The Doctor rolled up his sleeves, having already discarded his coat, and looked at the wall in front of him. "So, blue or pink?" He asked himself. He shook his head and said, "No, neither. How about…" He picked up one of the buckets of paint in front of him. "How about dark blue, with stars and constellations scattered across it, spreading from wall to wall?" He smiled and pulled out a paint brush. "Yes, that would be perfect," He muttered to himself as he started painting. "The most perfect bedroom for the most perfect daughter."
-x-
Nina frowned as she opened her mailbox. She pulled out a blue envelope and sighed. "More crap advertisements," She muttered to herself, flipping the envelope over. "Hm. Never had one that said '2' on it before." She shrugged and started heading back to her flat, tearing the package open. She stopped dead in her tracks, frowning, before dropping the envelope. "Oh my god."
-x-
Clara poked her head into what she guessed was supposed to be the baby's room. She smiled at the sight before her. The Doctor was standing on a ladder, dark blue paint covering his waist coat and trousers, painting stars on the ceiling. She walked into the room and looked around her, gaping at the wonderfully painted walls. "This is amazing, Doctor," She said.
He looked down at her and smiled. "Is it really?" He asked. She nodded back up at him. He smiled widely down at her before turning back to the ceiling. "All I have to do is finish painting these stars and then I can start figuring out what to put in here." He dipped his brush into the bucket of paint in his left hand before looking back up, painting on the stars with a grace Clara rarely saw. They weren't yellow, like anyone would guess they'd be, but they were a lighter blue, almost white. It looked like actual stars dotted the walls and ceiling. Clara watched as he worked, a handsome look of concentration gracing his features.
She walked over to one of the walls and studied it. "How come you never told me you were this good at art?" She asked with a chuckle.
He chuckled along with her and said, "I always just assumed you knew I was great at everything."
She turned to him and smirked. "And what made you think I'd assume that?"
He shrugged and said, "I don't know, maybe the fact that I'm great at everything." Clara shook her head and giggled, watching as he adjusting the bucket of paint he was still holding, before his eyes went wide and he lost his balance. She laughed as he fell down, light blue paint covering his face.
"Yeah, you're great at everything." She said, walking over to him. He wiped the paint away from his closed eyes and sighed.
"It's going to take hours to get this paint out of my hair." He muttered. Clara helped him up and laughed. "Stop laughing!" He said, flicking some paint at her.
She gasped as the paint splattered across her face. She picked up the bucket of dark blue paint that was nearest to her and picked up the brush that was lying in it. She flicked it at him, and he brought his hands up to block the splotches of blue paint that were propelled towards him. He glared at her and wiped a long stripe of paint off of his face, throwing it at her. "Not my dress!" She yelled, flicking more paint at him.
He laughed as she readied the whole bucket to be thrown. "You wouldn't!" He said.
She smiled and nodded, "I would!"
He ran away as she started chasing him, throwing back small blotches of paint, hoping he didn't hit any of the walls. She eventually got tired and stopped, sitting down and laughing. "What are we doing?" She asked.
He sat down next to her and laughed. "I don't know." He muttered.
She set her head on his shoulder, not caring that her hair was going to get ruined. "We are so insane. How is this baby ever going to survive with us as parents?"
"She'll live through it." He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
She looked up at him and smirked. "You've got something on your lip." She said.
He raised an eyebrow. "I think you've got something on yours too."
"Really?" He nodded. She smiled and moved closer to him. "How about we help each other out then?"
"Hmm. How about we do that?" They closed the gap between them, the Doctor laughing when they pulled away from each other and Clara had light blue paint on her lips. She laughed along with him, lying back against the floor. "This girl is never going to be able to stand us if we're going to be like that all the time."
Clara shrugged. "We just won't do it in front of her." She chuckled as he nodded. "We're having a baby." She muttered to herself.
He lied down next to her, his hands behind his head. "Yep, a mini Clara."
"I bet she'll be more like you." Clara said.
He shrugged. "Maybe she'll be a mix of both. My cleverness and your beautifulness." '
"Beautifulness? Is that even a word?"
"It is now."
Clara laughed and looked up at the painted stars. She sighed contentedly, setting a hand on her stomach. "Your cleverness and my beautifulness." She smiled.
