Chapter Text
Yaz sat in a daze through most of the discharge paperwork and the part where the Doctor... Jane was released to her custody.
For her part, Jane chatted merrily with Gwen, and with the discharge nurse, and with the random patients with whom she'd become friends while waiting for Yaz. It all seemed incredibly normal, for her, even the part where she was overflowing with nervous energy that only grew alongside Yaz's silence.
They got to Yaz's patrol vehicle, and Yaz sat behind the wheel, flashing back to the mad woman on a mad night in Sheffield who had sat in this very car years earlier and asked if Yaz would turn on the lights and siren.
"All right over there?" Jane asked, quietly, as she climbed into the car.
"What do we do with you?" Yaz asked. "You're a human who didn't exist a day ago. There's paperwork, I think?"
"About that..."
Yaz's phone pinged with a text from an unknown number - an address and the initials "jh."
She held it out for Jane to read. "Jack Harkness?" Yaz guessed.
"Always did come through in a pinch," Jane confirmed. "Shall we see what he's cooked up?"
Graham and Ryan were staring down a dark blue door in an otherwise perfectly pleasant apartment building.
"So we break the door down, then what?" Graham asked.
"Flash the psychic paper," Ryan said, as if was the obvious conclusion.
"What on Earth would it show that explained why we had to break the door down?!" He looked past Ryan at the two women approaching. "Yaz and the Doc!" he announced. "Suppose you know something about all this."
Ryan shoved his hands in his pockets, and gave them a cautious look. "Hey, back already, then?"
"Yeah," Yaz answered. "You got the text too?"
"We were about to knock politely," Graham said. "Definitely no door-breaking involved."
"Jane Smith, I presume?" called a booming, jovial voice from down the hall.
"Ohhh, 'jh,'" Graham realized. "Should've known it didn't stand for 'just hiding.'" He elbowed Ryan, who shrugged.
"Hope you weren't waiting long," Jack Harkness said, as he approached with a grin. "Had to visit Town Hall and creatively adjust some records." He produced keys from his coat pocket, then let them to the dark blue door. "You're gonna love this," he said with a wink, before swinging the door open, adding a dramatic flourish.
The other four peered in.
"It's a flat," Graham said.
"The flat of one Jane Smith," Jack added. "Decorated it myself," he announced. "Hope you like it."
They walked in and looked around.
It was a spacious, comfortable place, decorated in vibrant oranges and purples, with a number of Himalayan salt lamps casting soft light around the living room.
Jane exhaled a tiny noise, quite overcome. "Jack... it's perfect," she said.
He grinned, and handed over the keys. "It's yours. Jane Smith has a healthy and diversified investment portfolio, courtesy of some creatively reallocated Torchwood resources and the secret alien immigration act of 2007. Just pay your taxes and you should be good to go. And speaking of going... got places to be myself. Didn't have a lot of time to pull this all together, so I left a bit of a mess. You know how it is." He held out his hands to offer a hug, and she threw her arms around him.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"I am so happy for you," he whispered in return, then gave her a kiss on the side of the head before they parted.
He turned to Yaz. "Take care of her, yeah?"
"Always," Yaz vowed instantly. She flushed a bit at Jane's relieved look.
He pointed to Graham and Ryan. "Silver Fox, Tall Dark and Handsome - excellent to see you both again. Take care, fam."
He swept back out of the flat, leaving a bit of a vacuum in his wake.
Ryan wasn't impressed. "So... what's all this then? Who is Jane Smith?"
Yaz took a breath. "This is Jane Smith. She's human."
Graham frowned. "Wot? Like a twin? A clone?"
"Induced biological metacrisis," Jane replied.
"A clone?" Graham tried again.
"She divided, from the Doctor," Yaz explained. "She's the woman we knew, but human."
"Why would you go and do that?" Ryan asked, cutting straight to the chase, like usual.
Jane smiled, a little tentative. "Wanted to be with my fam."
"Wot, really? You wanted to be here with us enough that you gave up being an infinitely regenerating time-traveling space person?" Graham asked.
"Yeah," she replied, with a shrug. She peered around a bit, distracted. "Shall we take a look at this place?" she asked, as she started wandering. Graham trailed after her, rattling off more questions.
"Yaz," Ryan said, quiet as he stepped closer. "What happened to you two out there?"
