A/N: Hey, a fic for a different fandom! How'd that happen? Basically I watched Spyfall and the plot for this just jumped in my head pretty much fully formed and refused to leave. The companions show up in this chapter, but this is a more Doctor and Master oriented fic.

Chapter 1: The plan

Team TARDIS couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, just that there was definitely something off with the Doctor. For five planets she'd been their tour guide and for once the trips were almost pleasant. They visited safe tourist spots and viewed great alien landmarks. The Doctor was especially attentive to Yaz, probably due to her scare on their last big adventure.

But they could all feel she wasn't herself. She pointed things out and smiled, sure, but her manner didn't have that usual manic energy. Her charm and forthright Northern manner were muted too, like someone had taken hold of the Doctor Dimmer Switch and turned it way down.

Then in the evenings they camped in the TARDIS together she was the opposite. Fixing every last part of the engine or any tiny rivet that was askew, trying (and failing) to make good ice tea, staying up longer than anyone else. Filling in silences with cheer that just felt forced. Several times the three of them exchanged looks when the Doctor wasn't paying attention, silently acknowledging the elephant in the room.

That night they surprised her by sleeping over. They had all camped out in rooms on the TARDIS before, and they had all come to an unspoken agreement that they would keep doing that until the Doctor was her usual ebullient self again.

Except that Graham had woken that night and wandered around in search of a glass of water. And when he went to the main room, he found her there.

The Doctor, asleep on the console with the sonic and a wrench in her hand. A heap of gears and oil and mess was laid out in front of her, the latest debris of her hundredth project. He stopped and stared, disturbed. She had told them she didn't need as much sleep as them, but even then she usually took it in her own room... he debated putting a blanket over her, but backed off, oddly fearful of disturbing her.

He took Ryan and Yaz to one side the next morning in his room to tell them about it.

"What, you mean like she'd been working again after we all went to sleep?" Ryan said.

"More than that, I reckon she was doing it until she was too tired to stay awake anymore." Graham folded his arms. "We all agree this isn't normal, right? What should we do?"

"...I think this has something to do with her home," Yaz said.

"Yeah, but she don't want to talk about that. The Doc's probably gonna shut down more if we push her."

"What if we give her some time?" Yaz suggested. "Tell her we need to get back to normal life for a few days, check in with her at the weekend?"

The other two considered, Graham looking the most doubtful. Yaz pressed, "If it's a thing she can't tell us about, she might need space. I'd rather she talked to us, too, but she acts like she's just elsewhere right now."

"She has a mobile, right?" Ryan said suddenly, "It's not like we can't check in with her everyday."

"Right, exactly," Yaz agreed. Graham still looked worried. "What do you think?"

He took a deep breath in before nodding. "Well, all right. After all, she can't get into that much trouble before the weekend." He didn't entirely look like he believed it though, smiling weakly when Yaz rubbed his arm.

The three of them headed quietly out into the control room. The Doctor was already up, tapping away at one of the computer consoles. The three of them slowed down almost in unison, creeping around to see better without making a sound.

Her face was focused, but the air around her was distinctly unhappy. She bit her lip and fidgeted as she worked, almost banging at the keys like her life depended on it. And she looked tired, the look ever more obvious since she didn't realise she was being watched.

Then someone shifted their weight, making enough of a noise that she looked up.

The Doctor spotted them and switched on a smile. "Morning, you lot!" She stood from her seat, movements totally without bounce. "Ready to get a shift on?"

"Actually, Doc..." Graham started, then rubbed the back of his neck, discomfited. The guys looked at Yaz, silently nominating her. She gave them a look back right back, but cleared her throat.

"We were hoping you could drop us back before we left. We just wanted a little time with our-" She cut herself off, feeling that any mention of families or home would be the wrong move right now. "Back in Sheffield, to take care of some... stuff."

"Oh," the Doctor said, looking at each of them in turn. "All right."

And she started to flip switches without so much as a sad puppy dog look. The others exchanged yet another set of alarmed glances. This time Ryan cleared his throat.

"We'll see you again at the weekend, yeah?" he said, trying to catch her eye. "This- this weekend, not one ten years in the future."

She looked up, smiling. "Yeah! Course we will."

"And we'll text you, all the time," Yaz said. "And WhatsApp, I'll make us a group - Team TARDIS!"

A dark cloud passed over her features at the mentioned of WhatsApp before she brightened again. "Yeah. Sounds brill."

"In fact-" Graham grabbed her phone off the console and thrust it into her hand, where she stared at it like it was a paper weight. "Keep it on you all the time, OK? And I - we - want updates so that we know you're all right, OK? If you need help with anything, anything at all," He reached over and closed her fingers around the phone, "You give me a ring, all right, Doc?"

They'd known the Doctor to be hot and cold about physical contact, but right then she just looked blank, like she didn't know what to say. "Yeah," she said again eventually, scronching a bit and trying to sound breezy. "No problem. I know all about technology, I can handle this one jut fine. See?" And she pulled away, slipping the phone in her coat pocket.

Just then there was the familiar groan of brakes and the sensation of motion coming to a stop. The Doctor went to the door, opened it and looked out. "There we go," she said, still staring. "Sheffield. Night you left."

The three companions shared one last anxious look before joining her at the door. Graham cleared his throat and the Doctor scooted over to let them pass. But the three of them lingered still.

"Remember what I said, OK, Doc?" Graham said. The Doctor just raised her eyebrows in mock surprise.

" 'Course," she said, burying hands in her pockets. "I'll see you at t'weekend." And she headed back into the TARDIS, sitting back down where they'd found her.

Reluctantly they all filed out, Graham taking one last look back when he got to the door. The Doctor was watching them go behind the curtain of her hair, then quickly looked away when their eyes met.

The door had barely shut when the TARDIS began the familiar vworp, vworp and disappeared. Yaz sighed a deep sigh all of them seemed to feel.

"Are we doing the right thing here?" Ryan said.

"I don't know. But we'll text her like we said. I'll make a group chat, and we'll take it in turns individually, so we don't come off like we're bombarding her."

"Are you overthinking this just a bit?" Graham asked.

"Um..."

"Yeah, Yaz, we want her to know we care." Ryan nudged her with his shoulder. "We got a plan between us. We gotta trust her and everything will be fine at the weekend."

"Right..."

Together they headed down the street, each trying to push down the bad feeling they had. Yaz kept glancing back, thinking of how close to death she had come at the Master's hands. And the Doctor was the type to put herself in situations like that every single day, except now she was all alone...

Graham squeezed her elbow reassuringly, gesturing to his phone. She nodded, not able to stop herself looking back at the empty spot where the familiar blue phone box had been. Then she shook her head, turning back around and trying to focus on what Ryan and Graham were teasing each other about.

After all, what was the worst that could happen in a couple of days?