Watching the Doctor

The Snowmen

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday (if you got one) and a happy new year!

Am I late again? Yes! But you know, I decided to take some time and enjoy the holidays with family, so sorry but not sorry.

So I present The Snowmen!

Please read the bottom for the extra notes, and enjoy!

Thanks for reading.

Robyn

The group watched in anticipation as the newest title appeared on the giant screen.

"The Snowmen?" Ryan announced, face bewildered at the title alongside most of the group.

Clara's eyes had narrowed at the screen before turning to the Doctor, "You don't think ...?" She had a strong suspicion she knew what this was about (her memories of her time splintered were slightly blurry and took some effort to think of, likely for the sake of her sanity, but she did remember them a lot better now).

"I think so." The Doctor nodded, face serious as she glanced briefly at Amy and Rory.

"Well, that was helpful!" Donna declared dramatically; voice full of sarcasm.

Jack chuckled, "Only you Doc, would be able to find threatening snowmen."

"How do you know they weren't friendly?" The Doctor shot back, "And don't call me Doc!"

Everyone gave her a 'really?' look, Jack just snorted, grinning widely; "It's you ... Doc." The Doctor shot him a glare at the nickname but couldn't argue with his logic. Now the debate over the title of the video was done, the group turned to the screen ready to watch the latest video unfold.

(A shower of snowflakes with teeth heads towards Earth.)

"That's a brilliant start." Bill muttered. No one missed the look that Clara and the Doctor shared.

[Park]

(England, 1842. A large hedged area in a suburb, with one big tree and lots of snow on the ground. The other children throw snowballs whilst a lone boy builds a snowman.)
WOMAN: Walter, don't you want to go and play with the other boys and girls? They're very nice.
WALTER: I don't need anyone else.
(A man comes up to her.)
WOMAN: He never talks to anyone. He's so alone. It's not right. It's not healthy.
(The man and woman walk back inside a large building.)
WALTER: I don't want to talk to them. They're silly.
SNOWMAN: They're silly. Don't talk to them. They're silly.

"I'm starting to see how the snowmen can be unfriendly." Ryan declared, looking unnerved by the supposedly taking snowman on screen.

"Only you Doctor, would meet snowmen that could talk." Yaz gave the Doctor a pointed look, to which she received a shrug and grin, although everyone could see the grin was slightly shaky which left them all a bit unsettled; something was off.

(Walter runs away from the snowman.)
SNOWMAN: Don't need anyone else. I can help you.
WALTER: How?

"Because that isn't ominous at all." Martha muttered. The whole group was on edge; the whole atmosphere feeling unnerving and the glances Clara and the Doctor were sharing weren't happy-looking. This one didn't seem like it was going to end very well and no one was enjoying the apprehension building.

[Institute]

(50 years later. The young boy is now a sour old man watching men scraping bits of snow off snowmen with nasty toothy grins and into Kilner clip-top jars. He transports the jars back to the GI Institute and goes into a laboratory. There is a large globe on legs three steps up on a dais, which also contains some snow. Electricity crackles around the place.)

"That looks a bit more serious than a talking snowman." Rose commented, watching the industrial process with apprehension.

"You could say that again." Mickey muttered.

SIMEON: The last of the arrivals have been sampled.
SNOWMAN: The great swarm is approaching. As humanity celebrates, so shall it end. Will the final piece be ready?

"The 'great swarm', end of humanity? None of that sounds remotely good." Bill announced with a grimace, glancing at the Doctor face full of concern.

"It doesn't, does it?" The Doctor mused, purposefully teasing the group. Clara just shook her head in fond exasperation at her words while the rest of the group sighed annoyed.

SIMEON: It's in hand. I serve you in this, as in everything else.
(Walter Simeon spoons the snow from the jars into the globe.)
SNOWMAN: And do you keep my secrets, those men who helped us tonight?
SIMEON: It won't be a problem. I promised to feed them.

"Why do I feel like that's not a good thing?" Graham asked.

Ryan snorted, "Probably the talking snow, or creepy grin, or everything else that's wrong with this mess so far."

"Didn't need the sarcasm, Ryan."

[Courtyard]

(Simeon stands on a balcony overlooking the yard full of men.)
WORKER: Beg pardon, Doctor Simeon. It's been a long day. I don't see any food here.
SIMEON: I do.
(Toothy snowmen rear up from the ground.)
WORKER: What is this?
SIMEON: I said I'd feed you. I didn't say who to.

"Is it bad that I kind of expected that?" Yaz asked.

No one else spoke up all silently agreeing with Yaz even as they grimaced at the horrible fate of those poor workers.

[Rose & Crown]

(A familiar looking young woman gathers empty tankards from the tables and takes the tray outside. There is a toothy snowman in the yard between the inn and the wash house. A man walks past her.)

"Clara?" Several people announced confused. From the way she'd reacted to the title and the video so far, they'd already known she was involved but they hadn't expected her to appear like this.

Clara and the Doctor shared a long look, having a silent conversation about what to tell the group at this moment.

"Essentially Clara got splintered. She became a jigsaw puzzle piece, an individual that when put together builds a bigger picture ... expect it's nothing like that. Forget I said anything ..." The Doctor rambled; drawing rolled eyes from the majority of the group. Clara sighed, but quickly took over as the Doctor looked more contemplative, trying to think of a better explanation.

"It's ... complicated. I splintered myself across the Doctor's timeline our first time on Trenzalore, not the one you've seen. This is me, but not me. I have some memories of it but they're not the clearest thankfully, too many to deal with. Amy, Rory – Oswin, you know the one you met on the planet with all the Daleks? That was another splinter." Clara tried to explain, nodding at Amy and Rory whose eyes widened as they connected some of the dots.

CLARA: Did you make this snowman?
DOCTOR: No.

"Bit grumpy Doctor, more like Eyebrows then Chinny." Jack joked, but his raised eyebrow and pointed look at the Doctor said it was a serious worry that he wanted answers to.

The Doctor bit her lip, glancing at Amy and Rory briefly. "It was a bad time." No matter the questioning looks she was given, she refused to elaborate. Clara just watching sadly but aware.

CLARA: Well, who did? Because it wasn't there a second ago. It just appeared, from nowhere.
(The Doctor turns and comes back to examine it.)
DOCTOR: Maybe it's snow that fell before. Maybe it remembers how to make snowmen.

"Since when could snow remember?" Rose asked confused and weary. No one knew what to say, and those that did, refused to say anything.

CLARA: What, snow that can remember? That's silly.
DOCTOR: What's wrong with silly?
CLARA: Nothing. Still talking to you, ain't I?

"Ooh, burn. Good one Clara." Bill grinned at the other woman who grinned back.

DOCTOR: What's your name?
CLARA: Clara.
DOCTOR: Nice name. Clara. You should definitely keep it. Goodbye!

"Keep it?" Clara raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, she'd been far more focused on other things at the time to really question the comment. "As opposed to what?"

The Doctor just shrugged.

(Clara follows him around the corner.)
CLARA: Oi! Where are you going? I thought we was just getting acquainted.
Those were the days.
(The Doctor leaves. Clara starts to return to the inn, then changes her mind and runs after his brougham carriage. It's not a hansom because the driver is in front, not behind.)

"Too stubborn for your own good." The Doctor muttered but no one missed the fond smile on her face.

"Need to be to keep up with your nonsense, hypocrite." Donna snorted.

[Carriage]

VASTRA [OC]: How refreshing to see you taking an interest again. Was she nice?

"Madama Vastra." Martha smiled, pleased to see the Silurian on screen again; she seemed very good at keeping up with and a good friend for the Doctor. And seeing how this video was going it was good to know the Doctor had such a good friend to help him and keep him out of some trouble.

DOCTOR: I just spoke to her.
(This carriage has a telephonic communications device fitted.)
VASTRA [OC]: And made your usual impact, no doubt.
DOCTOR: No, no impact at all. Those days are over.

The whole group snorted in disbelief at that comment. Upon seeing the Doctor's pout, River smiled and nudged her wife; "Sorry Sweetie, but you just can't help yourself."

VASTRA [OC]: You can't help yourself.

"See, even Vastra agrees." River nodded to Vastra's comment.

[Vastra's study]

VASTRA: It's the same story every time. And it always begins with the same two words.

In sync the whole group, with varying emphasis and tone (the Master grumpily and annoyingly included) spoke up; "Doctor who?" They then broke out into laughter at the look the Doctor gave them (Master not included).

[Carriage]

DOCTOR: She'll never be able to find me again. She doesn't even have the name. Doctor. What two words?
(Clara's head appears through the hatch in the roof.)
CLARA: Doctor? Doctor who?

The group grinned widely at Clara's dramatic reappearance. Amy nodded approvingly, "Good, need to keep him on his toes. Don't let him just run away like that." She had a sneaking suspicion about when this was set based on the Doctor's attitude, and if she was right then she was very interested to see how Clara got to know/deal with the Doctor.

[Outside Darkover House]

(A carriage drops off a middle aged man. He is greeted at the door by a servant.)
ALICE: Good evening, sir.
LATIMER: Pond's frozen over. Hasn't frozen since the night
SIMEON: Since the night your children's governess died, a year ago.

"Oh great, things are getting even more ominous." Rory muttered with a long sigh, because apparently evil snowmen, Clara-that-isn't-really-Clara-but-is, and a depressed Doctor weren't enough they also had a dead governess that seemed to be still (metaphorically) haunting them.

ALICE: Doctor Simeon, sir. He insisted on waiting.
LATIMER: She drowned in this very pond.
SIMEON: Which then froze. You didn't find her till a month later, when the ice finally melted.

"No one knew she was missing for a month?!" Yaz exclaimed shocked. The rest of the group seemed equally appalled and horrified by the story.

Clara glanced at the Doctor who nodded at her (she would know more of the details in that regard) before turning to the group with a rough explanation, "They'd figured out she was missing before that but no one could find her. They only figured out she had died in the lake when it melted as they couldn't see through the ice before then." Her response earned some understanding nods but they group still seemed horrified.

LATIMER: I recall the incident. It is the sort of thing one remembers.
SIMEON: The ice remembers too.

"I'm going to guess he means a bit more literally based on the freaky snowmen and his general ... creepiness." Donna remarked, waving at Simeon on the screen.

Clara and the Doctor shared a knowing glance but didn't answer to Donna (and the rest of the group's) annoyance – it seemed they were back to normal, with never getting answers.

LATIMER: Who are you? What do you want here?
(Simeon gives him a business card - The Great Intelligence Institute. Memories of the Abominable Snowmen, everyone?)
SIMEON: The pond is yours, Captain Latimer, but what is growing inside it, when it is ready, is ours. Good evening.

"Please don't tell me we're getting a zombie out of the ice?" Ryan asked Clara and the Doctor, eyes widening in horror.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ryan. That's not possible" Graham nudged his grandson, turning to the Doctor. "Right, Doc?"

The Doctor turned her eyes back to the screen, expression schooled and purposely avoiding eye contact.

"Right Doc?" Graham tried again, less confident and more desperate. She didn't answer, which only left the group feeling even more apprehensive.

[Alleyway]

(A shapely young woman in leather trousers stands in Simeon's path.)
JENNY: Well, Doctor Simeon, you're out very late tonight.
VASTRA: Almost makes you wonder what you've been up to. But then, I have often wondered about the activities of Doctor Simeon and his exceptionally secretive Institute.

"Jenny and Vastra are on his case at least." Amy nodded approvingly, good to see that even if the Doctor was in a mood that Vastra was taking care of things until Clara could help knock some sense into the Doctor (and that was only if Vastra couldn't deal with it all herself).

SIMEON: Well, I am honoured this evening. The veiled detective and her fatuous accomplice.
JENNY: At your service.
SIMEON: You realise Doctor Doyle is almost certainly basing his fantastical tales on your own exploits? With a few choice alterations, of course. I doubt the readers of The Strand magazine would accept that the great detective is, in reality a woman.

