The Doctor made the familiar journey up the lift towards John's flat. It was Wednesday which meant he would pick John up, say hello to Kayla and Andrew, then pop by the Maitlands' to collect Clara. John was now comfortable enough to let the Doctor take the TARDIS "wherever the hell he wanted", as John would say, between their Wednesday adventures.

Which, in reality, meant the Doctor would drop the "young people" off and jump right to the following Wednesday.

On this particular Wednesday, he'd just gotten back from ghost hunting and diving into a pocket universe. It made the Doctor laugh, seeing how absolutely terrified John was during their time at the Caliburn house. But, when John kept holding Clara's hand because he was "terrified," the smile fell off the Doctor's face, realising John was just using it as an excuse to touch the petite brunette. Yet, in the end, the trio saved the day and returned home in time for Clara and John to go about their business. A successful adventure, in the Doctor's opinion.

The Doctor knocked on the door that was then answered by Kayla.

"Ah! Hello, James! John and Clara are in his room at the mo. Andrew is currently on a rampage in the kitchen. He swears that he could go all the way on The Great British Bake Off. I think they took whatever they were doing to the bedroom." Kayla motioned for the Time Lord to come in.

"Clara, you said?"

"Yeah. She's lovely! Been hanging round here with John the past two weeks. Fits right into our little family. He said she goes on your outings every Wednesday."

There was a loud crash that came from the kitchen.

"Jesus Christ. Andrew! Not the china! Excuse me." Kayla made her way to the kitchen to try and help Andrew with his latest baking escapade.

The Doctor stood in the entryway with a dumb look on his face. John never mentioned that he and Clara saw each other outside of the trio's Wednesday adventures. Not that it mattered. They were both young and in similar stages of life. Of course, they'd want to spend more time with each other.

The Doctor did NOT like that he felt an embarrassing amount of jealousy towards John and that the hormonal young man was probably just trying to get into Clara's knickers. Not that she'd ever go for the silly boy.

Because that's what he was. A boy. Why would she choose him over….

'Nope. Not going to go there,' thought the Doctor. Even though he was practically running to John's room now.

The door to John's room was shut, so the Doctor went for the doorknob. Before he opened the door, he heard John and Clara's muffled voices. The nosy Time Lord put his ear to the door to listen.

"No, John. We're not going to do it on the bed again! You move around too much, and everything ends up all over the place."

"Well, I'm sorry if I prefer the bed to the floor, Clara. You know that I'm not flexible, and being on the ground for that long is painful…."

Against his better judgement, the Doctor burst open the door to find Clara, sitting neatly on John's bed while John was on the other side of the room holding…a chessboard?

"Doctor? What the fuck? You okay?" asked John with a confused look on his face. "You look like you've just seen a ghost. Which I know you, and you probably just came from the Caliburn house, and that was definitely NOT a real ghost," the young Time Lord laughed.

Clara and John were now looking at the Doctor strangely. He realised he probably looked insane, so he straightened his jacket, posture, and bowtie. Trying to appear casual but just looking even more awkward.

"Right," said John as he set the chessboard down. "I was just about to destroy Clara in a friendly game of chess while we waited for you. We usually end up playing in my room because Kayla will inevitably cheat and tell Clara where to move." John was now playfully glaring at Clara.

"It was one time! And I would have beat you regardless!"

John rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, sure." He looked to the Doctor and shook his head 'no' as if Clara couldn't see. She just giggled.

"Chess?" was all the Doctor could say before finding more words. "You were going to play chess? While waiting for me?" He looked at Clara and pointed. "With Clara…here?"

John slapped his hand to his forehead in an all too familiar gesture.

"Oh, shit. Right. Yeah, Clara's been coming over while I teach her chess throughout the week. Apparently, Artie, the boy she watches, is getting "too good", and she wanted to improve her skills."

"He's eleven, and he's brilliant. But, so help me, I will not have him gloating about beating me anymore!" exclaimed Clara. "And I figured John here is basically at the same maturity level as Artie, so I thought he could clue me in on the psyche of an eleven-year-old boy." Clara was clearly taunting John now as he picked a shirt up off his floor and threw it at Clara in retaliation.

Maybe this whole scene was more innocent than what the Doctor initially thought? He decided to redirect their uncomfortable flirting and tell them about their next adventure. He originally planned to take them to Hedgewick's World, but John would inevitably have the upper hand and whisk Clara off while he'd be stuck waiting in some godforsaken queue somewhere. Maybe he could teach Clara to pilot the TARDIS instead? She'd like that. And John can find something else to do in the infinite space of the time machine.

