Sorry for the delay, but my mum got married this weekend and there was a lot to organize beforehand. But after last night's episode I felt the need to write. Surely you can all understand that? Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you like the new one :)

Chapter 6

Clara was beginning to understand him and she wanted to hit herself just a little bit because she hadn't thought about it earlier. 900 years stuck on a foreign planet, fighting a war that he had chosen because he wanted to defend the people that he ended up outliving one by one.

Her sympathy for him vanished however when she went downstairs and found the TARDIS missing, along with the Doctor and Isabel. She should be in school right now, not travelling the universe while Clara was stuck at home. It maddened her that the Doctor went over her head as soon as he disliked her opinions or wishes. And it was especially frustrating because Vastra had asked them both to watch over Isabel and how were they to straighten her out when they were both fighting over which method to choose?

The familiar sound of the TARDIS interrupted her thoughts when it landed on its usual spot in the conservatory. The Doctor left his blue box only moments later, whistling to himself. His good mood only angered her more.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded to know.

The Doctor was taken aback by her attack and pondered his answer for a moment.

"We took a little trip. To a nice little planet I should take you to some day," he explained, "Why are you mad?"

"Oh, you picked up on that? I'm mad because I woke up and the two of you were gone without saying anything. You could have at least left a note," Clara looked around, "Where is Isabel by the way?"

"In school, where I dropped her off after our little excursion. She protested that she didn't want to go to school so we made a deal, which, by the way, worked."

"Doctor, we need to talk about this. Vastra put us both in charge and so far you overruled every decision that I made and that can't go on like that. If you want Isabel to take us seriously, we need to work together."

"Why would I want her to take me seriously? I thought the goal was to turn her into a normally functioning human being."

"Because she is a teenager and teenagers need supervision, not being abducted by aliens in a blue box," Clara screamed.

Before Clara could say anything else, she realized the Doctor was approaching her. If it had been any other man, she would have felt threatened, but the Doctor wouldn't hurt her. And then suddenly, he kissed her. Clara was so surprised, she pushed him away at once.

"What?" the Doctor asked, seeming a little annoyed.

"What did you do that for?" Clara felt her lips with her fingers, now angrier and more confused than before.

"I thought you wanted this. Didn't you tell me a few days ago that you wanted things to be like when I was human?" The Doctor clearly had no idea what he had done wrong.

"Not now," Clara was frustrated, "How can you think I wanted you to kiss me right now when we are in the middle of an argument?"

"Well, I don't know. Human emotions are completely irrational."

Clara sighed. "We'll talk about this later. I need a shower."

"Good idea," the Doctor called after her. Clara didn't have energy to find an answer to this one.

OOO

"Bye! See you at 7!" Isabel turned around to a friend once more before she left the school building. When she looked back to the exit, she saw a familiar woman standing there, waiting for her.

"I'm not interested in your alien school," she said as she passed her by.

"Isabel, wait," the usually stern woman looked friendlier tonight. Less like a teacher, and more like a normal human being. Except that Isabel knew she was not human. "If you say no, you should at least know what you're saying no to."

"What are you suggesting?" Isabel asked cautiously, eyeing Cindra.

"I suggest we take a look together. Tomorrow after school. What do you think about it?"

When Isabel didn't answer, the woman continued. "I have a teleporting device that could take us both to the school and back in a matter of seconds. You look around for as long as you want and if you don't like it, I'll take you back and never bother you again. Deal?"

Isabel was reluctant. "I'll think about it."

The woman smiled. "You do that. My offer stands. A talent like yours should not be wasted in a facility like this," she pointed at Coal Hill.

OOO

When Clara heard the door open, she jumped into the corridor and greeted Isabel with a warm smile.

"Hey, how was school?" she asked.

Isabel shrugged. "You're not mad anymore?"

"Not at you, don't worry. I made tea and sandwiches if you're hungry," Clara said as she lead the young girl into the kitchen. She looked at her and hardly recognized the child she had once treated as her own in the 60s.

"I wanted to ask you something," Clara started, "Did we make the right decision for you?"

Isabel looked up from her sandwich.

"In making you stay with Vastra and Jenny?"

"I would have preferred to stay with you and the Doctor, travelling in the TARDIS:"

Clara watched how her eyes sparkled when she said the word TARDIS. Isabel really liked travelling with the Doctor. And how could she not?

"The TARDIS is no place for a kid. At least not permanently. It's dangerous more often than it's not. And the Doctor, well. . . I don't know if he'd have made a great father figure. I hope you understand that?"

Isabel ignored her last question. "I like him. He's the only one who doesn't treat me like a child."

Clara said nothing. There was a lot she could have said, about how Isabel would wish in a few years that someone could still take the weight of adulthood from her shoulders, about how she should enjoy those years, but Isabel wouldn't believe her. Teenagers rarely did.

"Can I ask you a question?" Isabel asked in return.

"Sure."

"I wanted to meet with some friends tonight. Just for a little while. Can I go?"

"But it's a school night," Clara answered, on the verge of saying no immediately.

She felt an odd tingling in her head, before she heard herself say. "Well, of course you can. You're 15. Just don't stay out too late, okay?"