*Hello again everyone. Now I've been a bit mean recently but never mind, things were a bit too rosy between the Doctor and Clara. In this chapter, things once again change and there's a bit of a shock in store. This time tomorrow, I will give you guys a sneak peek at the end. Helpful hints, spoiler free. In the meantime, I really hope you enjoy. Thanks again for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting and before I let you get to the good stuff, a bit of shameless self-promotion, I've put up a new one-shot based on the idea that Fixed Points are fixed and what happens must happen. And even the Doctor can't always save people...I hope you enjoy and there's some decent Whouffle in there as well. TPD*

Dave Oswald had always wondered what the Doctor was like as a teacher. He struck Dave as the sort of person who was completely and utterly a teacher and yet the complete opposite at the same time. He didn't want Clara to know he was there, so he slipped in while she was busy and stood in the doorway of the Doctor's classroom, watching him work. He was nothing like Dave expected. He wasn't eccentric, or flamboyant. He was sat at his desk, wearing a boring black suit and a tie that wasn't a dickie-bow. The kids looked bored as they read from their text books and as the bell went, they filed out past Dave and he heard one mutter under his breath: "These lessons used to be fun."

Dave stepped into the room and cleared his throat. The Doctor glanced up and paled, backing away from Dave. He was stammering something about hundreds of years and being sorry and not wanting to hurt his daughter but Dave put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder to relax him.

"Doctor!" he interjected. "Relax. Breathe. I'm not here to hurt you. I'll admit, there was a period where I wanted to. But Clara's story doesn't add up and I don't believe that you cheated on her. I saw your face when that River woman entered. You were angry, hurt, humiliated and surprised. The way you said she was your ex… I've never seen anyone talk that way about someone that they still have feelings for. Clara said you kissed her?"

"She kissed me," the Doctor said bitterly. "She didn't know about Clara. I've always had a lot of female friends that I've been close to. She just assumed Clara was another one. It didn't occur to her that I might actually have moved on, that I might be happy. She's an ugly reminder of my past," the Doctor sighed. "And as much as I want to move as far away from Clara as possible, I can't. This is my penance. This is my cloud. To stay here and watch over her. Make sure no harm comes to her. I can't be her boyfriend, but I can still be her protector."

"You're awfully sweet Doctor," Dave smiled. "But also stupidly melodramatic. So is Clara. She's being stubborn, thinks that letting herself hurt is easier and safer than taking the risk to be with you again. And as much as she thinks that she can't be with you and you think you can't be with her, I'm not going to sit around and let you two idiots behave like this. So here, I brought you this."

Dave handed it to the Doctor, whose eyes widened. "I can't take this Dave," he said, deathly quiet. "I don't deserve this, I've done nothing to earn it… I-"

"Enough," Dave interjected. "You love my Clara that much is obvious. It's written all over your face, just as it's written all over hers that she's in love with you. So all you have to do to earn this is to not break her heart. And that's enough for me."

"I can do that," the Doctor gulped. "I think. But Dave, there's something you need to know about me. Something that I need to show you…"

"What trickery is this?" Dave gasped, as the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors. "I mean, it's just a box. It can't move, surely not. That can't be me out there, that can't be Ellie. She's…"

"Time travel," the Doctor said. "I'm a time traveller. And I've taken your daughter with me. Clara and I, we've travelled to the furthest reaches of time and space. There we are," he pointed to Dave at himself and Clara, just a few months previous. "I took her to say goodbye."

"You…" Dave turned to look at him. "I thought you'd given Clara everything but this…you've done more for her than I ever thought possible."

"But it's dangerous," the Doctor insisted. "I'm dangerous. I've taken her to a Cold War submarine, we've been ghost hunting. I saw her burn inside my ship and had to rewrite time to save her!"

"Doctor," Dave interrupted. "You've always brought her home safe. That's all I care about. It's all I've ever cared about. You can give Clara anything she wants and as a father, that's all I've ever wanted. Since Ellie died, Clara is the only thing I have left in this world. To know that she's able to see things like this, on a daily basis. And to know that she's travelling with someone who loves her more than anything…Doctor, I trust you. And Clara trusts you. Now you go and you get your arse off this cloud of yours and you win back my daughter."

The Doctor saluted. "Yes sir."

