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2399
It had been nearly two weeks since the doctor had left Sheffield.
"I'll be back in a pop! There's an errand I need to run. Shouldn't take long. Either 30 minutes or 5 days. Either way, Yas, Graham and Ryan - take care of yourselves!"
The audible creak of the TARDIS doors as they shut rang in Yasmin's head for days. She wasn't one to worry (that was Graham's thing, for sure), but a peculiar sense of dread followed her around like a stormcloud.
At work, and around her family, she could easily ignore it. The doctor was more than capable of handling things on her own, anyways. She was being silly.
Now, as she looked out of the window of her apartment complex, outside of her apartment, she couldn't stop thinking about it. It was storming, as if the cloud that had been following her became too heavy and was now falling down to earth. Water pooled into reflective puddles around the parking lot, near the corner where the TARDIS was absent. She put her forehead up against the glass, sighing softly as she waited fruitlessly for it to appear.
She would wait for nearly an hour before closing her eyes and sighing. "Where are you, doctor?" she muttered to herself.
"Are you talking to yourself?" It was Ryan's voice. Yasmin jumped, looking at him with pursed lips.
"No, Ryan, you scared me!" Ryan looked at her with sheepish eyes, shrugging his shoulders. His windbreaker was still dripping with rain.
"My bad," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?" Yasmin took a deep breath and then sighed.
"Talk about what?"
"Well usually when you're talking to yourself it's because something's going on." Ryan theorized. Yasmin glanced out the window, shaking her head.
"No, I don't. Why are you here, Ryan? Is something wrong?"
"Erm, well, no," the man made a flat expression. "Graham and I were going to go to that new Mediterranean place just up the road. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come?"
Yasmin looked pensive. She was silent for a few moments, staring at the spot on the corner as if willing the TARDIS to appear with her mind. "Unless you're busy?" Ryan asked.
"No, not at all. I'd love to."
---
Ryan and Yas had struck up a conversation as Graham hung up his car keys. The older man turned to the two as he took off his coat, placing it on the back of the couch. Ryan shut the front door behind him, shuffling his feet over the doormat to get rid of the excess water on his boots. The warm, musty air of the apartment-townhome felt oddly welcoming after a night spent in the cold rain.
"Are you sure you don't need a ride home, Yas? It's really pouring out there."
"No thanks, Graham. I tend to spend my shift outside anyways. It doesn't bother me, " Yasmin explained.
A knock on the front door broke the brief silence that followed. After the three exchanged odd expressions,
Ryan tentatively took the knob, twisting it and pulling it open.
He stared, gaping at the person on the other side.
"Who th- ...Doctor?!"
A shivering figure trudged into the room. She was hugging herself, soaked with rain. The hood of her plaster jacket obscured most of her face, but the blonde hair that stuck out gave her identity away. Ryan stepped aside to let her in, his eyes unblinking. "Doctor, are you alright?" He worried. Yasmin was standing now, and Graham and her stared at the time lord as she stumbled in. She said nothing as she leaned into the wall, her boots threatening to slide out from beneath her.
Then, with a ghastly quiet voice she said "Hi. I missed you all. So very much."
Yasmin, as if sensing what would happen, was immediately at her side. She took her arm just as she tipped forward, pulling her into an upright position. She supported most of her weight as the Doctor's head lolled forward. The time lord's eyelashes fluttered and she fought with consciousness, appearing to grey in and out. She gripped the other woman's bicep, digging her fingers into her jacket as they stumbled further into the apartment.
The alien let out a shuddering half-sob, half-gasp as she was led to the couch, her lithe frame shaking. She was eventually lowered down, and Yasmin stayed beside her, biting her lower lip in concern and reaching for her hand. She looked alarmed as the time lord curled onto her side.
The front door clicked and locked as Ryan closed it behind them, quickly joining the gathering around their friend.
"Doctor, what happened? Where have you been?" Graham asked. There was no answer. The doctor's labored gasps were the only sounds in the room beside the pattering of rain against the windows. Still hugging herself with one arm, she started to catch her breath.
She was startlingly silent.
Yasmin, Ryan and Graham exchanged a series of worried expressions. Eventually, Yasmin elected to touch her shoulder. She flinched, hard. A faint, almost inaudible sound of fear came from her hooded form. Her fists were clenched white and her shoulders shook.
