* Hey guys, here's chapter 2, sorry about the wait. This will be a continuing story, even though at times it'll feel as though it could end here or be a series of One-Shots. Enjoy and please review*

The Doctor landed with a roll, throwing the creature off of him. When fixed in their dimension, the creatures weren't invisible and had corporeal form. They were almost like humans only they were completely jet black and scaly, with clawed hands and teeth that dripped blood. The Doctor gulped as the monster growled at him. They were in some sort of small room, almost like a dungeon and they were alone. The walls were an odd substance that looked like stone except it glowed, humming amber. There was no door that the Doctor could see.

"This is your only warning," he stated. "You stay here; you find something else to feed on. Humanity will not become your feasting ground. The technology you're using to jump across dimensions is cheating; you have plenty of food sources here."

"Our food is running out," the creature snarled. The Doctor stepped back, surprised. He didn't realise they could speak. "The Traunt must move, must find their food elsewhere or we shall die out. Do you wish us to die out Doctor?"

"If it's your time, it's your time," he announced. "You can live off plants, or non-sentient animals, but your parasitic and torturous means towards humanity has to stop."

"I am curious," the Traunt hissed. "Why did you lie to the girl? Clara was it? And I am also curious, as to how you plan on stopping us. You can trap us in this dimension momentarily but for us, it will be but a moment, even if it is slightly longer in your dimension. And that is even assuming you manage to make it out of this room. For I shall feast, Time Lord. Feast on you."

"Why I lied to Clara isn't important," the Doctor retorted, straightening his bow tie, as the creature lumbered towards him, biding its time. "What is important, is your walls. They're very interesting indeed." He ran over to one, the creature watching him curiously. "They're made from some sort of metallic compound, very susceptible to temperature. You heat them, so they glow this amber colour. The heat is what holds them together, the amber is just the colour of the reaction. So if you cool them down, they change colour. But they also, fall down. Of course, that's not a problem for you lot, you're very warm-blooded creatures, you couldn't cool it down if you tried. But what if I were to, oh I don't know. Do this?"

The creature lurched for the Doctor, as he pulled an ice pack out of one of his pockets and thrust it against the wall. He rolled to one side as the wall began to disintegrate, one section of it collapsing on top of the creature. It yelped in pain and then lay still, unconscious. The Doctor stepped over it, out the hole he had produced. It was a clever system. That was obviously one of the many kill rooms that they had set up. Once the Traunt arrived back with their prey, they'd reappear in one of these unescapable rooms. They'd feast and then be released, by a door that was only obvious or even operable from the outside. The Doctor spotted the door and nodded his appreciation for the Traunt's handiwork. He was in what appeared to be a very long corridor, with potentially hundreds of the chambers lined up.

There were staircases embedded in the walls which this time were a dull green colour and the Doctor scuttled up one of them. As he climbed, all he could think about was Clara. Why had he lied to her? Well he knew the obvious reason, but there was another, more deeply selfish reason. He wanted her. He wouldn't admit it to her, he was struggling to admit to himself, but when he'd told Tom that the boyfriend position was open, he'd immediately regretted it, cursing himself inwardly. Even if it was the truth, which he hoped it wasn't, he certainly didn't want sweet, delicate Tom knowing. He could give Clara everything the Doctor couldn't. A safe live, a calm life, a life away from the TARDIS. And she'd already gotten a job, what if she decided to stay with Tom and make babies and do human things? The Doctor shook himself. He shouldn't be thinking about his impossible girl right now. He needed to look for the control room.

At the top of the staircase, the Doctor looked around, desperately trying to get his bearings. He was in another long corridor. There was a small, almost box like room ahead of him, with two Traunt inside, hissing away to each other. The Doctor cursed. It looked like the control rooms were localised, covering small areas rather than large ones. Unless, this only controlled the landing and not the take-off. He tried to get closer, thinking of ways to distract the guards. Fortunately, he didn't have to, as one of them stepped out. The Doctor hid in a small alcove and watched it squirm past. He examined it, desperate to find a weakness he could use. The legs, he realised. They looked very brittle. That's why the creatures moved from back to back in the other dimension, their legs could barely their weight. They could walk, they could run, they could jump like humans could, but he reckoned that their legs would also plummet faster than a normal humans. Their arms were like pistons however, so he'd have to creep up on them…

He snuck up on the guard in the box, desperate not to reveal his location. Then, just as he was getting close, he knocked a small object that he realised might be a scribe of some sort off of the desk and the creature whirled round. The Doctor grinned.

