*Hello peeps. Happy boxing day, and here's a brand spanking new chapter for you all. I like this chapter because for once Clara plays a real back seat role. I just love the idea that the Doctor will throw himself into any dangerous situation just to see Clara smile, and that's exactly what this chapter is about. I really hope you enjoy it. Please please review, follow and favourite and thank you so much to everyone who already has or even has just taken the time to read it. You guys are the best. TPD*

"Doctor, is it bad?"

He wanted to tell her that it wasn't. He really did. But he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He couldn't bring himself to lie to her. Not again. He'd lied to Clara so many times and she always knew, always called him out on it. So his attempts to lie to her, to reassure her would all be in vain. There was absolutely nothing he could do to make her feel better, other than snuggle up to her and pretend that nobody would say anything about it.

"It's pretty bad," he admitted. "But it's only for twenty four hours. Possibly."

Clara's hair was green. They'd been on a lovely, pleasant trip to the Crepsylon galaxy; the garden centre of the universe, the Doctor had called it. He'd also told her not to touch anything. But the spores of one of the rarest plants in the universe, the Gyverticus, had ended up on her head, after she'd leant in a bit too close to smell it. And, according to the Doctor, the spores were lethal. So he'd rushed her back to the TARDIS and smoothed in the antidote. Unfortunately, the antidote had turned her hair green. Temporarily. He hoped.

"What do you mean possibly?" Clara's voice had taken a dangerous undertone. "How possibly are we talking here Doctor, I look like an umpa loompa."

"Well, you are pretty short and feisty and you do have green hair," the Doctor mused. Clara looked like she was going to murder him. "I checked the chemicals in the antidote, twenty four hours of fresh, Earth air and sunlight should be enough to restore your hair back to normal. Well, sort of normal. Mainly normal."

"How mainly normal?" Clara snapped, taking another dangerous step towards him.

"Oh you know, it'll be a shade of brown. Possibly." Clara was only about two steps away from hitting distance and when the Doctor stepped back she followed him. The TARDIS made a noise, but he couldn't tell whose side she was on. "There's a chance that it won't be able to correctly isolate your current starting colour and it will, well guess but there's an app for that. Probably."

"Why don't I just dye it?" Clara asked reasonably.

"Oh dye and that particular chemical don't mix, it'll erode your hair away. No you don't want that. Twenty four hours, you'll be right as rain. It'll be shinier, I promise. Nice and beautiful and shiny. Not that it could get shinier, because your hair is lovely and shiny and it's got like five different shades of brown and it's totally adorable. I love your hair. Don't worry, I'll do a thing."

"What thing?" Clara took another step forward. He only had one more step to play with.

"There's a plant that grows in the Jarrow mines of Treeox VII, which has natural restorative powers to hair. It'll make you look as if you'd never got too close to a poisonous plant that the antidote for which turned you green. It'll probably grow faster too," the Doctor added, aware that she was still sore about the volcano incident. "It's a very rare commodity, so I'll have to nip to Treeox VII to get some. So you go into school, I'll take the day off sick and go down those mines. We can regroup at the house in ten hours. Deal?"

Clara smiled at him and took the final step to hug him. He grinned at his own ability to turn a potentially dangerous Clara situation into a hug and he must've been looking a bit smug because she punched him in the arm.

"Don't get cocky Chin-Boy, if this goes tits up I'll find a way to punish you for it."

He did not like the way she was looking at his bow tie.

Whilst it had proved impossible to lie to Clara, the Doctor could still leave bits and bobs out of his stories. Like how for example that the Jarrow mines were called the Jarrow mines because they contained Jarrow creatures, great big lumbering things that could see well in the dark and fed off lost travellers. He neglected to tell her that the reason they were a precious commodity was that hardly anyone even bothered to try securing the plant, because despite their value, almost nobody that went into the mines came out again. She didn't need to know that information, she'd only worry about him or worse ask him not to go. She would never let him live it down if her hair stayed green or worse, so he figured it was worth tackling a few dangerous monsters if it kept him on Clara's good side. He wondered if this was how married life would be, him wrestling with the most dangerous species in the universe just to make sure he wasn't sleeping on the sofa.

As the Doctor landed the TARDIS, he scanned the area. The last thing he needed was any nasty surprises. Another spaceship was parked close by, he realised and if they were friendly, which somehow he doubted, they could work together to get through the mines. He stepped out of the TARDIS and found himself staring down half a dozen guns. The Doctor rolled his eyes at this and put his hands in the air. There were three men and three women, all human by the looks of it. One of them nodded to the others and put down his gun, staring suspiciously at the Doctor.

