Yaz didn't know why she had agreed to it. The Doctor had sounded so sure, so reassuring, that she knew what she was doing, Yaz hadn't given it a second thought. Rationally, Yaz knew there was no way she could have anticipated this, and no way in hell would she have let the Doctor do this if it was going to backfire on her. But the guilt wouldn't stop gripping her lungs. It wouldn't stop the punch in the gut at seeing the Doctor laid out on Yaz's bed, completely unconscious. And it was all Yaz's fault.

The team had never seen the Doctor so still. It was so unnerving to see the normally excitable and energetic woman bed-bound. Ryan paced the room, whilst Graham had raced off to get a first aid kit. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with it, but Yaz had reassured him that she had training in it. Yaz also sensed that the errand would give him some purpose, something to do whilst the Doctor was out of it.

Meanwhile, Yaz sat on the side of her bed, looking down at the Doctor. Luckily she was breathing, even if it was raggedly. Yaz had felt for her pulse and found twin beats hammering away beneath her fingers. At least they hadn't stopped. However, Yaz had no idea if the beat was normal; her limited Time Lord Anatomy knowledge started and ended with the Doctor. Yaz just had to hope for the best.

Ryan stopped pacing and looked over at the two women. Yaz was bent over the Doctor, looking worriedly down at her. He knew Yaz got worried about her, but he'd never seen her this concerned about the alien. He came over and placed a hand on Yaz's shoulder, in comfort. She startled a little, but relaxed when she realised it was just Ryan. He gave her shoulder a squeeze.

'She'll be alright, y'know. She's always alright.' Yaz looked up at him sadly.

'But what if she's not? This is all my fault.' Ryan looked at her, puzzled.

'What? Don't be ridiculous Yaz. How could this be your fault?' Yaz turned away from him, biting her lip. She hoped he hadn't noticed it tremble.

'She was trying to help me. She said something about how she's telepathic, and that she had an idea about how to help me.' Ryan walked to the other side of the bed and sat down so that he could see Yaz's face.

'She's telepathic? So she can read our minds?' He asked, a little alarmed. Yaz shook her head.

'Sort of, but not really. She can only do it with our consent. And she has to be touching us when she does it, otherwise it won't work.' Her fingers absent-mindedly grazed the Doctor's hand, willing her gently to just wake up. Ryan registered the small touch, but didn't say anything about it. Instead, he pressed on.

'And what did she actually do? Because you were in agony, but now you're fine, and she's not.' He paused. 'What are migraines, actually? I probably sound dumb, sorry, but up until today I thought they were just bad headaches.' He said, sheepishly. Yaz looked back at him, and reassured him.

'No, you don't, it's okay. If you don't have them you would think that. I mean, I used to, before I was diagnosed with them.' Ryan's eyes widened in shock.

'Diagnosed? You mean you get them often?' Yaz nodded sadly.

'Yeah, just in the past few years. Started in my teens.' Ryan looked apologetic.

'Sorry, I had no idea!' Yaz gave him a sheepish smile.

'That's because I never told you.' She paused, remembering his question. 'Migraines are hard to describe really. Yes, they are mostly headaches, but they are much more than that. It's a neurological condition. When I get an attack, I usually get nausea, fatigue, head pain. Sometimes I go blind, but that's really rare. But each person is different.' Ryan's mouth fell open.

'Oh my god, Yaz, that's awful.' Yaz shrugged her shoulders.

'They've been better since travelling in the TARDIS, and since meeting the Doctor. This was my first one in months.' She paused, laughing sadly to herself. 'I thought I was cured, actually. Which made this one a bit of a shock.' She looked from Ryan to the Doctor. 'I don't know what I've done to her, but I'm so scared,' she admitted.

'Yaz, you've done nothing wrong. She tried to help you, and somehow she got sick. But she'll get better. When she wakes up, she can explain what happened.' He cocked a grin at Yaz. 'You know she loves that bit.'

Yaz laughed at that. He had a point. The Doctor would bounce back with some sciency explanation before whisking them off on another adventure.

