A bit of the Eleventh Doctor and Clara here. And a mention of a favorite companion of mine, the legendary Centurion. Rory Williams i miss you.
It was a sunny Wednesday of July when the Doctor landed outside Clara's apartment.
He pushed couple buttons on the console and went off to get her, he had plans for the evening, great plans actually. He wanted to take her out for a picnic in a far away planet with purple grass and the tallest trees in the universe.
He was unusually chirpy that Wednesday, singing along the way to Clara's house.
He was about to call her name when he saw her walking up the stairs, a burnt souffle resting inside her hands.
"My oven broke down, i had to make my souffle elsewhere." Clara pitifully looked down at her creation. "Didn't come out like i thought it would."
The Doctor took the souffle from Clara's hands, while she opened her door and got in.
"Well come on in. I have fish fingers and custard in the fridge, treat yourself while i get ready."
"Claraaaaaaa, are you ready? It's been an hour! How long do i have to wait?"
"Shush" Clara picked her head from the door of her bedroom. "It's been only five minutes. You know what, for a time lord your sense of time is awful."
"No, it isn't. I am a Time Lord. A lord of time. Five minutes is too long. Pleaseeeee"
"Oh you are whiny!" Clara threw her pillow at him, hitting him square in his face. "Just wait a second."
"But Clara, you can put on clothes inside the Tardis, it's right around the corner."
"Oh right, i'll just walk outside naked, no big deal."
The Doctor laughed nerviously. He felt his cheeks burning.
"Seriously?"
Clara's lips were pursed, the Doctor quickly jumped away from her, knowing that if he stayed close to her she would probably smack him or something.
"You promised me Doctor, you said: picnic on an alien planet. Alien." Clara motioned around. "This is London, two hours after we left."
"Oh dear, is it?" The Doctor pursed his lips, mimicking Clara's expression.
She rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand and urging him to take a step forward. The Doctor stopped her, patting her back soothingly.
"Where are we going? I thought you...well i thought..."
"Forget it" Clara huffed. "Since the old cow brought us here, we'll stay here. I am starving, let's eat."
"Clara, my Tardis isn't an old cow."
"Oh really? My bed vanished in thin air, again!"
"Well she doesn't do it on purpose!"
"It vanished while i was sleeping on it, i fell on the floor."
The Doctor laughed, the image of Clara huffing and pouting stuck inside his head but she hushed him, pointing at a little boy, seating on a bench. Crying.
They slowly approached the child, trying not to scare him off.
"Hi there"
"Hey, you're alright?" Clara wiped the tears off the boy's face.
"What's your name?"
"Rory."
"Well hello there, Rory. Nice name, you should keep it."
The child glanced up, looking at him through his eyelashes. A mixture of curiousity and sadness painted inside his eyes.
"Why are you crying, Rory? Did your mom force you to eat beans? When i was your age, my mom used to force me to eat all sorts of nasty stuff, i didn't like, in fact once..."
"Doctor!" Clara nudged him, her hand connecting with his elbow in a simple yet meaningful nudge.
"Oh yes, right! I am doing it again, am i not? I am saying too much"
Clara wiped off the last remnant of his tears, placing the child on her lap and rocking him slowly. Rory was looking at him curiously, a smile tugging at his lips.
"You are weird."
The Doctor smiled deviously. "Oh, i am the king of weird."
"Why don't you tell us what happened?" Clara asked, smiling up at him, her hand stroking his back, soothing him.
"My friends make fun of me."
Rory glanced around nerviously as if he expected his friends to magically appear out of thin air and start mocking him again.
"And why would they make fun of such a cute little boy as you?" Clara asked him, squeezing his chubby cheeks and making him giggle.
"Because i told them that when i grow up i want to be a nurse, miss. They think it's funny."
The Doctor froze.
He remembered another Rory who was a nurse and his hearts skipped a beat. He quickly scolded himself, his Rory wasn't the only Rory in the universe. He shouldn't be emotional about it.
The Doctor approached the child.
"Oh but what's funny about it? As far as i am concerned being a nurse is the coolest thing in the universe."
"Really?" Rory looked at him, his eyes hopeful and questioning.
"Yes, really, in fact i had a friend who's name was Rory and he was the greatest nurse i've ever known."
"And didn't his friends make fun of him?"
"Do you really want to be a nurse? Really, really, really? With all your hearts...oops... i mean heart?"
"Yes!"
"Then you should become a nurse. Simple as that. It doesn't matter what others say. It's what you think that matters."
The boy beamed at him, opening his arms and hugging him so tightly that the Doctor nearly chocked.
When Rory left them to go back to his house, the Doctor smiled.
"See Clara? See? My Tardis always knows what she's doing. She is great."
Clara rolled her eyes. "Well, your Tardis should stop vanishing my bedroom, spoiling my food and turning the water in my shower cold, then i may see your point."
"It can be arranged." The Doctor grinned. "All you need to do is to talk to her, i am sure she will understand."
"Doctor i am not talking to your spaceship. I am starving come on let's go and eat something"
"Oh but...but..."The Doctor sighed. "Fine, you're the boss."