Clara's Christmas didn't start like she had thought it would have.
Danni had gone off with the Doctor, which she had been expecting even if she wasn't particularly pleased at not seeing her best friend on Christmas. Although, saying that, she could understand why they wanted to spend it away from everyone else. The last time they had done Christmas with the universe hadn't ended the best for them.
She had, however, expected to wake up next to her boyfriend and the other Danny in her life. Unfortunately, and down to her own actions, that wasn't meant to be. Danny was at home, and so was she. It honestly wasn't the best Christmas morning she'd had.
She'd had worse. The one after her mum had died was definitely the worse Christmas that had ever been. Very shortly followed by the second. Danny being mad at her was horrid, but nothing was as bad as turning to say something to her mother and finding her normal place in the living room completely empty. She would never get over that feeling.
In all honesty she was surprised Danny wanted to see her at all. Their relationship had been strained at best, and she truly was counting down the days to the moment when he dumped her completely. She dreaded it but she knew it was coming. She loved him, and he loved her, but life had shown her that sometimes that just wasn't enough. Maybe she just wasn't destined to have a 'soul mate' like the Doctor and Danni had found in each other. Maybe she was destined to just be alone.
She climbed out of bed and headed into the living room. Danny had agreed to come around after lunch, mainly because he knew that Danni was away with her husband and would not be returning. It was rather late, 11-ish, but she still had time to prepare. To get ready, and tidy up the bottles of wine and chocolate wrappers that littered the area.
She was nervous, although that was understandable. This really felt like a make or break day for them. Maybe it was just because it was a big day in general, but she wanted everything to be perfect.
When she let him into her flat, she gave him the biggest smile she could. "Hi." She hesitated for a moment, then pressed a kiss to his cheek before motioning him inside.
He nodded his thanks and walked in, gift bag in hand. She smiled warmly. He'd bought her a present.
"Merry Christmas," she said as they headed into the living room. "How was your lunch?"
"Good. It was… It was good," he replied. "My parents were very disappointed that you weren't there."
He didn't say that he was disappointed, but she ignored the stab. Instead she grinned. "Do they still think I'm imaginary?" she teased and he nodded.
"They think I'm just trying to get out of being set up on a date," he told her, sitting down on the sofa. She moved over to the tree.
"So, nothing new then?" she retorted as she picked up his present. "Do you get a lot of offers?"
"I'll have you know that they've had my cousin's friend Sarah lined up for a couple of years, now," he mock bragged. "She's a nurse, apparently."
"Oh, I don't know if I can compete with that," she replied. "Maybe this will help." She sat down next to him and held out her present for him. They'd both agreed to go small this particular Christmas, which she took to mean small in size and not in price.
"I'm sure it will," he humoured, passing her the present he'd bought her. She held it in her lap patiently, waiting for him to open it up. He seemed to do the same for her too, though, so she motioned to him.
"Come on, open it!" she demanded and he chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Alright, calm down," he said playfully, pulling at the ribbon. "Although I'm not sure it can top the socks and deodorant that my sister bought me."
"Ooo, socks are a good present," she replied. "Maybe I should have bought you some instead."
"I'm glad you didn't," he promised but she continued to look thoughtful.
"Knee-high ones," she decided. "Navy blue, with red stripes around the stop."
He shot her a look. "I'll take it back off you," he warned
"No you won't," she replied cheerfully, sounding confident despite the fact she tightened her grip on the gift bag. "Open it!"
He shook his head, amused at her, but did as she asked. The paper was quickly on the floor and he found himself holding a plain dark blue box. He frowned and popped it open, his eyes widening at the silver watch that was inside it.
"Clara," he half-scolded, half exclaimed as he took it out. "This is… this is not small at all!"
"I think it is," she replied innocently before grinning. "Do you like it? I thought it was like the invisibility watch you were wearing when you saved my life."
While he normally didn't like to be reminded of the Doctor and Danni when they were having time together, he did feel a swell of smugness at being reminded about how he'd saved her life. He turned it over in his hands. While it wasn't exactly like the watch he remembered, he could see the resemblance. He checked the back of it, almost expecting an inscription, but just found the name of the makers of the watch.
