Clara was up early getting ready for her lecture. Yaz was still sleeping and she was hoping she will continue to do so until she comes back in few hours. She wanted them to fully enjoy in a day but for that to happen she needed Yaz to rest. Although she was still worried that without proper equipment she's missing something and had to push that through at the back of her mind if she was to enjoy in this holiday. She got dressed and kneeled next to the bed moving a strain of hair from her face.

"I love you Yasmin" she kissed her head and walked out of the room


When Yaz woke up Clara was still out. She found a note on the table.

"If you are reading this I'm still at the lecture, and it means I miss you and I'm worried about you. Please text me and call your mum. Also press zero on a phone next to the bed, they speak English and order yourself some breakfast.
I love you Yasmin xx"

"P.S. there's something for you underneath the pillow xx"

She went to the bed and lifted the pillow. She smiled as she picked up a brochure for Pompeii then attached the note to the mirror and text Clara straight away then called reception and finally her mum.

"Yaz...thank god...how are you feeling?"

"Better mum...don't worry"

"What happened? Clara says you passed out"

"Yeah...it's scary but I'm fine I'm more embarrassed about throwing up in front of her to be honest...I just wanna die"

"Don't be silly Yaz it's all a part of life I'm sure eventually she will in front of you as well"

"I suppose you're right just still feels brutal"

"Where's Clara?"

"On a lecture she should be back soon. We are going to Pompeii today"

"Aaaa that's nice...bring me that stone you promised"

"I promised you a gift not a stone but I'll get you both. Oh my breakfast is here mum"

"Alright baby call me again later don't let me worry Yaz please you're miles away"

"I will promise I gotta go love ya" she said opening the door

"Love you too honey"

She took the tray and sat down at the table eating breakfast looking through the brochure and then went to the bathroom. As she stood in the shower she thought about what she saw when she passed out, she probably would have forgotten or even dismissed it by now if it hadn't been there constantly somewhere in the background. It wasn't bad at all, it was even strangely comforting. It was a beautiful sunny day and when she got dressed she opened the window of their room. The smell of sea air and some unusual plants entered the room. She could have sworn the air smelled like rosemary. It was so surreal to be in Rome, in fact it was unreal to be out of the UK all together. Yaz leaned against the window seat, enjoying just watching the people on the street below and tried to look pass the buildings as far as she could. Normally, she would just get dressed and go out, take a walk or sit down for a coffee, but she wasn't brave enough to do that in another country where she didn't know the language, so she decided to wait for Clara instead. She hoped that after spending a day just walking around, she would be more comfortable going out on her own. But for now it was interesting enough to watch people go about their daily lives in a foreign country. Her phone rang and it was Clara, she immediately felt her heart skip a beat because it meant she was going back to the hotel.

"Hey lovely" Clara said cheerfully

"Hey love...where are you?"

"On my way in a cab. Why don't you wait for me downstairs in front of the hotel if you're ready to go. I'll literally be there in ten minutes"

"Yeah alright then"

"Brilliant ...love ya"

"Love you too...see you"

She hang up and quickly gathered all her things and shoved them into her small leather backpack then grabbed her jacket from the chair. She hoped that wearing just her black jeans and t-shirt with a spring leather jacket would be fine for the weather, and trainers seemed like a comfortable choice for today.

"Madam, I hope you feel better today" a lady at the front desk addressed her as she came downstairs

"I do...my god that was embarrassing yesterday. Thank you so much...you were so kind to me"

"It happens more than you think mam...It's nothing out of the ordinary for us"

"Oh I left a tray from my breakfast in the room"

"It's ok mam, don't worry about it. Someone will clean the room anyway later on"

"Thank you...have a nice day" Yaz smiled and waived to the lady as she headed outside.

