"Doctor." He didn't look up.
"Doctor." He hummed, raising his eyebrows but not turning around. He wouldn't give her that pleasure.
"I know you can hear me – you're not even that distracted!" Amelia huffed, standing up and walking over to him, spinning the swing around and shaking it when he was facing her. "Pay attention to me!"
He only laughed slightly, raising his sonic to fiddle with it. He lifted the goggles onto his forehead, staring up at her for a moment. "You do realize it's practically midnight – well, for you. I hardly sleep." He said, jabbing her in the arm with the sonic. She let go of the swing, and he continued, "You shouldn't be bothering me this late, Pond. You should be nuzzled down in your bed. Which is down the hall, not on the steps over there. I'm not carrying you to be again. That was – awful. And embarrassing, since neither Rory nor I could do it." He rambled, and she shook the swing again with frustration.
"I can't sleep! That's the problem. I'm not bothering you for no reason, honestly. I need help." She replied, and he rolled his eyes in the slightest, though he couldn't hide his smile. "Take me somewhere."
He shook his head immediately, and she let go of the swing once more, crossing her arms. "Why not?"
"Rory won't be there with us to keep you safe." She rolled her eyes at this and bit back a laugh. He could barely keep her safe back in Leadworth. He was all twiggy and gentle and the Doctor was too – with her, at least. But he had a sonic. That made him at least ten times more protective than Rory could be – in the face of danger, anyways.
"I don't need Rory to keep me safe. I have you." She replied, taking his hand and trying to pull him up. "Please? Show me some planets! You love showing me planets. Really, you do. I know you do." She insisted, but he didn't budge from his seat in the swing.
"Amelia, it's late. You're tired, and you're going home tomorrow. You need rest," He sighed, standing up and gently pulling his arm away, turning toward some wiring and playing with it, trying to bend and fuse some wires together.
"That's an even better reason to take me out on an adventure! You're taking me home tomorrow. Us. Rory and I." She replied, touching his elbow and sighing, pulling her hand away. "I don't know when I'll see you again."
He paused when she said that, knitting his eyebrows together for a moment and rubbing the bridge of his nose, glancing back at her. She looked hopeful, if not slightly somber after saying her past few words. He sighed and turned around, taking her shoulders into his hands. "One last adventure. One."
She grinned and let out a shrill squeal in delight, to which he groaned and turned her around, pushing her lightly toward the stairs. "Go on up. I'll be there in a minute." He replied, and she trotted up the stairs with the excitement of a child. He chuckled, watching her go before returning to his wires.
They were tied up.
Back to back, bound together by thick rope. He could feel his sonic in his back pocket, and he leaned his head back against Amy's shoulder with a small huff, turning to look at her. She looked rather annoyed – he didn't blame her.
"This is what you get," He sighed, though he was teasing her, "You ask for one last adventure and you get tied up and shoved into a jail cell." She turned to glance down at him, shaking her head and turning away.
"Shut up. Do you even have a plan? Do you ever have a plan?" She snapped, not realizing that his teasing was meant to lighten the mood. She felt her heart drop into her stomach at the thought of not seeing Rory once more, and she sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, "Please tell me you have a plan."
"Oh, Amelia." He sighed, straightening himself and letting his fingers brush against her palm, "I always have a plan. But you're going to need to help me."
"Of course I'll help you – I always help you. When have I ever not helped you?" She mumbled, glancing down at her lap and then looking back up, turning her head, "What is it?"
He shifted onto his side, grunting and trying to adjust himself, "Reach into my back pocket," he explained, "And grab my sonic. Press the purple button on the side, point it at the ropes. They should unravel." She'd already begun to dig into his back pocket as soon as he told her too, her wrist being burned by the ropes as she did so.
"Amy, you're barely touching anything – no, it's further down. You're practically just fondling my bottom!" He guffawed, and she groaned and rolled her eyes at him, pulling the sonic out with her fingertips and letting it clatter to the floor. She flicked her wrist to pull it out from between them – she sent it flying across the room instead.
