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“Doctor?”
The man in question’s eyebrows rose as he turned towards Bill Potts, brows rising in curiosity. Class was over now and students were milling about, gathering up their supplies and leaving his lecture hall.
Without further ado, she handed over an essay to him. She smiled after. “Here,” she said. “I believe this is yours. Took me all night, that did.”
He merely grinned. “Are you hungry? I know a place…”
She slung her rucksack over a shoulder, sassy brow rising at that. “You always know a place.”
Hours later, the pair were lost in an old library with nothing more than a smell of old books around them and a lit lantern in the Doctor’s hands. It cast a soft orange glow around them, making everything far more eerie than it had to be.
“It should be here,” he whispered, sighing to himself. “I was sure it would be.”
“It doesn’t seem to be,” replied Bill, “and we’ve been looking for a while now.”
They came here in search of something the Doctor needed. He elaborated on the subject, explaining that he had a voice message from an old friend. They needed something, the likes of which could only be acquired by him. It could only be found here, in this specific library, decades prior.
In the middle of the night, on this planet, Kulnov 768, they had snuck into the library in said friend’s city. It was for a good cause, the Doctor had said, even though he disapproved of stealing.
He stole a TARDIS, though, hadn’t he? Bloody hypocrite.
There was a noise then. Turning, the pair saw someone behind them. Lifting the lamp, he found a woman standing nearby with a torch in one hand and something else in the other. It looked vaguely like a sonic.
The Doctor spoke first. “Who’s there?”
She froze. Yes, she. The Doctor could tell that it was a woman. His eyes were adjusting and he could just now make out a body shape in the dim lighting. Definitely a woman.
As the person, being, whoever they were, tried to go rushing off, he followed. A scuffle ensued.
The end result was the pair of them careening over and tumbling away from Bill. They spilled out onto the floor, with him lying atop her. It wasn’t a very pretty sight.
“Who are you?”
The words were gasped and harsh as the Doctor grappled for their wrists, pinning them down to the floor. As Bill bathed them in bright white light, from the torch she had rescued from the floor only moments prior, the Doctor found himself bewildered.
“You’re the girl from the diner,” he exclaimed in surprise. “What on earth are you doing here?”
She fumbled for a response. “I could… I could ask you the same thing!”
He sat up rather abruptly. “I’m here to help a friend! And here I thought you were a human. Who are you? Where are you really from?”
She did the same, sitting up a bit stiffly. “I was asked to come here to find a bloody book for a friend.” She cut herself off right there, not wanting to say any more.
Bill put a hand over her face, overwhelmed by the conversation.
“Hold on just a minute, you two,” said Bill. “So, right, you were both asked to come here by a mysterious friend? Both of you? Clearly, someone wanted you two to find each other again? Why? You must know each other, somehow?”
Said mysterious friend may or may not have been a rather dazed (just still just as clever) Time Lord who had learned a bit of kindness and compassion along the way. She’d had to watch the Doctor for centuries, mourning a loss he couldn’t even remember going through. Those big sad eyes of his told a far different story than his mouth ever had. She knew better. In the quiet moments, she had come to understand him better than he knew himself.
Maybe she had changed her mind.
In her last moments, before dying, she made just three quick calls. The wonders of Time Lord technology, a voice changing device, the desire to find a certain book in a centuries old library on a far-off planet, and it was all done. He never could resist a mystery or a friend’s plea for assistance. He’d never know the truth.
The past, her past, would also be changed. Perhaps this entire ordeal on the ship wouldn’t even happen. They’d never find the black hole. But that wasn’t why she had done it. That was the point. Kindness was the entire point.
In the present, The Doctor rolled his eyes at Bill’s prior statement and question. “Well, clearly we don’t know each other, Bill. We’ve only met once before. We don’t know each other.” He spoke matter-of-factly, eyebrows doing an impressive thing. “This is ridiculous.”
Suddenly, it went silent.
“Listen,” the mysterious diner girl said. “Just listen to me, alright? By all rights, I should be dead, and I shouldn’t even be saying this. I really shouldn’t. But…”
Bill and the Doctor both turned to look at her, really look at her, and it dawned on the Doctor just then. That voice, the scent of that perfume, it all felt so familiar. He remembered a time, so long ago now, when he’d been blind. He’d remembered then, at Rose’s funeral.
“Clara?”
She’d been on the verge of finally saying the words. She really had. It stopped her right in her bloody tracks. Wide-eyed, she fumbled for a moment. “Yes?”
