Here we go with 'Listen', a very interesting episode.

Next time will be the start of the Silence in the Library two-parter!

Enjoy

The group didn't have to wait as the screen turned black and the newest title immediately appeared.

"Listen?" Bill asked, face crinkled in confusion.

"That's a bit of a broad title." Yaz agreed, "Doesn't really give anything away."

"Doctor?" Amy turned to the Doctor with a raised eyebrow.

The Doctor was frowning, trying to think about what this could be referring to, and there were a lot of options. She glanced at Clara, the only thing she could think of recently that the Tardis may want to show her involved Clara. Clara seemed to have similar thoughts based on the look she was sending the Doctor's way. "I'm not sure, guess we'll just have to watch." She shrugged, finally answering Amy's question.

The Twelfth Doctor sits on top of the Tardis above the Erath and whispers to listen

Clara and the Doctor shared a knowing look, they both have a very good feeling they knew what this would be about. Clara broke eye-contact first, not wanting to notice her thoughts drifting. She'd never told the Doctor what had happened when they'd landed and she went out without him, but it seems the Doctor would finally find out. The rest of the group would also find out yet more about the Doctor's horrible childhood.

"So, this is about Eyebrows." Martha remarked. "And I'm guessing Clara?" The whole group had noticed the glances that pair had kept exchanging, apparently, they were getting two Clara videos in a row.

Clara nodded in confirmation. As far as some of the videos they'd seen so far, this wasn't too bad, outside of the new knowledge on the Doctor's 'childhood'.

The Doctor poses a question – why do you talk out loud when you're alone. He blows out a candle, declaring it is because you know you're not

The group all turned to the Doctor with raised eyebrows. "What are you talking about?" Rose said, "Are you trying to make us all paranoid?"

Clara snorted, "The Doctor decided to go down a spiral and have a crisis. Ignore most of what they say this video."

"Oi!" The Doctor protested but couldn't deny Clara's claims completely. Still, she had a feeling she didn't know everything, especially with how Clara was acting.

He writes on the blackboard as he keeps talking. He declares evolution perfects survival skills, there are perfect hunters – he spies on a lioness hunting a wildebeest – and perfect defence – a shoal tuna and a puffer fish inflating. The Doctor poses another question – why is there no such thing as perfect hiding, and then asks how would you know as if it existed how could you know with perfected hiding skills

"Were you watching horror films again?" Bill questioned, "You know how much they freak you out." Horror films had swiftly been banned from Tardis movie nights despite how much she enjoyed them as they terrified both the Doctor and Nardole far too much.

Several people in the group snickered at that as the Doctor spluttered out protests.

He puts the chalk down in an open book, continuing to talk about how it could be with you every second and you would never know. Asking how you'd detect it, except when for no reason you chose to speak aloud, adding what would such a creature want? The words echo round the Tardis, the chalk is not where he let it and it rolls to his feet where he picks it up. On the blackboard is written Listen

"I can already tell this is going to be an interesting one." Rory sighed. It was rarely good when things started out cryptic like this, usually it only ended that way.

Clara has just come back from an evening, and recalls the evening as we jump back to her entering a restaurant and moves to join Danny Pink wearing a pink shirt, he semi-waves as he greets her

"Oh, look. It's P.E!" The Doctor announced, turning to Clara.

Clara sighed, hand on her forehead. "He was a math teacher! I know you know that." No one missed the use of the past tense, although they were sincerely hoping that it was because Danny was no longer a teacher and not because he was dead (unfortunately they had a bad feeling it was the latter).

Clara greets her and goes to shake his hand, apologising before they exchange kisses on the cheeks

"Ooh," Bill perked up, "Are you on a date?"

Clara sighed again, that night had just been a disaster for so many reasons and now everyone was going to see the embarrassing mess.

"Guessing it didn't go well then." Bill muttered, having seen Clara's reaction to her question.

Clara declares they're finally getting the famous drink, dinner even. They are both very awkward

"You are both so ... so awkward." Donna declared, expression flat. Clara just hid her face in her hands and groaned which was a great sign that things were only going to get better.

Clara says she likes a man who moves fast, Danny says he might go straight for extras, clarifying dessert which Clara knew already

"And things only get worse." Yaz grimaced, feeling sympathy for Clara who had to suffer through this twice and also have it shown to everyone.

Danny asks about her day, she was teaching, which they both were, the awkwardness continues

"So, he's a teacher alongside you?" Martha asked, taking pity on Clara who was clearly suffering.

It earned her a thankful smile, "Yes, Danny was a maths teacher and I taught English at Coal Hill School." She shot the Doctor a pointed look, "Maths, not P.E. ignore whatever that idiot tells you."

Clara says they probably shouldn't talk about work, but she does ask if he takes Courtney for anything

"Courtney?" Ryan asked.

"One of our students." Clara smiled fondly.

"Ah yes, the disruptive influence." The Doctor grinned whilst Clara sighed, she had a feeling she would be doing it a lot this video if this was how it was starting.

A little later they're both laughing as Clara shares stories about Courtney who she says she could kill some days

"An interesting student then." Rose grinned.

"She's smart but gets bored easily, which leads to trouble ... for everyone." Clara snorted.

Danny agrees, and Clara says from him that means something, Danny doesn't appreciate the comment

Clara winced at the memory of her careless comment, they hadn't been at the point in their relationship (personal or romantic) that they knew the others boundaries, and Danny had a strong aversion (for good reasons) to the topic of his time in army.

"Are we missing something?" Mickey asked, confusion obvious on his face at how the conversation had taken a turn for the worst after they had just started to get over their awkwardness.

Clara grimaced and sighed before answering, "Danny was in the army before he left and became a teacher. His time there ... aren't apart of his favourite memories." Several of the others joined her in wincing, all catching the subtext behind Clara's words.

The good atmosphere vanishes, and we see Clara at home putting her high heels by the kettle

The group winced again; things really hadn't gone well then for things to have ended like that.

Back in the restaurant, Danny says he dug twenty-three wells as a soldier, good ones and Clara says she wasn't doubting the quality of his wells. Danny keeps talking about saving people, people he didn't shoot, but kept safe

"He has some issues." Jack said seriously, not in a mocking way, simply recognising a fellow soldier. Clara grimaced but nodded, it had taken her a while to learn some of the reasons behind Danny's aversion to talking about the army (as was his right), and at that point it had been too late.

Clara gets the point, as Danny asks why no one talks about that. A waiter interrupts them offering water

"He has no idea what he just walked into." Yaz winced, feeling a bit sorry for the waiter who had just walked into the metaphorical battlefield.

Clara says not to worry as he'll dig for it, the waiter leaves with the water and after a moment Danny laughs. Danny apologises saying it is a sensitive subject, and sometimes people like her can get the wrong idea

"Oh no." Rose muttered. They could all see how Clara was going to take that comment, and after they'd just got over the army issues.

Clara says people like her? In her apartment Clara takes a sip of her hot drink, as back in the restaurant Danny rushes to explain he wasn't making assumptions about her – Clara argues he did. Danny counters she did the same as she argues she made a joke; one he didn't find funny. Clara asks if he knows what she's making now – an exit. She puts on her coat and leaves the restaurant as Danny thumps his head on the table

"Talk about disastrous first dates." Donna declared, then winced and turned to Clara. "Sorry."

Clara waved her off, "No, it's okay. It really wasn't the best start. We both said stupid things." And despite that they'd made up (thanks to the power of time travel) but good things didn't last. Maybe this video was going to be harder than she first thought it would if it kept up bringing Danny. She didn't miss the concerned look the Doctor gave her, sometimes the Doctor was annoyingly perceptive (the rest of the time they were annoyingly un-perceptive, was that even a word? Wait, never mind).

In Clara's bedroom the door hits something as it opens to see the Doctor sitting at Clara's dressing table, he tells her to squeeze through then asks why she has three mirrors instead of turning her head

"Amazing priorities as always Doc." Graham said.

Clara asks what he's doing here and the Doctor said she'd mentioned she had a date so he thought to hide in the bedroom in case she brought him home. He comments on her being early asking if it went wrong or if it was good by her standards

The group all winced at that comment, wrong was a bit of a light word to describe that disaster. The Doctor also wouldn't be their first choice of comfort after said disaster, that Doctor in particular (as much as they loved them, the Doctor was terrible wherever romance was concerned).

Clara declares it was a disaster and she is extremely upset about as he didn't ask

"I mean, he kinda asked?" Ryan argued uncertain about poking Clara when she was clearly in a bad mood. Clara just let out a long-suffering sigh.

The Doctor says he needs her for a thing, Clara says she can't. The Doctor argues she can, she's free, more than usually free even

"Doctor!" Amy berated, sending the Doctor a glare for his careless comment.

Clara says she might get a phone call, and the Doctor says it is too late from the date guy as she took her make-up off

"No, she hasn't." Nardole argued, inspecting at the Doctor as if to check his eye sight was in fact working.

Clara says she's still wearing her make-up. The Doctor says she must have missed a but then, before urging her to come with him

"For a time-traveller you are rather impatient, Sweetie." River smiled fondly. The Doctor just shrugged.

In the Tardis, Clara is carrying her shoes as she argues she hasn't actually said yes

"Yet. You're still going with him." Martha grinned, they'd all gone through that at some point. It was hard to say no to the Doctor when they got like this, and usually better for everyone's sanity to just get it over with.

