Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who that goes to the BBC
In the front of the Latimer house, the Doctor had removed his Sherlock Holmes disguise with Rose having had her Watson disguise removed as well with him wearing his Victorian suit and her wearing her Victorian dress again as they stood in front of the pond with Sydney.
"Body frozen in a pond," the Doctor muttered as he walked along the border of the pond and scanned it with his sonic screwdriver as he held it in his right hand before he flicked it open, "The snow gets a good long look at a human being, like a full-body scan." He closed his screwdriver and put it away as he said that, "Everything they need to evolve. Pond. Good point, Clara."
"You're right, Doctor," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she looked at the pond, "It's a bit like a mirror, isn't it? Reflecting back what it sees, but in a new form. It's clever, in a chilling sort of way."
"Seems like a clever trick, doesn't it?" Sydney stated, his gaze thoughtful as he looked at the pond, "It's not just about copying what we look like, but who we are. Makes you think, doesn't it? About what makes us… us."
"It sure does, Sid," Rose said, agreeing with her son when Strax suddenly walked up behind the Doctor.
"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked the Sontaran as he turned around to look at him.
"Madame Vastra wondered if either of you were needing any grenades?" Strax answered.
"Grenades?" All three Gallifreyans asked him at the same time.
"She might have said 'help,'" Strax clarified.
"Help for what?" The Doctor asked him.
"Well, your investigation," Strax explained.
"Investigation?" The Doctor repeated with disbelief in his voice, "Who says we're investigating? Do you think we're going to start investigating after seventy years of retirement to raise Sydney to be a good Time Lord just because some bird smiles at us?" He then pointed at Strax with his right hand's index finger, "Who do you think I am?" He then turned away from him.
"Doctor, you've got a point," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she looked at him, "We've been out of the game for a while, but that doesn't mean we've lost our touch." She then looked back at the Sontaran, "And Strax, we appreciate the offer, but we're not quite ready to dive back into the thick of things just yet."
"Sherlock Holmes," Strax answered.
"Don't be clever, Strax, it doesn't suit you," the Doctor ordered the Sontaran as he stepped down from the edges of the frozen pond.
"Sorry, sir," Strax apologised.
"Me and Rose are the clever ones," the Doctor reminded him as he poked Strax between the eyes with his right hand's index finger, "You're the potato one."
"Yes, sir," Strax replied.
"Now, go away," the Doctor ordered him as he climbed back onto the pond's edge.
"Yes... Mr. Holmes," Strax replied as he walked away, causing Rose to giggle and Sydney to stifle a laugh.
"Oi! Shut up," the Doctor ordered Strax as the Sontaran laughed as he looked at him, "You're not clever or funny and you've got tiny little legs." He then turned towards his wife, "You two, quit laughing, it's not funny."
"Doctor, you've got to admit, it's a bit funny," Rose told him, her laughter subsiding into a warm smile, "And besides, a little laughter never hurt anyone."
"Yeah, Dad," Sydney added, agreeing with his mother as he was still stifling his laughter, "You've got to learn to laugh at yourself sometimes. It's part of what makes us… us."
A light suddenly shone on the Doctor and Rose as Clara opened the curtains of an upstairs window of the house. She waved at them with her right hand before they nervously waved back at her with their right hands. Clara then motioned for them to come up before the Doctor pointed at himself and Rose with his right hand's index finger before pointing his right hand's index finger at her, questioning her intentions.
"Okay, just tell her we're leaving, we're not going up," the Doctor said as he turned around as he motioned with his hands and talked to himself, "Leaving, not going up." He then turned back and held up his right hand and signalled her a 'five' and gave a thumbs up, "What was that all about?" He then smacked his head with his right hand, "Five minutes, where did that come from?" He then pointed at his right hand with his left hand's index finger, "You…" He then bit his right hand's thumb, causing Rose and Sydney to exchange a glance before bursting into giggles again.
"Oh, Doctor," Rose muttered between her laughter, "You really do have a way with words as you've always been."
"And with someone we just met last night, apparently," Sydney added as he still chuckled, "You've got to admit, Dad, It's a bit funny."
The Doctor sighed to himself and cursed to himself in Gallifreyan as he walked away with his wife and son following him as unbeknownst to them, the ice on the pond cracked open.
On a street nearby, Vastra, Strax, and Jenny were watching the Latimer House as a carriage pulled up with Simeon inside the carriage's cab as he wore his top hat over his head.
