*Clara*

"How did you do it though? Really?"

The Doctor was still pestering her – why couldn't he just accept that maybe she was clever enough to get them out on her own?

"And what about the TARDIS? How did you know about the telepathic circuit interface? And don't go on about that 'instincts' thing again."

"Can't you just accept that I am brilliant, rescued you and saved the day without any of your timelord 'superiority'?"

"Right, yes… of course, brilliant! You are amazing and brilliant Clara and I will shut up now about the boring little details!"

"Thank you,"

Chirped Clara gratefully, she did not want to have to break her promise to the woman who had just saved their lives… though the Doctor could probably answer some of the questions she'd brought up if she did mention it… no. She was sticking to her decision.

"Well then, I think that's enough then for the day – what time would you like to get home?"

"Does it matter? You'll never get it right anyway."

"Oi! Over a millennia of travelling I think I know how to fly my own ship thank you very much!"

"You would think so wouldn't you?"

Then she let out a laugh she had been holding in at the sight of his wounded puppy face. When he realised she was just joking again he shook his head, mumbling something and went back to fiddling with the controls. Is it just me, Clara thought, or was he trying really hard to be accurate this time?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the Doctor abruptly changed the subject back,

"No but really, how did you fly the TARDIS? Because there's no records on the flight log at all, in fact according to the records she hadn't moved at all the whole time we were on Bertoth, flight wise or even coordinate-based but the Gold Woman definitely teleported the ship into the temple and somehow you got it out of there, but you couldn't have used a reversal-transmat loop because that would have shown up as a high jacking alert on the records and anyway if that were the case…"

"Doctor!"

She almost shouted, snapping his head to mouth thought process and venting her frustration, not just at how hard it was to keep it all secret but because when he went on like that he was just so annoying!

"Clara, please. Tell me."

She tried to keep her expression neutral and slightly bothered, but she felt as though the desperation in her eyes was blindingly obvious.

"You're brilliant Clara, you really are, but this is was beyond you. You had help for this – who?"

She could try and keep it up for as long as she could, but really who was she kidding? He knew, and he knew that she knew he knew… Man that did her head in! But now that he was convinced she was hiding something important it was no point continuing to deceive him. He would find out one way or another.

"It wasn't this TARDIS."

There. She said it. Since she couldn't hold back anymore maybe at least she could get some answers.

"What? What do you mean… Not this TARDIS? Clara, what are you talking about?"

She sighed, might as well spill it out…

"When the gold woman caught hold of the TARDIS and brought it in… that wasn't… this TARDIS.

"You mean, a TARDIS from the past or the future?"

"No. I mean a completely different TARDIS that just happened to be in the area."

"But, the chameleon circuit?... The Police Box…?"

"I don't know all the details myself."

"Oh. Why were you so determined to keep it secret then?"

"Because the woman who owned it said to make sure you didn't find out."

"Why would she say that?"

"I dunno, was hoping you could tell me actually."

"Well how can I tell you if I don't know who she is? What was her name?"

"She wouldn't tell me, said it didn't matter."

"Doesn't matter? Okay, Clara perhaps you should tell me exactly what happened so I can try and make some sense out of this."

Sighing again, Clara recounted the whole tale, from the moment she bolted into the other TARDIS and met that strange woman to the moment she and the Doctor were safely back in the real TARDIS. It was not lost on her however, the Doctor's changing expression as she progressed through her story. He obviously had an idea who it was and didn't seem too happy about it.

"Blond hair? Shoulder length? Brown eyes, bit taller than you, distinct London accent?"

His words were desperate, as if he needed it to be her, but dreadful, as if the worst possible answer could be her as well. He was right about her though. The description was almost a perfect match, even though her hair length was a bit hard to tell when it was up in a bun.

"Yes, that's her… Doctor, are you okay?"

"Yes… sure… I'm fine… You said this other TARDIS belonged to her?"

"Yes, well she said something about it belonging to her late husband but… Doctor?"

It was hard to explain the expression that washed over him at the end of her last sentence. Guilt, hope, horror were three emotions she thought she recognised amongst the mix, though Clara wondered how they could all exist together, and there was something else… jealousy? He turned away before she could confirm it, looking like he was trying to supress his emotions and trying to come to grips with what she had just said.

"You're sure? She said that?"

He asked, turning back to speak to her.

"Yes… Doctor, are you certain you're okay?"

He didn't reply, just stared at the main console, hands resting on the edge but clenched.

"And, she was alone? There was no one with her?"

"Doctor,"

She said again, genuinely quite worried now,

"Who is she?"

He wasn't listening anymore though.

"No… No that can't be… that wasn't… not meant to happen…"

"Doctor!"

When the Doctor looked at her again his face was so pained that she almost cringed. He didn't say anything for a long time, just went back to fiddling with the controls – not that he was actually doing anything, Clara noticed, he just seemed to want the distraction. When Clara asked again the Doctor finally did reply, and this time there seemed to be more anger in his tone and expression.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!"

"No,"

He said firmly, and determinedly, as if his he had made up his mind over something.

"It doesn't matter, she was right, her name doesn't matter and I shouldn't have pushed you to find out what was going on… Now I have to live with it."

He was angry with himself, she realised.

"Why? What happened between you too that left you like this?"

"Clara, please, enough."

"No, tell me! Doctor, whatever it is, keeping it bottled up the way you are isn't going to help you!"

"I don't need help! I'm fine!"

She'd only seen him this distraught or angry a few times before, and it scared her. It seemed he had finally given up talking to her as he stormed off down one of the corridors into and endless TARDIS. Usually she did that, leaving him to his console to mope. After he left she felt kind of guilty. Maybe she had been too hard on him? But no… Whatever it was he needed to get it out of his system. He wouldn't talk to her about it but maybe… just maybe…

"Okay,"

She started, feeling a little bit weird for talking to a machine.

"The Doctor has said enough about you being telepathic and having a soul and everything but…"

She bit her lip, and trying not to sound like a complete idiot continued,

"I don't know whether you're listening or can even hear me but if you can… I don't know who this woman is or what happened between her and the Doctor, but if you really are as alive as the Doctor says then you must know her. Maybe the best thing is to leave it be and forget all about it, pretend this never happened."

She sighed again; she was talking to a machine for God's sake! Granted a very clever machine but still… she finished off anyway.

"You know the Doctor better than anyone else, if the best thing for him is to get in contact with this woman, to apologize or whatever, please, give him a push in the right direction?"

She stopped feeling like an idiot when the whole ship seemed to rumble beneath her, as if in answer.

"Did you hear me?"

She whispered, surprised and just a little but pleased with herself before The Doctor ran into the room again.

"What happened, did you do something?"

"ahh… No, I dunno, she just sort of, rumbled."

Clara tried to keep a triumphant look off her face, pretending to be as confused and bewildered as him. Evidently, it worked as the Doctor didn't press her and it seemed as if he had almost forgotten their little argument earlier. However Clara knew The Doctor well enough by now to see he was only acting. She wondered again who this mysterious woman was, more importantly, what she had to do with the Doctor. She had been a striking figure, and it showed that she had seen far more than any other woman her age, but she seemed more than just any old companion of his. Who was she? Someone he had betrayed? A lover? Someone from his past, before the Time War? She didn't know, but she hoped she would find out soon.

"Right then… Clara, I think it's time I did definitely take you home."

This time, Clara didn't make any smart comments.