Clara didn't realize she'd fallen asleep. In fact, she had no idea she'd even been tired until she felt a gentle hand shake her shoulder and her eyes flew open on the dim front room of her flat. She felt disoriented for a second, trying to remember what had been going on, when she realized her arms were empty and sat up, gasping, "Where's Lila?"
"Hey hey, calm down!" She heard the Doctor's voice beside her and relaxed. "She's in the crib in your room."
She glanced over at him. "What happened?"
"You were looking really tired," He said, giving her a small smile. "Craig told me you'd been looking after them all day while they've been working with the police and all, and so I figured you were probably a little light on sleep, too. So, when you nodded off, I took Lila to the crib you guys set up and put Alfie down for a nap in your bed so he wouldn't bother you. I hope you don't mind."
Clara blinked a few times, touched by his thoughtful gesture. As she straightened up, she felt something slide off her shoulders and turned to see that it was his purple coat, now laying in an unceremonious heap on the floor. She leaned down and pulled it back up, looking at it uncertainly.
"Oh, that." He sounded almost… embarrassed? "It was kind of chilly in here."
She was pretty sure the gooseflesh on her arms wasn't from the cool temperature in the room, but she managed a little nod. "Right. Yeah. Thanks." She handed it back to him and he shrugged it back onto his shoulders. "How long did I sleep for?"
"Not long," He responded, pausing to pull up his sleeve and glance at his watch. "Just… About half an hour. I've been listening to make sure the kids stay asleep." He gestured at the baby monitor on the side table.
Clara couldn't stop herself from smiling at him—here was her Doctor, being the perfect gentleman. She hadn't thought it was possible. "Thanks," She said warmly.
He glanced sideways to give her a grin and a "Not a problem, Clara," and suddenly their faces were just centimeters away from each other's, so close she could see the flecks of gold in his eyes. Her heart picked up in her chest in a way that made her feel both guilty and exhilarated. Their noses were almost touching, and she wondered briefly for a moment if she could forget her responsibilities and take the stupidest leap of her life and close the gap.
The doorbell rang.
Clara let out an unsteady breath and pulled back, dropping her gaze. "I should get that," She muttered, clambering to her feet. He said something inaudible as she made her way to the door and pulled it open.
To her surprise, Henry was standing on the other side, this time considerably less soaking wet than he had been the first time she found themselves in such a situation. He gave her a lopsided grin. "Hey, Clara," He greeted. "Heard you might be in need of some babysitting help?"
She gaped at him. "Who told you that?" She asked, dumbfounded.
"Nina, of course. Is she here? She seemed to think you were really tired and needed a break."
Clara groaned. "Is everyone concerned with how long I can spend looking after kids?" She yelled her words back at the Doctor, who gave her a look of wide-eyed innocence from the couch, putting his hands up in surrender. She swung back around to face Henry again. "I really am fine, John's already helping me out." His fake name felt seamless in her mouth, a strange sensation.
Henry glanced around her to the man sitting on the sofa. "John?" He asked. "Is that your boyfriend?"
She managed to scoff. "Him? No, of course not. He's a friend."
The man frowned. "So you don't need help?" He asked, as if to confirm.
"Of course I don't!" She responded, exasperated. "I'm tougher than I look, you know, and certainly tough enough to look after two kids!"
"Sorry, sorry." Henry mirrored the Doctor's gesture of submission and backed up a few steps. "If you do end up needing anything, you know where I live." He gave her a crooked smile.
"Yeah, thanks." She waited until he'd turned away to close the door, and then returned to the couch and flopped down next to the Doctor, and suddenly she remembered the somewhat awkward circumstances under which she'd gotten up, and an uncomfortable silence settled over them both. She started to wish she could just sink down into the sofa cushions and forget that she'd let herself get so close to making such a stupid decision.
He coughed uncertainly. "So. Who was that?"
His feeble attempt at conversation was appreciated by Clara, who shifted an unconscious centimeter away from him as she replied. "His name is Henry," She told him. "He lives in the flat above this one. Only really met him a few times before."
She glanced back over at him and saw he was frowning. "I think he likes you," He said finally.
She gaped. "That's ridiculous! Nina said he's a huge flirt anyways, you know. Besides, why do you care?"
The Doctor shrugged in response. "He doesn't seem like your type, honestly."
"My type?" She repeated dubiously. "I didn't know I had a type." This conversation seemed to be headed in a weird direction, but she wasn't exactly sure how to stop it. Honestly, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to stop it, because it was a conversation with the Doctor, and she hadn't been getting enough of those.
"I don't know," He said. "I'd say I can guess your type pretty easily."
"How's that, then? You barely know me." Clara watched him for a few more seconds, overcome by curiousity. "Okay, fine, tell me."
"Well, first of all, he'd be taller," The Doctor started.
Clara had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. "He's not short, you know."
"He's barely taller than you!"
She rolled her eyes. "No, he is, you're just even taller. Somehow."
"Oh, really?" He raised his eyebrows at her, and her mouth opened a centimeter as she realized what she'd just said.
"Oh god," She blurted out, covering her face with her hands, feeling a hot blush spreading across her cheeks.
She could hear him laughing next to her, which only made her slide down further on the couch. After a moment, he stopped long enough to say, "Hey, don't look so embarrassed. I was going there anyways."
She almost sank further back into the cushions before his words sunk in and she sat bolt upright. "Wait, what?"
He shrugged. "Craig texted me while you were asleep. He's coming to get the kids in a few minutes. Do you want to go get coffee after?"
Clara stared at him, dumbstruck. "What?"
"Us. Coffee. Maybe?" He shrugged.
"I—" For some reason, she didn't seem to be able to get out more than one syllable at a time. "Me?"
He gave her a small smile. "I like you, Clara. I figure, why not?"
Clara bit her lip, trying to push down the little flame of happiness in her stomach as she reminded herself that nothing would ever happen between them. Despite that and against her own will, she found herself smiling. "Yeah," She replied. "I'd really like that."
His smile widened into a grin. "Great."
A/n: Sorry this took so long! I keep getting sort of distracted while trying to write this, but I finally got it done! The plot will be moving on some more in the near future. c: Please don't forget to review, and I have some other fics going right now if you'd like to go check those out, as well!