CHAPTER 33

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REBIRTH AND RENEWAL

Ever since her date with John Harkness, Oswin had been feeling both extremely happy and also a little melancholy. She really enjoyed being Oswin and had no real complaints about her life other than having strange people show up to kill her, but she also felt nostalgic for her past as Clara.

She couldn't help but think about her old life and be filled with a desire to see the people from that life once again. She missed her father and the Maitlands. She also missed the relationship that she used to have with the Doctor. A Doctor that now looked at her as a stranger.

Oswin and Marissa now stood in front of the time travelers' school together the day after Oswin's date waiting to pick up Molly and Janine after classes were over with. The whole time that she waited there all of these thoughts kept passing through Oswin's mind over and over again without her really wanting them to.

Peri hadn't been picking up Janine lately or even gotten to see her much these days because she was so busy at her new job at the small flower shop that she now ran. She had decided to start up her own business in order to establish a life for her and Janine when she eventually decided to stop traveling with Time Lords for good. As far as Marissa was concerned though, she could travel with her forever. She didn't mind at all, and she already loved Janine like she was her own child.

"Oswin, are you alright?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just sometimes miss my old life. I almost wish that I hadn't remembered being Clara," Oswin said.

"Why? What's wrong?" Marissa asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Oswin said.

"Oswin, you've been upset ever since you came back from that date with John Harkness. Did he say something to you?" Marissa asked.

"If he did, he'll soon find an explosion where the sun doesn't shine," Ace said as she came up to them with an angry look on her face.

Oswin smiled at her as she said, "No, he didn't do anything. Well, not intentionally anyway."

"What did he say? I'll make sure that he has to regenerate by the time that I'm through with him. At least a half a dozen times," Ace threatened.

"You'll have to get in line behind me first. I may have to bring the Rani out of retirement for this one," Marissa said in a furious voice.

"Stop it, both of you! I appreciate both of you wanting to protect me, but he didn't do anything. In fact, he was a perfect gentleman the entire time as hard as that might be to believe. No, what's bothering me is that he called me Clara," Oswin said.

"Why does that bother you? That's who you really are," Marissa said in confusion.

"Not anymore. Someone else is," Oswin said in a sad voice.

"Is that what it is? You're upset because you're not Clara anymore? Even if you're not, the life that you have now isn't so bad, is it?" Ace asked in a slightly hurt voice.

"I wouldn't trade it or any of you for the world, Ace. I promise you that," Oswin said.

Ace smiled with relief as she said, "Then what is it then?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Marissa said.

"Neither of you understand because you're both unique. You're the only you that's ever been and ever will be," Oswin said.

"I wouldn't say that. Have you met the older me? She's not as nice and friendly as I am that's for sure, and she insists on hanging around in the same time as me with the same group of friends. It's very annoying! If she weren't more powerful than me, I'd probably tell her to move to a different time zone. Well, actually I'd do more than just tell her," Ace said with a malicious grin.

"I'm not that unique either. I am a Time Lord after all. There have been other versions of me before this one although I am probably the nicest version of me I'll give you that," Marissa said.

"Yes, but neither of you actually had the other versions of you taking your place. Mine did. I know that she didn't do it on purpose, but she took my life. She gets to be with my father, my kids, and my Doctor every day of her life, and they all look at me like I'm a stranger. They don't even know me. I'm just that woman who happens to look just like Clara. It hurts. They mean just as much to me as they do to her and yet now I'm nothing to them. It hurts so much," Oswin said in an extremely upset voice.

Both Marissa and Ace embraced her at the same time as Marissa said, "I'm so sorry. I never even thought about how it must feel for you. I wish that there was something that I could do."

"You're already doing it, Mari, just like you always do. You're helping me the most just by being here and listening to me," Oswin said.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Ace asked in an annoyed voice.

"I didn't mean to leave you out. You're helping me too, Ace. Thank you," Oswin said.

"Is Dorothy annoying you again, Oswin?" Janine asked with a grin as she finally left school for the day.

"Shut up, Munchkin!" Ace said with a smile.

Molly came out of the building just behind Janine and smiled at her as she said, "You have a lot of guts, Janine. Not only do you challenge Ace to her face, but you also call her Dorothy. You do know that others have died for doing less than that to her, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I'm different from them. She loves me. She'd never hurt me. She's just a big old teddy bear as far as I'm concerned," Janine said smugly.

"I am not! You take that back!" Ace shouted.

"You're a sweet, cuddly non-threatening little teddy bear," Janine taunted her.

"Stop it or I'll . . . ," Ace said in a furious voice.

"Or you'll what?" Janine asked.

Ace looked down towards the ground as she said in a low voice, "I won't like it very much."