"I'm sorry. Did he just imply that Sherlock Holmes is based off of Vastra?" Martha grinned, leaning forward in her seat in excitement.

"He certainly did." The Doctor grinned back.

(Simeon lifts Vastra's veil to reveal that she is a Silurian.)
SIMEON: And her suspiciously intimate companion

"They're gay, just say it!" Bill exclaimed with a dramatic sigh and gesture, however she got too dramatic and managed to tilt her way off her beanbag, falling onto the floor. The group burst out laughing at the sight which Bill quickly joined in on as she settled herself back on the beanbag properly, leaning against the sofa that Yaz, Graham and Ryan shared.

VASTRA: I resent your implication of impropriety. We are married.
JENNY: More than can be said for you, eh, dear?
VASTRA: Now then. This snow is interesting, don't you think? The ice crystals seem to have a low level telepathic field. Almost as if it can detect and respond to the thoughts and memories of the people around it. Memory snow. Snow that learns.

"In normal circumstances that would be amazing, but when the Doctor's involved you know there's going to be trouble." Jack remarked with a teasing grin at the Doctor.

The Doctor scoffed but they could all see her lips twitching, "I resent that implication Harkness!"

"We all know it's true Sweetie." River joined in on teasing her wife.

"You two really can't say anything!" The Doctor protested to deaf ears.

SIMEON: How fascinating.
VASTRA: I hope it's listening to the right people. It could be a terrible weapon in the wrong hands, don't you think?
SIMEON: I think winter is coming. Such a winter as this world has never known. The last winter of humankind. Do you know why I'm telling you all this?

"Seeing as this is set in like Victorian times –." Mickey started.

"1892." Clara shrugged interrupting her.

Mickey nodded at her and continued, "Right, seeing as this is 1892 and we've definitely had winter since then I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you stopped his plan."

"Good guess." The Doctor shrugged with a smile but refused to elaborate.

VASTRA: I am intrigued.
SIMEON: Because there's not a single thing you can do to stop it.
VASTRA: Perhaps I can't, but I know a man who can.
SIMEON: I look forward to meeting him.
(Simeon leaves.)
JENNY: Do you mean the Doctor? He won't help us. He never helps any more, you know that.
VASTRA: Yes, my dear, I do. So pray for a miracle, because I think we are going to need him.

"What does she mean by that Doctor?" Rose asked quietly. They'd only seen the Doctor on screen briefly but they could all tell something was wrong.

The Doctor sighed deeply, eyes flicking up to glance at Amy and Rory before shifting to the floor as she considered her wording. Finally, she looked up again, "It was a bad time so I decided to take a break from everything with people I knew I could trust."

She stopped her explanation there, looking around in the hope that the group would accept that and move on. But as expected, they were watching her curiously, several raising eyebrows or nodding at her to continue. They tried not to pressure her to answer too often, but sometimes it was better for everyone and the only way to get explanations for anything.

The Doctor bit her lip before continuing, eyes locked on Amy and Rory but not meeting their eyes. She vaguely felt River grab and squeeze her hand tightly in comfort, already having worked out what had happened. "Amy and Rory ... I'd just lost Amy and Rory ... weeping angles took them ... they're fine and together, I mean obviously they're here ... but it means I would never see them again." The Doctor stumbled over her words, as it wasn't something she often had to explain.

Thankfully the group seemed to understand what she was trying to say, their eyes opening wide in realisation as they grasped what the Doctor meant. It added a whole new layer to the video, all quietly (and not so quietly) curious about what the Doctor was like after having just lost a companion. They all couldn't help but wonder what she was like after losing them specifically, and for Amy and Rory they would get that opportunity to see in this video. The silence as they all contemplated the Doctor's words, allowed the Doctor to sink into herself a bit as no one spoke up and eventually the video re-started, pulling everyone from their thoughts for the moment.

[Outside the Institute]

(Simeon is being watched by a manservant with electronic binoculars. Nearby, the Doctor's carriage is rocking.)
STRAX: They've taken samples from snowmen all over London. What do you suppose they're doing in there?
(The manservant is a Sontaran.)

"The potato is back." Bill grinned, trying to bring back a more pleasant atmosphere in the room after the revelation from the Doctor. She succeeded, mostly as the group wanted to move away from the more solemn atmosphere that had taken over the room, plus they were all happy to see Strax on screen again.

DOCTOR: This snow is new. Possibly alien. When you find something brand new in the world, something you've never seen before, what's the next thing you look for?
STRAX: A grenade.

"That's Sontarans for you." Jack chuckled.

DOCTOR: A profit. That's Victorian values for you.
STRAX: I suggest a full frontal assault with automated laser monkeys, scalpel mines and acid.

"Laser monkeys?" Rory asked before thinking for a second, "You know what? I don't want to know."

DOCTOR: Why?
STRAX: Couldn't we at least investigate?
DOCTOR: It's none of our business.

"When has that ever stopped you before Doctor?" Amy asked, face stern even as her eyes portrayed her sadness and understanding for the Doctor. She wouldn't deny that she'd spent several nights after being transported back in time by the Angels just thinking about how the Doctor had coped. Had he moved on like she'd asked? Had he found someone else to travel with? Was he with River? She'd driven herself to distraction on several occasions, but she wasn't quite sure she was ready for answers. Not that it mattered as it seemed she would finally be receiving some.

STRAX: Sir, permission to express my opposition to your current apathy?
DOCTOR: Permission granted.
STRAX: Sir, I am opposed to your current apathy.

"Leave it to Strax to lay it all out." Mickey snickered.

CLARA [OC]: Let me out!

Clara glared at the Doctor, remembering how she'd been locked in the carriage, the Doctor didn't even have the grace to look sheepish, instead she seemed very entertained by the whole affair.

DOCTOR: Thank you, Strax. And if ever I'm in need of advice from a psychotic potato dwarf, you'll certainly be the first to know.

"Psychotic potato dwarf." Yaz grinned, "Best description of a Sontaran."

STRAX: But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we be making some attempt to destroy it? Be reasonable.
CLARA [OC] Let me out!
DOCTOR: It is not our problem. Over a thousand years of saving the universe, Strax, you know the one thing I learned? The universe doesn't care.

"Oh Doctor." River whispered, voice heartbroken and eyes sad. It was made worse by the way the Doctor refused to meet anyone's eyes, firmly focusing on the screen.

CLARA [OC]: In this cab. Oi, Doctor! Let me out! Are you listening to me?
DOCTOR: Now, we have a problem of our own to worry about.
CLARA [OC]: Let me out!

"Are you calling me a problem?" Clara asked pointedly.

"Yes." The Doctor nodded before turning to actually see Clara's expression where she quickly scrambled to change her answer, "Is what I would say if I was an idiot, which I am."

"At least you admit it." Clara sighed to herself but gave the Doctor one last glare just for good measure.

[Carriage]

CLARA: Oi!
DOCTOR: Don't worry. No one's going to hurt you.
CLARA: What is that thing?

"Love the priorities, Clara." Rose chuckled.

"As if you wouldn't want to know about the talking potato." Clara retorted with a grin.

STRAX: Silence, boy!
DOCTOR: That's Strax. And as you can see, he's easily confused.
STRAX: Silence, girl. Sorry, lad.

"Oh Strax." Rory shook his head fondly.

DOCTOR: Sontaran. Clone warrior race. Factory produced, whole legions at a time. Two genders is a bit further than he can count.

"Just a bit." Nardole muttered, "Sounds appealing."

STRAX: Sir, do not discuss my reproductive cycle in front of enemy girls. It's embarrassing.
DOCTOR: Typical middle child of six million.
CLARA: Who are you?
DOCTOR: It doesn't matter because you're about to forget that you and I ever met.
STRAX: We'll need the worm.

"The worm?" Martha raised an eyebrow pointedly.

"The worm." The Doctor grinned and Clara groaned.

STRAX: Sir.
CLARA: You'll need the what? The worm? What worm?
DOCTOR: Don't worry, it won't hurt, but one touch on your bare skin and you lose the last hour of your memory.

"A memory worm?" Mickey asked bewildered, "Why not." He sighed as the rest of the group snickered at the absolute ridiculousness of the situation.

"Is sending Strax to get the worm a good idea?" Amy asked the Doctor, with a knowing look. The Doctor had literally just discussed why he wasn't the brightest potato in the patch after all.

The Doctor sighed, "Not at all." He really should have thought about that beforehand.

(Strax returns.)
DOCTOR: Where is it?
STRAX: Where's what, sir?

"He didn't?" Bill grinned hopefully.

The Doctor's pained sigh and Clara's giggles was all the answer the group needed, all breaking out into laughter at poor Strax.

DOCTOR: I sent you to get the memory worm.
STRAX: Did you? When? Who's he? What are we doing here? Look, it's been snowing!
DOCTOR: You didn't use the gauntlets, did you?
STRAX: Why would I need the gauntlets? Do you want me to get the memory worm?
DOCTOR: You.

"You should never trust a potato with a memory worm." Graham chuckled.

"That's one of the weirdest sentences I think you've ever said." Ryan replied with an expression of disbelief on his face as Yaz snickered.

[By the carriage]

(A short time later, Strax is under the carriage.)
DOCTOR: Well, can you see it?
STRAX: I think I can hear it.
(Clara giggles.)
DOCTOR: Oi, don't try to run away. Stay where you are.
CLARA: Why would I run? I know what's going to happen next and it's funny.

The group in the room seemed equally amused at the situation, and unlike Clara on screen they were also aware that she wasn't in actual danger from the Doctor.

DOCTOR: What's funny?
CLARA: Well, your little pal, for a start. He's an ugly little fella, isn't he?
DOCTOR: Maybe. He gave his life for a friend of mine once.

"Demons run?" Rory asked quietly, he had thought that he'd seen him die after all.

The Doctor nodded, "Demons run." The rest of the group was quiet in understanding, having already seen the video the pair were talking about.

CLARA: Then how come he's alive?
DOCTOR: Another friend of mine brought him back. I'm not sure all his brains made the return trip!

The group snickered at that comment.

CLARA: Neither am I.
STRAX: I can see it.
DOCTOR: Ooo! Can you reach it? Have you got it?
STRAX: Got what, sir?

"He's not wearing the gauntlets." Rose laughed, the rest of the group bursting out into renewed laughter at her realisation.

CLARA: Because these are the gauntlets, aren't they?
STRAX: Sir, emergency! I think I've been run over by a cab.

"Oh Strax." The Doctor shook her head fondly, she really needed to go visit the Paternoster gang sometime soon.

(The Doctor uses the gauntlets to get hold of a large white worm.)
DOCTOR: There you go. One touch and you lose about an hour of your memory. Let it bite you and you could lose decades.

"Good to know." Donna muttered, making a mental note to never let one of those bite her. Not that she had planned it to begin with; the worm reminded her far too much of another worm-thing – the one that had shown her another timeline where she'd never met the Doctor, she wondered if they would be shown that at some point too.

(He puts it into a jar.)
DOCTOR: And you're still not trying to run.
CLARA: I don't understand how the snowman built itself. I'll run once you've explained.

"I can see why you travelled together." River smirked, that was the kind of remark that drew the Doctor's attention to people.

DOCTOR: Clara who?
CLARA: Doctor who?
DOCTOR: Oh, dangerous question.

"You're telling me about it." Amy muttered. The Doctor winced at that; it really was.

CLARA: What's wrong with dangerous?
(A snowman appears.)
DOCTOR: The snow emits a low level telepathic field.

"Telepathic snow, wonders never cease." Jack shook his head. He didn't think he'd ever see everything the universe had to offer no matter how long he lived or how far her travelled, and he'd long since accepted that.

CLARA: My snowman.
DOCTOR: It seems to reflect people's thoughts and memories and because it's unusual, somehow it carries a previous shape and
CLARA: No, Doctor. My snowman.
DOCTOR: Ah! Interesting. Well, were you thinking about it?
CLARA: Yes.
(Another one appears, then others.)
DOCTOR: Well, stop. Clara, stop thinking about the snowmen!

