𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 | 𝘖𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 1 ✔︎

Chapter VII - Ash El Dir

Soon, Clara spaces back in.

'Alright, boys. Enough. Will you let me go home now? I have a job and life to get back to.' Clara interrupts.

'I'm sorry, but you're under house arrest--' Sherlock explains.

'Screw house arrest, I have a life outside of this building!' she answers.

Knowing how stubborn Clara is, Sherlock says, 'Fine, but I'll be coming by to watch you tomorrow around noon.'

'Alright, then.' Clara sighs.

As soon as she exits the building, she immediately hails a cab for 4 Adderley St. In the car, Clara checks her clock. It's 2:30 am! She lets out a long breath. Today hasn't been the craziest day of her life, but she is thankful it didn't last any longer. She will have to tell Ash tomorrow, she realizes. She'll have to say that she is apparently a criminal and a detective is coming to whisk her away at any moment.

And then there's that one-way conversation she had with that stranger. Clara's hand is still in slight pain, but she is getting along fine. St. Bart's didn't give her a cast for her arm, so it mustn't be too bad. Somehow, Clara thinks she might have to wait to get her questions answered about this man.

Clara doesn't notice that the cabbie has been telling her to get out of the car for a few minutes now. Reluctantly, she steps out of the car, ready to face her trashed house. The cab pulls away as Clara unlocks her door.

Stepping inside her flat, she remembers that she has a date tomorrow with Riley. She writes it down on a sticky note and then sticks it to the top of their bed frame. Clara has never liked calendars much--she always preferred notes. This often drove Ash mad, since Clara would leave them all over their console.

Ash's name used to be Me, but she quit calling herself that since it often confused the humans that frequented their restaurant, and Clara herself.

Clara pulls on her nighties and slips into bed. And, seeing as it is now 2:45 am, she is out as soon as her head hits the pillow.

~~~~~

Clara's cabbie pulls up outside of the Diner, which is conveniently parked in a large alleyway, and she gets out into the misty morning air of London. Stepping inside the diner, Clara can see that Ash was already at work and tending to four customers.

Ash insisted on living in their TARDIS so she could protect the advanced alien technology from unsuspecting souls who happened upon the control room. "It's a universe itself!" she says. "Wouldn't want to waste space." The few who did happen upon it, however, were given an explanation, and usually, they vowed to protect their TARDIS and keep it a secret. If they didn't, they generally got sent to an insane asylum where they lived out the rest of their days in padded cells. Sometimes Clara and Ash would bring in homeless people on purpose, to give them a place to rest and eat. And since they were thankful, they also joined their friendly bunch who kept the TARDIS safe. It was like they had their own little network; they had their own secret code and everything.

Clara drops her bag by the bar counter and puts on her apron. Since no one new had walked in, Clara sits on the bar counter as she waits for Ash to finish serving. She recognizes a few people at the restaurant from their 'Network.' Sally Donovan, who works for Scotland Yard, and Micheal, who is homeless.

Ash comes over to her; her hair is in a bun today.

'So, got some news,' Clara states.

'Yeah?' Ash asks, jumping up on the counter next to her.

'Apparently, I've been framed for three murders,' Clara says, raising her eyebrows.

'Really? Are you sure you're framed? Sounds like something you would do,' Ash jokes, smiling.

'Serious, Ash, this is serious. So now I'm under house arrest because they don't have enough evidence to prove it was me, and because I won't admit to the crime.'

'Well, you shouldn't admit anythin', because you didn't do it.' Ash states, with a sort of duh look on her face.

'Do you have any idea who it might be?' Clara asks, staring off in thought.

'Hmm, no,' Ash says rather quickly, looking away. 'So, if you're on house arrest, how come you're here?'

'Well, it's not house arrest exactly... I'm just being watched by someone while he goes about his daily life. He's coming to pick me up soon.'

'And who might this chap be?' Ash asks, nudging Clara jokingly.

'He's a consulting detective, name's Sherlock Holmes. Only one with that job title in the world. You know? Brother to the 'British Government?''

'No... can't say I do.' Ash responds. She is acting very fidgety today...

'Sorry, couldn't help overhearing. Did you say Sherlock Holmes?' the voice of Sally asks. Clara can admit, Sally can be quite annoying sometimes.

'Yep, why?' Clara replies. Sally is now sitting at the bar Clara and Ash are sitting on.

'Oh, no. I know him. Always spitting out deductions and showing off. Quite the freak. Spending even a day with him would be hell for me. I just hope you can survive.' Sally sips her tea, and Clara's eyebrows furrow in concern. 'Well, I'll be off. Got work to do. See you 'round,'

'Yeah,' Clara says as the door jingles to indicate Sally's leaving.

Ash fixes some drinks for Clara and herself as more customers come streaming in. Soon, Sherlock appears in the diner to take Clara away.

'Where are we going?' she asks as Sherlock hails a cab.

'To my work,' Sherlock answers as Clara climbs in the car and the cabbie drives off.

~~~~~

WC: 971