"Amy!" He yelped, and she shoved her shoulder back to hit his.
"Shut up! They'll hear! I'll just – reach over and get it!" She said, rolling her eyes and moving her legs (also bound together), toward the screwdriver. She caught it with her heel and slid it back across the floor, and the Doctor let out a fond sigh.
She paused to smile and try to sneak a glance at him the best she could, opening the screwdriver panel and tapping the purple button. She pointed the screwdriver toward the ropes, pressing the bronze button on the side, and the ropes immediately began to loosen.
She stood up, holding the screwdriver with her palm as soon as she was untangled from the ropes. She brushed herself off, handing the screwdriver to the Doctor as soon as he was up. "Those legs of yours." He said, laughing slightly and brushing his fingers against her neck, grabbing at the back and pressing a kiss to her forehead, nuzzling her hairline adoringly. "Come along, Pond. We've got to get out of here."
They somehow found their way back to the TARDIS, chatting quietly under their breath as they slipped through silent corridors.
"Why do these creatures dislike you so much?" Amy asked softly and curiously, ducking around a corner and pressing her back to the wall. She felt like a spy in one of the movies she had enjoyed growing up – and she loved it.
"Dislike me? Oh, they abhor me. Then again, many people do. There was a war – hundreds of years back – and I released one of their war criminals from a prison. By accident, of course, but he may have caused quite a bit of trouble and the collapse of the planet's economy. They healed, of course, but it was my fault. I thought they would be over it by now, considering their economy is better than ever, but I suppose they still hate me just as much as they did when I first arrived." He said, pressing a hand to her back to usher her forward and through a dim doorway, and into a darker hall.
"You brought me here because you thought they would be over it?" She asked with the smallest of laughs, and he shrugged.
"I wanted to make amends. They wanted to end our lives – I suppose neither of us will get what we want today, hm? At least you got what you wanted."
"Oh, of course! Because nearly losing my life without kissing my husband goodnight is what I call an adventure." She scoffed, and he paused for a moment, furrowing his brow.
"Relationship problems?"
"Oh, no. I just didn't feel like kissing him goodnight."
"Why couldn't you sleep, Amelia?" He asked her, and she shrugged and looked away for a moment before glancing back at him – he seemed just as concerned as before.
"We're not having problems, Doctor. We're fine. He's fine." She replied, omitting the 'I'm fine' that should have followed. He turned her around and held her by her shoulders, pushing her forward.
"Of course. My Ponds are always fine. Except for when Amy can't sleep in the same bed as her husband." He muttered, and Amy whipped around to look at him.
"I can, too! You don't know our relationship, Doctor. Don't act like you do."
"I'm not acting like I do, Pond. I do. I hear you fight!"
"Oh, you're such a child sometimes! What are you doing, pressing your ear to the door and listening to us? We whisper yell." She exclaimed, and the Doctor rounded another corner and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into a nearby closet with him. He shut the door gently behind her, fumbling around in the dimness for a moment.
"Is it me?"
"What?"
"Am I causing Pond relationship troubles?"
"Oh my god, no! No, no. And even if you were, we wouldn't talk about it here. We are still on the brink of death, Doctor. And we can't find the TARDIS – we can talk about it sometime. Maybe. Not here. Please not here." She insisted, and he shook his head, playing with his bow tie nervously, rubbing his jaw afterwards.
"I want to know."
"There's nothing to know."
"Amy."
"Doctor, stop –"
"Amelia."
She caught his gaze in the darkness, and held it for a moment before shaking her head. She opened the door to the closet and darted out, trotting down the hall and ducking through another doorway. He followed and they found the TARDIS in silence.
Once inside, he sent them away to go hover in a safe, far away galaxy. She went to bed without a word.
Neither of them slept well that night.