Chapter Text
Six months.
Six long months since Gallifrey, the Cybermen, the Master, and the Doctor.
The Doctor.
How can any of them go on after what they've seen and done? Live life without their brilliant and fantastic friend?
They can't. They knew it would end at some point, but they all expected it to end with them leaving, not this. This wasn't meant to happen.
And as much as Ryan spends time with Tibo, playing games, going to college, there is always a look in his eye whenever he manages to do something without issue. Like he expects a gentle hand on his back or something encouraging when he struggles, but it never comes.
Each time Yaz heads to work, starts her day or night, it doesn't feel right. She learnt so much, she did so much, and now she's stuck back into a routine. Day in day out. The same. Drunks on Friday's and Saturday's, domestics on any other day of the week. Parking disputes. Sometimes she catches herself staring after a wisp of blonde, or a blue box, heart sinking each time. Hope fading when it's not her. It's never her.
She's dead.
Gone.
And it hit them all hard. Graham first, older and used to losing people he cares about. He knew she wasn't coming back, but yet, he still keeps the cupboard stocked with custard creams, at least one pack in there at all times.
No more, no less.
It hasn't moved since he brought it. Neither he or Ryan dares to touch it on the off chance that she might reappear.
He keeps in contact with Ravio. Oh, they went out a few times, tried the dating thing, but it didn't pan out between them, and he's okay with that. She's a friend, and in a way, he can see the wonder in her eyes when he takes her to Tesco or the hill where he walked with Grace, her dog, that he jokingly said she should get after liking her to Sarah Connor, running beside them.
And that's where he is now, fading summer wind blowing against his back as he makes his way to the spot with Ravio. They move in silence on this funeral walk of theirs.
It's in the distance, and he spots Yaz sat there, hands in her pockets and gaze locked on the horizon.
"You got that face on."
"What?" Graham frowns.
"That face," Ravio points out again. "Thinking."
Graham sighs and shrugs his shoulders. "It's been six months."
"It has."
And that's the extent of their conversation as they make the remaining journey to Yaz and the bench. She glances up to them, a soft smile on her face. "You're late."
"Blame Ravio and her-"
"Oi," Ravio counters, lightly hitting Graham in the arm. "It was your suggestion that I get the dog."
"What did she do?" Yaz asks, smiling brighter when said dog bounds up to her. She reaches down and ruffles her golden fur. "Was Graham being mean to you?" She asks the wriggling dog. "He's just grumpy."
"I wasn't being mean," Graham frowns. "And it wasn't a suggestion; it was an off-hand comment that you all took quite literally."
"I like it," Ravio replies, settling herself next to Yaz and watching her dog. "She gives me company."
Yaz nods, watching the fur catching the light in the same manner as it did for the Doctor. She tears her eyes away and glances to Graham. "Why don't you get one?"
"Eh?"
"A dog, Graham," Yaz hints. "You could walk it with Ravio."
Graham shakes his head. "Nah, I'm a cat person, always 'ave been since I was a lad. Dog's got more responsibility and I can't just drop it on a friend when I'm needed somewhere."
"A cat then," Yaz continues, leaning back and folding her arms. "Although you can't walk that."
Graham considers the idea as he takes the free seat next to Yaz. "Possibly," He murmurs, looking at the dog. "Have you been here long?"
"Not long," Yaz answers, legs swinging slightly. "It's quiet up here."
"Yeah," Graham murmurs, matching Yaz's position from earlier with his hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes follow the dog when she jumps up after realising that she's getting no more pats from Yaz. She bounds over to him, eyes asking for a stroke and he sighs as he reaches out to her. "Daft dog."
"You're being mean again." Ravio states, amused.
"I'm not being mean," Graham protests, pulling his hand away from the dog and watching her again. She settles at his feet, head resting on her paws with a bored expression on her face and for a moment he wonders if people come back as other things, but it's fleeting and gone just as quick.
"Ryan's here," Yaz says, head pointed towards the direction that Graham and Ravio came from.
