Title: A Day and Life on the TARDIS
Author: Flydye8/Heintz571
Pairings: Clara/12th Doctor
Rating: T
Summary: This is a collection of stories about the times in-between Clara's and the Doctor's adventures. The ones we never see; because we all know once you starting living with someone, life always gets more interesting. The stories are primarily fluffiness, domestication, family life, romance and a loving friendship taking place after "Last Christmas".
Author's note: So much love and thanks to my beautiful, delightful, and brilliant beta reader Marie Anne Louise because without her tireless work I wouldn't be able to update my story as often.
The cries of Silurians echoed in the cavern as the dust settled on the trapped individuals at Wenley Moor. Vastra was the first to become completely aware of her surroundings. Slowly she stood and checked herself over for injuries. She had blood, greenish in color, oozing out of multiple cuts on her arms and legs. Her full body corset was torn in several locations but otherwise she was okay.
She looked quickly around to assess the chaos that surrounded her. To her right was a Silurian, who was named Katrina, leaning over her brother crying. Upon closer evaluation Vastra noted there was no hope for the young man as his neck was positioned awkwardly to the rest of his body, obviously broken. To her left she saw a small group of rescued Silurians, huddled together in fright, who were now trapped for a second time. However, Vastra could not see the Doctor anywhere among the survivors. Searching frantically she saw a velvet clad arm sticking out from under a pile of debris. Hurrying over to his side she leaned down and started removing the dirt that covered the rest of his body.
Uncovering his head she placed her fingers to the side of his neck and sighed, "Thank the Goddess, you are still alive." She then pointed at one of the Silurians huddled together, "One of you come here and help me."
Reluctantly, one of the Silurians who was greener then others stood and came over to her side and started to assist in uncovering the Doctor. As more of the Time Lord's body came into view, Vastra noted that his clothes were badly torn and his pale skin was riddled with his blood from multiple cuts on his body, the deepest one was located on his chest.
The Silurian spoke up, "There is no hope for him. He is too injured."
Vastra smiled at him and commented, "You will find that he is much more resilient than most species in the universe." Removing some more soil from the Doctor's body she continued, "What is your name?"
"Zekieaus, madam."
"Well Zekieaus, go and kneel at his head and keep his neck from moving as I continue to uncover my Time Lord friend."
"Time Lord?" Zekieaus asked as he maneuvered toward the Doctor's head. "I thought they were extinct from the universe because of the last Time War."
"Not all of them and thank the Goddess for that blessing, otherwise the universe would be more dangerous than it already is." Vastra added as she removed the last bit of dirt from the Doctor's body, "Now grab his shoulders and pull him gently away from the debris field."
Zekieaus gently grabbed under the Doctor's shoulders and dragged him safely away just as the rubble shifted with another rumble from the tectonic plates causing more rocks to cascade down where the Doctor originally lay.
Vastra jumped away in just enough time not to be caught as the cave ceiling crumbled down. Taking a deep breath she walked over to where Katrina was kneeling and started to remove the cape of her fallen brother.
"What are you doing vile woman?" Katrina screeched as she tried to push Vastra away causing the Victorian lady to hiss in anger.
"I'm am removing the cape from your brother so we can use it to cover the Doctor. He will not be needing it any longer since his spirit has ascended to the realm of the Goddess."
Katrina wailed as she watched Vastra remove the cape; gathering the cape in her arms, she carried it to the Doctor and gently placed it over his battered body. Then she moved back to Katrina's side and embraced the Silurian in a gentle hug, "Your brother died honorably; I am sure the Goddess will take his soul into her bosom and hold him close for the rest of eternity. We will help his soul transcend into the next realm once we get out of this vile cave."
Katrina, nuzzled Vastra's neck as tears continued to fall down her gill-like cheeks until she was exhausted from the emotional pain of her brother's death.
Leading the female Silurian to the others, Vastra handed her over to her fellow comrades and went to the Doctor's side. She leaned over and retrieved his sonic screwdriver before cocooning him in the warmth of the cape. Pressing a button, she hoped that she was sending a distress signal to the TARDIS, because for them to be rescued they were going to need Clara and her connection to the Doctor. Making sure the Time Lord was resting comfortably, she left his side to see what water and food rations they had to survive.
