darthtella:

@lizziea2 mentioned that Thirteen in Nine’s coat would be a good prompt and my hand slipped… 

And yup… two fics in one day.

Also tagging @doctorroseprompts as there is mentions of Rose in this one.

Read on AO3

Thirteenth Doctor and Friends
All Ages

The Doctor’s Coat

The Doctor was beginning to wonder what was taking Ryan so long to find a coat.  True the instructions on how to get from the console room to the wardrobe were slightly confusing, but she did her best to describe the route as simply as possible.

Yaz and Graham were talking quietly near the TARDIS door.  She smiled at her friends, and reckoned the older man would adopt Yaz given half a chance.  But it didn’t escape her notice that the two of them were looking a bit impatient themselves.

“Think he got lost?”  Yaz wondered aloud.  Graham shrugged.

“Maybe.  Just yesterday I was going to find the kitchen and I walked straight into a garden!”  The Doctor couldn’t help but laugh at that.  Graham turned to her.  “Hey Doc?  How big is this ship anyway?”

“I dunno.”  She shrugged.  “I never did count how many rooms are in this place.  And yeah, sometimes she likes to mix the rooms about for fun.  You said you walked into a garden instead of the kitchen, right?”  She didn’t wait for Graham’s answer.  “The TARDIS probably felt you were a bit stressed so she showed you a garden.”

“I was stressed cos I was hungry!”  The older man cried.  He then looked over the Doctor’s shoulder.  “There you are!”  

“Hey, nice coat!”  Yaz called out.  The Doctor turned and saw Ryan had finally entered the console room.

“Where’d ya get that?”  She asked crossly gesturing to the heavy leather coat Ryan was wearing.  He blinked at her.

“Sorry, I couldn’t find any in the wardrobe that I liked.  But there was this room off to the side, had around twelve coats lined up in a row.  Saw this one and thought ‘why not?’”  Ryan shrugged.

“And let me guess; right next to this one there was this long brown one that you couldn’t fit into because it was it was designed for someone built like a beanpole?  And further down the other way there was one that was a patchwork rainbow?”  The Doctor asked.  Ryan nodded.

“Yeah.  I was wonderin’ about that rainbow one.  Was the person who owned it colourblind or somethin’?”

“Nah, I just thought it suited me.  I was a bit of a nutter back then honestly.  I’d like to think my fashion sense has improved since then.”

Yaz let out an involuntary snort of laughter.

“No offence, Doc, but I can’t see you wearin’ a leather coat.  That rainbow thing, maybe.”  Graham cut in.  The Doctor shrugged.

“I was a different person back then.  It was just after the war and well I probably wasn’t the nicest person… but then I met someone who changed all that.  She made me better.  And I…”  The Doctor trailed off and didn’t realise until now that she had been absently running her hand down the sleeve, inciting a strange look from Ryan. “Oh, nevermind…”

“You loved her, didn’t you?”  Yaz asked softly placing a gentle hand on the Doctor’s shoulder.  The Doctor nodded.  Ryan pulled the coat off and carefully handed it back to her.  She weighed it in her hands.  It was heavy.  It didn’t seem so back then.  Had she changed that much?

“So this coat, it holds a lot of memories for you then.”  Ryan didn’t make it a question. The Doctor nodded again.

“Good ones.  Lots and lots of good ones.”  She smiled.  Then, on a whim she tossed the coat on over her t-shirt.  It didn’t fit her like she remembered, the sleeves were way too long and it almost slipped off her shoulders.  Her friends all shared a look between them and Yaz was the first to dissolve into giggles.

“Still think leather doesn’t suit me, Graham?”  She asked, standing tall with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face.

“Well, maybe we can find you one that fits you better first.”

“What do you mean?  I think I look fantastic.”