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Catching a Falling Doctor

Chapter 2

Summary:

Shortly after agreeing to take Yaz, Ryan and Graham for more trips throughout time and space, Clara helps the new companions settle in, before she and the Doctor are alone for a pivotal conversation.

Notes:

Hello!

Thank you so much for clicking on this fic! I had originally intended Clara rescuing the recently regenerated Thirteenth Doctor to be a one-shot, but shortly after posting I had this idea to add a romantic element to 13/Clara's dynamic.

I really hope you enjoy reading, and I'll see you in the end notes! :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Okay, so where to next, fam?” the Doctor asked, almost giddy with excitement for what their future held.

As she looked between the three humans standing in front of her, she was certain she’d made the right choice to invite them along for trips throughout time and space. Yaz, Graham and Ryan. Each of them were amazing, truly the best of humanity. Despite some hiccups along the way, they were already behaving like real pros at this. And that was through entirely accidental trips through the universe, before they’d signed up proper. She couldn’t say that about every person who had spent sustained periods living in the TARDIS. 

Of course, it helped enormously that one previous TARDIS occupant was currently standing right by her side. She probably would have made it through the past few days since her regeneration alright even without her. But Clara being there had made everything much smoother.

“Look Doc, I don’t know about the others, but I could really do with having a kip first before we go anywhere else,” Graham spoke up, turning to Yaz and Ryan. “Are you two tired?”

Unsurprisingly, both agreed.

“Oh, you humans and your constant need to recharge,” the Doctor grinned with fondness, rather than any hint of disappointment. “Tell you what, I’ll make the bedrooms now. I were gonna do it soon anyway, no time like the present!”

As the Doctor rushed to fiddle with various controls on the TARDIS console, Graham furrowed his brow to his fellow travellers. “Hang about, did she just say ‘make’ the bedrooms?”

“Don’t worry,” Clara advised the new companions. “The Doctor can reconfigure the TARDIS architecture any time she likes.”

“So are you saying if she wanted to, she could turn my bedroom into a swimming pool?” Ryan questioned.

“Could do, but I wouldn’t,” the Doctor interjected herself back into the conversation. “The TARDIS has already got 37 swimming pools, why would we need 38?” She raised her arms out and scrunched up her face to gesticulate her point, as though having thirty-seven swimming pools was perfectly reasonable, but having thirty-eight was ludicrous.

“Ooh, I fancy having a swim some time,” Yaz smiled. 

The Doctor couldn’t help smiling back. One of her favourite things about inviting new people aboard the TARDIS was seeing how overjoyed they got at every new thing to them. Living vicariously through their new eyes was one of the biggest pleasures at giving them all of time and space to explore. Yaz seemed to exemplify that even more so than most she had invited aboard the TARDIS. And she had such a pretty smile. Well, she was rather pretty all over, but especially her smile, the Doctor thought.

“Okay, important question: do you all want bunk beds or king-sized beds?” 

The Doctor’s radiant smile fell, scrunching up her face at the disappointing answers she got. 

“Oh, why doesn’t anybody ever go for bunk beds?” she bemoaned, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s a bed with a ladder! How cool is that? Ooh, you guys could have sleepovers!”

“When we’re only gonna be next door to each other?” Ryan pointed out.

“Only you would want an obstacle course to get into bed,” Yaz teased.

“Well yeah, course I would! I’d be tired out and ready to sleep by the time I got there. Ooh! Should I make you all obstacle courses to help you sleep quicker?” the Doctor seriously suggested, the excited look on her face making it clear that she thought she’d come up with a brilliant idea.

Instead, she was met with three sets of insistent ‘No!’s, and one chuckle from the human beside her still lacking a heartbeat.

“Fine!” the Doctor scrunched her face up indignantly, before moving back to the TARDIS console and twiddling a dial. “They’re your rooms. Okay, you can find them on Corridor 19.”

“And where’s that then?” Ryan asked.