Once she assessed the state of their supplies, Vastra instructed everyone to rest except for Zekieaus and Katrina who she sent ahead to survey the passageways to see if they could find a possible opening they could use to get to the surface. She also thought that having something to do would keep Katrina's mind occupied and not fixated on her brother's death.
Moving back to the Doctor's side she glanced over his body and noted that many of his superficial injuries were healed but the gash on his chest caused her to be concerned because it was still bleeding profusely. She ripped the bottom of the cape until she had two long pieces, then she wrapped them around his torso in the hope to stop the bleeding. Once the dressing was in place she leaned against the cave wall to wait for Zekieaus and Katrina return.
Clara stepped out of the TARDIS and was immediately met by Jenny, "Ah Miss Clara, we have been expecting you." Jenny then handed her a small pill and a canteen she had wrapped around her waist, "Take this and hurry. Time is not on our side," Jenny finished with a trace of worry in her voice as she started to walk down the tunnel which was carved from stone.
Following close behind Clara asked as she held the pill up, "What is this for?"
Without stopping Jenny called back, "That pill will help you understand the speech patterns of the Silurians."
Clara placed the pill on her tongue and took a swig of water from the canteen to wash it down before handing it back to Jenny; then she started to fire off questions, "Where is the Doctor? How long has he been trapped? What are we going to do?"
Jenny answered each question as they approached the epicenter of the rescue efforts, "I don't know where he is but Vastra is with him. It has been eight hours since the collapse and I don't know what we are going to do. That is why you are here." Jenny stopped suddenly and stared intensely at Clara before continuing, "We need someone who thinks like the Doctor. We need you."
"Me?" Clara restated her eyes widening.
"Yes you." Kate said as she approached the two women, "You have a connection with the Doctor and we need you to use that connection to find him."
"How do you know I have a connection?" Clara questioned as she looked around at the room seeing a map on the far wall.
Kate smiled and then leaned closer, "From what Susan and Vastra tell me there is a certain mental connection to be achieved to become the lover of a Time Lord."
Seeing Clara's confused face Jenny chimed in, "The Doctor told us you were expecting and Vastra concluded that for conception to take place a mental connection must be achieved."
Clara blushed with the knowledge that hers and the Doctor's relationship was common knowledge between Vastra, Kate and Jenny. "Well yes what you say is true but I am not sure if my connection with the Doctor's mind is strong enough to locate him so deep in the underground."
"Are your unborn children safe?" Jenny asked as she glanced down at Clara's abdomen.
"Yes, Donna and Adric are safe in Susan's body," Clara responded to Jenny's inquiry.
"Donna and Adric?" Jenny repeated in confusion.
"Yeah, those are the names of our children," Clara confirmed with a small smile on her face.
Kate spoke up, "You and the Doctor have already picked out names? And how can they be in Susan's body?"
"Well kind of, actually the children told him what they wanted to be named and yes our children are safe and sound in Susan's womb."
"How is that even possible?" Kate asked with her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Time Lord Technology," Clara said offhandedly as she walked over to the map, "So have you been able to narrow down the search parameters?"
Kate and Jenny stood on each side of Clara. Kate spoke up first pointing at a tunnel on the map, "The last time we received contact with them was here."
Jenny used her finger and completed a large circle, "We have widened our search parameters by about 100 meters to take into consideration that the group may have traveled further underground to stay safe."
"Why would they need to move?" Clara asked as she surveyed the map.
"Because the ground in their location is unstable with aftershocks of the primary tectonic shift." Kate explained as she reached for a topographic map of the region, "Here is the epicenter and where the Doctor and others are located is just 50 meters from it."
"Okay, so do we have the equipment to tunnel down to them once they are found?" Clara asked.
"Yes, but we have to know where they are exactly otherwise the tunneling equipment could cause further cave-ins," Kate explained.
"Okay then let's begin,'" Clara declared as she started to walk toward the exit with Jenny and Kate following close behind.