'That's true,' she conceded. A comfortable silence sat between them, as they waited for the Doctor to wake.

'What if I've given her my migraine?' Yaz said suddenly. She looked at Ryan in alarm, but her fear was met with a steady certainty.

'Come on Yaz, don't be silly. You can't just give someone pain…' They were interrupted by Graham speeding back into the room with the green first aid kit.

'I've finally found it! Honestly, we should really keep it in a more accessible place. Any change?' He asked, as he set the kit down on the bed. He started to open it up, but Ryan put his hands out to stop him.

'No change. She just seems to be sleeping. Hopefully she'll just wake up.' Graham nodded, and closed it up. His eyes came back to Yaz.

'How are you doing, Yaz?' She turned to look at him, and gave him a small smile.

'Much better, thanks Graham. I don't even feel like I've had a migraine.' Graham smiled.

'Well that's great! Means whatever the Doc did worked!' Yaz's face fell at his exclamation. Graham caught her sadness instantly. 'What is it? What did I say?' Ryan broke in.

'It's not you, Gramps. Yaz is blaming herself for what happened even though I've told her that it isn't.' Yaz stood up, a little angrily.

'But don't you see, it is my fault! She was fine, then she read my mind and now she's unconscious.' Graham walked round to Yaz's side of the bed and placed his hands squarely on her shoulders.

'You listen to me, Yaz. The Doctor is strong. Even if your pain somehow transferred onto her, it was an accident. She was trying to help you. She wouldn't want you blaming yourself.'

'Of course I wouldn't, what a ridiculous notion.' The trio spun to find a slightly groggy, but very much awake Doctor blinking up at them.

'Doctor!' Ryan exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. The Doctor gave him a wink.

'The one and the only.'

'Doc, are you alright?' Graham asked cautiously. She nodded in the affirmative, but he noted that she wasn't as quick as she usually was.

'Right as rain. Is it time we were off for our next adventure?' She shot up quickly, jumping off the bed. However, it was a little too quick, as she stumbled as she tried to keep her balance. Yaz was immediately at her side to stop her from falling. She knocked gently into Yaz, whilst Yaz kept a steady arm around her. The Doctor turned her head to look at Yaz, and once again, Yaz noted just how close they were. She smiled warmly.

'Hello you,' she said gently. The Doctor returned her warm smile.

'Hello,' she returned. The Doctor brought her hand up to Yaz's side, returning the one-armed hug. 'You feeling okay?' She asked Yaz seriously, the medic in her returning. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she studied Yaz's face closely, intimately. Yaz felt the heat rising off her cheeks under her scrutiny.

'Much better. You?' The Doctor nodded, rubbing her hand up Yaz's arm in reassurance.

'Much.' They shared another smile, before it was interrupted by Graham.

'Doc, we're not going anywhere until you explain what just happened. You've got to need some rest!' Graham urged, returning to the role of adult. The Doctor scrunched her face in exasperation.

'I'm fine, Graham, I've had worse, trust me. And I know Yaz has. And we're fine, right?' She glanced at Yaz, who was torn between giving in to the Doctor, and wanting to know the truth. Graham intervened.

'Don't try and get out of this by dragging Yaz in. We were seriously worried about you.' The Doctor sighed in resignation. Yaz noticed the Doctor hadn't let go of her yet, and realised why when the Doctor slowly made her back down to sit on the bed. Clearly she wasn't as well as she was letting on. Yaz gently helped her, before taking her place next to her. The Doctor's leg was flush against hers, and Yaz desperately tried to ignore the warmth, so she turned to look at Graham instead. 'Doc?' He urged again.

The Doctor sighed heavily, looking down at her hands. She was playing with them, wringing them and interlocking them to distract herself. Yaz knew she was trying to come up with an answer. Or an excuse. Finally she looked up at him.

'Time Lords are slightly telepathic. I thought I could help Yaz by numbing the pain using my brainwaves, but it seemed to backfire. At the same time, it seems to have worked.' She gestured to Yaz, who was feeling much better. Graham didn't look convinced. He looked the Doctor up and down.

