Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yaz straightened her tie, tugging at it tightly. Just how she liked it. She pulled her hair into a simple ponytail, forgoing the braids of yesteryear. Things had changed a lot since then. The windows opened just a crack, revealing a hint of sunshine coming in. Fresh coffee was already brewing. All that was left was to figure out what her day was going to be.

And she’d get that answer from the usual.

“What’s on the agenda today, Doctor?”

“Glad you asked, Yaz!” A familiar voice replied with great enthusiasm. But just a voice.

Yaz looked towards the ceiling when it came, knowing that she could very well hear it without that, but it added a sense of familiarity. An idea that she was able to look directly to speak to it. Because it was just a voice. And it had been for the last three years.

There was no fairy-tale ending for her. No sudden change of fortune where it all turned out alright in the end.

The Doctor was dying. Well, her Doctor at least. Yes, she knew the Doctor would glow bright like the sun and another man or woman would come sauntering out of the wreckage, but it’d never be the same. They’d never be her. Normally, moments like this would necessitate a reveal of a great love. Confirmed to be forever doomed as time went on.

But no. Yaz never brought it up. Neither did the Doctor to be fair, but Yaz felt a lot more guilty about it. Her chance to finally tell the Doctor how she felt completely, with the threat of their world coming down around them. But she just stayed quiet.

What she did bring up, however, was the role the holo-Doctor played in saving the day. That was easier to mention. That was easier to bring up. Particularly due to the fact that she brought up in conversation just before the Doctor opened the doors for her to head back to Sheffield. The blonde was ecstatic, of course. Her plan had worked. Flawlessly, actually. And it seemed that reminding her that it was still technically embedded in Yaz’s shoulder made her do something interesting.

She took out the sonic and pressed it towards Yaz, the latter feeling a sharp pain. One that she’d learn was the hologram being removed from her. The Doctor then turned towards the console and stuck the sonic inside of it, before typing in a command. A few seconds later, a USB drive appeared from inside the console itself. The Doctor took it out and handed it to Yaz. She looked at it in confusion briefly, wondering what it meant, but the Doctor assured her of its importance. In her trademark vague way.

“Call this a bit of hope.” the Doctor smiled, the colour of her cheeks deepening to a flush. “Whenever you need a part of me, stick this in your computer.”

And that’s all she’d have. She left the TARDIS, the Doctor flew away, and a new man would end up sauntering in her place. Well, men, plural. Though she didn’t understand quite how that worked.

Because time moved on. She moved on. She had to.

She lived her life. She came out to her family. Not only that, but she got a job at UNIT as their top consultant. Furthermore, she aged. No longer able to be protected by the bubble of the TARDIS. She was thirty-five now, over a decade older than she was when she first began travelling with the Time Lord. She grew up, and now she had to finally be an adult in the “real world”.

She was pretty good at it, if she said so herself. To the point that she rose up the ranks at UNIT to become one of Kate’s most trusted people. Enough that earlier this year, Kate wanted to reward her. So, she introduced her to what would become her new home. She’d lived in a simple flat in London for the last two years, not wanting to burden her family (and avoiding the long commute), so she truly didn’t expect it. She didn’t ask for it, certainly.

But Kate assured her it would be the right thing, that Yaz deserved it. It certainly lived up to the hype. Impressive more than Yaz had believed, fit more for a king or queen than a girl from Sheffield.

So, she supposed it wasn’t too much of a surprise when Kate told her that it once belonged to the Grand Serpent. She immediately assured Yaz that it was all cleaned of his influence, and the decor had been changed, but it was still a place fit for someone of great importance, and that’s what Kate saw Yaz as. When she asked what the name would be now instead, Yaz came up with it on the spot, ignoring the palatial vibe it came off.

Flat YK13

Maybe that was why one day, she lazed around at the computer and made that fateful choice. Maybe that was why she rushed off to her room, to her drawer and took out the USB drive. Perhaps that was why she plugged it in without any hesitation.

Whatever the reason — from that day forward — the AI that controlled her house and worked in tandem with Yaz to do it, resembled the woman who brought her to this point in the first place.

“Don’t forget you have that assignment with Osgood later on today.”

Yaz groaned loudly. “Is that really today?”

“Yep! You promised you’d help her with it, and now the day’s arrived!” Holo-Doctor answered.

Yaz knew that they’d need her specific expertise for it, but she was still dreading it. Sometimes, she regretted being so helpful. Okay, it was very rare she did, but this was one of those rare times.

“Dinner plans?”

“You said you’d order in. That you wouldn’t be in the mood to make anything after that.”

“I won’t.” Yaz screwed up her face. “Remind me to order Chinese when I get back home.”

“Will do!”

Yaz still had a bit of time before she had to clock in, always preferring to be prepared at least an hour before she went to work. That coffee and a nice podcast was calling her name, and she wasn’t going to ignore it any longer.

“Your sister is also at the door with a bag.”

Yaz raised an eyebrow. “When’s that happening?”

“Oi, idiot!” a voice shouted as the door was knocked. “Open the door!”

“Right now, actually!”

Yaz gave a soft smile as she opened the door for her soon-to-be guest. Unmistakeable as she always was, Sonya stood there, bag in hand, smiling smugly.

“Idiot.” Sonya greeted.

“Arse.” Yaz replied.

The sisters then hugged tightly.

As Sonya came in, Yaz was given a clear reminder that she’d not had a proper house-warming party yet. Sonya marvelled at what she saw, unable to really believe it. It was Yaz’s default for at least the first month living here. Only really getting used to it relatively recently.

“And here I thought you were lying when you said you moved up in the world.”

“Why would I be lying?” Yaz responded.

“Saving yourself from embarrassment?” Sonya shrugged as Yaz shook her head. She wouldn’t be the only person interested in seeing Sonya, though.

“Hi Sonya!” Holo-Doctor spoke.

The younger Khan looked around in brief confusion, before the gears started turning round in her head. “Is that-”

“Yes, it is.”

“You made your old girlfriend the Alexa voice?”

Yaz slumped her shoulders and scrunched her nose. “First things first, she wasn’t my girlfriend. Second of all, it’s not Alexa. It’s a bit different from that.”

“How different?”

“I control the house. Well, aspects of it.” Holo-Doctor explained. “I can open the windows, control the TV, see what’s going on with the cameras…you know, the usual.”

“It’s a long story that I really don’t want to get into right now, if I’m honest.” Yaz admitted.

“Fair enough.” Sonya nodded.