"Oh, I don't like that whole engraving thing," she replied with that cute crinkling of her nose. "Do you like it, though?"
He nodded. "I do," he promised before placing the box down. "Go on then, open yours."
Her eyes lit up and he watched her with a reserved look, while having the internal feeling of being completely smitten with the woman he was watching. Her delight at having a present was tangible, and while she normally tried like she was in control, now that wasn't the case at all.
She seemed as delighted with her book and dress as he had been with his watch, although he really wished she'd told him that she wasn't keeping to their 'small presents' arrangement. He was certain she had spent a lot more on him than he had on her. She did always like to win.
It was just something else she kept from him.
He watched her flip through her new book, commenting on the colour pictures that were interspersed with the long passages of text. She had told him that she had rather liked Marcus Aurelius, who Danny hadn't known who that was but he'd nodded and agreed at the time, and he'd found a rather glossy book about him. He wasn't sure if she'd like it or not, but the look on her face as she quickly looked through it said she did.
He didn't like to think about all that she kept from him. Right at the start, on their very first date, he had known something weird was going on. He'd tried to walk away but he also had really fancied her, so when they'd agreed to a second date he was willing to ignore the feeling of being kept out of something important. After all, they had barely known each other. He hadn't shared all about his past with her, why would she do the same?
Of course, now he knew that what she was hiding was in fact two time travelling aliens who lived in a blue box. Along with a dangerous lifestyle he didn't exactly approve of. It was quite a lot to hide from a person, and although he could understand why, at the same time it made him always look out for what else she could be hiding from him and it really wasn't fair.
He was sure that this wasn't helped by the fact that one of the said aliens was living in the flat with her, and that Clara had an almighty crush on her whether she realised it or not. Danni Fielding didn't have the slightest clue, he had come to realise, and also didn't feel the same way at all. And Clara loved him as much as he loved her so even if Danni did feel the same, he was the one she would choose. But it still made him uneasy. He usually could read people so well, but Clara's second life had taken him completely by surprise. What if he was missing other signs as well?
He didn't want to think about that, though, no matter how the thought would creep up on them from time to time. He put the watch on – it was absolutely brilliant, and it did make him feel like he'd be able to save her again – and chucked his arm on the back of the sofa.
"Are those for Danni, then?" he asked, nodding towards the tree where a few more presents sat.
"Some are," she replied. "Some are from my nanna and dad. I promised we'd open them together when she gets back."
"Oh? And-And when would that be, exactly?" He tried to sound like he was just asking to keep the conversation going, but the cocking of her eyebrow said that he didn't manage it.
"New Year's Day," she replied smoothly. "Don't worry, you have me all to yourself until then."
"Good," he said with a nod, moving his arm to her shoulder before pulling her closer. "Because I have plans for you."
"Oh? Do you now?" she asked teasingly. He nodded.
"I really do," he promised and then they were snogging on the sofa without the fear of being interrupted.
~0~0~0~
"That sounds… well, it sounds dangerous," Clara told Danni, sitting down next to her other Danny as she held her phone to her ear. "I'm glad you sorted it out."
"Well, the Doctor did really," Danni told her. "He used the guy who could suck out all of the emotion and apparently he used some sort of joy… breath thing to get rid of it all."
Clara nodded along as if any of it made any sense. She'd learnt long ago that if Danni and the Doctor said it happened, it most likely did. Even if their version of events were slightly more elaborate than may have happened, the Doctor really would have stopped an anger cloud from taking over London.
"I'm glad you're having such a good time," she replied. "Are you still aiming to be home at New Years?"
"Oh, yeah, something like that," Danni replied vaguely and Clara straightened slightly at the uncertainty in her voice. Was she not coming home? "Oh, you won't believe what he got me for Christmas! My own sonic screwdriver! Can you believe it?"
"Really?" Clara asked slowly, a frown on her face. That sounded very good, didn't it? Like he had managed to impress her. She really hoped that Danni wasn't being drawn in by nice gestures rather than actions. "He's been speaking about getting you one for ages. Since before he regenerated."
"I know, and now I have one!" Danni gushed, excited. "It's- It's so cool, Clara! It's got a blue light, and listen!" Clara had to move the phone away as Danni set off the screwdriver down the speaker. "It even sounds the same."
