Chapter Ten
Clara insisted they stop in at the local police station to drop off the photograph as evidence her stalker had broken into her home. They still claimed there was little they could do about it until he hurt her – though they did say they could get prints from the photo (hopefully) and offered to send someone around to check her apartment. The Doctor had rolled his eyes at their lack of helpfulness and rebutted their offer knowing any damages he could fix far faster than any policeman or door smith.
When they got to the apartment Clara's door lock had obviously been picked, there where scratches all over the lock and part of a pin was still stuck in the key hole. The Doctor entered first, treading cautiously, he moved into the sitting room first. "Get to the TARDIS – shut the door if I tell you too." he told Clara in a voice that brook no argument and for once she did as she was told, feeling safer than ever as she stood on the threshold of the ship – the TARDIS hummed all most in welcome and protection.
She watched the Doctor move around her flat checking every nook and cranny holding his sonic screwdriver like a weapon. Eventually he nodded, letting her know whoever had been here was defiantly gone. He snorted though in the sinister silence. "He obviously did it to scare you. I checked for cameras and microphone and any secret hidey holes but there was nothing."
"Scare me? Well it bloody worked…" she muttered throwing herself onto her couch in a home that no longer felt like hers. "I can't relax. I feel like… like it's not my apartment anymore you know?"
"An obvious side effect of having your territory invaded. Unfortunately humans don't have the simplicity of rubbing scent glands all around their homes to make it their territory again… sometimes I wish you were like cats." The Doctor replied, setting his screwdriver onto Clara's front door in an attempt to fix the lock.
"Wish I was a cat too right now." Clara replied, then frowned – she was spending far too much time with the Doctor to suddenly dislike her own species. "What was with holding your screwdriver out anyway? What where you going to do if he had been here? Build him a bookshelf?"
The Doctor cast her an irritated glance. "I was going to scramble his neurons giving me enough time to shove you into the TARDIS."
"I was already in the TARDIS!"
"Yes but it's you, you'd have come rushing to help me as soon as you knew the attacked was here." He rolled his eyes.
Clara shrugged turning away from him leaning her head back on the couch and closing her eyes in an effort to relax. "I blew into this world on a leaf to save you, that didn't stop just because some psycho decided to become obsessed with me."
She wasn't aware the sonic screwdriver had stopped buzzing until the Doctors hands landed on her shoulders heavily. She opened her eyes immediately, the scary though that it was someone else for a second, but found him looking down at her with a gentle almost curious expression. "What did I do to deserve my impossible girl?" he frowned, as gentle a frown as those eyebrows would allow she mused, but stared down at her like she could give him a satisfactory answer.
She tried to answer anyway, reaching up to put her hands over the ones he had placed on her shoulders running her finger tips over his rougher skin. "You where you, the Doctor."
He frowned as though that didn't in any way answer his ponderings – but he didn't say anything so Clara decided to change the conversation topic. "It's Christmas next week."
"So it is."
"I haven't decorated. Haven't had the time – do you think I should?"
He frowned a proper frown this time. "I don't even remember the last time I decorated for the holiday. My Christmas's always turn out a bit… messy. Are you sure you want me around your family?"
"Of course. Just don't turn up naked."
"So I'm allowed to turn up to any other dinner naked, just not Christmas dinner?" he teased.
Clara shrugged, patted his hand on her shoulder with her own and said "Knock yourself out. But only if you want me to turn up naked too."
They both frowned at her reply.
"Anyway, Christmas decorations? You know I think I have a few in the TARDIS somewhere?" he straightened, hands leaving her shoulders reluctantly. "Not sure what room – hopefully she'll help me find it pretty quick. I'll leave the door open if anything happens… scream like hell and run into the ship."
"I only scream on special occasions – but I'll yell." Clara winked, enjoying the blush that flushed his cheeks as he disappeared into his ship after gaping at her for a second unable to think of a comeback. When he'd vanished into the TARDIS, Clara hid her embarrassed face in her hands. Why was she suddenly unable to stop flirting with the Doctor?
Because he's opened up. Her inner voice replied. He's no longer cold and distant and keeping you at arm's length – even if he won't admit it he's shown you he cares for you just as much as you care for him.
Clara was still musing this train of thoughts when she began to rearrange her furniture to make room for a Christmas tree. With the TARDIS around it was difficult to manoeuvre – it was a good job the Doctor was so skinny because the couch was practically pressed against the door. It was while she was tidying up just a fraction that she realised why the TARDIS had practically become a part of her apartment.
Evidence of the Doctor was littered everywhere. From his books filling her shelves to little bits of chalk or the odd alien gizmo lying around. It didn't faze her, in fact the realization lit a little feeling of warmth in her and she felt herself give a wide warm genuine smile for the first time in months.