“Tell you what, why don’t I show you?” Clara volunteered. “Think I still remember the way, unless she’s redecorated too much.” She clapped her hands together, energetically pushing herself forward. “Come on, gang!”

The Doctor shot Clara a grateful look as the brunette nodded back at her, before happily guiding the TARDIS’ newest occupants through the door, down into the maze of corridors and rooms of various shapes, sizes and functions which existed within the infinite interior of the TARDIS.

Even as the voices echoed away, it sparked joy in the Doctor’s heart to hear her old friend welcoming her new friends so sincerely.

“Clara, love, does this TARDIS have its own diner too?”

“No, Graham, but I’ll show you the closest kitchen on the way. The TARDIS cupboards will be stocked with more than enough ingredients for sandwiches. Should even still have all my old soufflé stuff.”

“Soufflés?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah,” Clara answered, her tone so bright that the Doctor could practically see her grin. “Keep up the good behaviour, and maybe I’ll make soufflés for all of you sometime.”

“Clara, do you have your own bedroom?” Yaz asked inquisitively.

“Nah, but I don’t need one anymore.”

It was enough to draw the corners of the Doctor’s lips up into a proud smile. It would have been so easy for Clara to have been jealous of the Doctor’s newest recruits. Although she was still here for as long as she could survive, there was still a sense that they could be perceived as her replacements. Clara had been there, done that. She’d been whisked away on exciting trips through space and time when the dazzling concept was brand new to her. But instead of showing any bitterness that the Doctor’s attention was now split between four of them rather than just her, she was gracious, bubbly and helpful wherever she could be. The Doctor didn’t need to explain every single thing anymore. Clara helped her with that.

It was enough to have the Doctor’s head spinning with thoughts.

Meanwhile, the Doctor did whatever she did whenever her brain was too busy. She started tinkering with her TARDIS.

While ordinarily the Doctor would be more than happy to act as a tour guide for the most magnificent ship in the universe - her pride and joy - she simply had far too many thoughts running through her head to think straight. Ever since Clara had crashed back into her life (or more accurately, she’d crashed into Clara’s TARDIS), there seemed to be no end to the questions ruminating in her brain.

For starters, why was Clara content to stay in the Doctor’s TARDIS again, when she still had a fully functional TARDIS of her own sitting back in Sheffield? It had definitely been handy in getting them to the planet known as Desolation (both of them having been completely unaware that Graham, Ryan and Yaz had decided to take a seat in the diner, intent on ordering food), retrieving the Doctor’s ‘Ghost Monument’. Why wasn’t Clara zipping about the universe on her own adventures, rather than shackling herself to wherever the Doctor wanted to go?

And more to the point, why couldn’t the Doctor seem to work up the nerve to suggest that it would be safer for Clara to go? They both knew exactly why they weren’t a good match for each other. Because they were too good. The consequences of that mistake was a painful reminder every single day, as the Doctor gazed at her Impossible Girl and couldn’t help but think about her heart destined to never beat again. And it was all her fault.

Clara would never place any blame on the Doctor. She was far too kind and pure-hearted for that. They always were. But none more so than Clara Oswald. 

The Doctor had always loved Clara Oswald on the inside. Without a doubt, she was one of the bravest and most empathetic humans she’d ever known. Both her floppy hair and eyebrow regenerations had adored Clara’s companionship. Yet, now the Doctor couldn’t help but notice how stunning Clara was on the outside, in a way she never had before.

Especially those big brown eyes, radiant enough to launch a thousand starships, and expressive enough to communicate an entire play if she wanted to. Certainly more than a pair of eyebrows ever could (okay, maybe she missed those eyebrows a little; people didn’t seem to question her authority quite so much back then. And by back then, she meant last week). 

Her face was truly amazing. The Doctor recalled Clara mentioning dozens of times about incidents she’d had with the students in her class commenting on how round her face was. Even the Doctor had done so on occasion. But they both knew he’d only been teasing her affectionately, with no real malice behind his words. No version of the Doctor could ever think anything but the world of Clara Oswald. This Doctor in particular thought that Clara’s face was perfectly shaped.

