a/n: happy new year everyone ! this was suppose to be out ages ago, but I honestly have been losing a little bit of motivation for any kind of writing, hopefully that goes away soon. we are almost at the end of the woman who fell to earth and I am generally excited for you all to continue reading ana and the doctor's story !

i apologise for any spelling, grammar or blatant mistakes, I am working on three hours sleep and having been awake since three thirty am this morning, having to go to Sydney and then come home the same day D :

anyway, enjoy !
make sure you review !

-x-

Of course, they all had to pile back into the wagon, but Ana didn't have time to dwell on the fact that she was probably too close for comfort for both Ryan and Graham, as the four of them were squeezed into the back seats once more. They were searching on their phones trying to find out where this Karl person, who had been there with the others on the train, worked. Her lower lip caught between her teeth, Ana managed to block out the conversations that were happening around her – green eyes were flying over the multitude of different search results that had appeared. Who knew that there were that many Karl's in the Sheffield area. It was seeming rather hopeless, until, she finally found a LinkedIn account that was the first that held a photo along with the name. It didn't take her any time at all, to shove her phone in front of Graham's face, to make sure it was the Karl they were looking for.

The older man looked startled for a couple of seconds before he grabbed the phone out of her hands and squinted at the screen as he brought it closer to his face and a sad sort of smile crossed his lips. "That's him." Ana beamed, proud that she still had the hang of 21st-century searching techniques - you really do seem to get rather lazy in the 24th century. Taking her phone back from Graham, Ana then unbuckled her seatbelt and basically threw herself forward, coming to rest her elbows on the centre console and held her phone out towards The Doctor.

"I found him," The Australian announced, "Karl Wright, operator for Skylark Building Services." Grace looked up and focused on the rear-view mirror, aiming her gaze at Graham, Ana had to stop the grin that was going to spread across her face as she noticed the exchange. It's been a while since she had seen people so in sync that they just know when the other person … knows something.

"I know where that site is." Graham then spoke up, before he leaned forward slightly himself. "It ain't far. Grace, next right, love!" He patted the driver's seat, before leaning back. It was then that Grace stepped on the gas and everyone in the car almost fell against one another as the car rounded the corner.

Ana managed to stay upright, even after all those years with inertial dampeners, she still managed to keep her balance before she placed her phone back into her pocket.

"Look at you, home for not even two hours and you're already back into it." The Doctor spoke, and Ana couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks before she leaned away and fell back, she hadn't been aiming for Ryan, but she came into contact with his chest and he gave a grunt as she hit him a little too hard. Mumbling an apology, Ana leaned forward once more, straightening her back and shrugging her shoulders. God, she hated tight spaces.

"Yeah well, you can't really leave this type of life behind easily." It was quiet for a couple of minutes after she spoke, everyone seemingly in their own heads, even The Doctor, as if they were trying to figure out what they would all do once they got to the construction site. But the silence didn't last long when Yaz decided to break it.

"Where did you come from?" the question caused a brow to raise a couple of seconds after the question had been asked. The Lieutenant was a little slow at realising that the question had been directed at her. Ana looked around Ryan and let her eyes fall on the younger girl. A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, before shaking her head slightly. Tugging on the sleeves of her uniform, Ana pulled them over her knuckles and looked down at her lap.

"You wouldn't really believe me if I told you." She mumbled, only to hear The Doctor scoff at her statement from the front seat. The blonde turned around and faced the four of them, but mostly kept her eyes on her oldest companion. Green eyes lifted from her lap, and her brows furrowed.

"Not believe you? Bear, I think they are willing to believe anything at this point." Ana narrowed her eyes at the Time Lord, who kept her gaze and it was almost like she was staring down the White-Haired Scotsman again. Hazel eyes that seemed to be so young, yet still felt like they were ancient and forever. There would always be the risk of falling into them and never wanting to leave. Ana huffed, her nose scrunching upwards before she let her gaze fall back onto Yaz.

"The … 24th Century."

"Twenty-fourth!" That was Ryan, Ana couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. She really should have been expecting that. "Jesus, that's in the future yeah?" Ryan continued, Ana rolled her eyes playfully.