"Yes, yes it does," Clara agreed. "But, you're still coming home for New Year's, yeah?"
"Sure- I've got to go, sweetie. We're just about to go out. There's this planet where, once every 8 and a half years, every single person leaves the surface and goes underground. The Doctor can't remember why, but we're going to go see what it's like with no one around. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christ…" Clara trailed off, pulling the phone away from her ear and looking at the screen. Danny smirked, shifting as he turned the channel on the television.
"Oh, your girlfriend hung up on you," he said, making a hissing noise as if he'd been hit. "Ouch."
"She's not my girlfriend," she corrected for yet another time. "She's just excitable."
"Uh huh," he replied, not believing her for a moment. "So, is she having a good Christmas?"
Clara nodded. "Yeah," she replied. "She's off to some random planet the Doctor has found. She'll enjoy it."
Even though she settled against him, her brows were furrowed in the same way they always did when something was bothering her. "How long has she been away now?" he asked, deciding to see what would happen if he pushed her a bit.
"Um, four days, I think," she replied, pretending to think about it. "She'll be gone a lot longer for her, though. Probably a few weeks or something. I'm sure she's having a good time."
Her frown didn't abate, though, and she was staring out at the television like she was watching it. He could feel how tense she was. "Tell me what you're thinking," he encouraged.
"Do you not think it's strange that he's suddenly got her a sonic screwdriver, something she's been asking for herself for ages, when it looks like she might be going back to the TARDIS?" she asked him.
"Do you think he's trying to trick her into going home?" Danny countered and she shrugged.
"I don't know," she murmured. "I know he wants her back, and I know she's been thinking about going back, but she shouldn't leave her home unless she's sure, right?"
"Right," he agreed, not commenting on her choice of words. "But what if she is sure?"
"Well, if she's sure, then that's fine. That's great," Clara quickly replied, sounding like it was anything but fine. "But what if she's not and he's… he's bewitching her with gifts. He stole her a tiara! And… and he brought her a rose and snuck it into the flat. And I know he got her something awesome for her birthday, even if she won't tell me what. That-That doesn't cover up what he did, though, does it?"
"It doesn't," he replied, keeping calm as she became increasingly worked up. "What has it been like when you see them together?"
"Better," she admitted reluctantly. "She's not been coming back as upset anymore." She hadn't told him about how she'd heard Danni, on more than one occasion, crying quietly about how she wanted to go back to the TARDIS. Or how, after pretending she hadn't heard, Clara had tried to make her feel more at home than ever. She never wanted to see her upset.
"You don't know what it's like when you're not there," Danny told her gently, knowing the ire he could ignite if he annoyed her. "Maybe she's ready to go home, she just doesn't know it yet. Maybe he's giving her these gifts because he knows she'd like them and nothing more. People change."
She grumbled unintelligibly but only because she agreed. Her own experiences with the Doctor had been very similar. He was still grumpy, and still bossy, and still very different from the childish old man he had regenerated from. But he seemed kinder now. It was just impatience that made him bite, not cruelty.
Still, she didn't appreciate her boyfriend being so rational about it. Something still sat wrong inside her, making her feel almost queasy at the idea that Danni would just move back into the TARDIS and away from her. She was certain that it was because she knew Danni could be too forgiving of her husband.
She'd just have to keep an eye on them to make sure that she approved of them getting back together again when the time came. They both knew that she was the boss.
"Alright, Mr Smarty Pants," she said to her boyfriend. "No more talk about either of them. I'm not seeing either of them until Danni comes home, we should enjoy the calmness of a week without them."
"No Wednesday visit either?" Danny asked and Clara shook her head before tilting it up to look at him.
"Nope, promise," she replied before smirking. "Why? Got plans?"
"Maybe," he said vaguely. "Maybe I'm just going to come over and do some marking with you. Maybe I'm coming over to cook you a fantastic dinner."
"I'll get my marking out, shall I?" she replied cheekily in reply. He shot her a look and she batted her eyelashes at him innocently.
"Oh, oh, you're going to pay for that," he warned, but made no move to actually follow through.
