Receiving Another Chance (Book Ten of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Epilogue

And here it is . . . much, much later than I ever expected, but it's finally here! The end of the first Capalry era book! And I'd say the book goes out fantastically. ;)

Enjoy, everyone! 

***

"Do you know," the Doctor said as he and Jessie walked arm and arm out to the TARDIS on Christmas night, "I don't remember the last time we had a real proper Christmas like that."

"Probably before Trenzalore," Jessie mused.

"Oh, yes," he grimaced. "Best not think of those years."

"Yeah, I much prefer this Christmas," Jessie smiled.

"But the best present I got this year wasn't even for Christmas," the Doctor smiled softly. As if on autopilot, Jessie's hand moved over her stomach, the Doctor's joining hers a second later. "If you had told me all those years ago on Trenzalore this could have been an option . . . well, I would have thought you mad."

"Mad Wolf," Jessie giggled.

"Not anymore," the Doctor shook his head. "Just the blood bonded I love very much."

Jessie smiled radiantly. "I love you, too."

He kissed her, smiling against her lips. "Merry Christmas, Jezebel," he said quietly.

"Merry Christmas, Kasterborous," she whispered back.

"Well, look at you," Pietro grinned as he bounded out from Rose's house, Wanda following behind with a few thermoses. "All happy. That's rare, especially for you."

"Oi!" the Doctor protested, but couldn't help but grin as he elbowed the speedster. "Do you know what's rarer? Second chances." He looked at the doorway to see Clara and Rose come out, the two women giggling together. "We never get second chances, so what happened this time with them? Don't even know who to thank."

***

"Thanks for having us," Clara told Rose a few feet away from the TARDIS, a smile on her face. "I mean, after the Dream Crabs and all. You didn't have to do that."

"Oh, it was a pleasure," Rose assured her with a wide smile. "What kind of friend am I if I don't offer my house for Christmas?"

"We could have easily invited you in the TARDIS!"

"And go off saving another planet again?" Rose snorted. "I think Dream Crabs and Santa Claus was enough for me."

"Fair enough," Clara laughed. "Absolutely fair enough." She calmed down. "You could always come with us, you know," she offered. "Like I do."

Rose ran her tongue over her teeth. "It's tempting," she admitted, looking over at the TARDIS. "But that's your life, Clara. Not mine. Besides," she perked up. "One of us has to be the normal one, right?"

Clara laughed. "What's good about normal, though?"

Rose burst out laughing, too. "Oh, come here!"

Clara hugged her tightly. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll be right here whenever you need me," Rose promised, hugging her back.

Clara smiled, pulling back. "I'll hold you to that."

"Clara!" the Doctor called, and she turned to see him and Pietro standing outside the TARDIS as Jessie and Wanda headed in. "Come on!"

"Coming!" Clara called back, giving Rose a quick wave and turning to go to the TARDIS.

"Clara?" Rose's voice made her turn back, and the blonde bit her lip. "Be careful, OK?"

"Of course I will be," Clara smiled. "I'll be fine!"

"Really, Clara," Rose shook her head. "We got lucky with the Dream Crabs. Maybe you're used to it . . . but give your best friend a bit of comfort, please? Be careful."

Clara slowly nodded. "I will be," she said. "I promise."

Rose smiled in relief, and Clara hurried to join Pietro, the Doctor closing the door behind them.

***

Rose stood in the doorway to the house, watching the TARDIS wheeze out of existence. "Good," she nodded absently, taking a deep breath and turning to go back in. "That's really good, Clara." She tossed her peacoat over the armchair, walking over to the calendar that the Bad Wolf had taken from by the mantle. "Just keep that promise," she murmured, crossing December 25th off.

She stared long and hard at the December month, then flipped forward more months until she came upon the day she was looking for.

Her gaze hardened as it landed upon the day with a raven inked in the space, then let the calendar drop, the page landing back on the current day.

"For both our sakes."

***

To be continued in "Preparing For The Future!"

OK, right off the bat, to everyone who stuck around with me when I didn't update for basically a year . . . I can't thank you enough. You could have abandoned this at any time, yet you stuck around for the long run, and finally, here we are at the end of the book. But I promise we are nowhere near at the end of the story.

Thank you to shavingforsherl0ck and KleeAlise11 especially for helping me get my Doctor Who muse back on track. Here's to hoping it'll stay that way . . . because as you can tell, there is quite a book to come, and I promise no one will want to miss out on it.

Without further ado, onwards we go! I'll be publishing the Series 9 book very shortly.

Long live the OTPs!

 ~ Miss Moffat