"It's the human male from the Institute," Strax stated as he noticed Simeon inside the carriage's cab, "What's he doing here?" Simeon then opened the cab's window and exited the carriage's cab, "Suggest we melt his brain using projectile acid fish, and then interrogate him." Jenny and Vastra then looked at him from what he just suggested, "Other way round."
In the nursery of the Latimer house, Clara was helping the children as they were going to bed as she was sitting on Francesca's bed.
"Am I going to have the nightmare tonight?" Francesca asked her.
"Definitely not," Clara answered.
"How do you know?" Francesca asked her.
"Because someone's coming to help," Clara answered.
"Who?" Francesca asked her as she scooted over on the bed to make room for Digby to come sit next to her.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Clara told her.
"Is it one of your stories?" Francesca asked her, "Your definitely true ones?"
"Ha! All my stories are true," Clara told them.
"Like how you were born behind the clock face of Big Ben?" Digby asked her.
"Accounting for my acute sense of time," Clara explained.
"And you invented fish," Francesca added.
"Because I dislike swimming alone," Clara explained.
"So what's this one?" Digby asked her.
"There's a man called the Doctor," Clara answered, "He lives on a cloud in the sky with his wife, Rose and their son, Sydney, and all he does, all day every day, is to stop all the children in the world ever having bad dreams."
"I've been having bad dreams," Francesca told her.
"He's been on holiday with his wife. But I am confident he has now returned to work," Clara stated as she saw the candle on the bedside table flicker, "And as a matter of fact, they're right here." The door then suddenly opened slowly, "Aren't you, Doctor, Rose and Sydney?"
The three of them looked to the door as a woman made of ice stepped through the door, causing them to scream. They saw that it was the former governess, but made out of ice as the children scrambled from the bed with Clara backing away.
"Bleedin' 'ell!" Clara said with shock in her voice as she spoke in her cockney accent again.
"The children have been very naughty," the Ice Governess told her.
"Get back, now, quickly," Clara ordered the children as she stood in front of them as they backed away from the Ice Governess.
"You're doing your other voice," Digby told her.
"Yes, love," Clara confirmed, "Did you notice?"
"Naughty, naughty children!" The Ice Governess added.
"Run!" Clara ordered the children before they ran for the playroom with the Ice Governess roaring as Clara bolted the door from the top and bottom.
"What do we do?" Francesca asked her.
"Franny, Franny," Clara said as she ran over to her and held her by the arms, "Imagine her melting."
"What?" Francesca said with confusion in her voice.
"In your head! Melt her!" Clara explained.
"I can't!" Francesca told her.
"I'm getting impatient!" The Ice Governess said from outside the door before she opened the door, "You have been very naughty!"
"What about the man and his family?" Digby asked Clara, "You said the man and his family were here, the cloud man and his family."
"Well, they're not, are they?" Clara told him.
"Where's the Doctor and his family?" Digby asked her.
"I don't know!" Clara answered.
"Doctor?" They suddenly heard the Doctor's voice say from a puppet stand and was using a puppet of Mr. Punch within the stand, "Doctor?" He then chuckled with Rose and Sydney chuckling from behind the stand, "Doctor who?" He then used his sonic screwdriver to the puppet with Mr. Punch at the Ice Governess, causing her to scream as she shattered before he stood up from the stand with his hat removed, while Rose and Sydeny appeared from behind the stand, "That's the way to do it."
"Well, that's one way to make an entrance," Rose stated with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"I'll say," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother, "Nothing like a bit of puppetry to save the day. Nice one, Dad."
"Oi! Ow!" The Doctor muttered as the puppet of Mr. Punch went for his face before he approached and knelt in front of the remains of the Ice Governess and used his screwdriver on it.
"Where did she go?" Francesca asked him, "Will she come back?"
"No, don't worry. She's currently draining through your carpet," the Doctor answered as he stood back up, "New setting, anti-freeze, and you're very welcome, by the way."
"Trust you to have a setting for everything, love," Rose stated, her voice filled with fond exasperation, "Anti-freeze, really?"
"Well, I suppose that's one way to deal with an icy governess," Sydney added, smiling at his father's antics, "Good thinking, Dad."
"I'm very grateful," Clara told the Time Lord, "I knew you three would come."
"No, you didn't, Clara, because we don't," the Doctor stated as he walked around the room and took off his scarf with his left hand, "Because this isn't the sort of thing we do any more till Sydney is ready to have adventures with us. Next time you're in trouble, don't expect us to…"
The Doctor trailed off as he saw himself in the mirror and that he was wearing a bowtie before Rose, Sydney and Clara came up behind him.