"That most certainly is the future." The brunette replied, the atmosphere in the car fell into a relaxed state after the conversation and Ana was glad that they didn't think she was crazy, that had happened before but from her statements of saying she was from the past. It hadn't been easy for her, but it eventually ended up being the best time of her life. Before anyone could say anything else, however, Grace pulled up out the front of the construction site. Everyone piled out of the car. "God, I hate heights." Ana rested a hand against the car door, her eyes looking up at the cranes that were towering over the site. It was massive, and her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

It was then that they all followed after The Doctor, who was making her way through the broken bit of fence. It was a couple of seconds later that they stumbled upon an older man's body who, to Ana's knowledge had been dead for only a couple of minutes. Scrunching her nose upwards once more, Ana's green gaze circled around the open site. This wasn't the biggest number of dead people she had seen in one night, but it was strange for such a small town to hold such a high body count. The voice coming from the walkie talkie was probably Karl's and The Doctor crouched down to take it from Dennis' lifeless hands.

"Oh great. Karl's a crane operator." The Doctor sighed, looking at the body then around at the site. Ana's eyes fell back to the crane that sat directly in front of them and swallowed. Sure, she's been in space for the last couple of years, but that doesn't mean she enjoyed heights automatically. At least in space - you couldn't see the bottom. "He would be, wouldn't he?"

"It's over there." Ana followed Ryan's finger and winced at the sight of the alien climbing up the side of the crane. The Doctor stood suddenly and turned to face them.

"And that creature's guarding the bottom of it," Graham added. Ana noticed the Gathering Coils that they had all seen on the rooftop – moving around the base of the crane, it's electric body flashing white every couple of seconds. Ana watched it for a couple of seconds before returning her attention to The Doctor. She looked between Graham and Grace first.

"Graham, Grace, I need you to take this equipment," She gestured to the bag that was on the ground next to her. "And get everybody off this site. Don't care how, use your initiative. Do not come back in, understand?" The two older companions nodded their head. "Ryan, Yaz, how are you with machinery, and heights?" The two teenagers looked at each other and nodded their heads as well, before the blonde bent down and picked up the bag that held the car battery and all the cables.

"I guess we're all right," Yaz answered for the pair of them and The Doctor's lips curled upwards. It wasn't long before her gaze fell onto Ana and the Lieutenant opened her mouth to interrupt but the Time Lord beat her to it.

"I know you hate heights. I won't make you come, you'd probably slow us down." Ana rolled her eyes at that. "I want you to go with Graham and Grace." A frown settled on the Australian's face and The Doctor shook her head, reaching out to hand Grace the bag. "Don't argue with me, Ana. You need to help get everyone off site as well and then you are to stay where you are."

Ana let her eyes narrow at The Doctor, who kept her gaze. She wasn't going to look away anytime soon, but in the end – it was her new eyes that started to make the pit of Ana's stomach curl once more. So, she heaved out a sigh and reluctantly nodded her head. "Alright - fine, but I'm not gonna leave you completely. I'm coming back here." Ana stepped forward. Grace and Graham had started to walk away from the group, Ana knew that she should follow after them but her need to make sure that The Doctor still knew where she stood with her was all that mattered to her. "I'm not leaving you this time."

The Doctor let her lips fall into a straight line, but the Time Lord held her human's gaze for a little while longer before she sighed and nodded her own head. "Stay out of trouble." Was all she said before she turned on her heel and gestured for Yaz and Ryan to follow after her.

"You should try and take your own advice!" Ana called out after The Doctor. A heavy sigh escaped the brunette's lips, gaze lingering on the three of them before she turned on her heel and started to jog after Grace and Graham.

-x-

On her way to catching up with the couple, Ana came across a few loose florescent vests and a couple of clipboards, which held a couple of sheets of paper, explaining what the hell they were building on this site. Nothing important, Ana summarised from her brief over look. She knew that they didn't exactly need to dress up, but they didn't have time for multiple human's to be questioning as to why they were being told to leave the premises. A smile crossed pink lips as she jogged over to Grace first, who was peeking around the corner of a standalone building.