The Doctor tells her about his theory on not actually talking to yourself. He proposes the idea no one is ever alone, but everyone has a silent shadow, the prickle on the back of your neck is the breath of something close behind you

"That is simultaneously comforting and terrifying." Bill mused, earning a few concerned looks from the older members of the group, and several hums of agreement from the younger ones.

Clara asks how long he's been travelling alone

"Far too long." Clara muttered to herself, giving the Doctor a pointed look which they ignored.

The Doctor argues maybe he never has

"Touche." Ryan declared.

He shows her the blackboard as Clara says it looks like her handwriting. The Doctor says he couldn't have written it and forgotten

"Absolutely."

"Yes."

"That sounds like you."

"Of course, you would."

"That sounds reasonable."

"You would."

"Certainly."

Several people immediately starting to argue with the Doctor on screen while the Doctor in the room just pouted. Clara gave him a 'I told you so!' look which she did her best to ignore.

Clara says has he met himself, and then asks what the pile of books on the table is. The Doctor says it is account of dreams from different people though history as he has a theory

"Here we go." Donna rolled her eyes.

Clara asks what theory. The Doctor explains he thinks everyone has the same nightmare at some point in their life, where you think there is something in the dark, so you sit up and turn on the light but it looks different at night. You tell yourself no one is there and you nearly believe it. He adds there are accounts of that dream through history so he has a question to ask her, does she know what it is? We see flashes of people having that experience as he talks, a hand reaching out from the bed to grab the left ankle of each

"A nightmare Doctor, that's all it is." Amy half-scolded, half-comforted the Doctor. No one missed the long look that Clara and the Doctor shared, but none of the group were able to interpret what it meant.

"Great, now I'm going to have that nightmare." Ryan sighed.

Clara says has he had the dream, to which the Doctor says exactly. Clara corrects him that she was asking if he'd had the dream to which he argues he asked first

"No, you didn't." Rose argued, "And that's a yes then." The Doctor avoided all eye contact.

They argue about who asked first, until Clara says she probably did but everyone dreams about something under the bed, to which the Doctor asks why?

"This seems like it is all based off of paranoia. But it is a good question." Martha admitted. "Is there a reason for it, Doctor?"

The Doctor hesitated, glancing at Clara before turning back to Martha, "How about we watch and see?"

"Ah, so you don't know."

"I didn't say that!" The Doctor spluttered.

"You basically did Doctor." Mickey chimed in to support his wife. Martha nodded along, as did most of the other residents of the room.

The Doctor puts Clara's fingers into a squidgy section of the Tardis console saying to hold on tight and let anything bite if it does

"That's ... not what anyone wants to hear." Yaz muttered, throwing Clara a sympathetic look.

Clara asks what it is to which the Doctor explains it is the Tardis' telepathic interface and she's now in mental contact with the Tardis so don't think anything rude

"If you say something like that, that's the first thing people are going to think." Rory pointed out the hole in the Doctor's logic.

Clara asks why not as the Doctor explains it might end up on the screens. The Tardis is looking at her whole timeline birth to death – Clara says she does not need a preview of the latter

Everyone noticed the sad look that Clara and the Doctor shared but no one commented on it, allowing them both their privacy for once.

The Doctor declares he is turning off the safeguards and navigation, linking the Tardis to her, telling her to focus on the dream as the Tardis will track it and extract the relevant information so they can find when she first had the dream

"Is that safe?" Graham asked worried.

"Probably not." The Doctor shrugged, far too nonchalant for anyone's liking.

"When are half of the Doctor's plans?" Yaz countered with a snort.

"Very reassuring you two." Graham sighed, earning sympathetic glances from Rory and Mickey.

"They have a point."

"Oh, don't you start too Ryan!" The three just laughed at him.

Clara asks what they will see and the Doctor answers what's under the bed. The Tardis starts flying, and the Doctor tells her to not get distracted as she is flying a time machine

"Again, the absolutely worst thing to say to someone at a time like this." Nardole pointed out, building on from Rory's comment earlier.

Clara's phone rings and the image of Danny in the restaurant flashed through her mind. The Doctor walks round the console past the blackboard with lots of items chalked on it

Everyone winced at the reminder of the date with Danny. Amy sighed, "That's some bad timing there."

"But good that he wants to call. Maybe he wants to make up?" Rose added hopeful.

The Doctor tells her to not, to ignore it. The Tardis lands and he says it worked, they're here

"Question is; where's here?" Bill remarked dramatically, attempting to be cryptic and mysterious.

Clara apologises for getting distracted but the Doctor reassures her the date is fine and to come on. When Clara asks where, the Doctor replies her childhood

"Not what anyone wants to hear." Mickey said then pause and re-thought his comment, "I mean no offense. I didn't mean your childhood specifically, just if it was you ..." He trailed off having figured he wasn't helping himself.

Thankfully Clara just looked amused, "Don't worry, I know what you mean. Besides, I'd have to agree. That declaration was worrying. What she didn't say was that she was glad they hadn't ended up in her past in the end, they'd just have to watch to find that out.

The Doctor leaves and Clara tugs hard to release herself from the Tardis interface, it takes her three attempts before she's free

"She really doesn't like you, does she?" River commented upon seeing Clara struggle to escape the Tardis's interface.

Clara groaned, "Don't remind me." That was another mess she wasn't eager to relive – between Danny's death, the Mistress, and her betrayal of the Doctor it would not be a fun one for them all to watch.

They stand outside a building at night. The Doctor declares it the West County Children's home in Gloucester, mid-nineties, and this must have been where she had the dream. Clara declares she's never been to Gloucester or lived in a children's home

Martha narrowed her eyes at the screen, glancing at Clara before nodding to herself. "Danny?" She asked, theorising that Clara really had gotten distracted in the end.

"Danny." Clara nodded in confirmation. The rest of the group all 'ahhh'-ed in understanding.

The Doctor says she must have forgotten, and has she seen the size of human brains as it is hilarious, so she must be in there

"I'm pretty sure this isn't the kind of thing you forget, Doctor." Rory tried to protest.

"You'd be surprised." The Doctor answered mysteriously, refusing to elaborate despite several curious glances sent her way.

Clara points out isn't it bad is she meets herself; the Doctor agrees it could be potentially catastrophic

Rose and the Doctor shared a long look, "It can be very bad." Rose declared with a shiver. Like the Doctor she refused to elaborate.

Clara asks why he brought her then. He says he was still talking and needs someone to nod but it is best she waits in the Tardis

"Did you really think there was any chance of her actually doing that?" Martha raised an eyebrow, snorting in belief.

"I can dream." The Doctor sighed, she knew full well the chances of any of her companions actually listening to her when she told them to stay behind was very very slim, but she still had to try each time.

The Doctor tries to say goodbye but Clara asks what would have happened if she'd been distracted. The Doctor sys they would have ended up in the wrong place but he doesn't think it likely as they are in the right time zone and he won't be long

River stared at the Doctor for a moment in silence before opening her mouth, "You're an idiot."

"Your idiot." The Doctor countered.

River smiled fondly, "Unfortunately."

"Oi!"

The Doctor walks away, a young boy waves from an upstairs window. The boy opens his window and calls down asking what Clara is doing down there. She says nothing then asks his name - Rupert

"Wait, so it's not Danny?" Ryan asked confused, he'd thought the kid looked fairly similar to the man they'd seen earlier but Rupert wasn't right.

"I didn't say that." Clara winked, confusing the group.

Clara says hello as Rupert continues saying Rupert Pink which he thinks is a stupid name

"So, it is Danny!" Yaz stated, though there was a clear question in her voice.

Clara smiled, before taking pity on the group and nodding.

Clara argues it isn't as she knows someone called Pink, Rupert corrected her to Rupert saying he is going to change it

"And that's what he did apparently." Mickey said, it felt like these videos were purposely messing with them sometimes.

Clara asks why he's awake, asking if he's scared

"A dark night in a creepy children's home in the 90's as you chase a potential shadow monster." Bill drawled, "What isn't there to be scared of?"

Inside, the Doctor is using his sonic to scan as he walks down the corridor. A blading man in glasses opens the door asking how he got in, a tv can be heard in the background

"I think this is the time for the psychic paper." Donna gave the Doctor a pointed look.

The Doctor says their door must be fault, holding up his physic paper. The man (Reg) is confused about an inspection at two in the morning

"Why is he awake at that time?" Graham asked, shaking his head at the screen.

The Doctor asks if he always works night, which Reg does most nights

"Night worker, yeah that explains that." Graham answered himself.

"Is that allowed grandad?" Ryan teased; Graham just sighed.

The Doctor asks if he ever talks to himself, which he does as it is the place, you can't help it

"Yeah, it's like the start of a bad horror movie." Clara muttered; she was a bit glad she'd missed this interaction. She much referred spending time with young-Rupert/Danny rather than the slightly creepy night-worker.

The Doctor asks about his coffee making reg look at the mug he put on the table as Clara goes up the stairs behind them. The Doctor continues asking if he ever puts it down, look round and then it isn't there, to which Reg argues everybody does that

"You are very paranoid." Jack pointed an accusing finger at the Doctor, "What have we missed?" He joked, but they could all hear the serious edge underneath. The Doctor shared a glance with Clara but refused to answer, instead turning back to the screen in hopes the Tardis would help her by starting the video back up.

The tv switches off and the Doctor asks who turned it off, Reg says it just does that. The Doctor has vanished, and when Reg looks at his mug so has it. The Doctor walks along the corridor and takes a drink from the stolen mug

"I'm confused." Rory declared.

