Thea yawned as she shuffled down the corridors of the TARDIS, annoyed at being interrupted by the phone.
She had heard it in her dream at first, waking her up but she had just turned over to go back to sleep only for the actual phone to start ringing in the present, which annoyed her greatly as she knew the Doctor wasn't near the TARDIS nor close enough to answer it.
She rubbed her face as she entered the console room, the phone still ringing. She had no idea who it was nor why it was the phone outside and not the one attached to the console. She paused, shaking her head assuming the Doctor had been fiddling around again out of boredom. One day he would remember to patch it back through to the console, it was much easier that way.
She sighed, opening the door, able to hear horses in the distance, knowing one of the Monks had heard the phone and gone to collect the Doctor.
She didn't even know why they were still here. For some reason the Doctor had landed them in a monastery in Columbia, circa 1207 and had taken up being a Monk for a bit, trying to figure out where to start next for their search for Clara Oswin Oswald or whatever variation of the name they would find.
Because she knew they would find the woman again.
She picked up the phone, "hello?"
"Ah, hello." A cheery young woman sounded on the line. Thea frowned; her voice was familiar... "I can't find the internet."
She blinked, not expecting that, "I'm sorry?"
"It's gone, the internet. Can't find it anywhere. Where is it?"
"The internet?" Thea frowned, glancing towards the caverns entrance to see the Doctor dismounting his horse with a Monk behind him.
"Yes, the internet. Why don't I have the internet?"
Thea rested the phone to her chest as the Doctor joined her side, "She's asking for the internet."
The Doctor glanced at his watch, taking the phone from her, "It's 1207."
"I've got half past 3:00." The woman called, "am I phoning a different time zone?
"Yeah, you really sort of are."
"Will it show up on the bill?"
"Oh, I dread to think." The Doctor muttered. He knew phone calls to space could be expensive without international roaming, but no one had ever called the TARDIS without it. Hardly anyone had their number, they didn't give it out all willy-nilly.
"Where did you get this number?" Thea called, curious.
"The woman in the shop wrote it down." The woman replied.
"What woman?" she asked.
"She said it's the best help line in the universe. Why isn't there internet? Shouldn't it sort of be there?"
"Look," the Doctor sighed, starting to pace on the phone, "listen, I'm not actually, it isn't...you have clicked on the Wi-Fi button, yeah?"
"Hang on." The woman murmured, "wi-fi."
"Click on the wi-fi, you'll see a list of names. You see one you recognise."
"It's asking me for a password." She said after a moment.
"Is it okay if I go and see Nina?" They heard a young girl in the distance, "You can call her mum."
"Sure." The woman replied to her, "What's the password for the internet?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes, hearing the voice grow quieter as the woman moved the phone from her ear.
"Is it an evil spirit?" The monk asked.
"A woman." The Doctor told him, shaking his head as the monk crossed himself.
"Hang on a mo." The woman came back on the line, "Run you clever boy and remember one...two...three..."
The Doctor eyed widened recalling both Oswin from the Alaska and Victorian Clara had spoken those words as their last.
"What did you say?" He shouted.
"Don't shout. Now you've made me type it wrong. It's thrown me out again. What do I do? How do I get back in?" But her question was left unanswered.
"It's her!" The Time Lords cried to each other.
"She said the thing!" The Doctor added, hanging up the phone and rushing inside to trace the woman.
"Run you clever boy and remember!" Thea nodded, moving to help him around the console.
Something was telling her that they shouldn't waste any time in getting to the woman.
~.~
The TARDIS materialised outside of a very normal house in modern times, the Doctor and Thea rushing out the Doctor ringing the doorbell and Thea knocking loudly on the door to grab her attention. From their quick hop, the woman was likely still on the phone with them.
"Hello?" They could hear Clara call from inside, "Yes, I hear you. Yep. Ah ha." They could faintly see her through the glass as she came down stairs, opening the door dressed in a modern red dress, "Hello."
"Clara..." Thea breathed, hardly daring to believe it. After so many months, they had found her!
"Clara." The Doctor was practically beaming, "Clara Oswald."
"Hello." She eyed the pair oddly. They weren't quite what she was expecting to find in the afternoon pounding on her doors, a man with floppy hair dressed in a brown monk robe and a young girl with curly red hair dressed in a fox onesie.
"Clara Oswin Oswald!" The Doctor cheered.
"Just Clara Oswald." Clara shook her head, "What was that middle one?"
"Do you remember us?" The Doctor asked.
"No." Clara gave the Doctor an odd look, "Should I? Who are you?"
"The Doctor." He pointed at himself, "No? What about Thea?" he pointed at her as she waved.
"Doctor who?" Clara shook her head.
"No, just the Doctor." He sighed before smiling slightly, "Actually, sorry, could you start all that again?"
"Could I what?"
"Could you just ask me that question again?"
"Doctor who?" Clara blinked.
