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Chapter 7

The Doctor switched off the engine after he had parked the car on a small forest road in the middle of nowhere, away from sight. He had promised her to find a small apartment the next day but wanted to get far away from Leeds before they did that. Clara had only nodded, as if she hadn't cared much about where they were going to spend the night. Until the realisation seemed to have struck her and the Doctor could feel her mood shift.

"There's worse places to spend a night at," he said right before the first raindrops started hitting the car, "See, we could be sleeping out there. That would be worse."

"I'm hungry," Clara complained grumpily and sank back into her seat.

The Doctor reached behind the seat and pulled out a plastic bag filled the food he had bought earlier before he handed Clara a package of Lunchables and a bottle of water.

"Lunchables?" she stared up at him, her eyes so full of disbelief, "I haven't had those in ages. These were my favourite kind."

"I know," he replied, trying to hide a smirk and failing. He did feel a little proud of himself. "I remember. You always made me pull up at a shop to buy them."

When Clara didn't reply he suddenly started to grow uneasy. "Please don't start crying again."

She let out a giggle. "I won't," Clara said right before she tore the package open and stuffed one of the crackers into her mouth.

The Doctor followed her example and opened a box for himself, carefully stacking the sausage and cheese slices on one of the crackers before he ate it. He evaluated the taste for a while until he came to the conclusion that it wasn't half as bad as he had expected.

"I prefer real food, but this is alright," he commented, preparing another cracker while Clara did the same.

"Real food is a little hard to come by in the middle of nowhere. Unless you catch a rabbit and roast it on a spit and I really don't want to eat that," she said while chewing.

They ate in silence for a long moment and the Doctor used the little light they had to look at Clara. The shorter hair really suited her but something had changed about her ever since she had returned from the salon. Maybe the reality of what was happening was finally beginning to hit. He worried about her, even though he would never dare to ask her about it directly. Losing her father, her home and her friends on one day couldn't be easy and yet apart from the first night and a brief moment at the shopping centre her shock and grief hardly shone threw. The Doctor guessed that most of the time she simply forgot about it while they were on the run, that she pushed the thoughts aside because they were still in danger and had almost a thousand problems to solve yet. But at some point it would hit her and it would be hard. The Doctor would be there for her when it happened not just because of the promise he had made her father but because he cared about her more deeply than he would have thought.

When Seb had said that he wasn't a killer he had been right and yet – for Clara he would have pulled the trigger without thinking twice. But for Clara's sake he had chosen not to kill him. Maybe that would later turn out to have been a mistake, he couldn't tell.

"How do yo know Missy so well?" Clara suddenly asked, surprising him with her question. Missy was a topic he didn't particularly like to dwell upon but keeping it from Clara didn't seem fair.

"We went to school together," he stated plainly and could see the surprise written all over her face, "In Glasgow. We were friends then, don't ask me how. She's the only one who knows my real identity and I know hers. That has caused a lot of tension at some points when we were forced to work with one another, or against each other."

"And you met again through the organisation?"

"Yes," the Doctor hissed sharply as he leaned back into his seat. He felt tired all of a sudden and it was no wonder after a day like that. It was as if all the energy had left him. He just wanted to sleep.

Apparently Clara had come to the same conclusion as she turned the knob that brought her seat into a horizontal position.

"There's a sleeping bag that doubles as a blanket on the back seat," the Doctor explained to her. For a November night it was pleasantly warm and yet not warm enough to sleep without at least a thin layer of fabric. Clara found the blanket and covered herself with it as he turned off the lights and locked the car doors.

"Aren't you gonna be cold?" she asked quietly.

"I have my coat," he replied and pulled it closer to his body. He would be cold but it was better than Clara being cold and tomorrow they would finally find a more permanent place to stay where they could come up with a plan. "Good night."

"Good night," she breathed in reply.

The rain grew heavier with every passing minute, the sound of the drops hitting the car the only thing that could be heard for a long while. It was both calming and annoying at the same time and the Doctor knew that he wouldn't find sleep easily tonight despite being tired. What if someone had followed them, only waiting for them to fall asleep to attack? They would be utterly defenceless and unable to see anything coming through the fogged windows. The Doctor turned around to face Clara but couldn't even make her out a vague shape in the darkness.

"Doctor?" she asked quietly.

"You should sleep," he whispered, "It's been a long day."

"Can I hold your hand?"

Her words hung in the air for a long moment before he finally reached out and pulled her hand to his mouth to leave a soft kiss on the back of it before he held it tightly. Her hand was so soft and small in his own and once again it reminded him how fragile Clara truly was no matter her strong character. He had to keep her safe. And he loved her. The Doctor realized it right then and there, even though it seemed strange to him. He hadn't seen her for 10 years and still he loved her, like he always had, this magnificent girl that had turned into such a strong and clever woman. He closed his eyes, letting that comforting feeling of warmth lull him to sleep.

The first thing Clara noticed when she was beginning to wake up was the cold. Last night she had been fine but now it seemed to have crept up on her despite the blanket and she opened her eyes. It wasn't dark outside anymore but daylight was something else entirely. It was still raining, not heavily, just that steady English rain that never really seemed to cease and when Clara's eyes wandered to where the Doctor was lying next to her, looking at his phone, she noticed one important thing missing – his jacket. However she soon found it right on top of her blanket.

"Take off your shirt," she joked sleepily.

When the Doctor turned around he seemed confused for a moment before started to look downright startled as he lifted his eyebrows.

"You gave me your jacket. I thought you might be too hot," Clara explained, turning the seat back into a sitting position, "It was a joke."

"You looked cold while you slept," he said matter-of-factly and continued to scroll through something on his phone.

Clara smiled at him even though he couldn't see.

"I found some potential places for us to stay. Wanna have a look?" the Doctor asked but before she could reply he was holding the phone in her direction. Clara had no choice but to take it.

She was staring at an app designed for people looking for a place to stay during a holiday or for other short term purposes and the first house she was looking at was small, very small and the corridor seemed as if even two people couldn't fit in there. She swiped to the next one. Also small, even though slightly bigger than the last and located in a village with probably around 300 inhabitants judging by the map. There were cows in the background of the picture. She swiped again.

"Uh, I like this one," Clara said, giggling, reading the description out loud "Perfect for a quiet getaway for two."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Well, we're two people and we're eager to get away. It has two bedrooms if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm not worried about anything," she smirked, "It's nice. But isn't outside of Bracknell a bit close to London?"

"They think we're close to Leeds. I don't know if they'd expect us to drive all the way back south but the house seems pretty isolated. We'll be fine."

Clara stared at the photos of the house again and had to admit he was right. It seemed to be in the middle of the forest but that only suited their needs. They didn't need nosy neighbours asking about them.

"Okay, we'll take it," she decided.