“Why are you here, by the way?” Yaz inquired.

She suddenly heard the familiar beep of the automated services of the house turning off. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Holo-Doctor was giving her and Sonya privacy to speak. She appreciated that, especially since that’s what the Doctor would do. Although, it’d be with a lot less grace, she had to admit.

“Can I not check in on my sister?” Sonya cast a mischievous grin.

Alarm bells began to ring in Yaz’s head.

“There’s no way you came all the way here just to check in. You could have called.”

“Yeah, but I was the area so…”

Yaz froze her with a suspicious look. She loved her sister. More than she’d ever admit, but one thing she knew is that getting Sonya to visit her was as bad as pulling teeth. Let alone travelling all the way from Sheffield to London to do so.

Yaz had obtained a signature stare that she used to great success during interrogations, and she was not afraid to use it now. It’d only be a matter of a time until she gave it up. In fact, it didn’t even take ten seconds. A new personal best for her.

“Okay fine! Mum sent me.” Sonya blabbed, looking away from the glare.

“Knew it.” Yaz smirked.  That, however, didn’t surprise Yaz. She suspected her mum was due a surprise check-in. Though she didn’t expect her to get Sonya to do it.

“I did actually want to bring you food, though.” Sonya admitted. “Made it myself.”

“Since when do you cook?”

“I can’t try new stuff?”

“Can’t guarantee it won’t poison me.” Yaz said, taking the bag. She looked inside and examined the contents and gave an impressed nod. It looked good at least. She’d live, and so would Sonya. For now. “Thanks.”

Sonya grinned in response. Yaz crossed over to the kitchen and placed the bag on the counter, Sonya following. Nice as that gesture was, she knew that Mum wouldn’t send her without a specific piece of information to obtain. She had a good idea of it as well, but she wanted to hear Sonya say it. If just to see her squirm.

“So, what does Mum want?”

“You know what it is.-”

“Say it.”

Sonya did indeed squirm and produced an annoyed sigh. Yaz could only smirk. Much as Yaz knew the question would annoy herself, it was just about worth it to see the look on Sonya’s face.

“She wants to know if you’re back on the market…”

“What market…?”

“The dating market.” Sonya said, before fake gagging.

“No, I’m not.”  Yaz said, before taking up her coffee.

The faux gag subsided, and a strange look came on Sonya’s face. One would almost call it…concern. Sonya walked over towards her, hand on her hip and head titled.

“Yaz, it’s been three years.”

“Yeah? So?”

“Isn’t it about time you get back out there?”

“I’d have to be there in the first place to get back out.” Yaz said, taking a sip. “I’m busy.”

Yaz had dedicated so much of her life the last three years to working with UNIT, spending time with friends and family and heading to the companion meetings, that dating never came up. There was also the TARDIS shaped elephant in the room, but she didn’t need to mention that one.

“You can’t be busy for three years.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Yaz chuckled.

That only seemed to exasperate Sonya. She sighed and tapped her foot as she watched Yaz continue to sip. She wanted to say something. Something she wasn’t used to saying. Enough that she needed a few seconds to gather her thoughts.

“Look, if this is about the Doctor-”

“It’s not.”

“But if it was…”

Yaz gave her a strong eye that instructed her to tread carefully, but to her credit, Sonya bulldozed through it.

“You were way out of her league. Like massively, and if she didn’t see that, then she’s a massive idiot. More than you. And that’s saying something.” Sonya spilled out.

It took Yaz by surprise enough that her eyes slightly widened. It produced a subsequent sly smile on her face and a brief but appreciative laugh. Sometimes, her sister does love her.

“Funny thing is that I think she knew that too.”

Yaz walked over and gently brushed a hand of thanks on Sonya’s forearm.

“Trust me, it didn’t happen, not for lack of trying. She tried. We both did. But some things just aren’t made to happen. Took me a long three years to learn that.”

She shot Sonya a smaller smile after that one, a sadder smile. Clearly it affected Sonya too, as Yaz saw her countenance drop. She looked prime to say something until her phone went off. She looked at the screen before quickly shoving it back in her pocket.

“Gotta go. Late for my date with Ryan.”

“Your what?!” Yaz said, both eyebrows raising as high as possible.

“We were gonna tell you!” Sonya said, walking away towards the door. “You’ll let me know how that tastes, right?!”

“You-I-he.” Yaz stammered, trying to calculate everything she’d heard at once. But all she could muster was a wordless hand wave, as Sonya burst out of the door. 

She needed any kind of way to remove that mental image from her head. Anything at all. At the very least, she’d get somewhat of a good distraction. She heard a familiar beep, brought on by Sonya’s departure, knowing that she’d not be alone once again.

“How’d it go?” Holo-Doctor asked, genuinely interested.

“Other than me wishing for amnesia, fine!” Yaz admitted. “She brought me food to taste.”

“Do you need me to scan it?”

Yaz smirked. She knew her well. Well, she would, considering who she was based off of. Sometimes Yaz did forget that. Wonders of technology, eh?

“No, it’s fine. I trust it.” Yaz said, walking towards the windows. “It’s just that…she also asked how I was doing…date wise.”

“I see.”

“Yeah…”

“Well, you’ve not entered any dates into your itinerary. Well, none of that sort.”

And yet it felt she should have already. There were thousands of potential dates waiting for her out there in London, maybe being the one for her. Possibly in another time, in another place, in another universe, she’d find the perfect girl for her. Fully able to embrace this new era of her life.

“No, I haven’t.”

“May I ask why?”

But this wasn’t a different universe. And there wasn’t that girl out there for her. For one reason and one reason only.

“They’ll never be the Doctor.”

Chapter Text

“Status report, please, Jenkins.”

The redhead walked over towards the table and splayed her hands across it, revealing a holographic image of a creature. One Yaz was very familiar with.

“The Pting. Capable of eating a variety of inorganic materials, but which subsist off of energy. Claimed to be impossible to kill, and can survive in a vacuum, without oxygen. They are also deadly to the touch as they excrete poison.”

“What? That little thing?” A hapless UNIT soldier mentioned. His line of sight then intercepted with one Yasmin Khan, whose own gaze promptly shut the young man up completely.

“That little thing once ate a detonated bomb, and it just ended up being full. Do NOT underestimate it.”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” the soldier shrunk away.

Yaz nodded. “Jenkins?”

“We first found intel about it via Johnny Bridge AKA Sonny, a Zygon who illegally smuggles alien tech, and now species.”

