"Doctor," JD said as he walked over to shake his hand. "I'm glad you made it."

"You told me I didn't have a choice."

"True, but I still thought you might bail."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at him before he turned to Missy.

"JD, Rose, this is Missy."

"So lovely to meet you both," Missy said as she shook their hands.

"You too. It's nice to meet the woman who has been causing this old wanker to be less cranky at work," JD replied.

"Well glad I can be of service," Missy replied.

The Doctor glanced over at Clara and James and gave her a tiny smile. "Hi."

"Hi," Clara replied.

"Well isn't this all awkward," Amy added. "Oh would you hear that, I think that was the door."

Amy left the three couples alone and went back out to the living room. A silence overcame the room, none of them really knowing how to start the conversation.

"Would either of you like a drink?" Clara offered.

"A beer would be great, thanks," the Doctor answered.

"Red wine for me," Missy replied.

Clara opened the fridge and took out a beer, while Rose poured a glass of merlot.

"So Missy, tell us about yourself? The Doctor here hasn't said much," JD questioned.

"There's not much to say. Grew up in Glasgow, moved here almost a year ago."

"And what brought you to London?" Rose asked as she handed Missy her glass.

"Work."

"And what is it that you do?" Clara asked as she gave the Doctor his beer.

"I'm in PR, freelance mostly."

"Sounds interesting. And how did you meet?" JD asked.

"My cousin works with James and invited me to the opening of his new shop. As soon as I saw this man, I knew I needed to get to know him better, but of course I really didn't

get a chance to then because poor Clara had been kidnapped."

Missy glanced over at Clara and gave her a sad smile, which Clara interpreted as the most fake insincere gesture ever.

"Luckily," Missy continued. "Clara was found and a few weeks later, the Doctor called me."

"Yes, fascinating story. Can we talk about something else?" The Doctor chimed in, hating to talk about himself or his relationship.

"I think we should go mingle," Rose suggested to JD.

"Right you are. We'll catch up with you later." JD added and the couple left the kitchen.

"So what kind of freelance PR do you do?" James asked. "River hasn't told me much about you. In fact, I never even knew she had a cousin from Glasgow."

James was curious about Missy. There was something that he didn't like about her, and it wasn't just how she had treated Clara in the coffee shop. There was something

that he just couldn't put his finger on about her. It was true that River had never told him about a cousin from his home town, which he thought would have come up in the years they had worked together.

"I don't see why it matters. I mean, you have a twin brother from Glasgow and you never told her," Missy responded.

"I suppose, but then again I had my reasons for that. The two of you must not be very close."

"We're close enough," Missy replied and then turned to the Doctor. "Do you know where the loo is?"

"It's down the hall, first door on the left," Clara answered, knowing the Doctor wouldn't know.

"Thanks," Missy replied, barely acknowledging her before she walked off.

"So do you know what her job is?" James asked the Doctor.

"PR," he answered curtly.

"Yes, but what kind?"

"I don't know. I don't ask much about her work and she doesn't ask much about mine."

"So what exactly do you know about her?" James asked again.

"Enough."

James eyed his brother and wondered what he was doing with a woman like Missy anyway. She didn't seem his type, at least from what he remembered when they were young men. It also didn't seem that he was getting anywhere with his questioning and didn't really see any point to continue speaking with John.

"Okay, well great talk. I'm going to go find some people who might be more interested in a conversation."

James walked off towards the living room, leaving Clara and the Doctor alone.

"Why can't you at least try and be nice to him?" Clara asked. "He's clearly trying to make an effort and you're giving him nothing in return."

"You know why and if I recall we called a truce today."

"Fine." Clara gave a sigh. "I'm going to see if Amy needs a hand with anything."

"I'm sorry, okay. Don't run off because I angered you."

"You didn't anger me; I just wish you two would get a long."

"Why is it so important to you?"

"Because you're brothers."

"So. Lots of people have siblings and they don't get along. Why is it so important to you that we get along?"

"I don't know." Clara had never really thought about it. "Maybe because we're friends and it might be nice if you were friends with him."

"So what, we can double date? Hang out together? Because honestly Clara, I wouldn't want to do that even if he and I were on better terms."

Clara just stared at him. It seemed that ever since their conversation in the record shop they had both been on edge and it always surrounded the topic of James.

"You're right. I'll stop trying to push it."

"Hey, here you are," Amy said as she walked into the kitchen. "A bunch of people are in need of some drinks. Can you give me a hand?"

"Absolutely," Clara answered as she looked at the Doctor.

"Oh and I think, your girlfriend was looking for you to rescue her from a conversation in there," Amy added.

"She's not my girlfriend, but I'll go see what I can do." He walked out of the room.

"Wow, you two and your 'they aren't my boyfriend / girlfriend'. Maybe you just need to make a commitment to each other instead of hiding behind other people."

"Amy, enough, okay?" Clara replied exasperated.

"Fine, just give me a hand."

