Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Little Amelia Pond's life was irrevocably changed the day a sparking blue box crash landed in her front yard.

Praying to Santa about the crack in the wall as she had been, she assumed her prayers were answered, and so she took up her torch and made her way silently down the hall and out into her front yard.

Amelia approached the blue box with a healthy amount of caution, after all, it wasn’t every day an unidentified flying object fell from the sky. A frustrated yell came from the smoking box, and Amelia froze like a deer in headlights.

A grappling hook sped past her head, and dug into the ground next to her. Silence fell, the sounds of the night stilling as if the creatures making them knew something special was happening. Amelia switched off her torch, holding her breath.

She jumped as a soaking wet woman fell out of the box, groaning when she hit the ground. She didn't seem to notice Amelia, instead she pulled herself up to her feet and yelled something odd at the blue box.

“Doctor? Doctor? Are you there?”

A raggedy looking man emerged from the box, and unlike the woman before him, he noticed Amelia almost instantaneously. He pulled himself from the wreckage, and tried in vain to stand up straighter, leaning on the woman's shoulder for support.

“Could I have an apple? All I can think about. Apples. I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving? That's new. Never had cravings before.” The woman finally noticed Amelia, and her expression softened instantly.

“Hello.”

“Are you both ok?” Amelia asked, concerned. The man stumbled a little as a burst of golden energy left his mouth. The woman took his hand gently, a concerned look on her face. He slumped against her, looking ready to pass out.

“We’re fine, just had a little fall inta the library, hell of a climb back up. What are you doing out here at night sweetheart?” The woman replied, her accent pleasant, maybe south Londonish? Wherever it was from, it made Amelia’s stomach feel warm, like she had been wrapped in the world's fluffiest blanket.

She squared her shoulders and stood as tall as she could. “I came out to check on the noise,” Amelia declared. “Why are you soaking wet?”

“We were in the swimming pool," the man responded, although his voice was mostly muffled by the woman's shoulder. Amelia frowned and looked back at the woman.

“But you said you were in the library!” She accused.

The woman shrugged. “So was the swimming pool.”

Amelia considered this. There were, of course, many other much better places for a swimming pool, but a library certainly wasn't the worst on the list, and she supposed it was a better place than a bedroom to keep a swimming pool. Imagine sleepwalking with that!

“Are you the police?” She narrowed her eyes at the strange pair. They didn’t look like police, but who could know for certain, especially in England.

“Did you call for police?” The man questioned, wrenching his head up to look at her.

“Did you come to fix the crack in my wall?”

“A crack in your wall?” The woman inquired, trading a look with the man. His face scrunched up into a frown, then he cried out suddenly, doubling over onto the ground. Amelia and the woman both moved to help him.

“Are you alright Mister?”

His face took on a cheerful look, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Amelia knew that look. It was the look of a grown up who might be lying. “No no, I’m fine. This is perfectly norma-AH!”

Another breath of gold energy escaped from his lips and he gasped, dropping back. The woman pursed her lips, and put both of her hands over his chest. “Still got two hearts, good,” she murmured. Amelia blinked, unsure if she had heard her correctly.

“Two hearts? Who are you?” She demanded.

“I don’t know yet, I’m still cooking!” The man declared, a real smile on his face now. “Does it scare you?”

Amelia frowned. “No, you just look a bit weird. Why would you scare me?”

“I think he means the crack in your wall,” the woman said, removing her hands from his chest.

Amelia worried her lip between her teeth, memories of the voices spilling from the crack terrifying in their vividity. “Yes,” she admitted quietly. “The crack does scare me.”

“Well then, no time to lose!” The man jumped up suddenly, his previous misery transforming into manic energy. “Right, I’m the Doctor, this is Rose. Do everything I tell you, don’t ask stupid questions and please don’t wander off.”

He took off bounding towards her front door, only to smack directly into a big oak tree. He rubbed his nose, an irritated expression crossing his face. “Right. Early days. Steerings a bit off. Was it like this last time Rose?”

The woman, Rose, pursed her lips. “You didn’t even make it out of the TARDIS doors last time, how would I know? Besides, that was two Christmases ago an’- Doctor, wait!”

The Doctor had taken off once again, and was already at the front door. Amelia and Rose started after him. Amelia subconsciously took hold of Rose's hand, finding comfort in her grip. “What's wrong with him?” Amelia asked.

“Nothings wrong with him sweetheart, he just does this sometimes,” Rose reassured, although she didn’t look at Amelia when she spoke.

“He’s weird,” Amelia said matter of factly. At that, Rose laughed.

“Quite right.”

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Truthfully, Rose was rather worried about the Doctor. Sure, this wasn’t his first regeneration with her, and she had experienced losing her Doctor before, but the first time hadn’t been nearly so bad.

For one thing, the TARDIS hadn’t set itself on fire last time, nor had she crashed. Rose grimaced at the thought of their extensive library, destroyed by the flooding.

Did regeneration usually cause this level of destruction, or was this a once off? Was the TARDIS going to be able to repair herself? Would this Doctor still want her with him? So many questions for her no longer pinstriped Doctor, and no answers. He hadn’t gone into a coma this time, and she worried about that. What had he said two years ago, about the neural synapses reconnecting? Wasn’t that important?

She would ask him later. They had forever after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia sat at her family dining table, swinging her legs beneath it. Rose had gone to the bathroom, leaving only her and the strange raggedy man in the kitchen. “If you’re a Doctor, why does your box say police on it?” She asked him as he bit into an apple.

His whole face screwed up in obvious displeasure and Amelia flinched when the chunk of apple he had bitten flew out of his mouth across the room. He wiped his mouth with the back of his shirt cuff. “What,” he said, venom lacing his tone. “Is that.”

“An apple?” The Doctor curled his lip in disgust.

“Apples are rubbish. Bah. I hate apples.” Amelia thought he looked like a cat about to hack up a hairball.

“You said you loved them!” She accused, but he only waved his hand at her.

“No, no, no, no. Yoghourt. I like Yoghourt! Yoghourt’s my favourite, give me yoghourt!”

Amelia hopped up and opened the fridge, digging around until she found a pot of strawberry yoghurt. She passed it to him, and he tore off the lid, throwing it back in one quick gulp.

Then, much like the cat she was suspecting he secretly was, he hacked it right back up. “I hate yoghourt,” he declared vehemently, tossing the container over his shoulder. “It's just stuff with bits in it.”

“But you said it was your favourite?” Amelia was rather confused by the Doctor. She hoped Rose would be back soon. The Doctor wiped his teeth with his tongue.

“New mouth, new rules. It’s like eating after cleaning your teeth, everything tastes wrong,” the Doctor twitched, and made a sound of pain.

“What’s wrong with you?”

The Doctor scowled. “Wrong with me? It's not my fault! Don’t you people have any decent food?”

Amelia thought about it and hopped up, running across to the stove. She pulled out a pot and poured a can of beans into it, sticking it on the stove to heat. The Doctor picked up a towel behind her and began to dry off his hair, wandering around the room, glancing at pictures as he did.

“Doctor, are you really getting a little girl to cook for ya? I thought you were Mister anti-child labour.”

Rose was back! Amelia grinned up at her. “I don’t mind!” She said cheerily, slopping the beans into a bowl. The Doctor chucked the now damp towel at Rose with a grin.

“New taste buds. Have to take them for a test ride, besides, can’t cook with this coordination. Ah, beans! Beans are good.”

Rose and Amelia watched in amusement as he spat them out. “Evil. Beans are evil!” He announced, throwing the bowl over his shoulder. It shattered on the wooden floor, and before Rose could reprimand him, the Doctor shoved his chair out from beneath him, standing.

“AHA!” He cried, swanning past Amelia and Rose back into the kitchen. “I know exactly what I need! I need… I need… hmm.”

He strode towards the fridge and began to pull out different things, not caring where they landed. Amelia peered over his shoulder curiously. “What are you looking for?”

Rose neatly stepped to the side, avoiding a loaf of bread thrown haphazardly over the Doctor's shoulder. She pursed her lips, looking rather vexed. “D’ya need any help or should we just keep dodgin’ perfectly good food?”

The Doctor pulled open the freezer and when he turned to face Rose, his eyes were lit up with glee. “Fish fingers and custard. I need fish fingers and custard!”

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Rose wrinkled her nose at the two of them. Down one end of the table, Amelia was eating mint flavoured ice cream from the tub, a huge ice cream scooper in hand, and in the seat next to Rose, the Doctor was dipping his fish fingers into the custard, looking just about as content as she'd ever seen him, well, at least with this face. She couldn’t deny he was awfully pretty looking, even compared to his pinstriped self, and she was still totally head over heels for him.

“You’re so dead to me Doctor,” Rose said, hiding her grin behind a stern expression. “That food combination should be illegal.” The Doctor looked up from his feast, his contentment transforming into mischief.

“Oh Rose Tyler, you mock me so. You haven’t even tried it!”

“My aunty says I should always try things at least once before saying I don't like them,” Amelia recited primly, and the Doctor nodded emphatically.

“See! Try it, just once!” He picked up a fish finger, dipped it in the custard, and began to move it towards Rose slowly. She sorely regretted sitting next to him, and tried to subtly shuffle away.

“Don’t come near me with that thing— Amelia help!” Rose couldn’t contain her laughter as she tried to jump out of her chair, but found the Doctor's arm wrapped solidly around her waist, preventing escape. Amelia was giggling, and Rose gave in, allowing the Doctor to feed her the fish finger.

“Oh that was… not good,” she groaned. “Your taste buds musta gotten pretty screwed this body around if you enjoyed any part of that.” He released her waist and she ignored the way she missed his hands almost immediately. He moved back onto his own chair to stare down a still giggling Amelia.

“What's so funny hmm?” he asked her, waggling his eyebrow.

“You,” she snorted, eating another scoop of ice cream. "You're funny."

The Doctor smiled broadly, and dipped another fish finger in the custard. “Am I? Funny’s good. What's your name?”

“I’m Amelia Pond.” The Doctor pushed his now empty plate away so he could lean his elbows onto the table.

“Oh, that's a brilliant name. Amelia Pond. Like a name in a fairy tale. Are we in Scotland Amelia?” the Doctor inquired. Amelia shook her head ruefully.

“No. We had to move to England, it’s rubbish here.”

“Tell me about it,” Rose chuckled. She glanced at the staircase at the other end of the room, her brows furrowing. “Where are ya Mum and Dad? Are they upstairs? I’da thought we’dve woken them up by now with all the laughing.”

Amelia's expression became much more serious. “I don’t have a Mum or a Dad, just an Aunt.”

“So where’s your Aunt?”

“She’s away,” Amelia replied.

“And she left you all alone?” Rose would be having a strong word with the woman about leaving an eight year old home by herself overnight.

“I’m not scared!” Amelia insisted, her eyes widening. “I’m really not!”

“Course, you're not. You're not scared of anything,” the Doctor reassured her. “Box falls out of the sky, man and woman fall out of a box, man makes woman eat fish custard,” Amelia giggled again. “-and look at you, just sitting there. So you know what I think?”

“What?” Amelia questioned.

The Doctor locked eyes with the little girl, his expression hardening.

“Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yikes. That’s a big crack,” Rose remarked.

The crack was about three feet long, stretching across Amelia’s wall in a villainous looking W shape. A dull glow shone from it, bathing the trio in ambient light as the Doctor stared at it with narrowed eyes.

“You’ve had some cowboys in here.” At Amelia and Roses confused expressions, he amended that statement. “Not actual cowboys, although that's strictly not out of the realm of possibility.”

He turned back to the crack, ignorant of the looks Amelia and Rose traded. Rose looked around the little girls room curiously, taking in the photos on the walls, and the many, many stuffed animals strewn about the place. Her attention was stolen by a strange looking apple on Amelia's dresser drawers. She walked closer and examined it.

It was a pink lady apple, with a crude smiley face carved into it. Amelia picked it up and explained. “I used to hate apples, so my mum put funny faces on them.”

She passed the apple to Rose with a cheeky smile. “It might make your boyfriend want to eat apples.” Rose blinked, fighting a blush.

“He’s err— he’s not my uh— my boyfriend,” Rose whispered, glancing at the Doctor, but he was too invested in sonicking the glowing crack to notice that they were in the room, let alone that a conversation was happening.

Amelia cocked her head, confused. “Your… husband?” She tried. Rose shook her head, a little mortified. “Your… fiancé?” Amelia tried again. Rose shook her head harder, the blush she had been fighting rising up to her cheeks victoriously.

“No! He’s just my— my good friend.”

“Are you sure?” Amelia pressed. Rose pocketed the apple, ignoring her question.

“She sounds good. Your Mum I mean,” Rose began, but the Doctors excited whoop from the wall cut off any further conversation.

“Rose, Amelia, come take a look!” Rose and Amelia did as he said. He turned off the sonic, leaping to his feet. “This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it. So here's the thing.” He locked eyes with Rose. “Where's the draught coming from?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said softly. How could that be possible? It wasn’t possible, Amelia was sure, but the fact she was standing in her room with two strangers who had crawled out of a police box and demanded midnight snacks was strange enough in itself. She decided to give up on trying to make sense of anything.

“I've got a feeling you’re going to tell us Doctor,” Rose said, humour lacing her tone.

“Wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff,” the Doctor replied, running his sonic across the crack again. “You know what this crack is?”

“A crack?” Amelia guessed.

“It is,” the Doctor confirmed. “but I’ll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, because the crack isn't in the wall.”

“Where is it then?” Amelia’s brain felt fuzzy.

“Everywhere. In everything. It's a split in the skin of the world,” the Doctor began to pace, walking on his toes. “Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together right here in the wall of your bedroom," he smacked his hands together, imitating the concept. “Sometimes, can you hear?

“A voice. Yes.” Oh yes, Amelia heard voices. Terrifying voices, speaking in words she often didn’t understand, but one phrase was in English, one phrase she recognised.

“Prisoner Zero has escaped,” she said, in perfect time with the voice on the other side of the crack. Amelia jerked, taking a step back. “What does it mean?” she questioned, turning to Rose.

“Well, I’d say that means there's a prison on the other side of the crack," Rose deducted, her voice questioning.

The Doctor snapped his fingers. “Aha! And they've lost a prisoner! You know what that means?”

Amelia shook her head. How could she? She was very smart for a eight-year-old, but even her brain power had its limits.

“You need a better wall.” Well duh. That was obvious. He continued. “The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Or—”

“Or what Doctor?” Rose’s cheery tone rang false. It sounded like when Aunt Sharon took her out for ice cream after her parents disappeared.

The Doctor mostly ignored Rose, and instead turned to look at Amelia directly. “You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?”

Amelia nodded, very familiar with the concept. “Yes,” she sought comfort, grabbing Rose's hand again as her stomach twisted uncomfortably.

“Everything is going to be fine.”

The Doctor took her other hand and held it, his blipping screwdriver thing vibrating in an almost painful manner between their hands. The crack widened significantly, flooding the room with a sterile bright light. Rose’s grip on her hand tightened.

“PRISONER ZERO HAS ESCAPED.”

“Hello? Hello?” The Doctor called, leaning towards the crack. A humongous blue eye stared at them through it. Had that thing really been in her wall?

“What's that?” she asked, and the Doctor dropped her hand suddenly, just in time for a bolt of bright white energy to enter his body. The crack in her wall expanded dramatically before snapping shut with a crack that Amelia felt in her bones.

He doubled over, groaning in agony. Rose’s arms flew out to catch him, but he waved his hand in the air. “No, no, I’m fine. You see? Told you it would close. Good as new.”

“What's that thing? Was that Prisoner Zero?” Amelia hoped it was. If that was prisoner zero, it meant he was trapped, right?

The Doctor shattered that hope. “No. I think that was Prisoner Zero's guard. Whatever it was, it sent us a little message.” Rose picked up the psychic paper from the floor, where it had been flung by the burst of energy, and read aloud.

“Prisoner Zero ‘as escaped. Well, that’s not much help is it?” She passed the Doctor the paper. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the paper.

“But why tell us? Unless…”

“Unless what?” Amelia queried.

“Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through here,” the Doctor was very quiet, but Amelia caught the note of concern in his voice.

“But he couldn't have. We'dve noticed,” Rose protested, her eyes scanning the now crackless wall. "Right Doctor?"

The Doctor relaxed a little, but Amelia could still sense the steel in his posture. “Most likely. Well, crack solved. Come along Pond.”

He was lying through his teeth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trio walked down the hallway, away from Amelia’s bedroom. The Doctor squinted at the doorway in front of them, looking as if he were trying to blink away sleep.

“It's difficult. Brand new me. Nothing works yet. But there's something I'm missing. In the corner of my eye–”

Rose’s head exploded in utter agony. Her left hand flew to her temple as she screamed, her vision flaring white, and she stumbled about, trying to hold herself up. She felt arms encircle her, preventing her from tumbling ungracefully down the stairs. She gripped one of the arms so tightly she knew it would leave marks. “Doctor- the TARDIS- she-” Rose gasped. The pain she had experienced wasn’t her own, but rather was being projected from the wailing TARDIS.

Her vision cleared, and his new face was right in front of hers. “What about the TARDIS?” he scanned her face, concern etched onto his own. Rose took his hand clumsily and pushed it to her forehead, encouraging him to connect telepathically. He slid into her thoughts hesitantly, but jerked out nearly instantaneously, yelping a string of Gallifreyan curse words.

He re-entered her mind, and she felt him move around, and in half a second the pain was muted. He pulled her back onto her feet. Amelia reattached to her hand like a little koala bear. “Are you ok?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Rose reassured. “Doctor, what's happening?” The Doctor strode down the stairs, his overcoat flowing behind him dramatically.

“We've got to get back in there. The engines are phasing. She’s going to burn!” Rose understood immediately, and hurried to follow him. Amelia did not.

They came out the front door, and kept a steady pace towards the TARDIS. Amelia voiced her question. “It's just a box. How can a box have engines?”

The Doctor disappeared into the box, which was now somehow rightside up. Rose disentangled Amelia's fingers from her own gently. “It's not a box. It's a time machine.”

Amelia gaped. “What, a real one? You've got a real time machine?” Her disbelief would have been adorable were it not for the current circumstances.

“Not for much longer if I can't get her stabilised,” the Doctor called from inside the machine. “Five minute hop into the future should do it. Rose, come here.”

Rose did as he said.

“Can I come?”

The sentence “of course you can love” was just forming on Rose's tongue when the Doctor reappeared.

“Not safe in here. Not yet. Five minutes.” He disappeared into the bowels of the TARDIS again.

Rose knelt down to Amelia's eye level. “Give us five minutes, and we'll be right back, I promise sweetheart.”

Amelia stuck her lip out in a pout. “People always say that.”

“Am I people? Do I even look like people? Trust me. I'm the Doctor,” the Doctor cried. Amelia surprised Rose, dragging her into a hug.

“See you in five minutes!” She declared. Rose retreated into the TARDIS, closing the door. The Doctor stood at the console, head down, focused on the levers in front of him.

“You still want me with you?” She asked. The Doctor looked up at her, grinning like a madman.

“Always Rose Tyler. Now, hold tight!” He cranked a lever, and the Tardis jerked as she threw herself into flight. “GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Chapter Text

Amelia fell asleep after the first hour of waiting in the garden. Suitcase in hand, she told herself she would just shut her eyes for a moment, convinced that the Doctor and Rose would come back for her any second.

They did not.

When Aunt Sharon returned the following day, she was displeased to find Amelia slumped on the lawn instead of tucked snugly into bed. She chastised Amelia for being irresponsible.

“I’m not irresponsible,” Amelia retorted heatedly, her face growing red with rage. “Rose and the Doctor think I’m brave!”

Sharon was a rather sensible woman, and was not prone to flights of fancy like her niece, and so when Amelia continued to tell her tall tales about the Doctor and Rose, she dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

“The Doctor and Rose are your imaginary friends,” Sharon insisted. “Many children your age have them, and there's no shame in admitting to it.”

“They are not imaginary!” Amelia stomped her foot, powerlessness giving way to rage. “They closed the crack in my wall with a sonic screwdriver when you were away!”

Sharon took a deep breath, trying her very hardest not to lose her mind at the child. After all, it was age appropriate for her to have fantasies, but this was reaching the extreme. “They are not real Amelia, I will hear no more talk of Doctors or Roses in this house!”

Amelia stormed off after that, and refused to speak to Sharon for a week.

This sort of behaviour went on for a month or so, and it wore on Sharon greatly. Amelia was obsessed with her imaginary characters, going so far as to pray to them instead of Santa, and if Sharon even tried to suggest that they might not be real, Amelia would shut her down without hesitation.

It was time to bring in some help.

Psychiatrist number one

Amelia stared at the woman sitting across from her. She looked like a poodle with her coily hair, and she was wearing the silliest frilliest orangest coat Amelia had ever seen. Amelia disliked her almost immediately. The woman's smile split open, revealing near a perfect set of teeth. “Hello dear, my name is Charlotte. What's your name sweetheart?”

Amelia narrowed her eyes, the condescending tone hitting her like concrete. “You already know my name,” she muttered stubbornly. “Can we get on with this? I’ve got dolls to sew.”

Charlotte scribbled a note on her notepad. “Would you like to tell me about your dolls?”

Amelia had never wanted anything less in her life. She crossed her arms over her chest, putting on her best murderous glare. She thought she was rather intimidating.

Charlotte obviously didn’t get the memo because she just laughed. “You don’t scare me girly. I’ve been working with troubled kids for longer than you've been alive.”

Offence sprung up in Amelia’s spine. Troubled? She was no troubled child!

“I’m not troubled!” She retorted. “I’m very smart!”

A placating smile. Another note. Amelia wanted to rip the notepad to shreds with her teeth. “I’m sure you are,” Charlotte reassured, but Amelia could feel her insincerity. She finished her meaningless scribbles and looked back up to the furious girl.

“Why don’t you tell me about your imaginary friends?”

Amelia jutted out her chin. “They're not imaginary. I saw them. In real life.”

Charlotte smiled, but it wasn’t a real smile. It was a gentle but strained looking thing, like the look Aunt Sharon gave her when she was being a nuisance in front of guests. “Of course.”

Enough was enough. Amelia bit her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was grounded for a whole month after the incident, which she thought was a somewhat unfair punishment. The woman had actively provoked her!

When Amelia went to school the next day, she sat squished in between Rory and Melody, her third and fourth best friends. Their teacher usually made sure to separate them, but thankfully he was too busy dealing with an argumentative girl at the other end of the classroom to pay any attention.

After school, the three children went back to Amelia's house to play together before dinner. Amelia knew Sharon wouldn’t be home for a while, and so she decided it was the perfect time to tell them all about what had occurred with the Doctor and Rose.

When she had finished relaying everything that had occurred a month or so ago, she was met with wide eyes and slack jaws. “That really happened?” Melody asked, wonder in her voice. Amelia nodded emphatically.

Rory was a little more skeptical. “Are you sure you weren't just dreaming? Or they might be imaginary?” Amelia rounded on the boy, narrowing her eyes.

“I didn’t dream it! You sound like my psychia-” Amelia hesitated, struggling to pronounce the word. “My psycha-”

“Psychiatrist?” Melody supplied. Amelia nodded.

“That. You sound like her. I bit her.” The last sentence was accompanied by a feral little grin. Rory swallowed nervously.

“Please don’t bite me.”

“I shan’t if you tell me you think they’re real Lawrence,” Amelia stuck her chin in the air, using his full name to irritate him.

“That’s not fair,” Rory whined. “Neither of you have long names I can pick on.”

Amelia considered this. It was true, she had the upper hand in this argument, going by her her entire first name, but what if she didn't?

“I could shorten my name to Amy? Then you could call me Amelia when you’re cranky?” Amelia offered, and Rory tried it.

“Amy… Amy Pond. Alright!” He turned to Melody. “And what’ll we call you? O… dy?” He looked embarrassed. “Lod?”

“No you goose,” Amy smacked his arm gently. “It's obvious. Mels is the only option.”

Melody, or, rather Mels, thought her new name to be a good fit, and so their nicknames stuck.

Psychiatrist number two

Amelia sat in a new chair, across from a new psychiatrist with the exact same furious look on her face.

He was an older man, with half moon spectacles perched precariously on his nose, a rumpled suit jacket layered over a badly ironed collar shirt and some worn out slacks.

“Now Miss Amelia,” he began, but she cut him off.

“Amy. I’m Amy.” He pursed his wrinkled lips and wrote something down on his notepad. Seriously, what was it with psychiatrists and notepads?

“Your file says Amelia, that is what I will be calling you in today's session.” His firm voice brokered no argument, and it was at that moment Amy decided that he was irredeemable.

“So, tell me Miss Amelia, when did your delusions begin?”

Amy suspected he wasn’t very used to interacting with children. He looked almost as uncomfortable as she felt. She grit her teeth, stubbornly refusing to respond. He made a note. Amy glowered at him over her crossed arms. He leaned back, and looked at her.

“Who is the Doctor to you?”

She remained silent, pretending to take interest in the room around her. The curtains were an ugly shade of brown, and the paintings on the wall were extremely dull unlike the last place which had been plastered with cartoon kittens and silly drawings. Amy had a hunch that Aunt Sharon had accidentally taken her to an adult psychiatrist.

“When did Rose come into the delusions?” The psychiatrist pressed. Amy humoured him.

“She came with the Doctor. In the blue box.”

Scribble scribble.

“Can you tell me about the blue box?”

Amy clamped her mouth shut. The psychiatrist sighed. “Would you please tell me about the crack in your wall?”

She remained silent. He sighed, putting the notepad to the side. “If you don’t answer me, you’ll have to come back next week.” He seemed desperate to end their encounter as soon as possible, much like herself.

An idea entered Amy’s head, one she knew would get her in extreme trouble, but it was just too delicious to pass up.

“Do you know why I stopped seeing my old psychiatrist?” She asked, almost conversationally. The psychiatrist perked up, encouraged by the first real interest she had seemingly shown.

“No, I must confess, it’s not on your file. Would you like to tell me why?” His pen was poised above the paper, ready to scrawl across the pages.

Aunt Sharon always said that hands on learning and experience was more effective than simply being told, and so Amy took that advice to heart.

Amy bit him.

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Grounded again. Amelia flopped onto her bed, miserably. It was a Sunday, and so she didn’t even have the slight reprieve of school to ease her boredom. Amy pulled her raggedy dolls to her chest, cuddling the Doctor and Rose close. Oh how badly she wanted them to come and get her, to be her new parents. She was certain Rose wouldn’t make her go to a psychiatrist.

Rain poured outside, and she could hear distant thunder rumble. It was going to be a dark and stormy night, the best kind for stories to begin.

A dull thunk drew her attention, and Amy's eyes snapped to focus on her window frame. No one seemed to be there, but she’d better make sure. “Hello?” she asked tentatively. “Doctor, is that you?”

She stood, still clutching her handmade dolls to her chest, and approached the window frame with caution. She shrieked, nearly falling backwards as a drenched Mels appeared, grinning at her through the glass.

Amy discarded her dolls onto her bed, and yanked up the window, helping her friend in. “Mels, you goose!” She chastised, crossing her arms crankily. “You’ll catch your death of a cold!”

Mels snickered. “You sound like your aunt.” Amy took great offence to that comparison, but her biting retort was lost when Mels started up a hacking cough. She pulled a blanket from her bed and wrapped it around her shivering friend.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you!” Mels teeth chattered as she spoke. “Rory's Mum told my foster Mum that your Aunt said you couldn’t come play today because you bit another psychiatrist.”

Amy hated how gossipy Sharon could be. “Hmph.”

“Well I think biting him was perfectly sensible,” Mels reassured Amy, taking her hand, her head resting on Amy's shoulder. “He might’ve tried to make you forget the Doctor.”

“I could never forget the Doctor!” Amy declared, horrified at the notion. “Or Rose! Aunt Sharon can’t make me forget them.”

Mels hummed in agreement, and Amy realised she was beginning to fall asleep. Amy knew she should have made her wake up and go home in case Sharon caught them, but instead she just wrapped the blanket more securely around the sleepy girl.

When Sharon did eventually come up to Amy's room, Amy shushed her, pointing to the girl sleeping on her. Sharon didn’t punish her. Amy wondered if Aunt Sharon knew what it was like to have no one like Mels.

After a late dinner, Mels was driven home and Amy went to sleep dreaming of their little trio being swept up by Rose and the Doctor and carried away in their TARDIS.

Amy ran late to school the next day, and when she finally got to her classroom, Mels was in a stink. Rory was seated across the room from them and he waved miserably at Amy as she took her chair next to Mels. “What's wrong?” Amy enquired, concerned.

Mels pouted, her bottom lip sticking out like a sofa. “Mr Redecker took my necklace.”

Amy’s blood boiled. The necklace was the only thing Mels had from her birth Mum, and even Mr Redecker knew how precious it was to the girl. Mels really should be more careful with her things though. She held the record for most confiscated property at their school, and Amy knew their teacher was probably justified in taking it off of her.

Regardless, the necklace meant the world to Mels, and Amy would find a way to get it back. She patted the other girls back gently as her mind began to tick. How would she go about this…

“-my Dad, the principle eats lunch at twelve thirty everyday, and tomorrow he said I can skip class and eat with him-”

Amy turned around in her chair to look at Selena Vance, her brain ticking over the information she had just been handed. “Does he stay at school for lunch?” She interjected, innocently batting her eyelashes. Selena shook her head, her blonde ringlet curls bouncing.

“He goes down to the cafe. And I get to go with him tomorrow!” Amy tuned the girls' asinine chatter out. Her plan started to form, and just as recess was beginning, Amy knew exactly what she had to do.

When they were released from their classroom, Amy beckoned Rory and Mels over to the playground and relayed her idea to them.

“Amyyyyy,” Rory whined, disliking her idea. “Can’t it be something else?”

Amy glared at him. “Do you have a better idea?” Rory shook his head sorrowfully. His Mam was going to kill him.

After recess, the little trio entered the classroom, two out of the three wearing deceptively serene smiles on their faces. Rory just looked ill.

Maths class began, and Amy watched the clock closely, Selenas words blazed into her brain.

Twelve thirty, Amy thought, her eyes flicking up to the clock again for the third time that minute. Then we can begin.

Finally, twelve thirty rolled around, and Amy waggled her eyebrows at Rory from across the room, their chosen signal. He only sighed visibly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr Redecker enjoyed teaching his year twos greatly, and despite some early troubles with some of the more, ahem, spirited children, he was confident in his ability to wrangle them now.

He kept his eyes peeled for trouble in the classroom as his students worked quietly on their maths sums, nothing too difficult, just basic addition, and found his gaze drifting back to Melody Zucker.

She was a strange little thing, but he supposed that must come from her upbringing. She was a foster kid, and he worried about what impact that was having on her. She was skittish, but not in the way that seemed like she was beaten. Her body language suggested that she was ready to dodge a bullet at any moment.

Even though he empathised with her, he would not tolerate her continuous disrespect of his classroom rules, and so when she had smacked poor Rory in the face with her necklace that morning, he had confiscated it with her myriad other contraband items.

Movement in the corner of the classroom caught his eye, and he looked up to see little Amelia Pond stand up and walk towards the arts and crafts bins. He cleared his throat. “Amelia, what are you doing? We’re supposed to keep butts on seats, remember?”

Amelia didn’t appear to hear him, or, more likely, was ignoring him completely. Mr Redecker called out again. “Amelia.”

She picked up a big pot of glue in one hand and took up a jar of rainbow glitter in the other. Too late, Mr Redecker realised what she was about to do.

“Amelia, put the jar down—”

She promptly dumped the contents of both containers all over Rory's head.

Mr Redecker exhaled tiredly, rubbing his temple. “Why would you do that?”

He should have gone into arts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Amy had hoped, she and Rory were both taken to the principal's office. She winked at Mels as she was pulled along by their teacher. Rory trailed behind them crying and she wasn't totally sure if they were fake tears or real ones. Either way they looked convincing.

When they got to the principal's office, it was empty, exactly how Amy had planned it. This gave Mels time to go through the lost property cupboard in their classroom uninterrupted, and hopefully get out with her necklace.

Mr Redecker looked into the principal's office, a frown on his face. “Hmm it appears Mr Finch is away for lunch.” Rory sniffled quietly behind him. Mr Redecker turned to face them. “Alright, back to class. Amy, you will be losing your lunchtime to do detention with him instead.”

Amy's heart sank. “Or we could wait for him to get back?” She wheedled, trying to appear extremely calm, and not the picture of panic she actually was. Mr Redecker unfortunately didn’t take the bait, and walked them back to class.

As the group trudged down the deserted hallways, Amy hoped with all her heart that Mels would be out of the cupboard by the time they got back.

When they reentered the classroom, Amy’s eyes darted to the back of the room where the lost property cupboard was. The door was closed, but Mel's silhouette could be seen clearly behind the window. Amy prayed to the Doctor and Rose, begging them to help Mels get away safely somehow.

Mr Redecker hadn’t noticed her yet, and was instead checking to see if the rest of the class was ok after his absence. He made Amy sit at the back of the classroom away from everyone else as punishment, and she fixed her eyes on the cupboard.

Mels silhouette disappeared, and Amy's heart fell. Where had she gone?

Amy strained to see the girl for five or so minutes, but she really had disappeared.

Wait, no. Outside the window, near the cupboard, on top of the roof, a small dark haired speck of a girl appeared, hopping from roof to roof, a glimmer of gold clutched in her fist. Amy grinned, realising that Mels must have climbed out through the maintenance duct. Rory saw Amy staring and followed her gaze. His face grew slightly less miserable as he realised that his sacrifice was well worthwhile. Mels had her necklace back.

Amy was banned from Rory's house for the next month thanks to the incident. His mother did not appreciate the way that the glitter from Rory's hair seemed to inhabit every crack in their house for the next year or so.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m going to marry the raggedy man!” Mels proclaimed.

“No you can’t,” Amy said prissily, fixing the doll's bowtie. “He’s going to be married to Rose.” Mels scowled, displeased.

It was a Tuesday afternoon, and Amy had invited her third and fourth best friends (after Rose and the Doctor of course) to come over to her house. Mels had readily agreed, but Rory had football practice, which he hated with a burning passion, so it was just the two of them, sitting on Amy’s patchwork yellow bedspread, playing with her dolls.

“Rose and the raggedy man will be my parents, you’ll see. They'll come back for me!” Amy continued, folding the pleats of Roses dress so they looked just right. Mels frowned.

“What about us? Will you leave us behind?”

Amy hadn’t thought properly about that. In her dreams, Rory and Mels were always by her side as they sped through the cosmos exploring. Would the Doctor and Rose be ok with bringing them? “You can come with us,” she stated, but she felt unsure. What if they said no?

“The Doctor isn't a forgiving man,” Mels said, and Amy’s brows furrowed at the strange turn in conversation.

“Have you met him?” She demanded. Mels backpedalled.

“No! No? Just from- what you’ve said, he doesn’t sound like he accepts the word sorry.” Amy cocked her head, confusion running through her veins. She was about to ask another question when a sharp call from below of ‘Dinners up!’ broke her concentration.

She took Mels hand and pulled her off of the bed. “We better hurry up, Aunt Sharon gets mean when she's hungry.”

As if to illustrate the fact, a clang came from the kitchen, followed by a string of child safe swearing. Mels and Amy giggled together, and ran to the bathroom to wash up, hand in hand, forgetting their previous conversation.

Psychiatrist number three

Amy sat in her new psychiatrist's office, boredom plastered across her face. There was nothing to look at in the grey room where Aunt Sharon had left her, nothing at all, and she was contemplating just walking out when finally the woman she assumed was her psychiatrist appeared.

She didn’t look much older than Amy's teacher Mr Redecker, but she seemed much less confident in herself. She took a seat opposite Amy and her leg bounced anxiously. Amy held her little feral smile back.

Oh this was going to be easy.

Amy crossed her legs on the seat. “You took long enough. I’ve been in here for ages.”

The woman had the decency to look apologetic. “Ah. Right. Yes. Sorry about that Miss Pond. My last appointment ran late.”

Amy shrugged. “Alright.”

The woman pulled out her notepad. “Do you want some paper to draw with this session?”

Amy accepted the offer, and with the coloured pencils she was offered, she began to sketch out a drawing of Rose. The psychiatrist looked over her shoulder, and made a note.

“What's your name?” Amy asked casually, drawing a wisp of hair.

“My name is Lucy.” Lucy leaned closer to the paper. “And who are you drawing today?”

“Rose.” Amy didn’t bother to look up at her.

“Ah yes, the Doctor's wife.” Amy’s eyes snapped up to meet Lucy’s.

“How do you know that? I never told you,” she accused, and Lucy pulled out another sheet of paper.

“It’s in your file love.” She scanned it with her eyes and read aloud. “Amelia Jessica Pond, seven years old, extreme hallucinations.” Amy wanted to object to the last bit, but Lucy went on. “She mentions the Doctor and his wife Rose consistently, and is adamant that a blue time travelling box crashed into her front yard.”

Amy scowled. “It's true. I saw it.”

Lucy paid no attention to her comment. “Doctor Jenkins, your last psych, suggested we trial you on some medication, to see if your hallucinations ease up. Does that sound ok?”

It did not sound ok.

Amy bit her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After that, Aunt Sharon made Amy take the tablets every morning. She said it was to help her ‘see reality’, but Amy thought that was dumb. The Doctor and Rose were very very real, and she would not be convinced otherwise.

So, with each tablet Sharon gave, Amy would pretend to swallow it, and keep it in her cheek until she got outside. Then she would spit it out into the garden in a different spot each day to keep Sharon from being too suspicious.

She was getting rather good at keeping Sharon out of the loop.

Amy walked to school, and met up with her friends. They were sat separately, but at recess they gathered together to play some games. The bell rang, and they made their way back into the classroom, but Rory lagged behind. Amy waved at Mels to hurry on ahead and fell back to walk with him.

“Are you ok?” She whispered. Rory wasn’t quite pouting, but he certainly wasn’t smiling either.

“There's still chunks of glue through my hair.” He moaned miserably, tugging his hands at the ends of his unflattering bowl cut. “Mam couldn’t get it out.”

Guilt coursed through Amy's veins as she recalled the incident from a week ago.

“I’m sorry for tipping glitter on your head.”

Rory hadn’t expected Amy to apologise. It wasn’t that she was an unkind girl, but she rarely acknowledged her mistakes, and it was even rarer to receive an apology from her.

He looked down at the ground. “‘S fine.” he mumbled, but Amy smacked his shoulder.

“Course it's not. I should have… thought about you.” She looked mildly embarrassed.

Rory shrugged. “Maybe.”

Amy stuck out her hand to him, almost shyly. “Friends?”

Rory took it without hesitation. “Best friends.”

All was right in Rory's world.

Psychiatrist number four

Amy liked the look of this psychiatrist better than the last three, although her box dye blonde hair didn’t look quite as good on her as it did on Rose.

“Right Miss Amelia Pond, you’re quite the case," she said as Amy walked into the room. “And a bit of a biter if I’ve heard correctly?”

“It's Amy,” she corrected. “And I only bite people who deserve it.” The psychiatrist made a note of it. Hmph.

“Fair enough. Right then Amy, you can call me Lily. What's your favourite colour?”

Amy was a little taken aback at the question. She had walked in expecting a barrage of questions about the Doctor and instead she was asked her favourite colour? Hmm.

“Yellow.” she said decisively. “Sunflower yellow. Not neon.”

Lily made a note of it. Grr. “Good pick. My favourite is pink personally, but yellow has its merits.”

Pink. Like Roses jacket. Amy relaxed a little. “Rose wore a pink jacket the night she and the Doctor visited me.” Amy disclosed. Lily put her notepad down so she could look at Amy properly.

“Did she now?” Lily's pretty green eyes sparkled. “She sounds like a woman with good taste.”

Maybe this psychiatrist wouldn’t need to be bitten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All too soon, the session was over, and Amy was being led out the door. She turned back around to face Lily, voicing a question she was almost too afraid to ask.

“Do you truly believe me?” Amy said, her voice wavering. “About… about Rose and the Doctor?”

Lily looked away, and Amy could feel the energy in the room shift. A rock settled in her stomach. A sigh came, and then Lily spoke quietly.

“I wish so much they were real for your sake.”

Amy’s hope shattered in that instant. She had thought maybe she had finally found an adult to trust, maybe she could confide in Lily- well, no matter. If she were to be like the others, she would receive the very same treatment.

Amy bit her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sharon was at her wits end. Amelia had been through four psychiatrists in quick succession and instead of improving her behaviour, it only seemed to make the girl more wild. Sharon wished so dearly that Amelia's actual Mother, Tabitha Pond, were here to raise her daughter instead of her.

Tabitha had been equally untamed at Amelia's age, passing her bright red hair and fiery temper onto the little lass, and Sharon was just as unequipped to deal with Amy as their late mother had been with Tabitha.

She really hated leaving Amy home alone at night, but bills had to be paid, and her job as a nurse often required late night shifts, so the sacrifice was made.

Sharon prayed to whatever God may be listening that Amelia wouldn’t end up sleeping on the front lawn again.

Chapter Text

Rose held on tightly to the console as the TARDIS threw herself into flight. They rattled about the void like a pin in a pinball machine before the violent trembling finally stopped. The Doctor cranked a lever and a deafening whoosh blasted through the console room. Rose covered her ears, hissing. “Warn a girl before ya shatter her ear drums.”

She had only been messing with him, but the moment the words left her mouth, the Doctor got a look of concern on his face. He crossed the room and in a matter of seconds his arms were encircled around her. Rose leaned into the hug, wrapping her own arms around him and breathing deeply. Selfishly she had hoped this regeneration might be a bit more reserved, but it appeared he was still just as touchy.

Oh yes, she was completely screwed.

“What's this about?” She murmured into his shoulder after a minute or so. He only held her tighter, almost crushing the air out of her lungs. She could feel his hearts against her chest, beating in a four count.

“I could have lost you.”

It was such a quiet admission, so soft that Rose wasn’t sure if he had meant for her to hear him. The TARDIS crashing had been brutal, and Rose had ended up in the bowels of the ship with no idea where he was. Then, the TARDIS set herself on fire, and Rose had barely managed to escape. She assumed his regeneration was what had damaged the TARDIS, so it made sense why he might feel guilty, but she hoped he knew she could never blame him. The two of them stood clinging to each other in the void, in complete silence other than the TARDIS’ humming beneath their feet.

“Well you didn’t. Lose me I mean. It’ll take more than that ta take me out,” she joked after a time. His new laugh reverberated through her body. The hug was nice, although it couldn't last forever. They had a promise to uphold. “We should probably go back for Amelia now,” she murmured into his chest.

“Right!” He released her instantly, the moment was shattered. He bounded towards the console with all the joy of a golden retriever puppy. Rose blinked, his sudden shift in energy startling her. Well, he was still the same Doctor. Whiplash had a picture of him next to it in the dictionary.

“I wonder what happened to Prisoner Zero,” Rose remarked, casually leaning on a damaged coral strut. “Those eyeball things seemed real concerned about keepin’ him locked up.”

“Atraxi. Those were Atraxi," the Doctor corrected, poking at the melted console with a curled lip. Rose grimaced at the name.

“Right. Atraxi? Hmm. You’d think they’da thought to patch up the crack if their prisoner was that dangerous.”

The Doctor stopped fiddling with the busted controls, and his expression fell. “What? Say that again?”

Rose cocked her head to the side. “Their prisoner was that dangerous?”

The Doctor shook his head frantically. “No, no, the other thing.”

“You’d think they’da thought to patch up a crack?” Rose offered. The Doctor’s expression darkened and his hand flew to the mangled lever in front of him. He pushed it forwards with a shove. Rose was thrown off balance again when the TARDIS jerked into flight, and she was forced to try to catch herself.

“Doctor, what is it?”

“I know what we were missing,” he murmured grimly, unaware of her plight. “Prisoner Zero didn’t escape. He’s in the house.”

Rose's stomach dropped in a way that had nothing to do with the Doctor's atrocious piloting skills.

Amelia. Oh no.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The TARDIS rematerialised in the middle of Amelia's front yard, thankfully right side up this time. The Doctor staggered out, followed closely behind by Rose.

“Amelia! I know what we were missing! You’ve got to get out of there!” He cried out, looking like a drunken idiot. Rose’s eyes darted around the scenery, her brow furrowed.

“Doctor, it's daytime.” A passerby was staring at them, her eyebrow raised so high it began to blend in with her big curly mop of hair. Rose waved awkwardly at the woman, and was rather surprised when the gesture was returned with a strange little smile.

The Doctor didn’t hear Rose's comment, and instead, he continued into the house, swaying about unsteadily on his feet. “Amelia! Prisoner Zero is here!” Rose chased after him through the front door, and found him looking about wildly. “Amelia? Amelia? Prisoner Zero is here! Do you understand me?”

Just as Rose's hand made contact with his shoulder to shake some sense into him, she heard a muted gasp from the hallway. Both of them turned slowly to see a young boy with an awfully ill suiting bowl cut on his head standing there, mouth agape. He was holding tight to a plate of cupcakes in both hands, his knuckles whitening.

“You're… you’re?” He squeaked, unable to get his sentence out. Rose smiled gently, even though her entire body was urging her to grab the Doctor and flee.

“Hello love. I’m Rose, and this is the Doctor. What's your name sweetheart?”

“I— you— huh?” The plate slid from his grasp as the poor thing fell into a dead faint. Rose rushed forwards before she could think, the Doctor by her side and they worked in tandem checking for damage.

The Doctor pulled a stethoscope from his bottomless pockets, checking the boy’s heart rate. “Slightly too fast. We probably gave him a shock, I can’t think why though. How’s his temperature?” Rose felt his forehead.

“On the high side, and he’s a bit sweaty.” She wiped her hand on her jeans. She wondered where Amelia was, and what this boy was doing in her house—

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO RORY!”

Well, that answered her first question.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy didn’t wait for an answer, didn’t even really get a good look at Rory's assailants before she was on them. The man, who was kneeling, didn’t see her coming, and she noted with satisfaction that she was able to knock him over easily. He put his hands over his face, blocking most of her blows, although she did manage to get a solid hit on his nose.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” She screeched again, but then his hands shifted away from his face and a flicker of recognition hit her. The other person, a woman, began to laugh.

Amy knew that laugh. It was warm and sweet and tasted like mint ice cream and fish custard.

“Rose!” She cried, leaping off the Doctor and wrapping her arms around the blonde. Rose held her tightly to her chest, stroking her hair with her spare hand.

“Hello Amelia,” she hummed into the girl's head. Amy pulled back from her grip.

“It’s Amy actually,” she corrected. “Where have you been?” Besides them the Doctor winced as he pulled himself up. Amy thought she might have broken his nose. Whoopsies.

“We er— well, we accidentally took a wrong turn. How long has it been for you Ameli- Amy?”

Amy thought about it. “About eleven months,” she said with a decisive nod of her head. Rose sucked in a sharp breath. Amy looked both of them over, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “How long has it been for you two? You’re still wearing the same clothes,” she accused. Rose and the Doctor shared a look Amy didn’t understand.

“About fifteen minutes,” Rose admitted, her voice quiet. Amy’s jaw hit the floor.

“You weren't fibbing? You really do have a time machine?”

“You never said anything about them having a time machine.” A whiny voice from the floor said, and Rose looked down to see that the little boy with the unfortunate hair cut was awake, and sitting up. Amy tackled him back to the ground immediately, throwing her full weight into a hug.

“RORY! Oh I thought you were dead, you goose!”

“He might be if we don’t move fast,” the Doctor said grimly, wiping the blood from his nose gingerly.

Rory shrieked at the Doctor's words, his poor little body unable to take any more stress. Amy withdrew from their hug, a displeased expression on her face.

“The Doctor will keep us safe Rory, he just says scary things so he sounds cool,” she stated matter of factly. The Doctor puffed up in offence, ready to retort when Rose snorted. He turned on her with a raised eyebrow. She shrugged, unable to keep the smile off of her face.

“I fear Amys got it right Doctor, you’re quite the drama queen,” she teased. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

“Yeah yeah yeah sure, but at least I—”

He stopped talking, his eyes fixating on the doorway across the room. “Amy, how many rooms are on this floor?” he asked carefully, probably so he didn’t frighten poor Rory again.

Amy squinted at him. “Why?” Couldn’t he count? Amy hoped he could. How could a man who couldn't count be expected to properly pilot a time machine?

“One, two, three, four, five!” Rory piped in proudly, counting each room on his fingers. The Doctor shook his head.

“Six.”

“Six?” Amy said, brows furrowed. “I don’t believe you.” She had lived in this house her whole life, and never once had there been six rooms on this floor. She would know. She was rather observant for a little girl after all.

The Doctor got onto his knees and leaned right over to Amy. “Look. Over there, where you never want to look, with the corner of your eye.”

Amy did as he said, and so did Rose. Both of them gasped in sync when a sixth door came into focus. “That's not possible,” Rose whispered, opening and shutting her eyes rapidly to try to dispel the image. “How is that possible?” Amy grabbed onto Rose's hand tightly, seeking comfort. Rose would know what to do. She always knew what to do.

“There's a perception filter on the door.” The Doctor rubbed his temples roughly, grimacing. “Should have sensed it last time I was here. I should have known.”

“But that's a whole room I never even noticed.” Amy was completely out of her depth. Perception filter? What did that even mean? “Why couldn’t I notice it?” So much for being observant. Amy began to question her entire life.

“Something didn’t want you to see it. Something came here to hide,” the Doctor said quietly.

“Prisoner Zero,” Amy whispered, her chest constricting with anxiety. The Doctor stood, and Amy noted that his nose had stopped bleeding.

“Right again Pond.” He touched his nose gently. “Good, all healed up. Rose, could you take the children into the backyard?” Rory immediately shuffled over to Rose while the Doctor patted down his suit jacket aggressively. “I’m going into that room to see exactly who this prisoner zero is. Screwdriver, screwdriver, screwdriver, GAH.”

He looked back up at the three confused faces looking at him. “What are you waiting for? Backyard, now, and I need to find my screwdriver.” Amy stuck her chin out and planted her feet.

“I’m coming with you Mister,” she announced sternly, crossing her arms. “You’re in my house, so I’m staying with you. Aunt Sharon is upstairs sleeping, she really wouldn’t be happy if you woke her up.”

Rose looked like she wanted to object, but the Doctor just waved his hands. “Fine. Do what you will, you stubborn little thing. Rose, take Rory outside.”

“Are you sure you want to stay?” Rose asked, looking down at Amy with concern. “It might be dangerous.” Amy felt certain that last bit had been directed at the Doctor.

Amy looked up at Rose, hoping her determined expression would hide the unease she was feeling. “Danger is my middle name,” she said, quoting a very rude movie Aunt Sharon had shown her. Rose only sighed.

“Alright. C’mon Rory.”

The two of them went out the backdoor, leaving Amy and the raggedy man alone. He stuck out his hand to Amy. “Come along Pond. Let's see who's been haunting your house.”

She took the proffered hand without hesitation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mystery door swung open with an eerie creeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaak as Amy and the Doctor stepped into the room. It was cooler than the rest of the house, and there was a slight breeze coming from the boarded up windows.

“There's nothing here,” Amy said, her words echoing in the dead air.

