"What do you think you are doing!" The Doctor entered the treatment room where he had momentarily left Clara, to find the dentist about to inject something from a long needle into his companion's mouth. He moved quickly toward them, wrenching the syringe from the young woman's hand. She glared up at him while he examined it, his eyes glancing from the long needle to his companion who was giving him a tired, annoyed look with her eyes. Her mouth was propped open, so she couldn't speak, but he was pretty sure he knew what she would have said if she could.
"That is Novocain." The hygienist explained patiently to him. "It will numb her nerves in her mouth in the area around the cavity so we can drill it painlessly. There may be slight reactions to the medication, which is common, but I promise it won't be anything serious."
He glanced toward Karen then back at Clara. "What kind of – reactions?" His lips curled upward in a slightly disbelieving snarl as he spat the words at the kind hygienist. He glanced at Clara, who was still giving him a desperate, pleading look to just shut up. He reached to lay a hand on her smaller one,a hand that was still so very cold.
"Making it worse?" He asked softly, smiling apologetically down at her.
She mutely nodded, her face one he recognized and did not like to see. She was giving him her "I am being brave" face.
Karen smiled brightly. "Not to worry. Her jaw will be numb for a few hours, her sense of hot and cold might be a little off for a bit, and there may be some swelling in the jaw area. But it will go away in a few hours, and she will be all better before the day is over."
His brows furrowed, and he handed back the Novocain, giving a slight smile to his nervous companion. He did not like the shine he could see building up in those eyes. The Doctor inwardly vowed that he was definitely never letting her come back here again, not even if the world depended on it. He would find a different way.
He stepped aside, reluctantly returning the syringe to Karen, and laying a gentle hand on his companion's shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. Tucking his hands into his jacket pockets, he moved back toward his chair, but he did not sit down. He stood rigidly in the corner and watched the rest of the procedure, setting his jaw firmly as he watched those long fingers curling nervously around the arms of the chair that she sat in. It looked terrifying to him, two people hovering over her, bright light in her face, sticking things into her mouth. He couldn't imagine what if felt like from her point of view. He was not comfortable with this whole situation at all. He desperately wanted to step in and whisk her away in his old blue box. But he did not want to make it any worse than he had already, so he began to pace a little in the corner, eyes never leaving his companions face.
What felt like three eternities later, the hygienist and dentist announced that they had completed the procedure. He moved immediately to his companion's side, taking her hand in his to help her from the chair. Typically, she would have threatened to smack him with something if he did not stop babying her. But this time, she allowed his help and finished up the conversation with the dentist and began to walk out of the office, with the Doctor right at her side. He had no idea what Clara and the women had said, as he was too focused on his companion's face. He noted that it was no longer green, but pale and slightly puffy.
"Clara," he spoke quietly as they entered the waiting room again. "I have a small surprise for you."
She turned to give him a questioning smile. " 'ave you now, Doc'tor. Should I be 'oncerned."
His eyebrows rose in confusion.
"Clara, your face isn't working. It's not – moving correctly. It's all – sideways and crooked."
She immediately reached up both hands and gently felt her jaws. A look of panic had appeared in her eyes momentarily, which was almost immediately replaced with tiredness.
"It's jus' the med'cine." She replied, her voice thick and mumbling, as she moved toward the door to leave. " 'ts norm'l"
He laid both hands on her shoulders and turned her gently to face him, running his hands down her face, and feeling the swelling along both jaw lines. "You're having a reaction." He said simply.
Clara nodded tiredly. " 'appens ev'ry time. 'ts why I hate goin' "
He nodded silently, running his thumb along the bone of her jaw. "You aren't ever coming back here, Clara. I promise." He spoke quietly, more to himself than to her. She nodded absently, still rubbing her jaw. Kindly, the Doctor put an arm around her shoulder and steered her toward the door.
"Right, now, I have a surprise for you, Clara. Don't panic, don't shout. This is just for you."
He swung the outside door open to reveal a long black limo, parked right outside on the street.
Clara's eyebrows shot up, and she looked silently at him, a question in her eyes. The Doctor smiled wisely.
"No, I got you a chauffeur too. I figured that London would have problems and maybe fall apart if I drove it. Someone once told me I could cause trouble doing that." His face reflected a smug grin, and she shook her head, too tired to respond, but mentally grateful that he had listened and would not be driving. It would somehow end up being a bad idea if he had. She just knew it.
"After you," he held out a sweeping arm to point the way to the open limo door, and she gratefully made her way inside the dark, glamourous vehicle. Blue lights ran across the ceiling in shimmering ribbons, and ice water was waiting for them in crystal glasses. After making sure she was seated, the Doctor climbed in beside her and showed the limo driver his psychic paper as well as Clara's address.
Once they were on their way, he took up a glass and offered it to Clara. "Water?"
She nodded and took it gratefully. "Th'nks. Still got grit in m'a teeth." After taking a small sip, she choked and nearly spit it out again, a painful grimace flashing across her face.
"What is it!" The Doctor exclaimed, taking the glass from her hand and scanning it with his sonic. "Is it poisoned? No. What's wrong, Clara, tell me."
She grimaced and shook her head. "Hot."
His eyebrows shot up and he looked into the glass."Clara, this is ice water. See? It's cold. That's what happens when you have ice in a drink"
She nodded, a tear rising in her eyes. "Mixed sign'ls. 'appens som'times when nerves 're numb'd. Half m'a ton'gue says it's cold, n half says it's hot."
