Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who all rights go to the BBC

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My life's been really hectic and with a recent loss in the family I haven't been able to keep up with the story as much as I had hoped. So, I'll try to update as often as I can, but if I'm gone for awhile just be patient. I have no intention of abandoning this story. Plus there is so much more to come in future chapters ;) Enjoy!

Claire Outfits: artist_doctor_chapter_24/set?id=122096738&lid=3219209

chapter_24/set?id=122293746&lid=3219209

The past couple of days had been uneventful. The Doctor mainly kept to himself and spent the majority of his time fixing odds and ends around the TARDIS that didn't need fixing. Whenever I tried to keep him company or ask him if he wanted to do something or needed any help with anything he would only push me away. He was doing exactly what Amy and River feared he would do; he was forcing himself to be alone.

I knew that he needed time to grieve over the loss of his two dearest friends, but I feared that he would completely push me away. I was terrified that we would lose the special bond that we had. Whenever I was around he didn't so much as look at me the way he used to.

Before the Ponds left we were inseparable. The two of us were best friends and were slowly beginning to fall in love. Whenever he got the chance he would bop me on the nose, kiss my forehead, or keep his arm around my shoulder. We had never gone this long without showing some bit of affection and it was slowly starting to kill me. Not only was I losing the man I loved, but I was also losing my best friend.

In order to keep myself occupied I spent the majority of my time reading in the library or sketching in my room. Most of my sketches were observational drawings for I was still afraid that if I made anything up, it would come to life and cause havoc.

I sat on my bed and flipped through my sketchbook, examining the interiors of the TARDIS I had drawn along with quick sketches of Amy and Rory from memory. A couple of pages were dedicated to a few copies of the circular Gallifreyan language I had found around the TARDIS. The details of the circles were very complex and took me hours to perfect. Unfortunately, I still didn't understand what it said. I had searched the library for a book on it, but ended up fruitless.

It would've taken me years to explore that entire library. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with books. Not to mention that each turn you took you would end up in a completely different section with more aisles of bookshelves. It was a miracle I didn't get lost in there.

I flipped to the most recent pages in my sketchbook. Most of them were observational drawings of the Doctor. While he was working, I would sit a good distance away from him and draw him. Most of the time he didn't notice me, but when he did he would throw me a single glance before turning back to his work. No smile. No twinkle in his eyes. Nothing. It was like I was nothing but air to him and it crushed me.

With a heavy sigh I closed my sketchbook and stepped into the bathroom. I ran the tub and watched as the steam radiated off the water as I added my favorite peach bubble bath to the mix. I watched sadly as the bubbles began to grow as the water level rose slowly. Once the water was high enough, I shut the tap off and stripped down to nothing. The scorching water burned at my skin as I stepped into the bath. Slowly I lowered myself into the water breathing in deeply as the warming scent of peaches filled my nostrils. A sigh of content escaped my lips as I leaned back, allowing the water to soak my hair and face.

I held my breath as I went under and stayed there until I couldn't go any longer without air. This had become a daily routine of mine right before bed. The scorching water soothed me along with the light scent peaches from the bubbles. I would lie in the water until the skin on my hands and feet wrinkled up like prunes or until I couldn't take the heat anymore.

After a good ten to fifteen minutes, I stepped out of the tub and dried myself off. My skin had flushed a light pink after sitting in the scorching water for so long. If the Doctor had found out I was sitting in scorching water for such lengths of time he probably would've have scolded me or demanded that I at least add some colder water to the mix. A single tear rolled down my cheek, which I quickly wiped away before more followed. He'll turn around… eventually. He just needs time.

Once I was dried off, I changed into a pair of light blue pajama shorts and a light grey Mickey Mouse t-shirt. I dried my hair off as much as I could with the towel before brushing it out. As soon as I finished, I left the steamy bathroom and headed straight for my bed. I pulled back the satin covers before snuggling into them with a sigh of content. My arms immediately reached out for my Simba pillow pet, which I held protectively against my chest. My small frame curled into the fetal position around the comfort object before slowly drifting off to sleep.

I awoke with a start at the light knocking at my door. I peered into the dimly lit room with sleep filled eyes. "What?" I mumbled half asleep.

The door creaked open revealing a familiar mop of floppy brown hair and a slightly concerned face. "Claire, may I come in?" The Doctor asked still standing in the doorway.

"Yeah." I answered groggily.

The Doctor sat on the end of my bed and stared down at me with an unreadable expression. I stared back up at him as I suddenly started to grow nervous. With a heavy sigh the Doctor turned away from me and began untying his shoes. I raised an eyebrow in confusion and watched him curiously. He tossed his boots to the side along with his mismatched socks and moved to untie his bowtie.

"Erm… Doctor… Why are you undressing?" I asked when he stood up to take off his jacket.

"I thought I'd come join you. If… that's okay, I can't seem to sleep lately. Then I remembered that the last I'd gotten the best sleep in my life was when I was with you so I figured I'd come in here. If I'm allowed, that is. Am I?" He asked hopefully.

