One Month Later

John "The Doctor" Smith had been trying to get his two kittens to behave for the past hour or so, and the fact that both Michael and Lily refused to even acknowledge his presence made him feel a bit irritated. They were running around the living room, exploring their new place, Clara's living room, now the playground. He didn't want to leave them unsupervised while next door.

Idris was currently lying in a cat bed in one corner of the room. Motherhood had clearly taken its toll on her as she was currently sleeping, unaware of her misbehaving litter. Mr Darcy, on the other hand, was upstairs, watching Clara clean the master bedroom in preparation for her family's arrival the next day.

"Michael, do not hide underneath the sofa," John grumbled, gently pulling him out and placing him in the cat bed next to his mother's.

Lily attempted to jump on the TV stand, but was swiftly scooped away, and placed next to her brother. "No, do not go there."

"Just be nice to me for once and behave," the Doctor said sternly, hoping his attack eyebrows would do the trick. All the two kittens did was stare him in curiosity before jumping over to their mother, feeling hungry.

He let out a sigh of relief. At least they won't be running around anytime soon.

"You sound as if you're managing air traffic," Clara commented as she descended down the stairs, carrying a set of bedsheets. Mr Darcy followed behind her before racing over to his bed and curled into a ball.

"They're little devils," John replied, collapsing on the sofa.

"I wonder how you're going to handle children," she said without thinking, attempting to stuff the bedsheets into the washer.

He immediately sat up straight and shot her a surprised look.

She grimaced, realising what her comment implied. "That's not what I meant."

"And what exactly were you implying, Dr Oswald?" he asked in amusement.

Clara crossed her arms and flashed him a confident smile. "I was referring to the science festival."

The couple discovered that not only will they be working together, but they were also assigned to handle children between the ages of 7 to 10. They even spent an evening deciding the activities for the festival, so as to avoid the children from being bored.

"I have that covered with my Mobius strip demonstration."

"You make it sound as if your audience is aware of what a Mobius strip is," she giggled.

He frowned. "What makes you think I can't handle a bunch of ten-year-olds?"

"You're impatient."

If Clara was completely honest, she was curious to see how he would interact with kids. It's either going to go smoothly or the children somehow will end up causing chaos under his command.

"I am not impatient in general," he answered. "I'm only impatient when I face stupidity."

She arched a brow, recalling the time John had waited by the window one day, eager for the postman to arrive to deliver a book he ordered and that one time he wanted to hit a Tesco cashier with his shoe for trying to get him to join their membership.

"You're not convinced."

"No."

"Well, what you claim is not true."

Clara burst into a fit of giggles before she went over to him and crashed their lips together. "It's alright, I still very much fancy you."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I fancy you just as much, Clara," he murmured. He leaned closer to kiss her, lips inches away before the moment was interrupted by a ringing phone.

Clara sighed and grabbed her phone from the coffee table, wondering who was calling on Christmas Eve.

Danny.

She stared at his name for a second before rejecting the call and putting the electronic device away.

"Is everything alright?" the Doctor asked. He couldn't help but notice she had a strange look on her face for a moment.

"Yeah, I didn't recognise the number so I just thought that I might as well not answer it," she lied and then pushed him back down on the sofa. "Where were we?"

John set the matter aside as his mind couldn't think of anything else aside from the woman currently kissing him.

He wasn't sure if his plan was going to be foolproof. It sounded foolproof in his mind when he came up with it, but reality always has a few unexpected surprises. It was Christmas morning.

Clara had spent the night in the Doctor's home as he needed to have the kittens around so that he has a valid excuse to get away from her family every now and then and avoid suspicion with Missy.

The couple had a pleasant morning, wishing each other and spent in bed for a few hours before braving the storm.

She had notified him that her family would arrive at around four or five in the evening, which would give him time to meet Clara's family as they were expected to arrive two hours before Missy.

Once Idris and the kittens were safe and sound in their cage, John headed next door, dressed in a plain white shirt underneath the blue jumper and a pair of black trousers.

"Look at you," Clara complimented. "That homeless magician look is gone and replaced by a handsome professor."

"Ha, ha," John laughed sarcastically before pecking her on the cheek. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you," she replied, flashing him a bright smile. "How are the kittens and Idris?"

The Doctor grabbed a freshly baked gingerbread cookie. "Fine, but Idris isn't too happy I had to confine her in the cage for a few hours."

"It'll spare them the torture and trouble of meeting my step-mum."

Clara had mentioned her step-mother to him on several occasions and he had heard nothing but bad things about her. If he was quite honest, he wasn't sure if Linda was as horrible as she had been described. "I'm actually a bit more nervous about meeting your father."

At the mention of this, she merely giggled, helping herself to another cookie. "I'm sure dad will love you- nan does!"

"I think love is an understatement when it comes to nan."

"Worst case scenario is Linda criticising my choice of partner."

"Flattering," he muttered, rolling his eyes before Mr Darcy came over and rubbed his head against John's leg.