"Hey...what's a cute girl like you doing here all by herself?" Clara grins from the open window of the cab as it pulled up by the hotel

"Oh I don't know, waiting desperately for her wife I suppose" Yaz laughs

"Get your but in here" she laughs opening the door

"Hey babe" Yaz hugs her tight as she sat in a car

"So ready to have a nice day?" Clara wraps her fingers around the side of her neck and kisses her forehead

"Mmmm...definitely....waaaw don't you look vintage today...Me like this look" she flipped her lashes

Clara looked like she stepped out of a 1930s archeological site in calf-length badge pants and brown boots. She had gorgeous chocolate braces over a bright shirt with rolled up sleeves and it all looked so chic that Yaz was already drooling before they even left the hotel. There was something about the way Clara dressed that Yaz absolutely couldn't resist from the day she met her. But then Clara was no different with her when Yaz would on rare accessions put on a dress. She would see her eyes ginseng and her hands would uncontrollably wonder off on places where normally they never would in public, as if Clara would for a moment not be aware of their surroundings.
Clara was giving instructions to the cab driver waving her hands around and Yaz could see he was rolling his eyes completely unimpressed with what ever she was saying to him. She could make out he was protesting quite vocally but she became even more vocal in return until the man just simply gave up and as far as Yaz could tell sounded as he was swearing. Finally Clara turned towards her.

"Sorry about that Yaz....How are you feeling?"

"For now fine...no nausea today...thank fuck for that...I really can't deal with that. I'm so sorry about yesterday...that was so embarrassing"

"Nonsense Yaz...stop that. I'm just glad you're feeling better today. That's the most important thing"

"So what are we doing today?" 

"I thought we have a little walk around. I wanna show you few places and we can sit for a coffee. I haven't had one today and I really need it. I haven't slept much last night"

"Oh god...now I feel even worse"

"And now I wish I haven't said that...I'm fine just need a coffee that's all. The train for Neples basically  goes every half  hour so we can leave around one and iff you're hungry we can have some nice lunch just before we leave"

"I'm basically leaving all of this to you...it all sounds greit"

"Aaaa here we are" she said happily looking through the window then payed still unhappy driver "Oh, Yaz you will love this"

They stepped out of the car and in few minutes of walking found themselves in front of the massive fountain.

"Fontana di Trevi darling" she took her hand and pulling her "Isn't that just stunning?"

"OMG that's the biggest thing I've ever seen in my life" she smiled "It's beautiful"

"It was designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing 26.3 meters high and 49.15 meters wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world Yaz"

"Absolutely stunning and I will so forget all those things you've just said" she giggled "OMG look at the horses...my god"

"Hey make a wish" Clara gives her a coin "..toss it in there" she nods her head

"Alright" she closed her eyes and flings the coin into the water

"So?...What did you wish for?" Clara grins close to her face

"Nooooo....can't say my wish out loud"

"Oh, we can where I come come from" she said disappointed "I hope it had something  to do with me..."

"It had everything  to do with you" she squeezed her face between  her palms giggling

"Awwww, now that  just made my day Yaz...Come on...loads more to show you" she grabbed her hand and pulled her away

It was sunny and hot. They walked through most sites and did some shopping for souvenirs, had a nice coffee near the fountain that made Clara ping right back into her hyper self then headed towards Forum Romanum. Yaz took tons of photos and some goofy selfies with her and Clara.

"I haven't been here since Julius Caesar" Clara said as they walked through the Forum "It was all a bit different then"

"You still give me a brain ache when you say stuff like that...It must be weird ...walking on a bunch of ruins now"

"Mmm...I suppose I sort of got used to it with time...Also I could  always go back...Hey did I tell you when I was at Caesars party.."

She told her loads of stuff about Rome being her little guide again as usual.

"Hey come here" she pulled her hand to jump on one of the massive slabs of stone and stood behind her "Close your eyes"

"Whaaaaa?"

"Go on...close your eyes" she wrapped her hands around her and spoke into her ear almost whispering "Now imagine buzzing streets, it's hot, really hot...sun burning from the sky...smell of rosemary and lavender in the air....wooden carts, there on left can you see men walking in their shiny togas, and on right there's a kid running for a lecture...he's terrible late and his teacher is gonna be so upset, see the horses...can you hear their hooves on the stone, and those women on corner laughing...look how beautiful their dresses are and their hair braded falling over their shoulders"

"It's beautiful" Yaz sighed

"I know...it was"...she kissed her cheek "too bad they were insatiable" she grinned sideways

"Well that killed the magic" Yaz rolled her eyes

"It's true Yaz...Rome could've been potentially something good...but they were obsessed with ruling the world. They actually doomed themselves. But it was magnificent in many other ways"

She hoped down from the stone and reached out for Yaz's hands.

"I still wish I could see it how it was then. It must have been beautiful"
"It was...I'm hungry...you hungry?"

