Sunday, 9 September 1888
The Doctor stared at her apparently lost for words. His expression changed from shock, to worry, to something akin to panic.
"How did you get up here?" he demanded.
"I followed you." Clara said.
The Doctor blinked, surprised. "Really? You followed me all the way up to a cloud? Why?"
"Curiosity." Clara's heart began to return to normal. Whatever the Doctor was he didn't seem to want to harm her. "Umm…what are we standing on?"
"Super-dense water vapor."
"Who are you?" Clara exclaimed.
"I could ask you the same thing. What kind of Victorian woman just accepts invisible staircases and living on clouds?"
"Thankfully I'm not like most people. Wait; do mean you live up here? In that little box?"
"Yes." the Doctor replied sullenly.
"Maybe you are mad." Clara muttered, "Or I'm mad. One of us is definitely mad."
He regarded her for a moment before stepping closer. Clara's heart gave an odd flutter as he looked down at her. "You've been listing to the stories. I know you've been asking around about me." the Doctor said with a lopsided grin.
"You know what people say about you?"
"That I'm Dr. Frankenstein? Honesty, humans you'd think you'd be more original than that." The Doctor turned serious. "I work very hard not to be noticed. Unfortunately every once in a while someone does notice, becomes curious, and then the rumors start. No matter what I do."
Clara didn't miss the way he said 'humans', confirming her earlier suspicions. He looked human nevertheless, just like any other man. Except the eyes. The Doctor's eyes haunted her. Watching her now they were just as timeless as she remembered. They made Clara wonder how old the Doctor really was. Because the pain in those eyes was immense and spoke of having seen things greater and more terrible than Clara could ever imagine.
"What are you?" she whispered.
He cocked his head deciding something. "I'm a Time Lord."
"Is that why you live in the sky?" From his awkward mannerisms and speech Clara got the impression he didn't talk to people often. Perhaps he rarely came down from his cloud.
"No, I just do." the Doctor said defensively with a frown. "Have done for a long time now."
Clara walked past him to inspect the blue box. It was too small for anyone to reasonably live in it. As tall as the Doctor was she doubted he could even lie down in the thing. She looked over her shoulder at him with a sly grin, "Are you seriously telling me you live in there?"
The Doctor shot her back a smile which clearly said 'I know something you don't know'. He sauntered up to her in a gloating manner. Clara backed into the wooden frame. Chuckling, the Doctor pushed open the front doors dramatically and disappeared inside. She dashed in after him only to come skidding to a halt. Inside was a different world.
The Doctor spun on his heel to face her, waving his arms wide like a ring master. "Welcome to the TARDIS. That's Time And Relative Dimension in Space. She's the best ship in the universe, can travel anywhere in space or time, and she's mine."
The room inside was vast, full of metal, circuitry, and flashing lights. It was from a time and a world beyond Clara's. Corridors and stairways lead off the chamber to even more unseen rooms. Her mind froze at the sensory onslaught.
"It's…It's…"
"Go on say it, most people do." the Doctor said smugly.
Clara turned and dashed outside. She ran around the little box with contained a whole world. Rushing back through the doors she stopped in front of the impossible, grinning man.
"Smaller on the outside." Clara said.
The Doctor's eyes widened, "That is a first..."
In awe Clara ran around trying to see everything at once. She turned to the Doctor whose smile finally reached his eyes. He appeared genuinely delighted by her fascination with the machine.
"How does it work? Is it magic?" Clara asked.
"It's science." The Doctor looked thoughtful a moment, "Though in the Victorian era I guess it would be considered magic. For that's all magic is really, isn't it? Science that isn't understood yet. Moving pictures would be considered the work of a sorcerer until someone invents television, and such things."
Clara looked at his handsome features trying desperately to follow what he was saying. She wanted to understand everything, this whole mad world of the Doctor's. "Are you from the future then?"
"Oh I'm from all over. Backwards, forwards, and occasionally sideways."
"You're not from Earth clearly." Clara said. "So are you from Mars or Saturn or something?"
A shadow passed over the Doctor's face, "Much, much farther than that."
Clara could see it was an uncomfortable subject and didn't press the issue. She glanced around at all the hallways disappearing off the console room. She wondered just how big this TARDIS was. Did it simply go on forever? She began examining all the buttons and dials on the console.
"Why do you live up on a cloud? I mean why stay here?"
"I'm retired." he replied so softly she barely heard him.
Clara faced him again. He looked so sad and she didn't know why. She wanted to comfort him, but didn't know how. The Doctor caught her gaze. "I shouldn't have let you become involved." he said.
"Why?" she whispered. Clara moved closer trying to read his expression, stopping when their chests were almost touching.
Frozen in place the Doctor looked down at her. Grief that was the expression, Clara thought, nothing but grief. Grief and anger, but not at her.
"Nothing good comes of knowing me." he said. "You should go home. Go back to your normal life and forget all of this."
He was protecting her and perhaps protecting himself too. Clara could see that, though she didn't know why or from what. The Doctor was going to learn something about Clara quick. She never gave up so easily and she didn't take orders from anyone.
Clara gave him a radiant smile. "You know, Doctor, I don't think that's how this is going to work. Because you like me."
"W-what?" the Doctor sputtered, blushing.
"Yes you like me." she stated. Reaching up to grab the back of the Doctor's neck Clara pulled lips down to meet hers. She kissed him for all she was worth then stepped back slightly out of breath. "There you see. But you are right I really should be getting home."
With a cheeky grin, Clara pecked him one last time on the lips. Then dashed out of the ship, leaving the stunned man standing there shell-shocked in her wake.