"Okay," the Doctor grinned, "just once more."
"Doctor who?"
"Ooh, yeah." he did a small little dance, "Do you know, I never realised how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud. Thank you."
"Still a very dangerous question." Thea remarked.
Clara just nodded, eying the pair as she shut the door on them, "Okay."
"Kinda was expecting that." Thea remarked.
"Hey, no, Clara, please." The Doctor tried, tapping on the glass again, "Clara, I need to talk to you. Listen. Please."
"Can we please just talk?" Thea asked.
They heard a buzz and turned to see Claras face on the intercom on the wall, "Why are you still here? Why are you here at all?"
"Oi, you phoned us." The Doctor pointed at her, "You were looking for the internet."
"That was you?" Clara raised her eyebrows.
"You said the woman gave you our number." Thea shrugged.
"Of course it was us." The Doctor nodded.
"How did you get here so fast?" Clara frowned.
"We just happened to be in the neighbourhood, on my mobile phone." The Doctor gestured to the TARDIS parked behind them.
"When you say mobile phone, why do you point at that blue box?"
"Because it's a surprisingly accurate description."
"Okay, we're finished now." Clara said and turned off the comm.
"Oi, no, don't..." The Doctor tried to speak but the woman had gone.
"I don't think the fact that we look like we just came from the 1200s really is helping." Thea remarked.
"No," The Doctor agreed, "come on, we'll get changed and try again and you," he paused, pointed at her, "Can actually get dressed instead wandering around it your pyjamas."
"They're comfy." She defended but rolled her eyes.
Obviously, she would get dressed. She had hardly gotten out of her pyjamas since they'd landed in the Monastery.
~.~
Unlike Thea who had raced off down to the wardrobe to change, the Doctor had changed under the console, he had decided to change up his attire a bit, now dressed in a white button up with a lavender/grey vest, he usually trousers and boots with a longish dark purple coat of course he had kept the bowtie.
"Hurry up, Thea!" The Doctor huffed as he checked his watch at how long she was taking to change.
"Coming!" She called, running back into the console room, hopping as she pulled up her socks.
The Doctor rolled his eyes at that, opening the doors to hopefully be able to get through to Clara again now they were both in normal clothing and the Doctor pounded on the front door again, "Clara! Clara?"
"Hello?" Clara responded.
"Is everything alright?" Thea called, suddenly starting to get the feeling in her stomach that Clara was not alright.
The Doctor didn't seem to notice her tone, "look, it's us de-monked. Sensible clothes. Even Thea finally got dressed, all just for you. Can we come in now?"
"I don't understand." Clara said slowly.
"You just open the door."
"I don't know..."
"Of course you can." The Doctor started to frown now, realising something was quite right here.
"Where I am. I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me where I am. I don't know where I am."
"Clara?" Thea peered through the glass, seeing the woman lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, not moving. She gasped, raising her leg up, kicking the door open and rushing to Claras side.
"Thea!" The Doctor chastised.
"Yeah, yeah," She rolled her eyes at him, "Don't kick down other people's doors." She glanced up, frowning at what looked like a little girl in an old timey dress, the body facing them but the head was turn around, the back carved in like a spoon, "what is that?"
"I don't know where I am!" Claras voice shouted from somewhere, "I don't know where I am!"
"Clara?" The Doctor ran the sonic along Claras body really hoping she was just unconscious and not dead...again, "Clara?"
"I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am. I don't understand. I don't know where I am! I don't understand. I don't know where I am."
"Dad," Thea began slowly looking at the little girl able to hears Claras voice coming from that direction rather than her own body, "I think Claras in that."
"Where am I?" Clara continued, "I don't know where I am."
The Doctor raised the sonic at the girl, flashing it until its image changed to reveals it robotic self.
"Walking base station." The Doctor murmured, eying the robot, "Walking wi-fi base station. Hoovering up data..."
"And stealing people too." Thea finished quietly before gasping and running upstairs, into the only room with its door left open, finding a laptop open on the desk and dashing back down, shifting onto her knees as she sat down besides Clara. "Not losing her again." Thea set her jaw, her fingers flying over the keys, seeing whoever was trying to download Claras consciousness had not yet fully succeeded.
The Doctor smiled seeing the fierce determination in Theas eyes as she quickly got to work bringing Clara back. She was so stubborn and so protective of those she loved, "not this time, Clara," the Doctor lifted her hand, kissing the back of it, "I promise."
"Is that the best you've got?" Thea raised her eyebrow seeing whoever was trying to steal Clara weren't about to let her go, but she was better than them, her fingers flying over the keys, typing code after code...
Until a red stream of energy shot out of the base stations head and back into Clara's body.
The young woman gasped, rolling onto her back, coughing deeply.
