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[makemeasong]

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[thedreamer]

"I hadn't noticed," he says sincerely. His metabolism is different than hers, of course, although he's capable of getting inebriated. "Though, I would like to see this karaoke. Go on, then. What'll you sing for us?" He bumps her shoulder playfully as he smiles.

[makemeasong]

"No! I don't know this planet's songs," she laughs, bumping his shoulder back. "If you take me to an Earth karaoke bar, then maybe. I'll need a few more of these first."

And so naturally, she downs the one in her hand and holds up one finger for another. "Also, that's not fair. You're going to sober while I'm singing my heart out for you."

[thedreamer]

"That's completely fair, Clara, otherwise how can I be a proper judge of your abilities?" He teases her fondly. "I have to be fully in my right mind. Or, near it. I'm not sure I'm ever in my right mind...how would I know exactly..." He trails off for a moment, getting lost in that thought.

[makemeasong]

"Oh, you aren't," she says, figuring drunk TARDIS driving might not be wise in any case.

"Alright then, plenty of time to tell me what your favorite Earth song is."

[thedreamer]

"Oh, now that's easy. Something by The Beatles. No, wait!" He sips at his drink, thinking a moment. "Ella Fitzgerald. I love all of her music. She was fun company, too," he grins.

Then, he smacks his hand down on the bar lightly, shaking his head. "No. What am I thinking? I know it. Of course. The very best song, my favorite of all time. Tell me you know it."

He gets up suddenly then, gently tugging her off her barstool and moving to twirl her around. Then, very terribly off-key, he sings, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog..."

[makemeasong]

Clara laughs moving easily with him. "Of course I know that song, how could I not know that song!"

She begins singing the chorus to prove it, finishing with a deep bow. "I'll sing it proper later," she promises.

[thedreamer]

"Singing your heart out for me, like you promised," he grins, then moves to sit back down with her. "Maybe I'll sing a song for you, too. Or I'll write you a song. Yes!" He grins triumphantly. "That's it. I'll write you a song."

[makemeasong]

"Oh yeah?" she asks with a laugh, sipping her new drink this time a little slower.

"I truly cannot wait to see what a song written by you will sound like. Don't tell me I've already heard one because you wrote all of The Who's best hits or something."

[thedreamer]

"Well, I did help Led Zeppelin with Stairway to Heaven," he says, with a mostly straight face, not looking directly at her.

[makemeasong]

"Oh, now you're just being cheeky," she says, shoving his shoulder with her hand.

But something about that does make her curious, and she tilts her head at him a little. "Are there any moments in time you've gone back to more than once?"

[thedreamer]

His tone and demeanor shift a bit, though he's still open to questions. He nods a little, sipping his drink and then hunching forward on his elbows.

"You'll just say it's terribly cheesy and have a go at me, though. You and your mean streak."

[makemeasong]

"No I won't! Tell me, please? And I'm not mean." Said as she shoves him again.

"Come on, I promise. I won't have a go at you."

[thedreamer]

"You promised, just remember that," he says pointedly, though heaves a big, huffing sigh as though he's put out.

"Sometimes, after the people I've traveled with have gone - moved on, or...I've lost them - I'll go back to a happy moment when we were still together. I just pass through, just for a moment, and only when I miss them very much."

[makemeasong]

Clara's face softens. "I can't have a go at you over that," she says quietly. "A load of people would do that, if they could, I bet. Her eyes move over his face before looking down at her drink.

"If I could see my mum again even for a second..." she trails off, then hesitates before looking at him again, not even asking the question aloud.

[thedreamer]

"Wouldn't it be the hardest thing, to have to leave her?" He asks the question, even though he's being hypocritical. He knows the answer already, he's just curious about Clara's take on it.

[makemeasong]

"Of course it would, it would be the hardest thing in the world. But it would be worth it. It's one more glimpse. One you know is the last one, so you keep it close."

Clara never had a last moment with her mother - most people never know when the last moment is. "And then you remember exactly how they were in that one, perfect moment," she finishes, looking right at him, not even wavering except for the sadness set back in her eyes.

[thedreamer]

He doesn't talk about it much - at all, actually - but every time he's lost her has been devastating, too. Every loss is, though hers even moreso. She doesn't even know what she did for him, how she healed him when he met her as the governess in victorian England. He wanted to live again, fully, and then he lost her. He might have gone mad then, if he hadn't been anchored by knowing he could find her again. He had to.

He doesn't have to go back and look at moments with Clara because he does, thankfully, have her back now. But it's painful to even consider for a moment.

"Humans usually - well, they can't help themselves. When they see people they've loved and lost, they'd do anything to change their fate." He's not saying he expects Clara would, but he wants to explain his hesitation a little. With her mother, though, it's a bit different than it was for Rose, for example, whose father had been killed in a single accident.

"I can't blame you for it. Who wouldn't at least be tempted? But it's a gift, if you can watch for a moment, just watch and hold it with you."

[makemeasong]

"I think I could do it if I had you there to hold my hand," she says seriously. "But if it's against the rules, that's alright."

Clara did have some sense of closure with her mother - if there ever can be such a thing when someone dies - so she won't beg him if he says no. But the want is still in her eyes, and it's clear it's something she's hoping for.

[thedreamer]

"Clara Oswald," he smiles a little now, leaning in closer and doing just that, reaching for her hand now. "I will always be there to hold your hand."

It's also - in his way - a confirmation. One day, very soon perhaps, he'll take her to see her mother.

[makemeasong]

Clara squeezes his hand, smiling back in return. "I know. I know you will be, I don't doubt it."

She trusts him - there have been odd times - but she trusts him, completely.

[thedreamer]

He gives her a warm smile in return before focusing back on his drink again.

"Should we be off again? I did promise you a meeting with Princess Leia."

[makemeasong]

"Yes, of course! I also promised you a song. But Leia first."

Clara finishes her drink, then hops down, reaching for his hand. "What should I wear? I can't meet her in a skirt and tights."

[thedreamer]

He looks her over, up and down, and he can't help being a little confused. "You're dressed, what does it matter?" There are, of course, some things The Doctor will never fully comprehend.

[makemeasong]

"Says the man already in a bowtie and suit! She's a princess, I'd like to be a bit more dressed up. It's a thing, trust me. It'd be like a formal meeting with the Queen in swim trunks."

Clara looks up at him. "Do not say you've had a formal meeting with the Queen in swim trunks."

[thedreamer]

"I resent the implication," he narrows his eyes a little. All in jest. "Have a little faith in me, Clara." There's a long pause for a moment before he says, "I was naked, actually, but there was a very good reason and she understood."