𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐏 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 , doctor who

o. february 25th, 2012

"What the hell," Clara whined. She flipped the planner she was holding over as if it would fix her dilemma. She looked closer at the page she was on, before letting out a frustrated shout and throwing it aside.

"Everything alright?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows and stepped forward cautiously. He plucked the small book up and scanned its pages quickly.

"How does one forget a whole day?" She muttered. The alien man before her only became more confused, and rapidly flipped through every page once again.

"It looks like a nice, trusty planner to me," he shrugged and handed it back to her. "All 365 days. 365 chances to make a mark on your little old world."

Clara stared at him incredulously, her olive cheeks reddening out of a growing rage.

"Doctor. It's 2012, correct?" After a slight hesitation he decided to go with it, plucking a brown strand from his scalp and looking at it closely.

"Seems so, yes."

"It's been four years since 2008, correct?" He nodded. She stared at him, her patience wearing thin as he still did not get what she was hinting at. "Doctor, it's a bloody leap year! They forgot a whole day in my stupid planner! How did I just now notice?"

Clara Oswald continued to ramble on. Her rage was immeasurable, apparently traveling through time making her more sensitive to specific situations like this. Her curses were faded in The Doctor's ears though, muffled by the startling realization in his head. A smile slowly lifted onto his face, a small one filled with reminiscence and the flood of memories past.

With a final cry from his beloved companion he jumped into action. Clara called after him as he opened the doors of the TARDIS and skipped onto the streets of a dreary London.

But it wasn't dreary to him. No, today was a good day. A wonderful one, in fact.

"Clara, I have to stay with you for the next few days." His declaration made her jump as she closed the doors of the police box, and she whipped around with wide eyes.

"Like hell you are! My flat is not just yours for the taking!"

He stopped in his tracks, and before she knew it he was in front of her with his hands wrapped around hers and a pleading look plastered across his features.

"Please, Clara. You said so yourself, it's a leap year. And the leap day is coming up."

"Not according to my planner," she scoffed but nodded nonetheless. "And what's so important about the leap day?"

"Oh, it's so wonderful. I can't believe I hadn't thought about it sooner. Idiot, I'm an idiot. I'm sure he's been missing me. He must've grown in the past four years."

"Doctor..." Clara called out carefully. She took her hands back from him. "I don't know what you're going on about, but if this... person is so important to you, then why haven't you been with him this whole time."

He was startled by her suggestion, his mouth flapping about like a small goldfish in confusion.

"Oh, blimey, how do I explain it?" He paused. "Well, leap days aren't exactly... real days. No offense. Humans are the only creatures in the whole universe with something like it, and it confuses time itself." Clara was fully attentive, giving sign that she understood well enough. "If a child is born on February 29th, then time locks them away from everything else. They're an anomaly that nothing should have access to."

"So, what? They're dangerous or something? I once had a friend in primary school, she was born on a leap day. Sweetest little thing."

"No, not dangerous. Simply... misunderstood, if you will. They weren't meant to be, not on that day at least. February 28th or March 1st, yes, but not the 29th. It messes with the flow of the universe."

"But they go about normally. What happens?"

"Oh, nothing, you're absolutely right. Most of them live boring little lives. But they can't be accessed. I can't hop into the TARDIS and go visit a leap year human whenever I damn well please. They're quarantined to the 29th, and only the 29th. If I want to travel somewhere on Earth that day, whether the past or future, it physically can only be on the 29th."

He stopped to breathe, deep eyes unblinking as Clara stared back.

"Okay. Alright. So you're telling me this coming Wednesday, if we wanted to go watch the 1993 Olympics that wouldn't be possible? Because it didn't take place on a February 29th?" She said slowly. He jumped in excitement, pointing a firm finger in her direction.

"Exactly! Oh, you're so brilliant! My brilliant Clara."

She ignored him, continuing to spit out hypotheses. "And there must be someone... a man who was born on a leap day, so you can only visit him on a leap day."

"Right, yes!"

"Okay, so what I don't get is why the hell you have stay in my flat for four days."

The Doctor's face fell and he looked at her incredulously. "Oh, come on! You were on such a great roll!" She rolled her eyes and urged him to go on. "If I want to visit him I have to be on Earth... on the 29th... the second the clock strikes midnight. If I'm not, I can't enter. So, I'm requesting to stay with you until then so I don't get all antsy and miss it."

"Why can't you just take the TARDIS and go to each and every February 28th to visit him? And wait a few minutes there?"

"It doesn't– it's complicated," he sighed. "Paradoxes and all of that."

"Fine, but if you want to stay with me there's no secrets," she demanded firmly. She knew very well how he operated. "Who is this man, why are you so invested in him, and why can't we just go fly over to his house right now?"

"Well, it's just that—"

"Doctor!"

"Alright, alright." He held up his hands and straightened his bowtie. "I have some of his journals in the TARDIS. Let me grab them and you can read."

Clara smiled in victory, the next few days shaping up to be good.

( author's note. )
i havent been able to stop thinking about doctor who lately and i hate it because it just reminds me of my superwholock phase. like doctor who isnt even that bad of a show i just akskamsjaj.

anyways i came up with this plot about a week ago so if this book is bad its because i wrote it in that time. i wanted to write it in completion by the time the 29th came around.

it just suit so well??? and the next leap year is obviously in 4 years so?? i'll be dead by then no🧢😌🙏

enjoy this ooc story 💖🤭

doctor who belongs to bbc.
anything original belongs to me.

started: february 22nd, 2020.
ended: february 29th, 2020.