I actually really liked writing this, even though it came after such a heavy chapter. Maybe that's why . . . I like interludes where stuff gets sorted out. And trust me - Jessie knows how to get through to Clara.

Enjoy!

***

For several tense seconds, Jessie and Clara just stared each other down. Finally, Jessie tilted her head. "Doctor, she's not saying anything," she said sweetly. "Should I take that as she's leaving?"

Clara finally lunged forward, grabbed Jessie's wrist, and dragged her to the door. "Guess not?" the Doctor said meekly as Clara manhandled his wife out of the TARDIS.

Wanda slowly shook her head. "That will get ugly," she remarked.

"I think it will, yes," the Doctor winced. "Coffee run, anyone?"

"I could use one," Pietro nodded rapidly.

"Agreed," Wanda turned around, and the Doctor immediately made the TARDIS fly off.

None of them wanted to witness what the two women would throw at each other.

***

"Clara?" Rose asked in confusion when the two women marched down the hall, Clara fuming, Jessie looking . . . amused?

"Not right now, Rose!" Clara ground out, opening her door. "In. Now."

Jessie slipped in without another word. "It happened, didn't it?" Rose asked knowingly. Clara just gave her a dirty look and slammed the door shut.

"What was that about?" Danny asked as he walked past, staring at Clara's door in surprise.

"I think Clara had a bad day," Rose answered, walking off.

***

Clara sat down on her desk as Jessie sat in one of the kids' desks, her legs crossed. "Why?" she asked, folding her arms. "Why the hell did you leave?"

"Look at me," Jessie answered simply.

"I am looking at you!" Clara hissed. "I am looking right at you!"

"Not hard enough," Jessie shook her head. "Did you wonder why Pietro was as upset as you, then suddenly wasn't? When was that moment, Clara? When did Pietro realize he shouldn't be angry?"

"When we got back on the TARDIS," Clara frowned. "I don't see why this is important, Bad Wolf."

Jessie sighed, leaning back. "Clara, let me teach you some Time Lord speak. If the Doctor or I ever say 'I'm always all right,' we are most certainly not. And if we ever say 'I'm completely fine,' that probably means the opposite."

Clara frowned, then leaned forward. "Oh, my God," her eyes widened.

"There it is," Jessie smiled slightly.

"But – " Clara jumped off the desk, looking closer at Jessie's face. "You look horrible!"

"Just what every woman wants to hear, Clara," Jessie said sarcastically. "But yes, you're looking now. That's good."

"You look sick!" Clara continued, eyes wide. "Oh, my stars, you're not sick, are you? You're never sick!"

"That's the thing, Clara," Jessie stood up. "Physically, I'm completely fine. I'm not sick, nothing's broken, nothing's not working. I'm in better shape than most Olympic athletes, and yet, this happened to me on the moon."

"Why?" Clara pressed. "How?"

"Well," Jessie leaned against the wall. "The Doctor and I are debating between two things. It might have been both. Option one is that I had a panic attack. Option two is that I was ridiculously overstressed."

"Panic attack? Overstressed?" Clara blinked. "You?"

"Odd, isn't it?" Jessie nodded. "In over one thousand years, that has never happened to me. And when I came close to having those attacks on the moon, the Doctor did what he thought was best for the situation. He got me the hell off the moon."

Clara sat back on her desk, stunned. "He was protecting you," she mumbled.

"Clara, that's the thing about the blood bond," Jessie reached over, putting a hand on her wrist. "I understand how that must have looked to you. It looked like we abandoned you to decide the fate of an alien baby. But we're aliens, too. The last of our kind, too. How do you think discussing the baby's fate made us feel?"

Clara swallowed. "I didn't think about that."

"You were concentrated on Courtney," Jessie nodded. "And you were on a one-track mind. But you have got to remember, Clara, that I was the one who trained you, and the Doctor's the one who will stand by you with just about anything. Be honest with yourself, and tell me nothing but the truth. Do you really think we would just abandon you like that? Ever?"

Clara bowed her head, feeling her cheeks burn. "No," she whispered.

Jessie squeezed her hand. "No," she said simply. "So how do you think it felt for us to hear you scream like that in our faces, in our own home? Accuse us like that?" Clara gulped, and Jessie nodded sympathetically. "Remind you of anyone?"

"Danny," Clara nodded miserably. "I sounded like Danny."

