The Rose & Crown

Chapter Five

Clara was always impressed by the selection of clothing available in the ship's wardrobe. The items she found in there consisted of such created by the TARDIS herself or those left behind by the Doctor's previous companions. Either way, they excelled in their knowledge of well-fashioned taste when it came to providing disguises to accompany him on his travels. Whether it be the year nineteen hundred or forty thousand, the old gal certainly knew how to treat a girl. Though this time she may have outdone herself a bit.

Having searched for quite some time through the ever-changing, ever relocating closet, her heart jumped when she saw the dress. Champagne in colour, the floor-length fabric was entirely embroidered with tiny sparkling silver patterned jewels from the modestly draped straps over her shoulders to the tips of her clear heeled shoes. Gazing at her finished form in the mirror, the dress seemed to embrace her with an ethereal glow. A part of her shook the thought that a particular dress of this nature might be too fashionable for a girl such as her. She exited the wardrobe and headed for the control room where the Doctor told her to meet him. Hesitating for only a moment to regain her confidence, she lifted the skirt above her shoes and climbed the metal staircase towards the heart of the TARDIS.

"Finally!" the Doctor exclaimed, hearing her soft footsteps approach from behind. "You've been down there nearly an hour!" He spun around to face her. "What on Earth took you so-?" And then he saw her, truly saw her. Her presence in the room suddenly cleared him of all thought and speech. He had travelled with her an uncountable number of times. From the past to the future and beyond even that. And yet, she always remained the same Clara to him, no matter what version of her he was with. Always his impossible girl. There was no one else he would rather have by his side. He cared for her more deeply than he would ever dare to admit. All the dangers he put her through, all the incidences in which he thought he'd lost her had been more unbearable each time. He fought to keep the feelings he had for her from himself and anyone they encountered together from the moment he first laid eyes upon her in his previous form. Somewhere buried deep inside his stubbornness, he felt she would never accept him in this body as she did with his last. This furrowed old man he had become could never compete with the love she still carried in her heart for his younger self. It was better this way. Emotions are dangerous. There were far too many enemies in the universe willing to take advantage of a weakness so great.

Something inside of him was freed from its forgotten place as she neared him. A feeling he thought he would never have for anyone else. He couldn't tear himself away from her magnificent grace. She could light up every star in the sky or power an entire world with just the look in her eyes at that moment. He felt the electricity in the air emanating through his palms. The deafening silence in the room could only be tamed by the delicate sound of her shoes tapping along the metal flooring. He watched her approach until she was but an arm's length away. "You look, uh..." were the only words he could manage.

"Is it too much?"

"No, um-"

"It's too much, isn't it," she responded nervously.

"No, no! Well, I mean, it's not bad. For a girl who can't even tie a tie correctly. But I suppose the dress will have to do," he humoured her, attempting to maintain a hold over his emotions.

"Thanks." She knew that was the closest to a compliment as she was going to get. She noticed he'd taken the time to groom himself in her absence. A characteristic he hadn't seemed to have adopted very often in this body, if at all. And yet, something about the way he looked in his tuxedo warmed her from within as if standing beside an open flame during the dead of winter. All the anger she felt earlier in the day and the past several weeks had melted away, leaving no trace of its former existence. The warm feeling inside of her grew more intense as she stepped closer, their shoes nearly touching. "I could say the same about you," she pointed out, reaching up to straighten his tie.