Thank you so much for the reviews! I promise I'll stop with the cliffhangers for a bit and maybe let them be happy?

Chapter 18

The Doctor opened his eyes and felt a rush of happiness to find Clara still sleeping in his arms. The pain in his leg had calmed down to a dull ache thanks to the medication but he knew that it would only really get better over time. The most important thing was that he was with Clara again – and that they somehow got the key back. Oh God, the key. How would they ever manage that in time now that he was injured?

Clara let out a tired, soft moan in his arms as she opened her eyes to look at him and a smile spread across her lips when she saw him.

"Did I mention I'm glad to have you back?" she asked sleepily.

He chuckled. "Not as glad as I am. But the key-"

"Is safe," Clara finished his sentence, her smile turning into a large grin.

The Doctor frowned at her in response. "You handed it to Kate. I admit, she's the best of all possible options but I wouldn't call it safe."

"No, you don't get it," she giggle happily as she scrambled into a sitting position, smiling down at him, "I didn't give her the key. Not the real one at least."

It seemed that his frown only deepened. He didn't understand.

"When they took you," Clara went on to explain, "I knew the only option of getting you back was Kate but you told me that she would be after the key, too. So before I went to the MI5 I made a little detour to a locksmith and had a duplicate made. One that looked like it but wouldn't fit. I hid the original in my bra padding."

The Doctor could do nothing but stare at her in amazement.

"Don't look so shocked. Have you ever been to a club? If you had you'd know how much you can hide in a-"

He interrupted her sentence when he pulled her head down to meet him for another kiss. It was less chaste than the one they had shared the previous night but he didn't care. He just wanted to kiss her right now.

"Clara Oswald," he said breathlessly when their lips parted, "You are the cleverest woman on this entire planet."

The Doctor kissed her again and again and he didn't want to stop at all. Even though he knew it wasn't right he just couldn't help it. Right now he loved her more than he had loved anything else in his entire life.

However when they finally pulled away from each other for good Clara's expression grew more serious.

"What did Missy want?" she asked him quietly, "Why did she kidnap you only to make it so easy for us to get you back?"

The Doctor blew the breath out between his teeth. He had asked himself that same question over and over again and, knowing Missy, he finally thought he had at least part of the answer.

"I think she wanted to prove a point," he replied gravely, "That no one can be trusted. Not Donna, not Kate. That anyone can be bought if you offer the right price."

"Why?" Clara asked curiously.

He sighed as he sank back into the pillows. "I don't know. I really don't."

There was a careful knock on the door and Clara turned her head towards the door as the Doctor told them to come in. It was Rory who stuck his head through the crack.

"Breakfast is ready. How's the patient doing this morning?" he asked.

"Not bleeding to death thanks to you," the Doctor joked.

"I'll leave you some crutches by the door," he explained, "Will be a while before you can fully use the leg again."

When the door closed again the Doctor let out a groan and sank deeper into his pillow. "Crutches," he complained, "Like an old man. I am the worst bodyguard there is."

"No, you're not," Clara chuckled next to him, "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

The Doctor looked back at her and knew she was right. At least he had done that right, even though he should have never let Clara put herself in danger and it wouldn't happen again.

She retrieved the crutches for him and helped him out of bed before they both slowly made their way into the kitchen. The Doctor only realized how hungry he was once he found himself sitting in front of a large breakfast menu. Eagerly he reached for a croissant.

"I'm sorry we had to come here," the Doctor apologized, looking at Amy after he had swallowed a bite, "I just didn't know where else to go. The hospital was out of the question and-"

"You did the right thing," Amy said immediately, smiling. She was happy to see him and the Doctor now noticed that he was happy to see her, too. It had been too long, "And you will spend Christmas here, too. Now that we have you here we won't let you leave easily."

"Besides, that leg is gonna need a bit of time to heal. More than just that one week until Christmas," Rory argued, "And you should eat. You lost quite some blood."

He nodded towards Rory and let his gaze wander around the table until his eyes met Clara's. She granted him a light smile and it came as a relief to him that she seemed content here for the time being even though deep down the Doctor knew that she still hadn't given up on the thought of revenge but for the time being they were stuck here and he couldn't think of a better place for that. Amy and Rory were his friends, they had nothing to do with the organisation and not even Missy knew of them. They would be safe here.

"So, Doctor," Amy began after a while, eating a spoonful of yoghurt, "You're still in the business then?"

"This is my last mission," he replied, "I will retire after this."

After this. As if it could ever be over. The Doctor hadn't actually thought much about the future, his priority being the present and how to keep Clara away from imminent danger – but there was no end to it, was there? There was a power vacuum as long as Dave's old position remained unclaimed, as long as they hid away the key people would continue to hunt them to get it. There were two possible ways in which this could end: They could open the deposit box and destroy the contents once and for all. The organisation would exist for a while, weaker, until it would start to crumble and fall apart, unable to do either good or bad and the Doctor knew that under Dave Oswald's leadership it had done more good than in those many decades before him.

The other option was to let someone take the position but there was no one the Doctor trusted enough to hand them the key. No one but himself and he would never do it.

"Retire?" Amy chuckled, tearing him out of his thoughts, "You? Yeah, I don't really see that happening,"

The Doctor didn't reply and continued to eat his breakfast in silence before he reached for his crutches and made his way towards the bathroom. What he really needed right now was a long bath and fresh clothes after the last couple of days. He had been through worse than that but still he couldn't wait to wash it all off.

Slowly he sank into the bubble bath, letting his injured leg dangle over the rim and he sighed. The pain medication was beginning to wear off and he could feel the wound throb beneath the bandage but he decided to ignore it for now. Then his thoughts were interrupted by a knocking sound.

"Come in," the Doctor said and was surprised at how hoarse his own voice sounded. He needed something for the pain and more rest. Oh God, he was really getting too old for this.

Clara stepped inside, carrying a small pile of clean clothes that she placed on the toilet lid next to the tub. "Amy said you can use one of the towels on the guest rack," she explained with a smile before she sat down on the rim of the tub, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he replied.

"Liar," Clara scolded him with a glance before she prodded his injured leg. The Doctor winced as a surge of pain shot through him. "Pretending to be fine doesn't make it fine. You need to be honest with me."

The Doctor inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the throbbing in his leg. "I will be fine," he said, "Rory patched me up nicely, it's just gonna take a while."

Still Clara didn't seem quite satisfied with his answer. "I don't mean just that. I meant," she paused, "Missy held you captive. That can't have been easy."

"Missy didn't harm me," he told her when he saw the worry rise up in her eyes, "I was just worried that-"

He broke off, only now realizing how silly it sounded. The Doctor had thought only about Clara, nothing else.

"That what?" she inquired curiously.

Again he took a deep breath. "That something might happen to you. That I wouldn't be there to protect you, that-"

The Doctor didn't get to finish his sentence as Clara bent down to brush their lips together. Softly. Carefully. He parted his lips for her, realizing that he wanted so much more from her than this gentle touch and he needed reminding that she was his dead boss's daughter. Yet there was no one here to remind him. He had blamed his feelings on the cabin fever but they were still there, still strong. He sighed into her mouth when Clara finally pulled away.

"Don't worry. We'll both be fine," Clara smiled at him as she rose to her feet, "I'll leave you to your bath now."