"Hello," he introduced himself. "I'm the Doctor and I was just wondering, is this room purely controlling the landing platforms, or does it also deal with how the Traunt get to other dimensions?"

The guard roared and hammered a button, sending alarms rocketing off down the corridor, probably filling the whole building, however big that was. The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. Well it had been worth a shot. He bolted.

Clara was worried. The Doctor hadn't told her when to use the sonic to send back the creatures and she didn't want to wait longer than she should, but equally it would do no good if the creatures were back in their dimension before the Doctor could trap them in theirs. And she wouldn't know that they'd returned either, on account of how they were well, invisible. Instead, she turned her efforts to comforting Tom, who still looked positively petrified.

"Tom," she coaxed carefully. "You're okay, you're safe in here, I promise. The Doctor will be back soon and then we can go home. Nothing's going to hurt you here."

"Where am I Clara?" he said, almost sobbing. "What is this place? Who are you?"

"I'm just Clara," she smiled warmly at him, hoping he'd believe her. "I'm that same girl that you met when I joined the school. I just, have a very special friend. He's called the Doctor. And yes, he's not from Earth. This is his spaceship."

"What, so you just get in this box and fly away with him?" Tom quizzed. "Isn't that dangerous? I mean, you said there was a creature going to eat me."

"Very," Clara replied, feeling honest. "But the Doctor never lets anything happen to me and he didn't to you. That's what he does, the Doctor. He protects people from the monsters under the bed or lurking in the shadows. And I help him. Because he needs help." She was smiling now, thinking about him always made her smile. "He needs me."

"And you need him," Tom added unhelpfully. Clara raised an eyebrow. "That's where your tan came from, that's why you never do anything with the other teachers outside of school. That's why you can't tell us anything about what you do. Because you're here. Every night, travelling the stars with a madman in a box."

"Not every night!" Clara protested. "But any night. My Doctor. And he'll come back, drop you home in time for tea and then you can forget this whole ordeal ever happened. You'll be right as rain Tom, the Doctor can promise you that."

"And what about you?" it was a genuine question but there was a hint of an accusation behind it.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Clara informed him, turning away so he couldn't see her face.

"But where will you be? Are you just going to travel with him when I'm gone? Visit all these crazy places? Who's to say you'll even come back Clara? The people you care about, they'll be expecting you one day but one day you'll just not come back."

"The Doctor says I'll come back!" Clara said sharply, silencing Tom. "And that's good enough for me. You talk about the people I care about Tom, but I care about the Doctor. And I have to spend every day worrying if he'll come back. He needs me. Without me, it's a little bit more certain that he won't come back tomorrow."

"You love him."

It wasn't a question, but Clara treated it as one anyway. She opened her mouth to retort that of course she didn't love the Doctor, Tom was being stupid. Not in that way any way. He was her Doctor, but she only loved him as friend. But she couldn't bring herself to say the words, knowing that they were a complete and utter lie. Luckily, before she was forced to either lie or admit to it, the scanner flared up and a message from the Doctor appeared on it.

"It's the Doctor," Clara grinned, thankful he was still alive. "He's saying to send all the creatures back."