"Okay," the Doctor quickly checked her over as Thea closed the laptop, "It's okay, it's okay. You're fine. You're back. Yes, you are. Oh yes, you are." He grinned at Thea, "you are brilliant!" He told her, taking the laptop from her, quickly trying a small message to Claras thief's.
Under our protection- the Time Lords
~.~
Thea couldnt help but smile as the Doctor tucked Clara into bed later that evening, the woman still asleep, regaining her strength. He had already set a pitcher of water on her bedside table along with a plate of biscuits and changing the water in the vase of flowers.
The Doctor looked over from settling Clara in bed, ensuring the woman would wake up feeling safe and comfortable, if a little dissociated, he frowned, seeing Thea staring at a book with a small frown, "What is it?" He asked, knowing from her frown that the book was important, just how or why they didn't know yet. He opened it seeing it belonged to Clara and her mother before her, '101 and one places to see' he flipped to the first page to see a leaf pressed into it.
Thea picked it up, twirling it between her fingers, an intent look on her face, it was a perfectly ordinary leaf, like someone had picked it up from the ground as it fell from a tree, but it was also more than that. She just didn't know quite whatever a leaf could be but she knew it was important to Clara.
~.~
Thea sat leaning against the TARDIS doors as she hacked away at Claras laptop, trying to find out who was behind the downloads, whoever they were they were pretty clever had covered their tracks, but she would find them, she would ensure they didn't take Clara again.
The Doctor was sat on a folding lawn chair, just outside of Claras house, working on the dismantled base station.
"Hello, Clara." Thea spoke, the Doctor looking up and turning to see Clara awake, leaning out of her window slightly, her mouth open as though about to speak before Thea got there first.
"Hello?" Clara eyed them both oddly.
"Hello!" The Doctor cheered, "Are you all right?"
"I'm in bed." She stated.
"Yes."
"Don't remember going."
"No."
"What did I miss?"
"Oh, quite a lot, actually." The Doctor pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, flicking through the pages, "Angie called. She's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do. For god's sake get off her back." He turned a couple more pages, "also, your dad phoned, mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them, I've got several pages on that." He flipped through them, "I said I'd look into it."
"The government is very corrupt." Thea nodded.
"Thea then fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine," the Doctor continued, "and I indexed the kitchen cupboards, optimised photosynthesis in the main flower bed and we assembled a quadricycle."
"Assembled a what?" Clara shook her head.
"We found a disassembled quadricycle in the garage."
"I don't think you did."
The Doctor started grinning at that, "we invented the quadricycle. Ha!"
"So what was it we found?" Thea wondered.
"What happened to me?" Clara frowned down at them.
Thea closed the laptop, she wasn't getting very far with her hacking at this point and now Clara was awake they could wait. She kept going around in a loop now, finding the weird symbols under the 'Maitland family' Wifi login and she knew better than to press that.
"You don't remember, do you?" She guessed, looking up at the woman.
"I was scared," Clara said thoughtfully, "really scared. Didn't know where I was."
"Do you know now?" The Doctor smiled at her.
"Yes."
"Well then, you should go to sleep. Because you're safe now, I promise." The Doctor crossed his hearts as Thea did the same behind him, "Goodnight, Clara."
"Sweet dreams." Thea turned back to the laptop as Clara shut her window...only to open it again, "Are you guarding me?"
"I'd call it more protecting." Thea shrugged, standing up, bowing deeply, "at your service."
Clara laughed at that, "are you my night in shining armour?"
She smirked, "if you like."
"Are you seriously going to sit down there all night?"
"I promise we won't budge from this spot." The Doctor nodded.
"Well then, I'll have to come to you."
"What?" The Doctor frowned, put Clara had already disappeared back inside.
~.~
A few minute later Clara had come outside carry teas and a foldable chair for herself.
"Hmm, good tea." Thea smiled at Clara as she sat on the floor before the Doctors feet.
This body of her much preferred her tea black, sweetened with honey, but Sarah Jane had taught her to be polite enough to not complain and, in all honestly, tea was tea she would never say no to a cup of tea.
"I like your house." The Doctor commented to Clara as she sat besides him.
"It isn't mine." Clara shook her head, "I'm a friend of the family."
"Because you look after the children." Thea remarked, Clara gave her an odd look as she added; "we saw the photos."
"Oh yes, you're a governess, aren't you?" The Doctor nodded, "just like..." he fell silent suddenly from a quick kick in his shin, "Ow..."
"Just like what?" Clara frowned, suspicious.
"Just like Thea thought you probably would be." He quickly covered up, "she said nanny, I said maid." He leaned closer, whispering, "never make bets with a psychic, they always win."
"Right." Clara nodded slowly, taking a sip of her tea as she looked at Thea who smiled, like she was keeping a secret. She wasn't sure if that was a joke or if he was telling her the girl was psychic, the girl wasn't arguing against it, so maybe she was...
"Are you going to explain what happened to me?" She asked instead.
