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When Yaz saw The Doctor’s body lying on the ground she knew immediately what she had to do. In fact, it wasn't more of a thought process, it was more of an involuntary reaction. The Doctor had always been there to protect Yaz, and for a while now Yaz had been there to protect The Doctor. She ran directly into the line of fire, knowing that if it was strong enough to hurt The Doctor that bad, it could do even worse to her but that didn't matter. The adrenaline ran through her, giving them the power to bolt across the barren planet and lift her motionless body off the ground. The electricity beams swayed from side to side getting closer to them as they walked back to the TARDIS, almost like it was trying to avoid them, missing almost narrowly.
“She’s fine…She’s fine” Yaz told everyone around her, but mostly herself. She’d never seen The Doctor like this before. The doctor always gets back up, and always has the last words to say in a fight. The Doctor always wins… Every battle right? Right?
Yaz placed her down and steadily maneuvered the TARDIS to get away. Anywhere but here. She thought it would probably be best for The Doctor and everyone else if they left. So they did. And Yaz did what she knew; She waited for The Doctor.
When The Doctor finally awoke, she was unsteady on her feet and her hand felt a very familiar tingle. The golden energy seeped out unwillingly. They both immediately knew what this meant. So when The Doctor asked her if she knew, all Yaz could do was nod. Every word was racing through her head that she couldn't seem to make a noise out of any of them, so she just nodded and gently brushed her wrist.
“I need more time… I want more time.. We needed more time”
The Docter had finally realised that in the countless times of pushing conversations aside and running from one thing to the next, she’d missed out on all the downtime she could have spent with Yaz. All the silly little things they could have seen and visited… All the words she never got to say. And now her time was almost up, ‘Not now, later' couldn’t last forever… Sometimes later doesn’t come. Sometimes words are left unsaid and activities are left undone, living in the present should always be your main priority, but this revelation came too late for The Doctor.
As they sat atop the TARDIS, staring lovingly at a planet they both swore to protect, Yaz could only look at The Doctor with the same eyes. She thought of all the other people who’d potentially come before and what they were doing with their lives. Did they have this same feeling? Ace and Tegan seemingly had a grudge against The Doctor for leaving them behind one day… That’s not what Yaz wanted. Yaz knew it was either leave or the longer you stay the more likely you are to die but.. Leaving felt like dying. To Yaz, both of those thoughts left the same fist-size hole in her heart and she’d rather be with The Doctor to her last breath than live knowing she’d still be out there, saving the universe without her.
“I think I need to do this next part alone” The Doctor muttered. Yaz’ heart sank. Now can’t be goodbye. She nodded, like usual, but her heart and her body said something else.
“No..” and before The Doctor could say another word “Don’t make me go, not just yet” she cried while grabbing hold of her hand, and like Yaz knew what words were about to come out of her mouth next “I know it’s dangerous, but I don’t care, there’s nothing we can’t do together… Just let me stay…until after.”
The Doctor nodded. She knew the dangers, but so did Yaz.
“I guess it would be nice to not be alone for a change..”
In front of an orange cliffside sunset, there they both stood. Hand in hand. Yax could feel the energy on her skin, starting to seep into her own body, but it didn’t hurt. The Doctor did her usual regeneration speech, the saying goodbye to her past self, but still had no words for Yaz. There were never enough words to describe how much she loved Yaz, so she’d always push her away. Something was telling her that now was the time she should be pushing her away, but the one time she actually needed to, she couldn’t.
They just looked at each other, with a loving sense of belonging, everything around them was out of control but they could agree on one thing. They leaned in and they kissed. And suddenly everything that was wrong was lost into the void around them. The regeneration energy spiraled around them. Usually, it attacks any foreign matter in the nearby vicinity but everything had always been different with Yaz. It seemed to accept Yaz with open arms, flowing from the tips of The Doctors fingers into Yaz. Everything was right. It was perfect. They were on the same level and they had been for a whole, the universe must have noticed this and agreed because so did the regeneration energy. They were meant to be together, side by side for all eternity. But the universe finds ways, always for love. It’d happened before for The Doctor so it sure as hell could happen now.
As they held each other in the flowing flames around them, the bond they had become stronger than ever, and everything fell straight into place. Their souls, their memories, and their lives merged all into one as a new body began forming in which they both had a part.
When they finally opened their eyes everything was familiar. Yes familiar in that their new soul was a mixture of two but the body too. Awfully familiar… What? What just happened here was enough to be confused in the first place yet alone… this? That can’t happen, right? None of that should be allowed to happen. But the universe finds its ways, It always does…