Clara was just about to put the soufflé in the oven when she heard a knock at her door. She glanced at the clock on the microwave and saw that it was still ten minutes before the time she told James to arrive. It wasn't like him to be early, so she wondered who it could be. She set the soufflé down and went to answer the door, to be pleasantly surprised.

"Well this is a first," she said.

"What ever are you talking about?"

"I expected you to be late."

"What?!" James replied acting shocked. "I'm never later."

"Sure," Clara replied with a sarcastic tone as she stepped aside to let him in.

James kissed her cheek and then handed her a bouquet of red roses. It was a gesture he did a lot and Clara found it very touching that he would buy her flowers just out of the blue and when she never expected it. One day, she had texted James about a difficult client and the hell she was putting her through, when not an hour later a delivery man showed up with lilies. It was this thoughtfulness that Clara adored and often had to remind herself of what their relationship was.

"These are beautiful. Thanks." She sniffed the roses and then walked towards the kitchen to get a vase. "You can put some music on while I put these in water."

James walked over to her vinyl collection and looked through what she had. He hadn't spent a lot of time in her flat and this was the first time he really got to see what kind of music she was into. He always enjoyed music, but not near as much as his brother did. He began to wonder if he had influenced any of her musical taste, but quickly rid his mind of that thought. He noticed she had a Frank Sinatra album and he immediately remembered how much his parents loved his music. He pulled it out and laid it on her turn table, turning the volume up slightly while he closed his eyes and was transported to his childhood.

Out of all the albums he could choose from he would choose the one the Doctor had bought her. She really didn't want to think about him, but she couldn't help but remember the day he had given it to her outside the record shop. She shook her head trying to clear the images as she picked up a bottle of red wine and poured two glasses. When she walked back into the living room she noticed James staring at her picture frames on her bookshelf. She approached him and handed him a glass.

"Dinner will be ready in about half an hour," she said.

He took the wine from her and nodded his acknowledgement and then turned back to one of the photos.

"You look like your mum."

"That's what my Gran keeps telling me."

He looked at her and could see sadness in her eyes. He knew it had been a number of years since she had lost her mum, but it was still clearly something that bothered her.

"I bet she's smiling down on you now, proud of the woman you've become."

"What? A woman who can't seem to look towards her future and see what she wants?"

"No," he said as he took her wine glass from her and set it down on the coffee table, along with his. "A strong independent woman who knows what she wants now. Tomorrow is promised to no one, so live for today. That's what I've always thought."

He took Clara into his arms and started swaying to the music, slowly moving them around her living room. She smiled at the gesture and leaned her head on his chest.

"I suppose you're right," she sighed, feeling content to be in this moment with him.

James leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head and was just about to go in for a kiss when a knock came to the door. They both stopped moving and looked towards the sound.

"That's not my brother, is it?" James questioned as he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"No. Well at least I don't think so," Clara replied as she walked to the door.

She opened it and was slightly relieved to see that it wasn't.

"Dad," she exclaimed surprised.

"Hello sweetheart," he said as he leaned into give her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in. I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd come by and see you."

"Uh, no. Of course not." She stepped aside and let her dad in who finally saw James standing in the middle of the room. "Uhm, dad, this is James."

"Nice to meet you," her dad said as he extended a hand to the strange man.

"Likewise, Mr. Oswald," James replied.

"Please, call me Dave." He turned and looked at Clara. "I didn't think you would have company. I'll go."

"No, you don't need to go," Clara glanced at James unsure how he would feel about this situation. He had made it clear he wasn't the sort of guy who met parents.

"No, please stay. Clara and I were just about to eat and I'm sure there's more than enough for you to join us," James offered.

Clara was shocked. She had thought for sure James would insist on her dad staying, but that he would leave.

"Absolutely," she agreed. "Please stay, dad."

"Well, okay. I just don't want to be interrupting anything."

"You're not. Have a seat and I'll go check on dinner," she assured her dad. "James, can you give me a hand?"

James followed Clara into the kitchen, who immediately started pacing around.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea he was coming over," she apologised.

"It's okay," James replied as he grabbed her shoulders to keep her in one place. "I can tell you're surprised, but you don't need to freak out."

"I just know that you never wanted to meet him."

"It's fine. Don't worry about that," James assured her. "Now does he like wine?"

James picked up the wine bottle as Clara took out another glass for her dad. She then started to set another place at the table, while James went back out to the living room.

"Here you go," James said as he handed the glass to Dave, who was now sitting on the couch.