“What makes you think you can see it?”

At the Doctor's words, Amy's heart stopped for a second. She hadn’t been able to see the door before he pointed it out to her, so why would the creature concealed within be any different? A gentle touch on her cheek brought her back to reality.

“Don’t forget to breathe,” the Doctor whispered. Amy made herself suck some air in, forcing her lungs back into action. The two of them continued into the room almost silently.

A table sat smack bang in the middle of the room, covered in gunk that Amy couldn't identify, not that she would want to. It looked a bit like clumpy dried blood.

In the pile of goop, something silver was stuck down. “Is that your screwdriver?” She asked him, hoping it was. She hated this room, and wanted to leave as soon as possible, and maybe if they found his screwdriver he would agree to a retreat. The Doctor nodded, his brows knitting together.

"It is," he confirmed. "But how did it get in here?"

“It… must have rolled under the door?” Amy offered quietly, and her grip on his hand tightened.

“Yeah. Must have. Then it must have jumped up onto the table.”

The hairs on the back of Amy’s neck prickled as something breathed on her. She turned to look, but there was nothing there. The Doctor watched her keenly.

“What is it Pond?” She rubbed her eyes with her spare fist.

“There’s… it's nothing.” The Doctor didn’t turn, but he lowered his head until his mouth was directly next to her ear.

“Corner of your eye.”

Amy could feel his breath puffing over her ear. “What is it?” She tried to turn to look at it, but the Doctor released her hand and grabbed her head with both of his own.

“Don't try to see it. If it knows you've seen it, it will kill you. Don't look at it. Do. Not. Look.”

Something wet dripped onto Amy's neck. She tried to squash her terror, really tried to follow the Doctors instructions, but in the end animal instinct won out. Amy wrenched her head free from the Doctor's grasp, and turned to look directly at the creature.

She screamed.

The reddish grey creature was long and thin, much like a garden snake. Unlike a garden snake however it had two rows of razor sharp teeth, and when it screeched at her, bits of slime flew out of its mouth all over her.

“GET OUT!” The Doctor yelled, picking Amy up like a sack of potatoes. He tossed her out of the room hurriedly, and closed the door behind them. He aimed his screwdriver at the door handle, and it buzzed. Amy rubbed her ankle, injured from her ungraceful landing.

“Will the door hold him?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, of course," the Doctor muttered. "It's an interdimensional multiform from outer space. They're all terrified of wood.”

Was he mocking her? Amy felt her face heat up, and she knew that she was getting very red. She wanted to yell at him, but then a bright light flashed behind the door, illuminating the Doctor's face. “What’s that? What's he doing?”

He grabbed her hand again, and pulled her from the room. “I don’t know, getting dressed? We’ve got to move!”

They ran into the lounge room, and the TV turned on all by itself, revealing one of the gigantic eyeballs from inside her wall. Amy tripped over a clothes basket, forgetting to look where she was going.

“PRISONER ZERO WILL VACATE THE HUMAN RESIDENCE, OR THE HUMAN RESIDENCE WILL BE INCINERATED,” it boomed, rattling Amy's bones. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing nerves.

“Doctor, what does it mean?” She asked, trying not to sound like she was whining. She was brave. She was strong. She could do this. She wouldn’t be scared. His gaze was fixed on the screen, and he didn’t respond. On the screen, a black and white countdown appeared.

Ten…

The Doctor's eyes widened, a flash of panic crossing his face, and he grabbed her hand again.

Nine…

“Amy, we have to move!”

Eight…

The Doctor dragged her out of the lounge room roughly.

Seven…

Amy tripped, and was tugged up by her arm.

Six…

The Doctor slammed open the front door, pushing her out the door.

Five…

Amy yelped, her sore ankle panging.

Four…

Her lungs started to burn.

Three…

Amy’s heart fell in beat with her steps.

Two…

Time slowed. The Doctor was waving wildly at Rose and Rory across the road to run.

One…

Behind them, her house exploded.

Chapter Text

The explosion shook Rose to her core, rattled her very bones. She turned to Rory and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Go to the neighbours house and don’t go back outside until I come and get you,” she instructed. When Rory hesitated, she shook him by his shoulders. “NOW!”

He nodded mutely and stumbled off towards the neighbours. Rose ran as fast as she could towards the smoking wreckage of a house, terror fuelling her pumping legs.

A small figure lay face down a way away from the house, thrown by the blast. Amy. Red hair spilled across the back of her white coat looking like a bloodstain, and to Rose's horror, she didn’t appear to be breathing. Rose rushed forwards, and rolled Amy over, desperately checking for vitals. The little girl moaned in pain, clutching her side.

Thank God, she was alive. Rose picked Amy up and held her to her chest, letting the little girl wrap her arms around her neck. “Amy, what happened?” She only trembled in Rose's arms.

“Prisoner zero has been destroyed. The Atraxi saw to that.” Rose's head snapped around to see the Doctor, limping towards them. He stumbled, and fell to his knees next to her, grimacing in pain at the gash across his chest. Rose's spare hand shot out to try to break his fall, but he managed to catch himself.

“Rose don't—” he gasped, and a jet of golden energy burst from his mouth. Rose took a closer look at the wound across his chest, and noted it was closing, although a little slower then she had hoped. She stroked the back of Amy's head gently, trying to calm the poor thing.

“Good thing you're still in your fifteen hour window,” Rose joked weakly. “The TARDIS would have a fit if you came back with another new face.” The Doctor didn’t laugh, only groaned and sank against her. God, how had it only been three hours since they had crashed? It felt like decades. Rose extracted an arm and wrapped it around his shoulder, making sure Amy was still supported on her knee.

Several minutes later, a cop car came screaming around the corner, lights blaring. Rose nudged the Doctor with one hand.

“We’d better get moving Doctor. How's your chest?”

The Doctor sat up, and Rose noted with satisfaction that the wound was completely healed. Good old regeneration energy saving the day. He fished around in his pockets, and withdrew his now deformed sonic screwdriver. He tried to turn it on, and growled when it only sparked. He whacked it with his hand, and then against the ground and finally it buzzed while he scanned Amy over carefully.

“She’s going to be fine, just a knock to the head and some minor burns, nothing the TARDIS medbay can’t fix,” he reassured, and Rose slumped in relief. Across the yard, the police car parked, and two officers came racing out, yelling into their radios. The Doctor fished his psychic paper out of his pants pocket and flipped it open towards them.

“Mr Smith, we’re going to need you and your wife to vacate the premises, this area has been declared unsafe, do you know anything about the explosion or-”

Rose tuned the police officers out, and focused her attention back on Amy’s breathing, humming the tune of some forgotten lullabye quietly as she ran her hands carefully through the little girl's hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy stirred, a dull ache in her head. Warmth quickly surrounded her upper body and she felt like she was… moving. Her legs were indeed swinging back and forth, and she opened her eyes blearily to look up at whoever was carrying her.

It was the Doctor! He held her firmly in his arms, her head cradled on his chest. Amy vaguely registered what felt like two heart beats on either side of her head, but she dismissed the notion.

Humans only had one heart after all.

“Doctor? What happened?” She asked, her throat constricting painfully as she spoke. Her hand flew up to try to soothe the pain, but it just made it worse. Rose's head appeared next to the Doctors, looking equally as beat up.

“You were thrown by the explosion. How do you feel?”

Amy thought the Doctor's question was uncommonly stupid. Everything hurt. “My head hurts.” She couldn’t keep the whine out of her voice. “And my throat.”

Rose rubbed Amy's ankle gently, her eyes full of pity. “That makes sense love. You’ve had a rough day, but the only thing that matters is that we’re all safe.”

All of a sudden, a terrible thought struck Amy. No, not everyone was safe. She hadn’t been home alone.

“No,” she said, tears pricking her eyes. “We aren’t all safe.” Rose and the Doctor both looked confused.

“What do you mean sweetheart?” Rose asked calmly, but Amy could feel the underlying panic in her voice.

“Aunt Sharon was still inside.”

As soon as she uttered those five words, Amy began to cry. It was all too much. Her tears started off little, but in no time her whole body was wracked with sobs so violent they never should have come from a child so small.

“He must have sensed her,” the Doctor said grimly. “Must have gone after her. That's why Prisoner Zero didn’t chase us out. He was too busy hunting.”

He held her a little tighter, and Amy snuggled in, wiping her teary face on his torn shirt. They reached the police car, and the Doctor put Amy down carefully onto a waiting blanket. He approached one of the officers and began to talk. “She said her Aunt was still inside at the time of the blast, upstairs—”

The Doctor's voice faded out as Amy stared into space. She vaguely registered Rose's touch on her arm, but she was far too numb to do anything about it.

Aunt Sharon, who at times had felt like the bane of Amy's existence, was gone, wiped from the earth.

Amy had never felt so very alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The explosion was ruled as a gas leak, and honestly, Rose thought that was for the better. Explaining to authorities that a gigantic alien eyeball had sent down a beam to destroy the Pond house would not have been an easy feat. Rose looked up at the slowly darkening sky, her thoughts swirling about like a witches cauldron.

“What will happen to Amy- Amelia? Now that her Aunt’s passed on?” Rose asked one of the original police officers who had arrived at the scene. More cops had shown up, and they were currently swarming the property, checking for other broken pipes. Across the street, the Doctor was sitting with Amy, her head on his lap. He looked lost in thought.

The policeman shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe they’ll pass her onto other family members. Maybe she’ll get put into care. It's above my pay grade.”

Rose's stomach flipped unpleasantly at the mention of foster care. She couldn’t imagine leaving Amy to the mercy of the rotten system. She gave a short nod, and took off towards the Doctor and Amy.

When she got to her people, a professional looking woman was talking to the duo. Amy was glaring daggers at her, and the Doctor's expression wasn’t much nicer.

“-if no family can be found, she will become a ward of the state, but it’s unlikely that she doesn’t at least have another Aunt or Uncle—”

“Aunt Sharon said we were the last of the Ponds,” Amy interjected sullenly. “I don’t have a Gran on either side, and Dad was an only child.”

Her declaration sat heavily in the air as the three adults around her took in her statement. Amy was truly alone in this world now, unless someone could be found to take her on.

Rose locked eyes with the Doctor. His eyebrow went up subtly, as if to say ‘are you thinking what I’m thinking?’

Rose was indeed thinking what he was thinking. She turned to the woman, and spoke in the most formal voice she could muster. “We’ll take her.”

Instantly, Amy’s downcast expression lit up, her brown eyes taking on the childlike glee that had been there on the fateful night they had crashed into her yard. She leapt up and tackled Rose into a huge hug, squealing. Rose looked over at the Doctor, whose eyes were as big as saucers. Her stomach dropped as she realised in her haste to cheer Amy up, she may have slightly misinterpreted his covert look.

The woman, who Rose found out was a social worker by the name of Kayla Morse, led them over to the police car to apply first aid to Amy. Despite her probable concussion and multiple burns, Amy bounced ahead, nattering away to the woman about how excited she was. Rose and the Doctor hung back, linking their arms together as they walked.

“So," Rose said, finding the silence oppressive. The Doctor wasted no time.

“I don’t think taking Amy with us is such a good idea Rose.” He was blunt as usual, but he touched her arm as he said it, as if he were trying to reassure her. Rose did not appreciate the gesture.

“We’re not letting her go into foster care,” she said firmly. “I won’t let that happen ta her.”

“Having a child with us while we travel will greatly improve the chance of a casualty, whether that be you or her, and—” The Doctor sucked in an audible breath. “I’m not willing to risk someone who I…”

He trailed off, looking past her. “Besides," he continued, as if nothing had happened. “She would be much better off in her own timeline—”

“Not if she's in foster care!” Rose retorted. “We already said we’ll take her right in front of her face! We can’t take it back—”

“If you recall, you were the one to offer that particular idea up. I had no input whatsoever.” The Doctor's tone was getting nastier with each word, and Rose felt her hackles raise.

“Well, then maybe… maybe it’s time I go.” Rose stared into his eyes, his new, uncomfortably green eyes, and her resolve stiffened. “I’ll take Amy to live with Mum and I in the estate. We can make do.”

Her mostly empty threat hung in the air like an unpleasant smell. She was certainly bluffing, he had to know that—

This wasn’t her pinstriped Doctor though. Not anymore. This Doctor was new. Would he truly leave her behind? Regeneration changed him radically, she knew full well how different he could be, and despite that she had just poked the bear. Rose began to regret her words, but it was too late to take them back now.

The Doctor's brilliant green eyes hardened, and his mouth set into a line. He dropped her hand suddenly, and her heart sank like a stone.

“Fine. Have it your way. Say hello to Jackie for me,” he said stonily, turning away from her.

“I will,” Rose snapped, ignoring the piercing pain in her chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor strode off furiously after the argument, fully intending to jump forwards a week, just to scare Rose a little. He would never truly leave her, how could he? But she was being ridiculous. It would be much better for Amy to remain in her own timestream, and much safer for all three of them.

When he reached the TARDIS, he snapped his fingers, but the TARDIS doors remained stubbornly shut. He narrowed his eyes, pulled out his key and tried to open her manually.

The TARDIS steadfastly refused. The Doctor smacked her door with his hand, earning him a painful zap. “What's wrong old girl? Why won’t you let me in?”

The TARDIS sent him a mental image of Amy and Rose, sitting in the console room. His hearts began to beat much faster than usual as he caught what the TARDIS was implying. “No.” He tried to push the doors open again without success. “Absolutely not.”

The TARDIS ignored his obvious discomfort and instead beamed him another image of himself and Rose, snuggled up on the couch, watching a movie with little Amy squeezed in between them. He groaned in frustration, slumping against the TARDIS doors.

“Don't do this to me.”

One final image was imprinted on his eyeballs. The TARDIS in her usual police box form, reclined on his favourite rocking chair, reading a book titled 'Parenting for dummies and or Time Lords who refuse to see sense'.

The Doctor slumped to the ground. "You conniving old lady. I should have had you for scraps years ago."

His head buzzed with the laughter of a ship who knew she'd won.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Anyways, that's the story of how I met the Doctor and Rose.” Amy finished her long winded story, and took a deep breath. The police officer cinched the bandage around her arm and patted it gently.

“All wrapped up. You have a wonderful imagination dear.” Amy squinted at the police woman, her features morphing into a frown.

She was just contemplating biting the officer for calling her stories imaginary when Rose appeared behind her. Amy leapt up, ignoring the policewomans order to stay seated, and ran at Rose.

“Rose!” she crashed into the woman , and was enveloped in a warm set of arms. One set of arms. Where was the Doctor?

Amy withdrew from her embrace. “What happened to the Doctor?” She peered around behind Rose, craning her neck and trying to make him out, but he was nowhere to be seen. Amy's brows creased.

Rose’s features morphed into what Amy thought was supposed to be a comforting smile. It was unsuccessful and she just looked like she was in pain. Rose shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “Erm, he’ll be back soon I think. How's your arm feeling?”

Amy knew a deflection when she heard one, but she decided to ignore it and answer anyway. “Sore. The police lady said it was gonna be a few months until my arm heals.”

“‘M sorry Amy, I shoulda made you come out with Rory and I.” Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “Ah! Rory! Shit—”

She glanced at Amy. “I meant shite.” Amy raised an eyebrow disapprovingly. Rose cleared her throat. “I meant crap. Err. I sent Rory to your neighbour's house.”

Amy’s eyebrows dipped into a frown. “Which neighbour?” She hissed. Rose shrugged.

“Well I didn’t actually see, but he took off runnin’ left maybe?”

Amy's stomach dropped.

The Pond house, or what was left of it, was sandwiched directly in between two houses. On the right side was a lovely old house with a family of five living inside, all older teenagers, and Amy adored every one of them. They would take turns on the holidays to babysit her, and their parents were close with Aunt Sharon.

If only Rory had turned right.

On the left side of Amy's house was an equally old, but much more decrepit looking house, inhabited by a singular woman and her fourteen odd cats. Amy was decently sure it was haunted, and after being scratched by one of the feral cats as a child, she had vowed never to even go near the cursed place.

But if it were her in there, Rory would do anything to save her, and so Amy squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

She could do this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose knocked on the door of the creepy house rapidly. Amy hoped this would be over soon, and that they could get Rory and get out. “‘Ello?” Rose called out, trying to look through the peephole. “Anyone home?”

The door swung open violently, smacking Rose in the face and a stout woman appeared, holding approximately three point five cats. She squinted at them suspiciously.

“Who’re you lot then? Not the health inspectors, I got no cats in here!” Amy steadied herself.

“I’m Amy Pond, and this is Rose. We’ve come to get Rory.”

The woman's face screwed up into a displeased scowl. “You’re the ones who sent the little bugger ‘ere? He won’t leave! Said something about a Rose?”

Rose had a forced looking cheerful smile on her face. “Erm sorry ‘bout that. Can we have him back?”

The woman’s scowl grew fiercer. She turned her head and yelled at the top of her lungs. “RORY GET YOUR SORRY ARSE OUT THE DOOR, YOUR ROSE IS ‘ERE.”

A moment later, a skittering sound came from down the hall, and Amy grinned as Rory emerged from the hovel, cat fur plastered across his school uniform. His eyes were reddened and his nose running, and it was at that moment Amy remembered he was extremely allergic to cats.

Gah, if only he had turned right.

Rory was running as fast as he could, and when he reached them, he barreled into Amy, his arms wrapping around her.

He sneezed, and Amy felt her hair dampen. Ewwww. Her neighbour glowered at the three of them. “Is that everything then?” At Rose's nod, their neighbour promptly slammed the door shut. Amy glared at the door, half tempted to reopen it and give the woman a piece of her mind, but Rory's sniffling stole her attention.

“Are you alright Rory?” She asked, untangling their bodies. He nodded, but he looked quite the mess, his eyes and nose still dripping from allergies.

“I want to go home.”

Home. That word held no meaning for Amelia Pond anymore. She hastily rubbed her eyes to prevent another meltdown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose walked Rory over to one of the police officers, and he was driven home. It was completely dark now, and Rose was beginning to feel the weight of the day settling on her shoulders. She stretched her arms out in a yawn. Amy had passed out asleep on the ground ten minutes ago, head in Rose's lap. Rose wrapped her pink jacket around the little girl to try to keep her warm, but she didn’t have anything else.

Rose didn’t know what she would do tonight without the Doctor and the TARDIS. Maybe she could find a phone to call her Mum to get them but what then? Their flat in the estate was nowhere near big enough to house all three of them, and how would they support Amy?

She gazed at the sleeping girl, lost in thought when Kayla approached them. Rose shook away her weariness and tried to appear as if she were coping excellently and not a complete mess. “I suppose you're here to talk about the adoption paperwork?” She called out casually, careful not to jostle Amy's head. Kayla shook her head.

“Your husband has already completed the paperwork ma’am.”

Husband? Rose cocked her head, confused. “What?”

Kayla gestured back to where the officers were set up, and to Rose's shock and delight, she spotted the Doctor. She hadn’t a clue what had changed his mind, but Rose was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She roused Amy with a gentle shake. “Wake up sleepy ‘ed, the Doctor’s back.”

Amy startled under her touch, her head jerking about wildly. “Wha? What's going on?”

Rose ran her hand soothingly up the unbandaged arm. “The Doctor's back.”

Amy sat bolt upright at those words, Roses scarf flying off of her. She grinned at Rose. “I knew he’d come get us!” She declared, and then she leapt up and took off towards his figure. Rose stood, stretching out her sore legs.

She meandered over to the Doctor, and when she got there, Amy was bouncing around like a Jack Russell on crack. Rose locked eyes with him, staring him down until he was forced to look away.

“Amy, are you ready to head home?” The Doctor asked casually, keeping up appearances. Amy nodded, her red hair jerking up and down with the movement.

“Yes!” Amy replied, and the Doctor took her hand.

Rose took his other one, and as they walked, she whispered into his ear. “What changed?”

He didn’t answer her, only said. “Come along Pond.”

Oh Rose hated when he did that. Evidently there were some things regeneration would never change.

They slipped away from the scene, and went back to the TARDIS. The Doctor ran his hand across the front panelling and thankfully wasn’t zapped this time.

“What have you got for us this time old girl?”

Rose only had a moment to wonder at his statement before the doors creaked open, and the trio entered. Amy gasped. So did Rose.

She had only been expecting the console room to be fixed after the horrific damage caused by the Doctor's explosive regeneration, but instead, the entire room w was transformed.

The coral struts were gone, and the room now glowed a deep orangey colour, contrasted with the greenish lights on the console. Rose looked up to see there were wires hanging haphazardly from the roof, all connecting to the control in the centre. The console itself had changed completely, and was now a hexagonal shape, covered with buttons and levers Rose didn’t quite recognise. She groaned internally, as she had just started to vaguely understand what the old console did.

Amy's pupils looked like she had dosed herself with caffeine as she gazed around the interior of the Doctor's ship. “It’s bigger on the inside,” she murmered wondrously. She reached out a hand to touch the console and the TARDIS hummed beneath her fingers, making her giggle.

“What was that?” Amy asked. Rose watched the Doctor as he got down on Amy's level and began to explain, her heart melting a little. He was so good with children, and she really wondered where his part-time aversion to them stemmed from.

“That’s the TARDIS talking to you.” He put his hand on top of Amy’s, helping her to feel the ship's heartbeat.

“What's she saying?” Amy enquired, her eyes fixing on the Doctor with a startling intensity. Rose hoped that Amy referring to the TARDIS appropriately would endear her to the Doctor, although despite his earlier protests, he looked completely enraptured with the child.

He sprung up suddenly, pulling her hand away from the ship, and the moment was shattered. “Well, you’ll have to learn to listen to her! Right Miss Pond, I’ve got some tinkering to do, and you need your sleep young lady. Why don’t you go with Rose and set up a trundle for the night before your room shows up?”

Rose thought that was a good idea. The TARDIS was a strange ship, and because she was sentient, rooms tended to have a mind of their own. Rose’s room had appeared just under an hour after she came aboard, and according to the Doctor that was almost a record. Martha's had shown up within four hours, and Jacks had taken about a day to materialise. Rose suspected the speed had something to do with how much the Doctor and by extension, his TARDIS liked you, because Adams room had never shown up at all. He had been relegated to sleeping on the media room's couch for the few days he travelled with them, which she had teased him about relentlessly.

"I'm not tired," Amy huffed, but her fluttering eyelids betrayed her, and at that moment she yawned.

Rose led her down the corridor, towards her bedroom in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor ran his hand over his new TARDIS console appreciatively. It was much larger than the previous one, which was nice, but he still wasn’t happy with the blasted machine for forcing his hand on the Amy argument.

He picked up his screwdriver to poke around in the TARDIS’s innards when footsteps alerted him to another's presence.

Ah. Rose. He put his screwdriver down and hoisted himself up out of the space.

“Weren’t you setting up Amy’s trundle?” He asked, curious about why so little time had passed. Rose shrugged.

“The TARDIS already had a room ready for her.”

The fact that the TARDIS already had a room prepared for Amy was extremely out of the ordinary. The only other person she had ever pre arranged a room for was Susan, and that was over a millenia ago. The Doctor swallowed uncomfortably.

Amy Pond was meant to be here, there was no doubt about it. You’re a lousy excuse for a time machine. He grumbled at the TARDIS, but she only hummed pleasantly, giving him the mental equivalent of a condescending pat on the head.

“Ah. That’s rare. Probably doesn’t mean anything. Well. Feel free to take a seat.”

The Doctor ducked back under the cover, eager to avoid any awkward conversation. It appeared this regeneration was still a coward. Pity that.

He heard her footsteps overhead, and the new jumpseat creaked as she sat. He took out his screwdriver and began tinkering, although the TARDIS certainly didn’t need it, shiny and new as she was. He cursed quietly when she zapped him, trying to make him go and talk with Rose.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to Rose. All he wanted to do on any given day was talk to Rose. The conversation about Amy though, was something else. The fact that she had been so willing to give him up for a slip of a girl who they had met only hours previous—

Well. It hurt. Quite a bit if he were to be honest with himself, which he so rarely was.

And he wasn’t angry at her about the situation. More than anything, he was furious with the TARDIS for pulling rank and forcibly placing the child with them, and a child with parental issues to boot. Amy hadn’t called him Dad yet, but the Doctor knew it was a possibility, and he wasn’t sure if he could take it.

He had no idea why the TARDIS had pushed Amy into their lives, and him not knowing the answers was rare. She was inevitably going to die. Rose was going to die. He would be left alone to travel the stars forever, and he didn’t need any more reminders of that fact.

“We can find Amy somewhere else ta live if you want.” The Doctor looked up at Rose's comment, drawn out of his thoughts. She was looking down the hallway towards her room, and, he presumed, Amy's new room as well. “And I’ll stay.” Rose turned back around and leant her head onto her knees. She looked up, but when he caught her eye she rapidly shifted her own. “Just. Not foster care. Please.”

Oh. Oh. She thought he was angry at her about Amy. Regret coursed through his veins at the realisation, and he hurried to correct it, scrambling out of the crawl space fully to sit next to her on the jump seat.

“It’s not your fault she’s here.” Rose took in a breath, ready to protest, but the Doctor held up his hand. “No, really. The TARDIS pre prepared a room for her. She would have had a fit if we didn’t take Amy with us.”

“Is that why you came back for me ‘n her?”

No, it wasn’t. The Doctor never truly would have left Rose, although it did help he physically couldn’t enter his void travelling machine to leave. “Errrm well—”

“The TARDIS wouldn’t let you back in withou’ us, would she?” Rose teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

The TARDIS bells jingled with laughter, confirming her hypothesis. The Doctor rolled his eyes, but a smile crept onto his face without his consent.

“Come here.” He patted the seat next to him, and she accepted his offer, shuffling over so she was almost on top of him. He wrapped his arm around her properly and held her, feeling each one of her breaths as her lungs expanded and contracted, his nose buried in her hair.

Rose was going to die. Amy was going to die. He would outlive them both easily, and there was nothing he could do about it.

But today was not that day.

Today, the Doctor had Rose in his arms, and Amy was on the ship, asleep. Today, they would breathe, today, they would live.

Today he would let himself be happy.

A small, and most definitely not asleep voice interrupted his train of thought. “I’m hungry. I can’t sleep when I’m hungry. Don’t you people have any food?”

Amy's question was reminiscent of the one he’d asked her in her house's kitchen, and he grinned into the top of Rose's head.

“How does fish fingers and custard sound?”

Chapter Text

“Suspenders?” Rose asked, trying her hardest not to smile. “And… a bowtie?”

“Bowties are cool now, you don’t understand,” the Doctor sniffed, looking like a rather offended feline. Rose gave up on suppressing her mirth, and giggled at his expression.

“‘M just teasin’, I think you look cute.” Rose leant forwards and straightened his bow tie.

The Doctor perked up at her attentions, and enthusiastically shrugged on a bright purple waist coat. He pulled a dramatic pose in the long mirror, and his face screwed up in displeasure. He then discarded the jacket onto the wardrobe room floor without a second glance, before prancing over to one of the many clothes racks in the room.

Amy had finally gone to bed post a disgusting reunion dinner with fish fingers and custard, almost too exhausted to speak. Rose tucked her in carefully, and stayed until Amy fell into dreamland, before slipping away to find the Doctor. When she managed to track him down, she found him in the wardrobe room, following what she assumed was a post regeneration tradition of finding a new style. She felt a pang in her chest, missing his pinstripes just a little bit. Would she always feel this way when he changed? Always miss his blue eyes and big ears and pinstripes and converse? Would she grow to miss this puppy dog version of her Doctor when he inevitably changed, turning her life upside down once again?

“It could be worse, I used to strut about with a piece of celery pinned to my lapels.”

The Doctor's comment interrupted Rose's rumination, effectively snapping her out of her misery. She bit back a laugh and replied. “Always gotta keep a snack close at hand.” He snorted at that, but it was muffled by the ridiculous amount of clothing in the room.

Rose wandered over to one of the cupboards and began to sort through the several jackets hanging up, most of which were offensive to her eyes.

One jacket she pulled out was so multicoloured it hurt to even glance at. That was never seeing the light of day again if she could help it, and so she shoved it back in the deepest part of the cupboard she could reach. Rose ran her hand over a green velvet one, appreciating the texture, but decided against it, thinking it may clash with the red bow tie. She finally found one that might be acceptable, when the back of her hand brushed over a familiar texture.

Grinning, she retrieved it from the depths and shrugged it on before calling out to the Doctor. “Oi Doctor, c’mere!”

He appeared at the entrance to the room she was in, a floor length yellow cape wrapped around his shoulders. Rose blinked. “Are you colorblind this time ?”

He stuck his tongue out at her childishly, and crossed his arms. “No, but I am flamboyant!” He declared, striking yet another dorky pose.

She snickered at his movement, and when he looked back at her, his mouth slammed shut for once. “Erm— where’d you find that?”

Rose’s leather covered arm pointed over to the closet she had riffled through. “Back through there.”

The coat she had donned was her original Doctors, all black and leather, and she found she quite enjoyed its weight on her shoulders. It really was too nice of a jacket to waste away in the wardrobe room, never to be worn again, and so she was dead set on claiming it as her own.

No other reason of course.

“You err— that's mine.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yeah? Well I haven’t seen you wear it in what, two and a half years?”

He was still scrambling for words when she shoved another coat into his arms. “Here, try this one on.”

The Doctor launched into action and slipped the tweed suit jacket over his gangly arms. He ran out to the mirror, and struck yet another pose.

Rose came out behind him. “So?”

He strutted about a little more, and straightened the lapels. “It’s perfect. Better than.” He lifted her swiftly into a warm hug, his new suit jacket a pleasant texture against her face. He put her back down, and she stifled a yawn. It had been a long day.

His weird time-lordy senses must have zeroed in on her not-quite-a-yawn because he crossed his arms and adopted a stern expression. “Today’s been ridiculously long. Go to bed Rose.”

She wanted to protest, she really did, but an actual yawn betrayed her. She stretched out her arms, and padded towards the door. When she got there, she turned to see him, still looking after her. “Night Doctor.”

His smile was soft. “Sleep well Rose Tyler.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy tossed and turned for what felt like hours. She was far too wired to sleep, especially after the events of the day, and she just wished she were at home, even if Aunt Sharon might scold her for being awake at this hour.

Oh Aunt Sharon. Amy thought there might have been more tears to come at the thought of her Aunt, but her eyes remained stubbornly dry despite the concoction of feelings swirling about her chest. It appeared her tear ducts had turned in their resignation letters.

Well. That was that. She simply couldn't sleep. Instead, Amy swung her legs out of bed, intent on exploring this new room, studiously ignoring her aching heart.

The TARDIS hummed beneath her feet, a welcoming kind of buzz. Amy strained to understand what the TARDIS was saying, but only received what felt like a gentle hug in her head. Hmm. She would ask the Doctor about it in the morning.

Amy inspected the room carefully, and after a quick assessment, found something extremely strange.

It was an exact carbon copy of her old bedroom.

Down to the spider web on the wall, and the stuffed toys on the floor. The mirror was still cracked, and her raggedy dolls were lined up neatly in her suitcase. She felt like if she got up and walked out the door again, she would find a familiar staircase, and maybe, just maybe if she followed it down to the kitchen, she might see Aunt Sharon—

Amy opened the door and was deeply disappointed, although unsurprised when she saw the TARDIS’s cool grey hallways. Despite what everyone seemed to think, imagination had never been Amy's strong suit. Sharon was truly gone, and so was their house.

Amy pushed her door, and it shut with a soft click. She padded back to her bed, and flung herself onto it, burying her face into her yellow sheets. Oh, even her sheets still smelled like home. In a fit of rage, she tossed them off her bed, throwing the pillows after them.

She didn’t want to be here.

The TARDIS was kinda cool, but Amy just missed her home. What use was a time travelling machine to her if she couldn’t go back and save one of the most important people in her life? At least Rory was ok, and Mels hadn’t even been involved—

Oh no, she hadn’t even thought about Rory and Mels. Would she ever see them again?

Amy couldn’t take it. Too many thoughts, too many memories, too much of a home that didn’t exist anymore. It was suffocating. She pulled on her dressing gown, and tugged on her slippers before exiting the home-but-not-quite-home room.

She would find somewhere else to sleep tonight, or not sleep at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose’s room looked slightly different to how she had left it, and she assumed the TARDIS must have shifted some things around after the crash. Her walls were still pink, and her floors were still wooden, but her bed had gotten bigger, and had extra pillows. Everything else seemed to be in order, and Rose didn’t pay much attention to the upgrades. The TARDIS always had her reasons.

Rose pulled out some pyjamas from her drawers and walked into the bathroom to shower. She brushed her teeth, dried her hair, and went back into her room. She narrowed her eyes as she examined the bed.

Usually the TARDIS was kind enough to make her bed, a service Rose was grateful for as she hadn't bothered before she began travelling, but this time her bed was rumpled. She crept forward, careful not to make a sound, her gut telling her something was off. In the centre of the ruffles, a small figure was curled up, and Rose relaxed instantly.

Amy.

Rose sent a mental query to the TARDIS, but the ship only hummed mournfully in response. Maybe Amy had had a nightmare? If the TARDIS wasn’t going to tell her, Rose could only guess.

Well, there was nothing to be done. Rose slipped into the bed next to Amy, and was startled when the little girl immediately rolled over to snuggle into her. Rose thought about waking her up, and walking her back to her room, but her heart wouldn’t entertain such notions.

Instead, Rose wrapped her arms around Amy, and drifted off alongside her into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Amy awoke to the sound of a shower running, it took her a minute to place herself. Ah. TARDIS. Her new room. Hang on. Who was in the shower then?

Her question was answered when said person began to sing a slightly offkey version of Wannabe. Amy didn’t think the Doctor would be able to hit those notes.

Amy could have smacked herself for being so stupid. This wasn’t a spare room, it was Roses room. Her face began to heat up as she realised the mistake she had made. Would Rose be upset with her?

She hurriedly quashed the thought before it could crush her. Rose wouldn’t be upset. She was kind, kinder than the Doctor certainly, although Amy liked them both equally. Though Rose may be a tad bit annoyed, Amy doubted she would take it out on her.

Still, Amy thought she probably should do something to make up for invading Rose's space. Oh! She could cook breakfast maybe? She knew how to operate a stove thanks to Aunt Sharon's many overnight shifts, and how hard could it be to make some eggs?

A plan began to form in Amy's mind as she flung the duvet off.

She pulled on her slippers and exited the room, into the TARDIS’s hallway, now with purpose. It was still as grey as she remembered, but several new doorways had opened up overnight. Might one of them lead to the kitchen?

Amy considered what Rose had said last night, about how the ship was sentient, and a thought of her own struck her. What if she tried to ask the ship for directions?

Amy held one hand to her head, and pressed the other flat to the smooth wall, her brows creased in concentration. Which way do I go? To the kitchen? Amy waited a moment, before adding on a Please? to her request.

A delightful musical chime in the back of Amy’s spine was her answer, and when she opened her eyes again, there was only one doorway left.

Amy grinned. It was time to get cooking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy was in the process of scrambling some eggs when the Doctor made an appearance, his sleep ruffled hair sticking up at weird angles. He stretched into a yawn, and rubbed his eyes before walking towards her.

The moment they made eye contact, the Doctor panicked.

“Guh!” The Doctor made the most un-Doctor-like noise Amy had ever heard, and pointed his screwdriver in her direction. Well, she assumed it was a screwdriver, although it looked way different to his other one. Where had he even got it from? His pants didn’t look like they had pockets? After a stare off that lasted seconds, he relaxed, bringing the screwdriver down, looking quite contrite.

“Rassilon, sorry Amy, I forgot you were on board.” She giggled at that, and stirred the eggs, careful that they didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. He peered over the edge of the stove, licking his lips. His hand began to creep towards the still cooking eggs mischievously.

“Mmm eggs. Can I—”

“It's for Rose, and besides, your hand will get all burned,” she admonished, hitting at his hand with her spoon. He dodged her attack, and danced around behind her to the fridge.

“Alright, I’ll have cereal then.” He pulled a bottle of milk from the fridge and popped the lid off with his thumb. He yanked open a draw and picked up a bowl, sloshing the milk into it.

Amy just stared in disbelief.

“Did you really just put milk in first?”

“Oh you sound like Rose, you do,” he groaned, wrenching open the cupboard doors to retrieve several packets of cereal Amy didn’t recognise. He swiftly dumped the contents of them into his bowl and stirred.

“Who sounds like me?”

Amy’s head whipped around to see Rose, freshly showered, dressed in a pink jumper and dark blue jeans. She wanted to run over to Rose and hug her, but didn’t want the eggs to burn. Her dilemma was solved when Rose came over and after stretching, enveloped Amy into a hug.

“Morning sweetie. How’d ya sleep?”

Oh good, Amy had been right. Rose wasn’t angry. “Slept good. Sorry for coming into your room,” she mumbled into Roses shirt.

Amy felt Rose laugh a little beneath her cheek. “‘S alright kid. Come to me whenever you need alright?”

Amy Pond had never felt so very at home.

A slight smell of burning reached her nose, and she screeched, pushing Rose away. “The eggs!” She cried as a way of explanation, and hurriedly stirred the pan. The Doctor and Rose only laughed, and eventually, Amy joined them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The three of them sat around one of the TARDIS’s kitchen tables, chowing down on their respective breakfasts of choice when Rose put down her fork. Amy looked up from her jam toast, curious about what Rose had to say.

“Doctor, I want to see my Mum today.”

At that, the Doctor groaned, looking quite like a moody toddler. “Do we have to? I swear we saw her right before we crashed into Amy's house—”

Rose silenced him with a look. Amy continued eating, her eyes flicking between her two most favourite adults. Rose sighed. “Doctor, you’ve regenerated since, and well we—.”

She motioned at Amy with her knife as if unsure how to word it. “You gained a child,” Amy interjected with a proud grin. She didn’t miss the awkward look that passed between them.

“Err. Yes.” Rose's face was a lovely shade of pink. She continued. “That. ‘M not saying we have to stay long—”

“Oh you always say that,” the Doctor cut her off, shovelling another spoonful into his mouth haphazardly. “Then your Mum says ‘oh love just stay for some tea’ or ‘did ya hear about what ‘appened to your cousin Hayley’ and just like that, it's been six hours!”

Amy didn’t know the Doctor's voice could go that high. On reflection, she thought he probably could have hit those Spice Girl notes from the shower. Rose was completely unimpressed with his antics. She loaded up another forkful of eggs as she spoke. “Excellent impressions of my mother aside, aren’t you a Timelord?”

Amy would have to ask one of them about what exactly that meant later.

“What does that have to do with anything?” The Doctor replied, leaning back on his chair.

Amy was fully invested in the soap opera before her. Who would come out on top? She wasn’t betting on the Doctor.

Rose shrugged, swallowing her egg before replying. “Haven’t you got some super long lifespan? What’s one more hour with my Mum to you?”

“Another hour I could have spent literally anywhere else.” Amy wasn’t sure if the Doctor had meant for Rose to hear that snide comment, but unfortunately for him she did, and did not appreciate it.

“What's so wrong with my Mother hmm?” One eyebrow went up.

The Doctor let his chair fall with a bang, propelling himself forwards to rest his arms on the table. “Roooooose,” he whined, sounding like a pitiful child begging to stay for five more minutes at the park. “She’s slapped me twice!”

Amy giggled at the image. He glared at her. “It's not funny Pond!” He cried. “In all of space and time, I’ve never been slapped by anyone's mother!”

Amy only laughed harder. Rose took her knife and fork and began to cut her toast, looking as if she were trying to remember something. “No no remember, Martha’s Mum Tish slapped you as well,” Rose reminded him triumphantly, taking a bite of said toast victoriously.

The Doctor pouted. “Well she’s not the one you’re trying to get me to have tea with!” He slumped in his seat. “Besides, I don’t want to waste any more time on her then necessary—”

“Well this is necessary.” Rose cut him off, slamming her hands down onto the table. Amy’s eyes widened. “Besides introducing Amy, you still have Howards pyjamas from the last time you regenerated, and heavens knows she’s been pestering me about it since!”

She fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently and Amy knew at that point, the Doctor had well and truly lost. “Isn’t your companions' peace of mind the most important thing to you?”

The Doctor sighed, and ran his hand through his magnificent hair. He startled Amy by standing abruptly, his empty bowl in his right hand. “Fine. Fine! Fine. We’ll visit your Mother, but only,” he shook a finger at Rose for emphasis. “Only if we stay for ten minutes. And not a minute more!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How many times ‘ave I told you Doctor, don’t park in my fla- oh!” Jackie was startled when her daughter half leapt out of the TARDIS and gripped her into a tight hug. She looked over Rose's shoulder and noted that the TARDIS doors were closed. Hmm.

“Sorry Mum. It’s been a hectic few days.” Jackie relinquished her grip on her daughter and her eyes flicked over to the Doctor. She did a double take, looking him up and down as if to confirm her suspicions.

“New face? I hope you’re not gonna pass out again Doctor, I’ll warn you, I don't have any spare jim-jams, not since you took the last pair!” The Doctor fiddled with his bow tie uncomfortably.

“Er— no. I regenerated a couple of days ago. Sorry about that. No passing out for me.”

Jackie sniffed reproachfully. “And what's with the bow tie? Honestly Rose, couldn’t you have picked one wi’ a better fashion sense?”

“Mum.”

Jackie put her hands up defensively. “Alright alright! I was just sayin’ love! Doctor, go get the jim jams, out of your bloody spaceship. Howards been hectorin me about ‘em and what am I supposed to say? An alien bugger’s got your-”

Jackie’s rambling cut off suddenly when the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and a little redheaded girl came tumbling through them.

The little girl's hazel eyes locked onto Jackie's own. “They said I could come out when the doors opened,” she accused.

Silence. Jackie processed the information, before quickly deciding on a logical course of action.

She slapped the Doctor.

“YOU KNOCKED UP MY DAUGHTER?”

The Doctor rubbed his face with a wince. “It was an accident—” he began, but that was the worst possible thing he could have said. Jackie's eyes widened dangerously.

“Always an accident!” She huffed. “And the Dad never sticks around! 'Spose you’re just coming to drop ‘er and your spawn off.” She narrowed her eyes and scanned the little girl over. “Is she some kind of- of- half alien? What are you, a martian?” The Doctor tried to correct her, but Jackie wasn’t finished. “-And YOU young lady!”

She rounded on Rose, who, despite having very much not committed the crime her mother was accusing her of, suddenly felt very guilty. She opened her mouth to try to defend herself, but Jackie steamrolled over any possible objections.

“I thought you knew better! Going off wi’ some strange man in a little blue box is bad enough, but Rose, a baby? A child? And you didn’t even tell me!”

The indignation in Jackies voice gave way to hurt.

“Mum, she's not mine. She's not- not ours.” Rose grasped her mothers hand gently, trying to reassure her of the fact. Jackie looked like she might slap the Doctor again. “Tha's what he meant by accident. She wasn’t meant to come with us originally but—”

“Your daughter has a soft spot for children and wouldn’t leave her behind," the Doctor finished.

Jackie rolled her eyes, fury forgotten. “Ever the bleedin’ heart aren’t you?”

Well, some things never changed. Rose always had insisted on carrying snails off of the path to keep them from being stepped on. Jackie sighed. “Right, you’re already in ‘ere, mays well come for tea.”

The Doctor shot Rose an 'I told you so' look as Jackie bustled about the room, already on one of her famed rambles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the hapless Doctor had predicted, it was indeed far more than the promised ten minutes. Jackie Tyler was a walking talking hurricane, and who could stand in her way?

At least it seemed that she and Amy got along like a house on fire, and by the time the trio left, after six hours of chatter, Jackie was demanding that Amy be dropped off at some point for some 'Nana-Granddaughter bonding time’.

Amy seemed to like the idea, and so did the Doctor. At least Amy would always have somewhere to stay if something happened to him or Rose.

That afternoon, at Rose's request, the Doctor took them to a simple shopping centre in the year 2134. It was far enough ahead that no one might recognise Amy or Rose, but near enough to their own timeline that Amy would still know most of the stores and goods.

Despite the fact that the TARDIS could easily replace every one of Amy's lost things, Rose thought it would be better for her to be able to pick out some clothes and toys she liked herself, and the Doctor could hardly refuse her any request.

A couple of hours and several chip stops later, Amy was thoroughly worn out, and the Doctor ended up carrying her back to the TARDIS. Rose carried the bulk of the shopping bags back through the TARDIS doors, and was most certainly not sneaking glances as he tucked Amy carefully into bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, the Doctor tinkered with the atmospheric controls under the console. He had a vague idea of what he was going to show Amy today, and couldn’t wait for his girls to be awake.

“What do you think?” The Doctor looked up as Rose walked into the console room, dressed in a pink undershirt beneath a dungaree dress. She was wearing his blasted leather jacket on top and she looked phenomenal. “Will it do?”

He snorted, ignoring the way his hearts began to beat double time. “In the 1970’s? You’d be better off in a bin bag—” Rose opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor jumped out of the crawl space and slid a CD into the TARDIS, holding up his hand. “Hold on, listen to this!”

He shimmied his shoulders dorkily as the music started up, pulling her into a dance. “Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979.” She matched his footsteps immediately, a tongue touched smile his reward.

“You’re a punk!”

He waggled his eyebrows back at her, a devilish smile creeping onto his lips. “It’s good to be a lunatic!”

“That's what you are. A big old punk with a bit of rockabilly thrown in,” Rose giggled.

“What's a punk?” Amy asked, wandering into the room wearing a yellow undershirt and dungaree dress that matched Roses. It was honestly adorable, although the Doctor would never admit that out loud.

“Would you like to find out?” the Doctor enquired, directing their dance closer to the girl, spinning Rose around in a lift. Rose’s laughter was like music to his ears, and he wanted nothing more than to draw them from her again and again.

Alas, today would not be that day. He set her down carefully, and bounced over to the console. He pushed a lever, and the TARDIS whirred to life beneath their feet.

“How’d you mean find out?” Amy asked, clambering onto the jumpseat behind him, craning her neck to get a better look.

“We’re going to go see them in concert!” The Doctor declared, and the TARDIS whooshed into flight. Amy nodded, her eyes sparkling. Rose quirked an eyebrow.

“In concert? Really?” She leaned on the console with her hands on her hips.

“What else is a Tardis for? I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon or Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?”

Rose grinned. “Sheffield it is.”

“SHEFFIELD IT IS!” Amy parroted, louder than Rose. The Doctor pushed a button.

“One time travel adventure, coming right up!”

He began to tap out the rhythm of the song on the console as the TARDIS flung them through space and time before jolting to a very sudden stop, depositing the trio onto the floor.

The Doctor leapt up, pulling Amy and Rose along as he did, and headed for the TARDIS doors.

“1979! Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam, the Muppet Movie, oh I love that film, Margaret Thatcher. Urgh.” He shrugged on his suit jacket. “Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb—”

He pushed the TARDIS doors, still talking, unaware of the outside environment. “-And I like my thumb, I’m very attached to—”

A rifle cocking noise stole his attention. The Doctor moved subtly in front of Amy and Rose. “-My thumb.”

Ah. This was not 1979.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy didn’t think people rode horses in 1979. Or wore kilts unless they were particularly drunk. She worried her lip between her teeth as she gazed about the rolling green hills. The Doctor cleared up her confusion.

“1879. Same difference.”

It absolutely was not the same difference. The Doctor was a terrible driver.

Chapter Text

“You will explain yer presence.” The man in the red coat’s eyes scanned over Amy and Rose with distaste. “And the nakedness of these girls.”

Rose deeply regretted her choice of clothing for the day. A knee length dungaree dress and ridiculously comfy leather jacket wasn’t exactly optimal clothing for the inevitable chase through the Scottish highlands.

“Are we in Scotland?” Rose had never heard the Doctor sound so Scottish, and she found she... quite enjoyed it to say the least. His accent sounded natural, and she wondered if it was from some past regeneration of his. Either way it gave her butterflies.

Rose ignored them steadfastly as she had for years. They were best mates, always would be, and nothing more, she'd accepted this.

The red coated man pulled a face. Amy looked like she wanted to bite him. “How can ye be ignorant of that?”

Yes, that was a biting face. Rose had baby sat enough children to know the look. The Doctor spoke again. “Oh, I'm, I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing these, these here naked children over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya timorous beasties?”

Offence flared in Rose's chest, but she pushed it down, slamming her hand onto Amy's shoulder to stop her from flying at the red coated man. Or perhaps the Doctor considering the comment he had just made.

“Will you identify yourself sir?”

“I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my er, credentials, if I may.” The Doctor fished around in his great deep pockets to retrieve the psychic paper. “As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself.”

“Let them approach.”

All three of their heads snapped up at the formal voice drifting from a carriage nearby. The redcoat scowled. “I do not think that is wise Ma’am.”

“I said, let them approach.”

The redcoat nodded stoutly and turned his attention back to Amy, Rose and the Doctor. “You will approach the carriage, and you will show all due deference,” he said, a note of warning in his voice.

Rose found that she too, wanted to bite the pompous man.

A footman walked before them, and opened the carriage’s door, revealing a pious looking old woman. The Doctor grinned. “Rose, Amy, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria, Empress of India and Defender of the Faith.”

Rose felt compelled to curtsey. “Rose Tyler, Ma'am, and this is Amy,” she gestured at the little girl, who copied her movement. “My apologies for our nakedness.”

The regal woman waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. “I’ve born five daughters, tis nothing to me. But you Doctor.” Her eyes narrowed and her face took on a shrewd look as she looked at the Doctor. “Show me your credentials?”

He handed her Majesty the paper, and her eyes scanned it quickly. She handed it back to him, closing the flap. “Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector.”

“Does it?” The Doctor sounded surprised, but he collected himself. “Ah, yes it does, good!”

He nodded again, before his brows furrowed. “Then let me ask - why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?”

“A tree on the line,” she replied airily.

“Was it an accident Ma’am?” Rose enquired. Queen Victoria's face grew tired, and somehow she looked much more ancient then she had a moment ago.

“I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned.”

“An assassination attempt?”

“What, seriously? There's people out to kill you?” Amy gaped at the Doctor's suggestion.

“I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun.”

The red coated man from before approached, and bowed to the Queen. “Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow.”

The Queen nodded regally, placing her gloved hands into her lap. “This Doctor and his timorous beasties will come with us.”

The redcoat saluted. “Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall.”

The Queen leant back in her seat. “Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts, fanciful tales intended to scare the children.” She stared at Amy a moment, before finishing her thought. “But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Scottish highlands were beautiful, and covered in spring wildflowers. It was a vision to behold despite the chilling wind whipping through the moors, and soon enough the trio had worked up a sweat from their walk.

The Doctor and Rose trailed along behind the carriage at a leisurely pace, while Amy skipped slightly ahead of them. “It's funny though, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her,” Rose said.

“1879? She's had, oh, six attempts on her life? And I'll tell you something else.” The Doctor looped an arm through Roses gleefully. “We just met Queen Victoria!”

“I know!” Rose giggled.

The Doctor's eyes were brighter than the moon. “How about you Pond? How are you feeling about your first real time travel adventure?”

Amy danced around the duo, twirling about. “Amazing! I love it!” She stopped to pick a flower, before declaring to it in a singsong voice. “I just met the Queen!”