The Doctor noticed the smile when he returned with a small box of items and saw her hanging multi-coloured lights on her tree. "Is Christmas lights all it takes to make you happy? If I had known that I would have took you back to that light turn on we went too…was that last year?"
Clara's eyes widened too. "Yeah that was a year ago… we need to keep better track of time you know. Time travellers who can't keep track of time – ironic much? But no that's not why I was smiling this time."
"What was it then… did you move the couch?"
"I just noticed all your things around the apartment that's all." Clara shrugged.
He dropped the box to the couch and stared at her suspiciously. "I- do you want me to move them back to the TARDIS?"
"No!" Clara frowned. "I like it – I like knowing you're here, feeling like you have a permanent place here even if I know you don't or that it's just temporary."
"Clara…" he sighed, approaching her as he manoeuvred around the couch carefully. "I do have a permanent place here. I'm not going to leave you behind."
She smiled sadly not facing him as she held a shiny silver bauble and saw his reflection behind her. "I know you hate goodbyes Doctor – but we all leave in the end. Your companions I mean."
"Not you, not my impossible girl. I won't leave her behind." His voice was confident, full of promise.
"Don't make promises you can't keep…" Clara's voice was barely a whisper, sadness creeping in.
The Doctors hugs still surprised her after weeks of him insisting he didn't like touch of any kind, so when his arms enveloped her middle from behind she froze in a similar way to what he would have done months ago, but released into his hold eventually, leaning her head back onto his shoulder and noticing not for the first time their height difference as his chin barely grazed her forehead with stubble as he placed a gentle kissed there. She'd noticed earlier that he'd started keeping a razor and toothbrush in her bathroom.
A bang sounded in the apartment – they both jumped, Clara knocked the Doctors jaw with her head causing his teeth to click together. They turned their attention to the balcony doors where the noise had come from, the Doctors arms tightened around Clara as they noticed in the dark a single smudged hand mark on the usually clean glass – but whoever had been out there watching them was long gone.
Clara went quite. She hung the bauble in her hand on tree, then turned in his arms to look up at him. "I… I'm going to sleep on the TARDIS tonight…" and she slowly detangled herself from his arms, disappearing into the bowels of his ship, the blue door clicking shut like a vault door that would keep anything try to hurt her outside.
The Doctor unlocked her balcony doors and stepped out into the chill, feet crunching in the snow that clearly showed two large footprints at the door. Someone must have been stood there a while. He looked around, trying to spot anything unusual and out of place but even his keen eyes where limited in the dark. His lips pulled back in a vicious snarl at the idea of being watched, but he turned and went back inside locking the door behind him.
When Clara came out of the TARDIS the next morning she found the Doctor was asleep. She'd never seen him actually sleeping, so she expected him to open his eyes and sit up at her approach so when he didn't she couldn't resist waving a hand in front of his face just to make sure he really was asleep.
His hand shot up and gripped her wrist lightly, she jumped and let out a tiny 'Oh!' in response.
"Clara, sneaking up on an alert timelord is ill advised." He mumbled, eyes blinking open and gazing at her through a fogginess.
"Sorry. You do know this couch is a sofa bed right? You could just pull it out and sleep on there."
"I barely sleep, what would be the point of creating such a mess?" he sat up, barely noticing his light grip on her wrist still until he became aware of her pulse fluttering under his thumb – but he still didn't move it.
Clara was actually looking around her sitting room now – though it barely felt like hers after the previous day's intrusions – and noticed "Did you finish putting up the Christmas decorations without me?"
"I didn't think you'd be feeling very festive after last night. And you'd only half done your tree – I couldn't leave such a shameful excuse of decoration stand." He said with a roll of his eyes.
"It's good – warm." Clara smiled at the tree that was mostly filled with twinkling yellow and red lights. "I love it, thank you."
"Well. Didn't think you'd want to be decoration all day when we have things to do." He squeezed her wrist lightly.
Clara twisted her hand in his grip so she was holding onto his wrist too able to feel the light pulse under her hand she gave him a suspicious look. "What are we doing today?"
"We're going to collect a lock smith who owes me a favour – saved his planet from self-destructing so least he can do for me is give you some new door and window locks." The Doctor smiled. "And then you said you wanted to get some Christmas shopping done. Now, go get dressed – the planet we're going to is accustom to women walking around in something a bit… longer."
Which is why two hours later Clara was wearing jeans and a tartan shirt that came down to her knees (she'd done it deliberately after his 'longer' comment and was sure the Doctor knew that by the roll of his eyes when he saw her). She was putting away the Christmas food while the Doctor and an interesting looking alien with skin as male as milk and pink eyes worked on her locks speaking in whistles that the TARDIS didn't translate.
He dad rang while she was in the kitchen stocking cupboards. "Hello dad, how are you? And Linda?"
"We're great Clara. Looking forward to Christmas dinner – no naked boyfriends this time yes?" he teased.
