Glimpses of Time
Chapter Seven: The Nanny
By Lumendea
AN: I'm sorry to say that this is your Guardians of the Universe update for the weekend. I hope you enjoy it anyway and I'll try to get the regular update done for next week. This is a Glimpse full of hints for the future.
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While Clara had worked as a nanny on a temporary basis, she'd never imagined that it would become a real career and certainly not to the extent it did. She'd finished a long-term job helping a friend of the family and had started casting her net to make use of her education certification when she'd stumbled upon aliens. Yes, aliens. That had not been what she'd been expecting and what had followed was the strangest job interview ever.
Their names were the Doctor and Rose Tyler. She was human (at least mostly) and he was not and they had several children to juggle while trying to save the world. Clara didn't learn about the children in the first hour of running and helping them where she could. The pair had just been out for a day together in London when the whole alien thing had started. The children had been staying with Rose's side of the family for some "human time" according to the Doctor.
Clara couldn't even remember how it had come up. All the adrenaline and nerves after the invasion was stopped had left her giddy, dizzy, and flushed. But she'd mentioned that she was a nanny/teacher and the strange pair had lit up. Apparently, it was difficult to find a trustworthy nanny who might just be able to deal with their odd life. They'd shared a look, sat her down for tea, and offered her a chance to see the universe if she helped out with their kids.
She'd agreed. There was no contract, but she'd agreed. Even now it made Clara laugh. She'd had a plan and chucked it out the window to be the nanny of a very strange couple. She'd agreed to help watch their children when "things like this happened" in order to keep them safe without really understanding.
It hadn't taken her long to learn. Life in the TARDIS as the nanny was wild. Astra, Alistair, and Alice were very smart, smarter than her, but needed a calm presence in their wild life of flying around the universe. In truth, it was an easy job. The TARDIS made sure that the children had what they needed, Rose always had something in the fridge ready to heat up for them, and the Doctor and Rose spent hours with their children every day. They were devoted parents who adored their children and were adored in return.
Clara had been a bit confused as to why they even wanted her with them other than to make sure there was an adult for each child on outings. But the first time she'd been sent back to the TARDIS with the children after an explosion on an alien world and had to wait with them while their parents saved the world, she'd come to understand.
Those times were the worst. The TARDIS was set to return to Earth, to Rose's family, after ten days of no contact. The longest time she'd waited with the children so far was seven days. At least the children were able to telepathically check in on their parents from time to time. Still, it was stressful and Clara understood why the Doctor and Rose wanted her there with them. Alistair was the middle child and the most like Rose, but even his calm and thoughtful nature failed when he was worried about his Mum and Dad.
Thankfully, most of the time life was great. Clara was well paid in money and stock hints provided that she didn't abuse it too badly. She was already assured of a very comfortable retirement which for her age and era in history was worth a lot. Rose was very good about making sure that she had days off and at her requests she spent them all around the world, finally seeing places that she'd only dreamed of as a child. Most of the time, she was able to enjoy the alien worlds without any drama as well. Whenever their eldest child, Athena visited, Clara had extra time off to have adventures with Rose and the Doctor while knowing that the children were safe.
She met a lot of their family. Aunt Jo had outright laughed when she learned that she was their paid nanny and teased the Doctor something fierce. They'd visited her in the Amazon jungle and Clara had seen some stunning ruins on that trip. Her friends were very jealous of her job and they didn't even know the whole truth. Aunt Ace had at least held in her laughter though she'd certainly had some fun at the "Professors" expense. The Brigadier who Clara gathered was the Doctor's best friend was simply Brigadier to the children despite that not being his rank upon his third or fourth retirement.
Uncle Ben and Aunt Polly were in India, Aunt Tegan was in Australia and Aunt Mel was in California. Aunts Sharon and Shireen were in London. Uncle Mickey was usually in or near London, but they'd visited him in Germany with Aunt Martha more than once. There was always something to see or someone to see who was insisting that the Doctor and Rose bring the children by.
And the Tylers were something else as far as Clara was concerned. Jackie and Pete Tyler eagerly took the children for short periods of time. If they knew that UNIT owned the house down the street and always doubled security when the children were present, they never said. They probably knew. After all, no one wanted the Doctor angry with Earth because his children had been harmed. Rose definitely knew. She was the one that had pointed it out to Clara just in case something happened while she was with the kids on Earth and of course Aunt Sarah Jane was right across the street.
It was wonderful, occasionally dangerous, and marvelous. Clara loved it and was rather dreading the day when the children didn't really need their nanny anymore. At least she'd have very good references for the day that she went back to teaching. Ian Chesterton was even the Chairman of the Governors at Coal Hill School. She was confident that she'd land on her feet. Maybe someday if they ever had more children given that whole strange regeneration thing that she'd heard about, she'd be hired again or better yet become Aunt Clara.