“She was just sitting there!” The Doctor said to the dancing girl.

“Like a stamp,” Amy agreed, plucking up another daisy.

Rose got a funny look on her face. “Oooh, I want her to say we are not amused. I bet you five quid I can make her say it.”

“Bet you can’t!” Amy teased, and Rose poked her tongue out at her.

“I so could!”

The Doctor adopted a mock-sombre expression. “Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges as a traveller in time.”

Amy didn’t buy his excuses. Neither did Rose. A moment passed. “Ten quid?” Rose offered.

“Done.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy gazed around the grounds of the mansion, eyes wide with curiosity, ignoring the adults chattering to better take in the splendour.

The house was tall, and four stories high, made of lots of bricks. There was a stone monument shaped like a cross in front of the house, which Amy suspected was a gravestone. The gates were huge iron beasts, topped with sharp tips reminiscent of arrowheads, and all in all the house seemed to be saying in the most overt way possible to ‘shove off’.

On top of the already oppressive atmosphere, there were strange men dressed in red robes walking around the perimeter. Amy wanted to stare, but knew that it might be considered rude, and she wasn’t that alike to Doctor. She was brought back to the conversation when the Doctor's hand clapped down onto her shoulder.

“She's a feral child. I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It's was her or the Elephant Man, so—”

Amy scowled, recalling the Doctor's bet with Rose. “He thinks he’s funny, but I’m so not amused,” she snapped.

Rose swallowed a snort. “What do you think your majesty?” She enquired a little too casually.

The Queen raised an eyebrow. “It hardly matters. Shall we proceed?”

The group walked towards the grand entrance, and Rose ducked down to Amy’s ear level. “So close!” Amy giggled at that.

One of the red hooded men stepped forwards as the group entered the house, barring Amy from entering. “Sir,” he said, directed at the Doctor, “I will take this here wild beastie to be with the servants' children for Her Majesty's peace of mind.”

“I want to stay with them!” Amy huffed, feeling her cheeks flush with rage. How dare this ridiculously dressed man try to separate them? The Doctor knelt down to her eye level and put a hand onto her shoulder.

“It’s okay Amy, you’ll be just fine without us. Besides,” he pulled her into a hug, and she was surprised when he began to urgently whisper instructions into her ear. “Something strange is going on in this house. Do some poking around, but don’t. Get. Caught.”

He straightened. “Understood?”

Amy nodded as seriously as she could. “Yes sir.” The Doctor ruffled her hair.

“That’s a good lass.”

The Doctor entered the house, and Amy was left alone with the strange red cloaked man. “Where are the other children?” She asked after a moment, finding the oppressive silence awkward. Behind her, the door clicked.

It happened in an instant, too quick for Amy to even scream. One moment the monk was a metre away from her and the next he was pressing a cool cloth against her nose. Amy tried to yell or shout or bite him, but his grip on her arm was too firm, and she too small.

A moment later, Amy passed out cold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I take it that this is the famous Endeavour?” Her majesty asked as the group entered the observatory.

The man, who’s name was Sir Roberts, nodded deferentially at her question. “All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself.”

Noting the disgust in Sir Roberts voice, Rose wondered if his father in his obsession had neglected his son as well.

The Doctor, who clearly hadn’t picked up on the subtle undertones of the conversation, pushed in. “Oh I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I?” He gestured at the telescope.

“Help yourself.”

Rose noticed the Doctor didn’t slip on his glasses as he may have in his previous regeneration, and her heart ached a little at the thought. She tugged his old leather jacket a little tighter around her frame. “What did he model it on?”

“I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories.” Sir Roberts' voice was a little disdainful, and Rose noticed he wouldn’t look at the telescope.

The Doctor peered up at the monstrous thing, his mouth hanging open, and nose scrunched up in concentration. “It's a bit rubbish innit.” Well. Still rude and not ginger. “How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of—”

He stopped mid sentence and glanced at Rose. “Am I being rude again?”

“Yep.”

He snapped his mouth shut, looking a little contrite. “Ah. Yes. But it's err— pretty. It's very pretty, yes.”

Rose would have snorted if they weren’t in the Victorian age. Regenerated or not, the Doctor would always have chronic foot in mouth disease.

“The imagination of it should be applauded!” The declaration made Rose jump. She had almost forgotten the Queen was there.

An idea came to Rose, of how to win her earlier bet with the Doctor. She leant against one of the walls with ease. “Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something? No?”

The Queen was indeed not amused at the strange question, although to Rose's disappointment, she did not say so outright. “This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales.”

The Doctor’s attention was back on the beautiful telescope. “Stars and magic. I like him more and more.” Rose thought Amy would have loved this room almost as much as the Doctor.

“Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg.”

“That's Bavaria,” the Doctor noted, his eyes fixating on the Queen. She continued.

“When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported.”

“So, what's this wolf, then?”

“It's just a story,” Sir Robert interjected, and Rose could tell something was off. He seemed to be almost on edge, as if he had been forbidden to tell this tale.

The Doctor, it seemed, had caught onto this fact as well. His expression seemed neutral, but Rose knew him far too well despite his new face. There was a tiny hint of the Oncoming Storm beneath his smile, and that thrilled her a little. It meant adventure was afoot. “Then tell it.”

Sir Robert was backed into a corner. He took a breath before telling the story. “It is said that—”

He was cut off by one of the monks, smiling an extremely insincere smile. “Excuse me, Sir. Perhaps Her Majesty's party could retire to their rooms? It is almost dark.”

If it were possible, Sir Robert seemed almost more on edge then before, despite no longer having to recount the tale. He cleared his throat, and nodded his head in deference. “Of course. Yes, of course.”

“And then supper,” the Queen declared. “And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness.”

Rose tried one more time. “It's not amusing, is it?”

The Queen ignored Rose completely, and continued on. “Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf, after all, there is a full moon tonight.”

“So there is, Ma'am.”

Rose allowed herself to be led away by a waiting maid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy came to in a dark, cold place that smelled of mould. She tried to sit up, but found her hands tied together with rope, making the task more difficult than it really ought to have been. All around her, there were people.

Some were old, some were young, most were women, but the most common factor that bound them together was that they were all completely terrified.

They all stared at her with such fear— no, not at her. Beyond her head. Amy scooted her body around as best she could, trying to get a glimpse of whatever had them so horrified.

Amy wished she hadn’t.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose had just taken off her jacket to change when she heard something strange coming from the cupboard to her left. She padded towards it, careful not to make a sound, grabbing a candelabra just in case she needed to bludgeon her way out.

She pried open the cupboard doors to find a silently sobbing housemaid crouched in the back. Rose dropped her weapon instantly, and extended a hand. “Shh, it’s alright love, what's wrong?”

The woman accepted her proffered hand, and recounted her story in a whisper. “They came through the house. In the excitement they took the Steward and the Master, and my— my Lady.”

Rose deduced that the ‘they’ the poor woman was talking about were the red cloaked monks. She gently wiped away a tear that fell from the woman's cheek. “Listen. I've got a friend, he's called the Doctor. He'll know what to do. You've got to come with me.”

“Oh, but I can't, Miss.” The terror in her voice broke Rose's heart.

“What's your name?”

The woman swallowed. “Flora.”

Rose took her hand again. “Flora, we'll be safe. There's more people arriving downstairs, soldiers and everything, and they can help us I promise. Come on.”

Flora still looked ready to bolt, but she steeled herself and gave a short sharp nod.

Rose pulled on her jacket, and led Flora out of the room into the corridor. When they rounded the corner, they came face to face with a soldier, passed out on the floor. Flora, to her credit, did not scream, but her hand began to shake in Roses. “Oh, Miss. I did warn you.”

Rose released her hand, and knelt to check his vitals. “He's not dead, I don't think, he must be drugged or somethin’.”

Flora didn’t respond. Rose looked up to see the room was empty. Just as she was going to investigate further, her arms were twisted, and she was yanked away into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Your companion begs an apology, her clothing has somewhat delayed her.”

The Doctor looked up at Master Angelo, who was wearing a sickly sweet smile. He wouldn’t be surprised if Rose was using the excuse to poke around the house. He knew he couldn't be the only one who had picked up on the strange atmosphere of Torchwood Manor.

The Doctor waved his hand, as if he couldn’t care less. “Oh, that's all right. Save her a wee bit of ham would you?”

Queen Victoria smiled thinly. “The feral child could probably eat it raw.”

Oh the Doctor wished Rose was here so he could see her face at that remark. He directed his attention to the quietest member of their table, Sir Robert. “Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert.” The man jolted, as if surprised to be called upon. The Doctor smiled at him warmly. “Come dear sir, you promised us a tale of nightmares, and it will not do for you to withhold them!

The Queen nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction.”

“You must miss him.” The Doctor could empathise with her plight. Nine hundred years did not pass without the loss of people close to oneself.

Her face grew melancholy at his question. “Very much. Oh, completely,” she admitted quietly. “That's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation.”

Her majesty sighed, and cast her eyes down. “The dead stay silent, and we must wait.” Queen Victoria seemed to right herself, before tapping the table. “Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose was thrown into a cellar, chained onto a line of other prisoners. When she adjusted to the semi darkness, her eyes came to rest on a very familiar redheaded girl, lying on the stone floor.

“Amy!” Rose cried out, and the little girl's head perked up, whipping around to find her.

“Rose!” She struggled to her feet, and ran to Rose.

A beautiful lady, chained next to Amy, hushed them hurriedly. “Don't make a sound,” she cautioned, real fear in her eyes. “They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us.”

Amy buried herself into Rose’s chest, seeking comfort. Rose set about untying the little girl's bound hands as best she could. “But he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us.”

The woman's gaze grew hard. “He,” she spat, “Is nothing like us. That creature is not mortal.”

In the cage, the young monk shifted slightly, and Rose locked eyes with him.

Emptiness met her own.

Amy looked up at Rose. “I want to go home.”

Rose couldn’t agree more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sir Robert was barely speaking above a whisper, and yet he had every person in the room entranced with his haunting tale.

“The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and devoured.”

One of the Queen's soldiers snorted, and took a swig of his drink. “Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that.”

Robert held up a hand, silencing the man. “Sometimes a child goes missing.”

Eerie silence. No one spoke. A wolf howl came from the hills, and half the table startled. “Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead.” Sir Roberts revealed, his eyes shifting to the window from which the howl had come. “Never to be seen again.”

Oh no, the Doctor didn’t like where this was heading. Not one little bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose released Amy, and pushed her off of her lap gently. Amy didn’t want to let go, but relinquished her grasp anyway. Rose probably had a plan.

She retracted that thought when Rose started to move towards the cage. “No, Rose, don’t!” Lady Isobel cried, but Rose ignored her.

“Who are you?” She asked, and the creature looked up.

“Don’t enrage him lass.” A wizened old man cautioned from the floor, but Rose ignored him as well. Amy wanted to tear her eyes away, afraid Rose would be ripped to shreds, but found herself unable to look anywhere else.

“Where are you from? You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?” Rose sat as close to the cage as she could on the chain. The thing within craned its neck, and a cruel smile drew across its lips.

“Oh, intelligence,” it crooned, and Amy shivered. Its voice was the opposite of the TARDIS’ in her head, cold and itchy, making her want to jump out of her skin.

“Where were you born?” Rose went on with her interrogation.

The thing shrugged, languidly stretching out its arms. “This body? Ten miles away. A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are there descriptions of the creature?” The Doctor asked.

Robert seemed surprised to have been interrupted, but he answered the Doctor's question regardless. “Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and wood carvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal.”

“A werewolf?” The unnatural word rang in the dead air, and the Doctor knew he’d hit the nail on the head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All right, so the body's human. But what about you, the thing inside?” Rose wasn’t sure what this thing was, was nowhere near as versed in alien biology as the Doctor, but one thing she did know how to do was keep an alien talking.

“So far from home,” it crooned, ignoring her question.

Aha, something she could use! “If you want to get back home, we can help,” she offered desperately.

A hacking laugh came, and Rose flinched. It sounded like nails dragging down a chalkboard, a fork scratching on a plate. “Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such… purpose.”

“How— how would you do that?” Amy asked, her voice wobbling a little. Pride surged in Rose's chest at the girl's bravery.

The monk sat up a little straighter, his smile widening again, revealing sharp incisor teeth. “I would migrate to the Holy Monarch.”

“You mean Queen Victoria?”

Its eyes looked upwards towards the heavens. “With a singular bite, I would pass into her blood, and then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf," he crowed.

Suddenly, it lunged, and Rose jerked back. His eyes locked onto hers, as if he were scanning for something. “Look. Inside your eyes. You've seen it too.”

“Seen what?” Rose asked, but she had a feeling she knew. Badwolf. The heart of the TARDIS. Something still burned within her, despite being locked deep inside.

It shook a finger at her. “The Wolf. There is something of the Wolf about you.”

“Rose? What does he mean?” Amy's voice was full of false bravado, but Rose could sense the underlying fear. They had to get out, and soon. The things' smile grew even wider, almost tearing through his skin as he leered at them through the bars.

“You Rose Tyler, burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon.”

Rose Tyler had learned a long time ago that it was never a good thing when aliens knew your name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose.” Sir Roberts' words echoed in the room, the only sound besides the breathing of its occupants. His expression grew regretful. “I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations.”

Next to the window, Master Angelo gazed out into the yard, and began to chant. Oh no, this was definitely not good.

“Perhaps they thought his work ungodly?” The Queen proposed, resting her chin on clasped hands.

Sir Robert smiled thinly. “That's what I thought. But now I wonder. What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?”

Master Angelo’s chanting grew louder. The Doctor turned slowly to fully face him, the pieces finally coming together in his rather impressive head. “And what if they were with us right now?”

Chapter Text

The doors to the cellar were flung open, and moonlight flooded through them. The thing raised its arms, letting the bright white light wash over it, as if it were bathing.

“Moooooonlightttttt,” it hissed. It began to tear its robes off, allowing the moonlight to reach every inch of its skin. Amy shivered as an unnatural wind blew through the cellar, whipping her hair into a frenzy. The rest of the people in the cell cowered, and Amy was tempted to follow suit until Rose stood, tall and unafraid.

“All of you! Stop looking at it! Flora, don't look. Listen to me!” Rose yelled, pulling the maid to her feet. “We’ve got to grab hold of the chain and pull! Come on! With me! Pull!”

As they pulled, Amy could hear it behind them. To her horror, its bones began to crack as it grew too large for the body that housed its soul. Several of the civilians were still sitting, too terrified to pull, and Amy knew they weren’t going to make it if everyone didn’t help.

She kicked at one of them, and put her best Doctor face on. “She said pull! Stop your whining and listen to Rose! All of you! And that means you, pretty lady. Now come on, pull!”

Lady Isobel shook herself, and after a moment, joined in on the effort.

Amy hoped it would be enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Queen's head snapped around to look at the chanting monk. “What is the meaning of this?” She demanded.

Her soldier advanced on Sir Robert, his expression grim. “Explain yourself, Sir Robert!”

“What is happening?” The Queen demanded again, and Sir Robert looked ill.

“I'm sorry, Your Majesty, they've got my wife.” The Doctor's stomach dropped as he put two and two together.

He stalked across the room towards the Monk, the Oncoming Storm fully awakened. “Rose! Where is Rose? And Amy? Where are they?”

They could not be dead. The Doctor wouldn’t allow it. Rose could not be gone from him, not yet. He would not allow it. Amy's first adventure would not be her last. His fury grew, and the Doctor made a snap decision, turning from the window. “Sir Robert, come on!”

They ran down the hall, Sir Robert leading the way to the cellar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man’s human shape was losing its definition as the wolf inside took hold. His face grew longer and Amy thought he looked like Max, a German shepherd who lived down her street.

Max had never looked this hungry though, and Amy’s heart raced like a terrified rabbit at the creature's ferocious expression. She turned away from it to look at Rose, who was tugging with determination.

“One, two, three, pull! One, two, three, pull!” Rose instructed, desperation seeping into her voice.

“Again!” Amy cried, trying to block out the awful crunching noise of the man's bones. All of a sudden, it went silent. Amy dared a glance in its direction.

Once again, she wished she hadn’t.

Its human shape was gone, leaving behind a terrifying wolf. Bright red eyes locked onto Amy's own, and it howled into the air, revealing razor sharp teeth, reminiscent of prisoner zeros. It admired its claws, stretching them out before itself, and Rose tapped Amy harshly, snapping her out of the trance.

“One, two, three, pull!” Rose commanded again, and finally, the chain pulled free. Amy's head whipped around as behind her, the door was kicked in, and the Doctor and a stranger she supposed was Sir Robert burst in.

“Doctor!” She cried happily, but Rose was less pleased to see him.

“Where the bloody hell have you been?” She snarled, but the Doctor was far too enraptured with the beast within the cage to note her fury.

“Oh, oh that's beautiful that is.” He knelt down to get a closer look at the beast, tossing a remark over his shoulder to Rose. “Did he say where he’s from?”

This was quite possibly the worst time to have this conversation Amy thought. All around them, people were screaming and running, pushing through the kicked in door to escape. The man the Doctor brought with him grabbed lady Isobel, and began to pull her towards the door. “Come on, go. Get out!”

The beast threw his full weight at the cage door, breaking it open. The Doctor waved people through the doors, yelling as he did . “Alright, door!” He gestured wildly at the door. “Door! Door! Door! Door! Door! Door! Door! Door! Door!”

“Come on!” Amy cried, tugging a maid away from the wolf. The Doctor stopped for a moment after, gazing back at the creature while Rose led a group out.

“Oh aren’t you stunning!” He whispered, but the thing didn't appreciate the frankly untrue compliment. Instead of being grateful for likely the only nice thing anyone would ever say about him, the wolf lobbed a bit of crate in the Doctor's direction, narrowly missing him.

The Doctor scrambled out through the door, and slammed it shut, buzzing his screwdriver over the lock.

A spine chilling howl came, and Amy felt it in her bones. She had an icky feeling that there would be blood spilt tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The steward took charge, ordering the men to take up guns. All around, there was a sense of great importance, as if this were the defining moment of the occupants of Torchwood Manor's lives. Amy supposed in a sense it was. If they didn’t defeat this wolf, they wouldn’t have any more life left to define.

In front of her, Sir Robert took Lady Isobel's hand, and squeezed them gently. “Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen.”

Amy scowled as they kissed, ducking and weaving under people away until she came to Rose and the Doctor. The Doctor was trying to sonic off her hand cuffs, talking a mile a minute as he did. “It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?”

“The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it—” Rose’s voice cut off when her eyes came to rest on Amy. “Ames, what are you still doing here?”

Amy jutted her chin in the air proudly. “I’m here to help!”

“Go with Lady Isobel.” Rose said sternly. “And the other women.”

“You’re a woman and you’re staying!” Amy protested, but the moment the Doctor dropped her handcuffs, Rose turned on Amy.

“Amy,” she snarled, and Amy swore she saw a flash of gold beneath Rose's hazel eyes, a bright spark that burned brighter than a thousand suns. Amy could never be scared of Rose, not really, but the heat within her gaze was something else. Something ancient. Despite her wish to stay, somehow Amy found her feet moving anyways, scrambling to catch up with Lady Isobel and the other maids.

When they reached their destination, Lady Isobel bolted to the door, jiggling the handle furiously. “It won't open. They've sealed us in.”

The maid Flora who’s hand Amy had taken earlier raced over to the window and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Oh, my Lady. Look!”

Amy stood on her tiptoes and gazed out the window, straining to see exactly what had the woman so frightened.

A row of the monks stood, watching over the house with guns aimed towards every window.

“They'll never let us out. They mean for us to die!” Flora shrieked. Amy could have slapped Flora for her statement because her terror spread like wildfire amongst the rest of the maids. They were all scared, but there was no need to panic. There was always a way.

Amy took the woman's hand again, and squeezed it firmly, looking her in the eye. “Don’t say that!” She glanced out the windows again at the monks, and she steadied her voice. “We’ll find a way out.”

Amy hoped she sounded grim and brave like Rose and the Doctor.

She suspected she just sounded like a scared little Scottish girl, too far from home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me.”

The Doctor reached for Rose's hand unconsciously, and she took it without hesitation. The steward raised his chin stubbornly, and Rose knew the Doctor would lose this battle. “I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault!”

Some people were just too hard headed to be saved.

“I'm telling you, come upstairs!” The Doctor's voice was harsh, but beneath it there was a note of desperation. The Steward only scoffed at his suggestion, stepping forwards to tap the Doctor on the chest.

“And I'm telling you boy, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall.”

The Steward walked into the corridor and glanced around in a mocking way. “It must have crawled away to die.”

Just as the fool was raising his arms to gesture about, the beast reached out a claw to scoop the poor man up. He was hoisted up to the ceiling and ripped limb from limb. Rose started towards him, but the Doctor put an arm around her waist protectively, halting her movements.

“There's nothing we can do!”

She knew he was right, and allowed him to pull her away from the carnage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy flinched as yet another volley of gunfire sounded above. The beast roared, causing every woman in the room to shake.

“Did they kill it?” Flora’s voice was wobbly, like she was having a hard time holding back tears. Amy could sympathise. The maids were silent, listening.

Footsteps.

“I don’t think so.”

They were too loud to be human, and far too slow. The wolf was coming for them. Lady Isobel drew the terrified women to her, including Amy, and brought her arms around them.

Amy refused to close her eyes even as the thing approached, unwilling to face death terrified. She was a Pond. She would be brave.

She stared down the creature as it entered, sniffing about the kitchen. Its nose twitched, and it almost seemed to jerk back at the smell.

Moments later, it was gone.

But why had they been spared?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Your Majesty? Your Majesty!” Sir Robert cried, catching the Queen's attention. Behind him, the Doctor sonicked the door shut, not that it would be much use against the rampaging beast.

“Sir Robert? What's happening?” She begged, clutching tight to a little brown box. She descended the stairs with quick steps, and came to Robert. “I heard such terrible noises.”

The Doctor paced around the room, testing every exit option. Sir Robert locked eyes with the Queen. “Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?”

The Doctor jiggled the front door handle with a violent shake. The Queen averted her eyes. “Captain Reynolds disposed of him.”

Well, there was nothing for it. The Doctor returned to the group, putting his sonic away.

“The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window.”

Oh that was a fun phrase. He should use it more often.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress.” Rose hadn’t a clue what egress meant, and doubted she had the service to google it.

Queen Victoria nodded regally at his suggestion. “A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh.”

“Yeeeaaaah, any chance you could hurry this up?” He was bouncing on the balls of his feet like an impatient toddler and for once Rose felt the same way. To her dismay, his delightful Scottish accent had evaporated, leaving behind his regular old English bloke voice. Ah well, it was nice while it lasted.

Sir Robert fiddled with the window, and managed to successfully unlock it. He threw it open, but the monks outside fired right back. Rose ducked automatically, pulling the Queen down with her. Robert slammed the window shut, hurrying to lock it again.

The Doctor stood upright, straightening his bowtie.

“I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside.” Rose would have laughed at the Doctor's dumb pun if it weren’t for the harrowing situation.

“Don’t they know who I am?” The Queen huffed, glaring out the window, looking quite like Rose‘s nan glaring at school boys walking on her lawn.

“Err yeah, that's why they want you. The wolf's lined you up for a—” Rose didn’t want to say it, but the Queen was looking at her expectantly. “For a biting.”

The Queen huffed. “Stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf.”

No sooner had she uttered those words, the Queen was proven wrong as a deafening howl echoed through the house. Rose turned on her heel towards where the noise had come from, following the Doctor back to the hallway.

They came back to the door from earlier to find it nearly completely shredded. The wolf behind it was whaling down on the door, trying to break through. Rose’s eyes flicked over to the Doctor, her heart beating faster with every scratch. “What do we do?”

“We er— we run.”

“Is that it?” She scoffed, incredulously. Would the Doctor ever regenerate into someone with the ability to plan ahead? No, she thought that would make him a completely new man.

“You got any silver bullets?”

Rose made a sarcastic show of patting down her pockets. “Not on me, no.”

“There we are then, we run.” He pivoted on the spot, his energy contagious. “Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a rigorous jog. Good for the health it is.” he mimicked the motion of running rather terribly.

The Doctor took the Queen's hand, and ran, leading her up the staircase. Behind them, Rose heard what was left of the door fall to the ground, and the wolf burst into the hallway. She rounded a corner sharply, and grabbed onto one of the bannisters to steady herself.

“Come on! Come on!” The Doctor called, hurrying them along. Once all three of them ran past him, he followed.

The corridor was long, and Rose could hear the wolf’s loping gait behind them. It was snarling and grunting, and getting closer every second. The Doctor caught up with her, and she took his hand, pulling him along.

Just as they reached the end of the hall, the wolf threw itself at them. Rose yanked the Doctor down with her, darting around Reynolds waist. He shot at the beast, wounding it briefly. Rose's heart beat double time as she tried to catch her breath while it retreated.

The soldier, Reynolds, reloaded his gun. “I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty.”

“I have it. It's safe.”

Rose wondered exactly what was in that chest that could be so important in current circumstances, particularly while a wolf hounded their every step. The soldier continued talking.

“Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert,” his voice was full of contempt. “You're a traitor to the crown.”

“Bullets can't stop it!” The Doctor warned, leaning closer to Reynolds. He raised his chin and set his shoulders, reminding Rose of the Steward from earlier, although this stubbornness was not born from stupidity. He had a duty to fufil.

“They'll buy you time. Now run!”

He ducked back into the corridor, and shot another round towards the celestial beast. Rose stumbled back, unable to turn away. Reynolds fired shot after shot at the thing, but the bullets were not enough. The beast bounded forwards unimpeded, and pounced, sinking its teeth into the brave man she had come to respect.

His screams of agony echoed in the corridor, echoed in Rose's mind, bouncing around until they were the only thoughts, sounds or feelings in her head. She stepped back a little again, the sight burning into her brain. She dimly registered her name being called, maybe it was the Doctor? Whoever it was, she was unable to snap out of the trance the violence in front of her had induced.

The Doctor grabbed her by the waist and pulled her through the library door, slamming it shut behind them. In any other circumstance, she would have revelled in the feeling, but to today she was only numb. “Barricade the door,” Sir Robert ordered, and Rose snapped out of it, running to move tables, chairs, books, anything really in front of the huge oaken door to prevent the wolf's entry.

The Doctor lifted a beam over her head and slotted it between two chairs, waving his hands about frantically. “Shush. SHUSH.” He frowned, his lips parted as if he were going to say more. “Wait a minute.”

One lonely howl came, and Rose shivered despite her leather jacket. The sound was bone chilling.

“It's stopped.” He leaned close to the door, so close Rose thought he might lick it. It wouldn’t exactly be out of character, but no. He pressed his ear against the wood for a moment, then straightened up, turning to face Rose. “It's gone.”

No, that wasn’t quite right. She could still hear it, pacing. “Listen.”

There were loud footsteps, continuing on their trip around the perimeter, and the growls were loud enough to reverberate off of the walls of the library. The Queens breathing was equally as audible, and Rose found herself holding her breath.

“Is this the only door?” The Doctor whispered. Sir Robert nodded, a short sharp thing, before his eyebrows shot up.

“No!”

The two men took up chairs and barricaded the door swiftly, sealing it properly with a longsword from an armour stand. The quartet stood, waiting to see what the wolf would do next. Rose could barely convince her lungs to move.

After a moment, or perhaps the span of centuries, Rose spoke softly. “I don't understand. What's stopping it?”

The Doctor began to pace in his manic way, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he walked. “Hmm. Something inside this room. What is it? Why can't it get in?” He tapped experimentally on one of the bookshelves, a perturbed expression on his face.

It hit Rose at that moment exactly how utterly bizarre the situation was. She felt a manic smile of her own creep onto her face. “I'll tell you what, though.”

The Doctor stopped his poking, and turned to face her, one eyebrow up. “What?”

“Werewolf.” She grinned.

“I know!” He grinned right back, crossing the room with his lopping strides to envelop her into an all consuming hug. It was all too brief, but his hands lingered on her ribcage. “You all right?”

“‘M okay, yeah.” She squeezed his arm reassuringly.

Sir Robert was seated on one of the barricade chairs, his head in his hands. “I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?”

“They were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy.” Rose could have kicked the Doctor for his insensitivity.

She decided not to, and instead turned her attention to the Queen. “I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now.”

Queen Victoria was not amused. “Do you think this is funny?”

Rose’s smile fell at the woman's tone. “No, Ma'am. ‘M sorry.” It really was terrifying the resemblance born between her own gran and Queen Victoria. Rose almost felt like a child again, being told off for eating one too many cookies.

“What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please. What exactly is that creature?” The woman sounded scared out of her wits, and Rose thought it no wonder she was lashing out. Rose let the Doctor handle the conversation, regretting her earlier comment.

“You'd call it a werewolf, but it's actually more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform.”

Queen Victoria took in a sharp breath, sounding like she was on the edge of hysterics. “And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?”

Rose wondered that too. The Scottish accent had been unbearably attractive. Not that she would ever admit to thinking that.

The Doctor looked exactly how she felt, like a little boy caught red handed by his gran, stealing a sweet for a midnight snack. “Oh right, sorry, that's err…”

“I'll not have it! No, sir. Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world,” the Queen interrupted, her declaration forceful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy peered back out through the window, her brow furrowed. Something was bugging her about the monks, other than the obvious secretly-being-a-werewolf-cult thing. They all had a branch of some kind of plant pinned to their breast, but she couldn’t tell what.

“Lady Isobel, could you come here?” She asked.

“What is it, child?”

Amy pointed out the window. “What plant have they got round their neck? On their Monkey uniform?”

Isobel narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look. “Mistletoe. They're garlanded in mistletoe.”

Amy began to put the pieces together in her head. “Mistletoe. They're all covered in mistletoe and the wolf doesn't attack them.” In all the stories, it was mistletoe that kept the wolves away. Her Pa had always said red riding hood should have carried some in her pockets. “Who brought this into the kitchen?”

“It must've been the Brethren.”

Amy scrambled about the room, gathering up the leaves, an idea forming. “Pick it all up, every bit you can see!”

The maids hastened to follow her instructions, picking up the leaves and putting them into a pile on the bench. Amy had a good and proper plan.

Grinning, she set about finding a knife. “I always knew fairytales would come in handy.”

Chapter Text

The Doctor ran a finger over the carving on the library door, a bush of some kind. He narrowed his eyes. “Mistletoe.”

He straightened up. “Sir Robert, did your father put that there?”

Rose glanced at Sir Robert, who sat with his hands in his head. He looked up at the Doctor. “I don't know. I suppose he may have.”

The Doctor's gaze shifted to the other side of the room, where a similar carving was engraved on the door. “On the other door, too…” He started to pace a little, hands behind his back. “No, no, a carving couldn’t be enough.” He stopped, as if struck by a thought. “I wonder…”

The Doctor crossed the room to Rose, and licked the wall. She curled her lip at the action, stepping back. For all his nine hundred years, sometimes he still behaved like he was about five.

“Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe! It's been worked into the wood like a varnish, to ward off the wolf.” He threw himself back from the wall, his arms thrown wide. “How clever was your dad? Oh, I love that man.” The Doctor paced closer to Rose, and quirked an eyebrow. “Powerful stuff, mistletoe, oh it is, bursting with lectins and viscotoxins.”

“And the wolf's allergic to it?” She offered. He shrugged.

“It thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things.”

“Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon," Sir Robert griped from his corner. The Doctor’s expression turned sour.

“Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?”

“Being rude again,” Rose reminded. The Doctor shrugged.

“Good. I meant that one.” He was off again, striding about the great big room. “You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have.” He yanked a book from the bookshelf and tossed it at Rose. She managed to catch it,but only just.

“Arm yourself.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The housemaids and Amy set about chopping up as much of the mistletoe as they possibly could, tossing it into pots of boiling water.

Amy's hands were sore from use, and beginning to go numb, but she would not rest until the wolf was dead or she was. The Doctor and Rose were up there, and they needed her help. Flora looked up from her chopping as if listening for something. “There's no sound of the wolf, my Lady. Perhaps it's gone.”

Even though the question had not been directed at her, Amy replied. “There's no way it’s gone. The Doctor would have come to get us if he was.”

A chilling howl punctuated her words, and Amy’s spine tingled. Nope. The wolf was definitely still there.

Lady Isobel’s mouth was set in a hard line as she doused another pot of the stuff with water. “Perhaps it's toying with us then. But my husband's up there, and if there's any chance he's still alive, then by God, I'll assist him.”

Flora ducked her head and continued chopping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The library was noisy with everyone talking at once, trying to find something useful.

“Biology, zoology. There might be something on wolves in here?” Rose flicked through the book scanning it desperately for any mention of the creature. Sir Robert was nattering on about explosives, and the Queen flicked through a fairytale book while the Doctor was quiet for once, frowning. His eyebrows shot up suddenly, and he leapt down from his perch, slamming the book onto the table.

“Yes! That's the sort of thing.” He beckoned Sir Robert over, and Rose followed. “Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth.”

Rose turned to him. “A spaceship?”

Robert shook his head. “A shooting star.” He picked up the book and began to read. “In the Year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit. That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery.”

“But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?”

“Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host.” The Doctor illustrated his point with his hands, putting them on top of each other again and again.

“But why does it want the throne?” Sir Robert questioned.

“That's what it wants. It said so.” Rose tried to remember its exact wording. “The, the Empire of the Wolf.”

“Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history devastated in its wake.”

The Queen stood. “Sir Robert. If I am to die here—”

He cut her off. “Don't say that, Your Majesty.”

“I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself.”

“Hardly the time to worry about your valuables.” The Doctor threw his suggestion over his shoulder, not even bothering to face her. The Queen gave him a withering stare.

“Thank you for your opinion, but there is nothing more valuable than this.”

Her hand dipped into her bag, and pulled out a magnificent diamond almost as big as her hand. Rose took a sharp intake of breath. “Is that the Koh-I-Noor?”

That caught the Doctor's attention, and he strode over behind her to look, his eyes wide. “Oh, yes. The greatest diamond in the world.”

“Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die.”

“Well, that's true of anything if you wait long enough. Can I?” He reached for the diamond, and the Queen reluctantly passed it over. He brought it close to Rose's face, and she marvelled at it. It really was absolutely perfect.

“That is beautiful,” he breathed, turning around.

“How much is that worth?” Rose wondered aloud, looking at him.

“They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week.” A smile crept up her lips.

“Good job my mum's not ‘ere. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare ‘ands for that thing.”

“She'd win,” he joked.

“Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence.” Rose ignored Sir Robert’s question, extending a hand to touch the diamond.

The Doctor cocked his head. “Why do you travel with it? The diamond?”

Queen Victoria held her head high. “My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazlehead. The stone needs recutting.”

“Oh, but it's perfect,” Rose all but whispered, feeling it again. The cool drag of diamond on her finger was grounding.

“My late husband never thought so.” Queen Victoria smiled sadly.

“Now, there's a fact.” He waggled his finger in Rose's face. “Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting.”

“He always said the shine was not quite right.” Her voice was filled with nostalgia, and Rose pitied the woman. “But he died with it still unfinished.”

“Unfinished.” The Doctor’s eyes left the diamond, and he stared into space as if putting the pieces together. “Oh, yes. Oh yes, oh YES!”

He unceremoniously threw the diamond back at the Queen, and she barely managed to catch it.

The Doctor stepped backwards, pacing about. “There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond.” He rubbed his face with both hands. “Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected. Oh, my head, my head.” He suddenly moved forwards towards the Queen, intensity radiating from him. “What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?”

“Obviously.”

He went on. “At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?”

The Queen’s eyes narrowed. “Explain yourself, Doctor,” she demanded.

“What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf.”

Above their heads, a quiet thumping began.

Rose looked up. Dust was falling from the ceiling, dimly lit by the candle light. Atop the dome, the wolf prowled, and to her horror, its weight was too much for the dome. The glass was cracking.

“That wolf… there.” The Doctor said, and then it clicked. “Out! Out! Out!”

The thing fell through the skylight, showering the library in shards of glass. Roses feet began to move, and before she knew it she was running for her life again.

Well, some things would never change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor slammed the heavy oaken doors shut on the beast, hopefully deterring it for a time. “Get to the observatory!” He cried, matching Sir Roberts pace. Rose started to lag behind, and to the Doctor’s horror, the wolf was catching up.

What happened next almost seemed to occur in slow motion. The Doctor turned to yell her name, and heard Rose scream. The beast leapt forwards, ready to tear her throat out and—

A splash and it fell, howling its agony as Amy and Lady Isobel each doused it with a pot of something painful. It whimpered and cowered away, scrambling back down the hall.

The Doctor grinned at Amy, holding up a hand for a high five. “Good shot! You saved our tails Pond!”

She jumped up and slapped his hand. “It was mistletoe!”

Perhaps, the Doctor considered, the TARDIS had a point about the little girl. Without Amy, Rose might have died and he would have been helpless to save her. He made a mental note to thank his ship, if they made it out.

Isobel and Robert reunited next to them, engaging in a passionate kiss. Amy and the Doctor wore the same displeased expression.

Robert disengaged from his wife, and squeezed her arm. “Now, get back downstairs.”

She touched his cheek with a gentle hand, looking up at him lovingly. “Keep yourself safe.” She turned back to the other maids, and began to instruct them. “Girls, come with me. Down the back stairs, back to the kitchens. Quickly!”

Rose pushed Amy towards them, but the girl refused to follow.. “I’m not going with them!” She declared furiously. "Not again!"

The Doctor saw no point in wasting precious time arguing. He grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her into a run alongside him. “Fine, now come on!”

“The observatory's this way,” Sir Robert directed.

Up and up and up the stairs, around and around again, the five of them ran as the wolf below recovered. Amy kept up rather well, especially for how young she was, until finally they reached the observatory.

The Doctor threw open the doors with great force, causing them to bounce against the walls. “No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside.” He darted about the room with manic energy. “I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?” he gestured at the door.

Sir Robert took in a deep breath, his shoulders heaving before he replied. “Just do your work and I'll defend it.”

The Doctor didn’t like the implications of that statement. He elected to ignore Robert. “If we could bind them shut with rope or something—”

Sir Robert would not be ignored. He stopped the Doctors efforts with a hand, looking him in the eye. “I said I'd find you time, Sir. Now get inside.”

The Doctor held his gaze, wishing his magnificent brain could think its way out of this. After what felt like an age, he nodded stiffly. “Good man.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor fastened the door shut, leaving Sir Robert to face his demise. Rose averted her attention from the door, trying to shut out the thought of what was going to happen to him.

An image came to her mind of the Steward, ripped limb from limb and devoured. Bile rose in her throat, but she forced it down. The Doctor stepped forwards to the Queen, and held out his hand.

“Your Majesty, the diamond.”

“For what purpose?”

“The purpose it was designed for.” The Doctors voice was even, but Rose could hear the undertone of urgency beneath it. The Queen needed to cooperate.

She hesitantly handed over the diamond, and the Doctor snatched it from her grip. “Rose.”

He lopped over to the telescope, Rose following behind. He reached the control wheel and began to push it. Rose immediately began to shove the other side.

The telescope raised higher and higher with their efforts, catching the light of the moon.

“Lift it,” the Doctor ordered, and Rose cocked her head in confusion. What use could this possibly be against the wolf? “Come on,” he snapped.

“Is this the right time for stargazing?” Amy’s voice wondered from the other side of the room.

“It sure is.”

Rose trusted he knew what he was doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy’s head whipped around at the horrifying noises coming from beyond the observatory doors. Sir Robert yelled in agony once, and then…

Silence. The sound of flesh being consumed. It was wet, like the sound a grape made when being squished between fingers. Amy’s mind painted an awful picture of Sir Robert's head, exploding like a grape between the wolf's claws…

Her stomach turned, threatening to spill up her breakfast. She ran from the door to where the Doctor and Rose were still turning the telescope, eager to be away from her thoughts.

“You said this thing doesn't work," Rose grunted with effort, pushing her hair out of her face. "What's changed?"

“No, no, nothing's changed. It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is. It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up.” The Doctor responded.

“It won't work. There's no electricity,” Amy pointed out. Didn’t he remember this was the Victorian era?

The Doctor briefly gestured up at the moon. Amy frowned.

“Moonlight?” Rose asked, huffing in a breath. “But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight.”

The Doctor shrugged. “You're seventy percent water but you can still drown.” The wolf howled, and his face dropped. “Come on! We’ve got to hurry!”

Amy watched as the moon seemed to almost crystalise through the telescope, magnified by the humongous lens in the centre. A crash echoed behind her, and the wolf was inside. It leapt at the Queen, but Amy distracted it with a yell.

“OVER HERE YE SMELLY LUMP OF NOTHING!” She mocked. Its head snapped around to face her. Amy swallowed. This might have been a mistake. She scrambled backwards, and it was on her and—

The wolf was lifted up by some unseen force, leaving Amy to draw in terrified breaths. It whimpered in pain as its arms were forced back into a t shape, similar to how Amy had seen depictions of Jesus on the cross. The thing howled in agony and tried to thrash about, but it was to no avail. The spirit was torn from the man, leaving behind a frail body, skinnier than ever the Doctor.

“Let me go. Make it brighter,” he wheezed, and the Doctor did as asked. He adjusted the lens, and the man's body disintegrated into a thousand tiny particles.

Amy glanced over at the Queen, who was examining her wrist. “Your Majesty? Did it bite you?” she asked.

Queen Victoria startled, and hid her wrists behind her back. “No, it's, it's a cut, that's all.”

The Doctor approached, his face stony. “If that thing bit you your Majesty—”

She cut him off. “It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart. It's nothing.”

“Let me see—”

She shook her head. “It is nothing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning dawned bright and brilliant, and Amy could hardly believe they were alive to see it.

She leapt from her bed and donned her dungaree dress from the previous day, eager to find the Doctor and Rose for their promised reward.

After breakfast, the trio knelt before the Queen in front of the whole household. She wore a very serious expression and held a sword in her right hand.

She approached the Doctor first, and laid her sword flat on one of his shoulders. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis.”

She moved on to Rose next. “By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate.”

Finally, it was Amy’s turn, and it was all she could do not to wiggle about in excitement. “By the power invested in me, I dub thee Dame Amy of Mistletoe Ridge. You may stand.”

All three of them stood to a raucous applause. Amy curtsied, feeling rather special.

The Doctor dipped his head deferentially. “Many thanks, Ma'am.”

“Thanks. Oh they're never going to believe this back home,” Rose grinned.

“I’m a dame!” Amy cheered, unable to hold in her exuberance. The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder to still her bouncing a little.

“Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave.”

The Queen did not take kindly to the Doctor's words. “Indeed. Then you may think on this also. That I am not amused.”

Besides Amy, Rose pumped her fist. “Yes!” She hissed.

Queen Victoria's eyes were wide with barely restrained fury. “Not remotely amused. And henceforth I banish you.”

“I'm sorry?” The Doctor spluttered. Amy had never heard him sound so shook. The Queen puffed out her chest, and stared him down.

“I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return.” She shook her finger at them in an accusatory manner. “I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you may survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return.”

Amy was considering biting the old woman when the Doctor's hand clamped down on her shoulder, hard. She tried to wriggle free, but found Rose on her other side. She pouted as she was half dragged out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They managed to hitch a ride with a man named Dougal, and it was much more pleasant than the long walk from the day before. The Doctor helped Rose and Amy off the back of the cart with a wave. “Cheers Dougal!”

The man winked. “Walk on you crazy chooks.”

The three of them waited for him to be fully out of sight before resuming their journey to the TARDIS. The Doctor began to ramble as they walked.

“No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record.” He jumped over a ditch. “She was haemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere.”

“What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?” Rose laughed.

“Maybe! Maybe haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism.” He reasoned.

“For werewolf?” Amy asked, unable to tell whether he was kidding or not. She had already gathered up a bunch of flowers in her right hand. He shrugged.

“Could be.” Amy giggled at that, and for a split second, she reminded him of someone else, from long ago. Her giggle sounded exactly like S—. He quashed that thought before it could get any further.

“Queen Victoria's a werewolf?” Rose muttered, a ridiculous grin spreading across her face. Oh that was a nice expression. He liked that expression. He wanted to keep that expression in his pocket forever.

The Doctor looped his arm through hers. “Could be. And her children had the Royal disease.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Rose laughed. “Maybe she gave them a quick nip.”

“The royal-family are werewolves.” Amy sing-songed, skipping ahead.

“Too hasty Pond!” He reminded her. “I mean, a single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?”

Amy dropped her flowers and gaped. “So Prince William—”

“Might have a furry little surprise for poor old Kate,” the Doctor finished, grinning wolfishly. “Grr!” he mimicked claws with his hands and began to chase Amy around. She squealed in delight as Rose joined in, blocking off her escape. He caught the squirming girl in his arms and held her as Rose tickled without abandon.

Oh yes, everything was right in the Doctor's world.

Chapter Text

Seven months passed by with several notable adventures to fill them. One such adventure involved a visit to a planet named Firelius, which boasted of floating mountains and had a reputation for friendly locals. The reputation proved to be false when the Doctor landed two thousand years too early in the middle of the worst civil war the planet would ever see. He accidentally managed to insult the planet's leader, and long story short that was Amy’s first night in jail. She rated it a solid 4.5/10.

Only a day or so after that, the Doctor decided to take them to New New New Hawaii for a well earned beach trip. That plan went up in flames after Rose accidentally stumbled across a plot to depose the beloved king of New New New Hawaii, and the trio was unceremoniously tossed into jail by corrupt officials. Amy rated this jail cell slightly higher then the last, a reasonable 4.7/10, because the beds were a tad more comfortable.

A week after that escapade, the trio ended up on a desert planet filled with genocidal nuns. They attempted to steal the TARDIS to use as their ‘iron fist of justice’, as their ancient ships refused to traverse the galaxies any longer. The Doctor was not pleased. He called them out on their genocidal views, and as a result the three of them were thrown into jail again. This jail cell was the most unpleasant yet, only a 2.5 on Amy's rating scale because of the sheer numer of sand scorpions that skittered through the cell overnight.

Despite the repeated incarcerations and Rose and the Doctor’s inability to stay out of trouble, Amy was thoroughly enjoying their adventures together. She got bruised and cut and had too many scrapes to count, but it was worth it to snuggle up between her two favourite adults in the media room every night. Well, except the nights they were in jail. Then she would burrow down with Rose as the Doctor paced up and down, trying to find a way out.

Half a day after the nun incident, when Rose's leg had properly healed up (one of the nuns injected her with a paralysing agent while she slept), the Doctor came bounding into the kitchen, his hands flapping about. “Amy!” He exclaimed, jolting her out of her daydream. She’d been thinking about Mels and Rory, not missing them per say, but wishing they could come with her on the TARDIS.

He was grinning, a common expression for the Timelord, and he leapt onto the kitchen bench directly in front of her. Amy wrinkled her nose at the unsanitary practice.

“What? You look like an excited baby giraffe.”

“Look what I found!” Ignoring her jibe, he slid her a pamphlet, and Amy read it aloud.

“Does it get any better than this? Relax at our five star resort, and sunbathe on our beaches. Tour our grand planet, and dine on the magnificent rail trail. Visit Midnight today, and bring this pamphlet for ten percent off.”

“That's not all Pond,” the Doctor assured, taking it from her. “There's sapphire waterfalls, and enormous crystal lakes that stretch for miles! Everything glitters on the Midnight planet.”

“What's all this about midnight planets?” Rose yawned, slouching her way into the kitchen, still dressed in her sleepwear which consisted of a Pink Pony Club T-Shirt and a pair of 90s Miss Piggy pyjama shorts. Rose was in no way a morning person, a fact Amy had discovered her second morning on the TARDIS when she had burst into Rose's room chattering away only to be met with a very grumpy Rose. Rose had apologised for yelling at her, but all the same Amy was far more wary of her in the mornings now.

Scary morning Rose hadn’t stopped Amy from seeking her out for refuge from nightmares every so often, although she did try to slip out before Rose woke up to be on the safe side.

The Doctor wordlessly slid Rose his cooling cup of coffee, and she downed it in one shot. Amy thought privately he was equally as scared as she was of grouchy Rose, as he set about making her another.

“Not midnight planets. The Midnight planet.” The milk frothier gave a sharp ding and the Doctor poured it into the waiting cup. Rose's eyes lit up with delight, although whether it was just from the coffee or from the planet mentioned, Amy couldn’t tell.

“Oh, I saw that pamphlet ages ago!” Rose took a sip of her coffee and sighed. “Oooh this is good. D’ya reckon we could go today Doctor? It's been a busy couple ‘a weeks and surely even you can’t find trouble on a pleasure planet.”

The Doctor’s eyebrow shot up. “Trouble? I’ll have you know, you’re the jeopardy friendly one here! Tell her Amy!”

Amy considered it. It was true that Rose had managed to get them captured in New New New Hawaii, and her hair colour had gotten them banished from Topilosia, but if she counted, Amy thought the Doctor was more often to blame for the chaos they ended up in.

“She’s not the one who landed us on a planet full of genocidal nuns.” Amy grinned slyly at his expression. She set about pouring herself some cereal, and watched the chaos unfold.

“I did not! The TARDIS is at fault for that, her and her ancient steering system— OW!” He yelped as the TARDIS zapped him through the coffee maker. Rose shrugged, a tongue touched smile gracing her lips.

“Would you blame a knife for stabbin’ someone?”

The Doctor took a deep breath. “Well actually, the ancient greeks did have a tradition where they would—”

“You brought me home twelve months instead of twelve hours after,” Rose deadpanned.

“You left me behind for a year,” Amy reminded. The Doctor's mouth snapped shut.

“Fine, I’m a bad driver. Sue me.”

The TARDIS bells and whistles jingled loudly at that in what Amy had come to understand as laughter. The Doctor flipped the bird at the ceiling and received another zap for his efforts.

“I’m being bullied, bullied I tell you!” He groaned, and Rose just giggled.

“So is that a yes to Midnight?” Amy asked, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically. It always seemed to work when Rose did that, so Amy figured it was worth a shot.

“Alright. I can’t believe these words are about to come out of my mouth but,” the Doctor grimaced like he’d just tasted something particularly nasty. He’d made a similar facial expression when the three of them had eaten a local meat similar to bat on Raxacoricofallapatorius. “Yes. One jeopardy free day, coming right up.”

Amy whooped at that, jumping up and upsetting her bowl of cheerios accidentally. Rose grinned at her, and finished her coffee. The Doctor sighed long sufferingly. “Right. Amy, clean up your spill, Rose get dressed, and we’ll meet back in the console room in ten.”

Amy mopped up the cheerio mess and put her now empty bowl into the sink. She wandered down the hall to where she hoped her bedroom would be. Amy’s room was usually directly across from Roses, and next to the Doctors when the TARDIS wasn’t in a mood, and she was relieved to see it was in its usual position. Upon opening the door, Amy found a set of clothes laid neatly out on her bed.

The TARDIS had been kind enough to start providing Amy with a single set of clothes each morning, specifically tailored to whatever adventure their ship had in mind. She picked them from the lot Rose bought her after the debacle with the dungaree dress in 1800’s England, and today Amy saw she had chosen a bright yellow bathing suit to go beneath a pair of jean shorts and a nice shirt with a banana pattern on it. She’d also given Amy two hairbands, and a funny combination of socks and sandals.

