Chapter Text
“Oi, stop right there!” The Doctor shouted, jumping out of the alcove where she and Yaz had been lying in wait, pointing her sonic at something that looked humanoid, but made a very mechanical sound when it moved. The sonic whirred, and the android paused in its tracks, still facing away from the Doctor and Yaz. Suddenly, it turned to face the two women, and began to approach them. “Right, er, run!” The Doctor spun around, grabbing Yaz’s hand as they ran down the corridor back the way the android had come, though taking a few different turns along the way. Yaz’s pulse raced with adrenaline, and maybe something else.
By the time they stopped, they had reached the trap that had been set for the android, Ryan and Graham waiting on either side to spring it when it chased the women through. The Doctor dropped Yaz’s hand as they ducked into a new hiding place, and Yaz was momentarily disappointed at the loss, before she was distracted by the android rounding the corner and the team’s plan falling into place.
~~~
The team had returned to the TARDIS, now drained from the day’s adventure. They all stood around the console as the Doctor pulled levers and pushed buttons, eventually settling the ship to drift somewhere safe in deep space, where it could remain undisturbed for the next 12 hours or so, so that the team could rest. “Well, I’m off to bed. ‘Night.” Graham announced, exiting the console room. He was followed soon after by Ryan, leaving the Doctor and Yaz alone.
The pair said nothing for several long moments, the silence broken only by the hum of the TARDIS. Yaz felt like she wanted to say something, but she wasn’t quite sure what. Physically she was exhausted, but her mind buzzed.
“Well, I think I’m going to head to bed too. Goodnight, Doctor.” Yaz said, breaking the stillness.
“Goodnight, Yasmin Khan.” The Doctor replied, giving her a warm smile. Yaz felt herself smile in return. She felt heat rising in her cheeks and she averted her eyes, turning away and feeling the Doctor’s soft gaze following her as she left to find her bedroom.
~~~
Yaz shifted under the blankets. She had been trying to fall asleep for the better part of the last two hours, but despite her best efforts, had still ended up lying awake in the dark. Though her body craved rest, her mind was still active. She kept replaying the events of the day, and of the last several weeks of traveling with the Doctor. And that is who her thought kept circling back to. The way the Doctor looks at her, the way their hands had felt clasped together while running from danger. Yaz rolled over for the dozenth time that night, pushing those thought away.
After another restless half hour, Yaz sat up with a sigh. She decided laying here and getting further lost in her thoughts wasn’t helping any, so she might as well get up. She climbed out of bed and opened the door, moving out into the hall with quiet, sock clad steps so as not to disturb Ryan and Graham, whose rooms were just next to hers.
She made her way to the kitchen, hoping that a nice cup of tea would help to calm her mind so she could get some rest. Once the tea was made, Yaz took her mug and set out back down the TARDIS hallway, her path illuminated by the soft yellow light that emanated from the crystalline structures embedded in the walls. Her legs took her unconsciously to the console room, where she found the Doctor. The other woman had her coat off, hands on the edge of the console, leaning forward to inspect a monitor with a scrunched expression on her face. Yaz felt her heartrate quicken, and something stirred in her stomach, and she took a sip of tea to settle it. She wondered why she felt like this when she was alone with the Doctor, wondered what it even was that she was feeling.
It was then that the Doctor looked up from the monitor and spotted Yaz. “Oh, Yaz, come in. I thought you had gone to bed.” The older woman invited the younger out of the doorway where she had been standing.
“Couldn’t sleep.” Yaz replied simply, coming to stand beside the Doctor and resting her tea on the edge of the console. “What are you doing?” she asked, turning her attention to the screen, which displayed circular symbols that Yaz couldn’t decipher and what appeared to be images of planets.
“Ah, that, I was planning where to take you lot tomorrow. I figured after all that excitement with the killer android and whatnot, we could use a more relaxing trip. This” she pointed to the planet displayed on the monitor, “is Phiea II. I wanted to show you the waterfalls, they’ve got amazing waterfalls, well, I say falls, anyways, they fall backwards, and the rivers flow uphill…” Yaz listened as the Doctor went on to explain something about a gravitational anomaly that only effected the water on the planet, not quite understanding but happy to listen. There was something about the way the Doctor would go off and ramble about something that she found fascinating that made Yaz smile. She was awed by the knowledge the Doctor possessed, especially with how easy it was to forget that the woman next to her had lived a dozen lifetimes before they had ever met.
“What do you think?” The Doctor prompted, snapping Yaz out of her thoughts and back into the moment.
“That sounds amazing.” She looked fondly at the Time Lord, sipping at her tea.