"It's really hard to stop thinking about something when it's right in front of you!" Clara countered. She was very thankful the snowmen had been dealt with, if they hadn't been then there would be a lot of snowmen in the room with them.

(The nearest snowman breaths snowflakes at them.)
DOCTOR: Get down! Clara, listen to me. The snow's feeding off your thoughts.
CLARA: I don't understand.
DOCTOR: You're caught in their telepathic field. They're mirroring you. The more you think about the snowmen, the more they appear. Imagine them melting. Picture it. Picture them melted!

"The Wicked Witch is dead!" Bill announced with a cartoonish cackle. Her words drew the room's attention, "What? You can't tell me you weren't thinking it too."

(They get splashed with icy water. The snowmen are gone.)
DOCTOR: Well, very good. Very, very good. Ha!
CLARA: Is that going to happen again?
DOCTOR: Well, if it does, you know what to do about it.
CLARA: Unless I forget.

"Ooh, you cornered him there. Well done." Amy nodded approvingly; it was good to see the Doctor's next companion after them had a sensible head on her shoulders (by their crazy standards).

(The Doctor puts Clara into the carriage.)
DOCTOR: Don't come looking for me. Forget about me. You understand?

"There is absolutely no chance of that happening." Rose snorted.

CLARA: What about the snow? Shouldn't we be warning people?
DOCTOR: Not my problem. Merry Christmas. Take her back where we found her.

"The evil telepathic snowmen are going to take over the world, but it's not my problem. Merry Christmas, go on about your day." Yaz said, "Great advice Doctor."

STRAX: Sir.
(Strax drives on, but Clara has already got out of the carriage. She follows the Doctor to -)

"You're incorrigible." The Doctor deadpanned at Clara.

Clara raised an eyebrow, "Pot meet kettle."

"Touche."

[Park]

(Where he climbs over the railings and walks on, whistling Silent Night. Seeing that the coast is clear, he jumps up and grabs a ladder, which he pulls down. Clara hides behind a tree whilst the Doctor climbs the ladder and vanishes. There is a clunk, and the ladder rises up and disappears too. After a moment, Clara comes out and tries to jump for the ladder. She gets it on the second attempt.)

Clara turns to the Doctor, "If you even think about making a short joke, you will regret it." The Doctor held up her hands in surrender. The rest of the group was far more focused on the scene unfolding on screen.

CLARA: Come on.
(She starts to climb. At the top of the ladder, she waves at passers-by, but they do not see or hear her.)
CLARA: Hello. Invisible.
(She is at the base of a spiral staircase. There are footsteps in the air above her.)
CLARA: An invisible staircase.
(The ladder retracts again as she climbs. Soon the rooftops are a long way below.)

"What are you up too?" Martha asked the Doctor confused. This was odd even by their standards, but then again, they hadn't really seen the Doctor dealing with the grief of lost companions/friends before (although she had seen the after effects of the Doctor's grief over Rose in person).

"Isolation." The Doctor replied bluntly and quietly, eyes focussed on the screen.

"Okay Elsa." Bill muttered, earning snickers from some of the group, and even a sad smile from the Doctor. She might not get all the movie references her companions made, but she did get some (mostly due to the movie nights most of her companions seemed to have during their travels on the Tardis. Right from Ian and Barbara up to her current three, although the genres varied greatly depending on who was with her at the time).

[Cloud]

(The Tardis is here. Clara tentatively steps off the staircase into the cloud, goes over and knocks on the door. She hides around the corner when the door opens.)
DOCTOR: Hello? Hello? Hello?
(They both circle the Tardis then Clara heads back down the staircase. The Doctor finds her shawl.)

"You knew I was there." Clara realised, she thought she'd managed to sneak away with little suspicion.

"Yes."

"You didn't do anything about it." Clara continued.

"You were stubborn. There was no stopping you." The Doctor shrugged, eyes slightly cloudy as if lost in memories, "And maybe I was starting to think Vastra had a point."

[Institute]

(More snow samples are fed to the globe.)
SNOWMAN: Tonight the thaw. Tomorrow the snow will fall again, yet stronger. The drowned woman and the dreaming child will give us form at last. Tomorrow the snow will fall and so shall mankind. She is coming.

"They're absolutely taking about the drowned governess in the frozen pond, aren't they?" Rory groaned but seemed resigned to the truth.

[Rose & Crown]

(Clara wakes in a bed. She dresses and leaves, carrying a Gladstone bag.)
CLARA: Look at that. Must have thawed in the night.
(The landlord follows her outside.)
CHILCOTT: I'm begging you, Clara. I'm on my knees.
CLARA: Elsie is back this afternoon, and I was only helping out. I've got my own work to get back to.

"Wait you don't actually work there?" Mickey asked confused.

"I heled out, but it was more of a side job then my actual place of work." Clara explained with a shrug.

"So where did you work then?" Nardole inquired. Clara just gave a purposely mysterious grin but didn't answer.

CHILCOTT: What work? Why won't you ever tell us?
CLARA: You'd never believe me.
(In a carriage, Clara draws down the blinds and changes her clothes.)

[Outside Darkover House]

(Clara steps out of the carriage as a prim and proper young woman, to be met by the maid. She speaks very nicely now, too.)
CLARA: Alice, how smart you look today.

"Are you sure you're the same person?" Bill asked in shock. The whole room seemed equally confused by the drastic change from the Clara on screen.

"Pretty sure, yeah." Clara grinned.

ALICE: The governess should enter by the back door, unless accompanied by the children.
CLARA: And how are the children? Excited about tomorrow?
ALICE: Francesca, same as ever. Digby says he missed you every day. Captain Latimer wants to see you.
CLARA: Of course. Every day?
ALICE: Twice on Saturdays.
CLARA: That's better.

"So, you're the governess?" Martha asked, face scrunched up in thought, "The one that replaced the one in the ice?"

"Yes." Clara answered hesitantly, unsure where Martha was going with this.

"Isn't that a bit too much of a coincidence? That you just happen to be at the place where everything is focused on and you ran into the Doctor." Martha continued, the coincidences seemed too much for it really to be an actual coincidence, at least in her experience.

Clara and the Doctor shared a glance, trying to decide who was going to explain the situation. Clara eventually rolled her eyes at the Doctor's pleading look, and took over the explanation duties. "Because it wasn't quite a coincidence. When I splintered myself in the timeline it was very purposeful to try and save the idiot. So, I ended up where I was needed mostly, it was just rare for the Doctor to actually notice me."

[Study]

CLARA: Captain Latimer.
LATIMER: Ah. Miss Montague, you're back.
CLARA: In time for Christmas. Apologies for my brief absence. Family illness is so unpredictable. You wanted to see me?

"Family illness?" Donna asked pointedly, having a feeling that wasn't quite true based on what they'd already seen.

Clara shrugged with a mischievous grin, "A friend needed help and family illness is a better excuse."

LATIMER: Francesca has been having nightmares.
CLARA: Young girls often do.
LATIMER: Every night this week, she says. Won't tell me about them.
CLARA: Perhaps if you asked her in the right way, there's no one she'd rather tell.
LATIMER: Children are not really my area of expertise.
CLARA: They are, however, your children.
LATIMER: You have, if I may say, a remarkable amount of wisdom in these matters, for one so very pretty, Miss Montague. Young, I mean.
CLARA: I'll see to the children now.

"Oh." Bill's eyes widened as a mischievous smirk took over her face, "He has a crush on you!"

Clara sighed, "He did, but he's not my type."

The Doctor snorted, "But Jane Austen is apparently."

[Garden]

(A pair of children are playing chase.)
FRANCESCA: Miss Montague!
DIGBY: Miss Montague, you're back!
CLARA: Ah, ah, ah!
DIGBY: Good morning, Miss Montague.
FRANCESCA: Good morning, Miss Montague.
(Clara shakes their hands.)

"This is so British." Ryan shook his head at the interaction on screen.

"It's Victorian times Ryan. She is British. We're British. You're British!" Yaz countered, shaking her head in disbelief at Ryan who only shrugged.

CLARA: Good morning, Francesca. Good morning, Digby. Christmas Eve is the most thrilling day, don't you think? Now, what have you two been up to while I've been away?
DIGBY: I did seven drawings and we saw a dead cow.

"That's such a young boy thing." Donna snorted, disgusted.

CLARA: Well, how exciting.
DIGBY: Do your secret voice.
CLARA: Allo, mates.

"You're good with kids." Rose said, nodding at Clara as they watched her interact with the siblings on screen.

"Thank you." Clara smiled at her, "I actually quite like spending time with them, probably why I became a teacher in the end."

(Sitting on a bench.)
FRANCESCA: They're not exactly nightmares. Just dreams.
DIGBY: About our old governess. The one who died. She's haunting Frannie from beyond the grave.

"That could be the case, who know with the Doctor being involved and the telepathic evil snow." Mickey spoke up.

Martha nodded her head side-to-side in a 'so-so' matter, "It could be, but it could also just be a young girl who has been through something traumatising."

CLARA: Haven't you spoken to your father about this?
FRANCESCA: You can't talk about things like that to Daddy.
CLARA: You could try.
DIGBY: Do you want to see where she died?
(They walk around to the front, and the formal pond.)
DIGBY: She fell in there, and then it froze. She was in the ice for days and days. I hated her. She was cross all the time. In Frannie's dream she's still down there, waiting to come back.

Mickey gave Martha a 'I told you so' look at that comment to which she rolled her eyes.

CLARA: Everything else has thawed, but this pond is still frozen.
DOCTOR [memory]: The snow is feeding off your thoughts. The more you think about the snowmen, the more they appear.
CLARA: Frannie, this is important. You dream about her. What do you dream?
FRANCESCA: She's cross with me. She says I've been bad, and she's going to come out of the pond and punish me.
CLARA: When?
FRANCESCA: She said she'd come back for Christmas. Tonight.
DIGBY: I think Frannie's gone mad, don't you? I think she needs a doctor.

"A very specific kind of Doctor." River smirked at her wife. As terrible as the situation sounded, it was good Clara was around to help Vastra pull the Doctor out of their depressed state.

The Doctor was focused on Clara, however. "That's what clued you in?"

"Bit too coincidental after my encounter with you. I thought it would be better to be on the safe side with everything going on." Clara explained.

"It's a good thing you did." The Doctor conceded.

[Park]

CLARA: Doctor! Doctor!
MAN: What's she looking at?
MAN 2: She's asking for a doctor.
(A crowd gathers to watch Clara jumping in the air.)

"They probably all thought you needed a doctor with that behaviour." Nardole declared, noticing how the passers-by were all looking at Clara like she was insane. Clara shrugged; she hadn't exactly had anything else to go off on to find the Doctor.

CLARA: Doctor!
JENNY: Now then, that's enough noise. We don't want to attract attention, do we?
CLARA: I'm looking for the Doctor. Do you know about him? The Doctor?
JENNY: Doctor who?

"Right answer." Amy declared, it seemed that question was coming up a lot more in this video then normal. She couldn't help but wonder if that was for a reason, or if she was just noticing it more after the last video.

[Vastra's home]

STRAX: Do not attempt to escape or you will be obliterated! May I take your coat?

"Love Strax's manners." Bill shook her head fondly. The semi-peaceful Sontaran reminded her oddly of Nardole at times in an almost completely opposite manner, but it was hard to not enjoy his presence on screen.

(Vastra is in the conservatory, sitting in a peacock chair and surrounded by exotic greenery.)
JENNY: Sit.
VASTRA: There are two refreshments in your world the colour of red wine. This is not red wine.

"Is she a vampire?" Ryan asked startled. "First zombies, and now a vampire. What's next, a werewolf?"

