Chapter Name: Meanwhile, in Manhattan…

Setting: This picks up at the end of "The Angels Take Manhattan;" if you still haven't seen this episode, read on at your own risk.

DISCLAIMER: Some dialogue from this chapter includes what was said in the actual episode. This is indicated through the use of page breaks. The part after the first page break is taken directly from the episode, and you should recognize it as so. I did not write those lines, and all credits go to BBC and Moffat. This dialogue was unavoidable and inevitable, since the story picks up before the episode is over.

THE DOCTOR'S PERSPECTIVE

Brilliant! Rory and Amelia Pond are absolutely, fantastically brilliant! Creating a paradox is not something I'd usually agree to (or support, for that matter…) but it worked! Of course, waking up in the middle of a graveyard is not exactly my cup of tea, but it definitely beats the alternative: being buried in the graveyard.

Sitting up in the grass, I glanced down at River Song, who hadn't fully woken up yet. Realizing I was still holding onto her hand, I couldn't resist giving it a little kiss to make up for how hard I must've been squeezing it at the Winter Quay.

River's eyes fluttered open, blinded by the sun. "Hey Sweetie," she said softly. "I thought we were beyond kissing on the hand by now."

"No, no, that's not right," I mumbled, the words escaping my mouth before I really knew what I was saying (which unfortunately happens fairly often around her). And I knew, just by looking at her furrowed eyebrows and those squiggly lines across her forehead, she had no idea what I was taking about. "What you just said, right there, it's, um... it's not right- it's, um... 'Hello.'"

She sat up a bit, resting her elbows on the grass, and cocked her head to the side, giving me that he's cute when he's flustered smile. "Oh, Doctor, what are you on about this time?"

So I tried again. "Its wrong. 'Hey Sweetie' is wrong, 'Hello Sweetie' is right. It's always been: 'Hello!'"

River sighed and gave a short, sweet little laugh, finally realizing what I meant. She drives me absolutely mad! We almost all just died, for heaven's sake- and here I am, making googly eyes at River, getting all my words confused, and rambling on and on, making a complete and total ass of myself, not making a bit of sense.

My face felt hotter and hotter the longer we sat like that. Sure, it'd only been a matter of seconds... but her big, beautiful eyes pierced right into mine, knowing that I only get this way around her. And you could see that satisfaction just glowing from her stupidly adorable smile that she wouldn't wipe off. I ran an anxious hand through my hair, wishing I would've just shut up about the whole thing to begin with. "Oh, never mind! This is what you do, River- what you always do! Making people all flustered and whatnot! You can't just go around confusing people, throwing around different forms of 'Hello.' It's not fair, and it's- it's inappropriate, and-"

"And you can stop talking now," she teased as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "You sentimental idiot." I couldn't resist smiling like a child as she kissed me.

Speaking of children, though, I could hear Rory off in the distance, calling for us. "Doctor! River! Where are you two?"

Amy shouted right after him, saying, "Come on you two! We just jumped off a building- still a bit sore from that. The least you could do is get over here!"

I broke the kiss immediately and grinned from ear to ear. A knowing nod from River sent me running over to my Ponds. (Okay, so it was more like skipping over to them. Dancing, if you will. I was probably a little too excited.)

I followed the sound their voices and found them sitting up behind a few tombstones, clearly scuffed up from their "landing."

"Where are we?" Rory asked, a little less enthused than I'd expected.

Nonetheless, I answered cheerily, "Back where we started!"

Amy and Rory looked around- still unsure about everything, I guess. I could hardly blame them though; it was all so hard to believe that even I found myself in disbelief, touching Rory's face to ensure I wasn't imagining it. This was really real- the Ponds fixed it all! Everything was going to be alright- just this once, everybody lives! Hardly able to contain my excitement, I cried out, "You collapsed the timeline! The paradox worked! We all pinged back where we belong!"

"What- in a graveyard?" Rory, Rory, Rory... when did he become such a negative Nancy?

"Yeah, this happened last time," Amy pointed out. "Why always here?" And Amelia. Always the skeptic.

I threw my hands up and flailed around a bit. "Does it matter? We got lucky! We could've blown New York off the planet! ...I can't ever take the TARDIS back there- the time lines are too scrambled." Still utterly relieved that that was the worst of our problems, I took a deep breath and whispered, "I could've lost you both," and wrapped my arms around the pair of them, holding onto them tightly. "Don't ever do that again," I warned.

"What- What'd we do?" Rory asked, confused (as usual). "We fixed it- we solved the problem."

I pulled back from our group-hug and smiled at the both of them. "I was talking to myself."

I kissed the tops of their heads and ran off to River with an extra spring in my step.