Everyone stared at her in shock as she said, "What? Everyone stop looking at me like that or I'll start blowing people up! I'm still tough, and don't you forget it!"

Janine just laughed at this outburst while Ace looked mortified. Oswin smiled at them and shook her head. She was so glad that Janine had found such a good friend in Ace. Ace had become a loving, overprotective older sister to Janine almost overnight, and she was very grateful to her for that even if it did mess up Ace's tough girl image from time to time.

Seconds later, a loud explosion rocked the entire area as a nearby abandoned building suddenly exploded into a million pieces. Rose immediately appeared in front of them in a burst of golden energy with a huge scowl on her face as she said, "Dorothy! What was that all about?"

"Janine called me sweet!" Ace said as if that explained everything.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Rose said with an amused grin as she fixed the destroyed building with a single gesture.

"I think we should go now before Ace carries out her threat to start blowing us up," Oswin said.

"Yeah, I'm so scared," Janine said sarcastically.

"I'm losing my edge, Mum," Ace said.

"No, you're not. All you need is to go blow up some Daleks for a while, and you'll be just as good as before," Rose said.

"You always know just what to say to make me feel better," Ace said with a smile.

The two of them then disappeared, and Oswin smiled as she imagined them going off Dalek hunting together. It was a strange mother-daughter relationship, but somehow it worked for them.

Seeing this only made Oswin think of the Maitlands again, and her heart ached. Janine noticed this right away as she said, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm just a little homesick. That's all," Oswin said.

"Why don't you go back there for a visit then?" Janine asked.

"I can never go home again, Janine," Oswin said.

"Well, what if you could?" Molly said with a devious grin on her face.

"What do you mean?" Oswin asked.

As Molly explained her idea to her, Oswin said, "I can't do that! Can I?"

"I don't see why not as long as you don't stay long. I'm sure it'll be alright," Marissa said.

"Do it, Oswin. I know you want to," Janine said.

Oswin began to smile as she said, "I don't see what it would hurt. I'll just do it for a few minutes."

As Oswin teleported away to carry out Molly's plan, Mira came running up to Marissa, Molly, and Janine with tears in her eyes as she said, "Something's happened to Davros! He's not moving!"

The three of them hurried with her back into Marissa's TARDIS where the two siblings had been staying to find Davros slumped over in his chair. Marissa started to instantly scan Davros with the TARDIS' sensors.

"What's happened to him?" Mira asked.

"I don't know. He seems perfectly fine. All life signs are registering as normal for him," Marissa said in confusion.

Suddenly Davros came back to life and seemed to be struggling to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. Mira looked at him with anguish as she said, "Why can't he speak? Did he have a stroke?"

"No. I don't see anything wrong with him. He should be able to speak just fine. I don't understand. Nothing's different from the way that it was before," Marissa said in bewilderment.

"What's happened to Davros? Please tell me!" Mira asked in a voice that sounded like she was about to lose her mind at any moment.

Meanwhile back on Earth, Angie and Artie Maitland received a surprise visit by Clara at their house. They hadn't been expecting her to come by today, but Artie eagerly opened the door for her anyway. He was always glad to see her.

"What are you doing here, Clara? You're not supposed to work today," Artie asked.

"I just wanted to see the two of you for a minute. I missed you," Clara said.

"You just saw us yesterday," Angie said with a sigh.

"It feels more like months to me," Clara said as she hugged first Artie and then Angie as tightly as she could.

"Let go, will you? You're embarrassing me," Angie said in an annoyed voice.

"I'm sorry," Clara said in a sad voice.

Angie and Artie both noticed now for the first time just how sad and haunted Clara's eyes were. They both looked at each other in confusion as they wondered what was going on here.

"Clara, are you okay?" Artie asked.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to come by and say hi for a minute. That's all. I guess I'll go now," Clara said as she turned to leave.

Then she started to cry and hugged them both together at the same time. Now they knew that something was wrong.

"Clara, are you okay? I'm not really mad at you. It's not that embarrassing when you hug me," Angie said in a gentler voice than the one that she usually used with her.

"I know you're not mad. Everything's fine. Don't worry," Clara said as she suddenly assumed a happier expression.

Then she kissed both of them on the forehead and said good bye to them with tears in her eyes. They both looked at her in complete confusion as they wondered what was wrong with her. She wasn't acting like herself at all today. It was almost as if she was another person.

In the middle of the Vortex, the Doctor stood at the console adjusting dials and turning knobs when he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him in a tight embrace. He was instantly alarmed until he realized that it was just Clara.

"Since when do you hug me like that? I'm the touchy feely one around here," the Doctor asked in amusement.

