DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by the BBC. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. This is a femslash story. If you don't like that sort of thing, you won't like this.

3. IMPORTANT (A): As with my previous DW stories, there's a very big canon conceit here, aside from the obvious romantic coupling. Namely, Amy never left. She was around for Clara's arrival, all through the Eleventh Doctor's tenure, and his regeneration into the Twelfth. Got that? Cool.

4. IMPORTANT (B): This follows on from my DW story "Crossroads". I don't like to be one of those who insists you read my other stuff, but events in this story directly follow on from that. To get the full story (so to speak), I do recommend you read "Crossroads" before this, otherwise you might find things even MORE confusing. In fact, read that before reading the next Note!

5. OK, so you've read "Crossroads"? Fantastic. SPOILERS: In that case, you might be surprised at Amy's attitude in this story. I hate to insult anyone's intelligence, but just to make sure - she never found out about Clara's infidelity, let alone her leaving with Missy. Amy was blissfully unaware the whole time.

6. This takes place during the 2010 episode, "Victory of the Daleks".

PART 1

Eighteen months.

Eighteen months of crying. Eighteen months of hiding. Of scavenging. And even, for the first couple of those eighteen, outright begging.

But most of all, eighteen months of waiting.

Until now. Finally, finally, it was nearly time.

And Amy Pond would not fail.

She finished drying the last of the empty glasses and placed it back on the shelf. Amy was alone, left to lock up the pub for the night. Mrs. Bamford retired a couple of hours before closing time.

For surely the billionth time, Amy's thoughts turned to her situation. Except... they never left it. The only thing the Scot could ever think about - the thing consuming her very soul every moment of everyday for a year-and-a-half - was her situation.

Amy was stranded on Earth. But not the Earth of her time - she was kidnapped and abandoned into September 1939. On the very day the worst war in Human history began.

Her blood boiled at the memory. Missy, the most vile and evil person Amy ever encountered, stole her away and dumped her in wartime London, literally hours before the Nazis' invasion of Poland. Since then, Amy was left to fend for herself. No contemporary money, no recognisable identification, nothing. For those first couple of months, Amy was reduced to begging on the streets. And defending herself from would-be attackers.

But not for long. Amy would not live like this. She refused to. Refused to let Missy break her. Instead, the Scot picked herself up and began looking for work - and quickly found it as a barmaid in a small pub, the Royal Oak. The landlady, Mrs. Bamford, even let her stay in one of the upstairs rooms in lieu of pay.

Not that money mattered to Amy. Because the whole reason she chose that particular pub was its location.

It was very near the Cabinet War Rooms.

Amy knew who would be in there eventually. And "eventually" was finally now.

She recalled a previous adventure with the Doctor, when it was just the two of them travelling. Before Amy met the love of her...

In a few short hours, the Doctor and her past self would meet none other than Winston Churchill, and engage in a battle against the Daleks.

Amy initially tried getting work in the military itself, of course. Not in armed combat - that was impossible - but to get closer to Churchill. To make sure she would be there when the time came. But alas, no matter how hard Amy tried, she was unable to secure a secretarial posting or something of the sort. Maybe it was a lack of credentials, maybe it was sexism, maybe it was just Sod's Law, but Amy could not get a job connected to the War Rooms.

She was not even after a role right next to the Prime Minister himself, as she knew if Churchill met her beforehand, that might disrupt the timeline. And despite the situation, even Amy realised the Doctor would be distracted in his fight against the so-called "Ironsides" if there were two of her there. No, Amy had to wait until the Dalek situation was resolved.

That potential paradox was irrelevant, however: Amy failed in getting into the War Rooms. But no matter: she would wait. Her past self and the Doctor ventured outside at some point - right? - and she would reveal herself then. Demand she join them back to the TARDIS. After all, she would not be with them long.

Only long enough to take her back to the planet where they - from her perspective - were last together. The planet Missy kidnapped her. The place Amy's heart was broken.

No, Amy Pond would indeed not fail. She would be back where she belonged, no matter what. She would be back at the side of the love of her life. Nothing would stop her.

She and Clara Oswald would be together again...

TO BE CONTINUED