Watching the Doctor

by RedRobyn2

The Doctor is stranded in prison, dealing with the revelations of the Timeless Child and the memories of her time travelling, all alone. Until the Tardis decides enough is enough and gathers her and some of her more recent companions to help her deal with her past and make some amends by watching her adventures. Characters watch the show, set after Timeless Child/Pre-Resolution.

32. Listen

Hello everyone!

Here's the next chapter - Listen.

It's also notably about a year since I first uploaded the first chapter of this story which is crazy - how has time gone so quickly?

Anyway, the two-parter that won the vote is the Silence in the Library (as I thought), so that's coming up next! (but please keep giving your suggestions for other episodes you'd like to see eventually). My rough update schedule is every two weeks which gives me time to deal with everything in my real life and get a chapter written, but we'll see how long that lasts.

As always, thank you so much for reading and please let me know what you think!

Enjoy,

Robyn

---

The group didn't have to wait as the screen turned black and the newest title immediately appeared.

"Listen?" Bill asked, face crinkled in confusion.

"That's a bit of a broad title." Yaz agreed, "Doesn't really give anything away."

"Doctor?" Amy turned to the Doctor with a raised eyebrow.

The Doctor was frowning, trying to think about what this could be referring to, and there were a lot of options. She glanced at Clara, the only thing she could think of recently that the Tardis may want to show her involved Clara. Clara seemed to have similar thoughts based on the look she was sending the Doctor's way. "I'm not sure, guess we'll just have to watch." She shrugged, finally answering Amy's question.

(The Doctor is on a world tour. First we see him sitting on top of the Tardis above the Earth.)
DOCTOR: (sotto) Listen!

Clara and the Doctor shared a knowing look, they both have a very good feeling they knew what this would be about. Clara broke eye-contact first, not wanting to notice her thoughts drifting. She'd never told the Doctor what had happened when they'd landed and she went out without him, but it seems the Doctor would finally find out. The rest of the group would also find out yet more about the Doctor's horrible childhood.

"So, this is about Eyebrows." Martha remarked. "And I'm guessing Clara?" The whole group had noticed the glances that pair had kept exchanging, apparently, they were getting two Clara videos in a row.

Clara nodded in confirmation. As far as some of the videos they'd seen so far, this wasn't too bad, outside of the new knowledge on the Doctor's 'childhood'.

[Tardis]

DOCTOR: Question. Why do we talk out loud when we know we're alone? (blows out candle) Conjecture. Because we know we're not.

The group all turned to the Doctor with raised eyebrows. "What are you talking about?" Rose said, "Are you trying to make us all paranoid?"

Clara snorted, "The Doctor decided to go down a spiral and have a crisis. Ignore most of what they say this video."

"Oi!" The Doctor protested but couldn't deny Clara's claims completely. Still, she had a feeling she didn't know everything, especially with how Clara was acting.

(He writes on his blackboard.)
DOCTOR: Evolution perfects survival skills. There are perfect hunters.
(He watches a lioness bring down a wildebeest.)
DOCTOR: There is perfect defence.
(A shoal of dazzling tuna, and a puffer fish inflates itself so the nasty spines stick out.)
DOCTOR: Question. Why is there no such thing as perfect hiding? Answer. How would you know? Logically, if evolution were to perfect a creature whose primary skill were to hide from view, how could you know it existed?

"Were you watching horror films again?" Bill questioned, "You know how much they freak you out." Horror films had swiftly been banned from Tardis movie nights despite how much she enjoyed them as they terrified both the Doctor and Nardole far too much.

Several people in the group snickered at that as the Doctor spluttered out protests.

(He puts his chalk down in an open book.)
DOCTOR: It could be with us every second and we would never know. How would you detect it, even sense it, except in those moments when, for no clear reason you choose to speak aloud? What would such a creature want? What would it do? Well? What would you do?
(That last word echoes around the Tardis. The chalk is no longer where he left it. It rolls on the floor to his feet and he picks it up, then sees that what he wrote on the blackboard has been replaced by one word. Listen.)

"I can already tell this is going to be an interesting one." Rory sighed. It was rarely good when things started out cryptic like this, usually it only ended that way.

[Restaurant]

(Clara has returned home, and is recalling the evening. We jump back to where she has been. Clara enters the restaurant and goes to the table where Danny Pink is sitting, wearing a pink shirt. He raises his right arm in a sort of open hand semi-salute.)
DANNY: Hey.

"Oh, look. It's P.E!" The Doctor announced, turning to Clara.

Clara sighed, hand on her forehead. "He was a math teacher! I know you know that." No one missed the use of the past tense, although they were sincerely hoping that it was because Danny was no longer a teacher and not because he was dead (unfortunately they had a bad feeling it was the latter).

CLARA: Hey.
(She goes to shake his hand.)
CLARA: Sorry.
(They exchange kisses on the cheeks.)

"Ooh," Bill perked up, "Are you on a date?"

Clara sighed again, that night had just been a disaster for so many reasons and now everyone was going to see the embarrassing mess.

"Guessing it didn't go well then." Bill muttered, having seen Clara's reaction to her question.

CLARA: So the famous drink at last.
DANNY: Yeah. Took a bit of time, family stuff, but here we are.
CLARA: Dinner, in fact.
DANNY: Yeah, straight to dinner.

"You are both so … so awkward." Donna declared, expression flat. Clara just hid her face in her hands and groaned which was a great sign that things were only going to get better.

CLARA: I like a man who moves fast.
DANNY: Yeah? I might go straight for extras. Afters. Dessert.
CLARA: Yes, I know, I know, dessert.
DANNY: Straight to dessert.
CLARA: Gotcha.

"And things only get worse." Yaz grimaced, feeling sympathy for Clara who had to suffer through this twice and also have it shown to everyone.

DANNY: So, er, how was your day?
CLARA: Good. You know. Teaching.
DANNY: Yep, teaching.
CLARA: Teaching, teaching.
DANNY: Totally teaching.

"So, he's a teacher alongside you?" Martha asked, taking pity on Clara who was clearly suffering.

It earned her a thankful smile, "Yes, Danny was a maths teacher and I taught English at Coal Hill School." She shot the Doctor a pointed look, "Maths, not P.E. ignore whatever that idiot tells you."

CLARA: We probably shouldn't talk about work.
DANNY: God, yeah.
CLARA: Though, do you take Courtney for anything?

"Courtney?" Ryan asked.

"One of our students." Clara smiled fondly.

"Ah yes, the disruptive influence." The Doctor grinned whilst Clara sighed, she had a feeling she would be doing it a lot this video if this was how it was starting.

(A little later they are still laughing.)
DANNY: Are you serious?
CLARA: She said she couldn't concentrate on her work, because my face was too wide.
DANNY: Wide?
CLARA: I could kill that girl some days.

"An interesting student then." Rose grinned.

"She's smart but gets bored easily, which leads to trouble … for everyone." Clara snorted.

DANNY: Me too.
CLARA: And from you, that means something.
DANNY: Sorry?

Clara winced at the memory of her careless comment, they hadn't been at the point in their relationship (personal or romantic) that they knew the others boundaries, and Danny had a strong aversion (for good reasons) to the topic of his time in army.

"Are we missing something?" Mickey asked, confusion obvious on his face at how the conversation had taken a turn for the worst after they had just started to get over their awkwardness.

Clara grimaced and sighed before answering, "Danny was in the army before he left and became a teacher. His time there … aren't apart of his favourite memories." Several of the others joined her in wincing, all catching the subtext behind Clara's words.

(The jovial atmosphere dissipates instantly. We see Clara at home, putting her high heels by the kettle.)

The group winced again; things really hadn't gone well then for things to have ended like that.

DANNY: I dug twenty three wells.
CLARA: I'm sorry?
DANNY: Twenty three wells. When I was a soldier. Twenty three.
CLARA: Okay. Good. Good wells.
DANNY: Yeah, they were good, actually.
CLARA: I'm not doubting the quality of your wells.
DANNY: Whole villages saved. Actual towns full of people. People I didn't shoot. People I kept safe.

"He has some issues." Jack said seriously, not in a mocking way, simply recognising a fellow soldier. Clara grimaced but nodded, it had taken her a while to learn some of the reasons behind Danny's aversion to talking about the army (as was his right), and at that point it had been too late.

CLARA: Okay. Point taken. Seriously.
DANNY: So why doesn't that ever get mentioned?
CLARA: I'm sorry I didn't mention your twenty three wells.
WAITER: Excuse me?
CLARA: Sorry.
WAITER: Er, water for the table?

"He has no idea what he just walked into." Yaz winced, feeling a bit sorry for the waiter who had just walked into the metaphorical battlefield.

CLARA: Don't you worry. He'll probably dig for it.
(The waiter leaves with the jug of water. After a few moments, Danny laughs.)
DANNY: Sorry.
CLARA: It's okay.
DANNY: Sensitive subject.
CLARA: Yes. Can slightly see that.
DANNY: Sometimes people like you get the wrong end of the stick.

"Oh no." Rose muttered. They could all see how Clara was going to take that comment, and after they'd just got over the army issues.

CLARA: People like me?
(In her apartment, Clara takes a sip of the hot drink she has made.)
DANNY: I wasn't making assumptions about you.
CLARA: That really is exactly what you were doing.
DANNY: You were making assumptions about me.
CLARA: I made a joke.
DANNY: A not-funny joke.
CLARA: Yeah, well, do you know what I'm making now?
DANNY: A fuss?
CLARA: An exit.
(Clara puts on her coat and leaves the restaurant. Danny thumps his head on the table.)

"Talk about disastrous first dates." Donna declared, then winced and turned to Clara. "Sorry."

Clara waved her off, "No, it's okay. It really wasn't the best start. We both said stupid things." And despite that they'd made up (thanks to the power of time travel) but good things didn't last. Maybe this video was going to be harder than she first thought it would if it kept up bringing Danny. She didn't miss the concerned look the Doctor gave her, sometimes the Doctor was annoyingly perceptive (the rest of the time they were annoyingly un-perceptive, was that even a word? Wait, never mind).

[Clara's bedroom]

(The door hits something as it opens. The Doctor is sitting at Clara's dressing table.)
DOCTOR: You just have to squeeze through.
CLARA: Doctor?
DOCTOR: Why do you have three mirrors? Why don't you just turn your head?

"Amazing priorities as always Doc." Graham said.

CLARA: What are you doing in here?
DOCTOR: You said you had a date. I thought I'd better hide in the bedroom in case you brought him home. Bit early, aren't you? Did it all go wrong, or is this good by your standards?

The group all winced at that comment, wrong was a bit of a light word to describe that disaster. The Doctor also wouldn't be their first choice of comfort after said disaster, that Doctor in particular (as much as they loved them, the Doctor was terrible wherever romance was concerned).