"Thanks," he replied. "So how exactly do you know my daughter?"

There it was, the question he dreaded and the reason he didn't like to meet families. He knew her dad would obviously want to know who this older man was, and what he was doing with his daughter, which was a logical response. Hell if he had a daughter he wouldn't have likely been as polite as Dave had been so far.

"Clara worked on an ad campaign for my company a couple of months ago and we struck up a friendship. You raised a really great woman there."

"Thanks," Dave responded, eyeing James with a bit of apprehension. "I'm very proud of her and happy that she's starting to put some roots down."

"I imagine you missed her terribly while she was traveling," James said, trying to make more small talk, but also to let her dad know that he was familiar with Clara.

"I did. I just hope that she's worked through the issues that led her to runaway in the first place."

Just as James was about to answer, Clara entered to tell them that dinner was ready. James couldn't help but notice the choice of words her dad used in describing Clara's travels. He saw it as running away, but not once did Clara ever call it that. Maybe she and him were a lot more similar than he had thought.

The three sat down to dinner, which was an incredibly awkward moment. Clara could tell that James was on his best behaviour and her dad kept eyeing him up, no doubt wondering who he was and exactly what kind of relationship they had. Before she gave her dad a chance to ask questions she decided to ask her own.

"So dad, how's Gran doing?" Clara asked as she took a sip from her wine.

"She's good. Went to see a show in Leicester Square with a seniors group tonight."

"Oh good. I'm glad she's getting out again."

"Yeah, me too," her dad replied and then looked at James. "So you said Clara did a campaign for your business. What is it?"

"I own Mondasian Ice Cream," James answered.

"Oh, I've never heard of that."

"Well, it's new to the UK. I started it back in New York." James could tell that Dave was fishing for information and this was what he hated about meeting parents. He should have just left, but he had no idea what possessed him to stay.

"Ah, so that explains the accent."

"Yeah," Clara jumped in, in an effort to rescue James. "He moved there when he was in his twenties and just came back a few months ago."

"And what made you decide to return to London?" Dave questioned.

"Thought I might see if I could have a go at the business here."

"And how has that been?" Clara was really wishing her dad would stop with the questions. She had planned a nice night and was excited to finally get James at her place, but she was starting to think it was just a matter of time before he bolted.

"Thanks to your daughter, really good." James smiled at Clara and gave her a subtle wink.

Just then, almost as if James had willed it, his mobile rang. He glanced down and then stood up as he picked up the device.

"I'm sorry, I really need to take this." He stepped out of the flat and into the hallway, leaving Clara alone with her Dad.

"He seems rather busy," Dave said as he took a bite of his food.

"Guess that's how you succeed in business," Clara replied, unsure if her father was now going to interrogate her.

"Guess so." Dave put his fork down and turned towards his daughter. "Look, I know you're an adult and you can do what you please, but I'm not naïve honey. Do you really think it's wise to get involved with an older man like that?"

"I'm not involved with him, dad. He's a friend and that's it."

"Clara." Her dad gave her the tone that she was all too familiar with when she was a teen. The tone that said he knew she was lying.

"Okay, fine. We are seeing each other but it's not serious, so please don't make a big deal out of this."

Her dad didn't say anything immediately, but instead just stared at her. "Fine, but be careful. A person's heart is precious and I don't want to see you get yours broken."

"Been there, done that. Trust me, that's why I'm with James."

The door opened and James walked back in again. Clara thought for sure he was going to give some excuse about an emergency at the factory and leave, but instead he sat back down again and continued eating.

"Sorry about that. I was waiting for that call all day."

"That's okay," Dave answered. "Gave me a chance to chat with Clara."

James eyed Clara and she gave him a nervous smile that told him all he needed to know; Dave knew that he was sleeping with his daughter. Why hadn't he fled yet? The last thing he wanted was to be interrogated by a man who was not much older than himself. He needed to get the conversation away from him and Clara and find out what Dave might like to talk about instead.

"So are you a football fan, Dave?"

Clara gave a sigh of relief, knowing how much her dad liked to talk about his favourite team and with the World Cup coming up she knew he'd have a lot to say. Sure enough the two men started chatting about that and the tension began to ease. Before Clara knew it a couple of hours had passed when her dad noticed the time.

"Thanks so much for dinner sweetheart, but I should be getting home. Your Gran will be back soon," Dave said as he stood up from the table.

"Well I'm glad you stopped by dad," Clara said as both she and James followed him to the door.