The Doctor clapped his hands together.

"Well, then. I'm here now, so we can play chess another time. Clara? How would you like to learn how to fly the TARDIS?" The Doctor had an expectant look on his face while John's jaw dropped.

…

John now watched as the Doctor hovered behind Clara (a little too close, in his opinion) to show her how to work the console. Maybe the Doctor wasn't as oblivious to "these kinds of things" as he thought. Were they seriously fighting over Clara's affections?

'Yes. Absofuckinglutly, yes,' thought John.

"I'll make it easy," said the Doctor. "Shut it down to basic mode for you."

"Basic? Because I'm a girl?" quipped Clara. John tried to stifle his laugh, but the Doctor glared at him anyway.

"No. Of course not! I didn't even notice."

"You didn't notice I was a girl?" questioned Clara with a raised eyebrow.

John snorted a laugh as the Doctor flapped his arms.

"NO! I… I noticed that. I only meant I didn't realise you'd take it that way. I just meant basic as in, less complicated. Since it's your first time. AND! You said so yourself she was "looking at you funny!" I just wanted to simplify it, and…."

Clara put her finger on the Doctor's lips to get him to shut up.

"Doctor, I get it. I'm just havin' a laugh. I knew what you meant."

Suddenly, all the power went out, and the three were sitting in the dark.

"What have I done?" asked Clara in a panic. John jumped to his feet, making his way over to the console.

"Er, okay," said the Doctor as he began to frantically press buttons.

"Doctor?"

"All the electrical impulses are jammed. I can't get the shields back up. She's completely vulnerable."

"Clara! I mean, I know you two don't get along, but you didn't have to go and kill the Old Girl," laughed John, clearly joking.

"I swear I just touched it!" cried Clara. "It's not funny!"

John stopped laughing as the Doctor tried to throw a lever followed by a loud bang.

"Magnetic hobble-field. We're flying right into it. Clara, John, stay by me."

John recognised the change in the Doctor's tone and immediately grabbed Clara's hand to move closer to the Doctor. As much as he liked to mess with the old man, he definitely wanted to be on his good side regarding life and death situations. And given the change in the Doctor's demeanour, he knew that this was probably heading in that direction.

"Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this," said Clara. John rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yes. Big friendly button," replied the Doctor while still frantically trying to work out what the hell was happening.

"You're lying."

"Oooh, we have a real Sherlock Holmes right here, folks," said John in an annoyed tone. He wasn't trying to be mean, but he couldn't help be an arse when he was scared.

"John," said the Doctor in an authoritative tone that made the younger man wince.

"Sorry, Clara."

Suddenly a grenade looking device was rolling across the metal floor. Clara went to pick it up before John, or the Doctor could stop her. She grabbed the device and immediately dropped it after burning her hand. John ran over to Clara just as an explosion went off.

…

Clara awoke to the feeling that she was being crushed by something heavy. As she opened her eyes, she realised the dead weight was in the form of a gangly and immature man named John.

"John?" she questioned with a cough. He didn't move. "John?" she said louder. She could tell he was breathing, so she did the only thing she knew to do with her one free hand.

She slapped him right across the face.

"Ow! Fuck! What the hell?" John opened his eyes and saw he was lying on top of Clara. "Oh, sorry." He moved off of her with a groan. "What happened?"

"Well, from what I've gathered in the two minutes I was conscious before I woke you up, there was a scary explosion, and now we're here…somewhere in the TARDIS, I think?"

They both were sitting now. Clara held her hand to her chest, feeling the effects of the burn.

"Sounds about right," said John. He slowly stood up and offered his hand to Clara as he pulled her to her feet. "How's your hand?" He took her injured hand in his own. "That looks nasty."

Clara pulled her hand away and scoffed. "That may be so, but I think we've got more pressing issues. Where's the Doctor?"

They both looked around the dark corridor. "Good question." John began walking towards a closed door with a red light above it.

"It's flashing red. That's bad, right?" Clara asked.

"Get out of here fast…or possibly, whatever you do, do NOT open this fucking door," said John as he went to open it.

"John!"

There was another explosion, and John immediately shut the door. "Why did you open it?" yelled Clara as they ran from the fireball that was now following them.

"I don't know! I was curious!"

They came up to another heavy door, but this time they could safely enter and get out of the way of the blast. They both leaned against the wall panting.

"Remind me to never let you do anything just because you're "curious," said Clara.

John scoffed and shook the debris out of his hair before walking down the corridor with Clara following behind. Finally, after what felt like an hour of aimlessly walking in silence, Clara spoke.