CLARA: It was a disaster and I am extremely upset about it, since you didn't ask.

"I mean, he kinda asked?" Ryan argued uncertain about poking Clara when she was clearly in a bad mood. Clara just let out a long-suffering sigh.

DOCTOR: Fine. I need you, for a thing.
CLARA: I can't.
DOCTOR: Oh, of course you can. Come on, you're free. More than usually free, in fact.

"Doctor!" Amy berated, sending the Doctor a glare for his careless comment.

CLARA: No, it's just possible that I might get a phone call.
DOCTOR: From the date guy? It's too late. You've taken your make-up off.

"No, she hasn't." Nardole argued, inspecting at the Doctor as if to check his eye sight was in fact working.

CLARA: No, I haven't. I'm still wearing my make-up.
DOCTOR: Oh, right. Well, you probably just missed a bit. Come on, come on, come on, come on.

"For a time-traveller you are rather impatient, Sweetie." River smiled fondly. The Doctor just shrugged.

[Tardis]

(Clara is carrying her shoes.)
CLARA: I haven't actually said yes.

"Yet you're still going with him." Martha grinned, they'd all gone through that at some point. It was hard to say no to the Doctor when they got like this, and usually better for everyone's sanity to just get it over with.

DOCTOR: Yes, you know sometimes when you talk to yourself, what if you're not?
CLARA: Not what?
DOCTOR: What if it's not you you're talking to? Proposition. What if no one is ever really alone? What if every single living being has a companion, a silent passenger, a shadow? What if the prickle on the back of your neck, is the breath of something close behind you?

"That is simultaneously comforting and terrifying." Bill mused, earning a few concerned looks from the older members of the group, and several hums of agreement from the younger ones.

CLARA: How long have you been travelling alone?

"Far too long." Clara muttered to herself, giving the Doctor a pointed look which they ignored.

DOCTOR: Perhaps I never have.

"Touche." Ryan declared.

(He shows her the blackboard with the word he didn't write.)
CLARA: It looks like your handwriting.
DOCTOR: Well, I couldn't have written it and forgotten, could I?

"Absolutely."

"Yes."

"That sounds like you."

"Of course, you would."

"That sounds reasonable."

"You would."

"Certainly."

Several people immediately starting to argue with the Doctor on screen while the Doctor in the room just pouted. Clara gave him a 'I told you so!' look which she did her best to ignore.

CLARA: Have you met you? What's all this?
(A table strewn with books.)
DOCTOR: Dreams. Accounts of dreams, by different people, all through history. You see, I have a theory.

"Here we go." Donna rolled her eyes.

CLARA: I'll bet you have. What theory?
DOCTOR: I think everybody, at some point in their lives, has the exact same nightmare. You wake up, or you think you do, and there's someone in the dark, someone close, or you think there might be.
(As evidenced by the little boy, the little girl, the old woman waking in their respective beds, putting on the light and sitting on the edge of the bed, feet on the floor.)
DOCTOR: So you sit up,and turn on the light. And the room looks different at night. It ticks and creaks and breathes. And you tell yourself there's nobody there, nobody watching, nobody listening, nobody there at all. And you very nearly believe it. You really, really try and then.
(A hand reaches out from under the beds and grabs the left ankle.)
DOCTOR: There are accounts of that dream throughout human history. Time and time again, the same dream. Now, there is a very obvious question I'm about to ask you. Do you know what it is?

"A nightmare Doctor, that's all it is." Amy half-scolded, half-comforted the Doctor. No one missed the long look that Clara and the Doctor shared, but none of the group were able to interpret what it meant.

"Great, now I'm going to have that nightmare." Ryan sighed.

CLARA: Have you had that dream?
DOCTOR: Exactly.
CLARA: No, that was me asking you. Have you had that dream?
DOCTOR: I asked first.

"No, you didn't." Rose argued, "And that's a yes then." The Doctor avoided all eye contact.

CLARA: No, I did.
DOCTOR: You really didn't.
CLARA: Okay, yeah, probably. Yes. But everyone dreams about something under the bed.
DOCTOR: Why?

"This seems like it is all based off of paranoia. But it is a good question." Martha admitted. "Is there a reason for it, Doctor?"

The Doctor hesitated, glancing at Clara before turning back to Martha, "How about we watch and see?"

"Ah, so you don't know."

"I didn't say that!" The Doctor spluttered.

"You basically did Doctor." Mickey chimed in to support his wife. Martha nodded along, as did most of the other residents of the room.

(The Doctor places Clara's fingers into squidgy sections on the Tardis console.)
DOCTOR: Just hold on tight. If anything bites, let it.

"That's … not what anyone wants to hear." Yaz muttered, throwing Clara a sympathetic look.

CLARA: What is it?
DOCTOR: Tardis telepathic interface. You are now in mental contact with the Tardis, so don't think anything rude.

"If you say something like that, that's the first thing people are going to think." Rory pointed out the hole in the Doctor's logic.

CLARA: Why not?
DOCTOR: It might end up on all of the screens. The Tardis is extrapolating your entire timeline, from the moment of your birth, to the moment of your death.
CLARA: Which I do not need a preview of.

Everyone noticed the sad look that Clara and the Doctor shared but no one commented on it, allowing them both their privacy for once.

DOCTOR: I'm turning off the safeguards and navigation, slaving the Tardis to you. Focus on the dream. Focus on the details. Picture them, feel them. The Tardis will track on your subconscious and extract the relevant information. It should be able to home in on the moment in your timeline when you first had that dream. And then, we'll see.

"Is that safe?" Graham asked worried.

"Probably not." The Doctor shrugged, far too nonchalant for anyone's liking.

"When are half of the Doctor's plans?" Yaz countered with a snort.

"Very reassuring you two." Graham sighed, earning sympathetic glances from Rory and Mickey.

"They have a point."

"Oh, don't you start too Ryan!" The three just laughed at him.

CLARA: What will we see?
DOCTOR: What's under your bed.
(He starts the Tardis flying.)
CLARA: Ooo!
DOCTOR: Okay, now don't get distracted. Remember, you are flying a time machine.

"Again, the absolutely worst thing to say to someone at a time like this." Nardole pointed out, building on from Rory's comment earlier.

(Clara's mobile phone rings, and the image of Danny greeting her at the restaurant flashes into her mind. As the Doctor walks around the console to her, he passes a blackboard with lots of items chalked on it, beginning with Evolution Perfects. It is what he wrote at the top of the show.)

Everyone winced at the reminder of the date with Danny. Amy sighed, "That's some bad timing there."

"But good that he wants to call. Maybe he wants to make up?" Rose added hopeful.

DOCTOR: No, no. Don't you dare. No, don't. Don't, don't. Just ignore it.
(The Tardis lands.)
DOCTOR: Okay, that's good. That worked. We're here.

"Question is; where's here?" Bill remarked dramatically, attempting to be cryptic and mysterious.

CLARA: Sorry, I think I got distracted.
DOCTOR: No, no, no, no, no. The date's fine. Come on.
CLARA: Come on where?
DOCTOR: Your childhood.

"Not what anyone wats to hear." Mickey said then pause and re-thought his comment, "I mean no offense. I didn't mean your childhood specifically, just if it was you …" He trailed off having figured he wasn't helping himself.

Thankfully Clara just looked amused, "Don't worry, I know what you mean. Besides, I'd have to agree. That declaration was worrying. What she didn't say was that she was glad they hadn't ended up in her past in the end, they'd just have to watch to find that out.

(The Doctor leaves. Clara tugs hard to try and release her fingers from the Tardis interface. On the third try she is free to follow.)

"She really doesn't like you, does she?" River commented upon seeing Clara struggle to escape the Tardis's interface.

Clara groaned, "Don't remind me." That was another mess she wasn't eager to relive – between Danny's death, the Mistress, and her betrayal of the Doctor it would not be a fun one for them all to watch.

[Outside the building]

(Night.)
DOCTOR: The West Country Children's Home. Gloucester. By the ozone level and the drains, mid-nineties. You must have been here when you had the dream.
CLARA: Never been to Gloucester in my life, and I've never lived in a children's home.

Martha narrowed her eyes at the screen, glancing at Clara before nodding to herself. "Danny?" She asked, theorising that Clara really had gotten distracted in the end.

"Danny." Clara nodded in confirmation. The rest of the group all 'ahhh'-ed in understanding.

DOCTOR: You've probably just forgotten. Have you seen the size of human brains? They're hilarious. Little you must be in here somewhere, with your little brain.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't the kind of thing you forget, Doctor." Rory tried to protest.

"You'd be surprised." The Doctor answered mysteriously, refusing to elaborate despite several curious glances sent her way.

CLARA: Isn't it bad if I meet myself?
DOCTOR: It is potentially catastrophic.

Rose and the Doctor shared a long look, "It can be very bad." Rose declared with a shiver. Like the Doctor she refused to elaborate.

CLARA: So why did you bring me out here?
DOCTOR: I was still talking. I needed someone to nod. Probably best for you to wait in the Tardis.

"Did you really think there was any chance of her actually doing that?" Martha raised an eyebrow, snorting in belief.

"I can dream." The Doctor sighed, she knew full well the chances of any of her companions actually listening to her when she told them to stay behind was very very slim, but she still had to try each time.

CLARA: Doctor, I
DOCTOR: See you in a minute. Tardis.
CLARA: Doctor. If I had have been distracted, what would have happened?
DOCTOR: We would probably have ended up in the wrong place. But don't think we have, because the time zone's right. I won't be long.

River stared at the Doctor for a moment in silence before opening her mouth, "You're an idiot."

"You're idiot." The Doctor countered.

River smiled fondly, "Unfortunately."

"Oi!"

(The Doctor walks away. A young boy waves from an upstairs window. He reminds Clara of how Danny waves. Then he opens his window and calls down.)
RUPERT: What are you doing down there?
CLARA: Nothing. Er, I'm just. What's your name?
RUPERT: Rupert.

"Wait, so it's not Danny?" Ryan asked confused, he'd thought the kid looked fairly similar to the man they'd seen earlier but Rupert wasn't right.

"I didn't say that." Clara winked, confusing the group.

CLARA: Oh. Okay. Hello, Rupert.
RUPERT: Rupert Pink. It's a stupid name.

"So, it is Danny!" Yaz stated, though there was a clear question in her voice.

Clara smiled, before taking pity on the group and nodding.

CLARA: No, it isn't. I know somebody called Pink.
RUPERT: I meant Rupert. I'm going to change it.

"And that's what he did apparently." Mickey said, it felt like these videos were purposely messing with them sometimes.

CLARA: Why are you awake? Are you scared?

"A dark night in a creepy children's home in the 90's as you chase a potential shadow monster." Bill drawled, "What isn't there to be scared of?"

