Clara Oswald walked through the tight aisle of the airplane, searching for her seat and praying that the flight wasn't full. She knew she wasn't going to be so lucky, especially since she had had nothing but bad luck since she had set foot in the airport back in Toronto. She had been bumped from her original non-stop flight to London and ended up with a connecting flight in New York; meaning her long trip was now even longer. All she wanted was to settle in and get some work done, so she wouldn't have much to do on her vacation. She found her row and saw that the other two occupants were already there, which was great because it meant she wouldn't have to get up again until one of them wanted out. She lifted her carry-on into the overhead compartment and slid her laptop bag under the seat in front of her, so she could easily grab her computer after takeoff. She took her seat and buckled up, as she watched the rest of the passengers boarding the plane. That's when she spotted the handsome silver fox heading her way. He was older, which was how Clara liked her men, tall, thin, and a mop of curls she could lose her hands in. He looked stylish, wearing dark denim jeans, and a black graphic t-shirt under a black blazer. As he got closer, she hoped he would be sitting close enough that she might be able to check him out more during the flight, but luck still wasn't on her side as he sat directly in front of her.

John Smith boarded the plane feeling exhausted and anxious to get back to London. He had only been in New York for a very short business trip and had barely enough time to adjust to the time change before he had to leave again. On top of that his training session went horribly, dealing with a bunch of pudding brains who acted as if they had never seen a computer before. All he wanted to do was settle into his seat and try to get some sleep, but he knew he was going to have a hard time since he unfortunately got stuck with an aisle seat. There was no doubt in his mind that the people beside him would likely be wanting to get out all the time as well, and he would be forced to stay awake. He was scanning the row numbers looking for his when he noticed a very pretty brunette sitting on the aisle, not that it mattered because he wasn't interested in meeting anyone, but it didn't stop him from noticing. As he got closer, he saw that she was sitting right behind him.

"Good evening passengers. This is your flight crew letting you know that we will be taking off shortly. Please ensure all your belongings are stowed away for take-off. We will be doing our final cabin check in a few minutes."

Clara got that excited feeling in her stomach that she got every time she travelled; anxious to get going and even more excited to get home. She hadn't been back to see her friends and family in over two years and she was really looking forward to seeing everyone, especially her Dad and Gran. Her dad had been to Toronto to see her a couple of times, but those were short trips where half his time was spent being jet-lagged and the other half she had to work. At least this time she would be home for a month and be able to have a proper visit.

The flight attendants went over the safety instructions as the plane backed out of the terminal and began taxiing to the runway. It wasn't long before the plane was in the air and they were soaring high above the clouds. Once the seat-belt sign went out, Clara reached down and took her laptop out of her bag before placing it on the tray table in front of her. She had just powered it on when the seat in front of her moved back, making it almost impossible for her to work. She gave a heavy sigh and thought maybe she would just ask the man if he would kindly move up a bit, just to give her enough space that she could fully open her computer.

"Excuse me," she said as she leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yes," the man said as he turned in his seat, not quite looking at her.

"I was trying to do some work here and it's hard with your seat fully reclined. Would you mind moving it up a bit?"

"Yes, I would mind," he said as he turned back around.

Clara's jaw dropped slightly out of surprise that the man wouldn't budge, not even just a little. She wasn't asking him to sit fully up right, but just to adjust his seat a bit.

"Seriously, you won't move, not even a little?"

"No, I paid for this seat and I can do with it what I want," he answered without looking at her.

What a wanker, Clara thought. He suddenly didn't seem so attractive to her.

"Look, I've got a deadline I need to meet and I could really use this time to get a lot of work done, but I can't even open my laptop, with your seat like this."

"Not my problem. You may have a deadline, but I've been working almost non-stop on this trip and now I want to rest."

"Tosser," Clara said under her breath as she leaned back.

She put her computer away, feeling sad that she wasn't going to be able to get any work done. She loved her job, but the one stipulation of her taking so much time off was that she had to get this one editing assignment finished in the next week. She was a junior editor at Page Turner Publishing, a job she had gotten after her internship with them. She couldn't believe her luck when she was able to land her dream job in Toronto and she was even luckier that they offered to sponsor her for permanent residency. Living in Toronto hadn't been her plan when she started travelling around North America after university, but she was happy to call it home now. She knew she wasn't going to be able to get any sleep so she took out the book she was currently reading, a science fiction novel called Dark Matter.