-x-
Nina knocked on the Doctor and Clara's flat door frantically. She sighed and stepped back, looking around helplessly. She brought the small postcard like letter to her face once again and nervously chewed on her nails. "This is going to tear Clara up," She muttered to herself, shaking her head. She knocked on the door a little harder this time. She sighed and turned around, resting her back on the door. She slid down, letting her head rest on the door. "Clara, where are you?"
-x-
"Stop it!"
"No! I think you look good in a bowtie."
"Doctor, get that monstrosity away from me!" Clara playfully pushed the Doctor away from her, pulling the bowtie off of her neck.
He laughed and took the bowtie away from her. "Be careful, it's silk." He muttered, putting it away in its designated box. "Hmm, let's try this red one. Red's your favorite color, right?"
Clara shook her head and frowned at the assortment of bowties. "Have you even worn all of these?" She asked skeptically.
"Oh yeah, definitely," He said with a nod. "This one," He pointed to a white one. "I wore on the Ponds' wedding. Lovely night, that." A sad smile crossed his face, until he moved onto the next one. "This one I got when I went to the zoo a while ago. Met some lovely giraffes there."
Clara smirked and asked, "Did they accept you into their family as one of their own."
He turned to her and frowned. "Did I take you with me there? How could you possibly know that?"
She chuckled and shook her head, looking back down at the bowties. She pointed at a dark blue one with pink stripes. "What about that one?"
"Ah, the Striped Prize! That's a wonderful story. So I was walking around this wonderful carnival when I come upon a booth where all of the prizes were different bowties! Obviously I was livid with excitement! So I walked up to the owner of the booth and I asked, 'What do I have to do to win one of these amazing bowties?' And he explained to me the rules of the game, it was really simple, and so I gave it a go, but the man cheated! Can you believe that Clara?! The owner of the booth cheated, making that game about ten times more difficult!"
"Was it a children's game?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
The Doctor scratched the back of his head. "Well, I suppose it could be classified as a children's game. All you had to do was get one of the sacks of sand into one of the three holes." Clara chuckled at him. He frowned and said, "But you can't cheat! It's even worse that he did it in a child's game!" Clara continued laughing. "Fine, I won't finish my story." He huffed, crossing his arms.
Clara covered her mouth, stopping her from laughing. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Continue your really interesting bowtie story."
He shook his head, pouting. "Nope, you lost your chance."
Clara chuckled and playfully swatted his arm. "You are ridiculous."
He smiled down at her and said, "But a good ridiculous."
"You sure about that?" She asked with a smirk. He frowned. "Yes, it's a good ridiculous."
He smiled and looked down at the bowtie, softly running a pink one through his fingers. "Do you think our little girl will like bowties?" He asked quietly.
"How are you so sure it's a girl?" Clara asked, gazing at his features as he looked at the bowtie, a warm feeling spreading through her stomach.
He turned to her with a smile and said, "I can feel it. It's just a small notification of existence in the back of my mind. Similar to what I started to feel when you finally reached your full potential as a part Time Lady. It's really soft. Barely noticeable. That's probably why I never noticed it until you pointed out that you were pregnant."
"How come I don't feel it?" Clara asked with a frown, a hand resting on the slightly noticeable bump of her stomach.
The Doctor shrugged and set down the bowtie. "You're only part Time Lady; you might not have adapted those certain traits. But, back to the bowties. Do you think she'll like them?"
Clara smiled and said, "If she's anything like her father she'll be obsessed with them."
He chuckled and breathed out. "Good."
Clara watched him, interlocking her fingers with his. "You're really excited about this, aren't you?" She asked quietly.
He looked down at her, his eyes soft. He slowly nodded. "Yeah, I really am." He said just as quietly.
-x-
Nina shut the door behind her as she walked onto the pavement. She turned and gasped when she saw a familiar blue box. She frowned when she saw a man standing in front of it in a long coat, knocking on the door. She walked up and asked, "Who are you?"
He turned to her and smirked. "Captain-"
"Jack?!" The Doctor asked in disbelief as he opened the TARDIS doors.
"Ah, Doctor. I see you've got a new face again. I was making my way to a lovely broads place when I saw the good old girl sitting right here. Thought I'd come by for a chat." Jack said. He turned to Nina. "And I just happened to meet this beautiful lady on the way." He extended his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness, at your service." He said with a smirk.