"There's something in the Wi-Fi." The Doctor explained, "This whole world is swimming in wifi. We're living in a wifi soup. Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the wifi, harvesting human minds. Extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the world-wide web. Stuck forever, crying out for help."
"Isn't that basically Twitter?" Clara joked, only to look up to see them both staring at her, "What's that face for?"
"A computer can hack another computer. A living, sentient computer, maybe that could hack people. Edit them. Re-write them."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because a few hours ago you rang us asking where the internet was," Thea reminded her, "and you just made a joke about Twitter."
"Oh." Claras eyes widened as she realised that, "Oh, that's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did all that come from?"
"You were uploaded for a while." The Doctor remarked, "Wherever you were, you brought something extra back..." he trailed off, seeing Thea stiffen, "what is it?"
"Something that they don't want you keeping." she murmured, getting to her feet, she slowly turned, trying to pinpoint the danger, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she spotted a figure standing under a streetlamp across the street. "TARDIS now."
The Doctor got to his feet, not doubting her abilities to know they were in danger and the figure across from them was very much likely another base station come to take Clara back, "inside that box, now." He ordered Clara.
Clara nearly choked on her tea, "I'm sorry?"
"Look, just get inside."
"All of us?"
"Oh, trust me. You'll understand once we're in there."
"I bet I will. What is that box, anyway? Why have you got a box? Is it like a snogging booth?"
"A...what?" The Doctor looked at her.
"Is that what you do, bring a booth? There is such a thing as too keen."
"It's not a snogging both." Thea rolled her eyes, "I mean, I have made out with River a few times inside but the old man in never around." She shook her head, seeing the lights in the houses down the street starting to turn on.
"Clara look around you!" The Doctor gestured around, trying to get Clara understand the need to get inside the TARDIS and away from here. He knew that while Clara was still outside and in danger from whoever wanted her Thea would not go inside before the human was safely inside.
"What's going on?" Clara frowned, seeing that there really was something odd happening, "What's happening? Is the wifi switching on the lights?"
"No, the wifi is making the people turn the lights on." Thea breathed, "pretty much everyone has wifi in their homes so..." She trailed, seeing the base station cross the street slowly turn its head revealing the curve in its head.
Clara gasped, seeing it, "What is that thing?"
"A walking base station." The Doctor told her, "you saw one earlier."
"I saw a little girl."
"It must have taken an image from your subconscious, thrown it back at you. Active camouflage." He smacked his forehead, "They could be everywhere."
"Doctor?" Clara called, "Thea!" The lights in the house behind them began to turn off.
"What's going on? Our lights are on and everyone else's off. Why?"
Thea turned her gaze to the sky, hearing a faint droning if engines, to see a faint dot with blinking lights heading straight for them, "some planes have wifi." She breathed.
"I'm sorry?" Clara looked at her.
"We must be one hell of a target right now." The Doctor swallowed.
"Come on!" Thea shouted, grabbing Claras hand and pulling her inside as the Doctor followed, the Time Lords racing up to the console to get them away.
"Yes, it's a spaceship." The Doctor said quickly as Clara stopped and stared around the room.
"And it is smaller on the outside." Thea laughed, not sure if this version of Clara would say the same as the Victorian one but loving that all the same.
"Now, we don't have time to talk about it."
"But...but...but...but it's..." Clara stuttered, slowly making her away closer to the console.
"Shut up, please," the Doctor raced around the console, "Short hops are difficult."
"Which they shouldn't be, if someone passed their exams." Thea gave him a look, "and didn't keep throwing the manual in supernovas and didn't have a console built for six pilots with only two of them!"
"Shut up!" he huffed.
"Bigger...on the inside." Clara breathed as Thea pouted, she had actually liked it when Clara Oswin Oswald said it was smaller on the outside, "actually bigger..."
The Doctor pulled down a lever, creating a spark as he landed them, "Right, come on."
"We're going to go back out there?" Clara gasped.
"We've moved." The Doctor said, as he and Thea ran to the doors, "It's a spaceship. We flew away."
"Away from the plane?" Clara followed.
"Not exactly." He grinned, opening the doors and stumbling out in the middle of the plane they had landing, the turbulence making it hard to keep their footing.
"How did we get here?" Clara shouted above the noise of the engines.
"It's a ship." The Doctor replied, making his way down to the cockpit, "I told you. It's all very sciency."
"This is the plane? The actual plane?" She caught sight of the passengers slumped in their seats, "Are they all dead?"
"Asleep." Thea ran a finger along the neck of one of the passengers, "Switched off by the wifi."
"Never mind them." The Doctor waved them off, flashing the sonic on the cockpit doors and stumbling inside to see the two pilots also unconscious.
"What is going on?" Clara cried, "is this real? Please, tell me what is happening!"
"I'm the Doctor, Thea is my daughter. We're aliens from outer space. I'm a thousand years old, we've got two hearts and I can't fly a plane! Can you?"
