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I do not own Doctor Who. BBC does and they break my heart.

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The Doctor's Wife

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The Doctor, Rory, Amy and Idris landed in the main control center after having been transferred there from a deleted room.

"We are in your universe now, Doctor." House was saying. "Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords."

"Fear me," The Doctor responded softly. "I've killed all of them." He could hear Rory talking off to the side but was too focused on House to pay attention. "Yeah, you're right. You've completely won. Oh, you can kill us in oodles of really inventive ways, but before you do kill us allow me and my friends, Amy and Rory, to congratulate you on being an absolutely worthy opponent." The Doctor started clapping and nudged Amy in the side.

"Congratulations!" Amy shouted, clapping slowly. Rory looked up at them from where he sat on the floor holding Idris in his lap.

"Yep, you've defeated us. Me and my lovely friends here, and last but definitely not least, the TARDIS Matrix herself, a living consciousness you ripped out of this very control room and locked up into a human body. And look at her." The Doctor gestured to the weak body holding his TARDIS.

"Doctor, she's stopped breathing." Rory said softly.

"Enough. That is enough." House snapped.

"No. It's never enough." The Doctor said. "You forced the TARDIS into a body so she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room. A flesh body can't hold the TARDIS Matrix and live. Look at her body, House." He commanded

"And you think I should mourn her?" House asked.

"No." The Doctor smirked. "I think you should be very, very careful about what you let back into this control room. You took her from her home. But now she's back in the box again, and she's free." As The Doctor said this golden dust particles flew from Idris' body and into the control panel before circulating around the room.

"No. Doctor, stop this! Argh! Stop this now." House shouted as the TARDIS regained control.

"Oh, look at my girl. Look at her go! Bigger on the inside. You see, House?" The Doctor shouted proudly as he whirled around to watch his TARDIS work, laughing happily.

"Make her stop." House demanded.

"That's your problem." The Doctor announced, completely ignoring House's demands. "Size of a planet, but inside you are just. So. Small. Finish him off, girl." The Doctor said as he leaned over the control panel, the golden light finished whirling around the TARDIS before reappearing just behind him in the form of Idris.

The Doctor turned and looked up at the softly glowing form of Idris, glancing once towards Rory and Amy to make sure they were still uninjured. He walked slowly to where his TARDIS stood on the stairs. He stopped before her and glanced up, smiling proudly, happy that she was still here.

"Doctor, are you there? It's so very dark in here." Idris called out for him, her voice echoing as his TARDIS spoke through her.

"I'm here." He continued smiling at her.

"I've been looking for a word. A big, complicate word, but so sad. I've found it now." Idris told him.

"What word?" The Doctor asked.

"Alive." Idris breathed. "I'm alive!"

"Alive isn't sad." The Doctor countered with a slight shake of his head. How could her being alive possibly be sad when it gave them the opportunity to finally talk with each other face to face? He doubted he had ever been so excited in all his years of traveling.

"It's sad when it's over." Idris whispered. The Doctor felt an icy coldness grip his hearts. It wasn't over though. She was alive! She was still alive and she was here with him. Talking to him, laughing with him. He could travel with her forever! Never having to be alone again! "I'll always be here." She said, breaking into his thoughts, "But this is when we talked, and now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you." She said. The Doctor could feel his hope crumbling to dust around him, leaving behind the broken fragments of his hearts.

"Goodbye?" He asked softly.

"No. I just wanted to say…Hello." Idris' bottom lip started to tremble as her eyes filled with tears. "Hello, Doctor. It's so very nice to meet you." She began to sob softly.

"Please!" The doctor sobbed quietly, his hearts squeezing painfully as he tried to talk past the lump in his throat. He took a step towards her and held out his hand. "Please. I don't want you to go. Don't leave me alone."

"I'm sorry, my thief. I cannot stay." Idris sobbed as she started to fade slowly. The Doctor shook his head and fell to his knees when she finally disappeared.

"Nonono, come back. Please come back!" He cried. "I don't want to be alone anymore! I can't be alone!" A sound behind him made him freeze and, holding his breath, he looked over his shoulder to see the Ponds staring sadly down at him. He turned back around and stood quickly, taking deep breaths as he wiped his face. He fisted his hands in his shirt, over his hearts, as he turned away from them and walked towards the TARDIS consol. He stroked a dial reverently and the TARDIS whirred comfortingly. He sniffed as he walked around the console slowly, flipping switches, pulling levers, and pushing buttons.

"Doctor?" Amy asked softly, walking towards him.

"I need to fix a few things then we'll be off." The Doctor said as he walked away from them, wiping his face as he went. Amy and Rory looked at each other worriedly but let the Doctor go off on his own.

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An hour later they found the Doctor swinging in a harness underneath the console center, sonic-ing wires together.

"How's it going under there?" Rory asked as he walked halfway down the stairs. Amy just looked down through the glass floor.

"Just putting a firewall around the Matrix. Almost done." The Doctor said as he held to wires together, causing them to spark off.

"Are you going to make her talk again?" Amy asked him.

"I can't." The Doctor said tonelessly, turning away from them so they couldn't see the grief in his eyes.

"Why not?" Rory asked.

"Spacey wacey, isn't it?" Amy guessed.

"Well, actually, it's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an eleventh dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical then…" He looked up at their confused faces. "Yes, it's spacey wacey! You okay?"
"No." Rory said. "I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. I'm a nurse."

"Letting it get to you. You know what that's called? Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now, that's all that counts. Nearly finished. Two more minutes, then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful, if you like restful. I can never really get the hang of restful. What do you think, dear? Where shall we take the kids this time?" The Doctor rambled on as he looked up lovingly at his TARDIS.

"Look at you pair. It's always you and her, isn't it, long after the rest of us have gone. A boy and his box, off to see the universe." Amy teased.

"Well, you say that as if it's a bad thing. But honestly, it's the best thing there is." The Doctor smiled slightly. "The House deleted all the bedrooms. I should probably make you two a new bedroom. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Okay. Er, Doctor, this time could we lose the bunk beds?" Amy asked.

"No! Bunk beds are cool. A bed with a ladder. You can't beat that." Amy and Rory just stared at him and he waved his hand, forcing a jovial smile. "It's your room. Out those stairs, keep walking till you find it. Off you pop."

"Doctor, do you have a room?" Rory asked. He just looked at the Ponds and gave a tense smirk. Once they left the Doctor slumped in his harness, all his grief and pain temporarily crushing him. He allowed himself a few broken sobs before he stood and wiped his face. He had to push back the pain like he always did. He couldn't afford to give into it ever, a thousand years of despair was too much for anyone to handle, even a Time Lord. The Doctor straightened his bow-tie, took a deep breath and climbed the few stairs to the TARDIS console.

"Are you there? Can you hear me?" He asked softly, hopefully. He was met with silence and pushed his disappoint meant away. "Oh, I'm a silly old. Okay. The Eye of Orion, or wherever we need to go." Levers began to move on their own and he smiled a bright, genuine smile and laughed. Idris was right; she was still here, even if he can't hear her. She would always be with him and he would never have to be alone.