John was annoyed with the young woman. She was clearly self-entitled and didn't care about the needs of others. He knew he should have booked a business class ticket, but he thought he'd try and save a little money by booking economy. Even though his company had been doing well lately, he still thought it was sometimes best to operate as if it weren't, at least when it came to his expenses. If he had sent one of his other trainers, he would have never cheapened out. He owned a small software company called Tardis, that for most of his career had been very successful in the UK, but one of his sales staff pitched it to a North American company and now his business was growing into something he had never dreamed of happening. So, he wanted to make sure the training was done properly, which is why he was on this trip. But it had been awhile and he forgot how much people really tried his patience when it came to computers. All he wanted to do was get some sleep after an exhausting couple of days in New York and the woman behind him wouldn't let him. Who did she think she was to ask if he could move his seat up? He had every right to recline if he wanted, after all it was his seat and he could do with it as he pleased.

A few hours had passed and Clara had managed to finish her book. She looked around and could see that most of the passengers were either sleeping or watching some kind of in flight entertainment. There was a quiet stillness to the cabin, which was something she always enjoyed about an overnight flight. The blue flicker of light scattered about the plane was comforting to her, probably because she had always been a bit of a night owl.

"Excuse me, but could I get out," the older British woman next to her asked.

Clara stood up and stepped into the aisle as the lady squeezed by. At the same time, the plane hit a pocket of turbulence and caused Clara to jolt forward and bang into the man in front of her.

"Watch it," he exclaimed quietly so as not to disturb the other passengers.

"Sorry," Clara whispered as she started to move back to her seat.

"Oh sure," he said almost under his breath.

"Pardon?"

"I have been trying to get to sleep since this flight took off and I had finally achieved that. But now, thanks to you I'm awake and not likely to fall asleep again."

"Look, I said I'm sorry, what more do you want."

The man didn't say anything, but instead turned back in his seat, huffed, and pursed his eyebrows while he grabbed his book out of the pocket in front of him. That's when Clara noticed for the first time the gold shiny band on his left hand. How on Earth did someone like him have a wife, she thought to herself. He seemed to be so miserable that she couldn't imagine any woman being attracted to that kind of personality. She certainly found him less attractive than when she first noticed him at the beginning of the flight.

John opened his book, but couldn't concentrate on the story. This woman just kept irritating him, when all he wanted to do was have a peaceful flight and get back to the comfort of his home. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to deal with her for the rest of the flight.

The plane touched down a few hours later and Clara smiled knowing she was finally home. All she could think about was seeing her dad and Gran and the hugs she was going to get. They slowly taxied to their gate as everyone around her was clearly getting antsy to get up and free of their cramped space. As soon as the seat belt light went out, she jumped up and carefully opened the overhead compartment, standing on her tiptoes to reach for her bag. It was times like this that she hated being so short; it was always a struggle to reach things on the high shelf. Just as she started to pull her carry-on free, she lost her balance and grabbed the seat to catch herself, causing her bag to tumble out and on to the temperamental man in front of her.

"Oi!" He shouted, just as he caught Clara's luggage.

"I'm so sorry," Clara apologized, more as a knee jerk reaction to something happening because deep down, she really wasn't sorry at all.

"You really should be more careful," John replied gruffly.

"It was an accident," Clara spat.

"Sure," John huffed. "You're likely still mad that I wouldn't put my seat up."

"I'm not a petty person, thank you very much. I lost my balance and my bag fell out. Perhaps if you weren't such a miserable old man, you would have helped me when you saw me struggling."

John had had enough of this annoying woman. Like most young people these days she seemed completely self-entitled. He was so thankful he hadn't raised his daughter to be that way. This woman had been nothing but rude to him and all he wanted was to get off this plane and forget this trip had even happened.

"Can I please have my bag?" Clara asked, noticing the man was still holding it.

"Here," he answered as he pushed it towards her.

John then lifted his small suitcase down and turned away from the short brunette. The crowd of people in front of him began to move and he was relieved to finally get off this tin can.

Clara was happy to finally be away from the miserable man in front of her. He had absolutely no reason to be mad at her, especially since it was obviously an accident. Some people just had no compassion and he was clearly one of them.

The next day, Clara woke up to a beautiful sunny day in north London, excited to be meeting up with her friend Jenny. The two had met in uni when they had sat next to each other in an English Lit course and quickly became fast friends who did almost everything together, which is why it had been so hard for Clara to say goodbye to her when she left to travel after they graduated. But despite the distance between them, they were still as close as ever.

After a lovely breakfast with her dad and Gran, Clara decided to take a walk before meeting Jenny at one of their favourite cafés. She started by walking through the neighbourhood that had been her home for most of her life. Unlike most of the friends she grew up with, her dad had never moved after she left the nest. She had thought he might, especially since he would be living alone, but around the same time her Gran could no longer live on her own, and ended up moving in with her son.

Clara walked for a couple of hours, enjoying the nearby park and then visiting some shops along the main road. It all felt so familiar, yet new at the same time. Not much had changed, but she knew she wasn't the same person who had left here seven years ago. She hadn't intended to stay abroad when she left, but it all just kind of worked out that way. She missed home, but she did love her life in Toronto very much.