Rose and the Doctor shared a knowing look at the mention of a werewolf before pointedly looking away from each other in a false-innocent manner when Jack raised an eyebrow at the pair (knowing vaguely what they were thinking about). Clearing her throat, the Doctor instead turned to answer Ryan's question. "She's Silurian, not a vampire, though there are some similar aliens to those that you'd call vampires." She glanced first at Martha, then at Amy and Rory. She didn't elaborate on Vastra's choice of drink.

JENNY: Madame Vastra will ask you questions. You will confine yourself to single word responses. One word only, do you understand?
CLARA: Why?

"That's a yes." Martha smiled, "But it also shows how much time you spend around children." Clara laughed at that comment.

VASTRA: Truth is singular. Lies are words, words, words. You met the Doctor, didn't you?
CLARA: Yes.
VASTRA: And now you've come looking for him again. Why?
JENNY: Take your time. One word only.

"Jenny is on your side at least." Graham smiled.

Clara shook her head in disagreement. "I wouldn't say that. The Doctor is their friend first and foremost, I'm a stranger trying to get myself involved. The only reason they're even letting me try is because they think it will help the Doctor, their friend. But they weren't going to let me near him without testing me first."

"So, it's more of a good-cop, bad-cop situation." Yaz nodded in understanding, earning a smile from Clara. They could definitely see her as a teacher.

CLARA: Curiosity.
VASTRA: About?
CLARA: Snow.
VASTRA: And about him?
CLARA: Yes.
VASTRA: What do you want from him?
CLARA: Help.
VASTRA: Why?
CLARA: Danger.

"As always when the Doctor is involved." Jack smiled. Like the rest of the group, he was watching the screen nervously, hoping that Clara would past their test, and knowing she likely would if they were watching this, but still nervous despite themselves.

VASTRA: Why would he help you?
CLARA: Kindness.
VASTRA: The Doctor is not kind.

"'Hate is always foolish. and love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind'" The Doctor muttered quietly to herself, quoting some of the last words Eyebrows had for her before regenerating.

CLARA: No?
VASTRA: No. The Doctor doesn't help people. Not anyone, not ever. He stands above this world and doesn't interfere in the affairs of its inhabitants. He is not your salvation, nor your protector. Do you understand what I am saying to you?

"A load of nonsense." Donna declared loudly with a degrading snort. The rest of the group were nodding and muttering along, all agreeing with her. "It doesn't matter how badly the Doctor is doing, they're always sticking their nose in places it shouldn't be and interfering. Usually to the benefit of those in trouble." The Doctor smiled, knowing that was Donna's way of complimenting her and also offering support in her unique Donna-ness.

CLARA: Words.

"Using her own against her, very clever." Martha smiled, very clever indeed.

VASTRA: He was different once, a long time ago. Kind, yes. A hero, even. A saver of worlds. But he suffered losses which hurt him. Now he prefers isolation to the possibility of pain's return. Kindly choose a word to indicate your understanding of this.
CLARA: Man.
VASTRA: We are the Doctor's friends. We assist him in his isolation but that does not mean we approve of it. So, a test for you. Give me a message for the Doctor. Tell him all about the snow and what fresh danger you believe it presents, and above all, explain why he should help you. But do it in one word. You're thinking it is impossible that such a word exists, or that you could even find it. Let's see if the gods are with you.

"That's a difficult task." Rose spoke, the whole room feeling the seriousness and weight of the task in front of Clara.

River was smiling at Vastra, glad to see she was taking care of the Doctor and helping him out even if he was opposed to getting involved. She knew him well enough to know he needed a push to get re-involved.

[Tardis]

(The telephone rings. A proper telephone with a curly cord. The Doctor answers it.)
DOCTOR: Yes? What? I'm trying to read.
VASTRA [OC]: Miss Clara and her concerns about the snow.

"Wait, they're not even going to tell us what she said?" Rory queried, frustrated. He turned to Clara, "What did you say?"

"You'll just have to watch." Clara smiled, knowing how much it would annoy the group. It was nice to be on this side of things, knowing the answers and being able to dangle that knowledge in front of the group, ever out of reach, she could see why River and the Doctor enjoyed it so much.

[Vastra's home]

VASTRA: I gave her the one word test.
DOCTOR [OC]: That's always pointless. What did she say? Well? Well?
VASTRA: Pond.

The group was silent, all taking in the weight of the singular word. They were glad to finally get answers (and quite quickly for once), but they hadn't expected the answer to hit them so far. They could all see why the Doctor had gotten so involved. Unknowingly (or maybe not), Clara had managed to find the one word that would get the Doctor's attention enough to help.

Amy swallowed, eyes locked on the Doctor, "That's a good answer." Clara nodded; expression solemn even though Amy's attention wasn't on her. At the time it had seemed like the most important thing to tell him, she couldn't help but wonder if being a splinter had helped in that regard; some kind of innate knowledge from her main-self helping her out. She might never know the answer to that.

[Tardis]

VASTRA [OC]: Strax has already suggested where to start investigating.

"She doesn't even have to ask; she knows you too well." River smiled, though it was tinged with the sadness at the memory of losing her parents and the ensuing argument with the Doctor that led to them separating.

[Institute]

SNOWMAN; Danger. Danger.
SIMEON: What's wrong?
SNOWMAN: There is danger here. An intelligence. An intelligence beyond anything else in this time and place.

"The snow has a Doctor detector." Jack laughed, knowing without a doubt that the Doctor had decided to get involved by going to the main man himself. The Doctor didn't often do the subtle approach.

SERVANT: Doctor Simeon, sir. There's someone demanding to see you.
SIMEON: No callers, not in here, not ever. Did he leave his name?
SERVANT: Sir, it's Sherlock Holmes.

The whole group turned to the grinning Doctor in fond exasperation and disbelief. "Really?" Martha shook her head.

The Doctor grinned, "Why not?"

River smiled fondly at her wife even as she sighed deeply in exasperation, "Did you find a hat?"

The Doctor grinned wider, almost vibrating in excitement. "Maybe." Then she shot River a knowing look, "And you can't even shoot it."

(A figure in deerstalker hat, cape, walking cane, and with a Meerschaum pipe, unlit.)

Despite themselves the group couldn't help but join the Doctor in grinning widely at the sight of Chinny on screen, all draped out as Sherlock Holmes. All very glad to see the Doctor finally getting back to themselves again and working to stop the danger.

DOCTOR: Oh, nice office. Big globey thing. Now, shut up, don't tell me! I see from your collar stud you have an apple tree and a wife with a limp. Am I right?
SIMEON: No.
DOCTOR: Do you have a wife?
SIMEON: No.
DOCTOR: Bit of a tree? Bit of a wife? Some apples? Come on, work with me here.

"Well done Sherlock Holmes. Really hit it on the nail there." Yaz congratulated the Doctor, voice heavy with sarcasm as the group all snickered at the Doctor's nonsense.

SIMEON: I enjoy The Strand magazine as much as the next man, but I am perfectly aware that Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character. Get out!

"He's not having any of that." Mickey snorted.

DOCTOR: Do you have a goldfish named Colin?
SERVANT: No.
DOCTOR: Thought not. Now, ooo. I see this is one of your business cards. It says so on the front.

"Astounding observations." Bill grinned.

SIMEON: Who are you, and What are you doing here?
DOCTOR: This. Wakey, wakey!
(The Doctor hits the globe with his cane.)

"I have a strange feeling he's not going to like that." Rose said pointedly.

SIMEON: That is highly valuable equipment. You must step away now.
SNOWMAN: We are the Intelligence.
DOCTOR: Ooo. Talking snow. I love new things.

"Talking evil snow." Jack clarified. "Wonders never cease."

"Isn't the universe a great place!" The Doctor declared, far too chipper for the situation. The worst thing was that no one could tell if they were being sarcastic or not.

SNOWMAN: You are not of this world.
DOCTOR: Takes one to snow one. Right, let's see. Multi-nucleate crystalline organism with the ability to mimic and mirror what it finds. Looks like snow. Isn't snow.

"The puns, really?" Amy sighed.

"So, it's not actually snow?" Rory, however, was focused on the snow itself rather than the Doctor's wordplay.

"It is, but it's not." The Doctor replied.

"Great. Thanks. That really clarified everything." Rory muttered as his wife snickered beside him.

SIMEON: You must leave here now.
DOCTOR: Shut up, I'm making deductions. It's very exciting. Now, what are you, eh? A flock of space crystals? A swarm? The snowmen are foot soldiers, mindless predators. But you, you're the clever one. You're Moriarty. So, you turn up on a planet, you generate a telepathic field to learn what you can, and when you've learnt enough, what do you do? You can't conquer the world using snowmen. Snowmen are rubbish in July. You'll have to be better than that. You'll have to evolve.

"Which is where the dead governess in the pond comes in." Martha realised, with a resigned sigh.

Ryan scrunched up his face in confusion, "How does ice deal better with July than snow?" No one answered him.

(During this speech, the Doctor has sonicked the doors locked.)
SERVANT [OC]: Sir, it appears to be stuck!
SIMEON: What have you done? Have you locked the doors?

"Stating the obvious. Almost as bad as the Doctor." Donna muttered.

DOCTOR: You need to translate yourself into something more, well, human.
SIMEON: Kick it down.
DOCTOR: To do that you'd need a perfect duplicate of human DNA in ice form. Where do you find that?
SERVANT [OC]: Sir?
SIMEON: Get in here, quickly!
SERVANT [OC]: I've got a master key somewhere, sir.
DOCTOR: Now, let's see. Most opened file, most viewed page.
(The Doctor tosses Simeon's scrap book in the air, and it lands open at a newspaper cutting headed Tragedy at Darkover House.)

"Turns out you can actually do some detective work after all." Rose grinned, they'd all been enjoying teasing the Doctor after his little opening performance but they couldn't help but be at least a little impressed by the Doctor's method of finding answers (though it would have been easier if he'd just gone and talked to Clara, but that wasn't his style).

DOCTOR: You know, you really should delete your history. Governess frozen in pond. Gotcha!
SERVANT [OC]: Got it, sir!
SIMEON: Get in here! Take him downstairs.
(But the Doctor has already left by the French windows.)

"Dramatic as always." Nardole muttered.

[Outside Darkover House]

DOCTOR: Body frozen in a pond. The snow gets a good long look at a human being, like a full body scan. Everything they need to evolve. Pond. Good point, Clara. What are you doing here?

Clara nodded at the Doctor who smiled softly back. They were both starting to brace themselves for the ending that they knew was coming, aware it wasn't going to end well.

(Strax is holding an alien weapon.)
STRAX: Madame Vastra wondered if you were needing any grenades?
DOCTOR: Grenades?

"She likely didn't ask that specifically." Amy smiled knowingly.

STRAX: She might have said help.
DOCTOR: Help for what?
STRAX: Well, your investigation.
DOCTOR: Investigation? Who says I'm investigating? Do you think I'm going to start investigating just because some bird smiles at me? Who do you think I am?

"The Doctor." The room spoke up in sync, deadpan as they stared the Doctor down.

The Doctor rolled her eyes (fondly) at the group, "Alright you lot. I get it, the sarcasm isn't necessary."

"The sarcasm is always needed." Bill countered.

STRAX: Sherlock Holmes.
DOCTOR: Don't be clever, Strax. It doesn't suit you.

The group laughed at both of their comments, enjoying the comedy of the situation.

STRAX: Sorry, sir.
DOCTOR: I'm the clever one, you're the potato one.

"And there's a sentence I never thought I'd hear." Clara laughed; she was kind of disappointed she'd missed this interaction.

STRAX: Yes, sir.
DOCTOR: Now go away.
STRAX: Yes, Mister Holmes.
DOCTOR: Oi! Shut up. You're not clever or funny and you've got tiny little legs!

"The best insult of all time." Bill announced, voice dripping in sarcasm.

"You're really running with this one, aren't you?" The Doctor muttered; she really should have expected that after being Bill's mentor for so long.

(He sees Clara watching from a window. She waves, and he waves back.)
DOCTOR: Okay, just tell her you're leaving, you're not going up. Leaving. Not going up.
(But his hand says five and gives the thumbs up.)
DOCTOR: What was that about? Five minutes, where did that come from? You.