Graham looks over to him, giving him a nod. If that's the one thing that they all got out of the mess six months back is friends, he supposes, people who struggled day to day, now living freely. Ethan, a boy, born in war, now living in peace. They lost one, but gained three, even if two out of the three are currently exploring the world they now call home.
"Last to arrive," Graham calls out to him.
"Yeah, yeah," Ryan responds, but his eyes light up when he spots Ravio's dog. "Dogmeat!"
"I thought we decided we weren't calling the dog, Dogmeat," Yaz reminds tiredly.
"Dogmeat is a great name-"
"It's from your game," Yaz points out. "And it's not a great name."
"Faithful Dogmeat." The dog in question springs up from her position by Graham's feet and rushes over to Ryan, jumping up and licking his hands. "See, she likes it."
"She's a dog, mate, she don't know no difference whether it's a good name or not," Graham says, exasperated. He turns to Ravio. "Why didn't you just name her something instead of letting him call her that?"
Ravio shrugs, glancing over to 'Dogmeat' as Ryan has affectionately dubbed her. "It's a name, isn't it?"
Graham shares a glance with Yaz. Words not needing to be spoken between the pair of them. They both know why the dog remained nameless, and they can't blame Ravio for it, not when she lived and lost so much throughout her life that naming things ended up causing heartache.
"I'm not that late tho, am I?" Ryan asks, glancing up once in between the pettings of Dogmeat.
"Nah," Graham smiles. He nods his head at Ravio. "We just got here as well."
"Good," Ryan smiles, standing straight and making his way over. "I missed the bus."
"Ryan, you live with an ex-bus driver, how can you miss a bus?" Yaz asks, astounded by him.
Ryan rolls his eyes. "Doesn't mean he controls when the buses arrive does it?" He stares at Graham.
"Fair point," Yaz agrees before looking forward again.
"It was your mate driving it, Graham, gave me the ride for free."
"Dave?" Ryan nods, and Graham smiles. "He's like that, but Ryan, don't go telling anyone that," Graham says. "We ain't meant to do it, and he'll get in trouble for it."
"I won't tell anyone."
"Good, lad."
But the silence drags between them after that, all looking forward with thoughts rushing through their heads. The wind blows past them, smells of the countryside flowing with it as it goes and they sit there watching the sun get lower, mourning a friend lost.
"I miss her," Ryan breaks the silence, voice bearly above a whisper.
Graham glances to Ryan, hand reaching out and taking his. "We all do, mate." Graham feels Yaz take his other hand, squeezing it gently. Ravio allows them their grief, understanding it.
"Can't believe that was her planet," Ryan says. "Reminded me of-" He trails away, not needing to say what it reminded him off. "It sucks."
Graham sighs, standing up and stretching the aches from his limbs. "We should head back."
Yaz nods. "I told Sonya that I'd be back later."
"Don't fancy coming round to ours for chippy?" Graham asks, his usual chipper tone coming back slightly. "It's from the good one as well."
"You eat the strangest foods, Graham," Ravio chimes in for the first time in a while.
"Hey," Graham responds, offended. "A chippy is a British staple," He shoots back. "Something that you're pretending to be at the moment, so time to fit in and all that and have one."
"And fitting in with being 'British', or whatever you are, involves eating that?" Ravio questions with some revulsion.
Yaz shakes her head. "No, it doesn't. Graham is just set in his ways and Friday night is chippy night," She nudges Graham. "I can't stay, Graham; I said I would have dinner with Sonya, sorry."
"No harm done," Graham smiles, only feeling partially disappointed. "You need a lift home, love?"
"Nah, it's fine," Yaz reassures. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She says, glancing to Ryan.
Ryan nods quickly. "Yep."
"What are you two doing?" Graham frowns at them.
"If you checked the group chat, you'd know, Graham."
"We're just meeting in town," Yaz reveals. "Sonya is pestering me about Ryan." She flicks her eyes to Ryan. "And so is he."
"I am not," Ryan fires back.
Graham laughs, looking at Ryan. "Still not got any luck with the ladies?"
"I got plenty of luck," Ryan scowls. "And anyway you said we should be going back and yet you're still here chatting."
