Bill Potts had been walking around campus looking for an empty quiet room to revise for an upcoming test, but it seemed that luck was not on her side that day, for the library was packed, classrooms in full use by lecturers, a group of students finishing their assignments or some just wanting to revise like her.
She had been searching for an empty room aimlessly for twenty minutes or so until she remembered the Mechanical Engineering department's meeting room that nobody uses, so she made her way there, under the assumption that it was empty as it always was.
To her shock and horror. The small meeting room situated in the Mechanical Engineering department was occupied by her two lecturers, one of which is her supervisor.
Bill could not believe the sight in front of her. The Doctor, her supervisor, the man who was always professional and somewhat socially awkward around everyone else was in a compromising position with his colleague, Clara Oswald, another lecturer she had thought was always professional.
Sure, she, like everybody else, had assumed that they two had a crush on each other, hidden underneath the banter and verbal arguments, but this was in no way a crush. They were in the middle of snogging each other when she came in. She felt both relieved and thankful she didn't come later for she knew she would have been traumatised for life.
When Bill finally found the ability to speak, she stammered an apology before stepping out and shutting the door in one swift motion.
Back inside, the couple still hadn't moved. They didn't expect anyone, let alone somebody they recognised to suddenly walk into the room, but it happened. The Doctor slowly untangled himself from Clara, an air of awkwardness settling in.
She was just as at lost for words. "I'm guessing we're not going to be using this room anymore?" she joked, trying to lighten up the mood a bit as she couldn't bear the silence any longer.
John shook his head. "No, I suppose not," he muttered, angry at himself for being the cause of the incident. If he hadn't asked Clara to come here in the first place, none of this would have happened. Bill wouldn't have looked as if she saw her life flashed before her eyes. How on earth is he going to face her during tomorrow's meeting?
She grasped his hand gently in order to get his attention as she could tell his mind is someplace else. There was a voice at the back of Clara's mind which told her that Bill is less likely to spread the story around, but she was worried the poor girl might never look at them the same way again, especially the Doctor as the poor girl looks up to him. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
He cleared his throat, pulling his hand away, which surprised the woman standing next to him. "I… I'm just… I'm sorry."
Her eyebrows were raised. "For what?"
"It's my fault," he confessed. "I shouldn't have been jealous an acted on my emotions," he said quietly, staring at his own two feet.
"You do realise that it takes two to tango right?" she commented. "I'm just as guilty for kissing you first."
The troublesome look in his eyes never resided.
"Leave some space for me instead of that massive ego of yours," she teased, hoping it would lighten his mood a bit. "You're acting as if you're the only one who got caught."
Just as Clara expected, John's eyes lit up. "Why are you always making fun of my so-called 'massive' ego?"
She grinned. "Because I love pulling your leg."
His features became serious once more. "So, um, what happens now?"
As much as the Doctor wanted to continue where they had left off before being interrupted, the other part of him was terrified that somebody else might pop in unexpectedly.
"We act professional, I suppose," Clara replied. "No snogging, close contact or jealous looks."
He pursed his lips. "I don't think I can resist arguing with you."
She grasped his hand once more. "Well, we can do that and plenty of other things at home."
Finally, he smiled. Clara had stayed in his home the previous night, bringing along her pet cat to introduce to his new-born kittens which Mr Darcy took quite well. They spent the whole day relaxing, watching movies and bonding with each other. "My place?"
She giggled. "Yes, yours, since Mr Darcy refuses to leave his family's side."
He felt her squeeze his hand in reassurance.
"I'll leave first and head to the supermarket to get some snacks – that will hopefully be a solid excuse if anybody asks me where I was."
The Doctor nodded. "I will return to my office, then."
"And don't forget to have a chat with Bill… I feel sorry for what happened… I'll have a talk with her myself soon."
"Yes, Boss," he replied, flashing her a smile as she let go of his hand.
Clara gave him a quick peck on the cheek before leaving and John decided to bide his time. His mind was racing with what he should say to Bill. Apologise. That was the first thing he was going to do tomorrow during their meeting.
Silently, he switched off the lights and stepped out of the room, returning to his office. The idea of coming clean to everyone crossed his mind and then another thought. No, it was too early to say anything. Jack would probably never stop bothering him and Missy, well, she would revel in on the fact that she was right. Maybe sometime after the first semester would be a good time.
The Doctor sat impatiently in his chair, shifting about constantly as he was waiting for Bill to arrive. There were bags under his eyes, and he felt a little bit cranky since he wasn't able to sleep the previous night, unlike Clara. She had reassured him sometime after midnight in her groggy state that he was overthinking, which she was right, but he couldn't help it. What if Bill decided to work with somebody else? He loves working with her and he dared to admit she's one of his best students, if not the best. What if she reports him or Clara to the university? Will they get fired?
John kept fidgeting with his hands, even biting his nails at one point, until a knock was heard, startling him a bit. He cleared his throat. "Come in."
A moment later, Bill Potts stepped in, cautiously. She eyed him carefully before taking her seat in the empty chair, flashing him a polite and awkward smile. If only she could erase the image from her mind. There was no doubt that she's happy that her two lecturers are together, but they obviously need to calm down a bit. It's a good thing she has a healthy and functioning heart, otherwise, she would have dropped dead. The accident also taught her a valuable lesson: if a room is rarely used, then it's best to leave it at that.