The Doctor was pelting down the corridors, thankful that the brittle legs of the Traunt couldn't keep up with him. He slipped into another alcove as two of the guards looking for him ran past, going the other way. They were coming from somewhere, the Doctor knew that much. The more he encountered the more certain he was that he was heading the right way. The Doctor slipped back out of the alcove and, ensuring no more Traunt were nearby, he slipped up the staircase at the end of the corridor, hopeful that he was finally getting close to his destination. Sure enough, there was a room with red walls, full of Traunt panicking and what appeared to be teleports. The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and sent a message that he hoped would reach Clara, telling her to send through the creatures. Being this close to the Dimensional teleports, he hoped that would work. He then straightened his bow tie and strolled into the command centre. The creatures all stopped and turned to look at him, snarling viciously. One of them leapt at him, but he stepped aside and flicked at its legs with his foot, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Stay back!" he yelled, whipping out a remote control for an RC car. "This device is hardwired into your system. If I flick this one switch, your entire system explodes, killing all of us and leaving your friends trapped in limbo. So stand back."

"What is it you want?" the lead Traunt snarled. "How did you get here?"

"Piggybacked a ride off of one of your goons," the Doctor informed them. "He intended to feast on me; I intended to stop him feasting on a friend of mine. So, here we are, at a stalemate. So I'm going to give you a chance. Recall your friends, let nobody use this equipment ever again and I'll let you live. Just send me through the portal and this ends."

There were a few chuckles of reptilian laughter. The leader stepped forward, licking his lips and spitting blood. The Doctor tried not to look too disgusted. He just had to buy enough time until Clara did her bit.

"Hand over the remote and we'll let you live. But you cannot go back through. The power levels required to send us through are only enough to hold us in purgatory between the two states, until we can collect our victims. To send someone through permanently, would require all our power. It would overload the system, completely shut us down. It would probably explode, killing all of us."

That was what the Doctor was counting on. "Last chance!" he bellowed.

Their stand-off was interrupted as the consoles began flaring into life. The Traunt turned to them, desperately flipping switches and buttons.

"What's happening?" The leader bellowed.

"Sir, all of the Traunt are returning at once!" yelled one of his technicians. "The system is going haywire. It can't cope. Sir, it may overload."

The Doctor took his chance, pushing through the crowds, flipping a handful of switches almost unnoticed. By the time anyone had clocked what he was doing it was too late. He dived into the teleport, which was powering up to take him back to the TARDIS.

"Geronimo!" he yelled as a creature dived for him and he dematerialised.

Clara was getting nervous. It had been a few minutes now since she'd sent the creatures across to join the Doctor, but there was no sign of him. She pounded the console in frustration and the TARDIS wheezed at her. She muttered an apology and stroked the old girl to try and soothe her nerves but she leapt to her feet nevertheless, pacing endlessly. Tom was sat down, watching her curiously. He shot her a sympathetic look but Clara wasn't in the mood for sympathy. The Doctor was going to come home, she was sure of it. He would never let her down. He never had and he never would. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and furiously ignored it. She wasn't going to cry. He was going to come back.

"Clara!" Tom yelled and she turned, as a certain Time Lord materialised in front of her, grinning triumphantly.

"Aha miss me Clara Oswald?" he asked, as she pulled him into a furious hug, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'll take that as a yes. Well mission accomplished, planet saved, may or may not have killed all the Traunt, that's the name of them, the Traunt…hey!"

He stopped as Clara had broken the hug and was furiously punching his chest.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she yelled, punctuating each word with a blow, before stepping back and composing herself. "Nice work Doctor."

"And you Clara," the Doctor was smiling. "Shall we take your little friend home then? There's a red galaxy and a green galaxy colliding right now to form the most beautiful…"

"Brown galaxy?" Clara added helpfully, earning an exasperated look from the Doctor. "I'm joking, it sounds amazing. We'll just drop you home Tom, unless you want to see it too?" she quizzed, faltering slightly. "If that's okay with you Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged as if to agree but Tom shook his head, standing and stumbling towards the door. He muttered an excuse and didn't say a single word to Clara for the return trip. The TARDIS materialised outside his home and the Doctor and Clara stepped out to say goodbye.

"Listen Tom, don't worry about any of this. I've already spoken to the governors and the head, they think you missed this afternoon for a routine inspection thing," the Doctor informed him. "Take this pill; it'll help you to sleep. You've had a long day."