"That's not hard." Amy muttered with a teasing grin, nudging her husband who just rolled his eyes before continuing.

"Is there actually something doing all this or is the Doctor just really paranoid and this place is weird and creepy?" He finished his question.

Clara and the Doctor shared another long look, having a silent conversation that none of the others could interpret. Then in sync they turned to the rest of the group and spoke, "Spoilers." The group grumbled in annoyance but turned back to the screen, allowing the video to continue.

Clara opens a creaky door and walks along an upstairs corridor until she gets to Rupert's room where he is sitting on the floor by the window. Clara greets him, saying it is a nice room but he should have more than one chair, as what does he do when people come round? Rupert replies he sits on the bed

"No offense, but how many people do you think comes to visit this kid?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey!" Martha berated, hitting his arm.

"Hey! We were all thinking it!" Mickey rubbed the spot where Martha had hit him, she wasn't exactly weak.

Clara asks why isn't sitting on it then, asking if he thinks something is under it as everyone thinks that, its just how people think at night. Rupert asks why

"He raises a good point. Why?" Rose asked the group at large, deep in thought. Even if the Doctor's paranoia amounted to nothing in this video, it was raising good questions.

"People are scared of what they don't know." Was the Doctor's reply, solemn and quiet.

Bill tilted her head, "But don't most people know what is under their bed?"

"Even when it's dark?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at Bill.

"Yes?" Bill answered, but she seemed to be questioning herself.

Clara sighed, "Stop scaring her, Doctor." The Doctor just grinned widely as Bill grumbled, releasing the Doctor had been teasing her (or at least she hoped she had been).

Clara asks if he had a dream, a hand grabbing his foot, Rupert asks how she knows. Clara answers by asking if he knows why dreams are called dreams

"Avoiding the question." Martha nodded, "Smart, there is no way you could safely answer that question."

When Rupert asks why Clara tells him it is because they aren't real as if they were they wouldn't need a name. She looks under the bed as Rupert asks what she is doing

"That's brave." Ryan said, "Even if there is nothing under the bed, with all the talk about it recently, I don't think I could do that." A few people nodded along. The way the video was being shown to them also wasn't helping.

Clara asks if he knows that's under there, and when he asks what, Clara declares she is

No one noticed the wide-eyed look Clara gave the screen, finally connecting some of the dots that had been gathering dust in the back of her mind. She'd never realised how true her statement had been, for the Doctor at least. In a weird roundabout way this whole thing was her fault, except it was the Doctor's fault for investigating it in the first place, which led to it all happening ... yeah time travel was confusing.

Clara rolls under the bed and lies on her back, telling him it is perfectly safe, he joins her

Bill nodded, "Good idea. Exert dominance. Nothing else will want to be under there if you already are." Her comment earned her some strange looks from most of the group, and a few nods of agreement from Yaz and Ryan.

Mickey leaned over to whisper in Martha's ear, "Were we that strange when we were that age?" Martha just elbowed him.

Clara points out nobody is there except them. Rupert says he sometimes hears noises, and Clara tells him of course he can, it is a house full of people

Rose nodded, "Houses do just make noises, not just the people in them."

Rupert argues they are all asleep to which Clara says they are all dreaming, Rupert asks if you can hear dreams. Clara says you can if you are clever enough but they can't harm you, and there's nothing to be afraid of, and says that sometimes we think there is something behind us and the space under your bed is just what is behind you at night

"You know, I've never thought about it like that but that's a really good point." Amy hummed.

The bed creaks as someone sits on it, it sage close to Clara and Rupert starts breathing quickly

"Is that the Doctor?" Rory asked, "Please say that's the Doctor."

Clara and the Doctor shared a long look but didn't give any answers, both just gesturing to the screen.

Clara whispers to him asking who else is in the room – nobody. Clara argues someone must have come in but Rupert says no one did. Clara rolls out and stands up to find someone sitting on the bed, covered in a red bedspread

"I don't think that's the Doctor." Ryan whispered hoarsely. The whole group was leaning forward and on the edge of their seats, their attention captivated by the horror movie this video has started to become.

Clara says hello and helps Rupert stand. Clara asks if it is a friend of his playing a game, playing a little trick on Rupert. The bed creaks as the figure shifts, sitting up taller

"Oh god." Donna muttered, this kind of horror vibe and creatures in the shadows was reminding her far too much of the Library, which was never something she wanted to think about for long (especially knowing who River was now).

Clara declares it isn't funny. The light is switched on and Clara and Rupert turn to see the Doctor sitting in the chair flicking through a book. The figure is still covered by the bedspread

"Definitely not the Doctor." Graham muttered, referring to the figure covered by the bed sheet. Maybe they were wrong in thinking this was all just the Doctor's paranoia at play.

The Doctor asks where he is, as he can't find him, asking if they can find him

"Are you looking for the kid?" Amy asked, then shook her head and corrected herself, "No, you don't know about the kid. Who are you looking for?"

The Doctor looked away with red cheeks as Clara made a weird expression like she was trying to decide between sighing in exasperation and laughing. That was promising at least.

Clara asks who, to which the Doctor says Wally as he's nowhere in the book

The group all turned as one to stare down the Doctor who was suspiciously avoiding eye contact.

"Doctor ..." Martha started, "Did you think that book was a 'Where's Wally'?" The way the Doctor continued to avoid eye contact was all the answer the group needed as they broke out into rambunctious laughter, the Doctor started blushing.

"Even better." Clara interrupted the laughter, ignoring the pleading looks the Doctor was giving her, "They thought Wally was in every book." The laughter resumed even louder.

The laughter wasn't loud enough for the group to miss the Doctor's grumbled comment, "I wasted so much time over the years." It took them a few minutes to get control of themselves enough for the video to resume.

Rupert argues it isn't a Where's Wally one to which the Doctor asks who he would know and maybe he hasn't found him yet. Rupert argues he isn't in every book; the Doctor asks really as that's a few years of his life he'll need back. He then asks if Rupert is scared, if the thing on the bed, whatever it is, scares him

"I think it scares all of us." Nardole muttered, eyeing the screen warily.

Rupert says yes to which the Doctor says good, asking if he wants to know why that's good

"Yes Spaceman. Why is being terrified of the mysterious stranger under his covers a good thing?!" Donna exclaimed, eyes daring the Doctor to come up with a reasonable explanation. The Doctor just grinned.

RUPERT: Why?
DOCTOR: Let me tell you about scared. Your heart is beating so hard, I can feel it through your hands. There's so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain, it's like rocket fuel. Right now, you could run faster and you could fight harder, you could jump higher than ever in your life. And you are so alert, it's like you can slow down time. What's wrong with scared? Scared is a superpower. It's your superpower. There is danger in this room and guess what? It's you. Do you feel it? Do you think he feels it? Do you think he's scared? Nah. Loser. Turn your back on him.

"I liked that speech up until the last sentence." Rory declared, "Then you went back to your normal insane self." Despite his words, he couldn't help but smile at the screen. Both Clara and the Doctor were trying so hard to help this kid, and they could all tell they were likely scared themselves too, but they were focused on solving the mystery and protecting this scared kid (Clara's future co-worker and date).

They were all in awe of the Doctor's speech, times like this were a strong reminder of why they enjoyed travelling with the Doctor (alongside all the amazing places and people they saw and met). The Doctor was very good at speeches when the situation called for it.

The Doctor encourages them both to turn their back on it, looing out the window instead

"What are you doing?" Amy shook her head in disbelief at the Doctor's latest crazy idea. She didn't get an answer.

They turn their backs, Rupert between them as they talk about the darkness out the window. The Doctor says there are two possibilities, one is it is one of Rupert's friends playing a prank, the other possibilities is it isn't.

"I'm strongly hoping for possibility one." Ryan declared, raising a hand.

"I think we all are." Yaz grimaced.

Clara asks about a plan as plans are good. The Doctor speaks to the figure on the bed telling them to go in peace and they won't look, so if all it wants to do is stay hidden, just leave. The figure moves close behind them

"Oh god." Rose muttered. The whole group was tense, waiting for the figure to make up its mind whether it was going to attack or run.

Clara grimaced; she hadn't realised (for obvious reasons) how close the figure had gotten to them. She also wasn't quite sure what they would have done if it decided to attack them (and if it wasn't just one of the other kids playing a badly-timed prank).

Clara asks if it is gone as the Doctor says not to look round yet. Rupert says he can't hear anything and ignores the Doctor's warning not to turn around as he does exactly that

"No, no, no. Don't look." Rory muttered.

The Doctor says to look away and not look at it, says not to even look at the reflection. Rupert asks what it is. The thing pulls the bedspread off and we get a glimpse of a maybe out of focus not-quite-human forehead and arms

"That's not a kid playing a prank." Martha said. "Doctor?"

Clara and the Doctor shared a long look, having a silent (panicked) conversation. Neither of them had seen that much (as they were looking away), and they were both very thankful it hadn't decided to do anything in the end. Clara was reconsidering her stance on this whole situation being purely caused by the Doctor's paranoia from the incident in the barn when he was a kid.

"You don't know what it was, do you?" River asked quietly, reading through the Doctor's silence. The Doctor shook her head, the universe was a very vast place, she hadn't seen everything yet and she doubted she ever would. Clearly, Jack and River (and the Master) had no ideas about the figure either as none offered up an explanation. (The Master could know but being who he is, likely wouldn't share that knowledge unless he was showing off his knowledge or annoyed into answering – they likely would never know).