Clara chuckled. "Stop looking so nervous," she said gently, holding his hand.

The Doctor had every reason to. It had been far too long since he had found himself in this sort of situation. He squeezed her hand, giving her an assuring smile before the doorbell rang.

"That would be them."

She hurried over to the front door, while he remained in the kitchen, savouring the moment before meeting her family.

"Nan, dad, Merry Christmas!" Clara exclaimed happily as she hugged them both. Her smile then dropped when Linda came inside. "Linda."

"Clara."

Nan decided to calm both her granddaughter and daughter-in-law before world war three erupted due to the tension. "Where's my favourite future grandson-in-law!"

John emerged from the kitchen, a nervous smile on his face as nan gave him a warm hug and kissed his cheek.

"Dad, this is John, my boyfriend," Clara introduced, wrapping an arm around the Doctor. "John, this is my father."

Dave was silent, a neutral expression on his face. Nan had mentioned his daughter's boyfriend to him on many occasions, gushing over how handsome and intelligent he is, but he didn't expect said boyfriend to be an older man. "Dave."

"He's old," Linda semi-whispered to her husband.

"He looks young to me," Nan added. "Age is just a number, after all."

Clara wished she could say whatever was on her mind to Linda, but she bit her tongue. It was Christmas, after all, and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin it.

Mr Darcy then ran into the living room, searching for his owner before sitting on her lap.

"I see you're still keeping that… thing," Linda commented with disdain, as she wasn't fond of the feline, especially after he attempted to bite her foot last year.

"This 'thing' is Mr Darcy and yes, he's my pet," Clara corrected before she felt John wrap an arm around her.

Nan wished there was something more she could do to stop the two women from bickering at every family gathering. "Speaking of cats, do you have one yourself, John?" she asked, despite knowing the answer.

He flashed her a warm smile. "I do, three of them, actually," he replied. "Idris, and her two kittens, Michael and Lily."

An hour passed and the family was still chatting, with Nan doing most of the work. Dave was silent most of the time, staring at the Doctor in confusion while Linda looked as if she would rather be anywhere but in her stepdaughter's home.

"I'm just going to check on the turkey," Clara announced, glancing at John briefly. "Care to help me?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered immediately.

"Right, why don't everyone get settled in upstairs?"

As soon as the couple entered the kitchen, Clara let out a tired sigh. "I don't think I can take more of Linda's unhelpful and useless comments."

"I think your father hates me."

She had initially assumed that her father had been a bit surprised his daughter was dating an older man, but now that gave it a second thought, perhaps he does hate him, which irks her. A lot. "No, I… think he's just…"

"Unhappy his daughter is dating an old man?"

She rolled her eyes placing both hands on his shoulder. "I only call you an old man because it's amusing to me," she explained. "So please let that go for now."

"Alright," he sighed.

Clara got on her toes gave her boyfriend a good snog to lift his spirits a bit. "Do you want to check on the cats?" she asked, wondering if they were resenting being locked up.

"Yes, I think I should," he said, freeing her from his embrace. The motion camera he had set up in the upper floor where Idris and the kittens were hadn't notified him of anything out of the blue yet, but it was always good to check.

The Doctor gave Clara a quick kiss before silently hurrying off into the garden, to sneak into his home. There were several boxes propped up next to the fence and all he had to do was climb over, which was relatively easy.

Making his way upstairs, he checked on the cats, satisfied that they were behaving and eating the food he had provided. "I'm sorry you're stuck in here, but I can't have Michael and Lily running around and risking injuring themselves," he said to Idris, who merely looked at him in resentment.

After playing with the kittens for a few minutes, he placed them back inside the cage and stood up.

Suddenly, the phone in the pocket of his trousers rang.

Missy.

John hesitated for a brief moment. Why on earth would she call him now? Is she here? It's far too early, or maybe she has to cancel her plans. That would be fantastic, and the thought of it made him answer the call.

"Hello, it is I, Missy, your sister and vice-chancellor, I'm five minutes away and I need you to wait downstairs so you can help me carry the turkey."

The Doctor furrowed his brows. "What?!"

"Yeah, yeah, shut it," Missy grumbled. "I know we don't do this sort of thing, but then I thought why not since we usually just order takeaway or reheat frozen food."

This was not what he and Clara had planned.

"I've cooked the turkey so all you have to do is stick it back in the oven."

"Oh… um… ok…," he replied, unsure of what else to say.

"Just wait downstairs, I'm almost here."

Missy hung up the call and left her brother staring at the white wall. His sister is early and she's bringing a turkey. How is he going to have two Christmas dinners?

He regained his rationality and sent Clara a message while rushing downstairs where a black car was parked next to his beloved Mercedes.

"Merry Christmas, John Smith," Missy said, stepping out of the vehicle and opening the passenger door. "Hope I wasn't interrupting your solitude," she commented sarcastically.

Missy Smith had no idea.

Yet.