"No!" Clara shouted.
"Oh move over," Thea gave the Doctor a light shove as she stepped up, her fingers flying over a few buttons and knobs before pulling back the throttle as far as she could, the plane starting to level out.
The Doctor laughed in relief, "How'd you know how to do that?" He asked her.
"Just..." She shook her head, unable to explain how she just knew exactly what to do, "it just came to me."
"You are brilliant!" He cheered, kissing her head, rolling his eyes as she grimaced at the action and rubbing her head.
"What the hell's going on?" The pilot demanded as he and his co pilot awoke to see the three of them standing there.
The Doctor flashed the sonic on the controls, "Well, I'm blocking your wifi so you're waking up, for a start. Tell you what," he patted the mans arm, "do you want to drive?" And turned to head back to the TARDIS.
"Come along, Clara," Thea smiled seeing the woman's stunned expression, seeing just how close to the houses they had gotten as she helped usher the woman back to the TARDIS, wanting to get away before the rest of the passengers woke up.
~.~
Clara drained the last dregs of her tea that somehow she had managed to keep hold of and keep from spilling despite all the running about, "Okay." She watched the pair run around the console, "When are you going to explain to me what the hell is going on?"
"Breakfast." The Doctor said.
"What? I ain't waiting till breakfast."
She was starving! She hadn't had the chance to eat since lunch, she hadn't dared eat the biscuits the Doctor had left out for her. Who knew getting uploaded into the wifi and surviving a plane crash could make one so hungry.
"It's a time machine. You never have to wait for breakfast." The Doctor grinned throwing the doors open letting in daylight and...applause. "thank you!" He grinned stepping out, to a crowd surround them, "Yes, magic blue box."
Thea followed him out with a flourish, as the Doctor pulled out a fez from his coat pocket, handing it to her, "All donations gratefully accepted!"
"Roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got." he leaned over to Thea, "Keep collecting. We need enough for breakfast. Don't go too wild."
"As if." She smirked before bouncing into the crowd to collect more money,
"Just popping back to the garage." The Doctor called before heading back inside the TARDIS.
Clara nodded, watching Thea dancing around the crowd before his words caught up to her and she looked back inside, "Garage?"
"Oh, you'll love it!" Thea smiled knowingly, making her way back to Claras side before lowering herself down as a young boy dropped some pennies into her hat, "thank you, Daniel." She winked as the boy ran back to his parents.
"So this is tomorrow, then?" Clara wondered. "Tomorrow's come early?"
"No, no," she laughed, "tomorrows still at its usual time, its more like we took a shortcut."
Clara turned at the sound of a roaring engine only to see the Doctor riding out of the TARDIS on a motorbike, towing a small blue scooter behind him. "thank you, thank you!" The Doctor waved to the cheering crowd, "tomorrow, a camel!"
"Do you a swap." Thea handed the Doctor the fez, which he slipped back nto his coat pocket, handing her a blue helmet to match the scooter as she excitedly jumped on the scooter. Clara hesitantly taking another helmet and hoping on the bike behind the Doctor.
Thea glanced back, seeing a Japanese tourist posing in front of the TARDIS, a pit forming in her stomach as she took off as the Doctor and Clara.
They drove though the streets of the city, crossing Westminister bridge when Clara spoke again, "you've got a flying time machine, why are we on motorbikes?"
"We don't take the TARDIS into battle." The Doctor replied.
"Because it's made of wood?" She guessed.
"Because it's the most powerful ship in the universe and I don't want it falling into the wrong hands."
Thea looked over as they passed the Horse Guards Parade, seeing another photo being taken. With all the wifi in London, they could easily be followed.
~.~
The trio sat at the table of a quint rooftop cafe, overlooking St Paul's Cathedral. The Doctor had Claras laptop open in front of him as Thea sat besides him, finishing off her chocolate croissant, on her phone, checking up on the gang to warn them about the wifi, seemed they had already known, Mr Smith was always hacking other computers and had noticed the CCTV across the city showing random people collapsing.
"So," Clara began as she finished her breakfast shake, "if we can travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning. What's the point in that?"
"Because for us it was only a few minutes," The answered, "but for the ones who tried to take you it had been all night. Are you tired?"
"Yes."
"Then imagine how they feel." The Doctor smirked, "they came the long way round." he kept typing, watching the codes flash across the screen as he tried to track them down, "They've got to be close. Definitely London going by the signal distribution. I can hack the lowest level of their operating system but I can't establish a physical location. The security's too good..."
"Are you aliens?" Clara asked, they mentioned it on the plane but she really wanted to be sure.
"We are." The Doctor nodded, "Yes, okay with that?"
"Oh, yeah." She nodded quickly.
"Take a moment." Thea smiled at her.
She took a breath, "Think I'm fine."
"Oh, good." The Doctor laughed.
