Lester's soldiers arrived within the hour to begin boarding up the house and making it secure, ensuring nobody suffered a fate like Quinn's little brother and his friend, and no one suffered the trauma like Ryan Mason did.
Exiting the incredible house for the last time, Clara leaned against the railings on the porch next to Quinn, sending him a grateful smile.
"They never found my brother's body," he sighed. "Maybe the creature didn't get him. Maybe he went through the, uh. . ."
"Anomaly," she filled in for him.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"You know," Jenny intervened from behind them from where she had been listening, hands in her pockets. "That was a long time ago now, Danny. Maybe it's time just to let him go."
"Maybe you're right," Danny nodded curtly, before shoving his hands in his pockets and wandering off, as did Jenny.
Connor came out the house, hanging up the phone as he did so. He grinned at Clara knowingly. "I just phoned Cutter," he elaborated. "Told him he was right about his prediction."
"What did he say?" Clara asked, already knowing the answer.
"Well, his words exactly? Something like: of course I was right," Connor imitated in a very bad Scottish accent, causing Clara to snort loudly.
On the way out of the house, Clara split off from Connor and found Danny staring up at the house, as though he was saying his final goodbyes. "Jenny might not be right, you know," she interrupted his thoughts, making him jump.
"How so?" He questioned, composing himself quickly.
"I know what it's like," she told him. "Losing a little brother. Only, unlike you, I know what happened to mine."
"What happened?"
"He was killed," Clara sighed, blinking rapidly to stop herself from crying. "By creatures similar to that one."
"I'm sorry," Danny said sincerely. Clara waved him off.
"Don't be," she dismissed good-naturedly. "It was eight months ago, now. And yeah, time makes it easier, but I'll never let him go. Not until the day I die, and we'll be reunited again."
"What's your point to all this?" Danny asked, though not unkindly. More curious.
"Don't let your brother go," she finished. "Get over him, yeah. But don't let him go." With that, she walked away and back to the cars that would transport her back to the ARC, leaving a very startled Danny Quinn behind.
——
Returning back to the ARC, Clara found herself apprehended by Captain Becker the moment she stepped into the hallway. "Clara," he interrupted, taking her firmly by the upper arm. "Professor Cutter wants you to see something."
"Okay. . ." Clara trailed off, unsure as to what was going on. If Nick wanted something, why couldn't he just get her himself?
Letting herself be dragged by Becker, she found herself in the medical bay the ARC had to offer, glancing at the white sheet covering a large lump underneath. Clara inhaled sharply as all horrific thoughts came to the front of her mind and horrible scenarios flashed before her eyes. Shaking her head, she ridded herself of them.
"What's this?" She asked, gesturing to the lump.
Becker let go of her arm and approached the sheet, gently peeling away the upper half so Clara could see what - or, who - lay underneath. Her hand flew to her mouth as she stepped closer to the bed the body was laid on, and she felt her brows furrow.
"That's impossible," she breathed.
"That's exactly what Professor Cutter said," Becker informed, replacing the sheet over the body. "I found this guy rifling through Cutter's locker. He'd used Sarah's pass to get in, so I think he must have stolen it from her." He sighed, reliving his memories of the day previously. "I think Cutter would like to see you. He gave me express instructions to send you to see him once you'd viewed the body."
"Oh, that's very thoughtful of him," Clara replied dryly, though she sighed when she caught Becker watching her curiously. "Sorry. Doesn't matter. Thank you, Captain."
"Oh, it's just Becker," he called after her as she left, but Clara didn't hear. She walked to Cutter's office, knocking once on the door before entering. He was leaning over his desk, immersed in whatever he was reading, and so hadn't even noticed that Clara had entered.
"I saw the body," she announced her presence, closing the door with a soft click behind her. Nick turned around, finally noticing her.
"Please tell me I'm not going crazy," he begged.
"That's the guy I saw at the canal. The one that punched you," she told him. "But, I thought you said he died? He got killed in the Silurian, didn't he?"
"Or so I thought," Nick muttered. "But there could be another explanation for this." Clara wracked her brains for a moment, before putting her finger on what Nick was insinuating.
"You don't think this is Helen's doing?" She asked, her eyebrows raised. He just shrugged, leaning against his desk with his arms folded across his chest.
"Possibly," he said. "You know as well as I do that she's more than capable. She was the one who gave the technology to Leek that enabled him to control the future predators, remember."
"Yes, but bringing someone back from the dead?" Clara doubted. "I don't think anyone could do that, not even Helen. This is assuming that he is dead, of course."
"Why would I lie?" Cutter pointed out.
"I didn't say you were lying," Clara defended. "You could just be mistaken."
"I don't make mistakes," he deadpanned.
"Yeah, I know," she sighed, knowing he was right. This whole time, he'd never made one mistake regarding the anomalies, and Clara really respected him for that. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Nick shook his head, one side of his mouth lifting into a smile. He stood up straight, unfolding his arms, as though he remembered something. He eyed her curiously, inspecting her.
"What are you doing?" Clara questioned.
"Jenny called yesterday and said you were injured," he informed her, and Clara rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten about that. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she assured. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."
Nick raised his head, looking at her sharply. "Don't say that," he said firmly.
"Sorry," Clara replied instantly, taken aback. Nick sighed, dismissing it.
"Come on," he smiled, taking her hand. "I have something to show you." Warily, Clara allowed herself to be dragged - not for the first time in half an hour - into the room with the matrix inside. She couldn't help but smile widely at the sight of the amazing contraption.
"This will never not take my breath away," she told him softly, and he grinned as he closed the door.
"It gets better," he promised, and he let go of her hand. "Right, lie here." Nick positioned Clara so she was laid underneath the middle of the matrix. "And close your eyes." She obeyed, butterflies squirming excitedly in her stomach as she wondered what he had in store for her.
