Chapter 9

"All right, old girl," the Doctor said, gazing fondly at the TARDIS console. "You can finally stop being parked here. We're going to pick Yaz up at the door, and then after that, we're going to the scariest place I've ever been to: Sheffield."

The TARDIS hummed.

"Yes, I know we've been to Sheffield loads of times, and you always…wait." She frowned. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

The TARDIS hummed innocently.

"Yes, you did. First you wouldn't let me take Yaz home until we'd been together long enough to get attached, and then when you finally did let me land in Sheffield, you parked right in front of Yaz's flat. I didn't even know where she lived! That's why she invited me for tea. I would never have seen her again otherwise. And then you kept taking me to her flat, until…" She walked away from the console, unable to believe she'd only just now put this together. "You took me to the wrong time so they would all be without me ten months, knowing Graham and Ryan would decide they liked being home and that Yaz would still want to be with me." She spun around. "You set us up."

The TARDIS made a surprised sound.

"Well, anyway," the Doctor continued, "this trip to Sheffield will be quite different from the others. I'm not popping round to Yaz's for tea." She swallowed. "I'm asking her parents for their blessing to marry their daughter."

The TARDIS was silent, utterly unconcerned with such trivialities. She'd gotten what she wanted.

"Well, shall we go get her? Short, quick hop." She flipped some switches and pulled the lever, landing again a second later at the hospital entrance (outside this time. The Sisters didn't like ships landing in the lobby). She opened the doors and beamed at the sight of Sister Ruby waiting at the entrance with Yaz sitting in a wheelchair, holding her stuffed Adipose and her bag of belongings on her lap (the Doctor had already moved their wedding portrait to the TARDIS). Grinning at the Doctor, Yaz stood from her chair and strode confidently to the TARDIS doors. Her strength was building up quickly now, and while she wasn't quite ready to run for her life just yet, it wouldn't be long. Her injury was fully healed.

"Thank you so much for everything," the Doctor told Sister Ruby, taking Yaz's bag and slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"Yes," Yaz agreed, hugging the Doctor around the waist. "It means everything to be able to walk out of here after what happened."

"We're just doing our job," Sister Ruby said humbly. "Enjoy your honeymoon!"

"We will!" Yaz promised. "We're thinking beach now, not mountains."

"Just make sure it's a beach with no sharks!" Sister Ruby advised. "We don't want you coming right back here!"

"Unless they're tame sharks," said the Doctor.

"Tame sharks?" Yaz asked, looking at her in amusement.

"Oh, I could introduce you to some," the Doctor said cheerily before looking back at Sister Ruby. "Anyway, goodbye! I hope I don't need to see you again any time soon!"

"Likewise!"

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors as Yaz waved goodbye, then led Yaz to the console and took off.

"Where are we going?" Yaz asked.

"Nowhere for now. You need to get settled into our new bedroom."

"Oh yes, I can't wait to see it!"

"Come on, then. Let's get your stuff put away." She took Yaz's things from her and held her hand as she made her way up the steps (she had practiced stairs in therapy and gotten proficient at them, but those hadn't been hexagonal in shape. The Doctor briefly got nervous, but Yaz did all right). Then she took her down the corridor to their cosy new room.

"Oh, Doctor, this is amazing!" Yaz spun around to take it in and then went to her side of the bed, sitting down and placing her stuffed Adipose on the bedside table. "This is much more comfortable than the mattress on the floor in the console room."

"Yeah, sorry about that." The Doctor thought back to the nights she had spent tinkering at her console, looking for the Division mostly, when she would look up and see Yaz sleeping peacefully on the makeshift bed she'd set up. It brought her comfort to have Yaz there within her sight. Sometimes watching her sleep would make her sleepy too, and she'd end up getting into bed beside her, sometimes briefly grazing Yaz's hair with her lips but always resisting the urge to take her in her arms. She would never have to resist again.

"Doctor, will you stay in here with me while I sleep each night, or are you going to be in the control room?" The sudden worry in Yaz's eyes nearly broke the Doctor's hearts.

"I will be in here with my wife," she said quietly. "There is nothing I need to do in the control room that I can't do when you're awake."

Yaz gave her a relieved smile. "You won't get bored?"

"Of watching you sleep? Never."

Yaz smiled so sweetly that the Doctor couldn't help going over to kiss her.

"Come look at the bathroom," she said, pulling Yaz up from the bed. "You'll love it. I put in a whirlpool bath and a rainfall shower!"

Yaz followed her into the bathroom and looked around, a smile spreading across her features. "This is lovely! And I see you made both the bath and the shower big enough for two people."

The Doctor's cheeks tingled. "Well, yes. You seemed…I thought you would like it."

