Chapter 3
When Yaz woke the next morning, she described a pins and needles sensation in her legs. At first it was mild, but as the day progressed it grew more intense and unpleasant. It was good news – wonderful news, really – but it was still hard to see Yaz so uncomfortable.
"Can you feel it when I do this?" the Doctor asked, standing by the bed and touching Yaz's leg through the blanket.
Yaz shook her head. "Just the horrible prickling."
"What about now?" The Doctor squeezed very gently.
"Yes, but barely."
The Doctor pulled back the blankets and began kneading Yaz's calf. "How's this?"
"I can feel that. Actually, it makes the tingling less noticeable."
"I'll keep doing it then." The Doctor set about massaging each of Yaz's legs in turn, contemplating the fact that she had never touched her legs before and that it was by no means unpleasant to do so.
Also, they were kissing regularly now. So, that was a thing. And the Doctor couldn't pretend she wasn't enjoying that. No, she savoured each moment Yaz's lips made contact with her own, the kisses always filled with sweetness and genuine love. It was brilliant! Amazing! Just one problem: they were kissing under false pretences. Yaz was doing it because she believed they had done it before, that this was a normal part of their lives now. The Doctor went along with it because she didn't know how to tell Yaz they had actually never done it before. For one thing, Yaz clearly wasn't operating at her normal level of mental acuity. If she had been, she'd have seen right through it from the start. But between the head injury and the pain medication, she seemed drowsy and trusting, ready to accept whatever she was told. If she knew the marriage was a ruse, could she be expected to keep it up? The Sisters would not react kindly to finding out they had been tricked. It was better to wait until she was more alert to explain everything.
And what then? Yaz had laid her feelings bare now. I feel like all my dreams came true and I just slept through it. The pure ecstasy on her face when she heard she was "married" to the Doctor was not something the Doctor was quickly inclined to ruin. She just wanted to keep Yaz happy while she healed, and being "married" to the Doctor clearly made her happy. She kept pressing for details on their wedding, and the Doctor kept deflecting by asking what she wanted for their new ceremony instead. She could have made something up, of course. She was good at making things up. But she wasn't so fond of lying to Yaz, and she already had a pit in her stomach from lying as much as she was, so she was trying to keep it to a minimum.
Yaz certainly did have ideas in her head when it came to planning their "second" ceremony. So were they really going to do this? Was the Doctor going to marry Yaz so she wouldn't be too disappointed that they weren't already married? Was this perhaps not taking things too far? The Doctor had sworn she would never get married again after River. It was one of her rules now. Not the sort of rule she listed off to companions; more a secret rule, one she kept for herself.
Then again, her entire life wasn't what she thought it had been. She still didn't know where she actually came from, even what she actually was. Maybe rules didn't matter anymore. Most of the rules she'd followed all her life had come from her training with the Time Lords, whether following it or rebelling against it, but she wasn't bound by that anymore. She got to start over now, with Yaz by her side, and if she wanted to put a ring on Yaz's finger, well then maybe she would.
But first, she'd have to see if Yaz still wanted her after she found out she'd been lied to. That was eating away at the Doctor. She wished Graham and Ryan were here. Maybe they would have some advice on how to handle the situation.
"Do you feel any better at all?" she asked Yaz when she'd been massaging her legs for a while.
Yaz sighed. "It only feels better while you're doing it, and I'm sure your hands are getting tired."
"Nonsense. I can do this all day."
"I want you to come sit beside me," Yaz said, looking at the Doctor plaintively with her big, brown eyes.
"Right then." She covered Yaz's legs back up and came back to sit beside her on the bed, which was already raised into a sitting position. Yaz immediately snuggled up to her, as if it were natural. It felt natural. It felt…right.
Sister Ruby came bustling in soon carrying an elaborate arrangement of white and purple flowers.
"We all chipped in to get you this lovely wedding arrangement," she chirped. "It's not often we get newlyweds here on the trauma ward, and we all agreed it was a shame the two of you had to spend your honeymoon in hospital, so we wanted to do something nice for you."
"Oh! Thank you, that's really lovely of you!" The Doctor took the flowers and held them up for Yaz to examine. "They're so beautiful."
"And they smell wonderful," Yaz added. "You say they're a wedding arrangement?"
