#aaunit

Kate Stewart has a lot of conflicting feelings about memory wipes. Meeting - and falling for - Serena Campbell forces her to confront them head on.

'i hope you don't want me to do that' PAL....that tag properly made me laugh, oh man. i can 100% imagine serena saying that

After she wakes up in a cemetery - after being sucked out of a plane and plucked from thin air by her resurrected Cyberman father - Kate insists on being taken to Serena's ward. And after they go home, Kate tells her wife what happened. Post-ep tag to Death In Heaven.

Kategets back at four in the morning, all tense and wired and exhausted, adrenalinequickly draining now she’s alone, now she’s home. Now she’s not Kate Stewart,Head of Scientific Research at UNIT, but Kate Stewart, woman and mother andwife. She drags herself up the stairs, too tired to even try avoiding thecreaks, looks through the open bedroom door and watches Serena stir; the lampis still on and she clearly fell asleep while reading, her book nowhere to beseen but a bookmark discarded on the duvet.

‘You’rehome,’ Serena says hoarsely, eyes just open.

‘Sorry.Didn’t mean to wake you,’ Kate croaks, her throat sore from hours ofnegotiating and barking orders.

Serenashuffles vaguely upright, rubs her eyes and gazes at Kate. She doesn’t knowexactly what’s been going on today – last night, yesterday – but from what Katewas able to tell her over the phone she knows it was a major incident, knowsher wife has probably just saved the planet from war or invasion orannihilation.

‘Comeon, love,’ she says softly, pulling Kate’s pyjamas out from under her pillowand patting the mattress beside her.

Katepushes herself off the doorframe, flicks off the landing light and slowlycrosses the room, limbs and eyelids suddenly heavy with exhaustion. Somehow shestruggles out of her suit, not bothering to pick it up off the floor let alonedrop her shirt into the laundry basket or hang her jacket. Another professionallayer stripped away, another reminder of her day removed.

Wearilyshe pulls on her pyjamas and flops into bed. Serena instantly drapes herselfover Kate, nestles into her and holds her. ‘I’ve got you,’ she whispers, justlike she does after every incident. ‘I’ve got you, darling. Let it all go fornow.’

Fromwhere her head rests on Kate’s chest Serena quietly tells her about the bookshe was reading, her low, beloved voice wiping away more of the stress andchaos and terror of the day with each word.

UntilKate manages to nuzzle into Serena’s hair and press a kiss to the top of herhead, until she manages to wrap her arms around Serena and whisper, ‘I loveyou.’ Until her eyes fall closed and, surrounded by her wife’s arms and scentand voice, she sees only darkness rather than the war room and the threat thathad filled their screens.

Tomorrow– today – she’ll have to take up the mantle again, shoulder the burden ofdealing with the aftermath. For now, though? For now, nothing outside this room– this bed, the circle of Serena’s arms – matters.