Yaz turned her smile onto the Doctor, taking her hand, and it was like being caught in the warm beam of a lighthouse's rotating lamp.

"I also finished our wedding rings, if you'd like to see them," the Doctor said shyly.

"Oh! Yes, I would!"

Yaz followed the Doctor back to the bedroom. She opened a jewellery box on the dresser and gingerly removed two gold bands, holding them out on the palm of her hand. Each one was gold on the inside and around the edges, with silver in the middle around the outside. The circular Gallifreyan inscriptions were on the exterior, in the silver part.

Yaz drew in her breath, taking the rings from her. "They're gold and silver," she said. "I thought they would just be gold, but this is really pretty."

"Yeah," the Doctor said, her hearts fluttering inside her chest. Was this really real? Did this beautiful young woman who had such a bright future ahead of her really want to spend her life with an ancient alien, or would she suddenly see sense and back out of the whole plan? "I used the gold Sister Amethyst gave us, but I wanted to add silver as well. It's symbolic to me." She touched her earring. "I chose this because it reminded me of my own journey, from the stars to you. The silver hand is mine—" she pointed— "and the gold one represents humans to me, but mostly you. When I look at it, I think of my hand holding yours. So I wanted our rings to be gold and silver, to show the union of me and you. Even though we're different and we're from very different places, we can still make our lives into one." By now her hearts were hammering in her throat as she felt utterly terrified that the enormity of what they were doing would land on Yaz's shoulders all at once and she would suddenly want to just go home. But instead, she lit up with the sweetest smile.

"That's so beautiful," she said. "So which one is which?"

Giving her a relieved smile, the Doctor took back her own ring. "This one's mine. I put the inscription on it that you told me to put. 'The best person I've ever met.'"

"What does mine say?" Yaz asked, turning her ring over in her fingers. "My inscription's a lot shorter than yours."

"I only needed two words." The Doctor cleared her throat. "It says, 'my universe.'"

Yaz looked up at her, eyes shining. "You really mean it?"

"Oh, Yaz. So much." She swallowed. "You can try it on and make sure I got the sizing right, but I'm pretty sure I have."

Yaz slipped the ring on and then quickly pulled it back off. "It's perfect, but I don't want to wear it until you put it on me officially." She handed the ring back to the Doctor with a smile, and the Doctor tucked the rings safely back into the jewellery box.

"So this is really happening?" Yaz asked. "We really are going to get married?"

"If you still want to," the Doctor told her.

"Of course I want to. Do you?"

"Very much so. I mean, it'd be a shame if we didn't. A love like this doesn't happen every day, does it?" She took both of Yaz's hands in her own. "I love you, Yaz. There is nothing I won't do for you."

"I love you too, Doctor." Yaz's eyes strayed to the wedding portrait hanging over the fireplace. "And I want to make that real."

"We will. Every little detail, whatever you want, you will get it."

"You must have some things you want too."

"I do, and we'll talk about them while we're planning. But mostly, I just want you." She scrunched her nose up innocently, and Yaz, laughing, kissed her.

"Well, I guess I'd best make myself at home," Yaz said, taking off her jacket and shoes.

"Yeah. It's good to be home." The Doctor pulled off her own coat and boots, finally letting herself relax. It was over. Yaz was okay, and they were together now. Home. She turned to Yaz and smiled. "So are you ready for the rest of your life to begin?"

"If it's with you, definitely."

"What do you want to do first?"

Yaz bit her lip, sizing up the Doctor. "There was something you said in the hospital, about pointing out every perfect detail on my body."

"Yes…"

"I've got time now, if you'd still like to do that." She sat down on the bed. "You wanted our first time to be perfect. I think we have perfect conditions now."

The Doctor tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. Oh, no, that wasn't good. Maybe she should get a drink of water before she went any further? No, she just needed a moment to recover. She could do this. Trying again, she managed to swallow. "Yeah, sure. Yes. Just one thing…" She dug her sonic screwdriver out of her coat pocket and pointed it at the fireplace, causing a fire to appear in the grate. "There. Fireplace. It's romantic, right?" What the hell, had she lost her ability to speak?

"Yes, very romantic," said Yaz, nodding encouragingly. She could still speak. What was up with that?

The Doctor approached Yaz, drawing deep breaths. "Okay," she said. "Every perfect detail. Should be easy. I'll take it from the top." She reached for Yaz's hair, which was pinned up in a simple bun. "May I take this down?"

"Yes."