"This place is like a maze. I knew it was bigger on the inside, but… this is insane."

"Yeah, you'd be surprised how boring it can be, though. I spent most of my young childhood in the TARDIS. Although, now that I think about it, I'm fairly certain the Doctor only gave me access to a small portion."

They came up to a worn wooden looking door.

"What's this room?" asked Clara.

"I have no idea." He then gave a wry smile. "Would you say that you're curious?"

"Shut up." Clara pushed past John and opened the door.

The duo wandered around the odd room that contained shelves of strange trinkets. John watched as Clara gently ran her hand across an old baby cot. He smiled to himself. He couldn't help notice how pretty she looked in her red dress and the way she'd put her hair up. Even after nearly being killed, she still looked gorgeous.

"John?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring at me." Clara was now standing near him, looking at a miniature model of the TARDIS.

"Oh, sorry."

Clara and John both jumped when they heard a noise. They then realised they were holding onto each other. John looked into Clara's face and couldn't stop himself from leaning in and kissing her. Clara pushed back a bit as she stumbled.

"John!"

"Sorry! I…you…" he didn't know what to say. Why did he do that? Stupid!

"John, look, I really like you….as a friend."

John winced at the word. He was used to this by now. He should have known that Clara wouldn't have feelings for him in that way. But, before he could respond, he heard a strange noise. Clara didn't notice and was still apologising and talking about how she "really enjoyed his company" and other bullshit that he didn't really care about anymore. He was currently focused on the fact that someone… or something, was in the room with them.

John made his way over to Clara and put his finger to his lips to get her to be quiet before speaking in a hushed tone.

"Clara, I really appreciate you trying to coddle my feelings, but it's fine. Really. I'm used to it by now. I'll get over it." There was a growl, and now Clara fully understood what was happening. John took her hand and began to guide her out of the room.

"In all honesty, I'm currently more concerned about the fact that something is skulking about the room."

They quietly left the room and shut the door behind them.

"What the hell was that?" asked Clara as they were now sprinting through the TARDIS.

"Oh, you know, hormones and the fact that you're gorgeous. And you KNOW it," laughed John.

"What? No! Not that. I meant the apparent creature hanging around the TARDIS!"

"Oh, right. That…I honestly don't know and don't really care to find out."

…

"Now that's just showing off," said Clara as the pair stumbled upon the TARDIS library. John just chuckled as he meandered through the aisles of books.

"I used to spend a lot of time here. The Doctor taught me how to read in this very room. I spent a lot of time wandering around, trying to find a new book to devour." John picked up a familiar title. "Although, I never seemed to finish any of them…" he said as his sentence trailed off. He set down the copy of The Prince and the Pauper.

Clara had apparently wandered off.

"Clara?" called John.

She came around a corner with an odd look on her face.

"What is it?"

"I think I just discovered the Doctor's name."

"Oh, yeah. You must have found The History of the Time War. He doesn't talk about it, but I finally got him to tell me his name back when he took the long way round with me after Akahten. I think it's a Time Lord thing. I'm not really sure. They don't really like to share that bit of information about themselves. I can see why, though, I much prefer the name John to…well, that," he laughed, but Clara could tell something was bothering him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Of course! It's…" he was doing the head bobbing thing, indicating he wasn't quite sure he wanted to divulge any more information.

"You can tell me, John. Friends, remember?"

"Oh, I remember," he chuckled.

"Oh, god. Sorry, I forgot about…the kissing bit."

"Seriously, Clara. I'm fine. I'm young. I'll find someone."

"So, what's bothering you?"

"Sometimes I get these, I don't know, sense memories? Like, intuition or something. It's as if the Doctor is right in here." He pointed to his forehead. "It's like I know things I shouldn't…or maybe I should? Seeing as we were once the same person." He sighed. "I guess I'm afraid that one day I'm going to wake up and not be me anymore. The Doctor's subconscious will take over, and there really will be two of him. And I'll just die all over again."

Clara made her way over to John and placed her hand on his arm.

"You are your own person. Even if a bit of the Doctor comes through, you'll always be John. He's got 1000 years packed into that crazy brain of his. And if it does happen, I'm sure the Doctor could figure out a way to fix it."

Before John could respond, they heard the same growling noise from earlier. They tried to be quiet, but Clara accidentally knocked over a vile, and voices started ringing out into the library. She and John began swatting at the air to try and snuff out the noise before the creature could hear. They ducked behind a bookcase. John peered around the corner just in time to see a terrifying, zombie type being.