[Children's home]

(The sonic screwdriver is scanning as the Doctor walks along the corridor. A balding man in glasses opens a door. We hear the TV on in the background.)
REG: How did you get in?

"I think this is the time for the psychic paper." Donna gave the Doctor a pointed look.

DOCTOR: Your door must be faulty.
(The Doctor holds up his psychic paper.)
REG: An inspection? It's two in the morning.

"Why is he awake at that time?" Graham asked, shaking his head at the screen.

DOCTOR: When better? Do you always work here nights?
REG: Most nights, yes.

"Night worker, yeah that explains that." Graham answered himself.

"Is that allowed grandad?" Ryan teased; Graham just sighed.

DOCTOR: Do you ever end up talking to yourself?
REG: All the time. It's this place. You can't help it.

"Yeah, it's like the start of a bad horror movie." Clara muttered; she was a bit glad she'd missed this interaction. She much referred spending time with young-Rupert/Danny rather than the slightly creepy night-worker.

DOCTOR: What about your coffee?
REG: My coffee?
(Reg looks at the mug he put down on the table. We see Clara going up the stairs behind them.)
DOCTOR: Sometimes, do you put it down, and look round, and it's not there?
REG: Everybody does that.
DOCTOR: Yes. Everybody.

"You are very paranoid." Jack pointed an accusing finger at the Doctor, "What have we missed?" He joked, but they could all hear the serious edge underneath. The Doctor shared a glance with Clara but refused to answer, instead turning back to the screen in hopes the Tardis would help her by starting the video back up.

(The television switches off.)
DOCTOR: Who turned your telly off?
REG: It does that. It just goes off.
(The Doctor has vanished. Reg looks for his mug, but it has vanished too. The Doctor walks along the corridor and takes a drink from it.)
DOCTOR: Hmm.

"I'm confused." Rory declared.

"That's not hard." Amy muttered with a teasing grin, nudging her husband who just rolled his eyes before continuing.

"Is there actually something doing all this or is the Doctor just really paranoid and this place is weird and creepy?" He finished his question.

Clara and the Doctor shared another long look, having a silent conversation that none of the others could interpret. Then in sync they turned to the rest of the group and spoke, "Spoilers." The group grumbled in annoyance but turned back to the screen, allowing the video to continue.

(Clara opens a creaky door and walks along an upstairs corridor.)

[Rupert's room]

(Rupert is sitting on the floor by the window.)
CLARA: Hello.
RUPERT: Hello.
CLARA: Nice room. You know, you should have more than one chair. What do you do when people come round?
RUPERT: Sit on the bed.

"No offense, but how many people do you think comes to visit this kid?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey!" Martha berated, hitting his arm.

"Hey! We were all thinking it!" Mickey rubbed the spot where Martha had hit him, she wasn't exactly weak.

CLARA: Why aren't you sitting on it, then? Do you think that there's something underneath it? Hey, everyone thinks that, sometimes. That's just how people think at night.
RUPERT: Why?

"He raises a good point. Why?" Rose asked the group at large, deep in thought. Even if the Doctor's paranoia amounted to nothing in this video, it was raising good questions.

"People are scared of what they don't know." Was the Doctor's reply, solemn and quiet.

Bill tilted her head, "But don't most people know what is under their bed?"

"Even when it's dark?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Bill.

"Yes?" Bill answered, but she seemed to be questioning herself.

Clara sighed, "Stop scaring her, Doctor." The Doctor just grinned widely as Bill grumbled, releasing the Doctor had been teasing her (or at least she hoped she had been).

CLARA: Did you have a dream? A hand grabbing your foot? You have, haven't you? You've had that exact dream.
RUPERT: How did you know?
CLARA: Do you know why dreams are called dreams?

"Avoiding the question." Martha nodded, "Smart, there is no way you could safely answer that question."

RUPERT: Why?
CLARA: Because they're not real. If they were, they wouldn't need a name.
RUPERT: What are you doing?
(Clara looks underneath the bed.)

"That's brave." Ryan said, "Even if there is nothing under the bed, with all the talk about it recently, I don't think I could do that." A few people nodded along. The way the video was being shown to them also wasn't helping.

CLARA: Do you know what's under there?
RUPERT: What?
CLARA: Me!

No one noticed the wide-eyed look Clara gave the screen, finally connecting some of the dots that had been gathering dust in the back of her mind. She'd never realised how true her statement had been, for the Doctor at least. In a weird roundabout way this whole thing was her fault, except it was the Doctor's fault for investigating it in the first place, which led to it all happening … yeah time travel was confusing.

(Clara rolls under the bed and lies on her back.)
CLARA: Come on, It's perfectly safe.
(Rupert lies next to her.)

Bill nodded, "Good idea. Exert dominance. Nothing else will want to be under there if you already are." Her comment earned her some strange looks from most of the group, and a few nods of agreement from Yaz and Ryan.

Mickey leaned over to whisper in Martha's ear, "Were we that strange when we were that age?" Martha just elbowed him.

CLARA: See? Nobody here, except us.
RUPERT: Sometimes I hear noises.
CLARA: It's a house full of people. Of course you hear noises.

Rose nodded, "Houses do just make noises, not just the people in them."

RUPERT: They're all asleep.
CLARA: They're all dreaming.
RUPERT: Can you hear dreams?
CLARA: If you're clever enough. But they can't harm you. You know, sometimes we think there's something behind us. And the space under your bed is what's behind you at night. Simple as that. There's nothing to be afraid of.

"You know, I've never thought about it like that but that's a really good point." Amy hummed.

(The bed creaks as someone sits on it. It sags to within inches of Clara's nose. Rupert starts breathing quickly.)

"Is that the Doctor?" Rory asked, "Please say that's the Doctor."

Clara and the Doctor shared a long look but didn't give any answers, both just gesturing to the screen.

CLARA: (sotto) Who else is in this room?
RUPERT: (sotto) Nobody.
CLARA: (sotto) Someone must have come in.
RUPERT: (sotto) Nobody came in.
(Clara rolls out and stands up. There is someone sitting on the bed, covered in the red crocheted bedspread.)

"I don't think that's the Doctor." Ryan whispered hoarsely. The whole group was leaning forward and on the edge of their seats, their attention captivated by the horror movie this video has started to become.

CLARA: Hello?
(She helps Rupert stand up.)
CLARA: Who's this? This is a friend of yours playing a game. Playing a trick, are you, hey? A little trick on Rupert here?
(The bed creaks as the figure shifts, sitting up taller.)

"Oh god." Donna muttered, this kind of horror vibe and creatures in the shadows was reminding her far too much of the Library, which was never something she wanted to think about for long (especially knowing who River was now).

CLARA: Okay. It's not funny this, you know.
(The light is switched on. Clara and Rupert turn to see the Doctor sitting in the chair flicking through a book. The figure is still covered by the bedspread.)

"Definitely not the Doctor." Graham muttered, referring to the figure covered by the bed sheet. Maybe they were wrong in thinking this was all just the Doctor's paranoia at play.

DOCTOR: Where is he?
CLARA: Doctor?
DOCTOR: I can't find him. Can you find him?

"Are you looking for the kid?" Amy asked, then shook her head and corrected herself, "No, you don't know about the kid. Who are you looking for?"

The Doctor looked away with red cheeks as Clara made a weird expression like she was trying to decide between sighing in exasperation and laughing. That was promising at least.

CLARA: Find who?
DOCTOR: Wally.
CLARA: Wally?
DOCTOR: He's nowhere in this book.

The group all turned as one to stare down the Doctor who was suspiciously avoiding eye contact.

"Doctor …" Martha started, "Did you think that book was a 'Where's Wally'?" The way the Doctor continued to avoid eye contact was all the answer the group needed as they broke out into rambunctious laughter, the Doctor started blushing.

"Even better." Clara interrupted the laughter, ignoring the pleading looks the Doctor was giving her, "They thought Wally was in every book." The laughter resumed even louder.

The laughter wasn't loud enough for the group to miss the Doctor's grumbled comment, "I wasted so much time over the years." It took them a few minutes to get control of themselves enough for the video to resume.

RUPERT: It's not a Where's Wally one.
DOCTOR: Well, how would you know? Maybe you just haven't found him yet.
RUPERT: He's not in every book.
DOCTOR: Really? Well, that's a few years of my life I'll be needing back. Are you scared? The thing on the bed, whatever it is, look at it. Does it scare you?

"I think it scares all of us." Nardole muttered, eyeing the screen warily.

RUPERT: Yes.
DOCTOR: Well, that's good. Want to know why that's good?

"Yes Spaceman. Why is being terrified of the mysterious stranger under his covers a good thing?!" Donna exclaimed, eyes daring the Doctor to come up with a reasonable explanation. The Doctor just grinned.

RUPERT: Why?
DOCTOR: Let me tell you about scared. Your heart is beating so hard, I can feel it through your hands. There's so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain, it's like rocket fuel. Right now, you could run faster and you could fight harder, you could jump higher than ever in your life. And you are so alert, it's like you can slow down time. What's wrong with scared? Scared is a superpower. It's your superpower. There is danger in this room and guess what? It's you. Do you feel it? Do you think he feels it? Do you think he's scared? Nah. Loser. Turn your back on him.

"I liked that speech up until the last sentence." Rory declared, "Then you went back to your normal insane self." Despite his words, he couldn't help but smile at the screen. Both Clara and the Doctor were trying so hard to help this kid, and they could all tell they were likely scared themselves too, but they were focused on solving the mystery and protecting this scared kid (Clara's future co-worker and date).

They were all in awe of the Doctor's speech, times like this were a strong reminder of why they enjoyed travelling with the Doctor (alongside all the amazing places and people they saw and met). The Doctor was very good at speeches when the situation called for it.

RUPERT: What?
DOCTOR: Yeah, turn your back on him. Come on. You too, Clara. Clara, your back, now.
(The Doctor turns and goes to the window.)
DOCTOR: Do it. Just do it now. Turn your back. Do it now, turn your back. Lovely view out this window.

"What are you doing?" Amy shook her head in disbelief at the Doctor's latest crazy idea. She didn't get an answer.

(Rupert stands between them.)
CLARA: Yeah. Come and see all the dark.
DOCTOR: The deep and lovely dark. We'd never see the stars without it. Now, there are two possibilities. Possibility one, it's just one of your friends standing there, and he's playing a joke on you. Possibility two, it isn't.

"I'm strongly hoping for possibility one." Ryan declared, raising a hand.

"I think we all are." Yaz grimaced.

CLARA: So, plan? Plans are good.
DOCTOR: You on the bed, I'm talking to you now. Go in peace. We won't look. Just go. If all you want to do is stay hidden, it's okay. Just leave.
(The figure moves up close behind them.)

"Oh god." Rose muttered. The whole group was tense, waiting for the figure to make up its mind whether it was going to attack or run.