"Okay." The Doctor carefully unpinned Yaz's hair, letting her curls fall down around her. "First thing I love about you: your long, beautiful, dark hair. It's perfect." She kissed the top of Yaz's head, running her fingers through her hair. "I love playing with your hair. Not sure how to braid it like you do, but I just love the feel of it in my fingers." She kissed the scar on Yaz's forehead. "And I love your scar. It adds so much character. I love your face not being completely symmetrical because it makes it easier to know when we've stepped into a mirror universe." Yaz giggled a little, but the Doctor continued, kissing her eyebrows. "Your eyebrows are perfect, so smooth. And your eyes…" She stared down into Yaz's big, brown eyes, shining with love and trust. She felt a catch in her throat, but swallowed it down. "In all of time and space, I have never seen a more beautiful woman," she whispered. "And I don't think I've met anyone with a heart as pure as yours." Smiling, Yaz closed her eyes, and the Doctor kissed each eyelid.

"And of course," she continued, "I love your soft face, and your cute dimples." She kissed each of Yaz's cheeks, which were dimpled since she was still smiling. "And your big smile, and your full, kissable lips." Cupping Yaz's cheeks, she did kiss her lips, and as she did Yaz moved to deepen the kiss and wrapped her arms around the Doctor, pulling her onto the bed with her as she herself lay down. The Doctor found herself lying on top of Yaz, a new experience but certainly a pleasant one. She slid her lips down Yaz's neck and moved her hands to unbutton her blouse, lifting her head to make sure this was okay. Yaz's trusting smile told her it was, so she fumbled with the buttons until she had the blouse off, and then the bra underneath. She could feel her words failing her again, so she just continued kissing a trail along collarbone, shoulder, arm.

"Doctor," Yaz murmured. "I was hoping you'd focus a little more on…other parts of me."

"I'm getting there!" the Doctor insisted. "But I want to do this right, and I do love your fingers." She kissed Yaz's fingers to prove her point. "And I especially love this one, which I'll be putting that ring on." She kissed Yaz's bare ring finger, noting that all the other fingers on that hand already bore rings. She had been keeping this one free, almost as if she were waiting for the Doctor to give her a ring. Well, good thing she was finally getting on that.

At last, she turned her attention to the two absolutely perfect breasts on display, giving each one a reverent kiss. She took one nipple into her mouth and sucked it tentatively. Yaz moaned softly and shifted a little beneath her. Emboldened, the Doctor sucked harder, grazing the nipple ever so gently with her teeth. After a bit she moved to the other one, sliding down one glorious mound and up the other with her tongue, feeling Yaz thread her fingers into her hair as if to hold her head in place.

"Doctor, that feels so good," Yaz whispered.

The Doctor lifted her head and gave her a small smile. "I can do even better," she said in a low voice. She kissed her way down Yaz's tummy, murmuring about how much she loved her soft, beautiful brown skin. Finally she unfastened Yaz's jeans and finished undressing her, having to pause for a moment to catch her breath. An indescribably beautiful woman was lying naked on her bed, their bed, and wanted her. It had been at least a century since the last time that had happened. And this…this was very different from anything she had experienced before. In so many ways, it felt like her first time.

Gathering herself, she knelt between Yaz's legs as though ready to worship her – and she was, she realised, prepared to do exactly that.

"I love the curve of your hips," she said softly, her fingers tracing a path along the outside of Yaz's hips. "And the softness of your thighs." She kissed the inside of a smooth thigh, eliciting a little contented moan from her fiancée. "And I'm ready to love the most intimate part of you, if that's what you want."

"I do. I really do."

Hearts fluttering, the Doctor leaned down and tenderly kissed Yaz's folds, kissed her all over before taking her in her mouth and swirling her with her tongue. She listened carefully to every sound Yaz made, adjusting her approach as necessary to bring out the cries of ecstasy she most wanted to hear. She stroked Yaz's wet centre with her fingers and paused for a moment to question whether she would be allowed this, to enter what as far as she was concerned was the holiest temple in any galaxy. Yaz gladly assented, so as she continued with her tongue, she carefully slipped one and then two fingers inside, moving slowly since she knew it was Yaz's first time, feeling her stretch to accommodate her. Yaz thrust her hips forward, and the Doctor built up a rhythm, working with tongue and fingers to get the response she so badly wanted from Yaz, worshipping her happily until she sent Yaz over the precipice, clutching at the sheets as she cried out. The Doctor kept going until she was sure she'd gotten every last bit of pleasure from Yaz, and then she withdrew herself slowly, climbing up to lie down beside her.

"I should add that I love the way you taste," she said quietly. "I can honestly say you delight all my senses."

Yaz smiled at her, dimples popping. "That was amazing."

"I promised you it would be." The Doctor tried not to betray that she had, in fact, worried that that she would not be able to provide a perfect or even satisfactory experience. This was how she lived her life: pretending she knew what she was doing and hoping that would be enough. Usually it worked out, and she was glad it had this time.

"Well, do you know what I decided when I was in the hospital?" Yaz rolled towards the Doctor, her smile widening as her curls tumbled messily around her face.