"I'm sure," she humoured. "I'm scared."
"You should be," he replied confidently. "So scared."
~0~0~0~
Clara stuck her head out of the kitchen, a frown on her face. The sound of the TARDIS landing in her hallway was always welcome – it usually meant adventure and excitement – but this time she knew it wasn't supposed to be there. While it was Wednesday, it was the Wednesday between Christmas and New Year's Day and she had thought that she wasn't going to see either Time Lord until the new year.
She placed the plate she was drying down but headed out with her tea towel in hand. She pushed the door open and saw the Doctor at the console.
"You took your time," he told her, even though she'd barely been a moment from when he'd landed. "Don't just stand there gawping, are you coming?"
She closed the door behind her, still looking at him completely baffled. "I thought you were spending Christmas with Danni?"
"I am," he replied. "It's Wednesday, is it not?"
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I didn't think that I was seeing you this week," she explained.
"Well, looks like you got a good present after all," he said boastfully. "Just don't tell PE."
Clara narrowed her eyes at him. He just had to get a stab in at Danny, didn't he?
"He got me a fantastic present, I'll have you know," she snapped. She looked around, trying to spot the blonde hair she knew should have been here. "Where's Danni?"
"She's visiting that overcompensating, philandering father of hers," he retorted. "I thought I would give them some space."
She hopped up to his side. "So, she sent you away so she could have some time without you complaining?" she guessed.
"She suggested that I came to see you while her and Jack went to see that ridiculous Broadway show." She could hear the distain in his voice. "What kind of musical is centred around a chocolate factory?"
"It's no worse than one centred around a movie ogre and his talking donkey friend," Clara pointed out, to which he had to agree. Both of he and Clara had enjoyed 'Shrek the Musical' the first time they'd seen it. And the second.
Danni had adored the soundtrack, though, and now both of them had seemed to have their fill of the show and it's many songs.
"Well, I can't come," she told him. "Danny's coming around this afternoon and I promised I would be here for the entire week with no extra-terrestrial activities. You'll just have to keep yourself entertained while your wife is away."
"I can get your back in time for your little dinner date," he dismissed and she shook her head.
"No. Last time I was waiting to go out on a date we ended up in a bank heist," she reminded him. "You've got other friends, go see them." She turned to walk out, firm in her decision.
"I'll take you somewhere I've never taken Danielle before," he offered with a sigh in his voice. That made her pause in her step. Everyone knew that Danni liked to be the first person anywhere. It pretty much meant that Clara was never the person to step out onto new soil first.
It was incredibly tempting.
But she'd promised Danny that she wasn't going anywhere with either of the Time Lords this week. This was his week, and he deserved her attention for the entire duration. She couldn't break another promise to him.
"I can get you back in plenty of time," the Doctor purred, knowing that she was seriously contemplating it. "PE would never need to know."
She turned, a grin appearing on her face. "Somewhere new?" she asked and he nodded.
"For both of us," he promised and she chucked the tea towel away from her, dashing up to the console.
"One little trip won't hurt, will it?" she asked. "He'll never know. It's not like it changes our plans together."
"Oh, no, of course not," he agreed. They both shared a giant, excited grin. "Into the unknown, Clara Oswald."
~0~0~0~
"Oh my god, that was amazing!" Clara gushed, turning and walking backwards into the TARDIS. "That waterfall! Wow!"
The Doctor followed her in, a scowl on his face. He ran his hand through his sopping wet hair, getting it out of his eyes. "I'm sure it looked wonderful from the outside," he grumbled.
"That's what you get for insulting the organiser," she pointed out. "I told you not to say anything about the food."
"If you don't tell them, then how can they learn?" he retorted. "All I suggested was actually tasting it before putting it out. Why would you put on a spectacular party at a waterfall that flowed upwards and have terrible sandwiches?"
"The sandwiches were fine. You just don't like most food. You can't blame the host for that."
"They should have put something on for everyone," he protested. "That's what a good host would do."
"Is this what you're like when I'm not here?" she teased. "Does Danni have to put up with you complaining about food, and weather, and how the ground was too hard."
"The ground was too hard," he muttered to himself. "Actually, Danielle doesn't mind when I point out what is wrong with a setting."