A few hours had past and the party was going pretty well. Everyone was mingling and for the most part no drama had been caused between any exes and new partners. Clara, who had been chatting with one of Rose's friends from work, and was now standing off to the side watching Amy talk to James. She could only imagine what they were talking about, but they both looked like they were enjoying the conversation. She then moved her attention to the Doctor and Missy, who weren't really socializing with anyone, but instead keeping to themselves. She couldn't help but be curious to watch how the couple interacted with each other and noticed that Missy was constantly touching the Doctor, who clearly wasn't that comfortable with public displays. He wasn't rude, but every time Missy would wrap an arm through his and lean into him, he would slightly shuffle out of her grip. She chuckled to herself watching the display, taking satisfaction out of the fact that Missy seemed to be more interested in the Doctor than he was of her. At least that's what it appeared to Clara. She knew she shouldn't be happy about that, but she just felt that Missy was the wrong woman for him and that he would be better suited with someone who seemed more caring than Missy.

"So James seems very nice," Amy said as she walked up next to Clara, startling her out of her thoughts.

"He is," she responded as she looked over and saw the man in question chatting with Amy's husband.

"He likes you a lot."

"Well I should hope he likes me."

"No, I mean he likes you more than just as a shag buddy."

"What gives you that impression?" Clara questioned.

"Many things. One, he came to this party, which you said he wasn't into. Two, he picked you up at a bridal shop, which if you're just friends with benefits, you don't do. Three,

he had dinner with you and your dad. And four, the way he looks at you. He doesn't look at you with lust Clara, he looks at you like a man falling in love."

Clara was still watching James with Rory and smiled at seeing the two men interact. James must have felt her watching him because he looked over and smiled, giving her a slight wink. Amy was right and as much as she had been trying to tell herself it wasn't true, there was no denying that his feelings had changed.

"I know," she responded.

"So then what are you standing here for. Go tell him how you feel and start working on building a proper relationship."

"It's not so easy, Amy."

"Seems pretty easy to me. Or do you not feel the same?"

"I like him very much, but I'm just afraid to open my heart completely."

"Clara, you need to move past what the Doctor did."

"It's not that. At least I don't think it is. I just don't know what it is that is stopping me from letting my walls down."

Clara glanced over towards the Doctor and saw he was chatting with JD, Missy gone from his side.

"Do you still have feelings for the Doctor?" Amy asked.

"No."

Amy stared at Clara and gave her a suspicious look. The one she always gave her when she thought she was lying.

"I think you need to do some soul searching, Clara. Figure out which brother you want because right now you're stringing both of them along and that's not fair to either of them."

"I'm not doing that Amy."

"Maybe not intentionally, but as an outside observer it looks that way to me."

Clara was tired of all of this and just wanted to get away. "I need some air," Clara said as she turned and made her way outside.

She didn't want to talk about it anymore, but she knew Amy was once again right. If James was indeed falling for her, she needed to decide if she wanted more with him. But the damn Doctor had put thoughts in her head that she couldn't stop thinking about and there was no way she could get involved with James if the Doctor's accusations were correct. She stepped out into the backyard and saw Missy was on her mobile.

"I know. I told you not to worry and that I would take care of it." Clara overheard Missy say into her mobile and then hang up.

Missy opened her hand bag, took out a cigarette and lit it before she noticed Clara was standing there.

"How much of that did you hear?" Missy asked tersely.

"I didn't hear any of it," Clara lied. "I just came out to get some air."

Silence descended upon the two women, both clearly not knowing what to say or really even wanting to talk to each other.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Clara finally asked deciding small talk was better than nothing.

"It's fine," Missy answered as she took a drag off her cigarette. "Look, let's be honest. You and I are not going to be friends, so let's just not bother with the annoying small talk."

"Well that's true, but shouldn't we at least try and get along with each other. I mean, I don't have anything against you, Missy."

"Really? Because I find that very hard to believe. I'm shagging your ex."

Clara cringed at the visual that popped into her head. She just didn't want to imagine the Doctor having sex with this woman. Curious though, that she described their relationship like that.

"So is that all he is to you? Someone to shag?"

"Well, I don't think there's a chance of there being anything else, thanks to you."

"Me? What the hell do I have to do with your relationship?" Clara questioned, irritated by Missy's claim.

"He's never going to commit to another woman as long as you're hanging around him." Missy bit.

"He's my friend and I have every right to spend time with him!"

"Sure, if you were just friends, but you and I both know it's more than that."

"It is not more than that!" Clara was getting extremely angry now. "The Doctor and I have not been together in well over a year and I have moved on!"

"To his identical twin! That's not moving on."

"How dare you! You don't know anything about my situation and have no right to comment!"

"You're right, but what I do know is that I can never compete with 'perfect Clara'. No woman can. I'll just have to be satisfied with being the woman he goes home and fucks."

"Well I guess that just makes you a slag, then doesn't it?"

She was livid and couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth.

"Perhaps, but at least it's my name he moans."

Clara was just about to tell Missy to fuck off when the door opened and the women turned to see the Doctor walk out.

"This is where you went," he said to Missy. "I was wondering where you were."

"Oh, just had to take a call and then wanted a cigarette." Missy threw it to the ground and then stamped it out.

