Clara Oswald. Oh, Clara Oswald completed him. And she was gone.

Oh, how foolish he had been, leaving for Gallifrey when he may not even find the damn place. Leaving his Clara with P.E.. He missed her. For her, it had been years since she'd seen him. For him it seemed like decades.

He missed her smile, her dimples. The Doctor missed his Clara in the morning, grumpy and huffy with her hair sticking up in odd angles. He missed the dance Clara did around the console on Wednesday mornings when she'd insist on plugging her mobile into the TARDIS speakers. He'd act as if the sight of her dancing was annoying or that her mobile took too much charge from the TARDIS but on the inside, the sight made his heart dance like she did. His heart yearned just to hear her laughter ring throughout the console room once more. The Doctor missed Clara's attack hugs. The Doctor missed their playful banter. The Doctor even missed their fights.

He was sure that his wonderful Impossible Girl was happy. Happy with Danny, happy with being away from him. An old man in a blue box, psh, that was never Clara's dream. Her dream was Danny and family and boring, humaney-wumey stuff.

Many times a week he would fly to her flat, right outside of it (luckily he had fixed the TARDIS in a way that it made almost no sound) and sit in the console room--feeling foolish--before flying away. He couldn't interfere with her life anymore. She didn't want him the same way he wanted her. Or did she..?

Clara was lonely. She had pushed everyone away when her doctor left her and the man she falsely loved passed away. Now she had no one.

Clara missed her doctor. She missed his jacket that smelt of tobacco and something mechanical (she didn't know why it smelt of tobacco, he didn't even smoke.). She missed his curly silver hair that she would mess up just to bother him. His smile. Oh, she missed that wonderful, dorky smile. She missed his grumpiness that she always seemed to be able to snap him out of and get him smiling and chuckling. Everything about him, oh, she missed it all. Every little amenity he possessed, she missed.

Clara didn't know how badly she would miss her doctor when she had let him leave.

Clara had been tempted to try and find him, he had to be flying around somewhere! There was no way he wouldn't travel just a little even after finding Gallifrey. Travelling was an addiction that Clara knew first hand and she knew The Doctor wasn't one to give it up so easily. But alas, Clara never went after him.

He existed only in her memories now. Often, she looked at their pictures together. She looked at the ones of her with his bow-tie fond regeneration and his grey-haired regeneration, each looked the same to her. He'd never look any different to her.

As Clara grew older, it began to appear on her cheeks. Wrinkles littered her face. Clara's beauty still shone like a diamond despite age. And eventually, she married a nice man, someone whom she loved to spend time with. He was her best friend, next to The Doctor of course. Honestly, he looked much like The Doctor's eleventh regeneration but about ten years older.

By the time Clara's fiftieth birthday came around, she had two brown haired children who eventually had their own children. She'd tell them all of her adventures and although the stories were true, they thought of them only as fairytales.

Clara loved her husband, truly she did. But she wasn't in love with him. The Doctor had her heart the whole time. She was in love with her grumpy old man.

Throughout her life, she had ups and downs. The Doctor slipping into her thoughts more than was deemed healthy. She had times where she didn't move for hours and just stared blankly at the wall in front of her and her husband eventually felt as if she had gone crazy.

Clara was sent off to a nursing home where she could be taken care of properly. She was in her mid seventies at this time. Soon after, her husband passed away and of course she was crushed. The father of her children had died, leaving her in the nursing home to eventually die herself. In the end, Clara became bedridden, her arthritis too severe for her to even stand most times.

Once she reached her eighties, she was a ticking time bomb. The nurses all agreed she was to die at any moment.

And they were right.

Clara laid awake one night, she knew it was coming. The thought of death didn't frighten her. It intrigued her in a way, to find out what was next in the cycle of life.

The entire nursing home was silent, dark and sad in a way. And then she heard it. The sound. The ever familiar wheezing of the TARDIS. Her doctor! Clara's little, fragile heart fluttered and her eyes twinkled as her beloved TARDIS appeared in front of her bed. Luckily, The Doctor had done something to make the landing quieter or else all her nurses would've ran in.

Clara sat up slowly as The Doctor popped his silver-haired head out of the TARDIS. He looked around for a moment before focusing his eyes on her. "Clara?" He said low, stepping out of the TARDIS slowly.

"Doctor.. Hello." Clara smiled weakly before taking her glasses from her night stand and putting them on her face. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

The Doctor cautiously stepped to the side of her bed. "You're...you're--"

"--old, I know." Clara chuckled as she reached a hand out to grasp his, making sure he was real before fully believing it was him.

He smiled fondly down at her and held her hand in both of his, stroking her hand with his thumb. "That's not what I was going to say. I was going to say you're beautiful. You're alive." The Doctor held her hand to his lips for a moment before setting it on her lap.

"I'm dying, Doctor." Clara murmured, still a smile gracing her lips.

His eyes widened, his smile vanishing. "Clara, my Clara. I'm so sorry. I should've came back, I was foolish not to come back--"

"Shut up, Doctor." She laughed. "I need you to do something for me." Clara instructed.

"What? What is it? Anything." The Doctor said eagerly.

"Take me to Akhatan, where we had our first adventure. I want to die amongst the stars. Can you do that for me?" Clara asked, her eyes kind.

The Doctor thought for a moment, "Yes! Of course, come on!" He gestured for her to come along but she didn't move.