"So, what happens if you do find them? What happens then?"
"I don't know." He shrugged, "I can't tell the future, I'm not Thea." He nudged her side lightly. "I just work there."
"What?" Clara frowned, looking at the girl, "What's that mean? You're actually psychic?"
The Doctor had mentioned it earlier but there was so much happening at once she hadn't really paid attention to that, or really knew what exactly he had meant.
She shrugged, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, "slightly. I...I'm still figuring it out how it works."
"And one day she's going to be the most powerful and far-seeing Visionary the universe has ever seen!" The Doctor beamed, proud.
"Dad." Thea groaned, embarrassed, "I don't even have visions."
"But once you do! They'll only get better!"
Clara smiled at that, seeing Thea lowered her head to the table, embarrassed, "you're family then?" She asked, "you're father daughter right?"
Thea lifted her head to look at her, "adopted. He's jealous of my red hair and wants everyone to think it's from his genes." She leaned over to whispered, "he'll never be ginger."
It had happened a millennial ago where the council had experimented with regenerations to be able to control them enough. When they struggled to find their possible Visionaries they had managed to tamper with regenerations enough that anyone with even the slightest psychic abilities ended up with red hair. They weren't always born with red hair like she had, but all their future regenerations had some shade of red which of course over the years would turn white with old age and stress. Apparently hair colour affected your abilities.
She didn't understand it, no one did and of course it wasn't perfect, regeneration was so random that it was possible for people to have red hair and no psychic abilities. Bit of a waste of time for all that hard work for nothing.
Clara laughed at that, seeing the Doctor pout that he wouldn't be ginger, before shaking her head, "Do you even have a plan?" She turned to the Doctor.
"Oh, you know what I always say about plans." The Doctor smiled.
"What?"
"I don't have one."
"People always have plans."
"We don't." Thea countered, "sometimes a thing happens."
"So tell me," the Doctor looked at Clara, "how long have you been looking after those kids?"
"About a year," she sighed, "since their mum died."
"Ok. Why you? Family friend, I get that, but there must have been others. Why did it have to be you? You don't really seem like a nanny."
Clara didn't answer, not wanting to talk about it as she reached across the table for the laptop, "Gimme!"
The Doctor yanked it back, "sorry, what?"
"You need to know where they physically are. Their exact location."
"Yes."
"I can do it." Clara tugged the laptop closer.
But he lunged forwards, grabbing it back, "Oi, hang on. I need that."
"You've hacked the lower operating system, yeah? I'll have their physical location in under five minutes. Pop off and get us a coffee."
"If I can't find them, you definitely can't."
"Shall we take a bet on that?" Thea smirked at him.
Clara laughed seeing the man shaking his head, instantly not liking the idea of taking a bet with an apparently psychic, "They uploaded me, remember?" She continued, "I've got computing stuff in my head."
"So do I."
"I have insane hacking skills." Clara countered.
"I'm from space and the future with two hearts and 27 brains."
"And I can find them in under five minutes plus photographs." She blinked, "27?"
"Okay," the Doctor sighed, "slight exaggeration."
"Coffee, go get." Clara snatched the laptop back, "Five minutes, I promise."
The Doctor leaned back, pouting, "The security is absolute."
"It's not about the security." Thea murmured as Clara started typing, "its about the people." She looked up feeling Claras eyes on her to see the woman staring a mouth slightly open, "what?"
"I was just about to say that."
She gave a sly smile, "cant help that I'm afraid."
"She's secretly really good." the Doctor resting his hands on Theas shoulders, "She's just pretending she's bad to trick us all." he leaned closer to Clara as he moved to go and get the next round of drinks, "she's secretly an evil mastermind."
Clara stared at her, as Thea lazily waved him off, "Are you?"
"No," She laughed, "but let me tell you, no one would see that coming."
Clara laughed with her, glancing over to see the Doctor quickly moving into the cafe from where he had been staring at her, "why does he keep looking at me like that?" She asked quietly.
"Because you're young, and gorgeous and he thinks being a nanny is quite Victorian that you should be out partying and seeing the world."
"I do want to see the world." Clara admitted, "just...have to find the time."
"We have a time machine." Thea reminded her gently. They had all the time they needed to the TARDIS, could go and see all the universe and be home before anyone knew they gone, "we have nothing but time."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Clara teased.
"Oh, stars, no!" Thea laughed, leaning back in her chair, "I'm just a flirt and it's annoys the old man." She looked up, sensing his approach to see him looking slightly frantic.
"You're okay?" He asked them.
"Sure. Setting stuff up." Clara remarked, "need a username."
"Learning fast."
"Clara Oswald for the win! Os-win!" She grinned and typed it in as a username.
The Doctor tensed recalling Oswin Oswald from the Alaska.
"Drinks?" Thea cut in, gesturing to the Doctor to go back inside and deal with whoever was talking to him. She had Clara under her protection.
