John Smith isn't a fan of parties or any form of gathering that involved three or more people but when his colleague had invited him to his son's tenth birthday party, he couldn't have just brushed it off since Dylan mentions his son a lot.
Now here he was, sitting in his car waiting for Donna to finally step out of the house. She had phoned him earlier in the day asking if he could pick her up as her fiancée was working.
He glanced at the clock on the dashboard before honking once.
"Will you please be patient?" a voice yelled from inside the house.
John pursed his lips and crossed his arms. If she wanted a personal chauffeur, she should have hired one.
About five minutes later, Donna Noble emerged out of her home, carrying a box wrapped in blue paper which had 'Happy Birthday' written all over it, and headed straight for his car before getting into the backseat. "Alright, police boy, let's go."
"Would it kill you to say please?" he grumbled, making eye contact through the rear-view mirror.
"I could smack your head right and drive this car myself if I wanted to."
John scoffed, unable to help himself from laughing before driving off.
The journey lasted for about twenty or so minutes before they finally reached their destination and to his dismay, he discovered that there wasn't any parking space. "I'll drop you off first," he suggested.
"There's a good driver," she joked before stepping out of the vehicle.
He could see several guests lounging outside, talking and socialising, which was something he wasn't looking forward to but had to since his entire team had convinced him to come along.
He toured the street several times before finally spotting a car that was driving off and immediately parked his car in the new empty spot despite being some distance away.
John then reached for the present in the passenger seat and exited the vehicle.
"Sorry about the limited car park, boss," Dylan said as he greeted him at the front of the house. "It's usually like this during the weekend."
"Remind me to never travel to your house via car," the DCS commented. "Anyway, where's the birthday boy?"
The chief inspector chuckled. "Trying to smash a pinata into pieces with his friends."
John was led inside the house and into the backyard where most of the guests were.
"Grab some food and make yourself at home," Dylan said as he spotted the pinata flying in the air. "I just need to stop the kids from making that thing land into somebody else's home – Charlie, you can't toss it in the air like that!"
John nodded and spotted a table stacked with presents and placed Charlie's gift there before looking around. Rena and Aidan were currently chatting with a guest, and Donna is browsing the food selection.
"John?" a familiar voice called out his name and he whirled around.
"Clara," he murmured in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Clara Oswald had rehearsed this very moment in her head a hundred times now. She could pull it off convincingly. "I could ask you the same question," she replied, feigning confusion.
"Well, I'm here because my colleague invited me to his son's birthday party," he explained.
"Wait, so when you mentioned DCI Clarkson, you were talking about Dylan Clarkson?"
"Yes," he answered. "How…"
Clara flashed him a smile. "I used to be his neighbour and babysat Charlie during the weekends."
John processed her words carefully. "Oh, that makes sense."
She was relieved that he bought her lie as much as she wanted to scream into a pillow. She wasn't sure why she was struggling to lie to him. Maybe it was because he looked so innocent.
"So," he said. "When did you get here?"
The schoolteacher shrugged. "About half-an-hour ago."
He needed to act as normal as possible. If anyone in his team finds out about this, especially Donna, then-
"Police boy, where did you park your car?" Donna asked as she approached him. "Left my phone in there, I think," she continued before realising he was talking to someone.
John grimaced. So much for trying to keep his love life a low profile. "Clara, this is Donna," he introduced. "She's my colleague."
There was a twinkle in Donna's eyes as she finally connected the dots.
"Donna, this is Clara," he said, hoping that he didn't have to elaborate further. It's not like they were officially a couple and it would certainly be awkward to come up with an explanation.
"Pleasure to meet you, Clara," Donna said, beaming.
"And you too."
"Just got to ask you one question, though."
Clara raised her eyebrows.
"What made you date this prawn?"
John could only glare at his friend and colleague in silence as Clara laughed. "I think stick-insect would be a better description."
Donna glanced at him and examined him from head to toe. "You're right!"
The DCS furrowed his brows. "Funny."
The two women laughed. What an utter nightmare for him. It felt as if he was introducing Clara to his sister and she's just trying to embarrass him.
"Well, hope you're enjoying the party."
Suddenly, loud cheering could be heard as a girl managed to finally crack open the pinata, releasing a mountain of chocolates and candies from within.