"Yeah definitely"

The day passed very quickly between sightseeing in the center of Rome and lunch. At last they reached Pompeii. As they passed through the main gate, Clara's heart grew heavy, but she kept a brave face the whole time. It almost seemed like they were the only ones there once, just the odd tour group that passed them by. Yaz was happily hoping with her phone, snapping loads of photos and going into almost every house she could. But Clara continued to drag her feet through the dust, the ash still present on the ground. Most of the time she kept her head down, her hands deep in her pockets. Suddenly she saw the house, the bread oven still there, the whole inside the stone where the pots with food would be placed over the fire. She went inside and ran her hand over the stone warmed by the sun and remembered the stalls and the people, the smell of food in the air. Her eyes turned to Yaz and suddenly she saw Donna in a blue dress.

"You alright?" Yaz placed her hand on her shoulder blade making her jolt

"Ha?...Ahh..Yeah" she smiled "Sure...why wouldn't I be?"

"You're very quiet since we came here. Is something bothering you?"

"No lovely ...nothing bothering me" she takes her hand "Let's go"

She wanted to tell her, she desperately wanted to share every bit of herself with this woman she loved so much. But how to say such things. How to even explain the choice she had to make, which ended up killing 20,000 people and turning this beautiful place to ashes. How can you begin to explain what it's like to walk on the remains of your past, while your lungs breathe in all the pain, death and sadness, and the screams that you will never let out of your head. After that night she never came to this place again. And she knew it would be a challenge. She also knew that she owed it to those who died that night to come to this place and face it, not run away from it like a coward. She knew she had to finally own it. She also knew she hasn't caused it directly but nevertheless it was her hand that made that choice.

Yaz was silent for a while, just holding her hand and walking around. She knew she was lying and was intelligent enough to put two and two together that this place was somehow connected to her past. But she also respected her decision not to share it. She knew that one day she would, only today was not that day. So she rubbed her thumb on one side of her hand, subtly letting her know she understood, and when Clara turned she smiled slightly and rubbed her face against his shoulder.

"Hey...let me show something beautiful" Clara said and pulled her along

Shortly they entered a house that wasn't like the others. It was almost fully preserved and fountains were working in a little courtyard. Beautiful frescoes adorned the walls and stunning mosaic could be still seen on the floor.

"Look darling, do you know what this room is?"

"No"

"It's called lararium. It was a shrine to the guardian spirits of the Roman household"

"Waaaw...so this was where they were praying?"

"Yes love"

"Feels almost intruding to be here now when I know what it is. But also like the place where they are most present"

"That's so true Yaz...Should we say something?"

"Yes...What would you say?"

Clara signed and looking up to the ceiling "That I'm so sorry for what happened and I do hope they found their piece in Elysian Fields...What about you Yaz...what do want to say to them?"

"Thank you for the privilege of walking through your home and allowing me to be a small part of your life. I hope you're happy wherever you are now" she turned to Clara and smiled

"That's beautiful...let's go...much more to see"

"Aaaaa....is this what I think it is?" Yaz pointed to the rather graphic fresco on the wall of one of the houses

Clara laughed "Yeeeah...about that Yaz...This is Lupanar"

"The lupa what?" she frowned confused

"Brothel Yaz" she laughed

"Are you serious?"

"Oh yeah...prostitution was legal in Rome so, yeah...this is the house of pleasure Yaz"

"OMG those are really graphic" she stood in front of one of the frescoes studying it for a minute "It almost looks like a menu" she said looking at others making Clara laugh

"Right...well...it was really. Sailors didn't necessarily speak the language so they would...well pick the service sort of speak...they were definitely not shy in this place Yaz"

"Blimey..." she started laughing

"Should we continue?"

"Sure...your cheeks are really flushed babe I think it's too hot here" Yaz smirked passing next to her

"Cheeky bugger" she pushed her outside to the stairs "We should head back soon...it's getting really late" she said taking her hand "And you need to rest. It's been a long a day for you Yaz"

"Alright...but first help me pick a nice stone for mum"

In Clara's mind there was nothing appealing about having a stone from a place like this. But it was a human thing to do and she learned a long time ago to simply go with it.

Yaz fell asleep on her shoulder in the train on the way back. She was looking out the window and felt a little lighter inside. It was hard thing to do, but she did it and the heavy burden she carried on her shoulders felt much lighter for time being.

