Hi y'all sorry I haven't updated in a while. After the season finale, I kind of got a little lost with what I wanted to do with this. So this no longer is super in line with the canon of the show because I don't want to kill Danny Pink and I have an idea of what I want to do with this. Though if any of y'all have ideas, let me know! I love feedback!

Anyway: I don't own any of this yadda yadda on with the story! Also friendly reminder that this story is now AU but I will take things from the series that I like and use them here.

Chapter 5

Clara woke up in her own bed, fully clothed. Danny was next to her, arms around Clara but fully clothed as well. Clara nodded slightly to herself, glad that this was the situation. Anything else would have been complicated.

She looked at the clock next to her bed and decided that it wasn't worth it to go back to sleep, since she'd be up for work in less than an hour anyway. She carefully wiggled out from under Danny Pink's arms and got out of bed. She put on her robe and went into her kitchen.

She set about making tea and breakfast for her and Danny. She barely noticed a short while later when Danny walked in.

"Good morning," he said, leaning against the doorway.

"Good morning," Clara said in a cheerful tone, still facing the counter.

They stood in silence for a few moments, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. Danny watched Clara prepare breakfast and Clara could feel him watching, but they both enjoyed that.

"I made tea," Clara said finally, lifting two mugs off the counter and offering one to Danny. "It's how you like it."

"Thanks," Danny replied, smiling as he took the mug.

Clara took a sip of her own mug then put it back on the counter. "Breakfast should be ready in a bit."

"Can I help at all?" Danny asked.

Clara shook her head. "No, thanks. I don't actually have that much here to cook with, so it's just eggs and toast today. I can manage that on my own."

"Okay," Danny said. He walked into the kitchen and leaned against part of the counter that Clara wasn't using. "I can take you grocery shopping, if you'd like."

"We've got work in a couple hours," Clara pointed out.

"I didn't mean right now," Danny replied. "We could go after work, though."

"Thanks, but I think grocery shopping is another thing I can manage on my own," Clara replied.

Danny stood up straighter in reaction. "Alright then."

"Danny, no," Clara said, realizing the effect her words had. "Thank you for the offer. It's just…it's been a big few days for me. I'm getting my life back in order so I want to be sure that I can do things on my own before dragging anyone else into it."

"So what does that mean for us?"

Clara looked at him and didn't speak.

"Last night, I said I wanted to get back together and you agreed," Danny said.

"I actually didn't," Clara said.

"You said forever," Danny argued.

"And I meant that," Clara said. "I did. But I'm not sure I'm ready for forever right now."

"What the hell does that mean?" Danny said.

"I love you," Clara said. "Danny, I love you more than anything. But you aren't the only person I hurt by travelling with the Doctor. I've got other parts of my life that I need to get in order."

Danny gave her a new look, one of concern. "What happened when you went home?"

"My Gran is sick," Clara said. "She's getting older and I'm missing it because I'm never around. It's been nearly two years since they've seen me. They haven't met you. I'm barely a part of their lives anymore because I'm never around."

"We can fix that," Danny said. "You're going to be around more now, next time you visit them I can go with you."

Clara again didn't speak.

Danny took a step closer and put his arms on her shoulders. "Is that what you wanted to tell me last night? Because I can help you with this. You don't have to be alone in this."

Clara was about to speak but the smoke alarm started going off.

"Damn it," she muttered as she turned and quickly ejected the bread from the toaster. She opened a window to let the smoke out while Danny pressed the smoke alarm button so it'd stop beeping.

"Just eggs for breakfast, then," she said, turning back to Danny.

Danny laughed. "It's okay. Don't worry about it." He got a couple plates from the cabinet and Clara put some eggs on each of them. "Breakfast of champions, isn't it?"

Clara smiled. They stood against the counter and ate eggs, with occasional pauses to sip their tea.

"I love you," Clara said. "I know I'm kind of a mess right now but I love you."

"I love you, too," Danny replied.

"No, not like that, not like it's automatic," Clara said. "I will never say these words again, Danny, not to anybody else, ever. These words, from me, are yours now."

"Then let's do it," Danny said. "Let's do forever. I want forever."

"Me too," Clara said. "But not until everything is sorted."

Danny took a few moments. "Clara Oswald, you are so infuriating sometimes," Danny said. "Barely three days ago, you stood in my doorway and told me you were ready to be all in."

"I was," Clara said. "I am. Mostly."

Danny sighed. "Clara I love you but I'm tired of this."

"I understand," Clara said. "You've been so patient with me. More patient than I deserve."

"I came here last night and told you everything," Danny said. "I've never told that story to anyone before, not even my army friends. I'm all in, Clara."

"There's one more thing I need to do," Clara said. "One more thing, to tie things up with the Doctor."

Danny sighed and stood up from against the counter. He walked across the room, with his back to Clara.

"Damn it, Clara, I don't want to do this!" he exclaimed. "I love you, I'm all in. Why is that not enough?"

