She made her decision, even though they cried and begged for her to stop and think. What they didn't understand was that she didn't need to think. Her mind was made up. She stepped into the bright light. She knew what she had to do.
Before that, she wanted to do something else.
"Amy! Come and see this!"
She paused just as she was about to close the door. She poked her head out.
"What?" She asked. Curious at what her husband had found, Amy stepped out and walked up to him, the distinct closing of the TARDIS door closing behind her. There was a distressed hum in her mind, but she ignored it.
"There's a gravestone here of someone with the same name as me." Rory explained. Amy looked at the grave in question.
"What?" She giggled incredulously. She looked up to meet his confused gaze.
Then everything happened all at once.
She heard herself yelling for the Doctor as Rory spun around with wide eyes to face the disintegrating Weeping Angel, the bright flash of light that had erupted a second before dissipated. Amy grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her as the TARDIS door slammed open.
"What the hell happened?" River exclaimed. The Doctor joined them, staring at the scene as Rory gripped her tightly. No one said anything.
Amy turned to where the beam of light had come from and caught a flash of brown hair as their saviour ran off.
They all sat in the TARDIS silently, not sure how to talk after what happened. Amy was still trying to digest it all. Rory had almost been touched. The Doctor said that if that had happened, there would have been no way to get him back. Amy wasn't sure what she would have done if that was true.
They had all left her in the console room to do their own things. The thrum of the engines lulled her but it didn't stop the tears that slid down her face. The day was just too emotionally charged for her to process everything at once.
She had almost lost Rory.
A small cough caught her attention. She looked up to see River smiling sheepishly at her.
"I was just about to head off...but I wanted to say goodbye first." She explained quietly.
"You knew, didn't you?" Amy asked. River looked confused. "You knew this would happen. That we would be saved."
"Yes." River replied. "I didn't know about this in the first place. The only reason I wrote the book was because you suggested it."
"When?"
"In time." River replied with a twinkle in her eyes. Amy smiled and pushed herself off the jump seat, wrapping her arms around her daughter in a hug. Her baby Melody. She wondered if they could ever make up for lost time. Suddenly, River pulled her back, a serious look in her eyes.
"Mother, I'm sorry." River whispered. Amy looked at her with a confused gaze. "For what's to come. I'm sorry for what's to come. I need you to be very brave and to do the right thing. And don't let the Doctor travel alone. God knows where he'll end up if you ever did that."
With that cryptic message, River pulled away and clicked on her vortex manipulator, zapping away to who knows where. Amy looked at the spot her daughter had just been, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts and possibilities.
An arm wrapped around her shoulders and she looked up to meet Rory's curious gaze.
"You okay?" He asked her. Amy shook her head and leaned into his one-armed embrace.
"I almost lost you today." She whispered.
"I told you I'd come back to life." He said teasingly. Amy swatted his arm.
"That's not funny, Rory." She snapped furiously. Rory made eye contact and his expression softened.
"I know. I'm sorry."
Amy sighed and rested her arm on his shoulder, too exhausted to continue being angry. "What do we do now?" She whispered.
"We'll figure it out." Rory replied softly. "Together,"
"Or not at all." Amy finished off with conviction.
The next couple of days, the Doctor forced Amy and Rory on safe adventures. For a while, they didn't mind. They wanted to spend time with each other. Eventually, they both started to grow restless but the Doctor continued to go on safe adventures.
It continued to the point that Amy and Rory grew worried.
"We need to talk." Amy said as she stepped into the console room. The Doctor was fiddling with the console, a grin on his face.
"Yes! Where do you want to go next? There's the fabulous Monte Vista in the Sahara cluster- not the Earth one, that's boring, or Space Florida! We haven't been to Space Florida in a while, have we? It's been over ten years for you and for me, well-"
"Doctor." Amy cut off his rant. He stopped babbling and looked at her sheepishly, shuffling restlessly. "What's this all about?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." The Doctor said. "We're still going on adventures, aren't we?"
"Those are not adventures." Amy narrowed her eyes. "Those are you playing it safe. Why?"
The Doctor's eyes flitted to the ground. Amy signalled for Rory to stay back as soon as he joined them.
"Doctor?" He still wouldn't meet her gaze. Then it all clicked into place. "You're scared."
"The Angels almost took you away." The Doctor said uncertainly. "What would I have done then? I've already lost so much."
"But that doesn't mean we stop doing what we do!" Amy tried.
"Doesn't it?" The Doctor's gaze snapped up to meet hers. "How long until something like this happens again Amy? If not the Angels, then the Daleks or the Cybermen or the Master. Bottom line is, something will almost certainly happen that will take you away." His painful gaze flickered over to Rory. "Take him away."
"Doctor," Amy said softly, reaching down and scooping his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "It's okay, we're still here." Rory stepped over and took his other hand. "See? We're both still alive. There's no need to do this."
"But-"
"But nothing," Amy chuckled. "This is our choice. Not yours. We decided what we want Doctor, and we want the adventure. It's the reason we chose you over normal life, isn't it?"
"Two against one," Rory smiled softly. "You're outnumbered, mate."
The Doctor looked between them uncertainly. Slowly, his expression lightened and he pulled them both into a crushing hug.
"There we go!" Amy giggled triumphantly. "I always get what I want, don't I?"
The Doctor laughed. "Yes, you do." He kissed them both on the head. "My Ponds."
The phone went off and the Doctor pulled away to answer it. Rory wrapped an arm around her.
"That was a pretty good speech, Mrs Williams."
"Thank you, Mr Pond." Amy kissed his cheek.
"Hello?" The Doctor's questioning voice filled the console room. "Vastra? Yes, yes...snow? Well, it's not something I do-" He met Amy's steely gaze and sighed. "We'll be right there." He put the phone down and turned to look at them. "It's snowing?"
"Okay..." Rory trailed off uncertainly. "So?"
"What's so scary about snow?" Amy scoffed.
"No clouds." The Doctor replied.
"No clouds means there can't be snow." Amy nodded in understanding.
"Precisely, Pond." The Doctor snapped his fingers at her, already racing around the console room. "Fancy a trip to Victorian England?"
"We've never really been, have we?" Rory mused. "Something always comes up."
"Like right now." Amy pointed out. The Doctor muttered sheepishly. Amy smirked at him. "Just how we like it."
The Doctor smirked at them. His hand trailed over the wibbly lever.
"Alright then, off to Victorian England."
He pulled the lever.
"And this is a helpline?" Clara asked incredulously, her laptop placed precariously on her lap.
"That's right, love." The woman on the other end reassured. "Best helpline in the universe."
Clara looked down at the number she had scribbled down. She was about to ask for more details when a dispute between Angie and Artie broke out downstairs. She sighed.
"Alright, thanks, I'll call the number." She quickly hung up and raced down to the kitchen, the paper stuffed into her pocket.