A child had thrown up on her. That had been the highlight of Clara's day. She was in an absolutely foul mood, so it didn't brighten her mood when she saw the blue box. She swore, a word she'd never say in front of the Doctor and kicked open her own front door, imagining what she would say to him if he'd let himself into her apartment. He might have shared it with her, once upon a time, but that didn't give him the right to – she relaxed as she saw her father was sat on the sofa, reading a magazine.

"Where is he Dad?" she asked, bitterly.

"He's just going now," Dave explained. "He just gave me a lift and let me in. I told him I'd talk to you and that he should go off and do his saving the universe thing that he does. He showed me his ship, the TARDIS I think he called it?"

"So you're on his side now?" Clara snapped. "He hurt me Dad, he betrayed me and he…"

"We both know that's not true sweetie," Dave said warmly, wrapping his arm around her. "You're the best person I know for telling when someone's lying. You've always called me out on it and you've always called him out on it. So let me ask you something. Did you think he was lying?" Clara bit her lip and shook her head, starting to cry slightly. "He loves you Clara and you're clearly missing him."

"I screwed everything up Dad," she sobbed. "I knew it the minute I kicked him out. The second. But I was too scared to call after him. Too scared to go into that blue box and beg him to come back. I told myself it was for the best. Because he's…old and different and alien. But the truth is, none of that matters. Because he's the Doctor. My Doctor. And now he's gone, he's left and he won't come back. Not for me. He didn't go back for River, why should I be any different?"

"Because you have something that you can use to bring him back," Dave told her. "He said that he gave you a screwdriver or something? He said it was connected to your heart and he had the same one. It all sounded very romantic."

"His bloody screwdriver," she giggled as she sobbed. "The only thing he cares about in all of time and space. And he gave me one," she realised. "He gave me a screwdriver. Because he trusts me and loves me. And because…" she trailed off, running to her room, stumbling as she threw items out of her 'Doctor box' until she found the screwdriver, Dave a few steps behind her. "He said I could signal him," she said breathlessly. "Let him know that I was okay. I suppose this would qualify. Wouldn't it? Dad, should I call him?" Dave nodded with a smile. "Well then Chin-Boy…Geronimo."

As Clara pressed the button, the sonic whirred into life and somewhere, far across the universe, deep in the bowels of the time vortex, its twin beeped and the Doctor took it out of his pocket and smiled…

Clara heard it before she saw it. That was always the way, it seemed to her. She rushed past her dad to the window and glanced down to see a blue box materialising across the road. She giggled, overwhelmed by happiness as she ran down the stairs, flinging open the front door. She ran to the box, opening the door with a snap of her fingers. The Doctor was sat down, reading a book about knitting. She shut the doors behind her and ran over to him. He stood and turned, shooting her a look up and down. He was wearing the beige tweed and the red bow tie. His face was entirely neutral.

"I was beginning to think you'd never call," he said. Then his face broke out into a huge grin and she threw herself into his arms. He picked her up and they span, just as they had so long ago, back before they were together. "Aha I knew you'd miss me."

"Shut up," Clara smiled and buried her face in his shoulder. "I love the beige. I've never seen you in it before."

"Well it's old but it's making a comeback," the Doctor smirked. "Purple never really was my colour. Too…old fashioned. I like to think I'm 900 and something again. Back in my youth. Or the youth of this body at least. Standing on top of a hospital, shouting at the Atraxi. Ah, those were the days."

"Doctor," Clara interrupted. "You're rambling. I'm sorry," she burst out. "I mean, I was angry and irrational and I should never have just thrown you out. Because I tried really hard to blame you, to believe that you were still seeing River and that that kiss had meant something to you. Because we're impossible. We can't work. But I couldn't. I love you so much dammit. My Doctor."

"My Clara," he kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to apologise for. I should have told River right from the off that we were together and she never would have kissed me. Listen, Clara, we might be impossible, but you're my impossible girl and I am willing to do whatever it takes to be with you. I love you too, more than words can say. I want to show you the whole universe but more than that, I want to show the whole universe you. I may have two hearts and many faces, but I don't want to live for another thousand years if I can't spend every second possible with you. So, Clara, I'm going to do something crazy. Clara Oswin Oswald-"

"That's still not my middle name."