Jessie nodded, smiling. "Pietro probably already told you this, but Danny Pink doesn't know us. He saw us as who he wanted us to be. He saw us as those who were flying about giving orders, acting all high and mighty, saving others and not caring about who died in the process. He didn't see us as two aliens who love each other so much they would be willing to drop anything to help the other. The Doctor did just that. You know us like that, Clara. Don't let Danny color your vision when you know better."

Clara chuckled slightly. "I feel like I'm being scolded by my mum."

"Oh, I'm not a mother," Jessie shook her head, leaning back. "No way I – "

Clara frowned when Jessie suddenly stopped midsentence. "Well, you certainly sounded like one," she remarked, tilting her head when she saw Jessie gazing oddly at the wall. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Jessie said slowly. "Yeah, I am. Just thought of something." She shook her head lightly and stood up. "Must've just been because I defended that baby with practically everything I had."

"You were wonderful," Clara admitted.

"And so are you," Jessie put a hand on her shoulder. "You just have to remember, Clara . . . never make us choose between you or each other. Because for me, it will be the Doctor, every time. And he will tell you the same thing – me, any day."

"I will," Clara nodded.

"So," Jessie grinned, heading back to the door. "Should I expect to get a call from you soon about a trip some time soon?"

"Oh, yes," Clara smiled.

"Take a break, if you need it," Jessie advised. "You don't have to do this nonstop. You deserve your rest once in a while. And today was a hard day."

"Thank you, Bad Wolf," Clara nodded. "And . . . I'm sorry."

"I'm not the only one you need to apologize to," Jessie shook her head. "But for what it's worth . . . I forgive you."

Clara ducked her head, brushing away a few tears at that. Jessie smiled softly at her, opened the door, and stepped outside. The moment she closed the door, she fisted Danny's jacket and yanked him down the hall. "Oi!" he protested, trying to wrestle himself free. "Get off of me!"

Jessie just stepped into the supply closet and threw Danny against the wall, stepping up to him. "I gave you one chance," she said quietly. "And so far, you are doing one marvelous job of screwing that up. Or are you forgetting, Mr. Pink, that my husband and I have known Clara far longer than you have?"

"If traveling is what made her that upset, she shouldn't have to do it!" Danny argued.

"So what, a misunderstanding is going to be the end of all things?" Jessie raised an eyebrow. "And are you really going to say that to my face when you have absolutely no idea what we just went through?" Danny was silent. "Yeah, I thought so, too. You don't know the things my husband and I have seen. You don't know the things that Clara has done for us. You sure as hell don't know anything about our lives outside of what you saw with the Blitzer. But I swear to every god that exists, Danny, that if you so much as poke your nose in where you don't belong ever again, it won't be the Doctor and I that go off on you." She released Danny and walked towards the door. "I'll let the Maximoffs have you first. They're quite protective of their own." She stepped outside and smiled brilliantly at Clara, who was looking out the door, her eyes wide in awe. "Cheers," she waved before walking back confidently towards the doors to the school.

Clara just stared after her, Rose hesitantly walking up. "That is one hell of a woman," Rose finally managed to say.

"Yeah," Clara grinned. "She is, isn't she?"

"Not so bad of a day, then?" Rose asked, looking at her.

Clara tilted her head side to side. "Well, it could have gone worse," she admitted. "I could have lost them forever."

Rose frowned. "It happened, didn't it?"

"A bit, yeah," Clara sighed. "But I should have known better, too. I know them better than that. I acted like Danny did. It wasn't right."

"What happened?"

Clara looked out the window, smiling when she saw the moon in the sky. "The moon hatched," she answered simply, walking back into her room.

Rose stared out the window, stunned silent. Then – "What?"

Clara laughed, taking out her cell phone and sending a quick text to Pietro. Another trip in two weeks?

He responded immediately. You have no idea how widely the Doctor just grinned and how smug the Bad Wolf looks.

Clara sighed and leaned back in her seat, smiling up at the ceiling. That could have been a disaster. For all she knew, the next trip could have been her last.

A situation like that was never going to happen again.

***

Oh, Jessie. You always know exactly what to say, whether it's chastising Clara or threatening the hell out of Danny. XD

To be honest, even though Clara is much more on the Time Lords' side this time around, I think she still would have been hurt by the Time Lords leaving. Wanda definitely knew better, and Pietro understood after he figured out something was up with Jessie, but I feel that with the pressure of keeping Courtney safe and Courtney depending on her, I think Clara still would have snapped. She just needed a bit of a reality check, and Jessie sure was willing to give it to her.

So, enough with the somber stuff! Guess what episode is next for Caly - "The Lodger!" Oh, and that is going to be fun! XD