The Doctor tells them to image a thing that must never be seen and asks what would it do if it was seen

"Like the Weeping Angels?" Amy asked, head tilted in consideration.

The Doctor seemed to consider that, "Kind of. Except if an Angel is seen they turn to stone. This thing just can't be seen at all. So not at all." Amy rolled her eyes at the last part.

Rupert doesn't know, and neither does the Doctor as he says to close their eyes. They want to give it what it wants, prove they're not going to look at it, promise it you won't

"You're hoping if you give it what you think it wants, then it will leave you alone." Jack stated. Despite his confidence, he still turned to the Doctor for confirmation. The Doctor nodded, with a proud smile. "That's very hopeful of you."

"Hope is sometimes all we have." The Doctor replied solemnly.

Rupert promises not to look, as the Doctor comments on the breath on the back of their neck that means don't look round. The door slams shut

The whole group let out an audible sigh of relief at hearing/seeing the mysterious figure disappear into the night. The situation had left them all feeling very unsettled, it was rare that they didn't find out what something was or why something had happened in the end, and it seemed whatever had just happened here would not be getting an explanation anytime soon (and they weren't sure they wanted one).

It is gone, Rupert sees it took his bedspread

"Humans." Nardole muttered at Rupert's complaint, earning a few glares of annoyance from the rest of the human members of the group.

The Doctor declares humans are never happy, and Rupert asks if he is safe now. Clara and the Doctor look at Rupert's toys, and the Doctor says no one is safe, especially at night as anything can get you in the dark, all the way up there, he's alone

"Doctor!" Donna berated. They'd just spent so long trying to escape danger and keep young Rupert safe, and now the Doctor was just scaring him (his little speech about fear being a superpower really didn't matter at this moment).

Clara slaps the back of the Doctor's head

Several people gave Clara approving nods for that.

The Doctor asks what the slap was for

"As if you don't know." Clara rolled her eyes at the Doctor who pouted.

Clara tells him to shut up and leave it to her. She has found a box of toy plastic soldiers asking if they are his. Rupert says they are the home's; Clara says they are his now as the Doctor adds people don't like to be lied to

"Sometimes a kind lie is better than a harsh truth." River smiled sadly at her wife, who looked like she was split between arguing and appreciating the sentiment. Seeing River's pointed eyebrow raise when she opened her mouth to argue, she wisely shut it again and stayed silent.

Clara counters that people don't need to be scared by a big grey-haired stick insect but the Doctor is there anyway, so shut up. Clara puts together an army telling Rupert that it is his army

"'Big grey-haired stick insect'?" Bill asked, face being split by her wide grin. "That's the best description of Eyebrows I've ever heard." Bill and Clara shared a look, commiserating each other on having dealt with Eyebrows for so long. The Doctor glanced rapidly between the two, looking offended by the silent conversation the pair were clearly showing. The video continued before she could make any verbal protests however (clearly the Tardis's love of Bill overrun her hate of Clara).

She puts the soldiers on guard around the bed, saying they will guard it and pointing out the colonel who is going to keep a special eye out. Rupert points out the colonel's broken as he doesn't have a gun, Clara counters that is why he's the boss as he is brave enough to not need a gun, he can keep the whole world safe so what should they call him

"I can see why you're a teacher." Rose smiled at Clara who matched her expression.

"Thank you, Rupert was a bit younger than the kids I'm used to at school. Teenagers are a unique challenge in themselves, saying that all kids are really."

Rupert says Dan, Dan the soldier man

"That's why he became Danny, and a soldier ... isn't it?" Yaz asked Clara quietly, recognising the undertone of Rupert's words.

"I think that this had a lasting impact on him, even if he doesn't remember the details." Clara nodded, eyes sad as she thought back to young Rupert and then the Danny she had known and loved.

Clara declares it a good name, Rupert asks her to read a story to him to help him sleep. Clara agrees but the Doctor starts with once upon a time and then touches Rupert's forehead and the boy falls back, asleep. He finished with the end, calling it dad skills

"A very useful trick." Mickey smiled, "Would be very helpful. Bedtime is the worst with a toddler." He couldn't help but wonder about his son August. The Tardis had already answered Martha and his questions (during the first break they'd begged for answers), and they knew they be returned exactly where they'd been taken from, and August was with his grandparents (Martha's side) anyway so if the Tardis miscalculated slightly, it wouldn't be a complete disaster.

A few others had focused more on the Doctor's comment on 'dad skills' rather than the action itself. It was relatively rare to get a mention of the Doctor's life before elevating or the family they all knew the Doctor had had. They knew better to comment on it.

Back at the Tardis, Clara asks if it is possible they just saved Rupert from another kid in a bedspread

"That's what we're hoping." Clara muttered to herself, she'd mostly forgotten that part of the mess because of everything that happened after, but based off of what they'd just seen she didn't think that was just a kid playing a prank.

The Doctor says it is possible but asks how they ended up there and not with young Clara. Clara admits she got distracted, and the Doctor pushes why that kid in particular asking if she has any connection with him. Clara denies it, asking why he asked

"Smart. Don't let him know or he'll stick his nose where it shouldn't be and make a mess of everything." Amy nodded approvingly at Clara who grinned back, knowing exactly how true that statement was.

"Oi!" The Doctor's protests were ignored.

The Doctor is working on a Tardis component as he says the Tardis was attached to her timeline s there should be a connection. Clara asks if he will remember any of it, and the Doctor says he scrambled Rupert's memory to give him a big dream about being Dan the solider man

Clara smiled sadly at the screen; memories of Danny prominent. It had been enough time since his death for her to come to terms with it, but she'd never forget her time with Danny, or what could have been.

Clara starts crying, and the Doctor asks if she's okay. Clara says she is sorry to ask, and knows it is probably against the rules of time travel but could he do her a favour?

Martha considered Clara in the room for a second before seemingly reaching a conclusion, "You're going to try again with Danny, aren't you?" Clara nodded in confirmation, still a bit lost in old memories.

Back outside the restaurant, after the first Clara left, the Doctor and Clara step out the Tardis. Clara asks if that is what she looks like from the back, the Doctor says it is fine as Clara says she though it was good to which the Doctor asks really

"Do you have something to say Doctor?" Clara raised an eyebrow at her.

She immediately held her hands up in surrender, "Nope, nothing."

Clara walks into the restaurant and sits opposite Danny who raises his head from the table, she apologises

"That's good. He looks eager for a second chance too." Rose commented. The group were all hoping for things to improve from the first embarrassing attempt of a date. The way Clara just sighed didn't give them much confidence, however.

Clara holds out her hand and reintroduces herself saying she's a bit tricky and up herself sometimes, and she doesn't like her surname but that's basically everything he needs to worry about

"Apart from the whole space and time travelling thing." Bill grinned.

"Apart from that." Clara matched her grin.

He takes her hand saying he's sorry. Clara adds she mouths off when she's nervous and her mouth has a mind of its own, so much she's worried it wants to go solo

"I blame the Doctor." Clara decided, shooting the Doctor a teasing smile.

"How's is that my fault?!" She immediately started complaining.

"You're a bad influence, sweetie." River added as the Doctor huffed.

Danny doesn't know what to say, Clara says to say nothing or something nice. Danny likes her name, declaring it better than Pink. Clara says she likes Pink and Danny says she can have it

"Oh no." Rory muttered, feeling a bit of second-hand embarrassment for the poor guy. He had a feeling that this date was about to go downhill again. The pair were both fairly strong-headed (Clara especially, in the nicest way possible) and they were only just getting to know each other, they were bound to run into hiccups early on.

Clara declares it a bold offer teasingly as Danny tries to back track asking why he can't speak today. Clara declares the name Clara Pink too much, and then says Rupert Pink, mind you

"That's going to be fun to explain how you know that." Yaz grimaced, Clara wasn't exactly supposed to know that and there was no logical reason for her to have found it out. It wasn't like she could explain the time travelling thing.

Clara groaned, hiding her face in her hands, "Why are we watching this again?"

"Ask the Tardis." The Doctor snorted, "I'm just glad someone else is suffering too."

Danny says sorry, as Clara digs the hole by saying Rupert Pink isn't good

"That's not a good direction to go." Mickey winced, "You really should have quit while you were ahead."

"Was I ever ahead on this date?" Clara groaned, looking up to the sky as if it held the answers she was looking for.

Danny asks who told her that was his name, she lies about it being someone in the school but Danny says he hasn't used it for years. Clara claims to not remember who it was

"With the number of times we have to lie when travelling with the Doctor, we really should be better at it." Rose commented, giving Clara a sympathetic look.

Amy snorted, "Nah, the Doctor lies enough for all of us."

They all ignored the Doctor's pout, "I feel like you're all getting far too comfortable here and just using it to bully me."

"As we should." River grinned teasingly at her wife.

Danny asks if she is making fun of him, if it is a joke. Clara declares nothing about it is any kind of joke, then the door to the kitchen creaks open and a spaceman walks in

"Erm ... I think he's in the wrong place." Ryan declared, face scrunching up in confusion at the sight of the spaceman wandering out of the kitchen.

Danny asks where her coat is as she put it on when she left

"He's not completely unobservant." Donna observed. "That's not great in this situation."