"Who are you?" he asked, stepping forward accusingly. "My team were supposed to be the only expedition braving the trip, so what're you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself, offering a hand that the man didn't shake. "I'm not here as part of any expedition, I'm not looking to steal your funds. I just wanted to go into the caves and bring back one plant for my friend. There's hundreds in the cave and you're welcome to them."

"You got any guns?" one of the women, a tall blonde snapped.

"I never carry weapons," the Doctor informed them. "But I do have a map of the caving system, including knowledge of the hot zones where the creatures tend to inhabit and I have a way to scan for Jarrow creatures. I was hoping to take a more subtle approach."

"I say we let him join us," one of the other men said, lowering his gun. "He only wants one stupid plant, let him have it. If he's stupid enough to try to enter the caves alone for the sake of one plant then frankly, that's his choice. He seems to know what he's doing though. The name's Sid. This is Frank," he gestured to the other man still holding his gun. "Jerry," the first man. "And the girls are Becky, Linda and Jamie." Becky was short and red haired, Linda tall and broad shouldered. Jamie was the blonde. Jerry sighed.

"Alright, you can join us, Doctor," he pointed his finger and stepped in close to intimidate the Doctor. "But if you try to take more than one plant, I'll gun you down. Understood?"

"Understood," the Doctor responded. He didn't deal well with threats but he sensed that telling Jerry that was a mistake. If these poachers were willing to help him get what he wanted, then he was okay with tiptoeing around them wherever possible.

"Okay, Frank and Linda, you take point with this Doctor. He claims to know where he's going. Sid, you keep your gun trained on him at all times. Becky, Jamie, cover the rear. There are three entrances to the caves Doctor, we were going to take the West entrance. You approve?"

The Doctor nodded. That had been exactly his plan. There was one hot zone near the West entrance but he planned to avoid it by taking the scenic route down, veering to the left. He informed Jerry of this plan and Jerry sneered. The Doctor sensed that these were trained killers and they had no qualms with going head to head with the Jarrow.

"The plants only grow on the bed of the underground river," the Doctor told him, showing them the map. The river itself is completely sealed, apart from one stretch about twenty metres below us, here." He pointed it out on the map. "We can avoid the first hot spot but after that there are two more we need to pass through. The Jarrow usually sleep in four hour cycles, if we leave now, we can reach the second hotspot halfway through their sleep. If we're quiet, they won't even know we're there."

There were nods and mutters of agreement across the circle. The troops filed out but Jerry grabbed the Doctor as he went to follow them.

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing Doctor," he snarled. "But no man sneaks into a deadly cave with no weapons for the sake of one hair potion for a friend. You don't want to kill those things, so I don't know what your angle is. But if you interfere with my plans, I will gun you down."

"I have a distaste for violence," the Doctor warned him, shaking him off. "I don't like men who threaten and belittle because they think they have a bigger gun. Now I am tolerating you, just as you are tolerating me, so let me be clear. I promised a friend I'd bring them a plant, so I'm going to get her that plant and if you try to stop me, then I will have to stop tolerating you. Now I don't like your way of doing things but I am willing to accept that you may shoot these creatures as long as I get that plant. But if we end up at loggerheads, then I will leave you in that cave to die. Understood?"

Jerry's eyes narrowed to slits but he gestured towards the cave and the Doctor walked over to join the others, smiling pleasantly at them as they moved into formation and entered the cave. It seemed that not all of them were as fearless or as bloodthirsty as Jerry. Linda and Sid struck the Doctor as very nervous and although Frank showed no hint of nerve, he also agreed that they should take the scenic route around the hotspot. The Doctor had clocked that Jerry was the leader but more in the sense that Clara listened to him than anything else. The others could still very much do their own thing. There were murmurs in the dark but the first half hour of their trip went fairly smoothly. They past the first hotspot and the sonic was registering nothing in the tunnels.

Then, there was a blip. Two blips. The Doctor held the group up and consulted his map and sonic. No words were spoken, but the soldiers waited with bated breath as the Doctor nodded for them to proceed, pointing to indicate that there were two creatures to their left but that they were not an imminent threat. Jerry hung back, keeping his gun trained on the area where they were coming from. The Doctor hoped that that would be that but then Jerry did something stupid. He fired a couple of warning shots. The Doctor wheeled round, furious and he wasn't the only one.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Sid hissed. "They'll hear that and come after us!"

