A/N: You guys have waited a really long time for me to update, so here, have a longer chapter. I'm sorry I take so long to update, I've been really busy with school, and I sadly don't have a lot of time to write anymore :( but I'm not giving up on this fic just yet don't you worry. And you can always bug me on tumblr if you think I'm taking too long and I'll try to write faster.

Chapter 5

"Doctor, stop complaining and put on the bow tie"

"I just don't understand what's going on!"

"I told you, we're all going out to a fancy dinner."

"Then why am I the only one dressing up for this?"

Rose paused, looking at him for a second until she thought of an answer.

"Just trust me"

The Doctor narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, but slowly finished putting on the bow tie, the final touch to the tuxedo Rose had picked out for him. It was at that moment that David walked in, giving a small thumbs up to Rose when he knew the Doctor wasn't looking.

"Wait, why aren't you wearing a tuxedo? I feel over dressed." The Doctor whined, turning to face his brother.

"Nah, you're not overdressed. If anything I'm underdressed, right Rose?"

"Right!" She agreed, moving over to put an arm around her boyfriend's waist as they both looked the Doctor over.

"You think she'll like him like that?" David said the quietly into her ear, but not quietly enough.

"She? Who's she?" The Doctor asked.

"No one!" Rose said quickly, shooting a glare at David and moving away from him. "Don't worry about it."

David coughed a bit awkwardly, before nodding towards the door. "We should get going, Jack's probably waiting for us."

All three of them headed towards David's car, driving off in the direction of what the Doctor suspected was not actually fancy restaurant. Wherever they were going, it definitely wasn't just dinner with family and friends. If that was the case, David and Rose would have bothered to get more dressed up, and neither of them would have tried half as hard to make him look good.

He had no idea where they could be going, but he did trust them enough to not argue anymore. He'd tried to find out what they were keeping from him before, and he'd failed. The only thing left to do now was wait until they got to their destination, then he'd find out exactly what they were planning.

"Alright. Here we are." They'd stopped in front of a large, fancy building, probably some high class hotel the Doctor had never heard of before.

"What are we doing here?" He asked, looking out the window of the car. There were expensive cars taking up most of the spaces in the parking lot, and the few people wandering outside the large front doors were certainly dressed to impress. The men wore tuxedos or fancy suits, while the women wore dresses that looked like they cost a fortune.

Before David could think of how to answer, Jack appeared, waving at them from the door. "Get off here, we'll... find a place to park."

"I really hope I can trust you." The Doctor muttered, knowing he wouldn't see them for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, yeah sure. See ya later Doctor." Said Rose.

Still confused, but definitely intrigued, the Doctor opened the door and stepped out of the car, making his way over to where Jack was waiting. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Jack laughed, clearly amused. "Not a chance."

Inside, Jack lead the Doctor to a large banquet hall. Small, white, round tables covered a large area nearer to the back of the hall, closer to the doors, there was a few chairs set around a large spot left open for dancing. People the Doctor didn't recognize crowded the room. Jack greeted almost everyone they walked past, introducing them to the Doctor quickly before moving on.

"Okay Doc, ready to have some fun?"

"Jack, I really don't understand what I'm doing here." The Doctor said, looking around the room with furrowed eyebrows.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet." Jack grinned, putting an arm around his shoulders. "This whole thing was set up by Torchwood, you know, the company I work for. We're celebrating fifty years today."

The Doctor nodded, urging him to go on.

"I though it'd be a great way for you to get close to someone. It's a date."

"Oh... Oh!" Suddenly, the Doctor stepped away from Jack. "Uh, Jack... I don't really... I mean you're great and all... But I really don't like you that way."

For a moment, confusion covered Jack's face, before he finally got what the Doctor was trying to say and burst out laughing. "Don't worry Doc, I'm not here to seduce you, I've got my own date. Someone else is coming, she's getting ready right now."

"Oh." The Doctor's face turned a bright shade red.

Jack had been left him over fifteen minutes ago now, and still, whoever the Doctor's date was hadn't showed her face. Currently, he was having a mildly interesting conversation with an old lady about her grandchildren. He could manage to keep up the conversation while his mind wandered elsewhere.

He tried to stop himself, but he couldn't help but picture Clara walking through the doors at the front of the room, looking beautiful as ever. He had fun when he was with her, and he really wanted to spend time with her now. She'd know how to make this conversation more engaging, at least.

It was then that he heard a very familiar voice come from behind him.

"I didn't know you would look so good in a tuxedo."

His eyes widened, as he turned around to face the woman who'd just spoken.

"River?"

"Hello, sweetie."

"River? You moved to New York!' The Doctor exclaimed, surprised to see her standing there.

"I did, but that doesn't mean I can't visit now and then." She replied, grinning cheekily at him. "It's been a while."

The Doctor just stared at her, as if he still couldn't believe she was standing there.

"Don't be too happy about it." She said, the grin almost falling off her face when she realized he wasn't exactly ecstatic at seeing her again.

"I- I'm sorry, it's just... I didn't think I'd see you here. After you left for America... I'm surprised is all." He frowned, looking at her.

Was she supposed to be his date? Not even Jack could think that was a good idea could he? The Doctor and River had a fling a couple years ago, but everyone knew they just didn't work well. River wanted one thing from life, the Doctor wanted another, and neither of them was willing to compromise. Still, it went on for a year, until River moved to America with Amy and Rory. After that, they stopped talking, the Doctor was sad for a few weeks, of course, but he found a way to move on. He hadn't thought about River in a very long time.

