a family, Liam lying content against Clara's chest, as partygoers moved in and out of the house, offering congratulations while they waited for the tables to be set up inside the dome for dinner. Once they were back outside, Clara laughed as she watched Strax and Jack make faces at Liam while Jenny and Vastra slow-danced in a corner. She watched Artie, Mickey, Marge, and John discuss Shakespeare and listened as Angie and Olive made plans to visit the mall together and she smiled while Martha allowed Henry and Sam to take her hands to dance.
They partied until all of the guests had gone and they were left sitting in two chairs watching Henry and Olive continue to hop across the grass underneath the dome, exhausting the sugar they'd ingested from multiple stolen pieces of wedding cake. Clara rubbed small circles on Liam's back as she hummed to him and looked up at John, who was staring down at her lovingly. He pressed a delicate kiss to her forehead and she dropped her cheek to his shoulder. Home, she thought to herself as his arm wrapped around her, would always been here.
End