"I just felt like it. I did it on impulse, Chin Boy. Don't you ever have one of those? Impulses? Don't tell me that you've never done anything on the spur of the moment before because I know otherwise," Clara said happily.

The Doctor smiled at her and hugged her back. He was surprised when Clara's smile quickly faded and became a look of pure bliss instead. She seemed to be completely at peace in a way that she never had been before around him.

"Clara, is something wrong?" the Doctor asked.

"No, everything's just fine. It's wonderful," Clara said with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face.

Then she suddenly let him go but with regret at having to do it clearly evident in her eyes. She smiled at him as she said, "I'll just let you get back to what you were doing. Sorry if I bothered you."

"No, you didn't bother me at all. I like to hug you, remember?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, I do," Clara said with a strange almost nostalgic look on her face.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" the Doctor asked her again.

"I'm fine, Doctor. Don't you worry about me. I'm always alright," Clara said with a warm smile.

Then after a moment of hesitation, she gave him a small chaste kiss on the lips and quickly left the Console Room as she disappeared into the corridors behind it. The Doctor was left standing there with a look of bewilderment on his face as he wondered just what in the world was going on with her. Could it be her other lives influencing her mind again?

Dave Oswald went to the door of his home in surprise as he heard a sudden knock on it. He wasn't expecting anyone. Who could it possibly be?

He was surprised to see Clara standing there. He wasn't expecting to see her for a while now. He was even more surprised when she suddenly hugged him so tightly that he thought that she might have broken one of his ribs.

"Clara, are you alright, sweetheart?" Dave asked in concern.

"I just wanted to see you for a few minutes, Dad. It feels like we never just talk anymore. Is that okay?" Clara asked.

Dave smiled as he let her inside while he said, "Of course it is. We'll talk about whatever you want to talk about."

"I don't care what we talk about. I just wanted to talk to you. About anything. I love you, Dad!" Clara said as she hugged once more.

"I love you too, Clara. Are you alright?" Dave asked.

"I'm just fine. I feel better then I've felt in a long time," Clara said with a huge smile on her face.

Later that day, Oswin was back at Rose's school preparing for her class tomorrow when she received an unexpected visit from Clara. Clara was looking at her oddly, and she knew just from the looks that she was giving her that Clara knew. Clara knew what she had done.

"I think you know why I'm here," Clara said.

"Yeah, I do," Oswin said in a nervous voice.

"If you wanted to see them, all you had to do was ask me. You didn't have to pretend to be me," Clara said.

"Do they know?" Oswin asked.

"No. I made like I was just a bit sad about something and that was what was making me act so funny. I covered up for you this time, but I won't do it again. Why did you do that?" Clara asked.

Oswin then explained how she had been feeling lately and how Molly had suggested that she visit her loved ones one last time as Clara in order to get a sense of closure about them. Clara felt so badly for her after that that she automatically embraced her.

"You can see them whenever you want to, Oswin. I promise," Clara said.

"They'll look at me like a stranger though. I don't want that," Oswin said.

"Well, maybe I could arrange for you not to be a stranger sometimes," Clara said with a sly smile.

"Do you mean it?" Oswin asked.

"Yeah, I do. Besides, I could do with a vacation from the Doctor sometimes anyway. I mean I love him, but he makes me want to strangle him with that bow tie sometimes," Clara said with a laugh.

Oswin hugged her tightly as she said, "Thank you!"

"I'm sorry. I never realized that you felt that way. This is the least that I can do to make things up to you," Clara said as they embraced.

Even as the two of them began to plan on a time where Oswin could be Clara again for a while, on Gallifrey twenty years into the future Cassie Tyler was suddenly surprised by a kiss from her fiancé Anthony Williams, the son of Amy and Rory. The kiss was long and passionate and yet surprisingly gentle at the same time. It wasn't like any of Anthony's kisses had ever been before.

Cassie smiled at Anthony as she said, "What was that about? You kissed me like you had never kissed me before in your life."

"I just wanted to experience it as if it were the first time. To me, every kiss with you is just like the first one," Anthony said with an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Since when did you get so romantic? You know it's almost as if you're a new man all of sudden," Cassie said with a giggle as she kissed him.

"Yes, it is, isn't it? Maybe it's time for a new me. We are getting married after all. I'd say that this is a perfect time for a new beginning. A new life you might say," Anthony said.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, but I like the new positive attitude. Keep it up, and I might kiss you a little more often," Cassie said as she kissed him again.

As the two of them embraced, Cassie had no idea that the man that she was kissing was not her Anthony at all. He was indeed a new man with a new lease on life. He was Davros.

Next: What is happening? How did Davros do this and what are his plans? Find out in the next chapter. Also Oswin is attacked by the mysterious Victoria for the first time at the worst possible place. Rose's school.