"Oh, fuck no." He whispered as he grabbed Clara's hand and made a run for it.

"What is that thing?" cried Clara as they barreled their way through the corridors.

"I have no idea! But it looked like it was hungry. Or maybe just angry. Hangry. Definitely hangry."

They suddenly found themselves back in the console room. John ran up to the levers and switches and began kissing the machine.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Clara, on the other hand, went straight for the exit.

"No! The door. Where's the door gone? No. You can't do this. I told you she hated me!"

The creature appeared before John had time to register that they weren't in the actual console room.

"Holy shit, that is one ugly mother fucker!" yelled John as he and Clara began running around the console, trying to dodge the strange being.

"Who are you?" questioned Clara.

"Are you seriously trying to reason with that thing!" yelled John. They now were trapped between the door to the console room.

"I don't know! I don't see you having any better ideas!" she yelled back in terror.

"No! But I'm certainly not going to die a virgin!" yelled John without thinking.

"You're a virgin?" Clara yelled back, laughing through her terror.

"NOT THE POINT, CLARA! Trying to not die here, remember?"

Clara was screaming now as the creature closed in on them. Suddenly there was a strange light, and both John and Clara found themselves being pulled through some kind of portal right into another console room. John fell on his arse while Clara was being hugged by the Doctor.

"It's all right. Clara, I'm so, so sorry. Sorry. Please, please forgive me, Clara," spoke the Doctor in a soothing voice, trying to calm her.

Clara immediately pushed him away but not before punching him.

"Ow!" he winced. "Okay, so we're not doing hugging. I get that now."

"What do you keep in here? Why have you got zombie creatures? Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one basic storytelling," yelled Clara. John finally got up off the floor and stood by the tiny angry woman.

"Yes, Doctor. What the hell was that thing?" he added.

"Not in front of the guests," replied the Doctor. The two distraught companions finally noticed the strangers standing near the Doctor.

"Who are they?" asked Clara.

"Friends. Well, people who aren't trying to kill us, so I don't need punching again," said the Doctor with his hands up defensively to prevent any more blows from a very angry Clara.

…

Turns out there definitely was a need for punching again. Only this time, it came from John. He punched the Doctor right in the gut after being trapped with mutated versions of themselves, nearly killing them. And now they were standing on some scary cliff while the Doctor started to interrogate Clara, scaring her half to death.

"John," winced the Doctor as he tried to catch his breath. "I'm sorry, but I need to know! She's the same girl! And she died each time!"

Clara was confused. "I'm really not her! How many times do I have to tell you! I'm just Clara!"

John took a step back as the Doctor approached Clara and hugged her.

"You really are just Clara, aren't you?"

"Okay, I don't know what the hell this is about, but the hug is really nice," responded Clara as she relaxed into the unexpected embrace.

John cleared his throat to interrupt their moment. "Right. Okay. Happy reunion. Now, what do we do?"

…

Apparently, jumping off a cliff and then resetting time was what they were to do. Now that everything was okay, John was sitting on the steps of the console room while the Doctor was fiddling with some buttons.

"Are you even actually doing anything when you do that?" asked John.

The Doctor's shoulders slumped as he moved the screen out of his face.

"I don't know. Sometimes…" he sighed.

"You okay?"

"She almost died. Again. And it would have been my fault. AGAIN!"

John stood next to the Doctor now. "Well, silver lining is she's not going to remember any of it," said John as he placed his hand on the elder Time Lords shoulder. John then realised that meant Clara wouldn't remember him kissing her, which meant there wouldn't be anything weird between them, and they could just keep going on being friends. He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh, nothing. Just a long day."

Clara now came out having just showered. "I feel exhausted," she said with a sigh.

"Well, we've had two days crammed into the space of one," said the Doctor without thinking. John's eyes went wide.

"Why would you say that?" responded Clara with a confused look on her face.

"I don't know. I say stuff. Ignore me. Do you feel safe?"

"Of course, I feel safe."

"Give me a number out of ten. Ten being whoo hoo, one being argh!"

"You're being weird," said Clara.

"Yes, Doctor, you're being weird." John was trying to make eyes at the Doctor to get him to stop before revealing that Clara nearly died…again.

Of course, the Doctor ignored John and continued, "I need to know if you feel safe. I need to know you're not afraid…."

"Of?

"The future. Running away with a spaceman in a box." John coughed, making his presence known. "Make that two spacemen. Anything could happen to you."

Clara looked between the two Time Lords and gave a devious smile.

"That's what I'm counting on. Push the button."