Clara grimaced; she hadn't realised (for obvious reasons) how close the figure had gotten to them. She also wasn't quite sure what they would have done if it decided to attack them (and if it wasn't just one of the other kids playing a badly-timed prank).

CLARA: Is it gone?
DOCTOR: Don't look round. Not yet.
RUPERT: I can't hear anything.
DOCTOR: Don't look round.
(Rupert starts to turn around.)

"No, no, no. Don't look." Rory muttered.

DOCTOR: Look away! Look away now! Don't look at it! Don't look round. Don't look round. Don't look at the reflection.
RUPERT: What is it?
(The thing pulls the bedspread off, and we get a glimpse of an out of focus maybe-not-quite-human forehead and eyes.)

"That's not a kid playing a prank." Martha said. "Doctor?"

Clara and the Doctor shared a long look, having a silent (panicked) conversation. Neither of them had seen that much (as they were looking away), and they were both very thankful it hadn't decided to do anything in the end. Clara was reconsidering her stance on this whole situation being purely caused by the Doctor's paranoia from the incident in the barn when he was a kid.

"You don't know what it was, do you?" River asked quietly, reading through the Doctor's silence. The Doctor shook her head, the universe was a very vast place, she hadn't seen everything yet and she doubted she ever would. Clearly, Jack and River (and the Master) had no ideas about the figure either as none offered up an explanation. (The Master could know but being who he is, likely wouldn't share that knowledge unless he was showing off his knowledge or annoyed into answering – they likely would never know).

DOCTOR: Imagine a thing that must never be seen. What would it do if you saw it?

"Like the Weeping Angels?" Amy asked, head tilted in consideration.

The Doctor seemed to consider that, "Kind of. Except if an Angel is seen they turn to stone. This thing just can't be seen at all. So not at all." Amy rolled her eyes at the last part.

RUPERT: I don't know.
DOCTOR: Neither do I. Close your eyes.
RUPERT: What?
DOCTOR: Close your eyes. You too, Clara. Give it what it wants. Prove to it that you're not going to look at it. Make a promise. A promise you're never going to look at it.

"You're hoping if you give it what you think it wants, then it will leave you alone." Jack stated. Despite his confidence, he still turned to the Doctor for confirmation. The Doctor nodded, with a proud smile. "That's very hopeful of you."

"Hope is sometimes all we have." The Doctor replied solemnly.

RUPERT: I promise never to look.
DOCTOR: The breath on the back of your neck, like your hair's standing on end. That means, don't look round.
(The door slams shut.)

The whole group let out an audible sigh of relief at hearing/seeing the mysterious figure disappear into the night. The situation had left them all feeling very unsettled, it was rare that they didn't find out what something was or why something had happened in the end, and it seemed whatever had just happened here would not be getting an explanation anytime soon (and they weren't sure they wanted one).

CLARA: Gone.
DOCTOR: Gone.
RUPERT: He took my bedspread.

"Humans." Nardole muttered at Rupert's complaint, earning a few glares of annoyance from the rest of the human members of the group.

DOCTOR: Oh, the human race. You're never happy, are you?
RUPERT: Am I safe now?
(Clara and the Doctor look at Rupert's toys. The Doctor is interested in his orange robot.)
DOCTOR: Nobody's safe, especially not at night in the dark, Anything can get you. And all the way up here, you're up here all alone.

"Doctor!" Donna berated. They'd just spent so long trying to escape danger and keep young Rupert safe, and now the Doctor was just scaring him (his little speech about fear being a superpower really didn't matter at this moment).

(Clara slaps the back of the Doctor's head.)

Several people gave Clara approving nods for that.

DOCTOR: What was that for?

"As if you don't know." Clara rolled her eyes at the Doctor who pouted.

CLARA: Shut up, leave this to me.
(She has found a box of toy plastic soldiers.)
CLARA: These yours?
RUPERT: They're the home's.
CLARA: They're yours now.
DOCTOR: People don't need to be lied to.

"Sometimes a kind lie is better than a harsh truth." River smiled sadly at her wife, who looked like she was split between arguing and appreciating the sentiment. Seeing River's pointed eyebrow raise when she opened her mouth to argue, she wisely shut it again and stayed silent.

CLARA: People don't need to be scared by a big gray-haired stick insect, but here you are. Stay still, shut up. See what I'm doing? This is your army.

"'Big grey-haired stick insect'?" Bill asked, face being split by her wide grin. "That's the best description of Eyebrows I've ever heard." Bill and Clara shared a look, commiserating each other on having dealt with Eyebrows for so long. The Doctor glanced rapidly between the two, looking offended by the silent conversation the pair were clearly showing. The video continued before she could make any verbal protests however (clearly the Tardis's love of Bill overrun her hate of Clara).

(Clara puts the little soldiers on guard around Rupert's bed.)
DOCTOR: Plastic army.
CLARA: Sit! And they're going to guard under your bed. You see this one? This is the boss one, the colonel. He's going to keep a special eye out.
RUPERT: It's broken, that one. It doesn't have a gun.
CLARA: That's why he's the boss. A soldier so brave he doesn't need a gun. He can keep the whole world safe. What shall we call him?

"I can see why you're a teacher." Rose smiled at Clara who matched her expression.

"Thank you, Rupert was a bit younger to the kids I'm used to at school. Teenagers are a unique challenge in themselves, saying that all kids are really."

RUPERT: Dan.
CLARA: Sorry?
RUPERT: Dan, the soldier man. That's what I call him.

"That's why he became Danny, and a soldier … isn't it?" Yaz asked Clara quietly, recognising the undertone of Rupert's words.

"I think that this had a lasting impact on him, even if he doesn't remember the details." Clara nodded, eyes sad as she thought back to young Rupert and then the Danny she had known and loved.

CLARA: Good. Good name.
RUPERT: Yeah. Would you read me a story? It'll help me get to sleep.
CLARA: Sure.
DOCTOR: Once upon a time.
(He touches Rupert's forehead and the boy falls back, asleep.)
DOCTOR: The end. Dad skills.
(After all, if you're a grandfather, you've probably been a father first.)

"A very useful trick." Mickey smiled, "Would be very helpful. Bedtime is the worst with a toddler." He couldn't help but wonder about his son August. The Tardis had already answered Martha and his questions (during the first break they'd begged for answers), and they knew they be returned exactly where they'd been taken from, and August was with his grandparents (Martha's side) anyway so if the Tardis miscalculated slightly, it wouldn't be a complete disaster.

A few others had focused more on the Doctor's comment on 'dad skills' rather than the action itself. It was relatively rare to get a mention of the Doctor's life before elevating or the family they all knew the Doctor had had. They knew better to comment on it.

[Tardis]

CLARA: So is it possible we've just saved that kid from another kid in a bedspread?

"That's what we're hoping." Clara muttered to herself, she'd mostly forgotten that part of the mess because of everything that happened after, but based off of what they'd just seen she didn't think that was just a kid playing a prank.

DOCTOR: Entirely possible, yes. The bigger question is, why did we end up with him, and not you?
CLARA: I got distracted.
DOCTOR: But why that particular boy? You don't have any. You don't have any kind of connection with him, do you?
CLARA: No. No, no, no. Of course not. Why do you ask?

"Smart. Don't let him know or he'll stick his nose where it shouldn't be and make a mess of everything." Amy nodded approvingly at Clara who grinned back, knowing exactly how true that statement was.

"Oi!" The Doctor's protests were ignored.

(The Doctor is working on a Tardis component.)
DOCTOR: The Tardis was slaved to your timeline. Theoretically, there should have been some connection.
CLARA: Will er, will he remember any of that?
DOCTOR: Scrambled his memory. Gave him a big old dream about being Dan the soldier man.

Clara smiled sadly at the screen; memories of Danny prominent. It had been enough time since his death for her to come to terms with it, but she'd never forget her time with Danny, or what could have been.

(Clara starts crying.)
DOCTOR: Are you okay?
CLARA: Doctor, I am sorry to ask, and, you know, I realise this is probably against the laws of time, or summat. Er, could you do me a favour?

Martha considered Clara in the room for a second before seemingly reaching a conclusion, "You're going to try again with Danny, aren't you?" Clara nodded in confirmation, still a bit lost in old memories.

[Outside the restaurant]

(Clara leaves the restaurant, and Danny bangs his head on the table. The Doctor and Clara step out of the Tardis.)
CLARA: Is that what I look like from the back?
DOCTOR: It's fine.
CLARA: I was thinking it was good.
DOCTOR: Really?

"Do you have something to say Doctor?" Clara raised an eyebrow at her.

She immediately held her hands up in surrender, "Nope, nothing."

(Clara walks to the restaurant.)

[Restaurant]

(She sits down opposite Danny, who raises his head from the table.)
CLARA: Sorry.
DANNY: Hey.

"That's good. He looks eager for a second chance too." Rose commented. The group were all hoping for things to improve from the first embarrassing attempt of a date. The way Clara just sighed didn't give them much confidence, however.

(Clara holds out her hand.)
CLARA: Hello. I'm Clara Oswald. I'm a bit tricky, sometimes a bit up myself, and I do not like my surname, but I think that's basically everything you need to worry about.

"Apart from the whole space and time travelling thing." Bill grinned.

"Apart from that." Clara matched her grin.

(He takes her hand.)
DANNY: Hello, I'm. I'm sorry
CLARA: Also, I mouth off when I'm nervous and I've got a mouth on me. Seriously, it's got a mind of its own. I'm really worried it wants to go solo.

"I blame the Doctor." Clara decided, shooting the Doctor a teasing smile.

"How's is that my fault?!" She immediately started complaining.

"You're a bad influence, sweetie." River added as the Doctor huffed.

DANNY: I don't know what to say.
CLARA: Don't say anything. Or say something nice.
DANNY: I like your name.
CLARA: It's a start.
DANNY: Oswald. It suits you.
CLARA: Drifting now.
DANNY: Yeah, it's better than Pink.
CLARA: No, Pink, Pink is nice. I like pink.
DANNY: You can have it.

"Oh no." Rory muttered, feeling a bit of second-hand embarrassment for the poor guy. He had a feeling that this date was about to go downhill again. The pair were both fairly strong-headed (Clara especially, in the nicest way possible) and they were only just getting to know each other, they were bound to run into hiccups early on.

CLARA: Ooo, a bold offer, Mister Pink.
DANNY: I meant. You, no
CLARA: I know, I know.
DANNY: Why can't I speak today?
CLARA: It's that foot you're keeping in your mouth.
DANNY: Is that where I put it?
CLARA: Anyway. Clara Pink. Too much.
DANNY: Yeah, it is a bit much.
CLARA: Mind you, Rupert Pink.

"That's going to be fun to explain how you know that." Yaz grimaced, Clara wasn't exactly supposed to know that and there was no logical reason for her to have found it out. It wasn't like she could explain the time travelling thing.

