Cumbria. November 23, 1207. 6:28 PM.

Been thinking on Clara. Even became a monk! Not my best ensemble, I must admit. I look strange. River would probably burn the cloak I'm wearing.

Clara has died twice. Confusing. She's the exact same person. Looks the same, acts the same. Has the same personality, really. Who is she?

London. July 26, 2013. 7:49 PM.

Well, I found her. Strange way, of course. I was in the year 1207, and she called me from 2013! Don't know how. Said a woman in the shop gave her the number. Something that definitely needs to be looked into.

I'm bringing her on maybe one adventure today. Then I've got to go to my wife. Put her room on the TARDIS in a time-lock, maybe?

8:13 PM

Change of plans. She said to come back Wednesday. I guess I won't need a time-lock. For now, I've got to go back to family. Hopefully she won't be able to tell I was gone longer than a couple days.

The Doctor rubbed his temples slowly. This girl, Clara, was getting confusing. What was she? How was she dying so many times?

He stood up slowly and flipped a few levers, finally making the trip he'd been running away from for a while now. He was sure to chart it only a couple days after.

When he heard it land, he straightened his bowtie, checked himself in the mirror, and walked out the door.

River wasn't waiting right in front of him like he'd thought she'd be. But he could hear her voice, and it reminded him of how stupid he was for staying away for so long.

"Come on, Brooke. You can do it. Just lift that little head. You're a strong girl." She cooed. He looked at his surroundings. The guest room. They were in the lounge, maybe?

He walked to her voice, hearts thundering dangerously in his chest as the proximity of the woman he'd been avoiding for over a year grew closer.

He stopped in the doorway when he saw her. Her back was to him, and she was wearing shorts and a tank top. It wasn't really a River-ish outfit.

She stilled immediately when she felt his gaze on her.

"You came back." It was barely more than a whisper, but he heard it, and his shoulders sagged. "Of course I did. You really think I'd leave you alone?"

She didn't respond, and he saw that she was nuzzling Brooke's chin with her finger.

He approached her from behind, and knelt down behind her. She shivered at his breath on her neck.

"It should've only been a couple of days. How long?" He questioned.

"Just four. We were fine."

He planted a kiss to his wife's cheek and went to sit cross-legged beside her, gazing at Brooke. His lips tingled from the contact, and he couldn't help the smile that bloomed across his face. In a moment he broke the silence,

"I think I'm better now."

She nodded. He decided not to push her yet, and picked his baby girl off the pallet. "Hey, baby. Daddy's back." He kissed her forehead, and she stretches out and yawns.

Will Daddy stay?

He weaves a finger into her hands. Of course he will. Daddy loves you very much.

Milky's sad.

He glanced over at his wife, who was still refusing to meet his eyes.

Daddy can fix it. Go to sleep.

Brooke's eyes closed, and her breathing became even.

"Do you want me to put her in the crib on the TARDIS, or- or wherever she's been sleeping?"

River cracked a smile and motioned to the TARDIS. "She needs to sleep in her room, don't you think?"

He nodded and stood up carefully, then walked into her room on his ship and laid her down.

When he walked back out, River was still in the lounge, back leaned against the foot of the couch.

The Doctor silently went over and sat down beside her, taking her hand in his.

"How long's it been?" She asked.

He swallowed, and guiltily looked to the floor. "A while."

"And how much longer than a couple days is 'a while'?"

He squeezed her hand gently and rested his head on her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her finally in front of him. "A bit." He finally answered.

She harrumphed. "Okay."

He looked over at her, just staring at their intertwined hands. Her breathing sounded remarkably normal, and he could tell she was doing it on purpose.

After a minute, he just couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed her chin, turned her head to look at him, and crushed his lips onto hers.

The familiarity of her made him sigh contentedly, and he rubbed her back soothingly as they kissed. It had been over a year, and she was the same. She was perfect, she was here, and she was his wife.

He only pulled away to start peppering little kisses along her jaw. To his surprise, he was shoved away.

The Doctor opened his eyes, and saw a suspicious look in her eyes. "You're acting like a starving dog, sweetie. I'll ask you again. How long have you been gone?"

He bit his lip. "Over a month." Hey, it wasn't a lie.

"How much over a month?"

Dammit. Of course she'd catch that.

"A few months."

"Has it been over a year?"

His guilty look at her must have confirmed her suspicions, because her hand landed across his face with a resounding smack!

He rubbed his cheek. "I deserved that."

"You've been alone for over a year?!"

Of course. Not even angry that I left her for that long. She's worried whether or not I've been okay.

"No, actually. There's this girl I met, Clara." He paused when he noticed a glint of recognition. "She said she'd come on Wednesdays."

There was another hard look on her face, and she slapped him again.

Ouch.

He rubbed the other side of his cheek. "Don't know what that was for."

"You were on a cloud for over a year after this?! I thought that was... seriously? You were wallowing in your own self-pity, am I right?"

"I'm sorry." He tried.

"You don't have to apologize to me. That has nothing to do with me. It's dangerous when you're alone, and you know it. Mum knew it."

He gulped, and her expression softened. "Okay. I shouldn't have slapped you. But you should know better." She scooted closer to him, and pressed her back to his chest. "Don't ever do that again."

The Doctor couldn't help but smile, and wrapped an arm around her. "Alright."

She curled her head into his chest, and the Doctor slept peacefully for the first time in over a year.

 February 24, 2013. 10:26 AM

I finally came back yesterday. Good thing, too. Going on without River is like.... I don't know. It's like being a drug addict and going without it for a long time. Which is a terrible comparison, because drugs kill brain cells, and River doesn't really do that. Well, when she's fully clothed, anyway.

In any case, I'm glad I did. I went without my baby girl for a year, too. That's something I should have never done. I feel so... I'm not sure. I love her to pieces. It's been a while since I was a father, of course, and I'm a little out of practice, but it's all coming back to me.

I slept nicely last night. Well, actually, I woke up on the floor and carried River to our bedroom on the TARDIS. But I slept well after that. Well, actually, I had to get Brooke when she was crying and hand her over to River several times. Fine, okay, while I was sleeping I was good. That's a better description. This morning, I moved Brooke from our bed and into her cot into the next room. My wife and I.... let's just say that we had a very pleasurable morning which involved our bed.

Next step with River: getting her to admit that it's fine to show weakness around me and continue working with her hat tolerance.

Next step with Brooke: rolling over and getting her to stop talking back. Seriously. I don't know where she got it from.

[A/N. BADABOOMBA! Another chapter. In case you can't tell, I'm going to be doing a diary entry from the Doctor's POV in each chapter. What do y'all think of that? I was thinking about doing a bunch of one-shots that were excerpts from his diary, but decided to do this instead. I should be updating fairly frequently with this one. As in at-least-once-a-week-possibly-way-more-often frequently. Yay!]

[You know the drill. This is the place where I beg for votes and comments! :) ]