Running never stops 2

Coupling

Once Angie and Artie's dad had gotten better Clara and the Doctor left. Artie hadn't been happy about it but had resigned when Clara said she'd bring a surprise present for him and Angie. The Doctor maneuvered the TARDIS into the timestream and was now dancing around the console to Carmen while he waited for Clara to finish her shower. He was definitely not going to interrupt that.

"Oi!" Clara said coming out of the hallway and startling the Doctor. "Have you been stealing from my cd's again?"

"What? No, I haven't. I just met a nice girl in a Dalek asylum who liked Carmen." He answered. It still boggled him how she was in his timestream three times.

"Good taste." She nodded. "Now why did you pull me out of the house without letting me shower?"

"Remember how I didn't get you a Christmas present?"

"Yeah." She shrugged, she didn't expect him to have gotten her one.

"Well, I couldn't really put what I wanted to give you in a box." He pulled a lever using all of his body weight. The TARDIS rumbled almost as if it was excited. Their journey had started. 

~~~~

The tall grass on each side of the stone path rippled as animals ran through it. None of them were dangerous of course,just some native cats, dogs, and other four legged animals foreign to the milky-way galaxy. The palm trees, well Clara called them that, were sparse in numbers but when they did show up they always had a new animal on them. First a four armed monkey, then a rainbow bird, then a group of frog like animals and almost anything else you could imagine. When the Doctor and Clara stopped walking they had reached a small village with a large, wooden fence around it but the gate was open so they strode in. The people of the village welcomed them happily and the children loved the Doctor and Clara so they had a herd of kids following them everywhere. 

"This is an amazing present" Clara said once the kids had gone to their own parents.

"I thought you'd like it. These people are prosperous and stay this way for over twelve millennium. Then the planet becomes industrial. I do think this period is much better than the next." He smiled. "There's also another reason I brought you here."

"And what's that Chinboy?" She asked looking up at him.

"That's a surprise. I'll tell you soon." He winked and turned. "How about we go for a hike?"

"Sounds great."

~~~~

 The mountain was surprisingly easy to climb but that might have been because they had put on anti-grav shoes which let them jump up to ten feet at a time. Instead of having a path to walk up there was  a rope tied around the trees which you had to follow from above, in the trees. It was sacred ground after all. Once at the top and on the highest jungle-like tree the Doctor spoke.

"Would you like to know the history of this hill?" He asked leaning against the trunk of the tree from his side of the gigantic branch.

"I'd love to." Clara responded sitting next to him.

"The people here watched this hill create itself. First it was a volcano but then it fell in upon itself under the weight of ash it produce one year and it created this mountain. The people of the villages around here fought almost a hundred years for ownership of this mountain but no one gave in. But then, a child in search of his father ran onto the field and was struck down by a member of his own clan. The war stopped when each village heard and no one wanted the blood of a child to have been spilt on their land. It was against all law to kill a child so the man who had killed the child was condemned to live on this mountain until he died. His wife and children chose to go with him."

He paused to take a breath. "When he and his family died a new village was born. They new village leaders were sorry for condemning someone for what was in reality, an honest mistake. A priest blessed the land and after many years died on this land. These tree's we're in suddenly grew the month after and the land for miles around became even more fertile than anywhere else in the world. The mountain became a holy site and the village we visited is the exact one which was built in commemoration of the soldier and his family." 

"Wow." Clara said after listening eagerly to the story.

"From the day these tree's grew tall enough people have been coming here with their partners." He took a breath to gather courage. "Clara, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked the question and held his breath without knowing.

Hers eyes popped wide open, did he really just ask that? Weren't they kind of already a couple? What? Questions buzzed around her head but she spoke as if no questions were there. "Are you asking this because of what River said or because you actually like me?"

He cupped her face in his hands. "I'm asking because I love you." Then kissed her on the lips for just a few seconds.

"Then yes, I will be your girlfriend." She responded after he'd pecked her lips. "But you have to stop doing second long kisses." She teased as her eyes lit up.

He pulled her close, into a warm, happy, safe hug. "I love you Clara, you're my impossible girl." He whispered to her.

"I love you too, you're my big chinned boyfriend."

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I'm kinda suckish at romance, as my mother says, I have no romance in my soul. I didn't let that stop me though! Here's a chapter with major whouffle. I hope you enjoyed reading this because I enjoyed writing it.

-Andy