To her shame, the Doctor had caught her eyes focusing on Clara’s lips more than once over the past week. Mostly to admire her wonderful smile, even more dazzling than a supernova. But in her more embarrassing moments, the Doctor’s mind had wandered, wondering about how those lips might feel, if she would-

“I’m back!” Clara announced brightly. The Doctor was taken by surprise, so much that she accidentally connected the two cables she’d been holding together, yelping as a sudden shower of hot sparks cascaded down her front.

“Ah!” the Doctor exclaimed, dropping the cables and popping up the goggles onto her head of blonde hair.

“Oops, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Clara said apologetically, though her eyes were twinkling with mischief.

“Your pants are so on fire,” the Doctor grumbled, eliciting a little giggle out of her best friend. Despite her hand just being ever so slightly singed by the shower spark, the Doctor couldn’t help but smile at one of the most extraordinary sounds in the universe - Clara’s laughter.

“I’ve put the kids to bed. Looks like it's just me and you now.”

The Doctor furrowed her brow in confusion. “Okay, so I’m totally not the best at telling people’s ages off appearance alone, but even I don’t think you look older than Graham.”

“Doctor, I’ve been around enough decades now, I’m probably old enough to be his mum. Though now I understand why you had such trouble keeping track of your actual age.”

“Oh yeah,” the Doctor had to mentally facepalm herself (not literally, she couldn’t risk looking quite that silly in front of Clara). “Sorry. Just with you looking exactly the same, I forget all those years I missed. Sorry about that.”

The sorrowful look Clara caught as the Doctor ducked her head shamefully was just wrong. She hadn’t known her new face for very long, but this version of her best friend was quite possibly the most excitable one yet. Seeing her dim her exuberance was something Clara could never let happen if she could help it. And that’s what had her rushing forward, coiling an arm around the Doctor’s shoulders and rubbing a hand soothingly up and down her back, while the Doctor glowered in self-negativity down at the floor.

“Hey, don’t look like that,” Clara said softly. “I’ve told you already Doctor, you have nothing to be sorry for. How could you have possibly found me when you couldn’t even remember what I looked like, eh? Do you remember the message I left for you on that-” Clara paused as she turned to where a blackboard used to hang in a previous version of the console room. She still had to get used to the radical redesign of the interior. “Well, not on that exact wall, but in this TARDIS?”

“Be a Doctor,” the Doctor recited, the words burned forever like a reminder into her memory, to remain as one her most favourite pieces of advice she’d ever received, from one of her most favourite people throughout the grand scale of time and space.

“Right! Top marks, top of the class!” Clara playfully nudged the Doctor’s shoulders, mirroring the Doctor’s point scoring system she’d started with her new friends throughout the past few days. She suspected a northern accent wasn’t the only thing she may have inspired in the Doctor. It was enough to earn a chuckle tumbling from her best friend’s lips, a small smile back on her adorable face. “So how do you think you would have been able to dash about saving the universe if you were busy moping about me?”

“You’re right,” she finally answered. “Course you are. You’re always right. Look at you. So amazing.”

When Clara looked up to gaze at the Doctor, she found her looking at her almost in awe, those sparkling green eyes containing more wonder than the cosmos itself.

“All those years you’ve survived without a heartbeat, without any ability to heal any injuries. I spend millennia flying through time and space, and I have to trade bodies in every now and again because I wreck them. But you, Clara Oswald,” the Doctor paused, unable to stop herself from reaching out and examining Clara’s unblemished hand, rubbing the pad of her thumb across tenderly, “you don’t have a mark on you. How?”

“I played it safe. A lot easier to do when you know how fragile things are,” Clara answered honestly. “Whereas you, you stupid old woman,” she teased, both grinning stupidly together, “you throw yourself into danger headfirst before really thinking about the consequences. Just like all good heroes do.”

“I’m not a hero,” the Doctor said all too quickly, her energetic nature dampening a tad. Luckily, Clara had a remedy at the ready for that.