"No I promise my… guest will be fully clothed this time." Clara shot the Doctor a warning glare when he smirked.
"So you do have a boyfriend?"
"Dad!"
"Sorry, just curious. And I can't say I enjoy thinking about you being alone down there… are you still getting those odd phone calls?"
Clara bit her lip then. She'd told her dad about the phone messages the first month she had them but hadn't told him about anything else – he'd drag her back to Blackpool kicking and screaming and probably end up putting herself and her family in even worse danger. "Just a few" she lied "but I have someone looking into it – hopefully we'll get the idiot who thinks messing with me is fun."
"Good. I don't like the idea of someone calling you just to mess with your mind. Have you saved the messages? Given them to the police?"
"Of course dad, but they can't really do anything." Clara shrugged though she was aware that her father couldn't see her. "Anyway I need to get off the phone so I can find a way to put this turkey in the freezer. Got turkey this year – it just felt wrong with no turkey at grans last year!"
"Alright – and you better have stuffing. I'll see you on Thursday! Merry Christmas sweetie!"
"Merry Christmas dad." Clara smiled as she hung up the phone and looked up, the Doctor was leaning on the door of her kitchen and had been for a while. "Now you have to come to Christmas dinner – my dad's expecting you."
The Doctors eyebrows raised at that. "Suppose I should make myself representable then? No holographic clothing for the next few days then."
She paused. "Are you wearing holographic clothing now?"
His smile widened "You wouldn't be any the wiser if I was."
"Are you?"
He winked. "Come on, we need to get my lock smith back home."
"Doctor! Are you wearing actual clothing right now?" she yelled after him as they went into the TARDIS.
Christmas day rolled around, Clara made the Doctor move the TARDIS into her bedroom despite his arguments that the cloaking device and humans natural perception filters would render it unseen by her family – she pointed out it was still a very real object and she needed the extra room.
He watched her dashing around preparing things last minute making sure placemats on the table where perfectly straight, everyone had the same patterned cutlery and the Christmas crackers where laid out red, gold, red gold.
The Doctor admitted as she nearly knocked him over coming out of the kitchen again, that it was nice to see her being so normal, focusing for once on not looking over her shoulder for her stalker. Admittedly he would have preferred she was relaxing with no stalker at all, or even that she was in the TARDIS or on another planet all together – but this was nice too.
Trying to help the Doctor was the one who answered the door when someone knocked – Clara was in the kitchen rolling the roast potatoes – but was greeted by the surprised and scrutinising faces of Clara's father, step-mother and grandmother and a stranger older man he'd not met.
Clara's grandmother was the first to say anything, eyeing the Doctor up and down. "I like this one. This one is better than the last one she brought to Christmas."
Linda snorted and followed Clara's gran into the apartment muttering "This one has clothes at least."
Clara came out of the kitchen brushing her hair out of her face, stopping when she saw the Doctor being stared at by her family. "Uh, hi." She said, drawing their attention from the timelord – for which he looked relived.
"Clara!" her father enveloped her in a hug. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas dad, Linda – and Gran this must be your… boyfriend. Gordon wasn't it?"
"Yes sweetie, I'm so glad you agreed he could come over too – he hadn't anywhere else to go. Suppose that happens when you get to our age anyway!"
"Gran don't talk like that!" Clara's dad looked pained.
"Well we're not focused on my withering away. We're more interested in your silver fox – why haven't you told us about him before Clara?" her gran was still eying up the Doctor – who looked like he wanted to melt into the wall behind him and vanish.
"Oh this is … ah." She paused, hadn't she introduced his younger face as the Doctor? She couldn't possibly introduce him as the same name…
"Doctor Smith – but I prefer just Doctor. Make it easier." The Doctor saved her, much to her relief, and shook her dad's hand.
"Another Doctor Clara?" Linda eyed her stepdaughter. "Didn't know you had such an obvious type."
"Uh yeah well. Surprise. Why don't you guys make yourselves comfortable and Doctor why don't you help me in the kitchen?"
He was genuinely confused. "You told me to get out of the kitchen – that I was in the way."
"Well now I need someone to whip the cream." She glared at him, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen before shutting the door. She leant on the shut door afterwards and looked at him, "We really should have talked about this more beforehand…"
"Why?"
"Because my family have assumed you and I are… together."
"We are together Clara."
"I mean together intimately. Dating."
"Oh… right."
She bit her lip. "Do we play along or tell them we're just friends?"
He shrugged "Either way there will be questions. Anything else? You already told me not to tell them about your stalker."
She worried her lip a little more but finally said "My dad is a conspiracy nut. Try not to encourage him – and defiantly try not to be an alien!"
"I am an alien" he smiled.
"But I know you can act human so… act it. I'm used to your alien-y stuff but they won't be…"
"Just to specify – what can be classified as 'alien-y'?" he was grinning now obviously finding this funny.
