CHAPTER 25
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THE DOCTOR STOPS RUNNING . . . FOR A LITTLE WHILE
"Gran, do you think that Mum's alright? She still hasn't come back yet. She's never been gone this long before," Merry asked Ellie for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last three days since Clara had disappeared without a trace.
"I'm sure that she is. Don't worry so much, Merry. She'll come back any time now, and everything will be just fine. You'll see," Ellie said in a reassuring tone even as she struggled to keep her own worry off of her face.
Merry was right. Clara had never been gone for this long before without at least calling Merry to make sure that she was alright. Ellie knew that something was wrong, but she couldn't do a thing about it because she didn't even know where or when Clara was. She was completely helpless, and it was the worst feeling in her life to not know where her daughter was or what was happening to her.
It was an aching sense of loss that was constantly threatening to turn into total despair the longer that she was without her. The only thing that kept her from completely falling apart was the fact that Merry needed her to remain strong.
Suddenly Ellie and Merry both heard a familiar sound coming from outside, and they both rushed outside to see a mysterious cylindrical object materializing out of thin air in their front yard. It wasn't the Doctor's familiar blue box, but it sounded just like it as it solidified.
What was going on here?
The doors opened and the Doctor immediately stepped out with a hopeful expression on his face. He began to smile as soon as he saw Ellie and Merry and shouted in joy.
"We made it, Clara! I knew that we would find the right place eventually. I still can't believe that you ever doubted me," The Doctor said.
"I wonder why? You've had us wandering around lost for what seems like ages now, Chinny. First we wound up meeting Marco Polo who kept insisting that you were too young to be the Doctor, then you got in that stupid argument with Casanova over chickens, and then we got caught up in an adventure with the bloody Flying Dutchman. Are you sure this is the right place this time or am I going to have to let Koschei strangle you after all?" Clara's voice said from within the strange ship.
"Mum!" Merry screamed as she went running towards the ship now.
"Yep, I'm pretty sure this time," The Doctor said with a grin.
"Merry!" Clara shouted with joy as she raced outside to hug the little girl tightly.
"What's going on, Clara? Where have you been?" Ellie said as she began silently crying tears of joy without even realizing it.
Clara picked Merry up and immediately walked over to her mother while carrying her as she said, "I'm so sorry, Mum. It wasn't my fault though. Something . . . something terrible happened and we only just got back from it. There was another version of Koschei from another reality who went completely round the bend and wanted to kill the Doctor not to mention take over every universe everywhere. We've been helping what seemed like every Doctor from every reality to fight her and this evil witch named Nightshade to keep them from taking over the entire multiverse."*
Ellie looked at her in disbelief as she said, "That sounds even worse than what the Daleks were up to."
Clara nodded as she said, "Oh, it was. It really was. They actually had this huge android army controlled by the consciousness of everyone who had ever died in every reality that they were going to use to conquer everything. They came so close to winning too which is more than a bit terrifying. In the end, they were both defeated but at a terrible cost. The version of The Doctor and Rose who led all of us against them both vanished. It was Nightshade's last act of revenge against them. She trapped them in another universe and no one knows where they are. I – I was so afraid that was going to be us. I was afraid that we would be lost forever or that we would die without anyone knowing what happened to us."
"We're okay now though, Clara. The Time Lords of that reality lent us a TARDIS to send us back home. It was a newer model than what I'm used to so it just took me a while to get used to its controls. I mastered it anyway though after a little trial and error, and I got us back to the right place after all . . . eventually," The Doctor said.
"Eventually? Eventually! We've been traveling for a week, you idiot! That's it. I'm going to kill him now. I don't care what any of you say," The Master said as he came out of the TARDIS with a murderous look in his eyes while Tish and Jenny both tried to hold him back.
"Koschei, we're finally back now. That's all that matters," Tish said as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and planted her feet firmly on the ground while trying to keep him from moving any further.
"I had to listen to him babble and carry on about how the next trip would be the right one and how he had gotten it right this time for a week, Tish. I was trapped with that annoying moron with no way to get away for . . . a week! You're lucky I'm not a gibbering madman right now," The Master said.
