Thank you for your amazing support! Nan is in the house, so let's see what happens! :D
Clara Oswald couldn't believe her eyes. Her grandmother. Her beloved nan is standing in front of her, in the flesh. A smile formed on her face. She had been wanting her nan to visit her since moving away from London a year ago, and she finally got her wish.
"Nan!" she exclaimed, hugging the elderly woman. "I can't believe that you're actually here!"
"You better believe it," nan replied as she stepped inside, one hand carrying a small suitcase. "It took me five hours to get here."
Clara's smile suddenly dropped when she remembered that the Doctor is upstairs. How on earth is she going to explain to her grandmother what happened? For all she knew, she's under the impression that her granddaughter is still dating Danny.
"It must have been tiring," she commented, slowly feeling nervous. If her nan finds out about the Doctor, she will never, ever live it down and Clara didn't need that right now.
Her grandmother examined her from head to toe before smiling. "Was I interrupting you and your boyfriend?" she asked teasingly, plopping down on the armchair.
Clara forced a laugh. She's screwed and busted. Her nan will figure it out as soon as she meets John. "I have no idea what you're talking-"
"Clara, what's taking you so long?" the Doctor asked, half-whining from upstairs. He sounded groggy, which made his Scottish accent thicker. "And have you seen my shirt?"
There was a mixture of confusion and curiosity written all over nan's face.
"It's with me," she replied meekly, avoiding eye contact with her grandmother who now had a twinkle in her eyes. "My nan's here," she announced.
There was silence for several agonizing seconds. "May I have my shirt back?"
Nan patted her granddaughter on the arm, trying hard not to grin. "Go and help the poor man."
She didn't need to be told twice as she raced upstairs, greeted by sight of the Doctor standing awkwardly in front of her bedroom in nothing but his boxers. Had they been alone, she would have happily taken him back to bed.
"Did I hear you right when you said your grandmother's here?" he asked.
"Yes," Clara answered, pushing him into the bedroom. "Get dressed," she instructed, discarding his shirt and handing it back to him as she began searching for her own clothes.
John couldn't help but stare at her naked body, entranced.
"You look as if you've never seen me like this before," she commented, unable to help herself from giggling as he began blushing.
"Who's the one with the massive ego now," he muttered under his breath and a moment later, felt a pillow hit his back.
"I heard that!" Clara laughed. "And get dressed quickly – my nan is waiting downstairs."
"Yes, boss."
Maybe it was wise to warn him about her grandmother. She was known to be frank and quite frankly, extremely sassy at times. She surely wants to know how her granddaughter ended up sleeping with the man she loathes so much.
"Just a bit of warning though," the impossible girl began. "I used to tell her how much I hate you… so she might be asking lots of questions and make embarrassing comments."
The Doctor furrowed his brows, buttoning his shirt. "You told your nan you hate me?"
"It's a long story, alright," Clara replied, finally dressed. She went over to him and fixed his shirt collar.
"Clara dear, I'm eager to meet the man himself!" nan yelled from downstairs in amusement. "The man who has captured my granddaughter's heart!"
"We're coming, nan!" she answered before taking a step back. "How do I look?"
"Gorgeous," John answered sincerely as she fixed her hair.
"Thank you – you don't look half bad yourself," she replied, smirking. "Let's go."
Clara Oswald grabbed his hand and together, they made their way downstairs as she led the way.
She stepped into the living room, a nervous smile on her face. "Nan, this is… John," she introduced, hooking her arm with his. "John, this is my nan."
Her grandmother was silent, staring intently at the Doctor. Her face was emotionless before a smile formed. The last time Clara had mentioned her boyfriend, she had told her he was from London. This John fellow sounds and looks Scottish. The Scottish Bastard as Clara called the Doctor. She was right all along it seems and couldn't wait to find out what had transpired since their last phone call.
"Oh, it's so lovely to meet you!" nan exclaimed, rising to her feet.
John extended an arm to shake her hand, but she surprised him by giving him a hug.
"I've heard a lot about you from my Clara," she added. "Nothing but wonderful things!"
The Doctor shot Clara confused looks, awkwardly hugging the woman. "Um… thank you… it's lovely to meet you too."
"I'm so pleased to have finally met you!"
Her granddaughter arched a brow. She was afraid that her nan might make a comment on how John was slightly a bit older.
"Every single time Clara phones me, she never fails to mention you," nan said, laughing. "And I can definitely see why – you're such a good-looking man!"
"Nan!"
She motioned John to sit down on the sofa. "Relax, dear, I'm too old to be back in the game, though I happily would if you were single," nan commented, winking at the Doctor. "They say 80 is the new 40!"
Clara face-palmed, leaning against John for support, who smiled politely and awkwardly at the elderly woman.
"Nan, please," Clara groaned.
Her grandmother beamed innocently. "It's true, though," she argued. "Nancy went on a date with a chap just last week."
Clara shook her head, unable to help herself from laughing. "So you're fine with us?" she questioned carefully.
"Of course, I am," Nan replied happily. "You've always had a thing for older men."
The Doctor glanced to the woman sitting next to him, amused and curious at the new information. This opens up so many new possibilities. Imagine the banter! Not that he's into it.