"Yes, it's a miniature version of the arch of flowers all couples walk under here."
Yaz grinned, looking at the Doctor. "We should use that at our new ceremony!"
"I think that's a brilliant idea," the Doctor agreed, setting the flowers on a bedside table.
"You're having another ceremony?" Sister Ruby asked eagerly.
"When we leave here," the Doctor explained. "Since she doesn't remember the first one, and it was too hasty anyway."
"Oh, how lovely!" Sister Ruby sighed. "I do love weddings." She turned to Yaz. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Well, the good news is, the feeling is starting to come back in my legs," Yaz said. "But the bad news is, they feel awful right now."
"I can give you something to block the feeling for now, until it starts to normalize." She prepared an injection and the Doctor watched her give it to Yaz, thinking of what she had on the TARDIS that might work just as well, or possibly better. No, she told herself. She had to let go. She had put Yaz in the Sisters' capable hands, and she had to trust them.
Yaz relaxed as the injection took effect. "That's much better," she said in relief.
"Now I just need to change your bandages and see how your wounds look." Sister Ruby partially undid Yaz's gown and pulled it back from her left shoulder, carefully removing the bandages covering the deep gouges she'd gotten from the bird's talons. The Doctor averted her eyes at first, wanting to respect Yaz's modesty, but she couldn't resist the urge to examine the wounds herself once they were exposed. She drew in her breath when she saw how red and swollen Yaz's skin had become.
"That looks a bit infected," she said in alarm. "I thought you had her on antibiotics?"
"We do, but sometimes it takes a few days for them to catch up with an animal-inflicted injury like this. She'll have bacteria in her bloodstream unlike anything she's been exposed to before. But don't worry, the antibiotics always win the battle in the end."
It was the "middle" the Doctor was a bit concerned about. "I have a cream on my ship specifically designed for wounds like this," she said. "I could go and get it—"
"Doctor, please, let us do our jobs. The antibiotics will be enough. I know you're a doctor too, but this is our hospital." She began carefully applying fresh bandages.
"You know what's weird?" Yaz said thoughtfully, looking at the Doctor. "We're married, but I've never even seen you naked. Have I?"
The Doctor's cheeks burned. "No, Yaz. You haven't."
"I should though, shouldn't I? Otherwise, how is being married different from being…not married?"
The Doctor looked at Sister Ruby. "What did you give her?"
"Just a nerve blocker and pain medication. It does tend to make patients a wee bit loopy." She finished taping on the bandages and retied Yaz's gown. Rolling Yaz onto her right side, she turned her attention to the surgery incision on her lower back. That, at least, appeared to be healing without any complications.
"On my ship, I have pain medication that is highly effective but doesn't decrease alertness," the Doctor pointed out.
"We have that for outpatient treatment, but inpatients tend to do better with pain medication that also relaxes them. It passes the time faster and makes being away from home more bearable."
The Doctor squinted one eye. "So you're doping up my wife to keep her from being bored in the hospital?"
"She's our patient Doctor, not yours. You signed her over into our care. Besides, I don't think she minds. This could be a very stressful experience, but she's smiling."
The Doctor looked at Yaz as Sister Ruby turned her onto her back and covered her back up. She did have a soppy smile on her face, even if her eyes were glassy.
"I'm not your patient," Yaz told her serenely. "I'm just your wife."
"Yes, of course you are, my love." The Doctor gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the head.
"That should have you set for this morning," Sister Ruby told Yaz. "Someone will be by after lunch to start your physical therapy. You're not ready to be on your feet yet, but we've got to keep your muscles working while you're in bed. You'll need your strength when you do start walking."
"But when will I get to see you naked?" Yaz asked when Sister Ruby had left.
"Why is that on your mind this morning?"
Yaz raised her eyebrows and – winked? What were these drugs doing to her? "You're sexy."
"Right. Well, nothing like that is happening while you're in hospital. Let's work on getting you well right now, okay?"
"Okay." Yaz snuggled back in with her head on the Doctor's shoulder. "I love you, Doctor."
"I love you too, my Yaz." The Doctor lifted Yaz's hand to her lips and kissed her fingers. Within moments, she heard Yaz's breath even out as she felt back to sleep.