“No,” she agreed. “You’re not. You’re even better than that. You’re the Doctor.”

Clara’s voice was so sure, utterly devoid of a single hint of doubt, that she even had the Doctor believing it. 

Every moment she spent with Clara reminded her just how badly she’d missed her. For a couple of quiet minutes, the two were content to sit down on the TARDIS steps together. It wasn’t an awkward silence by any stretch of the imagination. There never could be between two people who knew each other so innately in and out. It was nothing short of a comfortable silence, the pair simply enjoying time spent in each other’s company.

“Clara?” the Doctor finally broke the silence, her voice sounding a tad uneasy.

“Yeah, Doctor?”

“Did-did I do the right thing, letting Ryan, Graham and Yaz come along?”

As Clara turned to look into the Doctor’s eyes, she saw the storm brewing in them, doubt thundering along. It looked like she was almost begging Clara to give her the affirmation she craved, though Clara couldn’t understand why.

“Why do you ask?” Clara questioned, furrowing her brow.

“Come on, Clara. You of all people know how dangerous travelling with me is. Anything could happen to them. I know I warned them ‘an all, but anything that happened to them would still be my responsibility for bringing them.”

“Doctor, life is dangerous. A dull ordinary life on Earth can be dangerous. Anything could happen on any given day. Whether it’s a bus or a Dalek, anything can be risky. Denying them all of time and space when they’ve just had a taste would have been cruel. And I know you. You’re never cruel or cowardly. You’ve said before that you only take the best. I don’t think you could have picked any three better. And I know you’ll go on about your duty of care, but you told them exactly what they were signing up for, and they agreed to it. So yes, I absolutely think you did the right thing.”

The Doctor breathed out, releasing the breath which she had been holding. She didn’t exactly need Clara’s approval per se, but it helped enormously to reassure her, to know she had her best friend’s support. 

“Still, Yaz seems pretty impressionable, might even have to fight you for her,” Clara continued, her tone much lighter and teasing before she sobered. “I’d keep an eye out for her.”

Just when the Doctor didn’t think she could possibly adore Clara Oswald anymore, she had to say something like that. She hadn’t warned her to keep an eye out on her, she’d asked her to keep an eye out for her, showing just how much kindness still remained in Clara’s unbeating heart, despite everything she’d suffered.

This was amazing. She was still amazing. Everything about having this woman back in her life was amazing.

“What?” Clara asked, and only then did the Doctor realise she’d just been staring at Clara for far too many seconds to be socially acceptable. Probably. Or at least, the Doctor was pretty sure staring at someone for no particular reason for long periods of time wasn’t particularly polite.

“No, nothing, sorry. Still socially awkward,” the Doctor deflected, looking away. And that was her first mistake.

“No, you’re not. I mean, you probably still are, but I don’t think that’s why you were staring,” Clara said softly, pushing as carefully as she dared. “I’ve seen that look before. I’ve done that look.”

She waited a few seconds longer than she had hoped for, but eventually the Doctor looked back up to face her, no longer hiding behind her gorgeous bob of blonde hair. 

She thought she’d seen it before, but now she saw it once more, plain as day.

She'd caught the Doctor’s eyes flickering to her lips, before forcing themselves to look back up into her eyes.

“Doctor, do you want to kiss me?” Clara asked, making sure to keep her tone gentle rather than teasing. She couldn’t possibly give her the wrong impression.

This version of the Doctor proved just how expressive her face was, her physicality matching that of Clara’s first Doctor, her eyes bugging out and mouth falling open in shock. 

It was only a little gesture, but Clara quirked her lips upwards a little, in what she hoped was a signal that the thought wasn’t one she was about to make fun of.

“Yeah,” the Doctor finally answered before she could stop herself. “I think I do. Is that alright?”

“Doctor…” Clara sighed. 

And the Doctor realised she’d made a terrible mistake, a rare occasion of her letting her desires run rampant before she had the chance to think. Or at least, she assumed it was rare. She hadn’t been in this body long enough yet to know if she was prone to it or not yet.