Clara apologises saying there is something she should be honest about, Danny suggests everything, as Clara says everything in her case is a lot

"Are you going to tell him?" Jack blinked; he hadn't been expecting that. The whole date was messy and Clara seemed eager to get along with Danny, but he'd never would have expected Clara to try and save the date by telling the truth. Most of the time you tried to tell people the truth when they aren't ready it ends with them calling you crazy and never speaking to you again (trust him, he'd had experience with that).

Clara just sighed deeply. This video seemed to be never ending in terms of embarrassment.

Danny says it is weird as Clara tries to protest it isn't, asking where he is going as he starts to leave. Danny doesn't do weird

"Maybe you're not so compatible." Nardole said.

Clara asks him not to go. Danny asks her to tell the truth as he knows when people are lying to her, and however weird it maybe he wants the truth. Clara says it isn't weird

"She says, like a liar." Bill muttered, earning snickers from Yaz and Ryan, and a sigh from Clara (who'd been dealing with teenager for years, and knew far more of their references than she wanted to).

Clara sees the spaceman beckoning her, the Tardis visible as the spaceman returns to the kitchen. Danny says he has had enough and leaves. Clara signs and heads to the kitchen

"You got two attempts at the date; ad you still messed it up." The Doctor commented, false nonchalance prominent.

"I'm aware, Doctor." Clara muttered, one hand rubbing her forehead to ward off a headache she could feel oncoming. "I really don't need the reminder."

"I don't think you're getting a choice on that front." Clara just let out a long, loud sigh in answer to the Doctor.

She slams the door of the Tardis shut and rants to the spaceman about her trying to have a real, normal date, so is there any way he could make it more surreal than it already is! The spaceman takes off his helmet revealing a Danny Pink look alike with more hair and beard

"That ... is not the Doctor." Graham said. He, like the majority of the group, and Clara on screen, had at first thought it was the Doctor interfering in Clara's date. It wasn't exactly the most unlikely thing with the Doctor, they'd been known to do worse.

Yaz snorted, "That seems to be a running theme today."

The spaceman (Orson) says hello, as the Doctor says he found her, declaring something a bit strange

"Oh wait, never mind. It is the Doctor ... and friend." Mickey blinked unsurprised, "You're not very good at staying out of things Doctor."

Danny asks what is wring with her face as it is all eyes, telling her to get it under control. She says Danny to the spaceman

"I'll get right on that when you get control of where you put your nose." Clara countered, raising a pointed eyebrow at the Doctor.

Orson asks who Danny is. The Doctor introduces the spaceman as Colonel Orson Pink, from about a hundred years in her future

"Is he Danny's descendant?" Bill asked, then her eye slit up as another thought occurred to her, "Wait! Is he your descendant?"

Clara's expression immediately plummeted, making Bill very aware she'd asked the wrong thing. Before Bill could try to escape the pit she'd verbally fallen into, Clara spoke up. "No. He's not a direct descendant of either of us despite the appearance, maybe related to someone else in Danny's family but I don't know. Danny's not the only person in the world with the surname 'Pink' either." She plastered on a fake nonchalant expression, rolling her shoulders to sit up straighter. She ignored the sad look the Doctor sent her and all the glances the rest of the room were shooting her in favour of keeping her eyes on the screen.

The Doctor asks if she has any connection to him, like being a distant relative or something as Clara is reeling

River shook her head at her wife, "How are you so clever and yet so stupid at the same time."

The Doctor shrugged, "It's a talent."

Clara asks how she would know. The Doctor agrees, asking Orson if he has any old family photographs of her, probably quite old and really fat-looking

"Doctor!" Clara protested; she'd been a bit too distracted at the time to protest but she wasn't now. The Doctor played innocent.

Orson doesn't. Clara asks how he found Orson. The Doctor explains she left a trace in the telepathic circuits and he fired them up again and the Tardis brought him straight to Orson, so he is something to do with her timeline

Clara met the Doctor's eyes, a silent conversation occurring that none of the rest of the group could understand. She was asking the Doctor how he could be part of her timetable when Danny died, the Doctor shrugged – they're way of saying they didn't know everything despite how much they claimed otherwise usually.

Clara says okay as the Doctor declares she'll never guess where he found him

"That's a promising statement." Donna drawled; voice full of sarcasm as she realised an expectant eyebrow at the Doctor. Neither of the pair answered her, but she thankfully didn't have long to wait as the video immediately continued.

A spaceship sits on a rocky planet with a massive hemisphere of a sun dominating the horizon. Clara asks where they are and the Doctor tells her they're at the end of everything, the last planet. Clara clarifies the end of the universe

Clara sighed at that statement, "How do we always end up there." They'd been to the so-called 'end of the universe' at least three or four times by her calculation during her time travelling with both regenerations of the Doctor.

Her comment drew several confused looks from the rest of the group but they knew better than to ask as it wasn't likely to gain them any answers (or at least any clear answers).

The Doctor admits the Tardis isn't supposed to go this far but some idiot turned the safeguard off, and to listen

"I wonder what kind of idiot would do that." River gave the Doctor a pointed look, voice weighed down with all the sarcasm in it. The Doctor simply gave a sheepish smile.

Clara asks to what, and the Doctor points out there is nothing, nothing to hear anywhere, silence at the end of time

"A vacuum. Complete absence of anything. Utter nothing-ness." Jack muttered, wating the screen in a bit of awe at the sight.

Orson empties he contents of a locker into a rucksack, as Clara asks how he got out there if he's from a hundred years in the future. The Doctor explains he is a pioneer time traveller, he sonics the records on the computer to show a BBC news report. He explains they rode the first of the time shots, which were supposed to send him into the middle of next week but he went a bit far

"A bit?" Martha repeated. "The end of the universe is more than a bit further than a week into the future his time."

"At least, you'd hope." Mickey commented, earning an elbow into the side from his wife.

The Doctor continues he's the last man in the universe, which he always thought would be him. Clara says it isn't a competition which the Doctor claims to know, saying there is still time though

"It's really not a competition sweetie." River whispered to her wife, face full of concern.

The Doctor gave her what she hoped was a comforting look, "I know. It would be far too lonely and there's so much better things to see and do." River's doubtful look suggested her comment hadn't been that comforting.

Clara says Orson looks like he is packing, the Doctor explains he's been stranded for six months and just met a time traveller, of course is packing

"You're taking him home, right?" Graham asked, not doubting the Doctor but absolutely thinking there might be saw weird time law or something that meant they couldn't. The Doctor gave him a soft smile to reassure him that for once, it was simple enough to take him home.

Orson enters asking if they can get him home. The Doctor reminds him he just showed him, a test flight to the restaurant but Orson clarifies if they can get him back to his own time. The Doctor declares it easy, dragging in Clara who agrees he can

"Unless the Tardis has other ideas, yes." Clara corrected her distracted on-screen self.

"Are you doubting my piloting skills?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes." Everyone in the room answered in sync, no hesitation or doubt.

The Doctor hummed, "Just checking."

Orson asks if everything is okay which Clara claims it is. He asks if he knows her, to which Clara says no. The Doctor asks if she is doing the eye thing as he face is so wide she needs three mirrors

"Doctor." Several people in the room sighed, disapproving. It was times like this that they could see why Clara had to introduce a cue card system with Eyebrows.

Clara berates him, and the Doctor adds they can't leave immediately as the Tardis needs to recharge

"That is a load of nonsense." Rose declared, "You just want to do some snooping." The Tardis may need to be charged, but not very often and it certainly couldn't be done at the end of the universe. The Doctor avoided any eye contact.

Clara asks what, surprised and the Doctor says overnight should be enough, right Clara? Orson clarifies overnight as the Doctor says one more night which shouldn't be a problem, right

"The poor guy is stuck at the end of the universe and a random time traveller has finally showed home to give him a way home, and you think he wants to stay there even a minute longer?" Rory pointed out, sighing at the Doctor's desire to snoop into things he shouldn't.

Orson's face says yes but he says it isn't a problem. The Doctor says it is a shame that there are only three people left in the universe and Orson is lying to the other two. He declares it the first thing he noticed and Clara must have seen it too, they have eyes out there

"I think she's a bit distracted at the minute and she's only seen the guy for a few minutes." Donna said, raising an eyebrow at the Doctor

Clara asks what she is supposed to have seen and the Doctor says the universe is dead, everything is dead and gone, and there is nothing behind the door but nothingness so why is it locked?

"Because any sane person would keep a locked door between them and the empty abyss of space?" Amy said pointedly.

Orson begs to not spend another night out there. The Doctor asks if he is afraid of the dark, as the dark is empty now. Orson declares it isn't

"Of course, it isn't." Ryan sighed, "Is it the same thing as under the bed covers?"

Clara and the Doctor shared a quick look before answering in sync, "Just watch." The group groaned, frustrated at that answer.

In the Tardis, Clara wears the rucksack as Orson carries two metal cases. She leads him down below the time rotor level saying he'll be safe as nothing gets through the doors. Orson ask if the two of them are going to wait out there

"He thinks you're absolutely crazy." Mickey stated.

"We are crazy." Clara replied, "And the Doctor isn't going to just leave with that mystery unsolved, so someone has to make sure he doesn't kill himself."

Clara says it seems to be the plan, then asks wait for what? Orson asks why they can't just leave and Clara goes with the lie of it recharging which Orson says she didn't look like she'd believed him. Clara argues that is just how her face looks when the Doctor talks

"A valid answer." Bill nodded.

