"Have you got the tickets?" Clara yelled to her husband, fishing in her bedroom drawers. "Doctor, where are the bloody tickets?"
"Just a mo'," He yelled back from the living room. "I'm just finding Harry's shoe- Harry! What have I said about chasing the dog! Thor is an animal, not a toy -"
Clara couldn't see what exactly was going on down there, but without a doubt, she would bet on her life that it was chaos. She slammed the drawers shut quickly and began rooting through the boxes under the bed in desperate search for the tickets to Ella's first dance show - and there was no way that she was willing to miss her 6 year old daughter's first dance show.
She aimlessly searched and searched, and with no sign of the tickets, all hope was lost. She put her face in her hands and groaned.
"Mummy?" A small, quiet voice spoke gently from the doorway. "Mummy, wa' da' matter?"
Clara pivoted her head around and saw Lily standing in the doorway, her short, light brown hair clipped back with clips that were decorated with daisies; and her hug, green eyes staring at Clara with concern. She wore a pale yellow knitted jumper and leggings with a daisy pattern also, and her tiny, 23 month old figure looked vulnerable and scared compare to the huge doorway.
"I'm fine, sweetheart." Clara sighed, her tone loving and gentle. "C'mere, sit with mummy, Lils."
Clara sat in her usual position; on the carpeted floor with her legs crossed, whilst Lily curled up directly on her lap. Lily snuggled in close to Clara.
"Are you okay, Lily?" Clara asked quietly, kissing her hair.
"I miss Ewwa Bewwa." She pouted, calling Ella by her nickname, Ella Bella. (Fun fact: Everyone calls my younger sister, Ella, Ella Bella.)
"Sweetheart, we're gonna see Ella soon. She's got a dance show, and we're gonna all be there to watch her. Isn't that good?"
"No dance, mummy." Lily shook her head, the little end flicks of her short hair swishing. "No dance. Ewwa stay here, mummy. Mummy and Daddy and Hawwee and me stay here."
Clara smiled thoughtfully, kissing her head. "Why, Lily? We can all go and see how good she is, can't we? And maybe -"
"No weave, mummy. Stay fo'ever and fo'ever."
"We can't stay her forever, silly sausage. We have to leave sometimes. How can we buy food? Or take you Ella and Harry to school?"
"I wuv Ewwa and I wuv Hawee and I wuv mummy and I wuv daddy. I no want you to weave. You weave me." Her huge green eyes grew bigger, filling with tears. "Mummy wuv me, too?"
"Baby girl," Clara laughed slightly, hugging her even closer and resting her cheek on her daughters soft hair. "Of course I do. Mummy, Daddy, Ella and Harry all love you; so, so much."
"Awways?"
Clara nodded. "Always."
They sat for a few moments, completely silent, gently rocking backwards and forwards. Lily sighed with content every once in a while, finding great comfort in the arms of her mother.
"Mummy ..." She began, lifting her head and looking up. "Can you sing? You sing wuvwey and better than Ewwa. Ewwa sing frozen all da time ..." (Another fun fact: my sister, bless her, tries and tries to sing Let It Go ... She can't.)
Clara laughed again, smiling warmly. "My singing is not lovely, Lily, and your sister is a lovely singer ... But fine."
"Sing your song, Mummy ... Da one that you and daddy sing togever. Dats my favouwite," Lily grinned, smiling like an angel.
She cleared her throat, trying to find an excuse to not sing it. The only time she ever sung it was when, at 2 AM, she was cleaning the kitchen, which ended subsequently as duetting with the Doctor. It only made her embarrassment worse that it was a disney song, and a cringe-worthy one. "Wouldn't it be better if Daddy was here, Lil? Maybe next time -"
"Or we could do it now ..." The Doctor murmured from the doorway unexpectedly, making both Clara and Lily jump out of their skin. Harry giggled, high-fiving his father as if to congratulate him in his victory of scaring his mother and sister.
"Doctor! Harry! Sneaking up on people ... Remember what happened last time? That's why we don't do it!"
"Sorry, love," the Doctor laughed, bending low to kiss both girls' foreheads before looking to Lily. "But Daddy can't sing to save his life, sweetheart. Mummy's better on her own."
"Doctor -"
"P'EASE, P'EASE, P'EASE SING MUMMY!" Lily begged.
The sigh that left Clara's lips indicated her dread, but since none of them would look for the tickets until she sang, she might've as well.
"Tale as old as time,
True as it can be,
Barely even friends,
Then some body bends,
Unexpectedly.
Just a little change,
Small to say the least,
Both a little scared,
Neither one prepared,
Beauty and the beast.
Ever just the same,
Ever a surprise,
Ever as before,
Ever just as sure,
As the sun will rise.
Tale as old as time,
Tune as old as song,
Bitter sweet and strange,
Finding you can change,
Learning you were wrong.
Certain as the sun,
Rising in the east,
Tale as old as time,
Song as old as rhyme,
Beauty and the beast..."
A tear fell from the Doctor's cheek. It was so cringe-worthy, so cliche, but he absolutely loved it when she sang. She sounded perfect. Not exactly like some angel, but not tone deaf. Her voice had a perfect roughness to it, a roughness that sounded divine in his ears. Or the little voice breaks. Yeah, he was going with everything.
"That was bloody awful," he teased, wiping his cheek with his thumb and sweeping away his tears.
Clara laughed loudly. "Oh, really? Why are you crying, then?"
"I'm crying because it hurt my ears so bad," he retorted cleverly, laughing and pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. "God, I married the perfect woman."
All four of them hugged each other, laughing and giggling with sheer delight, until Lily's small arm snaked out of the heap of limbs holding a few pieces of printed card in her hands with innocent eyes and a devilish grin.
The tickets.
(A/N - I'm trying really hard to update more, but I've got so much writers block and exams and stress omg please kill me now. My apologies if this one shot is reallyyyy bad - Better than nothing, eh?
Just putting this out there, but - if I ever wrote any Smillan stories, would anyone read them? I'm in the process of making an AU right now ... Maybe ...
Anywaysssss, enjoy this daily dose of Whouffle.
Bye xxx
- A)