"What?"

"I decided I was going to find every single mole on your whole entire body and kiss them."

The Doctor swallowed. That did sound quite lovely.

"So, I'm thinking now would be a good time?" Yaz reached for the Doctor's braces, sliding them down her shoulders.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think now would be the perfect time."

There was magic inside the Doctor's body, magic that hadn't been there in previous bodies. She hadn't even known about it, but Yaz had found it and brought it out. As the Doctor lay with Yaz in the afterglow, both of them naked and spent and holding each other with their legs tangled together, she felt as if her whole body was sparkling – especially the newer bits, but really, it seemed to spread everywhere.

"I never felt like this when I was a man," she whispered.

"Like what? Wonderful?" Yaz had her eyes closed, but there was a smile on her face. Her hair was all mussed now, curls sticking out at every angle. It was glorious.

"Like my whole body is full of magic."

Yaz chuckled, opening her eyes. "That's one way of putting it."

"Do you feel the same way? Oh I hope it's not just a Time Lord thing. I want you to feel this too."

Yaz kissed her. "I do. I've never felt so wonderful in my life."

"Me neither. And I've lived a long time!" The Doctor pulled her closer. "Maybe we can just forget about everything we planned to do and just do this all the time. I don't really need to know where I came from. I know where I am right now, and it's definitely where I want to be."

"Hey, you promised me a wedding. And you need at least some answers about your past, so you can figure out if you can make me like you."

The Doctor closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to Yaz's. "I don't want to make you like me. You're so perfect the way you are."

"Well, I am ready to spend endless lifetimes with you, if you'll have me."

"I will. Of course I will. I promise, I won't give up on that. I never want to let you go."

"So I think getting married makes sense."

"Yeah. It does."

"Still, I won't complain if we spend a few more days in bed before I have to go talk to my family."

The Doctor opened her eyes and pulled back a little, studying Yaz's face. "Are you nervous?"

"Very. I really don't know how they'll react. I never told them…when I was in high school, I sorta had a crush on another girl but I didn't admit it to myself. Other kids figured it out from the way I acted so awkward around her, and they bullied me mercilessly. It got so bad, I almost killed myself."

"Yaz!" The Doctor lifted her head in alarm. "If you had, I'd never have met you."

"I know, and I'm glad I didn't. Only Sonya knows. But she didn't know I was actually questioning my sexuality. She thought kids were bullying me because…well, that's what bullies do. I never wanted my parents or my Nani to know, because they would have thought it meant I really was..." She sighed. "They want me to marry a good Muslim man, you know?"

The Doctor nodded her understanding. "And I'm definitely not that."

"No, not by any stretch of the imagination." Yaz looked away. "I was afraid they wouldn't love me anymore if they knew what I was, what I was trying not to be. I just tried to hold it inside and be nothing. I threw myself into becoming a police officer."

"Married to the job. That's why you weren't dating anyone."

Yaz nodded. "I didn't want to date who they wanted me to date, so I dated no one and pretended it was because I was too career oriented. And then I was abducted by an alien…"

"Accidentally!"

Yaz smiled. "I would have thought running away to space would solve the problem, but…"

"You fell in love. I wasn't expecting that either, but it happens." She kissed Yaz's forehead. "There is nothing wrong with who you are. You should never try to be nothing, because who you are is so brilliant, so wonderful. And I can't tell you what your family will say, but I have met them, and I know they love you. And you can't just stop loving someone that easily. They might not understand, but I know they'll still love you."

"I hope so." Yaz snuggled in closer. "At least I'll still have you either way."

"You'll always have me. And I hope I'll always have you, because I cannot even imagine a universe without my Yaz. Not anymore. And I don't want to."

"You're the one the universe needs."

"And I need you. I'm useless without you." The Doctor caressed Yaz's back, feeling the little bumps from her surgery scars. "I'm going to ask your parents for their blessing, before we get married. It's what people did where I came from…on Gallifrey, I mean. Maybe that's not really where I come from, but this is what feels right to me. You'd ask mine too, if they existed."

Yaz pulled a face. "That's very sweet, but let me come out to them before you try asking for their blessing, okay?"

"Of course. You talk to your family, and I'll go see Graham and Ryan. It'll be nice to catch up, and I have to ask Graham to officiate. I won't talk to your parents until you're ready."

"And if they don't give their blessing?"

"Then we marry anyway, but it's worth a shot."

Yaz smiled, gazing at the Doctor with liquid brown eyes. "Whatever happens, I'm glad I found you."

"Whatever happens, I will do all I can to give you the life you deserve." The Doctor kissed her. "I am in awe of you."

"Of me? But I'm just an ordinary human."

"Human, yes. Ordinary, never." She pulled Yaz close and held her tight. "You're my universe, remember?"