Reunion (13th Doctor One-Shot)
Everything was extremely cold. My face, my limbs, my clothes, absolutely everything was beyond freezing. That's why the feeling of two warm hands on both sides of my face had me jolting awake.
My mind woke up faster than my eyes. Sluggish thoughts plagued me as I couldn't even remember falling asleep, where I was, or why I was so damn cold. Sluggish actions followed suit with me cracking my eyes open to be face to face with one of the loveliest ladies I'd ever seen.
Concern and relief was apparent in her expression and I wondered what happened to me that warranted that look, but then I looked into her eyes. Her eyes were a gorgeous hazel that I liked instantly, but oh her eyes! So old and endless- timeless, and then I knew.
"Doctor?" I managed to cough out. My throat felt completely dry and scratchy after a possible long time of no use. She gave small smile and nodded and in an instant I felt overwhelmed by the Doctor in a way I hadn't felt since our wedding. I managed to give her a small smile back after coughing once more. "What the heck happened love?"
A tenseness that was in the Doctor's shoulds left and she grinned. "Well, it appear the Tardis had in a sort of frozen stasis. Elizabeth, you must be absolutely freezing!" She said, rubbing her thumbs against my cheeks before standing up to go grab me some water. She knelt back in front of me as I sat up a bit to drink the water. I smiled at her after finishing the water, taking in her enthusiastic energy and a newfound affection that differed slightly from her previous regeneration with ease.
A teasing frown graced my face as I took in her words. "The Tardis froze me basically, without asking me?"
"She wanted to keep you safe as I, er, regenerated," her smile turned sheepish and she glanced down at herself.
I grabbed one of her hands and held it, a warmth flooding my stomach and veins- only a reaction the Doctor was able to give me. "I'm only teasing. I don't mind it. Well, I'd like a bit of warning next time," I said, looking pointedly at the ceiling knowing the Tardis could hear me. The Doctor squeezed my hand and I looked back to her and smiled. "Are you okay though? I was there the last few regenerations and I know it's not an easy process."
She started nodding enthusiastically. "Oh yeah I'm great! My friends helped take care of me- there here by the way! On board," she paused and gestured toward the door of the room we were in and that's when it hit me.
"You knew you were going to regenerate right then! I mean we both knew it was coming, but I was going to make you tea! I can't believe the Tarid froze me in the kitchen!" I ranted a little, finally sitting up all the way on the tile floor, groaning as my body complained at the movement.
The Doctor gently helped me sit up, wearing a worried expression. "Are you okay? You're not in pain are you? Maybe we should take a trip to the med bay. I don't even know how long you've been frozen-"
"-Doc-"
"And then I completely missed the location of where the Tardis was. Okay, so I didn't really miss it. You were both just misplaced and I had to go find you. And then I didn't know if you even survived th crash!-"
"Doctor!" I exclaimed, grabbing her face and planting a soft kiss to her forehead. She stopped her worried rambling and relaxed even further as she sat next to me. "I'm okay, just sore and all my joints are stiff."
"So, you're okay?" She asked and before I could say yes, she added "with me?"
My brow furrowed in confusion before I understood. "Doctor, of course I am."
She bumped shoulders with me and I knew she was happy, but still concerned. "So, you're a," I glanced at her, hesitating, and she stared right back, slight worry in her beautiful eyes and I smirked. "Blonde, again. I saw a picture of when you were blonde before and I must say, it's quite nice. Oh, and you're completely gorgeous again, if you were wondering."
She gave you a look. "Beth, I'm serious."
"So am I. If you're really concerned, don't be. I've told you before that I'm pansexual. You should remember my first girlfriend, the one I had before we started dating. Unless, ya know, you're just that old," I teased and she scrunched up her nose while rolling her eyes.
"Of course I remember!" She said, but paused as a crease appeared between her brows. "What was her name again?"
"Beats me, that was a long time ago and I've ever really only been in love with one person. This is just another chapter in our lives. I absolutely adore you and you being a woman now isn't going to change that." I told her, meaning every word. I knew I loved her before, when she was a man, and I know with one hundred percent certainty that I love her now.
Her grin slowly came back and she clapped her hands before springing up. She helped me stand and I laughed at her energetic movements. While standing I got to take a better look at my wife. She was shorter, closer to my height now and her blonde hair framed her face. She was beautiful and cute and I knew in my core I was going to adore every piece of her, every single part of her and looked forward to it.
The Doctor looped her arm through mine and was about to lead me out of the kitchen when three people walked hesitantly inside. I figured these were the friends who helped my wife and I smiled in greeting.