At the mention of going back, Graham's stomach rumbles. "All right, all right," He replies, stepping past Ryan and Yaz. "We'll pop to the chippy rather than going straight home."
"Good," Ryan agrees, turning to follow after his grandad.
Yaz watches them walk before turning and glancing to the bench and the little plaque screwed onto it. They lied, they had to because the company wouldn't accept 'The Doctor' as a name. So they went with Jane Smith, born 1980, died 2020.
But they know the truth to the plaque, the meaning behind it.
"I didn't know her for long," Ravio says, pulling Yaz from her thoughts. "But if it wasn't for her," She glances to Yaz. "Then we'd all be dead or converted by now. We owe her our lives."
Yaz nods. "She was the universe." She murmurs, thinking back over their travels. "And it's a darker place without her."
Ravio reaches out to Yaz, hand clasping on her arm and gently squeezing as she passes. She releases her hand and looks down at the dog, lazily lying down. "Come on, dog; Graham has that awful food for us again."
"If you asked Ryan, he'd order you something else."
"I might do that," Ravio nods before turning and walking after the pair in front of her.
Yaz watches the golden labrador rush past her, all limbs and tail and she can't help but picture someone else with endless energy. She spends a moment watching Ryan, Graham, and Ravio walk away before turning to the horizon again, eyes wet with grief. She stands watching the sun vanish, heart heavy.
Graham leans against the walls in the chippy, hunger growing as he watches the kebab joint turn behind the counter. His foot taps upon the floor. "It takes so long."
Ryan glances up from his phone and then around the chippy. "It's Friday night. What do you expect?" He leans back on the bench he's sat on. "If you let me order something in, then we wouldn't be waiting."
"You order from the bad one though," Graham moans with the dramatics of a theatre kid. "This is the good one."
"So stop moaning then and wait," Ryan points out with a smirk. "It was your choice to come here on a Friday."
Graham scowls at Ryan. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry."
Graham exhales, leaning his head back against the wall. He glances out the window and stares at his car. "How do you think Ravio is getting on?"
"Huh?" Ryan blinks, turning and leaning to look out of the window as well. "I thought you and her decided to just be friends?"
"We did," Graham replies, glancing back to Ryan. "But I still care for her 'cos she's my friend and I want to know if you think they're getting on okay 'cos it's a lot to take in an all."
"They're getting on fine," Ryan answers after a moment of thought. "Ethan's sent me a few pictures of him and Yed."
"He did?"
"He's good with tech, Graham, 'course he was gonna get to grips with a phone." Ryan retorts, dumbfounded. "They're exploring Europe."
"Oh," Graham murmurs. "It's kinda weird tho."
"What do you mean?"
"Well," Graham shrugs. "We had to look after them, didn't we? Couldn't just let them go out on their own, who knows what would've happened to them."
"No, we couldn't."
"You had Ethan, I had Ravio, and Yaz had Yedlarmi." Graham states. "We were hardly trained to deal with that, or their issues from what they had to live through."
"We got the TARDIS tho,"
"Not our, TARDIS," Graham reminds, a remorseful look on his face. "It's great and all, but what help does it give us? None of us knows how to fly the bleeding thing, and it doesn't respond like the Doc's, I miss the gentle warmth from it."
"And it doesn't feel right even if we could fly it," Ryan mumbles. "Not without her there to lead us."
"That as well."
"Order fourteen?"
Graham looks up, eyes locking onto the server behind the counter. "That's me." He calls out, pushing himself from the wall and walking the short distance. He reaches over and accepts the bag, weighty as it is. "Ta."
Ryan gets up, pocketing his phone. "I'm starved-"
Graham walks over to him, eyebrow rising. "I thought you said-" He trails off, brows furrowing together when he feels weird. It's like a tingling feeling over his body, pinpricky and irritable. "-I don't feel right."
"Graham?"
He takes another step, stumbling. "I don't-" He starts, eyes closing and focusing on Ryan. "Something is wrong."
There's a yelp, people moving away quickly as Graham raises his hands, wincing when he spots the same blue energy from ages ago spiking across them. "Oh, crap-"
"What's that?" A voice says, surprised.
