A/N will be at the end!
Clara cursed herself for wearing heels today as she scurried through the halls of her school. She had told the Doctor she would meet him in the janitor's station at three-thirty and it was nearing four. Another teacher had stopped and asked her opinion about the school musical and she couldn't escape any quicker than she had. Pausing at the front door she took a few seconds to catch her breath and take turns lifting a leg in the air to rest her feet. She fished her TARDIS key out of her pocket and opened it frantically only to find an empty console room.
"Doctor?" She called out, taking off her shoes in the process, "Where are you?"
She heard a loud bang coming from the direction of the hallway and cautiously padded towards the noise. A bit frightened at first (who knows what could be on board), her fears vanished when she heard the familiar annoyed mumbles of the Doctor. Recognizing she was standing in front of the door to the wardrobe she shook her head playfully rolled her eyes; silly time to be playing dress up.
She entered the doorway and put her hands on her hips, "Doctor, what are you up to?"
Popping up from a pile of coats, he beamed as he held out a pair of flats for Clara to take. "You always complain that your feet hurt every time I pick you up from work. You've been on a heel kick lately, Clara. I thought ahead of time and retrieved these for you to change into. Oh look! They match! I am good." He looked smugly at her then turned on his heel to exit the wardrobe.
"Blimey, you're in a good mood today," Clara suggested, staggering behind him, attempting to put on her new shoes and walk at the same time. He was quite chipper, too chipper in fact. Clara knew something was off with him.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
He snorted and waved his hands dismissively, "I have no idea what you're talking about," he added, pushing a few buttons on the console. He flicked a switch up dramatically only to have her clamp it back down with just as much enthusiasm.
She arched a sharp brow at him, "What did I say about lying?"
He mumbled something near incoherent. Something along the lines of, "You said I shouldn't do it," but Clara didn't catch most of it.
She let out a deep breath and looked at him warmly, "Look, I know you're nervous about all this and quite right too, but just think about who you're doing this for. I know you want to do right by them."
He swallowed hard but said nothing as he flicked the switch upward again. She knew it would be a losing battle getting him to talk about how all of this was making him feel but she was determined to help him through it. Besides, she was actually looking forward to meeting Donna and her granddad; they seemed like good people.
When the TARDIS landed she was the first out of the doors. She looked around at the neighborhood and smiled as a few kids rode by on their bikes. She had been to Chiswick once before to visit a friend of her mum's but the woman had moved long ago. She smoothed down her skirt and looked back to make sure the Doctor had in fact left the TARDIS. When he came into sight she nodded and gestured for him to lead the way.
"Lead on Doctor, you know where we're going," she said, clasping her hands together.
"It's just down the street, I don't want to park the TARDIS too close to Donna. Perception filter or not," he marched in front of her a little ways, "and by the way, while we're around Donna and her family, refer to me as John Smith. If she heard you call me Doctor or the Doctor it could trigger her memory."
Clara felt a nervous pang in her stomach, "Got it."
A small walk later, Clara could see an older gentleman with a red toboggan waving happily at them. Feeling a tad out of place all of a sudden Clara gave a small, awkward wave and stood a bit closer to the Doctor's side. The old man, rather Wilf, made a beeline straight to the Doctor and gave him a hearty hug. The sight made Clara want to laugh and she found she couldn't hold in her chuckle.
"Well, hello there. And who might you be?" Wilf directed the question at Clara, holding out his hand to her.
She took it with gusto, "I'm Clara; Clara Oswald. I travel with the Doctor. You must be Wilf, it's nice to finally meet you, sir."
He winked at her, "Oh come now. I'm just an old man, nothing special about meeting me."
She was about to disagree but the Doctor chimed in, "How are you feeling today, Wilf?"
Clara was taken aback. Of course she had seen the Doctor show concern for other's before but this was something new; this family was definitely something special then.
"Oh, I'm fine," he shrugged, "no need to worry about me. Still got some months left yet."
The Doctor flinched, obviously uncomfortable with Wilf talking about his terminal illness in such a nonchalant manner but he seemed to push it down.
"Okay, so Donna and Jenny are around back and Sylvia's in the kitchen. I'm going to warn you Doctor, Sylvia raised all sorts of hell when I told her you were coming. Avoid her as much as possible. Clara," he smiled at her in a way her mother used to when she needed reassurance, "you should be fine, my dear. Everyone is gonna love you. Just head on back, I'll join you in little while. I have to pop round the corner and pick up something from the shop."
Out of habit Clara took the Doctor's hand and squeezed; to her surprise he squeezed back. Right before they entered the garden Clara noticed the Doctor halt. Despite his cooler body temperature and it being a breezy day out he seemed to be sweating slightly; his palms felt clammy.
