First Impressions

Disclaimer: I do not own "Doctor Who." I'm just borrowing the characters for a minute or two. I am, however, a proud new owner of a "My other car is the TARDIS" license plate frame.

A/N: This takes place in "A Good Man Goes to War," as Amy & Rory are watching the TARDIS dematerialize, before River's big announcement and Amy's dabbling in armed weaponry.

It's ironic, really. Amelia Jessica Pond has had innocent and near perfect faith in the Doctor ever since she was 7 years old. Rory Williams likes the lunatic well enough, but he's never been able to decide whether or not he truly trusts him.

And yet, when the Doctor promises Mr. and Mrs. Pond-Williams that he'll find their daughter and bring her safely home, Rory is the one who believes him.

Nothing ever compares to the day you meet the Doctor. No matter how far you run together, or what amazing and terrible things he shows you, nothing will ever sear your memory like the first time that madman drops out of the sky and into your life.

The day Amelia Pond met the Doctor, he fell out of a box that fell out of the sky. He ate things which had no business being combined and opened the crack in her wall into an extra-dimensional prison. That day, the Doctor showed Amelia a face full of endless wonder and amazement, and he promised her a little taste of it. She fell asleep dreaming of a life full of adventure, daring, and (finally!) doing something exciting. But she woke up still stuck in the same corner of the universe as always.

The day Amy met the Doctor, she learned that he makes promises he doesn't keep.

The day Rory Williams met the Doctor, he was more than slightly preoccupied with trying to figure out how his coma patients were suddenly strolling all around Leadworth. That's not to say that he didn't notice how Amy looked at the man who (until 20 minutes ago) he had blissfully believed to be nothing more than fictional. That day, Rory saw in the Doctor a face as old as time and as dangerous as any storm he'd ever seen. He stood on a rooftop and watched an armada flee at one word from the stone-faced alien his girlfriend idolized. And, he knew, deep down in his core, that that floating eyeball had never done anything so smart as "Run."

The day Rory met the Doctor, he learned that you do not want him for an enemy.

Nothing ever compares to the day you meet the Doctor. No matter how far you run together, or what amazing and terrible things he shows you, nothing will ever sear your memory like the first time that madman drops out of the sky and into your life.

The Doctor promised Amy and Rory that he would find their daughter and bring her home, even if it meant tearing apart the universe. As the sounds of the TARDIS engines faded, Melody's parents found themselves lost in memories.

Amy found herself, for perhaps the first time, wishing that her Raggedy Doctor was a better man.

Rory had never been so grateful that he isn't.

A/N 2: Well, there you have it. Just something I had rattling around my head. I noticed that, for all his adorable blundering, Rory is one of the few companions to really call the Doctor out (see "Vampires in Venice"). One of the others in recent memory is Donna. And, they both saw "The Oncoming Storm" first, and then the crazed, lovable madman face that he wears. And I think that affects how they respond to him, and he to them. Just a thought. Reviews/thoughts/constructive criticisms, as always, are much appreciated.