She sat for a while, just gazing around the room and feeling Yaz's warmth against her, but then she began to feel restless. She needed someone to talk to. Yaz was out cold in her drug-induced sleep, so she probably wouldn't disturb her too much if she made a phone call. Slipping her smart phone out of her pocket, she dialled Ryan on FaceTime.
"Doctor! What's up?" he said, his face appearing on her phone. She could see he was sitting in the front room at his and Graham's house. "Graham, it's the Doctor!" he called.
"Hey Fam!" the Doctor replied, unable to keep from grinning as Graham appeared on the screen next to Ryan. "I hope all is well in Sheffield?"
"All's good here," said Graham. "But what have you girls gone and gotten yourselves into? Are you in hospital?"
"Yaz is," she said, her smile fading. "She was hurt badly on Bella 4. Her spine is damaged, some of the nerves severed."
"No!" said Ryan, a worried frown creasing his brow. "Won't she be paralyzed?"
"On Earth in your time, she would be, but I've brought her to the best hospital in the universe, well in your future. They were able to surgically repair her spine, so she'll be good as new in time, but it'll take a while to fully heal of course."
"Poor cockle," said Graham. "I'm glad you got her the care she needs. Looks like she's sleeping now, but when she wakes, tell her we're both thinking of her."
"I will." The Doctor looked down at Yaz's head on her shoulder and smiled proudly. "She's been so brave through all of this."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from Yaz," Ryan said. "You know after the Master took you through the boundary to Gallifrey, and we told Yaz and Graham what had happened after they got there, Yaz charged right through that boundary by herself while the rest of us were still talking about what to do. She didn't even look back to see if we were coming with her. She was so bent on saving you. She never flinches from danger, Yaz."
The Doctor smiled sadly, feeling a terrible ache in her hearts. "She got hurt this time saving my life when a giant bird tried to eat me."
"Do you know, I think she'd do anything to protect you," mused Graham.
"The feeling's mutual." The Doctor heaved a sigh. "So hypothetically, if you found out someone was lying to you and something you thought was true that made you very happy actually wasn't true, but the person who was lying had a good reason for it to start with and actually kind of wished the lie was true as well, and there was maybe a chance to make it true, would you be upset, or—"
"I'm not sure I'm quite following you here, Doc," Graham said.
"It's just—"
Suddenly Yaz stirred at the Doctor's side, her eyes opening and landing on the phone screen. "Ryan!" she exclaimed happily. "Graham! How have you guys been?"
"We've been good," said Ryan. "Heard you got into a bit of a scrape."
"I did, but I'm going to be okay, and I have wonderful news! Well, we do."
"And what's that?" Graham asked.
"Me and the Doctor got married! We're married now!"
Both men stared, open-mouthed. "Er Doc, you didn't mention that," Graham said.
The Doctor drew in her breath. "Well, looks like Yaz is awake now. I'd better go. Nice chat!" She ended the call before anyone could say anything else.
"Why did you hang up?" Yaz asked. "I wanted to talk to them."
"We can talk to them any time. I just want to focus on you right now. Do you need anything?"
Yaz stretched her good arm, and the Doctor thought she saw her foot twitch under the covers. "Some water?"
"No problem! Coming right up!" The Doctor kissed Yaz's cheek and set off down the hallway to the water machine, filling a glass for Yaz and another for herself. She came back to find Yaz chatting with one of the Sisters.
"Doctor!" Yaz said excitedly. "Sister Emerald wants to do our wedding portrait!"
Sister Emerald smiled demurely. "Well, I am something of an artist, and we've all talked about how we should try to make your stay with us special, since you are newlyweds and I'm sure you both had more relaxing accommodations in mind for your honeymoon! We're all trying to do what we can, and I'd love to paint a portrait of the two of you as a wedding gift."
"That's very nice, but I'm not sure we'd have the time to sit for it, since Yaz needs her rest and she's not even sitting up on her own yet," the Doctor pointed out.
"Oh, it's not necessary for either of you to sit for it. If you just have some pictures of the two of you, I can work from those."
"Oh," said the Doctor. "Well, yes, I've got pictures I can send you." She swallowed hard. She and Yaz had taken a selfie at the bottom of Mount Paz before they'd started their ascent. That was her most recent one, but of course there were plenty of others on her phone. She picked out a few of the best to send to Sister Emerald's device.