Rather abruptly, the Doctor stood. He moved so quickly that Bill had to put her hands out to brace herself, otherwise he’d have run right into her. She laid her palms flat there, as if she could give him some of her strength. He was practically trembling beneath her touch.
“Have you been right under my nose this entire time?”
Clara looked all too teary-eyed at the Doctor’s query. She stood up, fierce as ever and trying her very hardest now. She needed to be brave.
“I always was,” she replied softly. “And I’ve kept an eye on you, Doctor. I really have. From a distance, though. But I couldn’t stay away completely. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Otherwise… if I didn’t stay away… I was terrified of us burning up all of Time and Space again. Quite literally. So, I had to stay away. I was horrified, and I’ve been aching inside this entire time. But I’ve had my own adventures. I really enjoyed them too. I even had a few with River. You never questioned who her second wife was. Why was that?”
His eyes nearly popped right out of his skull at that. As floored as he was, he could barely speak.
“I’m sorry?” he asked. “I can’t even process this right now. It’s too much.”
Clara laughed at that, turning to Bill now. “He’s adorable when he does this, isn’t he?”
Bill could only chuckle. She loved Clara already and she barely knew her. “Yep,” she quipped in response. “It’s like he’s a machine with an engine that’s sputtering about. One that needs a break, too, I think.”
Cue the arms at his sides, a stance that resembled two chicken wings beside him. With as skinny and as lanky as he was these days, the visual was perfect. “Excuse you both. Barely known each other for five minutes, you two, and you’re already tag-teaming me. I’m not even surprised.”
Both women let out a peal of laughter at that.
Afterward, Bill’s hand slid over and found his. He didn’t even pull away. She wanted to offer him whatever comfort she could. They’d been through so much together. She knew, by now, what he needed. And right now, he needed her strength.
“Someone wanted to bring us back together, I’d say,” Clara said once again. “Well, here we are. And now we have a buffer, another person. No more burning up all of Time and Space and setting the place ablaze. Right? Some normalcy is needed. We’re too dangerous alone.”
Bill laughed at that. “Go on, mate. Kiss her.” She pushed the Doctor in the direction of Clara for emphasis, stifling a giggle whilst doing so.
He pitched over and flew into Clara, hands flapping about. He caught himself at the last moment, thank the gods, and stuttered an apology for earlier. “I’m sorry I knocked you to the floor earlier. I didn’t know who you were at the time.”
She patted his chest lightly. “It’s alright, you silly old man. No apology necessary.”
His eyebrow rose in question for a moment. “Hm. Where’s your TARDIS?”
Bill’s mouth fell open. “Wait, what? She has one too?”
For a moment, Clara cast a look in her direction, before replying, “Yeah, I did. It’s a long story. She’s gone now, though. Another long story, I reckon. I left her in the care of your wife. She said she had to go find a diamond of some sort. What happened with the TARDIS afterward, I’m not sure. That bit, I think, you should know by now.”
He scratched his head gently. “I don’t, actually. I had no idea.”
Bill smiled faintly to herself. River always had her secrets. From the bits and pieces that the Doctor had told her since he began opening up about his dear wife, that much was obvious. It felt like a given.
The Doctor’s mind was in hyderdrive at the moment. It begged the question: where was that TARDIS? She certainly didn’t have one when she’d run into him. She’d needed to use his. The memory, for a fleeting moment, made his hearts ache.
“Come back to the university with me,” he said after a moment. “We clearly have some catching up to do. Perhaps we should tell Bill the important bits, if you’re back in my life… my lives… again.”
Bill followed the pair back in the direction of his ship, the book forgotten. Clearly, it was all just a ploy to bring them back together again. It was nothing more than that.
This mysterious friend could work wonders, it seemed.
Clara’s fingers lingered on the frame of the TARDIS, a sad smile finding her lips. “Hello, old girl,” she murmured, almost tenderly, before stepping aboard. The welcoming lights and sounds, the whirring and buzzing, took her breath away. Twice now, she had stepped aboard this ship when she’d thought all hope of returning was lost.
“Can you remember me now?” asked Clara, eyeing the Doctor skeptically. “I’m only curious.”
His head tilted as he glanced in her direction. “Not really, not yet. But it’ll come back to me. I’m still trying to figure out the mystery of that. Ask Bill.”
Clara was breathless for a moment, anguish making her heart heavy. She plugged along, regardless. “Your name is Bill? It’s a pleasure to meet you. Have you been keeping him safe?”