"A lot of things," she whispered back, without tearing her eyes away from Jane as she paced around the flat.
The tour didn't take terribly long, though Jack's creativity was impressive. There was art on the walls, two comfortable bedrooms, even a wifi network with a password scrawled on a note in the kitchen.
Jane finished a lap and ended up back in the living room, where she lit up at the sight of the enormous purple sofa.
"So you're here now, and you're called Jane Smith?" Ryan asked.
"Doctor Jane Smith," Graham called, from what was apparently the study, where he'd caught sight of the diploma. "Doctorate in Applied Mathematics."
Jane grinned. "Aw, that's a nice touch."
"You have a flat," Ryan continued. "Does that mean you're staying for good?"
"Seems that way," Jane said. "That's what humans do, right? They stay in a flat."
Ryan studied her for a moment. He considered pressing further, but could see an unfamiliar strain on her face. He decided to try something else. "So. We could order pizza. And eat it at your flat." He looked to Yaz.
"Two pizzas," she said immediately, pathetically grateful to have such an ordinary plan. "One veggie."
"I'll find something to watch," Graham announced, as he beelined to the living room and picked up the television remote.
"If it's 'Call the Midwife' again, I'm leaving," Ryan said.
"Oh get off it," Graham said. "That finale was cracking."
Yaz glanced over to Jane with a tiny smile, and noticed that the other woman's happy facade had dropped, leaving a very human woman that was profoundly overwhelmed, maybe even about to split apart. That immediately shook Yaz out of her own distraction, and she stepped over to gently took Jane by the elbow and guided her out to the balcony, which had a lovely view of the Sheffield skyline.
The Doctor... Jane gratefully took deep breaths of fresh air and leaned against the balcony railing. She stared out, across the city. "It's so strange," she murmured. "Dunno what I thought would happen, but it wasn't this."
"Pizza and dodgy television shows?" Yaz asked.
"Yeah," Jane breathed, with a slow nod. "Wasn't expecting..." she trailed off and shook her head.
"Wasn't expecting what?" Yaz prompted.
"To feel so much," Jane said. "Humans have different sensory organs, always thought they were less efficient. Turns out they're not."
Yaz stepped closer and rubbed her shoulder a bit. "Humans do have big feelings. I would have warned you about that, if you'd asked."
Jane made a face. "You would've tried to stop me."
"Probably," Yaz said. She couldn't help but think back to Gallifrey, desperately leaping forward, grabbing hold of her, trying to keep the Doctor from doing something terrible and selfless. "Just wish you hadn't done it alone," she concluded.
Jane turned toward her, and had to fight to keep her eyes open wide, to take in all the sensations of the moment - the cool breeze tugging at her hair, the intensity of Yaz's earnest expression, the flutter in her belly that told her she was finally home.
"We have a lot to talk about, you and I," Jane murmured.
"Yeah we do," Yaz agreed. She shook her head in wonder. "Can't believe you're actually here, for good."
"Me neither," Jane chirped. "I have a flat! With a view!" she said, gesturing to broader Sheffield. She considered the city with great satisfaction. "I hope it rains," she continued. "How amazing is it to be a human with squishy socks in the rain? Wait, don't tell me. But it's amazing, right?"
"Not usually," Yaz said, unable to restrain her smile.
"Guess I'll get to find out for myself," Jane said. She turned back to Yaz, and her expression gentled. "How amazing is it to be in my flat, with my fam?" she asked quietly. "With you? Ah, Yaz. I missed you."
Yaz sucked in a breath. "I missed you," she replied. "Thought I might never see you again." She took a tiny step closer, one immediately mirrored by Jane, and her skin picked up the heat cast off by the very human body before here.
"Yaz," Jane whispered. She lifted a hand to Yaz's cheek, and leaned closer...
Ryan leaned out the balcony door with his phone to his ear. "Doctor... Jane, you want anchovies?" he called, before noticing the women were definitely otherwise engaged. He clapped his free hand over his eyes. "Yaahhh!" he shrieked. "Ohgodsorry. Just asking on account of the new tastebuds and whatnot."
Jane straightened and pulled away from Yaz just a bit, and laughed as a blush (a blush!) flamed across her cheeks. "Probably should play it safe for now," she told Ryan.
