Okay, the problem with the reviews seems to be solved now. When I checked again this morning they all showed up. Thank you all so much for leaving one :)

Chapter 6

"So, what do you like?" Clara asked as they were standing in the middle of a Sainsbury's shop on Cromwell Road a short while later. The Doctor was grumpy about having been dragged away from his unfinished painting but eventually he had given in after Clara had insisted on a meal they could cook together.

"I'm not picky. I'll just buy what I need," he replied, looking around the shop as if he hadn't set foot in a supermarket in ages.

"In your case that's everything," Clara giggled and pushed the cart ahead.

The Doctor followed her reluctantly but stopped when the phone in his pocket rang. She turned around to see him answer it and waited as he talked to whoever was on the other end. It took him a while so Clara diverted her attention to the rack next to her with wine on sale.

"Clara," his voice tore her from her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing next Saturday?" he asked her, holding his phone lower.

She shrugged. "Nothing in particular, why?"

"There's the grand reopening at the gallery. Would you like to go? Missy is displaying some of my paintings."

That was the second time the Doctor had mentioned that particular name without explaining who it was but now Clara figured that she was somehow connected to selling his art. And the idea of attending a gallery event with him sounded actually kind of nice.

"Yes, sure. That sounds like fun," Clara agreed.

The Doctor placed his phone back against his ear.

"Yeah, we'll be there," he said into the phone, "I. . . I do not. . . I don't dress in rags," he groaned, "Yes, yes, I will. Bye."

The Doctor slid the phone back into the pocket of his jacket and came to a halt next to Clara.

"So, this Missy," Clara started, "She's your. . . what, exactly?"

He took a deep breath and his face once again became unreadable to her.

"Missy and I go way back," he said eventually, "She's a friend now. Basically my only friend. And she displays and sells my art. Makes a fortune off me, so she's happy."

Clara cocked an eyebrow at him. "She's also an ex, am I right?"

For a moment she thought she had gone to far again, like earlier when she had asked about Amelia but to her surprise the Doctor smiled in reply.

"Yeah, she's an ex. But that was a long time ago. She dumped me. I can't actually remember what for."

I think I have an idea what for, Clara thought but figured it would be better to keep this to herself as she pushed the cart further ahead. The fact that he couldn't even remember why his ex had broken up with him spoke volumes about what their relationship must have been like.

Under his protests Clara dragged the Doctor through every single aisle, filling the cart with the essentials and a few things he pointed out that he liked if she managed to coax that much information out of him. They spent a long time in front of the shelf filled with energy drinks and once Clara had explained to the Doctor what they were he was keen to try them.

"You need proper sleep," Clara scolded him, "Not more caffeine in your bloodstream."

"I'm an artist. Art never sleeps," the Doctor complained and turned towards her, "Enough about me. Let's buy something you like."

It took them an hour and a half to fill the cart and pay before they finally headed back to his house and were able to start making dinner. Clara was nearly starving by that time and impatiently prepared their meal while the Doctor was already looking forward to get back to painting. It seemed as if to him things like food or sleep were simply distractions from what really mattered: his art.

"Have you made a decision yet?" the Doctor asked over dinner. Clara had set the table in the kitchen before he even had the chance to protest although she knew that he would have rather eaten upstairs in his studio.

She raised her eyebrow. "About what?"

A shy smile appeared on his face, the kind that Clara thought she couldn't really resist. "About whether you want to be my muse or not. Whether you want to stick around."

"I didn't realize you wanted a definite answer to that question."

The Doctor hesitated for a moment, poking around in his food.

"When you asked about Amelia," he said eventually, "I got a little defensive. I get very much attached to my muses, friends, whatever you want to call it because to you it probably seems like the same thing. So if you don't really want to spend more time with me I want to know."

"I want to," Clara said immediately because it was the truth, "The last 24 hours have been utterly strange but in a good way. I'd like to stick around."

He looked up and now smiled at her sincerely.

"But I can't be your full time muse," she insisted, "I have a job, I have friends, my family. It can't always be like today."

"That's okay," the Doctor said immediately, "That's important."

He suddenly jumped up from his seat and went to the kitchen counters to retrieve something from a drawer. A few seconds later he held a key in her face.

"What is that?" she wanted to know.

"It's the key to my house. Go on. Take it."

"You're giving me a key to your house?" Clara asked, completely baffled. She was practically still a stranger to him and he shouldn't trust her with something as important as this. She hadn't even trusted Danny with a key to her apartment and they had been dating for six months.

"I want you around," the Doctor said simply, "You said that you have your job and friends. This is my way of saying that you're always welcome to stop by any time. And also I don't always hear the doorbell when I'm upstairs."

"I probably won't come back here until after the painting class on Friday," she objected. Still he didn't lower the key.

"Please, just take it," he said gently.

With a sigh Clara reached out and finally took the key from him, vowing not to use it unless it was an emergency. She wanted to be around. She wanted to be close to the Doctor. But she didn't want to move in with him, not as his muse, not after just a day.

After they had both finished dinner the Doctor and Clara went back upstairs. Clara to her markings and the Doctor to finishing his painting before he resumed sketching her. They listened to music, they talked and when Clara started to grow tired the Doctor offered her the guest bedroom next to his own and she thankfully accepted. When or if the Doctor went to sleep Clara didn't know.

OOO

Returning to work on Monday felt strange, to say the least. Spending the entire weekend with the Doctor had been like a holiday, like an exotic vacation to another land and being back in school among her unruly students and her boring colleagues reminded her again of how dull her life actually was.

She talked to Courtney Woods, asked her if she was alright, if she was having problems at school or at home with her parents. The girl denied it all, like Clara had suspected she would but at least she had tried and it was another thing crossed off her mental list.

Clara had also agreed to go to the cinema with Danny on Wednesday and she had picked the latest James Bond film, something with a lot of action so Danny wouldn't even get any ideas. Yet somehow he had managed to turn a simple visit to the cinema into an all day event.

He caught her after school and Clara had no excuse ready and so she got dragged off to a café. Moodily she sat in front of her coffee and chips.

"You missed quite a lot of fun on Friday," Danny told her with a broad grin.

"Oh?" Clara asked and took a sip from her coffee.

"Yeah, you know, karaoke night. Lisa and Frank," his grin only widened.

"What about Lisa and Frank?" she asked in an attempt to show interest when really the way he looked at her was beginning to unsettle her. Danny didn't take his eyes off her for a moment. He shouldn't be allowed to do that. They weren't an item anymore. She was starting to think that going out with just Danny had been a stupid idea.

"Lisa and Frank got drunk again, only this time it didn't end in just a chaste kiss. Catherine caught them snogging in front of the pub when she went out for a smoke."

Danny laughed. Apparently he found what happened to be greatly amusing. The story of Lisa and Frank sounded a lot like the story of Clara and Danny. With them it had started out exactly the same and Clara was beginning to rue the day.

"Listen," she said, clearing her throat, "Since we're here already we could basically catch the earlier screening of the film. Don't you think?"

She forced a smile and Danny looked quite disappointed at her suggestion. But luckily for her he agreed.