"Good," Jerry snapped. "I've had it with the skulking approach, I want to take down a beasty or two."

There was a roar in the distance and then the two creatures came thundering into sight. They were huge, with armoured skin and very few weak spots. Jerry shot at them, letting rip with his automatic weapon as Sid tried to pull him out the way. The creatures didn't slow and Sid only just got out of the way in time. Jerry didn't. They smashed right into him, pinning him against the wall and crushing the life from him. Sid and Jamie were trapped on one side of the creatures, the Doctor and the others on the right side. The creatures split, the left one turning to face its new prey as the right one devoured the dying Jerry. Sid unleashed a hail storm into the creature's mouth, as Jamie jumped up, vaulting it and firing on its back before rolling underneath the second, penetrating its soft underbelly. The Doctor covered his ears as Frank, Linda and Becky fired on the beast and it collapsed, right on top of Jamie who screamed. Sid sighed in relief as the second creature dropped dead and he clambered over, cursing as he saw what had happened to Jamie.

"We need to move," the Doctor urged. "Fast. The others will probably have heard this, they may already be on their way."

"Jerry was an idiot," Sid said quietly. "But he was my friend. And he didn't deserve to die. Not like that. We've been on loads of missions Doctor, the sort of bond we shared, you'll never understand that."

"I know what it's like to lose people close to you," the Doctor said calmly. "But the only way we're going to survive is to keep moving. We're close to the second hotspot and there's no way around it now. We need to get through it and hope that the creatures are still asleep."

Sid nodded and they filed out, the mood a lot more sombre than it had been previously. The Doctor was angry with Jerry but he was also angry with himself. He should never have been stupid enough to come to these caves in the first place. He had been so eager to make Clara happy that he'd not thought it through. If he died down here, she would never forgive herself or him. That wouldn't do at all.

"This friend," Linda whispered as they walked. "She must be pretty special for you to crawl into this hell hole with nothing but a screwdriver and a map just so she can have nice hair."

"She is," the Doctor grinned. "She's the most special girl in the universe."

"What's her name?" Frank asked. "A girl who can make you do things like this? I'd like to be able to put a name to her for when I tell this story later on. Because it's one hell of a story. Hell, if any of us make it out alive it'll be a miracle, but you're pulling this stunt without a gun and for the sake of a girl, not for the cash."

"Clara," the Doctor smiled at the thought of her. "Her name is Clara. And if she ever finds out how much danger I put myself in today, she'll probably be a lot worse than any Jarrow."

They all chuckled at that as they reached a clearing. They fell deathly silent, no noise at all as the Doctor scanned the area and held up both his hands twice. Twenty. They wouldn't stand a chance if they woke up. They crept through, each footstep a relief as it went unpunished. The Doctor had Frank and Linda ahead of him and Becky and Sid behind and as they reached the midpoint in the room, a creature stirred and Frank panicked. He legged it, they lost formation and Linda, cursing followed him. The noise woke one of the creatures and it sat up, staring at them hungrily. The Doctor froze for an instant and then the creature roared, waking its brothers and the Doctor bolted. Sid and Becky were hard on his heels and as they reached the other end of the cavern, Frank and Linda were waiting.

"Keep running," the Doctor yelled. There was no point trying to be quiet now. "We have to try and outrun them, it's our only chance."

Sid and Becky were frantically discharging their weapons, they didn't stop to reload but just kept running. Becky swivelled and pulled a grenade, standing between the creatures and the others.

"No!" the Doctor called. "What are you doing?"

"Keep running!" she yelled. "I'll hold them off."

She pulled the grenade pin and the Doctor cursed. He wasn't the only one. Sid yanked him and half dragged the Doctor as they ran. The creatures had reached Becky but there was an almighty explosion, which threw the Doctor and Sid off their feet. The Doctor groaned and tried to pick himself up and Frank offered him a hand, which the Doctor appreciated. The way they'd come was completely blocked, the entire tunnel had collapsed in on itself. Sid cursed and punched the rock in anger.