The hologram then fizzed and changed to reveal the being in question, with prior crimes listed next to him, including smuggling, illegal possession of alien weaponry and theft. Kate had mentioned to Yaz that they’d been wanting to nail him for a while, and it seemed like success had come their way.

“UNIT managed to apprehend Sonny, but he was quick to inform us that he had brought in a baby Pting. We didn’t believe him until we scanned the nearby area, and we found out he was right.”

“And he’s in custody now?” Yaz asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Jenkins nodded. The scene then changed to an appliance store, of all things. But not for no reason. “Tracking data showed the Pting at Harvey’s Electronics as of two days ago. We sent in a drone, and it showed that the Pting had eaten half of the stock in the back.”

Soon. images of the scenes that the drone had captured appeared, and it did elicit a few gasps of concern and intrigue. Yaz stayed focused, however. It wasn’t anything she’d not seen before.

“And what’s it doing now?”

Jenkins hesitated. “Uh, umm well-”

“Well, what?” Yaz asked.

“You see, ma’am-”

“What?”

“…It also ate the drone.”

“Of course it did…” Yaz sighed.

Which meant that they’d no eyes on it. But they might have a window. The Doctor once mentioned something about a baby Pting to her that seemed to bear fruit right about now. But they wouldn’t have long to make good on it.

“Thank you, Jenkins.” Yaz said, as the agent nodded. The brunette made her way to the centre of the table and brought all the attention towards herself.

“This is what’s going to happen. A baby Pting after a decently sized meal — like any baby — can immediately get tired. Considering Harvey’s isn’t currently out of business. we can assume that’s what’s happened. Presumably it’s still there, so we’re going to need to track it by locating the strongest power source.”

She then cleared the screen away and removed the holographic imagery.

“What about the owner of the store?” Yaz inquired.

“We’ve already made contact and removed him from the store. Told him to take a little holiday.”

“Good. We’re gonna need to clear the surrounding area. We CANNOT risk anyone getting hurt. Not only is the Pting poisonous, but it can cause mass panic.”

“Yes, ma’am.” everyone called.

“The only way to neutralise it will be via a sphere created by Head Scientist Osgood, who will be onsite to activate it. “

“What is it, Miss Khan? If I may.”

“A magnet essentially. It will drag the Pting from its current position into a cage set up at the back of the building.”

“Won’t that cause property damage?”

Yaz smirked. “Osgood also prepped for that. It will make the Pting intangible until it hits the back of that cage.”

Yaz’s face turned serious again, though.

“However, getting the sphere to the Pting will have to be a one-person job. One person would make the Pting curious, but more than one can make it suspicious and it can lash out. Considering the severity of this situation, it needs someone with prior experience, and that means I’ll be doing it.”

No one disagreed, not that she expected it anyway. Three years of hard work had built Yaz a cache of respect and admiration from those around her. She’d earned that implicit trust, but now she couldn’t waste it. This wasn’t a universe saving mission, but it was still something that would help prevent any loss of lives or more property damage, and that’s more than enough for her.

When it came to protecting people, every mission was the most important ever. Because if her life so far had taught her anything, she’d never met anyone who wasn’t important.

Being a part of a secret organisation bent on protecting the Earth from alien threats means things aren’t always what they seem. In the wake of the issues with the Toymaker, Kate had made sure to downsize UNIT slightly. They were too easy to locate, too well-known. The government grant she’d received to rebuild it after the Grand Serpent had made the place a lot more conspicuous. Things got to her head just a bit.

So, UNIT got a more modest building, and most importantly made sure to hide their true intentions with a much better disguise than being so out in the open. Three words that Yaz had got used to saying over the course of her time there. But it wasn’t entirely foreign to her before that.

“Health and safety!” Yaz bellowed towards the people on the street near Harvey’s. She flicked a badge open that showed credentials that were real, but also quite fake.

Flanked by a team of UNIT soldiers disguised in hazmat suits like she was, it made it easy to get their attention.

“We require you to vacate this street for just about ten minutes while we deal with a fumigation issue at this store. Alright?”

Sometimes, it was easy to get people to disperse. And a large gaggle of people following the UNIT troops away once they gestured towards the opposite side of the road proved that. But sometimes, you had a few stragglers. Those that either stubbornly don’t get the picture or, in certain cases, find it more difficult than others to do so.

“But I need to buy a game for my grandson.” one older woman said. She stood there, crestfallen. Her short stature and kind voice made it difficult for Yaz to stand firm. Difficult, but not impossible.

“You will, ma’am. Just in a bit. We need to deal with something in there.”

“But-”

Yaz sighed and walked towards her, getting down on one knee. Her face softened, and she flashed the woman her best and most comforting smile. Yaz then placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and made sure to make eye contact with her. This was one of the most vital and most enjoyable parts of the job.

“Hey, what game does he want? I might be able to pick it up while we’re getting this done.”

“It’s one of those football games. EF 26, I think it’s called?”

“EAFC 26. I know the one. I’ve got a friend who LOVES it.” Yaz mentioned, her mind flicking back towards Ryan. “I’ll find it and get it. And when we’re done here, I’ll come out and bring it back to you, free of charge.”

“Oh I couldn’t. That’s much too generous.” the woman mentioned.

“Trust me, it’s nothing. Anything for someone in need, eh?”

The woman nodded with a contended smile. Yaz wasted no time, but still gently ushered her away from the store, making sure there was a UNIT soldier to watch her and take care of her. It was the least they could do. Especially considering what could possibly happen if Yaz failed.

Yaz then motioned for two troops to follow her inside the store, the bell jingling as they did so. All three cringed, hoping the Pting didn’t hear that. The store itself was like any old electronics store, and most notably, still intact. At least outside the storeroom. That meant that (hopefully) the Pting was still asleep. It could also mean it escaped already and was terrorising another place, but Yaz wanted to keep her spirts up.

“Osgood, you’re in position?” Yaz then whispered, touching her earpiece.

“Right outside the store, yep. X-ray specs show the Pting laying motionless, but I can’t tell if it’s awake or not. I can see you, though. Give us a wave!” Osgood said.

Yaz obliged with a smile, a small respite before a very dangerous situation. She then switched on her tracker on her wrist, noticing a blue dot appear, faint at first. Getting to it was their mission. The trio slowly made their way towards it, passing each section with intrigue.