Clara stared at the Doctor for a moment, the Doctor matching her eyes as she waited for the younger woman to verbalise the thoughts she could almost see rocking around in her head. "You're just ridiculous, you know that right?"

"Yes." The Doctor didn't hesitate, both knowing it was true and that she wouldn't succeed if she tried to argue.

(He leaves the pond, and the ice begins to crack.)

The group watched the ice crack, a foreboding feeling dampening the jollier atmosphere in the room. It seemed the pair had run out of time.

[Outside the garden walls]

(Strax, Jenny and Vastra watch a carriage pull up.)
STRAX: It's the human male from the Institute. What's he doing here? Suggest we melt his brain using projectile acid fish, and then interrogate him. Other way round.

"Strax has some ... interesting ideas." Mickey eyed Strax on screen wearily.

[Bedroom]

FRANCESCA: Am I going to have the nightmare tonight?
CLARA: Definitely not.
FRANCESCA: How do you know?
CLARA: Because someone's coming to help.
FRANCESCA: Who?
CLARA: You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

"I don't think any of us would if we hadn't seen it for ourselves." Rose grinned, it was weird to think back to the time before she knew the Doctor – it seemed like so long ago now and despite everything she'd gone through she didn't regret saying yes to traveling with the Doctor.

FRANCESCA: Is it one of your stories? Your definitely true ones?
CLARA: Ha! All my stories are true.

A few members of the group raised eyebrows at Clara who just grinned mischievously before putting on a fake innocent look. It seemed they weren't going to find out if Clara had been sharing real stories or not.

DIGBY: Like how you were born behind the clock face of Big Ben?
CLARA: Accounting for my acute sense of time.
FRANCESCA: And you invented fish.
CLARA: Because I dislike swimming alone.

"Those are amazing." Amy smiled widely, her brain kicking into gear with inspiration for new story ideas. She'd picked up writing as a career/hobby when she and Rory ended up back in time in America, potentially inspired by all of the Doctor's talk of fairy tales during their adventures.

DIGBY: So what's this one?
CLARA: There's a man called the Doctor. He lives on a cloud in the sky, and all he does, all day every day, is to stop all the children in the world ever having bad dreams.

"Isn't that the Sandman?" Bill asked.

"Who?" Yaz asked confused.

"Just a story I read a while ago, doesn't matter." Bill shrugged.

FRANCESCA: I've been having bad dreams.
CLARA: He's been on holiday. But I am confident he has now returned to work. And as a matter of fact, he's right here.
(The candle flickers as the door opens.)
CLARA: Aren't you, Doctor?
(A woman made of ice enters. The children scream.)

The room tensed as the ice woman entered the room, all horrified at the sight and desperately wondering where the Doctor was. Clara and the Doctor shared a knowing glance, things were heating up (or cooling down if they were being technical) and they both knew how it was going to end.

CLARA: Bloomin' hell!
GOVERNESS: The children have been very naughty.
CLARA: Get back. Now. Quickly.
DIGBY: You're doing your other voice.
CLARA: Yes love, did you notice?
GOVERNESS: Naughty, naughty children.
CLARA: Run!

"She's terrifying." Ryan breathed, voicing the thoughts of the whole room. "No wonder the kids didn't like her."

[Schoolroom]

DIGBY: What do we do?
CLARA: Frannie, Frannie, imagine her melting.

"Good idea, also well done on keeping calm." River noted, although she didn't think that strategy would work this time it was good thinking on Clara's part to remember it and stay calm enough to try it.

FRANCESCA: What?
CLARA: In your head. Melt her.
FRANCESCA: I can't!
GOVERNESS [OC]: I'm getting impatient!
(She forces the adjoining door open.)
GOVERNESS: You have been very naughty!

"Does she know any other words?" Donna exclaimed, the whole group getting tenser as the danger on screen increased and Clara and the Doctor remained separated. The Governess was likely going to feature in a few nightmares after this, the whole situation horrifying in an unfortunately memorable way.

"She's essentially an ice mould of a person, very little of the original governess remains outside of the humanoid shape. The Gr- er, Simeon is using that to his advantage." The Doctor tried to explain, just stopping herself before revealing the truth behind some of the snow – the group would just have to watch to get answers (not that they had a choice in that regard).

DIGBY: What about the man? You said the man was here, the cloud man.
CLARA: Well, he's not, is he?
DIGBY: Where's the Doctor?
CLARA: I don't know!
PUNCH: Doctor? Doctor? Doctor who?

"A bit late Doctor." Amy berated, but everyone could see she was teasing based on the relived smile on her face, not that anyone blamed her as they were all very glad the Doctor had finally arrived to help.

(The Punch puppet aims the sonic screwdriver at the Ice Governess, who shatters.)
DOCTOR: That's the way to do it.
(Punch kisses the Doctor.)
DOCTOR: Oi. Ow.

"Seriously Doctor?" Martha sighed. The Doctor shrugged with a plastered-on grin, a few people noticed that it was a bit shaky but the ongoing danger on screen distracted them for the moment, plus they knew even if they pressed, they weren't likely going to get nay answer outside of 'just watch'.

(Outside the grounds, Simeon activates a device on the back of his carriage that sends snow into the air around the house.)

"It's starting." Ryan muttered, "Whatever 'it' is."

FRANCESCA: Where did she go? Will she come back?
DOCTOR: No, don't worry. She's currently draining through your carpet. New setting. Anti-freeze. And you're very welcome, by the way.

"Why am I getting the feeling this isn't over?" Rose muttered unnerved, the glance Clara and the Doctor shared did nothing to sooth her worries.

CLARA: I'm very grateful. I knew you'd come.
DOCTOR: No, you didn't, because I don't. Because this isn't the sort of thing I do any more. Next time you're in trouble, don't expect me to

The whole group snorted in disbelief at that comment.

(The Doctor is distracted by his reflection in a mirror.)
CLARA: What is it? What's wrong?
DOCTOR: Sorry, it's just. Didn't know I'd put it on.
(He straightens his bow tie, while ice forms on the windows.)

Amy, Rory and River all smiled fondly at the sight of their Doctor in the familiar bowtie. It was a bit bittersweet to see their Doctor again after they'd been separated for real (besides River), but it was good to see them finally moving on. And although it made them feel a bit guilty, they couldn't help but be relieved to see how much their departure (their 'deaths' as far as the Doctor could consider it) had affected the Doctor, that the Doctor had cared for them as much as they had cared for him (they didn't doubt it, but sometimes it was hard to keep in mind with everything that happened).

DOCTOR: Old habits
CLARA: It's cooler.
DOCTOR: Yeah, it is, isn't it? It is very cool. Bow ties are cool.

Rory groaned, "Please don't tell him that, he's bad enough with the bow tie as it is."

The Doctor grinned with a little proud wiggle, even as Clara laughed, "Don't worry about that."

CLARA: No, the room. The room's getting colder.

"Phew!" Amy laughed, miming wiping away sweat from her forehead. She shared a grin with Clara as the Doctor pouted.

(A bulge forms in the carpet.)
DIGBY: She's coming back!
FRANCESCA: What's she going to do? Is she going to punish me?
DOCTOR: Er, er, she's learnt not to melt. Of course, she's not really a governess, she's just a beast. She's going to eat you. Run.

Slowly the group all turned as one to the Doctor, with matching 'really?' expressions.

"That's not exactly reassuring Doctor." Yaz raised an eyebrow at the Doctor pointedly. The Doctor just shrugged with a sheepish, but unapologetic smile, an expression only the Doctor could master.

[Entrance hall]

(They run down the stairs.)
LATIMER: Children, what is the expla. Who the devil are you? What are you doing in my house?

"That's going to be fun to explain." Mickey muttered.

DOCTOR: It's okay. I am your governess' gentleman friend, and we've just been upstairs kissing!

"Ooh, nice excuse Doc!" Jack winked suggestively. Those that knew him though could see how tense he was under the fake cheer; he didn't like where this was going.

"Clearly I've spent too much time around you." The Doctor replied dryly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Jack shot back, hand on his hear in mock offense. The Doctor just grinned.

ALICE: Captain Latimer. In the garden, there's snowmen! And they're just growing out of nowhere, all by themselves. Look!
(Alice runs to answer the front door.)
VASTRA: Good evening. I'm a Lizard Woman from the Dawn of Time, and this is my wife.
(Alice screams and runs back into -)
STRAX: This dwelling is under attack. Remain calm, human scum.
(Alice screams and faints.)

"That's an understandable reaction." Graham said.

DOCTOR: So, any questions?
LATIMER: You have a gentleman friend?

"He has his priorities sorted." Donna snorted.

DOCTOR: Vastra, what's happening?
VASTRA: The snow is highly localised, and on this occasion not naturally occurring.
JENNY: It's coming out of that cab parked by the gates.
STRAX: Sir, one pulver grenade would blow these snowmen to smithereens.

"He's a destructive potato, isn't he?" Nardole asked the room at large, thankfully he wasn't expecting an answer as he didn't receive one.

DOCTOR: They're made of snow, Strax. They're already smithereens. See, Clara? Our friends again.
LATIMER: Clara? Who's Clara?
DOCTOR: Your current governess is in reality a former barmaid called Clara.
GOVERNESS: That's the way to do it!
DOCTOR: Meanwhile your previous governess is now a living ice sculpture impersonating Mister Punch. Jenny, what have you got?

"A day full of revelations." Bill snorted.

(Jenny throws a little ball that creates a forcefield at the top of the stairs.)
JENNY: That should hold it.
STRAX: Sir, this room. One observational window on the line of attack and one defendable entrance.
DOCTOR: Right, everyone in there. Now. Move it. You, carry her.
VASTRA: Nice to see you off your cloud and engaging again.
DOCTOR: I'm not engaging again, I'm under attack.
VASTRA: You missed this, didn't you?
(The governess batters against the forcefield.)
DOCTOR: Shut up.

"Vastra is correct as always." River gave the Doctor a fond, but pointed, smile.

"As always." The Doctor agreed sighing.

[Study]

DOCTOR: Strax, how long have we got?
STRAX: They're not going to attack. They made no attempt to conceal their arrival. An attack force would never abandon surprise so easily, and they're clearly in a defence formation.
DOCTOR: Way, aye, aye. Well done, Straxie. Still got it, buddy.
(And kisses the Sontaran on the top of the head.)
STRAX: Sir, please do not noogie me during combat prep.

The group laughed at that, taking any opportunity to enjoy the video as the atmosphere grew tenser and the situation grew more dangerous.

DOCTOR: So there's something here they want.
CLARA: The ice woman.
DOCTOR: Exactly.
JENNY: Why's she so important?
DOCTOR: Because she's a perfect duplication of human DNA in ice crystal form. The ultimate fusion of snow and humanity. To live here, the snow needs to evolve and she's the blueprint. She's what they need to become. When the snow melted last night, did the pond?
CLARA: No.
DOCTOR: Living ice that will never melt. If the snow gets hold of that creature on the stairs, it will learn to make more of them. It will build an army of ice. And it will be the last day of humanity on this planet.

"We've faced a lot of threats from a lot of different aliens. But evil snow is definitely a new one." Martha commented.

"But no less terrifying." Mickey added on, grimacing at the screen. An army of those ice people was a horrifying thought, and it obviously hadn't happened (as the future was a very ice-people free place), but a no less terrifying thought.

(The doorbell rings.)
DOCTOR: Stay here.

[Entrance hall]

DOCTOR: Oi, I told you to stay in there.
CLARA: Oh, I didn't listen.

"No one ever does." The Doctor muttered, shaking her head before briefly glancing around the room. The whole group looked unrepentant, meeting her gaze with grins.

DOCTOR: You do that a lot.
CLARA: It's why you like me.
DOCTOR: Who said I like you?
(Clara kisses the Doctor.)
CLARA: I think you just did.
DOCTOR: You kissed me.
CLARA: You blushed. And we just. Shut up.