A clear plastic box containing a gun-less plastic soldier falls from Orson's backpack when she puts it down, she picks it up as Orson declares it a silly toy, a family heirloom meant to bring good luck

"A family heirloom? Are you sure he's not Danny's descendant?" Yaz asked, not unkindly, just doubting Clara's confidence and knowledge in that matter. Plus, based on the fact Danny was alone in the children's home, it didn't seem like he had any close family.

Clara glanced at the Doctor briefly, before turning back to the room's expectant eyes. "Pretty sure."

Clara says it didn't do a very good job and Orson argues it did as they are there, and what are the chances of them finding him

"He raises a good point." Bill said, mentally she added a tally under Orson's name on the mental scoreboard she'd started. At the minute Clara and Orson were one a piece and the Doctor was on like minus 10.

Clara tells Orson to take her advice and when he gets home to stay away from time travel. She hands back the toy as Orson says it runs in the family

The room had perked up at that comment, glancing at Clara out of the corner of their eyes but nor saying anything. Her expression really wasn't inviting to questions and from all that had been said about Danny so far, it seemed Clara and the Doctor had a good reason for saying Orson wasn't Danny's direct descendant.

Clara asks what he meant by that, and Orson says it is just a silly story of one of his great-grandparents. Clara asks him to tell her, clarifying the toy is a family heirloom as Orson holds it out and agrees

"Doctor." Clara said quietly but full of a meaning the majority of the group couldn't decipher.

The Doctor gave her a sympathetic look. "The universe is a strange place and not everything is fixed." She sighed. "I'm sorry Clara. I don't have the answers you're looking for." Clara swallowed, but nodded reluctantly.

The rest of the group watched the exchange, that feeling of dread that popped up every so often in these videos eating away in their stomachs. They could take a good guess about what had happened to Danny.

Back in the capsule/ship, Clara asks what they are doing. The Doctor says waiting, to which she asks for what as if the universe is dead then nobody is out there

"Theoretically." Martha said, eyeing the screen wearily.

"Hopefully." Rose added.

The Doctor says that is one way to look at it, adding that's a hell of a lot of ghosts when Clara asks what the other is. The lights dim

"And right on cue." Bill grimaced, "I can practically hear the horror movie music."

Clara asks if he has his own mood lighting now as the accent is already enough

"And what's wrong with a Scottish accent?" Amy raised an eyebrow at Clara who suddenly remembered Amy was Scottish.

She held up her hands in surrender, hoping to escape the wrath of the redhead, "Nothing! Only when it's the Doctor."

Amy's stern expression finally broke out into a grin, "It's okay, I'm just teasing. Everything about the Doctor is worth teasing."

"Oi!"

The capsule creaks and the words 'Do Not Open The Door' appear on the main hatch

"Oh, that's promising." Yaz said with fake cheer in her voice, before it went more serious. "You're going to open the door, aren't you?"

"Of course, we are." The Doctor and Clara said together, the Doctor significantly more cheerful than Clara.

Clara asks where it came from and the Doctor explains it is always there but only visible in the night lights. Clara asks who wrote it and the Doctor says Orson as he apparently needs a reminder at night. He adds he guesses it would be tempting after six months alone, Clara asks what is, the Doctor says company

"Ominous." Ryan muttered, keeping a careful eye on the screen. It felt like something was going to jump out of the darkness at them, and personally, he was not excited for that.

There is more creaking and Clara asks what it is, and asks for a reassuring explanation when the Doctor asks what kind of explanation she'd like. The Doctor provides, saying the systems are switching to low power and the temperature differentials all over the ship causes the creaking like pipes banging when the heating goes off

"Ah, the pipes. Always a good go-to answer." Jack nodded, though despite the sarcasm his face and posture screamed tense.

Clara says she always thought there as something in the pipes, so did the Doctor. He then asks who she was having dinner with

"Are you only just asking that now?" Donna asked, "I'm surprised your curiosity didn't win out over the current mystery earlier."

"I wished he hadn't asked at all." Clara grumbled.

Clara asks if he is making conversation, which he says he thought he'd give it a try. Clara says a date, and the Doctor asks if it was serious to which Clara repeats herself

"That's a yes." Martha stated, not that any of them doubted that after seeing the efforts Clara had gone through to try and make up with Danny so far (before it all got messed up again).

The Doctor clarifies it was a series date and Clara sarcastically asks if she needs to bring him to him for approval. The Doctor would like to know his prospects and can go ahead and check

"That's also a yes." Mickey grinned.

Clara says he's done enough. A sound like a scream makes them jump and the Doctor claims it is atmospheric pressure equalising

"When do things ever have a logical explanation with us?" Rory sighed, bemoaning some of his life choices (well, not really).

Clara asks or, and the Doctor adds it could be company

"Friendly company, I'm sure." Nardole muttered.

Clara asks why they are doing it and why don't they just go. The Doctor needs to know

"You always need to know, and it always gets us into trouble." Clara stared down the Doctor.

"But don't you enjoy getting answers to some of life and the universe's mysteries?"

"Not when it means running for my life constantly."

"You enjoy the running!"

Clara sighed before reluctantly answering, "Sometimes, yes."

Clara asks why. The Doctor suggests there is a creature that exists to hide and only show themselves to the young or very old or mad – people that won't be believed. He asks what those creatures would do when everyone was gone, and if there was only one man left in the universe

"Surely not show themselves? If they live to hide?" Rose said, then seemed to reconsider, "Though Orson would likely be considered mad out there all alone, and there isn't anyone to tell ... I see your point."

There's banging on the hull. Clara asks what it is and the Doctor says potentially the hull cooling, believably

"Yep, that's absolutely believable." Jack nodded, expression blank as his eyes never wavered from the screen.

More banging. The Doctor says someone is knocking. The banging continues and changes to scrapes, Clara says he doesn't really believe in hiding creatures and things under the bed right? Still banging

"That's a lot of banging for there not to be anything!" Ryan gritted out, eyeing the screen with caution.

The Doctor asks what's in the mirror or corner of your eye, the footsteps following but never passing by

"Is this your paranoia and fears creating things out of nothing, or are there things out there and you're paranoid for a reason?" Amy asked quietly.

"Good question." The Doctor replied, equally quiet. A very unreassuringly answer all round, as it meant the Doctor didn't know.

More banging as Clara asks if they came to the end of the universe because of a nursery rhyme

"Don't forget the stranded time traveller." Yaz added.

"Came for the nursery rhyme, stayed for the stranded time traveller." Bill grinned.

"What are our lives?" Clara sighed.

Still banging away. The Doctor sonics the hatch unlocked and the mechanism starts to turn. Clara asks if it is him turning it, it isn't, the Doctor tells her to get in the Tardis

"Get out of there." River said, deadly serious. Eyes only briefly leaving the screen to glance down and reassure her of the Doctor's presence next to her. "We've already seen those things don't like to be seen, and if there is something out there, I doubt you want to meet it."

Clara asks why, but the Doctor still needs to know

"You always have to know, and it always brings trouble." Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. They were all on the fence about whether there was something out there, but at the minute he was leaning on the side of there being something. Either way, this was one occasion where he didn't want confirmation.

The Doctor tells her to get to the Tardis again as she says someone is out there, they know that and can leave now. The Doctor suggests that releasing the pressure lock could have triggered the opening mechanism

"So, we still don't know if there is something or you're just paranoid?" Donna exclaimed, "Well done, Spaceman."

Clara asks if there is even an atmosphere out there and the Doctor explains there is an air shell round the ship, then he asks why she is still there. Clara declares she isn't going to leave him in danger

"And when have I ever done what you've told me in situations like this?" Clara added onto the comment her on-screen self-made.

DOCTOR: Then you will never travel with me again, because that is the deal! Tardis, now! Do as you are told!

"When does anyone do what you say? It doesn't stop you travelling with them." Clara said heatedly. It was comments like that which reminded her how new that Doctor was, it had taken them a while to get used to the rhythm of travelling with the other. Clara had kept expecting things base doff her knowledge of the earlier regeneration of the Doctor she'd known and Eyebrows had kept proving to be different, it made for a steep learning curve.

"Because they learn the difference between orders they can ignore, and when I mean it because the danger is too immense for anyone." The Doctor answered, face stern. It was something everyone who travelled with her for any significant portion of time learned, but Clara had always liked to push the boundaries.

The rest of the room stayed quiet, allowing the pair as much privacy as they could. While normally they would add their own remarks, this time they got the feeling it was better to stay out of it.

Clara turns to the Tardis as she calls him an idiot

"Get the last word in and remind him of the truth. Nice." Amy said, breaking some of the tension that had built up in the room after the heated interaction between the two, both hard-headed and stubborn.

She goes inside as the Doctor replies he knows

"Good." Clara huffed, arms crossed, but the quick burst of anger that she'd found was quickly depleting. This was too long ago to really hold an actual grudge, and far too much had happened in between then and now. They'd both changed a lot in the time, hopefully for the better.

Inside, Orson asks what is happening and Clara says the Doctor is opening the door

"Because he's an idiot, who doesn't understand that curiosity killed the cat." Martha declared with a pointed look at the Doctor.

"But satisfaction brought it back." The Doctor countered with a grin, earning groans from the group.

The Doctor talks to himself, saying perhaps they're just waiting, and they'll come out when everyone is dead, slithering out from underneath the bed

"Comforting." Rory muttered, sarcastically.

The Doctor, however, seemed to miss or ignore the sarcasm. "Isn't it. The idea that the end isn't necessarily the end for everything. It's brilliant!"

