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Chapter 28

The Doctor set the box containing everything he had brought to the house down in Missy's corridor, feeling his back ache after carrying it all the way from the car, and he made his way deeper into the house. As lovely as the evening and night and even the early morning had been, he had ruined everything by mentioning Danny's name and asking Clara to leave him. The Doctor just wanted her so, so much, but it seemed that whenever he took a step forward, he also took several steps back. He had told her how he felt, he had shown her. It was Clara's decision and only she could decide – there was nothing more that he could do at this point but wait.

When the Doctor stepped into the kitchen, he found Missy busy at her laptop, obviously working. Wordlessly he slipped into the seat next to her.

"Hang on just a moment," she said and her typing became a little more frantic before it stopped altogether. "Okay, I'm all yours. How was the date night?"

"It wasn't a date night. Well, not originally."

"But you did have sex, right?" Missy raised her eyebrows at him.

The Doctor replied nothing. Instead he rose to his feet and walked over to the coffee maker to help himself to a cup. He didn't know why Missy was going on about that when she had already walked in on them and seen everything she had needed to see.

"Is she gonna leave the other guy?"

He sipped his coffee and almost spat the contents back into the cup in disgust. "Christ, how come you still haven't fucking learned how to make a decent cup of coffee?" the Doctor cursed.

Missy glowered at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled and set the mug back down, sighing heavily, "No, she isn't gonna leave Danny. Not yet anyway. She said she had feelings for us both and she wants to give him an honest chance."

"Bullshit," his friend said, "She's indecisive, that's all."

"Even if that is so, there's nothing I can do about that," the Doctor admitted sadly, "It's Clara's decision. I've done all that I can."

"So you're just gonna give up?" Missy asked him in disbelief.

The Doctor shrugged. "What else can I do?" He shook his head. "No, I'll wait for a while until she has made her decision."

"And then?"

He inhaled sharply and then granted Missy a sad smile. "If she chooses to be with Danny, you won't have to worry about me leaving things all over the place anymore."

Missy nodded and the Doctor knew that she understood what he was trying to say. If Clara chose to be with Danny, he would leave and never come back.

They needed to talk. Desperately. And yet, as Clara was staring at her phone, she didn't even know how to begin. Of course she would speak with Danny eye to eye, but how? When? What would she even say?

Oh well, Clara picked up the phone and decided that she would just make it up along the way and when she had already dialled his number, she knew that there was no way back now.

"Good morning, love," he greeted her happily, "Or should I say noon?"

At the sound of his voice Clara suddenly froze. What was it that she had wanted to do? Invite him for dinner? Meet at his place? Talk, yes, but where? How? She needed to be honest with him.

"Clara?"

"Yes," she blurted out breathlessly, "That's me."

Danny laughed on the other end of the line. "Is everything alright? Or did you just call because you miss the sound of my voice?"

In that instant Clara knew it was going to be tougher than she had expected. She had spent a wonderful evening and night with the Doctor, cheated on her fiancé once more, and this morning she had actually assumed she was going to break up with Danny. Now she wasn't so sure anymore. Danny was sweet and loving and Clara was a terrible person for what she had already done to him.

"Uhm," she spluttered, "Just saying hi. And that I love you. Yes, those two things."

Again Danny laughed. "Well, I love you, too. And it's very sweet that you called."

"Good," Clara sighed and leaned back against the sofa. Eventually they would have to talk and it was going to be tough enough. There was no need to scare him over the phone already.

"Are we still on for tomorrow?" Danny asked all of a sudden.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes," he confirmed, "We're supposed to look at houses? Just three, so don't worry. And we don't have to buy any of them just yet. It's only looking."

"I had completely forgotten that was tomorrow," Clara admitted, her voice low. She hadn't spent a single thought on that ever since they had had that discussion.

"Of course," she said determinedly, "Of course we're still on."

"So, I'll pick you up from work, then?" Danny enquired.

"Yes," she confirmed, but then Clara had an idea, "And maybe afterwards we could go to my place or yours and have dinner?"

"Can't we go to a restaurant? I don't feel like cooking."

Clara sighed. "I'd rather stay at home. And you don't have to cook. I'll do it."

"Fine," he agreed after a moment, "We'll do it your way."

"Thanks," Clara mumbled. Tomorrow they would talk. And she wouldn't chicken out again.

Clara was pacing her office nervously, hoping that Danny would pick her up before the Doctor got back from his classes. She wasn't so very keen on the two of them running into each other again, especially after what had happened between her and the Doctor. Things were bad enough, there was no need to complicate them any further.

Then suddenly there was a knock on her door, but it didn't come from the corridor, but from the Doctor's side and a few moments later he stepped into the room.

"Hey, sorry to bother you," he granted her a shy smile, "I need a couple of books that I stashed here at the beginning of the year."

Clara smiled back in relief. "Sure, knock yourself out," she replied and pointed towards a pile of books in the corner.

She watched as the Doctor picked up half of them and, as he was already making his way back to his own office, he came to look at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked sincerely and Clara wanted nothing more than to wipe that worried look from his face with a kiss. She wanted to kiss him, wanted him to hold her in his arms, but instead she had a date with Danny that would or would not end in a breakup.

"Yeah," she lied, forcing a smile.

Then her phone rang in her hand and Clara looked down to see a message from Danny on the screen. He was waiting outside.

Clara looked back up. "I've got to go. See you tomorrow?"

The Doctor simply smiled at her, but Clara assumed that it was just as fake as the one she had just given him and before she could say anything else the Doctor had turned around and headed back inside his own office.