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[justimprobable]

Clara Oswald here! You've just missed me, so please leave a message at the sound of the beep.

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[justimprobable]

[I knew it, she doesn't say, because now isn't the time for proving a point to any certain Musketeer that didn't believe her.]

Oh, my stars. How did you find out? Did you talk to him again?

[timecapture]

He showed himself. And then he shot me, and I woke up.

[justimprobable]

[It may have just been a dream, but Clara knows the effect that those can have. Her voice goes gentler still.]

I'm so sorry, Max. I wish that we could have stopped him first.

[timecapture]

I don't think he's going to bother me anymore. But I haven't told d'Artagnan yet. Our last conversation didn't exactly go well.

[justimprobable]

[Clara definitely understands that sentiment.]

He doesn't want to believe what Crane's capable of.

[timecapture]

I don't know if I should tell him. I feel badly about it, but he didn't exactly believe me the last time.

[Clara, how did you manage to turn this conversation around?]

[justimprobable]

How about you leave it to me and the Doctor, and we'll let d'Artagnan know if something comes up?

[Because Clara is a master of manipulation, and will turn around conversations at all costs to keep from talking about herself.]

[timecapture]

... Alright. I should probably apologize to him for hanging up, though.

How are things with you and the Doctor, anyway? [Whoops.]

[justimprobable]

[Welp. She thought she was doing a pretty good job of avoiding it.]

Things are fine. Great, even. Why do you ask?

[timecapture]

Because he was really worried about you. He sounded upset.

[justimprobable]

... When was this?

[Because so far he'd done an excellent job at hiding 90% of his reactions from her.]

[timecapture]

I spoke to him about it being Crane. And then you came up... then we made plans for New Year's Eve.

So, if you find confetti still all over the place... sorry. That was me. I got as much of it as I could, though.

[justimprobable]

Don't worry about the confetti, it'll come up.

[She barely even registers the part about New Years. She's just worried about the Doctor.]

... What did he say to you? About me, I mean.

[timecapture]

It was more what he didn't say. He just mentioned you'd gone up to stay with someone for the summer holidays, but... I dunno. Something in his tone. He sounded like he was upset, but he obviously didn't want to talk about it.

[justimprobable]

[Clara takes a long pause, gathering her thoughts.]

... Something happened at home, and I've... changed, a bit. It's not bad, you don't need to worry. But I didn't want to tell him, at first, and he knew something was wrong. That's all.

[timecapture]

Do you wanna talk about it? [Because Clara's been there for Max, and Max wants to do the same.]

Okay. I didn't really talk to him about it, but I could tell he was worried during New Year's.

[justimprobable]

I'm alright, truly. [Her voice is too tense, clipped at the edges.] I've discussed it with him, and we've sorted things out. He shouldn't be worrying like that.

[timecapture]

[She can tell Clara isn't alright, but judging by that tone, Max probably shouldn't push it for now.]

Well, maybe he stopped worrying after you spoke with him.

[justimprobable]

... Well, we spoke before New Years.

[But she doesn't want Max to worry, about her or the Doctor. So she tries to just brush it off.]

But he's a worrier, always has been. It's nothing you need to get concerned about.

[timecapture]

He seems like the kind of guy who doesn't like to worry. And it's also too late to stop me from worrying. Just so you know.

{See sees what you're doing there, Clara.]

[justimprobable]

[Well. She's sure fucked this up. So much for Max not getting concerned.]

... I'm not able to be with him anymore. He doesn't know it yet, but our time here is the last time we have together, and I don't want to ruin it by telling him. So please, don't worry. Just be his friend, that's all you can do for me.

[timecapture]

Holy shit. What happened?

[Something terrible, that's for sure.]

I will. But I wanna be yours, too, okay?

[justimprobable]

He lost me, the same way people lose each other every day, all around the world. Sometimes it doesn't take great wars and dying stars to take people away from you. It happens in a heartbeat, almost a bit boring.

[Her voice is gentle, if a bit sad. She doesn't want to tell Max what the Doctor did to get her back. She doesn't want to tell her that it's the Doctor's fault she's living this uncanny, abnormal life. So for now, she'll leave that part out.]

And you're already my friend, Max. You don't have to worry about that.

[timecapture]

I know how that goes. But losing someone... it's never boring. Even if it seems like it's going to be, it's not. It always hurts.

[She still remembers Kate jumping off the roof. She still remembers all the times Chloe died.]

Thanks, Clara. You, too.

[justimprobable]

It does.

[She nods slowly to herself, even though Max can't see her. It's still her biggest regret that she couldn't have left without causing the Doctor any pain. It's always going to hurt, no matter the manner.]

And I wish you didn't know that pain. I know it's awful.