"What is it?" Clara asked him, "What's wrong?"
"Sorry, it's just…" The Doctor began to say, "Didn't know I'd put it on." He then straightened his bow tie with both of his hands as snow fell outside with frost forming on the windows, "An old habit."
"An old habit, huh?" Rose said with a teasing smile on her face, recalling his habits from when Amy and Rory were still with them before they went to New York all those years ago, "Next thing we know, you'll be pulling out a fez. You always had a thing for eccentric headwear since we were kids."
"I wish I could see that in person, Mum," Sydney stated with a wistful smile on his face, "The old photographs you both have shown me don't do it justice. A fez in action must be quite a sight."
"Absolutely, Sydney," Rose replied, "Your dad's fez-wearing days might not be completely behind him. Who knows? You might just get to see it in person one day."
"It's cooler," Clara told them.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" The Doctor muttered, mistaking what she said for thinking his tie was cool, "It is very cool. Bow ties are cool."
"I think she means the temperature, Doctor," Rose told her husband with a gentle smile on her face.
"No, she's right, I meant the room," Clara said, agreeing with the Time Lady, "The room is getting colder."
"She's coming back!" Francesco announced as the rug began moving as something grew underneath it, "What's she going to do? Is she going to punish me?"
"Uh... uh…" the Doctor muttered as he took his sonic screwdriver back out with his right hand and activated it, only for it to not work, "She's learnt not to melt. Of course, she's not really a governess, she's just a beast. She's going to eat you." He then grabbed Francesco by her right hand and Digby's left hand with his own hands, "Run."
"Sydney," Rose said as she reached out to take her son's right hand with her left hand as he looked at her, "Allons-y!"
The Doctor then pulled them away with Clara holding Digby's right hand as she was pulled along before the six of them ran out of the room.
A few moments later, they ran down the front stairs, only to stop when Latimer confronted them.
"Children, what is the…" Latimer began to ask his children when he suddenly noticed all three Gallifreyans, "Who the devil are the three of you? What are you three doing in my house?"
"It's Okay!" The Doctor assured Latimer, "I am your governess' acquaintance, the brunette and teenager with me are my wife and son, and we've just been upstairs... discussing matters of importance."
"Indeed," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "We were just discussing some… matters of importance."
"Yes, just a friendly chat, nothing more," Sydney added.
"Captain Latimer!" Alice said as she ran into the room, "In the garden, there's snowmen, and they're just growing, out of nowhere, all by themselves. Look!" She then ran over to the front door and opened it with her right hand and saw Vastra and Jenny standing in front of the door with snowmen behind them.
"Good evening," Vastra greeted the maid, "I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time and this is my wife."
Alice suddenly screamed as she saw Vastra's appearance and hurried down the hall.
"This dwelling is under attack," Strax stated as Alice ran towards him as he walked past the stairwell, wielding his Sonataran blaster in his hands before she stopped in front of him, "Remain calm, human scum." Alice screamed and fainted as she fell to the floor, unconscious before the Doctor ran to the bottom of the stairs with Rose and Sydney following him.
"So, any questions?" The Doctor asked Latimer as he, Rose and Sydney looked at him.
"You have an acquaintance?" Latimer asked Clara as he looked at her, causing her to sigh.
"Vastra, what's happening?" The Doctor asked the Silurian as he walked towards a window in the house's parlour with his wife and son following him before Vastra, Jenny and Strax followed them into the room.
"The snow is highly localised, and on this occasion not naturally occurring," Vastra answered.
"It's coming out of that cab parked by the gates," Jenny added.
"Sir, ma'am, one pulver grenade would blow these snowmen to smithereens," Strax told the Doctor and Rose as they along with Sydney walked back over to him.
"I'm not so sure about that, Strax," Rose told the Sontaran, "These aren't ordinary snowmen. A grenade might not work."
"Mum's right," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother, "These snowmen seem more complex than regular snowmen."
"And they're made of snow, Strax," the Doctor stated, agreeing with his family as he tugged on Strax's right ear with his left hand, "They're already smithereens." He then looked up at Clara on the stairwell, "See, Clara? Our friends again."
"Clara? Who's Clara?" Latimer asked the Time Lord with confusion in his voice.
"Your current governess is in reality a former barmaid called Clara," the Doctor explained as he walked over to him when the Ice Governess suddenly shuffled her way to the top of the stairs.
"That's the way to do it!" The Ice Governess yelled from the top of the stairs, causing everyone to look up at her.
