He was completely enticed by her; her long brown hair flowed over her shoulders as she cradled her new born baby in her arms and chuckled as it let a puff of air out of its newly formed lungs. She was the perfect mother to her newborn. As soon as she had gotten the baby back at the hospital, he knew that she would love it until the day she died. Half the equation was missing which obviously bothered her, but the Doctor knew that Clara would love that baby even though the man who had helped create it practically forced it into her life.

"Hey" she whispered and looked up at him affectionately, "if you're going to stare at me, I'm not going to let you hold her".

He smiled back at her automatically, "Clara, you need time with your baby…" he gasped before continuing, "Your baby girl!"

"Yes, Doctor. Ellie, she's my baby girl."

He approached the side of her bed and snickered when he realized that he was so terrified of being near Clara and her new born baby that his feet almost stopped working. He tripped over himself and almost fell into Clara's bed, but she just sighed and smiled up at his clumsiness. The baby girl began to wriggle in her mother's arms and Clara's face lit up in an instant. The baby looked just like her mother; she had a cute little button nose, two tiny ears and bowtie shaped lips punctuated with tiny dimples that were apparent even when she slept. Everything about this little girl was perfect in the Doctor's eyes, everything except for the fact that she was not his. He desperately wished he could take back the misery and harm that Clara's ex-husband had done to her in attempts to obtain a child for himself, but he knew that there was no way. He assumed that even if there was, by now Clara would want absolutely nothing to do with it. She had her daughter, and by the look on her face that was all that mattered.

A few days after her daughter was placed in her care, she left the hospital and joined the Doctor back on the TARDIS. He agreed to keep the antics and adventures down to a only partially dangerous level while the baby was growing and Clara promised to stay inside the TARDIS and keep her daughter safe regardless of what may happen to him. The three of them were a team, and even though the baby was only a few weeks old, the Doctor could tell that he would love this little girl as if she was his own.

Clara seemed to catch on to the Doctor's love for her daughter as well. Whenever she would feed her or play with her, he would become bouncy and start to ask if there was anything he could do. She would allow him to do the small things such as prepare the changing table and she would occasionally allow him to hold her, but he was under no circumstances allowed to change her or put her to bed. Clara trusted the Doctor, but she did not want her newborn out of her care for long periods of time. Clara was also wary because someone had let her husband into the TARDIS and if the Doctor realized it was the baby, he could be furious. She doubted he would be furious enough to send them out of the TARDIS, but he would think of any way to stop it from happening again.

The night times were always the most fun. Clara and the Doctor would rush off to Ellie's bedroom and play soft music in order to lull her to sleep. They both stood on either side of the bed and hushed her to sleep as they watched her eyes flutter shut. It was one of the most peaceful, serene things Clara had ever had the pleasure of doing in her life and she dreaded the day she would have to give up the cooing and let her baby girl fall asleep on her own. After the baby was put to sleep, they both walked to their room which was conveniently located right next door thanks to the TARDIS's cooperation. Clara practically dropped on the bed with a thud while the Doctor eloquently plopped himself right next to her. They stayed lying in their clothing for a moment in complete silence before Clara started to tear up.

"Clara" the Doctor soothed as he reached for her hand.

She graciously took it and replied, "It's nothing, Doctor. Really".

He rolled over on his side to face her, "It is Clara. What's wrong?"

She was now choking on muffled sobs, "She's… she's not yours".

The Doctor hung his head in sadness. There was nothing he could do in order to fix the mess that was left for her to endure by her late husband. He could try to sooth and protect her for as long as she was alive, but there was no way that they could stay together like this forever. He wished he could keep her and hold her for the rest of her life, but it would not be fair to her or her new born baby. She had to move on and find someone who would accept both of them and would keep them safe and happy. She needed someone who would grow old with her and give Ellie a perfectly normal environment to grow up in. He could become the crazy uncle who showed up on Christmases, but he could never be Clara's soul mate… even if he desperately wanted to.

"Oh, my beautiful Clara…" he whimpered.

"I know" she frowned before choosing her words carefully, "This can't happen. We- we can't happen."

He was now in tears and their bodies were touching. "Clara I care about you, but it's just not safe for Ellie here."

"I'm aware" she breathed.

"It's not fair for her to be a full human growing up on a space ship with a step dad who never gets older. It's not fair for you, either. Clara. My Clara" he trailed off, clearly distracted by their proximity and the sadness wallowing on her face.

"It was bound to happen sometime" she frowned, "and it is for the best".

This was the hardest thing he had ever done, but they both knew it was right for the both of them. Their pillow talk usually ended up being light hearted and funny, but both of them knew that the day was drawing near where their adventures together had to stop. Clara's daughter was not his, and although normally that would have been fine, in his mind no child deserved to have a father who was unreliable. It was better for them to leave before little Ellie got acclimated and grew attached.

Their last night together was morbid, but beautiful. After their intense conversation, the Doctor kissed Clara passionately and he swiftly gathered her in his arms. They did not speak; they just lay next to each other and enjoyed each other's warmth for as long as they could. The two of them held each other for the remainder of the night knowing that the day following would be one of the hardest of both of their lives.

A/N: ONE MORE CHAPTER. After two computer crashes (dating back to December 1st) and countless efforts of recovering data, I just had to rewrite the final two chapters. I just got my computer back two days ago. Oh, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.