"Hey," she softly called out to them, coming to stand just next to Graham, who appeared around the corner. Grace turned around, giving Ana a soft smile and taking the vest that the Australian was holding out to her. "I found these," she continued before handing the other to Graham. "and these." then the clipboards.

"Oh, you're a lifesaver," Graham commented as he slipped the vest over his shoulders and took the clipboard from Ana's hands. She beamed at him, praise was hard to come by when you were fighting in a war. Her gaze flickered over to one of the many windows that the box had and spotted at the least a few people inside, while a couple of others still lurked around outside. Ana crossed her arms over her chest and let herself focus back on the two in front of her.

"How are we gonna get them all off-site?" Ana questioned, it had seemed that Star Fleet had made her lazy. It wasn't difficult to boss people around when you were a nurse, and it certainly was less hard to control people while being a nurse on a space station. Everyone automatically listened to you - there wasn't really a need to fake people out.

"Leave it to us, love." Grace replied, and nodded her head towards Graham, who followed her out from behind the building and into the centre of the walkway, before they started to call out to all of the workers. "Could I have everyone's attention, please!" Graham was wandering around and knocking on the windows, people were starting to get curious and exiting the small buildings. "Can we have everyone please evacuate the site! This is a total site shutdown." Everyone seemed to be confused, but they weren't questioning the information, Ana guessed that this seemed to happen a lot on sites like these.

Ana couldn't help but feel slightly proud at the pair of them, if she didn't know any better, they would have appeared to be professional site workers. Quiet murmurings and mumbles suddenly filtered through her ears, but none of the men or women seemed to have a problem with leaving - Ana wondered if this was early for them.

"Thank you very much." Graham continued. "Total site shutdown. Quick as you can, please." He was herding everyone out of the buildings. Ana moved away from her hiding place, arms still crossed over her chest as she came to join them. "Thank you, major power issues, very serious, emergency services are on their way."

"Offsite immediately, please. Matter of urgency." and it was when the last person had left –that the three of them looked at each other. Ana couldn't help the grin that crossed her lips.

"Oh, I now know why The Doctor let you tag along." She beamed, looking back over her shoulder, towards the crane and her lip fell between her teeth once more. "Now, I'll just be back … in a moment, maybe two. Give me an hour, tops." Turning on her heel once more, Ana sprinted back the way she came, ignoring Graham, who called out to her, or the fact that Grace had started to follow after her.

Stumbling back past the broken fence, Ana came to a stop closer to the cranes and squinted up against the florescent lights. Even looking that high up made Ana's stomach curl. Heaving in a deep breath, she tried to get her eye sight to work a little bit better, trying to spot The Doctor.

"Grace, she explicitly said not to come back. It's not safe." Graham, ever the worry wart, grumbled. Ana wondered if he'd ever just lived in the moment. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted that Graham was suddenly looking at her as well. "That goes for you as well, Ana, love." A brow raised on Ana's forehead.

"Look, it's swapped cranes." Ana's gaze flew back over to the right crane and she spotted The Gathering Coil, which was now on the bottom of that crane, Ana had a sneaking suspicion, that it was this one that The Doctor, Yaz, and Ryan were on. Pulling off her vest, Grace hands it over to Graham. "It's trying to bring it down, we have to stop it." Walking forward, Grace then grabbed a hold of Ana's hand and pulled her after her, as she was making a jog even closer to the right crane.

The brunette wasn't fazed at all by Grace's words, considering there was no way that she was going to leave The Doctor to do whatever it was she had been planning on doing. Even if she had taken Yaz and Ryan along with her, Ana knew that there was always the possibility of something going wrong. They made it to the bottom of the crane, and the older woman let go of Ana's hand to come to a standstill, looking up. Graham finally caught up with them and stood next to his wife, almost ready to chastise her once more - expect he followed her line of sight as well.