Amy donned the top and shorts, and pulled on her socks and sandals before looking at the hairbands. She never had been able to braid her hair, and always asked Aunt Sharon to help. Well, Aunt Sharon was no longer an option, so back up was needed. Amy pushed the hair ties onto her wrists, picked up a hairbrush and skipped out into the console room. Rose was nowhere to be seen, and the Doctor was probably under the console, tinkering.

That assumption was proven right, as she heard a muffled bang and a string of musical sounding words that she assumed must be some strange alien swears. “Doctor, are you there?” She called, and he popped up, sonic screwdriver in hand, rubbing his head.

“Ah, yes Pond, what is it?” In answer, Amy held out the elastics.

“Can you braid?”

He seemed to lose all colour in his face, before taking up a stutter. “I can erm braid, but I’m err— I’m a little out of practice and—”

Amy shoved the hairbrush into his hand without a word, and turned her back to him. Rose would probably be in the shower for ageeeeess and she wanted her hair done now.

After a moment, Amy felt the hairbrush drag through her hair. She grinned, and kicked her feet against the TARDIS floor. He was a quick braider, and so her right side only took two minutes or so, and she passed him an elastic when it was done. He looped it around the bottom of the braid, and moved onto the second one.

Just before he finished looping the second one, Rose's voice interrupted. “Well, isn’t that awfully domestic?”

His hand jerked up suddenly, tugging Amy's hair. She winced at the slight pain, but the Doctor didn’t notice. “Domestic?” He spluttered. “Blasphemy I say!” He patted Amy's back, indicating he was done, and she hopped up.

The Doctor pulled himself from the crawl space, and Rose gasped in horror. “No. You are so not wearing that Doctor.” She warned, taking in his blinding outfit.

“Why? Don’t you think it suits me?” The Doctor pulled a silly pose to make Amy giggle.

He was dressed in a bright pink Hawaiian shirt that contrasted Amy's outfit nicely, with cargo shorts to complete the look. He pulled sunglasses from his shirt pocket, and to Rose's dismay, she noted the matching toe socks and sandals that both Amy and the Doctor were sporting. To top it all off, despite the lack of a collared shirt, the Doctor was still wearing his bowtie loosely around his neck.

“Banana patterned toe socks Doctor? Really? And sandals? You look like a dorky Dad.”

He waggled his eyebrows at her. “These are my conditions for a leisure day! You get your little sunbake and I get to look swag!” He put sunglasses on after that statement, and posed again.

Rose pursed her lips at his misuse of slang, and the Doctor sniffed reproachfully. “Look at her Amy. Miserable I tell you. That's what life’s like outside of the socks and sandals club.”

He bounded over to the console, whirred a lever and pushed a button and suddenly the TARDIS was off, rattling through the void. Amy grinned, hearing the TARDIS sing joyfully in her head.

After a minute or so, the ship jerked to a stop, depositing the trio onto the floor. Amy was the first to rise, eager to open the doors to what was sure to be her most favourite planet yet.

“Midnight here we come!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After arriving at Midnight, the trio had booked a room for the night, and upon finding out the resort had a pool, Amy begged to visit it immediately. Rose, being able to deny her nothing, agreed.

The Doctor had chastised Rose about her decision not to get in as ‘a waste of a perfectly good pool!”, but when it was made clear to him she had no intention of moving from her sunbathing seat, he jumped in with Amy.

He extracted giggle after giggle from the girl, and their combined laughter was music to Rose's ears.

After a glorious hour of listening to them play, Rose was thoroughly relaxed. Her leg was no longer bothering her after the nun incident, and so she was free to just sit back and soak up the vitamin D, at least until the Doctor got antsy.

She had been pleasantly surprised that the Doctor lasted more than ten minutes without abandoning her and Amy for some plot or invasion, and had really enjoyed just watching them in the pool. The fact that this new Doctor was easy on the eyes helped that significantly.

But, her streak of luck couldn’t last forever, and now he was trying to convince Rose to abandon her hard won day in the sun for some overcrowded sightseeing trip.

“Rooooose come with me. It’s only a two hour ride—”

“Yeah only two hours there, and another two back,” she snarked. “Sounds like a school trip ta me.”

“Oh but Rose, there's sapphire waterfalls and crystal lakes and—” Rose didn’t let him finish.

“Bet you say that ta all the girls. My answer is no Doctor. I’m here to relax for crying out loud, and look how much fun Amy’s havin!” She gestured to the girl, who after being abandoned by the Doctor, was now playing with a vaguely familiar looking woman in the pool. “I’m not makin’ her come on some stuffy train ride, and pullin’ her away from people her own age. Besides, the sun here is lovely.”

The Doctor pouted. Rose slid her sunglasses back onto her nose.

“You be careful, that's Xtonic sunlight," he warned, but she just smiled.

“I read the pamphlet, dontcha remember? It says the glass is fifteen feet thick. I’m completely safe, you plum.”

He rolled his eyes, but Rose could sense a smile. “All right, I give up. I’ll be back in time for dinner, we can try the antigravity restaurant they’ve got here.”

“It’s a date,” she said cheekily, poking her tongue out.

“It’s not— Oh you know what I mean,” he mumbled, before waving goodbye to Amy. He then darted out of the room, his hair still dripping, leaving wet footstep puddles in his wake. Rose sighed, and laid her head back again.

She dropped into a light sleep, the beginnings of a dream in her mind, only to be woken by a very wet hand on her face. “Rose, wake up.” She jolted awake.

“Amy— huh? What time is it?” Rose scrambled to place herself, her sunglasses an unusual sensation on her face. “Why are you wet?”

“It’s four o'clock, and we’re at the pool,” Amy reminded Rose, before her leg started to jitter again. “Rose Rose Rose, Can you come in with me? My friend Brook left, and I’m bored,” she whined, her voice sounding remarkably similar to the Doctor's own. Had it been the Doctor begging, Rose would have told him to shove off and gone back to her pleasant nap.

This wasn’t the Doctor however. This was an adorable little girl whose red hair and big brown eyes tugged at Rose's heartstrings harder than she would have liked. She sighed in a resigned manner, and swung her legs off the edge of the chair.

“Alright. But I’m not getting my hair wet, you hear me?”

“YES!” Amy cheered, and then flashed Rose a winning smile. Her eyes really did shine with the same manic energy of the Doctors, and Rose wondered if the smile had come before or after their intervention into Amy’s life. Her train of thought halted when Amy dragged her into the freezing water.

“You didn’t tell me it was cold!” Rose gasped, and Amy snorted.

“You never asked.”

That was fair, she supposed. With a cheeky grin, Amy splashed water at Rose. Rose returned the grin, with a Doctor like eyebrow waggle. “Oh you’re in for it now Pond,” Rose threatened, launching herself at the girl. Amy swam away, laughing the entire time.

Rose's hair got wet. She didn’t mind.

When Amy grew tired, Rose found some towels to dry off with, and they wandered into the main hall of the pleasure palace to find a bite to eat. Thankfully the Doctor had left his credit stick with them, and so Rose ordered two servings of chips to share between them.

Rose was beginning to feel full when at the other end of the room, the double set of magnificent oaken doors swung open to reveal a frazzled looking group of people. Rose stared at them frowning, with a chip halfway to her mouth.

Amy turned to follow Rose's gaze, and their eyes locked onto the Doctor at the same time. Something was off, his steps were not full of life as they had been before left. His bow tie was missing, his shirt had a sleeve ripped off and his sunglasses were completely missing.

Instantly Rose was on her feet, chips abandoned as she crossed the cafeteria to get to him.

When she reached the Doctor, he drew her into a crushing hug. Rose wrapped her arms tight around him, a little surprised by how intensely he clung to her. He held her like a lifeline.

“You ok?” She asked after a moment.

“Yeah I—” the Doctor pulled out of the hug suddenly to look at Rose suspiciously. “Your hair.”

“What about it?” Rose asked, feeling the whiplash. His eyes narrowed.

“It’s wet. You said you wouldn’t get in.”

“Well, like you said, waste of a pool day.” She shrugged nonchalantly, but when he didn’t stop staring, she admitted the truth. “Amy begged me. I can’t say no to her eyes!”

The Doctor softened at that.

“What happened out there?” Rose asked carefully. His gaze flickered from hers to somewhere behind her head, where she assumed Amy was sitting. “Doctor? Are you hurt?”

His eyes came back to focus on hers. “No, no, no. Just a little shaken up is all.”

Rose didn’t quite believe him, especially not after he plastered on the fakest looking smile she’d ever seen when Amy asked how the trip had been. He was animated as always, but there was something haunted in his eyes that Rose just couldn’t bear.

He did tell her about what had happened on the open planes after Amy went back to swimming. He told her about the midnight entity, about the brave hostess, about how they had all nearly died and he had been helpless to do anything.

Rose listened, and heard his unspoken words. Guilt over the hostesses death. Fear that if he’d talked them into coming with him, Amy or Rose might be dead as well. Anger that his voice and actions had been stolen from him.

She offered comfort in a hand to hold, and he took it.

After thirty minutes more, Amy pulled herself from the pool and declared herself to be thoroughly worn out. The idea of staying overnight on the midnight planet now seemed horrifying after what the Doctor had disclosed, and so the trio made their way back to the TARDIS, Amy on the Doctor's shoulders.

Rose was just considering what movie they should watch together that night when the Doctor stiffened up next to her, missing a step. Amy felt him stumble, and frowned. “What's that about?” She demanded in her silliest voice, tapping him on the top of his head, but he didn’t laugh.

“Something is following us.” Rose tried to look, but the Doctor pulled his hand free from her grasp, pushing her face forwards. Rose leant her head sideways so she could whisper in his ear.

“Is it the midnight entity?” She hissed. He shook his head, making sure not to turn his face too far behind them. On the Doctor's shoulders, Amy kicked her legs idly. His hand tightened on the girl's knee, stopping the motion.

“No. Something far younger,” he replied.

“Well what do we do?” Rose whispered back, anxiety mounting in her chest.

“We run.” Rose was off before his sentence was finished.

He lagged a little with the extra weight of Amy on his shoulders, but Rose couldn’t look back, her panicked brain recalling the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. She would have laughed at the similarity had she not been running for her life.

Somehow, they made it to the TARDIS without incident, and when they were inside, the Doctor locked it behind them.

A feeling of unease swirled about in Rose's belly as he put Amy down gently. Something wasn’t right.

Chapter Text

The TARDIS dematerialised into a jerking, rough flight. Her song was anxious in the back of Rose's head, giving her the heebie jeebies; the old girl was usually a comforting presence, but she seemed really unnerved. They landed, but as the Doctor strode over to fling the doors wide, a red light beeped at the door. He groaned, and returned to the console, cranking a lever. The TARDIS dematerialised again, rougher this time. Amy clung to one of the long ceiling wires to keep herself from being flung about the place, and Rose looped her arm around the jumpseat. Somehow, through all of this, the Doctor managed to stay upright.

The pattern repeated, over and over until Rose finally snapped, “Doctor, what’s happening?”

His face was grim as the TARDIS once again beeped red at him, and they fell back into the void. “They're following us. They can follow us wherever we go. Right across the universe. They're never going to stop.” He was rambling now, his motormouth going a mile a minute. He turned suddenly on his heel, and his hand gripped Rose's shoulders almost painfully. “Rose, do you trust me?”

Rose was startled by the intensity in his eyes, and she found herself unable to look away. “Course I do.” she unwound her arm from the jumpseat, and touched his cheek. “Forever.”

He wretched his gaze away from hers, and his eyes fell on a little metallic object he was holding. “It all depends on you, Rose. This watch is me.”

He dangled a copper coloured fob watch in Rose's face, and she nodded. “Right, okay, gotcha.” A moment later, Rose revisited her statement. “No. Nevermind, ’m lost. Doctor, what’s happening? Who are ‘they’?”

He ran a hand through his hair fervently, resignation echoing from every word that fell from his lips. “These creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space, and they’ve got a vortex manipulator.”

“Any good news Doctor?” Rose asked, a testy edge creeping into her voice. There was always a way out. There had to be. Her hand found Amy’s, and the girl held tight.

The Doctor hit the console with a mallet, resulting in a reverberating ding. He tossed it behind him without a glance. “They can smell me, but they haven't seen me, and their lifespan is only three months or so. Solution to that is we hide. Wait for them to die.”

Amy’s eyes were huge. “But they can track us down,” she half whimpered. He stopped his tinkering, turning to her.

His voice was gentle, as if comforting a dying animal. “That's why I've got to do it, Amy. I have to stop being a Time Lord.”

Rose put the pieces together a moment before he said it. “I've got to become human.”

A headset lowered from the ceiling, and Rose could feel the TARDIS in the back of her head, crying mournfully. “Doctor, what is that?”

His hand reached out to touch it reverently, running a careful finger around the circumference. “Never thought I'd use this. All the times I've wondered.”

“What does it do?” Amy asked, her voice small. The Doctor cleared his throat.

“Ah. Yes. Chameleon Arch. Rewrites my biology. Literally changes every single cell in my body, and I've set it to human.”

He inserted the watch into the headset. It was all happening too fast for Rose to think. He put the contraption over his head. “Now, the Tardis will take care of everything. Invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me, but she can’t do the same for you. You’ll need to find a way into my life, but make sure you don’t trigger any of my memories.” He grimaced. “That would be bad.” He readjusted one of the straps. “I prerecorded instructions in the TARDIS in case this ever happened. Don’t worry too much, I thought of everything you could possibly need.”

“Won’t it hurt?” Amy said, and Rose could have sworn she heard tears on the edge of the girl's voice. The Doctor gave a tight smile. It was Rose's least favourite expression of his. It was his ‘I’m about to say some bullshit and hope you’re going to believe me’ face.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll be alright. You look after Rose for me, you hear?”

Amy nodded her head once, intent on following his instruction. The Doctor cranked a lever, and electricity jolted throughout his entire body. Amy screamed, and tried to run to him before Rose locked her arms around the girl, holding her back. He was trying not to make a sound she knew, but his pain—

The TARDIS was screaming with him.

She was screaming like she had during the year that never was, agony of the highest degree, and Rose couldn’t shut it out, even if she could let go of the struggling child in her arms to block her ears. The sound was deep within her skull, reverberating through every bone, and Rose gritted her teeth as hard as she could, trying not to pass out from the pain.

After what felt like aeons, the screaming stopped, and the Doctor slumped to the ground. Amy kneed Rose in the groin, and she let go, allowing Amy to run to him.

He looked like a corpse, laying there with Amy crying over him. It was almost worse than the year that never was.

Somehow Rose knew the imagine would haunt her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose ran a basic vitals check over him, and found them mostly normal, although where once there had been two hearts, only one remained. After a time with no change, Rose packed a bag for herself and Amy with essentials such as clothing, the psychic paper and some money. She hesitated in her room, deliberating over whether or not to take his previous incarnations leather coat with her, before stashing it deep in her bag. When she returned, the Doctor still wasn’t conscious and so she and Amy dragged him from the TARDIS, unsure of what else to do. The ship powered down immediately after, and the two girls alone to deal with a newly human Doctor.

Rose couldn’t see any other options, and so she asked Amy to take care of him while she trudged into town to try to find some lodging for the night. After some success in that department via psychic paper, Rose secured a small house on Wyndham street and by the time she returned, it was dark. The Doctor was sitting up now, awake and alert with Amy passed out asleep on his lap, her mouth wide open as she snored.

His eyes locked onto her, looking rather lost. She waved, and jogged over to him. “Do ya remember your name? You look a little dazed.”

“I’m er— hmm.” He had trouble with the question, but when he blinked, his confusion seemed to disappear. “Doctor James Mccrimmon. Yes. Er.” He squinted at her. “Are you my wife?”

Rose’s heart stopped in her chest. The TARDIS wouldn’t do this to her. Surely not. Maybe there was a way out of it? Well, she could try. “Err— What was her name?”

“Rose.” He replied instantaneously. “Rose Marion Mccrimmon.” He gazed at her, as if trying to figure something out. “You do look a great deal like her—”

“Yeah— uh that's me alright.”

Oh yes, the TARDIS was going to get a good slap when she woke up. Or something. Rose wasn’t sure how to inflict pain on a sentient time ship, but by everything holy she was going to try.

His brilliant green eyes widened in delight at her statement, and she had to fight down a blush.

This wasn’t her Doctor. This was a man who shared his face, but nothing else. She could be detached. She could be calm about this. Then when she got her Doctor back, they would go back to being best mates and never speak of it again. Rose shook her head to try to clear her thoughts.

“Right, ’ve got us a house for tonight at least. Do you want me ta carry Amy?” At her words, he looked down at the little girl with such an adoring gaze that Roses' single heart almost broke again. As gently as he could, he heaved the girl up, so her head rested comfortably on his shoulder.

“Nah, I’ve got her. Which way’s the house my love?” He extended the hand that wasn’t supporting Amy’s sleepy weight, and Rose stared at it uncomprehendingly.

She was well and truly fucked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Rose woke the next morning, she was briefly confused by her location, before the memories of the day prior caught up.

Ah. That explained the hand on her hip.

Sharing a bed with the Doctor wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Nightmares had occasionally drove both of them to seek comfort in the other's arms, and Rose was no stranger to falling asleep next to him, his double heart beat lulling her to sleep.

What was uncommon was seeing the Doctor actually asleep. It wasn’t just uncommon, it was almost unheard of, and Rose could count on one hand how many times she’d seen him sleeping- not counting his post regeneration coma. Despite the amount of times that they had cuddled for comfort, for warmth, for sanity's sake, without fail, Rose would wake up to an empty bed, and the Doctor already on the go.

This was different though. This body was all too human, and all too needy. Humans required sleep to survive as he so often liked to remind Rose, and so here he was.

Deep in sleep. With one arm thrown around her waist. Face smooshed in the pillow. Drooling a little. She would have teased him about it had the situation not been so dire.

Rose shifted a little to get a better look at him, hyper aware of the hand on her hip.

He didn't look more human than the day before. His face was still rectangular this time, although his mouth maybe had more smile lines around it. His ruffled hair was just as sticky uppy as it had been, but it no longer had that gravity defying property of his Timelord self. The real difference must be internal. Rose let her hand fall forwards onto his chest.

One heart.

She felt the moment he woke up, because his hand shifted oh so slightly on her hip and a lazy smile made its way across his lips.

“Morning my love.”

Oh damn the TARDIS, Rose thought, damn her and every single bloody thing that had led to this. Damn that stupid word the Doctor would never use. Damn her heart for twisting like it did. She was half tempted to try to snap him out of it for her own selfish sake, but upon recalling his warning, she decided to play along. “Morning. How’d ya sleep?”

His brilliant eyes opened. “Better than you. You’ve been tossing and turning all night. Wanna talk about it?”

Oh she did. Rose really truly did. Unfortunately for her though, the man gazing adoringly at her was not her husband, and she was not Rose Mcrimmon, and so regretfully she shook her head, lying through her teeth. “Nah. Just a bit worried about Amy. She’s been complanin’ of stomach aches, ya think we should keep her home for a spell?”

“Maybe. It might just be anxiety.” He shifted up onto an elbow, and then to Rose's horror, he leaned in as if going for a kiss.

Well, it wasn’t exactly horror. After all, wasn’t this what she had craved from him from the very first run? For his lips on hers, for a chance to take the leap beyond best mates into something more? She knew it was.

But not like this.

Frantically scrambling for any way out, Rose hastily shoved him away. His expression was akin to a kicked puppy, and she nearly broke, but managed to persevere. Her Doctor would never forgive her for taking advantage of him, intentionally or otherwise, and while she doubted he would kick her out of the TARDIS, she knew it would be an unrecoverable blow to their friendship.

So, instead, she yelped, “I— erm— you’ve got morning breath!” As way of explanation, finding no other sensible excuse in her head. He blinked.

“Ah. Right you are Mrs Mcrimmon!” His smile was back, less manic than the Doctors, but equally as bright. He leapt from beneath the covers, taking her precious warmth with him. She made her displeasure known by hurling a pillow at him. He caught it with a sly wink.

“You’ve got to try harder than that dear,” he teased, and she groaned into the mattress.

“You’re bloody annoying that's what you are.”

His self satisfied chuckle came from the door to their room. “That's why you love me sweetheart.”

Rose hummed noncommittally into the mattress, internally screaming. Did he really have to keep saying that word? The one word his Time Lord self would never truly repeat? And he'd called her Mrs Mcrimmon, which was beyond cruel.

His footsteps retreated, and he called out. “I’m going to wake Amy! Breakfast in five!”

How was she going to deal with this for three whole months?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon reaching the kitchen, Rose sent the Doctor on a mission to the local grocers to buy breakfast food as the house was completely empty. He gave both Amy and Rose a tight squeeze before ducking out the door, giving them space to talk.

“The Doctor thinks he’s my Dad,” Amy announced the moment the door clicked shut. Rose hushed her, hoping the Doctor was already too far away to hear.

“As far as his human self is concerned, he is,” Rose replied after she was satisfied he’d left. “The TARDIS probably constructed memories of him holding you as a baby, an’ ridin’ your first bike an’ all the things Dads do with their daughters.”

“If the Doctors’ my Dad, does that make you my Mum?”

Amy's innocent question caught Rose off guard. She supposed that in some capacity she was already filling that hole in the girl's life, but to put a big, weighty title to it? Was that really necessary?

Amy's wide caramel eyes were what broke Rose's resolve. She sighed resolutely, and found herself smiling.

“I ‘spose it does sweetheart.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy… wasn’t exactly as ignorant about the situation as she had led Rose to believe.

Amy had a lot of ideas, as most children do, some good, some bad and others not worth mentioning, however none had been as devious as the one she had come up with the night they landed in the little Australian country town.

Rose had walked off to the town centre to try and find them some housing for the night, and so Amy was left to watch the Doctor. She really didn’t mind, unconscious people aren’t hard to look after at all, what was he going to do? Wander off? No, that was her job.

When he jerked awake half an hour later, Amy thought he was having a seizure of some kind, like Rory’s older brother who had epilepsy. He jolted around for a second or so before coming to, and that was when the most cunning idea Amy had ever had entered her mind.

Amy wasn’t blind to the looks the Doctor and Rose traded, after all she was nine, not stupid, but for some unknown reason she’d never once seen them kiss. She had asked Rose about it, after an adventure while they were out of earshot of the Doctor, and she’d blushed so hard Amy thought she might spontaneously combust, before telling Amy that they weren’t together and that that sort of question was very rude to ask.

Amy hadn’t asked again, but the moment had stuck in her mind, and now the idea was growing into something more. A plan.

“Dad, you’re awake!” Amy cried, flinging herself onto the Doctor, who’s arms reflexively wrapped around her, holding her close.

“Ah yes, so I am, err— Amy!” Oh good, he at least remembered her name. That was better than she’d hoped for. Amy pulled back from the hug to look him in the face. He still looked Doctor-ish, just a little tireder now. Good enough.

“Mum told me to tell you that she went to find us somewhere to stay tonight,” Amy state, hoping he wouldn't call her bluff. His brows furrowed as he tried very hard to recall the mysterious figure only known as ‘Mum’, and Amy helpfully reminded him. “Rose Marion? Your wife?”

His eyes sparked in recognition at the name, and Amy knew her plan had succeeded. A wave of tiredness hit Amy like a semi truck, and she stretched out into a yawn. Her taxing day of swimming and plotting had finally caught up to her, and so she clambered onto the Doctor's lap, burrowing in like a little rabbit. She was pleased when his arms came around her, stroking her shoulder smoothly.

“Sleep well sweetie,” he murmured, and that had been all Amy remembered until she woke the next morning in a cozy little bed to the Doctor rousing her for the day.

Her plan had gone off without a hitch. She had a new Dad, and a new Mum, and Amy couldn’t be more thrilled.

She really should be devious more often.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor returned an hour later with several bags of food, including, to Amy's delight, fish fingers and custard. Rose forbade them from having it for breakfast, citing that Amy was still growing and in need of nutrition.

At her mention of nutrition, the Doctor eagerly offered to cook eggs.

Unfortunately the human Doctor was just as bad, if not worse at cooking than the regular one, and Amy thought that she might shrivel up and die if she had to eat the charcoal that was supposed to be their breakfast.

Rose gave up on being a responsible parent and put the fish fingers in the oven.

After every fish finger had been consumed, the Doctor walked into town with Amy on his shoulders to try to find out where he could get a job. Rose was attempting to scrub away the burn mark left over from his cooking fail when a knock came at the front door.

Rose’s heart raced. She was alone, and it really could be anyone on the other side of that door. They were in hiding after all, what if the hunters had found them?

She pulled out a knife from the kitchen drawer and held it in her right hand, just to be on the safe side, and padded to the door.

Another knock, Rose steeled herself, and pulled open the door to reveal—

A smiling old woman holding a tray of cookies. Some of the tension left Rose’s shoulders, although she was still on alert.

“G’day love, heard we might be getting neighbours!” She stuck out a hand as she spoke, her Australian accent so thick Rose had a little bit of trouble following her words. “My name's Dora, nice to meet you!”

She appeared to maybe be in her early seventies, with grey hair tied up into a plait. She was wearing a pair of overalls on top of a short sleeved green t-shirt, and yellow gumboots with duck faces printed all over them, and gave off a very Grandmotherly feeling.

Rose accepted the proffered hand, sensing the woman meant no harm. “Nice ta meet you, ‘m Rose, Rose T— Mccrimmon. Would ya like ta come in for some tea? I’m sure we ‘ave some somewhere to go with the cookies.”

Dora was looking at her hand strangely, and it was at that moment that Rose realised she was still holding the knife. “Err sorry about this. I was just cutting open a bag of oranges. My— my husband went shoppin’ for food this morning cos the house was bare, and I only just got on ta unpacking it now.”

She waved the woman in, and shut the door behind them. Dora’s expression was less suspicious now, and she laughed at “How long have you two love birds been married? You look pretty young.”

Rose's brain screeched to a halt as she did some speedy mental maths. Amy was about eight, which meant they had to have been married for at least that long not to cause a scandal in a rural Australian town, but that wouldn’t work with Rose's actual age even if she counted the year that never was, so she adjusted that too, before deciding on a reply.

“Oh I’m not as young as I look,” she laughed, flicking the kettle on. “We’ve been married for almost nine years, and we have a daughter.”

Doras eyebrows shot up at that. “Goodness you look young for that. I wouldn’t have tipped you for a day over twenty!”

“Yeah I get that a lot,” Rose laughed, finally uncovering tea from one of the many bags the Doctor had brought home. “It looks like we’ve only got English breakfast, is that ok?”

“Perfect love!” Dora replied, unwrapping the cookies. “Where are you three from?”

Rose retrieved two mugs from the cupboard and plonked two tea bags into them. “Oh you know, all around.” she answered evasively. The kettle whistled, indicating it was done, and she hurried to pour it.

“Thanks love. How old’s your daughter then? We have a Granddaughter staying with us for the summer holidays, Evie, she’s eight and a half.”

“Oh perfect, Amy’s about the same!” It would be good for Amy to spend more time with kids her own age. Rose worried that only socialising with the Doctor and herself may impact the poor girl's future.

Dora grinned. “What are the odds? Maybe our families could have dinner together tonight? I’d love to get to know your family a little bit better.”

Family. If only. Rose suppressed a sigh. “Sounds good. Why don’t ya come over at six and we can have a campfire? I know Amy’s been beggin’ ta have one for ages.”

“We’ll be there!” Dora promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor and Amy returned hours later with what seemed like an entire forest’s worth of leaves knotted into Amy’s hair. Rose spent the half an hour before Dick and Dora were due trying to run a brush through it and lecturing the girl.

It wasn’t effective. Amy just giggled.

The Doctor at least had the courtesy to explain. After he had managed to secure a job at the local pharmacy, the two of them were just heading home when a deer hopped into their path, and Amy insisted they follow it.

That explained why their daughter looked like a wild fey child. Rose sighed. “Well, better hope I can get all this out in the next twenty minutes, we’ve got guests coming over.”

The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up. “Guests? Who? Do we even know anyone in this country?”

“I made friends with our neighbour, or rather, she made friends with me. Dora.” Rose extracted another leaf from Amy's hair. “She’s got a granddaughter your age, Ames.”

Amy perked up at that, bouncing in her seat. “Really? Really? Really? Is she coming tonight? Can I meet her?”

Rose’s face softened at the girl's joy. It was nice to hear Amy getting excited about normal kid things for once. “Course sweetheart, that’s why I mentioned it, but you need to hold still.”

She yanked the brush again, and Amy winced. “Oww Mum,” she whined, kicking her legs. “Can’t you be more gentle?”

“Next time, braid your hair before you go scampering away into the forest, or I might just cut it all off,” Rose threatened, although there was no fire behind her words.

Amy just giggled again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy adored Evie on sight. She had dark hair and blue eyes that shone like diamonds, and a cheeky grin that reminded Amy of Mels so much it almost hurt. They were introduced by their families, and within moments, Amy dragged the other girl off towards the not quite built campfire, grabbing a box of matches on her way. Evie matched her pace easily, and it was at that moment Amy knew they were destined to be friends.

Evie was a great help with getting the fire started, and she told Amy all about her time as a girls scout. Amy made a mental note to ask Rose about joining Evies scout group at some point.

They got the fire started, and the adults joined them half an hour later. The sky was starting to turn pink, but the sunset wasn’t quite ready to come out yet, and Amy could just see the brightest star on the horizon from the river on their land.

As the brilliant sunset took hold of the sky, the Doctor shouted that dinner was ready. Dinner consisted of sausages cooked on the open fire, and both Amy and Evie scoffed their dinner down, wanting to return to play as soon as possible.

The sun went down, and the most brilliant stars Amy had ever seen came out. The milky way was bright against the dark expanse of the sky, twinkling down at her and her new friend, and Amy's heart felt full. She had a Mum, a Dad and now a new best friend, and everything was right.

The only way Amy thought her new life could have been better would be with Rory and Mels by her side as well. She shoved that thought down immediately, ignoring the sadness thoughts of her old friends brought.

At about nine o'clock, Dora announced it was time for bed, to which both Evie and Amy violently protested. They were mollified by the promise of a playdate the next day, which Amy could not wait for.

Goodbyes were said, the campfire was put out, and the two families retreated to their respective houses, satisfied children at their sides.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m not tired yet!”

Getting Amy to actually go to bed had been one of the hardest battles Rose had fought in a long time, and she’d taken on the actual devil. Usually the TARDIS would boost melatonin production in the little girl after a certain time to encourage her to sleep, but without the sentient ship to help her out, Rose was left to deal alone with the willful child.

The moment he’d smelt conflict, the human Doctor scarpered, claiming he needed to shower and she hadn’t seen him since. Rose snorted. Typical Doctor behaviour. In the hour since, she’d wrestled Amy into getting changed, brushing her teeth, and into her room.

At present, the girl was refusing to actually get into the bed, and Rose was at her wits end. “I don’t care Amy! It’s nearly ten o'clock, and we’ve got things to do tomorrow. You want to see Evie again don’t you?”

“Oh but I’m not tired at all—” Amy's sentence was cut off a moment later by a gigantic yawn. Rose raised an eyebrow. “And I’m a dame Rose, I can do what I wan—” Another yawn interrupted, and when Amy was finished, she looked rather peeved. “Those yawns were outliers!”

“Are you sure?”

Amy nodded vehemently, before a third yawn came. She flopped onto her bed in defeat, and rolled over to look at the ceiling. “You could tell me a bedtime story to help me sleep?” Amy fluttered her lashes at Rose. Rose sat on the side of her bed, the mattress dipping under her weight.

“‘M not much good at storytelling love, ‘m afraid I can’t help you there.”

Amy scowled, took a breath, and called as loudly as she could. “DAAAAAAAAAAD! COME HEREEE!”

Rose winced at the volume, and from the other end of the house, the Doctor yelled “Coming!” Hisfootsteps got progressively louder as he approached Amy's room, and when he bounded in around the doorframe Rose lost what little breath she had.

Sweet Lord he was gorgeous. The Doctor's hair was still damp from the shower, and stuck up all over the place similar to his last incarnation, and he wore his striped jim jam shorts that went to just above his knees, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

The Doctor was shirtless. Rose swallowed hard.

Shit shit shit.

“What’s wrong Pond?”

It was so curious how he still called her Pond, even in his human form. Rose made a mental note to ask him about it when she got her actual Doctor back. Amy pulled her covers over her legs. “Mum’s rubbish at storytelling. Can you tell me a bedtime story?”

“Is that any way to talk to your Mum 'ey?” He teased, a mock serious expression. Rose scowled at him, still not over his hasty retreat.

“As if you can talk! You left me ta get her inta bed all by myself without the TAR— anyone ta help me! She’s hard enough to wrangle on a good day, and I really wish you woulda thought ta help me instead o’ running off!”

She clamped her mouth shut, worried she may have gone too far. She hadn’t realised just how hurt the Doctor’s actions had inflicted unconsciously, and even though it was silly, she wished she hadn’t run.

Rose was surprised when instead of firing back, the Doctor took her hand. “I’m sorry my love. I shouldn’t have left you to get her to bed by yourself. Will you forgive me?”

For a moment, Rose only stared into his eyes, those brilliant green eyes she still wasn’t quite used to, and was once again reminded that this was not her Doctor. Her Doctor would never have apologised for leaving her, never apologised for something he deemed so trivial, and that was a distinction she could hold onto. She put on a mock stern expression.

“I forgive you, but only on the condition that you do the dishes for the next three weeks!”

“HA!” Amy crowed, and the Doctor tossed his hair dramatically, a roguish grin playing at his lips.

“If that is what I must do to reclaim your affections Dame Rose, then wash dishes I shall!” He kissed her hand, and Rose laughed despite herself. The tension in the room faded into a comfortable glow, and his gaze turned to Amy. “Alright, let's see little Miss. Bedtime stories. Bedtime… hmm.”

He thought for a minute, and snapped his fingers. “Aha! Yes. Let's see. It all started on Christmas Eve, not quite a stormy night, although just as cold, and there was trouble brewing above London…”

Rose listened, enraptured, to the Doctor's tale, half forgetting that she herself had lived it out alongside him. He spoke of the murderous Santa’s, Harriet Jones, and the Sycorax, using funny voices to distinguish between each character, and when he was done twenty minutes later, Amy was sound asleep, snoring slightly. Rose pulled up the covers, tucking her in properly, careful not to wake her.

They snuck out of the room, shutting the door behind them with a click. Rose sighed, weary to her bones. The combination of a terrible night's sleep, the social energy of making new friends and the stress of getting Amy into bed was taking its toll, and all she really wanted was to curl up in her bed on the TARDIS, the ship humming around her.

The Doctor held out his arms, and Rose fell into his embrace without hesitation. Hugs were safe. Hugs were normal. He held her to him like she was a buoy and he was drowning, breathing into her hair like it could give him the oxygen he so desperately needed.

After a minute, Rose pulled away, yawning. “‘M tired, Doctor, think ‘m gonna go to bed. You comin?”

His expression was so full of love she nearly collapsed. “Not quite, I’ve got some paperwork to fill out around the pharmacy job. Sleep well love.”

He leaned in again for a kiss, but at the last second, Rose turned her cheek. “Night James.”

Before he could react, Rose slipped out of the hallway and into their room, shutting the door behind her with a dull thud. She changed into pyjamas, and flopped into bed, cursing the TARDIS silently, steadfastly ignoring the tears welling up behind her eyes.

How was she going to do this?

Chapter Text

Three weeks passed with nothing of note, and the ‘Mccrimmon family’ were settling nicely into Newstead. Amy and Evie were inseparable, the Doctor loved his work, and Rose had even managed to secure a part time job at the local cafe.

It would have been entirely perfect, if the Doctor were himself.

It wasn’t that Rose didn’t like James Mccrimon. He was perfectly fine, a gentleman, a great Dad to Amy and a very kind soul, but more than anything his mere existence served as a big fat reminder of everything Rose could never have with the real Doctor.

Before the hunters had come, Rose had been doing so well at pushing down her feelings for him, convinced he would never return them, and now here he was, trying to kiss her consistently, and she was avoiding it.

“You good Rosie?”

Rose looked up from the dish sink to see a grinning young man, and her face softened. “Oh yeah, hey Danny. Just thinkin’ bout some stuff going on at home. Finances and the likes.”

“Big sigh for finances. You’ve been washing that plate for the past ten minutes.” Rose stared down at the dish in her hand, squeaky clean. Embarrassed, she pulled it from the water, and placed it on the drying rack.

“It needed to soak.”

He raised a teasing eyebrow, and leaned over to dry the plate. Danny Blake was maybe twenty at most, and with his blonde curls and bright blue eyes he was considered quite the heartthrob by most of the town's younger population. He flirted with anything with a pulse, including Rose herself, which amused her to no end.

“Say Rosie, how’d ya like to get a drink after work? I’ll pay.” He waggled his eyebrows, and Rose snorted.

“You’re dreaming Blake, and besides, I’ve already got a date.”

“Bring him too, mores the merrier.” He teased, and in that moment, he reminded her so much of Jack. At the thought of her old friend, another bolt of loneliness panging through her chest. She really ought to call him or Martha sometime, purely so she could have someone to commiserate with other than a precocious nine year old.

Amy had spent less and less time at home recently, her new friend Evie taking up most of her days as they explored the forests surrounding Newstead. It was good for Amy to have friends her own age, but Rose found herself missing the girl anyways, and had gotten the café job purely to stave off the quiet in the house.

“I’d agree to that, but how would poor Heather Jones feel hmm?” She teased, and at that, Danny's ears went red. Rose had noticed just how often the brunette came by the store, and how she managed to shut the flirt up with barely a wink. “She’s sweet on you, I’d bet ten quid that if you invited her out she’d be hard pressed ta say no.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about Rose, you know you’re the only woman for me.” He winked again, and she snorted. Very Jack.

The clock struck two, and Rose’s shift was over. She packed up and waved goodbye to her manager, a man named Oliver, before heading out.

She was surprised to see a car waiting out front with its window rolled down, revealing a very smug looking Doctor. “Are you going my way, doll?” He asked, unknowingly repeating a phrase he’d said to her in his last incarnation, his silly accent thick. Rose winked at him, and curtseyed in response.

“Is there any other way to go?”

He grinned at that, and Rose strode over, pulling open the passenger seat. She slid in, and closed the door with a click, her seatbelt stretching across her chest. “Where we goin’ Doctor?” she enquired, but he just shook his head merrily.

“It’s a surprise!” Amy declared from the backseat, and Evie nodded.

“Special surprise.”

“Really special!”

“But very secret.”

“Mhm. Mhm.”

Amy and Evie giggled like little maniacs, and Rose didn’t push the issue. She trusted the human Doctor to take them somewhere safe, after all, he didn’t have his TARDIS, what's the worst thing that could happen?

On the drive, both Amy and Evie begged the Doctor to tell them a story. He’d taken up telling the girls wild bedtime stories, all of which were actually unknowingly taken from adventures he and Rose had had. Rose had to scold him after he’d told them the empty child story, scaring both Evie and Amy so badly they crept into Rose and the Doctor's bed that night, but the girls insisted he continue with the tradition.

The story he’d settled on today was the one about the Slitheen in Downing street. Rose winced at the memory, recalling just how beat up she’d been after it. Her big eared Doctor had tended to her carefully afterwards, resetting her shoulder with firm hands, and Rose fell asleep with her head in his lap.

Rose was wrapped up in her memories that she didn’t notice when they parked. She jumped when the door opened, and the Doctor held out a hand. “M’Dame Rose.”

She took it with a tongue touched grin. “Sir Doctor.”

The Doctor led her up the street, and towards a cute little pink tea shop called the Maldon Rose. He pushed open the door, and shooed her inside. Evie and Amy followed, hand in hand.

The store was adorable, pink from head to toe, and covered in rose décor. It was super on the nose, but Rose found she couldn’t care less.

The four of them skimmed the menu, Amy and Evie deciding on hot chocolates and a pear tea cake to share, and Rose settling for a lavender flavoured coffee. The waitress came up to them, and they ordered. “I think I’ll have the… Hmm…” The Doctor's finger skimmed down the menu, his brows furrowed in concentration. “The rose latte!” He looked up at her, and grinned at her with such affection in his eyes she could have melted right there and then.

Her cheeks flushed unbidden. Rose looked away, slightly embarrassed, and ran a hand self consciously through her hair before looking back to the waitress. "Actually, I think I'll have the same."

The waitress winked, and wrote it down, shoulder length curls moving with the movement. "Anything else?"

They shook their heads 'no' and in time their food was brought out. The little girls scoffed down the pear cake with ease after the Doctor demanded a Dad tax, and Rose sipped slowly on her latte, enjoying the way he played with their daughter, making her giggle.

He would be such a good Dad.

Finally after what felt like only minutes, but was more likely closer to a couple of hours, the tea shop was ready to close and they were politely kicked out. The Doctor's hand slid into hers as they walked back to the car, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thank you Doctor,” she breathed, and he hummed pleasantly.

“You’re welcome. I love you.”

“Amy watch out for the road!” Rose yelped, tugging her hand from the Doctors to supposedly protect their daughter. She couldn’t bear to return the saccharine sentiment, not while he wasn’t himself, not ever if she was being honest. It would make her too vulnerable. She turned back to him, but his face had gone stony. She tried to take his hand again, but he shoved it into his pocket, leaving her own to flail about uselessly.

The car ride home was much quieter, Evie’s request for a story met with a cold silence. Shrugging it off, the girls played eye spy, and all too soon they were home. The Doctor sent Amy off to Evie’s house for the evening, and half-dragged Rose inside.

When they reached their kitchen, she put her bag and phone down onto the bench, intending to make some tea, but the Doctor was having none of it. He turned on her, stilling her movements

“Why won’t you kiss me?”

Oh bollocks. Rose had foolishly hoped that the Doctor may not pick up on her obvious avoidance of the affection, but even as a human he was too quick. She tried to cover her ass. “Doctor I—”

He interrupted. “And what's with this Doctor thing! You never call me by my name, not ever! What’s wrong with me Rose? What did I do?” The Doctor ran his hands through his hair, turning away from her.

“James you didn’t— I can’t— it’s really complicated—” Rose tried, but his answering glare made her go still. His gaze was oh so human, but beneath the green veneer, a hint of the oncoming storm brewed. Not enough for her to back down, but just enough that Rose was wary. He looked like a caged animal, pacing its cell, waiting to strike.

"Are you seeing someone else?”

His words were a blow to her gut.

“Well?” He snapped, and Rose took a shaky breath.

“James I—”

“And why won’t you say you love me huh? Do you, or don’t you?” He stalked forwards until his nose was inches from her own. “I say it often enough for the both of us, so why can’t you?” Rose felt so very sick to the bottom of her stomach that she pushed him away with a forceful shove. He stumbled back, not expecting the blow, but she couldn’t find it within herself to care.

“Get out of my face, you know you’re it for me! You’re all I’ve got, and all I could ever want!” She snarled, fury rising over the confusion as the truth burst out. “I said forever, and I meant it!”

“I don’t want your words, I want actions,” James ground out. “Show me you love me, or we’re done. You can flit away to your pretty boys, leaving daft old me behind.”

“Enough James,” Rose said lowly, and he narrowed his eyes at her. Before he could reply, Rose snatched her phone off the table and shoved it into her pocket. “I’m going for a walk to cool down, I’d suggest you do the same before either one of us says something we’ll regret.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Fine!”

Rose yanked his old leather jacket from where it hung on the door, and slammed it behind her. He strode out the other door, and she could hear his angry footsteps retreating. After a time, Rose found herself heading for where the TARDIS was hidden. She hadn’t a clue why the bloody ship had put her into this situation, but maybe the Doctor's instructions might include something helpful in regards to her situation.

After a short walk, Rose ended up in front of the TARDIS. She extracted her key and unlocked the ship, slipping inside.

Being on the TARDIS without her singing in the back of Rose's skull was an… experience, and not one she enjoyed. She shuddered a little at the empty feeling, and something in her head howled in agony at the loss of the sentient ship’s ever comforting presence.

Rose poked around the console room, trying to figure out exactly where the Doctor may have left her the instructions for how to keep him safe, praying to whatever god she could think of that his instructions would be helpful in their current situation.

After five minutes or so, Rose still hadn’t found anything, and she was too scared to venture down the corridors without the ship to guide her. The corridors shifted constantly like the Hogwarts stairs, and Rose knew she might lose her way and her mind. Why hadn’t she thought to ask him when she had the chance? Now he was human, and she was alone, and cursing herself for not trying harder.

She tried the only other thing she could think of, a last ditch attempt.

Hey old girl, I know you’re sleepin’, just wondering where the Doctor might have left his instructions for us?

The TARDIS remained frustratingly silent, but to Rose’s delight she found one of the corridors lit up with emergency power. She followed the hallways until she came to the media room. Its massive screen lit up, and her heart nearly beat out of her chest when she saw the face of her first Doctor staring back at her. She was deliberating between sitting and standing when the image moved.

He gave his trademark goofy smile, and a wave of his hand. “Hello! This is protocol number one in case of the Chameleon Arch bein’ used! Blimey, that's a mouthful, better reword it ‘fore Rose wakes up an’ sticks her nose in my business.”

Rose startled at the mention of her name, before deciding that yes, sitting would be better. She parked herself on the couch, and watched the screen intently.

“She can’t know about this yet. Better not ta worry her.”

She snorted at that. He didn’t want to worry her? Well wasn’t that nice. He could have started off by not hiding extremely important events and devices from her for one!

Her first Doctor ran through a list of very sensible protocols while Rose stewed silently at him. “One, don't let me hurt anyone. We can't ‘ave that, but you know what humans are like. Two, don't worry about the Tardis. She’ll power ‘erself down enough to keep hidden, won’t need ta do anything extra, although you probably should pack a bag or two.”

Despite her irritation at his lack of communication, his accent was comforting, and Rose tugged his leather jacket tighter around her shoulders. Although she would always miss him, Rose wouldn’t give up her current Doctor for the world. Something told her that her first Doctor wouldn’t have been so on board with keeping Amy around.

“Three, no getting involved in big historical events. Proclivity for findin’ trouble me, so you’ll need to keep me outta all that.” She snorted at that. And he called her jeopardy friendly.

“Four, now this one is important.” Rose leaned in unconsciously to the serious tone of his words. His blue eyes were stern, the colour piercing her own. “Make sure you keep wherever we’re stayin’ stocked with bananas.”

Rose couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter. On the screen, he leaned back with a mock-scandalised expression on his face. “Don’t laugh Rose, I know you are! I get cranky when I go too long without one, and you don’t want a cranky human me on your ‘ands now do you?”

“That’s not much help, you already yelled at me today ya git.”

He couldn’t actually hear her of course, but it felt good to voice her pain. On the screen, he leant back again, and folded his hands. “Alright. That's it for now. Remember, you’re fantastic, and I trust you to do what's right. Good luck Rose Tyler.”

To Rose's dismay, the screen blinked out. Was that seriously it? All that talk about trust just made Rose's stomach broil. Clearly he didn’t trust her that much if he’d failed to mention the existence of the Chameleon Arch in the first place especially considering it wasn't a new contraption.

To her surprise, the screen blinked, and suddenly she was staring at her second Doctor. His eyebrows were furrowed together, his glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose. “Is this on?”

He tapped the screen, and a grin took his face. “AHA! Alright, allons-y Rose Tyler!”

He shuffled his notecards in front of his face, scanning them down. “Hmm yes, alright, which number are we up to, protocol five, yes! If I need medical assistance, human medication will do the trick, I’ll be fully human after all, down to my blood and bones, so don’t worry more than you have to.”

That was good to know, but still not useful to her questions. “What do I do if you keep tryin’ ta kiss me without your consent?” She grumbled, grabbing the remote and pressing double time.

He snapped his fingers on screen. “Oh, oh! If Martha Jones is still with you, get her to care for me instead of a normal doctor, she’s a brilliant woman that one.”

At the mention of Martha, an unexpected stab of loneliness coursed through Rose. Despite the friends she’d made in Newstead and Amy’s constant companionship, she missed having a person in her life who truly understood. She really should call Martha, they were in the right time stream, but something made her hesitant to reach out.

The Doctor's instructions zoomed past, with the most memorable instruction “Protocol seventeen: Don’t let me eat pears. I hate pears. I don’t want to wake up in a few months' time and taste the squishy things.” Until finally, he reached instruction twenty eight.

“Right, if I go and fall in love with some human woman, don’t panic. I’m err— well, what you lot might call asexual. That should hopefully translate to my human self as well.” He looked faintly embarrassed, and Rose was certain he never would have admitted that little bit of trivia to her face. “What I’m saying is, it won’t change the timelines. I won’t— I can’t—” He struggled for the right words, before finally settling. “I’ll be a blip on her life, then gone before she knows it.”

Rose spluttered at that. How wrong he was.

He readjusted his glasses on screen. “Alright. That’s it for now, Rose, remember,” She fixed her eyes on his. “I believe in you.”

The screen went blank again. Rose sighed. Despite the reassurance of not having to deal with the sexual aspect of the relationship, her anxiety over the kissing situation remained. Despite how angry he’d made her, Rose knew she’d shattered something in James with her refusal of affection, and she wasn’t sure if she could fix it.

Rose wasn’t surprised when her current Doctor's face showed up on screen after a moment, although she was greatly cheered by his outfit. He was wearing his pyjamas, a rare sight, coupled with his bowtie and a silly red fez she’d never seen before. Despite the goofy ensemble, it really suited him, and her heart ached worse than before. The other two were gone forever, but having this one's body around without the mind attached was proving to be equally scarring. On screen, he rubbed his eyes.

“Couldn’t sleep, went looking through the archives and found these videos. Doesn’t happen much on designated sleep night…” He trailed off, his eyeline flitting beyond the camera. Rose noted that the cut across his eyebrow looked good as new, and so she assumed he must have made the video just after the nun incident, which explained his exhaustion. After a moment, he snapped back to attention. “Anywho, I thought it was probably time for an update, considering Amy’s on board now. Hello Pond!”

He waved at the imagined girl, and Rose's lips turned upwards unbidden.

“Well, I hope she’s there. Otherwise this could prove rather awkward. Hmm.” He rubbed his eyes. “Alright. Additional instructions. Yes. That's what I was doing.”

He went on to list protocols that directly affected Amy, such as school, vetting her friends and keeping her as safe as Rose could. She had already been planning on keeping Amy pretty close to home, but his words sealed her conviction that it was the right thing to do. She’d vetted Evie’s family already, and other than a great aunt in prison for money laundering they were completely harmless. The Doctor's last instruction caught her off guard.

“Instruction thirty one: don't let me abandon you. Actually, scratch that. I doubt the TARDIS would even let me try regardless of who she makes me. The old girls rather fond of you Rose, don’t even have to check the monitor for when you get back from Jackie's she whistles so much.”

Oh yes, the TARDIS had made it abundantly clear just how fond she was of Rose by firmly planting her into his human life. There was no way she could wriggle out of his human grasp, but at least she supposed it was better than having to watch the Doctor fall in love with someone else. That would have been a hell of its own making.

On screen, her Doctor sighed again. “Alright, I think that's all. Do what you need to do to keep us together. I probably won’t remember it but… I trust you.” The video cut off so suddenly that Rose wanted to scream.