"Sorry about that," John apologised once Donna left. "She can be a bit…"
"Don't worry about it," Clara replied, giving him an assuring smile. "I still can't quite believe you and Dylan work together."
That part certainly wasn't a lie. Things would surely have been less complicated if he was in a different division.
"One hell of a coincidence."
"It makes sense now when you said you were recently transferred," she murmured, noticing that Dylan was approaching them.
"Boss-man, glad you finally found someone to talk to other than your own circle of friends," the DCI teased.
"We actually know each other," Clara revealed.
Dylan tried to act as casual as possible. "How so?"
He could have sworn he saw her glare.
"We met at school on the day you were supposed to have your talk," John explained.
"Oh, wow."
"Dylan," his wife called from the kitchen. "The cake's ready."
He nodded to his wife before focusing his attention back to the couple. "Enjoy the party."
John and Clara couldn't have been more relieved for him to leave.
"Do you have any plans after this?" he inquired, suddenly getting an idea.
"Yes, I am… why?" she answered, biting her lower lip.
He flashed her a grin. "We can go to this art gallery I've been wanting to go to."
She couldn't think of a better way to spend her Saturday evening.
"Though, I suppose now I have to introduce you to my other colleagues," John muttered, catching Aidan and Rena grinning at him.
The schoolteacher chuckled, wrapping an arm around his. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."
"Miss, why are you smiling like that?" a student asked, confused. "It's a bit creepy."
Clara snapped out of her daydream and looked at her student. "Sorry, Ethan, I'm just happy."
Her date at the art gallery was wonderful. She had discovered that John is a massive history and art nerd when he kept rambling about the paintings, not that she minded. If anything, it was adorable. Not to forget the date she has tonight.
It happened out of the blue. He drove her home and just before she left the car, she told him to pick her up on Monday evening.
"It's weird seeing you this happy, Miss, no offence."
"Right, back to your discussion on how to write a story that creates a sense of mystery," the schoolteacher said, changing the subject and ignoring the mischievous looks she was receiving from some of the pupils.
By the time school ended, she was more than eager to leave and prep for the date.
"You seem giddy all day long," Danny commented as they cross the street and headed for the tube station.
Clara shrugged. "Just happy."
He had a feeling over what might have influenced her good mood, feeling a surge of jealousy rise up his chest but said nothing.
His suspicions were later confirmed when he spotted her walk out of the compound, arms linked with a man with the silver curls.
Danny could only watch in sadness as the couple laugh and share a kiss. He regretted being a coward and not taking the leap of faith when he had the chance. At least Clara Oswald is happy and he's fine with that thought.
Clara and John didn't return until late at night, all smiles as they took the stairs to her home.
Once they reached her flat, he leaned against the wall as she unlocked the door. "I still can't believe I didn't know a conservatory exists in London, well, as in the one we went to," she commented, turning around to face him after pushing the door slightly. "Felt as if I was on another planet."
John shrugged. "I actually did a bit of googling," he admitted.
"It was a good choice," she murmured before stepping aside. "Hot chocolate?"
He blinked once, twice before regaining the ability to speak. "Yes, hot chocolate would be nice," he replied, following her inside.
John Smith was roused from his sleep when he heard his smartphone buzz. The downside of being a light sleeper. He blinked several times to adjust his eyesight and realised that he wasn't in his bedroom, nor was he in his own bed.
The realisation then struck him. He spent the night at Clara's and immediately beamed as he felt her shift in his arms.
Gently, he rolled over, releasing her from his embrace and searched for his trousers on the floor before discovering it and pulling out the mobile device.
'Got a match on the suspect. Geoffrey Brooks – Aidan.'
What time was it? 5:52.
"John?" Clara murmured, eyes still closed.
"Sorry," he apologised placing the phone on the nightstand before joining her in bed. "Just received an update."
"Do you normally get updates around this hour?" she joked before rolling over to wrap her arms around him.
He awkwardly embraced her and buried his nose in her hair. "No, it's usually at random times."
"You're now leaving right now, are you?"
He kissed her shoulder. "No, I still have an hour or two before I have to go."
She sighed in content before hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "Good."