When they arrived at the hotel it was already late and Yaz was half asleep. She had slept on the train, but the feeling of nausea the night before had taken a lot out of her, and now she seemed to just be lethargic. She rubbed her face against Clara's back as she unlocked the room. That made her smile as she literally draped herself over her back.

"Oh boy, someone needs to sleep" she smiled

"Mmmmm....I need a shower"

"We both do. I've been in these clothes since six in a morning" she said throwing a key on a table

She casually pulled the straps over her shoulders letting them fall down her sides and unbuttoned her shirt pulling it out of trousers. "Well, at least I have no lecture tomorrow so we have a whole day"

"I can't tell you how happy I am for that" Yaz took her trousers off stepping out of them on the floor and slumped on the bed

"If you do that Yaz you're gonna fall asleep in a five seconds"

"Aaaaaarrrhhh....I know...you're right...I just need to reach that bathroom" she rolled on the bed looking towards the door

"Come on sloth" Clara took her hand dragging her across the bed until she finally got up "I ordered dinner so get your bum up before it arrives"

They took a shower and got changed then sat on a floor next to the bed enjoying in their dinner.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Yaz asked but Clara's face was in her phone

"Ha?...What?...Sorry Yaz" she said holding a phone in one hand and a chicken nugget in another "I just had someone text me" she put the phone down on a floor

"Tomorrow? What's the plan?"

"Oh...just though we go around few more places I wanna show you...Castel Sant'Angelo...stunning...I think you'd like that one"

"Another castle...you do like your castles don't you?"

"I must admit I do...Some are absolutely stunning...Are you gonna eat this or?" she points to Yaz's plate

"Noooo...eat it" she laughs "I know you desperately want to"

"Just asking"

"Eat silly...I had enough"

Clara grinned haply and exchanged the plates

"I still can't get over how much you eat"

"Mmmm...I do love my food Yaz" she tried talking with her mouth full

"You do seem a lot happier than earlier" Yaz said leaning over and moving her hair tucking it behind her ear

"I don't have nice memories from that place Yaz"

"I figured that much...I just don't understand why did you take me there. You could've said something you know. I wouldn't get upset"

"Neah...It's alright Yaz. I needed a closure" she took her hand and kissed her knuckles

"I just hope you got one" she sat on the floor, legs crossed looking at Clara going through her plate satisfied

"What's wrong Yaz?...Why did you go so quiet?"

"Tiered I guess" she puffed and slumped her shoulders then took her phone and started flipping through the photos "You look cute there"
she turned the phone and Clara scrunched her face then dragged her bum across the floor to sit next to her and go through the photos.

"Aaaaaa...I remember that street Yaz" she pointed "There was a beautiful store there and in front of it they were selling some fabrics rolled up in kinda big braids...like the once you make with your hair"

"Cool"

"Oh, there were so many people, it was buzzing...and loads of fruit and vegetables on stands...oh Yaz I wish you could see it" her eyes glistened as she spoke

"You're cute" Yaz kissed her forehead smiling

"And this one is really pretty one of you Yaz...send me that one" Clara pointed on her screen

Yaz watched her sit on the floor and wave her hands, explaining every detail and every single person she saw on the street in minute detail. She shone with so much life and light that for a moment she seemed like a sweet child explaining how their day at Disney Land went. She saw that almost childlike innocence come off her, which was so beautiful and warm like a great bright spark of happiness. But she couldn't help feeling that it was somehow dampened by what had happened to her throughout her life and made Yaz so sad.

"Come on get a shift on...you need sleep" Clara got up and reached for her hands

"Yes mummy"

"Now that just doesn't sound right Yaz" she laughed and pushed her on a bed

Yaz pulled her by the arm on the bed and they ended up wrestling and hitting each other with pillows like they were 10 years old. Clara began to tickle her so much that Yaz screamed the house down.

"They're going to throw us out" Yaz was laughing "Get offfff meee!"

