makemeasong | Annexed IC Contact 💫

[ Clara goes through a few different settings with him, trying them out when they can, before she begins to rub her eyes, a sign of her tiredness creeping back after the brief short wind. ]

I think I've learned all that my brain can handle for today. Need to turn it off for a while again after...everything.

You did well. It gets easier with more repetition - but also your brain might kick in a flight versus fight moment.

[ There's a moment where he sits there, wondering if he should leave. It's really written all over his face and he's likely to keep thinking about it unless Clara says something one way or another. ]

[ For a second she thinks she might want to tell him what's been on her mind, what she's been thinking since she arrived in this place because she doesn't know what'll happen to her now that the Zygons have her. Her heart beats a little fast, and she knows he can hear it. But she clears her throat and looks down at the sonic in her hands. ]

I'm having my chip removed tomorrow. Do you want to come? [ She looks back up at him, eyes meeting his. ]

[ The Doctor does hear her heartbeats, but for what it's worth only chalks it up to the question that she asks him next. ]

If you want me there, I will be.

[ Clara's so close to him that she can smell the faint scent of the forest on his skin; the outside air clings to him even though the adventure is over. It's always this moment she thinks of in the after, especially now, when his hair is still a little wild but his eyes have relaxed. A little disheveled, still a bit worried about her. If he could hear more than just her heart, she thinks he might get up and leave.

She nods, clearing her throat and finally looking away from him. Leaning forward as a distraction, she places her sonic gently on the table. When her hands are empty, Clara doesn't know what to do with them, tucking her hair behind her ears before rubbing the back of her neck. ]

Yeah, I do. Just in case it hurts.

[ Time Lord biology lends to enhanced everything: hearing, eyesight, smell and taste to name a few. There are times when it doesn't look like he's paying much attention to anything at all but that's a lie. His body won't let him be ignorant to his surroundings even when he wants to be.

It's not a bad excuse, but it's the only one he can come up with that could explain why he's suddenly fixated on aspects of Clara he normally wouldn't. Like how the smell of the medical bay still permeates on her skin, covering the scent that he's come to associate with her, or how he wondered if her hands also felt restless when they weren't doing something. But that could be easily traced back to her nervousness about the chip removal. ]

It won't. The Witches have advanced technology; everyone I've spoken to who's had it removed by them said so. [ The Doctor's gaze is steady on Clara's, pushing some levity into his voice in an attempt to dispel her fears. ] You don't plan on doing something stupid like passing on the anesthesia, do you? Because Clara, if we're being honest, that sounds like something I would do and I wouldn't recommend doing anything like me.

[ Clara looks at him, then looks at the sonic on the table. ]

I sort of thought about pointing that at my neck and seeing what happens. It's a little chip, figured it can't be as bad as being shot.

[ Her eyes move back to the Doctor's, almost positive he isn't going to have anything in support of her idea. ]

[ There's a look of alarm that quickly turns into a scrutinizing frown as he tries to figure out if she's being serious. From the look she's giving him though it's clear to him that she was seriously entertaining the idea. ]

By yourself? You were just going to hold a mirror to your neck and assume that the sonic was on the right setting to deactivate it? How were you going to take it out?

Edited 2022-10-22 02:42 (UTC)

[ She was definitely going to try it. ]]

I dunno, if it's deactivated does it necessarily need to come out? I assumed the sonic would know once the chip is off.

[ Assumed, but she had no real idea. ]

There's probably a reason the Witches take it out. If it can be deactivated while still inside of you, what's stopping the Sylphid from reactivating?

[ A huff leaves his lips. ]

Do you just not want a scar on the back of your neck or something? Your hair would cover it.

[ Her nose wrinkles at the implied vanity. ]

No, I just...don't trust them.

[ Her hand goes to the back of her neck, rubbing a little. ]

I know we're on 'their' side but what's to stop them from doing anything else while they take it out?

I'll be there.

[ He says it so matter of fact as if he's an unstoppable force that no one would dare to try and cross. There's an undertone of conviction to it as if he would do anything to protect this woman that is Clara - that he wants so badly to be his Clara - that he'd do more than just raise a stink in the middle of the med bay for her. ]

If they want to try anything they'd have a very difficult time getting it past me. That's why you want me there, isn't it? To keep an eye on you during the procedure.

[ Something about the way he says it makes her feel warm. She nods at his words, again feeling herself lean closer like he's a magnet. All she wants is to be close to him after what happened, but she'll be bordering on clinging and doesn't want that. ]

I need you there because I don't trust anyone else. Especially when they stand behind me with a sharp object. That's how I got the idea to do it myself, keep anyone from cutting me at all.