"We need to keep moving," Linda urged and the Doctor nodded in agreement. Sid had stopped talking completely now and only the occasional comment from Linda or Frank broke their silence as they trudged down the tunnels. The Doctor was desperately trying to figure out a way back up top when they were done but all he could think about was how Clara would react if he wasn't back in the ten hours he'd promised her. His stomach twisted at the thought. They reached an intersection and the Doctor checked the map and sonic before proceeding. Within the hour, they were close to the third hotspot and the Doctor was nervous. On the other side of the hotspot was the river and that was where the creatures got most of their water. They were walking into a mine field. As they reached the third hotspot, the creatures were awake. The Doctor cursed and thought hard.

"What do we do?" Frank hissed. "There must be thirty of them in there!"

"Distraction," Sid said grimly. "We need someone to go in there and distract the bastards before they realise there are more of us. I'll do it."

"Sid," Frank gasped. "No, that's suicide."

"You three get out. Frank, Linda, you need the money more than I do. You guys have families," his voice was grim. "People who rely on you. I was only really doing it for the thrill anyway. You make sure the Doctor gets that plant for Clara, or I swear to God, I'll come back from Heaven to tell her what you were playing at," he chuckled despite himself. He pulled Frank and Linda into hugs and turned to the Doctor and shook his hand. "I might not know you that well Doctor," he said. "But you're a good man. I believe you that you're doing all this for some girl. And without you, we'd never have got this far. So good luck. To all of you."

Sid breathed deeply, raised his gun in the air and ran into the chamber, firing wildly. The Doctor couldn't watch as he charged towards the far end and the creatures followed him, clearing a path to the river. Frank was already moving and the Doctor and Linda gave pursuit, jumping into the water, which was only up to about their waists. Linda and Frank grabbed as much of the plant as they could and stuffed it into great big sacks as the Doctor plucked a single plant from the river floor and placed it into his jacket pocket. They turned, but the creatures were all now facing them. There was no way out. The Doctor looked at his map and cocked his head to one side. There was always a way out.

"What do we do?" Frank breathed. "We're trapped."

"Take a deep breath," the Doctor urged. "This river goes somewhere."

"You said the entire thing was underground," Linda snapped. "What do you think will happen if we run out of air?"

"Mostly underground," the Doctor agreed. "But the current runs this way," he pointed as the creatures reared to charge. "And we should pop out in a spring about half a mile south of here. We should only need to hold our breaths for a couple of minutes or so, maybe slightly longer. But there may be a gap between the river and the top of the tunnel."

"Sounds awfully risky," Frank said. "We don't stand much chance. I'd rather take my chances with the Jarrow."

"Then take them," the Doctor shrugged. "I'm taking the river option." He took a deep breath. "Geronimo."

He dived. Linda and Frank followed, as he knew that they would. The water rushed fast as he swam, hoping the air in his lungs would hold. They swam side by side, the tunnel wide enough to allow all three of abreast. Then, it started to narrow and Linda fell back, whilst Frank pressed on ahead. The Doctor hoped they would be alright, but he had bigger problems as his lungs began to scream. He pressed on and upwards, hoping there was some sort of gap between the ceiling and the water level. There wasn't. He was trapped and quickly running out of air. He could feel his heart stumble and he forced the last few strokes, before he needed to breathe. Then, the tunnel ended and all he could see was clear sky. He couldn't quite reach it. And then a set of arms hauled him out of the water. The Doctor spluttered for air as Frank dragged him to shore then jumped back in after Linda. The Doctor reached into his pocket. The plant was still there. It had all been worthwhile after all…

After he said goodbye to Linda and Frank, offering them his condolences for their friends, they parted ways and the Doctor flew home in the TARDIS. He landed and had time for a shower before Clara returned home. He sat on the sofa, relaxing and stretching out his aching muscles when the key turned in the lock and she entered, groaning. She poked her head into the lounge and she smiled when she saw him. He stood to embrace her and they hugged, the Doctor holding her close to his hearts.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Rubbish," Clara reported. "The kids were less than merciful about the hair and the teachers were even worse. I've also got about a gazillion papers to mark. How were the mines? Did you get that plant thing you were after?"

The Doctor beamed as he produced the concoction. "I plucked the root myself," he smiled. "Met some lovely people down in the mine, they helped me secure it."

"Brilliant, at least one of us had an easy day," Clara grunted. "Can you cook? I'm knackered."

The Doctor's smile fell. He considered mentioning the fact that he'd stared down about fifty monsters to secure the root for Clara, but then he realised he'd rather face them again then tell her the truth, so he set about making dinner, hoping that the next time he took her to an alien planet, she'd leave the local plant life well alone…