Thirteenth X Clara - Alternative

Chapter 7: Back to Normal?

"Would you like some water to drink? Would that help?"

"Yeah, thanks." Clara said, with a smile, happy for the offer.

The Doctor smiled back, before swinging off the table and onto the floor, when she felt it. The pressure on the ground had changed. It was different. The air was different. The atmosphere was different. Something was off, and she could instantly tell what had happened.

"We've moved." She said, a stern look on her face.

"What do you mean, moved?" Clara asked from behind the Doctor, still on the examination table.

"I mean, we were on the Eye of Orion and now we're somewhere else." the Doctor said with a scowl forming on her face.

The Tardis knew that that was her happy place and it would have been the best and safest place to figure out this whole situation with Clara. But once again, this bloody ship decided she knew best and moved them without warning.

"You thought I wouldn't realize, huh? Huh?!"

Clara knew well enough not to get between a girl and her ship, but she felt that at least instead of shouting at it, they should figure out where they were and maybe then, they can see why the Tardis brought them here. Was she in the best state right now? No, she was still wiping some tears off her face, but that wasn't gonna stop her. She had been in enough situations before where she wasn't at her best, but she always tried to attempt to be there for him when she could. It's what you do when you.... feel a certain way about someone.

She got off the table and came behind the Doctor, slipping one hand into the Timelord's own and taking the other one and rubbing her shoulder.

"Hey, calm down. You getting angry will solve nothing and make everything worse. I trust the Tardis brought us here for a reason. Let's just see exactly why first. You once told me a long time ago that the Tardis didn't always take you where you wanted to go, but she always took you where you needed to go. Has that changed since?"

The Doctor knew she was right. It hadn't changed. As much as she hated being moved without being told prior, the Tardis must have had some plan for her. She just wished it was at a different time, when they were more ready.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry for shouting at you, sexy," the Doctor said, apologizing to her oldest friend.

It was only then that she realized that Clara had gotten up from the table and was comforting her. After what she had just been through, she couldn't allow that. She should be looking after her, not the other way around.

"Hey, weren't you really shaken up just now? You don't have to worry about me. If you still need to let it out, I'm here for you." She said, turning around to face her.

"It was just a wobble. I..... just needed to get it out and come to grips with what had happened, you know? I'm fine now though. Just need a good bath and I'll be good. Promise."

Clara's eyes were then transfixed on the Doctor's, as she unconsciously parted her lips.

"Plus, do you really think that in all the time that I've known you, that I wouldn't rush to try and make sure you were ok when I see you aren't? I love you, you silly spacewoman." Clara said as she pressed a kiss to the Doctor's cheek and placed her free hand on there.

Those three words just... came naturally. Maybe after the Cloisters, the pressure was off, but it just felt so much easier and freeing to say. The second word in particular had many connotations for different situations, but this one? It was beyond what she'd normally use it for. Something had shifted after that time in the Cloisters and whatever it was, she felt, was also manifesting here.