Getting Out

Clara sat in her bedroom on the TARDIS, flipping the broken pocket watch in her hands. The TARDIS jostled and jerked, but she was used to it. She was able to stay put in her bed, barely moving as the TARDIS landed with its signature "vwoorp, vwoorp".

It had been roughly a month and a half since she had joined this Doctor. Over that time, Clara had gotten very comfortable with this Doctor, in this TARDIS, with Rose, and with Mickey. In the back of her mind, she knew she had fallen for this Doctor, the same way she had fallen for the future Doctor. She fought those thoughts, though.

Not only was she setting herself up for heartbreak, but she could see the way Rose looked at him. Ever since that night in the library, Rose was a bit kinder to Clara, but the two of them would never be friends. Clara still felt Rose glare at the back of her head whenever the Doctor winked at her or smiled at her, but Rose was nice when she and Clara were talking. Clara could see that her presence had interrupted something between the two of them- the thought of that made her heart ache.

That had been the real reason she left the Doctor initially. She knew she was setting herself up for heartbreak, especially when he found another companion. She had gotten out. And, now here she was, making the same mistakes all over again. This time, though, she couldn't get herself to walk away.

She had been sitting on her bed for the past hour trying to convince herself to leave. She couldn't. She just couldn't.

"Clara?" There was a soft knock on her open door. Clara looked up from the golden watch to see the Doctor standing in the doorway.

"Yea?" She asked, slipping the watch back into her purse.

"We've landed." He announced lamely, as if that wasn't what he really wanted to say. Clara nodded.

"Yea. I could tell." She replied. "Where are we?" The Doctor scratched behind his ear.

"Powell Estate, 2006." He replied, leaning against the doorframe. "Rose wanted to see her mum." Clara nodded.

"Okay." She slung the purse over her shoulder and stood up. She walked over to the Doctor, who didn't move. He just looked at her, smiling to himself. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing!" He answered, just a bit too quickly. "You wanna go meet Rose's mum? Just a warning, but Jackie can be a bit rough around the edges." He warned. Clara rolled her eyes.

"Parents love me." Clara declared. "I'm a nanny, after all." The Doctor slipped his hand into hers, causing her heart to flutter. She ignored it and let him lead her to the console room and out of the TARDIS. Clara looked around at the quaint estate that Rose lived in and had a surge of homesickness. She pushed it aside and went up the stairs and into Rose and Jackie's apartment.

"- could at least pick up a phone once in a while!" Jackie seemed to be lecturing Rose on not calling or visiting enough as they walked inside. Rose shut her mum up by hugging her, whispering apologies. Jackie noticed Clara after she finished squeezing her daughter.

"And who's this?" Jackie asked, looking from Rose to Mickey to the Doctor. Clara stuck out her hand, approaching her.

"Clara Oswald. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Tyler." Clara smiled warmly at Jackie, giving the woman her best 'meeting parents' smile. For a split second, Clara thought that Jackie was going to yell at her for something- for what, Clara didn't know- but then Jackie beamed at her and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"It's so nice to meet you!" Jackie exclaimed. She pulled away from Clara, but kept her hands on her shoulders. "And, it's Jackie." Clara nodded, giggling a little. She was a bit taken aback by Rose's mother. Before she could say anything more, Jackie moved on to give the Doctor a hug.

Soon enough, Jackie had convinced them all to sit down for a homemade dinner. Even the Doctor, who was against it, sat down in between Rose and Clara and ate a plate of fish and chips. Clara had missed this part of normal life; it was nice to sit around a table and just have a nice dinner. It reminded Clara of when her mother was alive. She, her mother, and her father would always eat dinner at the table and talk about their day. Her mother had insisted that they do it. She claimed it was "proper". After she died, Clara and her father hadn't kept up with that tradition.

Eventually, the Doctor announced that it was time they get going. He, Clara, and Mickey all stood up at once. Rose was slower to stand. She slid a hand in her pocket and leaned on the back of her chair.

"Actually, um, I think I'm gonna stay." Rose announced. She looked at the Doctor only, waiting to see his reaction. Clara glanced at him and saw that he looked gobsmacked.

"Oh. Uh- yea. Okay. If that- if that's what you want." The Doctor stumbled over his words. Rose nodded.

"Yea. It is."

"Rose, come on! Why do you want to stay here- no offense, Jackie- when you can go see the whole of time and space? I mean-" Mickey tried to change her mind. It looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted to continue traveling with the Doctor if Rose wasn't there, but at the same time he still wanted to travel.

"Because I want to stay with my mum." Rose snapped at him. "It's my decision and I want to stay."

"She's right." Clara felt bad, and felt like she had to speak up for Rose. It seemed that history was repeating itself, as Rose was doing that same thing Clara had done with the future Doctor. New companion came into the picture, and now she's stepping aside. She's getting out. "It's her choice."

A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I updated! I hope you like this chapter- coughreviewcough- and I promise the next chapter will be an episode chapter. Thanks for reading!