"Meanwhile, your previous governess is now a living ice sculpture impersonating Mr. Punch," the Doctor added before he looked at Jenny, "Jenny, what have you got?" Jenny then pulled out a grenade and threw it at the top of the stairwell, which opened a force field around the Ice Governess.
"Should hold it," Jenny told him.
"Good work, Jenny," Rose complimented Jenny, "Quick thinking with that grenade."
"Yeah, nice one, Jenny," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother, "You really know how to handle a crisis."
"Sir, ma'am, this room," Strax told both older Gallifreyans as he stepped into the hall from the house's study, "One observational window on the line of attack and one defendable entrance."
"Right, everyone in there, now! Move it," the Doctor ordered everyone before he looked at Latimer, "You, carry her."
Latimer then picked up Alice with both of his hands as he carried Alice and followed Clara, Sydney and the children to the study. The Doctor took his sonic screwdriver back out with his right hand before he activated and used it on the Ice Governess as Rose stood next to him.
"Nice to see you both off your cloud with your son and engaging again," Vastra told both Gallifreyans as she came up beside them.
"We're not engaging again, we're under attack," the Doctor argued.
"He's right, we're under attack," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "Not out of temporary retirement, just yet."
"You two missed this, didn't you both?" Vastra asked them, causing the Doctor to swing around, aiming his screwdriver at Vastra as the Ice Governess kept pounding on the field.
"Shut up!" The Doctor told her, causing Rose to giggle as they ran past the Silurian and went into the study, "Strax, how long have we got?"
"They're not going to attack," Strax answered as the Doctor and Rose both entered the study and headed for the desk and poured a whiskey into a cup with Sydney standing next to the desk as Francesco and Digby were sitting in chairs in a corner with Clara kneeling in front of them as Latimer had set Alice down in a chair, "They made no attempt to conceal their arrival." Vastra closed the door behind her, "An attack force would never abandon surprise so easily, and they're clearly in a defence formation."
"Oh, well done, Straxy," the Doctor told the Sontaran as he fake-boxed him before he grabbed the top of his head and noogied it with his left hand, "Still got it, buddy." He then kissed the top of Strax's head, causing Rose and Sydney to chuckle.
"Sir, please do not noogie me during combat prep," Strax urged the Time Lord.
"Doctor, you do have a unique way of preparing for combat," Rose stated as her laughter subsided and smiled at her husband, "Poor Strax, he never knows what to expect with you."
"Yeah, Dad," Sydney added, agreeing with his mother as his laughter subsided as well, "Noogies during combat prep? That's a new one. But it's slightly funny, I must admit."
"So there's something here they want," Vastra stated.
"The ice Woman," Clara realised as she stood back up.
"Exactly," the Doctor confirmed.
"Indeed," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "Great guess, Clara."
"Why's she so important?" Jenny asked them.
"Because she's a perfect duplication of human DNA in ice crystal form, the ultimate fusion of snow and humanity," the Doctor explained as he paced towards the desk and handed Latimer the whisky, "To live here, the snow needs to evolve and she's the blueprint. She's what they need to become." He then walked next to Clara and in front of Vastra as he snapped his right hand's fingers and pointed at Clara with his right hand's index finger, "When the snow melted last night, did the pond?"
"No," Clara answered.
"Living ice that will never melt," the Doctor added, "If the snow gets hold of that creature on the stairs, it will learn to make more of them. It will build an army of ice. And it will be the last day of humanity on this planet."
"And we can't let that happen," Rose stated when they suddenly heard the doorbell ring.
"Stay here," the Doctor ordered Vastra, Strax and the humans as he cracked his neck before he left the room as he reopened the study's entrance.
"Sydney," Rose said as she turned towards her son, "Stay here and help the Paternoster Gang protect the children and their father."
"I will, Mum," Sydney replied as he nodded his head.
Rose then gave her son a quick kiss on the forehead before she followed the Doctor out of the room and closed it behind her before Clara followed them out of the room.
"Oi, I told you to stay in there," the Doctor told Clara as he and Rose turned to face her.
"Oh, I didn't listen," Clara explained.
"You do that a lot," the Doctor noted.
"And I used to do that a long time ago," Rose told her, recalling her time as a chameleon-arched human and in her second incarnation.
"It's why you like me," Clara told the Time Lord.
"Who said I like you?" The Doctor asked her, "I'm in love with my wife."