Nina ignored his hand and said, "No thanks mate. Not my type."
Jack's smirk faltered as he frowned in confusion. "What?" He asked, his voice shocked.
"You deaf? I said, 'No thanks mate. Not my type.'" She replied, saying her words slowly.
The Doctor smiled as he watched Jack fumble around in bewilderment. "I like her." He said to Clara. She smirked.
"So, we need to talk." Nina said, taking a deep breath.
Jack nodded and said, "Yep, can we go in?"
The Doctor nodded and moved so they could enter. Nina leaned against the console and said, "Okay, so are you really going to-"
"She's pregnant?!" Jack asked with a wide smile, looking at a monitor. "Congratulations!" He turned to the couple and immediately moved in to give them a wide group hug. He pulled away, holding them at arm's length and asking, "So, is it a boy or a girl?"
Nina's mouth dropped open as she watched them. "Wait, you're pregnant?" She asked, interrupting whatever the Doctor and Clara were saying.
Clara nodded. "Yep, a girl. The Doctor's already finished painting the nursery.
Nina stared accusingly at the Doctor. "You got her pregnant?!" She asked.
He frowned and swallowed. "Um, yes, is this a reason for argument rather than celebration?"
She walked up to him as she said, "It bloody well is reason for argument!"
"Nina," Clara sighed. "We've already established this, it was just a phase."
"You think this is about jealousy?!" Nina asked, turning to Clara.
Jack stepped between them. "Wait, what was a phase?" He asked with a mischievous look in his eye.
Nina ignored him and turned back to the Clara, about to pull something out of her back pocket before the Doctor stopped her, making sure no one else saw. "Nina, I think we need to talk privately." He nodded towards the corridor.
She frowned and shook her head. "No, are you hiding this from Clara?"
"Hiding what?" Clara asked, turning to the Doctor.
The Doctor grasped Nina's wrist lightly as she tried to reach into her pocket again. "Nina," He said more firmly. "We need to speak in private."
She sighed and jerked out of his grip, heading towards the corridor. The Doctor followed, averting Clara's questioning gaze.
Jack turned to Clara and asked, "What was that all about?"
She shrugged and said, "I really don't know."
He extended his hand. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."
"Taken," She muttered, walking around to the other side of the console.
"Two women won't greet me today! What has become of this world?!" He said dramatically, throwing up his hands.
Clara smirked and fiddled with some switches. "I'm Clara by the way."
"Yes, I've been informed. I was looking forward to meeting the famous Impossible Girl that stole the Doctor's hearts." Jack said with a smile.
Clara looked up. "Who's been telling you about me?"
He shrugged. "I have connections," He walked up to her. "So, you're part Time Lady huh? You're going to live longer now?" Clara nodded. He sighed, leaning against the console. "I'd say congratulations, but an extended lifetime isn't always the most exciting thing." Clara watched him, waiting for him to continue. He shifted and said, "I can never die. It's a long story, but in conclusion, I can never die. Well, I can never permanently die. I die, but then I come back to life."
Clara sighed sympathetically. "God knows I know what that feels like," She muttered, staring vacantly at the controls in front of her.
He frowned, studying her. "Yeah?" He asked.
She nodded, not looking up. She started, "I jumped into the Doctor's time stream a while back. That's how I'm part Time Lady. I've lived thousands of lives, all living and dying to save the Doctor. When I was in there… in his time stream, I'd live all the way through one of my lives, and then I'd die saving him. Then I'd just become another one, only knowing one consistent thing, that I needed to save him. I'd get little snippets of memories, of his voice, or his eyes." Her eyes glistened. "I'd find joy, love, loss, friendship… all of the things a normal person does. But then I'd throw that all away, just to save him. Then I'd just go through it all again. And eventually, I landed, and he saved me. Just this once… just for the hell of it." A small smile formed on her lips as she looked up.
Jack was silent for a long moment before he quietly asked, "Do you ever regret it?"
Her eyes drifted off to the side as she said, "Sometimes…" She frowned. "Sometimes I really, really regret it. I don't even know why. Maybe it's because all I had to go through, maybe it's because he treats it like it was nothing sometimes…" She turned back to Jack, looking straight into his eyes. "But in the end, I wouldn't even consider the idea of regretting my decision. After all, if I hadn't…" She looked down, her hands on her stomach as she smiled.