Clara groaned, hiding her face in her hands, "Why are we watching this again?"

"Ask the Tardis." The Doctor snorted, "I'm just glad someone else is suffering too."

(In the background, someone drops a glass and it breaks.)
DANNY: Sorry?
CLARA: Er, ha, ha. Rupert Pink. It's not good.

"That's not a good direction to go." Mickey winced, "You really should have quit while you were ahead."

"Was I ever ahead on this date?" Clara groaned, looking up to the sky as if it held the answers she was looking for.

DANNY: Rupert?
CLARA: Yeah. That was your name, yeah?
DANNY: Who told you that?
CLARA: Er, someone in the school.
(She looks away and clucks her tongue against her palate.)
DANNY: No, I haven't used that name for years.
CLARA: I cannot remember who it was.

"With the number of times we have to lie when travelling with the Doctor, we really should be better at it." Rose commented, giving Clara a sympathetic look.

Amy snorted, "Nah, the Doctor lies enough for all of us."

They all ignored the Doctor's pout, "I feel like you're all getting far too comfortable here and just using it to bully me."

"As we should." River grinned teasingly at her wife.

DANNY: Are you making fun of me?
CLARA: No. No, no, no. No way.
DANNY: Is this a joke?
CLARA: Danny, nothing about this is any kind of joke.
(The door to the kitchens creaks opens and a spaceman walks in.)

"Erm … I think he's in the wrong place." Ryan declared, face scrunching up in confusion at the sight of the spaceman wandering out of the kitchen.

DANNY: Where's your coat?
CLARA: My what?
DANNY: You put your coat on when you left.

"He's not completely unobservant." Donna observed. "That's not great in this situation."

CLARA: Er, I'm really sorry. Danny. There is something I should probably be honest about.
DANNY: How about everything?
CLARA: Everything, in my case, is actually quite a lot.

"Are you going to tell him?" Jack blinked; he hadn't been expecting that. The whole date was messy and Clara seemed eager to get along with Danny, but he'd never would have expected Clara to try and save the date by telling the truth. Most of the time you tried to tell people the truth when they aren't ready it ends with them calling you crazy and never speaking to you again (trust him, he'd had experience with that).

Clara just sighed deeply. This video seemed to be never ending in terms of embarrassment.

DANNY: Well, that's weird.
CLARA: No, no, no, it's not weird. Not really Where are you going?
DANNY: I don't do weird.

"Maybe you're not so compatible." Nardole said.

CLARA: Don't go.
DANNY: Then do something for me, Tell me the truth, because I know when people are lying to me. However weird this thing may be, just tell me the truth.
CLARA: It's not weird

"She says, like a liar." Bill muttered, earning snickers from Yaz and Ryan, and a sigh from Clara (who'd been dealing with teenager for years, and knew far more of their references than she wanted to).

(Clara sees the spaceman beckoning to her.)
CLARA: Exactly.
(The Tardis is visible as the spaceman returns to the kitchen.)
DANNY: I've had enough.
(Danny leaves. Clara sighs, then heads to the kitchens.)

"You got two attempts at the date, ad you still messed it up." The Doctor commented, false nonchalance prominent.

"I'm aware, Doctor." Clara muttered, one hand rubbing her forehead to ward off a headache she could feel oncoming. "I really don't need the reminder."

"I don't think you're getting a choice on that front." Clara just let out a long, loud sigh in answer to the Doctor.

[Tardis]

(She slams the door shut and talks to the spaceman.)
CLARA: I am trying to have a date. A real life, inter-human actual date! It's a normal nice, everyday, meeting-up sort of thing. And I would just like to know, is there any other way you can make this any more surreal than it already is?
(The spaceman takes off his helmet. He is a total dead ringer for Danny Pink, but with bigger hair and a fuller beard.)

"That … is not the Doctor." Graham said. He, like the majority of the group, and Clara on screen, had at first thought it was the Doctor interfering in Clara's date. It wasn't exactly the most unlikely thing with the Doctor, they'd been known to do worse.

Yaz snorted, "That seems to be a running theme today."

ORSON: Hello.
DOCTOR: Ah, Clara! Well done, you found her. Now this is really a bit strange.

"Oh wait, never mind. It is the Doctor … and friend." Mickey blinked unsurprised, "You're not very good at staying out of things Doctor."

CLARA: Danny?
DOCTOR: What's gone wrong with your face? It's all eyes! Why are you all eyes? Get them under control.

"I'll get right on that when you get control of where you put your nose." Clara countered, raising a pointed eyebrow at the Doctor.

ORSON: Er, who's Danny?
DOCTOR: This is Colonel Orson Pink, from about a hundred years in your future.

"Is he Danny's descendant?" Bill asked, then her eye slit up as another thought occurred to her, "Wait! Is he your descendant?"

Clara's expression immediately plummeted, making Bill very aware she'd asked the wrong thing. Before Bill could try to escape the pit she'd verbally fallen into, Clara spoke up. "No. He's not a direct descendant of either of us despite the appearance, maybe related to someone else in Danny's family but I don't know. Danny's not the only person in the world with the surname 'Pink' either." She plastered on a fake nonchalant expression, rolling her shoulders to sit up straighter. She ignored the sad look the Doctor sent her and all the glances the rest of the room were shooting her in favour of keeping her eyes on the screen.

CLARA: Orson Pink?
DOCTOR: Yeah, I laughed too. Sorry. Do you have any connection with him?
CLARA: Connection?
DOCTOR: Yes, maybe you're like a distant relative or something?

River shook her head at her wife, "How are you so clever and yet so stupid at the same time."

The Doctor shrugged, "It's a talent."

CLARA: How, how would I know?
DOCTOR: Right. Okay. (to Orson) Er, well, do you have any old family photographs of her? You know, probably quite old and really fat-looking?

"Doctor!" Clara protested; she'd been a bit too distracted at the time to protest but she wasn't now. The Doctor played innocent.

ORSON: I don't.
CLARA: How did you find him?
DOCTOR: Well, you left a trace in the Tardis telepathic circuits. I fired them up again and the Tardis brought me straight to him. So he is something to do with your timeline.

Clara met the Doctor's eyes, a silent conversation occurring that none of the rest of the group could understand. She was asking the Doctor how he could be part of her timetable when Danny died, the Doctor shrugged – they're way of saying they didn't know everything despite how much they claimed otherwise usually.

CLARA: Okay.
DOCTOR: And you'll never guess where I found him.

"That's a promising statement." Donna drawled; voice full of sarcasm as she realised an expectant eyebrow at the Doctor. Neither of the pair answered her, but she thankfully didn't have long to wait as the video immediately continued.

[Capsule]

(A spaceship is sitting on a rocky planet with a massive hemisphere of a sun dominating the horizon. Calling it a time capsule implies it is much smaller than it really is.)
CLARA: Where are we?
DOCTOR: The end of the road. This is it, the end of everything. The last planet.
CLARA: The end of the universe?

Clara sighed at that statement, "How do we always end up there." They'd been to the so-called 'end of the universe' at least three or four times by her calculation during her time travelling with both regenerations of the Doctor.

Her comment drew several confused looks from the rest of the group but they knew better than to ask as it wasn't likely to gain them any answers (or at least any clear answers).

DOCTOR: The Tardis isn't supposed to come this far, but some idiot turned the safeguards off. Listen.

"I wonder what kind of idiot would do that." River gave the Doctor a pointed look, voice weighed down with all the sarcasm in it. The Doctor simply gave a sheepish smile.

CLARA: To what?
DOCTOR: Nothing. There's nothing to hear. There's nothing anywhere. Not a breath, not a slither, not a click or a tick. All the clocks have stopped. This is the silence at the end of time.

"A vacuum. Complete absence of anything. Utter nothing-ness." Jack muttered, wating the screen in a bit of awe at the sight.

(A clattering as Orson empties the contents of a locker into a rucksack.)
CLARA: Then how did he get here? If he's from a hundred years in my future
DOCTOR: Pioneer time traveller.
(The Doctor sonicks the records up on the computer. The BBC is still using the same Breaking News ticker at the bottom of the screen.)
DOCTOR: Rode the first of the great time shots. They were supposed to fire him into the middle of the next week.
CLARA: What happened?
DOCTOR: He went a bit far.

"A bit?" Martha repeated. "The end of the universe is more than a bit further than a week into the future his time."

"At least, you'd hope." Mickey commented, earning an elbow into the side from his wife.

CLARA: A bit?
DOCTOR: A big bit. Look at him now. Robinson Crusoe at the end of time itself. The last man standing in the universe. I always thought that would be me.
CLARA: It's not a competition.
DOCTOR: I know it's not a competition. Course it isn't. Still time, though.

"It's really not a competition sweetie." River whispered to her wife, face full of concern.

The Doctor gave her what she hoped was a comforting look, "I know. It would be far too lonely and there's so much better things to see and do." River's doubtful look suggested her comment hadn't been that comforting.

CLARA: He looks like he's packing.
DOCTOR: He's been stranded for six months, just met a time traveller. Of course he's packing.

"You're taking him home, right?" Graham asked, not doubting the Doctor but absolutely thinking there might be saw weird time law or something that meant they couldn't. The Doctor gave him a soft smile to reassure him that for once, it was simple enough to take him home.

(Orson enters.)
ORSON: You can do it, then? You can get me home?
DOCTOR: I just showed you, didn't I? A test flight to a restaurant.
ORSON: Yes, but to my family, to my own time?
DOCTOR: Easy. I can do that, can't I, Clara?
CLARA: He can, yes.

"Unless the Tardis has other ideas, yes." Clara corrected her distracted on-screen self.

"Are you doubting my piloting skills?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes." Everyone in the room answered in sync, no hesitation or doubt.

The Doctor hummed, "Just checking."

ORSON: Is everything okay?
CLARA: Yeah, fine. I'm fine.
ORSON: Do I know you?
CLARA: No. Nope.
DOCTOR: Is she doing the all eyes thing? It's because her face is so wide. She needs three mirrors.

"Doctor." Several people in the room sighed, disapproving. It was times like this that they could see why Clara had to introduce a cue card system with Eyebrows.

CLARA: Doctor.
DOCTOR: We can't leave immediately, though. The Tardis needs to recharge.

"That is a load of nonsense." Rose declared, "You just want to do some snooping." The Tardis may need to be charged, but not very often and it certainly couldn't be done at the end of the universe. The Doctor avoided any eye contact.

CLARA: Sorry. What?
DOCTOR: Overnight, that should do it, shouldn't it, Clara?
ORSON: Overnight?
DOCTOR: One more night. That's, that's not a problem, is it?
(Orson's face says yes, but -)

"The poor guy is stuck at the end of the universe and a random time traveller has finally showed home to give him a way home, and you think he wants to stay there even a minute longer?" Rory pointed out, sighing at the Doctor's desire to snoop into things he shouldn't.

