* Hey peeps. I'm 14 chapters in now (I've just got home from uni so I'm spending a good 5/6 hours a night on it at the moment) so I have no qualms about throwing Chapter 5 into the mix. I've got a decent idea of where we're going but I've been toying with about a dozen endings and everything from "It was all a dream" to actually killing the Doctor or Clara. Truth is, I'm going to keep writing because I have a lot of things to write and developments and sooner or later I'll come up with an ending. This is Chapter 5: The Long Wait which refers to...well you'll see. This is a slightly smuttier chapter but there's nothing too graphic. Enjoy, and as ever, I don't own the characters and all the thanks in the world to the readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters (if that's a word). TPD *

When Clara stirred into life, she felt her stomach sink. The Doctor had gone. He wasn't there, lying beside her. She turned over and confirmed what she'd already know, he wasn't lying there. She sighed sadly and wrapped herself in her duvet. It had been too much to ask, she'd known it. Ask the man who was always moving to stay for one night. He couldn't hack it.

"Clara is something wrong?" came a muffled voice. She looked up and sure enough, there he was, dressed only in his shirt and boxers, stumbling back from her en-suite bathroom. "Did you think I'd walked out on you?" he grinned despite himself as he slipped in beside her and she nodded, chastising herself for being so silly. "If it makes you feel better, I'm as surprised as you are that I lasted the night. The poor TARDIS probably thinks I'm going native."

Clara giggled at that, she couldn't help it. She curled herself against the Doctor's body and he lay back, stroking her hair gently. She couldn't sleep anymore, she knew that much, but it was nice just to be able to lie here with the Doctor and not have to worry about anything. Then, she remembered what day it was.

"It's Wednesday," Clara groaned. "I have to go to school. I'm sorry Doctor, but it's already 7:30, you'd better go."

"Clara," the Doctor whispered in her ear. "It's Wednesday. It's our day. And guess what? I have a time machine. We can lie here for a week and still get you to work on time. Although in retrospect, it would bugger up the time stream if you got home from work and we were still lying here. But I can still buy you an extra few hours. I promise."

"Well, if my Doctor thinks that an extra few hours of relaxation are in order, I suppose I can't really argue with that," Clara said in a flirtatious voice. "I'll put the kettle on; you put your bow tie on: it's weird seeing you without it."

"You're the boss," the Doctor saluted and smiled as Clara left the room. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Being here, with Clara, made him feel happy, made him forget about the running and the monsters and the TARDIS and just think about the next day and what it would bring with his impossible girl. She returned shortly with their tea and the Doctor smiled at her, unable to drag himself away from how beautiful she looked, even in her big baggy nightshirt with bed hair and no makeup on. Clara Oswald. His Clara.

"You're looking at me all funny," she noted, sitting down beside him and handing him the blue mug. "Have I got something on my face?"

"No," the Doctor chuckled. "I mean you look fine. More than fine. Excellent. Refulgent. Spiffing. Thanks for the tea," he added hurriedly, going a deep shade of crimson and burying his face in the mug, chastising himself.

"You're odd," Clara giggled. "You know that? For someone who's 1200 years old, you'd think that you'd learn how to compliment a woman properly. I am assuming you were going for a compliment," she backtracked with a laugh. "But you got a bit lost somewhere around refulgent."

"I was lucky to make it to refulgent," the Doctor put in. "I got lost somewhere around no. So Clara, what now? Shall we travel the universe or shall we stay in and I can upgrade all your stuff?"

Clara's horrified face at this suggestion told him that the answer was most definitely not upgrading her stuff. He rolled his eyes and jumped out of bed, with perfect flamboyance and somehow managing not to spill his tea. Clara rolled her eyes. He looked at her expectantly and she realised that their plan for the next few hours was still lying in her lap. She could think of one or two things she'd like to do with him…or more specifically to him. But he was all spacey and asexual. Even if he loved her, she couldn't imagine him being any good at the physical stuff.

"Clara?" he interrupted her thoughts with a concerned look and she smiled warmly at him, betraying no hint of the less than innocent thoughts that were running through her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…" she searched for the right word before grinning like an idiot. "Refulgent."

They ended up staying in, watching one of Clara's favourite films, Beauty and the Beast. The Doctor began to interject every now and then, but Clara slipped an elbow into his ribcage every time he tried so he gave up and just enjoyed the film. There was a little too music for his taste, but it was worth it to hear Clara subconsciously slip into song every now and then under her breath, probably unaware she was even doing it. She blushed furiously when the Doctor pointed it out afterwards, but he merely kissed the top of her head and told her it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. Clara then burst his bubble by pointing out that she had to get ready for school and the Doctor grumbled for a bit before acknowledging that she had to get on with her life at some point. For Clara herself, it was tough, knowing that she'd have to leave him for a day, every day, but she supposed that the more time she spent in the TARDIS, the less time a day would feel like. It was a strange concept. But also, knowing that she could just go. She didn't need a life here, a life without the Doctor. As she stepped out of the TARDIS, dressed and ready to teach, she smiled sadly and he cupped her cheek. They were just around the corner from the school and it was 8:00. She had an hour.