"Ryan," Graham speaks, eyes shooting up to him. "Get-"
Ryan moves forward, intent on reaching for Graham, only to find his hand passing through where his grandad was just stood, leaving his hand grabbing at air. At the same time, the bag of chips hits the floor with a solid thud. "Oh, shit-"
"What the hell was that?" A guy asks.
Ryan looks around, catching the other customers and employees staring at him, or more precisely where Graham was stood.
"Is it a prank?"
"Did it look like a prank to you?" The same guy snaps. "Dude just vanished into thin air-"
"Is he dead?"
"I dunno," The same man snaps. "You, you knew him-"
"Get Yaz." Ryan splutters, turning on his heel and rushing for Graham's car. People yell after him, some coming out of the chippy. He pulls open the drivers side and slides in, glad that Graham saw fit to leave the keys in the car with Ravio. "Don't tell Yaz I'm driving the car."
"What?" Ravio questions, puzzled and then looking out towards the chippy and spotting people aiming their the little devices that Ryan and Yaz use at them. "Where is Graham?"
"It's a long story," Ryan explains while turning the car on. "He's been taken."
"Taken?"
Ryan nods, hands moving across the steering wheel in a slight panic. The car bunny hops before he manages to get it into the correct gear. "Before we met you, someone, the Doctor knew, took us and warned us about the Lone Cyberman," He rambles. "It looked the same as that."
"Is he safe?"
"I hope he is," Ryan frowns. "But I can't see why he would be taken by him again." He explains, completely lost. "I need to speak to Yaz, need to figure this out because it's not like we can just go and get him back-"
"That's if he's been taken by this person the Doctor knew," Ravio points out, leaning forward and looking through the front seats. "But maybe I can help?" She suggests. "I know a thing or two about teleports."
Ryan nods, worry now eating away at him. "Yeah," He mumbles, half focused on driving, and half focused on the fact that Graham is missing again. "Yaz, we need her." Ravio rests a hand on Ryan's shoulder, offering slight comfort in his heightened state. "She'll know what to do."
His head hits the floor harshly, and all he can do is lie there, groaning. Honestly, Graham expected the weird stuff that happened to them would've kind of stopped, and it did, for the most part. Or well, it did for six months until now.
"Finally, the Silver-Fox," A voice calls out from above. "Let me tell you trying to lock onto your signal has been a right pain in my ass, got a confused man just before you, smartly dressed." He frowns. "Looked sort of like you, actually, less grey though, anyway, doesn't matter-"
Graham opens his eyes and stares up at a man he hasn't seen in months, not since the day the man in question pulled him into a snog and hug. "Captain Jack?"
"The one and only," He smiles widely down at him. "You know, usually when people are lying beneath me, it's for an entirely different reason, if you catch my drift."
"No, I really don't, and I'm not sure I want to know if I'm honest," Graham complains, sitting up and rubbing a hand over the back of his head, wincing. "Why'd you scoop me again?"
Jack tilts his head to the side before extending a hand down towards Graham for him to accept. He yanks Graham into a standing position, eyes flicking over his body before landing on his head. "Sorry 'bout that, rough landing," He shrugs, turning to walk away. "Faulty scoop, and you," He jabs Graham in the chest lightly. "Don't have as many Artron particles on you, couldn't lock onto them, had to do it the old fashion way."
"Old fashion way?" Graham blinks.
"Little bit of your DNA," Jack answers. "Had it from you."
"You had my DNA?"
Jack glances back, smirking. "We kissed."
"Oh, uh," Graham splutters, reddening at the mention of that. "I'll have you know that it was you who snogged me, more like."
"You didn't put up a fuss though, Silver-Fox," Jack winks, and Graham flushes a deep red, mind dragging up the fact that Jack is very much correct. He never did put up a fuss. "But that's not why I scooped you." He moves his hand to his wrist, fingers flicking across it. "It's about the Doctor."
Graham's eyes close, and his heart sinks, hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes at the mention of her name. "Oh, mate, you don't know?"
Jack quirks an eyebrow at Graham, mystified. "Know what?"
