Trying Not To Drown: A Whoufflé Fanfiction

Chapter 1: Ocean Water

Chapter 1: Ocean Water

The beach air was full of misty cool saltwater and the smell of sunscreen. It wasn't The Doctors first choice, but Clara begged him to come to the beach with her. It was a Tuesday, so there wasn't many people, that he was grateful for. Clara wore a two piece swimsuit. Her bottoms were high-waisted (up to her belly-button), navy blue and had cute little flower buttons on the side. Clara's top was completely white except for the black poke-a-dots that littered her chest. She topped it off with black, 1930s style sunglasses, along with plain black flip-flops.

He wasn't exactly happy with what he ended up wearing. Clara insisted he wore Hawaiian style floral swim trunks and a white, unbuttoned, button-up with tan sandals. The Doctor argued with her at first, but Clara was so persistent, he decided to give up and wear it.

The Doctor carried a picnic basket full of sandwiches and water bottles, along with potato salad that Clara made (her mums recipe, of course). Clara also packed cookies and two chocolate cupcakes, topped with blueberry icing (Clara had Angie make them).

In the distance the sun was nearing the water, not yet hitting it. They had a few hours to kill before the sun went down. The laughter of children rang in the distance and the smell of street venders on the board walk wafted in the air. Clara carried two very large beach towels--each TARDIS blue-- and a large bottle of sunscreen. The Doctor was unafraid in the presence of a Dalek, but he was terrified of skin-cancer. Not for him, but for Clara.

The brunette woman laid out their towels and set the sunscreen down before sitting down and having The Doctor sit beside her. "Today is so nice! Not too sunny, not too hot. Just right." she smiled, showing off her adorable dimples and winning smile before she laid down, letting the sun tan her exposed skin. "It's... perfect."

"Ah, yes, perfect..." he said a bit nervously. The Doctor wasn't a beach person. Every time he went to a beach, he would either get attacked by something, or it would start raining. It was quite annoying.

Clara looked over at The Doctor, putting her sunglasses on the tip of her nose, "You're not enjoying it, are you?"

"No, no, I am. But I don't understand why humans just sit around and let the sun kill their skin for fun." The Doctor explained.

Clara simply laughed and laid back down, "Just lay back, relax, and let the ocean calm your nerves." she whispered the last part, letting the beach get silent. The only sound to be heard was the sound of waves crashing against nearby rocks and birds chirping. It was very calming.

The Doctor sighed and laid back like Clara said. He listened to the sound of the beach. The Doctor didn't just hear the birds chirping or the waves crashing against nearby rocks. He heard mothers scolding at their kids for running off when they weren't suppose to and teenage girls gossiping about how cute Jimmy's butt was--how do you even classify someones butt was cute? It was a butt, how could it be cute?--The Doctor heard the tap of an old mans foot as he listened to a song on the board walk and grumpy store managers yelling at employees in food trucks. The waves and the birds weren't the only thing there. But Clara's ears couldn't hear all the other things, she just wanted to relax, but The Doctor couldn't 'just relax'. He had a million and one sounds running through his mind and didn't know how to shut it off. It drove him crazy. The Doctor sat back up, but he wasn't at the beach anymore. He was back in his room, in his black bed, and inside his TARDIS, covered in a heavy black comforter. The Doctor didn't have the pleasure of simply going to the beach with the girl he loved (which she was unaware of).

The Doctor was covered in a coating of sweat and his two hearts were beating like drums. He had just been dreaming. It was just another one of his nightmares, but this was just a minor one. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as brutal or gruesome as some of his past nightmares. The Doctor had many nightmares, being a timelord wasn't always as it cracked up to be.

Clara was sleeping just down the hallway, probably dreaming sweet dreams. Dreams of a better tomorrow and dreams of their future adventures. She definitely wasn't dreaming of bloody oods and hate-filled daleks. Clara was too wonderful for that. Too amazing to have nightmares. She was rain, but he was a thunderstorm. Clara was peaceful, glowing and feisty, but he was destruction waiting to happen.

He could very faintly hear her snoring, but just barely. Clara was only a door down from him. The Doctor was tempted to go knock on her door and see if she would let him in, but he decided against it. Clara needed her sleep, being human and all, but he was a timelord, he could go a week without a wink of sleep and be fine. Well, not fine, but okay.

The Doctor decided to put on his TARDIS blue robe and walk into the control room. He walked in, finding the room almost completely dark. The Doctor walked up to the console and touched it, making it light up. The TARDIS was alive and she responded to his touch. A golden glow emitted from the console, eliminating the room. The Doctor sat down and put his face in his hands, rubbing the crud out of his eyes. The Doctor ran his fingers through his dark brown hair.

"What am I gonna do?" he whispered to himself. "I can't keep doing this." By this, he meant time-traveling, but without him, galaxies would disappear and worlds would be destroyed. He simply couldn't, and he knew that.

The Doctor walked over to the door and opened it, revealing London at 3 o'clock in the morning. They weren't just anywhere in London, they were on top of Big Ben. It was a wonderful view. The Doctor could see cars zooming back and forth in the streets. Silhouettes of buildings filled the skyline.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Said a voice.

The Doctor was startled at first, but he recognized that voice quickly. The adorable British accent of a woman. It was simply Clara. The Doctor turned around to find Clara in her plaid pajama pants and a black tank-top, wearing colourful fuzzy socks. "What are you doing up?" he smiled, not just a tiny smile, his real smile, too big for his face. She had a knack for making him smile very huge and making him blush like crazy.

"I heard you get up, so I went to see if you were alright." she smiled sweetly and turned around, only to lift herself onto the console, letting her little legs dangle. "Are you okay?"

The Doctor sat down on a nearby chair, pausing before he answered, not really knowing the answer. "Yeah, just a dream."

"A nightmare." Clara corrected.

"Yes, a nightmare. But it was really nothing, not as bad as past nightmares. I'm really fine." he smiled to show his okayness.

"Really?" He nodded. She sighed, "Doctor, really, if you want to talk about anything, I'm here, ya know? You don't really have anyone else in this machine to talk to, I hope." she giggled. "But I care about you, and I want you to really be okay." Clara hopped off the console and sat beside The Doctor.

"I'm really really really okay." The Doctor chuckled and held her hand in both of his. He brought her hand up to his lips, keeping eye contact the whole time, and kissed her hand. The Doctor dropped her hand and looked to the ground.

"I hope you are." Clara smiled sadly, putting her hand on his cheek and rubbing the rough unshaven hair there. "I'm here if you need me. I'm gonna go back to sleep, see you in the morning." Clara kissed his cheek and hopped up off of her chair. She walked out of the control room and down the hallway. The Doctor heard her door close, which only made him sadder.

"But I need you now, Clara." he bowed his head and started to cry, which he had not let himself do in a long while.