The Man With The Box (Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

Clara sighed. It had been a week since her whole life changed forever. A whole hectic, tiring week. Granted, it was also the best week of her life. She had seen other worlds, had felt the warmth of an alien sun on her eyelids. And that had been amazing, but Clara was only human. These few days were just for her.

Clara felt her eyelids grow heavy. She didn't even try to fight it; she just let herself sink into a deep sleep.

?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?

Clara was awakened by a wheezing sound. It pierced through her dream, which had had something to do with a beach and a picnic, leaving only fragments of the image behind, shattered like glass.

Clara groaned. This could not be happening. She heard a frantic knocking on her front door. "Go away!" She yelled, and the knocking stopped. The TARDIS wheezed off, leaving Clara alone in peace. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but her mind was flooded with memories of traveling with the Doctor in his magical blue box.

She pulled herself off the couch with a sigh, and walked into the kitchen. She began the mundane task of preparing some tea. It all seemed incredibly boring now; normal life held little interest these days. But she couldn't go back to the TARDIS. Never again. Traveling with the Doctor had been the most magical time of her life, but it had nearly tore her apart. All the stress and confusion, well, it just wasn't good for her. But she had begun to see everyday life as just that: everyday. Despite her best excuses, her heart longed to be with the Doctor, in the TARDIS.

Clara wanted to visit the doctor more than anything. But she knew that if she ever saw his face again, she wouldn't be able to resist. He would grin at her, and that would be that. She would run back to the TARDIS and would never be able to bring herself to leave again.

It wasn't his fault, really, though Clara still blamed him. She had always had a bit of a control problem, and lately, when she was with the Doctor, she felt her control slipping away. It was terrifying, and it had nearly driven her mad. So, in the end, she did the only logical thing: she left him.

Clara was pulled out of her flashback by the sound of the front door slamming shut. "Clara, I'm home," Angie called out.

"I'm in here, Angie."

Angie walked into the kitchen, took one look at Clara, and stopped dead in her tracks. "Woah," Angie exclaimed, "you look like shi-" Clara shot her a stern look. "I mean, what happened to you? don't tell me you still haven't gotten over that boyfriend of yours. Anyways, I thought you dumped him."

"I did," Clara said sourly. "And he wasn't my boyfriend he was just... A friend." But some part of her didn't really believe that.

Apparently, neither did Angie. "Right," Angie sniggered, and jogged upstairs to her room, leaving Clara sitting with her youth open, a half-formed reply on her lips.

?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?-?

That night, Clara crawled into bed, completely drained of energy. She was just dropping off to sleep when the creak of an opening door entered her dreams. "Clara," a familiar voice whispered.

"Go away, Doctor," she murmured, still half-asleep.

"Clara, wake up. You're dreaming."

Clara felt a warm hand shake her out of her slumber. She blinked sleepily a couple of times, her eyes finally settling on the Doctor. She shot out of bed, the light of the full moon reflecting softly off of her chestnut eyes. "Doctor, what are you doing here? You-you're not supposed to be here." She gulped nervously.

"No? Why not? Clara, there's something you're not telling me." His voice and eyes softened as he reached out to touch Clara's cheek. She shivered as his warm hand touched her skin. "Clara, why did you run away?" He asked softly. His eyes were sad and vulnerable. Clara didn't answer, just blinked away the tears that were forming in her eyes.

The Doctor grabbed her hands tenderly. "Clara, come back to the TARDIS with me. Please. There are so many places I wanted to show you, so many times we've never, ever been. Clara wanted to protest, to explain why she couldn't go back, but her lips would not obey. And neither did her traitorous legs as he gently led her outside, where he had parked the TARDIS.

Yay! It's finally finished! Or, at least the first chapter is. But yes, my masterpiece is complete (sort of). So tell me, waddya think?
~badwolf2006