The Doctor grinned. Clara wondered what was so scary about some nuns, and even more why they wanted revenge. Knowing the Doctor, though, half the universe was out to get him...
"What gives you that idea?" He leaned forward in his seat, his hands now gripping the edge of the desk.
"There have been random disappearances all over the city. People supposedly abducted off of the streets and never returned."
One of the Doctor's bushy eyebrows quirked in question. "So? Could be anything."
"We have evidence that the old hospital is being used again. It was supposed to be torn down ages ago but somehow the legislation kept getting put off."
The Doctor hummed and tapped his foot. "Then why me? Why not just call your little police officers over to the hospital and get it sorted?"
The Duke hesitated and looked down. "I, er..."
A smirk tugged at the Doctor's lips. He jumped to his feet in a moment, making the Duke start. "It's all about reputation, isn't it? Don't want to send your forces on a suicide mission, do you? So you call me. A foreigner no one will remember if he dies. And he's clever, too, so that's a bonus." He chuckled. "Both ways, you win."
"You can't blame me, Doctor!" he exclaimed, standing up. "You would do the same. The people are already mumbling about the disappearances, and if any of my force were killed..." He sighed and picked up a white cloth on his desk, dabbing it at his forehead. "Besides, you and that blonde girl were the only ones who fought against them."
Clara glanced at him. Blonde girl. He had said tenth regeneration...could it have been Rose?
"We didn't fight," he mumbled. "And she's gone now, so it's just me. Well," he added, gesturing to Clara, "me and her. I can fill her in on what happened last time."
The Duke smiled, hope shining in his eyes. "So you'll...you'll do it?"
"We'll go check out the hospital." He bowed to the Duke of Manhattan. "Good day, sir." He nodded in the direction of the woman. "And goodbye, annoying lady." With that, he turned on his heel and strode into the TARDIS.
Clara stood staring after him for a moment, still shocked at how rude he could be. After a moment she gathered her wits and offered an apologetic smile to the Duke and the woman. "I'm sure he didn't mean it; he's been in a bad mood today. See ya!" She sprinted into the TARDIS and closed the door hard behind her.
"Okay, explaining time." Clara strode to the console and grabbed the Doctor's wrist to keep him from ignoring her by pressing one of the controls.
The Doctor pulled away from her grasp and furrowed his eyebrows at her in disapproval. "You don't have to attack me to get it out of me." He cradled his wrist like she had injured it. "I told you I was going to tell you. It's vital that I tell you."
Clara crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm waiting."
He sighed, leaning one arm on the console like he was settling himself in for a long story. "I got a message from the psychic paper like I did this morning-" His expression brightened suddenly and he took a step closer to her. "Too much talking. Easier to show you."
"Oh," Clara sighed and retreated a step as the Doctor raised his hands to either side of her head. "You're going to do the thing, aren't you? I hate it when you do that."
He shrugged. "Much faster and you'll get every detail. Here I come."
"And don't you dare go snooping this time." She shut her eyes, remembering how the Doctor had gotten a bit too curious last time he was inside her head.
His cool fingertips descended upon her temples, his middle fingers pressing lightly on each one. Suddenly the Doctor filled up her mind, scattering the remainder of her thoughts. His presence was huge and overwhelming and Clara gasped at the enormity of his consciousness.
"Right, then. Here you go." The Doctor said it out loud, but Clara also heard it in her mind a fraction of a second before he actually spoke.
A series of scenes, like a film being played too fast, flashed by in her mind. She tried to grab onto one so she could have a proper look at it, but it continued on down the current the other ones had followed.
"This doesn't make any sense," Clara muttered.
"Shhh! It's like a file. Wait until it downloads all the way."
More pictures and scenarios drifted by, only distinguished by blurs of color. Finally, the influx halted. The pressure on her head eased, and her mind was cleared again.
Clara sighed and opened her eyes, trying to put the glimpses of what she had seen into some sort of sense. "I don't get it."