Oh hell, there was no one else around. Rose gave into her baser urges, and screamed like a woman being murdered, chucking the remote at the wall with all her strength. “Oh you’re USELESS you are!”

The remote clattered to the ground, irritatingly unbroken. Rose stood, and kicked it with all her might, her thoughts loud and unfettered. She flopped back onto the couch, and allowed herself to collapse, tears streaming down her face messily.

“Do what you need to do to keep us together.” What the hell did that even mean? Would he count allowing him to kiss her as necessary or would it reveal the extreme depth of affection she held for him? Would it make her vulnerable to the one person in the universe capable of tearing her apart? Would he hate her for unintentionally taking advantage of him? She doubted she'd be kicked from the TARDIS, but heavens knows how awkward it could be especially if he didn't want her back.

Which he didn't. She already knew that. He was an ancient alien, far older than her, and she was nothing but a blip in the grand scheme of things.

Rose sniffled, and rubbed her eyes, before sitting up. There was nothing for it. To keep him safe, she would allow him to kiss her, but only, only so that his human self believed in their relationship. She would take no pleasure, and hope that when he came to his senses, it wouldn't make things too awkward.

Rose just hoped he would forgive her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James kicked a rock, his eyebrows drawn down into a furious scowl. His argument with Rose lay heavy on his mind, and while his anger had cooled a little, he was still really confused by the turn of events.

Rose was his everything, always had been. They’d met by chance one night nine or so years ago when a man had tried to follow her home. James assessed the situation, before marching up to her, taking her hand, and whispering run into her ear.

Him and his big dumb brain. When Rose awoke the next morning in a strange place with no memories of the night before, she’d given him the biggest Jackie Tyler slap ever before he knew what that was, and threatened to call the police on him.

Thankfully he was able to explain the situation, and when she realised he wasn’t a psycho kidnapper, she relaxed. James tried to make breakfast for them, but managed to burn the bacon, which made her giggle. He ended up just ordering in all while she teased him about living alone and being a terrible chef, and they feasted on properly cooked pancakes.

When she left his flat, his heart ached for unknown reasons. James ignored the sensation, and vowed to forget the beautiful stranger who he’d probably never see again.

As luck would have it, she wandered back into his life exactly a month later, when her car broke down on the side of his street. James’ Dad had been a mechanic, so he managed to get it started again without much trouble. Rose had joked about him being a lifesaver, and he’d replied she was jeopardy friendly, and they decided to trade numbers in case her car broke down again.

It was a lie, both of them knew it.

A week after that, they went for chips, he’d left his wallet at home, and Rose kissed him for the first time.

James never looked back.

A whirlwind year later, Rose shakily showed him a positive pregnancy test, and two months after that they married in a church with a small gathering of friends. Seven months on, he was handed their beautiful baby daughter, and his hearts were full.

His heart. Strange he would think of hearts. His hand began to fidget with the fob watch in his pocket, thumbing the intricate circular pattern that covered the lid. Rose had given it to him on their wedding day, his 'something old' as tradition dictates, and he'd carried it with him every day since.

Their story was like a picture book up until now. Maybe it was something in the Australian air? He kicked another rock, regret welling up inside. He shouldn’t have accused her of cheating, that was too far, and getting up in her face was definitely the wrong move. She was allowed to have boundaries, he just wished she would communicate with him instead of deflecting.

His feet began to turn him back towards their house, that regret now choking his airways. He shouldn’t have been so harsh on her, even though she was hurting him, he should have listened instead of running his big fat gob for once.

He would try to listen.

James only hoped she would forgive him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door creaked as Rose re-entered the house, and she stepped through without a sound. Amy was at Evie's house, so there was no reason to stay awake. She would shower, and change, and crawl beneath the sheets, hopefully before the Doctor got home.

Not the Doctor. James Mccrimmon. It was becoming more and more obvious that she would need to keep that distinction firm in her mind.

Rose flicked on one of the lights, and was surprised to see James sitting on the couch, head in his hands. She tried to run, back out, escape before he saw her, but the moment her hand hit the doorknob, his eyes snapped up to meet hers.

“I should never have accused you of cheating Rose.” Her ridiculous bleeding heart almost broke at the tone of his voice.

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Rose agreed. “An’ I shouldn’t have let it get this far. I’m sorry.”

She crossed the room, and took his face in her hands, heart pounding in her chest. Rose tilted the Doctor's chin up, and pressed her lips to his gently. She steadfastly ignored the butterflies that took up a tango in her belly, willing herself to be still.

His arms wrapped around her waist, and she broke the kiss, leaning onto his shoulder.

For a moment, they stood there in silence, just breathing together. “I’m sorry too. You shouldn’t have to kiss me or say you love me for me to know," James murmured, rubbing circles into her back. Rose hummed into his shoulder, holding him tight. After a moment, he spoke again. “Why don’t we pick Amy up from Evies and go for a bite to eat? There's a pub down the road, they have hot chips.”

“Only if you’re paying this time tight wad,” Rose teased. “Don’t think I’ve forgot our first date.”

He laughed at that, and the tension in the room dissipated slightly, still hanging in the air, but no longer quite as suffocating.

They would be ok. Only two months to go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dinner, the Doctor carried Amy home, hand in hand with Rose. He’d tucked their daughter into bed, telling her a story, and was currently getting changed in their room. Rose too was preparing for bed, brushing her teeth in the ensuite bathroom. She gazed out the window over their vanity, and noticed something strange.

“James!” Rose cried, and he stumbled through the door, his pyjama pants on backwards.

“Wha—?”

“Look.”

They stood transfixed as a sickly green comet blazed across the sky, leaving a hauntingly beautiful tail behind. Rose squinted at it, trying to discern its shape. Her hand found James’, and he held on tight.

The comet disappeared from view, but when an echoey boom came a minute later, Rose's stomach dropped. That was no ordinary comet, she could feel it in her bones.

It was the hunters. It had to be.

“Is something wrong Rose?” James asked, and the same echo of a howl from the TARDIS reverberated throughout her mind. Rose shook her head, wincing slightly at the sensation.

“No, no, I just— you like the stars and I thought ya should see it too.”

His eyes crinkled into a smile, and his hand gravitated towards her waist, pulling her against himself. “It was beautiful, much like yourself.”

She really needed to get this blushing problem under control. Rose cleared her throat, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Right, ‘m going to bed, tired me. Coming?”

“Always,” he affirmed, and together they crawled beneath the covers. Rose accepted his snuggling, desperate to feel him still breathing against herself, hoping she was wrong about the comet.

No matter how hard she tried however, Rose knew in her singular heart that it was no ordinary comet.

The hunters were coming.

Chapter Text

Two days after the asteroid incident, Rose was still uneasy. She’d gone to check out the crash site of the meteor the next morning, but to her dismay she found nothing of note, other than a very scared kangaroo who fled the moment it saw her. Her uneasiness was affecting her sleep, leading to her being rather irritable in the mornings, more so than usual.

A hand shook her, yanking her from her slumber. “Rose, wake up!”

Rose groaned into her pillow, rolling over away from the hand. “Go’way James,” she groaned, but the hand followed her, shaking her once again. Rose had been trying to call the Doctor by the human name he’d chosen more over the past two days, and it seemed to be paying off as he’d returned to his usual playful self.

“Roooooossseee.” Ugh. She wished there was an easily accessible alarm clock within arms reach. She’d love to chuck it at him.

Rose heard a heavy sigh, and silence fell. She snuggled deeper under the comforter, confident she had won the argument, until James spoke again. “I tried cooking some pancakes.”

Rose sat bolt upright at that, her fight flight freeze kicking in. James might burn the house down if she wasn’t careful, he was a worse cook than the Doctor, she’d better get in there before he—

Strong arms caught her around the waist, keeping her firmly in place. Rose fought against them, but it was no use. The Doctor's grip was too tight. “You’ll burn the house down you tosser!” She protested, but he just laughed.

“I’m kidding, but if I’dve known that would work to get you up, I’d have tried it ages ago.”

Rose stopped struggling the moment his words sank in, a scowl plastering her face. “Did you just lie ta me just ta get me out of bed?”

“It worked didn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes, but found a smile sneaking onto her face. “Git.”

“You love me.”

“I’d love you more if ya bring me a coffee.”

“That could be arranged, on one condition.”

Rose managed to twist herself around in his arms until she was facing him properly. “That condition is..?”

“There's a dance on in town tonight, I was wondering if err—” He trailed off, seeming almost nervous, and Rose couldn’t help but find it adorable.

“Are you asking me on a date Sir James?” She teased, and he nodded.

“Only if you want to! I just— I know you’ve been feeling out of sorts, and I thought it might cheer you up, and they have fireworks every year and—”

“My answer is yes James," Rose laughed, making a concentrated effort to call him by his human name. Just another step to further separate the two Doctors, to keep her heart safe. “What was that about fireworks?”

He handed her a flyer titled ‘Newstead annual town dance’, and Rose scanned it over with sleep laden eyes. It listed a live band, fireworks at ten thirty, food and drinks and a child safe atmosphere, reminding Rose of the fact that they were parents. She folded the flyer in half and looked up at James. “Should we bring Amy with us?”

He took in a breath, glancing away. “I thought it could just be us tonight? I don’t mind but—”

Rose hummed, leaning her chin onto his shoulder, letting herself play the part. “I’d like that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Rose had showered and dressed, she entered the kitchen to a freshly made coffee on the bench. She took it with an appreciative hum, and sat at the table. Amy was making toast, the Doctor had elected to have cereal, and all around it was a rather domestic scene.

“Evie and I are going to the lake this morning,” Amy explained, buttering a piece of toast as she spoke. “Her Gran said we can use their kayak as long as we carry it and—”

“Not this morning young lady,” the Doctor interrupted, shaking his head. “We’ve got to get your shots up to date, you haven’t had your annuals in who knows how long. You’re coming to the clinic with me today, and that’s final.”

“But Dad—” Amy tried, but he raised an eyebrow, silencing further protests. Rose put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

“You can stay at Evie's house tonight sweetheart, your Dad and I are goin’ to the town dance.”

“Oooh is it a date?” Amy teased, a knowing look on her face. Rose would have scowled at her had the Doctor not been present.

That little shit.

Amy knew they weren’t actually an item, she’d prodded Rose about it too many times on the TARDIS not to know. Rose took a slow sip of her coffee, trying to decide what to say when the Doctor beat her to it.

“Sure is buttercup!” The Doctor replied, before grimacing. “Ugh. Remind me never to call you that again.”

Amy grinned victoriously at his statement, chomping down the rest of her toast without complaint. Rose's eyes drifted across to the clock on the wall, and when she saw the time, she sprang up. “Crap, I’m late!”

Rose downed the rest of her coffee in one go, kissed Amy and James on the top of their heads, shrugged on her too big leather jacket and dashed out the door within the space of twenty seconds.

Amy and the Doctor looked at each other, and mouthed a countdown.

Three

Two

One

The front door swung open again. “Gah, I forgot my phone!”

“Here you go sweetheart.”

The Doctor handed her the device, and she dropped a kiss to the side of his mouth before ducking back out the door, yelling “See ya!” Over her shoulder. His hand flew up to run over where her lips had been a moment ago, a fond smile gracing his lips until the door slammed shut again, breaking the moment.

He stood, picking up his empty cereal bowl, and putting it in the sink. “Right, come along Pond, we’ve got an appointment to keep!” Amy pouted, and flopped her upper body on the table in protest.

“Do I have tooooo? I hateeeeee needleeeeessss,” she whined, giving her best kicked puppy dog look to the Doctor. “We could go get ice cream instead?”

His mouth made an ‘o’ shape as he considered. “Oooh that's a marvellous idea, we could… wait. No! Trickery you artless imp!” The Doctor accused, smacking his hand on his forehead. “Trying to swindle me eh Pond?”

He advanced on her and Amy tried to escape, but her legs were too short. He picked her up by the underarms, and swung her about, roaring. “This is what you get for trying to one up me!” He poked her belly, and she giggled, unable to avoid the attack. “You're getting needles if I have to carry you to the clinic!”

“No! No! Please! I can walk!” She giggled, breathless. He put her back down into her seat, and Amy tried not to grin. The Doctor was the best Dad ever.

“We’ll go for ice cream after you get your shots, if you can put on a brave face in the paediatricians hmm?”

Amy thought that was a very reasonable offer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose clocked in seconds before she was supposed to, making her way into the kitchen. She waved to the chef, and was pleased when she saw a familiar face in the back. “Oi Danny boy, are you goin’ to the dance tonight?”

Danny turned around, a strange expression on his face. “Dance. A dance? What kind of dance?”

Rose narrowed her eyes, stepping back slightly. His voice was off, in a way that made her spine do the samba. “Err in the town square? You should ask Heather if she wants to go with ya! She’d been keen I reckon—”

“Heather? Who is Heather?”

Rose’s mouth dropped open, feeling as if a bucket of ice water had just been dropped on her head. Oh yes, there was something very wrong with Danny Blake. Usually the mere mention of Heather Jones had him blushing like a fool, and to see him so unbothered by her name was uncanny.

Rose's conviction only grew when he leant forwards and took a deep sniff of her. She jumped backwards at the strange action, an eyebrow raised. He smelled rancid, like he hadn’t showered in days, and Rose had a feeling his stench would only grow in the hours they were scheduled on.

“What are you on ya creep?” She snapped, but his strange smile didn’t waver.

“You just have a very nice… perfume.” Not-quite-Danny-anymore straightened, and if it were possible, his sickly sweet smile seemed to stretch. “We’d better get back to work Mrs. Mccrimmon.”

Oh yes, that settled it. Something was very very wrong. Danny would never have referred to Rose with any sort of title, let alone respect, and that was worrying.

Rose wrinkled her nose trying to block out the smell, the thought of the pocket watch crossing her mind. She wondered whether it may be time for James to open it, but mentally chided herself. It had not yet been three months, and those creatures would still be alive and well.

Rose had a sneaking suspicion that somehow she was standing next to one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hair still damp from her morning shower, Amy waited outside of the paediatricians office, swinging her legs against the chair. Ugh. She hated waiting with a burning passion, and wished she could bite the concept, not just those who inflicted it upon her. The Doctor had left her, citing his need to use the bathroom, and so she sat, bored out of her brain, waiting for something to happen.

The door to the doctors swung open with a ting, and Amy’s head snapped up at the sound. Finally something new.

A woman walked in, with red hair and freckles. Amy peered behind her, trying to ascertain what her child looked like, but to her surprise she saw none. Hmm. That was strange for a paediatrician. Even stranger was the way she was sniffing, as if the air smelled like something delicious. Her head snapped around towards Amy’s and grey eyes locked onto her own. Amy froze like a deer in the headlights.

The lady prowled towards her, expression almost predatory, and Amy had never felt so very uncomfortable in her life. She squirmed in her seat, but didn’t follow her instinct to flee as there was nowhere to go.

“Hello girly.”

Her words were nice enough, but the tone she said it in made Amy want to shrivel up like a bit of the Doctor's burnt bacon. Instead, she scowled. “Hello weird old lady.”

The smile wavered, but after a moment it firmly re-affixed itself to her slimy face. “You’d do well to respect your elders' child. Tell me girl, is your Daddy here?”

Amy knew it was wrong to lie, particularly to adults, but this woman made her skin crawl like Prisoner Zero. Something about her was just wrong in a way she couldn’t describe. Amy straightened herself in her chair, trying to appear as casual as she could.

“No ma’am. My Dad says I’m big enough to go to the paediatricians by myself.” She said proudly, hoping she’d pronounced the word correctly. The woman's smile seemed to drop for a moment, before she leaned forwards and took a deep sniff of Amy.

Amy jerked backwards, naturally concerned by her behaviour, grimacing at the woman's own smell. She smelled faintly like rotten meat left in the sun, not in an overwhelming way, but it was noticeable. “What was that for?” Amy demanded, seconds away from biting her, but the woman only straightened.

“Never you mind. Run along to your appointment girly.”

Amy looked over to the door of the office. The doctor (with a lowercase d) hadn’t called her name yet, so why should she get up? Amy turned to tell the woman so, but her cranky stare met empty air.

The woman was gone.

Amy wondered whether she may have dreamed the encounter, but the woman's stench hung so thickly in the air she knew she hadn’t. She sighed, and leant back in her chair. She needed to talk to Rose about this.

At that moment, her other, slightly less useful parent came out of the bathroom. Amy squinted at him. His hair was suspiciously damp, and though he strode towards her casually, his hands were shoved deeply into his pockets.

“Long time to go to the bathroom,” Amy offered, and he nodded awkwardly, one of his hands coming up to scratch his neck.

“Yep. Long time. Very err— very busy. Going to the toilet. Yes.” Amy stared into his eyes for a moment, and he averted his gaze, mumbling “Bathrooms.”

Amy didn’t buy it. “You restyled your hair, didn't you?”

“Yep.”

“Mum’s right, you are a peacock.”

The Doctor took great offence to that statement, and looked even more like the cranky bird species. “What does she mean by that? I don’t preen or— ooh look at that.” He caught sight of himself in a window, and ran a hand through his hair. Amy giggled at his antics.

The door to the doctors office swung open, and the paediatrician stepped out. “Amelia Pond?” He called out, and Amy hopped up from her seat, taking the Doctor's hand.

“She's here! And it’s Amy, not Amelia,” the Doctor corrected cheerily, sparking a little glow in Amy’s chest. She followed him into the office, the foul smelling woman all but forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy needed four shots, but James held her hand through all of them so she didn’t cry. She was a very brave little girl. Afterwards, the paediatrician taped a Mulan bandaid over the injection site, and Amy displayed it proudly to him. James cooed appropriately over his daughters prize, paid, and they left the clinic, both skipping down the road. James spun her around with one hand, making her giggle. “Alrighte-o Pond! Ice cream, then Evie’s, how’s that sound?”

“Good!” Amy declared. “Are you excited for tonight? You’ve got a da-ate!” She sing songed as a blush crept up his neck. He cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed at her teasing.

“I suppose I am erm— yes. Very excited. Hmm. I should probably get some new clothes.”

Amy kicked a rock with her toe. “Why would you do that? Mum’s head over heels for you in whatever you wear, even with your silly bow ties.”

James nearly tripped on his own big feet, but managed to catch himself. “How’d you know that?” He asked, trying to keep his voice even. Amy shrugged.

“The way she looks at you when you aren’t looking. It looks like when my Aunt Sharon used to look at—” Amy snapped her mouth shut suddenly, but James had caught her words. His eyebrows furrowed. Both he and Rose were only children, and with no siblings to speak of, let alone one named Sharon. James was concerned.

“Who's Aunt Sharon Ames?”

Amy stubbornly tried to redirect the conversation. “Mum gets really flustered whenever you put your arms around her waist too, I think you should do it more because—”

“I don’t like it when people lie to me sweetie.” James warned, forcing Amy to stop walking, his grip on her wrist tightening. Amy’s brown eyes were shifty and didn’t meet his own. James really didn’t like that. She and Rose were both keeping something from him, that he was sure of, although he still had no idea what it could possibly be. Maybe this mysterious Aunt Sharon had something to do with it?

“She’s just one of Mum’s friends from back in England.” Amy said, and after a moment it clicked in his head.

“Did you mean your Mum’s friend Aunty Shareen?” At that Amy nodded quickly, and his hearts relaxed.

His heart relaxed. One heart. Those damn stories about the Doctor were getting to him now. James let her arm go and motioned for her to keep walking. “Sorry about that love. I was worried she might be a stranger.”

Amy shook her head, and slipped her hand back into his. “No. No strangers. I’d tell you if anything was wrong.”

James wasn’t so certain about that, but he dropped the matter, making a mental note to discuss Amy’s sudden shiftiness with Rose at some point.

They walked from the doctors office to the town and into the café where Rose worked, ordering two ice cream sundaes. They didn’t see Rose because she was working in the kitchens, which James was a tad bit disappointed about, but he knew it was silly. They had forever together after all, what was one afternoon apart?

After ice cream, the Doctor and Amy walked home. Well, it would be more accurate to say that the Doctor walked home for both of them, as a third of the way Amy requested he carry her, and who was he to deny his daughter anything? Much like her mother, all she needed to do was bat her lashes and she had him hooked, and so the little girl was hoisted up to sit on his shoulders for the remaining walk home.

As they walked, Amy's hand dipped down into his shirt pocket and retrieved his pocket watch. “Whatcha doing Pond? Need we add thievery to your long list of crimes?” He teased, shimmying his shoulders carefully. Amy shook her head and ran a thumb along the intricate carvings of the watch before bringing it up to her eye level for a closer inspection.

She was certain the circular markings were words of some kind, although why the TARDIS refused to translate for her she had no idea. The carvings were reminiscent of a crescent moon, similar to one she’d found scrawled beneath the TARDIS console when she’d gone poking about, and every time she looked at it it felt as if a frog were jumping in her stomach.

“Put me in your pocket now Amy.”

She nearly dropped the watch when it hissed at her. The words reminded her of the crack in her wall, and told her that there was something very wrong with this watch. After a moment, Amy brought the watch to her ear hesitantly.

She waited.

Nothing.

A hand gently tapping her calf shocked her back to reality. “Ames, you good?”

Amy nodded quickly, following the watch's instructions and stashing it into her skirt pocket. She would ask Rose about it later tonight when they got home. A whispering watch that knew her name simply couldn’t be good news. “Now you can add thievery to my list of crimes! The watch is mine.”

The human Doctor's hearty laugh chased away the terror of the whispers. “You can borrow it for now my love, but you have to take care of it! It was a wedding gift from your mum to me for something old. I want it back in tip top shape you hear.” He reached up to muss her hair, and she grinned.

“Yes SUH!” Amy saluted, then dissolved into giggles. Her mind turned to weddings, and she began to think about what life would be like if the Doctor and Rose truly got married. The past month had been idyllic and Amy had enjoyed every moment they spent as a little family, but she knew it couldn’t last forever. The Doctor would have to come back sometime, although Amy wasn’t exactly quite sure how he would transform into his old self. She couldn’t really remember anything about the night he’d changed, only a vague feeling of being relieved he knew who she was, and even that was fuzzy.

They arrived back at their street, and the Doctor lifted Amy off of his shoulders outside of Evie's house. “Alright kiddo, have fun with Evie tonight and don’t do anything your mum wouldn’t.”

Amy cocked her head. “Aren’t you supposed to say don’t do anything I wouldn’t do? Isn't that how the phrase goes?”

“Well I’m not very responsible am I?” The Doctor grinned like a loon and gathered her up into a crushing bear hug. “Be safe, my second heart.” He murmured into her hair, before releasing her.

Amy skipped towards Evie's front door, the watch shifting in her skirt pocket. She reached the door, which was painted a nice deep rust colour, and knocked rapidly. She glanced down the road to her own house and saw the Doctor disappear inside. Footsteps came, and the door swung open to reveal Amy's very best friend, Evie. Amy’s grin widened.

“EVIE!” She cried, flinging her arms around the girl. Evie didn’t respond verbally, only hugged her back tightly. Amy tried to pull away, but found herself firmly trapped within the other girl's grip, and to her horror, she felt the other girl sniff her neck.

A strange smell reached Amy's own nose, and she grimaced, wriggling harder in the girl's iron grip. “Evie, let me go!” she whined, but it was to no avail. She was dragged through the front door, and deposited onto the floor inside the house. Amy tried to leap up and escape through the door, Evie dug her heel into Amy's chest, winding her. Amy fell back, wheezing, and the door closed with a resounding snick.

Evie advanced on her, and Amy's stomach fell. Her smile. It was the same as the woman from the paediatricians. Her mouth was stretched in all the wrong places, creating a horrifying display, and Amy had never seen anything so terrifying.

“Mother of mine,” No-longer-Evie singsonged, tilting her head. “I’ve found our pawn.” She brought her boot down hard on Amy's head, pushing her into the floor.

Amy did what any self respecting little girl would do in her situation.

She screamed for her dad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose let herself into the little house on Wyndham street, not allowing herself to think of it as home. It couldn’t be her home, not with the TARDIS parked half a mile away, reminding her of how temporary the whole situation was. Her head pounded from being in a room with Danny the whole day, and she wished the real Doctor were with her, instead of his shiny human copy. The Danny situation was bothering her, but who could she turn to to talk about it?

Upon entering the kitchen, Rose was greeted by the very domestic sight of James washing dishes, and somehow that made her feel worse. He grinned goofily at her and raised a bubbly hand in greeting. Rose half smiled at him and shut the door behind her, pulling a stool out from beneath the kitchen bench. “How’d ya go at the doctors today?” She asked, reaching forwards for an apple from the fruit bowl. “Did Amy feel alright?”

“She didn’t cry, I may or may not have taken her for ice cream after as a reward” he admitted, dunking a glass under the water.
Rose bit her lip at that, her brows drawing together into a slight frown. She took a bite of her apple and finished chewing before making her response. “You spoil her rotten, you know. She’s gonna be a right terror as a teenager, and I won’t be ta blame.”

He shrugged at her pointed remark and ran a cloth around the rim of the glass. “I dunno about that. Kids need all the love they can get, don’t you think?”

Rose raised a scathing eyebrow. “You act like you’ve done this before. Kids ‘n all. Must think you’re real impressive.”

James put the cup down on the drying rack with more force than necessary, his hand tensing around it. “I haven’t, and I’m not, but I know our Amy. What happened that got you so wound up? You’ve been picking fights since you walked in the door.”

Rose deflated a little at his words. It wasn’t technically fair to take it out on James, he had no idea that he was secretly the fantastical alien he told their daughter bedtime stories about, the fantastical alien who she was currently pissed at.

She sighed in defeat. “It’s nothing love, just work. One of m’ coworkers today was actin’ real strange and I guess it put me outta sorts as well.” Rose took a breath and let it out slowly, watching as a bit of her fringe blew up. “‘M sorry.”

The Doctor searched her expression for a moment with his steely gaze before seemingly accepting her words. He turned back to the sink. “Already forgiven my beloved. What are you going to wear to the dance tonight?”

Shit. Rose hadn’t thought of that. When packing her bag she’d just swept her closet and dumped everything into a bigger on the inside bag. She hadn't bothered to properly unpack, and instead just fished around for a shirt and pants each morning, so she had no real way of knowing what could be inside. “It's… a surprise?” She replied carefully, and he grinned at her in his dopeish way.

“Whatever you wear, you’ll always be beautiful to me.”

He said it with such honesty that Rose found her cheeks flushing. The dull ache that had been within her heart since ‘forget me’ seemed to grow in that moment, becoming an all consuming pain. She pushed her chair back, leaving her half eaten apple on the bench.

“I’m er— going to get dressed now! Don’t want to be late, do we?” She squeaked, and before he could reply, she dashed out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose managed to find an outfit deep within the bag, a pink and yellow fifties cut dress with matching heels. She slipped on a simple gold necklace and hoops, grateful she’d thought to chuck her jewellery box in as well. She regarded herself in the mirror, and was slightly mortified at how baggy her under eyes were and so she hurriedly applied concealer over them. Rose scanned her face again but found the bags still prominent and threw the concealer down onto the vanity in irritation.

This wasn’t a real date after all, what did it matter?

Her feelings changed when she stepped out of their joined bedroom. “How do I look?” She asked, doing a half hearted twirl.

The sound of a plate shattering behind Rose made her turn. James was standing there, mouth agape, still in his silly dishwashing gloves. Her Doctor never wore dishwashing gloves, he claimed his superior biology protected his hands from drying out, something Rose thought was ridiculously unfair.

This human Doctor with his bright green gloves was staring at her like she was his entire world. He stripped his sopping wet gloves and dropped them unceremoniously onto the floor, uncaring of where they landed, and crossed the room to Rose. She squeaked when he picked her up and spun her around in the air, before placing her feet back down and enveloping her in a crushing hug.

“How did I get so lucky hmm? You’re radiant, my second heart.”

In that moment, Rose made a decision.

Just for one night she would pretend he was a regular old human bloke. She would let James Mccrimmon woo her with his dorky dance moves and ridiculous smile, and wouldn’t feel guilty for indulging in it. Her real Doctor would never return the feelings she’d had since the word run, so why not allow herself reprieve?

After all, it was just one night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dance took place in the town hall, a building Rose hadn’t yet been inside during their short time in Newstead. The floors were shiny wood, and the ceiling was adorned with beautiful ceiling roses and cornices, and all in all it felt as if they’d stepped into another time. They signed in, paid, and then she was being tugged to the dance floor by her eager husband.

“M’dame Rose, may I have this dance?” James said, extending a hand to her once they were on the dance floor.

Rose took his hand with a grin, and he spun her around in a tight circle. “Always Sir Doctor,” she giggled, losing her footing slightly, only to be caught by his strong arms.

“Still falling for me now?” He teased, and Rose saw no reason to lie to him. She could tell him she was just playing the part if he ever asked about it.

“Forever.”

They danced until the song came to an end, and to Rose's joy she recognised the next one instantly. It was in the mood, by Glen Miller, the song they’d danced to when Jack first arrived on board the TARDIS. Evidently, James recognised it as well, as his eyebrows picked up into a wiggle and he brought her back into step.

He reminisced on non-existent memories, his feet unknowingly moving to the same path as her first Doctors had all of those years ago. “We danced to this song at our wedding, remember?”

Rose nodded, and against her better judgement, she conjured up an image of what that may have looked like. He dipped her backwards and she laughed again, remembering their real first dance with fondness, although a tiny bit of her had been disappointed when he hadn’t made a move afterwards. She hadn’t yet figured out he was incapable of loving her back then, hadn’t yet resigned herself to being best mates forever.

This dance however, while fundamentally being the same, had some added… benefits. This time when he pulled her up and out of the dip, instead of holding her at arm's length, he pressed his lips firmly to hers. Rose could have melted from the intimacy. She filed the way his lips felt against hers away into the back of her brain carefully, knowing after the next two months she may never get the chance again. She brought her hands up to cup his face gently, and ran a thumb along the bottom of his jaw, feeling the beginnings of a beard growing.

He drew back, and the smile he gave her would have turned her legs to jelly if he didn’t have such a strong grip on her waist. “Hello,” he murmured, eyes twinkling in the fairy lights.

“Hello,” she replied, lost in him. He moved as if to kiss her again, when a great loud boom sounded behind him, shattering the moment. James threw himself across Rose, shielding her from the blast, and she mentally swore at the interruption.

The dust began to clear, and Rose chanced a look up at the now decimated wall. Several scarecrows leapt over the rubble, false eyes shining red in the dim glow, lurching towards the terrified townsfolk. Rose shrieked as she was torn from James’ grasp by two of the things and dragged across the room. He cried out, but was restrained by a third.

Five figures followed the scarecrows in, and to Rose's relief she recognised one as Amy. The little girl's tear stained countenance lit up as soon as she saw Rose, but the relief died in Rose's chest the moment she truly took her daughter’s face in. With her busted lip, a smattering of bruises and the beginning of a black eye, Amy had clearly been beaten, likely with a belt. Rose would know a belt bruise anywhere, having seen them in the mirror for a good two years when she’d lived with Jimmy, and a blazing fury began to skate across her nervous system. She was going to make the hunters pay.

One of the figures strode into the light, and to Rose's dismay she recognised him as their neighbour, Dick. He had a sickly sweet smile affixed to his face, reminding her of Danny.

Danny who was currently standing next to her daughter with a gun.

“We’ve been looking everywhere for you Doctor.” He stalked forwards towards her terrified husband, a menacing smile upon his face.

“Who is we? Who are you, I mean,” Rose called out, trying to distract him. She was decently certain these were the hunters they were supposed to be running from now, and knew it was only a matter of time until things went south. Better to keep them talking.

Her ploy worked, although Rose sort of wished it hadn’t, because the way his neck craned towards her was nothing short of nightmarish. Rose grimaced as he leaned in towards her, his smile lecherous, shuddering at the sheer stench of the thing that used to be Dick.

“We are the Family,” he hissed, sending a stinking wave of breath over Rose's face.

“And what does your Family want with mine?” Rose demanded, pulling herself up to as full a height as she could. She hoped she sounded like she knew what she was doing.

Not-quite-Dick anymore shook his head. “Not with your family.” He turned around until he was facing James. “We want him.”

“Now now be reasonable Dick, I'm nothing special, so why don't you let us all go, hmm?” He offered. "Then we can have a nice little sit down, maybe get you some help, see a doctor maybe?" Rose cursed the human Doctor, cursed his lack of knowledge. He probably thought that Dick and the others were mad, but he couldn't know how wrong her was. Who in their right mind would think to blame aliens? Her biggest concern though was that James couldn’t regenerate. He would die if she didn’t do something, leaving her and Amy to the mercies of the Family, and that simply wasn't an option.

The pit in her stomach began to toss and turn, heating up until it was uncomfortably warm. The red haired woman stalked forwards, blaster out, a furious expression on her face.

“We don’t want you human!” She snarled, jabbing the butt of her gun beneath his chin. “We want you Timelord!” James winced as the metal dug into his skin, confusion clouding his face.

“Timelord?” He spluttered, trying to turn his head from the woman's gun. “Time Lords aren’t real! I made them up for my daughter as a bedtime tale!" He narrowed his gaze at them, eyes flicking back and forth. "You really are mad, aren't you?"

No-longer-Evie stepped forwards, and jammed her gun into Amy’s temple, while not-quite-Danny trained his on Rose. Rose swallowed, the feeling in her stomach now boiling white hot. She shifted slightly, trying to alleviate the pressure, but found no release.

The red haired woman was growing impatient with his lack of cooperation. “What will it be Timelord, Who will you pick? The love of your lives, or your precious daughter? We wouldn’t have to do this if you would just reveal yourself!” When he didn’t respond, the woman smacked the side of James’ face with the gun hard enough to bruise. When he did not immediately transform back, she rolled her eyes. “Daughter of mine, shoot the girl.”

Rose's vision flashed gold.

Behind the family, something exploded.

Chapter Text

The fireworks went off early, exploding in colourful arcs behind the Family, but the spectacle was nothing to James.

His eyes were fixated on Rose, or rather, where she had been.

In her place now stood a goddess-like being, golden light spilling from her eyes, bathing her face with a brilliance he couldn’t quite describe. She was radiant, glowing like the sun, and he found himself drawn towards her, although the scarecrow's arms around him inhibited his movement.

Just looking at her, James' head felt fit to burst, snippets of memories crashing through his mind with the brute force of a tidal wave.

… “I create myself”…

…Spray painted across his box… blue box… TARDIS...

… “Run!” Someone's hand in his… living plastic… living girl…

… The whirring… the singing… the vortex…

… The word… following them…

… “Two words. Everywhere we go.” …

James’ hearts beat double time. Heart. Hearts. Heart. Hearts.

“Bad Wolf.”

His eyes snapped open just in time to see Bad Wolf raise her hand.

In an instant, the scarecrows restraining her disintegrated into atoms, floating away on the non-existent breeze. James made sure to encode the image of her standing there deep into his long term memory, in a precious place next to the memories of her in her wedding dress. Her gaze turned on him, and he found himself unable to hold her stare for long. It burned.

She opened her mouth, and it was as if she was speaking life directly into his soul.

“Run.”

James wrenched his eyes from her and took his chance, slamming the scarecrow holding him back against a wall. It fell to the ground, and he kicked the bagging off of its head off viciously.

In front of him, the Family fell to the floor without a sound, their guns clattering with a hollow ting. Someone screamed, and that was the catalyst for an all out stampede. James lost Amy in the crowd, as short as she was it was impossible to see her over the moving heads. He gave up after a moment, assuming she had been carried away by the crowd, and his attention returned to Rose.

Rose, who was currently curled up on the ground, her eyes screwed shut. When James tried to pick her up, she whimpered softly, shying away from his touch. Her body was warm, too warm for a human, but he didn’t have time to examine her now.

Behind him, whatever fainting spell had taken over the Family was evidently wearing off as they were beginning to move, albeit slowly. James could have sworn he heard their bones cracking as they realigned themselves, but he dismissed the idea. That was ridiculous, they were only human.

He didn’t want to think about the alternative.

His Rose had glowed though. Like a burning, beautiful sun she had glowed, and he had no explanation for that, no explanation for the bursting pain against his temples at the word Bad Wolf and—

Outside thoughts, outside thoughts, the Family were audibly groaning now, he had to move. James gathered Rose into his arms as gently as he could, his heart squeezing at each pained sound she made. Once she was situated as comfortably as possible, James hightailed it through the blast hole, taking care not to jostle her unnecessarily.

Outside, James dimly registered the sound of police sirens, and a small wave of relief washed over him. He carried Rose across the empty road, to a park bench beneath an orange street light and laid her down. He couldn’t carry her any further. James’ hand found her forehead, intending to soothe her pain, but he retracted it hastily. She was burning up.

“Dad!”

James turned around just in time to catch Amy as she threw herself at him, clutching her little arms as far around his waist as she could. He crushed her to his chest, the terrifying events of the past hour crashing down on him. He could have lost her. Could have lost them both. He held her all the tighter at the thought, until she made a sound of discomfort.

He drew back, and the state of his daughter's face made a rage well up within him he hadn’t known himself capable of. A careful hand came up to caress her cheek, but when she flinched at his touch, James’ hearts broke again. The Family would pay for this.

“Amy?”

Rose's voice was hoarse as if dehydrated, but Amy ran to her side without a second thought. She flung herself at her mum, burying her face in blonde hair, arms wrapping around Rose as best they could. Rose allowed it, although James noted she winced at the girl's enthusiasm, and after a moment he gently pulled Amy back. “Alright, easy kid. Mums had a rough day.”

The police arrived behind him, and several officers moved towards the half demolished town building, barking orders into their radios. Rose stared at them, brows drawn. She pulled herself up into a sitting position, wincing slightly, but waved away James’ attempt to help her. “No, no, ‘m fine, what are they here for? The Family is dead, Bad Wolf killed them.”

Rose felt James’ hand on her shoulder, an attempt at comfort. “They were moving when I carried you out, incapacitated but nothing to worry about—”

“Nothing ta worry about?” Rose practically snarled, shrugging his hand off. “If those things are still alive, any officer who enters that building won’t come out again!”

The Family would slaughter every single one of them without mercy in their greed for the Doctor, heedless of human life. She scrambled for options in her brain, but then her eyes fell on Amy, who was clutching the Doctor's hand with a death grip, eyes wide, face bruised. They couldn’t run in this condition, couldn’t hope to fight, and that left only one option.

“You need to open the watch, James.”

“Not yet!” Amy hissed, but Rose shushed her with a hand.

“We won’t make it ta three months.” Rose looked up at James. “We need the Doctor.”

“The Doctor isn’t real!” James spluttered. “I told them already, he’s made up, stories for our daughter—”

“Pulled from your dreams,” Rose finished. She would have let the moment hang, but she knew it was only a matter of minutes until the Family descended upon them. “The dreams, filled with aliens and time travel and all sorts of seemingly nonsensical events. They happened James, I know they did, I was there with you wasn’t I? In the TARDIS, through time and space—”

“Stop it Rose,” he ground out, but Amy jumped in.

“No, you stop it, and listen to her! You—” she took a deep breath, and steadied herself. Amy unclasped her fingers from his and took a slight step back. “You’re not my dad. Not really. You're an alien, a hero who saves the world. And you saved me.”

Her hand dipped into her pocket, and she retrieved the fob watch. “But that version of you’s trapped in here.”

“It's a receptacle, designed to hold your Timelord self,” Rose explained, trying to recall what he had told her in his instructions.

“You’re pulling my leg,” James accused, his eyes flickering wildly between them. “This… this is a set up.” He glanced behind himself as if looking for a big ‘ha got you!’ sign. He turned back to them, pain etched across his features. “Right?”

Rose reached for his hand, and clasped it in her own. “I’m sorry.”

And she truly meant it.

Over the past two months Rose had seen a version of the Doctor she'd never seen before, seen who he could have been if the weight of the world didn’t rest on his weary shoulders. She’d seen him freed from responsibility as James Mccrimmon, and found he was happier. She’d always known it couldn’t last though. The universe needed the Doctor. Rose needed him.

She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand, imitating the circular patterns of his language, not that he would understand it, but she hoped the gesture may bring him some comfort. “How did this happen?” His voice was timid, more timid than Rose had ever heard before.

She sighed. “The Family are an alien life form, huntin’ by smell, and they tracked your Time Lord-y essence across the universe. I don’t know why they were huntin’ us, you didn’t bother ta explain ta me before you turned yourself human, but I do know that your true self is trapped in there.”

She gestured at the watch Amy was holding, and his eyes followed. “You told me that… you believed in me.” Rose went on, trying to find the right words. “And that you trusted me to make the right decisions.”

“Was what we had real? Do you love me?”

His raw question was unexpected. How could Rose answer that? His brilliant green eyes met her own, searching for something she couldn’t name, and it took all of her power not to break down there. She swallowed, and looked away. “I— I can’t.”

It was only partially true. James was not the Doctor to be sure, but Rose had come to care for this strange human amalgamation of the Time Lord in a way she hadn’t thought possible. She had known since his first regeneration that no matter what form he took she would love him regardless, but she couldn’t say 'I love you' to a human version of him, a version who may not even remember. That would be cowardly, and if she ever were to admit her feelings she would do it with her head held high, even if that may result in her ending up back on Powell Estate. She glanced back up at James, braced for his reaction.

He was a portrait of a man broken.

His mouth hung slightly open, as if he’d been punched in the stomach and was still processing the hit. His eyes widened, and his brows shot up in surprise.

After a moment, he yanked his hand from Roses with a rough tug. “Give me the watch Amy.”

His voice was gravelly, and he didn’t look at Rose. She didn’t blame him one bit.

Amy made to pass the watch to James, but as she stretched out her arm holding the chain attached, the watch exploded in a blast of fire. Amy shrieked and dropped it, letting the remains of the once beautiful possession fall to the ground in a pile.

Rose's world shattered with it.

The gun holder giggled, and pointed it towards the Doctor. “Uh uh uh Time Lord,” Sister-of-Mine tutted, twirling a strand of hair around her pointer finger. “None of your silly games.”

Rose stared at the watch lying blackened on the ground, unable to process the sight before her.

The watch held the Doctor's essence. The watch was no more.

The Doctor was gone.

James stiffened in front of her, inhaling sharply as if in pain, but Rose ignored him, too numb to focus.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

The rest of the Family emerged from the town hall, their ray guns still smoking at the tips. Around the square, people began to panic again, but escape was cut off by the scarecrows closing in on every side. Rose didn’t want to think about what had happened to the police men, what might be about to happen to them.

“You will change back, or you will die,” Brother-of-Mine snarled, reiterating the Family's previous threat. “We want you as Timelord!”

One of the braver members of Newstead town, an aged man named Randall who Rose knew frequented the cafe stepped forwards, his hands on his hips. “Danny you listen here young man, I don’t know what kind of newfangled drugs you got running through your veins, but I urge you to think for a minute—”

Barely a second later, No-longer-Danny's ray gun fired, disintegrating the man in a flash of green light. A hushed gasp went through the crowd, and Rose swore she could hear a child crying before they were swiftly silenced. Son-of-Mine grinned his awful grin at the crowd, backed up by Daughter-of-Mine. “Anyone else want what he’s having?”

Not a single person stepped forwards. Son-of-Mine turned back to the Doctor. “Well? change.” He ordered.

“I can’t change back, I don’t have the receptacle with me,” James growled in exasperation, without a hint of fear in his voice. “Can’t you smell it! Without it, I’m just as human as anyone else!”

Rose was confused by his strange statement. The fob watch was the receptacle, he knew that, or at least had a basic understanding of the concept… So what on earth was her human Doctor playing at?

Son-of-Mine narrowed his eyes. “What… receptacle?”

“It's a small vial, corked at the lid. It holds my Time lord essence, and when I uncork it—” James mimed an explosion, a whooshing sound provided by his mouth. “Boom. You’ve got your Time Lord back.”

“Then where is it?” Snarled Father-of-Mine, gesturing wildly with his gun. “My children are hungry Doctor, and I will not see them go unfed!”

“If I tell you, if I show you where it is,” the Doctor began slowly, drawing out his words. “Will you leave this town alone? Leave my family be?”

The Family shared in an indecipherable look. Several moments passed in silence, the townsfolk barely breathing. “We have no use for these ants. Yes, Doctor, we will leave them be,” Mother-of-Mine declared after a moment, her sickly smile stretching across her cheeks. The Doctor gave a short, sharp nod.

“I have one last request.”

“Speak it if you must.”

“Let me hug my wife and child goodbye, for the last time.” The request quite frankly confused Rose. Only minutes before she had told him she didn’t love him, had broken his singular human heart, and here he was demanding to hold her before he died? Something wasn’t adding up. The Doctor went on before Father-of-Mine could object, rambling. “You have a Family, you’re a Father, I know you are. You have a daughter the same age as mine, you know how much they mean. What does every good dad do for their daughters?”

He looked at Amy over his shoulder, a pained smile on his face. “Everything. We would give them the world if we could.” He turned his full attention back to Father-of-Mine. “So please, please let me at least say goodbye.”

Father-of-Mine held his gaze, and after what felt like an eon, he nodded. “Very well Doctor. Hug your pathetic family goodbye.”

James whirled around and gathered both Rose and Amy into a tight hug. As he held them to his chest, a sense of desperation came through his hug, as if it were her own.

Wait no… it wasn’t just a sense. Rose could actually feel his desperation. In her head.

Miss me?

Rose could practically see the waggling eyebrows accompanying his question. Doctor! I thought you were dead you git!

She found her hands scrabbling across his back. They found two heart beats, and she could have cried from relief. Rose felt his laugh in her head, a pleasant warm thing, and all of a sudden, there was a glimmer of hope. You thought I’d leave you? Never precious girl

“Hurry it along Doctor, time is ticking,” Father-of-Mine warned, but the Doctor only glared back at him.

“Christ man, I’m saying goodbye to my universe! I’ll only be a minute more!”

He dropped his hand subtly to Amy's temples, and the girl stiffened as she was brought into the loop. Any kind of physical contact was enough for Rose and the Doctor to connect telepathically after Bad Wolf, but Amy's mind had none of the required neural pathways or connectors, so temple contact was a must.

Hey kiddo, long time no see

Amy's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, although nothing else about her body language changed. Doctor?

Her telepathic voice was weak, but audible. The Doctor grinned.

The one and only. Did you take care of Rose for me?

Amy physically nodded. Good girl. I’ve got a plan to get us out of here, but I need you both to stay put. I’ll be back for you, I promise

Rose privately had no intention of obeying his instructions, but nodded for Amy's benefit. He released the both of them from the hug, breaking off the connection, and turned back to the Family. “Right, ready when you are.”

The Family marched him from the town square, leaving behind the army of scarecrows to keep the rest of the town contained.

When the Family were out of sight, Rose managed to stand, her legs no longer jellied by whatever Bad Wolf did with her body. She set about organising a small group to help her go through the back of the now abandoned police vehicles, looking for first aid kits. The scarecrows didn’t react as long as no one ventured too close to them, and so after a time, a small emergency clinic was set up, the paediatrician who’d seen Amy that morning running it.

Thankfully there were no life threatening injuries, nothing worse than a mild concussion and some minor cuts, but the makeshift clinic was still at capacity.

The minutes dragged for both Amy and Rose as they waited for the Doctor to return. Amy proposed biting the scarecrows several times, but Rose ignored the suggestion, too anxious about the Doctors wellbeing to humour the girl.

After what felt like an age, something happened. Rose had been comforting Danny's mother when for the second time that night, something exploded, although this time much further away. Rose's head whipped around to find the source of the noise, but was distracted by Amy tugging on her sleeve.

“Rose look!”

Around the perimeter of the square, the scarecrows fell to the ground one by one, the light draining from their eyes. In a split second, Rose realised that the Doctor was likely responsible, and was moving as soon as the message reached her muscles. She grabbed Amy's hand in a death grip, and manoeuvred the girl into the back of one of the abandoned police cars.

“Can’t I ride shotgun?” Amy whined, but Rose ignored her, too busy trying to find the keys. Who keeps their keys in the glove box? Rose inserted the key into the car, and set about straightening her mirrors and adjusting her seat. The last time she’d been in a car had been before Downing street, and that was at least four years ago, give or take a couple of months. She technically had her licence, but hadn’t a clue of the difference between Australian road rules and her own, and so was pretty much winging it.

How hard could it be?

“How are you a worse driver than the Doctor?” Amy grumbled as they hit another pot hole. “You don’t even have the excuse of the TARDIS interfering.”

“No dessert for rude children,” Rose snapped back, taking a sharp left.

“The Doctor still gets dessert and he’s ruder than I ever am,” Amy mumbled.

“Rude and not ginger, that's what he is love," Rose replied with a sigh.

After a hair raising two minute drive, they arrived back at the house.

Or at least where the house had been.

The house was nothing but rubble now, having been wiped out by whatever blast the Doctor engineered. Rose really hoped the TARDIS would be able to replace their things, especially Amy's raggedy dolls, because there was no way they'd survived.

Speaking of the TARDIS, at that moment it rematerialised right next to what used to be their house, and Rose didn’t like what that implied. Last time she’d seen it, it had been parked a good kilometre away, hidden from prying eyes. She didn’t trust the Doctor to have only moved it from its previous position, didn’t trust him and his sneaky tendencies. Her brows only further furrowed when she saw him exit, the oncoming storm written across his face.

Rose parked the car as best as she could, and before she’d even turned the engine off completely Amy was already out the door, galloping towards the Doctor like a gangly baby giraffe.

“DOCTOR!”

His head snapped around at her voice, and a tired smile replaced the furious glare. Amy crashed into him, and he picked her up as if she weighed nothing, swinging her about.

Rose exited the car after making sure it was properly stopped, and approached the adorable display. Amy looked so at peace in his arms, so comfortable that Rose didn’t want to interrupt, but after a moment the Doctor noticed her.

“Didn’t know you could drive,” the Doctor commented, putting Amy down.

“Could say the same for you with the way your ship rattles ‘round the void,” Rose teased, her tongue poking through her teeth. The Doctor mock-gasped, his hand flying to his chest.

“Rose Tyler, how dare you insinuate anything about my driving! Try flying the TARDIS by yourself and then we’ll talk.”

“Alright then. Teach me how to fly the TARDIS, and I’ll take you up on that.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, a challenge. The Doctor raised an eyebrow. Rose took in a breath, preparing to explain or to rescind the idea, she wasn’t quite sure which, but he stopped her.

“I’ll teach you. High time really, you’ve been with me for what, four years?”

“Me too!” Amy interjected, sticking a hand in the air. “I want to learn how to fly her as well!”

The Doctor got a strange look on his face, one Rose couldn’t quite read. It was almost nostalgic, like he was relieving a wonderful but pained memory. In an instant, it was gone, replaced with his usual goofy grin. “Ah Rassilion help me, why not? Mores the merrier, and the TARDIS isn’t supposed to be piloted by one.”

The information took Rose off guard, but before she could press him for more details he’d already moved on. “Right, we’ll start with that tomorrow, now bed for both of you.” The Doctor peered at Amy's face with pursed lips. “Hmm, no, scratch that, Amy methinks you’ve got a date with the dermal regulator.”