"I heard you two were planning a bigger ceremony," Sister Emerald commented. "Do you know what you'll be wearing? It only makes sense to paint you in your wedding clothes for the wedding portrait."
"Er, we hadn't talked about that yet," the Doctor admitted.
"Well, if you get a chance, do a sketch for me so I have an idea what to do." Giving them a smile, Sister Emerald headed on her way.
"Do you have any pictures from our wedding?" Yaz asked with a frown.
"Not on my phone," the Doctor admitted.
"On my phone?"
"No, not on your phone either. Er…the chapel photographer took them. Silly rule. You aren't allowed to take your own."
"That's because they want you to pay for the pictures," said Yaz, smiling with something like relief. "I'd like to see them."
"Well, they were supposed to send them later, but I haven't received them yet."
"Oh." Yaz frowned again.
"We'll take much better ones at the new ceremony," the Doctor promised quickly. "What do you think we should wear? I've got to do that sketch for Sister Emerald." She picked up the tablet that came with the room and opened a sketching program, sitting on the bed beside Yaz with her stylus at the ready.
"Well, you should wear your tuxedo. You know, the one you wore to Barton's party? You still have it, right?"
"Yes. Surprisingly, it didn't sustain any damage after everything it went through."
Yaz beamed. "You looked so sexy in it."
"Did I?" The Doctor felt a blush rising to her cheeks, but she looked at Yaz appraisingly, realising the time had come to say things she'd only let herself think quietly before. "You looked beautiful that day yourself, in your sparkly jacket."
Yaz's grin widened. "I've always wanted to hear you say that."
"You always look beautiful, you know. Even now, in your hospital gown. You always take my breath away."
Tears filled Yaz's eyes, although the smile remained, and the Doctor kissed her soundly. That was when she realised what her greatest fear was in this situation: Yaz figuring out the marriage was a lie and thinking that meant the Doctor didn't love her. The idea of Yaz feeling that the Doctor didn't love her was suddenly much more upsetting than the idea of kissing Yaz under false pretences. Anyway, were they really false, if she really did love her?
"I love you," Yaz whispered. "I'm glad I can tell you now."
"I love you too. So much." The Doctor turned to the tablet and did a sketch of herself wearing her tuxedo. "Now, what do you want to wear? Your sparkly jacket again?"
"No, I want something more traditional. Something that reflects my heritage."
"So a Pakistani dress?" The Doctor felt her hearts beat a little faster as the image started to form in her mind.
"Yes, I think red with gold trim. Sort of like what my Nani wore at her wedding with Prem, but more elaborate. You can get me anything I want, right?"
The Doctor swallowed. "Absolutely anything."
With Yaz's guidance, the Doctor sketched her wearing a beautiful deep red blouse and a long skirt covered in golden beads, with a flowing bridal dupatta that matched. When she'd finished sketching on some jewellery, she showed the finished drawing to Yaz, who couldn't stop smiling.
"I love how you drew us," she said. "It looks so…real."
And it did. It did look real. Somehow, without meaning to, the Doctor had drawn the two of them gazing lovingly at one another. She felt her stomach churning with all sorts of contradictory emotions.
"I'll go ahead and send this to Sister Emerald then, yeah?"
Yaz nodded. "It's perfect."
Yet another Sister came in shortly afterwards, introducing herself as Sister Violet, physical therapist. She suggested that the Doctor go for a walk while she did Yaz's therapy, so the Doctor slipped off to the parking deck and went into the TARDIS.
The first thing she did was get her preferred antiseptic cream out of the cupboard. The Sisters didn't have to know that she was giving Yaz's wounds an extra boost to help them heal quickly.
Then she sat down in the console room and looked around, her hearts aching. She needed to talk to someone, but who?
Finally, she took out her phone and dialled a number she hadn't called in far too long.
Martha Jones looked more gorgeous than ever when she answered the video call. She was wearing a white coat, her hair hanging down her back in long braids, and appeared to be sitting in some sort of office.
"Martha!" the Doctor said excitedly.
"Do I know you?" Martha asked warily.
"Yes, you do! Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know this face. It's me, the Doctor!"