"Hello."
"Hi," she replied. Oh, God. She wanted the ground to swallow her this very moment.
"Before we begin," John said. "I would just like to apologise."
Bill finally relaxed a bit. The conversation turned out better than she imagined. She thought he was going to ask her to switch to a different supervisor or something of the sort.
"What happened the previous day… it was very unprofessional of us… I mean, Dr Oswald and I, to be doing… that… I'm terribly sorry," he stammered looking everywhere but at her, face burning. "Let's just forget about the whole thing, yes?"
"Trust me, if there's some sort of mind wipe potion or machine I could use, I would have," Bill replied, trying to ease her supervisor who looked as if he was about to collapse from embarrassment.
He scratched the back of his neck. "If only."
"So you and Clara are a thing now?" she asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
The Doctor fiddled the pen he held. "Could you keep it a secret for the time being?"
Bill nodded. She wondered if Jack knew. No. Definitely not.
"Great, if everything's fine and dandy, shall we get started?" he asked, feeling his tensed body easing. "Did you manage to show the full proof for the theorem we looked at last week?"
The rest of the meeting went smoothly, much to the relief of both the supervisor and the student.
John was finally able to unwind completely when Bill left his office. He leaned back against the chair and blew air between his teeth. It went better than expected. Bill, unfortunately, still looks a bit haunted, but she doesn't seem bothered by her two lecturers dating each other, which is a good thing.
When he returned home later in the day, tending to Idris and her two kittens, Clara walked into the master bedroom. Her helmet held in one hand. A moment later, Mr Darcy trailed behind.
"So how did it go?"
"Better than I thought," the Doctor answered, placing one the kittens he held back into the nest. Mr Darcy dashed forward and licked his offspring. John then got to his feet. "She's clearly a bit surprised by what she saw, but aside from that, she approves of us."
Clara raised both eyebrows, eyes wide.
"And she won't tell a soul."
She set the helmet on the nightstand and discarded the messenger bag hanging off her shoulder, placing it next to the bed. "That's good," she commented. "All I have to do is apologise to her on Thursday."
The Doctor hid his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
"And as a way of making up for all the times we ignore each other at work, how about dinner at my place this Friday?" Clara suggested, beaming. She was sure she was going to spend the whole weekday in his home, so they might as well have their dinner date at hers.
"That would be lovely," John answered, flashing her a smile.
"Don't be late."
He chuckled. "My house is next to yours," he retorted. "It would be impossible for me to be late."
She got on her toes and pecked him on the lips. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return home and get changed."
"You can leave some of your belongings here if you'd like," he suggested, hoping it didn't sound rushed. They live next to one another, so it didn't seem out of place all that much for her to spend nights in his home.
Clara pondered for a moment. "I'll do that."
The week passed by and Clara managed to have a chat with Bill, which much to her relief, the student seemed less troubled than before and even joked a bit. Everything turned out fine in the end.
Friday came and the Doctor and Clara went about their usual business, avoiding each other as much as possible, much to Jack's annoyance. Regardless, the two were more than eager to finish work and return home for their date.
Clara Oswald may be an expert in mathematics, but cooking was one of her shortcomings. She wasn't completely useless in the kitchen needless to say, but it made her wish she took the time to properly learn how to prepare a decent meal.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" the Doctor asked from the living room as he looked at the picture frames neatly placed on top of the fireplace for the third time. He was getting a bit worried.
"Everything's fine," she half-growled, getting a bit frustrated that the shrimps weren't cooking properly.
"You're not going to burn the house down, are you?"
"Ha-ha," she grumbled. "If I wanted to do that, I would have cooked at your place."
"Remind me to never let you use the stove in my kitchen."
A second later, Clara felt a presence behind her. As much as she hated to admit it, she would be glad to receive some help.
"The heat is too low," John commented.
She sighed. "Fine, I'm bad at this… extremely bad," she admitted, stepping aside and handing the spatula to him.
"You should watch and learn," he remarked, grinning from ear to ear, feeling her lightly punch his arm. They laughed, happy and content they were spending the weekend together.
A loud ringing noise resounded throughout the house and it continued to do so until the sound roused Clara. She inhaled deeply, trying to ignore it and snuggled closer to the man next to her, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. She groaned when the ringing didn't stop.
"Doctor your phone," she murmured, now resting her head on his bare chest, eyes still shut.
He shifted underneath her and hoarsely said: "Not my phone."
They had been up all night, not that he was complaining, but he needed more sleep. The Doctor wrapped one arm around her. "It's your house."
Clara lifted her head, blinking several times as she adjusted to the brightness. It looks like midday.
There's the ringing again.
She sighed, untangling herself from John, as much as she didn't want to, and reached for his shirt lying on the ground and her robe. Who on earth would disturb her on a Saturday morning, well, afternoon?
"I'll be back," she announced, and heard a groan of protest from John, and a second later, he rolled over on his stomach.
She smiled before stepping out of the bedroom and descended down the stairs.
Clara extended an arm, reaching for the handle before pushing it down, pulling open the door.
"Oh, thank goodness – I was just about to phone you, Clara, dear," the elderly woman standing in front of her said before moving forward and giving her a hug.
The lecturer was still too stunned by her presence.
"I told you I'd surprise you by coming down here one day," her nan added, laughing.
Oh. Dear. Lord.