ORSON: No. No, no problem.
DOCTOR: It's a shame, isn't it?
ORSON: What's a shame?
DOCTOR: There's only three people left in the universe, and you're lying to the other two. It was the first thing I noticed when I stepped in here. You must have seen it, too, Clara. You've got eyes out to here.

"I think she's a bit distracted at the minute and she's only seen the guy for a few minutes." Donna said, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor.

CLARA: Seen what?
DOCTOR: The universe is dead. Everything that ever was is dead and gone. There's nothing beyond this door but nothingness for ever. So why is it locked?

"Because any sane person would keep a locked door between them and the empty abyss of space?" Amy said pointedly.

ORSON: Please, don't make me spend another night here.
DOCTOR: Afraid of the dark? But the dark is empty now.
ORSON: No. No, it isn't.

"Of course, it isn't." Ryan sighed, "Is it the same thing as under the bed covers?"

Clara and the Doctor shared a quick look before answering in sync, "Just watch." The group groaned, frustrated at that answer.

[Tardis]

(Clara wears the rucksack, Orson carrys two metal cases. She leads him down below the time rotor level.)
CLARA: You'll be safe in here. Nothing gets through those doors, I promise.
ORSON: And you two are going to wait out there?

"He thinks you're absolutely crazy." Mickey stated.

"We are crazy." Clara replied, "And the Doctor isn't going to just leave with that mystery unsolved, so someone has to make sure he doesn't kill himself."

CLARA: That would seem to be the plan. Wait for what exactly?
ORSON: Why can't we just leave?
CLARA: Like he said, it's recharging.
ORSON: You didn't look like you believed him.
CLARA: That's just how my face looks when he talks.

"A valid answer." Bill nodded.

(A clear plastic box containing a gun-less plastic soldier falls from Orson's backpack when she puts it down. Clara picks it up.)
ORSON: It's just a silly toy thing. A family heirloom, supposed to bring good luck.

"A family heirloom? Are you sure he's not Danny's descendant?" Yaz asked, not unkindly, just doubting Clara's confidence and knowledge in that matter. Plus, based on the fact Danny was alone in the children's home, it didn't seem like he had any close family.

Clara glanced at the Doctor briefly, before turning back to the room's expectant eyes. "Pretty sure."

CLARA: Right. Yes. Didn't do a very good job, did it?
ORSON: It did. You're here, aren't you? What were the chances of you two finding me?

"He raises a good point." Bill said, mentally she added a tally under Orson's name on the mental scoreboard she'd started. At the minute Clara and Orson were one a piece and the Doctor was on like minus 10.

CLARA: Orson, do me a favour. Take my advice. When you get home, stay away from time travel.
(She gives him the toy back.)
ORSON: It runs in the family.

The room had perked up at that comment, glancing at Clara out of the corner of their eyes but nor saying anything. Her expression really wasn't inviting to questions and from all that had been said about Danny so far, it seemed Clara and the Doctor had a good reason for saying Orson wasn't Danny's direct descendant.

CLARA: What? Sorry, what do you mean, runs in the family?
ORSON: Nothing. It's just silly stories one of my grandparents. well, great-grandparents
CLARA: What is it? Tell me. You asked if you knew me. It's a family heirloom?
(Orson holds Dan the soldier man out to her and they hold hands around it.)
ORSON: Yeah.

"Doctor." Clara said quietly but full of a meaning the majority of the group couldn't decipher.

The Doctor gave her a sympathetic look. "The universe is a strange place and not everything is fixed." She sighed. "I'm sorry Clara. I don't have the answers you're looking for." Clara swallowed, but nodded reluctantly.

The rest of the group watched the exchange, that feeling of dread that popped up every so often in these videos eating away in their stomachs. They could take a good guess about what had happened to Danny.

[Capsule]

CLARA: What are we doing?
DOCTOR: Waiting.
CLARA: For what? For who? If everybody in the universe is dead, then there's nobody out there.

"Theoretically." Martha said, eyeing the screen wearily.

"Hopefully." Rose added.

DOCTOR: That's one way of looking at it.
CLARA: What's the other?
DOCTOR: That's a hell of a lot of ghosts.
(The lights dim.)

"And right on cue." Bill grimaced, "I can practically hear the horror movie music."

CLARA: Do you have your own mood lighting now? Because, frankly, the accent is enough.

"And what's wrong with a Scottish accent?" Amy raised an eyebrow at Clara who suddenly remembered Amy was Scottish.

She held up her hands in surrender, hoping to escape the wrath of the redhead, "Nothing! Only when it's the Doctor."

Amy's stern expression finally broke out into a grin, "It's okay, I'm just teasing. Everything about the Doctor is worth teasing."

"Oi!"

(The capsule creaks. Words appear on the main hatch - Do Not Open The Door.)

"Oh, that's promising." Yaz said with fake cheer in her voice, before it went more serious. "You're going to open the door, aren't you?"

"Of course, we are." The Doctor and Clara said together, the Doctor significantly more cheerful than Clara.

CLARA: Where did that come from?
DOCTOR: It's always been there. It's only visible in the night lights.
CLARA: But who wrote it?
DOCTOR: Colonel Pink. Apparently, at night, he needs a reminder. Six months stranded alone, I suppose it must be tempting.
CLARA: What is?
DOCTOR: Company.

"Ominous." Ryan muttered, keeping a careful eye on the screen. It felt like something was going to jump out of the darkness at them, and personally, he was not excited for that.

(More slow creaking.)
CLARA: What's that?
DOCTOR: What kind of explanation would you like?
CLARA: A reassuring one?
DOCTOR: Well, the systems are switching to low power. There are temperature differentials all over this ship. It's like pipes banging when the heating goes off.

"Ah, the pipes. Always a good go-to answer." Jack nodded, though despite the sarcasm his face and posture screamed tense.

CLARA: Always thought there was something in the pipes.
DOCTOR: Me, too. Who were you having dinner with?

"Are you only just asking that now?" Donna asked, "I'm surprised your curiosity didn't win out over the current mystery earlier."

"I wished he hadn't asked at all." Clara grumbled.

CLARA: Are you making conversation?
DOCTOR: I thought that I would give it a try.
CLARA: I told you. A date.
DOCTOR: Serious?
CLARA: It's a date.

"That's a yes." Martha stated, not that any of them doubted that after seeing the efforts Clara had gone through to try and make up with Danny so far (before it all got messed up again).

DOCTOR: A serious date?
CLARA: Do I have to bring him to you for approval?
DOCTOR: Well, I would like to know about his prospects. If you like, I can pop ahead and check them out.

"That's also a yes." Mickey grinned.

CLARA: Frankly, you've already done enough.
(What sounds like a scream makes them jump.)
DOCTOR: Atmospheric pressure equalising

"When do things ever have a logical explanation with us?" Rory sighed, bemoaning some of his life choices (well, not really).

CLARA: Or?
DOCTOR: Company.

"Friendly company, I'm sure." Nardole muttered.

CLARA: Why are we doing this? Why don't we just go?
DOCTOR: Because I need to know.

"You always need to know, and it always gets us into trouble." Clara stared down the Doctor.

"But don't you enjoy getting answers to some of life and the universe's mysteries?"

"Not when it means running for my life constantly."

"You enjoy the running!"

Clara sighed before reluctantly answering, "Sometimes, yes."

CLARA: Why? About what?
DOCTOR: Suppose that there are creatures that live to hide. That only show themselves to the very young or the very old, or the mad, or anyone who wouldn't be believed.
CLARA: Okay, so
DOCTOR: What would those creatures do when everyone was gone? When there was only one man left standing in the universe?

"Surely no show themselves? If they live to hide?" Rose said, then seemed to reconsider, "Though Orsin would likely be considered mad out there all alone, and there isn't anyone to tell … I see your point."

(Bang, bang, bang.)
CLARA: What's that?
DOCTOR: Potentially, the hull cooling.
CLARA: Potentially?
DOCTOR: Believably.

"Yep, that's absolutely believable." Jack nodded, expression blank as his eyes never wavered from the screen.

(Bang, bang, bang.)
DOCTOR: Someone knocking.
(Bang, bang, bang.)
DOCTOR: Yes.
(Bang, bang, bang. Scrape, scrape, scrape.)
CLARA: Doctor,
(Bang, bang, bang.)
CLARA: You don't actually believe all this, do you? Hiding creatures, things from under the bed.

"That's a lot of banging for there not to be anything!" Ryan gritted out, eyeing the screen with caution.

(Bang, bang, bang. Scrape, scrape, scrape.)
DOCTOR: What's that in the mirror, or the corner of your eye? What's that footstep following, but never passing by?

"Is this your paranoia and fears creating things out of nothing, or are there things out there and you're paranoid for a reason?" Amy asked quietly.

"Good question." The Doctor replied, equally quiet. A very unreassuringly answer all round, as it meant the Doctor didn't know.

(Bang, bang, bang.)
CLARA: Did we come to the end of the universe because of a nursery rhyme?

"Don't forget the stranded time traveller." Yaz added.

"Came for the nursery rhyme, stayed for the stranded time traveller." Bill grinned.

"What are our lives?" Clara sighed.

(Bang, bang, bang. Bang, bang, bang. The Doctor sonicks the hatch to Unlocked. The mechanism starts to turn.)
CLARA: That's you turning it, right?
DOCTOR: No. Get in the Tardis.

"Get out of there." River said, deadly serious. Eyes only briefly leaving the screen to glance down and reassure her of the Doctor's presence next to her. "We've already seen those things don't like to be seen, and if there is something out there, I doubt you want to meet it."
CLARA: Why?
DOCTOR: I have to know.

"You always have to know, and it always brings trouble." Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. They were all on the fence about whether there was something out there, but at the minute he was leaning on the side of there being something. Either way, this was one occasion where he didn't want confirmation.

CLARA: Doctor. Doctor
DOCTOR: The Tardis, now!
CLARA: Okay, okay. Somebody is out there. Now we know, we can leave. Oh, Doctor!
DOCTOR: It's a pressure lock. Releasing it could've triggered the opening mechanism.

"So, we still don't know if there is something or you're just paranoid?" Donna exclaimed, "Well done, Spaceman."

CLARA: Is there even an atmosphere out there?
DOCTOR: There is an air shell round the ship. Why are you still here?
CLARA: Because I am not going to leave you in danger!

"And when have I ever done what you've told me in situations like this?" Clara added onto the comment her on-screen self-made.

DOCTOR: Then you will never travel with me again, because that is the deal! Tardis, now! Do as you are told!