'I don't understand.' The Doctor suddenly seemed to weaken, falling against Yaz a little. Yaz caught her, and held her to her side. The Doctor took in a ragged breath.

'Ryan, can you go and get me some blankets. Yaz, I need some water. Can you go get me some?' She blinked up at Yaz, seemingly to be pleading with her. Yaz couldn't say no to those sad old eyes. Surprised by the request, she nodded anyway, gently extricating herself from the Doctor. The Doctor smiled at her.

'Don't worry, I won't disappear.' Yaz returned the smile, before getting up. Together, Ryan and Yaz left the room while Graham stayed with the Doctor. Yaz gave one last look back at the Doctor before she went in search of water.

Xxx

When the youngsters had left, Graham turned back to the Doctor, arms crossed. The Doctor rolled her eyes in exasperation.

'I'm fine!' She insisted at his parental scowl. Graham chuckled.

'I'm sure you will be. But now that Ryan and Yaz, have gone, can you explain to me what happened?' The Doctor measured him up.

'Don't know what you mean.' She responded. Now it was Graham's turn to roll his eyes.

'Doc, you sent them away for a reason. Just tell me what happened and we don't need to talk about it anymore. We just need to know how to look after you.' The Doctor was silent for a moment, thinking about her answer. Yes, she had sent the younger companions away for a reason. She didn't want them to know the truth about what had happened. But Graham was older, and wiser in many ways, and she knew he wouldn't let up. So she got to the point.

'I saw Yaz writhing in pain. She was in agony. I hated myself that I couldn't do anything to help her. But then I remembered that in fact, yes, I could. I could take her pain away completely.'

'How?'

'By absorbing it.' Graham looked confused for a moment.

'So, you knew you could take away her pain?'

'Yes.'

'And instead of her having the migraine…'

'It would be reabsorbed… elsewhere.' Graham's face fell.

'So it wasn't an accident! You knew this would happen?!' He admonished. His voice had increased by a few decibels so she shushed him.

'Don't go shouting about it! I don't want the others to know.'

'Why not?'

'Because Yaz will feel really guilty. I know she will. It's better that she thinks it was an accident so there is no way she can blame herself.' Graham looked at her, speechless.

'I can't believe you, Doc! Knowing that you would take that kind of pain on… I mean… didn't it hurt?' The Doctor grimaced.

'Yeah, it did.'

'And you knew it would.'

'Yeah.'

'But you did it anyway.'

'Yeah.' Graham laughed.

'Just when I think you couldn't be more amazing, Doc, you go and pull a trick like this.' The Doctor smiled at him, and nodded her head in gratitude.

'All part of the job.' Graham's smile faltered at that. He paused for a second, before talking.

'But it's not though, is it? You wouldn't do that for just anyone.' He held her gaze, not backing down. The Doctor froze, realising what he was implying.

'I would do it for you or Ryan.'

'I'm sure you would. But Yaz is different.' The Doctor had stopped smiling at this point, not liking where the conversation was headed.

'She suffers from migraines. You and Ryan don't.' She said, resolutely, as if that was the reason.

'Indeed she does. And indeed we don't.' Graham countered, knowing full well it wasn't the reason. An awkward silence hung between them. The Doctor looked up at Graham, suddenly vulnerable.

'You can never tell her.' About what, Graham wasn't quite sure. But with the Doctor looking at him pleadingly, he knew he would keep her secrets.

'Scouts honour.'

A few moments later, Ryan and Yaz appeared with water and blankets, as requested. The Doctor grinned at the sight of them.

'Oh you brilliant people, thank you!' Ryan dumped the blankets on the bed, whilst Yaz put the water on the bedside cabinet. Graham eyed up the Doctor while this was all happening, and noticed that she hadn't taken her eyes off Yaz since she had entered the room. He catalogued it away, filing it for another day.

'Hey Ryan, why don't you teach me how to play Fifa while the Doctor rests?' Ryan looked at him in bewilderment.

