The War

by shadowalex2000

Clara had always heard the Doctor talk about the Time War. She had even visited it for a brief moment in time. However, he never mentions what he had to do during the war. Because of this, Clara takes matters into her own hands. First section takes place between "Last Christmas" and "The Magician's Apprentice", with the latter during "Before the Flood" and "The Girl Who Died".

Doctor Who – The War

The Doctor sat in his TARDIS, reading a book on the stairs leading down underneath the console. The book was titled "Advanced Quantum Mechanics". He had read the book many times before, but reread it because "When you have a time machine, you've pretty much read everything and you forget everything. So why not read it again?" By his foot was his black and white guitar, which was leaning on an amp, next to it musical notes for Beethoven's 5th. He then heard footsteps behind him, turning to see his current traveling companion, Clara Oswald, carrying a rather large book in her hands.

"What have you got there then?" he asked her. She curled her lip at that.

"I'm…not sure you really want to know", she worryingly replied. The Doctor then had a furrowed brow, closing his book and standing up.

"What is it?" he inquired.

"It's nothing, honestly", she said back. "You should really put a bookmark in that book".

"I'll remember; what book is that?" he again, ignoring her remark. Clara then took a step back, then saying "You know what? I'm just going to put this back". She then began to run off through one of the TARDIS corridors.

"Oh no you don't", The Doctor muttered, pulling his Sonic Screwdriver out of his coat pocket. He then pointed his Sonic at the TARDIS console, pressing the button on it. The TARDIS then made a noise, with Clara suddenly running back inside.

"Wha-", she began, confused. Clara then ran back through the corridor she originally went through, but ended up back in the console room.

"How?" Clara asked. The Doctor then sighed.

"I've induced a temporal field around the TARDIS", he explained. "If you leave the console room and try to go somewhere else, you'll end up right back here, no matter what direction you go in. I'll undo it, but not until", he continued, stepping towards her, "you tell me what book you're holding". Sighing, Clara admitted defeat, handing the book face down towards the Doctor. Confused, the Doctor turned the book over, but then realized why she had it faced down. The book she was holding was titled "The History of the Time War". He then furrowed his eyebrows again.

"Clara, why do you have this book?" he asked her. Clara then looked down at her feet.

"I..I just wanted to know what happened", she explained. "I didn't mean to upset you".

"No, you didn't upset me", he replied. He then pulled out his Screwdriver and undid the temporal field, with the TARDIS again making a noise. "Don't go looking for this again, however". He then began to walk towards the TARDIS library. Clara then asked "Why?" The Doctor then stopped walking, then saying "Because you won't look at me the same way ever again if you read this". The Doctor then left Clara to wonder what that exactly meant.

A few weeks had passed since Clara went looking for the History of the Time War book. She sat there alone in the TARDIS console room, as the Doctor had gone out to "See if ghosts actually exist. I don't want it to end up without an answer like on that base in Scotland". Clara had passed, for frankly, she was terrified of ghosts. After getting bored on her phone, she then asked the TARDIS a question.

"Why doesn't he want me to read that book?" she asked the TARDIS. "Was the War really that bad?" In response, the TARDIS made a sad beep. Sighing, Clara stood up and said "That just makes me want to know more". She then began to walk towards the TARDIS library, and when she arrived, spotted the book she was looking for on its pedestal. She then ran over to it and opened it, reading the foreword.

"Only read this if you are ready to accept that not everything has a happy ending"

"This must have been written before he saved Gallifrey", she muttered. She then turned to a random page, scrolling through the text. However, she then spotted something that caught her eye. She then began to read it.

"Year 63, Day 23, Hour 11. I was forced to make a terrible decision today. One that will surely haunt me for years to come. I managed to locate a Dalek base on Skaro, and as I infiltrated it, I discovered that the Daleks were turning Gallifreyan children into Daleks. It seems that they are running out of soldiers to send into the bloodshed. I then discovered a terminal with video files on it. What I found was horrific. It showed the process of turning the children into Daleks. They took out their brains and used a modified chameleon circuit to mutate them into Kaled mutants. I then lashed out at the Daleks, managing to destroy the base by creating a bomb out of materials I managed to find, which then induced a chemical reaction, detonating the base. I couldn't save those children…Those poor children. They should have lived full lives. But the Daleks took away that opportunity, instead giving them a fate worse than death. I didn't have choice. The Daleks just would have gained more soldiers. What I did, I did without choice…In the name of peace and sanity. However, it wasn't in the name of the doctor."

Clara closed the book, a tear running down her eye. She then heard a voice behind her.

"I told you wouldn't look at me the same way ever again". She turned around, looking at The Doctor. He then walked towards her, then saying "Why did you choose to read this?"

"It-It's just that you always say what happened in the War, and I wanted to see if any of it was as bad as you said", Clara said, her voice breaking. "I didn't know you had to watch those children…those poor children…" she continued, eventually breaking down. The Doctor then went over and hugged her tightly.

"That's why I didn't want you to read it", he sadly said. "I knew you'd react this way".

"Why are you hugging me?" she tearfully asked him. "You don't hug people".

"Sometimes, you just know when someone needs a hug", he continued. "Even if they hate to do it". He then pulled out of the hug and said "I'll take you home". He then walked with Clara, with the Doctor saying "I don't like reading it either". Clara, wiping off her tears, asked "Why?" He then sighed, saying "Because it makes me realize that I'm not a good man". Clara then looked up at him, saying "But you are". The Doctor chuckled at that.

"If you say so".

"But I do". The Doctor then looked down at her, saying "Why do I not pay you again?"

"Because you couldn't afford me", she replied, laughing. The Doctor then smiled back at her, as they walked back to the console room.