Paul ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. He knew his father hadn't meant to take them into such a dangerous situation but, even so, he was scared. Clara had told him to be brave. So that's what he was going to do. Be brave.

"Daddy, why does it all look so…sad?" Paul asked as he kicked at the dirt on the ground.

The Doctor looked around the barren amusement park. "I'm sorry, Paul. I must have gotten the date wrong. Looks like it's abandoned."

"It's okay, daddy. Like when I used to have accidents. It happens."

Clara giggled at Paul trying to console his father. The Doctor hugged his son with his own smile.

After the soldiers informed the trio that the planet was closed, Paul watched as his daddy flashed his "magic" wallet, causing the soldiers to back off. They then found themselves in a strange little abode where an eccentric man invited them to play chess. Paul figured out quickly that there was someone under the table, causing the Cyberman to move.

Paul was ecstatic when the man became impressed with the small boy's intelligence. On the other hand, the Doctor was unsettled by the decommissioned Cybermen. The trio found themselves with the rejected soldiers at their base.

But now Paul understood why his father was nervous. Everything happened so fast, and before the Doctor could stop it, Clara and Paul were swept away by two of the scary metal men.

Paul watched as Clara was turned into a walking coma. He didn't want to cry, though. Her last words to him were, "be brave. Run."

So he ran. He ran and ran until he could see the soldiers and his father in the distance.

"Daddy!" cried Paul as he ran into the Doctor's arms. "They…they took her, daddy! They have Clara!"

"Where?" asked the Doctor sternly.

"That place with the funny man who showed me chess."

The Doctor handed him to one of the soldiers. "Stay with these nice people, Paul. I'm going to go get Clara." He could see his son was scared. Thinking quickly, the Doctor took the captain's pin and placed it on Paul's jacket. "You're in charge, Paul. Can I count on you?"

The captain rolled her eyes, but the Doctor glared at the woman, causing her to back off.

Paul gave a small smile. "Yes, sir!" he then saluted his father. The Doctor gave a small smile before he ran towards Clara.

Watching all the big people run about made Paul feel like he was getting in the way. He wanted to help but didn't know what he was supposed to do. And his father was counting on him to be in charge! Paul nervously placed his hands in his trouser pockets. He smiled when he felt the handful of sweets he'd stashed away and promptly forgotten about.

So, being the good little boy he was, he decided to sit in a corner and enjoy the half-melted chocolates. Not wanting to make a mess, he tucked all the wrappers back into his pockets before he began looking for his next objective.

Paul heard a commotion outside and ran to see what was going on. He could see the Doctor and Clara making their way to the entrance.

"Somebody tie me up!" he heard his father exclaim.

The Doctor walked towards his son but stopped short. Paul could see the odd metal attached to his daddy's face.

"I'm sorry, Paul. But you need to stay away from me at the moment."

Clara came out from behind the Doctor and walked up to Paul. "It's okay, Paul. I'm okay now. Thank you for being so brave." Clara appeared to be herself again as she ushered the Doctor into the building.

Paul kept his distance but still followed as he watched his father sit at a table with a chess game. It was all so confusing. What was happening? Why was he tied up? Clara quickly left the room to help the soldiers. Something was coming. Something bad.

Paul crept into the room, not taking his eyes off his father.

"Daddy?" he called quietly.

The Doctor's head shot up and tilted when his eyes landed on the small boy.

"Interesting." That was all the Doctor said as his eyes continued to roam over Paul.

"What's going on?" Paul asked.

"I'm afraid daddy is not here at the moment. Now, go away." He waved Paul out of the room.

Curiosity got the better of Paul as he took a few more steps forward.

"Why are you still here?" the Doctor asked in a harsh voice.

"I just want to help," answered Paul.

The Doctor's features softened. "Paul, you need to leave. Please. I…I don't want him to say anything to you."

"Who? Say what?" asked Paul, getting closer.

A sly smile spread across the Doctor's lips. "Oh, he's afraid that I'm going to tell you the truth."

Paul tilted his head.

"He's afraid I'll tell you that every time your father looks at you, he's reminded of one of his biggest failures. Reminded that he's the reason your mother is dead."

Pauls little face crumpled. "Not true!" he cried as his "father" laughed.

…

Nearly being incorporated by the Cybermen was not something Clara ever wanted to experience. But, luckily Paul was able to get to the Doctor, which led him to save her. Which unfortunately then led to him being incorporated.

Clara splashed water on her face as she hovered over the tap. She grabbed an old rag and ran it over her brow. When she looked into the mirror, she yelped.