The Doctor and Clara both met each other's eyes briefly before looking the other way. "Let's agree to never speak about this again." Clara declared swiftly. She really wished the whole group hadn't seen that, including the Doctor's literal wife and whatever the Master was. Her old crush on the Doctor was embarrassing and she was long since over it (thankfully), but he was still one of her closest friends and always would be.

"Agreed." The Doctor nodded rapidly. She absolutely was not blushing no matter what River's smirk suggested. She would admit to avoiding everyone's eyes however, leave her alone! She wasn't good at the whole romance thing!

(The Doctor opens the front door.)
SIMEON: Release her to us. You have five minutes.
(Simeon turns away and the Doctor closes the door.)

"So, you're going to do the opposite of that right?" Bill asked. "But like, you don't want to keep her either."

The Doctor smiled fondly at the young woman, "We're absolutely not going to give it to him." She reassured Bill.

DOCTOR: We need to get her out of here but keep her away from them.

"A difficult line to toe." Rory muttered.

CLARA: How?
(The Doctor takes an umbrella from the stand.)
DOCTOR: With this. Do I always have to state the obvious?

"Who are you? Mary Poppins?" Clara asked, giving the Doctor a knowing glance. She may know what the umbrella is for now but she certainly hadn't at the time.

"Is anything obvious with you?" Donna snorted.

LATIMER: Those creatures outside, what are they?
DOCTOR: No danger to you, as long as I get that thing out of here. You, in there, now.
(He goes up the stairs and sonicks the forcefield.)
CLARA: What are you doing?
DOCTOR: Between you and me, I can't wait to find out.

"Oh, so the usual then." Amy said.

(The forcefield turns off then reforms behind him and Clara.)
DOCTOR: Right, if you look after everyone here, then I can. Clara!
CLARA: Doctor.
(They duck under the Governesses arms and run up the stairs.)
DOCTOR: That was stupid.
CLARA: You were stupid, too.
DOCTOR: I'm allowed. I'm good at stupid.

"You are very good at stupid." River nodded in agreement with her wife's comment on screen.

"Thank yo- Oi!" The Doctor turned to give River an offended look, having taken a second to realise what she'd said.

GOVERNESS: That's the way to do it!
CLARA: Why does she keep saying that?
DOCTOR: Mirroring. Random mirroring. We need to get on the roof.

"Add that to the list of things I never thought I'd see. An ice person mimicking Punch and Judy controlled by evil snow." Mickey snorted. Things just got weirder and weirder the longer they spent around the Doctor, even if they were just watching videos of old adventures.

CLARA: This way!
DOCTOR: No, I do the hand grabbing. That's my job. That's always me!

The group chuckled at the Doctor's annoyance of Clara taking charge while the Doctor just shook her head at them all.

[Roof]

DOCTOR: Come on, quickly! What are you doing?
CLARA: My bustle is stuck.
DOCTOR: Your bustle?

"The dresses look great but they are a pain to get on and off, and to do physical activity in." Clara sighed, watching herself on screen. This little moment of distraction had cost them time they really hadn't had in the first place. She glanced at the Doctor who was getting more and more tense despite her cheerful façade, both of them knew what was coming.

(The Doctor pulls Clara through the window. She lands on top of him.)
DOCTOR: You're going to have to take those clothes off. I didn't mean.

The group all laughed at how red the Doctor turned as they fumbled over their words. The Doctor in the room just groaned.

CLARA: I know. I understand, I do.
DOCTOR: Good.
CLARA: Now, what's the plan?
DOCTOR: Who said I've got a plan?
CLARA: Course you've got a plan. You took that.
DOCTOR: Maybe I'm an idiot.

"You're definitely that, but you're also a smart idiot. You have a plan, or at least part of one." Clara gave him a knowing look to which the Doctor shrugged, not going to argue that.

CLARA: You're not. You're clever. Really clever.
DOCTOR: Are you?

"You are very clever, but also a bit of an idiot too." The Doctor countered Clara's earlier comment.

Clara just smirked, "The best people are." That description could be used for just about everyone in the room after all.

(He throws Clara the umbrella.)
DOCTOR: If I've got a plan, what is it? You tell me.
GOVERNESS: That's the way to do it!
CLARA: Is this a test?
DOCTOR: Yes.

"Really not a time to be testing her." Yaz said, getting more frustrated as they went back and forth despite the ever-approaching danger and possible lack of a plan.

CLARA: What will it do to us?
DOCTOR: Kill us.
GOVERNESS: That's the way to do it!
(The Governess turns to snow to get through the window.)

"Since when could she do that?" Ryan exclaimed annoyed, "That's not fair."

"Life's rarely fair Ryan." Graham countered.

Ryan just rolled his eyes, "Don't need to get all philosophical grandad."

DOCTOR: So, come on then. Plan. Do I have one?
CLARA: Oh, I know what your plan is. I knew straight away.
DOCTOR: No, you didn't.
CLARA: Course I did.
DOCTOR: Show me.
CLARA: Why should I?

"You're arguing like toddlers!" Donna berated the two making them both share sheepish glances. Donna had the rare ability to actually make them feel some shame for their nonsense. "The pair of you are terrible, it's hardly the time to focus on trying to out-do each other!"

"Sorry Donna." The pair in question apologised.

DOCTOR: Because we'll be dead in under thirty seconds. Do I have a plan?
CLARA: If we'd been escaping, we'd be climbing down the building. If we'd been hiding, we'd be on the other side of the roof. But no, we're standing right here.

"So, you have a plan. It's just a stupid one." Rose clarified.

"When the Doctor's involved it's always a stupid one." Amy snorted.

DOCTOR: So?
CLARA: So!
(Clara reaches up with the umbrella and pulls the ladder down. The Governess is reforming on the roof.)

"The Tardis!" Bill grinned happily, it was always good to have confirmation that the Doctor did actually have a plan for once (or the start of one), and at the very least – an escape plan.

CLARA: After you.
DOCTOR: After you.
CLARA: After you, I'm wearing a dress. Eyes front, soldier!
DOCTOR: My eyes are always front!
CLARA: Mine aren't.
DOCTOR: Stop it.
CLARA: No. I understand you're the previous governess. I regret to inform you the position is taken. Goodnight.
(Clara taps the ladder, steps onto it and is raised into the air.)

"Very classy." Jack nodded approvingly at Clara with a grin. "I approve." The whole group was smiling, almost proudly, at Clara's style in dealing with the ice-governess.

[Staircase]

CLARA: So you can move your cloud? You can control it?
DOCTOR: No. No one can control clouds, that would be silly. The wind, a little bit.

"Of course, my apologies. That would be silly." Clara said deadpan, giving the Doctor a dead-eye stare.

The Doctor didn't notice, far too busy sharing a glance with Amy and Rory. All thinking back to their time on Sardicktown (or in Amy and Rory's case – on a crashing ship heading in a collision course with Sardicktown) where the fish swam in the clouds.

CLARA: She's following us.
DOCTOR: That's the idea. Keep her away from the snow. So. Barmaid or governess, which is it?
CLARA: That thing is after us, and you want a chat?

"No better time." The Doctor said with a straight face. No one could tell if she was being sarcastic or not, despite them all narrowing their eyes to try and notice any of the Doctor's tells.

DOCTOR: Well, we can't chat after we've been horribly killed, can we?

"I hate to say this, but he makes a good point." Jack conceded with a shrug.

CLARA: How did we get up so high so quick?
DOCTOR: Clever staircase. It's taller on the inside.
CLARA: What am I standing on, what's this made of?
DOCTOR: Super dense water vapour. Should keep her trapped for the moment.

"A thick cloud?" Martha raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.

The Doctor shrugged, "Yes but also no. Kind of?"

"Clear and concise as always Doctor." Mickey snorted as he rolled her eyes. The Doctor just grinned.

[Cloud]

CLARA: Do you actually live up here on a cloud, in a box?
DOCTOR: I have done for a long time now.

"How long?" Amy asked quietly, the burning need to know how long the Doctor had been grieving their deaths taking over.

The Doctor bit her lip for a moment. "A long time."

"How much is a long time Doctor? It seems to vary for you. Please, Doctor. How long?"

The Doctor met Amy's pleading eyes, and seeing the burning need in her them, she sighed. "Honestly? I don't know exactly. But -" She continued quickly upon seeing that Amy was about to argue again, "But, it was over six decades at the very least."

The silence echoed in the room, as everyone took in that information. They'd known the Doctor was grieving the loss of Amy and Rory, but it was something else to know he'd been doing so for so long.

"Oh." Amy muttered quietly, unsure what to say to verbalise the swirling storm of thoughts and emotions suddenly plaguing her mind.

CLARA: Blimey, you really know how to sulk, don't you?

Clara winced at that comment, she understood much better why the Doctor had been 'sulking' in the Tardis now, and knowing what she knew now the comment was a bit on the insensitive side. She couldn't regret it too much though as it had distracted the Doctor from their spiralling thoughts and brought them bac to the danger they were facing.

DOCTOR: I'm not sulking.
CLARA: You live in a box!
DOCTOR: That's no more a box than you are a governess.
CLARA: Oh, spoken like a man. You know, you're the same as all the rest. Sweet little Clara, works at the Rose And Crown, ideas above her station.

"You know that's not what I mean." The Doctor asked Clara with a hurt look.

Clara smiled softly at her, "I know. I wasn't as sure back then, but I didn't know you and this splinter had grown up in Victorian times. Besides I think you understand a bit better now." She nodded at her, referencing her change in sex. From what the group had said and knowing her history and the Doctor, she could easily see how the Doctor's new regeneration would lead to problems in her travels across time. The Doctor nodded at that, matching her smile.

[Tardis]

CLARA: Well, for your information, I'm not sweet on the inside, and I'm certainly not
(The Doctor turns on the Tardis light. He's been redecorating, and I like it. A classic six sided free-standing console with time rotor and no nasty pseudo-organic rubbish.)

The group took a moment to fully take in the appearance of the new Tardis interior. They hadn't been expecting one as the Doctor hadn't regenerated, but enough time must have occurred for either the Doctor or the Tardis to decide a new look was needed. There were a few mumbles of indecipherable comments, likely comparing the interior on screen to the one they had known.

Clara smiled, full of nostalgia at the first Tardis interior she'd travelled in. The Tardis may hate her but she still had many fond memories of her time travelling aboard her, and with that interior too – it reminded her of her first Doctor.

CLARA: Little.
DOCTOR: It's called the Tardis. It can travel anywhere in time and space. And it's mine.

"And I'm hers." The Doctor remarked to herself with a fond smile at the ceiling.

CLARA: But it's. Look at it, it's
DOCTOR: Go on, say it. Most people do.
(Clara does the traditional circuit of the outside and returns.)
CLARA: It's smaller on the outside.

The group all laughed at the Doctor's expression, knowing how much they enjoyed people's first reactions to the Tardis, and Clara seemed to enjoy avoiding people's pre-conceived expectations. Clara was laughing the hardest, as the Doctor shook her head fondly (and pouted but she would forever deny that).

DOCTOR: Okay, that is a first.
CLARA: Is it magic? Is it a machine?

"A bit of both, a bit of neither." The Doctor nodded her head side to side in a 'so-so' matter.

"Why is your first thought magic or machine, when you're dealing with alien snow and have met actual aliens?" Rose asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

Clara shrugged, "Honestly I don't know."

DOCTOR: It's a ship.
CLARA: A ship?
DOCTOR: Best ship in the universe.

"She absolutely is." River smiled, "And her pilot isn't too bad either."

"Thanks River." The Doctor smiled at her wife.

"Why are you thanking me, Sweetie? I was talking about myself." The Doctor rolled her eyes at her wife's teasing grin.

CLARA: Is there a kitchen?
DOCTOR: Another first.

"But not the last." The Doctor muttered, glancing at Bill out of the corner of her eye.