"When does anyone do what you say? It doesn't stop you travelling with them." Clara said heatedly. It was comments like that which reminded her how new that Doctor was, it had taken them a while to get used to the rhythm of travelling with the other. Clara had kept expecting things base doff her knowledge of the earlier regeneration of the Doctor she'd known and Eyebrows had kept proving to be different, it made for a steep learning curve.

"Because they learn the difference between orders they can ignore, and when I mean it because the danger is too immense for anyone." The Doctor answered, face stern. It was something everyone who travelled with her for any significant portion of time learned, but Clara had always liked to push the boundaries.

The rest of the room stayed quiet, allowing the pair as much privacy as they could. While normally they would add their own remarks, this time they got the feeling it was better to stay out of it.

(Clara runs to the Tardis.)
CLARA: You're an idiot.

"Get the last word in and remind him of the truth. Nice." Amy said, breaking some of the tension that had built up in the room after the heated interaction between the two, both hard-headed and stubborn.

(She goes inside.)
DOCTOR: I know.

"Good." Clara huffed, arms crossed, but the quick burst of anger that she'd found was quickly depleting. This was too long ago to really hold an actual grudge, and far too much had happened in between then and now. They'd both changed a lot in the time, hopefully for the better.

[Tardis]

ORSON: What's happening?
CLARA: He's opening the door.

"Because he's an idiot, who doesn't understand that curiosity killed the cat." Martha declared with a pointed look at the Doctor.

"But satisfaction brought it back." The Doctor countered with a grin, earning groans from the group.

[Capsule]

DOCTOR: Perhaps they're all just waiting, perhaps when we're all dead, out they'll come a-slithering from underneath the bed.

"Comforting." Rory muttered, sarcastically.

The Doctor, however, seemed to miss or ignore the sarcasm. "Isn't it. The idea that the end isn't necessarily the end for everything. It's brilliant!"

(The airlock opens.)

[Tardis]

CLARA: Oh, no, no, no, not now, come on!
(The scanner flickers as the air starts to leave the capsule..)

The group, who had been leaning froward to try and see what (if anything) was coming through the airlock, sat back with frustrated groans.

"Does that mean that those things, that may or may not exist, can control technology to an extent? Or does it just mean the Doctor needs to do some repairs on the Tardis, again?" Rose asked. They were all getting more and more frustrated by the lack of certainty on what was actually going on in this video. Every time they thought it had been confirmed one way or another something else happened that left them confused again.

The Doctor hummed in consideration, "Either is possible. It's also likely that the Tardis just decided to mess with Clara because she hates her."

"So, we're still not clear on what's actually happening?!" Mickey groaned; his question clearly rhetorical but Clara still shook her head in answer.

CLARA: Oh! Always when it's important!
(The Tardis jolts.)
CLARA: What's happening?
(A klaxon sounds.)
CLARA: What's that?

"Nothing good." Bill declared, pointing at the screen accusingly. "Alarms like that are never good."

ORSON: The alarm. The air shell's breached. Stay here.

"See! Nothing good!" Bill declared, feeling vindicated with her correct guess (not that anyone had doubted she was correct).

(The scanner flickers on to show the Doctor hanging on to the edge of a console as the air and anything loose is sucked out of the capsule. A gloved hand grabs his wrist as he starts to slip and he is pulled to safety. A short time later, the unconscious Doctor is back in the Tardis.)

"That was Orson, right?" Ryan asked, "The person that saved the Doctor."

Clara bit her lip for a moment as she thought, "I thought it was, but the hand that grabbed the Doctor was wearing gloves and Orson wasn't. Maybe he put them on and then took them off after leaving and entering the Tardis or …" She left the rest unsaid, everyone able to easily see what she was getting at.

Clara glanced at the Doctor, who shook her head. She couldn't remember who pulled her out of the air lock, the knock to her head had made sure of that.

CLARA: Is he okay?
ORSON: He's out cold. He'll be fine, though.

"Maybe standing in front of an opening air lock with potentially an unknown creature outside it wasn't your smartest idea Doctor." Jack shot the Doctor a disapproving look to which the Doctor just raised an eyebrow. They both knew Jack would absolutely have done the same thing.

CLARA: Something hit him.
ORSON: Everything was flying out of that door.
CLARA: Could've been that.
ORSON: Yeah.

"Or it could have been something else." Amy said, weirds heavy with meaning.

Rory seemed to catch what Amy (and Clara) had been thinking, finishing the unsaid words. "Or maybe it was whatever saved the Doctor, if it wasn't Orson, and they wanted to make sure he didn't remember."

Those thoughts left the whole group feeling unsettled.

(We still hear a group of three sounds repeating in the background.)

The group all watched the screen nervously. This whole video, despite the lack of clear danger, left them feeling more unsettled than most of the videos they'd watched so far. Maybe there was a reason people were so afraid of the unknown.

CLARA: What was out there? What were you so afraid of?
ORSON: I've been here a long time. My own shadow, probably.
CLARA: Yeah.
(Rumble. The Tardis doors move slightly.)
ORSON: That's probably just the rest of the air escaping.

"Absolutely, yeah, that's all it is." Yaz said, but it was clear she didn't believe anything she was saying, cautious eyes never leaving the screen. Like everyone else, she was near the edge of her seat, body tensed up.

CLARA: You say probably a lot.
(Creak, whumph!)
ORSON: We are safe? Nothing can get in here, right?

"Theoretically, but it hasn't always stopped things before." The Doctor answered Orson on screen, more for the benefit of the people in the room than Orson (who obviously couldn't hear her).

CLARA: Probably.
(A hissing sound, like air escaping? The Cloister Bell tolls. Clara goes to the console.)

"There's something out there." Jack said, about 78% sure at this point. "The Cloisters wouldn't be ringing if there wasn't real danger."

"It could have just been the time capsule destabilising because of the air escaping." The Doctor countered, looking unsure of what she was saying.

ORSON: Have you got a plan?
CLARA: Telepathic circuits. I left a trace in them before.
ORSON: So?
CLARA: So apparently, that can do a thing.

"Ah, 'a thing'. The best plan around." Mickey snorted.

Clara raised an eyebrow at Mickey, "Do you have a better idea?"

"Nope, 'a thing' is your best option here."

(She sticks her fingers into the console again.)
ORSON: What, that's your plan?
CLARA: It's not a plan, it's a thing.

"Put your hand in the Tardis's telepathic circuits and hope she takes you out of there, and quick." Rose clarified Clara's plan, "Good idea."

"Only one I had."

(The time rotor starts to stutter.)
CLARA: (sotto) Okay. Come on, come on, you can do it!
(The Doctor wheezes.)

A few people glanced at the Doctor in the room, eager to confirm she was here and okay.

CLARA: Come on! Sorry.
(The time rotor gets up to speed.)
CLARA: Here we go! Come on. Come on!
(The Tardis lands with a thump. The Cloister Bell has stopped and there are no more three part bangs on the sound track.)

The group let out a breath of relief, so far it seemed like they had escaped the end of the universe. At the very least they had moved from where they had been.

ORSON: Is that it?
CLARA: I don't know. I think so.
(The scanner isn't much help.)
ORSON: Where are we?

"Very good question." The Doctor muttered, glancing at Clara. Clara had never told her where they had landed, and at the time she'd been nursing a terrible headache and a small concussion from the hit to the head. She couldn't deny her curiosity to see where they were and why it had ended with Clara so serious about her never checking where they'd been.

CLARA: Somewhere else. I hope. No, no, no, you stay and look after the Doctor.
ORSON: You can't go out there by yourself.
CLARA: Thing is, my timeline, it keeps on. Orson, you don't want to meet yourself. It's really embarrassing.

"You say that like you have practise with that. When did you meet yourself?" Martha asked Clara, intrigued.

"Never, I just didn't want Orson coming out with me. No point both of us getting into trouble." Clara shrugged, "But after this experience, I can confirm watching your past self is very embarrassing."

[Barn]

(The Tardis door creaks slightly as Clara closes it. On a raised platform is a simple bed, and a child is lying curled up on their side under a blanket, sobbing as the star and/or moonlight streams down through the roof. Clara climbs the ladder to the platform.)

The Doctor's face went white. Her eyes widened as she realised where Clara was. Her head whipped around to Clara, eyes digging into her as she screamed a silent question, to which Clara winced but did reluctantly nod in confirmation.

"Doctor?" Donna asked, voice unusually soft and full of concern. It was rare for them to see the Doctor to appear as panicked as she did currently (usually they were at least better at hiding it), which meant wherever they were, it was not good. "Where are you?" There was no point pretending that the Doctor didn't know where they'd landed, her reaction clearly showed they had.

The Doctor swallowed down the lump in her throat before answering hoarsely, "Just watch … please." Donna gave her a long look before slowly nodding and turning back to the screen. This was one of the occasions where it was better to get more information about the situation before pushing the Doctor to answer.

The Master, who'd been very quiet this video, mainly as he couldn't be bothered dealing with the Doctor's current little pets and the current video had no interest for him. But the Doctor's reaction to the barn had him inspecting the scene more carefully. His own eyes widened as he reached the only conclusion that made sense. "Is that the barn …?" He trailed off.

The Doctor nodded; eyes still panicked. The Master was one of very few people that knew about her full childhood on Gallifrey. This was not something she had known would ever come up (why would it?), but she was suddenly not eager for this video to continue. She'd been enjoying the focus being more on Clara than her for once, but she should have known the Tardis had something up her metaphorical sleeve.

CLARA: Rupert?
(She walks to the bed.)
CLARA: Orson?
(The barn door opens and we see two pairs of feet enter. The woman wears a long skirt with an apron over the top.)

"Where are you?" Rory asked, serious but quiet. His eyes never left the screen so he missed the way Clara glanced at the Doctor in concern before answering.

"Just watch."

MAN: Why does he have to sleep out here?
WOMAN: He doesn't want the others to hear him crying.
MAN: Why does he have to cry all the time?

"Oh god, poor kid." Rose muttered; they may not know who the kid was but it didn't mean they couldn't feel sympathy for a kid left alone crying in a barn. Only River and Jack noticed the Doctor's finch, they shared a look over her head, both suddenly thinking they had an idea who that poor kid was.

(Clara hides under the bed.)
WOMAN: You know why.
MAN: There'll be no crying in the army.

"Is it Danny?" Bill asked, head tilted to the side in thought, "He's the only one of you that went into the army, right?" After all, the telepathic circuits had been attached to Clara and the only people she was likely to be distracted by were Danny, Orson, and the Doctor which left the options limited.

"It's not Danny." Clara said simply, not beating around the bush for once.