Ana, however, squinted into the semi-darkness and looked around the base of the crane, trying to see if anyone had left behind another walkie talkie. She took a couple of steps over to the multitude of barrels that were scattered around the place, rummaging through them and even looking over a table that was in the far left. When she couldn't find anything, she gave a huff of annoyance and mumbled. "Why can't things ever be simple."

"Ana, love…" Grace's voice caught her attention and Ana turned on her heel and looked over at the older woman. "I think you wanna take a look at your Doctor." A frown settled on her forehead, but she didn't question it and jogged back over to where Grace and Graham stood.

"Why? What's she …" She trailed off, as her eyes focused upwards and spotted The Doctor at the edge of the crane. "…doing now." her train of thought veered off its track and she automatically started to worry, which stepped into over drive as soon as The Doctor took a running leap of faith off the crane.

"Oh my god." Grace and Graham spoke together, while Ana couldn't even let herself look. Slapping a hand over her eyes, the brunette shook her head and turned away.

"Not even a day old and she's already scaring the shit out of me," Ana complained. She could faintly hear what was happening up above, swearing on her life that she heard The Doctor complain about her legs being longer. Letting her hand fall away from her eyes, Ana turned back around and continued to watch what was happening above her.

"For the love of God, don't fall!" Ana yelled as loud as she could skyward. She had no idea if falling from that kind of height would induce regeneration again, or if she was still in her 24-hour period that she would just … heal herself. Crossing her arms over her chest, Ana gave all her attention to The Doctor, making sure that she wasn't going to fall.

"Love, come on." Grace tried to grab a hold of Ana's elbow, but the Australian wasn't having any of it, shaking off her hand.

"I gotta … I have to stay here." She replied, finally letting her eyes move from above, coming to rest on Grace's lovely face. It was then that she noticed Graham had disappeared. "Make sure nothing happens." Grace wanted to argue, say that there was nothing that Ana could do from down here. But she didn't, instead, she gave the younger girl a pat on her elbow, before she left herself. It wasn't long until Graham reappeared though, his arms full, with two other bags. The Gathering Coil was still trying its best to cut through the bottom of the crane The Doctor had jumped from. Ana prayed that whatever Grace had in mind was going to work.

Letting her eyes leave the couple (who had told her that they were going to try and stop the coils before leaving Ana alone) and back upwards, it was then that she noticed that The Doctor was having a conversation, well – she says conversation, it's more like The Doctor was trying her best not to lose her cool with … Tim Shaw. "Let him go, or I destroy this." Ana had no idea what The Doctor was pulling out of her coat, but she knew that it was something important. It always was. "The recall from the pod you travelled in. I took it out, without this, you can't get home." Eyes wandered around once more, making sure that Grace and Graham were still okay. "Yeah, see? Now you're worried. If I fall, this falls with me." A sigh left Ana's lips, as her hand came up and covered her face again. She swore that this version of The Doctor, was going to give her a heart attack as well.

It was only a couple of minutes later, that Grace came back. Ana watched as she set up the coil of cables and she wondered what the hell she was doing.

"Uh, Grace?" Ana called, letting her arms fall back to her sides. Throwing one last look upwards, the brunette made her way over to Ryan's Nan. Grabbing a hold of the clamp, Grace gave Ana a soft smile. "What are you doing?"

"I'm climbing up and I'm going to stop that … thing." Ana's eyes widened.

"Uh - no, hang on." Ana stumbled over her words, fingers gripping the ends of her sleeves as Grace started to walk towards the crane. "I should be doing that. Where's Graham?" Grace's smile disappeared then, as she stopped. Shaking her head, there was a look of determination in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, love. Ryan's in trouble, I have to do this." Her voice held a tone that Ana hadn't heard before. She was serious, very serious and she wanted to do this - for her Grandson, for her husband and for the rest of them. "You stay here," Grace continued, and Ana's focus came back to her. "Graham may need you." Ana didn't even get the chance to argue further, as Grace shot off once more.

A curse escaped Ana's lips, but she didn't go after her. Instead, she shot off back the way they had all came, only to find one of the smaller sheds wide open. That must be where Graham is, Ana thought to herself as she sprinted over. Almost slamming into the open door, Graham jumped, turning on his heel rather sharply – he shone the torch directly into Ana's face.