"Me too. I would have never known what was happening in your life," he hugged his daughter who returned the gesture with the same enthusiasm. " It was nice to meet you James."

"Likewise," he answered, as he shook Dave's hand.

"If this goes beyond whatever it is now, your Gran will want to meet him," Dave said to Clara.

"Okay dad," Clara replied, now trying to rush her dad out the door. "I'll call you next weekend."

She shut the door after her dad and turned around to see James smirking at her. Why was he so much harder to read than his brother?

"What?" She said as she walked towards the kitchen to clear the table. James followed behind her.

"I didn't say anything."

"No, but you face is telling me you want to."

"Nothing, I just think you're adorable when you get flustered," he answered as he picked up some plates and handed them to Clara who was loading the dishwasher.

"I was not flustered. I just don't tell my dad much about my dating life. In fact he's only met one of my boyfriends."

"Really?"

"Yes. Besides, I half expected you to make an excuse and leave."

"Me too. I'm not entirely sure why I stayed, but I'm glad I did. Once we got past the awkward stage, it was a pleasant night."

Clara closed the door on the dishwasher and turned it on. The sound of water running filled the room as it hit her how domestic this night had been, which was something James had been very adamantly against.

"It was. Thank you," she said as she walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him.

James pulled her into him and rested his chin on the top of her head. "You're welcome, although I'm not sure what I did."

"For staying."

"So do you want to pick up where we started tonight?" He asked, wondering if she would want to continue with whatever she had planned for tonight, but not really feeling in the mood any more.

"How do you feel about watching a movie?" She questioned as she pulled away from him.

"I think that sounds perfect."

She led him to the couch, where he sat and she curled up next to him. After some debate as to what they wanted to watch, they settled on a drama that neither of them had seen. Clara snuggled into James and he laid his arm around her, lightly rubbing her back, which made her feel very content and relaxed. It wasn't long before James glanced down and saw that she had fallen asleep and he debated about waking her or letting her stay where she was. He liked the feel of her against him and decided to just let her be until the movie was over. Except he couldn't really concentrate on the film as his mind started wandering to the woman in his arms. How did she do what she did to him? He was thinking things that he had never thought with any woman and would often find his thoughts wandering to her and what she was doing when he wasn't with her. He found himself missing her and longing to see her, to just simply be in the same space with her and it didn't matter if they were intimate or not. He had been able to keep his feelings guarded and not fall for any women for so long, that he really thought he was immune to it. He was so torn about what to do. He knew he shouldn't fall for her, that his lifestyle wasn't one that he wanted her to be a part of and if she knew the truth as to what he was really doing here, she would never want to see him again.

Clara began to move and he tried to sooth her back to sleep, not wanting this moment to end, but no luck. She opened her eyes and sat up, looking a tad confused as to where she was and what was going on.

"Did I miss the whole thing?" She questioned.

"You did," James smiled at her.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea I was that tired."

"No need to apologise. The movie wasn't that good any way."

Clara sat further up and stretched, while she yawned.

"Looks like you're still tired," James chuckled, as he shut the TV off.

"Yeah, sorry our night was ruined," she said as she stood.

She had been seeing James for a few months now and there had never been a time that they got together and didn't have sex. She was just too tired and not really in the mood for that now.

"It wasn't ruined at all," he answered as he stood up and extended his hand to Clara.

"Well, I'm just not really in the mood to," she started to say as she let him help her up off the couch. James stopped her from finishing her thought.

"Neither am I. I'm feeling just as tired as you look."

"So raincheck then?" She asked as she walked towards her front door.

"You kicking me out?" James asked not following her.

Clara turned around, surprised. "I just assumed that you wouldn't want to stay."

"I wouldn't mind, if it's okay."

This man never ceased to surprise her. This whole night had been one after another and if he kept it up, she would have to fight really hard to stop the feelings he was invoking in her.

"Yeah," she replied and switched the hall light off as they walked towards her room.

Neither said anything as they got ready for bed, both aware of the step they were taking in their relationship, but not wanting to acknowledge it. Clara changed into boxers and a tank top, while James stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed. Once she switched off the light and moved down to lay on her back, James wrapped an arm around her and lightly placed a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Night," he whispered.

"Night," she replied and closed her eyes wondering if James was having the same thoughts she was having at this moment.

James laid there with Clara in his arms and even though he was tired, he couldn't fall asleep immediately. She had given him every opportunity to get out of this night and yet he didn't take it. There was no denying it, he was falling in love with this woman and he was utterly terrified.