I bit my bottom lip in thought. "On one condition."

He frowned. "And that would be?" His fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

I chewed on my lip nervously before mustering up the courage to tell him how I felt. Sitting up I turned to stare him dead in the eye. "Don't you ever ignore me for that long again. I was starting to think you didn't want me anymore."

The Doctor avoided my gaze as he sat heavily on the bed. "I am so, so sorry. I never should've pushed you away. Amy said I would if I wasn't careful and of course I did." He hid his face in his hands as he hung his head in shame. "Will you ever forgive me?"

Slowly, I crawled up behind him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "Of course." I whispered in his ear before burying my face between his shoulder blades.

After a few moments of a comfortable silence, the Doctor pulled away from me to stand up.

"Doctor, what are you doing-" A loud gasp escaped my lips as he started taking his shirt and pants off. Quickly, I held my hands up to my eyes.

"What's the matter?" The Doctor asked me in confusion.

"If you're going to strip could you do it in the other room?" My face was quickly begging to resemble a tomato.

"But I'm not naked." He answered. I tentatively uncovered my eyes to see the Doctor fully clothed in a pair of burgundy pajamas. "See."

"Did you wear your pajamas under your clothes?" I asked slowly.

The Doctor paused. "Yes." Immediately I burst into an uncontrollable fit of giggles. "What? Isn't that what everyone does?"

I shook my head as the laughter started to subside. "No, Doctor. They don't."

A look of pure shock and bewilderment crossed his features causing me to snort before fully laughing out loud again.

"All of this time, I thought it was normal." He thought to himself.

I willed myself to stop laughing and motioned for him to join me. "Get in bed silly." I didn't have enough time to move over before he pounced on me. I let out a loud squeak of surprise as he nuzzled his face into my neck before getting comfortable. His breathing began to even out as he stroked my hair. As thin as the Doctor looked, he definitely weighed a lot more than he led on.

"Erm… Doctor? Before you get too comfortable would you mind getting off of me, I can't breathe." I gasped from underneath him.

He pouted slightly before rolling off of me and onto the left side of the bed. I rolled over to face him and lightly tapped him on the nose. A small smile graced his lips as he ran his fingers up and down my side, causing light shivers to run throughout me. My arms immediately found their way around his waist as I buried my face in his chest. The smell of his cologne along with a faint hint of peppermint burned my nostrils. I inhaled deeply, finding his scent and his embrace extremely comforting. Within seconds I could feel my breathing begin to even out and my eyelids grew heavier.

The Doctor placed a soft kiss to my forehead and whispered. "Sleep well, my love." Before I fell into a peaceful slumber.

A bright light filled the room causing me to shrink further into my blankets.

"Rise and shine, Claire! We've got aliens to fight and people to save today!" The Doctor cried happily before pouncing on me.

"Must you pounce on me?" I asked sleepily.

"Yes, I find it to be an extreme necessity." His soft lips nipped lightly at the exposed skin on my neck. A giggle erupted from me as he continued to nibble lightly at my neck.

"Ok, ok. I'm up." I laughed pushing him off of me. A small pout tugged at his lips as he stared up at me. I rolled my eyes at him and turned my attention to the alarm clock on my bedside table. A frown tugged at the corners of my lips as a groan escaped me. "Doctor, we've only been asleep for four hours." I scolded him as I pointed to the clock. "It's 3o'clock TARDIS time."

"I know. I got an urgent call from a friend of mine and we need to leave now. So up and at 'em." Before I knew what was happening The Doctor had lifted me off the bed and carried me to the bathroom.

"Doctor!" I protested.

"No buts!" He set me down and threw a pile of clothes in my arms. "Let me know when you're ready. I'll be in the console room." With that he left the room, closing the door behind him.

I shook my head and laid the clothes the Doctor had picked out for me. A blush tinted my cheeks when I realized he even picked out a bra and underwear for me. My eyes rolled when I examined the shirt he had picked; it was black and covered with tiny tan ducks. He would pick the duck shirt. Along with the duck shirt was a pair of tan jeans and boots as well as a bird necklace, bird ring, and tan stud earrings. Wow he even picked out jewelry for me to wear. Maybe his friend is a bird…

After getting dressed I found the Doctor in the console room already dressed in his usual tweed coat and burgundy bow tie. His expert fingers were typing frantically away on the old typewriter as he talked to a rather anxious man on speakerphone.

"Yes, I know! Just sit tight and we'll be there in a second." The Doctor ordered over the man who was freaking out.

"Is Amy Pond coming this time?" The man asked.

The Doctor's face darkened slightly, but once he noticed I had walked into the room he brightened up immediately. "No, unfortunately Amy won't be joining us, but Claire will be. Oh wait till you meet Claire, I'm sure you'll get on great."

"Doctor, just get here and stop rambling. They have my wife! Remember." The man shouted hysterically.

"Right. Be there in a mo'." With that the Doctor hung up with the frantic man on the phone.

"Who was that?" I asked waltzing up to the Doctor who was getting ready to send the TARDIS to our destination.

