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 14

The Doctor huffed as she tried ironing out the creases in her coat with her hands. Months of neglect left it far from pristine, and the rest of her regular clothes were not much better. But at least she was out of her pyjamas now.

A whirr filled the console room and the Doctor frowned. "Oi, don't start. I'm here, aren't I?" She ran a hand through her only-recently-combed hair. "I'm makin' an effort, see? What else do you want from me?" The TARDIS did not answer, and the Time Lady huffed once more. "Don't know how you talked me into this in the first place… "

It took a long time, but the Doctor was finally persuaded to begin sorting herself out. Not emotionally: that would take a long, long time to do, and in particularly bleak moments the alien wondered if she would ever come out of the darkness. But at least, the time machine argued, she could try being proactive. To that end, the Doctor was back in her old rainbow top and grey coat, with the sonic pocketed away. She even replaced her earring.

All through it, however, she wondered why she was bothering: what was the point? She was indeed far from ready to move on, to "get over" her loss. Deep down, the Gallifreyan knew she would never truly be over Yaz - heck, she knew that even before their breakup. Indeed, even if they lived a full life together and the Human lived into her hundreds, she would eventually die and the Doctor would be heartbroken. A few months or a few decades, the result and resultant pain would be the same.

Or… would it? At least the Time Lady would have a wonderful coupling to look back on; a Human lifetime of love and happiness. Instead, all she could focus on was how it ended so abruptly and prematurely. Or maybe this was the best way. More than once the Doctor thought she was insane for even being with the policewoman in the first place. But of course, all reason left the Gallifreyan when it came to her brilliant Yaz. She simply could not resist her.

Biting her lip, the Doctor cursed herself for once again getting caught in a mental loop. No matter how she pondered the situation, it always led to heartache. Sometimes she wished she could interfere in her own timeline and stop them ever meeting. Then they would both be spared this unending agony.

Shaking her head, the alien let out a deep sigh. "Fine, let's get on with it. Don't think, just do. Focus. Focus on what's beyond those doors. Not on… on… " Her face. Her eyes. Her smile. That laugh. Those lips. The long, luxurious hair. The warmth her mere presence gave the Time Lady. The unbearable pain of losing her love… her lifeline… her Yaz.

Feeling her eyes water, the Doctor cleared her throat and strode to the TARDIS doors. "Hopefully I'll be attacked as soon as I step out, give me something else to think about… " After a brief pause, she blinked away the dampness in her eyes and threw open the doors, already taking one step out…

And stopped dead. Her eyes widened, and her whole body went numb. "No… oh no… " All colour drained from her face.

The TARDIS landed in the Park Hill council estate in Sheffield.

"Why? Why have you brought me back here?" the Doctor seethed. "How could you do this to… " Her words faded when she spotted the group of people 100 yards away. Her eyes teared up again.

The people staring back at her looked as stunned as she, but the Time Lady could only focus on one of them. Her Yaz.

Within seconds, the Human girl was on the move, sprinting with tears in her eyes towards the police box. And despite her promises to the Khans, it only took a moment for the Doctor to mirror the movement, as she found herself dashing forwards to meet her.

They crashed into each other in a crushing embrace, Yaz wrapping her arms tightly around the Doctor's neck, and the Gallifreyan clutching at the policewoman's back desperately. The Doctor heard sobbing, while her own eyes closed hard to stem back tears. Everything else evaporated: to the two women, the universe began and ended with this reconnection. Nothing else mattered.

Yaz eventually moved her head away from the Doctor's shoulder and choked out words. "I know… I know everything!"

The Time Lady breathed heavily, unsure what her love meant.

"I know why you left," Yaz wept. "And I don't care! Because my answer is yes! A hundred, a billion, an infinity times YES!"

The Doctor's jaw dropped. Perhaps it was touch telepathy, perhaps it was simple intuition, but she knew what those words meant. Before she could respond, however, Yaz's lips were on hers in a searing, breathtaking kiss. Instinctively it was returned, the Gallifreyan increasing the connection to the mouth she missed so much, the woman she could not function without. Quite - as the past three months proved, the Doctor simply did not work without Yasmin Khan.

After their kiss broke, their mould-like hug resumed. As she stroked that long, silky hair the Doctor chanced a look at the others, still rooted on the spot yards away.

Hakim and Najia were holding each other close, the mother's face one of resignation, resting on her husband's chest. Hakim looked back at the Doctor, and their eyes met. After a beat, the father closed his eyes and gave a simple nod.

Her hearts swelling, the Doctor hugged Yaz for a few seconds more, then ended their embrace. Reaching out - only slightly, as was their closeness - her hand was taken in Yaz's. Then they wordlessly made their way back to the TARDIS. They stepped inside, and the doors closed behind them…

TO BE CONCLUDED