"It is enough, Danny!" Clara said. "The problem isn't you."

"Oh, 'it's not you, it's me,'" Danny said in a mocking tone. "Clara, you said you were all in and I believed you. I opened up and put everything out there and you still haven't."

"This is the last thing, I promise," Clara said.

"You've said that before about the Doctor," Danny said.

Clara sighed. "I told you that I won't apologize again, and I meant it. So I'm not going to. I need to do this."

"What is this that is so bloody important?" Danny asked. "What is it that is so necessary that it is stopping us from being together, from being happy?"

"My mum didn't die in a car accident," Clara said quickly.

Danny's face immediately softened. He did not have a sympathetic look, just one of listening and without anger.

"Okay," he said, prodding Clara to continue.

"Do you remember that day in 2005 when mannequins came to life in London?" Clara asked.

Danny looked confused. "I thought that was an urban legend, or like a hoax or something."

"It wasn't a hoax, Danny, people died."

"I didn't mean that," Danny offered quickly. "I meant, I thought it was like something people said to cover up what really happened."

"No, what really happened was the mannequin thing," Clara said. "March the fifth, 2005."

"The day your mum died."

Clara nodded. "That Doctor was there. He had to have been."

"What are you going to do?"

"I want to ask him about it," Clara said. "See if he remembers. See if…"

"If it was his fault?" Danny suggested.

Clara didn't say anything, but nodded slightly.

Danny didn't say anything either, for a few moments. Their words hung in the air and Clara started to fidget, feeling the uncomfortable atmosphere become too much for her.

"Look, I get it if you don't understand but I have to do this," Clara said. "It's been haunting me for years. Since I've known the Doctor, I've always wondered what he knew about how she… I just need to do this. I need to know."

"I understand," Danny said.

"Thank you."

"How can I help?" Danny asked.

Clara looked at him, confused. She was not expecting that.

"I told you that I'm all-in. I'm here for you, in any way you need me, Clara."

Clara smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Danny replied.

Clara came in and kissed Danny.

"I don't want to ruin this," she whispered. "Not again."

"Do what you need to," Danny said. "I understand if you need to do it alone. But if you need me, I'm here. Forever."

Clara smiled to herself.

-DW-

"Hi," Clara said, pacing in the supply closet at work. She had a free period and decided to call the Doctor, just to get it over with.

"Clara!" the Doctor said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Clara said. "Listen, how about you come round for tea tonight?"

"Erhm," the Doctor stammered. "I may be busy."

"You're literally a time traveler, how could you ever not have time to come to something?"

"I'm a time traveler, Clara, I'm always everywhere all the time," the Doctor said. "Besides, the universe is infinite and vast, why would I come all the way to London just to drink tea?"

"There will be biscuits, too," Clara said.

"I haven't had a good biscuit in a long time," the Doctor said.

There was a brief silence, then Clara spoke.

"So, I'll see you tonight."

"See you then," the Doctor said.

Clara hung up the phone and paced around the room a bit more before leaning against the wall and sighing.

Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch period. She left the small room and was almost swept up by the wave of students rushing to go eat. A familiar arm reached out and steadied her, though.

"Whoa, careful there," Danny said.

Clara smiled. "Thank you, Mister Pink."

"No problem, Miss Oswald," Danny replied, also smirking. "I find its best to stay against the wall while the stampede rushes through. Safer that way."

"Yes, of course," Clara replied.

The last of the students made it passed and Clara and Danny were alone in the hall. They stood up from against the wall.

"So were you in the supply cupboard for actual supplies or for phone call privacy?"

Clara gave him a look of disbelief then laughed. "Is that obvious?"

"All the teachers use the cupboard to make phone calls," Danny said. "The students have started to catch on, too. We're gonna need a new spot."

"I called the Doctor," Clara said. "We're going to have tea tonight and talk."

"Okay," Danny said after a short pause.

"That's it?" Clara asked.

"I don't know what to say," Danny said. "Good luck?"

Clara laughed in spite of herself. "Thanks."

"I'm proud of you," Danny said. "This is a really big step and I know how scared you must be."

Clara nodded and looked down. "Yeah, I'm bloody terrified," she said. "It's been a long time coming, though. The Doctor always hid stuff from me. We cleared the air a bit when I left but there's obviously still more we need to discuss. This will be good, in the end."

"Does he know what you're going to talk about?"

Clara shook her head. "No. If he knew, I think he'd avoid coming."

"Well, if you need me for anything, I'm just a call away."

"Thank you," Clara said, reaching for his hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

"And if you need to talk or anything after he goes, I can come around."

Clara gave him a look.

Danny put his hands up in defense. "Just for talking! I promise! Or whatever you need. I can pick up that wine you like and listen to you rant about him."

"I don't rant," Clara said defensively.

Now Danny gave her a look.

"Fine," Clara huffed. "I'll let you know how it goes."

Danny looked at his watch. "I've got lunch duty today so I've got to go," he said. He turned and started walking away. "Good luck with tonight. Love you!" he called over his shoulder.