"Oh, that was my good friend, Craig. Apparently someone's kidnapped his wife. We're assuming their aliens, but anyways, now they're threatening to take his son if he doesn't give them the 'key'. Unfortunately, Craig has no idea what key they're talking about, but I do! Well at least I think I do. Do I? Yes, I'm pretty sure I do." He rambled to himself.

"Doctor, you're rambling." I pointed out.

"Right." He clapped his hands together and pointed to my shirt an extremely big grin plastered across his face. "You wore the duck shirt!" He did a small happy dance before scooping me up in his arms and hugging me tightly to his chest.

A laugh escaped my lips as I hugged him back. "Yes, I wore the shirt. Just to make you happy." I pulled away to I could reach up and ruffle his hair playfully. His smile only grew bigger as I ran my fingers through the soft strands. I nodded towards the doors. "Craig." I reminded him.

A look of recognition flashed across his features and he grabbed my hand before we ran out into the darkened streets of Cardiff. All of the lights were out in the houses except for one single light in one of the rooms on the house in front of us. The Doctor squeezed my hand slightly as we walked up to the door. He was about to knock when the door suddenly flew open and a hand grabbed him by the collar pulling us in. The door slammed quickly and the man who I assumed was Craig locked the door behind us.

"Hello, Craig! Nice to see you again, this is Claire." The Doctor gestured towards me.

Even though Craig was obviously stressed he took the time to flash me a joyous smile and shake my hand.

"Nice to meet you." He smiled before letting it completely disappear once he turned back to the Doctor. He grabbed the Doctor by the lapels of his shirt and shook him slightly. "You have to help me!"

"Shh… Craig, clam down. We'll find Sophie, and I promise, they will not touch Alphie. Speaking of the little one. Where is Stormaggeddon Dark Lord of All?" The Doctor asked removing himself from Craig and inviting himself into the rest of the house.

"Stormageddon?" I asked in confusion.

"The Doctor speaks baby." Craig answered as if that summed everything up, which I guess kind of did in a way.

Craig and I followed the Doctor into the kitchen where a young boy probably around the age of three or four was sitting in a chair flipping through a storybook. The Doctor was kneeling beside him and was reading the words out loud with the little boy. I couldn't help but smile at the adorable scene before me. I found myself wishing I could see the Doctor doing this with a child of our own. A blush made its way to my cheeks at the thought. Too fast, Claire, we haven't even kissed on the lips yet! Well, I can still dream…

"And they all lived happily ever after." The two finished together. The Doctor looked up and motioned to me. Alphie's full head of dirty blonde hair turned to look up at me and he smiled at me, his crystal blue eyes sparkling. "Stormy, this is my friend Claire."

"Hi!" Alphie (or according to the Doctor, Stormy) waved happily to me. "My name is Alphie, but he calls me Stormy." He giggled.

I smiled playfully at him and bent down to his level. "Well, what would you like to be called then?"

"Either one is fine with me!" He laughed before throwing his little arms around me in a hug.

I hugged him back and turned to his father. "He's very smart for his age."

"Yes, never stops reading." Craig smiled thoughtfully before turning to the Doctor. The two whispered quickly to one another before Craig walked over to Alphie and scooped him up in his arms. "Ok, Alphie it's time for bed."

"Night, Night!" Alphie cried to us his little hand waving as his father brought him up stairs.

"Oh my God, he is so adorable." I gushed before turning to the Doctor. "Really though, why do you call him Stormageddon? Craig said it was because you speak baby…"

The Doctor laughed. "When I first met Stormy he was a baby and he like to be called Stormageddon Dark Lord of All. He even referred to everyone else as peasants."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Yes, I can speak baby! I was just calling him by the name he preferred, it's called respect." The Doctor said haughtily.

"You're too much." I laughed wrapping my arms around his waist. His arms encircled me as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. We stood in our comfortable embrace for a few seconds when suddenly I remembered something. "Shit, I forgot about Molly's wedding!" I gasped. "How could I forget my best friend's wedding?"

The Doctor rubbed soothing circles into my back. "Relax, I have a time machine remember, we can get there right in the nick of time whenever we want."

"I know, but you have a very bad habit of being late all the time." I tested.

The Doctor sighed heavily. "We won't be late this time. I promise." He placed a kiss to my shoulder before whispering lightly in my ear. "After this is all cleared up and after Molly's wedding I have a surprise for you."

"Ooh, another surprise? You'll have to take full credit for this one seeing as you have no one else to blame it on." I laughed remembering how he made Amy take credit for the surprise dinner he prepared for me.

"Hey, I ended up telling you in the end." He argued.

"Not until the very last minute."

"Okay, fine. You always win, you know that?" His breath tickled deliciously against my ear as he purred into it. "This one is all on me."

I felt my breath hitch in my chest as shivers ran up and down my spine. The Doctor pulled away from me smirking at the affect he had on me. I glared at him just as Craig came back into the room.

"Everything alright?" He asked glancing suspiciously between the two of us.

The Doctor waved him off. "So, tell me, what happened exactly when Sophie disappeared?"