Even from behind her eyelids she saw it go dark, and she guessed that Nick had switched the lights off. "Okay," she heard him mutter, and then she felt him lie next to her underneath his matrix. "You can open your eyes now."
Clara opened them, and she gasped in awe at what lay before her. Above her, stars fanned across the ceiling, being projected onto it from the desk. But that wasn't the only thing. The matrix itself was almost glowing; each past anomaly a bright orange glow and occasionally giving out a small burst of light, like a miniature anomaly was popping out of its designated place.
"Do you like it?" Nick asked in a soft voice.
"I love it!" Clara whispered in return, her eyes wandering all over so she could try and take everything in. "Did you do this all by yourself?"
"Well, with a little help from Sarah," he shrugged modestly, making Clara chuckle. Fumbling around for a moment, she reached over and found his hand, sliding hers into his and lacing their fingers together.
"Thank you," Clara said, her voice barely audible.
"For what?" Nick asked, his voice the same volume.
"Just. . ." Clara sighed, biting her lip and thinking. "Being here."
"Well, you're welcome," he smiled. Clara shifted closer to him so their shoulders were touching and there was barely any space between the two of them as they lay side by side, watching the stars above them and the matrix glow and omit bursts of bright white light.
——
"Clara," Nick whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. "Clara!"
Her eyes flew open and she sat up, finding herself no longer under the matrix, but just next to it, still on the floor. Though now, Nick's jacket was cloaked over her like a blanket.
"What happened?" She yawned, stretching a little.
"You fell asleep," he chuckled. "Under the matrix. So I carried you out and left you here for a bit while I made a cup of tea. They didn't have any hot chocolate left, so I'm sorry."
"Oh, that's okay," Clara waved him off. "How long have we been here?"
"Well, everyone else has gone home, so I'm guessing a pretty long time," he smiled. Clara sighed, a smirk making its way onto her face as she stood up.
"I think we should go home too," she told him, putting his jacket around her shoulders. "Although I really don't want to leave this room and ruin the amazing night I've had."
"Well, then why don't we just stay here?" Nick suggested, setting his now-empty mug of tea down.
She turned to him. "What?"
"We could stay here," Nick repeated. "Sleep under the stars and the wonders that are anomalies. Then it wouldn't ruin your night."
"Nick, we couldn't do that," Clara laughed gently.
He looked put-out. "Why not?"
"It would be uncomfortable, for a start. Plus, what would people think if they came in tomorrow morning and found us lying here, asleep under the matrix together?"
"I don't care about what other people think," he dismissed, closing the space between them. "I only care what you think." He paused, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Clara's ear. "What do you think, Clara?"
Clara didn't answer. She didn't know how to put her feelings into words, so she went on impulse and shaped them into actions instead. Hesitantly, she pressed her lips to Nick's, though she melted into it the moment she felt him kiss her back passionately.
Without even watching what she was doing, Clara clumsily hopped onto the empty desk behind her, wrapping her legs around Nick's middle so he was drawn even closer to her. His arms found her waist and he held her tightly, pulling her closer as her hands wandered into his hair.
Nick's jacket fell limply to the floor off Clara's shoulders, and she unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt as he trailed soft yet demanding kisses along her jaw and down her neck, fast approaching her collarbone.
But as Nick pulled away to return to her lips, Clara leaned her head back so he couldn't reach her, breathing heavily. "Nick," she sighed. "We can't."
Nick looked downtrodden, and his fingers reached up to begin buttoning up his shirt again. "Oh, well—"
"No," Clara giggled, leaning over and pulling his hands away from his shirt. "I mean, we can't do this here. There are security cameras, remember?" She watched with amusement as realisation crossed Nick's face.
"Oh," he nodded. "Well, let's go then."
"Where to?" Clara asked, not even bothering to suppress her laugh as Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the office, but not before she'd snatched his jacket back up off the floor.
"Home," he said simply, heading towards the car park.
——
Nick unlocked his front door quickly, tossing his keys to one side the moment the door was shut and he pressed Clara against it, his lips meeting hers once more. She smiled into it, her arms just relaxing around his neck when there was a sudden noise in the house. Nick pulled away instantly, though their faces were still within close proximity of each other. His ears were pricked for the source of the noise, and Clara frowned around the hall curiously.
"Hello?" He called, but there was no answer. Clara looked at him expectantly, but he gave her a slight shake of the head. "Let me just check it out for a moment. You go and wait upstairs." She nodded, squeezing his hand before making her way upstairs.
Once there, she diverted away from her own bedroom and ventured into Nick's. She stared around at it in wonder, noting the absence of any pictures; when she was younger there were loads: ones of him and Helen, ones of just Helen, and there were even ones of when he was younger, fresh out of university.
She was disturbed from her thoughts when Nick entered the room, a small smile on his face. "There was no one there," he revealed, and Clara returned his smile, biting her lip.
They stepped towards each other, meeting in the middle. They instantly picked up where they left off, with Nick's jacket falling to the floor again, and his shirt being unbuttoned all the way down this time. Clara's own top was soon discarded, as were their shoes.
Clara soon found herself lying on the soft sheets of the bed, trapped under Nick's arms and his warm embrace. Without being able to help it, she smiled into the kiss once more. The emotions she felt right at that very moment were the ones she sought to feel forever; the feeling of pure love, not to mention pure lust. But there was also that feeling of safety, and that warm, fuzzy feeling that filled her insides that was indescribable. She basked in it.
That was what she wanted to feel like for the rest of her life. And in that moment, it felt as though she would succeed.
A/N: okay I know it might seem a bit gross for them to be together (even though I think they're quite cute) but we all know what happens in the end, right? these two aren't going to be forever, so just enjoy what they have now :)