Thank you all so, so, SO much for your continuous support. Thanks for reading and especially for leaving reviews. I am glad you enjoyed this story and I hope to see you all again in a lighter, more fun fanfic called "The Class Trip". I will post the first chapter of it along with this final one. THANK YOU!

Chapter 27

"No matter what Missy said," the Doctor told her, "It was my fault. Rose cut all ties to her family and friends, she lost her job and I never knew. She was right, I knew nothing at all about her and I wasn't even aware of it. She was there, that was all that mattered to me."

All of a sudden Clara felt incredibly guilty. She understood now, she really understood. The incident on the rooftop in Paris that had brought them closer, his nightmares, his aversion for water, that he had probably gone to that bridge to think after they had slept together, why he was so upset about her not spending time with her family and why he insisted that she needed a life outside of him. It all made sense now. He was terrified that it would all happen again.

"Except that it wasn't your fault," Clara said and squeezed his hand more tightly, "It was her decision not to tell you about any of that. Rose was clearly troubled and there was nothing you could have done about that."

The Doctor looked at her, the sadness so strong in his eyes that it almost made her cry. If she could she would take all of the pain away from him.

"We're not going to repeat that, Doctor. I promise," she told him determinedly.

"How can you be so sure?"

Clara gave him the warmest, kindest smile she could muster. "Because we are going to watch out for each other."

The Doctor didn't reply.

"Tell me, all of your fear and your doubts aside, do you want to be with me?" Clara asked.

"That's not something I can just switch off, you know?"

"Do you or do you not?" she repeated.

He sighed and took a deep breath, apparently considering his answer for a moment.

"Of course I want to be with you, Clara. I love you but-"

"Shh!" Clara hushed him, gently placing a finger on his lips, "We will take care of each other. As long as we don't depend on each other we'll be fine. You'll remind me that I need a life outside of this and I need to remind you that there is more than just painting. And you need help, real, professional help."

"Clara-"

"No, no buts. A trauma like this won't just go away, Doctor, and it will keep haunting you unless you do something against it. You need to talk about it. Not just to me."

Finally the Doctor had given up protesting and Clara smiled at him before she bent forward to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"We can make it, you and I."

OOO

Six Months Later

Clara rushed home from school on Friday night and quickly changed into a nicer dress. The Doctor already seemed to be at the gallery so Clara grabbed her purse and coat and left the house again so as not to miss the entire event. The Doctor and Missy had worked hard for this exhibition at which she would exhibit his paintings only. They had been going over the paintings for weeks in advance, considering which ones to display and which ones not. And this time they had deliberately included some he had painted of Rose.

The psychologist the Doctor had been seeing for a while had suggested it and together they had all agreed that it would be a good idea but above all Clara was happy to see that the Doctor was improving. Slowly. Step by step. But the difference was hard not to notice. He still painted a lot, several hours a day but he had also taken on more teaching responsibilities at the Royal College of Art and when he was at home he was carrying an alarm clock with him at all times, reminding him when to eat and when to take a break. The Doctor's obsession with his art had always been there, but it had increased since Rose and together they were working hard to turn him back into a normally functioning human being. Even if that meant that Clara had to leave notes all over the house, reminding him of things he usually forgot over his paintings. By this time their relationship could almost be considered a normal one and Clara knew that she and Doctor had not only the psychologist to thank for that but also his friends, and especially Missy.

Yet it wasn't only the Doctor who had improved, it was Clara as well. Her restlessness was beginning to fade and even though her life was hardly perfect she felt comfortable in her skin again. She had cut ties with Danny completely but still went out with some of her other colleagues from time to time, even though she now preferred the company of Amy and Rory or even Missy. After finishing the painting class the Doctor continued to teach her and they often spent their time painting together. Her family however still wasn't entirely happy with her choice, especially after hearing the Doctor's life story. Clara only hoped that with time they would come to accept him.

The first people Clara saw when she stepped inside the gallery were Amy, Rory and their daughter Melody and she smiled at the sight of them. They had become closer in the past six months and the Doctor and Amy were patching up their old friendship again as well. Just two weeks ago they had both gone over to their place and the Doctor had painted a family portrait of them all.

"Clara!" Amy greeted her happily and threw her arms around her, "How are you?"

"Great and you? Have you seen the Doctor around?"

"Also great. And yeah," Amy nodded, "He's around here somewhere."

As if on cue Clara was suddenly startled when she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist but then she saw the Doctor place a kiss on her cheek out of the corner of her eye.

"You're late. Everything okay?" he asked.

That was another thing they had agreed upon. Whenever he noticed something that was a little different to her usual behaviour the Doctor would ask about it. It was the only way he could make sure he didn't miss anything and he was becoming more and more observant and even considerate over time.

Clara smiled at him. "Got help up at school. Courtney Woods. Again," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Are your parents coming? Or your grandmother?"

This time Clara shook her head, the smile fading from her lips. "Dad said he's not so good on his feet after they removed the screws from his back. Grandma didn't want to come alone. But don't worry, they'll warm up to you eventually. Give them time."

The Doctor sighed and looked up, freezing as he did. Clara turned around to have a look at who or what he had just spotted and saw Jackie Tyler enter the gallery.

"Come one, let's say hello," Clara suggested and reached for his arm.

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking a little frightened.

Clara had to admit that it had been risky, inviting Jackie to come to the gallery and the Doctor was afraid she would only show up to cause a scene but when Clara looked at her it seemed as if she hadn't put on nice clothes just to make this event a living hell for the Doctor.

Carefully she led him towards Jackie and greeted her with a friendly smile. Jackie's face however remained cold.

"You said you still had some paintings of my daughter," she said matter-of-factly.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, I have," he replied, "They're yours if you want them. After this weekend."

Jackie nodded in reply. "I'll have a look at them."

Once she had left them both standing there the Doctor let out a long breath.

"Can't wait to get rid of these paintings," he admitted, "I hope she takes them."

"She will," Clara reassured him, still holding his hand tightly in her own, "Jackie will never be your friend but she knows what really happened now. She can try to move on. Like you."

Clara turned around to look at him and gently reached out to touch his face. He smiled down at her.

"What do you think about spending a part of the summer holidays in Paris?" the Doctor asked her out of the blue, "There are so many things we didn't get to do last time."

"Love the idea," Clara replied happily and turned back around to the visitors of the gallery, spotting Amy and Rory explaining one of the paintings to Melody, Missy chatting with Jackie over one of the portraits of Rose and all the other guests having a good time enjoying his art and finally she looked back at the Doctor to find him smiling. He still carried the burden of his past on his shoulders and she knew that a part of it would always stay with him, that they both still had a long road ahead of them. But for now he seemed happy and that was all that mattered to her.

The End