"Alright?" she asked; concerned.
"No," he admitted, "but I'll make it alright."
She nodded, understanding. They sucked in a breath and stepped past the wooden gate. On the other side they saw a small blonde girl, no older than twelve, sitting by herself and sipping a cup of tea. She peered up at them over the rim of her mug and her eyes twinkled.
"Hello all," she greeted.
Noticing the Doctor was just staring at the poor girl, Clara elbowed him in the side. Taking the hint he spoke up, "Um, hello there. I'm Dr. John Smith and this is Clara Oswald. But um, just call me John."
"Hello," Clara chirped.
Jenny gave them a-lop sided smile, "Hello. I'm Jenny. I'm Donna's daughter. If you two were looking for her she went upstairs to take a phone call. Nan's in the house making more tea and some sandwiches."
"Lovely," Clara sing-songed, taking a seat beside Jenny and gave the Doctor a look that told him he should do the same.
But before he could do so, Sylvia Noble decided that this was her time to make an entrance, "Oh John," her voice probably sounded cheerful but it just made Clara feel unsettled, "would you mind joining me in the kitchen? I need some help preparing lunch. And we have so much catching up to do." The last few words were laced with venom.
"Of..course, Sylvia," his voice went up at least an octave.
Clara knew that a good friend would go with him but she quickly decided that Sylvia Noble scared her and that he would be fine on his own.
"Run along, John," she said, "I'll hold down the fort with little Jenny."
Once the Doctor had disappeared inside, Clara turned to Jenny, preparing to ask her about school when Jenny said something that made Clara's jaw drop, "So do you travel with the Doctor?"
She had to be careful about this, "Oh, yes. Dr. Smith and I travel from time to time."
Jenny looked at her skeptically, "From time to time? Very ironic phrasing, Miss Oswald." She then proceeded to wink at her. Clara raised her eyebrows in shock; she couldn't know the truth….could she?
DWDWDWDWDWDW
The Doctor slowly made his way from the garden to the kitchen; asking every deity he could recall for help. He had made the unfortunate mistake of forgetting that this whole ordeal would heavily involve Sylvia and he fought the instinct to run back to his TARDIS. This was going to be bad, really bad.
Slowly poking his head in the doorway he flashed a toothy grin, "You uh, you said you needed some help there, Sylvia?" He attempted to be as charming as possible. "Ooh! Nibbles. Those look fantastic. Did you make them yourself? Always a good cook, you."
She checked over her shoulder and turned back to him red faced, "Oh would you get in here!" she demanded, pulling him by the collar to stand next to her.
She crossed her arms in a familiar fashion and cocked her hip to the left side, now he knew where Donna got her signature pose from. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You said she could never remember. You said she couldn't be around you or her mind would burn. You're putting her life in danger by being here," the Doctor thought she had finished talking but she started again, "Why do you do this to her? Why do you do this to yourself? You come to her wedding, standing there like a ghost; like a stranger. You look like the air had been knocked out you and she asked about you for weeks after. Wondering if John Smith was okay, where did he go?"
He couldn't look her in the eye, "I'm sorry."
Sylvia let out a frustrated breath, "Yeah, well. Nothing we can do now is there? Dad is keen on you being here and given his condition and his ridiculous amount of faith in you I don't have much of a choice."
The Doctor allowed himself to smile. He looked up and saw that even though Sylvia still looked upset, she had softened. "What about her out there, then? Who is she? Donna's replacement?"
He shook his head, "No. No companion is a replacement for another. It's not how it works. Donna is one of a kind; just like they all are. Special in their own way."
"I still don't trust you completely. I just don't think you're going to be able to do this. It's going to be too hard on you to be this close to her without going back to normal. You're just going to end up disappointing her again."
Her words hit home. Boy, was she good. He'd never admit it out loud but he agreed with everything she just said. He was sure his face did nothing to hide how it made him feel to hear those words said by someone other than himself.
"Oi, Mum! What did you say to the poor man? He looks like someone's taken away his best friend in the world." He tensed. Oh he knew that voice; he knew that voice very well. He turned around and she was right there. He couldn't extend his arm fully without coming into contact with her. She was looking at him and she was smiling and she was alive.
"Sorry about mum, she can be a bit rude sometimes," she shot a glare Sylvia's way. She offered him her right hand, "Hello, sorry. I'm Donna, Donna Temple-Noble. And you are?"
A/N: Next chapter will provide an explanation about the Doctor being John Smith in two different bodies. Thanks so much for reviews, follows, and faves. I have a lot planned for this story so stick with me! Again, thanks so much. Until next time.