TVs, computers, phones, you name it. All here and Yaz was certain, all tasty for the Pting to eat. She did also spot the section for consoles, seeing the game in question. The old woman didn’t mention what version, so Yaz would just take as much as she could get. She was sure Mr. Harvey would understand once they save his store and the greater London area from being devoured by an alien.

They eventually made their way out of the store itself and now behind the scenes. A universal skeleton key also made by Osgood made this very easy. Times like this, they were glad she was on their side. Every step meant the dot got bigger and bigger and more noticeable. They were getting closer. Past the office, past the washrooms, until the device began to slowly trill. Reading one noteworthy message.

Power Source Located.

This was it.

“Chapel, you have the sphere, right?” Yaz inquired, just making a final check.

The blonde man reached into his bag and brought it out. Shiny, glistening and with a red button in the middle. Their ace in the hole if all went well.

“Good.” Yaz continued to whisper as she stuffed it into her pocket. “Now, stay out here and do not make a sound.”

Both Chapel and his contemporary nodded. They knew their part of the plan here was limited to staying outside and out of Yaz’s way here. Not for lack of desire, though. Yaz definitely would have enjoyed the company. She’d faced an adult Pting a long time ago and had grown a lot in experience since then, but she didn’t do it on her own. She had a special partner-in-crime. Oh, how she yearned for any advice or expertise from her now.

But this was something she had to deal with on her own this time and thankfully, she was prepared…hopefully.

This room however was a lot more torn up than the ones preceding it. Light fixtures falling apart, several holes of damage all over the place. Metal chewed through like it was nothing. Shelves that were once filled with appliances now completely gone like they were never here. Which, considering it was near a damn warehouse, said a lot with what she was dealing with.

Yaz tried to keep her steps light and silent. She knew that one wrong step could awaken the Pting before she needed it to. Because she did need it awake. She certainly wasn’t going to risk forcing its mouth open to eat the ball. Not only was that entirely cruel, it was entirely dangerous. She had to play this one easy and without risk.

Following the trail of empty shelves made it at least easier to locate her little friend, walking down the empty hall before gradually getting closer and closer. She could feel it. The hairs at the back of her head stood up. A trick she’d gained from her time with the Doctor. A sixth sense, if you would. She didn’t always like it, but it got her out of a lot of trouble, and this time may be no different.

She looked up to see the object of her great interest currently. Smaller than a normal Pting (impressive onto itself), it sat with its back towards the wall, dozing. If she didn’t know better, she’d think it was extremely cute. And it was cute, in fairness. The same way a wolf cub is cute. Cute until they lash out at you.

Now came the hard part however and the one that could very well get her killed. But hey, it wasn’t the first time she’d had a brush with potential death, and it wouldn’t be the last.

“Ahem.” Yaz cleared her throat.

She saw the Pting gradually open its eyes, and its mouth. But thankfully, the latter so far was just to yawn. It looked at her curiously, as any baby would. Intrigued, wanting to learn, wanting to understand. It cooed at her, examining the strange Earth woman and her reasoning for being here. So why not make it simple for it?

“Hi! I’m Yaz. I’m a…friend of your…mum. Or dad, or sister, or brother.” Yaz scrunched. “I’m a friend of your relative.”

The Pting cooed at her again. Not a growl. Good.

“We met a long time ago. When I was travelling with a friend. We ended up ejecting them into space because they weren’t being very nice, but I’m sure you understand.”

Yaz stepped forward and was met this time with a growl. A sharp one no less. Less good. Okay, softer approach.

“Alright, I get it. I get it. You’re scared. You were taken from your home and brought someplace you don’t know….my friend was the same.”

A memory flash to a tear-soaked moment. One on top of a blue box, gazing at the Earth ahead of them. Eating ice-cream. Enjoying the time they still had, once they still had it. As painful as that was.

“Before she left, she told me about her life. Things she hadn’t told anyone else before. Hell of a time to do it.” Yaz scoffed and gave a slight chuckle. “She told me she wasn’t who she thought she was. That she was taken from her real home and brought to what she thought was her actual home. She must have been real scared. As I imagine you are too.”

The Pting closed its mouth and tilted its head.

“I know this is terrifying right now. You want to go back to the people you love and see them again. And I hope they’re still around for you. Some of us aren’t always that lucky. I can get you there.”

She reached into her pocket and took out the sphere. This was the truly hard part now. She gently placed it onto the floor, pressing the button to arm it, before taking a few steps away.

“A little snack for the road. I know it’s probably nothing to you, but every little helps, right?”

The Pting watched her curiously for a second again, before turning its attention to the sphere. It walked over towards it and picked it up. It sniffed it, interested, before wasting no time in putting it in its mouth. Yaz could feel her heartbeat quicken.

“Target found. We’ll get it out in a second.” Yaz could hear Osgood say over the earpiece.

So she smiled at it, knowing that she wasn’t out of the woods just yet, but feeling just a bit more confident. And now a lot more purposeful. When this was all over, they’d find a place to get it to safety and where it could hopefully meet some others of its species. Not everyone was lucky like that.

A beep. Then a red light in the Pting’s stomach.

“Bye for now.”

The Pting’s eyes then widened and in a flash, it was gone, phasing through the wall. It wasn’t until Yaz got the all-clear from Osgood that she finally breathed out. It was never easy, but she hoped this time it’d be rewarding.

Now, she had some games to get.

“Great work out there.” Osgood praised, as Yaz smiled back in response. The pair were now in a UNIT van, the Sheffield native discarding her hazmat suit alongside the others. Yaz being glad her suit wasn’t creased at least.

“It was nothing. Just doing my job.”

Her heart was pounding the entire time, but she wouldn’t pass up an attempt to be modest.

Osgood’s eyes sighted the half-open white bag that showed the games inside of it. She smirked. “Spoils of war?”

“Huh?” Yaz said, noticing what she meant. “Oh no. This was just a present for someone. One of the crowd we had to move. She wanted a game for her grandson, but since I couldn’t let her go in, I did it myself.”

“Aww!” Osgood shouted, the other soldiers joining in.

Yaz couldn’t prevent the blush that fell upon her face. “Alright, alright! No need to make a big deal out of it. I just wanted to help. Parker, where’d you last see her?”

Yaz would go find her once everything was sorted here and give her the games. She didn’t wrap it up in gift paper, but she was sure the old woman could do that herself. However, Parker’s eyebrows raised, the non-binary soldier blinking in confusion.

“See who?” they asked.

“The old woman I asked you to look after. Short, blonde. Danish as well, I think. Not relevant but still.”

Parker shook their head. “Nope. Dunno who you’re talking about.”