"We can take the lift to the surface," Kate said as she pointed to an iron cage similar to what would be found at a construction site. Entering she closed the gates and pressed a button and while the lift started to ascend she continued, "UNIT has marked the ground where the cave-in took place. You can try to connect with the Doctor once we arrive there."
Clara felt her ears pop as the lift continued to rise and nodded, "That is as good a place as any to begin."
Vastra's opened her eyes upon hearing the Doctor moan. She moved to his side and smiled as his eyes met hers.
Frowning, the Doctor spoke, "Your face is not the one that I want to see."
"Well I guess you are doing better since you're as rude as ever," Vastra said with a roll of her eyes.
Giving her a small smirk he replied, "I'm doing better now. Give me some water to wash the dirt out of my mouth."
"And you are making demands without a smidgen of politeness," Vastra stated with a smirk of her own as she reached to retrieve her canteen for him to drink from. "Now not too much Doctor, because we have to conserve supplies. We have no idea how long we will be down here."
The Doctor rolled to his side to take a small sip of water only to whence as the cut on his chest became increasingly more painful. "Maybe I'm not as good as I thought," he said as he took a small drink, swished the water around in his mouth and spit it out.
Nodding at the canteen Vastra instructed, "Go ahead and take another drink. You have been unconscious for a while and you are most likely dehydrated."
After taking an additional sip, he laid back down and questioned, "So how are we doing?"
Leaning closer, Vastra explained, "We are trapped by walls of dirt. We have maybe a day's worth of rations. I sent two Silurians to survey the tunnels further in the cave and I'm waiting their return."
"Okay, so things are a bit bad."
"You could say that Doctor. I did use your screwdriver to send out a distress call with your instructions if something happened to you."
"Good, then Clara should be in the area by now," he said as he closed his eyes while opening his mind in search for his connection with his love.
"I am not sure if it will work, she…" Vastra began.
"Shush Vastra, I need to concentrate. Go do something else and stop interrupting."
Vastra huffed as she stood and walked away mumbling, "Rudeness isn't a becoming trait."
Ignoring Vastra's snide comment he called out with his mind, "Clara I need you!"
Clara, Jenny and Kate were nearing the marked epicenter of the last cave-in when Clara heard the Doctor's voice in her mind, "Clara I need you!" causing her to stop.
Kate grabbed her arm, "Clara what is it?"
"I heard him! I heard the Doctor! He's close by."
Kate immediately called for one of the UNIT soldiers, "Sargent bring the excavation equipment here immediately."
Closing her eyes Clara responded, "I'm here love. We are going to dig down with excavation equipment and get you and the others out."
"Good, time is short. I'm injured and supplies are low."
"How badly injured are you?"
"Not as bad as I could've been. So don't worry, I'll be fine."
Clara sighed with relief before responding, "I will always worry about you. I love you, my daft old man."
"I know and I love…" His words were cut off as the ground began to shake beneath his body. He looked up at the ceiling of the cave and was startled to see large cracks appearing above him. Quickly, ignoring the pain in his chest, he lifted his body and moved to Vastra's side, "We need to move!" He yelled as pieces of rock started to fall on them.
Seeing the ceiling breaking apart Vastra wrapped her arms around the Doctor's torso and commanded, "Everyone move quickly…" Her command was interrupted as the ground shook harder causing her and the Doctor to stumble falling to the ground as rocks fell down upon them.
On the surface Clara and the others watched as the ground split before them causing a few of the UNIT soldiers to fall into the deep crevice that was being formed by the violent earthquake.
Kate quickly grabbed Clara and Jenny and pulled them back from the dark orifice emerging in front of them as the ground continued to shake. They ran away from the crevice until the ground stopped moving.
Once things had settled Clara closed her eyes again and called out with her mind, "Doctor, can you hear me? Are you okay? Doctor!"
Tears formed in her eyes as the only response she received from her love was silence.
Author's note 2: Thank you for reading and please comment I always enjoying hearing what my readers think.
Cheers
Flydye8/Heintz571