Lost & Found

Clara and John Smith have everything they could possibly want: each other's love, a nice house, jobs and wonderful plans for their future together. Until Clara receives a call that is going to change everything and she finds her life derailing between a husband who doesn't remember her, a troubling twin sister and more new complications. Memory Loss AU.

Chapter 1

"Good morning, love," John whispered softly before he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his wife's forehead. He watched her smile and shift in the sheets and for a moment John thought she was getting more beautiful with every passing day. He was lucky, so insanely lucky to have her. Sometimes John would even go so far as to say he was the luckiest man on earth to be where he was, to have a wife like Clara after everything he had been through. Even if it sounded cheesy, she was the light of his life and he had never expected to love her or for her to love him back. For once things had played out exactly like he had hoped.

"Morning," Clara mumbled sleepily and stretched her arms while she smiled at him. Even on the worst of days that smile could make him feel better because John knew that at the end of the day he would fall asleep with Clara in his arms.

"Happy anniversary," he said and set a tray filled with breakfast food down between them.

Clara instantly reached for the single rose in the small vase and smelled it. "This is perfect," she hummed, "You are perfect."

John sank back into the pillows and stuffed a strawberry into his mouth. "So, no regrets then? Even a year later?"

She chuckled. "Well, now that you mention it-"

He didn't let her finish. Instead he bent forward across the tray and kissed her on the lips, a deep, soft kiss. It was strange how he still felt that warm glow whenever he kissed her even after five years.

"I've planned a little something for tonight," John said, smiling at her once they parted lips.

Clara reached for a grape and put it in her mouth, looking thoughtful. "Mhhh, is it Netflix and chill?"

John growled at her in reply. "You think I'm that cheap? Fine, I'll take back the dress and cancel the dinner reservation," he teased, "If you're so easily pleased, we'll do Netflix and chill."

Clara pouted at him before her features turned hopeful. "We could do both?"

"Both sounds perfect," he chuckled and kissed her again.

"Perfect husband," Clara said to him, smiling broadly as she reached for the collar of his pyjamas and pulled him closer.

"Perfect wife," he replied and then noticed that one of his sleeves was being dunked into the tea, "Uh, careful."

"I think this conversation is the very reason our friends all hate us," she laughed while he carefully pushed the tray aside.

Once that was out of the way, John climbed on top of her. "They can go to hell," he growled and lowered his lips to her neck, kissing that spot that he had learned usually put his wife in the mood in a matter of minutes.

"John, do we have time for this?" he heard her ask, followed by a gasping sound.

"Sure," he mumbled against her skin, "If I run to work."

They both giggled when Clara pulled the covers over both their heads and he kissed her lips again. It was the perfect start for a perfect wedding anniversary and John didn't think he could love his wife more.

Clara walked into the school building with a broad smile on her face and she didn't care that her students were all staring at her, probably laughing at her good mood. She simply didn't care. She still was as madly in love with John as she had been on the day they had finally found together and right now Clara thought that these feelings would never ever go away. He was the man of her dreams. He was perfect for her in every way. And maybe, just maybe the one wish they still had would finally come true soon. They hadn't talked about it in a while, thinking it might bring bad luck to hope too much, but maybe they would finally have a child soon.

John had first brought it up during their wedding night and it had come as a huge surprise to her. When Clara had agreed to marry him she had almost said goodbye to the idea of ever having children, mainly because John was older than herself and she hadn't thought he would want to go through the trouble and the sleepless nights, but he had surprised her once more. One day it would work out, Clara was sure if it, and nine months later they would be a proper family. Clara smiled at the thought of that. Maybe it had already worked.

"Courtney, watch it!" Clara yelled across the corridor when she noticed one of her more unruly students push her way through the crowd. "No shoving the others around!"

"Miss?"

She turned her head and spotted one of her favourite pupils walking right next to her. Tobias was a good boy, very clever and he had a knack for literature. Some days he was the only one actually paying attention in class.

"Yes, Tobias, can I help you?" she asked him in a friendly manner.

"I, uhm, I was just wondering whether you've graded the last test," he said coyly.

Clara cleared her throat and bent down a little. "You've got an A+. Well done," she whispered with a smile.

The boy's face lit up immediately. "Thank you, miss!"

"Now off you pop," she told him, "See you in the assembly hall."

Hopefully her child with John would turn out more like Tobias and less like Courtney Woods.

Then suddenly, as she was just on her way to drop her bag in her classroom, the headmaster stepped into her path and he wore a rather gloomy look on his face.

"Mrs Smith," Mr Armitage said grimly, "There is a phone call for you at my office."

Clara knitted her eyebrows at him. "But I've only just arrived."

"Please, come with me."

With no other choice left Clara followed him through the school corridors, wondering what the mysterious phone call could possibly be. She had never before received a call at school and she had no idea what it could possibly be about.

Only that wasn't entirely true. A long time ago, when Clara had only been 16 and still a student, she had received a call at school and her stomach turned into a knot at the memory of it. She remembered her grandmother's broken voice, her father sobbing in the background, her sister slamming a door. That was the day her mother had died.

Clara stepped inside the headmaster's office, now feeling a little nervous as Mr Armitage closed the door, leaving her completely on her own. The phone was lying there on his desk, waiting to be picked up, and reluctantly Clara stepped forward and answered the call.

"Hello, this is Mrs Smith speaking," she said and noticed how her voice wavered more than she would have expected.

"Hello Mrs Smith," a friendly female voice answered, but there was an undertone to it that Clara didn't like at all, "I am Dr Martha Jones from the Royal Hope Hospital."

And just like that Clara's heart sank into her boots before she had even heard the rest.

"I'm afraid there's been an accident."