Then Came You
Rating: T
Word Count: 1,398
Notes: Chapter 2! Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought of it!
She was pregnant. She, Clara Oswald, was pregnant.
"I—I can't be. No. This isn't happening. I'm going to wake up, and it's going to be some kind of dream." Clara said, almost hysterically.
"Clara, you need to calm dow—"
"This is a joke, isn't it? This is the universe being a complete dick and playing a joke on me. Because this isn't happening. Dan isn't dead. I'm not pregnant. This is one big nightmare and it isn't happening." She got up and ran her hands through her hair.
"Clara, please. You're scaring m—"
"Oh my god, this is real isn't it. This is real. I'm pregnant, and he's not here. I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mum, and the father is—d-dead." Clara started breathing heavily. Her sobs wracked her body and she gripped his arm. "I-I can't breathe. Doctor I can't breathe."
He might not have been a real Doctor, but he knew what a panic attack looked like. The Doctor moved to give Clara some space, and gently rubbed her back. He watched the tears fall from her eyes as the sudden realization of what was happening washed over her, and he felt helpless. He had absolutely no way of helping her.
Once her heart rate had come down and her breathing was back to normal, he brought her a glass of water. "So what are you going to do about it? Will you keep the baby?"
She thought about what the Doctor was saying. It was a simple enough task to perform. The past few weeks had been stressful enough, and now a baby was being brought into the mix. She didn't know if she could do this. But at the same time, Clara felt like she absolutely couldn't stop herself from having this baby. It was a part of Dan as much as it was a part of her, and she wanted to honour his memory. It was a little miracle… she had just lost him, but gained so much.
"I—it's early. Too many things are happening at once, and I need time to think." She told him truthfully. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she wanted this baby. She wanted that part of Dan to always be with her. But she didn't want to make snap decisions in her emotional state. This would be a big change for her, and she didn't know if she'd be able to cope. "I don't know if I'll be able to do this alone."
"You won't be alone Clara. I'm here for you, I'll always be here for you, every step of the way. Okay?"
Clara nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. You've been here for me so much since we've met… I can't thank you enough." She said, tears springing to her eyes again. "Damn these hormones." She giggled.
"Don't worry about it. Now come on. There are these cats, best midwives in the universe—"
"No. Sit. If I'm going to have this baby, I'm having it here, on Earth. No running to space for weird medicine and remedies, I'm doing this the human way."
"But, but Clara, these nurses are the best in the entire universe, they can fix anything."
"Doctor, I want to do this my way, okay?" He looked at her defeated, but nodded all the same. "Thank you." She told him lightly. "Okay, looks like I'm making an appointment with my doctor." Clara's heart pounded as she rummaged through her phone book looking for the number.
Within the next week, Clara went to her Doctor to talk about what was happening. She was given another pregnancy test and it was determined that she was nearly 8 weeks pregnant. Clara was happy that she finally had an explanation for her sickness and weight gain; she had been really concerned about that after the funeral.
The Doctor was with Clara through the entire process. It was tough to accept, but she knew that it was happening.
Her pregnancy still didn't feel real to her. It was too early for her to start showing, and she hadn't been for any scans or anything, so she didn't feel as if she was actually carrying a child.
Of course, Clara's body did change a bit in those first few weeks. She was glad that she had the Doctor with her as she became more tired and achy. He was great at giving her back rubs, and just such a calming person.
As Clara neared the twelfth week of her pregnancy, she was getting ready to go for her first ultrasound.
"How do you feel?" The Doctor asked her.
She took a deep breath, but looked at him with a smile. "Nervous."
"I'd be surprised if you weren't." He told her, taking her hand. They got there in the TARDIS a few minutes early and sat in the waiting room until the Doctor was ready for her.
"Clara Oswald?" The receptionist called for her.
"That's you." The Doctor whispered to Clara.
"Oh, oh right!" She said standing. "Can you come with me?" She asked the Doctor nervously.
"Of course." He smiled at her and placed his hand on her back, guiding her into the room.
Clara was instructed to sit on the table while the Doctor sat in a chair beside her. The large ultrasound machine was next to her, and all the wires and instruments made her reel with nerves. She gripped the Doctor's hand tighter.
"Hello Clara, how are you feeling?" Clara's doctor came into the room and immediately started discussing the different stages of her pregnancy. The Doctor sat and listened, not fully understanding what they were talking about.
"So mum and dad, are you ready to see your baby?"
"Oh, um, he's not—the father passed away a few weeks ago." Clara said quietly.
"I'm so sorry to hear that." Her doctor told her.
"But I'm here for her. I'm Clara's friend, the Doctor." He held his hand out to shake.
"Very nice to meet you. I'm glad you have someone here for you dear. So, who's ready to see a baby!"
Clara lifted her shirt to reveal the creamy skin of her stomach. The Doctor smiled at her as she took his hands, but he couldn't take his eyes off the patch of revealed skin. He had never seen so much of her skin in such an… intimate place.
She wasn't too far along, only about three months, but he saw hints of a bump on her usually flat stomach. This was the first time he'd noticed it, and it was making everything more real to him.
Clara winced as the cold jelly touched her stomach. She gripped the Doctor's hand tighter, and looked at the screen, not entirely sure what she was expecting. Suddenly, she heard it. A tiny little heartbeat. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she squeezed the Doctor's hand.
He could feel himself get emotional over hearing the heartbeat. A little life was growing inside of his companion, his best friend, and after all the bad that had happened in the previous weeks, he was ready for her to experience some good.
"Look at him!" Clara said happily as the image appeared on the screen.
"Now, we won't know the sex for another few weeks, mum."
"I know," Clara told the woman, "it just feels like a boy to me."
"Hm, I don't think so." The Doctor chimed in, voice gravelly through tears. "I think the little one's going to be a girl. Don't forget Clara, I speak baby."
Clara snickered and wiped her eyes. "You're ridiculous."
When the scan was over, Clara cleaned the jelly of her stomach and joined the Doctor back in the TARDIS. She clutched the picture of her little one in her hand, finally feeling ready to be a mom.
"Thank you, Doctor. It means a lot that you came with me today."
He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a delicate kiss to the skin. "You're welcome. It was good… it was interesting. Can—can I come to all your appointments?"
Clara smiled widely and nodded. "Of course! I'd love to have you… you're actually very calming, it's nice to know you're here for me, Doctor."
"I'll always be there." He told her. "So, shall we go for dinner? I think this needs to be celebrated!"