“Don’t tell me you lost her.” Yaz said, growing increasingly annoyed.

“Can’t lose someone I never had, can I?”

Yaz frustratedly huffed. Parker was a good soldier and a good person overall. It’d be weird to just suddenly ignore an older woman in need. Maybe they were just being odd then. Whatever game this was, she didn’t get, but she’d allow it. For now at least.

“Fine. I’ll find herself myself. I’ll just look up her-” Yaz mentioned, before pausing in realisation.

“What?” Osgood asked.

“I never found out her name. Or where she lived. Or even who her grandson was.”

So focused on the mission that she was, and filled with the assumption that she’d still be there, Yaz had just made the promise without any knowledge. She leaned back on the van, somewhere between angry at herself and adamant in finding whoever that woman was.

“Do you want us to put out a search for her?”

“What? God, no. That’s too much.” Yaz shook her head. “I’ll find her myself when we’re done here.”

“So, does that mean you’re not heading out with us for dinner?” Parker asked.

Yaz chuckled. “Sister brought food for me to try. As fun as it’d be, I can’t disappoint her.”

So, when the UNIT van took off, Yaz was left standing there on her own. By choice, at least. She readjusted her handbag on her shoulder and began to walk.

Thankfully, her flat wasn’t too far away from Harvey’s. She didn’t mind the walk anyway. Would give her time to think as well. All the while keeping a keen eye out for that old woman. Yaz didn’t know exactly how she was going to find her, but she felt confident she would. She was very persistent when she wanted to find someone when she had no idea where they went.

“Maybe that's cos she wanted us to be able to follow her, to find her, cos she needed us. I'm going to work it out. I must be able to work it out.”

Cliché to say, but a lot had changed since then. Especially herself. Leading an assignment for UNIT on her own. It seemed normal for her now, but she could never imagine the junior police officer that first met the Doctor being able to do this. Granted, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Times did get hard, and often she felt like she wanted to give up.

Many a time, she sat on her own during her travels in the 1900s, wondering what she was doing here. She wasn’t afraid to admit that, sometimes, she did cry. Scared that she’d never get back home. Never see her family or her friends again. Scared that she’d never see the Doctor again. But she made it to the other side, something she nearly couldn’t say on that road before Officer Patel found her.

Not without losses, obviously.

But she was still standing, and at 35 she could stand proud of the woman she was today and how far she’d come. She knew the sky would be the limit for her. She just had to keep flying hig-

“Give me the bag, lady!”

Yaz’s eyes immediately flew towards the voice. She wasn’t far away from home now, but she saw something a lot more pressing at that moment. A mugger was attempting to steal an old woman’s bag. Yaz wasted no time in running over towards the scene of the crime. She was no vigilante, but when people needed help, she never refused.

“Oi! Back away from her!” she growled.

The thief released the bag, seeing another issue to deal with. He had a few inches of height over her and looked well-built, but it’d take a lot more than that to intimidate Yaz, especially after what she’d done earlier that day.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?”

Yaz cracked her neck. Putting on the sternest face she possibly could. “Something you’re gonna wish you didn’t make me do.”

It was a good opening threat, but she was sure it wouldn’t do too much other than unnerve him. She was ready to apprehend and take him down, though, getting into position.

So it was certainly a curious one when his eyes suddenly widened, and he turned and ran away. Like full on sprinting. Yaz looked at it, perplexed. Turning around to see…no one behind them. How odd. Very strange. Nevertheless, now that he was gone, she could focus on checking on the woma-

“It’s you!”

Yaz looked down to see the object of her search right in front of her, looking as surprised to see her.

“Oh hello! Fancy seeing you here. What are you doing here?”

“Other than saving you? I live not far from here.” Yaz answered. She did want to get to another pressing issue, however. “Where’d you go? I told you to wait for me.”

“Right. Well, my son called me asking for me help, so I had to dash. You’ve got any kids?”

Yaz’s eyes widened massively. “Definitely not. Definitely not ready for them, either.”

“One day you’ll realise how much of a joy they can be.” the woman smiled warmly.

Yaz disagreed, but she wasn’t going to fight her on it. Instead, she reached into her handbag and took out the bag of games. “I didn’t know what console he had, so I just bought each version.”

“Oh my goodness, you remembered!” the old woman said, taking it kindly. She reached over to hug Yaz, the latter accepting it gleefully.

“I made a promise, didn’t I?” Yaz smiled.

“He’s going to love it so much. Thank you.”

“No problem.” Yaz nodded. “Do you need help walking home? Just in case that man comes back.”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling, I’ll be fine. He shan’t bother us again.”

“Why’d you say that?”

“I-I mean, did you see his face? Clearly you scared the living daylights out of him.”

“I guess so…” Yaz responded.

She was sure her threat couldn’t have been that bad, but hey, she wasn’t going to complain if it was. Maybe she was scarier than she realised. She didn’t know if that was good or bad.

“Is there anything I can do to repay you for this, Miss?”

“Khan. Yasmin Khan. And no need, ma’am. Kindness is its own reward.” Yaz warmly grinned.

“Wise words from such a young woman.”

With that, the old woman walked away, stuffing the bag of games in her own handbag. Contented as she was by the interaction, Yaz only realised once she was out of earshot that she’d not learned the woman’s name again. At least the woman knew hers, she supposed. Yaz had social media so she was sure the woman cou-she was sure the woman’s grandson could look her up and get in contact with her.

She hoped he enjoyed the new game at least.

A few minutes later…

Yaz opened the door gently and switched on the light. Home sweet home at last. She expected to get a hearty greeting from Holo!Doc about how today was, but she’d get that done tomorrow. She was getting a bit tired.

Except Holo!Doc didn’t ask her.

Considering she’d do that no matter the day or time, something was wrong. Scheduled power cut, maybe? She’d heard an announcement of it possibly happening on her street, but she assumed this place had enough generators to prevent that issue.

Everything else was working, so maybe it was just the AI itself. She’d have to head to her computer and reset it from there. Shouldn’t take too long, and then she’d be back up and runnin-

Then Yaz heard it.

Water running. Definitely from the bathroom.

She made sure and checked that was off when she left earlier on, as she did every time she left the house. Everything in this house was state-of-the-art. They didn’t just randomly turn off and on at a moment’s notice. Which meant one thing and one thing only.

Someone was in her house.