"I'm sure she doesn't," Clara humoured.
The fact was, Danielle did mind at one point. When he'd first regenerated he knew that the words hurt her, but only because she had felt like he was aiming them at her. She had come to learn that he found fault with the universe but not with her, and now she was open about how she found his moaning adorable.
He wasn't too sure why, or if he liked to be thought of as 'adorable', but if it made her happy then he would take it.
"So, where to now, then?" Clara continued. "Somewhere adventurous, yeah? No more parties."
"You're going home," he told her. "You've got a boyfriend to canoodle and spend the holidays with. And I need to pick up Danielle."
"Oh," Clara walked up to the console. "Well, I'll come with you."
"No," he replied bluntly. "You are going home, and I am going to my wife and everything will be as it should be."
He sent the TARDIS flying through the Vortex towards Clara's flat with a flip of a switch. Clara immediately flipped it back so they stopped. "What's going on?" she demanded. "And don't tell me it's that whole 'I fancy your wife' thing, because you would let me go if seeing me would make her happy, and it would."
He just shot her a look, flipping the switch back, but one again she put it back into place. "Or is it that you think that, if we go home, she'll leave before you're ready?" Clara continued. "Because even I know that is ridiculous."
He sighed angrily, shooting her a glare. "No, I don't think she'll leave with you," he told her. "It's Christmas, and I'm not letting that boyfriend of yours upset her again. You can see her when she decides to go back to yours, and not before."
Clara frowned. "Danny upset her?" she asked. "How?"
"By refusing to come around when she's there," he replied. Clara's eyes widened slightly at her lie being caught out and he rolled hers. "Oh, don't look so surprised," he snapped. "Neither of us were born yesterday. Danielle has been upset about it all month. Until you get your idiot of a boyfriend in line, she doesn't get to be confronted by him."
"It isn't like Danny doesn't like… Danni," she said. "He's just being territorial, that's all. He'll come around. Plus, he's not at my flat anyway."
"I don't care," he said bluntly. "Personally, I think he's an idiot…"
"Oh, really, I don't think you've mentioned that before," Clara muttered.
"But Danielle seems to think it's your choice to be in a relationship with him, and his choice to not like her. So, unless he suddenly changes his mind, I'm going to do my best to keep her away from him."
"So," Clara started lowly. "My choice is home with Danny, or…"
"Your choice is home with PE," he interrupted. "There is no other choice." He turned to face her. "If you're going to hang around with people who upset my wife, then while I have a choice, you don't get to hang around with my wife."
"Does she know your vetting her friends?" Clara snapped back. "I'm not sure she'll be too happy about it."
"I will deal with that when it comes up," he retorted.
Clara smirked. "You do realise that she'll be coming home to me at the end of your little trip away?"
"Yes," he snapped. "But not for much longer. And she's not your wife."
"I never said she…"
She trailed off as her phone started ringing. She held up a finger, telling him she wasn't done with the argument, but put on a smile as she answered. "Hey, Danny, is everything alright?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" he asked in return, sounding happy to be speaking to her. "Where are you?"
"I'm at home, why?" she replied a little too quickly. The Doctor rolled his eyes, turning away from the woman.
"Well, I'm in the living room and you certainly are not here," he pointed out. The happiness had dropped completely from his tone and Clara's panic rose exponentially at learning this. She knew he was going to be coming around, but she had thought that she was going to be home well before he did. "Why are you lying to me?"
"I-" she started, squeezing her eyes shut and her hand clenched as she tried to think up of a way to cover her tracks. "What I mean is that I'm at the building. I'll be up in a minute."
She hung up before he could reply so she could catch her breath and calm down her racing mind. She then turned back to the Doctor, pointing at him, her angry teacher look on her face.
"Drop me off outside the building," she demanded. "Not in my hallway, downstairs."
He changed the controls slightly and there was the soft thud as the TARDIS landed. He turned around, looking very unamused by what was happening. "Anything else?" he drawled.
"No," she barked back before heading towards the door. Then she stopped, turned back around and stormed up to him. He seemed relatively surprised. Good. She was fuming and having to lie to Danny again wasn't something she thought she would have to do.