Why did she have to say that? She had only just gotten Clara back, and now she was already making things weird between them-

The Doctor’s spiralling stopped in its tracks when Clara reached forward to grab hold of the mustard yellow braces over her maroon t-shirt, connected to her blue trousers.

“It’s more than okay. Just make sure you kiss me back.”

The Doctor’s grin was back, as her features stretched in realisation. “Oh Clara Oswald, I definitely will.”

“You’d better,” Clara whispered as she slowly leaned in, puckering her lips. 

The Doctor leaned in too, closing her eyes as soon as she felt her lips touch Clara’s. At which point, the Doctor realised two things. One, Clara’s lips were even softer to kiss than she had ever imagined. And two, she was absolutely head over heels for her Impossible Girl.

The Doctor had travelled throughout time and space for over 2,000 years. She’d been to parallel universes, watched thousands of supernovas and watched even more stars being born. Yet out of all the wonders of the cosmos she’d been privileged to witness, none of them were as amazing to watch as it felt to kiss Clara Oswald.

It was messy, but the Doctor felt a different energy running through her veins. Even more stimulating than regeneration energy, filling her with a different kind of life.

For Clara, it was utterly surreal. The Doctor wasn’t a great kisser by any stretch of the imagination. She assumed she mustn't have had much practice lately. Or maybe her new body just needed to learn. 

However, that didn’t matter a single bit. The fact remained that the two were showing not just through words, but through actions, just how much they meant to each other. In the past, it had been pure friendship. But now, Clara found the Doctor’s new form utterly irresistible. She could never love another man after Danny Pink. A memory still as painful today as it had been all those decades ago.

But women were completely different.

And Clara loved the Doctor even more than the stars themselves.

Clara could have kept kissing the Doctor forever, no longer burdened by the need to breathe. And while the Doctor theoretically could too in a sense, Clara had no desire to force the Doctor to regenerate again, simply because she’d been too wrapped up in kissing her to realise that even Time Lords needed air.

However, she wasn’t the only one. At the exact moment their lips were smushed up against each other, the TARDIS console sparked, at the exact midpoint behind them, as though it was trying to simulate fireworks as a backdrop.

The metaphor wasn’t wholly inaccurate, to put it mildly.

“Woah,” the Doctor breathed after they broke, panting with want as her brain processed what had just happened, before throwing a grin over at the console. “She’s a sentimental old thing.”

“Yes, she is,” Clara chuckled. “I don’t think she minds me being back, even with the potential paradox I could still cause.”

“Nah, she welcomed you home with open arms. Or whatever passes for arms as a sentient, sexy timeship.” The Doctor was ecstatic to draw a little giggle out of Clara at that remark. “If she didn’t want you here, she’d make that known.”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Clara laughed. “First few weeks I was here, I think I only found my bedroom twice without your help, before she warmed up to me.”

The two shared a laugh before a silence stretched between them. Not as comfortable as the previous silence, instead it was brimming with the thrill of the unknown, neither knowing exactly how to proceed.

“So, was that okay?” the Doctor asked, suddenly looking uncharacteristically shy to anyone who didn’t know her, her eyes wide and shining. But to Clara, she recognised it as the Doctor valuing her opinion above all else.

“Yeah, that was amazing,” Clara grinned, loving the way her expression was reflected back on the Doctor’s face. “Technique could use a bit of work, but l can teach you.”

For a moment, the Doctor broke out into a wide grin. But all too soon, her face fell, seeming to shake herself out of it. Before Clara knew what was happening, the Doctor jumped to her feet, walking over to busy herself at the console so quick, she was almost running.

“Doctor?” Clara called out in confusion, following. And as she watched the Doctor at the controls, playing with controls which did nothing (or at least, they had a use which would do very little at the moment, like the rubbish ejection button, which had only been recently pressed), she recognised exactly what the Doctor was doing.

She was distracting herself.

“Doctor, talk to me. What are you thinking about?”