"Sounds terrible." He sighed and moved back to sit at her side, propping his elbows on his knees. "I said this already, but that will never happen again, Clara. I promise you that very, very strongly."
Clara glanced up at him with a smile, a slightly crooked smile as part of her mouth still wasn't working. "Thank you, Doctor."
He said no more, but instead put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. She bravely laid her head against his long black coat, feeling the bristle of his stubble through her hair as he boldly leaned his head to rest on top of hers. The smell was familiar and comforting, as was the dark interior of the limo, and she closed her eyes. She heard the sonic bleeping from his screwdriver, then soft music began to drift through the empty air. Her raveled nerves beckoned her to sleep, and in the safety of his arms, she allowed it to take her on its ride.
When she awoke again, she opened her eyes to see her own ceiling high above her. Had they made it home? They must have. She mentally checked her limbs. Yes, all legs and arms were there, so it had to have been uneventful journey. Either that or she had missed the whole adventure. Tiredly, she heaved a sigh and slowly sat up, looking around to see if anything else was familiar. She was lying on her own couch, covered in a blanket from her bedroom, and two of her fluffy pillows stuffed under her head. The smell of something delicious cooking in the other room drifted to her nose, and her stomach growled. She could not remember if she had eaten. With the nerves she had earlier, she was quite sure that having not eaten yet was a safe bet.
A long hand pushed her gently back into the pillows, and grey ayes appeared above her. "You – stay put."
Then he was gone again, heading back in the direction of the apartment kitchen.
"Doc'tor," Clara called, annoyed that her mouth was still not working correctly. "I'm hu'gry!"
The grey eyes popped back around the door frame of the living room that she was in. "I know, Clara. Just a few more minutes. Don't get un-hungry. I am making a delicacy from a far planet. Don't want to burn it." Then he was gone.
Clara groaned and rubbed her face, taking in a deep breath of a mixed fragrance – bits of something savory, his cologne, and the lavender in her laundry soap. She felt drained and her jaws hurt. Stupid Novocain. Closing her eyes, she snuggled back into the pillows, imagining they were a certain black jacket, and noticing that she was actually missing the sound of the twin beating hearts.
Heat. She could feel heat coursing through her, burning through her veins, singing every hair along her arm. She opened her eyes to find herself in a room that was completely white. Not a sound could be heard in the still air, and nothing moved except for a tall, grotesque creature that was walking toward her, a long needle in its misshapen hand. It's footsteps echoed in her ears, like the beating of a heart, even though they did not echo in the room beyond.
"It's for your teeth." It rumbled at her, green eyes solid and unblinking as it gazed at her.
She backed away, looking wildly around her for a direction to run, but there was no visible door or way of escape. "Doctor! Doctor, where am I?" Calling for the only person who could help her, she turned in a complete circle, trying to figure out where she had apparently been taken. What had happened, and where was the Doctor?
"He can't help you," the creature replied coldly, flicking the end of the needle with a long grey fingernail. "No one can help you now, Miss Clara Oswald."
"What do you want with me?" Clara asked breathlessly, taking another step back. "And what have you done with the Doctor?" The creature did not respond, simply chuckled evilly, and began to walk toward her. The white walls just seemed to go on and on, and there was no way to get around the monster moving closer and closer to her. The long arm raised the needle toward her and as if in slow motion, quickly brought it down toward her.
Then the ringing started. The creature seemed to wobble at the sudden sound, then collapsed into a heap, before vanishing into the floor.
She jerked violently awake, to find the Doctor sitting in a straight-backed chair, positioned right in front of her couch.
"Hello." He spoke gently.
She grimaced and closed her eyes again. Everything felt warm and her ears were ringing. She felt a gentle hand on hers and his voice right at her ear spoke kindly.
"Slight reaction to the medication, Clara. The ringing and feeling warm are part of it. It's okay. Try to drink some of this."
She opened her eyes to find a steaming cup in his hands. A spoon of the dark liquid that was contained in it was held up before her, and she laughed hoarsely. "Doctor, you don't have to feed me." She looked up into those soft grey eyes and noticed the slight tear that rested there. He was still worried.
"Don't argue." He replied shortly. "Eat. More eating, less talking."
To make him happy, she allowed him to spoon feed her some of whatever he had was not great, but not terrible. There was a slight medicinal, herbal taste, but somehow, it made her feel a bit better, and she laid back and closed her eyes. She heard him make a satisfied sound and felt his hand on her forehead, as if he were checking her temperature. His touch was light, and comforting.
"Rest for now." He spoke into her ear, the chair creaking slightly as he leaned forward and brushed a finger across her forehead. She slept.
Watching over her was his job. He sat back in the chair he had brought from the kitchen and crossed his arms comfortably. Tomorrow, he would take her somewhere nice. Somewhere that the horrors of today could be forgotten. But right now, she needed rest. He didn't care how long she needed. He could watch her sleep all night. Typical, fragile humans, and their need to recuperate after trying situations. He smiled kindly as he watched the sleeping companion, so fiery, so brave, yet so fragile. He had a duty of care, and he was determined to see it through.
"Tardis, make a note to remember exactly one year from today. Dentist appointment for Clara Oswald with the Doctor."
The Doctor will always look out for Clara, no matter what :) Hope you liked this one! It was supposed to be up yesterday but my dog had a injury, and I was trying to take care of him. He is 12 and has outlived typical age for his breed, so he is getting creaky and achy. He's my little writing buddy :)
As always, read and review, and always be kind. Let me know if you want a sequel!