Chapter Text
Embers danced above the flames in the darkness by the time Yaz and the Doctor made it to the bonfire. They sat beside each other, but the Doctor angled away from Yaz when Arlo came to sit next to her. The rest of the group were chatting and seemed to be enjoying their evening, but neither Violet nor Farrin were in sight; she should check in with Dan.
“Hi Yaz,” said Arlo.
Yaz smiled, typing a quick message before she turned her full attention to them.
[Yaz] Update?
“Sorry. I’m just asking Dan if he’s okay.” Her phone buzzed before Arlo could respond. Yaz gave them a sheepish smile.
[Dan] That done inside advises cabin
At least this one was decipherable. And if they’d gone into another cabin, Dan wasn’t currently in danger. She relaxed.
“Is he?” asked Arlo.
Yaz nodded. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Good,” said Arlo. “But it’s not safe here, right? We’re still thinking of leaving. Reba’s really worried.”
Yaz shook her head. “I don’t think it is safe, no. And people going missing isn’t exactly an endorsement for the workshop.”
“What about you and the Doctor? Will you come with us?”
Yaz tried to keep her mind on her conversation with Arlo, but memories of kissing the Doctor, twice, and of being pressed against her in that wardrobe, surfaced when Arlo mentioned her.
At least she had a bit of that space she’d been hoping for. Sort of.
Yaz gave her a small smile. “Nah. Whenever we spot people in trouble, we always try to help.”
Arlo smiled. “I thought you’d say something like that. If me and Reba do stay, count me in if there’s anything you need help with.”
“Tha—” Yaz started.
Apart from Yaz, the Doctor, and Bastian, the group stood almost as one, and began to dance. Arlo span and whirled, still smiling at Yaz. Yaz frowned at them. “Why…?” But Arlo moved away, swaying with the others. Yaz turned to the Doctor. “What’s happening right now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t like not knowing.”
The group danced in time with each other, their feet thumping the ground to create a beat. Was a song playing? Yaz tilted her head to listen. Nothing.
Bastian hurried over to them, rubbing the back of his neck and biting his lip. “Why are they dancing? My dad never dances, but he doesn’t want to stop.”
The Doctor jumped to her feet. “Very odd.” She waved her sonic at them. “Nothing.” She threw her hands up in the air in frustration.
Shoulders tight, Bastian stared at his dad, unblinking. He suddenly looked very young. Yaz stepped closer to him, hoping to calm him. “But look, everyone’s smiling and laughing; they do look like they’re having fun.”
Bastian turned to her, shoulders relaxing slightly. “You think?”
Yaz looked at the group. Wolf and Vine faced each other and seemed to be in their own world, waving their arms above their heads. Kaelyn and Logan had their arms around each other, the happiest Yaz had seen either of them since arriving. Arlo still danced alone, and Owain in particular looked embarrassed at his lack of dancing skill, but he laughed as he twirled under Reba’s hand. “I do. And we’ll find out what’s happening, don’t worry.”
Bastian nodded, thoughtful. “Okay. Yeah. Weird but not scary.” He went back over to his father and sat on the bench closest to him.
She hoped she wasn’t lying to him. “Is there music we can’t hear?” asked Yaz.
“I…” The Doctor paused, listening. “Can you hear anything?”
Yaz tilted her head again. The crackle of the fire and the thump of the dancers’ feet were the only sounds she could hear, but when she shut her eyes, she found her foot tapping along to non-existent music. She opened her eyes. “No, but… I think there is something. Maybe. No. I think it’s just the beat they’re creating by dancing in time.”
The Doctor was silent, lips pressed together and eyes searching the scene as though hoping for more clues.
When Arlo paused in front of Yaz and offered her a hand, Yaz decided that accepting was the best way to ask a few questions. “Why did you start dancing?” she asked Arlo as she was swept up into the movement.
It would be a fun way to let off some steam if it wasn’t so weird. Though Arlo was a good dancer; maybe she could have a bit of fun anyway.
Arlo shrugged. “I was just feeling it.”
“At the same time as everyone else?”
“I guess so. There’s a beat, music, somewhere in the distance. It’s like the notes are being carried here on a breeze. Can’t you hear it?”
Yaz shook her head. She spotted the Doctor watching them with an almost indecipherable expression. It was one she’d only seen when the Doctor talked about the Master, and it darkened further when Arlo’s hands lowered to be placed on Yaz’s hips.
She let herself imagine what it would be like to dance like this with the Doctor. To sway and move with each other. Maybe the outside world would melt away, and it’d just be them. Maybe the Doctor would hold her close.
She scolded herself: thinking like that was only going to make things more confusing. She glanced at the Doctor, who was now slumped in her seat, staring into the bonfire flames. Yaz forced herself to look back at Arlo, the person she was actually dancing with.
Suddenly Yaz remembered Arlo liked her. What if this wasn’t just a dance to them? Yaz didn’t want to lead them on, so she stepped back, thanking them for the dance, then headed to her tent for a breather.
As soon she turned her back on the bonfire, the night air bit at the exposed skin on her face and her hands. She shoved them into her pockets.