She eased the handbag onto a nearby chair, before slipping into the kitchen. She went for the first thing to hand to deal with the intruder. That just happened to be a wok. She smiled briefly. Dan would be proud. But nevertheless, she gradually made her way towards the bathroom.

She didn’t know how the hell they got inside this house of all houses, but it must mean they were good. And more than likely dangerous. Granted, that probably meant a wok wouldn’t do all that much, but she was already here now. Might as well keep going. She kept light on her feet, not wanting to draw any attention whatsoever. Knowing that any alerts would make this situation incredibly difficult. And it likely already would be.

She made her way to the room in question, noticing that the door was ajar. So whoever was in there had likely just arrived. They must have got in there quickly. She stepped inside a bit more to see that…it was the shower.

Someone was using her shower.

The faded image behind the glass panes showed it was a woman. She tried to figure out any women she knew who would have the know-how to get inside a place like this, and it only really fell to two. Osgood was a very unlikely choice, considering she had her own place and would have called beforehand if she needed a shower.

And the other was long gone.

Yaz knew she wanted to get the jump on them, so she quietly kept walking until she made her way directly in front of the shower, the woman unaware of her presence. Good. She took a deep breath in. Now or never. Whoever was inside here would be making a huge mistake. One they’d definitely regret.

Yaz pulled the glass door across.

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my…house?”

She’d like to claim she saw this coming or that she expected this. But she was neither a soothsayer nor a resurrectionist. Because there was no way in hell she could have ever predicted this in ten million years.

Standing in the shower (and currently quite naked)…was the Doctor.

Chapter Text

There are several ways one should react to seeing your former best friend/extreme crush in your shower, naked. Yaz was almost sure that slamming the glass pane back on her was not one of them. But, she can be forgiven, she felt. The utter insanity of the moment warranted an utterly insane reaction.

Of course, the next thing to do was to rationalise it in her head. It was a dream. It had to be. She’d maybe come home and flopped right onto the couch and fell asleep. Simple. All she had to do was just pinch herself. So she did.

Hard. Enough to leave a mark on her arm, at least temporarily.

Because it had to be a dream. Some kind of sick dream. It wasn’t like she’d never had it before. Often it depended on how felt that night. Sometimes, it’d just be the two of them on a purple couch, snuggled up with each other. Occasionally, they’d get a bit more intimate, but that was very rare. Rarer still were those dreams where the Doctor would be unclothed.

And yet this one felt entirely too…real. Something about it felt different from any dream she’s had about the Doctor. It felt like she was still awake somehow. But that was impossible. Because this had to be a dream, right?

Right?

“Yaz?”

She was beginning to think this wasn’t a dream.

Yaz turned round towards the voice to see the Doctor, thankfully now in a towel, looking concerned. It’d almost be cute if it wasn’t completely messing up her mind.

“You…you…”

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wr-” Yaz said, before bursting out into laughter. Completely incredulous laughter, mind you. At no point did she actually take any joy from this.

“What’s so funny?”

"It’s you!”

The Doctor scrunched her nose. “Right. I did think you were coming back home earlier. So I just popped in the shower to get ready for bed.”

“What are you-home?!”

“Yeah, home. Why are you being weird?” the Doctor asked, perplexed.

“Why am I being-” Yaz stopped herself, before rubbing her hands over her face. “Doctor, you’re in MY house, soaking wet in a towel!”

The blonde scoffed. “You think you’d be used to it by now. I know it didn’t happen much before, but…things changed.”

“What changed? Doctor, you’re not making any sense.”

“….You’re being really weird right now.” the Doctor said, which nearly made Yaz have a conniption in the process. “But if this helps, then fine. I just want you, alright.”

“So you’re gonna tell me what happened?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Get dressed first, please.”

Yaz sat anxiously at the dinner table, hands clasped and foot tapping incessantly. She’d made it past the “this is a dream" phase, but now she didn’t know where they were at. She was getting increasingly sure though that this wasn’t HER Doctor. Her Doctor wouldn’t be at her home in a towel so casually. As much as she wished she would have been. Whatever changed, has to be something to do with this. Well, whatever that was, she was going to find out soon enough.

She had to, right?

Knock, knock, knock.

Yaz turned to see the woman in question standing in the entrance to the living room. Now attired in a very, very familiar set of clothes. Clothes that were not her own, however.

“Are those-”

“I’m just borrowing! My clothes aren’t here for some reason. I checked all the drawers. It’s weird.” The Doctor responded, taking a seat.

“I’ll say.” Yaz scoffed. “I don’t have your stuff here, by the way…you never gave me anything.”

Two regenerations since, and not a single Doctor even offered any mementos to remember them by. All she had was the AI, which she was increasingly annoyed wasn’t working currently.

“That doesn’t sound like me.” the Doctor said, confused.

Yaz sighed. Exasperation setting in. “Can you get on with it, please?”

“Sorry, right you are. Well, what do you last remember?”

“Doctor, look at your hand.”

“No. No. That's not right. I need more time. I want more time!”

Yaz didn’t make it a habit of returning to that moment. The pain would feel like a maze she couldn’t escape from. But it’d always perforate her brain every so often. No matter how much she’d tried to avoid it. Because she had to. She knew that one day, the memory of that will hurt so much that she wouldn’t be able to breathe, and every place she went, it would be there.

Was this that day?

“Umm, well, the Master shot you. I carried you back inside the TARDIS. Flew everyone home…kinda. Then you slept for a while. Woke up, your hand started glowing and…” Yaz said, taking pause to breathe away any incoming tears (unsuccessfully). “We got ice-cream, sat on the TARDIS for a bit and said goodbye. You changed and that was that.”

She left out several details, but it’d only further drive a stake into her heart so she felt fine in not going that way.

But the Doctor just looked at her, puzzled. Puzzled in a way that showed not completely confusion, but a misunderstanding.

“That’s what you think happened?”

“That’s what I know happened…what do you think happened?”

The Doctor sank back in her chair and blew. “Well, I guess most of that was correct. “

“Most?”

“Well, yes, all of those things did happen, but that’s not where the story ends.”

Much as she hated to say it, Yaz was intrigued now. Enough to sit up and take notice. She knew the Doctor, and she knew when she was confident about something, and this was one of those times.

“Where does it go, then?”

“I survived the blast.”

“Yeah, you regenerated, I know.”

“Well, I didn’t. Actually, yes, I did…it’s complicated.”

“Simplify it then.” Yaz said, arms folded.

And so she did, and Yaz listened.