"Yes, and you were always such a poster boy for sanity before," The Doctor said with a mischievous smile.
The Master's face immediately turned red as he screamed in anger and ran towards the Doctor like a runaway bull while he dragged both Tish and Jenny along with him. Clara would have laughed her head off at it all if she hadn't been half afraid that he really would tear the Doctor apart.
Marion suddenly appeared in-between the Doctor and the Master in a burst of golden energy with an enormous frown on her face as she said, "Hold it right there. Yes, he is an annoying little prick sometimes, but he's our annoying little prick. Just calm down, Koschei. It's over now."
"But I was trapped for an entire week . . . with him! I have to do something about that. All of that anger and frustration has to be let out somehow. Let me hit him just once," The Master pleaded.
Marion rolled her eyes and sighed as she said to the Doctor, "You just had to mock him didn't you? I don't know why I even bother helping you sometimes."
"Maybe it's because you have a weakness for poor dumb animals?" Ten said with a smirk making both Marion and Rose burst out laughing at once.
"Oi!" Both The Doctor and The Metacrisis said in protest.
"You do realize that you just insulted yourself too, right?" Martha asked in amusement.
"Yeahhh, but I really had it coming," Ten said.
"You really did," Martha agreed.
"I'm just glad to finally be out of there. After a week of being trapped with that man and his terrible driving, I was almost starting to sympathize with the Master," Francine said with a sigh.
Tish smiled as she said, "Really?"
"I said almost," Francine said.
"You should have known that it wouldn't be that easy," Martha said grinning at Tish.
"Wait a minute. So none of you thought to just pilot the TARDIS back yourselves instead of relying on the Doctor?" Merry asked.
The Doctor began to grin from ear to ear as Clara said, "Well, about that . . ."
Merry started to laugh at the looks on all of their faces as she said, "I can't believe this! None of you knew how to fly it did you? None of you!"
"Hey! Don't judge us, okay? It was a TARDIS from another reality. It wasn't calibrated for this universe so it kept taking us to the wrong time and place because it was still set for the other reality," Jenny explained.
"That's right and they couldn't figure out how to compensate for that. I was the only one who could figure it out. Me!" The Doctor said proudly.
"That's because he has hundreds of years of experience with a TARDIS that keeps constantly taking him to the wrong place all of the time. Of course he's used to it by now," Clara teased.
The TARDIS from the other universe now quickly started to dematerialize as the Doctor said, "They must have used the recall circuit as soon as they realized that we were in the right place this time. I hope none of you left anything important on board."
"Just my patience," The Master said still fuming.
"Wait a minute though. How are my Doctor and I going to get back home without it? You said that your Time Lords were back now so can they take us back?" Rose asked hopefully.
Marion smiled as she said, "Now that I'm in the right reality and I actually know for sure where and when I am again I'll do it. I would have done it before but that other TARDIS was confusing my senses as long as it was around. I was really mucking about with them for some reason."
"That's probably because it was giving off a different temporal signature since it was from another reality. I have to admit that it was very strange to be in someone's else TARDIS for that long. It really made me homesick. I miss Sexy," The Doctor admitted.
"It's okay, Doctor. We'll be back together with her soon. I'm sure that she missed you too," Clara said as she gave him a tender kiss.
"I'd be worried about the TARDIS being the competition if I was you, Clara," Martha teased.
The Doctor turned red with embarrassment as he said, "Just . . . shut up!"
Rose smiled at him fondly as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said, "I'm really going to miss this version of you, Doctor."
"Why?" The Master asked in disbelief.
"Stop it, Koschei!" Tish said with a groan as she punched him in the arm making him cry out.
Rose laughed at them as she said, "Yeah, you can really tell that they're married alright."
Then she leaned forward and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Maybe you should try it out yourself."
The Doctor and Clara looked at one another in silence for a brief moment and then Clara finally broke the silence as she said, "I have to admit that I was thinking the same thing."
The Doctor nodded as he said in an emotional voice, "So was I. After what happened to that other Doctor, I just kept thinking about it over and over again. What if that had been me who was lost? What if I never saw you again?"
Clara put her arms around him in comfort as he said, "I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my lives regretting what might have been, Clara. I know that I said that I wasn't ready for marriage before but now I am. What happened finally made me realize what was important in my life: You."
Clara smiled and said, "See, Chinny? We must really be ready to be married because we're already starting to think on the same wavelength. I was thinking the exact same thing."
The Doctor then took a blue signet ring out of his pocket and dropped to one knee as he said, "I know that it isn't a wedding ring but it's all that I have. I didn't exactly plan this after all."
Clara smiled recognizing the ring as she said, "It's okay. It'll do until you get a real one. I can't believe that you still have it after all of these years."
"It's beautiful. Where did it come from?" Merry asked as she looked at it with wide eyes.
Clara smiled as she said, "Believe it or not, I bought it for the Doctor in the same market where I first met you, Merry. It was to celebrate his graduation from the Academy. I wanted him to have it because I was so proud of him for actually making it through. For a while there, neither of us was sure that he was going to graduate since he made so low in some of his classes especially his driving course."
The Doctor smiled as he said, "You always believed in me even when I didn't believe in myself. That's why I held onto this ring even when I couldn't wear it anymore after I regenerated in order to remind me of that . . . and you."
"I saw you wearing it when you left Gallifrey with Susan. I can't tell you how good that made me feel to know that you were still thinking about me even after all of that time," Clara said.
"I never stopped thinking about you and how stupid I was not to tell you how I felt about you," The Doctor admitted.
Clara had tears in her eyes as she said, "Neither did I."
"Ask her already, Dad," Jenny said with a huge smile.
The Doctor nodded as he started to speak and then hesitated. Clara looked at him in confusion for a moment as she wondered if he was already having second thoughts.
"I'm not sure what name to use in the proposal. Clara or Alura," The Doctor finally admitted.
Clara laughed with relief as she said, "Clara, Doctor. Definitely Clara."
The Master looked disturbed by that which quickly made Clara say, "Don't look so glum, Koschei. I'm still Alura Selene Heartshaven in all of the ways that matter, and I'll always be your friend. Alura's life ended a long time ago though when she failed to take a chance on love when she had it. Clara Oswald's life is just beginning however, and this is just the next part of it. This time I'm not going to stand by and let you slip away from me again, Doctor. This time you're not getting away no matter how hard you try."
The Doctor smiled as he said, "Believe me, Clara. This is the one time that I'm not running away from something but towards it instead."
"Then ask me, Doctor," Clara said.
The Doctor smiled as he said, "Clara Oswald, will you marry me?"
Clara paused with a look on her face as though she were deep in thought and said nothing for what seemed like an eternity. The Doctor started to look worried as he searched Clara's face for clues as to what her answer might be.
Jenny finally lost her patience after a few moments and shouted, "Oh, come on!"
"Mum, say yes already!" Merry said in exasperation.
"Clara, I swear if you don't say something in a minute, I'm going to . . ." Marion said as she started to glow with power.
Clara laughed as she said, "Alright, alright. I just didn't want the Doctor to take my answer for granted."
The Doctor looked at her in fear and she immediately felt sorry for what she had done as she hugged him and said, "Of course it's yes, Doctor. Yes, yes, yes! I'm so sorry for scaring you, Chin Boy."
The Doctor immediately smiled and the two of them shared a passionate kiss as the others cheered. Clara then put the Doctor's ring on her finger and showed it off to the others proudly while Rose smiled smugly at her husband.
"I told you I could get him to do it. You owe me five pounds," Rose said.
The Metacrisis smiled as he paid up on the wager. He had known what his original self was going to do of course, but he couldn't resist making a bet on it. Rose was the one person that he enjoyed losing to after all because he always got a conciliatory kiss out of it.
Marion rolled her eyes at her other self as she said, "Okay, it's time to go home now, Rose. I'll make sure to bring you back for the wedding though. I promise."
"You'd better. I wouldn't miss that for anything," Rose said with a warm smile.
"Good bye, Rose. I'm so glad that you've finally gotten what you wanted after so long. If anyone deserves it you do," The Doctor said as he hugged Rose tightly.
"That's funny. I was about to say the same thing to you, Doctor. Don't muck things up this time around now that you have a second chance with her. You have a good life, yeah? Promise me that," Rose said in a heartfelt voice as she hugged him back.