Jack nodded, smiling. He ran his hand through his hair as Clara looked back up at him. "I didn't choose to be immortal. Now that I know what it's like, if I had ever had the choice, I would've turned it down. But no, I didn't have a choice. So I don't really have anything to regret. I can't regret that my friend Rose saved the universe, you know. Because that's how I got like this. So, yeah." He looked down, flicking a random switch on the console.
Clara set a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her. She smiled, and he smiled back. She pulled her hand away and looked around the console room. "At least the TARDIS doesn't hate you." She said with a smile.
"Actually, she doesn't really agree with me either. When I was out there knocking, she actually tried to shock my hand." He said with a chuckle.
She turned to him. "Really? I thought it was only me the old cow had a ridiculous hatred for."
He shook his head. "Apparently not. You know what, Clara. I don't say this to a lot of people, but I think we are going to be great friends."
-x-
"You can't show Clara that envelope." The Doctor hissed, looking around nervously.
"Why not? I'm pretty sure she has the right to know, especially since you got her pregnant!" Nina hissed back.
"Shush." He quieted her. "She can't know yet. I just want her to have however much time she can in happiness. What good would it do her if she spent her pregnancy angry and worried?" Nina remained quiet. "Exactly. Just let her have her moment, however brief, of happiness." Nina nodded and they started heading back to the console room. The Doctor stopped with a frown, stopping Nina too.
"What is it?" She asked.
He brought a finger up to his lips, taking a quiet step forward. He stepped back and said, "They're talking. We'll have to wait out here."
Nina frowned in confusion. "Why?"
"Because Clara is talking about personal things… and Jack is being really really quiet, which means he's really really listening, which means that he understands her in a way that no one else probably could, and he's discovering that that means she understands him in a way that no one else probably could." The Doctor whispered, leading them away from the console room.
"What?"
"Something extremely private is happening and we shouldn't interfere!"
"Oh, okay."
"We'll have to find something else to do while we wait." He said, walking along the corridor.
Nina nodded. "Right." The Doctor glanced at her. "Don't get any ideas, Giraffe."
He stopped and frowned at her. "Giraffe? No one's called me Giraffe before."
"Yeah, even though you look like a giraffe, the name doesn't suit you."
"And I wasn't getting any ideas! I'm having a child with Clara for goodness sake." He said as they continued walking. "It doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the similarities that you two have." He muttered.
Nina frowned and looked up at him as she asked, "Similarities?"
"Just small things, like how you both give me nicknames, and you both have rather shapely bre-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop it right there, Chin."
The Doctor blushed and looked away. "Sorry." He said quietly. Nina nodded, and they continued walking. The Doctor smiled as they came upon the nursery. "Want to see little Rarmonivera's room?" He asked her.
"Rarmonivera?" She asked.
He frowned and said, "It's a work in progress." He opened the door and stepped in. He smiled wide. "All the paint's dried now. We still need to add in the baby things and a carpet, but the walls and ceiling are done."
Nina stepped in wordlessly, taking in the sight around her. She walked up to one of the walls, tracing the stars, creating constellations with her fingers. "This is amazing." She whispered.
"That's what Clara said." The Doctor said from the other side of the room, mentally planning out where what would go where.
Nina stepped away from the wall and looked up. "There's so much detail put into it." She gasped.
"Well, it's got to be the perfect room for the perfect little girl. I had to put as much detail as I could into it." He said, looking up and smiling. "I'm rather proud of how it's turned out." He looked down at the floor. "Luckily I lied down a protective sheet over the floor before I started painting, or else it'd be covered in paint." He chuckled.
They stayed silent as they gazed at the intricate masterpiece that was the walls and ceiling of the nursery. "We should probably be heading back." Nina said after a while.
The Doctor nodded, his mind snapping out of the plans it was making. "Yeah, they're probably done now."
I really liked writing this chapter. I know Jack isn't usually sweet and as open as he is in this chapter, but I just feel like that's how he would act with Clara, because in a way they do understand each other. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and please leave your reviews to tell me what you think I can do that would make reading this fic a better experience. I'm open to any suggestions.