A/N: I know I took way too long to update this, but I've been really busy with school and surprisingly, a social life. I'm really sorry I made you guys wait so long!

Thank you to anyone who reviewed or suggested things for later chapters! :)

Chapter 3

It was dark out by the time The Doctor finished showing off his brand new screwdriver to Clara, much later than she usually stayed. She would have just taken the subway home alone, but the Doctor was having none of that.

"I'll drive you home, it's dark out." He offered.

"It's alright, Doctor. I can take care of myself." She told him. "Besides, you live right upstairs, you'd just have to come right back anyway."

"It'll be worth the trip. Come on, you haven't seen my car yet." He said excitedly.

"Oh no, you're not one of those guys who's obsessed with his car are you?"

"No!"

"You named it didn't you?"

"Yes but... I... Oh, shut up."

Clara smirked, following him out the door towards a dark blue car parked right outside. It was a small, beat up Ford Mondeo, and it was in desperate need of a wash.

"I don't use her much, but she's reliable." The Doctor beamed, looking from the car to Clara, who's lips were turned up in amusement.

"So what's her name?" She asked teasingly.

"Idris." He responded immediately, before realizing what she was doing. "Hey! A lot of people name their cars you know!"

Clara let out a laugh, and the Doctor couldn't stop himself from smiling when the sound hit his ears.

"Just get in."

The drive was full of their usual jokes and teasing, but far too soon, the Doctor turned into the correct street. He slowly pulled up in front of the house Clara pointed out, before turning in his seat so he could face her. Their day together had been fun, Clara had even enjoyed herself when they were trying out the sonic screwdriver, and now neither of them wanted to say goodnight.

He had to admit, it felt like taking a girl home at the end of an amazing date.

"This is my stop." Said Clara, but she still made no move to get out of the car.

"Yeah, it is." The Doctor smiled at her. There was a moment of silence before he finally asked, "I'll see you this Wednesday?"

"I'll see you then." Clara smiled widely at him, reaching to give his hand a short squeeze before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. She gave him a small wave through the window once the door was closed, and headed towards the front door of the house.

He couldn't keep the smile off his face the whole way back home.

Sick. He was sick. John Smith, the Doctor, the man with an impeccable immune system, was sick in bed with the flu.

He groaned, turning over in his bed so he was lying down on his stomach. He hated this feeling, of being vulnerable and exhausted, absolutely hated it. Not for the first time in his life, he found himself wishing he wasn't human, maybe if he was of some far superior alien race, he wouldn't be stuck inside all day.

He could hear voices that floated up from the bookstore downstairs, his brother laughing and talking with customers, making sales and happily walking around without having to carry a box of tissues. He frowned, desperately wishing he could be down there with him.

There was a knock on the door, but the Doctor couldn't find it in himself to answer it with anything but a groan, the sound muffled by his pillow.

He heard the door creak open, but he didn't have the energy to turn his head. He just wanted to sleep through this flu, maybe tomorrow he would wake up feeling okay again.

"Doctor? How're you feeling?" A soft voice he recognized well asked, and he finally turned his head so he could smile at the woman who'd been constantly on his mind recently.

"Clara... I'm fine, really. It's nothing I can't handle." He tried to sound confident, but his voice came out nasally.

The corners of Clara's lips turned up in a small smile, and she closed the door softly behind her before moving closer to the bed as he turned again so he was on his back, that way, he could look at her properly.

"You look terrible." She noted, leaning down to sweep a clump of hair off his forehead. His face was tinted a light pink colour, and a thin layer of sweat covered his skin.

"Thanks."

Letting out a soft laugh, Clara sat on the edge of the bed, being careful not to take up too much room.

"I came to give back the book I borrowed last week." She told him, gesturing to the door. "I left it with David, he told me to come up and check up on you."

"Oh! Did you like it? I thought it was brilliant!" He pushed himself up a bit, so he was leaning on the headboard while he talked to her.

"It was great. Except the end... did she really have to get stuck in a parallel universe?" She frowned, shaking her head. "I much prefer a happy ending."

"Not everything has a happy ending Clara." He said seriously, before he had to cover his face in order to sneeze. He groaned softly, reaching for a tissue from the box on his bedside table.

"Clara, you should probably go. I don't want to get you sick." He looked at her, urging her to go with his eyes.

Clara just shook her head. "And miss the first chance I've had to be with you when you're not wearing a bow tie? I don't think so." She smirked, looking the simple grey t-shirt he was wearing. "How about I make you some soup?"

"Clara, you don't have to take care of me." He told her.

"I'm a nanny, it's my job to take care of people." She reminded him softly, smiling at him and standing up from the bed. "Now rest up, I'll be right back."

With that, Clara left the room and headed to the kitchen, leaving a smiling Doctor behind.

She returned a few minutes later to the small room holding a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It hadn't been too hard to find the ingredients she needed in his kitchen, and she'd managed to make it fairly quickly.

The Doctor sat up straighter when she entered the room, looking a lot more awake than he had before. He smiled brightly at Clara, reaching his hands out to take the soup from her hands.

"Thank you!" He said eagerly.

Clara chuckled, handing him a spoon before he started slurping the soup right from the bowl.

"It's my mom's recipe." She said, watching with a smile on her face as he tried the soup for the first time.

He spit it out back into the bowl as soon as the liquid touched his tongue, flailing on hand around while the other kept the bowl steady. "Hot! It's hot!"

"Yeah, it's soup." She told him teasingly.

"Well maybe I wanted soup that wouldn't burn me." He muttered, glaring at the bowl in his hands.

"Your mom's recipe? It's really good." He commented, smiling brightly after finally taking a sip without burning himself.

"She used to make it for me whenever I was sick." She told him, a faraway look in her eyes. "I always got better. She always said it was because of the magic in the soup."

The Doctor smiled, picturing a young Clara and her mother. "She sounds great, your mom."

"She was great." Clara said, snapping back to reality.

The Doctor frowned. "Was? I'm sorry I didn't-"

"Don't be sorry, it was a while ago. Just eat up, it'll help you get better." She told him quickly, changing the subject.

"You. Always taking care of me." He said, looking into her eyes as the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.

He finished the soup before long, and Clara took the empty bowl back to the kitchen. She suggested they watch a movie, and the Doctor declined, at first, afraid he'd get her sick if they spent two hours snuggling up on the couch, but Clara wouldn't take no for an answer. After teasing him about his taste in movies, they finally settled on watching Back to The Future, one of the Doctor's personal favourites.

They sat on opposite sides of the couch, slowly moving closer and closer together as the movie went on. The Doctor moved his body bit by bit until he was leaning back comfortably against the side of the couch. By the time Marty got back to his own time, Clara's head was resting on his chest, her right arm wrapped around his waist. Her eyes were shut, her breathing was even.

Both of them were asleep.

A/N: oops I kind of hurried the ending but I really wanted to post this before another week went by, you guys have already been waiting too long. I'll let you in on a secret, Clara might or might not get sick too and you might or might not get over protective Doctor taking care of her.

As always, thank you to anyone who read this, and I'd appreciate it very much if you reviewed :) Any suggestions on what whouffle should do in upcoming chapters?