Nine Months, Twelve Days (Whouffle fanfic)

Four Days

The Doctor didn't honestly believe that he could tell Clara everything he needed to tell her. She wouldn't understand, and she didn't need his problems on top of her own. He had mentioned what he said; she could tell him anything she ever needed to. But that didn't mean she would. Just like the Doctor, Clara had secrets.

"Hey, Clara?" he asked the woman sitting across from his on the couch.

She looked up from her book, "Yeah?"

"I was thinking, you know how we know for a fact that their aliens?"

"Doctor, what is your point?" she asked, slightly frustrated that he was beating around the bush so much.

"Why don't we just leave then?"

"Because...you said if we didn't then Earth would be in danger of being destroyed."

"Right. Well, I mean, they haven't done anything yet. So what would they do now?"

"We're not leaving until we figure out their plan and stop them," Clara said.

"But-" he was cut off.

"No. We are because you said the planet was in danger and I will not have just wasted seven months of my life sitting around, understood?"

"Yes," he said, sulking his way off of the couch and into his bedroom. Well now it was "their" bedroom, but he still liked to think of it as his own sometimes.

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Twenty minutes later he heard a small knock on the door. He got up and opened it to find Clara standing there, holding two cups of tea and smiling a little bit. But worry was evident in her eyes.

"You okay? I brought you some tea," she said, handing him the mug which he graciously took.

"It's just so boring here. I miss traveling, I miss having to save you so you'd look up at me and laugh nervously after I did save you. Or you punching me, whichever mood you're in that day," he said laughing, earning a light punch from Clara. "I'm just so bored."

"So go out on an adventure. I can hold the fort down," she said, sipping her tea.

"But I want you to come with me," he said.

"Well, someone has gotta stay home. What if you don't come back at the right time and the house is abandoned for three weeks? Or a year? Plus, I've aged enough already on this current adventure; I don't need to add another month on top of that."

"What if the TARDIS lands me five years into the future? You won't see me for five years if that happens," he said, setting down his mug.

After another twenty minutes, Clara finally convinced him that he could adventure all by himself, and that she would stay home all by herself. He left Clara enough money from the TARDIS that it could probably last her ten years if she stayed by herself the whole time.

"When you get back, we'll investigate more. I'll keep an eye on Judy, and probably Hank now too. I kind of hate Hank now," she said when she said goodbye to him in front of the TARDIS. "Have fun!" she called when the box started to dematerialize out of the room.

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Clara got a lot done that day. She went to the bookstore, talked with Judy on the phone, cleaned the whole house, made a perfect soufflé (too bad the Doctor wasn't there to see it), and ended the day with jogging around the block just because she could.

The Doctor still wasn't back, and she hadn't expected him to be. She figured he would be gone for at least three days, and at most a week. She couldn't say she minded; she loved the Doctor but she could only stand so much of him for so long. Clara changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, shutting off the light. She didn't even dream.

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It was about four days later by Clara's count that the Doctor showed up. He looked worn, haggled, and overall miserable.

"Hey!" she said getting off of the couch and hugging him. He hugged her back like he thought he would never see her again. "What's with the gigantic hug?" she laughed.

"How long has it been for you?" he asked her, a bit frantic.

"Four days. Why? What about you?" she said, frowning.

"I missed you so much. I never ment to be gone so long..." he trailed off, avoiding her question.

"It's only been four days," she said, breaking out of the hug and cupping his cheek with her hand. "How long have you been gone?"

"One hundred and sixty three years."

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That's it this time! Stick around! I postponed all of my homework because I felt like I should update, so...this was it. Like it? Let me know. Hate it? Let me know (just please do it nicely).