CLARA: I don't know why I asked that. It's just, I like making souffles.
DOCTOR: Souffles?

"Souffles?" Rory repeated. Sharing a glance with Amy and Clara. All thinking back to their time on the Dalek Asylum. For the rest of the group, it was their first-time meeting Clara, but for Clara it was just another meeting through a splinter. They still didn't know where the souffle part came from originally though.

Bill glanced at the group, "There's a story there."

CLARA: Why are you showing me all this?
DOCTOR: You followed me, remember? I didn't invite you.

"I rarely do." The Doctor sighed.

"And you rarely regret it." Jack grinned knowingly.

CLARA: You're nearly a foot taller than I am. You could've reached the ladder without this. You took it for me. Why?
(She throws the umbrella to him.)

"Because despite what he says. You've made him curious and managed to impress him." River shared some insight into the Doctor's thoughts.

DOCTOR: I never know why. I only know who.
(The Doctor holds up a key, then puts it in Clara's hand.)

The group stared at the screen in shock, "That's quick." Amy muttered, unsure how she felt about how quickly the Doctor had given Clara a key. Their time alone in 'retirement' had clearly had an effect. Was this when Clara had started to travel with the Doctor? From what they'd said it hadn't seemed likely, but maybe she'd presumed wrong.

Clara and the Doctor shared a knowing look but offered no answers.

CLARA: What's this?
DOCTOR: Me. Giving in.
CLARA: I don't know why I'm crying.

"I do." Clara muttered, answering herself on screen. For the Clara on screen, she was a splinter and one of very few that the Doctor had actually interacted with and acknowledged. It also meant the Doctor had decided she was 'worthy' to travel with the Doctor at least twice.

DOCTOR: I do. Remember this. This right now, remember all of it. Because this is the day. This is the day. This is the day everything begins.
(But as he starts to crank up the console, the Governess grabs Clara from behind and drags her outside. She drops the key.)
DOCTOR: Clara! Clara!

"Clara!" Several people exclaimed at once in shock. They'd been so distracted by the pair's conversation and the Tardis interior they'd almost forgotten about the danger of the ice-governess.

Clara and the Doctor shared a glance, things were only going to get worse and no one was prepared for it outside of them.

[Cloud]

CLARA: Get off of me!
DOCTOR: Water vapour doesn't stop ice. I should've realised.

"That seems like a big oversight." Martha said, posture stiff as the atmosphere in the room reached a new tense height for this video. They were all leaning froward in their seats, as if it would help them find out what happened to Clara quicker. It was another case of them all feeling so powerless and helpless which was never a good felling, and even less of a pleasant feeling for those used to doing just that.

CLARA: Get off!
DOCTOR: Let her go. Let her go now! Now!
CLARA: Get off of me!
DOCTOR: No. Clara!
(The Governess and Clara fall backwards off the cloud.)
DOCTOR: Nooooo!

The room screamed in sync with the Doctor. All crying out in horror as if their protests would prevent Clara's deadly fall. Their eyes desperately turned to Clara, to reassure themselves of her presence, whole and healthy, in the room alongside them. Even the Doctor was watching Clara, curled in on herself and dreading reliving the death of this splinter (especially as she couldn't help but relive Clara's actual death in her mind).

Clara sighed reassuringly at the group, but didn't offer any comforts or answers. For those they'd just have to watch (and find out there were very little comforts). She couldn't help but feel a bit curious to know how they'd all responded to her death, as horrible as that seemed.

The group turned back to the screen, desperately hoping for the Doctor or someone else to swoop in and save Clara t the last moment.

[Study]

(There is a Whumph! outside.)
VASTRA: What was that?
JENNY: It's Clara.
(Vastra's steampunk style tricorder does not give good news. No life signs detected.)

"No." Bill's eyes widened, shaking her head in disbelief. They'd seen her fall but they hadn't believed that it would actually be her death, after all she was safe with them (though they had been told she was dead – but that was after she travelled with Eyebrows).

LATIMER: Dear God. Oh, dear God. Where did she fall from? We have to get her inside.
VASTRA: Those things will kill you.
LATIMER: She's hurt.

"Oh Latimer." Clara sighed, but couldn't help but feel a bit honoured at how he was so desperate to try and help her, even though they were in danger.

VASTRA: She's dead.
(The sound of the Tardis is heard.)
LATIMER: What is that? What is happening?
(The Tardis materialises around Clara.)

Clara turned to the Doctor whose expression seemed heartbroken (despite having known it was coming and that it wasn't the end), smiling softly "Thank you". She couldn't express how much she appreciated the Doctor taking the time to bring her body (and wasn't that a weird thought) inside.

The rest of the room was still speechless, glancing in horror between Clar in the room and the screen as the video played on around them. None of them able to verbalise any of the thoughts currently storming in their heads.

It felt cruel, for the Doctor to finally move on and try to live with the grief over Amy and Rory's deaths, only to lose their newest friend and potential companion immediately. The universe seemed to be playing a horrible joke on the poor time traveller.

VASTRA: He's bringing her in.
(A short time later, Clara is lying on a table while Strax uses a device. The Tardis is parked in the corner of the room.)
LATIMER: That green woman said she was dead. How can she be alive now?
STRAX: This technology has capacities and abilities beyond anything your puny human mind could possibly understand. Try not to worry.

"She's alive?" Rose asked, eyes widening in hope. Several members of the group let out a breath of relief, thinking that this was it and that she would survive. A few remained tense, unsure if Clara would stay that way, as they had noticed the exchange Clara and the Doctor had shared.

"For now." The Doctor said solemnly, killing any hope that had built up in the group. It would be cruel to allow them to hope for Clara to survive when they knew she wouldn't even last a few minutes longer.

[Tardis]

(The Doctor is scanning the ice fragments that were around Clara.)
VASTRA: Isn't the creature still a danger? It could reform.
DOCTOR: No, not in here.

"The forcefield?" Mickey asked quietly. Not sure if he wanted to speak up at all with everything happening, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Yes." The Doctor nodded.

VASTRA: Then you should be with Miss Clara.
DOCTOR: She's going to be fine. I know she is. She has to be.

"I'm sorry Doctor." Clara apologised, large doe eyes seeming to bear into the Doctor's soul.

"Why are you apologising? It should be me that should be saying sorry?" The Doctor countered, and if her eyes looked a bit watery no one commented. Clara just shook her head, unable to verbalise the undeserved guilt she felt for her splinter dying on the Doctor like that, especially after knowing why they were hiding in Victorian London in the first place.

STRAX: Doctor, her injuries are severe. That equipment will bring back anyone for a while, but long term
DOCTOR: It was my fault. I am responsible for what happened to Clara. She was in my care.

"They always are." The Doctor mumbled to herself, going unheard by everyone but those closet to her. Unnoticed by the Doctor, Jack and River shared a heavy glance over the top of her head.

VASTRA: What is the point of blaming yourself?
DOCTOR: None. Because she's going to live.

Clara couldn't help but wince at that, she briefly considered making a comment abut how she technically had lived but stopped herself as she knew that could go so wrong (with the Doctor having witnessed her actual 'death' in the end).

[Study]

(The Doctor hands a London Underground souvenir lunchbox to Jenny. It rattles.)
DOCTOR: Hey. Hello.
CLARA: They all think I'm going to die, don't they?

Several members of the group had their hands cupped, hiding their mouths as if it would shield them from the scene in front of them. The sight of Clara lying prone, dying, in front of them was terrible and one they didn't have thoughts to verbalise for. They may not know each other as well as the Doctor did, but they'd spent time in the room together and started to get to know each other that it hurt. And even if it hadn't, they were connected by their time travelling with the Doctor, and that meant something. Something important.

DOCTOR: And I know you're going to live.
CLARA: How?
DOCTOR: I never know how. I just know who.
(He gives her the key again and kisses her hand.)

Clara gave the Doctor a bittersweet smile and nod at that. Her own mind drifting unprovoked to all the keys she had thought she'd thrown into a volcano in an attempt to save Danny.

CLARA: The green lady. She said you were the saver of worlds once. Are you going to save this one?
DOCTOR: If I do, will you come away with me?
CLARA: Yes.
DOCTOR: Well then. Merry Christmas.
(He straightens his bow tie, takes back the lunch box and answers the door to Simeon.)

"The Doctor means business now." Amy stated, recognising the gesture and stance in Chinny on screen. Simeon had hit where it hurt, and he wasn't going to get away with it.

[Front door]

DOCTOR: I have in my hand a piece of the Ice Lady. Everything you need to know about how to make ice people. Is that what you want? See you at the office.

[Tardis]

VASTRA: So then, Doctor, saving the world again? Might I ask why? Are you making a bargain with the universe? You'll save the world to let her live?
DOCTOR: Yes. And don't you think, after all this time and everything I've ever done, that I am owed this one?
VASTRA: I don't think the universe makes bargains.
DOCTOR: It was my fault.
VASTRA: Well then. Better save the world.

"Another day in the office." Yaz's joked fell flat, even in her delivery. The were all on edge, hoping to see how the Doctor would save the day, and most importantly what would happen to Clara (they were avoiding the fact that they knew she would die).

[Institute]

(Vastra and the Doctor are waiting when Simeon enters.)
SIMEON: You promised us something. Have you brought it?
DOCTOR: Big fella here's been very quiet while you've been out. Which is only to be expected, considering who he really is. Do you know what this is, big fella?

"Its Victorian times, I'm pretty sure the Underground wasn't a thing yet. How would he have any ideas?" Martha asked the Doctor, confused about why the pattern on the box was important. The Doctor just gestured to the screen.

(The Doctor holds up the lunch box.)
SNOWMAN: I do not understand these markings.
DOCTOR: A map of the London Underground, 1967. Key strategic weakness in metropolitan living, if you ask me, but then I have never liked a tunnel.
SNOWMAN: Enough of this. We are powerful, but on this planet we are limited. We need to learn to take human form.
(The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver, and the Snowman's voice rises in pitch.)

"That's a kid's voice." Donna realised, blinking in surprise. "The evil snow is a kid? What is it having a tantrum and decided to take over the world?"

"Not quite."

"Well, that's bloody helpful, Spaceman!"

"Just watch Donna."

SNOWMAN: The Governess is our most perfect replication of humanity.
VASTRA: What's happening to its voice?
DOCTOR: Just stripping away the disguise.
SNOWMAN: No, stop! Stop that. Cease, I command you.

"Don't you know? I never listen to a giant evil snow globe." The Doctor put false bounce in their voice, an attempt to distract themselves from what they knew was happening at the Latimer house.

"And again, on sentences I never expected to hear." Rory muttered.

VASTRA: It sounds like a child.
DOCTOR: Of course it sounds like a child. It is a child. Simeon as a child. The snow has no voice without him.

"How is Simeon the snow. He's not like ... a cyborg or something?" Bill perked up slightly, interest piqued at the new mystery.

"Oi!"

"Oops, sorry Nardole." Bill smiled sheepishly. "But is he? Not that that's a bad thing."

The Doctor smiled fondly at the pair. "Clam down Nardole. And no, Bill, Simeon's not a cyborg or anything robotic."

SNOWMAN: Don't listen to him, he's ruining everything.
DOCTOR: How long has the Intelligence been talking to you?
SIMEON: I was a little boy. He was my snowman. He spoke to me.
SNOWMAN [memory]: They're silly.
DOCTOR: But the snow doesn't talk, does it. It's just a mirror.

"Copy cat snow." Jack shook his head in disbelief. There goes the universe, surprising them all again with new unimaginable things.

WALTER [memory]: I don't want to talk to them. They're silly.
SNOWMAN [memory]: They're silly.
DOCTOR: It just reflects back everything we think and feel and fear.

"So, it's mimicking Simoen, who just so happens to be having thoughts of world domination?" Yaz queried, eyes narrowed as she tried to fit the pieces f the puzzle together. "But why him? And what about the ice governess?"

