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Chapter 23

It was snowing again as they stepped outside, not like it had on Christmas, just millions of tiny, little flakes falling to the ground only to melt almost instantly. Rory had told the Doctor to take a short walk every day and Clara had urged him outside despite the weather and his protests.

"See, it's beautiful," she told him, smiling at him. The Doctor reluctantly smiled back as he leaned on his walking stick. He was walking better now, his leg healing well and Clara felt very much relieved about that. A lot of things had changed over the past few weeks but what astounded her most was that they had both grown calmer, probably a side effect from watching Amy's and Rory's domestic life. The Doctor seemed less edgy, more content with sitting still and Clara was slowly beginning to come to terms with everything that had happened. Somehow the thought about revenge became less important to her with every passing day and maybe that was exactly what the Doctor had intended by bringing them here. Whatever it was, it was working.

"I've been thinking," the Doctor began, suddenly interrupting her train of thoughts.

"Oh?" Clara cocked an eyebrow at him as they walked, eyeing him curiously.

The Doctor inhaled sharply. "Yeah," he breathed, "I know Amy and Rory have offered to let us stay for as long as we like but I think we shouldn't strain their hospitality too much."

"You mean to say we should go looking for somewhere else to stay?" Clara asked him even though it was obvious now and he was probably right. Amy and Rory were lovely people and made them feel nothing but welcome in their home but it was getting a little crowded sometimes. And since their first night together the Doctor and Clara had been extra careful to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb their hosts. For all of those reasons it would be nice if they finally had their own place again.

"That's exactly what I mean," he took another deep breath, "I think we should give France another chance. This time without abductions."

When he chuckled Clara turned around to glare at him. She didn't find it particularly funny but what bothered her more was the suggestion of going to another country.

"Why France? Can't we find a place here?"

The Doctor stopped abruptly and Clara waited for him to look at her but he never did. Instead he kept staring at his own two feet. "I meant what I said to Amy when we got here. I want out of this business. I want to retire but as long as we're here I'll have to keep on watching out and keep on protecting you. That's not the kind of life I want for either of us. You could go to university in France, you could become a teacher or whatever you want. We would be safe there."

Finally he looked up at her and suddenly Clara understood what he was talking about and it surprised her to not have seen it sooner.

"You want to retire with me," she realized, for a moment not quite sure what to think about it. His suggestion made their relationship appear so serious. Of course, they had attempted to go to France together before – with him as something like her bodyguard. Now it seemed to have a different connotation as well. They would be going to France together, as a couple. Clara wasn't quite sure if she was ready for such a step. Their relationship was new, passionate and exciting, yes, but new. She hadn't actually started thinking about whether it could be something serious or not.

"Yes," the Doctor replied and she watched his shoulders sink. He seemed almost disappointed. "But that's not what you want."

Clara shrugged. "I don't know what I want," she admitted truthfully, "In case you haven't noticed my life is kind of upside down at the moment."

The Doctor nodded understandingly. "I get that. You don't have to make a decision right now, you can-"

He broke off when Clara stepped forward to take his hand and smiled at him. "What I know is that we're going to stick together, you and me. Where that will be I don't know yet. Maybe France, maybe not. Amy and Rory won't kick us out tomorrow so we've got time to consider the options."

"Right," he agreed after a moment of hesitation but there was still a hint of sadness in his voice so Clara pushed herself up on her toes and kissed him. It was as if she could feel the doubts melt away on her lips when he bent down and kissed her back and they didn't stop until Clara eventually became aware of the increasing cold.

"Listen," she said after she had caught her breath, "I'm going to run to the grocery shop and get a few things. Meet you back at the house in an hour or so?"

The Doctor regarded her warily. "I don't think you should be going on your own."

"Don't be silly," Clara replied, "We've been here for weeks and nothing has happened. I'll be fine. Besides, you're not really up to a fight yet anyway."

When the Doctor finally agreed Clara trudged off in the direction of the village centre, but she looked back a couple of times to see the Doctor walk back to the house. She really needed time to think about what was going to happen. The day of her birthday, her doubts about what she wanted to do with the rest of her life, it all seemed so far away now after everything that had happened. Did she still want to become a teacher? She honestly couldn't say. Did she want to move to France with the Doctor? A part of her really did want to, leave everything behind for a fresh start but there was still this small, nagging noise telling her that the injustice of her father's death shouldn't go unpunished. When the Doctor wasn't paying attention Clara often read the news to see what the police were saying about the case and they had no clue yet. Clara didn't even know if they could find whoever had done it.

"Excuse me!"

Clara turned around at the sound of the Scottish, female voice and she spotted a woman in her forties, dressed in an impeccable suit and coat.

"Uhm, hello?" Clara asked warily, unsure of why the woman had spoken to her.

"Hello dear," the strange lady smiled at her. There was something eerie about her that Clara couldn't quite put her finger on, "I'm looking for the grocery shop. You don't happen to know where that is, do you?"

She was relieved to find that the woman seemed to have a harmless motive even though something about her didn't seem quite right. Clara could feel it. Nevertheless it would be rude to just rebuff her.

"Sure," she replied eventually, "It's just around a few corners. I was going there myself."

The woman smiled. "Mind if I follow you?"

"Not at all," Clara said and led the way.

It was already starting to grow dark when Clara arrived back at the house and when she stepped inside she found the living room deserted. However she could hear the Doctor and Amy talk in the living room so Clara headed in that direction.

She couldn't quite say what made her stop by the door but as if by instinct she came to a halt in front of it and listened for a moment.

"She has a right to know and you should be the one to tell her," Amy said and she sounded a little annoyed, as if she had had that conversation before.

"And I will," the Doctor replied defensively, "But if I tell Clara now she will never want to leave England, she will never give up on her revenge. I finally got her to consider France, I don't want to ruin that."

Clara felt frozen on the spot. The Doctor was keeping something from her, probably something to do with her father. He had lied to her.

"She was her mother," Amy reminded him and Clara felt like she had been stabbed. There was this sort of piercing pain she always felt when someone mentioned her mum, that feeling of loss that was still with her every single day, "Maybe revenge isn't the way but if something like that had happened to my parents I would want to know who exactly is responsible for their deaths."

Clara couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't keep standing there, listening to a conversation that was obviously not meant for her ears, so she stepped right into the room and instantly felt the Doctor's frightened eyes on her when he realized the moment of truth had come.