Amy nodded, familiar with the machine, and her hand flew up to thumb the now green bruise along her cheekbone. “My face hurts,” she admitted quietly, and for the first time since the Family had kidnapped her, Amy sounded her age. Rose took her hand and pushed the doors open. The Doctor moved through first, rambling about some nonsense or other, but Rose ignored him.

“Do ya want to talk about it?” She prodded, hoping Amy would take her offer up. The faster Rose understood what had happened, the faster she and the Doctor could work on getting Amy back to her usual bubbly self. “About wha’ happened to you?” The TARDIS hummed with joy as they entered, whistles and bells dinging somewhere in her belly, and a familiar presence caressed Rose's mind with a gentle touch. An unearthly tune took up residence in the back of her brain again, murmuring words in a language she didn’t understand, and her mouth turned up in a slight grin at it. Oh how she’d missed the singing.

“Not really,” Amy half whispered, but then she reached forwards and tugged on the back of the Doctor's jacket. “There is something you should know though.”

He whirled around, his ramble cut off. “What is it Pond?”

“At Evie's house, they locked me in a room with her Gran after they…” She mimed a hand at her face, unwilling or perhaps unable to put words to what she’d experienced. “Well. There was a crack. In the floor right next to where Evie's gran was tied up.”

“What kind of crack?” The Doctor pressed, his eyes narrowed. “Amy, tell me.”

“The same kind from my wall.”

The Doctor was clearly shaken by Amy's words, but after a moment he waved it away, his goofy grin replacing the solemn stare. “Got to be a coincidence, don’t you think? We’dve seen others by now if it mattered, might not even be the same problem causing it!”

His eyes told a different story. He was hiding his worry for Amy's sake. He waved his hand. “Now come along Pond, it’s Medbay time. You won’t be able to sleep with those nasty fellas on your face, let me tell you from experience.”

Amy followed, protesting as she did. “I’m not even a little bit tired—” A yawn cut her off, and Rose stifled a giggle. Some things would never change.

The TARDIS opened up a doorway next to them which led directly to the Medbay, and for that Rose thanked her. She was dead on her feet after the day's events, and wasn’t sure how much more walking she could take.

Rose sat on a provided chair as the Doctor helped Amy onto the examination table, and began to run tests. He translated the gallifreyan words the monitor displayed to Rose, and explained that Amy was fine other than the bruises easily healed with the dermal regulator. As the Doctor scanned the machine along Amy's face, she was uncharacteristically quiet, her usual nattering replaced with silence.

The Doctor finally reached the big bruise, the one made with a belt buckle, and as he scanned the instrument along it, Amy spoke.

“What happened to the Family? Did they escape?”

“They’re with the Shadow Proclamation,” the Doctor responded shortly. “The universal authorities. They’ll deal with them appropriately.”

Amy seemed to take the words at face value, but Rose wasn’t as naive. She’d seen the look on his face coming out of the TARDIS, the oncoming storm personified, and knew somewhere in herself that he was lying through his teeth.

The dermal regulator blipped green. “All done Pond, now I want you to go brush your teeth and hop into bed, it’s been a long day.”

It was a testament to just how exhausted Amy was that she didn’t protest again. She just plopped her weary feet off of the table and plodded out of the room without another word.

When Rose was certain Amy was out of hearing range, she turned back to the Doctor. “So? Are ya going to tell me about what you did to the Family?”

“I wouldn't have a clue as to what you’re insinuating Rose,” the Doctor replied evenly, not making eye contact, instead busying himself wiping down the examination table. “They’re with the Judoon.”

“Judoon my arse," Rose mumbled, irritated, but she was equally as drained as Amy, and couldn’t be bothered to fight him. “Fine. If you won’t talk then I guess I’m going ta bed.”

“Nope, I need to check you over first. Hop up on the exam table.”

“S‘pose you should check on me after Bad Wolf came out,” Rose grumbled, acquiescing. “Don’t think I’m dying this time, but better safe than sorry.” The Doctor stopped short, a frown on his face.

“Bad Wolf?” It was more of a question than a statement, and Rose nodded.

“Don’t you remember?”

The Doctor pulled open the third drawer, and slid the dermal regulator into it. “I err—The TARDIS must have locked my memories away for safekeeping. Yes. Er. Hmm. I don’t recall…but yes, if Bad Wolf made an appearance it’s paramount I check you over as soon as possible.”

He pulled a needle out from beneath the table, and deftly stripped the plastic covering away. “Hold still,” he ordered, and Rose tried her hardest not to squirm. She was twenty three for goodness sakes, and had faced off with the literal devil, what business did a tiny sliver of metal have scaring her?

In, out, the needle drew blood and he extracted it with practised finesse. The TARDIS opened up a little slot for him to drop the vial into, and he did so without looking. He pulled another instrument from beneath the table, and typed something into the interface.

“Right, this is going to feel a little cold. Head up please.”

Rose obeyed, and he began to run the thing across her temple.

“Is Bad Wolf gonna burn me up?” Rose demanded as the Doctor scanned her.“Oh god. ‘M I gonna die and leave Amy with just you to parent ‘er?”

He pulled back the device with an affronted scowl. “What's so wrong with my parenting style? Amy seems to enjoy it well enough.”

Despite the panic coursing through Rose's veins, she found her eyes rolling of their own accord. “Please. Ya think feedin’ a nine year old fish fingers an’ custard for breakfast counts as nutrition!”

The Doctor tugged up the back of her shirt, and ran the machine down her spine, motioning for her to bend forwards. “I’ve been a dad before, Rose, I think I know how to raise a child.”

“You think you’re so impressive,” Rose groused, shifting her body to allow him to scan her hips. “But you’ve never— wait what?”

She stopped as his words sunk in properly. “You’ve been a dad?”

Her voice came out more whispery than she would have liked, and she felt his hands stiffen, his ministrations ceasing. “I was. A long time ago.”

The blood machine chose that inopportune moment to ding both indicating Rose's blood test results and shattering the moment. The Doctor bounded over to the machine, and scanned the page it printed out, eyes flickering at the speed of light. His posture relaxed, and he grinned at her over his shoulder, something like relief in his brilliant green eyes.

“You’re clear. No burning up for you today.” He screwed up the paper and tossed it over his shoulder carelessly. “Or any day if I have anything to say about it.”

He hugged her then, and Rose melted into the embrace. The human Doctor had hugged her as often as possible, but it wasn’t quite the same as this. “I missed you,” she admitted, and despite her frustration with him, she found she meant it with her whole heart. The Doctor's arms tightened ever so slightly around her at her words, and for a time they just breathed together.

When he let her go, a yawn slipped out from her mouth. “I should go make sure Amy's in bed. Been a long day for all of us.”

“You humans and your sleep. You’d sleep away your life if you could,” he teased, and Rose socked him playfully in the arm, before crossing the room to the doorway.

“Night Ja— er— Doctor.”

Rose slipped from the room before he could notice her stumble. She needed to be more careful, and not make that mistake again. Calling him James accidentally was one thing, but it would be an entirely different problem if she forgot they were no longer married…

A brief memory of his lips against hers had a sigh falling from her, but Rose immediately quashed the pleasant feelings that accompanied the thought. He hadn’t been in his right mind, didn’t even remember, so wasn’t it wrong to enjoy the way he’d felt in her arms?

But if she did reminisce occasionally about it… who would know? Well, the TARDIS might know, but Rose was decently sure she wasn’t the judgy type. The ship hummed in the back of her head as if to confirm that fact, making Rose giggle.

Besides, she had already accepted the fact she would never be touched again, why not let herself enjoy the final memories of such things? Like a final hurrah?

It was these thoughts Rose was considering when she entered her room to find Amy standing at the foot of her bed.

“What's up sweetheart?” Rose queried. Amy shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

“Can I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course.” The answer fell easily from Rose's lips, and Amy smiled in relief. “‘M just about ta have a shower, why don’t ya get comfy an’ I’ll be five minutes, alright love?”

Amy nodded, and jumped onto the bed, snuggling down into the duvet.

In the shower, Rose lathered her hair with shampoo, and tried to avoid thinking about kissing the Doctor. She quickly found that it was quite a lot like trying not to think about pink elephants, but she at least managed to manoeuvre her thoughts away from the kissing bit towards something more serious.

She was certain the Doctor wasn’t telling the truth about the Family.

If he’d still been in his last incarnation, he’d have been tugging on his ear like mad as he lied straight to her face, but this new version of the Doctor was still relatively unfamiliar to Rose, and thus she hadn’t quite pinned down his lying ‘tells’ yet.

Her gut was telling her though. Her gut was screaming at her to demand answers, shake him, scream at him, do something to make him tell her the truth, but after a moment, a slightly sickening thought struck her.

Did she really want to know?

Did she really want to know what hell he’d unleashed upon them? The Doctor could be merciful, kind even, but she knew from personal experience that if his nearest and dearest were threatened, like when her face had been stolen or Martha's family were kidnapped, he was almost incapable of holding back.

The worst part was that Rose didn’t blame him. Whatever he’d inflicted on the Family, she was certain it wasn’t punishment enough. How could it be after what they’d done to Amy? Hit her, tied her up and used her as a pawn—no. There was no punishment too grand, too painful.

She stepped from the shower, changed into pyjamas and towelled off her hair. When she emerged from the bathroom, Amy was curled up facing away from her. Rose carefully slipped into the bed beside her, trying not to wake the sleeping girl.

She needn’t have worried about that, because as her arm snaked around her, Amy drew in a shuddering breath.

Rose ran a soothing hand up and down her arm, and anchored the girl to her chest. “Shhh love, you’re safe now,” she murmured against Amy's hair. Amy twisted to face Rose, her cheeks shiny with tears.

“They killed Evie’s Gran ri–right in front of m—me. They k—killed her—her, and I could—couldn’t stop it,” Amy sobbed, her breaths coming fast and uneven. “Sister-of-Mine said—said Evie di—died screaming, and that you and the Doctor were—were next.”

Oh no, the Doctor didn’t need to worry about the Family's punishment being too severe. Nothing in the world could possibly make them suffer enough. “We’re still here sweetheart,” she reassured, pulling Amy closer. “Never gonna leave you.”

“Promise?” Amy whispered, looking up at Rose, looking her age. Rose swallowed harshly, but didn’t give in to the instinct to look away.

“Promise.”

Amy burrowed down into Rose's arms, pressing up against her as close as she humanely could, and after a while, the sobbing slowed to more manageable breaths.

Even when Amy finally succumbed to sleep, Rose didn’t let her go. She would keep her promise to the little girl who trusted her if it killed her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Doctor scrubbed aimlessly at the examination table, his thoughts elsewhere. The TARDIS nudged him gently, reminding him that he didn’t technically need to do the clean up, but he ignored her completely.

His mind was on other things.

Bad Wolf weighed heavily on his mind, and particularly Rose's physical reaction to the power. She’d burnt up, fever soaring, and he’d been unable to do anything trapped in the ridiculous human body. Even hours later thinking about it, he felt helpless, and that wasn’t something he enjoyed.

The news about the crack as well… that too was worrying. The Doctor hadn’t thought about the crack in Amy's wall since almost eight months ago when they first took her with them, but the information that a second one had formed, in a different country in the same time period…

It couldn’t be good.

He didn’t think it had anything to do with the fob watch, or his time as a human, but he’d consult the TARDIS to be sure, and with the reappearance of Bad Wolf… A brief memory of Rose's lips caressing his own stole his attention, and for a moment he allowed himself the indulgence of reminiscence.

After that oh so brief moment, the Doctor shoved that memory as far away as he could. Rose couldn’t know how deeply he yearned for her, couldn’t know he even remembered what her lips felt like atop his own. He couldn’t tell her he remembered every wonderful moment spent as James Mcrimmon. Her unintentionally sharp words danced across his memories unbidden.

“I can’t.”

The Doctor grit his teeth, and strode out of the Medbay, towards the library. He wouldn’t tell her. Couldn’t lose her.

After all, what was the very first rule of travelling with the Doctor?

Rule number one. The Doctor always lies.

Chapter Text

Amy’s eyes flew open as she awoke with a pained gasp. Her hand flew up to her temple, where a headache raged, and she winced at the contact. She’d already mostly forgotten her nightmare, but the icky feeling was still hanging around, like a bad smell. Amy struggled for a moment against the bonds that held her before remembering where she was.

Rose's arms wound around her snugly weren’t the coarse ropes, tied too tight and digging into Amy's skin, nor was the bed but a blanket on stone floor. The Family were gone, unable to hurt her anymore, although Amy still felt uncomfortable in Rose's embrace. She wriggled a little, and breathed a sigh of relief when she managed to extract herself without disturbing the slumbering woman. Rose was terrifying when woken prematurely.

The ache in her skull had gotten worse, from a mild thudding to a dull roar, and despite Amy's best efforts to ease it via rubbing, the pain remained stubbornly present. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to be able to get rid of the headache any time soon, not without help—

A bolt of inspiration struck her. Maybe her dad could help, he might have some kind of alien medication to fix her brain up, although she’d better be careful not to call him dad anymore now he wasn’t. She scrunched her nose up at the thought. When had her life become so confusing?

Amy swung her legs over the edge of the bed and plopped her feet onto the carpeted floor. She padded from the room, her raggedy Doctor doll clutched tight to her chest, mind set. The TARDIS had several hallways open, but the moment Amy stepped towards one, it disappeared. She frowned, and tried another, but it did exactly the same thing. After the fifth time, Amy stomped her foot, sore, frustrated and admittedly a little tired.

“Stop telling me to go back to bed! I can’t!” She snapped at the ceiling, patience thin. The TARDIS hummed almost as if ashamed, but Amy couldn’t find it in herself to care. “If you’d be so kind, I’d like to find my— the Doctor please?”

A door opened up at the end of the hallway with a warm orangey light spilling out of it. Amy stroked the TARDIS walls in thanks with a gentle hand, imitating the action she’d seen Rose and the Doctor take countless times. She hurried down the corridor, and ducked inside just as it shut behind her before taking a look.

Ooh the library.

On Amy's first full day aboard the ship, she’d demanded to see the fabled library, recalling how allegedly there was a pool within. She’d been delighted to find that the library was indeed equipped with a pool, and not only that, but the pool was home to swarms of fish and other aquatic animals, making swimming ten times more fun than usual.

She didn’t feel like swimming though, not with her headache, and besides she hadn’t brought her swimmers so the thought was silly. A noise from across the library alerted Amy to another's presence, a low humming, and she grinned. Bingo.

One afternoon before Newstead when the Doctor was tinkering beneath the TARDIS and Rose was out visiting a friend, Amy’d been bored out of her brain and began to poke him with questions. They’d started out simple, but swiftly got more and more personal as the afternoon went on, until eventually she’d asked him about what made him so alien.

His answer had been rather illuminating.

The Doctor was allergic to aspirin, although a dose of chocolate administered in a timely manner would save him, and ginger was a no go, making him all silly like alcohol did for humans. He had two hearts, two livers, an extra rib and a respiratory bypass, although Amy didn’t exactly understand what that entailed, and apparently his kidneys were more complex than the average humans. He’d also explained that Time Lords generally had less need for sleep, and so whenever she and Rose gave in to their human needs, he would find some task to busy himself with.

It seemed today that that task was reading.

The Doctor was reclined upside down on the sofa, his head hanging off the edge, shoulders wrapped in a pink fluffy blanket. He had his nose in a book, but when Amy drew closer, his eyes snapped up to meet hers, his hummed tune abruptly ending. “Ahh Pond, you’re awake early!” He flipped himself right side up, flinging his book to who knows where, before patting the seat besides him. “Come sit.” Amy did as he asked, and he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. “How are you feeling this fine morning?”

Amy's head throbbed at his words. She winced, and put a hand up to her temple gingerly. “My head hurts,” she admitted. “It’s like something’s eating my brain inside out.”

“First time telepathy will do that to you, forging new neural connections and all,” the Doctor replied, not at alarmed. “You should have seen Rose the morning after we first tried mentally connecting. Well, more like the week. She refused to get out of bed for anything, and I had to resort to coaxing her from her nest with promises of coffee!”

Amy had a feeling he was exaggerating slightly for her benefit, but she still giggled at his tall tale. “Sounds about right.” The laughter made her head hurt more though, and so she bit off the noise, trying to curb her pain. She chewed her lip, and looked up at the Doctor. “Can you fix it dad—Doctor?”

Thankfully the Doctor gave no indication he’d noticed her mortifying slip up, instead he wordlessly brought up his hands to either side of Amy's head, hovering just above her temples. “I can block your pain receptors briefly, although it might hurt a little, and I’ll need to get inside your noggin. Permission to enter granted M’Dame Amy?” His question was silly, but he said it with the most serious expression she’d ever seen on his face. She saluted.

“Permission granted Sir Doctor.” With that, the Doctor pressed his fingers lightly to her temples.

Blinding agony. Amy cried out, unable to see, but after a moment the feeling retreated until her mindscape became soft again, soothing. When she came to, Amy realised she’d fallen against the Doctor's chest, his arms holding her tight to him.

“Alright Pond?”

Amy thought about it for a moment before nodding decisively. “Headaches gone, I don’t want to go back to bed though. What time is it in Rose time?” She queried, having heard the Doctor use the phrase several times to explain his human companions' sleep-wake cycles.

The Doctor's smile was fond as he absent-mindedly stroked Amy's hair. “About six in the morning. You could find something to read if you wanted?”

Amy thought that was a splendid idea. She extracted herself from the blanket, and stood before frowning at it. “Isn’t this blanket Roses?” She asked, rubbing the fuzzy pink material between her fingers. The Doctor shrugged.

“Couldn’t find any others. TARDIS must have hid them.” He resumed his previous upside down position, swiping his book from the floor with ease. “Couldn’t tell you why though. The old girl has her peculiarities.”

The TARDIS didn’t appreciate his snide remark, and chose that moment to remove the couch from beneath him. The Doctor clattered to the floor with an oof, gangly limbs sprawling every which way. Amy giggled at their antics, before descending into the library's depths.

The library really was magnificent, much better than the dingy old one near her house. It had floor to ceiling shelves filled to the brim with books on every subject, and to Amy's delight there was a rolling ladder, like in Beauty and the Beast. She leapt onto it, giggling when it rolled under her weight. She passed a section on astrophysics, ducked behind the shelves housing the science fiction, and came to her destination.

The kids fiction section, otherwise known as heaven on TARDIS. When she’d lived with Aunt Sharon, Amy had been quite the bookworm, often dragging Rory and Mels to their aforementioned local dingy library for a very specific series of books. With that in mind, Amy perused the shelves, running a finger along the spines of the books, looking for— ah! Yes, there it was.

Amy yanked a beaten copy of Warrior Cats from the shelf and flipped it open to the first page, delight welling up inside of her. Before the Raggedy Doctor games, she and Rory and Mels could often be found playing Warrior Cats in the woods near her house, pretending they were Fireheart, Sandstorm and Greystripe, hunting prey and patrolling their territory. She smiled fondly at the memories, and tucked the book under her arm. Now where to sit?

A beanbag appeared next to her, and Amy plonked onto it with no preamble. She thanked the TARDIS mentally, and felt the old girl buzz pleasantly in the back of her mind. A reading lamp had appeared as well, and Amy turned it on with a click.

She settled in, and was just about to read the first chapter when the strangest thing happened.

A book appeared from thin air and fell directly onto Amy's lap. Amy narrowed her eyes at the intrusion, and put the Warrior Cats book aside carefully.

How very odd.

The book was covered with the same circular language engraved across the TARDIS walls, in what Amy assumed was a title. “Why can’t I read it?” She asked aloud to the TARDIS, but received no response. Well, if it had fallen on her, there must be a reason, and so Amy decided to have a go at making sense of the pages.

Warrior Cats book fully forgotten, she opened the book to the table of contents and flipped past it. It looked to be some kind of dictionary, although the circles made for a rather strange alphabet.

She ran a finger over one of the words and nearly jumped out of her skin as a melodic noise came from the book. Amy repeated the motion, and the exact same sound replayed.

How curious. Amy pursed her lips, and decided to call in backup. She ran her hand along the oaken floor of the library and tried to connect with the TARDIS. “Is… is that how you pronounce it? The swirls,” she asked aloud, unsure of what she was expecting in response.

There was no audible reply, but the reading lamp next to Amy flashed green. She took that for a yes, and tried another question. “Is it a made up language?”

Red flash. Hmm. Okay. “Is it alien?”

Green flash. Amy was beginning to enjoy the game. “Have we met the aliens who speak it?”

Green flash. Amy furrowed her brow, trying to recall the various alien species they’d met. “Slitheen?”

Red.

“Ood?”

Red.

“Those weird cat nuns?”

Red.

Amy went on and on, running through every alien species she could think of until eventually she’d exhausted her options. Red, red, red, red, red, when would it be green?

After what felt like hours, Amy was close to giving up. Wracking her brains, she found one creature she hadn't considered. “The Doctor?”

The light flashed green. Amy sat bolt upright in the bean bag, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. “The Doctor? It’s the Doctor's language?”

As the reading lamp flashed green again, Amy leapt up and gave a short “whoop!” of joy.

“Alright Pond?” The Doctor called from across the library, and Amy clamped her hand over her mouth. Oops.

“Yeah! Everything's great!” She replied, hoping her voice sounded nonchalant. The beginnings of a plan was forming in her mind, and she didn’t want to spoil the surprise. Thankfully the Doctor didn’t investigate, likely too comfortable in his strange seating position, and so Amy was free to continue digging.

“What does it say? This line I mean,” Amy asked, running her hand along the intricate word again, playing the melody.

The TARDIS was frustratingly silent, not a blink of light from the lamp. Oh, the lamp, duh. “Right. Yes or no questions then?”

The lamp blinked green in affirmation. “Right. Hmm. Does it mean… Doctor?”

The light flashed red, and Amy shifted to make herself more comfortable. She had a feeling she’d be there for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Approximately three hours after the Doctor had heard Amy squeal, she approached him, looking rather suspcious. “Doctor?”

He looked up from his book, reclining on a different couch after the TARDIS had unceremoniously deposited him on the floor. “What do you want, Pond?”

She waved him towards her, a strange glint in her eye. The Doctors brows furrowed, but he followed her wordless instructions anyways, dog earring his book and setting it down carefully.

When he reached her, she tugged on his sleeve until his ear was right next to her mouth.

“Hello Raggedy man.”

The Doctor stood bolt upright, disbelief coursing through his veins. Amy was speaking in Gallifreyan. “You’re… you’re…” The pure shock of hearing someone speaking his mother tongue after who knows how long turned his rather impressive brain to soup. Eventually, he settled on stating the obvious. “That's Gallifreyan!”

“Hello Raggedy man," Amy repeated, her intonation slightly off, but she was speaking his language.

As it was, he was having a hard time keeping himself together, and so instead of trying to respond, the Doctor swept the little girl up into his arms, swinging her about. Amy’s peals of laughter bounced around the library hall, echoing off of every available surface and it wasn’t long until the Doctor's own booming laugh joined hers.

You had a hand in this didn’t you? The Doctor silently asked the TARDIS. Her responding hum was so smug she could have passed for a mediocre middle aged white man. He let her preen. She’d given him a gift.

“Wha’s going on here? Could hear you two yucking from my room.”

The Doctor looked up to see Rose standing in her dressing gown at the library door, a fond smile on her face. He put Amy down, and gently nudged her towards Rose.

“Amy, say it again," He urged.

“Hello Raggedy man.” Amy repeated, her intonation almost perfect now. Rose's jaw dropped open.

“Is that—”

“Gallifreyan! Yes! The TARDIS taught her! Oh Amy, you’re absolutely fantastic my girl!” The Doctor whooped, darting across to Rose and pulling her by her hand. She shrieked at the sudden movement, but managed to not to trip, and soon enough the library was filled with dancing. The TARDIS sang joyfully at the ridiculous display within her halls, and provided a couch for the trio to flop onto when they were done. Amy snuggled between the Doctor and Rose, overwhelmingly content as the Doctor's hand unconsciously sought out Roses.

“D’ya—” Rose began, but bit off the end of her sentence. One of the Doctor's eyebrows went up.

“D’ya what?” He mimicked, running his thumb across the back of her hand. Rose shook her head.

“‘S stupid.”

“Can’t be stupid if you said it," Amy replied as if it were an indisputable fact. Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Oranges are yellow,” Rose deadpanned, making the little girl snicker.

“Still not stupid!”

The Doctor recognised a diversion tactic when he saw one, and so when the laughter died down, he reiterated his question. “D’ya what Rose?”

Rose chewed her lip, looking as uncertain as she had after his first regeneration. The Doctor didn’t push again, only held her gaze as she thought through what she was about to ask. Finally, she asked him. “D’ya think I could learn Gallifreyan too?”

“Of course you can.”

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He really was incapable of denying Rose anything. Her expression shifted from nervous to something like joy as she smiled her tongue in teeth grin at him, and Amy cheered, jumping up. “It’ll be like a secret language, ‘cos only we know it!” She sat back down, and cocked her head at the Doctor. “Well, unless we run into your people, they’ll know it too then.”

Roses hand tightened around his at Amy's unintentionally loaded words. He ran his thumb in circles atop the back of Rose's palm, but hid his sadness for the sake of the little girl between them. She was far too young for him to offload that burden onto, too innocent, and he wasn’t prepared to shatter her perception of the world's kindness quite yet.

It was also a good reminder. His people were dead. His planet was gone. One day Rose and Amy would no longer be by his side, and he would continue to traverse the stars alone.

He disentangled his hand from Roses, and leapt up from the seat, jostling Amy. “We’ll start on lessons tomorrow, but today methinks dear Nana Jackie could do with a visit eh?”

The sudden shift in conversation had clearly startled Rose, but she only shrugged. “Yeah prolly. I’ll wager she’ll want ta take Amy for the day, get ta know her a bit better.”

“Then it’s settled! You three can go for some bonding time, and I’ll kick around the void for a bit, enjoy the peace and quiet.”

Rose stood up and stretched, with Amy following suit. “Right, Ames, go pack a bag for overnight in case the Doctors a tad late.”

“When have I ever—”

“2005. Or should I say 2006?” Rose replied flippantly, and the Doctor winced.

“Ah. Yes. Well—”

“1876 instead of 1976?” Amy chimed in, a cheeky grin on her face. The Doctor scowled.

“That was a fluke, and besides having you onboard for the first time probably threw off the TARDIS—”

“How about 1869 instead of 1860?” Rose teased, and the Doctor threw his hands up.

“Fine, I’m not the most accurate driver, sue me!”

Amy cackled at that, her body contorting with ridiculous nine year old laughter. Rose snickered too, but after a moment she pulled herself together. “M’ point still stands, go pack Ames.”

Amy saluted and ran off, leaving the Doctor and Rose in the library. Rose appraised him with her eyes, as if trying to figure something out. “You okay?”

The Doctor plastered on a fake grin, hoping it reached his eyes. “Never better! Why’d you ask?”

“No reason,” Rose replied, although the way she chewed on her bottom lip gave away the fact she wasn’t telling the full truth. They’d lived together too long not to know one another's tells. “Think I’ll go have a shower, can ya braid Amy's hair when she’s dressed? She wouldn’t let me do it in Newstead, said you were a better braider, and she’s already coping with enough change as is.”

The Doctor wanted to say no. No, because he would lose them, no because Amy was looking for something in him he hadn’t been capable of providing for who knows how long, no because his hearts were beating double time at the thought of being any kind of father figure again.

But Rose's eyes won him over. They always did. How could he say no to her worry for their— for Amy? The Doctor sighed, knowing he was defeated.

“Course I can. Go shower.”

“Thanks Doctor. It’ll mean the world ta her.” Rose hugged him then, and the Doctor allowed himself a moment to bask.

It couldn’t last forever though.

Rose was human. He was not. Amy would die one day.

He’d do well to remember that.

Chapter Text

“Bye Doctor!” Amy called, before whipping around to follow Rose out into bustling mid winter London. She was adorable really, her hair plaited with picture perfect red bows, matching a knitted green top adorned with snowmen.

The TARDIS doors slammed shut behind them, leaving the console room eerily quiet. The Doctor sighed, and started up the dematerialisation sequence. He wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to amuse himself for the foreseeable future without his girls, but he was sure he’d come up with something.

In his last body, the Doctor had taken to spending months on end in the void while Rose visited Jackie, tinkering, occasionally taking distress calls, catching up on sleep and doing basic maintenance purely to stretch his time with his beloved pink and yellow human. He’d considered telling her about it after his most recent regeneration when she’d been upset because his last body was “only two years old”, but decided against it. The fact his tenth form had been more like one hundred was irrelevant. The only time spent in it he’d truly enjoyed was by her side.

In this body though, staying away from her was proving harder. As he descended beneath the console, the Doctor couldn’t help but wonder about what Amy and Rose were up to. He pondered whether Jackie had followed through on her threat to buy Amy a matching lime green tracksuit, thought about what they might have for tea, and most of all he hoped Rose was missing him.

He sighed, and tried to ignore his racing thoughts. It had only been thirty minutes and five seconds for Rassilions sake, and he was acting as if he hadn’t seen them in months! He was better than this, surely he was!

The Doctor managed to successfully block out his raging thoughts for the next two hours, humming loudly as he worked, before he realised he didn’t have the right sized wrench with him. Without thinking, he called over his shoulder, “Amy, could you pass me the—”

Silence greeted him. Ah. Right. They weren’t here. Hmm. Tinkering wasn’t going to work, that much was clear.

With a frustrated noise, the Doctor hoisted himself from beneath the console.

He would have to find something else to pass the time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Amy, wait up love!” Rose called as the excitable nine year old bounded away from the TARDIS. Unfortunately as children’s ears are purely ornamental, Amy ignored Rose and continued her galloping pace right up to Jackies flat. Rose sighed, but had been expecting nothing less, and so increased her own speed to a jog.

Rose reached the flat exactly as Amy enthusiastically knocked, hardly out of breath thanks to a life spent running with the Doctor. Mickey had compared it to a free gym membership, and she was inclined to agree.

“Alright alright, keep ya pants on! I’m coming!” Jackie yelled from inside, footsteps drawing closer to the door. Amy rocked on the balls of her feet, near bursting with excitement. In the nine months she’d been living with Rose and the Doctor, they’d visited Jackie approximately twelve times, and each time Jackie had smothered her with enough love and affection to power a small country.

Amy revelled in it.

Sure the Doctor was affectionate enough in his own strange way, and more often than not Amy slept snuggled up to Rose, but there was just something special about her gran’s love that made Amy glow like the seven suns of Akhatan.

The door swung open, revealing Jackie in her dressing gown. “Amy! Hello little Madam!” Jackie cried, tugging Amy into a smothering hug.

“‘Ello to you too mum,” Rose groused from behind Amy. “Tell us how ya really feel.”

Jackie rolled her eyes, and disengaged from Amy. “It’s been two months, Rose, can’t I give me only granddaughter a bit of lovin’?”

“What am I, the next door neighbour?” Rose protested, although there was no bite to her words. Jackie ignored her scathing remark, and reached out a hand to touch Amy's hair bows.

“Lovely pig tails sweetheart, how’d ya get them so smooth Rose?”

Rose shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya, the Doctor does ‘er hair most of the time, ‘s better at the plaiting and stuff.”

“My hairbows match his bowtie,” Amy said proudly, sticking her nose in the air.

“You’ve got ‘im whipped,” Jackie snickered, but before Rose could protest the teasing statement, Jackie pulled them inside. As she was still only clad in her pink dressing gown, Jackie quickly excused herself to don regular clothes, leaving Amy and Rose in the living room to amuse themselves.

As soon as Jackie's bedroom door slammed down the hall, Amy turned to Rose.

“Can I tell gran about Newstead?”

At Amy's question, Rose winced, recalling the reason for its existence. Several months prior, on their fourth visit to Jackies with Amy in tow, things had gone slightly pear shaped after Jackie had offhandedly asked about their recent adventures. Before Rose or the Doctor could stop her, Amy chimed in, explaining in great detail their recent misadventure, including the bit where all three of them had been sentenced to death.

Needless to say, Jackie was not pleased, and the Doctor's Jackie slap counter went up by one that day. It left an ugly green bruise for all of three hours, during which he whinged non stop about it to Rose, complaining of how it marred his features.

When Jackie had finally finished berating both Rose and the Doctor, she’d threatened to just keep Amy with her if she ever found out she was in such danger again. No matter how much Amy loved Jackie, the idea of never setting foot in the TARDIS again scared her so much she’d taken to asking Rose or the Doctor what was safe to share.

“You’d prolly better not sweetheart,” Rose replied after a moment. There really wasn’t any way to disentangle their briefly picturesque life in Newstead from the awful circumstances that had begot it, and there was no way Amy would be able to even mention Evie without crying. Too dangerous. “Why don’t you tell her ‘bout the mediaeval market we went ta instead?”

“You and dad got put in the stocks," Amy reminded Rose, her verbal slip up unnoticed by the little girl.

Ah. Right. Rose had forgotten about that, although her yellow undershirt was still stained from the rotten vegetables pelted at them by irritated villagers. Being arrested was so ordinary these days Rose had hardly made note of it. “Right. Maybe just skim over that bit, and tell her about the bracelet the Doctor bought you, kay?”

Amy nodded in agreement just as Jackie reentered the room. “Right, I don’t know what you lot get up ta during the day, but ‘s my day off an I’ve got things ta do, so either come with me or clear out.”

Amy leapt off the couch, her limbs flailing as she ran to the door in a similar way to Rose's bowtied Doctor. It was adorable, the two of them could be mistaken for baby giraffes without much trouble. “We’re coming with you!” She stopped short at the front door, and turned back to Rose and Jackie. “Err, where are we going?”

Jackie grinned, a look that would have made the Doctor run for the hills. “Shopping.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eight hours later void time, and the Doctor was… frustrated to say the least.

He’d cleaned the kitchen, folded the washing, swept in each and every room he could think of despite the fact the TARDIS usually took care of menial tasks, desperate for something to do. After that, he’d moved on to sorting storage room five, something he’d been avoiding for centuries, but he found it was a much easier task than he’d feared. On any other day, this would have been exceptional news, however without Rose and Amy around to celebrate with, it was just irritating.

How had it only been eight hours?

Finally, after he reorganised the glassware cupboard into colour order, polished the countless shoes in the wardrobe and stitched up a cushion, the Doctor ended up in the library. Ooh, maybe he could resort the books into alphabetical order, he’d been meaning to since his fourth incarnation and—

The library shelves shifted themselves in an instant, bringing forwards a section he hadn’t seen since his colourblind era. The Doctor ran a finger along the shelfs name, reading it in his native tongue. “Education.”

A plan began to form in the Doctor's mind as he yanked another book from the shelf titled something like ‘Teaching foreign languages 101’.

Now this was a good way to occupy his Roseless hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’ll just be a mo!” Jackie promised, disappearing into the changing rooms of Hendricks, arms laden with clothes. Something told Amy it would be anything but a mo, however she didn’t mind. Shopping anywhere other than the grocery store was a delightful treat to the girl as the TARDIS provided most of their material needs without the need to shop, so she was excited to look around.

Rose had wandered off as she was known to do, leaving Amy free to explore. She hid in coat racks, jumped out of bookshelves, and was generally a menace to the various shoppers and workers within Hendricks. It felt wonderful.

She eventually found Rose after a game of hide and seek with herself (which she sadly lost), and to Amy's surprise she had company. Rose stood in front of the women's shirts section, next to an absurdly handsome man, talking animatedly while he nodded along. It was plain weird.

Hmm. She’d better get a closer look.

Very carefully, Amy engaged her inner warrior cat.

She crept closer, keeping her footsteps soft, when to her horror the man gently took Rose's chin, and brought her lips to his own. That was too far, the only person who should be kissing Rose was the Doctor. Amy pounced.

“LET ROSE GO YA CREEP!” Amy screeched, hissing at the man. She tried to bite his wrist, but Rose managed to catch her around the waist without much trouble, and she was swiftly restrained.

“Ames, cool it,” she giggled, to which Amy pouted. The man's laughter did nothing to help her mood. He was supposed to be cowering in fear, not laughing at her!

“Is this the Amy you were going on about? Quite the fierce one she is eh Rosie?” He teased, gesturing a little too closely to Amy. She snapped at his fingers viciously, although he unfortunately managed to retract his hand before she could catch one. “And a biter too, okay, duly noted. That’s the Doctor's influence, hey?” He grinned at Rose mischievously.

“Shut it Harkness,” Rose warned, but her tone was warm and— hang on. Amy knew that name.

“Harkness? Like Jack Harkness? Is that who you are?” She demanded, eyes still narrowed. At her question, he stood to attention and saluted.

“Yes little Ma’am, I’m sure Rosies told you all about my daring deeds.” He waggled his eyebrows in a terrible impersonation of the Doctor. Amy scowled harder.

“The Doctor told me about you,” she half snarled. “He said you were a scoundrel.”

Probably-Jack-Harkness-although-who-really-knew-cause-he-looked-like-a-liar’s face fell at that, although Amy suspected he wasn’t seriously hurt. “Sounds like the Doctor hasn't changed much then.”

Rose put her down, although she kept a firm hold on Amy's wrist to keep her from flying at Jack. “Well—”

“New face?” Jack asked, confusing the everloving life out of Amy. What could he mean by new face? As far as she knew, humans only got one.

“New face,” Rose confirmed.

Amy tugged Rose's sleeve trying to catch her attention. “Whatcha mean by tha—”

“Oh Rose, there you are!”

Dammit. Gran was back. Now there was no way Amy would be able to get a single word in edgewise. Foiled again. She stuck her bottom lip out as far as it could go in the world's biggest pout.

Jackie approached, nattering a mile a minute about whatever nuisance she'd encountered in the change room until Jack turned around.

“Well ‘ello handsome.” She looked at him like he was a refreshing icy pole after a long day at the beach. Ew.

“Rose, I didn’t know you had a sister,” Jack remarked, giving Jackie his signature wink. “Let alone such a pretty one.” Jackie flushed at the praise, winding a strand of hair around her finger

“Oh no, I’m her mum,” she practically simpered. Amy screwed her nose up at Jackie. Eugh. It was like watching Aunt Sharon flirt all over again, but somehow worse. “But people get us confused sometimes, they do.”

Rose rolled her eyes at the display. “Jack, enough. Can we get going? ‘M hungry, and we dunno when the Doctors gettin’ back.”

Jackie snapped out of the daze Jack had put her into, and straight back into gran mode. “Yeah, ‘course love, Amy's prolly hungry after all that hide and seek hmm?” Amy nodded. Jackie turned back to Jack, a predatory look in her eye. “You could come with us? My flats big enough for the four ‘o us, and once Rose an’ Amy—”

Rose pushed between them, dragging Amy with her. “Yeah, yeah, you can flirt when ya granddaughter isn't here. Let's move.”

As she was tugged away, Amy could have sworn she heard Jackie mutter to Jack, “She really does get snappish when she's hungry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After lunch Rose and Jackie caught up on the latest EastEnders episode on the couch, arguing over some plot line or other while Jack did the washing up. Amy scampered to the bathroom, retrieved Rose's drawing pencils from her room, and was just preparing to sit herself down with her mum and gran when Jack called out for her from the kitchen.

“Oi, Ames, can I get a bit of help in here?”

Amy scowled. That was Roses nickname for her, he couldn’t say it. Rose must have seen the feral expression on her face, because she patted her shoulder. “Don’t bite ‘im love. He means well.”

Hmph. Amy thought that was complete nonsense, but she didn’t say so. She laid down the sketch pad and pencils carefully, before running into the tiled room. “What do you want?” She snapped at Jack, arms crossed across her chest. “I’m very busy, I'll have you know.”

“I’m sure you are, but this is important.” His tone was dead serious. Amy narrowed her eyes.

“Are you sure sure?”

“Positive,” he deadpanned. He motioned for her to move closer, and Amy did with a healthy amount of caution.

When she was close enough, he dropped to his knees, and whispered to her, “I need to know,” He leaned in closer, and she subconsciously did the same. “Did Rose and the Doctor finally get their crap together and kiss?”

Okay that was not the question she’d been expecting. Amy’s eyebrows furrowed. “‘Crap is a rude word.”

Jack put his hands up as if being arrested. “Right, right, sorry, let me try again.” He cleared his throat. “Ahem. Did Rose and the Doctor kiss?”

Amy sighed like a mortgage owner, and slumped against the cupboard doors dramatically. “No. They’re totally in love though.”

Jack followed suit, and sat next to her. “Oh yeah. Have been since I met them.”

“Really?” Amy's eyes felt like they were bugging out of her head. “How long have you known them?”

“‘Bout four years give or take.” He said, but his eyes told a different story Amy couldn't decipher. She gave up, and threw her head back.

“It’s so stupid, ‘cos I was able to get them to be together for a bit in Newstead, but then everything blew up.”

Jack cocked his head. “Whatcha mean by that pumpkin?”

Amy sighed again, and with that she explained the whole ordeal. The Family, their little family, and even Evie, she didn’t leave a single detail out, and when she was done, she turned back to Jack.

He looked thoroughly impressed.

“Wow kid, you did more in ten months than I managed to in five years,” he chuckled, shaking his head in wonderment. “How’d Rose react when she found out you’d set them up?”

Amy's silence must have given her away, because after a minute he whistled. “You haven't told her? Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Amy admitted truthfully. “Kinda forgot I did it until the Doctor turned back ta himself.”

Jack nodded sagely. “Forgetting good deeds happens to the best of us. You think you’ll tell her?”

Amy found her head shaking itself. “I can’t. What if she gets mad at me?”

Jack's eyes were soft. “I think she won’t stay mad for long. Can’t be worse than the time I hid all her makeup around the TARDIS. She spent a week straight looking for her favourite foundation, she slapped me when she found it in the Doctors study.”

Amy’s peals of laughter bounced off of the tiled surfaces of the kitchen as she bumped her shoulder with Jacks. He was much less suspicious than she’d thought, and maybe someone she could call a friend.

A sound Amy had come to know and love rang out from the courtyard; the TARDIS was back! She leapt up, dragging Jack with her, and ran out into the living room.

“Rose, Rose, Rose, Gran, Rose, Gran, Gran, Gran the Doctor's back!” She blurted, too excited to put together a better sentence. “Can we take Jack with us?”

Rose looked the duo up and down, a bewildered smile on her face. “Quick turn around Ames, what changed your mind?”

Jack and Amy shared a look before he spoke. “We’ve got some very similar… opinions? Shall we say.”

Amy giggled conspiratorially at that, and Rose shrugged. “Alright, don’t tell me then ya silly geese.” Amy cackled again at that, and Rose turned to her mother. “See ya in a couple of weeks then?”

“Oh c’mere you,” Jackie demanded, drawing all three of her visitors into a hug. When she released them, she adopted a stern expression. “Stay safe, okay loves? You can always bring Amy back ta crash ‘ere if ya need.” Rose nodded. “And you,” Jackie said, turning her gaze on Jack. “Feel free ta visit my flat anytime you want handsome.”

Jack waggled his eyebrows. “It would be my pleasure—”

“Aaaaaand we’re leaving now, bye mum!” Rose cut in, hurriedly pulling Jack outside. Amy trailed behind, shouldering her pink backpack, listening to their hushed conversation.

“Jack, you can’t sleep with my mother,” Rose hissed. “I swear to god—”

“Chill Rosie, I was just flirting,” he protested. “Although, the idea of you calling me step daddy—”

“JACK!” Rose gasped in mock outrage. “There’s a child present.”

Jack shrugged, and flashed a wink at Amy. “Can’t be worse than exposing her to all that tension aboard the TARDIS eh?”

“Oh not you too,” Rose groaned, rubbing her eyes. “What's the harm in flirtin’ among friends? You’d know,” she groused. Jack rolled his eyes at Amy, making her giggle.

They arrived at the TARDIS, and when they entered the console room, a blur of tweed and bowtie accosted them. “Hello! Missed you two, long time no see— ah hello Captain! I felt your presence the moment I landed and— MMMF!”

To Amy's absolute disgust, Jack accosted the Doctor, kissing him the same way he had tried to with Rose. Amy intervened immediately.

“Stop kissing my parents!” She admonished, shoving between the two men with a growl. "It's gross!"

“Yeah, I’ll second that,” the Doctor muttered, making a show of wiping his lips. “Right. Not to be rude, but what exactly are you doing here?”

Jack shrugged, and motioned to Amy. “Your kiddo was insistent about my coming on a trip, and I figure my team can chug along for a couple of days without my help.” He winked at the Doctor devilishly, and slung an arm around his shoulder. “It’ll be just like the old times.”

At that, the Doctor smiled. “Welcome aboard Captain.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The quartet made a short trip to Barcelona that afternoon, where both Amy and Rose were delighted to find that there were indeed noseless dogs. Rose cooed over them, taking countless photos, and Amy grew rather attached to a little puppy. Amy begged the Doctor to bring him back with them to the TARDIS, but after he reminded her she would be the one picking up his poo, she swiftly reneged her request.

Afternoon turned to evening, they bought dinner, and upon return to the TARDIS, Amy asked if they could watch Frozen, her very favourite Disney movie which hadn’t technically come out in her timeline yet. Jack and Amy sang along, loudly and off key, and all in all it was an excellent evening.

After the film, Rose helped ready Amy for bed, leaving the Doctor and Jack to catch up. Amy mumbled something about a bedtime story, but her words were mostly indecipherable. She showered, and brushed her teeth before snuggling down into her sunflower coloured duvet. Rose tucked her in properly, before running a hand through Amy's smooth red hair.

“Good day?” She asked, and Amy nodded enthusiastically.

“The best! I like Jack,” she declared. Rose was a little confused about when her feelings had changed, but ultimately she didn’t want to jinx it. Amy was temperamental at best, and a win was a win.

“I’m glad. What did he need ya for in the kitchen?” Rose asked, brushing a strand of hair from the girl's face. Amy wiggled a bit in the bed, as if trying to get comfortable.

“He asked me if you and the Doctor had kissed yet,” Amy replied. Rose frowned, but before she could reply, Amy continued. “I jus’ told him about Newstead. He thought it was funny.”

Of course he did Rose thought. Captain incapable of leaving well alone

“Course he’d laugh at that. Prolly thinks it's funny, the TARDIS meddlin’ in my love life, makin’ me play house with the Doctor.”

The TARDIS bells whistled at that, sharp reproachful tones, all whilst her lights flickered furiously. It was almost as if she were vehemently denying the accusations, but who else could have…

Oh.

Oh no. Surely not. And yet…

Rose's eyes came to rest on Amy.

Amy who was uncharacteristically silent, refusing to make eye contact. Rose's hand froze in the girl's hair. Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Is there something you want ta tell me Amy?”

“No, nothing at all,” Amy replied, a little too quickly for Roses liking.

Rose took a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. She could be calm about this, right? “Did you or did you not have anything ta do with the Doctor thinkin’ I was his wife?”

After a moment of silence, Amy spoke. “I did.” She jutted her chin in the air defiantly, looking directly at Rose. “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rose closed her eyes, and blew out her deep breath.

Trying to maintain a semblance of composure, she spoke slowly, not trusting herself to stay calm if she didn’t think carefully about every single word coming from her lips. “Amy, I love you a lot, but right now, you’re wrong. What you did was not right.”

“You love him!” Amy fumed, throwing her hands in the air with a furious snarl, the duvet flying back with the force of her action. “You do, don’t tell me I’m wrong!”

Rose felt her cheeks flush bright red, although she fought the sensation down. Hopefully Amy's room was sound proof, but she was too angry to put particular thought into caring about that. “That's besides the point! Whether or not I— whether or not we— either way, you shouldn’ta messed with my life like that!”

Amy's eyes were shiny with a bullish glint Rose saw in the mirror, and in that instant she knew there was no escaping a full blown fight. She briefly wondered if this was how Jackie had felt, trying to parent her own headstrong self. “Didn’t you like kissing him? I saw you two dancing in Newstead, and you seemed happ—”

“That wasn’t HIM AMY.” Rose snapped, her voice louder than it had ever been before. Amy shrunk away from Rose, fear in her eyes, but Rose wasn’t capable of seeing that in her state of complete rage.

“He was a SHELL OF HIMSELF, and kissing him HURT ME INSIDE because I didn’t know whether he’d still want me or not when ‘e came BACK!” A wet line traced itself down Rose's cheek, and she wiped it away harshly with the back of her hand. “If he threw me out of the TARDIS I wouldn’t have anywhere ta go, and I don’t—”

Little arms encircled Rose's waist as Amy threw herself at her. Rose's cotton sleep shirt began to feel damp as she realised the girl was crying. “I’m sorry.” Amy sniffed, voice muffled by the material. “I jus—just wanted to he—help you.”

Without hesitation, Rose's arms encircled her. No matter how furious Amy may have made her feel, she was just a kid with no real idea of how the world worked. Rose could relate, at Amy's age she’d been much wilder, unable to comprehend the fact her actions had consequences.

“I know love. I know.” Rose hummed against the top of the girl's head, while running soothing circles on her back. “I forgive you.”

Amy pulled back, her eyes red and swollen with tears. “I jus—” she hiccupped on the word, but powered on. “I just wanted a mum and dad.”

Oh. Oh.

It was with that admission, the last dregs of Roses' fury faded. After all, hadn’t she made a similarly horrific mistake with her own father in her early days travelling with the Doctor? Hadn’t she meddled with the fabric of the universe to bring him back?

“I know how you feel Ames.” Rose admitted. “Been there. Done that. Not the same, but… same in outcomes yeah?”

Rose waited for Amy to nod before she kicked off her shoes, and settled down onto the bed, holding the little girl to her chest.

“It all started in 1987, when I went ta see my dad the day he died…”

Chapter Text

Three weeks passed with Jack aboard the TARDIS, and Amy was loving it. Having a fun uncle was underrated in her books, especially one who’s doting energy rivalled Jackie’s, and despite knowing he would have to leave at some point, she hoped that day would never come.

They had a time machine after all, couldn't they all just stay the same forever?

During those three precious weeks Jack took over the task of telling Amy's bedtime stories, regaling her with tales of Torchwood and his life as a time agent. His storytelling abilities could rival the Doctor's own, although the content was slightly less censored much to Rose’s dismay, and Amy learnt several new swear words she was careful not to tell her pseudo parents about.

This acted as a bonding time for the pair, within which they would scheme up ways to get Rose and the Doctor together. Unfortunately, all of their well thought out plans were continuously thwarted, and Amy had a sneaky suspicion the TARDIS may be behind it due to the unsubtle “STOP MEDDLING” sign she received on her door in Gallifreyan on week two of Jack staying with them. She, with all of her nine years of wisdom, elected to ignore it.

Unfortunately though, as Amy had feared, their time together did indeed have to come to an end. Jack had duties to uphold at Torchwood, and at the end of a fabulous three weeks he requested to be dropped home to Cardiff, a few days or so after they’d picked him up in London.

Amy, who was a devious little thing as illustrated with the Newstead debacle, had not learned her lesson in meddling despite both the written warning from the TARDIS and the consequences she had faced, and thus she concocted a sneaky plan to keep Jack with them for just a little bit longer.

During the three weeks Jack was with them, the Doctor had made good on his promise to teach both Amy and Rose about many of the TARDIS functions, including the names and roles of most of the basic levers and buttons; he’d even shown Amy exactly how to set their destination.