She turned seeing Clara working quickly, capturing the photos of the people working for their mysterious enemy, all from their social medias.
"Brilliant!" Thea cheered, seeing where they all worked.
The Shard.
She looked over, able to see the tall building behind them.
Clara pulled her fingers off the keys, leaning back in the chair, not seeing Thea tensing as the Doctor stepped out of the cafe.
"I did it," she breathed, "I really did. I did it. I did it. I found them."
"You found them." The 'Doctor' stated, his voice monotone.
"The Shard. They're in the Shard. Floor 65."
"Clara." Thea reached a hand onto her arm.
"Floor 65." The 'Doctor' repeated.
"Are you listening to me, Doctor? I found them."
"Clara!" Thea cut her off, "that's not the Doctor."
"I'm listening to you." The Doctor repeated once more, "You found them."
Clara stared in horror as she turned to the Doctor to see his head turn around like the base station.
"Clara." Thea whispered in her ear, "go get dad." She gave the woman a small shove, narrowing avoiding the red beam from the base station...as Thea jumped in the way...
~.~
"Doctor!" Clara gasped, running into the cafe to find the Doctor scanning around, "the robot thing..."
The Doctor spun, seeing her there but not Thea. His eyes widened knowing the only reason Clara would have come to warn him the base station was out there. Thea swore to protect Clara and so she had, getting herself uploaded instead.
"No!" He ran out onto the patio to see Theas collapsed on the ground, the base station him standing there, Theas face in the curve portion of the head.
"Sorry, dad," Thea gave a sheepish looking grin, "Honestly, you should have seen this coming."
Despite his worry the Doctor let out a small laugh at that. Only she would make jokes like that while in danger, not that she believed herself to be in danger, knowing he would get her downloaded back into her body.
And he would.
It was just the two of them, the two of them against the universe.
~.~
In a room high up in the shard three humans stood before a wall showing nothing but monitors off all the people they had downloaded.
There was a young man, an older man and an older woman in a pants unit, staring at the one monitor in particular; of a young girl with ginger hair, unlike the others she seem remarkable unconcerned about where she was actually seeming to be laughing at them.
"Should we pulp her?" The older man turned to the older woman the one in charge, "or keep her as a hostage?"
"There's no point." The woman smirked, "She's fully integrated now. She can't be downloaded again. I'm sure he knows that. Shame we didn't get the girl." She sighed, "but I believe our client will be most pleased with the turn of events."
"Wait for it."
The three humans turned back to the screen to see Thea smirking at them, almost like she could hear exactly what they were saying.
"Um, Miss Kizlet," the young Asian man looked at her, "He's coming..." He moved aside so they could see his monitor as the Doctor raced through the street on his motorbike, without Clara.
"We could stop him, I suppose." The older man suggest.
"Why bother?" Miss Kizlet smirked, "Could be quite funny."
They watched the monitors the Doctor drove up the Shard, quite literally as the motorbike drove up the side of the Shard.
"Seriously?" The Asian man gaped, "He can do that? He can really actually do that?"
"Oh dear lord." Miss Kizlet breathed a moment before they turned at the sound of a loud crash from another room.
"I think that was your office." The older man remarked to Miss Kizlet.
"Excuse me." She straightened her suit, knowing the Doctor was waiting for her, "I believe there's someone to see me." And strode out of the room seeing Thea watch her leave as she entered her office to see a motorbike on the floor, the window smashed and the Doctor sitting at her desk with his feet up, "Do come in."
The Doctor wasted no time with being nice, "Download her."
"Sorry about the draught."
"Download her back into her body right now." He stood up.
"I can't."
"Yes, you can." He walked over to her, not in the mood for any games.
"She's a fully integrated part of the data cloud, now. She can't be separated."
"Then download the entire cloud. Everyone you've trapped in there."
"You realise what would happen?"
"Yes, those with bodies to go home to would be free."
"A tiny number." Miss Kizlet shrugged, "Most would simply die."
"They'd be released from a living hell." He countered, "It's the best you can do for them, so give the order."
"And why would I do that?"
The Doctor smirked at her, "Because I'm going to motivate you," he stepped past her, "any second now."
"You ridiculous man. Why did you even come here? Whatever for?"
He turned, smiling at her, "I didn't."
"What?"
"I'm still in the cafe."
~.~
The Doctor sat at the cafe, the laptop before him, as Clara sat on the patio, holding Theas hand wanting to offer the comfort she could to girl wanting to protect her.
"I'm finishing my coffee." The Doctor took a sip, "Lovely spot. You hack people, but me? I'm old-fashioned. I hack technology. Here's your motivation." He held up the sonic, activating the base station.
~.~
The Doctor in the office, removing his helmet, his head turning around as Miss Kizlet cowered back from it, "No, not me!" She cried, "Not me!"
