Disclaimer, I do not own these characters of the marvelous show.
…..
As Ace and Graham run into the TARDIS, they see Yaz and Vinder just standing there. "You got out alive didn't you Graham, friend of the Doctor." Ace teased the man.
"I guess I did," Graham takes the moment while the Doctor is flying the TARDIS to really look at the woman, he just met in the volcano who had explosives in her bag. Yaz watches on as the TARDIS lands again and the Doctor walks out.
"Hello Graham," Yaz gets his attention.
"Yaz," he walks over to her and wraps the young woman in a hug. "How are you doing kid?"
"Ok," Tegan and Kate enter the TARDIS.
"Why does it look like this?" Tegan says as she enters the TARDIS, "who are they?"
"I am Graham, I traveled with the Doc for a bit."
"So you tell her the truth and not me?" Ace jokes.
"Eh, we were in a volcano, now the TARDIS." Graham adds as he shrugs his shoulders making Ace laugh lightly. Tegan can see something forming between the two.
"Alright everyone you can talk later we have to do a few things," the Doctor flings down a lever and the TARDIS lands on the Cyber planet and directs everyone what to pull. After Yaz carries her back to the TARDIS everyone sits back wondering what is going to happen.
Tegan looks at Kate while Graham is trying to comfort a non responsive Yaz. "Kate."
"Regeneration time," Ace walks up to them.
"Have you seen it happen Kate? I haven't." The former rebellious teen turned head of a charity asks.
"No."
"I did when I first met the Time Lord."
"I know." Graham walks over with his hands in his pockets as Yaz starts to pilot the TARDIS.
"She wants to be alone with the Doctor."
"What is going on between them?"
"Don't know, Ryan and I left almost two years ago."
"The Doctor mentioned Ryan, who is he?" Ace is curious at who now two people have mentioned.
"My Grandson. Yaz, Ryan and I traveled with the Doctor not long after she got this face,"
"You have a Grandson?" Ace knows she shouldn't be shocked, she saw his wedding ring.
"His Nan, Yaz and I met her on a train, sadly due to Grace being Grace fearless; she ended up dying that night." The TARDIS lands again.
"Is Croydon, ok?"
"It's fine," replies Kate and Tegan. Ace is looking at Graham who just revealed that information. He goes back to Yaz.
"It's ok with me too." The three ladies exit the TARDIS as Graham tries to say something.
"Not right now Graham."
"Ok, ok, just so you know I am one call away if you need to talk to someone Yaz." Graham exits the TARDIS, "hey wait up."
Kate, Tegan and Ace all stop and turn around as Graham jogs up. "How is she doing?"
"Not good, I am worried about her."
"With the little I have worked with Yaz," Kate starts as both she and Tegan notice that Graham is matching his step with Ace, "she will be fine."
"I know, so how many are there of us?"
"Tons, though some are trapped in different times, an alternate dimension, had to have our memory wiped, or in a computer on an alien world." Kate, having known about the Doctor since she was a kid and being working in UNIT since graduating from Uni, replies.
"So the Professor never changed?"
"I don't know what he was like with you except the one story my dad told me."
"What dad?" Graham is shocked to find out that there was another family that the Doc knew.
"You can say my family is from a line of friends of the Doctors."
"Wow, should we get into contact with some of them."
"The companions?"
"You mean former assistants." Tegan says.
"These days they call each other companions, though that can be why there has been a handful falling for the Doctor."
"What," Tegan says.
"Oh come on Tegan, you couldn't tell that Yaz has feelings for the Doctor," adds Ace.
"I guess from her reaction when I said we used to be her, I should've guessed it. Graham, did you see any of it?"
"Not really, for the majority of the time I was mourning my Grace. I still miss her sometimes." They reach a small café. "Does anyone want something to eat? I am famished."
"I can eat, according to the Professor, when I am hungry I get obstreperous." Ace tells Graham with an eye roll.
"He wasn't wrong Ace." Tegan teases her friend.
"Oi shove off it, I am not that bad anymore Tegan." Graham holds the door open for all of them as they enter the café. "Table for 4 please."
"Of course." They are shown to a table. Kate and Tegan next to each other and Graham and Ace on the other side.