She explained that in whatever reality she came from, she survived the blast from the Master. Same as she did in Yaz’s memory, but this time the regeneration was wonky. It didn’t go as it should have, or at least how Yaz recalled it did. Complications basically spit the Doctor (her Doctor) out, and she was no longer a Time Lord. Once it happened, Yaz wasted no time in taking her in. After that, things were said, feelings were revealed and now, according to this Doctor, they lived together, in a relationship.

The Doctor seemed completely normal during her explanation, bar some small blushes on her cheeks, but Yaz was quite different. She’d already felt her eyes welling up once the regeneration was mentioned, and it just spiralled from there. She’d already made up her mind to get up and wipe her tears away from the Doctor, but the blonde immediately grabbed her hand when she attempted to do so.

For once, the strangeness of it outweighed the comfort she’d normally feel. The ease she’d normally feel wasn’t there, and she felt more in pain now than before. So she simply removed her hand and picked the least appropriate option of them all: simply just sitting there and sobbing for a bit.

Credit to her, the Doctor didn’t intervene until Yaz felt like she was ready. A sixth sense she always had.

“W-what did I say wrong?” the Doctor inquired.

Yaz sniffled and shook her head. “Nothing.”

“It’s clearly not nothing. Tell me.”

“It’s fine.” Yaz fibbed.

She had no intention of talking about it, preferring to stew in the pain. A trait she felt she’d lost in the three years without the Doctor, rearing its ugly head. So it was a surprise to see the Doctor then grasp her hand again and squeeze it tightly, before delivering an unexpected blow to the shield she’d put up.

“Stop doing that. You’re clearly not fine, so stop hurting yourself by pretending you’re not. It’s not good for you. I had to learn that the hard way.” the Doctor eventually replied.

It was enough to stop the tears from flowing and get Yaz to stare directly at the Doctor. This wasn’t what she was used to. Not by a long shot. Yaz eventually sighed, realising she had no other option but to spill the beans.

“I…I just wish that all that you just said was true.”

“It is true!” the Doctor cried, clearly hurt by the assertion. “How could you not remember?! We did this together!”

“Because that wasn’t me!” Yaz shouted, a long silence developing between the pair afterwards. “That wasn’t me.”

“I don’t understand…”

“Whatever life you lived, it wasn’t with me. I watched you get shot by the Master and you regenerated, but you never came back. Not this version of you, anyway. Things got weird, and you seemingly regenerated twice, but the Doctor I know now, is not you.”

“H-how is that-”

“Ever since then, I’ve been on my own…For three years.”

In a rare moment that Yaz couldn’t not register, she had the Doctor speechless. She sat back in her chair, contemplating it greatly in her mind. While she did, so many options ran through Yaz’s mind. Some kind of brainwashing of the real Doctor from her past? A clone? An Auton? An alternate universe? Something had to make sense.

Why she would think they’d been together all this time? Why she’d think this house was also her own? Something wasn’t computing.

She’d kept her normal diet of the unexplained and the strange even without the Doctor, but this was something else entirely.

“…I don’t know why you don’t remember the same things I do…but I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.” the Doctor eventually offered.

Yaz scoffed with a smile. Even in the face of confusion, she cared so much about her.

“I didn’t.” Yaz said bluntly.

“But I don’t understand what’s going on. And for me, that’s a new one.”

“Neither do I, so I guess we’re at an impasse here.”

“Maybe not quite…” the Doctor said, eventually getting up and pacing. “UNIT is still here, right?”

“Yeah. Course.” Yaz nodded, perplexed.

She didn’t know why they wouldn’t be but acknowledged that the Doctor was just making sure of things at this point. What she couldn’t really figure out though was what she said afterwards.

“Good. I’ve never wanted to head to work more.”

“Remarkable.”

Kate gazed towards the scene inside the infirmary, in utter disbelief. While she wasn’t there for the moment it happened, she’d no reason to not believe Yaz’s word. After the events of the Giggle, she’d believe anything at this point.

Everything in between was still a bit hazy, and she wasn’t particularly herself after the hell of nearly being converted into a Cyberman; but she knew that the Doctor was not a blonde woman with a Huddersfield accent anymore.

So she continued to scratch her head as she saw the sight in front of her: Osgood unwrapping a blood pressure tester from the woman’s arm.

“Still can’t believe it myself.”

Yaz - to her credit - had found it in herself to swallow the situation a lot better. Enough that she felt casual enough to take a cab with the Doctor to UNIT. Though, it was hard to not glance at the blonde every so often. She wasn’t completely on-board, but she was beginning to accept this reality a bit more. Strange as it was. She even made sure to head towards the back in order to circumvent most of the UNIT staff seeing her.

This was for the higher-ups only.

“And she just appeared out of nowhere?” Kate asked.

Yaz shrugged. “Dunno. I found her in the shower, with the house’s AI completely off, as well.”

“Do you think she has something to do with it?”

“No…I don’t know. It would be weird.” Yaz admitted.

“I think we’re already at that stage.” Kate retorted.

“Touché.” Yaz said, looking at Osgood continue her testing. This time, observing her reflexes. “She told me that we’ve been actually dating for three years. And living together in the house for nearly as long. That she’d become human after the regeneration failed.”

“Seems like your ideal scenario.”

Yaz turned towards Kate in mild surprise, who didn’t wilt under her stare. Kate wasn’t dumb nor ignorant. Yaz suspected no one in her life was. They all knew how she felt about the Doctor. And she didn’t hide it greatly at times.

This was her ideal scenario. Of course, it was. The woman of her dreams in a position where she doesn’t have to worry about out-living Yaz, and they can just live? This was all she ever wanted. But Yaz wasn’t going to just blindly accept it. No matter how tempting it felt.

“Regardless, it still isn’t right. We know the Doctor is out there right now with Ruby.” Yaz relayed.

“I know. I talked with him earlier today.” Kate confirmed. Yaz couldn’t hide her intrigue as her eyes widened slightly, but she quickly reminded herself that that wasn’t on the agenda right now. “It could be anything, really. Maybe even some kind of alternate universe.”

“Not an alternate universe, actually.”

The two women turned to see Osgood making her way towards them, disposing of her gloves and face mask. She didn’t look concerned, though she didn’t look entirely happy either. Something in the middle. Though not particularly helpful.

“I checked, double-checked and checked once more for good measure. She is from this universe.”

That didn’t clear things up much, to be honest.

“Is she actually…human?” Yaz asked.

Osgood sighed before nodding. “Completely 100% Grade A human. One heart. I’d put her at about…early forties? Let’s say forty-three.”