"You need to carry me, Doctor. I can't stand well anymore." Clara said almost sadly. The Doctor didn't hesitate to slip his hands underneath her back and behind her knees and lift her up. He carried her bridal style into the TARDIS, Clara's petite, fragile body curled against him. Clara's bony fingers rested against his chest and he could feel how delicate she was now.

The Doctor remembered how strong she was once upon a time, how sturdy she was whenever they hugged. He remembered Clara complaining about her body one day and The Doctor assuring her she was fine. But now, she was so light and fragile in his arms.

Once safely inside the TARDIS, The Doctor sat her down carefully in the passengers chair. Clara began looking around the console room, her eyes glowing and glittering like gems. "I never realized how much I missed this place." Clara breathed before looking at him with an almost bashful smile. "You know, I got married to a wonderful man--he's...gone now, but I had kids. They have kids now. I'm a gran, ha. Who would've thought?" She smiled fondly at the thought.

The Doctor sat beside her and took one of her bony hands in his. "Did you tell them about me? About our adventures?" The Doctor looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Of course! They all love the stories, they just don't believe that they're real." Clara chuckled. "I wish I would've came back." Clara looked up at him before resting her head on his shoulder. "Why didn't you come back?"

"But you had Danny and you were happy, I didn't want to interfere." The Doctor admitted.

Clara looked back up at him with sorrowful eyes. "He never came back. I lied. I lied about a lot of things."

The Doctor put a hand on her cheek and felt the soft, wrinkled skin. "I'm sorry. I lied. I never found Gallifrey."

Clara chucked sadly. "I always loved you, Doctor. And now it's too late." Her eyes watered.

"It's never too late." The Doctor whispered back, looking into her eyes. Clara gave him a confused look before The Doctor squeezed her hands in his excitedly. "You can be young again! A start over!" He hopped up out of his seat and did a little dance.

Clara looked at him pessimistically, her eyebrows raised and mouth slightly open. "Doctor, that's not possible! It can't be."

The Doctor crouched right in front of her and smiled up. "You can be young again, but only if you want to. You could run away with me. Please, Clara. Don't even argue."

Clara's eyes twinkled with excitement. A nod is all that it took and The Doctor was grinning. "But how?"

"My regeneration energy! I haven't done it in a while, a long while really. Last time I did it, River got angry at me but I suppose she had the right to be. Anyway, give me your hand." He outstretched a hand to her and she hesitantly took it. "Now this might sting, so just be ready."

Clara braced herself as she suddenly felt a spark of energy rush through her. Thoughts of her family flashed in her mind, replaying memories fondly. They already knew her to be dead now, she was sure of it. Clara was finally running off with her Doctor once again and the thought made her fragile heart flutter wonderfully. A jolt of regeneration energy moved her body and she squealed a bit. After a minute or so, The Doctor was finally done putting energy into her. Clara looked down at her hands, once wrinkled and worn, now soft and young once again. She gasped when she reached for her hair and it came down in waves of brunette instead of her usual wavy silver.

Clara's eyes began to water and a huge grin graced her now young face. The Doctor simply smiled down at her as she inspected herself. Clara was obviously ecstatic. "Do you know how many woman would kill to be me right now?" Clara laughed. Oh, how The Doctor loved that laugh.

"Oh, many, I'm sure of it. But there is only one Clara Oswald." The Doctor said happily as he excitedly picked her up and spun her body all around the console room. The giggles she made had The Doctors hearts flutter. He placed her back on the floor and held her hands while looking down at her.

Clara grinned back up at him, "My Doctor." she whispered adoringly. "You have no idea how many times I had wanted to find you. And now I'm here." Her smile got bigger at the thought of being with him.

The Doctor didn't hesitate to pull her towards him and place his lips on hers. After so many years of wanting to, he knew that if he didn't that very moment he would regret it for the rest of his long life. He smiled into the kiss as Clara slipped her hands out of his and replaced them around his neck lovingly. Suddenly his hands were slipping around her waist and settling on the small of her back.

The Doctor pulled away, pressing their foreheads together and closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Clara. I never should've left. I've always...l-loved you too.." He blushed.

Clara pecked him on the lips happily before laughing, jumping away from him and dancing around the console joyfully. "I'm here now, so shut up and show me some planets." She teased, leaning on the console. The Doctor chuckled to himself since she was still wearing her quite loose, white, gran nightie.

"Go change, then we'll see some planets." he smiled, shooing her away with a hand gesture.

She glared at him playfully before hopping down the hallway and into her old room. When Clara came back she was in one of her old red dresses with a black Peter Pan collar that she must've left ages ago. She entered and twirled around as to show off herself. "Now, show me some planets, you old man." she giggled.

The Doctor looked at her red dress, remembering the day that they had to explore the TARDIS and he nearly lost his Clara again. That dress had always been one of his favourites. The way the red, slightly sparkly fabric hugged her curves made him want to kiss her again but instead he raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Yes, ma'am." He said in his deep Scottish accent before pulling a lever dramatically. Clara skipped over to him before smiling and kissing him again, reading him like a book.

Second chances, The Doctor hardly ever got those.

[A/N: the red dress is from Journey into the centre of the TARDIS if anyone didn't catch on xD

Anyway, I have worked on this one shot for the past month or so and I'm quite proud of it since I haven't ever wrote something like this where it skips time a lot. Please please please comment and vote and such! ilysm! ALLONS-Y!

PS: if any of you read my series "my dear professor' or the sequel 'dearest clara' I'm so so sorry for not updating frequently lately, haven't had the motivation lately. Hope you all understand! I am working on it but slowly xD]