"The Doctor?" asked Martha, her eyebrows raised.
"The original, you might say. I've regenerated since we last talked. How long has it been for you?"
"More than a decade," said Martha. "Is that really you? You're a…a woman."
"Yes, well, regeneration's a lottery. I quite like it, though. Don't you think it suits me?"
"Oh, definitely." A smile spread across Martha's face. "You look like you actually spend less time on your hair now."
The Doctor ran her fingers through her blonde locks. "I was going through a bit of a phase when you travelled with me. I'm not so fussed with how I look now, but…" She lowered her voice, smiling. "I think I look good."
"You do! I think I like you as a woman."
"So what are you doing now?"
"Well, UNIT got shut down, so I'm working at a regular hospital now. I still search for alien activity on the side though. Quietly, of course."
"Of course. But there'd be no stopping you."
"So what about you?"
"Oh, you know, same old thing. Places to go, planets to save. Been travelling with my friend Yaz."
"So what's bothering you?"
"What makes you think something's bothering me?"
"You have that look on your face. Also, you called me out of nowhere, and it's been ages."
"Okay, fine, something's bothering me."
Martha let out a tolerant sigh, and it felt like no time had passed at all since their last conversation. "Out with it, then."
"It's my friend Yaz. She's been badly hurt, and she's in hospital now. It's a long story, but the short version is, a giant bird picked her up and then dropped her on a mountain, and her spinal cord was crushed. Partially severed."
Martha drew in her breath. "So she'll be paralyzed now. Oh Doctor, I know you must feel it's your fault, but—"
"No, no, she's going to be okay. I brought her to a hospital that does nanosurgery to repair severed spinal cords, so she's expected to make a full recovery."
Martha's eyes widened. "Really? How does it work?"
"I'll explain the process later. That's not what I need advice on. Yaz will be fine, physically, but she was unconscious when I brought her here, and one thing that hasn't changed about hospitals in your future is that they still need you to prove your relationship to the patient if you want to be in charge of their care."
"Right. They couldn't just let anyone off the street do it."
"So I told them I was married to her. I used my psychic paper to prove it. I'm in the system as her spouse now. The only problem is, I thought I'd be able to just explain it to her when she woke up, but it hasn't worked out that way. She thinks we really are married, and she's…happy about it."
"Oh Doctor, do you have to do this to every girl you meet?"
"I do not do this to every girl I meet! Anyway, this time's different."
Martha frowned, studying the Doctor's face. Then realisation seemed to dawn on her. "You love her back."
"I do," the Doctor admitted quietly. "But I didn't tell her that before this, and now we're kissing because she thinks we've done that before, and we haven't, and I feel so horrible for lying to her. I mean, I lie all the time, but not to Yaz. She's so clever, she can usually see right through it if I even try. She's just a little impaired right now, what with her head injury and the pain medication they're giving her, but she'll catch up once she's feeling better, and what is she going to say then?"
"Hold on. So you really do love her, but you never told her before, and now she thinks you're married, and you're afraid she'll be upset when she finds out you're not?"
"Yes."
"And you're kissing her because she expects you to, but you feel wrong for it since you're not really married."
"So wrong."
Martha looked thoughtful. "Do you remember the day we met, when you kissed me to do a genetic transfer?"
The Doctor's eyes widened as she remembered exactly that. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Martha. That was really inappropriate, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was. You're quite a good kisser, you know. I'm sure Yaz is enjoying herself."
"Yeah, for now. Then she'll hate me forever when she finds out it was all a lie. Should I tell her now? Am I wrong for not telling her? I just don't want her to have a setback in her healing process. It does help to have positive emotions, you know, and she's so excited that we're…well, since she can't remember the wedding that didn't happen, we're planning a new one now. So there's also that."
"Do you want to marry her?"
The Doctor was quiet for a moment. "It's not something I'd really considered before."
"Well, you must have by now."
The Doctor nodded. "After what she's been through, I'd do anything to make her happy."
"You can't marry someone just to make them happy. You have to want it as much as they do."
"It's a bit more complicated for me, though. I don't get married. I don't get romantically involved with anyone anymore, because I wouldn't get long enough with her. This is why I let people go. I've known you for around 2,000 years now, and you hardly look any older."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Because you left me, so I can choose to come back to a time when you're still there. This is my lifestyle: I'm just a madwoman with a box."