“I’m sorry, Clara. I didn’t mean to lead you on. Honest, I didn’t. But I can’t do this. We can’t do this.”

As much as she was rocked by the sudden and unexplained shift in tone, Clara would be damned if she let this slide. There was no way she was accepting this without a good reason. So she crossed her arms pointedly, refusing to be shaken off.

“Then tell me. Explain exactly why we can’t.”

“Because I can’t! Okay? Isn’t that good enough?” The Doctor didn’t mean to snap, but her frustration with the situation - the fact that she had to fall in love with a human and couldn’t find the off switch - was overwhelming her.

“No. Not when you’re shouting,” Clara answered, calmly spoken but giving the Doctor a pointed look. “Try again, and make me understand. Because right now, you’re giving me some really mixed signals here.”

“Because you’re human!” the Doctor finally elaborated. Clara knew she’d done the right thing when the explanation continued to unravel. “I’m a Time Lord and barring accidents, we can pretty much live forever. Whereas you, sooner or later you’re gonna have to go back to Gallifrey, and everything we have will be over. So I’m putting a stop to it, before either of us gets hurt too much.”

The Doctor paused to catch her breath after her upset-filled tirade. Before she looked up at Clara, she expected her to look sad, but she expected her to at least understand. 

Instead, she found her eyes shining with tears. But not entirely due to upset. Instead, the downturn of Clara’s lips betrayed the fact that they were also tears filled with anger.

“You stupid old woman,” Clara whispered, though unlike before, this was far more of a furious hiss than a gentle phrase of fondness. “After all this time, and you still don’t get it? I might like this new face of yours Doctor, but don’t think I won’t slap you hard enough to regenerate again.”

“Clara, I know you’re upset, but I-”

“No, you listen to me!” Clara snapped, in a voice commanding enough to silence even the Doctor. Especially the Doctor. “It’s already too late. It’s going to be painful already, no matter what we do from here until the moment comes. From one heartbeat to the next is all I’ve got. But unless I have an accident, I am also practically immortal, frozen in an instant of time. It’s possible I could even outlive you. And even if not, then so what? Every Christmas is last Christmas, Doctor. I’m not going to sit here and mope about how much time I’ve got left. No, I’m going to go out and live life as I intend to. I don’t know if this regeneration took away your philosophy of making the most of the time that is given to you, but there’s one thing I do know. You’re not sparing either of us right now, Doctor, you’re being an idiot.”

A short while passed as Clara’s words sunk in. But through the silent shininess welling up in the Doctor’s eyes, Clara knew her words were resonating with the wise - sometimes foolish - being within. “I am a bit, aren’t I?”

“Nothing changes,” Clara shot a small, but encouraging smile.

“You’re right, of course. You’re always right.”

“Never try to argue with a teacher.”

“No, you’ve certainly taught me a thing or two.”

“Likewise.”

“I’m sorry, Clara. I just got scared, the idea of anything happening to you, I…” the Doctor trailed off, having to sniffle as the very thought proved overwhelming.

“Hey, that’s okay,” Clara was right there to pull her into a hug, one which she melted into instantly, grabbing hold of Clara for dear life. 

Yep, this Doctor was definitely more of a hugger early on than the last one.

“But do you know what fear is?” Clara asked softly into her ear as she squeezed back tenderly.

“A perfectly reasonable reaction,” the Doctor muffled into her leather jacket.

“Well yeah, that too,” Clara chuckled. “But scared keeps us fast, pushes us to keep going even when we know there’s something chasing us. Almost like…” she trailed off, waiting to hear exactly what she’d heard her Scottish Doctor reassure a young Danny Pink with all those years ago.

“A superpower, teach,” the Doctor answered.

“Top marks once again!” Clara kissed the Doctor’s hair before pulling away. “So what you think now?”

“I think I’d like to give this a try. I promise to keep on loving you Clara Oswald, from here until the day you have to return to Gallifrey. As long as we’re together, I want to show you how much you mean to me.”