Clara walked into the small café and saw her friend was already there at the back. Her face lit up as she moved towards her table, where Jenny jumped up and squeezed her so hard Clara almost couldn't breathe.

"My god it's so good to see you!" Jenny exclaimed.

"You too!" Clara replied with the same level of enthusiasm. "I've missed you so much!"

"Ditto!" Jenny replied as she let go and the two girls took a seat.

"So are you getting excited about the big day?" Clara asked.

Jenny's upcoming wedding was the reason Clara had come home for an extended visit. She was going to be the maid of honour and wanted to be able to help her friend out as much as she could.

"I am. I can't believe it's only a few weeks away and there's still so much to do."

"Well whatever you need I'm at your beck and call."

"Thank you," Jenny smiled at her. "It'll be nice getting to spend time with you."

"Agreed! It's been far too long."

"And how is life in Canada? Seeing anyone?" Jenny asked.

"You don't waste any time do you," Clara laughed. "I told you the last time we talked there was no one and I'm okay with that. Work keeps me very busy."

"Well maybe we can hook you up with one of David's friends."

"I'm changing the subject now." Clara shook her head. "How are you?"

The two girls started chatting about their lives, catching up right where they left off the last time they talked. It was nice and Clara didn't know how much she missed this. It wasn't long before a couple of hours had passed, neither of them even noticing.

"So you'll come with me for my final fitting tomorrow?" Jenny asked.

"I wouldn't miss it," Clara replied.

"Good. It'll be nice to have you there."

Clara could see Jenny's eyes started to pool and she knew exactly why. She reached across the table and took her friend's hand in hers.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier, Jenny. I know it's been hard to plan this wedding without your mum."

Jenny had lost her mum to cancer two years ago, and it was a wound that Clara was all too familiar with, having lost her mum when she was in high school.

"It's fine," Jenny replied as she dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. "I've been pretty good at holding it together."

"Still, I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it home for her funeral."

"Don't apologise for that. I understood completely. I had you to talk to and that was good enough. None of my other friends know what this feels like."

"Well, enough of this talk. Only happy thoughts from here on out."

"Agreed." Jenny nodded. "I'm so glad you're here Clara."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." Clara smiled at Jenny.

"Good. What are you doing for dinner?" Jenny asked.

"No plan, really. Why?"

"I'm meeting David and my dad at the restaurant we want to have the rehearsal dinner at; thought we might check out the menu. Why don't you come? You'll finally get to meet my dad."

"I don't want to intrude."

"You're not! Please?" Jenny begged.

"Fine. As long as you're sure."

"Positive!" Jenny exclaimed as she stood. "Oh I'm so glad you're going to get to spend some time with David and me."

Clara had only met David once, but she usually talked to Jenny on video chats and occasionally David would be there and join in on their conversations. Even though they hadn't really hung out much, Clara felt like she knew him from the talks they had had. The two girls left the café and made their way over to Camden, the area where the wedding was going to be held. When they got to the restaurant, Jenny smiled and waved to her fiancé standing outside.

"Hello," David said, cheerily, as the two girls got closer.

"Hi honey," Jenny said as she gave him a quick kiss and then pointed to Clara. "You remember Clara."

"Of course," he said as he hugged her, catching her off guard.

"So good to see you again." She answered.

Jenny had met David a few years ago at another friend's wedding and wasn't able to shut up about him when she called Clara to tell her about this great guy she had met, which told her that her friend had likely met the man she was going to marry. It was clear they were a perfect fit and Clara couldn't be any happier for Jenny.

"I thought Dad was coming with you?" Jenny questioned as she looked around.

"He texted me and said he was running late. He should be here soon."

"Your dad lives in London now?" Clara asked.

"He does. Moved here about six months ago. He decided to move his business down here to be closer to me and David. There really wasn't much sense in him staying in Glasgow by himself."

"You must be happy to have him here."

"I am. He's been a huge help with planning the wedding, more than I ever thought he would be."

Jenny was originally from Scotland and had moved to London for school. Clara had never met Jenny's parents and was sad that she never got to meet Jenny's mum, but was now looking forward to meeting Jenny's dad. The three entered the restaurant and got a table while they waited for the older man to arrive. They had just placed an order for drinks when Jenny looked towards the entrance and smiled as she stood up.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart. I'm feeling a bit jet-lagged and had a slow start to my day."

Clara turned to see Jenny hugging her dad and suddenly got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"That's okay, Dad. I want you to meet my dearest friend and maid of honour, Clara."

Jenny's dad looked down and Clara couldn't believe her best friend's dad was the angry man from her flight.