'What? But what about the Doctor…?'

'I'm sure Yaz can look after her, can't you Yaz?' Yaz looked at him in bewilderment, but was clearly grateful.

'Yeah, of course.' Ryan looked between the two, clearly confused, before a grin was back on his face.

'Yeah alright, this will be a laugh!' Graham's face dropped.

'Oi! I'll have you know I was the best shooter on my school team!'

'Gramps, you need more than that to play Fifa.' The two bickered as they left the room, leaving Yaz and the Doctor alone. A beat passed, the boys' abrupt departure having disrupted their thoughts. Yaz broke from her reverie first and set about getting the Doctor back into bed.

'Come on you, bed! Graham's orders, apparently.' Yaz chuckled, trying to push the Doctor back onto the bed. However, the Doctor refused her.

'I'm fine!' Yaz gave her an unimpressed look.

'Really?' The Doctor tried to stand up, but once again had stood up too quickly. She winced, and set herself slowly back down to sitting position.

'Okay, fine. I guess I could use a sleep.' Yaz nodded in comradery.

'That'll be the migraine hangover. A couple more hours of sleep should make you better.' She nudged at the Doctor's shoulder. 'Lie down and rest.' She moved to grab a blanket and laid it over her friend. The Doctor watched her fondly with glazed eyes.

'You know, if you hadn't been a police officer, you would have made a great doctor.' Yaz scoffed at that.

'What, you mean swapping one uniform for another?' She joked, pulling the blanket up to the Doctor's face. The Doctor cracked a grin.

'I like a girl in uniform.' Yaz's eyes widened at that, her hands stilling. Her damn cheeks were ablaze again. How did she react to that? Had the Doctor even realised what she had said? Yaz knew she was an alien, but she was also an alien that spent a lot of time on Earth. She thought quickly, and what came out of her mouth was:

'Well, who doesn't?' She asked rhetorically, then realised what she had just said. What was wrong with her recently? Blushing, and desperately avoiding the Doctor's gaze on her, she finished with the blanket. 'Right, you're all set. I'll leave you in peace.' Yaz turned to leave when she felt the Doctor's hand reach out for hers.

'Wait, you're leaving?' The humour had left the Doctor's face and was left with a desperation Yaz hadn't heard in her voice before. 'Don't go, Yaz. Please.' Yaz turned back to her, stunned. She looked down into the Doctor's pleading eyes and knew she wouldn't be leaving tonight.

'What do you want me to do?' She asked her friend. The Doctor averted her gaze for a second, hand still clutching Yaz's. Then she replied.

'Just, lie with me.' She paused, eyes widening. 'If… if that's okay?' Yaz nodded, smiling.

'Of course it's okay.' She moved slowly towards the bed, her bed, and gently opened the blanket so she could slip in. Once she was in, she could feel the Doctor's aroma all around her. She gently lay down, cautiously not touching the Doctor. She always felt so restrained when caught in situations of close proximity with her friend, like she didn't want to scare her off. Not that she needed to worry about that.

As soon as she was lying down, the Doctor scooched closer, their sides brushing. Yaz gasped, but still refrained from touching. The Doctor then turned on her side and tentatively brought her arm round to hold around Yaz's waist.

'Is this okay?' She whispered into Yaz's ear, the words ghosting over her skin. Yaz gulped, butterflies fighting their way out of her stomach. In the Doctor's hold, she slowly turned to face her, and mirrored the Doctor's action, as daring as she could be. She felt the Doctor relax at that, and felt her move even closer into her side. The Doctor moved her head so that it was snuggled between Yaz's chin and the crook of her shoulder. Yaz could feel the Doctor grinning into her neck.

'Thank you, Yaz.' She felt the words whispered across her skin. Yaz smiled into the Doctor's hair.

'No Doctor, thank you.' Yaz just hoped the Doctor couldn't feel her heart hammering away under her chest, as the Doctor clutched her even closer to her, seeking the warmth of her companion.