"Not that way," Clara sighed as she began embracing him in a hug, only for him to struggle as Rose chuckled to herself and shook her head as unbeknownst to them and on the stairway, the Ice Governess was still trying to break the field before Clara stopped hugging him and pulled away from him as the Doctor looked at her with a shocked and stunned expression on his face, "I think you just proved that you liked me as a friend."
"You hugged me," the Doctor stated, "No one aside from Rose and Sydney has hugged me in years."
"And not since I found out that I was pregnant when we were in New York all those years ago," Rose added with a smile on her face.
"You seem surprised," Clara told the Time Lord.
"Well, yeah," the Doctor confirmed, "I didn't expect that you would hug me."
The Time Lord then straightened his bow tie and headed for the front door with Rose following him. After a little smile, Clara followed him as well before the Doctor opened the door with his right hand to reveal Simeon. The Doctor put on his stern face with Rose doing the same as he walked up to the other man so they were face-to-face as the snowmen rose behind Simeon.
"Release her to us," Simeon ordered both Gallifreyans, "You both have five minutes." He then walked away before the Doctor closed the door with his right hand and walked back through the hall with Rose following him.
"We need to get her out of here but keep her away from them," the Doctor told them.
"I couldn't agree more, Doctor," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"How?" Clara asked them.
"With this," the Doctor answered as he pulled out an umbrella from the stand by the stairs with his right hand as Latimer appeared in the doorway to the study, "Do I always have to state the obvious?"
"Yes, Doctor, you do," Rose answered as she chuckled and shook her head in amusement, "Ever since we reunited all those years ago, you've had a knack for stating the obvious."
"Those creatures outside, what are they?" Latimer asked them.
"No danger to you, as long as we get that thing out of here," the Doctor answered before he pointed at him with his left hand's index finger, "You, in there, now."
"You better do as he says and get back in there," Rose told Latimer, "I'll be more safe for you."
The Doctor then went part way up the stairs as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver with his right hand again and activated it as he used it on the force field.
"What are you doing?" Clara asked the Time Lord.
"Between you and me, I can't wait to find out," the Doctor answered.
"Nor can I," Rose said, agreeing with him before the Doctor moved his screwdriver behind him as he used it to move the field behind them.
"Right, if you look after everyone here, then we can…" The Doctor began to say.
"Clara!" Both Gallifreyans said at the same time as they realised that the Governess was within the field with them and the Ice Governess.
"Doctor! Rose!" Clara muttered at the same time as the Ice Governess lunged at them, only for them to dodge past her and up the stairs.
"Stupid!" The Doctor told the Governess.
"He's got a point, that was a very stupid decision, Clara," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "Now, the three of us have to evade her rather than just the two of us."
"You both were stupid, too!" Clara told them.
"We're allowed," the Doctor explained, "We're good at stupid."
"That's the way to do it!" The Ice Governess repeated herself.
"Why does she keep saying that?" Clara asked them.
"Mirroring," the Doctor explained as they stopped at the landing with Rose and Clara standing behind him, "Random mirroring." He then swung the umbrella at the Ice Governess, "We need to go… Whoa!"
"This way!" Clara ordered the Doctor as she grabbed his left hand with her right hand before she pulled him along.
"No, no!" The Doctor told him, "I do the hand-grabbing. That's my job, that's always me!"
"Yeah, you have always been doing that since we reunited all those years ago, love!" Rose said, agreeing with him as they ran down the hall.
The Doctor stepped onto the roof of the house through a window with Rose following him as she grabbed her dress' petticoats and jumped through the window and landed on her feet as she let go of her petticoats.
"Come on, quickly!" The Doctor urged Clara.
"Like he said, come on, Clara!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Agh!" Clara grunted as she stopped in the window as she seemed to be stuck in the window sill.
"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked her as he stopped running and turned around towards her with Rose doing the same.
"She's stuck, love," Rose explained.
"She's right, my bustle is stuck," Clara said, agreeing with the Time Lady.
"Your bustle?!" The Doctor repeated with disbelief in his voice as he went back to the window and put his arms around her as he pulled her through the window before they fell to the roof with Clara lying on top of him, "We're gonna have to modify your attire."
"I understand what you mean, I do," Clara told him.
"Good," the Doctor replied.
"Alright, you two," Rose said as she looked at them, "Time for you two to get up."CLARA: What's the plan?
"As always, Rose has the right idea," the Doctor stated as he looked at his wife.
"Agreed," Clara told them as she stood back up before he stood back up before she looked at both Gallifreyans, "Now, what's the plan?"
"Who said we've got a plan?" The Doctor asked her.