I was just about to tell River the good news about how we all survived in one piece, when a certain tombstone caught my eye. I stopped dead in my tracks, rubbed my eyes desperately, and read the tombstone again in utter confusion. I looked over my shoulder, towards Rory and Amy, and there they were- right where I left them- holding hands and laughing in between kisses, happy as ever. I looked back to the stone once more, shook my head, and walked away, saying under my breath, "No, it can't be true."

"What can't be true?" River, still sitting right where I left her, beamed up at me with that smile of hers.

"Never mind that, River. Like I said, it isn't even true, so there's no use in discussing it," I dismissed. "Now what have you been up to over here all by yourself?"

"Just taking it all in. It's been a long day. But...well, look at that," she said, nodding towards the Manhattan skyline. "It's still carrying on. As if nothing ever happened. Like the angels never took over, like the Statue of Liberty never left it's spot, and like all four of us were never even there in the first place- as if our family wasn't almost torn apart and lost forever-"

I sat down beside her, placing my hand over hers, reiterating, "That's because nothing did happen. Not in this timeline. Paradox, remember?"

"I know. But it's moments like this that make me wonder if traveling through all of time and space is really worth it. We risk our lives- not to mention our family's lives- for ordinary people out there who haven't the slightest clue that we exist. We could be those ordinary people, you know. Living in New York, reading the morning paper, having a job that doesn't involve killing or nearly being killed, and-"

"And you would hate every minute of it."

We both burst out in laughter as she cried, "Oh God yes! Could you imagine? Me, being simple?"

I gave her a soft little nose-tap, grateful that she hadn't noticed the change in subject, and sighed, "You couldn't be simple if you tried, River. You are… the most incredible woman that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."

She bit her lip, eyebrows raised, and scoffed, "You're good at that, aren't you?"

"What? I was just-"

"Changing the subject?" So she did notice... "Nice try, Doctor, but I know you better than anyone. And I know when something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, River," I lied. "Everything is back to normal, and I couldn't be happier. Nothing left to talk about." I got up, brushed the dirt off my trousers, and tried to walk away before River could say anything more.

Before I even took my first step, she called my bluff nonchalantly. "I don't believe you." As if she knew I was about to walk away again, she went on, "Why do you always do this?" Uh-oh. "You push me away every time something bothers you, when I... I trust you, with anything and everything. I thought, maybe one day, you might trust me half as much."

"Oh, River…" I slowly turned around and pulled her to her feet. I've never seen her so... vulnerable. Just earlier, she was telling me about how she always hid her damage from me. Doesn't she realize I'm doing the same for her? I brushed the hair away from her face and placed a single soft kiss on her lips. "I absolutely trust you- with anything, everything, and more. But when one's in love with anyone, as much as I'm in love with you, one does one's best to hide the damage."

I sighed, knowing she wouldn't let me off that easy. I had to tell her. "I saw a tombstone with Rory's name on it." And that was it; the expression that was on her face nearly killed me. "It's fine though," I attempted to say cheerily. "One name written on a stone is such a small thing- I'm sure the paradox just missed it, that's all. Skipped right over it. It's that unimportant."

She shook her head in what seemed to be a combination of horror and remorse. "That's impossible- you know that."

"Not entirely..." I tried to think of another excuse, but nothing came to mind. She was right. But- for not just my sake, but hers as well- she had to be wrong. "Listen, the paradox doesn't always-"

A look a pity took over her expression. She reached for my hand and said cautiously, "No, Doctor. You've got to listen to me on this one. What you're suggesting is not only impossible; it's ridiculous. And-"

"I know, I know! So it's something else then! Maybe someone's got the same name!"

"Another Rory Williams- buried in here of all places? No, that's too much of a coincidence."

"What else then!?" I snapped.

River grabbed ahold of my arms immediately and hushed, "Doctor, please.Don't make them hear you. That won't make anything better."

I turned around to see Rory and Amy off in the distance. They looked over and gave us a little wave.

Turning back to River, I took a deep breath and said quietly, "I'm sorry… Tell me what else it could be then, because Rory's right back there. He's alive well and with Amy, and we're taking them home as soon as we all get back into the TARDIS."

River looked at me like I had just sputtered off in a foreign language. She didn't look happy with me either. "What's that face for?" I asked.

"We're taking them home?" she demanded.

"Well it's where they should have been in the first place. It's where they belong, River."

"Don't you dare take them away from me now. We were supposed to have a proper wedding. We talked about this. They were going to be there. The four of us, off on some wondrous planet, Rory both giving me away and being your best man, Amy being my maid of honor... We have so many plans- they're our family- and they belong with us. And do you really think they'd just let you drop them off? They want to be here. And if something does happen to Rory out there- could you really leave Amy alone?"