He nodded, still hiding his eyes. "Yup, got it, Half cheese," he ordered, into the phone, before clumsily ducking back into the door.
Yaz's face was screwed up in a wince, as she tried to resist the urge to toss herself off the balcony from sheer embarrassment. She buried her face into Jane's shoulder as Jane laughed and patted her soothingly.
"Well, that's one way to come out," Jane said merrily.
"Oh my god," Yaz muttered.
They returned to the living room, where Graham and Ryan sat in uncomfortable silence.
"So, lovely weather we're having," Graham ventured, after a long moment.
"Did you really come back human just to snog Yaz?!" Ryan erupted.
"Ryan!" Yaz snapped.
Graham sighed. "Ah, son."
"No!" Jane exclaimed. "Not just for that, anyway." She perched on an ottoman and screwed her eyes shut, trying to sort feelings that didn't yet make sense in her brain. "I love you all. So much. When I realized I had a chance to be with my fam, for real, permanently? I took it."
"You're human now, though. You can get hurt. You can die. You will die," Ryan pressed.
"Yeah," Jane said. "It's terrifying. And it's brilliant. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. A single heartbeat."
"I just don't get it, Doc. Jane," Graham corrected. "You lived all those amazing lives... you gave that up to have one tiny life, here?"
"Yeah," she said, bright with wonder.
Graham mulled that for a moment, then nodded. "Well then," he said. "Welcome home." He reached out and patted her on the knee, and Jane looked like she might ignite from happiness.
Ryan nodded agreement, then pointed between Jane and Yaz. "And you two, then?"
"I guess we'll see," Jane said, casting a hopeful look over her shoulder at Yaz.
"Yeah," Yaz agreed, with a smile.
After an evening of pizza and a contentious battle over Graham's Netflix queue, Jane dozed on her purple sofa, and Yaz followed the boys to the door.
Ryan gave her a nod. "You okay to stay with her?"
"Yeah. I'm off work tomorrow, so I can help her get settled." She cast her eyes over at Jane, and smiled completely out of reflex.
"Out of anywhere in the universe she could go, she chose here," Ryan said.
"To be with us," Yaz added.
"Mostly with you," Ryan said, with a pointed look. "That's why you spent so long trying to figure out that other TARDIS, huh?"
Yaz nodded.
"You could have told us," he scolded, gently. "Me and Graham - we would have understood."
"I didn't understand it yet," she admitted, then bumped against him. "And you just wanted your twenty quid."
"Went up to forty when you came back alone two days ago," Ryan said with a grin. "Anyway. Don't want you getting hurt," he said. "Like before."
"That's why she did this," Yaz said.
"Thought so," he observed. He looked between the two women, and decided he was satisfied with what he saw. "Okay. Text tomorrow, yeah? Happy for you," he concluded, then poked her in the shoulder and shuffled off after Graham.
Yaz shut the door behind him and drifted back to the sitting room, where the television flickered, mutely, and Jane snoozed, with her hands curled across her chest.
Yaz was loathe to bother her. She grabbed the throw blanket from across the back of the sofa, and carefully spread it over the sleeping woman, which caused Jane to stir in alarm.
"Hey, you're okay," Yaz soothed. "Didn't want you to be cold."
"Mm," Jane grunted, then shifted a bit and squinted up at Yaz. "Dunno why I'm so tired," she complained.
"Long day, and you're new to all this," Yaz said mildly. She perched on the edge of the sofa, and let her hand rest on Jane's hip.
Jane pulled the blanket up to her chin and peered at Yaz from under tousled hair. "Would you stay?" she asked in a tiny voice.
Yaz smiled and pointed at the opposite sofa, already prepped with a pillow and blanket. "I'll be right over there."
"Oh good," Jane said in relief.
They watched each other in the fitful light cast by the Great British Bake Off.
After a moment, Jane winced. "Please remind me never to get in a pizza eating contest with Ryan ever again," she said with a groan as she rubbed her belly.
Yaz chuckled, and ducked her head, and sat for a long moment fiddling with the fringed edge of the blanket.
"What is it?" Jane asked, in a whisper.
Yaz shook her head, and in the darkness Jane could see the shine of tears in her eyes.
"Hey," Jane said. She loosed one of her hands from under the blanket to find Yaz's, and tangled their fingers together.