[ There's suddenly a weariness to his voice. He understands not trusting anyone here as much as the next person and Clara's caution is absolutely warranted, but surgery, especially to the back of the neck seemed reckless in his eyes.

Gently he places a hand on Clara's. ]

You could have asked me to do it if you were worried about someone getting behind you with a sharp object.

[ Without thinking about her actions or words, Clara turns her hand so that it's holding onto his. She's looking at him, eyes a deep pool of brown and sure of what she's asking. ]

Will you do it for me, please?

[ How is he supposed to say no to that? His normally blue eyes that look like shards of ice melt in her presence. The Doctor doesn't answer for a moment though, quietly turning over the possibilities in his mind and soaking in the warmth of her hand that had felt so clammy and cold hours earlier. ]

I might have to brush up on my surgery skills. [ His eyes stay steady on hers. ] Can you wait until then?

[ Even with his powers he doesn't want to rely on it like a crutch. He wants to do well by Clara. ]

[ When she answers him, her voice is quiet, and her hand is still in his. ]

'Course I can wait for you.

[ There's so much held in that statement, her eyes searching his. She'd had so many regrets when she'd been laying there as she bled in the grass, waiting. She swallows, wondering if she should say them now as her heartbeat picks up again. ]

[ The sound of Clara's heartbeat quickening becomes apparent again and the Doctor doesn't quite know what to make of it paired with her words. He's always been a bit of a clueless person when it came to matters of the heart. Sometimes it's feigned ignorance. Other times he's genuinely unaware of others feelings even if their biology or actions give them away - but this time around feels different.

Something (a feeling? A thought? He can't quite tell) rings crystal clear like a bell through the white noise in his mind. This something, this whatever it is, feels like it's within reach the longer he looks into Clara's eyes. For a moment it feels like everything would be, could be okay as long as their hands stayed holding onto one another's. There's a genuineness to the words he says next despite the sudden emotion that fills his gaze. ]

I won't keep you waiting forever, Clara.

[ He's referring to the surgery, isn't he? What else could he be referring to? And that's when that feeling, that something, is gone between one heartbeat and the next. The white noise returns and he gently returns her hand to her. ]

You want the chip out and I have a duty of care.

[ Clara feels it, for just a second, but then he's letting her go and the moment is over, nothing very different for it. She isn't sure why she feels disappointed, what she expected to happen. His words do wrap around her heart, and she nods, hearing him. ]

I trust you. We'll take care of it when you're ready.

[ She smiles a little at him and then closes her eyes, exhaling softly. ]

I think I might need to sleep again now. The muscles behind my eyes are going a little wild.

[ He doesn't have the heart to tell her that he isn't sure he'll ever be ready. As much as he hates the thought of having something foreign in his body that he didn't agree to he hates the thought of regenerating into a different face more. If the chip stops that, perhaps, he thinks, it might not be all that bad.

With that he straightens up off the couch, pumping some levity into his voice. His mind is already thinking about the books he'll need to track down in order to brush up on surgery. Surely the library had something. Or maybe there was a VR game that he could brush up on - those were things, weren't they? ]

Off to bed with you then. Doctor's orders.

Edited 2022-10-24 20:05 (UTC)

[ Clara walks him to her door, opening it, but then she pauses, biting at her bottom lip before looking up at him. ]

Permission to hug and linger for at least ten seconds?

I'm not a hugger.

[ He says it automatically but he's still standing there in the doorway. After everything he, no they had gone through today, he realizes with a bit of a start, that he needed a hug too. After a moment his arms twitch outwards as if to relay that. ]

[ Clara's arms wrap around him tightly, clinging a bit like she really doesn't want to let go. She'd been so afraid, but then he'd been there, he'd saved her. And that's why, after her ten seconds are up, she presses a soft kiss to his cheek. Her eyes close when she does, and then she steps back. ]

Alright, shoo. Go on, my doctor is strict, he'll check up on me so I'd better sleep.

[ In the brief moment that they hug (ten seconds exactly) he holds her tight and his eyes flutter closed. Without his psychic abilities or a tether to her she can't tell that he feels comforted by it but he hopes that she gets the sentiment anyway.

The flutter of her lips on his cheek roots him to his spot and his brain short circuits. It takes him a minute to reply but he starts by clearing his throat. ]

Right. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side. Sleep well.

[ He waits until the door closes firmly behind her before going letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in. It's only a beat later that he turns on his heel and making a beeline straight for the library. ]

Annexed IC Contact 💫

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject