A/N - Thank you for all your lovely comments!

Chapter Four

Monday morning rolled around quickly, and before she knew it, Clara was back standing on Platform 1, waiting for the 7:37 to London. She'd been keeping an eye out for the Doctor but hadn't spotted him. The train pulled in and commuters filed on. Damn, no more seats left today. Just as Clara has resigned to standing, her phone buzzed and she grinned when she saw the Doctor's name on the screen.

I'm on the 7:37. Coach B. I've saved you a seat. Dr x

Clara smiled and then shuffled past others, moving up to Coach B from where she was standing. She spotted the Doctor's fluffy grey hair first, his head buried in his book as he cleverly straddled two seats. As if sensing her presence, his head shot up and smiled broadly at her. He tilted his head, beckoning her over silently. Clara shuffled into the seat next to him, whispering apologies to the other commuters as she squeezed past. Only when she was sat down did she look up at him properly.

"Hello," she whispered.

"Morning," he whispered back, a smile tugging at his lips.

Clara was acutely aware of how close they were. The small seats meant from shoulder to thigh, she was pressed against the Doctor's side and she could feel the warmth radiating from him.

He leaned his head a little closer to hers. "Are we breaking all of the 'Commuter Rules' if we talk, do you think?" he whispered.

Clara laughed quietly and looked around at the other silent commuters. "Maybe," she said "But I don't care."

He grinned. "I was hoping I'd bump into you this morning," he said, his fingers nervously twiddling a button on his overcoat.

"Oh yes?"

He fidgeted a bit. "I…I have an unexpected free evening tonight, and I thought…I guess I wondered, if maybe…" He looked around a bit and lowered his voice to a deep whisper. "I wondered if you'd have dinner with me tonight?"

Clara smiled, her insides doing flips. "I'd love to," she answered.

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, which made Clara giggle. He was adorable.

"Great," he said finally. "I'm lecturing until 6.30 this evening, but maybe you could meet me at the Medical School and we can go from there?"

"Sounds perfect."

Clara had hardly been able to concentrate all day - she kept catching herself grinning like an idiot, wondering how long it had been before she'd been on a first date. She finished work at 5pm and could barely wait any long, so decided to wander over to the UCL Medical School to see the Doctor in action.

Following the signs for the lecture hall, Clara could hear his booming Scottish voice from miles away. She pushed a door open a little, peering in. The hall was filled with students and laptops and notebooks, all eyes on the Doctor walking up and down at the front, occasionally turning to point at the presentation behind him with diagrams and pictures. Clara slipped inside the door as quietly as she could, and found a seat right on the edge of a row.

She was enjoying seeing him in his element. He talked with such ease, such grace and intellect, and the students were hanging off of his every word. Clara was surprised to find herself extremely turned on.

"So, as you can see, the right side of the heart is actually-"

He whirled around and then suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes finally finding Clara's at the back of the room. He looked utterly surprised, but then smiled a little, unable to take his eyes from hers. The whole room seemed to turn around to find out what or who their lecturer was grinning at. Clara blushed, as did the Doctor.

He shook his head, trying to regain his focus.

"The right side of the heart," he said loudly, watching the heads of all the students swivel back towards him, "is actually pumping blood to the lungs, whilst the left side pumps it back into your body, like one big, coordinated machine."

The lecture ended about an hour later. Clara stayed put whilst the students filed out and the Doctor tidied up papers and his laptop at the desk. Once the room was empty, he called out to her at the back of the hall.

"Well, this is a nice surprise," he said, not looking up from the papers he was shuffling on his desk.

Clara grinned and made her way down the steps towards him.

"I had some free time after work and thought I'd come and see you in action."

He laughed. "I hope you weren't too disappointed."

Clara smiled. He was so self-deprecating.

"On the contrary," she said, leaning her hip against the desk next to him, watching his fingers toy with the paper, "I was impressed - those kids were hanging off your every word."

He looked at her intently. "There were other people here?"

Clara blushed and smiled shyly, feeling the hidden weight behind his words.

Then he shrugged and continued packing away. "They just want to pass their exam in the summer."

"Either way," she said, hopping onto the desk and swinging her legs back and forth, "watching you teach was a huge turn on."

The Doctor snapped his head up to look at her, a blush creeping onto his cheeks this time. Clara smiled cheekily at him and he laughed.

"Clara Oswald, are you flirting with me?" he teased, lowering his voice sexily.

"Most definitely."

He chuckled and finished packing away, then looked up at her, his eyes lingering on her face as he threw his bag over his shoulder.

"I'm glad you came," he said quietly, "Part of me thought you might change your mind over the course of the day."

She looked at him closely, almost falling into his eyes.

"Never." she said, watching the nervousness in his face fall away. She hopped down from the desk. "So, where are we going, Doctor?"

They started to walk up the stairs towards the exit. "I thought we'd go to this little Italian place around the corner - they have the most brilliant lasagne!"

Clara grinned. "Great! I love Italian food."

Just as they reached the doors, Clara took a bold leap and carefully slipped her hand into the Doctor's, threading her fingers through his. He looked startled, looking down at their hands and then back at her, but Clara felt him quickly relax.

"Is this ok?" she asked softly, praying he said yes because the weight and warmth of his hand felt just right.

He smiled down at her. "Most definitely."

A/N - Next up, the first date! Thanks for reading - please review if you can as it makes my day :)