"I will," The Doctor said.
"Good bye, Doctor," Rose said as she took the Metacrisis' hand and gestured to Marion that she was ready.
Marion waved good bye as she snapped her fingers and finally sent her original self back home at last. She silently wished her good luck as she did so.
"Well, I guess it's time that I went too, Doctor. It's long past time that my Doctor and I got our own forever after all. I want you and Koschei to at least try not to kill each other while I'm away, alright? I'll be watching you so don't even think about it. I don't want to have to come back and slap both of you unconscious," Marion said.
"She's not kidding either so you'd better watch yourself, Chinny," Ten said with a grin that showed that he was enjoying the fact that he wasn't the one in trouble for once.
"You know you're really living up to your catchphrase this time, Matchstick Man. You never do want to go do you?" The Doctor said with a frown.
"You will be back for the wedding, right?" Clara asked Marion as she ignored the two Doctors' bickering.
Marion nodded as she said, "You know I will. I've waited a very long time for this, Clara. I'll be there and so will Rose. Until then, take care of yourselves, okay?"
"You don't have to worry anymore, Marion. I'll take care of my boys from here on out," Clara said with a wicked smile as she put one arm around the Doctor and one around the Master.
Tish raised her eyebrow at that as she said, "Your boys?"
Clara laughed good naturedly as she said, "Koschei might be your husband, Tish, but he's always going to be one of my boys. I mean that in a totally platonic way of course."
Then she looked at the Doctor seductively as she said, "At least I do with Koschei anyway."
"Stop that, Mum. You're freaking me out," Merry said even though her face was covered with a huge grin.
Ellie grinned as she said, "Well, I'm definitely not freaking out, Clara. I'm so happy for you and I'm so glad that I could be here to see this. I – I never thought that I would. I died when you were still so young after all."
Clara looked at her with tears in her eyes as she said, "I'm glad that you're here too. It just makes this moment absolutely perfect, Mum. Whenever I imagined my wedding day, it always made me so sad in a way because I knew that you wouldn't be there. I'm so grateful that I've gotten more than one second chance in my life lately."
That was when the Doctor's TARDIS finally returned from Pete's World where he had left it when he had been taken to the other universe. Apparently Handy had set the coordinates to send it back to him the Doctor realized with an appreciate smile.
"Well, now that Handy's finally sent Sexy back we can go somewhere and celebrate, Clara. Do you have any suggestions?" The Doctor asked even as he raced towards the TARDIS happy to see his home once more.
"How about we stay here for a while before we start running off somewhere again, Doctor? I think we've already been gone enough lately, don't you? I'd like to spend some time celebrating the good news with my family if you don't mind, Mr. Chin," Clara said as she put her arms around her mother and Merry.
The Doctor nodded and said in a disappointed voice, "Yes, you're right of course. It's just that I hate staying in one place for too long."
"Soon, Doctor. You'll get your chance soon enough I promise," Clara said as she kissed him.
Then she smiled at him mischievously as she added, "You see I've gotten used to the running now, Doctor. It's gotten in my blood and I don't think that I could stop if I tried."
"Why would you want to?" The Doctor asked with a sly smile.
"Face it. You're one of us now, Clara," Jenny said happily.
"I wouldn't want it any other way, Jen," Clara said as she hugged her.
Tish looked on in amusement as she saw the Master looking at this happy moment with a large smile on his face.
"Admit it. You're happy for him, aren't you?" Tish said.
"I'm just glad that I don't have to be stuck in the same TARDIS with him anymore," The Master said.
Tish shook her head as she said, "Oh, no you don't. Admit it. You're happy for him and you know it."
"I'm happy for both of them," The Master finally said in a quiet voice before giving Tish a loving kiss.
*See my story, War of the Guardians: The Eye of the Storm, if you're curious about this.
Next: You didn't really think that things would stay this happy for long did you? Of course not! No sooner are the Doctor and Clara planning their wedding then trouble comes looking for them in the guise of an old friend of the Doctor's who is all grown-up now and finding herself up to her neck in troubles all of her own. Whatever happened to Ace anyway? The Doctor is about to find out.