"Actually, yes," she said. "One; Danny not coming around is because of me and nothing to do with Danni, and if you've been agreeing with her worries it's because you," she jabbed her finger in his direction, making him stand up straighter at the sudden aggressive gesture, "don't like Danny. Because you think him being a solider is a bad thing."
"It's not exactly a good thing, is it?" he protested but she pinched her finger and thumb together.
"Do I sound like I'm finished?" she asked in warning, sounding more like his wife than he wanted to admit. He waved his hand in front of him as if giving her permission to continue.
"Secondly, or Two, or whatever; if you want me to do something, the sure-fire way of getting me to not do it is to make me choose. Offer me an ultimatum like that again, and it's not you or your wife I'm going to choose, even if I want to. I love Danny Pink, no matter what you think."
She stormed out of the TARDIS knowing that he was too smart to ignore her. How dare he try and make decisions about her life without her? If she wanted to see Danni, then she would see Danni. And if she wanted to be in a relationship with Danny Pink, then she bloody would be!
Well, that all depended on whether or not he wanted to be with her. As she heard the TARDIS dematerialising behind her, she realised that she didn't have her keys on her to get back inside the building. Which mean that she would have to buzz Danny to let her in. And she would have to explain to him why she was outside, in December, without a coat or her keys.
That wasn't going to go well.
She took another couple of deep breaths to collect herself. Then she pressed the button, smiling brightly at the camera as she waited for Danny to answer.
"Why are you buzzing the flat?" he asked.
"Oh, you know what I'm like," she laughed, pretending that this happened all of the time. "I forgot my keys. Can you let me in?"
"Only if you ask nicely," he teased her and she sighed, shooting the camera look.
"Please can you let me in?" she asked. There was a pause, and then a buzz, and she was able to get in.
She quickly jogged up the stairs to her flat, and then knocked on the door a couple of times to get Danny to let her in. She hadn't expected him to look too impressed, and she wasn't wrong. He opened the door to let her in, looking at her both amused and suspicious.
"Went for a walk?" he asked her and she nodded.
"Yeah. Just fancied a bit of fresh air," she replied happily. "I guess time got away from me."
"I'm surprised you didn't come back sooner," he continued. "It's almost freezing outside and you're not even in a jacket."
She shrugged. "I don't think it's that bad," she retorted. "Do you want a cuppa?"
He rolled his eyes, sighing in his frustration. "Will you stop lying to me?" he said exasperated. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"No, of course not!" she protested. "You know I don't!"
"Then why won't you tell me the truth?" he countered. "Every time you just keep lying to me like I'm not going to notice. You went for a trip with them, didn't you?"
"No," she replied firmly before hesitating slightly. He was right, she needed to stop lying to him. "It was just the Doctor," she continued.
He chucked his hands up in the air, turning around for a moment before turning back to her. "You said you weren't going to be seeing them this week!"
"I know!" she exclaimed back. "I really didn't think that…"
"You said that this was just going to be a week with the two of us! And the first chance you get, you're running off behind my back!"
"It wasn't behind your back!" she protested. "I didn't know he was going to turn up! It was just a quick trip out, nothing more! I'm allowed to spend time with my friends."
"Then why did you just come in telling me you'd gone for a walk?" he countered. She opened her mouth a couple of times, pointing as she tried to come up with an answer that didn't sound ridiculous.
"Because…" she started. "Because I… I know I said that they weren't coming and I didn't think you would believe me when I said that I didn't know!"
"I wonder why that is!" he retorted. "You always lie to me! It's- It's like you have these two lives and you won't let them overlap! How can I trust you if you lie to me?"
"Trust?" she scoffed. "The same way that you seem to think that I'm going to sleep with my best friend the moment your back is turned? Is it any wonder I don't want to tell you if I'm seeing them when I get accusations thrown at me every time I do?"
"Clara, anyone with eyes can see that you're in love with her!" he protested. "Is it too much to ask to want to know you love me too!"
"Of course I fucking love you!" she shouted back. "Danny, I can't keep going through this argument every time I see them. I," she felt her shoulders sag, her anger flagging into despair. "Please, just tell me how I can get you to believe me."