"But you did get married after I knew you. It's in your UNIT file."
"That was different, though."
"Why, because she had a longer life span than regular humans? That's in the file too."
The Doctor sighed. "She lived for over 200 years. I've lived for thousands. Her life span may have been longer than Yaz's, but from my point of view, it's not a big difference."
"So, what's stopping you marrying Yaz?"
The Doctor looked into the distance. It was easy to picture River standing at the TARDIS console…but not in this version of the TARDIS. This was hers and Yaz's. "River and I didn't live together most of the time. We lived separate lives. She was in and out of my life, always giving me something to look forward to. It allowed me to feel her presence in my life for many more years than she actually lived, and yet I was accustomed to living without her." She closed her eyes. "But it still hurt like hell when I lost her. If I keep Yaz by my side…which is exactly where I want her, of course…a few decades and she'll be gone, and I won't know how to live without her." Suddenly a thought struck the Doctor, her eyes flying open. "Unless…"
"Unless what?"
The Doctor shook her head. "Never mind. To answer your question, all complications aside, I would love to marry Yaz. It's just a lot to get my head around. I wasn't expecting this at all. Everything happened so fast."
"If you want to marry her, then I think you should. I know it'll be over too fast for your liking, but Doctor, you've got to enjoy whatever life gives you for as long as you can. I saw you pining over Rose all those years ago. Did it really help that you never had an actual relationship with her?"
The Doctor slowly shook her head. "Not really. Maybe a little."
"Not enough. You have the chance to make Yaz and yourself happy, her for life and you for however long that lasts. Live in the moment. Just be with her."
The Doctor scrunched up her nose. "If she'll have me once she finds out I lied to her."
"Well, you want to know what I think?"
"What?"
"I don't think she'll be mad that you lied to the hospital about being married to her. You had a good reason."
"Yes, I did."
"She might be a little miffed that you lied to her as well, but I think she'll understand why you did it. I think, if she's happy to be married to you, what's going to upset her is finding out she's not. She loves you, she thinks you love her, and her biggest disappointment is going to be realising it's all a sham and that maybe you don't love her."
The Doctor's shoulders sagged. "That's what I'm most afraid of. I don't want her feeling that way. I do love her. Just before this happened, I was considering kissing her when we got to the top of the mountain!"
"So here's what I think you should do. If you love her, show it. Kiss her like you mean it. Be the best spouse you can be, so that even when she pieces together that you're not really married yet, she'll know you're telling the truth that you love her and that you do want to marry her. Make it difficult for her to doubt it."
The Doctor grinned, relief washing over her. "Martha Jones, I knew talking to you would help. You should come to the wedding if we really end up having one."
"I'd love to be there. I'd like to meet this woman who's captured your hearts."
"You'll love her." The Doctor breathed a contented sigh, her mind made up. "I'd better get back to her. Catch up more later?"
"Definitely. It sounds like you have a lot to tell me."
"You have no idea," agreed the Doctor.
She returned to Yaz's room with her mission clear: she would love the woman the way she deserved to be loved, and when the time came to tell Yaz the truth behind what had happened, she would tell her the whole truth – including the part about wanting to kiss her on the mountain. Somehow, the decision seemed to break a dam inside her. All the feelings she'd been trying to keep under control just sort of broke loose. Yaz was hers, and she was ready to devote herself to her completely. There was no more room for doubts.
She also had another mission forming in her mind, if Yaz would agree to it, but that was for later. First things first.
Yaz's therapy was over when the Doctor came in, and she was sitting propped up in bed looking at her tablet. She lit up when she saw the Doctor.
"There's my beautiful bride," the Doctor said, leaning down to give Yaz a kiss. "How was therapy?"
"Painful," Yaz admitted. "I'm glad it's over now. What did you do?"
"Went to the TARDIS and got this." She pulled the antiseptic cream from her coat pocket. "This should help clear up the nasty infection that's forming where the prisera bird scratched you."
Yaz gave her an exasperated smile. "You heard Sister Ruby. I'm their patient, not yours."
"Well, I love you too much to let this infection take hold if I can stop it." She looked awkwardly as Yaz's shoulder. "Er, do you might if I undo your gown a little bit?"
