It wasn't until late the afternoon that the Doctor finally returned to the manor. His excitement and hope had no limits as the car driving him back halted in front of the house which sandstone brick exterior was hidden behind layers of decaying flowers. He couldn't help but feel his lips curl up into a vast smile.

Those two days were all he needed, he thought to himself, as he realized how much strength he had regained. He wasn't angry or tired over Clara's behavior anymore. Far from it. He felt they would make it through, eventually. He just needed to be patient and not let go. Not just yet.

The silver ring he kept in the inner pocket of his coat was still with him. It seemed to get warmer as he approached the creature which he had promised himself he would never leave. He wasn't like the men he'd met in the bar. He would never let her go. Not now and not ever. He wasn't singular anymore. They were right- his own people. They were really the Hybrid and every hybrid is a mixture of two elements. He found his other half and he would never voluntarily agree to let anyone take it away from him. Pity was it took him so long to realize it.

All he needed now was to apologize to her. Let her think everything through and make a proper decision on her own. He didn't need to push her to do it just now. They still had time, didn't they?

"Can you spare a moment?" Bastian, who sat next to him in the car, asked when he was about to leave the vehicle.- "I have some data I would like you to look at. I'm not quite sure if I got it right."

"Sure. My room is upstairs if you want some privacy."

"So this is the signal from Brazil. I recorded it on May 10th - a day before you arrived. Well not entirely, about an hour after Clara's ship landed on Earth it seems. I picked up a meteor shower and elevated level of electromagnetic activity." Bastian explained to him as he showed the Doctor the colourful scans on the computer screen.

"It's quite interesting, "the Doctor agreed. "Likely worth checking out. Does UNIT command any local resources to test your hypothesis?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. No,-" the man answered.

"Looks like we may be on the right track." The Doctor smiled but a part of him died at the thought that this thing with Luas might be solved before he managed to convince Clara. What if she still wouldn't change her mind by then? It would break his hearts into pieces, if not more.

They were looking at the photos on the screen in silence when the doors to the room opened wide, revealing Clara standing behind them. Before he knew what was going on, she stormed into the room and approached the desk, behind which he was sitting, and shoved it in his direction.

"I can't believe you freaking did it," she screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring at all that they weren't alone in the room.

"I'll leave you two alone," Bastian muttered to the Doctor and gave him an apologetic smile. He had never noticed it, since he was never truly involved romantically with one of human kind, but all males of this species seemed to belong to an unwritten society whose major aim was support and training in interaction with the fairer sex, and it looked like he belonged to it now.

Once the door closed, Clara's eyes fixed back on his face, almost burning a hole in his forehead with the anger he noticed it them.

"How dare you manipulate Ashildr to block my access to the Tardis!?"

"I didn't," he tried to reason with her. "I told her what you're up to, but everything else was her idea. It looks like I'm not the only one who thinks you shouldn't go," he said with a smile on his face. At least she wouldn't be able to do anything stupid now.

"You're gonna talk to her and make her change her mind-" Clara said through her clenched teeth.

"I can try, but I doubt she'll change her mind."

Clara raised her eyebrow and chuckled a little.

"Speaking is your strong point, you'll figure something out."

"And what if I don't want to?" He dumped the acid on her. Finally it was he who had advantage over her and he wasn't keen to let it go easily.

"Let me explain something to you. This is my life and my choice. I considered your opinion but I don't agree with it. You may not like my decision and I respect that, but it's mine and only my right to make it. You get it?" She snorted.

Hearing her say it- pushed him further over the edge than he'd ever been before. He just couldn't bear it – the ease and carelessness with which she was telling him about the future destruction of the most important thing he had in his life. They were in exactly opposite situation once.

That day when they had arrived to the Drum and she had seen his ghost. She begged him to come back and he did. He couldn't make it to her - leave her when she was so vulnerable in front of him. And yet now when it was her turn to return the favor, she didn't think about anyone but herself.

"You had that right but you lost it the moment you let the Raven mark you. You would not be here if not for someone who'd spent years trying to get you out and trying to understand how one could be so stupid. From now on it's me who reigns, because apparently you can't." He shouted, but his voice quieted with every word he was saying.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to-" he gasped when he realized what had just left his lips; but it was too late. The pair of brown eyes he cherished so much were already filling up with fresh tears.

"At least I know what you think of me." She whisperedwith her voice caught in her throat. In a flash, she'd already made her way out the door.