"You started it" Clara smuged sitting on her holding both of her hands above her head "Say you give up"

"Never!" Yaz giggled

"I'll tickle you till you do"

"Don't you fuckin dare ..." she tried fighting her off kicking her legs "Aaaaaa..." she yelled

"Say you give up" Clara giggled as Yaz was rolling trying to get her off

"I never.....aaaaaarrrhhhhh....give up" she was about to piss herself "Clara I'll piss myself...not joking"

"You just want me to let you go"

"Noooo I am legit gonna piss right now iff you don't let me go"

She let her go and Yaz ran to the toilet "Nutter!!!...And so not fair fight...you're stronger"

Clara laughed "Well your opponent is not always gonna be the same size or strength Yaz" she said casually rolling on her back

"Clearly " she rolled her eyes laughing

Clara got up and switched all the lights off then crawled into bed. She was tiered, being up since six in the morning and not having more than 3 hours sleep the night before was definitely catching up with her. Yaz glued herself to her back kissing the back of her neck and rubbing her face into her shoulder blade.
Clara kissed her knuckles and placed her hand over her chest.

"Sleep now...need to rest. Love ya"

"Love you too...Nightie night"

"Mmmm" Clara mumbled and fell asleep within a minute

Yaz felt her breathing slowly and she twitched just a little as she was falling deeper into sleep. She wondered what she was dreaming.

 

....

 

Early in the morning, Yaz was taking a shower, and Clara just took the tray with their breakfast. She sat down at the small table drinking her coffee, then looked towards the bathroom and picked up her phone

"Hey...sorry...I couldn't talk last night"

"That's fine...I've got some stuff. Not sure iff that's what you're looking for. When can you meet me?"

"Fancy a trip to Rome?" she grins and takes a bite of the toast

"Uuuuuu romantic"

"I've always been romantic Jack" she laughs "One hour... by Pantheon? There's a nice place opposite Agrippa"

"Deal"

"Who's Jack?" Yaz comes out of the bathroom wrapped up in a towel and grabs her wrist stealing her toast

"Are you ear dropping on my phone call" she slaps her bum laughing

"Maybe" Yaz answers cheeky and sits in her lap

"He's a very old friend of mine Yaz" she kisses her shoulder "I need to meet up with him for about an hour just to pick something up from him"

"Let me guess....he used to travel with you"

Clara started laughing slumping her forehead on her shoulder "Yes Yaz...he was"

"Bloody hell babe, have you been running inter stellar traveling agency or what?" Yaz said casually sipping a tea making Clara laugh like crazy into her shoulder.

"Silly sod....No Yaz...Remember Torchwood I was telling you about"

"Mmmm...the queen's secret alien police"

Clara just couldn't stop laughing "Yes Yaz that one...well, Jack works for them"

"Oh...I see...more spy friends....Right"

"So...listen..." she wraps her arms around her "Jack is helping me to get to some information. Remember when Kate called me that morning"

"Mmmm...when you were sneaking out of the house and I caught you"

"Yeah...not proud of that one...But yes...well, it's regarding that and it's really important"

Yaz sighed and leaned on her in a chair "I do wish you just fucking say everything and get it off your chest"

"I love you" Clara nozzles her face into her hair

"I know you do...I just fucking hate to see you in all this pain that's all"

"Come on lovely...let's get moving. You're gonna like Jack"

 

....

 

They arrived at Piazza della Rotonda, but there was still a little time left, so Clara took her too to see another beautiful place that would leave her speechless.

"Pantheon...temple of all the gods Yaz" Clara said as they walked inside of impressive building "Look up darling"

"Woooow...that's just stunning....But it looks like a church"

"Originally it's built as a temple of all the gods, then it was converted into a Catholic church at the beginning of the 7th century Yaz.  The Pantheon is an architectural marvel, the most impressive ancient temple in Rome. Its dome is the world's largest non-reinforced dome, and to this day it is not known how the Romans built it 2000 years ago....Well, it's all mathematics and physics...it's holding itself up really" she shrugs and looks up "Also some amazing buildings skills...But we are still about 50 years from that...It be nice to just pop over and show you"

"Are those graves?" she stood in front of the statue

"The tomb of Raphael....one of the most important artists of the Italian Renaissance...look darling there" she points to the inscription "Here lies Raphael, by whom nature herself feared to be outdone while he lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die."

