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Chapter 2
The Doctor fiddled with the buttons on the TARDIS console, saying her name over and over again. Clara, Clara, Clara. . .
He pictured her in this exact room. She would enter, wide-eye, gasping and saying the words he always loved to hear: it's bigger on the inside. Then she would run back out and circle the TARDIS in disbelief like they all did. Afterwards she would accept the fact that he was an alien and his offer to take her anywhere in time and space. He would show her the most beautiful places the universe had to offer, and the most dangerous and she would love it. Clara Oswald would love it. And he would love showing her all the things he had seen already but those things always were even more beautiful when there was someone to share them with. But sooner or later there would be danger. There would be a Dalek or a Cyberman or a Weeping Angel and one of those creature would take Clara from him, leaving him shattered and angry again. No, such a thing would not happen to Clara because she would never know, never see, never learn that he was not human. He would never be anything but the strange and eccentric man she had met at a party. The Doctor even doubted if she would remember him a week from now.
He had to leave the hotel basement now but couldn't decide where to go. Okay, time to listen to the subconscious. The Doctor placed his hands on the telepathic interface of the TARDIS and closed his eyes.
OOO
February 1993
The Doctor stepped outside the TARDIS doors and looked around. He was in a basement again, but a different one. At a different time. He had parked his box close to the elevator that lead him directly to the crowded mall. People with shopping bags were running around, chatting happily with each other. He could hear the clatter of change and a child crying. It was no ordinary, loud crying of a child that was begging their parents to buy them something but quiet and sad.
The Doctor looked around him but could not find the source. Not until he realized he was looking into the completely wrong direction. The little girl was cowering next to a bench, her coat almost completely covering her crouched figure.
The Doctor knelt down next to her, something the child did not notice, and put his hand on her back after some hesitation. The girl flinched and her head shot up. Big, brown eyes, red from crying, stared at him in fright.
"Don't be scared, little one. Where is your Mummy?" the Doctor asked.
The girl sobbed. "I don't know. I can't find her."
The Doctor searched his pockets and handed her a handkerchief only moments later. The girl took it, but didn't use it. Instead, the crying continued.
"Well, where did you last see her?" he inquired.
The child shrugged, so completely terrified that she couldn't even find the courage to make an effort.
"Now, little one, dry your eyes and I'll help you look for your Mummy."
"Mama said not to go with strangers," the girl stared at him as if judging whether she could trust him.
"Wise Mummy. But you're not gonna find her if you stay hidden down there. Come on," he extended his hand and the girl took it reluctantly.
"We will go to the reception and they will call for your Mummy. She will be back with you in less than five minutes, okay? Now, please, cut out the crying and I will buy you some ice cream," the Doctor begged her.
"Really?" she stared at him, her tears almost gone. It was so easy how the mood of a child could change from one moment to the other just because of one little word.
"No, not really. I don't have any money."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "What kind of grown-up doesn't carry money?"
"Me. And probably some homeless people," the Doctor said, smiling at the girl. He usually didn't like children. They annoyed him, especially when they were crying. But this was a clever one and her eyes looked familiar.
They reached the reception a few minutes later and a woman with a stern face stared at him.
"Uhm, hi. This little one has lost her mother," the Doctor explained.
The woman's look changed instantly. It grew warmer as she smiled at the girl. "Aw, poor little thing. Tell me your name and I will call for your mother."
"Clara Oswald," the girl said.
The Doctor turned around to stare at her. Of course. Of course it was Clara Oswald. Damn you, telepathic interface. Damn those big, brown eyes. The TARDIS had lead him straight back to her, her past self, but still Clara Oswald.
"Clara Oswald is looking for her mother and is waiting in the reception area. I repeat, Clara Oswald is looking for her mother and is waiting in the reception area."
The announcement interrupted his thoughts. He was still staring at the little girl.
"Your mum will be here soon," he said with a light smile.
She nodded, but still looked sad.
"You'll be fine?"
"I guess. Ice cream would have been nice."
The Doctor laughed. "Clara Oswald. One day we will meet again. And I will buy you ice cream. On the moon," he added before he could stop himself.
The girl wrinkled her nose. "There is no ice cream on the moon."
He sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"You're odd," Clara said and stared at him.
"Hasn't your Mummy told you not to insult strangers?"
Clara laughed but when her look trailed past him, she appeared to be seeing something that made a wide smile appear on her face. She broke into a run and the Doctor turned around to see her hug a woman that slightly resembled the adult Clara Oswald, her mother. The Doctor thought that this was the perfect moment to make an exit and stepped behind a small crowd of people. He turned around once more to see young Clara point in the direction where he had stood only moments ago, but she didn't see him.
She would see him again, though, one day. And the Doctor would have to bring ice cream.