The airlock opens. Inside the Tardis the scanner starts to flicker as air leaves the capsule and Clara mutters no, not now

The group, who had been leaning forward to try and see what (if anything) was coming through the airlock, sat back with frustrated groans.

"Does that mean that those things, that may or may not exist, can control technology to an extent? Or does it just mean the Doctor needs to do some repairs on the Tardis, again?" Rose asked. They were all getting more and more frustrated by the lack of certainty on what was actually going on in this video. Every time they thought it had been confirmed one way or another something else happened that left them confused again.

The Doctor hummed in consideration, "Either is possible. It's also likely that the Tardis just decided to mess with Clara because she hates her."

"So, we're still not clear on what's actually happening?!" Mickey groaned; his question clearly rhetorical but Clara still shook her head in answer.

Clara says it always happens when it is important. The Tardis jolts and she asks what is happening, a klaxon sounds and she asks what that is

"Nothing good." Bill declared, pointing at the screen accusingly. "Alarms like that are never good."

Orson declares it an alarm for the air shell being breached, telling her to stay there

"See! Nothing good!" Bill declared, feeling vindicated with her correct guess (not that anyone had doubted she was correct).

The scanner flickers to show the Doctor hanging onto the edge of a console as the air and everything else is sucked out the capsule. A gloved hand grabs his wrist as he starts to slip and pulls him back to safety. Shortly after, the unconscious Doctor is back in the Tardis

"That was Orson, right?" Ryan asked, "The person that saved the Doctor."

Clara bit her lip for a moment as she thought, "I thought it was, but the hand that grabbed the Doctor was wearing gloves and Orson wasn't. Maybe he put them on and then took them off after leaving and entering the Tardis or ..." She left the rest unsaid, everyone able to easily see what she was getting at.

Clara glanced at the Doctor, who shook her head. She couldn't remember who pulled her out of the air lock, the knock to her head had made sure of that.

Clara asks if he is okay and Orson says he'll be fine he's just unconscious

"Maybe standing in front of an opening air lock with potentially an unknown creature outside it wasn't your smartest idea, Doctor." Jack shot the Doctor a disapproving look to which the Doctor just raised an eyebrow. They both knew Jack would absolutely have done the same thing.

Clara says something hit him; Orson reminds her everything was flying out the door. Clara says it could have been that, Orson agrees

"Or it could have been something else." Amy said, weirds heavy with meaning.

Rory seemed to catch what Amy (and Clara) had been thinking, finishing the unsaid words. "Or maybe it was whatever saved the Doctor, if it wasn't Orson, and they wanted to make sure he didn't remember."

Those thoughts left the whole group feeling unsettled.

There are still sounds repeating in the background

The group all watched the screen nervously. This whole video, despite the lack of clear danger, left them feeling more unsettled than most of the videos they'd watched so far. Maybe there was a reason people were so afraid of the unknown.

Clara asks what was out there and why he was so afraid. Orson says he's been out there a long time and was probably just scared of his own shadow. There's a rumble and the Tardis door move slightly. Orson says it is likely just the rest of the air escaping

"Absolutely, yeah, that's all it is." Yaz said, but it was clear she didn't believe anything she was saying, cautious eyes never leaving the screen. Like everyone else, she was near the edge of her seat, body tensed up.

Clara says he says probably a lot. A creak and whumph, as Orson asks if they are safe there, confirming nothing can get in

"Theoretically, but it hasn't always stopped things before." The Doctor answered Orson on screen, more for the benefit of the people in the room than Orson (who obviously couldn't hear her).

Clara says probably. Another hissing sound like air escaping then the Cloister Bell tolls and Clara goes to the console

"There's something out there." Jack said, about 78% sure at this point. "The Cloisters wouldn't be ringing if there wasn't real danger."

"It could have just been the time capsule destabilising because of the air escaping." The Doctor countered, looking unsure of what she was saying.

"I hate everything about this." Bill muttered. The uncertainty and not knowing was driving her insane.

Orson asks if she has a plan. Clara does – the telepathic circuits she left a trace in them begore so she can apparently do a thing

"Ah, 'a thing'. The best plan around." Mickey snorted.

Clara raised an eyebrow at Mickey, "Do you have a better idea?"

"Nope, 'a thing' is your best option here."

She sticks her fingers in the console again as Orson asks what her plan is. Clara says it isn't a plan, it is a thing

"Put your hand in the Tardis's telepathic circuits and hope she takes you out of there, and quick." Rose clarified Clara's plan, "Good idea."

"Only one I had."

The time rotor starts to stutter and Clara tells her quietly it can do it, the Doctor wheezes

A few people glanced at the Doctor in the room, eager to confirm she was here and okay.

She encourages it as the time rotor starts to speed up. They land with a thump, the Cloister bell has stopped and so has the banging

The group let out a breath of relief, so far it seemed like they had escaped the end of the universe. At the very least they had moved from where they had been.

Orson asks if that is it, Clara doesn't know but thinks so. The scanner isn't helpful wither as Orson asks where they are

"Very good question." The Doctor muttered, glancing at Clara. Clara had never told her where they had landed, and at the time she'd been nursing a terrible headache and a small concussion from the hit to the head. She couldn't deny her curiosity to see where they were and why it had ended with Clara so serious about her never checking where they'd been.

Clara hopes they are somewhere else and tells Orson to stay and look after the Doctor. Orson says she can't go out there by herself. Clara says her timeline keeps on, and he doesn't want to meet himself as it is embarrassing

"You say that like you have practise with that. When did you meet yourself?" Martha asked Clara, intrigued.

"Never, I just didn't want Orson coming out with me. No point both of us getting into trouble." Clara shrugged, "But after this experience, I can confirm watching your past self is very embarrassing."

The Tardis door creaks slightly as Clara closes it, entering a barn with a raised platform holding a simple bed. A child is lying curled up on their side under a blanket, sobbing as moonlight streams down through the roof. Clara climbs the ladder to the platform

The Doctor's face went white. Her eyes widened as she realised where Clara was. Her head whipped around to Clara, eyes digging into her as she screamed a silent question, to which Clara winced but did reluctantly nod in confirmation.

"Doctor?" Donna asked, voice unusually soft and full of concern. It was rare for them to see the Doctor to appear as panicked as she did currently (usually they were at least better at hiding it), which meant wherever they were, it was not good. "Where are you?" There was no point pretending that the Doctor didn't know where they'd landed, her reaction clearly showed they had.

The Doctor swallowed down the lump in her throat before answering hoarsely, "Just watch ... please." Donna gave her a long look before slowly nodding and turning back to the screen. This was one of the occasions where it was better to get more information about the situation before pushing the Doctor to answer.

The Master, who'd been very quiet this video, mainly as he couldn't be bothered dealing with the Doctor's current little pets and the current video had no interest for him. But the Doctor's reaction to the barn had him inspecting the scene more carefully. His own eyes widened as he reached the only conclusion that made sense. "Is that the barn ...?" He trailed off.

The Doctor nodded; eyes still panicked. The Master was one of very few people that knew about her full childhood on Gallifrey. This was not something she had known would ever come up (why would it?), but she was suddenly not eager for this video to continue. She'd been enjoying the focus being more on Clara than her for once, but she should have known the Tardis had something up her metaphorical sleeve.

Clara calls to Rupert, then Orson as she walks to the bed. The barn door opens and we see two pairs of feet enter. One is a woman with a long skirt and apron over the top, the other a man

"Where are you?" Rory asked, serious but quiet. His eyes never left the screen so he missed the way Clara glanced at the Doctor in concern before answering.

"Just watch."

The man asks why the kid has to sleep out there. The woman tells him the kid doesn't want others to hear him crying, the man asks why he has to cry all the time

"Oh god, poor kid." Rose muttered; they may not know who the kid was but it didn't mean they couldn't feel sympathy for a kid left alone crying in a barn. Only River and Jack noticed the Doctor's finch, they shared a look over her head, both suddenly thinking they had an idea who that poor kid was.

Clara hides under the bed as the woman says the man knows why. The man declares there will be no crying in the army

"Is it Danny?" Bill asked, head tilted to the side in thought, "He's the only one of you that went into the army, right?" After all, the telepathic circuits had been attached to Clara and the only people she was likely to be distracted by were Danny, Orson, and the Doctor which left the options limited.

"It's not Danny." Clara said simply, not beating around the bush for once.

The group were all to focused on the screen and Clara to notice the uncharacteristically soft exchange between the Doctor and the Master. For once they weren't enemies (or the weird best enemies that they were), but old friends who had spent the majority of their painful childhoods together and knew all the suffering the other had gone through. If anyone was able to understand what the young Doctor on screen was going through it was him (and not just because he was the only one that truly understood a childhood on Gallifrey)

The woman hushes him as the man says to not pretend he's not awake as they're not idiots. The woman encourages the boy to come and sleep in the house saying he doesn't have to be alone and he's welcome in the house with the other boys. She says she'll leave the door on the latch and to come in any time

"Wait, is this another children's house?" Yaz asked, face crinkled in confusion. "Are you sure it's not Danny again?" Even though she'd asked it, it didn't make any sense in her head for it to be Danny based on what they'd seen from young Rupert.