Graham's hands tap at his side, swallowing thickly. "About how our last trip ended." Jack's eyebrow remains quirked at Graham. "She-" Graham exhales, stepping closer, hand reaching out to Jack and taking his arm. "She died, she took a bomb and saved the universe, but she died doing it." Jack frowns at Graham, eye narrowing. "I'm sorry, but it's been six months for us if we knew- Well, I would've found a way to tell people, you know?"
"She's dead?" Jack repeats.
"Yeah."
Jack shakes his head, eyes widening. "No, she's-" Jack reaches forward and clasps Graham on both of his arms. "She's not dead."
Graham wriggles in Jack's grip, frowning. "We watched her-"
"Silver-Fox-"
"It's actually, Graham-" Graham corrects, more on instinct.
"I like Silver-Fox," Jack smiles. "And she's not dead, well not that I know off."
And Graham can't help but wonder if this is simply some strange reaction to finding out that his friend is dead. "Are you okay?"
"Perfectly fine," Jack continues, before pulling Graham into a surprise hug. "And so is the Doctor-"
Graham struggles in the hold. "What are you talking about?"
Jack leans away, releasing a baffled Graham. "Well, she's not fine, not really, but she's alive."
"She's alive?" Graham replies, eyes wide. "But she blew up-"
"Did you watch her die?"
"Well, no-"
"Then never believe what you think is true, Silver-Fox," Jack cuts him off. "She's been arrested and imprisoned."
"Arrested?" Graham's brows knit tightly together. "By who?"
"You know them,"
"I do?"
Jack nods, glancing up at Graham. "The Judoon," He shrugs. "Finally caught up to her."
"Are you sure?"
"What?"
Graham stares at Jack. "Are you sure she's alive?" He steps closer. "I'm not going back to Earth and telling Ryan and Yaz that's she alive when she ain't, to do that would be cruel, I can deal with it if you're mistaken, it'll hurt, but I can deal with it, but them, I wouldn't give them that heartache."
Jack's face morphs, taking on an earnest expression. "She's alive, Graham," He states. "And I know where she is."
"Where?"
"You wouldn't know, but I figured it out-"
"If you figured it out then why haven't you scooped her out, why did you scoop me?"
Jack flicks his eyes between the device on his wrist and then back up to Graham. "Can't."
"You can't?"
"I only just managed to scoop you," Jack points out. "Some of the most secure systems in the galaxy surround her; I can't even get in with this." He taps the device. "Need something else, stronger."
Graham's eyes narrow. "Like a TARDIS? Would that work?"
Jack snaps his eyes to Graham. "She sent you back with hers?"
"Well, yes and no," Graham starts. "She sent us back in a TARDIS, but it wasn't hers, just another one." He shrugs, arms slapping against his side. "We tried to figure out how it works, but we don't even know where to start with it."
Jack watches Graham. "Oh, I could kiss you right now-" He smirks. "-or again, but that's really not what I need you for right now, maybe later if you're free-"
"Get back onto why you scooped me," Graham interjects. "I was about to have my dinner."
"Well, you never said what year you were from, or well, the exact date," Jack points out. "So, I knew scooping one of you would answer my question."
"Oh."
"And you just happened to be the one that was easier to do it too," Jack says. "All I need you to do now is tell me the date, and we can go from there."
"How are you going to us back to Earth if you don't have a TARDIS?"
"Simple," Jack beams, waving his wrist. "Vortex Manipulator, a quick hope through space will get us where we need to go."
Graham nods after a moment. "It's the 7th of August, 2020."
"Place?"
"Sheffield."
"That's a big place, Graham."
"Park Hill, then."
Jack nods as he extends a hand out to Graham. Graham stares at it before taking it. He allows the man to direct his hand onto the device. "This will be a bit of a bumpy ride."
"No worse than usual?" Graham snarks. "Because the Doc's flying really is a hazard."
"You'll see," Jack grins. "Sheffield here we come then." He says, pressing Graham and his hand down onto the Vortex Manipulator, and in an instant Graham for a second time in a matter of hours feels the world yanked from under his feet.