Clara grimaced. Her secret is out, and John will surely use it to his advantage. Oh, she's in deep waters now. "No, I don't."
He wrapped an arm around her. "There's no shame in admitting that – it just further proves you were into me since the first time we met."
"Don't be full of yourself, mister."
Nan crossed her legs. "Look at the two of you," she stated. "A young couple in love."
Her granddaughter stood up. Clara knew her nan wasn't quite done just yet and she looks ready to reveal or ask for more information. "You must have had an exhausting journey, nan," the university lecturer began. "I can show you the guest bedroom."
"It's alright, dear, I'm perfectly comfortable where I am now," she replied before focusing her attention on the Doctor. "So, John, you work at the same university as Clara, yes?"
Clara sat back down in defeat.
"That's right," he answered cautiously. It was then curiosity got the better of him. He had been wondering what Clara's nan meant when she mentioned that Clara talks a lot about him. "We almost always nearly collide our vehicles at the gate every morning," he added.
"Oh, she mentions lots of different things – your pet cat stealing food from hers, you playing the guitar."
"Nan, are you sure you don't want to rest first?" Clara asked a bit more sternly this time. She needed to talk to her privately.
Her grandmother leaned forward and patted her on the hand, reassuring her she was fine and didn't need to unwind after such a long journey.
"Speaking of cats, Mr Darcy is a father now – he and John's cat, Idris, have two kittens together."
The Doctor knitted his eyebrows, wondering why Clara desperately wanted to change the subject so much. "They're two weeks old and currently taking refuge my wardrobe."
"How wonderful!" nan exclaimed. "A little cat family!"
"They've been mewing non-stop, though," he commented.
"So that's why you decided to have a date here?" she asked, smirking.
John chuckled. "No, I just didn't want her to burn my house down."
The remark earned him a playful, yet painful pinch on an arm. "You're hilarious," she said sarcastically.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, nan thought it might be time for her to get some proper rest before lunchtime. "I think it would be lovely to have you stay for lunch and dinner, John,"
"Well, I'm a bit unsure about that since I'm sure you would want to spend time with your granddaughter," he stammered as he kept glancing at Clara.
"Either stay for lunch and dinner or stay forever."
"Lunch and dinner are ok with me," John replied hastily.
Clara Oswald hid her face in her hands once more, groaning in embarrassment.
While John returned home to get changed and check up on the cats, Clara took the opportunity to have a talk with her grandmother. She has so much to explain to her nan.
Silently, she stepped into the guest bedroom where nan had just started unpacking.
"I told you so," the elderly woman sang, grinning from ear to ear as she turned around to face her granddaughter.
"Yes, you were right, I was wrong," Clara admitted in defeat, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Please stop looking so smug."
"Oh, alright," nan laughed, sitting next to her. "There's just one thing that isn't quite clear to me though."
The mathematician arched a brow, waiting for her grandmother to continue.
"I thought you were dating a man named Danny?"
She had almost forgotten about him since their break-up/break as he had called it. The longest he wouldn't contact her would be a week and it's been two now. How could she remember when there were other things going on in her life? "Yeah, about that…"
"I think the Doctor is a better boyfriend if you ask me," Nan said. "Seems like he'd make a great hubby, too."
"We've only been… dating for two weeks," Clara argued. "We're just getting to know each other."
"You answering the door wearing his shirt screams otherwise, dear."
Clara chuckled. Their secret was slowly being revealed to the whole universe. First Mrs Taylor, then Bill Potts and now her nan. Who's next? Jack?
"It's true, though, we… this whole thing started two weeks ago."
Nan beamed. She was going to enjoy listening to her grandchild's story, from the beginning to the end, and sure enough, she did. More than anything else, she found it amusing how the two realised their feelings for each other after the accidental kiss in the lift.
"Well, it makes sense why you two act like a married couple – you've been pining for each other all this while."
Clara opened her mouth to argue, but then she saw nan's point. She may… or may not have started crushing on him since the first time they met. That was shortly before they became enemies.
The first time she met the Doctor, he was on his way to his office while she was searching for hers. She recalled asking him for directions and couldn't help but notice how handsome he looks. John's mind, was of course, always someplace else and he ended up giving her the wrong directions where she ended up in the Chemistry Department.
She smiled unconsciously, recalling the memory, despite being feeling a bit frustrated at that time. "Maybe."
"Clara, Mr Darcy is with me," the Doctor announced from downstairs. "I think he's looking for you."
"Just let him roam around," she answered before looking straight at her nan.
"Sounds like the Doctor is looking for you if you ask me," nan commented. "Do you boss him around?"
Clara rolled her eyes. "I don't boss people around, nan."
Nan got to her feet. "I shall take that as a yes, now come on, I'm famished – you can order food from your phones now, can you? she inquired. "I'll cook dinner, though."
"Yes, and you don't have to – I can always boss John around."
"He's such lovely company," nan murmured before an idea came to mind as they descended down the stairs. "How long is your Christmas break going to be this time?"
"Three weeks."
Nan smiled to herself. She had never celebrated Christmas at her granddaughter's home, before, so a change of scenery should be pleasant, especially if the Doctor's around.