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From the minute Rose Tyler had met Clara Oswald, she'd been dead. Over and over again, it kept happening. Like the God of Death Sutekh was following her, finding her at every point in time just to cut the cord short at the same age. Deep into the time vortex, Rose Tyler's slightest flex of power could raise the dead with a singular catch: there had to be a time they would survive. And for Clara Oswald, there was never any other end. Hundreds of her across time and space, living and dying. And yet somehow she was utterly invisible.
The mystery of Clara was that she was always dead, and yet she was also always alive. The same wide brown eyes that haunted Rose everywhere she went - like Clara's eyes was surrounding her, demanding to know why she kept dying, why Rose couldn ' t save her. Vaguely, she remembered it so long ago, another life... standing in front of the Doctor, asking how she saved... the memory went hazy. For her sanity, timelines were compartmentalized, keeping her from going too deep into the recesses of her own mind. Could that be classified as a form of memory loss? She didn't know and frankly, she didn't care. What she wanted to know was how Clara Oswald kept showing up. The Doctor, for her part, was just as interested in the mystery of the undead that seemed to be following them.
Rose flicked through the photos of Clara Oswald across history on the TARDIS's small screen, frowning. "Even when we're not there, she's there," Rose said, glancing up at the Doctor. "Well... just... us. As a team. She's always there when you were there... or when I..." She trailed off, heading back to the monitor. Neither of them liked bringing up the brief period when the Doctor was trapped in a parallel world with her mum. Neither of them liked to think about what Rose willingly left behind to chase this life. It was simply something that they did not discuss if they could help it. "Anyway. Clara Oswald. Always the same age... always the same appearance... Just like Gwen, remember? Except... no time rift to explain it. It's like death becomes her."
The Doctor was frowning, arms crossed in the chair. With the Ponds departure, she'd been sulking and hadn't found a reason to leave the TARDIS. No matter where Rose took her... well, she understood. Yet if Rose stood still for too long, she feared that she'd become overwhelmed by her choice to leave her mother. Was she dead like Clara kept becoming? Did she live a happy life without her? At one point, she would've thought it'd be impossible for her mother to have been happy without her around. And yet now, she needed to believe that Pete had made Jackie happy in the end. With how fast that universe ran compared to here... she put that thought of her head. "You want to investigate this, don't you? Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that she's pretty is it?"
Her cheeks got hot as she rolled her eyes. "You're the one who said it, not me," she said, putting the monitor away. "Look, you can stay here and sulk. I, however, am going to ask this Clara Oswald if she recognizes me. If she doesn't...."
"Then this Clara exists independently of the other two Claras, who also seemed unaware of the other," the Doctor parsed, sighing. "Alright, fine. I've been working on it as well. It just... doesn't make any sense! Dalek space shape, Oswin Clara Oswald. Death by transformation into a Dalek. Another Clara in ancient Feudal Japan. Death by war. Yet another in Victorian London. Death saving children. Everywhere we go, we keep seeing the same face. And whenever I start seeing the same face -"
She stopped mid rant, now standing less than a few feet away from Rose. They both knew what it meant: something was coming, something that was dangerous. The same face over and over again was always a warning. And this time she came bringing death with her. Every Clara that Rose met, it felt like there was something in the universe binding them tight together. If Rose was life, then Clara was death, and one simply could not have life without also having death. "Death and life are two sides of the same coin," Rose reminded her. Once just a girl who wanted to save her father, turned into a living weapon, and finally becoming a myth of her own, Rose Tyler had spent far too long grappling with Death. "If you want to live, you have to die at some point. We all die. It's just that she...." She pulled on her jacket, tongue in tooth grin. "Well, no point in musin. I'm going to go meet this Clara. You can stay mopin if you'd like, but I will get something done."
Rose left the TARDIS into the brisk cold air, and she recognized where they were - London. How was it always London? Granted, she almost never went to this part of London - no reason to. It was entirely filled with middle class folks who owned one of the semi-detached home, and probably had a lot of nasty things to say about people like her. Well, time to meet the Clara of modern London , she thought as she knocked on the door. The same woman she'd met over and over again answered the door with a soft grin. "Uh, hello, can I help you?"
It was then that Rose realized she had no lie ready for this specific moment. All she had on her was her cell phone that she hadn't used in a couple hundred years and a couple of space junk she certainly couldn't show someone in... what year was this? It seemed modern, but then again, there was hardly a difference between decades. "I'm er...," she ruffled through her pockets, pulling her phone out. "I'm a sales woman, and I'm uh. Selling phones."
Clara looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "You're selling outdated phones?" Clara tilted her head, laughing. "Sorry, best of luck selling that but I kind of have a better phone so."
She was about to close the door, and Rose caught the door. "Okay, I lied," she said, reaching into her pocket again for the psychic paper. Quick, think of a lie, Rose thought, internally panicking. Outdated phone was at least a clue to the time. "I'm actually a building inspector. See?"
"Uh, why lie," Clara asked, opening the door with a roll of her eyes. Rose stepped inside with a sense of relief. She'd at least made it past the door. Clara snatched the psychic paper, reading what had appeared on it. "Whatever, come in. Just so you know, this isn't my home, er... Dame Rose Tyler? You need knighthood to be a building inspector these days?"
Rose looked around at the house - a decent sized family home, a staircase that led into the upstairs, a modest living room, and a lovely kitchen. The exact kind of house that Jackie would admire in catalogues despite the fact they'd never be able to afford it. Hopefully Jackie was enjoying Pete's mansion in that other universe, she thought absently. "Huh? Oh, no I just... got it because I'm the best at inspectin'. Inspected Windsor Castle, I'll have you know," Rose said, and instantly regretted it. "Anyway, who owns this house if not you?"
"The children's parents," she replied, heading into the kitchen and putting on the kettle. "Are you going to want some tea? Should I pretend I didn't see you when the parents ask?"
There was a mischievous sparkle in Clara's eyes, as if she was aware of something that Rose wasn't. It reminded her exactly of the barmaid and governess in the 1800 ish... somewhere mid-century if she was pressed for a year, not that she could remember which it was. "Er, yeah, I'll have some tea. And uh. No, it's fine, no reason to be alarmed," Rose said, glancing up along the walls and trying to think what would help sell her lie. "If you aren't related to them, why are you here?"
"You ask a lot of questions for a building inspector," Clara said as she made the tea. Rose had the feeling she'd been in this position before, but couldn't recall how it was so familiar. After a few moments, Clara emerged out of the kitchen with two cups of tea. "If you're here to case the place, I'll absolutely pretend I wasn't here. Not interested in protecting anything more than the children, after all."
Rose's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "Not here to rob you, promise," she said, taking the cup of tea Clara offered her. "Can I get some sugar and milk, please?"
Clara went back into the kitchen, and came back out a few moments later with sugar and milk. "Have as much as you'd like," she said as she sat down in one of the larger chairs. "Children are at school. I was about to go try to get on the WiFi to get my own school work done, but I'm hopeless with computers. Would you happen to be able to help me with that? Computer's in my bedroom."
Once again, despite the fact that Rose knew that this Clara could go up in smoke just like all the others before, all she could see was how very alive she was. There was a promise of flirtation in the gaze she held, a small smirk on her face - all the ways Clara looked at her before. Even though she should know better, Rose still smirked right back. "Oh. I think I know a thing or two about computers. Lead the way."