Later that afternoon, or in the evening since the sun was already disappearing behind the horizon, the Doctor was walking down a sandy beach throwing a plastic ball for Gully to fetch from the water. He couldn't tell how long he had been there already and, frankly, he didn't care. He felt ashamed and disappointed in himself as he'd never had before. All the hope he'd brought with him from Paris was lost. He should have never said any of that. He didn't even believe any of it to start with. In his eyes she was the most perfect creature ever, but it still hadn't kept him from humiliating her in the most vicious way possible.

He wandered off down the empty beach and thought about everything that had happened lately. About the choice someone he cared most in the world had made and that it was something he had to understand, if not accept. The methods they chose weren't working- he was quite sure of that now. Or should he call indignity of the beloved woman a victory? He hated to admit it but maybe Bastian was right after all.

"Bastian you have a guest," Nicole, Bastian's wife, whispered to the man who'd just finished reading a chapter of The Jungle Book to his eight-year-old son. The book, which always kept the boy's interest, now seemed to disappear in the silence and did nothing to even slightly warm the coldness of the boy's look.

"Sorry Oscar, dad has to go. Mommy will read to you more, okay?" He said to the motionless boy as he approached his wife, "Is it-" he started and broke mid-sentence when his spouse nodded.

Bastian walked down the dark wooden staircase and headed to the living room. He spotted the Doctor sitting on the brown leather sofa by the window with a mug of fresh tea in his hand.

"Sorry, I was reading to my little boy," he apologized to the man and stretched his still tired limbs after the long drive he'd made.

"Is your boy the child from the swimming pool,-" the Doctor blurted.

"Yes, it's him." Admitting his son was currently handicapped wasn't easy. "I see Nicole got you tea, but would you like anything else?"

"What do you suggest?"

Clara just couldn't understand how it had happened. He offended her and to top it off he headed for the hills to avoid the consequences of his words. And yet, somehow, it was her who was worried sick about his well-being and not the other way around. It was almost midnight and he still wasn't back home.

It wasn't new- his running away when things were getting too heavy to bear, but not bothering to even call her and tell her he was fine was driving her insane. He was so immature sometimes, she swore under her breath as she watched the darkness of the front yard with the hope to notice some sort of activity soon.

At first his words had hurt, she would be crazy if they hadn't. But she knew why he said them in the first place. He was angry and desperate to make her stay. Frankly, she was willing to forgive him already. Maybe not straight away, but eventually she would. But again, he chose escape. The only consolation she had was that Gully was with him.

She sat at the table in silence and watched the driveway when the reflectors of the car finally illuminated it.

He's back- she whispered under her breath in relief.

Hurriedly, she prepared to collect herself and her thoughts and head to the main door, but changed her mind and stayed in the room to at least create the semblance he was in big trouble.

"Where the hell have you been,-" she demanded when she heard his steps in the hallway. In the end, she yielded and followed him. He was sitting on a bench by the stairs, remorseful and sheepish like a stray dog. "It's past midnight, you idiot."

"Sorry, I didn't have a phone with me," he explained miserably.

"Don't apologize. Take a bath and meet me tomorrow morning. There's a talk ahead of us." Clara answered as she was about to go upstairs to her room.

"Actually, I have different plans," the Doctor whispered as if he was afraid of the words he was about to say. "I wanted to apologize for what I told you earlier. I want you to know I don't think any of that and I won't be in your way if that's what you want. I'll talk to Ashildr and try to convince her if I can. And the last thing, I spoke to Bastian. He was thinking about renting his father's cottage and I was first to make an offer-"

"Can we talk about it tomorrow? It's been a long day,-" Clara asked him.

"I don't think you understand. I'm here for my stuff. Bastian is driving me there tonight," he continued. His eyes were getting unnaturally red and glassy as he progressed. "I think that's for the best. You're my best friend, Clara. The best one I've ever had. If this is really our end, I don't want to remember you in this way: knowing that we spent our last moments fighting. The problem is I'm not sure I can do that if we live under the same roof. It's not working."

"I'm sorry," Clara rasped. Now when he finally agreed it didn't feel like a victory at all. She wanted him by her side, not in a cottage miles away.

"Me too. If you ever need me-"he said calmly as he slipped a pair of silver keys in her hand. "It's one of the cottages next to the church. Number nine to be exact."

"What about Gulliver,-" she pointed out. Not many landlords consider tenants with pets these days.

"Bastian is fine with him. It even seems he makes his son more active. Little chap smiled and hugged him when we visited them tonight."

"I'll be in my room. I'm not going to keep you from doing it. You sure you really need to?"

He didn't say anything in return but gave her a sad smile. So this was really it. He was leaving.