"It's good to see you again." He said finally, sending a small smile her way. He could at least be polite.

"That's more like it." She answered, sitting down at one of the tables nearest to them. "Come, sit down, we have a lot to catch up on."

He moved slowly to the chair next to her, looking around for a moment to see if he couldn't find Jack and get him to explain why he'd asked River.

But as his eyes swept the room, he caught sight of someone else entirely. She was wearing a strapless red dress that flowed down all the way to the floor, and her hair was up for the occasion, a few stray pieces coming down to frame her face. He found himself captivated by the sight of her, his eyes glued to her figure as she made her way through the crowd.

It was only when he heard River calling his name that he snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh, sorry." He blushed, turning his head to face the woman.

"She's pretty." River noted, looking over at the girl who had captured all of the Doctor's attention. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Yeah... I mean, no! Yes, she's pretty, but no, she's not my girlfriend!" He explained, his eyes drifting back towards the short brunette.

River smirked, not quite believing him. They'd had something, back in the day, but that was all in the past, and she was happy he could move on. "Well, I think I'm going to go get another drink. I guess we'll just have to catch up another time."

For a moment, the Doctor considered stopping her, he hadn't seen her in a long time after all. But she was already gone. Shrugging, he stood, making his way to Clara. She was looking around the room, as if she was waiting for someone to appear.

"Hi." He said, as he came up behind her.

She turned to face him quickly, eyes wide and almost spilling the drink she held in her hand. "Doctor! I didn't know you were coming to this."

"Me neither." He chuckled.

"I'm glad you are. Jack left me on my own and I don't know anyone here."

"Jack invited you too?"

"Yeah. He said it would fun."

The Doctor's felt a hurtful pang in his chest, but he didn't understand it. So what if Clara was Jack's date. It didn't change anything between them, they were just friends. And yet, he couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed.

"I... I didn't know you and Jack were... close."

For a moment, Clara looked confused, before a wave of realization crossed her face. "Oh! No, I'm not here with Jack." She laughed.

"Oh." Relief poured over him. She wasn't dating Jack, he'd just invited her like he'd invited him. "That's good."

"Is it?" Clara raised her eyebrows at him. "Why's that?"

"Uhh... Because... I wouldn't want you to get hurt?" It came out more like a question than a statement.

Clara laughed. "I think I can take care of myself." She told him with a smirk. After a moment, Clara reached up and took one of his arms. "Come on Chin boy, let's dance."

Before he could protest, she pulled him to the crowded dance floor. She turned around to face him, stepping closer and setting her hand on his shoulder while he just stood there.

"I... Clara, I don't really... I don't dance."

"Come on. I'll teach you." She laughed. "Give me your hand, and put the other on my waist."

The Doctor did as he was told, his face reddening and his heart beat quickening when he realized how close they were standing. "Like that?"

"Perfect." Clara beamed at him. "Now look at my feet and mirror what I'm doing... there... good!"

The Doctor laughed, moving his feet the way Clara showed him. "I've got it!" He exclaimed proudly. Just as the words left his mouth however, he stepped on Clara's foot.

"Ow!"

"Crap! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, it's alright." She reassured him. "It's not the first time I've been stepped on."

"Maybe it's best if we just... sway... for a bit."

Clara laughed. "If that's what you want."

For the rest of the song, they stood in each others arms, swaying to the music and enjoying each other's company.

"So, why did Jack invite you?"

"Apparently I'm being set up on a blind date."

Clara chuckled nervously. "You too, huh?"

He nodded. "I still haven't met her though, Jack didn't bother staying long enough to introduce us."

"Uh... Doctor?" She raised her eyebrows, looking over his shoulder.

"What is it?" He turned around to see none other than Jack Harkness, staring at them with a wide smile on his face. The man gave them both a thumbs up before turning to his real date, a man the Doctor knew as Ianto.

Clara laughed. "I think we may have been set up on a date."

The Doctor turned back to her, his brows furrowed. "What, me and you? No! No way... I mean, unless you'd want to be on a date with me... In which case it's not like I would say no..." The last part came out a bit more hopeful than he'd meant for.

Clara looked at him, the corners of her mouth turning up slowly into a smile. "Ask me properly."

"What?" His heart started to beat even faster than it had before. Was she asking him to ask her out? On a date?

"You heard me. If you wouldn't mind going on a date with me, ask me." She repeated, stepping out of his embrace and crossing her arms.

"Uh..." He couldn't think properly. Was this really happening? "do you... want to go out with me?"

Clara pursed her lips, pretending to think about it for a few moments and making the Doctor more and more nervous with each passing second. He shifted from foot to foot, as he waited for an answer.

"If you don-"

"Okay." She cut him off, a bright smile appearing on her face. "We'll go on a date."

"Great! Good!"

She laughed at how excited he sounded, shaking her head at him. "But tonight doesn't count. This whole thing was set up by Jack, we can't give him the satisfaction."

The Doctor nodded, knowing that if Jack would forever hold it over their heads if he was the one to get them together. "Do I still get a last dance?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

The rest of night was spent dancing and laughing, and by the end, neither of them wanted to go home alone. But Clara had already made her mind up that this wasn't a date, and she wasn't going to go back on that now. So they said goodnight, and the Doctor went back to the book shop with a smile on his face, his cheek still tingling from the feel of Clara's lips.

A/N: So next chapter will be their date :) Thank you for reading this, nd especially to the people that reviewed, you guys are awesome!