The group were all to focused on the screen and Clara to notice the uncharacteristically soft exchange between the Doctor and the Master. For once they weren't enemies (or the weird best enemies that they were), but old friends who had spent the majority of their painful childhoods together and knew all the suffering the other had gone through. If anyone was able to understand what the young Doctor on screen was going through it was him (and not just because he was the only one that truly understood a childhood on Gallifrey)

WOMAN: Hush.
MAN: Don't pretend you're not awake. We're not idiots.
WOMAN: Come and sleep in the house. You don't have to be alone. If you can hear me, you're very welcome in the house, with the other boys. I'll leave the door on the latch. Come in any time.

"Wait, is this another children's house?" Yaz asked, face crinkled in confusion. "Are you sure it's not Danny again?" Even though she'd asked it, it didn't make any sense in her head for it to be Danny based on what they'd seen from young Rupert.

"I'm sure." Clara stated, "But I couldn't tell you about what exactly the place was." And she doubted they'd get a straight answer from the Doctor either. She did her best to not glance at the Doctor as she knew the room's eyes were on her but she couldn't help but notice the long look the Doctor and the Master shared. She couldn't tell if they were having an actual mental conversation through their mind link or just one through their eyes, both were equally possible with how well they knew each other, and despite how much the group hated the Master, they couldn't deny that he knew the Doctor well.

MAN: He can't just run away crying all the time if he wants to join the army.
WOMAN: He doesn't want to join the army. I keep telling you.
MAN: Well, he's not going to the Academy, is he, that boy? He'll never make a Time Lord.

The room descended into an echoing silence. The last two words were on a never-ending loop, repeating in their minds. It took them a while for the meaning behind those words to actually connect in their brains.

"Time Lord …?" Martha mumbled, eyes wide and sad as she looked at the Doctor with sympathy. The whole scene they'd just seen took on a whole new meaning.

"Doctor." Amy stated, eyes locked on the Doctor as she waited for the Doctor to meet her gaze. It took a few moments, but the Doctor did eventually, reluctantly turn to meet her gaze. "Is that you?"

The Doctor broke eye contact, glancing around the room, before sighing as she realised she wasn't getting out of this. "Yes, that was me." She was sincerely hoping there were no further questions.

As always, she had no luck. Rose had tilted her head to the side in consideration as she inspected the screen, "Was that the barn from the first video we watched at the end of the time war, and from your return to Gallifrey?"

The Doctor grimaced at the memory of both those videos. It seemed she spent a lot more of her time on Gallifrey in that barn than she wanted to (not that she often wanted to return to Gallifrey … when that was an option anyway). She just nodded in confirmation, with another sigh. "Can we just watch the rest of the video?"

[Tardis]

(The Doctor wakes suddenly.)
DOCTOR: Sontarans! Perverting the course of human history!
ORSON: (sotto) Doctor?
DOCTOR: You're confusing me. What? Shut up, shut up. Where's Clara?

"Good to see the knock to the head hasn't caused any lasting damage." Donna declared, giving the Doctor a sympathetic look and trying to distract the group from their lingering thoughts on the Doctor's childhood. The Doctor gave her a thankful smile as she realised what Donna was trying to do. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as she would have liked.

[Barn]

DOCTOR [OC]: Clara! Clara!
BOY: Hello? Who's there? Hello?
(The boy sits on the edge of his bed, and Clara grabs his ankle as if by reflex.)

"I think that would give me a heart attack." Ryan declared, glancing at Clara warily as if she was about to grab his ankle too. The Doctor was also giving Clara wary looks, a lot of things about that mess had just been explained. Clara just shrugged a bit sheepish at the Doctor, unsure of what to say in this kind of situation (it wasn't exactly one that came up often, funnily enough).

Amy, however, turned her eyes to the ceiling, seeking sanity or answers that the room couldn't give her. "Are you serious? We're watching this because you gave the Doctor a real-life nightmare as a kid which made him more paranoid and led to the event happening in the first place? I hate time travel."

Martha hummed in consideration, "I think we all do at times. But that doesn't explain the figure under the sheets, or the air lock situation."

"Yes and no, but they all have alternative explanations too. The figure under the sheet could have been a kid playing a prank, the noises in the time capsule could have been mechanical like they said, and it could have been Orson that saved the Doctor." Yaz added in to the conversation.

Jack snorted, drawing the room's attention to him, "So basically what we're saying is that we still don't know whether the Doctor is just paranoid because Clara gave him nightmares, or whether there actually is something watching in the shadows. Great."

"Personally, I like the first explanation." Ryan muttered, almost shivering at the thought of something actually being in the shadows. That was gong to leave him paranoid for a while, forget the Doctor.

"I think we all do Ryan." Graham said.

CLARA: It's okay. This is just a dream. Just lie back again. Just lie back on the bed. It will all be okay if you just lie down and go to sleep. Just do that for me. Just sleep.
(She releases his ankle and the boy gets back into bed. Clara sits on the edge of the bed and puts her hand on his head, stroking his hair gently as he sobs to himself. She whispers into his ear.)
CLARA: Listen

"If a mysterious voice from under your bed starts talking, would you listen to it?" Bill asked the room at large, more curious now as she started to get over the pure paranoia the scene was giving her. It really sucked to be the Doctor in that situation, she was starting to understand why the Doctor was so focussed on this whole idea. Like if that had happened to her, you bet she was not letting it go.

"If it grabbed my leg in an empty barn in the dark, I would do whatever it wanted so it would go away." Donna answered, grimacing at the thought. Based off the nods from the rest of the group, they appeared to agree with the sentiment too.

The Doctor just grumbled, shifting in her seat, and glancing betrayed at Clara. She was glad for the distraction from her childhood situation but she didn't like most things about this situation. And the not knowing for definite about this mystery was also killing her, yet she didn't want to risk another encounter (if there was something that was).

[Tardis]

ORSON: What happened? What did you see? What's out there?

"Something she shouldn't have." The Doctor said, giving Clara a stern look.

"Well, I can't exactly do anything about it now, can I?"

(Clara returns.)
CLARA: What if there was nothing? What if there never was anything? Nothing under the bed, nothing at the door. What if the big bad Time Lord doesn't want to admit he's just afraid of the dark.

"Very brave answer from someone possibly scared of a kid under a bed sheet and a bunch of noises in an empty spaceship." Nardole said.

DOCTOR: Where are we? Have we moved? Where have we landed?
CLARA: Don't look where we are. Take off, and promise me you will never look where we've been.
DOCTOR: Why?
CLARA: Just take off. Don't ask questions.
DOCTOR: I don't take orders, Clara.
CLARA: Do as you're told.

"For once in your life Sweetie, I hope you listened." River muttered to her wife, squeezing her hand in comfort.

The Doctor sighed, giving Clara a small nod before answering her wife, "Then you'll be glad to know this is the first I'm learning of this."

(The Tardis dematerialises. The boy sits up in his bed.)
CLARA [OC]: Listen

[Barn]

(Earlier, whispering into his ear. We are also shown Orson being returned home, and giving Clara a hug.)

"Glad to see you got Orson home." Rose smiled, "I think he's been through enough."

CLARA: This is just a dream. But very clever people can hear dreams. So, please, just listen. I know you're afraid, but being afraid is all right. Because didn't anybody ever tell you? Fear is a superpower. Fear can make you faster and cleverer and stronger. And one day, you're going to come back to this barn. And on that day you're going to be very afraid indeed.
(The new 9th / War Doctor or Warrior as I called him, stands in the wilderness looking at the lonely barn, taken from the Day of the Doctor.)

"Question is; did the Doctor steal the speech from Clara or did Clara steal it from the Doctor?" Mickey grinned, amusing himself.

"This is the reason time travel gives me a headache." Rory sighed, rubbing his forehead.

CLARA: But that's okay. Because if you're very wise and very strong, fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly.

[Tardis]

CLARA [OC]: Fear can make you kind.
(Clara grabs the Doctor from behind for a hug.)
DOCTOR: No, no. Not the hugging. No, no, no. I'm against the hugging. Please.

"Unless there is good reason." Clara said, doe eyes sad.

"Unless there's a good reason." The Doctor matched her expression, both thinking back to just after Danny's death and Missy's false lead on Gallifrey's location, "Or I get forcibly attacked with one." The Doctor added on, with a small smile.

The rest of the group were oblivious to the meaning behind the pair's little exchange but they allowed them their privacy, not questioning the deeper meaning as the sensed it was private (and they knew they weren't likely to get answers).

[Danny's flat]

(The Doctor drops Clara off and leaves. Danny's doorbell rings, so he goes and answers it.)
DANNY: I am so
CLARA: I know.

"Let's hope attempt three goes well." Martha teased the younger woman who grinned.

"It did, thankfully."

[Barn]

CLARA: It doesn't matter if there's nothing under the bed or in the dark, so long as you know it's okay to be afraid of it.

[Danny's flat]

DANNY: And I just get nervous.
CLARA: Me too.
DANNY: I don't even know what I'm nervous of.

"He really likes you." Amy smiled, happy that Clara who had found someone that seemed (from the little they'd seen) both nice and eager to get to know her despite the hiccups. Clara's smile in return was significantly more bittersweet.

(Over images of the Doctor underlining at the word Listen on his blackboard.)
CLARA [OC]: I'll show you. So, listen. If you listen to nothing else, listen to this.

"When does the Doctor ever listen when they should?"

"You can't talk, Jack!"

[Barn]

CLARA: You're always going to be afraid, even if you learn to hide it. Fear is like a companion. A constant companion, always there. But that's okay, because fear can bring us together.
(Clara kisses Danny.)
CLARA: Fear can bring you home. I'm going to leave you something, just so you'll always remember, fear makes companions of us all.
(Clara leaves Dan the soldier man to stand guard as she says what the Doctor told Barbara while they were tied up in the Cave of Skulls. - Unearthly Child episode 3.)

With those final, familiar words (to the Doctor, at least) the video faded to black, signifying another video had ended.

"Soooooo …. Was there something in the shadows or not?" Bill asked, both serious and as a joke. "Like seriously, what did we just watch? I mean aside from Clara's bad attempts at flirting."

"Hey!"

The Doctor smiled fondly at the pair, "Unfortunately, Bill I don't think we can say for certain either way. Some things in the universe we're just not meant to know."

"And the curiosity is still killing you to this day." Amy teased her, knowing exactly what the Doctor was like.

"It is." The Doctor admitted with a grin. "But that mess is not a situation I'm eager to repeat." That earned her a few chuckles from across the group. "Any other comments or questions before we move on to the next video?"

"Can I ask about the barn?" Martha asked cautiously.

"No, you may not. Question time is now officially over. Let's move on swiftly." The Doctor immediately declared, sending a pleading look up at the ceiling (where the Tardis's voice had seemed to be coming from) in hopes of the Tardis taking pity on her and playing the next video. She had not expected to ever be eager to start a new video, but that's what it had come from.

"You're going to have to talk about it one day Doctor." River sighed, giving her wife a sad look.

"But that day is not today, so we're moving on."

"Doctor …"

"Nope. Next video please."