"Will you marry me?" the Doctor finished, pulling out a box and sinking to his knee. Clara's breath caught in her throat. "I know it's not the most romantic proposal," he chuckled. "But it's my first. I know I said River was my wife but we married in an alternate universe, and I was inside a robot replica of myself at the time and the whole marriage thing was just so she'd kill me and it was all very symbolic really…"

Clara shut him up by kissing him, flattening him to the floor of the TARDIS and not even daring to hope for a second that he could be serious. Her Doctor. She summoned up all the bravery she could muster as she smirked at him and clambered off.

"Ask me again tomorrow," she breathed.

"Because tomorrow you might say yes?" the Doctor concluded with a grin, sitting up.

"No, because I want to be able to relive this second every day for the rest of my life," Clara grinned. "Of course I'll marry you, you dolt! That's…" she had properly looked at the ring for the first time. "That's my mum's engagement ring," she finished, stumbling back. The Doctor leaned forward and put it on her finger.

"Your dad gave it to me," the Doctor informed her with a smile. "He wants you to be happy as much as I do. And he told me that you had something to tell me as well."

"Yeah I do," Clara grinned. "We have a house. A proper little house, with a kitchen and a bathroom and two stories and everything. I put down the deposit before Christmas, that was supposed to be your other Christmas present. We can start moving in next week."

"A house?" the Doctor grinned. "I've never had a house before. This is all new and exciting. I'm the Doctor and I have a house. Houses are cool," he decided, winking at Clara. "Where is it?" he asked. "I want to go and see it now!" he leapt over to the console and started flipping switches as Clara laughed and told him the address. They took off, whooping and cheering like school children. It reminded Clara of the first time she'd been inside his Snogbox, when they'd fought the Wi-Fi. They came to a crashing halt and Clara grinned eagerly at him. They ran outside and found a stunned couple standing in front of them. They were in the front garden.

"Don't worry," the Doctor grinned. "I'm the Doctor and this is Clara. We're going to get married! And this is our house!"

"Actually, Doctor," Clara took his arm and smiled at the couple. "This is their house. We're next-door."

"Ahh, my bad. Let me just move her!" the Doctor ran into the TARDIS and it dematerialised, re-appearing a few seconds later on the front lawn of the house next-door. Clara apologised to the couple, giggling despite herself as she ran over to her new house, throwing a Doctor a key that he caught as he stepped outside the TARDIS. "Oooh a key. Like a real house key!"

Clara opened the front door and stepped inside. They were in a small hallway that led off to the left and right, with a set of stairs directly in front of them. The Doctor ran forwards eagerly, veering off to the left into the kitchen. Clara followed, having already seen the house and examining the Doctor's reaction to everything. He commented on everything he could see, which she found adorable. There was a set of double doors in the kitchen, leading to the back garden, which he made several comments about. Clara rolled her eyes as he rushed back inside and through the door at the other end of the kitchen.

"Utility room!" she called out as he tried to work out what it was. He scurried out and through another door to his left, back into the hallway but behind the stairs. Clara followed him as he moved through into the lounge, past the downstairs toilet and Clara smiled as he examined the sofa's and flat screen TV, complete with Wii and DVD player. "Like what you see Chin-Boy?" He nodded frantically. "Right then, upstairs."

The Doctor thundered upstairs and Clara followed him, her smile never leaving her lips as he examined the bathroom at the top of the stairs. He tried the shower and jumped back as it soaked him. He went to go off to the left but Clara shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. "That's the last stop," she told him with a smirk. He swivelled, strolling down the corridor and throwing open doors on his left and right.

"Spare rooms!" he called. "Two of them! Plenty of room for guests. That's good, I love guests. Guests are cool. Have you invited guests?" he asked, almost glaring at her.

"No," she giggled. "But if ever want any, we have plenty of room now. It saves us having to use the TARDIS," she added pointedly and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "And this one is ours." She guided him into the master bedroom, which she'd clearly already been decorating. The room was various shades of deep red and blue, entrancingly mixed together. They had an en-suite and the Doctor had to open every cupboard and examine every part. "I've not been in here since we broke up," Clara admitted. "Otherwise I would probably have painted over it, torn down some of the decoration. All your stuff is back at the apartment."

"Clara," the Doctor beamed. "The stuff doesn't make the house. The people make the house. The walls aren't covered in paint, but memories and feelings and happiness and playing. And we will make this house, awesome! Now, should I park the TARDIS in the back garden from now on, so as not to scare the neighbours?"

"I think that's probably best," Clara giggled. "We can come back next week, move in properly. In the meantime," she paused to move closer to him and kiss him. "We can test out the bedrooms…"