"It's my fault all of this happened," I growled in a hushed fit of anger. "Don't you see? This is what I do everytime; I find good people, and I take their lives away from them. It's selfish and I will not be putting them in any more danger."

"Well, hate to remind you, but Rory isn't out of danger yet."

"He is as long as I've got the TARDIS, and as long as he's home."

"You saw it written in stone, sweetie. And once you know what's coming, it's impossible to change, and it can't stopped."

"Or maybe it can be stopped- it's just never happened before!" And just like that, my brain scrambled together the perfect plan! I flashed River a devious smile and took her by the hand. She didn't even have to question me. We both knew we had to get back to the TARDIS and get Rory away from that graveyard. We had to run and never look back.

River went into the TARDIS first, took one look, and frowned back at me; "It's safe to say she could do with a little fixing up." She was right, the TARDIS was a complete disaster. I tried to start her up, but to no avail. River gave me a little nudge as she reached for the control panel. "Let me see." I stepped aside and watched her work on the TARDIS, but still, nothing happened. "We could be here all day. Her parts are everywhere... if only I could get her to turn on, maybe she could show me how to fix her."

"I could fix her up, of course, it'll just take a bit." I slid my hands into my pockets and rocked back on my heels awkwardly. "...Should I warn them about Rory?" I asked.

"No, of course not," she answered, bustling around the TARDIS. "They would panic if they knew- and the last time that happened, they jumped right off of a building without so much as a goodbye."

"Right. Well... I should at least let them know we'll be a while. Right?"

River shot me a puzzled glance, "What for?"

"I don't know- look- I'm just saying- they're going to get terribly bored hanging around here all day!"

"I'm sure they'll manage, sweetie."

"Well... should I tell them where we are then? They're probably going mad wondering where we've run off to."

"We're completely isolated, there's no one around, and there's nowhere to go but the TARDIS." Then, with a roll of her eyes, River smiled coyly and said, "But yes, I suppose you can go check up on them anyway. I'll manage."

I kissed her cheek and ran out the door. I heard Amy's laugh and headed in that direction.. Looking around the graveyard, I could see their coats lying in the grass between some bushes and tombstones. They'd wandered off quite a bit since I last saw them.

I ran over and stuck my head over the bushes, hollering, "Hello again-" just in time to see Rory taking off his shirt, with a nearly completely naked Amy lying underneath him.

My jaw dropped to floor. I froze, not being able to look away or say anything else.

"Doctor!?" shrieked Rory as he frantically tossed his shirt back on.

"What are you doing here," Amy shrieked, her cheeks now bright red.

I finally managed to turn away, rubbing my eyes and smacking at the side of my head, hoping to get the image of them out of my head. (It wasn't working very well.) "I just wanted to see if Rory was still- um- ginger." I cringed at my own cover-story. I can't believe I almost let it slip that I was wondering if Rory was still alive. "Yeah, I thought I saw some grey hairs when I saw you a few minutes ago, but- no- still ginger- still Rory." If there had been a wall nearby, I would have been hanging my head against it repeatedly. Finally, my brain decided to work again- love it when that happens- and I realized something. "Wait, what wouldn't I be doing here?"

"Well… we sort of saw you sneak off to the TARDIS with River," she answered.

"We figured you two would be… distracted," Rory explained. "So we thought we could, um- well, we thought we get distracted too."

"In a graveyard? That's-" Well, it was disgusting, morbid, dreadful, and disrespectful, among a million other things; but before I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, I thought up another genius plan. I had to think of something to keep them distracted, and I was pretty sure this sort of thing takes people an hour or so,so why not let them have another go? So I plastered on a fake smile and said through gritted teeth, "That's a fantastic way to pass the time."

"What?!" Neither Pond could believe what I'd just said. I turned back around- and thankfully, by then, they were all covered up.

"You two have at it," I said, giving them two thumbs up as I backed away slowly.

Amy crossed her arms uncomfortably and asked, "Doctor? Could you not tell River about this? I think it's best this is all forgotten."

"Yes, yes of course. Already forgotten. I'll see you two later. Take your time. I won't come looking for you again- trust me." I waved awkwardly and walked anxiously away from them as quickly as possible, making a ruckus as I hurried into the TARDIS

"Back so soon?" asked River, as she leaned against the console of the TARDIS.

I shook my head, saying, "The things I just saw, River… never again."

"Ooh, do tell."

"Trust me when I say this: you don't want to know." My face must have said it all...

River buried her face in her hands, laughing, " Oh God, no! You don't mean they-"

"Yes."

Still amused, she cried, "In the cemetery?"