"Why would I mind? We're married. I don't need to be modest around you."
"But as you mentioned, we actually haven't seen each other naked."
Yaz grinned. "But we will!" Then her grin slipped away. "I mean, we will, won't we? Time Lords do—"
"We are sexually compatible with humans, yes." The Doctor felt her cheeks burn and focused on untying the top of Yaz's gown and pulling it down just enough to expose her bandage, which she carefully undid.
"Good. Because I know Time Lord anatomy is different in some ways…"
The Doctor didn't like the look of Yaz's wounds at all. The scratches were yellow while the skin around then was red and swollen. She very gently rubbed the cream on. "My reproductive system isn't quite the same as yours, but you won't notice any differences in the…bedroom." Her face was burning so much by now, it felt like it was starting to regenerate.
"That's a relief. I suppose it is strange to marry an alien, but…I've never connected with another human the way I do with you. And we're similar enough, right? Ow." She jerked involuntarily as the Doctor touched what must have been a particularly tender spot.
"Sorry," the Doctor said. "It's just really inflamed. It's a good thing I brought this cream. You definitely have an infection, and this will heal it faster, but I can't promise it won't get worse before the cream starts working. It works faster when you start it right away." She cursed herself for not smuggling in her own medical supplies right from the beginning. She'd had plenty of time to get everything while Yaz was in surgery, so why hadn't she?
Oh yes. Because she'd insisted on remaining as close as they would let her get to the operating room for the duration of the hours-long surgery so she would know immediately if anything went wrong.
"It'll get better though, won't it?"
"I promise you Yaz, I will make sure you get better. You might have some scars from this, but scars just add character. You'll still be as beautiful as before." She carefully taped the bandage back on and tied up Yaz's gown, planting a kiss on the part of her shoulder that wasn't scratched up and sore.
Smiling, Yaz patted the bed beside her, and the Doctor automatically removed her coat and boots, sliding under the blankets beside her and feeling Yaz snuggle up. She wrapped her arms tightly around her.
"When we have our real wedding, I'm going to give you a gift," she said. "But it can't happen a moment sooner."
"Well I know you don't mean your virginity, because you told me you'd been married before," Yaz said.
Was she never going to stop making the Doctor blush? "No I don't mean that, and I didn't really grow up with that concept anyway. Time Lords have very different ways of viewing sexuality than humans have. At least, we did. They did." She shook her head as if to rid herself of that very heavy topic for the moment. "But since you bring it up, I will say that this body hasn't seen any action yet." Okay, now she was making herself blush.
"Oh, so you are kind of giving me that gift," Yaz said with a grin. "But what did you really mean?"
"I meant that I will tell you my name. My real name, the one I don't tell anyone. I don't know anymore if it was my original name, but it's the closest I've got to a real name, and you'll get to learn it at our wedding. It's a secret you must keep, though. You'll go on calling me Doctor. That's the name I chose for myself."
"But when we're alone together…"
"Then you may call me whatever you like."
Yaz grinned. "I think I'm going to like having special wife privileges."
"I think we both will." The Doctor rested her head on Yaz's. "After the ceremony, I can take you on a nice honeymoon, anywhere you want. Someplace that doesn't have giant birds."
"A tropical beach would be nice! A real one, not a fake-cation."
"I would never take you on a fake-cation. That was Graham."
"Don't you think Graham would be a good person to officiate the wedding? He's good at wise speeches, and he's part of the reason we met. Ryan would have to stand up with us, of course."
"Of course. Ryan can be my best man."
"We have to tell them about the wedding! You hung up before I could!"
"We will, when we've got our plans worked out. First let's get you better, okay?" The Doctor twined a strand of Yaz's hair around her finger, marvelling that she was allowed this closeness. "And after the honeymoon, we'll get back to digging into my hidden past. I need to find out where I really came from, and why I can regenerate, and how Tecteun spliced my DNA with hers so she could regenerate too."
"Why do you need to know how she did it? Isn't it enough to know that she did?"
"It's my DNA. I have the right to know how it works and what was done with it."
"I suppose that makes sense." Yaz heaved a weary sigh, and the Doctor just held her, silently brooding as Yaz fell back to sleep.