"That just fucking made me soppy"

"He died very young...he was only 37....And I'm making this depressive so let's move on" she dragged her by her hand
As they went outside and down the steps her face lights up "Jack" she waives

"Doctor" he runs over and kisses her cheek "Hey old girl"

"Did you just call me old?" she frowned

"Yazee sweetie" he turned around happily to completely confused Yaz. She smiled over his shoulder to Clara when he grabbed her hugging her tight

"Alright don't squeeze the life out of her I need her you know" Clara said "Well Yaz...this is Jack as charming as always...a bit cheeky as well so watch out...shall we?"

"So, how's Rome for you two? City of love" he winked at Clara

"It's been really nice, just not enough time...Never enough time Jack...I feel like I've been dragging Yaz around as many places as I possibly can in just two days...I can't decide iff she's happy or just exhausted and polite"

"Noooo silly...it's been exiting" Yaz said smiling "I just haven't had time to take it all in. We went to I think seven places yesterday. And half of them I can't even pronounce the names of...Also this one is like encyclopedia and my brains combusted from all the information"

"Oh that's her alright....or when she says something so fast and just walks away...and you're left there wondering...did I get that right?"

"And that...Mind you...you've been tiered yesterday" she looked at Clara lovingly "She's been up all night with me on Friday."

"She was ill when we came...passed out on me in a toilet"

"OMG sweetie...but you seem better now?" Jack asked exchanging worried looks with Clara for a moment
"I am...thank god for that...I would hate to ruin this holiday"

They sat down and ordered food. Yaz took an instant liking to Jack. He was brash, but he seemed extremely warm and kind. She also noticed that out of all the people she had met so far, he was the most open to Clara and kept messing with her. She saw another side of Clara that she had never seen before.

"Excuse me...I just need to go to..." Yaz pointed

"Yeah sure Yaz go ahead darling" Clara said

"She's so different" Jack said as Yaz left the table

"She is and she isn't...I can't decide. She's like a little scared rabbit and it pains me Jack. I just wanna put her in my pocket and keep her safe"

"We're gonna fix it...you'll see. Most important is that she's here and that you're here...By the way, here you go" he slides a usb stick across the table "It's all there...I hope it helps...but we are still digging...we're not done"

"Tell me quickly Jack" she looked over his shoulder making sure Yaz is still inside and leaned over the table

"There was a woman....several years ago...same MRI scans like Yaz...no memory of who she was or where she's been. It was like she was literally dumped on a side of the road. The research was inconclusive but all the information is there...it might help to compare"

"What happened to the woman?"

"She was killed...we were to late. You have her full file on it....everything we know about her"

"Who killed her Jack?"

"Organization called Black Phenix...I gave you all the info about them as well...the little we know"

"I really appreciate this Jack"

"You know I'll do anything for you" he tapes her hand that was laying on a table

"I know...So anything new since we last spoke?"

"Neah...same old stuff. We stumbled  on someone making drugs out of alien plants...they had a whole greenhouse filled with it. People tripping all over the place. So when we got there I got spat on by this disgusting plant we found...it gave me rash for a week"

"Oh Jack...it's Nannanoo...highly toxic when agitated...But if you sing to it totally harmless...I've got something for that you should've called"

"Of course you do....Why am not surprised" he laughed

"Hey you two...sorry...my god it's like half of fucking world went to the same toilet" Yaz winged

"I wondered where you were. I was gonna look for you in a minute" Clara brushed her finger over her cheek

"Jack...tell me about Torchwood?" Yaz asked glancing cheeky over to Clara who just shook her head amd rolled  her eyes

"Don't mind me here Yaz...go ahead" she leans back into a chair

Jack looks at Clara for for a second smirking then goes back to Yaz "We mostly remove all alien technology that can be misused. There's a lot of it going around...you'd be surprised what's out there. And catch some bad guys from all over universe who happen to come here. You should come and visit Yaz"

"I'd love to...And how come you no longer travel with Clara?"

"She dumped me" he laughed

"Oi...I did no such thing" she jumped like someone stick a hot poker at her

"Are we going over that again?"

"I had no choice Yaz...you're a fixed point in time" she says defensively "...besides I also didn't trust you then"

"What's a fixed point in time?" Yaz frowned trying to follow the conversation

"Right...so you dumped me" Jack turns to Yaz "See she didn't trust me and I felt...yucky"

"You did not feel yucky...just weird ...there's a difference...it was giving me a head wonk and not in a nice way. He can't die Yaz" Clara finally answers her question

"He fucking what?"

