A/N: Johnlock or John/Clara? What do you guys think?
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"However, your timing is interesting," Vastra mused.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Interesting how?" he asked warily.
"Well, we've run into two unidentifiable aliens running around the city. They don't seem to be doing any harm, but their presence here is suspicious," Vastra supplied.
"Well, I am stuck here for twenty four hours. I may as well help," he replied shrugging.
"How kind," Vastra answered dryly.
The Doctor glanced at the door. Where was Clara? He hoped she wasn't still in the TARDIS. The four of them were in danger. Something had attacked the TARDIS; something strong enough to shut her down. She's fine, he reassured himself. She had John, and probably Sherlock too since he was nowhere to be seen.
Pushing his worrying to the back of his mind, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began scanning. Nothing. He walked outside, hoping to get a better signal. The sonic whirred for a moment before confirming the presence of two unidentified aliens.
"Doctor!" Vastra called. "You must see this!"
The Doctor rushed back inside to find Vastra sitting down, looking through some pictures. Jenny was perched on the arm of the chair, looking over her shoulder. Both women had faces of intense concentration. He moved to stand behind the chair and exam the images himself from over her shoulder.
He felt his own face twist up in concentration as he looked on the blurry, reptilian forms. "What are they?" he mused aloud.
"They're mysteries," Jenny answered. "Illusive enigmas."
Vastra gathered the pictures and handed them to the Doctor. He flipped through them, unable to make anything of them. "We've been trying to hunt them down for weeks now. We did find them once, but after Strax threatened to blow them up, they made a pretty hasty escape."
"They must be pretty fast to be able to run away from you," the Doctor said. He paused at one photo of the two aliens holding two black objects. "Did you take these pictures with a toaster?" he grumbled.
Ignoring his last comment, Vastra continued. "They have somehow acquired two vortex manipulators.
The Doctor gave the photos back to Vastra. "Don't worry too much. I'm certain we will be seeing them very soon."
Both Vastra and Jenny turned to look at him in surprise. The Silurian raised a quizzical eyebrow, but after a moment she nodded in understanding. Jenny gasped as she came to the same conclusion.
The door swung open. Vastra and Jenny jumped up in surprise at the sight before them, but the Doctor only chuckled slightly to himself. Of course. There in the doorway stood Clara and John, stun guns at their side, along with Sherlock. The unconscious forms of the two mystery aliens were thrown unceremoniously over his shoulder. "Good work, Clara," he commented.
"But- but that's- that's..." Jenny stuttered.
Clara's eyes hardened as she strode into the room. "How long have you known?" she asked sharply.
"Well, I knew something had attacked the TARDIS, but I didn't know what until just a moment ago," the Doctor explained.
From the corner of his eye, he watched as Sherlock dumped the bodies on the floor. Vastra knelt to investigate. Even in person, the Doctor wasn't sure what they were.
"Something attacked the TARDIS, and you didn't think it was a good idea to say something?" Clara snapped.
Now why was she getting all ruffled? Everything had turned out just fine. It wasn't as if he had lied to her; she simply hadn't been there to tell. He knew she would catch up to him soon. She always caught up. She was brilliant. So why was she so upset?
"Clara," the Doctor said finally. "If there's one thing I have complete faith in, it's you."
His answer, however, wasn't enough to appease her. She stalked away towards the kitchen fuming. The Doctor considered following her but decided against it, thinking it was probably best to let her cool off.
"They're a genetic melting pot," Sherlock said, capturing the Doctor's attention. "That's why you don't know what they are."
The Doctor crossed the room to kneel next to Vastra. "Fascinating," he murmured. "But why are they chasing us?"
"They call themselves the Amorian Pact. Judging by what you've told me, they're probably orphans, taken in by Dadre, and have now become her personal assassins," Sherlock explained.
"That's amazing," John muttered. Sherlock's lips quirked up into a slight smile. "They're not very good assassins, are they?" he continued.
"They probably knew enough about me to expect me to be unarmed," the Doctor said. "Where are their vortex manipulators?"
Sherlock reached under the closest creature's neck and lifted back a flap of skin the Doctor hadn't even seen, revealing the stolen contraptions. A small red light steadily blinked. As soon as he recognized it, the Doctor reached forward to rip the vortex manipulator away, but it activated, sending the two aliens away.
"Damn it!" Vastra swore. "We were so bloody close!"
The Doctor scanned the area with his screwdriver. "They've gone back to the 21st century."