"Doctor..." Yasmin lowered her voice, nearly whispering as she pulled away. "Do you know where you are?"
"Sheffield. 2020. Graham's place," the Doctor replied robotically. She finally looked up at the three, her sunflower eyes glistening pensively. "Er, right?" she worried, her voice suddenly shaking with fear. "Right... It's not 2399 anymore?"
"Right. You're with your friends." Ryan said before anyone else could reply. The room went silent with unspoken questions. Before any of them could be asked, the Doctor closed her eyes again, sighing with relief.
"Doctor..." Graham sat on the seat across from her, folding his hands over his knees. He seemed genuinely worried. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Can I sleep here? I don't want to move. I definitely - absolutely can. But I, uh, don't want to. Oh, I know! We can have a slumber party at Graham's! People still do that, right?" The Doctor took a deep breath after talking, sounding winded despite having not moved in some time. Yasmin looked increasingly worried, her gaze turning into an intense stare.
"You know I never mind the company, Doc, but you haven't said anything about where you've been, or how you got here. How about I make us some tea and we can catch up?" Graham suggested.
"I actually -"
"That would be lovely. Thanks, Graham." Yasmin intercepted before the Doctor could object. The tension evaporated from the room and as Graham left, Yasmin returned her gaze to the Doctor, who cringed painedly and palmed at her ribs.
"This isn't fair. I can't move," she whined.
"But you just said you could." Ryan, who had taken a seat on the floor nearby, objected.
"And what isn't fair? Your friends being worried about you? And rightfully so?" Yasmin added, emotion tinning her voice. The doctor buried her face in her arm, saying nothing and trembling.
Yasmin put her palm over her hand, holding it gently. "You're shaking," she said, her voice softening.
"I know. I'm just cold, Yaz," the Doctor lied. Her hand was frozen under Yasmin's, but she didn't pull away. Ryan wordlessly removed a throw blanket from the back of the couch and pulled it over her. She opened her eyes.
"Yaz, Ryan. You two -" she said hoarsely, " - are gonna make me cry." Yasmin scoffed, squeezing her hand.
"We're here for you, Doctor." Ryan said.
"Even if you are a bit dramatic." Yasmin teased. The Doctor smiled softly, turning her head against her arm and looking like she might doze off there. Yasmin watched, a fond smile creeping across her lips. There was a comfortable silence where none of the three moved or spoke, and Yasmin found herself running a thumb along the Doctor's index finger, seeming lost in thought.
Graham re-entered the room, speaking softly. He kept his voice just above a whisper, looking between the three fondly.
"I was going to say that the kettle is done, but it seems like our Doc has fallen asleep on us."
"I didn't know time lords needed sleep." Ryan thought aloud.
"I think this one does. We should leave her be. I have a feeling she's been through enough today." Yasmin said with her fingers still interlocked with the alien's. "And, err, Graham..."
"What is it, Yaz?"
"Do you mind if I stay here with her?"
---
The morning came uneventfully. What little daylight there was illuminated the room as the sun rose, revealing the still image of the doctor curled up on the couch in a borrowed hoodie. Her shoes were on the floor beside her, and her jacket was balled up into a makeshift pillow. Yasmin, who had just woken up, did a double take as she saw her usually-energetic friend lying completely still, at peace. She sat up from the recliner she'd dozed off on, careful not to make any noise as her eyes parsed the room for her phone. Just as she did, Graham trailed by, fully dressed, walking towards the key rack.
"Good morning. If you two need anything, help yourselves. The kitchen isn't really stocked but there's toast and tea," he whispered. "And there's a spare key under the mat if you need it."
"Where are you going?" Yasmin wondered. Just as she asked, Ryan trailed into the room, looking disheveled and tired, but dressed.
"It's a Monday, Yaz. He's driving me to work." Yasmin blinked, then glanced towards the Doctor.
"Right." she said softly. "See you later, Ryan. And Graham, thank you for letting us stay over. Please drive carefully. The weather's dreadful."
"Of course. Bye, Yaz. And take care, Doctor."