"Clara, I know what you're thinking," he said quietly. "But I'll be around. Always, whenever and wherever you choose. And if you ever want to completely forget this life then I'll be waiting for if you do. But never forget what you're giving up. You love teaching. Don't let me detract from that. Because we can still meet at the end of the day and go for dinner together in Ancient China or future Glasgow. We can be like a real…"

"Couple?" Clara finished with more than a hint of a smile. "Down boy. Is that you asking me out?"

"No," he started, jumping back. "Wait, no isn't the right answer. Maybe? I think maybe is the right answer? Or is it yes?"

"Doctor," Clara interrupted. "Our relationship isn't normal. It never can be or will be. But we can still spend every free second together, saving worlds and having dinner. And we will be a real couple. Just not in the generic sense. You don't have to ask me out on a date, or ask my dad for permission or any of that crap. You just have to be there."

He nodded his approval and kissed her goodbye, on the lips this time, a deep seated kiss that made Clara feel like she was glowing as she entered the school. Tom commented on how good she looked that morning, with seemingly no memory of the previous day. She supposed he was probably commenting because he fancied her, but she felt good. The Doctor had made her special. And in the end, that was all anyone could ask for. She headed to her classroom to put down her things and when she arrived, her jaw dropped. He was sat at her desk again.

"Hello Clara!" the Doctor grinned. "Miss me?"

"What're you doing here?" she asked, giggling despite herself. "We just said goodbye!"

"I'm being here. That's what you wanted right? Me to be here? I popped back in time by an hour, made you a cup of tea, I fetched some flowers from the best spring of 16th Century England, and they're in this vase I picked up. Had it engraved with your name in 11th Century France, just because. I also sorted out all your lesson plans for the next month, spiced up a bit. Ooh and I managed to fix all the kids desks; they're now gum proof…"

Whatever else the Doctor had done, Clara never intended to find out as she threw herself on him, pressing her lips forcefully against his. He spluttered and tried to stop himself toppling over, but the chair gave way, tilting backwards and they ended up in a muddled heap on the floor of the classroom. The Doctor soniced the door shut, with the blinds falling down. She grinned, sat on his chest, their kiss now forceful.

"Clara!" he hissed, breaking the kiss. "You could lose your job!"

"Nah, we have a good half an hour until any kids arrive and besides, I thought you had a friend on the board of governors?" Clara asked playfully, kissing him again. He gave in this time, kissing her back and putting his hands on her waist. "I love you," she gasped, in between kisses, as his mouth went to her neck. "Everything you've done for me is so incredible. You've managed to make normal life, your life."

"I'd do anything for you Clara," the Doctor informed her, in between raking kisses up and down her body. "You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. You helped me see the way to save my whole planet, my whole species. You stopped me committing the single greatest atrocity in history. And you sacrificed yourself for me, a million times over. I can never match what you've done for me, and by fixing your desks so they're gum proof and making you a cup of tea, I'm not even putting a dent in it. I love you too. My impossible girl."

Clara wanted to reply but at that point he made her moan with a soft nibble of her ear and she responded by slipping her hand down his trousers. He looked positively shocked but didn't say anything about it, his face changing drastically. Clara giggled and then sat up, dragging him with her.

"Later," she informed him, coming to her senses and neatening her dress as he grinned sheepishly and straightened his bow tie. "Pop round about 5, we can go for dinner. You can choose this time, but somewhere or some when I've never been before. Surprise me Chin-Boy."

The Doctor nodded and smiled, his mind clearly thinking of all the possibilities that he could come up with. The TARDIS would be thrilled, he thought. He was going to take her to somewhere where she could soak up the cosmic radiation. Her navigation system might actually work for once. He stepped out into the corridor after he hugged Clara goodbye and strolled out towards the back car park and then around the corner to the Foreman's Yard where he'd parked the TARDIS. It seemed familiar. Trotter's Lane…he couldn't remember why. It would come to him eventually. He dematerialized and the TARDIS groaned as he hammered three of the levers at once.