The Doctor drew away from her a step and Clara frowned at him, allowing her mind to wander for just a moment. She missed the closeness of the other Doctor, how he wouldn't mind having a conversation toe to toe with her or holding her hand...
"It's a file."
The urgency in his voice shook her out of her reverie.
"I compressed the memory into a big folder. All you have to do is access it. It should be right there, in the front of your brain." He pointed at her forehead. Again, there was the distance. No touching.
Clara searched her mind and found the file easily. She delved into it and was assaulted with one of the Doctor's many adventures with Rose Tyler, who seemed to be inhabited by a weird skin thingy called Cassandra for most of the time.
She came upon an especially intruguing memory, but quickly moved on from it. "Doctor?" she asked, trying to forget about what she had just seen.
"Yes?" His eyes were wide as he stared at her.
"Did she-? Did you-?"
Somehow knowing exactly what she was talking about, the Doctor groaned. "You would go straight to that part, wouldn't you? Forgot about that. It's not important. Cassandra was..." He pressed his lips together. "Interesting. Focus on everything else. Make sure you retain every detail. You'll need it."
Clara scanned over the memories. Though they were from the Doctor's point of view, his thoughts and emotions were missing. "These are memories?"
"Yes, yes."
"Then where are your feelings?"
"Deleted them. Unimportant. Only distracting."
Clara chuckled. "Pity. I'd love to see your thoughts when you got snogged."
"Shut up," he growled. "Now can we get on with saving New New York or do I have to listen to you critically analyzing my memories?"
Clara rolled her eyes and gestured to the console. "Go right ahead."
"Thank you." He ran around the console and set the TARDIS into motion. It began making its grinding sound as the lights swirled around the ceiling. He slowed as he reached Clara.
"This is going to be very dangerous, you know." His eyes flicked to hers for only a moment before he looked down again.
She tried to meet his gaze without success. Had that been genuine concern she had seen? "Yeah, well I think cat nuns are a bit of a letdown after Daleks and Cybermen."
"They're not just cat nuns. They're angry cat nuns bent on revenge." He looked up as the TARDIS landed. "I have a feeling they could have orchestrated this whole thing just for me."
Clara raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you trying to scare me?"
He finally looked at her with innocent eyes. "Of course not. Why would I do that?"
"I don't know," she said with a shake of her head. "Maybe somewhere, deep deep down, you want to keep me safe."
The Doctor scoffed. "You wouldn't stay in the TARDIS even if I locked you in here. I know you better than that. But I will..." He trailed off and spun around, pushing the monitor in front of him.
"You'll what, Doctor?" Clara asked, following him and watching the Gallifreyan symbols flash across the screen.
He looked down at her, his expression relaxed and his eyes soft. "I'll keep you safe. You know that, don't you?"
Clara swallowed. She couldn't help but doubt him, and even feel a little guilty for it. He may still be the Doctor, but he just wasn't the same, no matter how hard she tried to see past his new face.
"Clara." His voice was low and rough. "It's still me."
She remembered his words in Glasgow, one of the only times he had been sincere with her. Just see me.
She had seen him for a moment. She did in the moments when he spared a life. When he performed his daring rescues. She knew it was him, but she just wasn't sure if she would ever be able to accept it.
"I know." She kept her gaze fixed on the ground.
"I don't think you do." He sighed. "Come on. We have to go." He darted away from her and rushed down the stairs.
Clara looked toward where the Doctor had just run off to and crossed her arms, knowing he would come back. Sure enough, a second later he came bounding back up to the console room, two torches in his hands.
"Take this." He tossed her a torch and she caught it, fumbling with it in her hands to find the switch. "Are you ready?" His eyes were earnest and his eyebrows raised in expectation.
She smiled, pushing her earlier thoughts to the back of her mind. "Yeah. Let's go find the deadly cat nuns."