"Ryan! Yaz! Graham! I found my wife!" The doctor explained while gesturing to me excitedly in an almost boisterous manner. The young man, Ryan, looked between the two of us nodding. "We're not interrupting, are we? Yaz mentioned that you'd been gone awhile and we just thought it'd be cool to explore a bit to find you."
"Actually," the Doctor started and I interrupted, giving her a look.
"She had been telling me that she had some friends that were on board! It's so nice to meet you! I'm Elizabeth," I started and released the Doctor's arm to go hug them individually. The Doctor took my hand when I was done and grinned at them. "Thank you for taking care of my wife. It's always a relief when she has friends as she can tend to be quite reckless."
Yaz laughed and Graham agreed. I looked closer at them and noticed how worn out they looked and the thought of how they must be hungry crossed my mind, making me realize I were hungry as well.
"Well! You three must be famished. Or tired! Or both!"
Yaz nodded, Ryan said he was "proper hungry," and Graham agreed. "Okay, well since I am hungry as well, how about I make something? I'm thinking muffins and tea. How's that sound?"
"You don't have to," Yaz started and I smiled.
"Nonsense! I love baking and well, sometimes we forget to properly feed our friends on adventures," I looked at the Doctor who gave her friends a sheepish grin. They all smiled at settled at the table, Yaz offering to help me bake while Ryan and Graham offered to start the tea and set the table.
The Doctor followed me while I went to get ingredients. "Could we make blueberry? With chocolate chips? And possibly bananas?" She asked in a whisper.
"Do you want all those inside the muffins? Do you want some as toppings? Do you want the bananas in the batter, like mashed in? Will your friends like the combo?"
She pursed her lips while grabbing the blueberries out of the fridge. "Maybe just blueberries and chocolate chips inside." She said and I nodded, asking Yaz to grab the dry ingredients along with the chocolate chips while I grabbed the mixing bowl and muffin tins. I glanced at the Doctor who had grabbed the blueberries, the milk, eggs, and she also took out strawberries and whipped cream and I smirked at her. "Feeling peckish?"
She grinned right back with her arms full before setting all of it on the counter. "Strawberries sounded good and I know you like them with whipped cream. She took one out, dabbed it in the whipped cream and fed it to me while I started measuring and stirring the muffin mix. I beamed in thanks and kissed her on the cheek. She settled next to me, eating strawberries and watching me work.
"It's been a while since we've had an almost family-like atmosphere," I started, sending at glance at the trio of friends who now sat at the table talking and laughing over tea, Yaz having joined them after telling her I could handle the rest. The Doctor hummed and popped another strawberry in her mouth. "You should invite them to stay, if you haven't already."
She swallowed and looked down. "I don't know. It's dangerous and they're good people. Graham already lost his wife, who was Ryan's Nan."
A sadness gripped my heart as I felt for Ryan and Graham. I paused, thinking of how to phrase my next words right. "Even more reason I suppose, to ask them I mean. It could give them more space and time to heal. Just explain what comes with traveling with us- give them option."
The Doctor nodded, popping in another strawberry and hugging me from behind. "I will, just not right now. We all need time."
I grinned, loving the embrace as I finished up mixing the muffin batter which was now filled with blueberries and chocolate chips. "Speaking of needing time, we're going to have to get used to this."
I felt the Doctor stiffen a little while she hugged me. "What do you mean?"
Turning to face her a little more, both of our noses almost touched. "Well, you're so much closer to my height now, I won't have to pull you down to my level anymore," I whispered. I could feel her grip tighten around me and I turned to face her even more, loving the reaction I were getting.
Looking at her outfit, I tugged a bit at one of her suspenders. "Hmm, suspenders again?" I asked before looking into her eyes. Her cheeks was slightly red, but she was smiling with her mouth and eyes.
"Yeah, what do you think?" She asked and I grinned even wider, tugging a bit again at the one strap I was holding.
"I like it," I said and before either of us got any ideas in the presence of the Doctor's friends, I kissed her softly and turned back toward the muffins.
I pulled out of her embrace to put the muffins in the oven. Once they were in and a timer was set, I turned back to a very red Doctor and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I'm sure your friends made a lovely pot of tea and I want to get to know them more."
So, the both of us joined Ryan, Yaz, and Graham at the table and started sharing stories and drinking tea while we waited for the muffins. The atmosphere was light and happy and I knew that I was going to enjoy every second with my wife and her friends.