Footsteps followed her. “Yaz?” called Arlo as they caught up. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Yaz almost groaned. ‘I’m fine’ sounded far too much like the Doctor. She stopped and turned to face Arlo. “I just needed a break.”
“From me? Or from the dancing?”
Yaz hesitated, then decided just to be upfront about things, bringing her hands out of her pockets to emphasise her words, holding them up in front of her. She really needed to remember to take her gloves with her. “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t leading you on.”
Arlo tilted their head. “You weren’t. You already told me you want to make things work with your wife. Did I do something to make you think…”
Yaz breathed out her relief. “No, you didn’t. I’m just not used to being able to have a proper conversation about how someone feels.”
Arlo took her hand and squeezed. “You know that’s not how it should be, right? I mean, I don’t want to overstep, but I do want to make sure you know that.”
Yaz placed her hand on top of Arlo’s. “I know. The Doctor’s just a bit different to most people. She struggles to articulate her feelings. It’s really frustrating, but it’s also very her. Besides, today has been different. She opened up about a lot of different things.”
Arlo nodded. “I’m pleased for you both. And I hope it keeps going like this. Just, please be careful Yaz. I know we’ve not known each other very long, but I can already tell that you’re an awesome person; I care about what happens to you.”
“Thanks, Arlo.” Yaz smiled. “I think I’m ready to go back now.” Arlo offered their arm, and Yaz took it, making their way to the flames and the now seated dancers. “Wait, when did your music stop?”
Arlo shrugged. “About 10 seconds after you left.”
”And did you follow me before or after that?”
Arlo took a moment to respond. “After. That’s weird, isn’t it.”
When they arrived, Arlo went and sat by Reba. The Doctor was still staring wistfully into the fire, sadness etched into her features, even more than before. “Doctor?” said Yaz, “Are you okay?”
The Doctor gave her a weak smile, “Me? Course. I’m amazing.” But her tone was flat.
Yaz sat beside her. “Please don’t go back to doing that. You can just tell me.” She paused. “If you want to.”
“If you like them you should go for it, you know. Don’t hold back on my account.” Her voice was tight, but she sounded more resigned than angry.
“Doctor, I’m only prepared to say this once, so please listen. They’re nice, they’re beautiful, but, I love you.”
The Doctor’s head snapped up to look at Yaz before shaking her head. “You should try getting to know them more.”
Yaz hissed her response, “I don’t want to kiss Arlo. I want to kiss you.” The Doctor looked away. “Which I know is off the table. But going after someone to get over another is not… well, it’s not me.”
The Doctor nodded, eyes still cast down. “Right. No.” Taking a deep breath, the Doctor turned back to her. “Sorry, it’s just… hard. We should check in with Dan.”
A change of subject after actually answering the question was a much more satisfying end to the conversation than usual. Even if the answer wasn’t.
[Yaz] Where are you? We’re finished here
“Did they all stop dancing at the same moment?” asked Yaz.
The Doctor nodded. “Yes. And there definitely wasn’t any music.” She gritted her teeth, then seemed to make the decision to hide her sadness, becoming cocky instead. “I have exceptional hearing.”
Yaz smiled. “You do. So they were just dancing spontaneously to something only they could hear.” She gestured at the group. “What happened? It has to be related to the missing couples somehow.”
“Definitely. Just not sure how. Yet.”
A photo came through from Dan of a log cabin-style building along with a location pin. Not sparing more than a glancing thought as to how their phones’ GPS worked on an alien planet (presumably it was similar to how their phones worked on an alien planet at all), Yaz showed the picture to the Doctor.
“Let’s go,” said Yaz.
***
Yaz led the Doctor through the darkness, following her phone away from the relative safety of the hall and tents in a direction Yaz hadn’t yet ventured in. She tried to keep her bearings, but it was difficult on an alien planet, in the dark, with the Doctor’s hand in her own. At least there was a pale moon in the sky tonight; it meant she wasn’t completely lost, and using her torch, she could see a couple of metres in front of her.
“Turn it off,” the Doctor whispered. Yaz clicked off the torch and followed her gaze, blinking at the inky night until she saw a glimmer of light through the trees.
“The cabin?” she whispered back.
“I think so.”
Following the glow, Yaz crept through the trees, wincing at every crunch. “Dan?” she whispered. There was no answer despite how close they were to the location pin. “Dan?” she tried again, a bit louder.
“Yaz?” came Dan’s voice, to her left.
As soon as she found him, she clutched his shoulders, “You okay?”
Dan nodded, “I’m fine, though your text almost gave me a heart attack.”
The Doctor watched them with an odd expression, almost like pride. “Are you okay, Doctor?” she asked.
“Me? Yes. Course.” She turned to Dan. “How long ago did they go in?”
“They came straight here after leaving Violet’s cabin. But around 15 minutes ago, there was a really bright purple light in there.”
The Doctor pursed her lips and scanned the building with her sonic. “Hmmm.”
“What does hmmm mean?” asked Dan.
“Looks like a…” She frowned at her sonic again.
It was only a few seconds before Yaz couldn’t bear to wait any longer. “Doctor?”
“It’s a teleport.”
Yaz’s eyes widened. “A teleport to where?”
“I can’t tell.” Her eyes lit up. “Need a closer look!”