Thirteenth X Clara - Alternative

Chapter 19: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

The Doctor woke up feeling still a bit tired, yet quite content. It was a weird feeling that felt quite foreign to her, and she wondered exactly why she felt this way. She retraced her steps. She and Clara had dinner with Victoria and Albert, then they went back to her room and they laid down together and talked. There was a game of breaking Clara's grip, then there was their first kiss and then...

The Doctor didn't have to look far to find the next clue as a simple glance down revealed the still soundly sleeping body of Clara Oswald on her chest. Upon closer inspection, she then noticed that she nor Clara wore any clothes, the sheets on the bed being their only cover. Outside of the very unlikely possibility of them visiting the Church of the Papal Mainframe again, she concluded that they had made love last night. Another big step. She was kinda proud of herself, actually.

The Doctor, however, was a bit hungry, so with a surprising amount of slickness and smoothness, she slid off the bed while moving Clara onto her own side of the bed while she got up. She hurried over to the actual wardrobe in the room and she took out and put on a robe, just to feel safely covered up. She went into the Tardis and got something to eat while also preparing something for Clara, just in case.

Upon her entrance, the Tardis beeped a few sounds towards the Doctor, wanting to chat about some things she missed.

"Yeah, it's official now. Told her two days ago, actually."

The Tardis' beeps continued, wanting to pry more into what was going on as the Doctor arrived in the kitchen seeking breakfast.

"No, I've not decided what we're gonna do after this yet. I've only just woken up, you know." She said, slightly annoyed.

More beeps again, this time with almost a direct nature to it, like it was something rather important.

"Victoria and Albert, yeah, they're brilliant. What about them?"

The penny then dropped as the Tardis solemnly told her what needed to be done.

The Doctor's countenance dropped as she realized what the Tardis was talking about.

"Is there not someway they can continue as they are? We've left other people intact before and history stayed on course. Maybe we can swear them to secrecy or something."

The Tardis beeped out a resounding no.

"Please, it would break her heart, if only she could feel it beat. There must be something else. She cares about them."

The Tardis began using other sounds to convey her argument, bringing up a name that she really didn't want to but had to.

"You leave Donna out of this! You damn well know why I had to do it then. This is not the same thing."

The Tardis now knew it had to go to desperate measures. With a bit of effort, it was able to properly craft a holographic image in order to talk to the Doctor, to convince her. She had done it once before, but it was ages ago. This time, she chose Idris to do it.

"It is the same thing. You are doing it to protect them, just like you did for Donna. The only difference is that this time, it's not only your guilt you have to worry about. It's hers too. But that's the biggest thing of all. By doing it, you are saving her and you."

"What are you talking about? How is that saving us?"

"Torchwood Estate and the Wolf. Imagine if that doesn't happen." the Tardis told her, hoping she would finally see sense.

The Doctor went to argue again before her mind started thinking about it and her argument fell apart. The Tardis was right.

"I'll have to tell her, eventually."