"Is everything okay?" He asked sensing tension between the two women and noticing Clara looking out into the garden.

"It's fine," Missy answered. "But I've gotta deal with something that came up with work, so I'm going to have to go. Sorry."

"That's okay. I can leave with you, if you want?"

"No, you should stay. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, well I'll walk you out then."

The Doctor glanced over at Clara who hadn't looked at him once since he came out. Something had happened, that he was sure of, and he needed to find out what.

"Enjoy the rest of your night, Clara," Missy said with just a hint of disdain.

"Yeah, you too," Clara replied tersely, turning around briefly to look at the older woman then gazing back out into the garden.

She heard the door and felt a sense of relief knowing she was gone. How dare she imply the things she had and how on Earth could the Doctor be with someone like that. She

was a cruel woman who seemed selfish and uncaring, both of which the Doctor was not. She had had just about enough of this party, between Amy and now Missy, and she was ready to call it a night herself. She turned around to head back in and saw the Doctor step outside again.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," she answered as she turned away from him again.

"No you're not. Something's bothering you."

She sighed heavily. "I don't want to talk about it."

She felt him come and stand next to her, but she still wouldn't look at him.

"Did Missy say something to you?"

"Her, Amy, every bloody person who thinks they know what's going on in my mind. I'm tired of it."

"What did they say?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

They stood there in silence, the Doctor not wanting to leave her alone, but also not knowing what to say. He knew not to push her to talk about things she didn't want to discuss,

but he also wanted to know what Missy had said to her that upset her.

"I can talk to Missy and tell her to ease up on whatever she said."

"It doesn't matter."

"Clara, I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me what happened."

Clara turned and looked at him finally and he could see just how upset she was. She hadn't been crying, but there was a rage in her eyes, that he hadn't seen in a long time.

"I don't need you to help me. I just need everyone to butt out of my love life!" She yelled and then took a calming breath. "Look, I don't know what you've told Missy about me, but it's very clear that she's jealous. I also don't know what your relationship is with her, but she's not a nice person, Doctor, and I don't understand how you can be with someone like her."

"I haven't told her anything other than the brief synopsis of what happened between you, me and Rose. I needed to be honest with her, Clara because I'm trying to move on from

all of this, much like you have."

"And have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Moved on."

It was the Doctor's turn to look away from Clara. He wanted to tell her yes, but he knew that wasn't the truth.

"As I said, I'm trying."

Clara looked at him and saw just how much it pained him to admit that. Everyone was right. He was never going to be able to move on as long as she was in his life. It was foolish for her to think that they could be friends.

"I don't think we can see each other anymore," she said quietly.

The Doctor snapped his head around to look at her. That was the last thing he wanted.

"No, Clara. We can do this."

"No we can't. If you really want to be with Missy, then you need to give that a chance and you can't do that as long as we keep seeing each other."

The Doctor suddenly felt sick to his stomach at the thought of not seeing her. He couldn't let her walk out of his life.

"Please, Clara. I lost you once, I don't want to lose you again."

"Neither of us are going to move on if we don't stop seeing each other."

It didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor what she had just said. She hadn't gotten over him either. Of course she hadn't, not when she was sleeping with his carbon copy.

"And how do you plan on moving on when you still get to sleep with someone who looks just like me?" He knew it was a low blow, but he was being honest.

Clara just stared at him, hurt that he would say that. What did she have to do to prove to people James wasn't a substitute for the Doctor?

"In my eyes, you're two very different men, so don't you ever say that again." She spat.

"Just how do you think it makes me feel to see you with him? You say that it will be easier for us to move on if we don't see each other, but I don't have someone that looks like

you to help me."

"It's more than just looks, John! The two of you are very different and your appearance is where the similarities end."

"So you can honestly, look at me and tell me, that you are one hundred percent over me and want to pursue a relationship with him." He took a step close to her, not letting her look away from him.

Clara felt cornered and all she wanted to do was run away. She didn't want to answer him, she didn't want to explain herself to anyone.

"Yes," she whispered and looked down.

"Look me in the eyes and say that," he said as he took a step closer.

All she wanted was for a hole to open up and swallow her, transporting her back to the safety of her flat. Her head was spinning with so many thoughts and she couldn't grab hold of any of them.

"Clara, please just look at me."

She could hear the desperation in his voice and it was only making it worse.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I just can't, okay. Please can we just drop all of this."

"No. Not until you look me in the eyes and tell me you're over me."

There was a tiny voice deep inside her that was telling her to stop running, to face this head on, to look him in the eyes and say what she wanted to say. But there was another voice that was telling her not to. To run. She very easily could just slip away and go back inside, but she wasn't. Something was keeping her glued to this spot, letting him inch closer and closer. She felt his hands on her shoulders and suddenly all she wanted to do was melt into his touch.

"Just tell me the truth. If you're over me, then I will walk away from you right now and not look back, but if there is a glimmer of hope that you're not, then I'm not going anywhere."

She looked up at him and saw his pleading eyes and before she had a chance to respond his lips were on hers.