Guess who's sick and stayed home? And watching The Muskateers? I'm sorry for not updating this earlier - I was actually rather busy last weekend, and I was sick last night. (I couldn't even move.)

But I'm better now - so enjoy!

Three. Phone

"So," Clara declared, opening the doors of the TARDIS. "Are we going anywhere? Or any-when?" She closed the doors behind herself as the Doctor lifted his head from the console. "I don't really know," he replied. "You'll have to tell me." Clara beamed at the Gallifreyan – and practically skipping forward, said, "Surprise me, Doctor. I just need you to take me somewhere interesting."

"Does the Org Constellation sound interesting enough for you?" the Doctor asked, leaning towards Clara with a wide smile. "It's brilliant. Has the largest collection of stars, all moving slowly – but all at once! And within the constellation are thousands and thousands of planets – some are small enough to fit a family of three; others are large enough to fit hundreds of billions of people. And the geography and the people there, Clara – you'd be impressed by the way they greet each other and the things they can do with whatever they have. They really are quite unique."

Despite herself, Clara let out a giggle of anticipation. "What are we waiting for, then?" she asked, spinning away from the console. "Let's go!"

"Ready to travel, then, are we?" the Doctor asked, already typing in the coordinates. Clara sidled up to him and with a wider grin, replied, "Always ready, Doctor. It's just…" She sighed happily, watching him punch in the numbers. "It's always exhilarating, isn't it? To know what's out those doors?" She beamed up at the Doctor when he looked down at her. Then, after a beat of silence, Clara asked, "What?"

"You're just very excited," the Doctor said simply, looking back down at the keyboard. "That's always good to see."

Clara poked the Doctor teasingly on the arm, replying, "Nice to know. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come –"

"If you won't quiet down, I'll have to find an effective way to shut you up," the Doctor interrupted. "Please – this is all delicate work." Clara's nose scrunched up. "Really?" she asked thoughtfully. "I always thought you just pulled random levers and hoped the TARDIS knew where it was going." The Doctor looked somewhat wounded by the comment, causing Clara to bite back a laugh. "I know my own machine, Clara Oswald," he said, pressing a button at the side as if to prove his words. "At least, much more than you would know."

"Are you sure? I bet if you let me drive the TARDIS another time, we can get anywhere quickly and neatly without any mishaps for once." Clara rested her chin on her hands, adding, "That'd be fun, don't you think, Doctor? Another driving lesson? Because as much as I love our time together in here, I think it'd be nice if I directed the TARDIS once in a while. Be the one to surprise you." She hesitated. "Actually, no, forget that – because I don't know quite as many places as you know, and that entire Robin Hood encounter was actually – oh! Do you think we can meet other people who I used to think were fictional? Because that would be really cool, it really would – hey!"

It appeared that the Doctor had finally found an effective way to shut Clara up. He had his lips pressed gently against hers, his hand placed underneath Clara's chin and other hand still tapping away at the keyboard. "I need you to quiet down once in a while," he mumbled against Clara's lips. "Honestly."

Clara's eyes opened for a quick second – and seeing that the Doctor's eyes were closed, smiled and tugged at his bottom lip, causing him to startle. "Don't try to boss me around," she said simply. The Doctor opened his eyes this time – and separating himself by only a few centimeters, replied, "I can make you do as you're told as easily as I can breathe."

"See, this would usually be the time the female says, 'I'd like to see you try' or something of the sort," Clara retorted. Letting go of the Doctor and taking a few steps back, Clara continued, "But I don't happen to be one of those girls." She pointed at the ground and with a coy wink, said, "And I'm afraid I'm just going to have to demonstrate that." Clara almost expected the Doctor to argue – to protest – to at least say that they better get back to the Org Constellation – but it seemed that once a game of control starts, it doesn't end until it's supposed to finish. And the Doctor wanted to finish the game. Clara couldn't blame him.

The Doctor, although wearing a look of false and exaggerated exasperation, walked over to Clara. The brunette took a single step on the upper level staircase – and first rested her palms on the Doctor's arms, smiling and looking up to see each reaction that the Doctor might possibly have. Bending down slightly, Clara let her lips hover over the Doctor – gently, slowly, carefully…

Ring! Ring, ring!

Clara felt palpable frustration bubble up in between the Doctor and herself as the sound of the TARDIS phone continued to rip through the air. "I should probably get hat later," the Doctor muttered. Clara, swallowing down her disappointment, replied, "No. Get it – no one is supposed to know this number, remember?" The Doctor pressed his lips together, as if to argue – but then bobbed his head into a single nod and headed for the console. He was already lifting the phone when Clara plopped herself down on the stairs, staring meaningfully at the item in the Doctor's hands.

Just another minute would have been nice! She thought indignantly. Just another minute to ourselves…

A/N - Reviews are always nice! Constructive criticism is fine, but flames are not.