Clara stood there for a second, smiling to herself. It was still nice to hear Danny tell her he loved her.

-DW-

Clara stood in her kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the tea. She had a plate of biscuits already out on the table, including jammy dodgers. Satisfied with the tea, she carried the pot and two mugs out to the table and sat down to wait for the Doctor.

He showed up soon after sat down with Clara.

"Two mugs," he noted. "Danny won't be joining us?"

Clara shook her head. "Nope. I was thinking it could just be the two of us. We can catch up."

The Doctor made a face then scanned Clara with his sonic. "It's only been a few days for you. What is there to catch up on?"

"How long has it been for you?" Clara asked.

"Hm?"

"You said it's only been a few days for me. How long has it been for you?"

"It's been a few months."

Clara's eyebrows shut up in surprise. "Oh."

"The time's really been flying by, though," the Doctor said. "I hadn't even noticed how long it had been. I've been crossing a lot of places off my list."

"Alone?"

"No," the Doctor said. "I've been spending a lot of time with the Paternoster Gang. They send their regards."

Clara smiled, and thought to herself how nice it would be to see them again, maybe introduce them to Danny.

"How are they?"

"Good," the Doctor said. "They've got a cat."

"Oh, that's nice."

The Doctor nodded. There was more silence for a short while before the Doctor spoke again.

"You didn't invite me here to talk about Vastra's new cat."

"No," Clara said. "I didn't."

The Doctor made a motion for Clara to start talking and leaned back in his chair.

Clara was not amused by this gesture.

"I think you owe me an explanation."

"Oh, do I?"

"Yes," Clara said firmly. "What do you know about March the fifth, 2005?"

"What do you know about it?"

"I asked first."

The Doctor readjusted his position in his seat. "There were Autons taking over London that were controlled by the Nestene Consciousness. Me and my…friend Rose Tyler stopped them."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"With a well-dispersed dose of an anti-plastic serum."

"But people still died, right?"

"Yes." The Doctor's tone was dark and angry, which usually was enough to get Clara to back down, but not now.

"People like my mother."

"I don't know," the Doctor said after a short pause.

"But you knew her," Clara said. "You were at her funeral. You popped in and out of my childhood, you know everything about me. You knew who she was. You must have known we were in London that day."

"I didn't," the Doctor said.

"How could you not have?" Clara asked, getting heated. "You knew her, you were at her funeral so you knew when she died."

"Clara, it was before I was the me that you met," the Doctor said. "It was centuries before."

"Do you know how she died?" Clara asked, suddenly chillingly calm.

"No."

Clara gave him a pressing but stern look.

"I really don't."

"Do you know if she…if she turned into one of them?"

"I don't know."

"Why couldn't you have saved her?" Clara asked. "She was such a good person. She didn't do anything wrong. She didn't deserve to die."

"I know."

"Don't," Clara said sternly. "Don't try to sympathize right now, please. You don't know what this is like. I've always known that her death wasn't what they told us it was. I knew it was something else. I did research, I spoke to people who were there. She wasn't the only person who died, you know. A lot of people died."

The Doctor looked away from Clara, clearly tensed.

"A lot of people died because you were too late to save them."

The Doctor's whole body jerked, like someone had just punched him in the chest.

"What was that version of you like?" Clara asked. "I'm sure some echo of me has met him, but I haven't. What was he doing? Did he just show up too late? Or did he just take his sweet time to stop the Autons, while they were killing people all over London?"

"Stop," the Doctor said softly.

"I've suspected for a while about my mom's death," Clara said. "And I've traveled with you. I've seen people die because of you. I've seen the families and friends of people who died because of you. And now I truly understand how they feel."

"Stop." The Doctor said more forcefully. "I didn't bring the Nestene Consciousness here. I came here to stop them."

"Yeah, that went really well, didn't it?" Clara said, standing up. "I think you should go."

"Clara-."

"I needed to know," Clara said. "I needed to know if you were there when she died. Or, I thought I needed to know. Maybe I'll never know exactly what happened or how she died. Maybe I'll never know what you were thinking that day. But I do know that she died and you didn't save her. And I know that it's more complicated than that but right now, years after my mom died, years after I grew up without her, I need to deal with this. So, please. Go."

The Doctor stood up and looked at Clara with said eyes, then headed back into his TARDIS.

"I'm sorry," he said from the doorway, so quietly that he wasn't even sure that Clara heard him.

He stepped into the blue box and Clara watched it dematerialize.

That's it for this chapter! This is kind of what I've been building to through this whole story so we'll see where it goes from here. Since this was the plan from the beginning, I've had a lot of time to think about Clara and the Doctor's conversation and I like where it ended up. I was trying to figure out the tone, like how angry or sad or accusatory or regretful and all that that each of them should be and I like where it ended up. I think this gives us a place to go from, moving forward with this story.

So, please leave a review! And have a lovely day!