Realised while writing this that I love writing a protective twelve - he suits making threats quite well with those eyebrows. Those eyebrows are threats of their own ;)

Chapter Nine

The Doctor slept on the couch.

Okay slept was stretching it – he catnapped on the couch, never quite falling unconscious and keeping an ear out for the doors and windows of Clara's flat. He'd insisted they un-nailed the windows, she hadn't been too happy with that and despite making sure everything was locked she still put little stacks of glasses in front of the doors so they'd shatter if anyone entered.

He'd had to insist she went to bed at eleven, she was so worn-out and had work the next day – though he was almost tempted to persuade her into calling in sick, but was reluctant to do so since getting her back into a routine was probably best.

The mobile he'd brought back from the TARDIS rang, vibrating since he put it on silent so the call wouldn't wake her. He'd unplugged the landline, mostly to frustrate the stalker and also to direct the call straight to him. His eyes flashed open, he sat up taking his time in stretching under the assumption the stalker would be watching from the uncovered windows. He eventually answered with a smirk. "Hello?"

The techno voice had been abandoned for a male voice of venom and hatred. "Who are you and what are you doing in her home?"

The smirk increased as the Doctor stood, standing in front of the windows almost as if he was trying to dare the stalker to come and get him. "I am the Doctor, and I am what is standing between you and her. If you were smart you'd be afraid."

Harsh laugher on the other end. "What do I have to be afraid of an old man? I could snap you."

"If I had a penny for everyone who assumed that I'd be a very rich man." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Like I said, you'd only be afraid if you were smart."

"Stay away from her if you know what's good for you old man" the voice snarled.

"No" the Doctor's voice echoed with thunder. "I will not stay away from my Clara because she mine, and I will not let you or any other psychopath take her away from me ever again! If you want her you'll have to get through me, and trust me many more enemies stronger and cleverer and deadlier than you have tried to go through me before and guess what, I'm still here. You will stay away from Clara Oswald if you know what's good for you!" and he hung up, leaning and arm on the glass of the door and resting his head on it to look out onto the darkness of London night time, somehow still alive with little specks of light and movement besides it being the dead of night.

He heard a door creak behind him, and the softest rustle of fabric.

"Was that him on the phone?" Clara's voice was meek, a whisper, full of a deep huskiness that was a result from just waking up.

The Doctor looked up to glance at her briefly, surprise evident, before he turned away. He'd never seen Clara in her night dress before – or at least not one this short. Usually she was in those while satin pyjama's she favoured so much. "Yes" he said trying to focus his attention outside.

He hear her approach, bare feet brushing softly on the carpet until she stood halfway between beside him and behind him always keeping him between her and the window. "I don't want you to get hurt for me you know."

The Doctor smirked, able to see her reflection in the glass. "You once said I don't get a say about the hugging. Well now you don't get a say about how far I go to protect you."

There was a pause between them, broken only by the noise of the city outside. "How far would you go?" Clara asked. "Because there is such a thing as too far…"

He hesitated. The things he was willing to do to protect the tiny woman he'd come to care for so greatly sometimes scared him, but he wasn't willing to tell her the extent of his affections so instead replied "I know what you consider too far Clara, I won't over step your boundaries." He saw her reflection give him a suspicious look, but she nodded and continued to stare out of the window. "You should probably go back to bed. If he could see me here, he can almost defiantly see you – and since you're the one he wants I'm very keen to deprive him of that."

Clara hesitated as the Doctor turned around finally, guiding her back to her room. "Doesn't that just make a stalker more violent?" she worried.

"Usually." The Doctor wore a vicious grin as he led her to her room, apparently keen to sit in the armchair of her room while she was in the bed. "I'm counting on him coming out so we can see exactly who he is – don't worry Clara, I won't let anyone hurt you. We discussed this already, if you suspect your unsafe just get in the TARDIS – and entire Dalek fleet couldn't get past those doors."

She sighed, pulling her blanket further up to her chin as she lay in the bed and shut her eyes. "Maybe it would have been easier to have just ran away with you…"

"Nah" the Doctor smiled to himself. "You've always been far too brave for running away."

Clara made a disbelieving noise. "Why are you in here? Its creepy to think you're watching me sleep – and I thought you wanted to be in visible view to rub it in the stalkers face that you're here with me and he isn't?"

"Because imagine what is going through his jealous mind when he saw me disappear into your bedroom with you. I'm goading him Clara."

A blush crept up her cheeks, and despite nothing happening between them at all her heart pounded just a fraction more than usual. "Oh" she bit her lip, eyes still closed. She was startled when she felt a kiss feather her forehead and opened her eyes to find the Doctor crouched by her head. She hadn't even heard him move.

"Try not to worry Clara, I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered, pressing a single finger to her forehead and sending her to sleep.

Danny Pink for once seemed relieved to see the Doctor's intimidating figure stalking beside Clara in the halls of the school the next morning like an overprotective shadow. Enough that he stopped to say hello to both of them outside of Clara's classroom – and hang around after she entered to talk to the Doctor.