"I'm sure." Clara stated, "But I couldn't tell you about what exactly the place was." And she doubted they'd get a straight answer from the Doctor either. She did her best to not glance at the Doctor as she knew the room's eyes were on her but she couldn't help but notice the long look the Doctor and the Master shared. She couldn't tell if they were having an actual mental conversation through their mind link or just one through their eyes, both were equally possible with how well they knew each other, and despite how much the group hated the Master, they couldn't deny that he knew the Doctor well.

The man continues saying the kid can't run away crying all the time if he wants to join the army, and the woman tells him he doesn't want to join the army like she's told him before. The man counters he's not exactly going to the academy, that boy, as he'll never make a Time Lord

The room descended into an echoing silence. The last two words were on a never-ending loop, repeating in their minds. It took them a while for the meaning behind those words to actually connect in their brains.

"Time Lord ...?" Martha mumbled, eyes wide and sad as she looked at the Doctor with sympathy. The whole scene they'd just seen took on a whole new meaning.

"Doctor." Amy stated, eyes locked on the Doctor as she waited for the Doctor to meet her gaze. It took a few moments, but the Doctor did eventually, reluctantly turn to meet her gaze. "Is that you?"

The Doctor broke eye contact, glancing around the room, before sighing, as she realised she wasn't getting out of this. "Yes, that was me." She was sincerely hoping there were no further questions.

As always, she had no luck. Rose had tilted her head to the side in consideration as she inspected the screen, "Was that the barn from the first video we watched at the end of the time war, and from your return to Gallifrey?"

The Doctor grimaced at the memory of both those videos. It seemed she spent a lot more of her time on Gallifrey in that barn than she wanted to (not that she often wanted to return to Gallifrey ... when that was an option anyway). She just nodded in confirmation, with another sigh. "Can we just watch the rest of the video?"

In the Tardis, the Doctor wakes suddenly shouting about Sontarans perverting the course of human history. Orson calls to him, the Doctor says he's confusing him then to shut up, asking where Clara is

"Good to see the knock to the head hasn't caused any lasting damage." Donna declared, giving the Doctor a sympathetic look and trying to distract the group from their lingering thoughts on the Doctor's childhood. The Doctor gave her a thankful smile as she realised what Donna was trying to do. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as she would have liked.

The Doctor calls for Clara and in the barn, they hear it. The boy asks who's there, sitting on the edge of his bed. Clara grabs his ankles as if by reflex

"I think that would give me a heart attack." Ryan declared, glancing at Clara warily as if she was about to grab his ankle too. The Doctor was also giving Clara wary looks, a lot of things about that mess had just been explained. Clara just shrugged a bit sheepish at the Doctor, unsure of what to say in this kind of situation (it wasn't exactly one that came up often, funnily enough).

Amy, however, turned her eyes to the ceiling, seeking sanity or answers that the room couldn't give her. "Are you serious? We're watching this because you gave the Doctor a real-life nightmare as a kid which made him more paranoid and led to the event happening in the first place? I hate time travel."

Martha hummed in consideration, "I think we all do at times. But that doesn't explain the figure under the sheets, or the air lock situation."

"Yes and no, but they all have alternative explanations too. The figure under the sheet could have been a kid playing a prank, the noises in the time capsule could have been mechanical like they said, and it could have been Orson that saved the Doctor." Yaz added in to the conversation.

Jack snorted, drawing the room's attention to him, "So basically what we're saying is that we still don't know whether the Doctor is just paranoid because Clara gave him nightmares, or whether there actually is something watching in the shadows. Great."

"Personally, I like the first explanation." Ryan muttered, almost shivering at the thought of something actually being in the shadows. That was going to leave him paranoid for a while, forget the Doctor.

"I think we all do Ryan." Graham said.

Clara whispers that it is okay, and it is just a dream. She tells him to lie back down on the bed and all will be okay if he lies down and goes to sleep, asking him to do that for her, just sleep. She releases the ankles and the boy gets back into bed and she sits on the edge of the bed, putting her hand on her head and stroking his hair gently as he sobs to himself. She whispers into his ear - listen

"If a mysterious voice from under your bed starts talking, would you listen to it?" Bill asked the room at large, more curious now as she started to get over the pure paranoia the scene was giving her. It really sucked to be the Doctor in that situation, she was starting to understand why the Doctor was so focussed on this whole idea. Like if that had happened to her, you bet she was not letting it go.

"If it grabbed my leg in an empty barn in the dark, I would do whatever it wanted so it would go away." Donna answered, grimacing at the thought. Based off the nods from the rest of the group, they appeared to agree with the sentiment too.

The Doctor just grumbled, shifting in her seat, and glancing betrayed at Clara. She was glad for the distraction from her childhood situation but she didn't like most things about this situation. And the not knowing for definite about this mystery was also killing her, yet she didn't want to risk another encounter (if there was something that was).

In the Tardis, Orson asks what happened, what she saw and what was out there as Clara returns

"Something she shouldn't have." The Doctor said, giving Clara a stern look.

"Well, I can't exactly do anything about it now, can I?"

Clara says what if there was nothing, never was, nothing under the bed or at the door, what if the big bad Time Lord doesn't want to admit he's afraid of the dark

"Very brave answer from someone possibly scared of a kid under a bed sheet and a bunch of noises in an empty spaceship." Nardole said.

Clara shot him a glare but couldn't contradict him.

The Doctor asks where they are, have they moved and where they've landed. Clara tells him to not look where they are, to take off and promise to never look where they've been. The Doctor asks why but Clara pushes him to take off and not ask questions. The Doctor says he doesn't take orders but Clara tells him to do as he's told

"For once in your life Sweetie, I hope you listened." River muttered to her wife, squeezing her hand in comfort.

The Doctor sighed, giving Clara a small nod before answering her wife, "Then you'll be glad to know this is the first I'm learning of this."

The Tardis dematerialises and the boy sits up in his bed. We see earlier, as she whispers in his ear between scenes of Orson being returned home and giving Clara a hug

"Glad to see you got Orson home." Rose smiled, "I think he's been through enough."

Clara tells the young boy it is just a dream but clever people can hear dreams, so listen. She knows he's afraid, but that's aright as fear is a superpower, it can make you faster, cleverer and stronger. She says one day he'll return to the barn and on that day, he'll be very afraid. A glimpse of the War Doctor standing in front of the lonely barn during Day of the Doctor

"Question is; did the Doctor steal the speech from Clara or did Clara steal it from the Doctor?" Mickey grinned, amusing himself.

"This is the reason time travel gives me a headache." Rory sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Clara says that's okay as if he's very wise and very strong, fear doesn't have to make him cruel or cowardly, it can make him kind. In the Tardis, Clara hugs the Doctor from behind, he protests it as he is against hugging

"Unless there is good reason." Clara said, doe eyes sad.

"Unless there's a good reason." The Doctor matched her expression, both thinking back to just after Danny's death and Missy's false lead on Gallifrey's location, "Or I get forcibly attacked with one." The Doctor added on, with a small smile.

The rest of the group were oblivious to the meaning behind the pair's little exchange but they allowed them their privacy, not questioning the deeper meaning as the sensed it was private (and they knew they weren't likely to get answers).

The Doctor drops Clara off and leaves her outside Danny's flat. She rings the doorbell and he answers it. Danny starts to say he's sorry, but Clara cuts him off saying she knows

"Let's hope attempt three goes well." Martha teased the younger woman who grinned.

"It did, thankfully."

Back in the barn, Clara tells the young boy it doesn't matter if there is nothing under the bed or in the dark as long as he knows it is okay to be afraid of it. Back at Danny's flat, Danny says he got nervous, as did Clara, he admits he doesn't even know what he is nervous of

"He really likes you." Amy smiled, happy that Clara who had found someone that seemed (from the little they'd seen) both nice and eager to get to know her despite the hiccups. Clara's smile in return was significantly more bittersweet.

The Doctor underlines the word Listen on his blackboard, and Clara continues to whisper to the young boy saying if he listening to nothing else, listen to this

"When does the Doctor ever listen when they should?"

"You can't talk, Jack!"

Clara says he is always going to be afraid, even if he learns to hide it as fear is a companion, a constant one, but it is okay as fear brings is together. At the flat, she kisses Danny. In the barn, she says fear can bring him home. She leaves Dan the soldier man to stand guard as she says she'll leave something so he'll always remember that fear makes companions of us all

With those final, familiar words (to the Doctor, at least) the video faded to black, signifying another video had ended.

"Soooooo .... Was there something in the shadows or not?" Bill asked, both serious and as a joke. "Like seriously, what did we just watch? I mean aside from Clara's bad attempts at flirting."

"Hey!"

The Doctor smiled fondly at the pair, "Unfortunately Bill, I don't think we can say for certain either way. Some things in the universe we're just not meant to know."

"And the curiosity is still killing you to this day." Amy teased her, knowing exactly what the Doctor was like.

"It is." The Doctor admitted with a grin. "But that mess is not a situation I'm eager to repeat." That earned her a few chuckles from across the group. "Any other comments or questions before we move on to the next video?"

"Can I ask about the barn?" Martha asked cautiously.

"No, you may not. Question time is now officially over. Let's move on swiftly." The Doctor immediately declared, sending a pleading look up at the ceiling (where the Tardis's voice had seemed to be coming from) in hopes of the Tardis taking pity on her and playing the next video. She had not expected to ever be eager to start a new video, but that's what it had come from.

"You're going to have to talk about it one day Doctor." River sighed, giving her wife a sad look.

"But that day is not today, so we're moving on."

"Doctor ..."

"Nope. Next video please."