Yaz scoffed. At least the age gap wasn’t as big as it was before.

“No additions or changes to her biology?” Kate inquired.

“Not that I could see. No robotic parts, no plastics. She does have a slightly more advanced brain than a regular human, though. “

The Doctor’s story was seeming a lot more plausible now. She gazed inside the room, looking at the blonde watching the television. Unknowing, she was being examined. A one way mirror standing between them. But Yaz just shook her head. Increasingly plausible or not, something had to be causing this. She wouldn’t just appear out of thin air. That wasn’t logical.

“Could she be a clone?” she asked Osgood.

“Possibly? Though I’d ask why you’d clone the Doctor but make her a human.”

“Maybe the procedure went wrong somehow.” Yaz added.

“Mmm, you have a point, Yaz.” Kate noted. “We know there’s enough people out there willing to experiment illegally, let alone involve the Doctor in it. Osgood, see if you can find anything strange that happened recently. Anything out of the ordinary, more so than usual.”

“Of course.”

“What about the Doctor? Do you need to keep her for testing?” Yaz wondered.

“Not at all.” Osgood shook her head. “She’s fit as a fiddle. Particularly for women her age. Keeping her here would be fruitless, really. There’s nothing wrong with her.”

Yaz didn’t entirely agree, but stayed quiet.

“In that case, you can keep an eye on her, Yaz. In that case, that somehow this is the reality-”

“If this is.” Yaz corrected.

“IF this is the reality we are now in, then making her feel more comfortable wouldn’t hurt.”

“You’re not happy.”

Yaz sipped on her coffee, eyes staring towards the table. She knew who was speaking, she knew why they said that, and she knew exactly what her answer would be. And yet, she stayed quiet. Simply continuing to scroll on her phone. Because although she had the answer, she still felt incredibly speechless.

“You can talk to me, you know?” the Doctor continued to ask, as a few more seconds elapsed.

Yaz knew she could, but she didn’t know what that would mean. What would happen? Obviously, she had a feeling the world wouldn’t suddenly explode…but maybe hers would. That maybe if she treated this like the normality Kate suspected might be incoming, things would be weird and different.

She’d taken the Doctor straight from UNIT to a local café and immediately ordered a coffee for herself and hot chocolate for the Doctor. She hoped that whatever was going on that the Doctor still loved hot choc, and she was proven right at least. She downed it pretty quickly in comparison to Yaz who was still sipping on her drink. Glancing every so often at the men and women around them, all dealing with their own problems. And yet, she could bet her entire house that they weren’t as complicated as hers.

“Yaz-”

“I’m fine.” she finally relented, looking directly at the Doctor.

“You don’t look fine.”

“How would you know?” Yaz abruptly said.

She regretted it immediately. Especially once she saw the hurt flash across the Doctor’s face. But it was out there. Regardless of whether it was said out of pain and confusion on Yaz’s part or not. The Doctor however, didn’t take it too personally, which was a good sign for Yaz at least.

“I know that you don’t believe me about the last three years, but believe me about all the years before it. I know you, Yasmin Khan. I know what you like, what you don’t like. And I remember, so much. Like bringing you a hot water bottle and some chocolate when it was your time of the month. Like when we danced in the Champs-Élysées…so I know when something is wrong.”

It was a powerful argument. Enough to get Yaz to push her coffee to the side and place her elbows on the table. She propped her chin onto her hands and simply stared at the Doctor, unsure of what exactly to do. She’d got her attention at least.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You gotta start somewhere. Whatever helps.” the Doctor offered a comforting smile.

“Do you really believe what you told me at home?”

“Absolutely. Nothing in the world is truer to me. Why would I lie about that?”

“I don’t know. I just-” Yaz sighed. “This is all so weird. It’s not normal.”

The Doctor chuckled. “When have we ever dealt with normal?”

“Fair enough…I just…I didn’t prepare for this happening. I was content living my life the way I was, accepting it for what it is.”

She wasn’t being entirely truthful but wouldn’t be good to tell the Doctor that, in her mind.

"And then you showed up, for me, out of the blue and out of nowhere…and I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Well…I don’t necessarily believe in fate, but maybe the universe is telling us something. Or telling you something. If you truly do not remember the last three years like I do…then maybe it’s pushing you towards it.”

In having to accept every possibility in this strange scenario, it did occur to Yaz that that could be a viable reason. Goodness knows she deserved a break from the universe after everything, but it still didn’t feel right. It wasn’t what she expected nor particularly wanted.

“You would want us to be together, right?”

“Of course I do.” Yaz blurted out. Unable to control it. “I want more than anything in the universe.”

“Then why so hesitant?” the Doctor asked.

Yaz sighed. “…Because this isn’t how I wanted it. All those memories you seem to have. I don’t have them. I don’t have the experience. And yet I’m supposed to get into a relationship where I don’t have any of the tools to succeed, and you do?”

“I can help ease you into it. Offer a guide.” the Doctor offered. “Would that make it better?”

“Yes. I mean no… I don’t know!” Yaz cried out, before placing her head in her hands.

It was all getting very confusing and very concerning, at least in her own head. All this potential distilled into one woman sitting right in front of her, and yet she can’t take that step. But how did she even get this step in the first place? They were still no closer to figuring out why the Doctor was here and why she was like this. She knew one thing, it couldn’t just be the universe doing her a favour. Life never worked like that for her.

Something had to give, and it seemed that the Doctor had an idea of her own.

“I can leave, if that makes it easier.”

“What?”

“Hop it, take off. Find some other place to figure myself out and what’s going on. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble than I already have. I never want to do that. You deserve so much better, Yaz.”

Yaz could hardly believe what she was saying, enough that she almost didn’t register the Doctor beginning to get out of her chair. But Yaz regained her senses quick enough to grab the blonde’s hand intently.

In that moment, they locked eyes for what felt like truly the first time since the regeneration. Yaz didn’t understand a lot of things about this, if any, but she knew one thing about all. One thing that this opportunity afforded her that she wasn’t about to give up any time soon.

“Don’t leave me.” Yaz pleaded.

The Doctor wasted no time in sitting back down.

But an alert on Yaz’s phone broke what had been a surprisingly tender moment. Yaz didn’t need to see it to know it was from UNIT. If they were calling then it was important, but she’d argue so was this. But, a job was a job, and she wouldn’t turn down a chance to help people. A certain someone instilled that into her.

Unfortunately, this would have to wait.