"Come on old girl, it's only a 9 hour hop," he muttered. Then something occurred to him. What if he overshot? He slammed the brakes on and the TARDIS spluttered, still halfway through dematerialising. He couldn't take the risk. With Amy, he'd missed so much of her life. With Rose, he'd taken a whole year out of hers. With both Donna and Martha, it hadn't mattered; they were on board the majority of the time. But with Clara…he had been alright aiming for one day a week, he could manage that. She appreciated he was always overshooting and not always managing Wednesdays…but if he overshot now? He didn't want to miss any of her life, not one day or even one hour. So he sat down in the TARDIS, peeking his head outside to check that he had managed to stop her taking off. The Doctor decided to sit back and went to look for a good book that he hadn't read before. After a good hour of searching the interior of his TARDIS, he found a copy of Deathly Hallows, which he hadn't re-read in a good century. He settled down and buried his head in the book, his thoughts focused entirely on making the hours until he saw Clara again pass as quickly as possible…

The final bell finally rang and Clara felt a wave of excitement rush through her. She was nervous as hell and had had to hold back a puke at lunchtime, refusing all offers of food and saying that she felt ill when quizzed. Tom had been sweet as usual and a couple of the older teachers had chatted to her about some of her lesson plans and the new eccentric physics teacher set to start the next day, but the day had dragged and all she could think about was that final bell, so she could see her Doctor. She hoped this wouldn't be every day from now on and told herself it wouldn't be that way. Because this would be it, she told herself. That night. She'd slept with men before, but nothing like this. Not only was he not human, but he was totally unlike any other guy she'd slept with. He was everything to her and she was willing to give him everything she had. No holding back. No regrets.

"You seem in a hurry Clara," Madge, one of the older history teachers noted, as she skipped into the staffroom to grab her stuff. "Meeting someone special are we?"

"Yes actually, Madge," Clara grinned, throwing her red satchel over her shoulder. "I've got a hot date. I have absolutely no idea where we're going but his choices are anything but boring, so it'll be a magical night one way or the other."

Madge shot her a look of pure envy. "Ah to be young and in love," she chuckled. "Give it your all while you still can Clara. One day you'll be my age, looking back and wishing you'd grasped every second when you had the chance. If he's that good to you, don't let him go."

"Oh believe me," Clara grinned. "I have no intention of letting him go anywhere. Not without me at any rate."

She skipped out the doors, letting her feet guide her at a quick pace down the road towards their normal meeting spot. She was grinning like a maniac, her hair and satchel bouncing in tandem as she rounded the final corner. And her heart sank. The TARDIS was gone…

The TARDIS doors burst open and Clara rushed in, throwing her satchel at the Doctor's face as he looked up in surprise, just reaching the scene where Harry was killed by Voldemort. The satchel connected and he went spinning, leaping to his feet and preparing himself for the ongoing assault. He spotted Clara and smiled warmly at her, but she was not impressed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, horror-struck. "I can't be late can I? I didn't even take off! I've been sat in here all day, reading. Reading Harry Potter actually. Great book, I cried like a baby when Hedwig died, didn't you? Ah off topic. Why're you angry?"

"Because," Clara flailed her arms, a smile popping onto her face despite herself. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to find your stupid box? When you weren't parked where you normally are, I panicked. I mean I thought you'd overshot! I thought you might have…left. Left me. Changed your mind and vanished. Or you'd been killed by a Dalek."

He pulled her in close and hugged her so tightly; he thought she might disappear into the folds of his jacket. He could feel her anger dissipating. "Clara," he whispered. "I'm always going to be here. I couldn't exactly park where I dropped you off, because I was already parked there. So I found this place. I would've moved her but I was scared. Scared of missing you, scared of overshooting."

"You waited," she giggled, separating herself from him. "For me, you waited. All day? Like a human? I thought time was relative?"

"It is," the Doctor informed her. "But sometimes, once in a while, even my time can be linear. When I don't want to miss a second of it. I normally just skip to the good bits. But, Clara Oswald, every second of you is a good bit. And the prospect of missing one second of you is scary enough that I can take a few hours of waiting around. I've spent years waiting around, Clara. Waiting for you. I can handle a few hours."

She kissed him now, passion flowing through her as she wrestled his jacket off him. He flailed for about half a second and Clara realised his flails were getting shorter. She pushed him backwards, through the console room and out the other side, into a corridor. Her own jacket was on the floor by now and their hands were meshed in the other's hair. She was breathing deeply, alternating her kisses between his neck and his mouth. They tumbled into a bedroom, which Clara assumed was a spare but ceased to care. Her dress was hanging by a thread as he tore at it, until it finally fell and she was down to her underwear. His suspenders went and she tore at his own shirt. He took off his bow tie and she shook her head. She removed his shirt and pointed at the bow tie.

"Put that back on," she demanded, as she went to work on his trousers. "I like you better with the bow tie."

"You're the boss, the Doctor gasped as he sprawled it around his neck and then leaned across Clara to undo her bra. She squealed slightly as it fell and she pushed him down onto the bed.

"Geronimo," she whispered.