“Good,” Clara grinned. “And I promise exactly the same to you, Doctor.”

“Oi, that’s cheating! Don't you teachers have a big thing about plagiarism?”

“Hey, it's just that I couldn’t have said it better myself, so take the win," Clara said, lightly nudging their shoulders together playfully. "Now, shall we take this somewhere more private? Don’t think the kids want to accidentally walk in on mummy and daddy showing how much they care about one another.”

Almost immediately, the TARDIS console beeped, prompting the Doctor to turn around.

“Yeah, I agree,” she said, before turning back to Clara. “I also think you should stop with that metaphor.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Clara screwed up her face in distaste. “Not my best work, regretted it even as I was saying it.” After a deep breath (entirely out of habit), she extended a hand, wiggling her fingers with an excited grin on her face. “Shall we? There’s a lot more we can do besides kiss. You might be a Time Lord, but even Time Lords deserve a little looking after.”

“Umm yeah, about that,” the Doctor started off uneasily. “You do know that given your body’s processes have been time looped, you can’t exactly…you know…”

Clara found the Doctor’s awkward fumbling even more adorable than a litter of kittens. Even more adorable than a litter of space kittens. This was one of the few subjects which she doubted the Doctor could ever be anything but bashful around, her cheeks already growing a shade of pink.

“Yeah, I do know,” Clara chuckled. “Made it more than a little awkward when I went back to see Jane Austen again as one of my first solo trips and she found she could no longer satisfy me.” The Doctor couldn’t help but snort as Clara shrugged. “But you still can. Or at least, I assumed you could.” Clara froze, a horrifying possibility making itself clear to her. “Wait, Time Lord biology is the same as humans in that sense, right? You mentioning before about having a granddaughter, I assume you must have already put in the work for that to be possible. I mean, you do procreate naturally, you don’t just materialise into existence like a TARDIS, right?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the Doctor teased with a playful smirk, only just barely managing to hold her laughter in.

“Yes, Doctor, I very much would like to know!” Clara exclaimed, looking aghast at the idea that she might have set themselves up for something which could potentially turn out to be impossible.

“Guess we’ll find out.”

"Doctor, you can cum, right?"

The Doctor grinned cheekily, taking Clara’s hand and whisking her off down the corridor, both women giggling as they went. 

The Doctor had whisked Clara Oswald away for adventures a very long time ago. Yet now, after circumstances had forced them apart only to bring them back together to redefine their dynamic, they were about to embark on a completely different type of adventure.

Clara only hoped the Doctor had had enough good sense to configure Yaz, Ryan and Graham's bedrooms far enough away from the Doctor's.

Notes:

Yay for 13/Clara!

What did you think? I really hope you enjoyed this. If you did, then please consider leaving kudos and a comment. A comment especially, I'd really love to read your thoughts! No matter how long or brief, if you had any lines/moments you particularly enjoyed, if anything especially stuck out to you. Interacting with readers is undoubtedly the most fulfilling part of writing, besides the actual writing itself.

While I don't currently have any plans to continue this fic, I'm definitely open to suggestions. Feel free to leave them in the comments below if you have any.

Feel free to follow/yell at me on Tumblr @ahunter8056

Until next time, stay safe! :)

Notes:

Thank you for reading, really hoped you enjoyed it!

If you did, please consider leaving a comment or kudos. I'd love to know what you thought, and I always relish an opportunity to interact with my readers. Let me know any aspects you particularly enjoyed, any favourite lines you may have had, or any other observations. First time writing for Clara, and barely written for Thirteen before, so I really hope I did them justice.

Definitely in my headcanon that after this fic, Thirteen invited the Fam aboard as is canon, except with Clara joining them too.

If anybody is interested in reading more Doctor Who fics from me, I do have my own AU series as additional seasons featuring the Eleventh Doctor post-Ponds but pre-Clara, called A Hero'll Save Me (Just in Time), featuring four companions based on characters from another franchise.

Feel free to follow, send me asks or yell at me on Tumblr @ahunter8056

Stay safe! :)