"So you back?" Danny asked, voice quiet so it didn't carry to the English teacher unpacking homework from her bag.

"I didn't mean to be away so long." The Doctor amended – he wasn't overly sure how to handle Danny, what with the breakup argument he overheard clearly stating the teacher was jealous of his relationship with Clara no matter how friendly he still was with Clara.

"I figured. She told you about this stalker right?"

"Yes. I'm working on making the problem go away." The Doctor suddenly eyed him suspiciously.

Danny didn't falter under the Doctors gaze, he understood why anyone close to Clara could be seen as a suspect – he'd considered the Doctor as a suspect for a stalker himself for a short while, but dismissed it since the Doctor pretty much had the English teacher to himself these days. "I was looking into it too. I'm worried it could have something to do with her attack a few months ago?"

The Doctor frowned – not at Danny's suggestion for once, but more because he hadn't thought to connect the two incident's himself. "You might be on to something there P.E – I mean maths…" he muttered, nodding to the other man as he passed by him into the classroom where Clara was now watching from her chair with narrowed eyes.

"Where you just being civil to Danny?" she asked suspiciously. "Since when did that happen?"

"Since he brought up a very good point – could your stalking have anything to do with your attack?"

Clara looked stunned, then thoughtful, then horrified all within the matter of minutes – but couldn't say anything to the Doctor as the school bell rang and students began to pile into her classroom – some of them like Courtney greeted the Doctors presence in their classroom again having become quite accustom to him. She did however give him a single firm nod and meaningful glare before she turned back to address her class and left him to find his own place close by – the school faculty had all become accustom to Clara's mysterious Doctor and where a little pleased that he would be around to guard the young teacher.

Except rather than find something to fiddle with –probably in the janitor's shed where all the abandoned stuff was – the Doctor pulled up a chair in the corner of the class room and just watched almost silently (because he couldn't refrain from correcting Clara at least once or twice on her historical facts until Clara silence him with a glare and chucked a balled up post-it-note at him).

At break Clara had to attend a teacher's meeting – the Doctor waited outside – so they weren't able to talk to each other much again until lunch when they sat in her classroom with a bag of chips he'd fetched from the chip shop on the corner leaving Danny to keep an eye on Clara for a few minutes.

"So…" the Doctor said, enjoying the chips – apparently this body's mouth's favourite food – "You agree that it could have something to do with your attack?"

Clara slowed her chewing on the chip in her mouth so she'd have time to compose herself before replying. "Yes. More than a coincidence actually – I didn't think about it until you're mentioned it, but… the guy who attacked me looks exactly like the man my neighbours described."

The Doctor stopped eating then, the chips tasting bitter in his mouth suddenly. The little plastic fork in his fingers snapped with the tension in his hand suddenly – the plastic crack drawing Clara's eyes to him suddenly.

"Are you okay?"

"Just angry Clara, not at you of course." he mumbled. "Can you tell me anything about this guy who attacked you? He obviously knows you didn't recognise him at first – we might be able to throw him off just a little with some information you do remember."

Clara pushed the bag of chips away from herself suddenly feeling queasy as she remembered the attack, her mind had done such a good job blocking the memories they almost felt like a vividly violent movie of someone else's life in her mind. "He overpowered me…" she whispered, eyes glazed with the memory and her voice a ghost.

"Clara!" the Doctors voice was sharp, snapping her out of her recollections. "Clara don't focus on that… focus on the details, hard facts that don't require feeling. Think like I think."

She frowned at him. "Is that really how you think? Without feeling?"

"Yes – it makes it easier to rationalize things. I no longer make mistakes regarding others because of my feelings you see?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Trust me you make a lot of mistakes. How many times have we nearly been killed because you offended some hostile race?"

"Clara stop switching topics" he gave her an irritated huff. "Think about that night – the facts only."

It took her a little thinking, a few deep breathes, a lot of wracking her brains. But when she met the Doctors blue eyes again she said "His name was Ethan – I don't remember a surname. But that's all I can remember… we- I had a few drinks…"

"I know, don't apologise a name is enough to throw him hopefully." He gave her a stern look, pushing the chips back to her "Eat – I refuse to run around after a twig of a girl."

"Like you can talk, you look like a stick insect – a grey stick insect!" Clara rolled her eyes, but almost obediently ate a chip.

The Doctor self-consciously touched his hair, still unsure about being grey – he'd had preferred ginger not that he would admit it. Thirteen regenerations and not one of them ginger, he was starting to lose hope. "I'm still not sure about the grey…" he admitted softly, not sure what compelled him to tell her that.

"I like it." Clara shrugged, deliberately not looking at him as his head snapped up to watch her. "It's not really grey anyway- more silver. I like silver, it's the only kind of medal I've ever gotten. And it's prettier than gold."

"So you're saying my hair is pretty?"

"It's a compliment, just take it and don't analyse it – actually why don't you just feel it instead of question it?" she gave him a glare – but it wasn't an angry one. Before he could reply, she'd continued talking. "School breaks up for Christmas this week. Are you going to stay with me for Christmas dinner again because if you are I request, actually I insist, that you come wearing actual clothes this time."

