They dropped Eleanor off at her home, discreetly parking the Tardis halfway down the block and behind an oversized lilac bush. Eleanor and Clara exchanged phone numbers, promising to call and get together again soon. The Doctor also offered Eleanor the chance for some more trips in the Tardis; all she had to do was ask. After a group hug, they parted ways, the Tardis taking off into the vortex. Eleanor watched it dematerialize, and wished for at least the thousandth time her father was still alive, and could have seen this. She had tears in her eyes as she turned to go home.

In the Tardis, Clara softly stroked the control panel as she walked past it to the jump seat. Plopping into it, she looked up at the Doctor, who was absorbed in his dance around the controls, flicking switches and slapping down levers. He twirled over to Clara once he had piloted his craft into the time vortex. Standing with his back to the control panel, he crossed his arms and faced her. His expression was thoughtful.

"Quite a story she told us," he remarked. "I wish I'd known that ganger had survived; I could have rescued him from being a guinea pig in the human time travel experiments."

Clara tilted her head and winsomely smiled up at the Doctor. "But if you had, he never would have had the chance to experience such a rewarding life with my echo. She gave him the love he desperately needed."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," he mused, staring over Clara's head as he contemplated Matt and Claire's romance. "The love of a good woman can rescue a man from all his personal demons, and give him a reason for living."

"Have you ever had a love like that, Doctor?"

His head snapped down so hard to look at Clara, his teeth rattled a bit. She had an entirely innocent look on her face. Nevertheless, her question could be very dangerous for him to answer. He swiveled quickly back to the controls, his hands wandering over them. There had to be a button he could push somewhere that would cause the ship to wobble a bit, thereby causing a distraction from this perilous topic. His hand hovered over a glowing orange switch, but just before he could throw it, Clara touched his arm. He jumped.

"Doctor…did you ever have a romance like that?" Clara, who was now standing unexpectedly close to him, persisted in asking that horribly probing question.

"Ah…well, it depends," he stammered.

"Oh?" Her proximity was still too near for comfort. He could smell her perfume, see the delicately different shades in her chocolate brown hair, feel the air move from her breath, and hear the soft rustle of her dress as she crossed her arms. Her pupils had widened until her irises looked almost entirely black, which indicated she was under an intense emotion. Even worse, her soft, pink lips were parted slightly, and looked perilously enticing.

Right in front of him was the embodiment of Clara's question, answered in full. He didn't actually want to admit it to himself, but it was true. Here was the person who had saved him in so many ways…whose echo had drawn him out of his darkest period…and who herself seemed perfect for him, in every possible fashion. As Matt had needed Claire to rescue him from despair, the Doctor had needed Clara, to rescue him from himself. The parallels were all too obvious. Eleanor hadn't been off when she'd sensed the Doctor's attraction for Clara. And after Clara had recently helped keep him from destroying Gallifrey, he felt he knew what Clara's feelings were towards him.

But to act on them! This was where the danger lay. So many times, when he got too close to his companions, terrible things happened to them. He was reluctant to love too deeply again, and tempt fate on their behalf.

Still…if you never loved…you never truly lived…and this was Clara Oswald…the Impossible Girl who could save him from anything, especially a broken heart.

He gave in.

"Depends on what?" Clara was still waiting for an answer.

A gentle smile graced his lips, and he reached to cup Clara's face in his hands. Pulling her gently towards himself, he whispered softly, "it depends on whether she'd like to help me start a romance like that."

The kiss, as it began, was gentle and tender, but progressively became desperate, as if he wanted so much more. Clara, to his intense relief, responded enthusiastically, as her arms slipped around him. His hands moved from her face to her shoulders, and then around the back of her neck, pulling her close to himself.

When it ended, he kissed her again, this time more fiercely, passion igniting inside his soul for this tiny but mighty human woman. She clung to him, kissing back as ardently as he did.

As the second kiss ended, they stood, wrapped in their embrace, their breath trembling. Clara could hear his hearts beating rapidly. She sighed, smiling as she nuzzled her face against his vest.

"My Clara," he murmured. "You are everything to me. You've saved me from so much, encouraged me, stood by me, sacrificed yourself for me. In return all I can give you is this miserable old madman in his box."

"I'll gladly to take him," she replied, tilting her head back to look into his face. "He's given me so much himself."

He kissed her again, delighting in the sensation, taking joy from the fact that she loved him as much as he loved her.

A madman and his impossible girl had unknowingly been the catalyst for the unlikely romance between a ganger and an echo in the past. That romance had reverberated across time to the future, to then inspire a romance between the madman and his girl.

The best part about it was the love between the Doctor and Clara had gone full circle, and returned to themselves. What they gave they received in turn.

And it was very beautiful, indeed.

THE END

(but wait...there's an epilogue...)