A few months later Ace is throwing a big dinner for her friends and family. As she is walking around, Yaz is helping her clean up the house a little bit when Ace gets a call. "Hello Graham." She smiles into the phone. Yaz rolls her eyes, more than used to the two now. She is surprised with how slow they are moving though. Graham has yet to spend the night and vice versa.
"I am being followed by Yaz's parents."
"Do what we talked about."
"On it."
"Call me when you get there, or nearly there."
"I will."
"What did Graham want?"
"Just to inform me he is being followed by your parents."
"I have to face them eventually."
"You want me to have Graham come straight here?"
"I don't know."
"How about, next that they show up at A Charitable Earth, since we know they will show up at A Charitable Earth; I message you to come by."
"I will talk to them then, but we need to devise a way so they will not know that I work right next door."
"Wait about 10 then drive over, or walk there."
"Ok." They get back to work after Ace sends a text to Nyssa to pick up Graham from the back entrance of HQ. Not much longer there is a knock on the door.
Ace walks over to get the door as she opens it she is enveloped in a large hug, "hello Liam."
"How is my older sister doing today?" He puts her down as his longtime best friend Caitriona steps out from behind him.
"Set McShane down Liam."
"I am also McShane." Yaz stands back and watches the exchange between all of them.
"Of course you are Liam, Caitriona just calls me that, because when I met you two, I was going by McShane."
"Wait, you were at one point going by your last name Ace?"
"I was, let me introduce you to my idiot younger brother and his best mate. Yaz this is Liam and Caitriona."
"Hello there," Caitriona steps forward first."
"Caitriona, this is Yaz."
"I assumed so, Liam tells me you are seeing someone."
"She is, his name is Graham."
"How did the two of you meet?"
"The Doctor." Yaz looks at Ace, her face going wide, "don't worry Yaz, I met them because of the Doctor."
"The Doctor really does care about you; made sure you talked to Liam after you ran away from him when he told you about what happened when you were little, and introduced you to your?"
"Boyfriend, I know it's a little juvenile, but for some reason, I like calling Graham that," Ace says with a large smile on her face.
"My sister is a goner," Liam laughs.
"When will you be one?" Caitriona jets.
"Maybe in 4 years. Speaking of Graham, where is he?" Liam says pointing out their age difference.
"On his way, he will be arriving with Tegan, Nyssa and their kids."
"Why?"
"That will be because of me, these two are protecting me from my parents who don't support me."
"Oh."
"Now, this isn't a depressing party, this is a happy one."
"What's the occasion sis?"
"I don't need one."
"She is the only one that knew I was planning on visiting," Caitriona tells Liam, keeping more to herself that Ace is still the only one that knows. What no one knows is that Ace is ready to say those three words to Graham and she wanted to see others around when she took Graham out back and told him.
Not much later everyone is there including Kate have arrived. When Graham arrived he went straight to Ace and gave her a small kiss as Liam shrugs that he won't be able to tease her too much tonight. "So everyone here knows the Doctor?" Caitriona asks.
"I guess those most important to me, well minus Ryan who is still away somewhere," Ace and Graham look pointedly at Kate who remains with a poker face.
Liam bursts out laughing, "man Dorothy, when are you going to tell this man how deep your feelings are for him?"
"I."
"You guys can't know where Ryan is, it is top secret." Ace is glad that she doesn't have to reveal her plans just yet.
"We know Kate, you have explained to us a few times, it's just Ryan and I haven't gone this long not talking since before our lives changed forever."
"I know."
"Come on everyone, no arguments or talk of things that make us sad."
"Are you planning something Dorothy, this is the second time you have tried to stir the conversation away from those topics, is there something going on?"
"Why would there be," Ace, getting all defensive, puts her hands on her hips while she says this.
Graham, knowing the woman puts his hands over hers, "Ace what are you hiding?"
"Nothing," she hopes he can't read her eyes.
"You are."
Caitriona, knowing this would be the time to make her announcement steps forward, "I am moving here to England, it has been weird back in the states with no one there, so I have been talking to McShane about where to move. I want to be around people."
Liam turns to his longtime friend and develops her into a big hug. "Really, oh I can't believe this, the two most important people to me in the same country. Come over here Dorothy and join the hug, you too Graham, you are more than important to my sister."
"Ok," Graham and Ace walk to them, Graham can tell that Ace is still hiding things from him.
After they eat Ace goes up to Graham, "can you follow me?"
"I will follow you anywhere," Graham gets up Ace takes his hand and takes him out back, everyone notices this and follows them, but they stay inside. When they get out Ace faces Graham and is suddenly very nervous. "What's wrong?"
"You know how you could tell something was up earlier?"
"I do," Ace steps closer to him and takes his other hand, he notices that there are lights set up everywhere.
"I have been trying to tell you this for a few weeks now."
"What is it?"
"Graham, I love you."
"I love you too Ace," their heads move closer until their lips touch in a tender kiss as their hands stay held close together.
Back in the house Liam turns to everyone, "do you guys think what I think happened?"
Two hologram Doctors show up, one in a Panama hat the other in a long jacket, "yep," they say in unison, popping their ps.
"Ace just told Graham she loved him, and seeing those two or hearing parts of the conversations I have, he said it back," Yaz says. As Ace and Graham end the kiss everyone scatters quickly to the living room.
Ace and Graham enter the room holding hands, "you lot are very bad actors, Yaz, the magazine is upside down. We know you guys were spying on us. Liam, you flat out told me before Graham and I got together that you were excited to do the little brother things." Ace looks up and her hologram Doctor joins the other two and she tries not to hide her face in Graham's shoulder. "Let's see we have Professor, Celery Stick, and Jacket."
"Oi," all of them say in unison.
"When you first saw me recently you called me Professor," 13 says.
"My Doctor will always be Professor. I know the Celery Stick is Tegan and Nyssa's."
"All of us are partial to our Doctor," Graham adds. Not long after that everyone starts to filter out.
"Graham, how about you spend the night tonight, the three of us can carpool."
"I like that idea." After the last of the guests are gone and everything is cleaned up everyone goes to bed. Graham drapes his arm around Ace as they fall asleep.