"So Ace, Graham what did you do?"
"With Graham's help we blew up a bunch of Daleks."
"How did you like using her Nitro," asks Kate.
"It was cool, I am surprised with how much she can fit into her bag, each time grabbing one of them when one of us reached into it."
"What! She let you reach into her bag. We have known each other for over two decades and I am not even allowed to touch it!"
"Tegan not here, you can yell at me somewhere else." Graham is now watching Ace as some of her hair falls across her face when she leans across the table to talk to Tegan. "Now," she sits back and smiles at Graham, "tell me more about Ryan."
"When he first met me, he didn't like me. I admit I tried too hard to connect with him for the few years that Grace and I were married."
"How did you meet Grace?"
"She was my nurse when I had cancer."
"You had cancer, are you ok now?"
Laying his hand over Ace's liking how soft it is, "I am. I go in for regular checkups." The other two at the table feel like they are intruding on a moment and see Ace has a slight pink to her cheeks and Graham has a small smile. "How about you, how did you meet someone?"
"I haven't dated anyone in a long time. When I am not freelancing for UNIT, doing some of my own alien stuff including making Nitro, I am busy with my charity."
"Your charity?"
"I run A Charitable Earth."
"That makes you Dorothy McShane."
"Yep," Ace looks at her water glass that she asked for, 'it is refreshing to meet someone who doesn't know that.'
"How did you not know who she is," asks Tegan.
Both broken from the spell that made them think that they were in thinking that they were alone. "I never thought to look up what Dorothy or should I say Ace looked like."
Tegan being ever so devious, "what do you think?"
Graham looks over at Ace who is taking off her old jacket, "beautiful."
"Hmm."
"What Tegan," Ace who is trying even more not to blush.
"Oh nothing."
"Tegan."
"Nah it can wait," Tegan starts to smile even more deviously.
Kate, knowing how the two of them can be together, just wishes for their food to arrive. "Let's change the subject, Graham, you were talking about wanting to get companions together."
"I was."
"I have a way to contact everyone."
"You do?"
"I have all the addresses including those off world like Mel."
"Donut."
"What?" Graham looks at the alluring woman.
"When I first met her I liked to annoy everyone by coming up with a nickname they hate. The Doctor is the Professor, though he grew to love it, and Mel is Donut, because she was a health nut and had a high voice with a sugary attitude." Ace looks at Graham with a smile thinking. "See Kate is BridgeJR, because of her dad, Tegan is Ms Tude."
"Why oh why did you have to come up with that for me."
"Is it not true, though I don't call either of you that much. Now Graham, I will call you Parmel-son."
"Eh why not, that is how I introduced myself to you."
"So you know I was traveling with the Doctor and a teenager when I dealt with the Daleks in 1963."
"What did he ask you?"
"How old I was."
"I didn't know you traveled with the Doc yet, and I was startled by someone nearly hitting me with a bat."
"A woman," Tegan says, "a woman that you think is beautiful."
"Tegan, you can tease them later, it looks like our food is arriving." Ace's eyes go wide knowing what her friend is going to be doing. Both Ace and Graham grab their forks, their hands brush against the other.
"So Graham, have you dated anyone recently?"
"No, I haven't been looking. Enjoying my retirement."
"If you find someone."
"Tegan stop it," Ace warns her friend.
"I am just trying to get to know him."
"There are other questions you could be asking him."
"It's fine Ace," he sends her a small smile.
"I want to get to know all of you," Graham looks at Tegan, Kate, and lets his blue eyes meet her hazel. Kate and Tegan see the spark between them.
"Mhmm," Tegan says, "I think it's time we pay."
"Oh," Ace and Graham turn to face Tegan. They all pay their portion.
"Ace," Graham asks as he walks with her after Tegan and Kate walk off on their own.
"Yes?"
"Can I have your number?"
"Give me your phone," Graham hands it over after unlocking it. He watches her type fast on it then she hands it over to him, "my number, my address both home and charity, we don't know the other place yet, as it was just blown to pieces."
"It was, listen I will call you later, Ryan should be calling soon."
"Ok, talk to you later Graham."
"You will," he turns around as his phone rings.