Thea smirked on screen as Miss Kizlet appeared on the one besides her, "you were right, this is funny."
"Put me back!" The woman screamed, "Put me back! Download me at once! That is an order. That is an order!"
"But she's fully integrated now." The Asian man frowned, "We'll have to download the entire cloud. We can't do that."
"No, we can't." The other man agreed.
"Download me!"
~.~
"Did it work?" Clara asked, feeling quite protective of the girl who had tried to protect her.
The Doctor grinned, typing away to control the base station again, grabbing the woman's controller so that the older man who do as she said.
~.~
"Download me!" Miss Kizlet ordered.
"Do what she says." The older man agreed.
The Asian man nodded and got to work, downloaded everyone from the data cloud one by one as they faces disappeared from the monitors.
~.~
Thea rolled onto her back with a gasp as the Doctor moved to her side, rubbing her back.
"Welcome back to the land of the living." Clara quipped, smiling, seeing the girl was alright.
The Doctor gave Clara a look, "Don't."
She gave an apologetic look realising that Thea had almost gotten herself killed to protect her and she was just making a joke, "sorry."
"Don't." Thea groaned as she sat up, "its funny."
"Never do that again." The Doctor told her sternly, pulling her into a tight embrace before pulling back and smothering her face with kisses.
"Oh, no, stop." She groaned trying to pull away, "it's embarrassing, stars, you're worse than mum."
"And I bet she'll have some words to say about that too."
Clara smiled softly at the pair, seeing a bit of her and her fathers relationship in them, and also curious as to who the girls mother was.
If she was adopted was this an adopted mother with the Doctor or her actual birth mother. That happened sometimes, birth parents realised they weren't fit as partners but as their child got older still managed to maintain a good relationship with their child and adopted family.
~.~
"Oh, that's brilliant!" Thea smiled as she spoke on the phone to Kate, after getting back to the TARDIS and dropping Clara off, she had contacted UNIT to let them know what had been happening to shut it down, "you're a life savour, Kate." She glanced up, knowing Clara was heading out, "see you soon." She offered and ended the call, calling out, "come in!"
And Clara stepped inside, "Blimey you really are psychic, aren't you?" She muttered.
She thought at first that the girl had just known the Doctor had been a base station because she was clever but thinking about it she thought maybe the girl had a feeling or whatever psychic power she had and that's why she told her to go and get the Doctor.
She laughed, dropping into a curtsy, "I'm certainly trying."
She shook her head, crossing her arms, "so, they come back, do they?"
"You didn't answer my question." The Doctor smiled at her.
"What question?"
"You don't seem like a nanny."
"I was going to travel." Clara admitted, "I came to stay for a week before I left, and during that week..."
"Mrs Maitland passed on." Thea murmured, "101 places to see and you haven't seen them because you can't bring yourself to leave those kids."
Clara nodded.
"I will one day." Clara insisted, "I'm going to see them."
"But you don't run out on the people you care about." The Doctor nodded, understanding, "Wish I was more like that."
"You're getting better." Thea rested her head on his arm.
200 years ago he wouldn't have dared to go so domestic with his companion and yet they had gone for Christmas Dinner and even stayed with Amy and Rory for months watching the cubes and just a few weeks ago they'd stayed at Sarah Jane's and he had only gone into the TARDIS once and that was only to help boost Mr Smiths power, the Xylox was getting old, but a little boost of Arton energy kept him going.
"You know," the Doctor focused back on Clara, "the thing about a time machine, you can run away all you like and still be home in time for tea, so what do you say? Anywhere. All of time and space, right outside those doors."
"Does this work?" Clara scoffed, "Is this actually what you do? Do you just crook your finger and people just jump in your snog box and fly away?"
"It is not a snog box!" The Doctor huffed.
Clara laughed, "with her looking like that, you don't think she's not sneaking boys in behind your back?"
"I do not!" Thea cried, outraged at the accusation.
"I know all of the boys she's brings in." The Doctor defended, only to turn to see Thea looking shifty, "Don't I?"
"Yeah, uh, huh," she nodded quickly as he narrowed his eyes, "just, there was one time Jenny asked me to sneak a friend in..." she trailed seeing his look darkening. She quickly looked to Clara hoping to distract him with a possible new companion, "will you come?"
"Come back tomorrow," Clara said, heading for the doors, "Ask me again."
"Why?" The Doctor wondered.
"Because tomorrow, I might say yes. Sometime after seven okay for you?"
"It's a time machine. Any time's okay."
"See you then!"
"Clara?" Thea called as the woman paused at the doors, "Why did you have a leaf in your book?"
She smiled, "That wasn't a leaf. That was page one." She waved as she headed out.
"Right then, Clara Oswald." The Doctor clapped his hand, "Time to find out who you are. But first," he spun and pointed at Thea, who winced, knowing what was coming, "I want to know what boy you're helping your sister sneak in."