"Yap...I can't Yaz...ever" he smiles

"Fuck!...And I thought I was marring a physics professor...but hay X-files is just fine"

"You are marring a physics professor Yaz" Clara said

"More like a Kinder Egg surprise if you ask me...Why can't you die?"

"Long story Yaz....no time now" Clara scrunched her face

"Her ex girlfriend brought me back to life in a wrong way"

"I'm fucking regretting I even asked now"  Yaz shook her head

"Oi! ..She wasn't my girlfriend" Clara points a finger at him

"Alright then....a close friend you fancied then" Jack smugs

"So where is this not girlfriend now?" Yaz was trying to make sense out of mess half regretting she even asked the question but half really happy she did

"Long story Yaz" Clara says

"I bet it is" Yaz raised her eyebrow

"Ejjj...what do you mean?" Clara jumped

"She got stuck in another dimension" Jack says to Yaz

"She fucking whaaaaa???"

"I did do the best that I could to resolve it though" Clara shrugs

"Bloody hell...Do you two always talk to each other in this way?"

"Absolutely Yaz" Clara said

"If she ever become polite I'd think she stopped loving me" Jack winks

"Well I definitely understand why you two don't travel together" Yaz said whilst still trying to process the chaotic conversation

"Aaaa...here's the food" Clara smiled

 

....

 

They said their goodbye to Jack then Clara took Yaz to see Catel Sant'Angelo. After walking around for an hour and taking tons of silly photos, they stopped on one of the highest levels of the castle by a stone wall overlooking Rome. A light breeze and the spring sun hit their faces..

"Look at that Yaz...like having a whole Rome in a palm of your hand" Clara said looking at the horizon

Yaz relased they were completely alone and came up behind her leaning her head on her shoulder "Thank you for this trip...it's been amazing"

Clara looked at her sideways smiling "I told you we will have a nice time" she kissed her shortly "If I can't show you the stars I can at least show you the whole Earth" she brushed her nose on her cheek

"It will take you years" Yaz smiled squeezing her arms around her chest

"I'm counting on it" she smiled "There's one more place I want to take you before we go home" 

"Alright love"

 

....

 

"Are you fuckin braking into coliseum?" Yaz asked shocked as Clara took her sonic out and opened one of the small doors at the back of the massive structure

"Nooo...we are just letting ourselves in" she smirked and opened the door "After you lovely " she looked around and closed the door behind them

It was already dark and no one was there. Only lights that illuminate an impressive space. Clara took her hand and they stood in the middle looking up and around

"My god...how terrifying must have been to stand here not knowing if you will live or die" Yaz said sadly

"It was...and you never knew what will come through those doors either" Clara pointed "I always hated killing for sports...Well I hate killing all together...but I still admire the architecture of the stone masons and mathematicians. It is a shame their talents we used for cruelty" she took her hand "Come let's go up"

They climbed to the highest level and sat down on stone slabs. Yaz made herself comfortable, resting her head on Clara's lap and watching the stars in the sky. It was quiet and the stones were still warm from the sun. She was tired and her eyes slowly closed as Clara told her stories about lost times. Her fingers gently caress her forehead and lull Yaz to sleep.

"You're falling asleep love" Clara smiled and tapped her nose

"Mmmm....I am...it's so nice"

"It is...it's so still" she looked up in the sky "Come on...let's go darling. We are leaving really early and I don't want you being ill again"

"Alright love"

 

....

 

 

Yaz fell asleep waiting for Clara to come out of the bathroom. She lay in bed going through all the photos on her phone and posting some of them on her Instagram until she fell asleep with the phone in her hand. Clara came out of the bathroom and slowly took her phone. She saw the photo of the two of them by the fountain and all the hearts that Yaz had edited on it with the caption "My Favorite Person" which made her hearts skip a beat. She placed it on the side table and snuggled up to Yaz who was fast asleep on her back like a pancake. She was so out of it that she didn't make a sound when Clara wrapped herself around her like a koala and buried her face in her neck.

"I love you so much Yasmin Khan"

"Mmmm," Yaz mumbled and crossed her arms over her back

It was one of the rare nights when Clara fell asleep calm and happy. Her hearts were filled with so much love. She wondered if that love was slowly eating away at her pain and healing her from the inside. Because it finally started to feel that way.