Staring back at her was a man. He looked like he was in some sort of military uniform. Clara rubbed at her eyes and once again saw her own reflection.

"Weird," whispered Clara as she touched the mirror. Maybe it had something to do with the Cyberman trying to muck about her mind?

Clara quickly went back to her mission. First, she needed to get the soldiers in line to defend against the coming attack. So she went straight to the captain and inquired about their weapons and what location would be the best place to take up a defence.

It wasn't until they were all sorted and she was taking stock of what she'd done that she had the strangest déjà vu. Like she'd done this before. Clara quickly brushed off the odd feeling. Of course, she'd never been in a war before! How silly.

…

Paul watched as Clara slapped the Doctor across the face. He flinched, seeing him hurt, but now he understood (for the most part) what was happening. Clara explained that his daddy was being controlled by the Cybermen, so he may say and do things he wouldn't normally do. And apparently, he'd just said something that made Clara upset.

There was a commotion outside the room, and one of the soldiers entered.

"They're gaining ground! We're surrounded!"

Clara grabbed her weapon and ran out of the room with the soldier. Paul looked to his father. He had a frown on his face.

"Daddy?" he questioned. He wasn't sure if it was his father or "Mr Clever" who was looking so sad. The Doctor lifted his head and looked at Paul.

"I'm so sorry, Paul. I… he's winning."

Paul felt like crying seeing his father so upset. He stuck his hands in his trousers and immediately felt all the wrappers still in his pocket. It was then an idea struck him.

He gathered up all the wrappers in his hand and began to walk towards his father. He'd seen his daddy do it with the golden ticket. And the wrappers were gold. He knew that because they'd gotten them from a planet where gold was more common than sand on an earth beach.

"Paul?" asked the Doctor as he watched his son approach. He could hear the Cyberplanner taunting him in his mind.

If your disgusting offspring gets anywhere near us, I will show you the full wrath of Cyberiad.

"Paul, you need to back away. Paul? What are you doing?"

Paul pulled the wrappers out of his pocket. "I'm helping," he said with a small smile.

…

"Was I brave?" asked Paul as the Doctor tucked him into bed. Even though they were facing the "wrath of Cyberiad", Paul managed to use enough gold wrappers to override the Cyberplanner's patch that prevented gold from working. The wrappers short-circuited the Cyberplanner just long enough for the Doctor to grab the hand-pulser and rid himself of the metal man for good.

They could even return home in time for Paul to actually put on his pyjamas before bed. Win-win.

"You were more than brave, Paul." The Doctor kissed his son's forehead before leaving the small room.

He nearly ran into Clara after shutting Paul's door.

"Oh! Sorry," he laughed nervously. "I didn't see you there."

Clara smiled. "It's alright." She paused a moment. "Doctor?"

"Yes?" he questioned.

"I was just thinking. Maybe…maybe we could take a bit of a break from interplanetary wars for a bit? Maybe stay more earthbound for the next few weeks. I…I don't think I could bear it if anything happened to him."

The Doctor nodded in understanding as they both made their way to the sitting room. "I know what you mean. He shouldn't have had to experience that."

The Doctor sighed as he adjusted his bow tie. Clara stilled his movements.

"It's not your fault…" she paused. "You didn't know." Clara then brushed the imaginary dust off his shoulders. "What?" she questioned. The Doctor was staring at her. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," he choked out. "I…" he took a shaky breath as he composed himself. "It's just nice to hear you say that."

After Clara left, the Doctor checked in on Paul before retreating to his own room. He once again pulled out the small box and looked over his photos of Clara. There had to be some sort of connection, right? She couldn't possibly have known what it did to his soul to hear those words come out of her beautiful mouth.

Yes, she was referring to him getting them stuck dealing with the Cybermen, but the Doctor couldn't help the feeling that his Clara was reaching out to him once again somewhere in her subconscious. Letting him know that her death wasn't his fault.

The Doctor placed the photos back into the box and made his way to Paul's room. He gently pulled down the covers and scooted the small boy over to allow space for himself. Once he was settled, he pulled the boy close to his chest and breathed in his familiar scent.

"I'm so sorry if I scared you," he whispered, thinking Paul couldn't hear.

The small Time Lord shuffled around and spoke in a sleepy voice.

"It's alright, daddy," Paul paused for a moment and then opened his eyes to look at his father. "Did I do good?"

The Doctor chuckled. "Yes, Paul. Very good. You saved me."

Paul simply smiled before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

"In so many ways," the Doctor added before falling asleep himself.