Jenny wrapped her arm around Vastra and rubbed her shoulder with her other hand. "It's alright, love. We'll charge the TARDIS, and the Doctor will catch 'em."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Clara's hands shook with frustration. She fumbled with her phone for a minute before dialing Danny's number. "Hello," he answered.
"Hey, Danny," she replied a little too cheerfully. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. You sound frustrated. What's happening?"
Clara sighed. "He's being a total arse. Again."
Danny's tone turned almost angry. "What did he do?"
"He just doesn't tell me anything! Two aliens attacked the TARDIS and climbed on board trying to kill us, and he can't even bother to let me know there might be a bit of trouble," she complained.
"A bit of trouble?" Danny snapped. "Clara, he's carelessly putting your life in danger!"
All the anger seemed to evaporate as Clara leaned against the counter and sighed again. "He knew I was armed. Really, my life was never in any danger."
"You were attacked," Danny said forcefully. "He knew you were going to be attacked and he wasn't there."
"Well, he didn't exactly know, he just knew it was possible," Clara replied lamely.
Danny was silent for a moment. "If he cares so little, why do you still follow him?"
Clara gasped. "Don't say that!" she replied angrily.
"I didn't mean it like that," Danny said quickly, backpedaling. "But I don't know if I can continue if you're going to keep putting yourself in danger like this."
"Danny, please," Clara pleaded. "How about we talk when I get home? Yeah?"
There was a long sigh from the other end. Clara noted her shaky hands. Please say you'll listen to me, she prayed silently. Finally, Danny replied. "Alright. But I don't like feeling second best."
Clara quickly assured Danny that she loved him and would do anything for him and that she was already looking forward to coming home so she could see him. With an "I love you", Clara hung up the phone and held it in her still shaking hands. She bit her lip, willing herself not to cry.
John chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. Given the sympathetic look in his eyes, Clara guessed that he had heard everything. "That sounded bad," he said, crossing the room to lean on the counter next to her.
Clara nodded. "My boyfriend," she explained. "They don't get along- Danny and the Doctor."
John gave a cheerless laugh. "Sherlock always hates my girlfriends."
She turned to look him in the eye and smiled sadly. "Why do we put up with them?" she wondered aloud.
John leaned forward and wrapped Clara in a tight hug. "Because we love them," he whispered.
Returning the hug, Clara whispered back, "Thank you."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Reds, oranges, and pinks colored the sky as the band of unlikely friends walked along the street towards the TARDIS. There was a 2000 year old Time Lord, a Silurian from the dawn of time, a seemingly ordinary Victorian women, a Sontaran warrior, a consulting detective, an ex-army doctor, and a school teacher, all brought together by a love of danger and adventure.
Sherlock followed behind the Sontaran with interest. Ever since he had walked into Vastra's house announcing that he was in need of grenades, Sherlock had been watching him curiously. Strax had obviously seen many battles, but while he acted as if he wished for nothing more than to return, it was easy to see that he cared for Vastra and Jenny too much for that. Still, he was a funny little creature, and Sherlock found himself chuckling at his antics.
He turned his attention to Vastra, who was cradling an old-fashioned box. "The Doctor left this with us in case of emergencies," Vastra had told him. Sherlock noticed the way her face lit up with pride. "Ever since he crash landed here in the mouth of a dinosaur." There had to be a good story behind that.
Even the quirky Sontaran was honored to be so trusted by the Doctor. He vowed that he had defended the box with his life. Jenny only rolled her eyes, but she was pleased. Sherlock wondered how the Doctor had come to be such good friends with them. It seemed as if he hardly stayed still long enough.
As they filed into the TARDIS, Sherlock wondered what they must look like to any passing strangers. Vastra crawled underneath the console and opened the box. Gently, she pulled out a glowing, blue mechanical cube. "Artron energy," she explained. She plugged it into the console climbed back out. "Doctor, who is strong enough to completely drain the TARDIS like this?"
Sherlock studied the Doctor's face. His eyes flicked up quickly as he reviewed a long list of enemies. "Could be anything. Who knows what our assassins stole."
Something lightly brushed Sherlock's arm, dragging his attention away from the aliens. John had moved to stand next to him as he watched the scene with growing interest. "Why do you suppose he kept the charger with Vastra?" he asked softly.
"In case the TARDIS was attacked, he didn't want to have it on board," he explained.
"Will you be okay for twenty four hours? You won't get too bored?" John teased.
Sherlock's only response was an affectionate smile that only his blogger would see.