This proved to be his downfall, because when the Doctor turned his back after setting the coordinates for Jack's return home, Amy leapt at the chance, and pretending as if she’d stumbled she set the date time regulator to random.

There. That should do the trick.

The Doctor, being the Doctor, of course didn’t check their coordinates until they were stepping off of the time ship out into definitely not Cardiff. Internally, Amy was glowing. Her plan had worked, however she’d better make sure not to get caught now. Amy carefully schooled her features into a confused mask, not wanting to clue anyone in on her cunning, before realising no one was paying her any attention at all.

Jack raised an eyebrow, looking around. “I’d say thanks for the ride Doctor, but this isn’t looking much like twenty-first century Cardiff.”

An offended splutter came from the console room, and moments later the Doctor strode out the door. “My driving is impeccable, I guarantee this is—” He stopped, and took a proper look. “Ah. This is not Cardiff. Not Cardiff in any sense of the word.”

Rose poked her head out after him. “Maybe I should drive next time, might have a shot at getting ta where we’re going hmm?”

The Doctor turned on his heel, a scandalised expression on his face as she smiled at him, tongue in teeth. “You barely know where the brakes are!”

Rose shrugged, pushing past him into the new environment. “Says you.” She looked around the room, her eyes wide. “This place looks abandoned. Anyone on board?”

“Nah.” The Doctor replied, sounding remarkably like his previous incarnation. “Well, probably not. Hmm. Better scan just in case, back in a tick!”

A couple of moments later, the Doctor reappeared. “Nothing dangerous, but there is something well… strange? About this ship. We’ve got a ton of repair work going on here, but that's rather odd, see, cause all the warp engines are going. Full capacity. There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving, so where is all that power going?”

Rose’s eyebrows furrowed. “An’ we haven’t seen any crew.”

“No life signatures onboard.” The Doctor verified, pulling his screwdriver out to run over a nearby panel. “Not even a wink.”

Jack’s nose wrinkled. “Eugh, what's that smell? I bet it's almost as bad as Nanna Jackie's cooking, eh Pumpkin?” He looked down to where Amy should have been standing, ready to giggle at his awful joke.

Amy was not there. Ah. Jack's megawatt grin faded. “Has anyone seen Amy?”

The trio searched the room, but to their dismay Amy was nowhere to be found. The Doctor sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, a tick of this regeneration. “Typical. Did you train her specifically to wander off Rose, or was it a happy coincidence?”

“She didn’t ever wander off before Jack got here!” Rose snapped back, taking off down a corridor at such a quick pace the Doctor had to jog to catch up with her. Jack strolled after them, listening to them bicker.

“May I remind you of Cera three?”

“The fish were rainbow, you can’t expect a nine year old not to follow them!”

“Alpha centauri space station, twenty eight century, not fiftieth, she managed not to wander off that time.”

“She found the prince we were looking for!”

“Earth two thousand and seven.”

Rose paused. “She…got lost?”

The Doctor turned to her, triumphant. “HAH! Face it Rose, Amy looks up to you, you wander off ergo encouraging her to copy your behaviour! It's simple observational learning—”

“Don’t throw Bandura theory at me!”

Jack thought their squabbling would make for excellent white noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy had indeed wandered off. It was in the job description as one of the Doctor's companions, how could she not?

And besides, this was exciting, a brand new spaceship to explore! It did smell rather odd, almost like a barbeque, but Amy brushed it off. It was probably just some fifty-first century oil or something, who could know or care, and besides, she wasn’t exactly about to go and ask the Doctor to identify it.

Onwards it was.

Amy made quick work of the lengthy halls of the ship, using her limited freedom wisely. She probably didn’t have long until the Doctor found her, and she wanted to see everything she possibly could in that short amount of time.

She couldn’t really explain why she’d wandered off, the Doctor and Rose never tried to leash her explorations like Aunt Sharon had, but there was just something about exploring on your own without a watchful eye over your shoulder that tickled Amy's fancy. It was just more fun without adults, and besides, how unsafe could a fifty-first century ship be? It wasn’t like there were aliens on board anyways, surely she would have seen one by now!

Eventually, Amy reached a very strange little room. Mechanical parts littered the floor, almost as if a robot with gastro had spewed them out both ends and that sickening smell was seemingly stronger, like someone had dialled it up to ten, but neither of those held her attention for very long once she noticed the far side of the room.

On the very furthest wall a fireplace stood, the flames flickering like they did in the TARDIS library.

Wait… if the fire was going…

Then who’d lit it?

Amy scrunched her nose up, determined to figure that out. It was time to do some detective work.

Cautiously, Amy approached. On her way, she recalled a piece of advice Rose had given her in the form of a bedtime story involving a skin flap of a woman and possession: always find a weapon in suspicious circumstances. She picked up one of the long metal bolts from the floor, hefted it in her hands and when she was satisfied she stashed it in her belt. Better safe than sorry.

The fireplace seemed mostly normal, if a little extravagant for a fifty first century space ship, although honestly it could be the norm for all Amy knew, but upon closer inspection she realised that all was not right.

There was no back panel to the fireplace.

Instead, as she leaned in closer, she found to her surprise that behind the fireplace there appeared to be another room, and it was not empty.

Amy jumped as its inhabitant locked eyes with her. “What are you doing in my fireplace?” The beautiful girl asked, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. She approached the fireplace and knelt, heedless of the coal dust that now stained her pretty white nightgown.

“I er— routine fireplace check?” Amy squeaked, trying to compose herself. “What's your name?”

The blonde girl sat up primly and brushed her nightgown with both hands. “I’m Reinette! What about you miss fireplace inspector? What's your name?”

“I’m Amy. Pond. Amelia Pond,” Amy replied. “Where are you Reinette?” Maybe if she asked some more questions and got some good answers, the Doctor might be so proud of her he’d forget to be mad about the wandering off business. “And when? When and where?”

The other girl cocked her head and laughed, a bell like noise. “Why miss, this is Paris seventeen hundred and twenty seven!”

Amy counted backwards in her head.

One, two, three…

Three hundred years before she’d been born!

While Amy was processing the frankly shocking information, Reinette’s head snapped around, as if she were listening intently. After a moment, she turned back to Amy. “You must go! My mother approaches, and I am pretending to sleep! Goodnight strange fireplace girl!”

Hurriedly, Reinette ran to her bed, and Amy followed suit, running to the side of the fireplace, as if to hide from Reinette's mother. This was so weird.

Amy waited for a minute.

Then two.

Maybe Reinettes mother would be gone now?

Amy found her hand fiddling with a strange carving on the side of the fireplace while she waited. It was of some kind of flower she supposed, maybe a daisy?

Then her finger slipped, and the fireplace began to rotate. Amy managed to keep herself from screeching as she was deposited into Reinette's bedroom.

The other little girl was asleep, limbs flung about haphazardly in her bed. Somewhere, a clock was ticking, and then came a gasp.

“Wait wait wait, don’t scream!” Amy warned, turning around quickly, her hands in the air. “Just me! Amy, we were talking a minute or so ago?”

There was a pervasive ticking noise in the room, a soundscape to their conversation. Amy ignored it.

Reinette's eyebrows were drawn together as she took the other little girl in. “That was months ago! How’d you do that?”

Amy looked back at the fireplace, her own frown on her face. “I don’t exactly know…”

Her eye caught on the clock.

It was broken. She swallowed harshly. “Okay, that's scary.”

Reinette giggled. “Are you really scared of a broken clock?”

That was a little rude, Amy thought. “Yes!” She declared hotly, balling up her fists. “If it’s broken, then what's ticking?”

Silence fell, the only sound in the room now that unidentifiable ticking noise. Reinette's eyes widened. “I… I don’t know," she whispered, and Amy pursed her lips.

“Makes sense. Break the clock so no one notices the two noises, but what's making the ticking then?”

Amy began to poke around the room, searching for the source of the sound. Reinette watched on with interest, her head resting on her tucked knees.

Behind the curtains? No, too easy. In the closet? Nothing but shoes and dresses. Next to the fireplace? Nada.

Amy was beginning to think she was a pretty rubbish investigator when one final idea struck her. “Nette, can you keep your arms and legs on the bed for me?”

Reinette's eyebrows drew together. “I can. And my names Reinette.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “Kay ‘Nette.”

Ignoring the other little girl's protests, Amy took the bolt she’d stashed from her belt and poked it under the bed carefully. Something knocked it from her hands, and Amy sat up carefully. “Stay on the bed, and don’t look ‘round," she warned, carefully climbing up to sit with the blonde girl.

Behind her, stood a man. He was ticking ominously, his mask an unnatural stretched smile reminiscent of Evie's face. Amy tried to breathe normally.

She was never wandering off again.

Chapter Text

For a moment, or maybe it was an eon, Amy and the thing stared at each other. Its face made from carved wood was deeply unnerving and became more and more so the longer she looked. Eventually, she managed to wrench her stare from its cold dead eyes, afraid her soul may be siphoned with the contact.

“Who are you?” Amy asked, her voice coming out more whispery than she would have liked. The creature didn’t respond. “What do you want with ‘Nette?” She tried again, but only received the same treatment.

Without Amy's questions, the room was silent but for the ominous tick tocking coming from the man. “What… What do you want with me?” Reinette demanded haughtily after a moment, although her voice caught on the words, ruining the effect.

For some strange reason, it seemed Reinette's words triggered the droid as its head swivelled at her voice, one ticking cog at a time. Amy huffed. Wasn’t she good enough? “You are incomplete.”

Reinette stuck her nose in the air. “I am not ‘incomplete’!” She huffed. “What do you mean by that monsieur?”

Instead of answering verbally, the thing lifted its arm revealing a razor sharp blade attached at the wrist. Reinette whimpered involuntarily. “Amy, what do we do?”

In an instant Amy reached forwards and grasped the other girl's hand tightly in her own. “We run. Come on!”

Amy pulled Reinette from her bed, and pushed her towards the fireplace, keeping herself between the monster and the other little girl. They reached the ornate thing in a matter of moments, but where was the button to send them back?

Reientte cowered at the fireplace too terrified to move, but although Amy wanted to join her, she couldn't afford to be afraid. Rose always said that only one person at any given time was allowed to panic, and Amy supposed it was Reinette's turn.

The thing was coming after them now, its jerking footsteps slow but steadily approaching, and Amy still couldn’t find the button. “Amy, it is nearly here!” Reinette cried.

It loomed over the girls now, and as its razorblade began its ascent, Amy couldn’t help it. She screamed for the Doctor.

“DAD!”

Amy pressed back into the wall, and something went click.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt like hours since they’d seen Amy, although logically Rose knew it had only been about ten minutes. She couldn’t help but worry for the TARDIS’s youngest companion, especially aboard a strange futuristic ship, and hoped they’d find her soon.

The Doctor was uncharacteristically silent, their conversation having petered out as they entered yet another room with no sign of Amy. Rose sighed, and leant back against the doorframe, resting her heavy fire extinguisher against the floor.

The trio had happened across some fire extinguishers a while back, and Jack had convinced both Rose and the Doctor to carry one in case of hostile forces. Despite the face the Doctor had pulled at the suggestion, Rose thought it prudent to have some kind of weapon, and so here they were. Lugging heavy bits of possibly useless metal throughout a strange ship.

Altogether, a really fun time.

“Where could she possibly have gone?” Jack whined, kicking at a piece of scrap metal on the floor. “She’s practically pint sized, how far could she get?”

“You’d be surprised at how adept Amy is at wandering off,” the Doctor replied. “She learned from the best.”

Rose was just about to snap back at him again and rekindle their previous argument when the strangest thing happened.

The fireplace began to move.

Rose could only stand and stare as it rotated, revealing a terrifying scene.

Amy was splayed against the fireplace, terror in her eyes as some strange monster loomed above her, a razor held high. Another little girl cowered at her feet, but Rose barely registered her, too focused on Amy.

The razor began it’s swift descent, and Rose screeched. “AMY MOVE!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roses voice broke through Amy’s frozen brain, and she snapped out of her stupor, dodging to the left.

A snick sounded, telling Amy she’d just lost some hair, but she supposed that was better than a limb. The razorblade lodged into the wall right where her head had been, and as she gazed at it she became aware of each and every one of her breaths. What would it be like to never breathe again she wondered, how long would her brain function without air? Would she have felt the blade or would it have been too quick to process?

The Doctor cut through her morbid musings like buter. “Duck!” He ordered, aiming his fire extinguisher like a gun, directly at the thing.

Amy grabbed Reinettes hand and pulled her away swiftly.

With a grim look on his face the Doctor blasted the droid with a stream of cold air, freezing it in place.

For a moment, the only sound Amy could hear was her rabbit heart racing like mad from the adrenaline rush of the past few minutes. She let out a breath, and the hissing sound of the air leaving her lungs seemed to jolt the room into action.

“Thank you monsieur!” Reinette cried, pulling herself from Amy's grip and flinging herself into the Doctor's arms. “You saved us!”

Amy thought that was a little rude as she’d been the one to move the fireplace, but left it alone, instead moving to hold Rose's hand.

The Doctor awkwardly patted Reinette on the back before gingerly peeling her off of his lanky frame. “Err, yes, very welcome. Small question, what on earth are you doing on this ship?”

Reinette looked about curiously, her head cocked. “What ship monsieur?”

Amy broke in at that moment, eager to show off what she’d learnt to the Doctor. “She’s not from here.” She exclaimed, before pointing towards the fireplace. “She came through there, from France seventeen hundred!”

“Seventeen hundred?” Rose repeated, her eyebrows practically in her hairline. Amy nodded.

“I think we found the rip you were talking about Doc,” Jack said, kneeling to look through the fireplace. “But why punch a hole into pre-revolutionary France?”

“Monsieur, what is going on?” Reinette pleaded, more than a little confused at the rapid techno-babble surrounding her. Amy could relate.

The Doctor ignored the little girl's question, his lack of eyebrows furrowing into a concerned grimace as he took her face in his hands. He stared into her eyes, seemingly searching for something. “Good question Jack. Even better question, why her? What’s in your spindly little human brain?”

“Are they looking for something?” Amy wondered aloud.

The Doctor suddenly dropped his hands from Reinette's face, and turned on his heel to face the droid. “You were scanning her brain! Whatever for? She’s just a little girl!”

The droid remained motionless, but as the ice had long since dripped away, Amy suspected an act. The Doctor grit his teeth and advanced on it, sonic waving about. “Well?”

“They only answer to ‘Nette,” Amy supplied helpfully, toying with a bracelet on Rose's hand. “She’s special or something.”

“Could you please ask the droid what they want with you?” Rose asked, her tone similarly sweet as to when she was trying to get Amy to eat her greens.

Reinette pursed her lips, but at the Doctors encouraging nod, she turned to the droid. “What do you want from me?”

“You are incomplete,” it intoned, before disappearing into thin air.

“Where did it go?” Reinette gasped, grabbing onto the Doctors jacket sleeve again in fright.

His expression was grim. “I don’t know, but we need to find out.” He clapped his hands, and the manic grin was back. “Righteo, I’m going to send our new little friend back through the fireplace before we figure out exactly where that thing went. Capiche?”

He screwed up his nose at the word, and turned to Rose. “Don’t ever let me say that word again.” Rose mock saluted him, and he turned to Amy, still muttering. “Capiche, what was I thinking? Ahem. Amy, could you show me how you and Reinette came back to the ship?”

Amy's chest puffed up just a little bit at his question. The Doctor was asking for her help! She couldn’t afford to disappoint him. “Course!” She took his hand and led him to the fireplace, explaining the mechanism. “One of these daisies has a button in it, and when you press it it makes the whole thing move.”

The Doctor, careful not to stand too close to the ornate decoration, pressed the button and the group watched the fireplace rotate in front of their eyes. When it stopped moving, he pushed Reinette forwards. “Right, hold on tight.”

Before he could jab the button, Reinette put a hand on his arm, stilling him. “Must I go? This world is so interesting, and I do not wish to leave.” She leaned in closer, and whimpered. “And what if there are more of those creatures beneath my bed?”

The Doctor smiled tightly. “Don’t fret, this was only a dream. Sleep well!”

In a matter of seconds, he disengaged the little girl and pressed the button, sending her back to her own timestream. A small stab of disappointment flared in Amy's chest at the loss of her new friend, although the way Reinette had been looking at the Doctor…

The stars in her eyes reflected like Mels gazing at her Tom Cruise poster, and it made Amy a little uncomfortable. Yes, she decided, it was better for her to go before things could escalate in that direction, there was only one person who should be looking at the Doctor like that.

The Doctor clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. “Right, we need to figure out where our problem got to, and if he’s got any friends aboard ship. We’ll split up, Jack and Amy, you take—”

“What about Reinette?” Amy interrupted. “What if there's more monsters hiding in her room?”

“She’ll be alright pumpkin,” Jack replied, patting her shoulder. “The Doctor wouldn’t have sent her back if it wasn’t safe.”

“Erm actually, Amy's probably right,” the Doctor admitted after a beat, one hand coming up to scratch his neck. “I may have been a little hasty in my decision to send her back.”

Rose raised a knowing eyebrow. “Were you embarrassed hmm?”

“About what?” The Doctor spluttered.

“Reinette was clearly enamoured with you!” Rose crowed, dramatically flinging a hand across her temple. “Oh monsieur, you saved me, hold my hand, look into my eyes.” She blinked up at him with ridiculous puppy dog eyes, making Jack laugh as well, and the Doctor scowl.

“That's ridiculous, you can’t fall in love with someone you just met.” Amy declared, crossing her arms across her chest. The Doctor nodded sagely.

“Yes yes, Amy’s right, Rose is being ridiculous,” he sniffed. “Right, you lot stay here while I check in on Reinette and for the love of everything, don’t wander off.”

Amy and Jack locked eyes briefly. There was no way they would be following that particular instruction, although if they were quick enough, maybe the Doctor wouldn’t have to know…

“Righteo, back in a mo.” Without ceremony, the Doctor pressed the daisy and was transported back in time.

Silence reigned for a moment. “Sooooo what are we going to do?” Rose teased, full well knowing what Amy’s answer would be.

Amy couldn’t contain the feral grin on her face. “We’re going to wander off.”

Chapter Text

As the fireplace turned, the Doctor couldn’t help but pray to every deity he could think of that his troublesome companions would obey his instructions for once in their lives. Unfortunately, he doubted that any force could contain both Amy and Rose's apparent instinct for wandering off, supernatural or otherwise.

Oh well.

The fireplace jolted to a stop, depositing the Doctor into a room that seemed rather… decadent for a child. He frowned, and looked about, carefully stepping off the rotating section of the floor. “Reinette?” He called softly, picking up a porcelain trinket from where it sat upon the fireplace. “Are you there Charlie Bear?”

“And what, pray monsieur, is a ‘Charlie Bear’?”

The lilting voice came from behind the Doctor, and he whirled around to see a stunning young woman standing in the doorway, clothed in a richly embroidered golden gown. One eyebrow was peaked in an expression of vague bemusement, and as she curtseyed, a pang of recognition raced down the Doctor’s spine. He dropped the porcelain thing in fright, although managed to catch it before it shattered on the wooden floor. The woman laughed, a musical sound, and the Doctors felt a red flush raise across his cheeks.

“Ah yes, hello, erm.” He placed the porcelain ornament back on the fireplace to avoid further accidents. “Are you there Charlie bear is a saying from— nevermind. I’m looking for Reinette? This isn’t her room anymore is it, I’ve been away, I’m not sure for how long and I—”

An older woman's voice interrupted him from another room. “Reinette, we are ready to go!”

The woman in front of him turned her head. “Go to the carriage mama, I will join you there.”

The Doctor's mind reeled with the information. This was Reinette? But how? Hadn’t she been a small child only minutes ago?

She turned back to him, her original bemused expression in place. “It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one's childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence.” Reinette walked a little closer, and the Doctor was finally able to speak.

“Reinette! You’ve grown quite a bit! How long has it been?”

“Does it matter? I have aged, and you have not.” She grinned cheekily at him, stopping short of his personal space, but barely. “How tremendously impolite of you.”

Was she flirting with him? The Doctor shoved that frankly ridiculous thought aside, and fiddled with his bowtie. “Err, yes, sorry.” She raised a teasing eyebrow. “Listen, lovely to catch up, but better be off, eh? Can’t imagine what your mother would think, finding you here with a strange man—”

“Strange?” Reinette cut in, advancing on him further until they were almost nose to nose. “How could you be strange to me? I have known you since I was seven years old.”

She put her hands on his chest, as if testing how real he was, although her fingers danced across his shirt in a way that the Doctor was certain was unnecessary. She leaned in closer until their faces were only inches apart. “You appear to be flesh and blood, but reason tells me you cannot exist.”

“Oh you never want to listen to reason," the Doctor breathed, momentarily caught up in her woven words.

The moment was broken when a man, possibly her servant, came through the door behind them. “Mademoiselle, your mother grows impatient.”

Reientte pulled away, but her hands lingered on the Doctor's chest. “A moment.” Her servant bowed, and stepped out of the room. Reinette returned her full attention to the Doctor, looking more predatory than ever. “So many questions, and so little time.”

Her next move really shouldn’t have shocked him, although being oblivious as he was, it did. She yanked the Doctor down by his tweed lapels and kissed him hard, eyes closed in bliss.

The Doctor's brain whited out momentarily, his arms flapping about like a baby bird as his brain processed this unusual, but not unwelcome turn of events, before they settled somewhat comfortably around Reinettes waist.

“Mademoiselle Poisson!” The servant yelled. “You will be late!”

Reinette broke the kiss, staring deep into the Doctor's eyes, before darting from the room without another word.

The Doctor's mind reeled as he said her name again and again. “Poisson? Reinette Poisson? Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France? Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan, fantastic gardener!”

The servant reentered, his expression unamused. “Who the hell are you?”

The Doctor whirled around, grabbing the man's shoulders in an ecstatic state. “I’m the Doctor and I just snogged Madame de Pompadour!”

With that, he bounded back to the fireplace, limbs askew like a baby horse, before pressing the daisy. He disappeared, leaving Reinettes poor servant extremely confused.

Upon reaching the other side, the Doctor called out for his companions. “Rose! Amy! Jack!”

Nothing but silence greeted him, and although the Doctor wasn’t surprised, he was a little miffed they hadn’t followed his rather simple directions. “Every damn time,” he mumbled, crossing the room in five lengthy strides. “Can’t just one of you follow my instructions? Rule one, don’t wander off. Could be anything on this ship. Hmph.”

Exiting the room, the Doctor found his point proven as he came across a white horse. Raising an eyebrow, he stared at the horse. “Have you seen my companions by any chance? There's three of them, a pretty blonde one, a small feral redhead and an American jackass?”

The horse, being a horse, naturally did not reply. The Doctor sighed. “Right. Fancy a wander?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy led the pack, racing down the hall with a spring in her step. Rose and Jack took a slower pace, although were able to keep up with the small child easily as her curiosity continued to distract her. Endless cries of “Jack look!” and “Rose what is that?” and “Can the TARDIS make me a room like this!?” Echoed around the metallic hallway, creating a soundtrack of delight that pleased both Jack and Rose to no end.

Suddenly, a security camera descended from the roof, stopping inches from Amy's face. Her mouth dropped open. “Woahhhhh, can you see me?” Amy yelled, pressing her eye nearly flush against it.

Her unusual interest in the thing allowed Rose and Jack the time to catch up, Rose sincerely hoping that it was just a regular old fifty-first security camera, but when they reached Amy she was sorely disappointed.

“It’s got a human eye Rose!” Amy said, her own big brown eyes huge as she reached up to touch the thing. “Isn’t that cool?”

“Not cool Ames!” Rose hissed, slapping the girls hand away from the camera. “Whered’ya think they got the eye from?”

“A human eye store?” Amy tried, Rose’s point sailing over her head like a football.

“Not quite pumpkin,” Jack said, listening intently at the wall. After a moment, he carefully pried off one of its panels, allowing the three of them to peer inside cautiously.

“What’s that in the middle?” Amy asked. “It’s all wired up and… moving?”

Rose swallowed before answering. “I think it’s a human heart.”

The hallway was silent but for the now morbid sound of the beating. After a moment, Amy spoke, her voice almost a squeak. “Okay. Not cool.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So if they had a human eye and a human heart, where’d they get them?” Amy asked, still clearly unnerved ten minutes later. “Are you sure there’s no human body parts store? Not anywhere in the galaxy?”

“It’s called the black market," Jack mumbled, but a look from Rose swiftly shut him up.

“I dunno Ames,” Rose continued. “You could try askin’ the Doctor? He might know.”

Before Amy could reply, the trio happened across a massive window, right before the curve in the walkway. It had a lever right next to it, and peered into a stunning room with all kinds of elegant paintings and decorations on its walls. Jack whistled at the grandeur, leaning up against the wall as he did. “France again I suppose?”

“I think we’re lookin’ through a mirror," Rose hypothesised. “‘S the only thing I can think of big enough ta warrant all this glass.”

“So who's that guy?” Amy asked, her nose scrunched up. “He looks weird.”

“That my dear is the king of France.” Amy’s head snapped around at the Doctor's voice.

“Doctor!”

“Oh here's trouble.” Rose grinned her tongue-touched grin Amy never saw outside of the Doctor's presence. “What’ve you been up to?”

The Doctor waggled his eyebrows, and shoved his hands deep into his pocket. “Oh you know, the usual. Wandered about, became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat, snogged her against a wall for good measure.”

It was at that moment Amy noticed Rose's usual cheerful expression freeze in place, as if she’d been paused by some remote. Amy frowned and tried to take Rose's hand, but she was completely ignored.

A pang of hurt shot through Amy, but before she could figure out what she had done so wrong, the Doctor stopped suddenly, and pointed at the horse. “Oh! And I found a horse.”

“What's a horse doing on a spaceship?” Jack queried.

“Jack, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective," the Doctor scoffed. "See these?" He tapped what could only be a mirror in front of them with the end of his sonic. "They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history.”

At that moment a stunning young woman entered the room, porcelain smile on her face. The Doctor's eyes softened. “Her history. Time windows arranged meticulously along the life of this incredible woman, and one has to ask themselves why?”

“Who is she?” Roses tone grated on Amy's ears like a car tire on gravel.

The Doctor took no notice and responded to her question, still staring all doe-eyed at Reinette. Amy scrunched her nose up at the display, thinking it rather gross. How hard was it for the Doctor to keep his puppy dog eyes to himself, and especially when they weren’t fixed on Rose. “That there is Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette, or more fondly ‘Nette.” Amy jumped at the mention of the nickname she’d given Reinette, but didn’t interrupt. “She was one of, if not the most accomplished women to ever exist.”

Rose seemed to shut down even further at his insinuations.

“She has plans on being Queen yeah?” Jack enquired after the moment of silence stretched just too long.

“Oh no no, Louis already has a Queen,” the Doctor assured. “No, Reinette wants to be his mistress.”

“Oh I get it, Camilla then,” Rose snarked, anger barely restrained. “Comin’ in and stealin’ him for herself.”

For some strange reason, Amy felt as if the conversation was no longer about Reinette.

“I think this is the night they met,” the Doctor continued, ignoring Rose in favour of a history ramble. “The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title. Madame de Pompadour.”

Reinette approached the mirror, walking up to where Rose stood, and fixed her hair directly in front of the other woman. Rose’s eyes met Reinettes' unseeing ones, a strange expression on her face. “Bet the Queen loved her eh?” Her voice was quieter than usual, but the Doctor only laughed.

“Sure did! They got along notoriously well.”

“The King’s wife and the King’s girlfriend? Are you sure you didn't hit your head on your way here?” Jack teased.

The Doctor shrugged. “France. A different planet.”

Rose played with her hair absently, mirroring Reinette. “So when you say you snogged a future French aristocrat, you mean her right?”

The Doctor's gaze didn’t shift. “Reinette, yes.”

“Why’d ya—”

“Shush!” The Doctor ordered, silencing the room. “Who’s that in there with her?”

Behind Reinette, near the window stood a woman standing far too still to be human. Immediately, Amy's heart rate sped up as the thing turned to face them. It had the same masquerade mask shape from the one earlier, although it’s colour was different, a deep blue rather than red.

The Doctor wasted no time, yanking Jack's fire extinguisher from his grip before cranking the very convenient lever next to the mirror, rotating it around. Amy scowled at that, recalling the difficult to find daisy button from the fireplace. How hard would it have been for the designers to implicate the lever design in each turntable?

By the time her brain was finished complaining, the mirror had fully shifted, allowing the four of them to enter the room. “Hello Reinette, my doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun?”

Reinette's expression shifted from terror to exuberance as the Doctor approached. “My saviour!”

The Doctor winked at her, and although it only took a moment Amy thought he really should have been more focused on the murderous-creepy-creature problem at hand. He manoeuvred the fire extinguisher around to face the not quite man, and let loose a spray of ice cold air.

The thing froze in place, leaving the room silent but for Reinettes ragged breathing. After a moment, the Doctor stepped forwards, chucking the fire extinguisher back to Jack, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “Righteo, let's get a look at you then shall we?”

Carefully, the Doctor pried the things ugly smiling face from its body to reveal…

Clockwork. At least that explained the ticking from earlier. Amy let out a little breath she hadn’t known she was holding. All in all, the clockwork was a lot less scary than what she’d been imagining. “Aren’t you a beauty?” The Doctor remarked, sounding an awful lot like Steve Irwin. “Stunning craftsmanship that is.”

The clockwork man clearly didn’t appreciate his compliment as it began to groan and creak, ice water flooding from its joints. “Doc, what’s it doing?” Jack asked, his usual suave tone slightly strained.

“Switching back on.” Amy felt the Doctor's voice was far too jovial for the situation. “Melting the ice.”

“And then what?” Rose sounded like she was waiting for the penny to drop.

“Then it kills everyone in the room.”

There it was.

The Doctor clapped his hands together. “Really focuses the mind doesn’t it?” He paced around the droid, as if inspecting it. “Righteo. Awful word, nevermind that. Identify yourself.”

The droid remained stubbornly silent, and Amy felt a brief flash of satisfaction. It wasn’t just her after all! The Doctor’s face fell into a frown, and he turned to Reinette. “Right, go ahead, order it to answer me.”

“Whyever should it listen to me?” Reinette scoffed, hands on her hips.

Amy shrugged. “It did when you were my age, so why wouldn’t it? Can you just try?”

Reinette's haughty posture softened, and she nodded. “Alright.” She turned to the droid, her own mask back in place. “Answer his questions. Answer any and all questions put to you.”

The droid creaked again as if in protest. “I am repair droid seven.”

“Your ship is severely damaged, what happened?” The Doctor asked, folding his hands together.

“Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure.”

“Alright, get that, but here's the thing," the Doctor began, a slight tone of confusion in his voice. “You haven’t moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?”

“We did not have the parts.”

“Classic. Always comes down to the parts,” Jack sighed.

“Alright then, what happened ta the crew?” Rose asked. “They can’t have just disappeared.”

“We did not have the parts.”

Amy was certain they were missing something from the equation, something important. We did not have the parts, what does that mean?

“There should have been over fifty people on a ship this size, so what happened to them?” The Doctor was seemingly trying to connect the dots, but he was still missing something major… a horrifying thought hit Amy.

The eye. The heart. Surely not…

“Fifty people don’t just disappear unless— no.” It seemed the Doctor had reached the same conclusion as Amy.

“They didn’t have the parts, so they used the crew,” Amy whispered. She looked up at Rose, her breakfast threatening to make an appearance. “The camera with the eye.”

“What did you find?”

Jack cleared his throat. “We found a camera with a... a human eye in it, and a heart wired into the engine machinery.”

“That explains the cooking smell,” Rose said, her mouth set in a hard line.

“It was just doing what it was programmed to do. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever, or in this case whoever it could find. No one told them the crew wasn’t on the menu.”

“But what are they doing here?” Reinette begged, eyes wide. “What do you want with me?”

The droid cocked its neck eerily at her voice. “One more part is required. You are incomplete.”

“So what's the plan then? Keep opening windows to see if she’s been completed?” Jack snorted. “It’s a huge waste of energy, not to mention time and resources.”

“Why her?” Rose asked, her brows drawn together in a deep frown. “You coulda taken anyone from all of history, but you chose her. Why?”

“We are the same,” It intoned.

“We are not the same!” Reinette protested, furious at the insinuation. “We are in no sense the same!”

“We are the same.”

“Get out!” Reinette cried, flinging her arm at it. “Get out of here this instant!”

“Reinette, no!”

“Stop!”

“Don’t!”

“Nette wait!”

The four unison cries were too late, and the droid teleported away with a blue flash.

“It’s gone back to the ship,” the Doctor said. “Some kind of short range teleport I’d assume, I wonder just how powerful—”

Rose snapped her fingers in the Doctor's face. “Oi Doctor, focus. What do we do now?”

“Right! Okay, Rose, take Amy, Jack and Arthur back to the ship and find the droid. Don’t approach it, just watch it.”

“Arthur?” Rose asked, an eyebrow going up.

“Good name for a horse doncha think?” the Doctor waggled his eyebrows goofily. “I’m quite attached already.”

“You’re not keeping the horse!” Rose huffed, exasperated with his antics.

“I let you keep Jack and Amy, now go!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I just don’t understand,” Rose fumed as soon as they were out of earshot. “What is his problem?”

As the trio of discarded companions trekked down the hallways once again on their pointless quest, Rose couldn’t help her mind turning over the interactions between the Doctor and Madame de whatever her name was.

The Doctor had not only boasted of snogging Reinette, but had blatantly shoved his preference of her company in Rose's face. On top of that, he’d sent Rose away like some naughty child on a pointless quest while he did who knew what with his new lady love. Rose shuddered at the thought, and swiftly squished them down. She really didn’t want to know.

“He's full of shit,” Jack agreed, his expression tinged with brotherly fury. “If I were you, I’d be giving him a kick where it hurts. Hell, I might anyways.”

“I always thought he just… didn’t dance,” Rose mumbled, painfully reminded of their time in Newstead. Surely he had to know how she felt about him, how could he not? “But I guess I’m just not enough for ‘im. Reinette was one of the most accomplished women in history, what could I possibly have ta beat that?”

Jack was about to respond when Amy interrupted.

“Why’d the Doctor kiss Reinette?” Amy asked, her childlike question resonating in the quiet metal hallway alongside their footsteps. “Does he love her?”

For once, Rose wished Amy would stop with her irritatingly to the point questions. “I don’t know,” Rose snapped, turning on her heel. “Couldn’t tell ya what goes through his bloody mind half the time ‘cept that it’s a very long list of useless crap wi’ us at the bottom!”

Amy recoiled as if she’d been slapped, her brown eyes huge. “You’re being mean Rose,” she whispered. “I don’t like it.”

With her quiet admission, the girl took off running, down the hallway and around the corner. Rose groaned, feeling yet another weight fall onto her shoulders. She shouldn’t have snapped at Amy, it wasn’t her fault what had happened.

“Amy, I’m sorry!” She called, but her voice only echoed hollowly. Rose sighed, and turned to where Jack had been standing. “Jack I—”

Jack was no longer there.

In fact, he wasn't even in the hallway. A tingly sensation danced down the back of Rose's neck, as if she were being watched. She hoisted her own fire extinguisher onto her hip. “Hello?”

Next thing Rose knew, there was a sharp pain in the back of her neck, and then darkness.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

Chapter Text

On the other side of the mirror, ignorant of his companions' troubles, the Doctor grinned at Reinette. “Right, what I’m about to do is going to feel rather strange, but I’m afraid you’ll have to trust me on this. It won’t take much on your end—”

“I’d trust you even if it took forever,” Reinette reassured him, her words striking a strange chord of déjà vu in the Doctor's mind, as if he’d heard that very phrase before. Shaking it off, the Doctor brought his fingers up to her temples.

“If you say so. Now, I need to find what those droids were looking for, and to do that I’ll need to enter your mind.” His fingers made contact, and she gasped.

“My saviour, you are inside my head,” she breathed, her voice filled with wonder. “How?”

Reinette's mindscape was sharp, and cold, completely unlike Rose’s, although the Doctor did appreciate how effectively it was organised. Hopefully he could be in and out quicker than he could say Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore with exactly what he needed.

“To answer that would take decades, and quite possibly several cups of tea,” the Doctor replied, roaming deeper. “Oh dear, you’ve certainly had some cowboys in here.”

Some of the soaring mental architecture, while stunningly beautiful, had deep grooves bored into it, similar to the marks of a bookworm. Perhaps it could be attributed to the droids interference in Reinettes head all these years, an erosion of some kind? The Doctor had no solid answer.

“You walk amongst my memories like a maiden the meadows, soft footed yet sure,” Reinette whispered, her eyes closing. “Do you ever get used to this?”

The Doctor hummed. “I don’t make a habit of it, no. Now, if there's anything you don’t want me to see, imagine a door and close it.”

A whirl of cheeky magenta flushed through Reinettes mindscape at that, and the Doctor found himself being herded towards—

“Ah.” His cheeks flushed. “That's a door. Several actually, would you mind closing them?”

Reinette giggled at his obvious discomfort, but thankfully she complied, allowing the Doctor to continue traversing her memories. “However do you resist the temptation to wander?”

“Never you mind that,” the Doctor said, perhaps a tad bit harshly. “How old are you?”

One of Reinette's eyebrows went up. “Such an impertinent question, and so early on in the conversation. How promising.”

“Not my question, theirs,” the Doctor muttered. “You’re twenty three, and for some reason you’re not old enough, but what I’m wondering is why?”

In Reinette's mindscape, the Doctor felt something shift. It was subtle, but the scent of old memories soon permeated the entire space. He winced a little, knowing the sensation may be a little uncomfortable. “Whoops. You maaaaaay find old memories awakening a very normal and not at all unusual side effect, but just hold tight, it’ll be over soon.”

“Oh such a lonely childhood,” Reinette murmured, her eyebrows drawing together. “So lonely.”

“It’ll pass, stay with me.”

Her eyes opened again, and it was as if she were the one staring into his soul, rather than the other way around. One hand came up to caress his cheek. “Oh Doctor,” she breathed. “So lonely. So very alone. Lonely then, but… no longer?”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.

“How are you doing that?” The Doctor demanded, his lack of eyebrows narrowing. “It shouldn’t be possible.”

Reinette smiled serenely at him. “A door once opened may be stepped through in either direction.” She brought her hand up to cup his cheek, a wistful look on her face. “Come dance with me, my saviour. One night with the weight of the world relieved from your shoulders.”

“Oh I couldn’t,” the Doctor protested. “After all, this is meant to be the night you dance with the king for the first time and—”

“Then first I shall make him jealous,” Reinette said, a twinkle in her eye. “And you, Doctor, may perhaps find your own paramour pining.”

“Oh alright,” the Doctor conceded, withdrawing his hands from Reinettes' temples. “What could it hurt, but only one dance, you hear?”

She raised her eyebrow. “We’ll see about that Monsieur.”

Rose and Amy were more than capable of taking care of themselves for an hour or so and Jack could only be an asset to them. What could be the harm?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose awoke with a gasp, and winced as the restraints around her wrists and ankles prevented her from bolting upright as her body had instinctively tried to do. She wouldn’t be surprised if she walked away from this encounter with several blue bruises to show for it, or maybe purple if she were particularly unlucky.

That was if she walked away from this encounter at all.

One of the droids from Reinette's room was standing over her, its mask purple, while others were gathered around the room, all varying in shade.

“What’s going on?” Rose demanded, struggling against her restraints futilely. “Doctor?”

“They’re probably still looking for extra parts,” Jack replied grimly, strapped down on Roses right. “And we’re the perfect fit.”

On Rose's other side, Amy was still mostly unconscious, but at Jack's words she gave a pitiful moan. “Noooo.”

“You are compatible,” one of the droids intoned, its head clicking to face Rose. She swallowed, thinking fast.

“Well you might wanna think again mate,” she threatened, not quite sure where she was going with it yet. Thankfully the droid didn’t move, giving her a boost of confidence. “You really, really might, because me an’ my friends didn’t come here alone.”

“Oh no, trust her,” Jack said, backing Rose up. “You seriously don’t want to mess with our designated driver.”

The little burst of confidence was shattered as the clockwork man extended his blade, a small cogged wheel spinning on the end, before he turned to a still woozy Amy.

“Ever heard of the Daleks?” Rose tried, her chest squeezing tightly. “Remember them? They had a name for our friend, and myths about him, and a name.” She was rambling now, but how could she stop with the droid man threatening Amy? “They called him—”

A loud crash came from the hallway, halting both Roses' rant and the droid's ministrations. “I could've danced all night, I could've danced all night!”

Singing? Who could— oh no. Rose tried to salvage the situation.

“They called him the— they called him the—”

A bang, a clatter and another crash revealed a very disheveled looking Doctor in the door, holding a goblet of something or other. “And still have begged for more. I could've spread my wings and done a thou,” he warbled, his voice cracking on the high note.

On the table next to Rose, Amy’s eyebrows drew together. “Stop singing,” she mumbled as if she were waking from a normal nap. “You’re not good.”

The Doctor, ignoring her, swayed over towards Rose. “Have you met the French? Good Lord, they know how to party.”

“Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm,” Rose snapped, completely unamused.

“Oh, you sound just like your mother,” the Doctor slurred, waving a dismissive hand at her. “Unfriendly woman that one. Sharp slap, even sharper—”

“Where the hell you been Doc?” Jack growled, interrupting the beginning of a useless rant.

The Doctor stumbled to his table woozily, and leant the hand not holding his precious goblet onto Jack's bed. “If you must know, among other things, I think I just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early!”

Rose only blinked. Was he seriously boasting?

The Doctor continued, ignorant of Rose's steadily bubbling fury. “Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before? Always take a banana to a party. Bananas are good!” He declared, sounding remarkably like his pinstriped self. In his mirth, one hand went flying and nearly smacked into the droid’s still smiling face.

The Doctor grinned at it. “Oh hello! It's you! Isn’t that wonderful? You know, you're my favourite, you are. You’re the best!”

Rose was beginning to question all of her life choices.

“Do you know why? Because you're so thick.” He tapped the droid’s mask with his index finger like one might tap a puppies nose for misbehaving. “You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania.” He stopped for a moment, before finding the next insult. “And so's your dad.”

God knew Jackie would be crowing if she could see him now. The high and mighty Time Lord, brought to his knees by human alcohol. Rose would never hear the end of it.

The Doctor turned to Jack, his dopey grin firmly affixed to his face. “Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for?”

“Got a feeling you’re going to tell me whether I want to know or not Doc,” Jack ground out, clearly unamused. His demeanour didn’t seem to bother the Doctor one bit, or perhaps he was simply too drunk to notice it.

“Her milometer! They want to know how old she is. Does the pretty captain boy know why?”

Jack, who on any other day would have flirted right back, remained stubbornly silent. He really must have been angry this time if he was completely refusing the Doctor's advances, refusing to speak to him at all. She knew it was wrong, but a sense of vindication welled up in Rose's chest. The Doctor pouted. “Oh you’re no fun. Any guesses anyone else?”

“Is how old she is important?” Amy asked, the sedative having almost fully worn off. “Why would they care about that?”

“Welcome back Pond!” The Doctor grinned, whirling unsteadily around to face her. “It may seem strange but they do care, I assure you. It’s ‘cos this ship is thirty seven years old, and these ugly things think that when Reinette is thirty seven, she will be complete and compatible!”

Rose supposed it made sense in some twisted kind of way, but it was still a horrifying thought. “So that’s the time window they’re looking for then, thirty seven?”

“Ten points to Gryffindor,” the Doctor exclaimed, raising his goblet towards Rose, drunkenly toasting her. “They need the command circuit. A brain, but not just any run of the mill schmucks, no. They need one particular brain. Madame de Pompadour’s.”

Rose changed her mind. The droids could have her. Her brain may not be as good as the Doctor's new lady love’s, but surely they’d need some part of her. Maybe her ears would be useful, so she wouldn’t have to listen to the Doctor prattle on about his new royal lover any longer.

“The brain is compatible,” the droid to Roses right said.

The Doctor snorted. “Pshaw, compatible? If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine.”

Quick as a snake on speed, the Doctor darted forwards, fluidly tugging the androids mask from its face, and dumped whatever was in his goblet into the mechanisms. Its clockwork mechanisms juddered, trying to continue down their circular paths as ordered, but the liquid had done too much damage. The droid shuttered to a stop.

“What did you do?” Amy demanded, struggling with her restraints. The Doctor aimed his screwdrivers at her wrists.

“Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves,” The restraints dropped. He grinned. “It don’t.”

He pressed a button on the side of Rose's table, and the other androids bent in half, switched off. For the first time in the past ten minutes, Rose's heartbeat returned to normal..

The Doctor freed Jack, and clapped his hands together. “Right, you three, that's enough lying about. Time we got the rest of the ship turned off.”

“Where were you?” Amy demanded, crossing her arms. “We nearly died and you were just singing badly!”

“Sorry Pond, I was a wee bit distracted,” the Doctor replied, not looking at her. “Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs? I know they’re here somewhere…”

“Amy’s right Doctor,” Jack said, looking equally as irritated as the nine year old. “If you had of come even a moment later—”

“With the amount of damage to these circuits, I’m surprised they hit the right century, but now the windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?”

That was enough. Usually Rose would allow the Doctor to avoid uncomfortable topics of discussion with his misdirections, but he’d nearly let them die today from his sheer foolishness. She narrowed her eyes.

“Were you with Reinette?”

The moment the Doctor's eyes snapped up to meet Roses, she knew she was right. His expression was reminiscent of a deer in the headlights, knowing he was going to die, but unable to look away. A heavy feeling settled in Rose’s stomach.

“I—”

A blaring alarm cut the Doctor off, shattering the moment. “What’s that?” Amy asked.

“Dunno, could be an incoming message,” the Doctor replied, poking uselessly at the window as he paced. “Probably from the field. My bet is one of those buggers is still out there with Reinette, and—OH!”

He stopped short, and smacked his forehead. “Of course! There’s an override, that’s why I couldn’t close the window.”

Schlep

A jet of oil narrowly missed the Doctor's pristine tweed coat as the android with the purple mask reanimated itself.

“Oh piss off,” the Doctor complained with such a look of loathing on his face that Rose would have laughed if not for the situation. “I’d say that’s clever of you, but I’m not in the habit of complimenting my enemies.”

An audible click later, and the rest of the clockwork people creaked back into position, their arms extended towards the companions.

“Oooh right. Hmm. Many things about this are not good.” Rose thought that was quite possibly the understatement of the century. The Doctor pointed his chin at the screen. “Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?”

The purple droid in front of them ticked louder as its head cocked. “She is complete. It begins.”

In a flash of blue light, the droids were gone.

“One of them must have found the right time window,” Rose realised. “And they’re sending in the troops.”

“What can we do to stop them?” Amy wondered aloud, her voice small. “I don’t want ‘Nette to get hurt.”

The Doctor's eyes were flickering back and forth between the three of them, before settling on Amy. “Right, here’s the plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several minutes later, Amy gently moved aside the curtains concealing the time window, revealing what looked to be some kind of rich person sitting room. A grand piano stood tall and proud in the center, someone playing a beautiful melody. A woman she recognised. Amy cleared her throat.

The woman's head snapped up towards the sound. “Don’t scream please ‘Nette,” Amy said hurriedly, hoping the woman wouldn’t react on instinct. Thankfully, it seemed Reinette had managed to keep a hold of her fear, not making a sound. “I haven’t got a lot of time, but the Doctor said to tell you they’ll be here in five years.”

“Five years?” Reinette breathed. “But why?”

“Erm—” Amy tried to think of a reasonable excuse that didn’t involve the truth. After a moment, she gave up. “They want your head.” A beat of silence. Amy swallowed, before speaking again. “Your majesty.”

“Is there nothing to be done then?” Reinette asked, an edge of true fear in her voice. “Am I to be slaughtered, and then carted off for use in their dastardly schemes?”

“No, no!” Amy yelped. “Not at all, the Doctor is trying to get to you right now in the future.”

“What do you mean child?”

How could she possibly explain to this strange woman the workings of a ship she didn’t fully understand? Ame wracked her brain, trying to come up with some kind of explanation that would make sense. “You remember when you were young, and you saw me in your fireplace?”

Reinette nodded slowly, her eyebrows drawn.

“And the next time we met, it was months later?”

Reinette again, nodded. Amy bit her lip. “There's this… ship in the sky, and in each room is a window into your life, from your childhood all the way up to your— well—”

“My death?” Reinette supplied, and Amy nodded.

“Mhm. It’s complicated, I’m sorry—”

“There is a vessel in your world where the days of my life are pressed together like the chapters of a book, so that you may step from one to the other without increase of age while I, weary traveller, must always take the slower path.”

“Pretty much,” Amy agreed. “The Doctor was right about you.”

Reinette flushed a little at the praise, but did not linger in it. “You said those creatures will return in five years. What can be done?”

What had the Doctor said? Oh, right. “Keep talking to them. Ask them all kinds of questions, they have to respond to you. You can’t stop them,” Amy warned. “But you can delay them until the Doctor comes to save you.”

“The Doctor is coming then? And you are certain of this?” Reinette's words sounded like a demand, but Amy knew her harsh tone was fear induced.

“He promises,” Amy vowed, looking into Reinette's honey brown eyes. “He’ll be there.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy exited the window, and as soon as she made sure it was properly closed she broke into a run. The Doctor and Rose and Jack were all together four or five corridors down, trying desperately to get through the window into Reinette's future, and she needed to be quick. What if they needed her expertise?

Moments later however, Amy skidded to a complete halt, her plan forgotten.

There was a crack in the floor.

Much like the one from both Amy’s house and Newstead, it leaked an eerie, unearthly white light from it, bathing the room in the glow. Amy leaned closer to it, almost entranced, when a voice came from the crack.

“Amy.”

She shrieked, and fell back away from the crack. Oh this was not good on so many levels Amy could barely count them all. More than a little freaked out, she got to her feet and took off running again towards the Doctor. He’d know what to do.

Half a minute later, she screeched around the corner to the room her adults had been in. “Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Docto—”

“He’s not here Pumpkin.”

Jack’s voice was… flatter than usual. Amy narrowed her eyes, and took a proper look at the room around her.

The mirror that had led to France was completely shattered, exposing the brick wall behind it. Oh no.

Jack's arm was curled around Rose's waist firmly, a hold that on any other day Amy wouldn’t have tolerated. Didn’t he know that only the Doctor was allowed to touch her like that? But today, the Doctor wasn’t here, and Jack’s grip was clearly the only thing keeping Rose upright.

Amy let it slide.

“So what do we do now?”

Amy’s question was met with dead silence. She frowned. “Well? What do we do? Rose?”

“I don’t know!” Rose snapped, her eyes blazing. “He’s gone an’ left us and we can’t do anything about it!”

Amy shrunk back, her eyes huge. “Why are you being so mean today?”

Amy really hadn’t meant to let the question out, but it slipped out anyways. Rose took a deep breath. “You’re right. ‘M sorry Ames. I’d be takin’ it out on the Doctor if he was here, but you shouldn’ta copped it.”