"I – ah…" he hesitated.

"And if you dare think about holographic clothes I will not hesitate to physically dress you myself." She added for good measure, not quelled by the sudden hooked eyebrow look he gave her.

"Do you want me at your Christmas dinner?" he asked.

"Of course – you'd just be lonely otherwise!" she frowned at him as if he was stupid for asking. "You're supposed to be with friends and family for Christmas – and… well I consider you both a friend and family."

"I… you do?"

Clara this time hesitated, feeling awkward. "Well, I think we crossed the 'just friends' line when I jumped into your time stream and ripped myself apart to save your other selves. And I'm far closer to you than Linda…" she tried to joke.

The Doctor tried to joke back. "Alright, if we're not 'just friends' then what are we?"

Clara looked stumped. "No idea, I don't think there is a classification for people who care a lot about the other and would probably do just about anything for the other." Of course there is, it's called love you idiot! – Clara's inner monologue was cussing her out as she lied blindly to the Doctor.

"Of course there is. We just haven't found the right label yet." The Doctor shrugged, his hearts pounding for some reason he wasn't willing to think about.

Oddly by Friday they had not heard from Clara's stalker since the Doctor threatened him on the phone – though neither of them where lulled into a sense of false security, the pair of them where more than used to the calm before the storm. Not that this stopped them enjoying themselves out in the deep snow that had fallen over the lunch break on the last day with the rest of Clara's class.

The Doctor had just spotted Clara lying down in the snow having been taken out by Courtney Woods in a snowball fight – where she had fallen she'd decided to make a snow angel.

"Clara." His voice sounded tight and angry, to his cleared his throat to try get rid of the emotion.

Still the tone panicked Clara enough to make her sit up with wide eyes. "Doctor, what's the matter?"

"I… can you stand up? Seeing you lay in all this snow doesn't quite bring me fond memories." He admitted looking anywhere but at her.

She looked confused at first, then a sudden dawning on her face as she stood using him as a crutch to pull herself up and brush the snow off her back. "One of my echoes?"

"Indeed." He confirmed, a hand sliding up and down her back of its own accord to help clear the snow that wasn't there.

Courtney suddenly reappeared beside them, giving them a knowing look full of attitude, she held out a thick brown envelope. "Miss, some guy at the gate asked Amber to give this to you – but thought I better bring it on account of your stalker guy since it could be dangerous."

"Courtney!" Clara hissed – the girl was too bright for her own good and had figured out Clara's problem about a month after it started. She took the envelope from Courtney anyway and gave the girl a stern look "What if this had been dangerous?"

Courtney just shrugged as she turned away with the rest of the students to the gates that where now being unlocked so the students could go home. "Better me than Amber." She called back.

Clara was just staring at her student, trying her best to ignore the heavy envelope in her hands. "I will never understand that girl…" she muttered before turning to the Doctor, whose eyes never left the envelope.

In fact he plucked it from her loose grip swiftly. "Think I better open this. I highly doubt it's been laced with anything harmful but just in case I'm more likely to be unaffected then you are."

"It'd make you sick though! You told me about this resistance to toxins and such before – I'd rather you weren't knocked out recovering."

"And I'd rather you weren't dead." He retorted, opening the envelope without any further argument. He frowned at the envelopes contents, pulling out a frames photo he recognised and was reluctant to show to Clara.

Of course he did, her reaction was as expected – horrified rage filled her face as she got a white knuckle grip on her photo – a photo of her dad, herself and her gran at her graduation. Clara had been centred in the photo of her graduation, but in the photo her eyes had been scratched out and the photo itself had harsh terms written over it – descriptions of exactly what someone wanted to do to her that where far less than friendly. That of course was the least of her concerns as she started to walk back to her flat – the Doctor trailing just behind her.

"Clara?"

"He's been in my house." Her voice shook – with fear or rage she had no idea, both emotions seemed to be battling it out.

"Clara…"

"Don't Clara me, he's been in my bloody house!" she practically snarled at the Doctor.

"I understand that, but please…" he grabbed her arm, pulling her back flush against him and holding her there before she could turn away from him. "Clara look at me." He waited until her big brown eyes had turned up to his blue ones. "I know your angry Clara, trust me I'm far more than furious right now myself, but you still have to be careful and storming in there half assed is not going to do any favours if he's still waiting there for you."

She frowned. "Why not, we usually do it."

"Usually we go up against aliens that are quite ready to kill us – not sexually assault you." He pointed out, grip on her arms tightening. "I'm not friendly about anyone killing you but I'm sure as hell not going to let anyone else touch my impossible girl."

That caught her attention. While he'd been talking Clara had been taking deep breathes to calm her nerves and anger – enough that she caught the Doctors phrasing enough to teasing a little. "Anyone else touch me, Doctor?" she said with a smirk looking at him through her eyelashes.

He blushed lightly, looking flustered. "I- Clara! This is no time to be doing… that! Flirting! Your stalker just broke into your home and threatened you, I think you should focus on that!"