"Are you sure?" Yaz asked. "Is this really what you wanted?"
Jane stared up at her with wise, gentle eyes. "This has literally been the best day of my life," she said, enunciating each word so there'd be no doubt. "And I've had a lot of days to choose from, so I would know."
How could that be? Yaz wanted to ask. Instead she just sighed and tried to believe it.
Jane squeezed her hand. "I am exactly where I want to be," she added.
Yaz nodded. "Okay."
After a moment, Jane squinted at Yaz, a curl of her lips signaling a deliberate shift in mood. "I know I said human sensory organs were inefficient, but somehow you look even more beautiful than before."
Yaz snorted, even as she blushed. "That is the worst line I have ever heard."
"Is it? I've got loads more. Been saving them."
Yaz leaned closer. "Really?" she asked, charmed.
Jane nodded seriously. "Got my eye on a bird."
"Don't think you'll need them," Yaz said with a smile that only grew when Jane yawned, then looked entirely disturbed by the experience. "You need to rest," she added.
"Don't want to go back to sleep," Jane complained. "Don't wanna miss anything."
Yaz watched her, then turned off the television and tugged on her hand. "C'mon," she said. She pulled Jane upright and led her down the hall to the larger of the two bedrooms in the flat, then helped her strip off a few layers until she was only in a shirt and underwear. She tucked Jane in, then disappeared briefly into the other bedroom, mentally cursing Jack Harkness for the spare wardrobe that was definitely her own size and style.
She returned to Jane, face freshly washed and teeth freshly brushed, and slid under the covers, tucking herself against Jane and winding an arm around her waist.
"Now you won't miss anything," Yaz said. "And neither will I."
Jane hummed her agreement, already half asleep in Yaz's gentle embrace.
Yaz found herself awake for a while longer, wondering about this woman, and the latest turn of remarkable events since she'd literally fallen into Yaz's life.
Yaz woke up alone the next morning. She sat up, peering about in the unfamiliar room. A clatter from the general direction of the kitchen had her on her feet before she was really aware of moving, and she hurried across the flat to see what chaos might be in progress.
In all, it wasn't that bad. Jane seemed to have pancakes well in hand. Yaz was impressed.
"Didn't know you could cook," she called by way of greeting.
Jane flashed a smile at her. "I absolutely cannot. But have you met Siri?" she asked, from a blur of motion that indicated the smart speakers strategically placed around the room. "So helpful. She got me a recipe, and ordered groceries to be delivered. Brilliant!"
It was so familiar, as she twirled and muttered to herself, puttering around the kitchen exactly as she would around the console of the TARDIS.
Yaz's heart swelled. Up until that moment, she retained a bit of doubt that Jane was somehow not quite the woman she'd known as the Doctor. That doubt evaporated all in an instant, leaving her breathless with a sudden rush of joy.
"I love you," Yaz blurted. Her eyes went wide, as if it had escaped her on accident.
Jane's frenetic motion abruptly stopped. She set down the spatula and turned to give Yaz a very serious look. "I thought maybe I'd ruined that, before," she said, quietly.
Yaz shook her head. "You didn't."
"Okay. Hang on," Jane said. "Gotta do this properly." She turned back to the stove, and made careful motions to turn off the heat and moved the half-cooked pancake from the burner, then scrubbed her hands clean with a towel.
She stepped over, watching Yaz as she sucked in a deep breath. "Wasn't sure if it was just big human feelings," she murmured. "But I very much love you back." She smiled softly. "Technically, have for decades already."
"Oh," Yaz said.
Jane reached up and cradled Yaz's face in her hands, mirroring the last time they'd parted on the TARDIS. This time, though, Yaz's hands lifted to lightly hold her in place. Jane smiled and dipped her head, gently pressing their lips together.
Yaz made a tiny noise, deep in her throat, and tugged Jane closer, tilting into the kiss and parting her lips. Jane's hands wandered, sliding down Yaz's shoulders and settling on her waist, fingers splayed as they surged into each other.
When they parted for air, they leaned against each other languidly, cheek to cheek.
Yaz might have daydreamed about a rather similar scenario, but in her imagination they'd been frenzied, hurrying between near-death adventures, kissing then stripping and rutting desperately... not casually making out in a kitchen while their pancakes got cold, as if they had all the time in the world.