Amy nodded, wordlessly accepting the apology. The trio lapsed into a dead silence that almost hurt Amy's eardrums more than Shareen’s screechy voice.

“Why don’t we head back to the TARDIS,” Jack suggested after a time, his voice soothing. “Regroup. Maybe I can try to get her off the ground?”

“Mhm,” Amy replied, her chest heavy. “The Doctor was teaching us how to fly her before he left.”

“What do you think Rose?” Jack asked with not a single smidge of his usual playful tone.

“Sounds like a plan,” she replied, not making eye contact. “C’mon Ames.”

Rose took Amy’s hand and pulled her down the hallways towards where the TARDIS was hidden.

The next five hours were in Amy’s opinion, quite possibly the second worst five hours of her life, only bet by that time her house exploded.

Jack and Rose worked around the console, trying to understand what each lever did, calling on Amy for help with translation. Thanks to her being younger, with more neuro– something something’s in her head, she’d picked up the language much faster than Rose, and was semi-fluent.

After a while, Amy grew tired, exhausted from their regularly scheduled long day of not-dying-but-nearly-almost-passing-away, and she slept on the console floor for an hour or so.

When she woke again, Amy noticed two things. One, the pattern of the grating had imprinted on her cheek in a criss cross, and two, Rose was becoming agitated.

Well, agitated was putting it lightly.

When Amy had fallen asleep, Rose and Jack were trying to figure out the take off sequence, and evidently they still hadn’t figured it out. Rose’s bottom lip was a red raw mess, chewed up in anxiety, her face thunderous.

“Why won’t she listen Jack? What’s wrong with her?”

Amy assumed she must be talking about the TARDIS. Jack shrugged, bending to check beneath the console. “It might not be possible for us to fly her without the Doctor. Time Lords and their ships were said to share some kind of psychic bond in the time agency, although we weren’t certain they’d ever existed.”

Rose went still then, her hands between the buttons, on smooth, cold metal. “What if I did?”

A glimmer of gold shot through her brown eyes, reminding Amy of Newstead. She unconsciously took a step back, rubbing her still sore cheek. “What do you mean?”

“What if I had a bond with the TARDIS?” Amy could have sworn Rose's eyes were glowing a little now, as if something—

The TARDIS doors slammed open, and Rose's head snapped around, the strange light gone. Amy wondered if she’d imagined the whole thing, and quickly decided it would be easier to pretend she had.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was back, and bouncing around like an untrained puppy. “How long was it? How long was I away?”

“Five and a half hours,” Rose said, her demeanour scarily calm. “How’d you get back? You shattered the window.”

He stopped in front of her, a dopey grin on his face. “Reinette!”

The room seemed to cool at the mention of her name. Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh? How’s that? Do something clever did she?”

The Doctor, who as per usual didn’t notice her sudden glacial change, nodded. “Yep! She had her old fireplace installed at Versailles, from her room, and all it took was a quick goodbye and here I am!”

“Right.”

The conversation lapsed into silence.

Somewhere, a clock ticked, reminding Amy of the droids. She shivered. The Doctor finally seemed to catch on that something wasn’t quite right.

“Rose, you seem… upset.”

Jack winced at the Doctor's question. He was speaking as if approaching a wounded animal, although to be fair Rose was acting like one. Her movements were cagey, and her expression…

In any case, Jack had never been so grateful to be immortal before.

Amy on the other hand didn’t quite understand what was going on, although she did know that that smile on Rose's face was not a genuine one. Her smile was thin, similar to Rory’s mothers smile after the glue incident.

“Why would I be upset, Doctor?” Rose asked, her tone deceptively casual. “After all, ‘s not like you left us on a fifty-first century spaceship with no supplies, no plan and no way home.”

The Doctor's expression shifted from befuddlement to understanding. “Rose, I was always coming back to get you, I would have—”

“No.” Rose put up a hand. “You left us, an’ I’m not interested in it happening again. Why don’t you go and shag your French whore then? Drop us home, we’ll get outta your hair and you can walk the fucking slow path wi’ her.”

Amy tugged on Jack's sleeve, pulling his ear down to her mouth level. “What’s a whore?” She whispered, brows creased in confusion. He patted her wrist gently, a strange, faraway look on his face. “Yeah no, don’t say that word sweetheart. It’s a very bad word that adults use, which you shouldn’t repeat.”

Amy decided at that moment that the word must be some variation of stupid, because what else could Rose possibly be saying?

The Doctor, clearly having heard Amy's question, fidgeted with his cuff. “A whore is… well—” he began, but Rose interrupted.

“Don’t explain! She’s eight,” Rose snarled, jerking a hand in Amy’s direction. “She doesn’t need to know!”

“Right, sorry,” the Doctor mumbled. “But it wasn’t like that with Reinette—”

“Really?” Rose snapped. “How old was she then? Sixteen? Eighteen? Twenty?”

“Rose, our—” The Doctor took a breath, his voice catching on some word, before trying again. “Amy is still present, if you would just calm down—”

A cruel glint entered her usually warm brown eyes as Rose leant back, her smile wolf like.

“I’m just showin’ her a glimpse of her future, ‘s all Doctor. She needs ta see just how ya leave us behind, needs ta know that one day you’ll tell her five minutes, but this time you won’t come back.”

The look on the Doctor's face scared Amy to her very core. He’d visibly stiffened, and when he opened his eyes they were cold. “Jack, tuck Amy into bed would you? And don’t let her forget to brush her teeth.”

If Amy were being honest, his falsely cheerful tone was the scariest part of the Doctor's facade. Most people thought that the power, the anger or the yelling made the Doctor scary, but she knew the truth. His too-sweet tone and falsely bright smile with the oncoming storm barely hidden. That was when most people should know to run.

Rose wasn’t most people.

Amy took Jack’s hand without complaint as he led her from the room, and tried to ignore the raised voices now spilling out into the corridor.

When they reached her room, Jack did his duty as an uncle, making sure she brushed her teeth and tucking her in, before preparing to tell her a story. He stood next to her bright yellow bed, his face backlit with the glow of her nightlight, grinning a hollow grin. “Alright Pumpkin, what do you want to hear about today? Slitheen? Vampires? Wizards? World’s your oyster kid.”

“Dunno,” Amy mumbled, feeling miserable. She could still hear the faint echoes of the fighting from her bed, much like when she was five, and there’d been screamy neighbours next door. It was so much worse when you knew the scream-ee’s. “Don’t care.”

The next moment, Jack was kneeling next to the bed, his concerned eyes parallel to hers. “Wanna talk about it?”

Amy sat up, throwing her covers back with a, in her opinion, completely justifiable dramatic huff. “Why are they so mad? I thought… I thought they liked each other. Like parents do.”

To her complete and utter shock, Jack laughed. It wasn’t a long laugh, nor was it mocking, but it still infuriated Amy. Couldn’t he see this wasn’t the time?

“What?” She snapped. “What’s so funny?’

“Sometimes when you really like someone, they’re the easiest to hate, which is just… ironic,” Jack replied. “They’ll be okay Pumpkin.”

Amy searched his eyes for any hint of dishonesty and found none. “How do you know?” She demanded, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Do you like someone like a parent too?”

Her question was met with a lengthy silence as a storm of emotions washed over Jacks face. Amy waited.

“You’re just going to have to trust me on this one,” Jack replied. “They fought like cats and dogs the first time I was on the TARDIS, but without fail they made up.”

“Why doesn’t the Doctor apologise?” Amy grumbled, throwing herself back onto her bed, narrowly missing smacking her headboard with her skull. “Rose prolly wouldn’t be so mad if he just said sorry.”

Jack sighed. “You know what kid? That’s a really good question.”

A particularly loud yell from the console room punctuated his sentence, making both of them wince. Amy pulled her covers up to her chin. “What if I changed my mind about the story?”

Jack smoothed some hair back off of Amy’s forehead, a tight smile on his face. “What will it be m’lady?”

Amy closed her eyes as tight as she could. “Could you tell me a Slitheen story?”

“Alright, now, has the Doctor ever told you about Margaret the Slitheen?”

Amy shook her head, even though he most certainly had. With that, Jack began his tale, drifting Amy off into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

Amelia Pond considered herself to be a very patient little girl at the best of times.

This, however, was most certainly not what she would call the best of times.

The Doctor and Rose had been at each other's throats since their fateful fight three nights ago after France, and Amy was nearing breaking point. They’d mostly avoided one another (and by extension, Amy), but whenever their paths had crossed, the interactions would without fail devolve into utter chaos, leaving Amy to pick up the pieces.

On top of her irritating parental figures driving her around the bend with their petty bickering, Amy found herself sorely missing her co-conspirator Jack. He’d offered to stay on the TARDIS and put off his Torchwood duties for just a bit longer, but in her childish pride Amy had told him she could handle it.

If she listened really hard she would probably be able to hear the echoes of his disappointed tutting echoing through the TARDIS corridors.

Amy’s metaphorical last straw came during the third day or so of this mess, in what passed for afternoon aboard the time ship. Having just had her lunch, which consisted of a rather miserable looking bowl of cereal and a soggy pear, Amy was looking forward to doing some quiet drawing in her room.

The TARDIS had other ideas.

As soon as Amy stepped out of the kitchen, the doorway behind her vanished with a woosh. She narrowed her eyes at the spot where the door had been, certain that the TARDIS must be up to something. Her theory was further confirmed when instead of the regular three hallways leading away from the kitchen, there was only one, which she knew for a fact led to the library.

Amy sighed. Perhaps the TARDIS wanted her to practice her Gallifreyan? The ship certainly couldn’t mean for her to swim in the library pool, as unparented as she currently was, Amy had ignored the TARDIS’ attempts at getting her dressed each morning since France, making it day three of pyjama week.

Amy's rambly thoughts were interrupted by the wall behind her gently nudging her back as if to say go on. She scowled at the meddling ship. “Alright, alright, I’m going!”

Clenching her fists, Amy stomped down the hallway, arms crossed, her eyebrows pinched into the biggest frown she could muster. “Stupid ship, stupid Rose, stupid Doctor,” the little girl muttered as the time ship laughed at her. “Stupid library, stupid books, stupid everything!”

She stomped inside the library, and was relieved to find that the TARDIS wall was no longer harassing her forwards, although she still couldn't help scowling at where the doorway had been. “I’m here, now what do you want?”

Dead silence. Not even a whirr. Amy’s scowl deepened. “Fine, I’ll figure it out myself.”

She took off, venturing deeper into the library, looking for the children's section, but to her chagrin, Amy discovered that it had been moved from its usual position. With another huff, she turned on her heel and took off stomping down the first hall she came across.

The TARDIS, Amy thought, was quite like Rory’s crotchety old great aunt. She meddled in everyone's business, couldn’t drive right, and most importantly she quite enjoyed harassing Amy.

Well poo to that. Amy stuck her tongue out at the ship.

Her musings on the similarity between the TARDIS and her least favourite member of the Williams family were interrupted moments later by a voice, humming the tune of Wannabe by the Spice Girls.

Hmm. That had to be Rose. What on earth could she be doing in the library?

Amy pondered for a moment, before deciding that the situation required further investigation. She crept forwards through the biology section, her footsteps light as a feather as she followed the sound of Rose's voice.

She wound up in the fiction section of the library, and it was then and there that Amelia Pond witnessed quite possibly the most painful interaction she ever had in her rather short life.

Both the Doctor and Rose were in the room, which in itself was rather strange as the last time that had happened approximately twelve hours ago, Rose had thrown the last carton of eggs at the Doctor's head. Amy’s stomach grumbled miserably at the thought.

Currently though, they seemed to be engaged in a battle of wills, not strength.

Rose sat reclining on her favourite seat, a pink velvet winged-back chair with her feet up on the coffee table, something Amy knew for a fact made the Doctor's eye twitch like mad whenever he caught her doing it. She was humming louder now, and staring intently at the magazine in her lap. Too intently.

Rose was bluffing.

Across the room from Rose, the Doctor had hauled up some of the library's wooden floor. Up to his waist in TARDIS, he was tinkering with something Amy assumed had to be related to the ship's lighting system because periodically the lights would blink off for a half second before flickering back on to reveal an increasingly frustrated looking Rose.

With every flicker, on, off, on, off, Roses humming grew louder.

On, off.

Louder.

On, off.

Louder.

On, off.

Louder.

On, off—

“Do ya mind?” Rose huffed, throwing her now wrinkled magazine down onto her lap. “‘M sorta busy here.”

“Doing what?” The Doctor snorted, his head popping up like a meerkat from below the TARDIS’ deck. “Honestly, I don’t understand how you can stomach those rags—”

“Well maybe I’d be able ta focus on something more academic if it weren’t for all your tinkerin!” Rose snapped. “Have ya ever considered not meddlin’ with the lights while other people are usin’ them?”

“Have you ever considered that maybe you aren’t the center of the universe?” The Doctor mimicked back with a rather poor impression of Rose.

Surprisingly, instead of storming off like Amy expected, Rose only laughed at the Doctor's insult, although to call the noise she made a laugh would be a stretch. It was hollow, ringing false to Amy’s ears, and all in all entirely unpleasant. “You’ve made your feelings on that abundantly clear.” Her point made, Rose opened her magazine with a sharp tug loud enough to echo and went back to staring a hole in it.

The Doctor too turned back to his task, but as usual, he couldn’t help himself from throwing one final insult over his shoulder.

“If you want to be treated like the center of the universe you’ll need to go back to mister Mickey boy.”

Roses head snapped up from her magazine, and Amy swore she saw a brief flash of gold pass through her eyes. “Is that really how ya want ta play this?”

The Doctor shrugged, his back to Rose. “Dunno. What do you think?”

Rose slammed her magazine shut again, and tossed it to the floor. “I think I’ve had enough of you. ‘M gonna go find Amy, an’ you can drop us back at Powell estate, ta.”

The Doctor didn’t look at her. “Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Fine!”

Rose stomped out of the library, thankfully not in Amy's direction, and with her went all the air in the room. Amy’s heart felt like it hadn’t beaten since Rose had uttered her world shattering threat.

They were leaving the TARDIS? Amy couldn’t accept that. The ship was their home, and more than that, she was their friend! Friends didn’t leave each other behind if they could help it.

Amelia Pond had had enough. She marched up to a coral strut with all the self righteousness of a nine year old and laid both of her palms flat against it.

“Can you help me?” She whispered, her head thunking forwards. “I don’t know what to do, and they’re being stupid and I don’t want ta leave.”

The familiar thrum of the TARDIS echoed through the back of Amy’s head, and although the little girl couldn’t quite understand exactly what the machine was saying, she got the general gist.

The TARDIS was in.

Amy lifted her head, a smile slowly crossing her face. “Alright, how are we going to do this then?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Let us out!” Rose hollered, her fists beating against the solid cupboard door. “Amelia Jessica Pond, you get back here right now!”

“Not until you talk about your feelings,” Amy replied gleefully from the other side of the door. “Good luck!”

That little shit.

“Don’t you take another step away from this door young lady!” The Doctor yelled, kneeling so his eye was level with the lock. “Or else.”

“Or else what?” Amy giggled. “You’ll thank me later.”

And with that, apparently Amy had decided that the conversation was over, despite the fact it was most certainly not. The sound of her feet clopping down the hall echoed in the slightly bigger than a cupboard room, sealing its rather irritated occupants' fate.

Silence fell. A full minute crawled past before the Doctor spoke. “How’d she get you?”

“Sticky note.” The answer slipped out of Rose before she could remind herself she still technically wasn’t talking to the Doctor, especially after the library incident, but she really couldn't find it in herself to care. “‘M too curious for my own good I guess. You?”

The Doctor sniffed, and for a moment Rose thought he wasn’t going to reply. “Ah. Well, it’s a long and complicated tale—”

His tongue darted out, gathering the tiny remnants of some kind of red substance from his upper lip, and Rose understood immediately. “Jammie Dodgers?”

“Jammie Dodgers.”

At his admission, Rose sighed and turned her back to the door. She slid down it to rest on the floor in a defeated heap of limbs. At the Doctor's questioning look, she shrugged. “May’s well get comfortable, I don’t think she’s going ta let us out anytime soon.”

It was debatable whether Rose meant the TARDIS or Amy, but either way the point was moot. Neither were likely to budge.

“The TARDIS’ll need to let us out at some point, someone’s gotta take care of Amy,” the Doctor scoffed, turning his nose up at Rose's words. “We’ll just have to wait her out.”

“Wait out a time machine?” Rose said, trying for a teasing tone.

Somewhere in the room, a metallic tinkling sound came, as if the TARDIS were laughing at them. The Doctor narrowed his eyes, refusing to see the humor of the situation. “Yes.”

Rose looked up at him a moment longer, her eyes searching his hard ones, before she exhaled slowly. “Alright Doctor.”

With nothing better to do, Rose looked around the room. As she’d noticed earlier, it was tiny, barely bigger than a cupboard, and made all the more claustrophobic with the dim lighting. A faint buzzing noise came from the floor, the TARDIS whirring away beneath their feet, but other than that it was completely silent.

Oppressively silent.

The silence was heavy, like a weighted blanket draped across her chest, but even as Rose contemplated filling it she dismissed the notion. The Doctor evidently wasn’t in a chatty mood, and no matter how much Rose missed him, she wasn’t going to put her pride on the line again.

She leant her head back and shifted her bottom so she was a little more comfortable against the oaken door, and closed her eyes.

Two hours later

Rose jerked upright, a strange buzzing noise having startled her from her nap. “Wha— huh?”

She blinked rapidly looking up, and above her, the Doctor came into focus. He gave a jaunty wave with his sonic, although with his slightly pinched smile Rose wasn’t sure whether or not it was sarcastic. Against her better judgement, Rose scowled at him. “What are you doing?”

She hadn’t meant to sound quite so accusatory, but the damage was done. The Doctor's expression dropped immediately into one she’d become familiar with over the past three days. “Trying to open the door,” he replied coolly, turning away from her. Rose silently cursed herself for being so quick to snap, and tried to salvage the situation.

“Wait, ‘m sorry. Just tired s’all.”

“Couldn’t tell.”

He turned back to his tinkering. Could it really still be called tinkering if it was a wooden object though? Tinkering just sounded like metal, although— wait wood? Rose raised an eyebrow. “Isn't that door wood?”

A frustrated huff came from the Doctor as his sonic beeped green. “Your point?”

“Doesn’t do wood does it?” Rose replied airily, picking at her fingernails. “Your sonic, I mean. Or concrete. Might want ta upgrade that doncha think?”

The sonic cut off. “I’m trying to get us out of here if you hadn’t noticed,” the Doctor ground out, his hand clenching unconsciously around his screwdriver. “We’re sort of stuck in here.”

“Stuck with me, that’s not so bad is it?”

The words hung in the still air like washing on a line, blowing in the wind. Rose swallowed uncomfortably, her throat suddenly dry. “I mean—”

“You’re the one who started this you know,” the Doctor interrupted, cutting her off. Although his accusatory words naturally set Rose on edge, the tone in which he said them made her stop. He sounded almost… vulnerable? Which was a word she rarely would have ascribed to the alien sitting in front of her, even in his newest form.

“I didn’t mean ta— didn’t mean ta start anything,” Rose said, struggling to find the right words. The Doctor slipped his sonic into the inner pocket of his jacket, and slid down the door to join her on the floor, not quite touching, but it was a start. Rose continued. “I was just hurt. Really hurt that you left us ta face the world by ourselves.”

“Why didn’t you trust me?” The Doctor asked, scooting around to force her to face him. He waited until she looked up, waited until she looked him in the eyes before he continued. “I’ve never left you behind before, and I never would. I meant what I said. Not you Rose Tyler. Never you.”

The sincerity behind his green eyed gaze shook Rose to her core, deflating the last remnants of her still burning anger. She slumped further, her head coming to rest on her knees.

“I just…” Rose trailed off, trying to order her thoughts. The Doctor waited, his unstoppable gob quiet for once in his lives. “I just don’t get it. You do this thing where you tell me that you’re never gonna leave, and how precious and important I am, before ya swan off and boast about kissing a French courtesan. Then, ya left us to the androids, and Amy nearly died Doctor.”

It was as if the floodgates had burst, and Rose found herself unable to stop, unable to slow down. “Then you broke the glass. Right in front of me ‘n Jack, solidifying the fact that you were leavin’ and never coming back.”

“I was always coming back to you Rose, if Reinette hadn’t of had the fireplace I would have—”

“Waited it out?” Rose interrupted, trying not to let her fury get the best of her again. “Lived the slow path w’ her? You didn’t tell us anything, an’ how could Jack or I possibly know your plan?”

“You couldn’t have.” The Doctor's reply was low, as if he was only just putting the pieces together.

Rose sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. “‘S like… ‘S like back in London, me and my friends and I would go out together, yeah? And usually we’d stick together pretty well, but it wasn’t like bein’ separated was the end of the world, cos we could just flag down a taxi and head on home.”

Rose shifted her gaze, and fixated on a crack behind the Doctors head. “But on that spaceship, there were no taxis ta call, and no streetlights ta guide Amy ‘n me home if all else failed. We were stranded, with nothin’ ta do but hope.”

“I thought you trusted me.” The words were like a brick to the face.

“That’s the thing, I do, but Doctor, you didn’t trust me,” Rose said, looking away. “You didn’t trust me enough ta tell me what you were going ta do until after the fact when it was too late for me ta help in any way. You didn’t trust me.”

The accusation hung in the air like the smell of wet dog, permeating every inch of the small cupboard-like room they were in. The Doctor swallowed audibly.

“I suppose in a way, I’ve forgotten you can’t read my mind,” he admitted. “Forgotten that you are indeed only human.”

The words almost stung, but before Rose could protest, the Doctor hurried on. “Not that that’s to your detriment in any way, no you are incredible don’t mistake me, but in forgetting how human you are, I tend to forget what you need from me.”

He reached forwards and took one of her hands in both of his, the sincerity in his eyes almost taking her breath away. “Please forgive me?”

Without a second thought, Rose launched herself forwards and wrapped her arms around him.

The Doctor's arms crushed her to him in an instant, almost as if he were trying to pull her into the cavity in his chest. She buried her face into his neck, her hands coming to rest behind his back over where his hearts laid.

“This doesn’t mean you have to stay,” the Doctor murmured against her shoulder. “You can still go back to the estate if thats what you really want. I won’t stop you but—”

Rose snorted at that. “said forever, Doctor. ‘M not seriously gonna leave you.”

She could have sworn his arms tightened ever so slightly around her at that.

Rose had no idea how long they sat like that, upper bodies awkwardly entwined together, breathing in sync, but she couldn’t care less. They had nowhere to be, and this was better than anything the universe could possibly have to offer.

Rose was so wrapped up in the world altering hug that she didn’t notice the door creak open behind them, or the quiet footsteps of their other passengers. In fact, Rose was so preoccupied, she didn’t notice Amy until the girl began to wiggle her way in between her two adults, settling snugly between their arms.

“Was I right?” Amy asked, her voice muffled by the Doctor's coat. “We’re not going back to Earth? Everything’s cool now?”

“I suppose,” Rose replied, fighting a smile. “You could say that.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Amy groaned, the tension draining from her small frame. “And I thought I was going to have to go back to school!”

“Come to think of it, we have been neglecting your Gallifreyan studies—”

“Nooooooooo!”

And just like that, all was right aboard the TARDIS once more.

Chapter Text

“Right, so where to next?” The Doctor said, plopping down into his chair. “Any ideas?”

Sat at the galley table, Amy was far too busy eating her very first hot meal of the week to respond to the Doctor's question with any kind of finesse. “‘F’nish our ‘ood,” she mumbled through a mouth of scrambled eggs. “‘F’hen we talk.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Not that ‘m condoning speaking with your mouth full, but I’ll have ta agree with Ames.”

The Doctor pushed back on his chair, leaving the front two legs hanging as he rocked back and forth. “Can’t you eat faster?” He groaned, sounding like a whiny five year old. “There’s adventure to be had!”

Rose snorted, and stuck her fork in her bacon. “Dunno about adventures. If ‘m being honest, I’d rather find somewhere sunny ta lie about for a bit.”

“Could we go to a beach?” Amy said. “We haven't been in a while.”

“What?” The Doctor spluttered, affronted at the mere suggestion of slowing down. “But what about adventure? We could visit Arrarikas, home to the universes tallest floating mountains or—”

“‘M not climbing Doctor,” Rose replied, tapping her fingers on the table. “Not after the Everest incident.”

“Stupid Slitheen,” Amy hissed, pushing her egg around on her plate.

The Doctor pouted, but was not deterred. “Fine, fine, if climbing isn’t your style, we could visit the screaming ponds of Moonee instead! It’s quite similar to a beach, but instead of water it’s lava and—”

“We already went there,” Amy interrupted hurriedly, recalling the heated debate she’d gotten into with one of the dragon born who inhabited the planet. “And I never want to go back.”

“Oh you two are simply impossible!” The Doctor declared, flopping back onto his chair, nearly tipping it over. “Are you really so determined to have a lie-around day off at the beach?”

“I am,” Rose responded firmly, and that was the end of that.

“Alright,” the Doctor conceded, mock defeat on his face. “I’ll go move the TARDIS while you two get dressed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy peeked her head out of the TARDIS doors, her heart shaped sunglasses slid as far as they could go down her nose. “Err Doctor? This isn’t the beach.”

Behind her, the Doctor snorted. “Whatever do you mean? I put in the appropriate coordinates for 2011, Palm cove Australia and— oh.” He stopped short, squinting over Amy’s head. “It appears you’re right.”

“Told you,” she huffed, rubbing her rapidly cooling arms. Her bathing suit was certainly not appropriate wear for the current climate.

Outside the TARDIS doors lay a sprawling landscape of ice and snow, with distant mountains painting a vivid backdrop of blue and purple, and if it weren’t for the distinct lack of penguins, Amy would almost believe they were standing in the middle of Antarctica.

“Where are we?” Rose called, leaning over the console, brows furrowed. “I don’t recognise the Gallifreyan on the display.”

“Hmm.” The Doctor swung around, and with three long steps, he was leaning over Rose's shoulder, brows furrowed. As soon as his eyes flicked over the screen, his entire face seemed to soften. Amy blinked, and the expression was gone, replaced with his usual manic grin. “Ah yes, Womens Wept! Uninhabited ice planet frozen by a once in a millenia event, I’ve been meaning to take you two here again, and I suppose today is as good a day as any, although,” the Doctor looked his companions over, a skeptical look on his face. “-your attire isn’t exactly appropriate for the climate.”

“And whose fault is that?” Amy bristled. “I didn’t set the location switch, you—”

“Meet back here in ten then?” Rose interjected, nipping the impending argument in the bud. “I’ll get Ames dressed and—”

“I can dress myself!” Amy declared with all the superiority her nine year old self could muster. “I’m nearly ten, I’ll have you know!”

While Amy wasn't entirely certain about her own age, it just felt correct that she was nearing double digits. The Doctor shrugged. “Suit yourself, quite literally.”

When neither Amy nor Rose laughed at his admittedly rather poor joke, the Doctor merely sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. “Alright, alright, I know when I’m not wanted. Back in ten.”

The trio split up, darting off into their separate rooms. When Amy reached her room she found a pre organised outfit laid out on her bed, and with a mental thanks to the TARDIS she set about getting dressed.

The outfit was nothing special, the only exciting part being the extra thermal layers, and Amy managed to dress without issue.

After all, it would have been rather embarrassing to have caused such a fuss at breakfast only to find herself needing help.

After tugging her beanie on, Amy flew down the corridors towards Roses room, and without knocking she burst in to find—

An empty room. Hmm. “Rose?” Amy called, but there was no reply. Perhaps Rose was already dressed and ready to go? Amy highly doubted that, after all, Rose was notorious for taking forever to get ready, although checking the console room couldn't hurt.

When Amy arrived in the console room, she was greeted by the Doctor. Amy wrinkled her nose. “What on earth are you wearing?”

On the Doctors legs were bright orange snow pants with a brand down one leg that Amy didn’t recognise, kept up by a regular belt that looked rather out of place in his ridiculous ensemble. His jacket was almost comically oversized giving him gigantic shoulders, and seemed to be a similar fabric to his usual tweed, although Amy suspected it was an illusion of some kind. On top of that, in pride of place, his bright red bow tie was tied tight around the puffy neck of the snow jacket, creating an altogether rather strange outfit.

“I’ll have you know this is the height of winter fashion in thirty-first century Europe,” the Doctor sniffed, straightening his bowtie. Amy watched as it almost immediately became lopsided again. The Doctor frowned. “Hmm.”

When he looked back up to Amy, his frown deepened. “Where’s Rose got to?”

Amy shrugged. “She wasn’t in her room.”

A separate corridor materialised in a split second behind the Doctor, and Amy cocked her head. “You think the TARDIS is telling us something?”

The Doctor whirled around, and in an instant, his dour expression lifted into a grin. “Thanks old girl!”

In a moment the Doctor was moving, his long legs taking strides so lengthy Amy had to run to catch up.

They ended up outside a very familiar room, and when the Doctor pushed the doors open, Amy let out a happy sigh.

The wardrobe room was certainly one of Amy's most favourite rooms in the TARDIS, as it was filled to the brim with costumes perfect for playing in. With the help of this marvellous room she’d become a knight or a fairy or even one time a Roman centurion, battling against whatever she could find. More often than not, it was the Doctor copping a wooden sword to the back, although after he got over the initial shock he was usually a very worthy adversary.

Today was not for dress ups however, and Amy frowned. Her brain had taken her on a tangent, but they had had a mission coming in. What had they been looking for?

“Rose? You in here?” The Doctor called out taking a step into the room. “Hello?”

Oh! Right. Rose. Of course.

A muffled set of thuds came from the other side of the wardrobe room, followed by several words Amy was certain she wasn’t supposed to repeat. Well, at least they knew Rose was definitely there.

Amy hurried forwards, rounded the corner and found Rose beneath a pile of boxes looking rather frustrated. She got to her feet after a moment, and kicked at one of the boxes with one of the most furious expressions Amy had ever seen on her face, barring the France incident.

“Whatcha looking for?” The Doctor asked, wincing as a well aimed kick of Roses split open a cardboard box, revealing hundreds upon hundreds of red bow ties.

“I can’t find my skates anywhere,” Rose hissed, digging through the contents of the now destroyed box. “It’s like the TARDIS doesn’t want me ta find them and all she’s giving me are bow ties!”

Amy wanted to giggle, but felt it wouldn’t be received well in the moment. The Doctor sighed, and knelt down next to Rose, helping her gather up the offending neckwear. “Why don’t we go to Hysperio and pick up a new pair? It’ll save you having to dig through the rest of the room—”

“‘M gonna be a pain and say I’d really rather not,” Rose interjected. “They were my grans skates, remember?”

The Doctor winced. “Ah. Right. Well.” He pursed his lips. “Hmm.”

The silence stretched, and as Rose went back to digging in the wardrobe room, Amy began to feel rather bored.

Amy racked her brain for a solution. After the beach day went out the window, she’d been promised an adventure and so far there’d been nothing but bordeom! Feeling rather cheated, Amy resorted to a forbidden tactic, well known for causing chaos and destruction around the Doctor thanks to its unpredictable results.

She blurted out the very first idea she had without even thinking.

“What if the Doctor and I went to find a good patch of ice somewhere while you look for a bit longer, and if we find one within an hour we’ll come back and get you?” Amy offered. “And if you haven't found your skates by then we can come back and figure out what we’ll do?”

“Works for me,” Rose replied. “But make sure you put on another jacket, Womens Wept gets pretty chilly, and I don’t want you catching a cold, kay?”

“Fine,” Amy groaned, already halfway out of the wardrobe room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later, Womens Wept was fast becoming one of Amy's favourite uninhabited places they’d visited yet.

The sloping ice was perfect for penguining down, and the snow made the most spectacular snowballs Amy had ever had the pleasure of creating, and to top it all off, the scenery was magnificent, with the bright yellow suns painting the landscape in a golden wash.

Additionally, she was exploring with the Doctor! He played the perfect dad to her daughter, catched her when she jumped and pushing her down slopes with an ease she suspected couldn't be natural. He encouraged her to learn in her play, explaining how the different coloured ice was created through minerals and oxygen interacting, and didn’t treat her questions like they were stupid.

Altogether, it was an almost perfect morning.

It was too bad they hadn’t found a good skating patch yet.

Amy's legs were just beginning to tire as they came across a huge mound of snow, blocking their view of the plains ahead. She frowned, unsure of how many more hills her nine year old legs could take, but didn’t complain. Complaints didn’t lead to piggybacks very often, and it was more likely they would have to turn around.

She was just preparing to begin the climb when a strange noise reached her ears.

“Doctor, do you hear that?”

The Doctor listened for a moment, and shrugged. “Wind whistling? Waves crashing? The spirits of those long since past?”

Amy shook her head. “No, I heard laughter.”

“Hmm.” The Doctors brows drew together for a split second before his usual smile overtook his face. “Not to worry, the cold does that to you sometimes, makes you hear things, now buck up! We’ve got a hill to climb.”

It was obviously a bogus explanation, but before Amy could pipe up and argue, the Doctor had already moved right along. Grumbling to herself, she set off after him, although soon she overtook him out of spite.

Just as Amy was reaching the crest of the hill, the Doctor caught up to her once again.

“Get down!” The Doctor hissed, pulling her to the ground.

“What is it? What?” Amy demanded loudly, throwing his hand off of her. Her beanie had become lopsided in the struggle, allowing for some of her fluffy red hair to escape its confines. “What’d you do that for?”

The wind whistled eerily through the plains, and a shiver danced its way up Amy's spine. What on Earth could have the Doctor so terrified? Amy was certain it must be some horror, or alien with an evil plan. She bit her lip.

“Come look, but slowly, and be careful not to be seen,” the Doctor warned, holding out a hand for the little girl to take. “I mean it Amelia.”

His tone of voice set something to jelly in Amy's stomach, and for once she did not disagree. Brows furrowed, Amy obeyed his instructions, carefully getting to her knees and shuffling over to him. She peeked over the snow ridge as boldly as she dared, prepared for the worst—

And her heart nearly stopped in her chest.

Well, at least that explained the laughter.

Down the slope on the ice, Rose was skating around in loop de loops, peals of laughter escaping like fog from her mouth. A moment later, Amy understood why.

In front of Rose, a man Amy didn’t recognise was wobbling around like a newborn deer, trying his very hardest to stay standing. Every so often his arms would fly out and whirl about like windmills in an effort to keep himself upright, but soon enough his luck ran out. The man fell forwards, crashing into Rose, knocking her over into a pile of powdered snow. She shrieked with laughter, throwing her head back as he rolled off of her, a silly grin on his face.

“Who is that guy?” Amy demanded. He was being far too touchy with Rose for her liking, particularly as he was most certainly not the Doctor. “And how’d Rose get here before us?”

The Doctor's expression was… odd to say the least. Amy thought it was somewhere between longing and resentment, a rather strange combination if she did say so herself. “He’s me.”

Well that was ridiculous. How could that strange man be the Doctor when he was clearly sitting right besides her?

“How?” Amy demanded, frowning. “He looks nothing like you!”

After a moment of silence, the Doctor sighed. “I’m not human.”

Recognising the tone of voice the Doctor was using, Amy shuffled closer to him, trying to make herself comfortable. He was getting ready to tell a tale.

The Doctor's arm wound around Amy’s shoulders, pulling her close. “My species were called Time Lords. We had a special trick where if we were dying, every single cell in our body rewrites itself, meaning we look and act completely different to who we were before. It’s called regeneration.”

“Is this in the future then?” Amy wondered, gesturing to the happy duo down below. “Are we going to come back here when you look like that?”

The longing in the Doctor's eyes morphed into something else as he peered over the edge. Jealousy. “No, Amy. This was a long time ago, back when Rose first joined me, a couple of weeks after we picked up Jack.”

Amy took another look at the duo. Duo, not trio. Where was her uncle Jack? “But—” she began, before the Doctor cut her off.

“Jack got arrested on a pub crawl in 21st century England. We could have busted him out, but I thought it more prudent to let it teach him a lesson.”

“What did Rose think of that?” Amy giggled.

“She said it wouldn’t do much,” the Doctor replied, a fond look in his eye as he looked across the plain at his memories. “And she was right. We bailed him out of jail no less than fifteen times in the first two months we knew him. I would have left him at that point, but one look from Roses puppy dog eyes and I—”

The sentence ended there, almost for certain prematurely.

“You really love her, don’t you?” Amy asked after a moment, her voice quiet. It was clear to see, even clearer in his past self, just how much Rose meant to him. “Why haven't you said anything to her?”

The Doctor took a breath as if to continue, but his words almost seemed to catch on his teeth. Instead, he looked over the embankment again, and seeing himself and Rose walking away, he grinned his phoniest grin to date. “We need to get back to our Rose before she thinks we’ve frozen to death.”

While the Doctor made a good point, it still deeply frustrated Amy how skillfully he evaded her question. Before she could point this out, he was up, leaving her to fall backwards without his arm to keep her upright. “Hey!” She squealed, lobbing a handful of snow in his general direction. “I can’t get up!”

In a second, the Doctor scooped the laughing girl up and swung her onto his back with a wink. “Perhaps I may aid you in your travel back my dear?”

Amy giggled, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Of course dear sir!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five minutes or so into the piggyback, Amy’s usual non-stop chatter came to a stop as the little girl fell asleep, leaving the Doctor with his thoughts.

And oh were they loud.

Amy's innocent little question had taken up residence in his mind, tormenting him over and over again.

Why haven’t you said anything to her?

It wasn’t as easy as that.

He had said something to Rose, back in Australia, he’d shown it even and although he claimed not to remember, her responses to his declarations of love left a cold, hard rock in his stomach.

She’d rejected him even when she’d been covering as his wife. What clearer sign was there? If she harboured any feelings other than platonic for him, was that not the chance to show it? To indulge in the fantasy?

But she hadn’t, and the point was moot.

He couldn’t risk losing Rose, at least not in this way. He was aware that the life they led was dangerous, supremely so, and that she could be lost to him any day, but he couldn't stomach the idea of her leaving voluntarily.

If he drove Rose away, the Doctor feared he would never recover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy’s bed was moving. She frowned, trying to snuggle down further into its warmth, but found her pillow to be a lot stiffer than usual…

“Are you awake Amy?” The Doctor's rumbling voice shook Amy properly awake. Where were they?

She cracked one eye open to take in their surroundings. Oh right, Womens Wept. She groaned, feeling a little stiff from sleeping on the Doctors back.

“How long have we been walking?” Amy murmured, still not quite awake.

“We’re nearly back now,” the Doctor reassured her. “Although we is a bit of a stretch. I’ve carried you most of the way.”

The TARDIS came into view, and when the two were about about a hundred metres away, the doors burst open to reveal Rose, ice skates clutched victoriously in hand.

“Found my skates!” She called, waving them around. “They were hidden away deep in a box of question mark socks!”

The Doctor gently put Amy down, steadying her as her legs wobbled, pins and needles setting in. “We haven't found a good skating spot yet,” he grinned, a strange tone in his voice. “Went too far thataway and found the sea, so we turned right back around. I’m thinking we should see if we have any luck on the other side, eh?”

Rose’s grin was practically blinding now. “Alright then, lead the way.”

She held out her hand, and the Doctor took it without hesitation. “Of course my lady,” he joked, tipping his non-existent hat to her. Amy grabbed onto Rose's other hand, and the three of them took off towards the next adventure.

Chapter Text

Amelia Pond had only ever been to one airport in her life, when she was five years old. Aunt Sharon's friend was getting married in Spain, and as such the little girl was expected to tag along.

All in all, it had been a very boring experience, but at least she remembered how she’d ended up in the airport in the first place.

Amy could not say the same for this occasion. This time, she awoke on the white tiled floor of a boarding lounge with a wicked headache, a crick in her neck and the rather uncomfortable sense of lingering dread one tends to experience when their memories are missing.

How on earth had she managed to end up here?

Despite the fact she could see the full moon through the massive floor to ceiling windows, the people within the airport were behaving as if it were midday, bustling too and from different stores and boarding lounges. Flight attendants moved suitcases on trolleys, business men marched through the crowds and children whined for soft toys stocked in the various storefronts.

All in all, it was very… normal. Suspiciously so, and if Amy had learned anything from her time aboard the TARDIS, it was that normal was most certainly a mask for unusual happenings.

Getting up from the floor, she stretched her neck, working out the cricks left from sleeping on hard ground before getting up, and running over to the window.

As one her age is naturally inclined to do, upon reaching the window, she smooshed her face as flush with the pane of glass as humanely possible, her hands making a thunk noise as they slapped onto the hard surface.

After observing the tarmac for half a minute and seeing nothing of interest, Amy pulled herself back, only to notice something attached to her wrist.

A bright green wristband.

Amy narrowed her eyes at the suspicious piece of plastic. “Where did you come from?”

Although it was entirely possible she had put the band on in the morning she couldn't quite recall, Amy found it doubtful as she really wasn’t a neon green wearing person. That was more the Doctors forte. She began to poke it with her finger, trying to find a weak spot where she may be able to tear it off, but found nothing, in fact the plastic seemed almost a part of her skin.

Well, no matter, she was sure the Doctor would be able to help her get it off—

Where was the Doctor?

Amy had assumed he and Rose were likely in the boarding area when she woke up, but upon further inspection she found that she was quite alone in the lounge, with the only other creature being a tall orange man with hundreds of legs wearing a grandpa hat, and he was snoozing away in the corner of the room.

A pleasant, vaguely British voice sounded over the speakers, stealing her attention. “Now boarding flight four hundred and seventy five. Please proceed in an orderly fashion. Do not resist. Thank you kindly.”

The orange man jerked awake at the message, and got to his feet, gathering his carry-on luggage with him, and walked towards the boarding door. He held out his hand, and a flight attendant scanned what Amy assumed to be his wrist band, before he marched onto the plane. She flopped down onto one of the chairs with a huff, kicking her feet.

“Miss? Your flight is now boarding.”

Amy looked up at the voice to find a young Silurian man dressed in a neatly pressed flight attendant suit. A white keycard on a lanyard sat just out of his vest, blinking in the light. She frowned. “Actually, I don’t have a ticket. Or guardians. Or any idea how I ended up here.”

“Your flight is boarding now,” the man reiterated, his pleasant expression unwavering. “You need to board.”

Something wasn’t quite right. As Amy’s stomach did a flip, she shifted a little in her seat so she could rest her feet on the ground. “I don’t have a ticket.”

“You need to board. Do not resist,” the man repeated, his expression hardening. His hand shot forwards, and circled Amy’s wrist with surprising strength. “Do not resist.”

He pulled her out of her chair, and began to tug her along. Amy scowled. “Let go of me!”

She darted forwards, and clamped her mouth down around his wrist with the bite force of a small chihuahua.

This of course, did nothing, as unbeknownst to Amy, Silurians were well known to have the strongest wrist armour in the galaxy. The attendant merely smiled his strange smile again, taking no notice of her antics, and continued dragging her towards the door.

Amy was thoroughly peeved by this turn of events. She simply could not recall a time where biting hadn’t worked, and was unsure how to proceed.

Despite Amy’s best efforts to slow the Silurian, he was much bigger than her and they were reaching the gate at an alarming speed. Biting was clearly out, so she had to think fast.

“I need the bathroooooommm,” Amy whined, using her spare hand to hold her stomach. “I need to go right nowwwwwwwww.”

“There are bathrooms onboard,” the man replied, not even turning around. “Wait.”

“I’m gonna pee on your shoe,” Amy snapped, pouting so hard she thought her bottom lip might fall off. “And they look expensive.”

This got his attention. The Silurian turned around with a sigh. “Look, kid, if you’d just stop resisting—”

The instant she felt the slightest change of pressure around her wrist, Amy struck. She twisted her arm from his grip and kicked his shin as hard as she could. When he bent over in pain, she ran behind him and kicked the back of his knees, causing him to crumple like a tin foil sheet.

Wasting no time, Amy yanked the lanyard from around his neck, and took off running. She had no idea what it was for, but if she could find the Doctor he might be able to use it.

Living on the TARDIS was effectively a free gym membership, and Amy had no trouble putting distance between herself and the boarding lounge she was supposed to be in, although she realised that as soon as the flight attendant sounded the alarm she would be in a world of trouble.

She needed somewhere to hide.

As her mind was ticking over the possible places she could go, Amy passed several little shops until she ended up in the food court.

Perfect.

There were so many people in this place, she’d surely be able to blend in and—

“Trespasser alert. Please proceed to your gate in a calm and orderly fashion. Delays of up to ten hours may occur. Trespasser alert. Please proceed to your gate in a calm and orderly fashion. Delays of up to ten hours may occur. Trespasser—”

Damn it. It seemed her scaly friend had managed to report her impressively fast. Amy scowled, and set about blending into the crowd, pinching a woman's scarf to wind around her hair. Hopefully it would do the trick for the moment at least.

Scanning the food court, Amy noted that there were four visible exits, leading to what she assumed were different shopping sectors, although there were likely to be hidden doors about the place for staff travel. With her keycard maybe she could access one of them, and find a way out?

As the people around her began to walk towards their respective gates, Amy headed for the third exit, following a family of nondescript humans. Right as they were about to reach the hall however, a troop of guards came marching down, scanning the wrist bands of every living thing they passed. Amy stopped dead in her tracks, unsure of what to do.

“Hello sweetie,” came a vaguely familiar voice from behind Amy.

She whirled around, readying herself to run, but when her gaze met the woman’s, her eyes widened. “I know you! You played with me on the Midnight planet!” She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried desperately to remember her name. Brie? No. Brianna? No…

The woman before her nodded, her curly hair bouncing gently. “And with the angels, the pandorica and that time we set a donkey loose in Greece, but you haven’t been there yet.”

“What the hay are you on about?” Amy demanded, confused beyond words. “And who are the angels?”

Unfortunately for Amy, it seemed the woman, whose name she thought may have at one point been Brook, wasn’t eager to share answers. “We’re out of time. Come with me.”

She grabbed Amy’s hand and they took off running, shoving through the scores of people finding their gates.

Safe to say, Amy was thoroughly confused. “Who are you?” She asked, her legs pumping to keep up with the woman. “What are we doing?”

“A friend of your dads,” the woman who was probably not actually called Brook replied. “The Doctor I mean.”

“Where is he?” Amy demanded, stumbling slightly. “What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything,” the woman replied, hoisting Amy up by the wrist. “Actually I just saw him but nevermind that. You should have all woken up together, I don’t know what went wrong, but after the next flight you should—”

The woman's train of thought was abruptly ended by her colliding with someone who was running the other way. “Watch it!”

“Rose!”

Rose's disgruntled expression abruptly transformed into one of relief as she gathered the little girl into a hug. “I’ve been looking for you all over, but then the alarm went off an’ I got herded away with a group of Centipods and—”

“Not to rush this, but time is limited,” interjected the mysterious woman. Rose let go of Amy, and let out a gasp.

“You! You were there the day we adopted Ames— how? Who are you?”

“An in depth explanation of that would take far too long,” she replied half to herself, grabbing Roses wrist and inspecting it without asking. “Good, you’ve got the right arm band.” She dropped Roses hand with a grin. “The name's Riversong, and I need you to trust me.”

“Okay,” Amy replied before Rose could object. “What are we going to do?”

“You’re going to let them catch you,” River replied. “Only this once, and you’re going to board the plane. When you sit down, don’t fight the urge to sleep. You can’t fight it, it will win, so let it take you.” The intensity in the woman's voice shook Amy. She knelt down, and took Amy's hand, clasping her own over it. “You’ll wake up again with the Doctor, and mark my words I will find you and explain everything, okay?”

“Sorry, not ta be rude but how are we sposed ta trust you?” Rose interrupted. “You showed up, grabbed my kid, and with what proof?”

“This.” Riversong reached into her jacket and withdrew two things. One was a sonic screwdriver, and the other a photo. Rose quickly inspected the screwdriver and found it to be a perfect replica of her Doctors own. That wasn’t really any sort of proof as this woman could have replicated it, but the photo held more merit.

The frame was a simple wooden thing, but the photo within showed something far more interesting. It was a photo of herself, River, the Doctor and an older Amy, maybe in her early twenties, laughing together on a picnic rug, taken by another from a small distance away. Rose searched her face in the picture, finding only a small scar above her eyebrow differing from her current face. Bewildered, she handed back the photo to River.

“I don’t understand.”

“Brilliant. I don’t need you to understand, I need you to trust me,” River replied. Rose bristled at that, but River continued on. “Find your gate, board the plane designated to you and let Amy be captured. Good luck.”

Seconds after River had spoken, a scaly voice yelled, “There she is! Restrain her!”

A pair of arms wound around Amy’s waist, hoisting her off the ground. Rose resisted the urge to fight the airport attendants, but only barely. She glanced around for River, hoping for guidance, but found the curly haired woman had disappeared. One of the other attendants grabbed her arm. “Are you this child's guardian?”

“I’m her mother,” Rose replied automatically, knowing that in some corners of the galaxy blood relations were prized far higher than guardianship. The Silurian nodded shortly, and began to walk, leaning Rose to catch up to him.

“Very well, follow along. You will board the same gate, and fly to Morpheus’s gate.”

“Morpheus’s gate? I have ta apologise, I’ve never heard of that planet before,” Rose replied, trying to glean any semblance of information she could. “Is it near the fourth quarter of Andromeda?”

“It is far closer than you think.” Was his cryptic response. Rose attempted several other questions, but their guard was silent until they reached a nondescript boarding lounge. “This is your gate.”

Amy was put down, and immediately ran to grab Roses hand. “I don’t want to go in,” she whispered, voice small. Rose squeezed her hand in what she hoped was a reassuring manner, smoothing the little girl's hair with her other hand.

“I’ll protect you.”

Another attendant scanned their wrist bands, and gave Amy a sticker, smiling. “Enjoy your flight. Morpheus awaits.”

Whoever this Morpheus was, Amy did not want to meet him. She ripped off the sticker with one hand, and clutched Rose's hand tighter with the other as they walked down the ramp, unwilling to be separated for even a second in case someone tried to take her away.

The woman at the door of the airlock had a smile plastered on her face, although it was made rather unpleasant by the fact her lips were stretched so far back it seemed her teeth were trying to escape her mouth. Amy shuddered.

“Welcome aboard! You will find your seats at row 10. You are seated in seats A and B. Enjoy your flight.”

Well, at least she would probably have a window seat.

They made their way down the aisle, and the man in 10C moved out to let them in. Rose pushed Amy forwards to sit at the window seat, and she buckled herself in. As soon as Rose's seatbelt went clack, the overhead lights turned off and the seatbelt signs clicked on.

A video began to play in front of Amy on the back of the seat, something about safety or life vests, but inexplicably her eyelids had begun to droop.

Rivers words rang in Amy’s ear, warning her not to fight the sleep, but Amelia Pond was nothing if not headstrong and oppositional. She forced her eyes open and stared around the cabin. Rose was dead to the world next to her, and the man had begun to snore. A split second later a powerful wave of pain rushed through Amy, flipping her stomach like a pancake, and her head felt as if it were about to explode. It was almost worse than her initial TARDIS connection headache, and eventually after a minute or so of struggle, Amy had to give in. Images flashed behind her eyelids, before her mind gave way to the cool hand of sleep.