The Doctor shook her head as Yaz theorised, unwilling to give the group the answers they sought when the video was just about to explain for her.

WALTER [memory]: I don't need anyone else.
SNOWMAN [memory]: Don't need anyone else.
DOCTOR: You poured your darkest dreams into a snowman and look, look what it became.
VASTRA: I don't understand.
DOCTOR: It's a parasite feeding on the loneliness of a child and the sickness of an old man. Carnivorous snow meets Victorian values and something terrible is born.

"That still doesn't quite add up." Martha argued. "That's hardly likely to eb the only time someone's poured their feelings out to a snowman. The parasite you mentioned, the snow, it can't quite be from Earth."

"Just watch." The Doctor sighed. Sometimes she regretted travelling with so many inherently curious humans (no she didn't).

"I'm getting really sick of that answer." Donna grumbled, but did as the Doctor asked, as she knew that the more time she spent arguing, would mean more time before she got the answers she wanted.

SNOWMAN: We can go on and do everything we planned.
DOCTOR: Oh yes, and what a plan. A world full of living ice people. Oh dear me, how very Victorian of you.
SIMEON: What's wrong with Victorian values?
(Simeon grabs the lunch box and opens it.)

"Erm, Doctor?" Ryan spoke up at the sight of Simeon grabbing the lunch box that supposedly contained the ice fragments. "Shouldn't you, ya know, stop him?"

"No need, Ryan. Don't worry." The Doctor smiled.

River stared at her for a second before her eyes widened as she realised what the Doctor's plan was. "Oh, you sneaky little thing." The comment made the Doctor practically preen under her wife's attention.

DOCTOR: Ah, ah, ah. Are you sure?
SIMEON: I have always been sure.
(The memory worm in the box bites him.)

"The memory worm! Clever." Clara grinned at the Doctor. She'd never known what had happened to Simeon or why the attack had ben stopped, she'd been a bit busy dying at the time and it had always slipped her mind to ask.

DOCTOR: Good. I'm glad you think so, since your entire adult life is about to be erased. No parasite without a host. Without you, it will have no voice. Without the governess, it will have no form.

The group grinned, the plan was brilliant and was working so well. That thought stopped a few of them in their (mental) tracks, with the Doctor nothing ever went that well. They glanced at the Doctor only to find her watching the screen with a grimace. Maybe things weren't quite so over as they appeared after all.

SNOWMAN: What, what, what's happening? What's happening? What did you do?
DOCTOR: You've got nothing left to mirror any more. Goodbye.
SNOWMAN: What did you, did you.
(The snow suddenly fills the globe and its voice deepens again.)
SNOWMAN: Did you really think it would be so easy?

"It's not just Simeon then." Rose voiced what the whole group was thinking. Any thoughts of celebrating swiftly chased from their minds.

DOCTOR: That's not possible. How is that possible?
VASTRA: Doctor?

[Study]

JENNY: They're growing! The snowmen are growing!
LATIMER: What should we do?

[Institute]

DOCTOR: But you were just Doctor Simeon. You're not real. He dreamed you. How can you still exist?
SNOWMAN: Now the dream outlives the dreamer and can never die. Once I was the puppet.
(Simeon is reanimated as an icy ghoul.)

"And I thought things couldn't get any creepier." Rory muttered with a sigh.

SNOWMAN: Now I pull the strings! I tried so long to take on human form. By erasing Simeon, you made space for me. I fill him now.

"But what is the snow?" Martha asked desperately, getting more frustrated at the lack of answers being presented to them.

(Simeon knocks Vastra aside and grabs the Doctor.)
SNOWMAN: More than snow, more than Simeon. Even this old body is strong in my control.
DOCTOR: Argh!
SNOWMAN: Do you feel it? Winter is coming!
(His touch starts to freeze the Doctor's skin.)
DOCTOR: Argh!
SNOWMAN: Winter is coming!

"Doctor." Clara muttered in concern. Now she felt a bit helpless, she was the only one around and she was too busy dying to be of any actual help. If the memory worm hadn't worked, she wasn't sure what had actually stopped the snow, and it must have been stopped in the end.

[Study]

STRAX: No, you must fight. Hang on and fight, boy. You can do it.
CLARA: Captain Latimer. Your children. They're afraid. Hold them.

"On your death bed and still helping the children." The Doctor said hoarsely, smiling sadly at Clara who mirrored her expression.

LATIMER: It's not really my area.
CLARA: It is now.
(A single tear runs down from Clara's eye. Outside, thunder rends the snowstorm and turns it into rain.)

"It's raining." Amy spoke up unthinkably before her eyes widened. "It's raining!" She repeated, with much more emphasise and cheer this time.

Rory seemed to catch on to what his wife was thinking, verbalising it for the rest of the group, "If it's raining, it can't snow. The snow will melt!" Registering his words, they all grew more hopeful, tuning back to the screen expectantly.

[Institute]

(The snow globe is filled with melt water. Simeon leaps off the Doctor.)
SNOWMAN: What's happening?
VASTRA: Doctor, the globe. It's turning to rain. All of it, the snow, look.
(Simeon dies.)
VASTRA: He's dead. What happened?

"That's far too well a timed rainstorm for it to be a coincidence." Yaz nodded in agreement with Vastra on screen

DOCTOR: The snow mirrors, that's all it does. It's mirroring something else now. Something so strong, it's drowning everything else.
(The Doctor opens a window and holds out his hand.)
DOCTOR: There was a critical mass of snow at the house. If something happened there

Any relief the group had felt at the death of the snow parasite was quickly dashed as they remembered what was happening at the Latimer household. The only thing any of them could think was 'Clara'.

(They both taste the rain.)
VASTRA: It's salty. Salt water rain.
DOCTOR: It's not raining. It's crying. The only force on Earth that could drown the snow. A whole family crying on Christmas Eve.

"No." Someone muttered, all of them knowing exactly what it meant for them all to be crying. Clara couldn't help but smile, her thoughts bittersweet. She managed to help save the day in the end, but only as she caused grief for those she had cared about.

[Study]

(The Tardis materialises.)
STRAX: I'm sorry. There was nothing to be done. She has moments only.
DOCTOR: We saved the world, Clara, you and me. We really, really did.
CLARA: Are you going back to your cloud?

"Dying, and you're still being nosey." The Doctor smiled through watery eyes.

"Someone has to look after you." Clara replied, doe eyes wide in understanding and comfort. A reminder to the Doctor that despite what it seemed; this was only the beginning of their time together, not the end.

DOCTOR: No more cloud. Not now.
CLARA: Why not?
DOCTOR: It rained.
CLARA: Run. Run, you clever boy. And remember.

"Remember?" Rose asked quietly, but curious. It seemed an odd thing for Clara to say on her deathbed. The rest of the group was silent as they watched Clara die.

The Doctor and Clara shared a long look, a silent conversation occurring between them. After several moments, Clara turned to the group with a comforting smile. "This was only a splinter of myself, remember? I was trying to get him to come find me, you all know how curious he is when he smells a mystery." The explanation was a bit vague, but the full story was too long for them to explain at the moment.

Despite the shortness, it severed to comfort the group. Reminding them that despite appearances this wasn't really Clara, and that she would be perfectly fine with lots of travels with the Doctor (and an actual death) still to come. Some sadness still lingered in the room, weighed down heavily. Grief seemed to be a running theme for this video.

(The clock chimes midnight as Clara dies.)
DIGBY: It's Christmas. Christmas Day.

[Graveyard]

(Captain Latimer is with his children by the graveside.)
VASTRA: And what about the Intelligence? Melted with the snow?
DOCTOR: No, I shouldn't think so. It learned to survive beyond physical form.

"So, it will be back at some point?" Amy asked.

The Doctor glanced at Clara, "Already dealt with, don't worry."

JENNY: Well, we can't be in much danger from a disembodied Intelligence that thinks it can invade the world with snowmen.
VASTRA: Or that the London Underground is a key strategic weakness.
DOCTOR: The Great Intelligence. Rings a bell. The Great Intelligence.

The Doctor felt the need to face palm, she remembered now where she'd known the name from and it had taken her far too long to work out.

(He walks forward to the grave as the family leave.)
JENNY: Doctor?
(The gravestone has already been carved and put in place.)
DOCTOR: I never knew her name. Her full name.
OSWIN [memory]: Oswin Oswald. Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska.
DOCTOR: Souffle girl. Oswin. It was her.

"And that was another splinter? At the Asylum?" Rory asked Clara for confirmation. She'd already sort of mentioned it earlier, but he just wanted to be sure.

Clara nodded, "Yep. The Doctor, and you two I guess, needed help. So, I was there, kind of."

OSWIN [memory]: Run, you clever boy.
CLARA [memory]: Run, you clever boy.
OSWIN [memory]: And remember.
CLARA [memory]: And remember.
DOCTOR: It was souffl girl again. I never saw her face the first time with the Daleks, but her voice, it was the same voice.

"Took you a while to work out." Clara teased.

JENNY: Doctor?
DOCTOR: The same woman, twice. And she died both times. The same woman!
VASTRA: Doctor, please, what are you talking about?

"I hope you explained what was happening to Vastra and Jenny, instead of just talking to yourself cryptically like a madman. I bet they thought you'd finally gone truly insane in your grief!" River scolded the Doctor.

The Doctor winced, "I did ... eventually." She'd put off that explanation far longer than she should have really. Though in her defence, she hadn't understood everything that had happened at the time either which makes a full explanation difficult. River just sighed.

DOCTOR: Something's going on. Something impossible, something. Right, you two stay here. Stay right here. Don't move an inch.
VASTRA: Are you coming back?
DOCTOR: Shouldn't think so!

"Doctor." Clara sighed fondly. Rolling her eyes at his exuberance and hope, she couldn't help but smile. The Doctor in the room with her just grinned widely.

VASTRA: But where are you going?
DOCTOR: To find her. To find Clara. Ha ha ha!
JENNY: But Clara's dead. What's he talking about, finding her?
(Clara Oswin Oswald. Remember me, we shall meet again. Born November 23 1866, died December 24, 1892.)

"You were 26." Rose did the mental math. Clara nodded; a bit unsure about why it mattered. Rose just shook her head in answer, really it seemed so old compared to when she first started travelling with the Doctor (at 19), but to her now? It seemed young, far too young to have died like that, even if it wasn't actually Clara.

VASTRA: I don't know, but perhaps the universe makes bargains after all.
(Same graveyard, over a hundred years later and somewhat overgrown.)
GIRL [OC]: Where are you going?
CLARA: Short cut.
GIRL: Through there? I hate this place! Don't you think it's creepy?
CLARA: Nah. I don't believe in ghosts.

Clara blinked at that; she hadn't known she'd been trampling so close to her own grave. Maybe ghosts did exist after all, in one way or another (she tried desperately not to think back to their time on the Drum).

The rest of the group was just relived to have confirmation that Clara, the Clara that they all knew, the one in the room with them, was actually alive and well.

[Tardis]

DOCTOR: Clara Oswin Oswald. Watch me run.

"And I did, many times." Clara grinned. They seemed to spend half their lives running, usually away from something that was trying to kill them. As she spoke the screen faded to black as the video ended.

The group just at in silence, the only sound their breathing and occasionally creak of one of the sofas as they all took in what had just happened.

The Doctor glanced at them all, taking a moment to absorb the semi-peace for herself before speaking up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's see what's up next."

And finished! Hope you all enjoyed (please let me know if you did! I love comments)

Just a couple of notes;

First of all: yes, I will do Name of the Doctor soon (I promise, I have a plan!).

Second: Listen is up next, so hope you're excited for that!

Third: After Listen, I am planning a two-parter and your options are: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. Pick your favourite (I think I'll know how it will end, but I'll leave it up to you).

Fourth: I promise to do some S13 soon ish (again, I have a plan! Promise)

Anyway, thanks for reading and as always let me know what you think of the chapter and the story (and you're always welcome to leave chapter suggestions, however many you want).

Thank you!