The younger woman chuckled at that. “Me? Oh, I’ve been trying. He’s a difficult one.”
The Doctor lifted an amused brow at Bill’s words. “Watch it,” he warned, although there wasn’t any fire behind the words.
“Why?” asked Bill. “Afraid that I might spill all of your secrets?”
He was priming the navigation controls, responding as he sent them flying off towards where he called home these days. “No,” he said with a winded laugh. “Clara knows most of them by now, anyway. At least, I’m assuming she does by this point.”
By the time they landed, Bill had already told Clara some of her life story, as per request. She didn’t seem to mind the questioning from Clara. The Doctor certainly didn’t mind the ease in which Clara was resting back against the console unit, either. She looked happy. Now, if only he could fill in the bits and pieces of his memory that were missing.
He knew he cared for her. He knew they had been aboard a submarine together, her stepping into his time stream and splintering herself to save him some time later. Or was it prior to that? Memory was fickle. They had watched a dinosaur burn in the center of London, had met Robin Hood, had saved all of London from a horde of Cybermen controlled by Missy. They had been separated in the midst of a rebellious faction of Zygons trying to conquer Earth. He even remembered Santa Claus, all the tangerine and toy madness, and them having been brought back together again. He knew he’d pulled her from her time stream to save her life, after a bloody tattoo problem, and had been unsuccessful in doing so. She’d told him something very important down in the Cloisters. If only he could remember what it was.
Charles Dickens came to mind as well. Oh, wait. Wrong companion. No, that was Rose.
He could recall the important bits. But just not the rest of it.
He couldn’t remember the way she’d looked at him in the quiet moments in the TARDIS’ Library or any of her Kitchens, the way she’d held his hand, the hugs, the tender things she’d told him on their adventures. He couldn’t remember it.
They exited the TARDIS upon landing, just in time to find Nardole entering the office. He nearly dropped the tray with tea on it. Bowie was playing in the background on his record player. The Doctor could count the beats between each second as time slowed down, watching Nardole wind up for one hell of a row.
“You just left? It’s been five minutes for me. Just five minutes. You went running off again!” yelled Nardole. “You cannot keep doing this, you know! You’re a deplorable influence, Bill Potts!”
Bill stifled a chuckle. “Calm down, Nardole. You’ll bust a fuse in that bloody head of yours. We’d like you to meet someone, if you’re done.”
Nardole stood, eyes narrowing, as Clara stepped out of the TARDIS. “Who’s this, then?”
For a moment, the Doctor glanced between all of them. “Right. What a story this’ll be. You had better sit down, Nardole. You’re going to need that tea, too, believe me.”
Just then, however, there came a knock at the door. Everyone turned towards the sound, eyes on the Doctor as he strode across the room to answer. “Come back later. Any questions you might have on tomorrow’s test…”
He was cut off as he caught a glimpse of who was waiting for him, though.
“Bloody hell,” he mumbled quietly.
The woman laughed soundlessly. “Doctor? That isn’t like you. You don’t curse.”
He threw his hands up in the air, so overwhelmed. “You’ll have to excuse me. It’s been a very long day.” He huffed beneath his breath after.
Stepping into the room now was Kate Stewart, looking suave in a suit. “We’ve always had precautionary measures, should this occur. Earlier today, I received a phone call from a mystery number. On my personal line, no less.”
His brows rose at that, gaze questioning and curious. “You too?”
Kate’s head tilted at that. “So have you? Interesting. But more interesting is the fact that Clara is here once again. She worked for us for a while, you know, in the absence of your companionship. I’m not sure if you’ve been informed just yet. What’s going on here, exactly? Can someone fill me in.”
In the commotion, Bill and Nardole seemed as lost as could be. Bill was the first to speak.
“Who is this now, Doctor? I can’t keep up.”
A hand scrubbed at his forehead, as stressed as could be. “Another long story. I’ll explain everything in more detail later. There’s a military organization, UNIT… I worked with them, for them, for years. Decades, actually, by my count. Kate here, Kate Stewart, is their Chief Scientific Officer. Kate, this is Bill Potts, and vice versa. Say hello to each other. Yada, yada.”
Kate sent a secret smile in the Doctor’s direction. “Oh, I know Bill. I know everything, remember, Professor?”
In response, he merely sighed. “I know. Believe me, it’s a growing issue.”
Who was the woman who had brought them together again? He knew he’d continue to wonder about this.