"Blimey, Graham it's just me," Ana complained – squinting against the light. He heaved out a sigh relief before he rolled his eyes and turned back around to focus on the electrical panel before him. "You got this?" Ana questioned as she made her way over to him inside the small shed.

"Of course I've got this." He grumbled. "I required the whole house, you know." It was rare in this type of situation, but Ana went ahead and cracked a smile anyhow.

"Alright, granddad." She even let a soft chuckle escape her lips. "Just making sure." Ana then proceeded to take the last remaining clamp out of his hands and placing it on the black cable just to her right, in time to hear Grace yelling for them to switch it on.

"I hope this works." Graham murmured before flicking the small lever inside the electrical box. The cries of its working caused Ana to beam at Graham for the second time that night, which he returned with an enthusiastic smile. However, it only lasted for a couple of seconds, before they heard something heavy thump against the ground. The two of them stared at each other before Graham sprinted out of the shed. Ana let her lip fall between her teeth, flicking the switch upwards again, Ana then followed after him, that sick feeling returning to her stomach.

Jogging back to the bottom of the crane, Ana almost stumbled to a halt as she spotted Graham kneeling over a fallen Grace. "Oh my god." her voice was barely audible, and Ana seemed to forget all of her training, what was worse, was that she didn't have her medical tricorder on her. There was no way that she would be able to tell if Grace was going to make it or not. Arms wrapping around her stomach, the brunette slowly made her way over to them, however, still giving Graham the space that he needed.

"Promise me … you won't be scared." Grace managed to breathe out. Ana then lowered herself to her knees on the other side. She pressed her two fingers against the vein on Grace's neck, checking her pulse. It wasn't erratic, it was starting to slow down - Ana knew that it wasn't the fall that would have killed her out right, it must have had something to do with the pile of massive coils, that were now lifeless on the ground a few feet away from them, it must have done something to her before they, themselves died.

"What do you mean?" Graham was doing his best to keep it together. Ana sat back then, eyes drifting to her left - she spotted Ryan and Yasmin running over to them. Her heart grew heavy and she almost wanted to sob, she had seen so many people die in the last couple of months - most of them had been her friends. But somehow, Grace, dying on the asphalt was affecting her a lot more than she would have thought.

"Without me…" That was her last breath and her hand fell from Graham's face, down onto the ground.

"Grace…Grace." His voice tore at Ana's heart and she had to look away. She was a nurse, a field medic and yet she still couldn't handle the sight of someone grieving. Ryan skidded to a halt and almost fell over Graham as he got to his knees, resting his whole body over his Nan's and Graham rested an arm around his grandson. Tears pooling at the corner of her eyes, Ana looked up and spotted The Doctor coming to a stop just behind her.

It took her a couple of seconds, but Ana stood to her feet and moved backward to give the grieving family some space. It was almost like her body moved on its own accord. It was telling her hands to reach out to her right and find The Doctor's. It was almost instant that the two of them threaded fingers and Ana couldn't help the sad smile that crossed her lips. The Doctor didn't pull away and for that, Ana was even more grateful. She needed the reassurance that everything was going to be okay, that the grieving family before them would make it through this day and the days afterward. Ana's free hand came up and wiped away the stray tear that fell down her cheek and a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

Yaz had moved away from Ryan and Graham and pulled her phone out of her pocket, she was probably calling the paramedics. Ana had no idea how they were going to explain all of this, that was something else she hadn't really had to think of in a while. But she was certain that Yaz would think of something.

Turning her head slightly, Ana watched as The Doctor's face was flooded with emotion - giving the group a sympathetic look, a frown settled on her forehead. Ana squeezed her hand even tighter and stepped closer to the blonde, she knew that The Doctor always struggled with the fact that there was always the possibility of someone dying on her watch. By knowing her, by being a part of their group and the adventures, there were high risks with traveling with The Doctor. But Ana knew that not one of the people they had met that night would ever blame her. Or give her up for that matter. Lord knows she hasn't yet.