She decided she liked this version better.
Still, she could feel a few tiny quakes across Jane's shoulders, as she breathed carefully, trying to fully process all those big feelings. Yaz nuzzled against her to press a tiny kiss to the underside of her jaw, and just held her.
"So did Ryan win his bet?" Jane asked a bit later, and Yaz could hear her smile.
Yaz exhaled a laugh. "Yeah."
"Good. He's buying the pizza next time, too."
Breakfast took a few more tries, between spontaneous makeout sessions. Eventually they'd eaten, showered, and ended up tangled together on that ridiculous purple sofa somewhere after noon.
Jane was sprawled on her back, with Yaz halfway on top of her, an arm tucked neatly across Jane's waist.
Jane toyed idly with Yaz's soft hair. "I suppose by now you've noticed the collection of leather jackets in the other bedroom," she murmured.
Yaz sighed heavily. "Jack's idea of a joke?"
"More like his blessing, I think," Jane said with a shy smile. "I had a lot to say about you, when he found me."
"He had a lot to say about you, when we were in Osaka." Yaz glared at nothing. "It's okay to really like him and also want to kick him at the same time, right?"
"Oh, definitely," Jane agreed.
"Sorted, then," Yaz said.
They lazed together a few minutes more.
"Not an expectation, but an invitation - you can stay here whenever you want," Jane murmured. "Already have a room ready."
Yaz propped herself up on an elbow to look down at her. "Dunno what I'm gonna tell my parents," she mused.
Jane shrugged. "The truth usually works."
"'Mum, Dad, this is Jane. She's an induced biological metacrisis split off from the Doctor, who is an alien of undetermined origin but was raised on a planet called Gallifrey - where I've been to, by the way - and she came here to Earth because she wanted to be human.'"
Jane grinned, and let her eyes drift shut. "Selective editing. Very important. 'This is Jane, who has been on a very long journey but is now hoping to spend her days alongside one Yasmin Khan, who is absolutely brilliant.'"
Yaz lifted a hand to gently trace the laugh lines near Jane's eyes. "'This is Jane, who is the best person I've ever met. I love her, and I'm so glad she's here,'" she finished, in a whisper.
"Sorted, then," Jane replied.
"What will you do?" Yaz asked. "Jack said something about an investment portfolio..."
"Mm. Siri - so helpful - told me I have a couple million pounds stashed away, thanks to some clever financing by a certain Captain, and I own this place free and clear, on condition that I help the government when certain alien things pop up. So. Maybe I could start a shop?"
Yaz smiled and settled back in against her. "What would you sell?"
"Dunno. Chocolate? Pencils. Ooh, chocolate pencils. Or maybe books. And flowers." Jane shifted, dislodging Yaz gently as she slid down the pillow to look at her. "How did you figure out what you wanted to be? There are so many choices. Seems awfully easy to get it wrong."
"Well, a mad woman crashed into a train," Yaz said with a smile. "And I knew I wanted to be with her."
Jane gave her a manic, delighted look. "We could wander the world, you and I," she said. "We could go to... Akron, Ohio." She lifted her hand to paint the name with a dramatic gesture.
"What's in Akron, Ohio?"
"Absolutely nothing. You'll love it."
"All right," Yaz agreed. "I know the boys are using their psychic paper to get up to all sorts of sleuthing. We could find some fair play to sort, too."
"Yes!" Jane crowed. "Jane and Yaz, at large and to the rescue. Amazing." She tilted to kiss Yaz in celebration.
As usual, the unknown bits of life looked shiny and tantalizing when Yaz was alongside this woman. Not dull, not anxious-making, not decades of drudgery. The world felt just big enough, and the possibilities delighted her.
Yaz happily listened to Jane's chatter, and let herself contemplate the notion that this really could be the rest of her life. She thought back to another place, another time, and a wish for life on a different scale. It was hard to believe she was lucky enough to get that wish.
Even still, she spared a thought for the Doctor, who was still out there (somewhere), and who had left her this gift. Maybe someday the Doctor would stop by to check in on her, and she could say a proper thank you.
For now, she had Jane Smith, who she intended to treasure.
"And we should get a cat!" Jane said, with wide, excited eyes.
Well then. Jane Smith and a cat.