She waved her hands up "No mentioning other species or other time periods or famous people you've met, no double heart beat or sonic screwdriver. Feel free to be super smart and snarky as usual."
"At least you left me my sarcasm…" he sighed like she'd wounded him.
Overall Clara felt dinner went fairly well. The Doctor slipped up once (but Clara managed to stop him talking before he finished the sentence 'I know a lizard…' woman). He encouraged a few of her father's conspiracy ideas – but only the harmless ones so she didn't much mind, especially since her father seemed to take quite a shine to him after that. Linda seemed completely uninterested in him and preferred to talk to Gordon, her grans boyfriend who'd spent time living all over the world apparently.
After dinner gran insisted on a few board games – jenga resulted in a few people yelling at each other and minute long silence treatment between Clara and the Doctor broken only by them continuing to argue that the other had knocked the tower on purpose.
Clara didn't even notice her gran up to mischief.
Not until she was standing under the doorway on the kitchen with the Doctor, the pair had just finished washing the dishes and hand went to walk into the sitting room when her gran suddenly laughed and yelled "Nope you two, stop right there!"
Clara and the Doctor where equally bewildered. "What?" they both said "What happened?"
Linda looked amused too. "Tradition sweetie, you're under the mistletoe." She pointed above the kitchen door where Clara realised her grandmother must have hung the weed when she wasn't looking.
"What's that?" the Doctor sounded genuinely confused.
"Mistletoe, Doctor." Clara bit her lip, hoping he actually knew the tradition – it would seem a bit odd to have to explain such a well-known tradition.
"Mistle-Oh!" his eyes widened.
"Its tradition, now come on your two kiss it up" her grandmother looked like she had won the lottery – she was defiantly having too much fun with this.
Clara, for all her pounding nerves and furious blushing, shrugged nonchalantly and looked at the Doctor. "Its tradition…" she said.
"Yes…" he hesitated. "But I'm not really into kissing a girl in front of her parents – bit rude."
Clara's dad covered his eyes with a hand with a grin on his face. "I'm not looking, kiss away. Gran won't let you be until you do it so may as well be sooner rather than later."
The Doctor looked at Clara, remembering what it had been like to kiss her back with Vastra at the bone munching monster at the couples retreat. He'd been tired and annoyed at the time, seeing it as a fast get away action he'd kissed her without second thought and hadn't really let himself think about it since. Now that he did, he remembered her lips being feather light against his forceful ones, her skin smooth and tongue soft, and he wanted to feel it again.
She was looking at him, remembering the exact same thing, though he didn't seem inclined to move so she moved instead. She put her hands on his shoulders and stood on her tip toes to stretch up and reaching him intending to press a chaste kiss to his lips, she was surprised when his hands sudden went around her middle and pulled her closer his mouth closing the distance between then and swallowing the surprised gasp.
Her arms went around his neck enthusiastically, he nipped at her lip and at first they both forgot people were watching them until Gordon wolf whistled and they pulled apart abruptly each giving the other a surprised wary glance.
"Well, that was steamy" her gran was giggling. "You'd think these two had never kissed before."
Their sheepish grins where wiped from their faces by a sudden smashing of the window.
Clara's father jumped up with a yell as the curtains on the balcony doors beside his chair suddenly went up in flames. Everyone was up and across the room with startled gaps and yells and horrified looks, Gordon tried the front door but the door handle twisted uselessly in his hand before coming off all together. "We can't get out!" he yelled back at the other's who's looks of horror grew and Clara's father started dialling the fire brigade on his phone, coughing and wheezing in the smoke that was quickly filling the apartment.
Clara and the Doctor hadn't moved. They were too surprised, but hearing that they were trapped they looked at each other simultaneously reaching for the others hand as they ducked bellow the smoke.
"Everyone into the bedroom!" Clara yelled as the Doctor led the way. She waited until everyone had ran into the room before she shut the door on the fire that ate away at her home and belongings, she didn't give her family time to stop and consider the strange blue box the Doctor had vanished into before she insisted they step inside too.
"We won't all fit, we need to get out of a window and start calling for help!" her dad protested as Clara put her hand on the door to bring them inside.
"Dad" she looked at them, her voice calm "Just trust me – and don't freak out." She held out her hand, and when he hesitantly put his in hers she pulled him and the others into the TARDIS.
"Oh good, for a second I was worried you couldn't convince them to come on board!" the Doctor grinned from the controls where he was flicking switches till. "Already called the fire brigade – should be there any minute. Now, Clara's family. Welcome to the TARDIS."
Clara had barely been listening to him, instead watching her family's faces as they stood at the door gaping around the ship. When their eyes landed on her, one by one, she couldn't think of anything to say, opening her mouth and hoping that anything she said would make sense.
"Would you like some tea?" she said.