"Like he said, how would you know if either of us has a plan?" Rose said, agreeing with him.
"Course you've both got a plan," Clara told them as she picked up the umbrella from the ground with her right hand, "You took that, Doctor."
"Maybe I'm an idiot," the Doctor suggested as he took the umbrella from her with his right hand.
"You're not, Doctor," Clara argued, "You two are clever, really clever."
"Well, we do have our moments, don't we?" Rose said as she laughed and shook her head as she looked at the Doctor with a playful smile, "But even clever people need a moment to think. So, Clara, while we're figuring out our brilliant plan, why don't you tell us what you think we should do?"
"Are you?" The Doctor asked Clara as he tossed the umbrella back to Clara, who caught it with her right hand, "If either of us have got a plan, what is it? You tell us."
"That's the way to do it!" They suddenly heard the Ice Governess say as she appeared at the window.
"Is this a test?" Clara asked him.
"Yes," the Doctor answered.
"Indeed, it is," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"What will it do to us?" Clara asked them.
"Kill us," both Gallifreyans answered at the same time.
"That's the way to do it!" The Ice Governess repeated herself before she turned into snow and blew through the window.
"So, come on then," the Doctor urged her, "Plan. Do either of us have one?"
"Oh, I know what your plan is," Clara told both Gallifreyans, "I knew straight away." She then tossed the umbrella back to the Doctor as he caught it with his right hand as the snow swirled as the Ice Governess began to reform around them.
"No, you didn't," the Doctor argued as he tossed the umbrella back to Clara as she caught it with her left hand.
"Course I did," Clara told him.
"Then what is it?" Rose asked her.
"Show us," the Doctor requested.
"Why should I?" Clara asked them.
"Because we'll be dead in under 30 seconds," the Doctor answered, "Do either of us have a plan?"
"If we'd been escaping, we'd be climbing down the building. If we'd been hiding, we'd be on the other side of the roof," Clara stated, "But no. We're standing right here."
"So?" Both Gallifreyans asked her at the same time.
"So…" Clara began to say as she reached up with the umbrella and pulled down the ladder, "After the two of you."
"Well done, Clara. You're doing brilliantly," Rose told the Governess with a smile on her face as she grabbed one of the ladder's steps, "Let's get moving."
"After you," the Doctor ordered Clara as Rose climbed up the ladder's steps.
"After you," Clara urged the Time Lord, "Like your wife, I'm wearing a dress."
"Fine," the Doctor relented as he grabbed onto the ladder's steps and followed Rose up the ladder before Clara cleared her throat and grabbed one of the ladder's steps with her right hand as she turned around to face the Ice Governess.
"I understand you're the previous governess," Clara told the Ice Governess as she finished reforming, "I regret to inform you the position is taken." She then stepped onto one of the ladder's steps and tapped on the side of it with the umbrella, "Goodnight." The ladder then retracted as Clara rode up the ladder as the Ice Governess could only watch.
"So you two can move your cloud?" Clara asked both Gallifreyans as she reached the landing at the base of the spiral staircase where the Doctor and Rose were waiting, "You both can control it."
"No, no one can control clouds," the Doctor answered as he walked over towards her, "That would be silly. The wind, a little bit."
"Indeed, that does sound ridiculous," Rose said, agreeing with her husband when the ladder suddenly began to shake, causing them to look down.
"She's following us," Clara told them.
"That's the idea," the Doctor stated, "Keep her away from the snow." He and Rose then began to run up the staircase with Clara following them, "So, barmaid or governess, which is it?"
"Yeah, which one is it, clara?" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"That thing is after us, and you both want a chat?" Clara asked them with disbelief in her voice as she followed them up the staircase.
"Well, we can't chat after we've been horribly killed, can we?" The Doctor explained as he stopped climbing up the stairwell.
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Rose laughed as the Doctor continued to climb up the staircase as she and Clara followed him, "We used to do it all the time."
"How did we get up so high so quick?" Clara asked them.
"Clever staircase, it's taller on the inside," the Doctor explained.
"Time Lord technology," Rose added, "Makes things more convenient, doesn't it?" They soon reached the top of the staircase and the cloud before Rose turned around as she pulled out her sonic screwdriver from her bag and aimed it down the staircase as she activated it.
"What am I standing on, what's this made of?" Clara asked them.
"Super-dense water vapour," the Doctor explained as Rose deactivated her sonic screwdriver and closed it and placed it back inside her bag, "Should keep her trapped, for the moment."