"Oh yes."

"So that's where my naughty side comes from," she teased. "But going off that innocence in your eyes, you still haven't even seen my naughty side yet, have you?" I swallowed and tried to keep my cool as River stepped dangerously close to me, backing me up against the wall. Her soft fingers grazed gently across my cheek as she leaned in slowly for a kiss. My knees went weak as her other hand slowly slid up my inner thigh. Just as our lips were about to touch, she pressed a finger to my lips and whispered "Maybe when you're older."

She'd turned around and left me there. My hearts were beating much faster than normal and it was almost hard to breathe. But completely disregarding me, River beckoned to me with one finger, simply saying, "Come on now, there's work to be done."

"I hate it when you do that," I mumbled.

"And that's exactly why I do it," she smiled. "I love seeing you get all flustered!"

Suddenly, the lights in the TARDIS surged back on. Incessant beeping followed shortly after. That's when I noticed the control panel was lit up and properly working. "You fixed her already?" I felt like a little boy on Christmas! "Oh, River, you saint! It's no wonder I keep you around!"

"She's not ready yet. She's downloading."

"What do you mean she's downloading?"

"She just needed to be restarted."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You can do that?"

"Of course! All machines have ways to be restarted. I had to connect some wires and press a few buttons, and that was it. All of the data you had in here is being restored and all of the automatic controls are being fixed. Hence, the beeping. The rest will just take a few more minutes and after that, we're free to go. Looks like we'll be out of here much faster than we thought."

"But there are still a bunch of parts lying around, and she looks pretty beat up- you still think she'll make it?"

"I don't see why not; those parts are just used to make her run a bit smoother," she told me.

"You're telling me the TARDIS used to run smoothly? That's a laugh."

"Just you wait, Doctor. This is about to be a bumpy ride, like you've never experienced."

"Then I'm glad I have someone to hold onto... Say, River, once we drop them off at home, where should we go? You and me, all of time and space… anywhere, anytime. Your choice, of course."

"If we're seriously dropping them off, Doctor, you can drop me off too... And who would you hold onto then?"

"...You're impossible."

The TARDIS suddenly started to shake vigorously. The beeping grew deafeningly louder. Every sound the TARDIS had ever made all went off at once, creating the most atrocious noise possible. Pieces of the TARDIS whirled rapidly around us, one almost hitting River in the head. She ducked and let out a surprised shriek. We continuously dodged the parts until I was able to reach out and wrap her up into a tight, protective hug. Never mind the parts hitting me on the shoulder or back; I hardly felt a thing when she was in my arms.

"What's happening?!" I shouted over the noise and confusion.

When she didn't answer, I glanced down to find River gripping onto my jacket and burying her face in my chest. Looks like some things do scare Miss Song. Things she can kill with a gun are insignificant to her, I suppose, but when things get out of control, even River could get scared.

I held her even tighter and kissed the top of her head. Vulnerable moments like this were so rare with her, and were more precious to me than I'd ever let on. But slowly, the commotion settled down, and River stepped away from me, casually looking around the TARDIS, acting completely indifferent. Though I'd expected it to be even more of a wreck than before, it was perfectly back to normal and all the parts were back where they belong.

"Now that's what I call a restart," she mused.

"What was all that? The noise, the shaking, the things hitting me in the neck?" I asked, giving myself a little neck-message.

"My guess is: the sounds were all being tested- the alarm, the ignition, the breaks… the beeping was supposed to act as a warning of some sort. Maybe when we first noticed it, we should have stepped outside. And as for the shaking, I think that was just the broken parts of the TARDIS being whisked back into place. You don't suppose we-" River hesitated, wide-eyed, then she rushed outside without another word.

I followed, of course, wondering what she what she was up to.

"Just checking that we didn't fly off to London or something," she laughed, attempting to hide the worry in her eyes.

I took her hand in mine and our eyes locked. Just like that, I think both our worries went away. "So! I've got my TARDIS, got my girl, now all we need are the Ponds, and... then we can leave, right?"

"Yes! Care to go get them, Doctor?" she teased.

"I think not," I laughed. "I actually told them to have another go!"

"You didn't," River cried. "You bad boy!"

"Well they had to pass the time, so I thought- oh never mind!"

"So what shall we do to pass to pass the time, Doctor?"

River nodded back to the TARDIS and asked, "Shall we?"

I turned around and it only took me one brief look at the TARDIS, to agree, "Yes, I suppose we shall." River was right. It shouldn't be put off any longer. My poor, beautiful TARDIS looked so depressing all covered in mud, bird droppings, and cobwebs. "I'll get the sponges," I sighed.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," she muttered. "But I'll get the soap."