"I want you to stop lying to me," he said. He didn't like it either, but every time she hid something from him, every time she denied it even though they both knew it was true, it felt like just another betrayal. He wanted them to overcome it. He wanted to trust her desperately, because she was the most important thing in his life and he wanted to keep it that way. "I just want you to tell me the truth."
She stared at him, her eyes wide and her lips pursed together. She knew she had to be better about the way she treated him. If she told him the truth, he wouldn't accuse her and they could move past all of this nonsense. Or he would just see it as proof of everything he was accusing her of, and would leave her forever.
Either way, this argument would stop and that needed to happen before they self-destructed. She nodded. "Okay," she started softly. "Okay, I'm just going to start from the beginning. I think." He nodded and she took a moment to gather her thoughts.
"When I jumped into the Doctor's time stream to save them both, I gained some of his personality," she explained. "His recklessness, and his love for jammy dodgers, and other little things that all faded over time or became part of who I was. There was a period where I couldn't separate what was him and what was me and it was very hard. One of those things that I gained was his love for Danni," she turned, unable to look at him because she knew where his mind was going. "I would look at her and I would feel like my heart was breaking because she was married to him and not to me, and yet I was ecstatic because the Doctor was ecstatic that she was married to him."
"So you do love her?" Danny asked softly and she shook her head.
"No!" she corrected quickly but neither of them believed it. "I did, for a little while, but it faded like the other feelings I had that were his. I just… the residue is there, so I'm protective of her, and I am dreading her moving out even though I want them to be happy together. But I don't love her, not like I love you."
He didn't say anything for a while as he studied her, and she stared back, unwavering so he knew that she was being truthful. He could tell she was as well. For the first time he could see that she was finally telling him the truth.
And that she was in complete and utter denial, even down deep inside herself.
However, for the first time, he felt like he was above Danni the ranking of the people she cared about. If he hadn't been, she would have continued to lie to him. They would have fought more, and eventually their relationship would have died. But she had told him what she considered to be the whole truth, and truthfully a weight rose off his shoulders.
"And then you went off with the Doctor today, even though you said you wouldn't, and tried to hide it by having him drop you off outside, in the freezing cold, without a jacket, or your keys?" he asked, his tone taking on a tease. She narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, alright, I didn't think that through," she retorted. "It was my own fault."
He closed the gap between them, pulling her in for a hug that she was so relieved to accept. "Yes, it was," he agreed in a terribly patronising way.
"Yes, yes, alright, I get it," she said, closing her eyes and resting against his chest. She felt so safe in his arms. Even though she could take care of herself. It was a conflicting, but wonderful feeling.
"Just," he started. "If you find yourself lying again. If you find yourself lying to me again about what you are doing with them, promise me you'll stop and think about the choice you're making. If someone is giving you cause to lie, perhaps they shouldn't be in your life anymore."
"I will," she promised. He placed a kiss on her head.
"Good," he replied, accepting her word for it. He let her go. "Now, I believe I was going to cook you dinner and we were going to consider going out to the pub."
"Ah, yes," she said. "The normal date night routine. Should I find some reruns on TV to hide in instead?"
"Definitely," he agreed with a chuckle. "You are in for a treat, Miss Oswald."
He walked off and she watched him go with a frown slowly appearing on her face. She would have to choose between them eventually, she knew she would. She just wasn't sure which side she would fall on when it was time. She didn't want to lose either Danny or Danni from her life.
All she knew was that she loved Danny Pink with all her heart, and she would fight to keep him.
~0~0~0~
I'm sure this didn't turn out the way a few of you wanted it to, but I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into Danny and Clara's life.
Reviews :)
Seconds and Stars - And immediately loses it :P x
serenitysaiyan - Hehe that's okay, sweetie! You predicted the screwdriver, I was so impressed but I didn't want to say anything XD thanks!
casper6six6 - If she can keep a hold of it XD
Midnight Alley - Thanks sweetie!
bored411 - Yeah, they're almost there! Keep an eye out ;)
whitedwarf - Thanks sweetie! I dunno if this was what you wanted, but I hope it was a little bit :) Flatline is where it's going to really start getting going, but Mummy does have a little bit between them as well :)