"Indeed, she won't come after us for a while," Rose said, agreeing with her husband as they began walking across the cloud towards the TARDIS as it was now battered and burned since the Doctor and Rose went to New York all those years ago.
"So you actually live up here with your son on a cloud in a box?" Clara asked them.
"We have done for a long time now," the Doctor answered.
"Seventy years, in fact," Rose added, "Since Sydney was born."
"Blimey, you both really know how to sulk, don't you?" Clara asked them.
"I'm not sulking," the Doctor argued.
"Nor am I," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"You two live in a box with your son!" Clara told them.
"That's no more a box than you are a governess," the Doctor stated.
"Exactly, it's more than just a box, but our home," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Oh, spoken like a man, Doctor. You're the same as all the rest," Clara said as the Doctor and Rose walked towards the TARDIS as the Doctor placed his TARDIS key into the ship's keyhole as she followed them towards the TARDIS, "Sweet little Clara, works at the Rose and Crown, ideas above her station." The Doctor then opened the TARDIS' doors and entered the ship with Rose as the Governess followed them into the TARDIS, "For your information, Doctor, I'm not sweet on the inside, and I'm certainly not…"
The Doctor suddenly switched on the TARDIS' lights as he and Rose approached the ship's console. The console room appeared different since the Time Lord couple lost Amy and Rory seventy years ago in their timeline. It was now more whimsical with a smaller control room and the console being more literal input devices and instrumentation.
There were also a pair of secondary consoles on the railing on the main platform with the room now being stark and mechanical, covered in tones of teal and aqua with a couple of blue and red neon circular-shaped roundels covering the second floor in a circle around the room.
Both Gallifreyans then turned around towards Clara with smiles on their faces as she looked about with an awed expression on her face.
"Little," Clara muttered to herself.
"It's called the TARDIS," the Doctor explained, "It can travel anywhere in time and space. And it's ours."
"TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space," Rose added, "It's a bit of a mouthful, but it's home to us."
"But this…" Clara began to say as she continued to look around the console room, "Look at it, it's…"
"Go on, say it," the Doctor urged the Governess, "Most people do."
Clara then suddenly ran out of the TARDIS, causing the Doctor to chuckle.
"Reminds me of when I reunited with you all those centuries ago and first saw the TARDIS in its entirety," Rose recalled, "Back when I was still a chameleon-arched human, and we were trying to stop the Auton invasion in 2005. I ran around it just like Clara is doing now."
"You sure did, Arkytior," the Doctor said, agreeing with her.
As Clara exited the TARDIS, she ran around the exterior of the TARDIS on all four sides of the ship, touching its sides before she went back inside.
"It's smaller on the outside," Clara told them.
"Okay. That is a first," the Doctor stated with surprise in his voice.
"Wasn't expecting that," Rose muttered to herself, "Thought she'd say, 'bigger on the inside' as I did when I was still chameleon-arched."
"Is it magic?" Clara asked them as she walked around the console, "Is it a machine?"
"It's a ship," the Doctor answered.
"A ship?" Clara asked him as she laughed and went part way up one of the sets of stairs to the console room's second floor.
"Best ship in the universe," the Doctor added as he and Rose flicked a few of the TARDIS' controls with their hands.
"And it's seen more of the universe than any other ship," Rose chuckled, "It's been our home, our sanctuary, and our gateway to the stars. It's more than a ship, Clara. It's a part of us."
"Is there a kitchen?" Clara asked them as she walked back down the stairs and stopped next to the Doctor.
"Another first," the Doctor told her.
"I don't know why I asked that, it's just…" Clara began to say, "I like making soufflés."
At the mention of soufflés, the Doctor and Rose shared a quick glance, a silent understanding passing between them. They remembered Oswin, trapped in the Dalek Asylum, her mind clinging to the familiar, comforting routine of making soufflés to keep the horrifying truth at bay. But they said nothing about it to Clara as the Governess walked back over to the TARDIS' doors.
"Soufflés?" The Doctor said with shock in his voice as he and Rose walked away from the console and towards her.
"Yes, Doctor, soufflés," Rose said, agreeing with her husband with her tone almost being a teasing one, "Seems our Clara has a knack of surprising us."
"Why are you both showing me all this?" Clara asked them with confusion in her voice.
"You followed us," The Doctor reminded her before he turned back towards the console and flicked a few switches on it with his right hand, "Remember? We didn't invite you."
