My writing reflects my moods, so with all the wonderful things going on here's a bit of Angels Take Manhattan angst for you.
~'0'~
Run.
Is this to be our fate?
Hide.
Freedom is ours as long as we escape
Up one flight of stairs, back down, around in a loop before heading back up again, through a lift, out a window, back in through another. Up and up and up and up. They had to keep running. But at the very top, they froze.
"I always wanted to visit the Statue of Liberty," Rory said weakly. "I guess she got impatient."
We walk in the shadows, we do
For now, but all we know
Our time is near
"Rory, stop it. You'll die." Amy was staring at him, slowly shaking her head as he stood on the ledge.
"Yeah, twice, in the same building on the same night," he agreed. "Who else could do that?"
"Just come down, please," she begged.
"This is the right thing to do," he argued, his voice trembling. "This will work. If I die now, it's a paradox, right? The paradox kills the Angels. Tell me I'm wrong. Go on, please, because I'm really scared." Amy just stared at him wordlessly, tears filling her eyes. "Oh, great. The one time you can't manage it. Amy, I'm going to need a little help here." Rory took her hand and placed it on his chest.
"Just stop it!" she shouted, but she didn't pull away.
"Just think it through," he said. "This will work, this will kill the Angels."
"It'll kill you too," she whispered.
"Will it? River said that this place would be erased from time, never existed. If this place never existed, what did I fall off?"
"You think you'll come back to life?" she asked incredulously.
"When don't I?" he countered, a hint of bitterness entering his voice.
"Rory-" Amy started, but he pushed on.
"And anyway, what else is there? Dying of old age downstairs, never seeing you again? Amy, please, if you love me, then trust me, and push." He squeezed her hand.
"I can't," she said, shaking her head again.
"You have to!"
"Could you?" she asked. "If it was me, could you do it?"
"To save you, I'd do anything."
If this is the way it ends
Don't tell me it's meaningless
There'll be no compromise
We fall and we too shall rise
"Shut up," Amy said, looking at him, her eyes shining with fear and pride and so much love. "Together, or not at all."
The Doctor and River tore up through the fire escape, not even sparing the Angel of Liberty a glance.
"What the hell are you doing!" the Doctor shouted, running towards them.
"Changing the future," Amy answered. "It's called marriage."
And together, arms wrapped tightly around each other, they fell.
You held me and taught me how
I think I am ready now
If this is the way it ends
This is the way its meant to be
"Amy, come and see this," Rory called.
"What?" Amy asked, stepping back out of the TARDIS.
"There's a gravestone here for someone with the same name as me."
"What?"
He turned to look at her, but then he was gone. Behind him, an Angel stood, one hand pointing on an outstretched arm, wearing an impassive expression.
"Doctor!" Amy screamed.
We will be spelled in blood
And this is the way that they'll remember us
We'll emerge from the shadows
We will emerge from the shadows
The Doctor and River ran out of the TARDIS, stopping short in shocked horror at the sight of the lone Angel.
"Where the hell did that come from? River demanded.
"It's a survivor," the Doctor breathed. "Very weak, but keep your eyes on it."
"Where's Rory?"
The Doctor glanced over at his gravestone, and a few more years were added to his ancient eyes.
"I'm sorry, Amelia. I'm so, so sorry."
This is the way it ends
Don't tell me it's meaningless
There'll be no compromise
We fall and we too shall rise
You held me and taught me how
I think I am ready now
If this is the way it ends
This is the way it's meant to be
"The Angel, would it send me back to the same time? To him?" The Doctor shook his head, hands trembling as his mind went into overload, the sheer desperation overwhelming him.
"I don't know, nobody knows," he replied.
"But it's my best shot, yeah?"
"No!" he shouted.
"Doctor, shut up," River said, her voice breaking. "Yes. Yes, it is."
"Well then, I just have to blink, right?"
"No!"
"It'll be fine. I know it will. I'll be with him, like a should be. Me and Rory together."
Under my skin they fade away
Here's to life with no regrets
See you all again one day
Give me love or give me death
"Melody? You look after him. You be a good girl, and you look after him." Tears were pooling in her eyes, and she was going to blink soon. River kissed her mother's hand before stepping backwards.
"You are creating fixed time, I will never be able to see you again," the Doctor nearly sobbed.
"I'll be fine," she replied hoarsely. "I'll be with him."
"Amy, please. Just come back into the TARDIS. Come along, Pond, please!"
"Raggedy man..."
She spun around to face him, and while he could have watched the Angel forever if it meant saving her, both he and River looked at her face, the image forever seared into their hearts.
"Goodbye."
"NO!"
This is the way it ends
This is my life begins
If this is the way it ends
Nothing is meaningless
There'll be no compromise
We fall and we too shall rise
If this is the way it ends
Then this is the way it's meant to be
This is the way it's meant to be
~'0'~
Afterword, by Amelia Williams. Hello, old friend. And here we are, you and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well, and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you always. Sometimes I do worry about you, though. I think once we're gone, you won't be coming back here for a while, and you might be alone, which you should never be. Don't be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me. There's a girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived, and save a whale in outer space.
Tell her this is the story of Amelia Pond.
And this is how it ends.