"Paramedics should be here in about fifteen minutes." Yaz had come back, her face perfectly somber but Ana knew the look she was trying to replace it with, even if she hadn't known the younger girl for long. That was the face of someone who was in work mode, trying to hide her emotions and get through this moment. Graham nodded softly, while Ryan finally pulled away from his Nan, tears staining his handsome face and Ana had to squeeze The Doctor's hand again to stop her own tears from falling again.

"Thanks, Yaz," Graham mumbled.

"How are you doing?" Ana questioned, looking at The Doctor - who seemed to be lost in her own head. Hazel eyes moved from the others and focused on her. The Doctor let a soft grunt escape from the back of her throat and Ana let her nose twitch. "Because, if I'm guessing right, you're almost done regenerating properly but you're still … in the middle of it."

"Fizzing inside is still happening." Ana couldn't help the smile on her lips at the reply. "But it's nothing I can't handle." The Doctor continued, before pulling her hand out of Ana's - who tried not to feel slightly saddened by the move, but her arms folded over her chest. "I mean, there was that one time I had my hand cut off by the Sycorax, this is easy." Ana snorted and Yaz immediately looked over at them.

"I'm sorry, you what?" She questioned, a frown falling on her forehead and there was a part of Ana that felt bad for almost enjoying herself while Grace laid dead at their feet (Graham had gotten up and found something to cover her with).

"You remember that don't you, Bear?" Ana snapped back to attention and nodded her head. "It's alright, grew back though." Lifting her left hand up, The Doctor gave Yaz a small wave. Ana couldn't help the second snort that escaped her, she was going to say something, but the sound of sirens filled her ears and Yaz fell back into police mode. It was about three minutes later that two paramedics arrived on the scene.

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Ana mumbled to The Doctor, as the pair of them stood back and watched Yaz interact with them - Karl had also finally made an appearance.

"Oh, I could have prevented this, Ana." The Doctor replied, letting her eyes fall back on the humans, especially Ryan - who had once again, stopped crying but he still didn't want to leave his Nan's side. In the end, Graham managed to pick Ryan up off of the floor, without a look behind, he walked Ryan back towards the car. Ana's heart tugged in her chest, she didn't know whether or not to follow – but she didn't think that Ryan wanted to be around anyone else right now.

"Come on," Ana said, nudging the Time Lord in the ribs. "We should get out of here before the coppers show up." The Doctor gave her a look and started to pat down her jacket. Only for her face to scrunch upwards, Ana let her brows frown, it must now be a quirk of Thirteen's, she thought to herself.

"I thought I had my psychic paper somewhere." The Doctor mumbled, as Ana quickly spoke to Yaz in her ear – and the young copper nodded. It was a bit of a walk back to Graham's place. Technically, the Time Lord should be resting, but there was no way that she was going to carry the blonde eight blocks.

"Yeah, well psychic paper still wouldn't explain why your clothes are basically falling off of you and look like they've been through the blender," Ana complained as she reached out and grabbed a hold of The Doctor's arm, pulling her towards the back entrance of the site, just as the sound of police sirens could be heard. "I really loved that jacket." Ana pouted as they made their way out onto the footpath.

A cool breeze blew across Ana's face and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. Tightening her grip on The Doctor's arm, green eyes looked over at the blonde – who was … still shorter than her. That was going to take some time getting used too, The Doctor had always been taller … Ana was now the one who had to be the big spoon.

"I knew that my legs use to be taller." The Doctor continued to ramble, and Ana couldn't help but shake her head. They had a long walk ahead of them, but she knew that Ryan and Graham, could do with a little more alone time - away from the alien and her as well. The stranger that just appeared on their door step only two hours before hand. "I'll get a jacket that you'll love even more." The Doctor commented, and Ana couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

"Of course, you will." Green eyes beamed at the blonde. "You always have a good sense of fashion." Ana let The Doctor's arm go and continued walking, even as the Time Lord stopped.

"Oi, was that a dig at the bow tie?" Ana laughed once more, surprising herself at how well they fell back into … this. "Bow ties are still cool, Tanaka!"