"That's right, Clara," Rose said, agreeing with the Doctor as she nodded her head, "You chose to step into our world. And now that you're here, you're seeing things as they truly are. This is the TARDIS, our and Sydney's home, and it's full of wonders and mysteries, just like the universe itself."
"Doctor, you're nearly a foot taller than I am, and Rose, you're also a few inches taller than me," Clara told both Gallifreyans, causing the Doctor to turn around towards her, "You could've reached the ladder without this, Doctor." She held up the umbrella with her left hand as she said that, "You took it for me." She then threw the umbrella to the Doctor as he caught it with his right hand, "Why?"
"I never know why," the Doctor admitted as he reached into his trouser's right pocket as he walked up to her, "I only know who." He then held up a TARDIS key in between his right hand's thumb and index finger before he placed it in the palm of her right hand and folded her hand.
"What's this?" Clara asked him.
"Me, giving in," the Doctor answered.
"And it's about time we came out of temporary retirement to raise Sydney," Rose added with a smile on her face, "After seventy years, it's about time for us to go on adventures again."
"I don't know why I'm crying," Clara told them as tears began falling from her eyes.
"I do," the Doctor stated with a smile on his face.
"As do I," Rose said, agreeing with him.
"Remember this. Remember this right now, remember all of it," the Doctor urged her, "Because this is the day." He and Rose then both exuberantly went around the console, "This is the day, this is the day everything begins!"
"Yes, Clara, remember this moment," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, her voice filled with warmth and anticipation, "Because this is not just the day everything begins. This is the day you step into a world beyond your wildest dreams. This is the day you join us and Sydney in the dance of the stars, the song of galaxies. This is the day you become a part of the grand adventure that is life in the TARDIS."
The Doctor then set his umbrella over the top of the console control he was at as he began setting its coordinates with Rose working on another of the console's controls as unbeknownst to them,While on the side opposite the door, the Ice Governess suddenly came up behind her and grabbed her, causing Clara to drop her TARDIS key as it fell to the floor as she began pulling her out from the TARDIS.
"Clara!" Both Gallifreyans called out to Clara as they looked across the console room and saw the Ice Governess dragging her out of the TARDIS as she screamed before they ran towards the TARDIS' door, "Clara!"
"Get off of me!" Clara demanded the Ice Governess as she pulled her backwards across the cloud.
"I should have realised that water vapour doesn't stop ice," Rose muttered to herself as she and the Doctor exited the TARDIS as the Time Lord pulled his sonic screwdriver back out with his right hand and aimed it at the Ice Governess.
"So had I," the Doctor said, agreeing with her.
"Get off!" Clara ordered the Ice Governess.
"Let her go," the Doctor demanded, "Let her go now! Now!"
"Like he said, let Clara go!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Get off of me!" Clara ordered the Ice Governess.
"No," the Doctor muttered as the Ice Governess continued to pull Clara backwards.
"Clara!" Both Gallifreyans called out to the Governess as they shared a moment with her before the Ice Governess took another step back as both she and Clara fell from the cloud and even while falling, the Ice Governess tried to reach for Clara as the Doctor and Rose ran towards the edge of the cloud and leaned over the cloud, "Clara!"
Back in the study of the Latimer house, those gathered in the room with Alice now being conscious and stood in front of Francesca and Digby as they all heard a thud from outside the house.
"What was that?" Vastra asked herself as she, Jenny, Strax and Sydney all looked out the window into the front yard and saw Clara lying in the snow surrounded by snowmen.
"It's Clara," Jenny stated.
"I wonder where she came from," Sydney muttered to herself as Vastra held a handheld device in her left hand and looked at it.
"Dear God," Latimer said as he came over to the window, "Oh, dear God! Where did she fall from?"
"Why didn't I realise it," Sydney muttered to himself, "She fell from Mum and Dad's TARDIS exterior staircase."
Vastra's device read 'No Life Signs Detected,' as she, Jenny and Sydney stared at the words on the device.
"We have to get her inside," Latimer stated as he headed for the door.
"Those things will kill you," Vastra warned him as she turned around towards him.
"She's hurt," Latimer told her.
"She's dead," Vastra stated, causing Latimer to stop at the door and look back at Vastra before she, Jenny and Sydney looked outside as they heard the TARDIS outside the house.
"What is that?" Latimer asked them, "What is happening?"
"They're bringing her in," Vastra explained as she, Jenny and Sydney saw the TARDIS materialising around Clara.
Inside the TARDIS, Clara laid on the floor of the TARDIS with chunks of ice, which were the remains of the Ice Governess, scattered about her.
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