With a click, one half of the "fam", as the Doctor called them, was gone. Yasmin turned her phone's volume off as she watched the Doctor sleep, wondering to herself when she should wake the time lord. As nearly half an hour came and went, she would get up and wash her face, sit back down, and check her phone at least three times. When the pervasive silence became too much, she stalked over to the other side of the room and sat by her feet.
"Doctor," she said softly, but audibly. "It's nearly ten now, are you alright?"
No response. Yasmin's lips formed a thin frown as she contemplated her next move. She would gently place her hand on her knee, her brows arching in an increasing worry. "Doctor..."
The Doctor's eyes didn't open. Instead, she would flinch away, startled.
"Don't," she cried out reflexively. She scrambled back until she was against the side of the couch, as far from Yasmin as possible. When she finally recognized her, the two entered a long stare.
"Doctor..." Yasmin said helplessly, her voice full of guilt. "It's me."
"Oh," the Doctor replied. "Sorry, sorry - I thought that you were someone else." Yasmin looked baffled. She had never seen her this jumpy, and it was unsettling to say the least. Just as the Doctor opened her mouth to change the subject, Yasmin asked,
"Who did you think I was?"
Silence. The Doctor looked contemplative, then guilty, then far away, then afraid again. Yasmin could practically see her beautiful brain going a million miles an hour, and she couldn't stand it.
She moved closer and took her palm, cradling it in her hands. This seemed to confuse the time lord, but then she sighed, her shoulders lowering. The tension disappeared from her face.
"Doctor, you can talk to me. I'm worried about you." Yasmin said. "Please."
"In 2396, there will be a global conflict over a technology humans haven't invented yet: psychic manipulation," she said, speaking as if it were the first page of a very long book: a book she didn't wish to be part of. "A group of brilliant scientists will accidentally create a weapon. A weapon that can do more than just kill. It corrupts an individual's nervous system, affecting their actions, sometimes in terrible ways." As the Doctor spoke, the wind began to pick up outside, making the windows crackle lightly. Her fingers curled around Yasmin's.
"Take your time, Doctor." Yasmin whispered.
"A few years after it's discovered, a politician in the then-independent republic of California uses it to assassinate a political rival. This sets off a chain of events that ultimately leads to a technological cold war. It's the atom bomb all over again, and every nation wants to hold the cards." The Doctor looked pensive, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. She looked drained. Sickened, even.
"On my way to run an errand I mis-shot the TARDIS to this exact year. My luck went sour. I landed in one of North America's neutral zones and was mistaken for the enemy. I was able to convince them otherwise, but that was before they found my TARDIS." The Doctor cringed. With her free hand she touched her sternum as if remembering something. "They wanted it, and all of its secrets. And guess what? They wouldn't take no for an answer. The TARDIS only opens for me, and when they tried to get me to open her doors, I wouldn't. I wouldn't help them turn her into a weapon. They didn't like that."
Yasmin squeezed the Doctor's hand, furrowing her brows in mixed anger and worry.
"You shouldn't have been alone. We should've been there with you!" she despaired. The Doctor looked horrified at the idea and faced her, eye-to-eye.
"Absolutely not," she said sternly. "I barely made it out myself."
"Doctor," Yasmin whispered. Her words trailed off, hanging in the air like a stale wind. "Did they hurt you?"
"You don't need to worry about that, Yaz. I'm okay, I promise," the Doctor quickly said. "Besides, I'm not human, remember? Pretty durable, we time lords are." Yasmin looked distinctly unconvinced.
"You look like you've got pneumonia. You couldn't even walk yesterday. You're jumpy, to say the least..." she listed, squeezing her hand as if afraid to let go. "So forgive me if I don't believe you."
"Pneumonia is a human thing," the Doctor said confidently. "I can't get pneumonia." Yasmin wanted to roll her eyes. She scoffed.
"You're silly, you know that?" she sounded exasperated but looked at her friend with great fondness. "And you didn't answer my question. Doctor, are you hurt?"
"I, ah," the Doctor said, her voice stiff and distant. She looked like she wanted to minimize it, to justify it, but tripped over her words, stammering and grinning awkwardly. "um -" Yasmin turned her hand over in her palm, tugging it towards her.
"It's okay," she hushed. "Just... promise me you'll take it easy for once, would you?"
"Fine," the Doctor conceded. She exhaled, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and tightened her hands around Yasmin's. "I promise."