Tom muttered his thanks and nodded at Clara before running inside his house. Clara felt wretched. Tom was a good guy and he'd been kind to her and in return she'd got him infected, kidnapped him, told him she was travelling in time and space with an alien and generally freaked him out. And now he'd spent the rest of their friendship, if he even spoke to her at all anymore, worrying about whether or not she'd turn up to work the next day. She glanced at the Doctor, who seemed to be in a world of his own and slumped down against the sofa in the TARDIS, deep in thought. Before she knew what was happening, they'd landed and there was an arm around her shoulder.

"What's wrong Clara?" he asked her quietly, his soft voice making her feel safe as she rested her head against him.

"Tom," she whispered. "I feel as though I ruined his life, threw away a good friend and all I could think about was how you were, not about him. He's never going to be the same again."

"Clara," the Doctor seemed deep in thought. "I am so sorry, this is my fault. All of it. I took you there, I got you infected. It's my fault this mess happened. But if it makes you feel better, Tom won't remember it. That sleeping pill I gave him will make him forget this whole thing occurred."

She sat up, looking at him with a mixture of horror, pride and relief. He smiled awkwardly and she hugged him graciously. She felt better knowing that Tom wouldn't forget the horror he went through and stood up with a smile, ready to go and see whatever galaxy the red and green collision would form. She offered her hand to the Doctor but he was still sat, thinking.

"What's wrong?" she asked him curiously. "Chin-boy?"

"I lied to you." The Doctor had stood up and she took an apprehensive step away from him. "I lied to you Clara. Because, I was being selfish."

"Lied about what?"

"About Tom. He was never infected."

"What?" Clara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did this mean…? "You mean you were infected the whole time? Or…wait I was infected the whole time?"

"Yes, you were the one infected, not Tom. I told you that you weren't so that you wouldn't panic. I thought Tom wouldn't understand as well as you and I could make him forget it, so I told you he was infected instead of you. I couldn't bear to see the look on your face when you thought you might be the one to get dragged into that dimension. Clara, I'm sorry…"

"Sorry?" Clara yelled. "You dragged my innocent friend into the TARDIS and tricked him into thinking he might die! You may have made him forget it but that's not good enough! What if he remembers? And even if he doesn't, I have to live with the knowledge that you did that to him. What, do you think I can't handle this Doctor? I've seen a lot you know, I could handle it. I can always handle it. This isn't supposed to be the way that we treat each other…"

"There's another reason Clara," the Doctor added, somewhat meekly. "Tom. You've talked about him quite a bit."

"Yes, and?" Clara snapped impatiently. She couldn't wait to hear the Time Lord's next revelation.

"And when I told Tom that the boyfriend position was open, I realised what that meant. You…you don't have a life here with me. You have a life out there with Tom and your dad and the humans. What if you decide you want a boyfriend? What if you decided you liked Tom? I thought if I brought Tom along, scared him, I could show you that he was no good for you, that he wouldn't be able to fit into your life in the TARDIS. And then, maybe you'd consider someone else for the boyfriend position. Well, at least, maybe you'd close it. To, well humans."

"Doctor," Clara asked in a very dangerous voice. She edged closer to him and he backed off slightly. She continued to step forward and he was almost pinned against the wall. "Are you telling me that you're jealous of Tom? So you made me think he was infected so that you could scare me off him?"

"Well, perhaps, a little bit, that might be what I'm saying," the Doctor was looking at his feet. "I just want you to be happy here. In the TARDIS. I want to see you every day. I want you to stay here with me and I don't want you to get a human boyfriend. You're my impossible girl."

"Doctor," Clara replied in a tender voice. "You're my Doctor. Got that? And you're always going to be my priority." And she kissed him. It was a soft kiss, but it was on his lips and he seemed to panic, flailing his arms around for a moment before settling them on her shoulders and replying. They kissed deeply and then she let go, stepping back and laughing slightly at his frazzled reaction.

"Clara!" he tried to scold but couldn't help but grin.

"Chin-boy?" she winked. "I believe you had a brown galaxy to show me."

"It's…it's not brown!" The Doctor yelled, following her over to the TARDIS doors. "Oh who am I kidding, yes it is."