The Truth in Time (Reunited AU) - Chapter 3 - Sleep Friend
One millisecond he was running, the next his back was arched, electric pain rushing through him. The next he was on the ground. He already could feel the energy radiating through his fingertips, but all he could see was… her. My God. What had he done to her?
He realized he had seen this face before. Only a glimmer, yes, but he had seen it before nonetheless. The day he left her, it was there, through the tears. He turned her into a warrior. Into the very thing she saved him from.
Now this face was back. The face of a warrior, but something else was buried inside it… fear? No. Sadness, maybe, but also joy. Unexplainable joy and sadness mixed together. It wasn't for him though.
All of the sudden he didn't have time to think and focus on it anymore. He was up and rushing to release that energy before it changed him.
He burst up from the sheets, panting and sweating. Rest would not come tonight, not with that face that haunted him there. The Doctor peeled away the lone sheet and ran a hand through his sweaty, floppy, light brownish hair and stood exiting the cold room to the hall where a very familiar face was waiting. Clara sat on the floor wrapped in an afghan, asleep. He grinned and rubbed the wall with a silent plea to bring her room to him and open it. The Tardis responded gladly with a soothing hum and did as he asked.
He laid a gentle hand on Clara's shoulder to wake her and whispered, "Clara, hey sleepy, let's get you to bed." She groaned and moved to push him away before her eyes fluttered open. The Doctor grinned and pulled her up with him. "Come on you, the floor is no place for a lady." She nodded and smiled moving slowly into the open door next to her. "Thanks, Doc." Before he could respond to that infernal nickname the door was shut and he was in the dark hallway by himself.
The first place he went was to the kitchen. Hopefully this time he could get away with a hot cup of tea and nothing destroyed or burned. Unfortunately, that was anything but the case. Promptly, the metal tea kettle was on fire. Metal! Of all the things in this kitchen to catch on fire. It served him right though, thinking he could actually do anything with fire in this clumsy body. Escaping to let the Tardis cleanup his mess, he wandered down the hall towards the media room to find Clara wide awake and on the couch watching a silent comedy film. "Morning Doctor, you alright there? You were sweating quite well when you woke me this morning and now you've gone and burned yourself again." The Doctor nodded and sat down in his favorite orange chair that in no way could have been comfortable for anyone but that odd stick of a man, Clara tried it, the chair was too awkward. "Couldn't sleep and I uh… set the teapot on fire." Clara burst out with a laugh and tried, but failed, to compose herself. "Sorry, what? The... teapot? You set the metal teapot on fire?!" "Oi! Not funny! I didn't mean to!" He crossed his arms with a pout and settled deeper in his chair. "Oh come off it. It's not your fault you're a walking disaster. That's why we don't have nice things on this ship. Now, why don't you stop pouting, come lay on the couch where it's comfortable and sleep, friend?" The Doctor smiled lightly and pulled a blanket with him to the couch where he sat in the reclining spot and fell asleep quickly.
Clara, now left to her own devices again, left to find something to do and leave the man sleeping. Course' she couldn't find anything that she could understand, most of the ship being alien and all. She found the Doctor still fast asleep, but mumbling slightly and decided to sit down with some tea for both of them and a good romantic comedy.
When he woke he found a hot cup of tea in front of his face on the table next to him and the tele with some crying girls watching their friend being proposed to by some bloke in a baseball uniform, of course she said yes and kissed him on the spot. He sat up rubbing his head and looked over to see Clara curled into a spot on the opposite end of the couch staring at the screen intently. "What're ya' watching?" Clare, now startled turned the channel to a cooking show quickly and sat in her seat proper. "Nothing!" She squealed slightly. "Never pegged you for the romantic type, but that's alright. Don't see anything wrong with a good rom-com." She giggled at his word choice and turned the channel back. "Alright then, we can watch the end of it 'sleepy.'"
Before long they were in the console room laughing and flying through space. The Doctor bouncing around the console, and Clara laughing and struggling to stay upright.
As they exited the doors they found themselves on Clom in a little shopping town in the middle of a war with Raxacoricovarlonpatorius and Clix, shortly before the Raxas Alliance was formed. It didn't take much to send them running for their lives and nearly get absorbed by some natives, but in the end they saved a spy who would lead the stand on peace for the whole alliance before being executed for a stupidly random reason four years after.
(Well, here it is, Chapter 3. I'm so excited it's finally up! I apologize for the wait, but I haven't been able to write in awhile due to a heavy class load and basketball. Thank you all my readers for reading, following, and favoring! Please be patient with me, this is my first day off in nearly a month... I really hope I can start writing again and make some progress so I can upload once a week instead of every other week.)