DISCLAIMERS/NOTES
1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by the BBC. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.
2. This is a femslash story. If you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like this.
PART 12
Najia sat at the kitchen table, going through events for what seemed the thousands time. It was the middle of the night, but that was irrelevant. She had barely slept for five nights, for it had been that long since her eldest daughter stormed out the house with only a few items of clothing in a bag. Yaz's face was like thunder as she barged out the door and slammed it behind her, leaving a numb family in her wake.
Needless to say, Najia, Hakim and Sonya were right behind her. When the parents' demands for Yaz to return fell on deaf ears, however, Najia feared the worst. Where was Yaz going? Did she even know herself?
Luckily - relatively speaking, of course - Sonya managed to get close to the policewoman. Najia was desperate to know what was said between the two sisters, but had to settle for a somewhat-reassuring look from Sonya as Yaz continued on her way. It soon turned out their eldest was, for now at least, staying close-by with other friends of… hers. Of the Doctor's.
How did it get like this? How did things go so wrong? How had Najia allowed it? She was losing her daughter, and had no idea what to do to get her back. Always strongwilled and independent, Yaz respected her parents, of course, but was never afraid to stand upto them. It was that strength which fuelled her to join the force, despite Najia and Hakim's concerns, and to be the voice of reason whenever Sonya did something to particularly grate on the grownups.
But of course, Yaz was a grownup herself, now. Najia thought she accepted that long ago, that Yaz was free to make her own decisions. However, recent events proved Najia still saw her as a child. All parents did, to some extent, but Najia considered herself respectful enough of her daughter to let her live her own life, until now.
Part of the mother thought - dammit, knew - she was well within her rights to question Yaz's current life choices, however, given the sheer absurdity of the situation. After all, it was not everyday you learn your child has been secretly dating an alien and travelling through space and time, facing perilous situations on a regular basis. Just thinking about it made Najia's head spin.
For the first few weeks, Najia was confident she and her husband made the right decision. It pained her deeply to see her daughter in such obvious distress, but she was sure it was only a phase - Yaz would eventually snap out of it and realise the insanity of what she had been doing for two years…
Two years. That made Najia's head spin so much it almost flew off.
As the time passed, however, Najia's confidence began waning. Weeks became months and Yaz was still a wreck. Granted, Najia had little experience dealing with heartache - she and Hakim had been together since they were teenagers - but surely Yaz should be showing some improvement by now? The fact she did not, meant it was more than simple puppy love; indeed, her daughter's entire life had gone to the dogs. Yaz was perilously close to being let go by the force - and seemingly did not care - and never made any effort to do anything. The young woman would just stare out emptily out the window, and Najia knew why: she was waiting for a blue police box to come back.
The mother almost cursed herself now; was it really worth it? To see her daughter so miserable, so broken, so dead inside? Najia wished there was something - anything - she could do to make her little girl happy again. Unfortunately, the one person who could truly do that… Najia had driven away.
"Hey," came a soft voice, and Najia looked up to see Hakim enter. "Couldn't sleep?"
Najia sighed and shook her head. "Me neither," Hakim continued. He poured himself a glass of water then sat opposite his wife. He took a sip and looked down. "We really messed up, didn't we?"
Najia darted her head back up and glared at him. When Hakim looked deeply into her eyes, she let out a breath. "It's nuts," she whispered. "We did the right thing, the sane thing… "
"Did we?"
She was silent for a few beats. "The state she's been in… the mess she's become… the mess the family's become… " She wiped away the oncoming wetness in her eyes. "Our own daughter hates us."
Rubbing his forehead, Hakim let out a deep breath. "I've been thinking," he said slowly. "About what we can do to fix this. But the more I try to come up with a solution… I can only think of one way."
Najia nodded. "And she's not coming back. We made sure of that."
Her husband bit his lip. "If she did… would you let Yaz go back to her?"
"I… " Would she? Would Najia allow her eldest daughter to return to a crazy life of going to other worlds, facing weird creatures and never living like a normal person again? All to be with a woman she clearly did not want to live without? "She's safe here," she eventually replied. "With her, she'd be… " Her words drifted.
"She'd be happy," finished Hakim, and Najia's breath caught.
There was a long silence, the two of them staring at their respective drinks. After several moments, Najia spoke in a quiet, defeated voice. "Yeah… we really messed up."
TO BE CONTINUED